Marked (Hostage Rescue Team Series) (18 page)

He kissed the top of her head, something about her words making him uneasy. “You don’t mean
just
now though, right?”

“No, not for me, but where do you want things to go from here?” Her body was still, a subtle tension invading all her muscles. It floored him that she might be worried he was only looking for a fling. He made a vow to show her just how much she meant to him.

“I want to do this right. Make up for the mistakes I made back then.” Jake slowly ran his palm down the length of her spine, back up again.

She huffed out a soft laugh. “That’s not really an answer. What do you want now, with us?”

He smiled in the darkness. “Okay. I want
you
. Only you. For as long as you’ll have me.”

The residual tension bled out of her muscles. “Careful, ‘cuz that might be for a very long time,” she warned playfully, trying but failing to smother a yawn.

“I’m up for it.” He was up for something else right now too, but he knew how exhausted she was and that reality would intrude again in just a few short hours. Shifting onto his side, he gently turned her over to face away from him and tucked his bent knees behind hers, wrapped an arm around her ribs and slid the other beneath her head. She settled into him with a sleepy, contented smile.

“You never did get around to taking me to the range,” she murmured. “I still want to learn to shoot. We can tape a picture of Xang’s face to the targets. That should help my aim even if I’ve never fired a weapon before.” Her tone held a hard, wry edge.

Sounded downright therapeutic to him. “I’ll teach you anything you want to learn.” She’d be a quick learner, and motivated. She’d always been interested in what he did, the skills he’d acquired in his line of work. It’d be fun to teach her.

“Rappelling too?”

The thought of her sweet ass hanging directly above him, framed by a climbing harness as he literally taught her the ropes… Not exactly a hardship. He smiled in the darkness. “Sure.”

She relaxed even more. “Thanks.”

“Think you can sleep now?” he whispered, pressing soft kisses to the nape of her neck. He wouldn’t be able to, not with his cock pulsing the way it was, pressed so tight to her ass. But holding her like this while she slept, with Rachel relaxed and trusting him to take care of her was a gift he was going to savor.

“Mmm, think so.”

She was fast asleep within minutes, the sound of her breathing slow and even. A wave of protective tenderness washed over him. He lay awake in the darkness for a long time before following her.

****

Rachel’s eyes fluttered open in almost complete darkness and it took a second to remember where she was. When she did her heart immediately did a little flip and she rolled onto her side expecting to find Jake, but the other side of the queen-size bed was empty.

She jerked her head off the pillow to look toward the door as disappointment swamped her, then realized she could hear the shower running in the bathroom. Laying her head back on the pillow for a moment, she considered her course of action. Twice during the night she’d woken fresh from the grip of a nightmare about Brandon, and Jake had been there to take the sharpest part of the fear away. He’d been incredibly tender and generous with her last night, taking care of her needs while ignoring his own.

And now he was naked in the shower just steps away.

She knew he’d be leaving soon and that she’d be facing whatever happened today without him. Rachel didn’t want to let him go without the chance to explore that hard body the way she’d always dreamed of and give him some pleasure in return.

Pushing aside the shyness that had gripped her last night, she got out of bed and ran her hands through her hair on her way to the bathroom. Normally when she was in a new relationship it took her a long time to get comfortable being naked in front of her new lover, but Jake was unlike any man she’d ever been with. He’d been her friend first, was standing by her through this whole nightmare and she wasn’t going to let a little nervousness stand in her way.

The cracked-open bathroom door gave way when she pushed on it. Instantly her eyes shot to the shower. Jake stood under the spray, his broad, muscular back to her behind the glass as he tipped his head back to wet his hair. Just the sight of him like that, knowing she was about to kiss and caress that powerful body, made her a little lightheaded.

She pushed the nagging guilt about her brother aside. There was nothing she could do to help Brandon right now. Jake’s job was dangerous—something could happen to him today. These last few minutes before reality crashed back in were for her and Jake alone.

Grabbing the travel bottle of mouthwash from the sink that Celida had thoughtfully packed for her, she took a quick swill and rinsed out her mouth. Overcoming shyness was one thing; morning breath the first time she ever got to enjoy Jake was quite another.

She pulled open the shower door, still a little shocked at her boldness. But she kind of liked this new Rachel who went after what she wanted.

Jake half-turned, a welcoming smile spreading across his face as she stepped into the enclosure with him and shut the door. “Morning.” His dark gaze raked over the length of her naked body, triggering an instant rush of heat beneath her skin.

“Morning,” she murmured, drinking in the sight of all those gleaming, wet muscles and the dark hair on his chest, the narrow line of it that bisected his defined abs and trailed out of view. His ass and powerful thighs were gorgeous too.

“Sleep okay?”

“Mmm, yes.” Before she could lose her nerve, she wrapped her arms around him from behind and pressed up tight against his back, resting her cheek between his water-slick shoulder blades. She flattened her palms against the sculpted planes of his chest, savoring his heat and the crisp texture of the hair on his chest, heart thudding at the feel of all that masculine power beneath her fingertips. She trailed them gently over his wet skin as she lifted up to kiss his nape, then trail a damp path down to the center of his back.

Jake set his hands over hers and squeezed once, leaning back into her body in a clear signal for her to continue. She did, gladly, allowing herself to explore him with her touch, the warm rush of water cascading over them acting as a kind of cocoon.

Her fingers trailed across his pecs and down the hard, flat ridges of his abdomen, pausing when she brushed against the head of his erection standing proud against his belly. She rubbed her breasts against his back, soothing the ache in her tight nipples, and slid her hand lower to curl around his hard flesh. He was thick and hot in her grip and the half growl-half groan that came out of him made her sex instantly wet.

Jake turned to face her, letting her hand stay curled around him. She couldn’t help but steal a peek at his erection, all dark and swollen with need, then looked up into his eyes for a split second before he gripped a handful of her hair and tugged her up to meet his kiss. It was deep, wild, hungry. He tasted of mint toothpaste and she was once again glad for the mouthwash as she rubbed her tongue against his.

Rachel sighed into his mouth and began stroking both hands up and down the length of his cock, varying the pressure to see what he liked best. His hips rolled, thrusting into her touch while that hand in her hair held her in place for his kiss.

But she had other ideas.

Tugging against his hold, he released her and she trailed a string of kisses across his jaw, her teeth scraping over stubble as her mouth moved down his neck to his chest. She let her tongue play there, tasting the spicy flavor of his skin as she flicked it over his hard nipples and earning an indrawn breath from him before working her way down and sank as gracefully as she could to her knees. Jake slid one hand back into her hair and when she glanced up the length of his body into his face, his eyes had gone molten with desire.

“God, you don’t know how beautiful and sexy you are like this,” he said in a gravelly voice, fingers flexing in her hair, exerting just enough pressure to pull deliciously against the wet strands.

She wanted to drive him crazy, make him lose his mind with the pleasure she bestowed. Smiling up at him, she held his gaze as she leaned forward to kiss the tip of his erection, her tongue stealing out to lick the flared head. He hissed in a breath and tensed, all his muscles standing out in sharp relief, his other hand shooting out to brace himself against the slick fiberglass wall. She’d never felt so sexual, so completely feminine as she did then, on her knees preparing to go down on this incredibly powerful man.

Parting her lips, she took the thick crown inside her mouth and sucked. A low, rumbling groan came from his throat, his fingers squeezing in her hair, then caressing her scalp in an almost drugging motion. He tasted salty, tangy. Hot and wild. Her tongue licked around the sensitive head. She let her eyes drift halfway closed and lost herself in giving him as much pleasure as she could, taking him deeper.

“Baby, ahh…” His hips rolled slightly before he stopped himself, and she felt the slight tremor in his muscles. Holding back as though he was afraid of hurting or scaring her, yet desperate for more.

She was going to give him exactly what he needed.

Rachel set her other hand against his upper thigh to brace herself and felt the way the muscles quivered and tensed each time she sucked and swirled her tongue around him. She loved knowing she could affect him so much.

The hand in her hair tightened when she sucked harder, fingers clenching tight. “Sweetheart, you’re gonna make me come.”

She murmured in encouragement and kept going, hungry for the taste of him, to please him, ignoring how her own body pulsed with desire.

“Rachel.” His voice was strained, guttural, and it stroked over her tingling nerve endings like a caressing hand. The fingers in her hair tightened, pulled her head back so that she had to release him. She eased back on her heels and stared up at him, licking her swollen, sensitive lips. His stare was hot enough to burn, his nostrils flaring with each ragged intake of air. “Does sucking me off make you hot?”

She nodded, heart pounding, not wanting to risk breaking the spell by speaking. Sucking him had made her so wet, she was all slick and ready for him.
Needing
him.

Jake’s nostrils flared as he inhaled and reached for her, those big hands curving beneath her arms to haul her to her feet, biceps and triceps bulging. She gasped as he turned them and pressed her back against the slick wall, his big body pinning her there, the wild, unsatisfied hunger vibrating between them. Her hands gripped his slick shoulders.

One hand cupped her jaw to tilt her mouth up for his kiss, his tongue sliding along hers while his other hand gripped her left thigh and lifted it, opening her sex to the hot length of his erection. She shuddered in his masterful hold, her breasts and sex throbbing. He kissed her hard and deep then flexed his hips, rubbing the length of his cock against her slick folds, the tip caressing her swollen clit. Her needy whimper sliced through the rush of the water, her whole body stiffening under the sudden lash of intense pleasure.

With a low, hungry sound in reply, Jake brought her leg even higher so she could wrap it around his hip and give him better access to her body. She was dizzy, drowning in bliss but she needed so much more. Squirming, she rubbed against him in turn, adding to the friction, the incredible heat.
Not enough. Not nearly enough.
“Ah, God, Jake…” She slid one hand into his hair, gripped tight.

He reached a hand between them to grip the base of his cock and position the swollen head against her opening. Then he paused. “I’m clean,” he grated out.

“Me too,” she managed, barely able to think, just wanting him inside her, stroking all the throbbing, aching nerve endings he’d awakened.

“You on the pill?”

“No,” she moaned in distress, digging her fingers into his hair, his hard shoulder and tightening her thigh around his hip so he wouldn’t retreat. She didn’t think she could take it if he did. Maybe it was reckless and stupid to continue without protection but in that moment she didn’t care about the consequences as long as she got to feel him inside her.

“I’ll pull out,” he muttered against her mouth, nipping her lower lip before sliding his tongue across it just as he flexed his hips and the crown of his cock pushed inside her. Rachel caught her breath and squeezed her eyes shut at the hot, heavy penetration, pulling her mouth free to press her face into the curve of his shoulder. He was only in her an inch or two but he was so damn thick and the delicious stretch, the friction, felt incredible. All she could do was moan and roll her hips in a silent plea for more, her open mouth sliding against his wet, heated skin.

With a rough growl Jake eased out of her and did it again, stopping partway in, that slow, shallow slide of rigid flesh rubbing over the hot glow inside her. His hips pulsed, sliding him in and out over and over while he slipped a hand between them to rub his thumb around her clit in slow circles.

Ohhh…
Rachel trembled, her inner walls tightening around him, squeezing that glorious thickness inside her. “Don’t stop,” she gasped out.

“Hold on.” A command and a warning.

Rachel held on, eyes squeezed shut, her entire body trembling. His thrusts grew deeper, more forceful, his mouth working the side of her neck, short beard prickling her while that hot tongue dragged over sensitive nerve endings. Heat and pressure built inside her, robbing her of thought, the ability to breathe.

She distantly heard the plaintive moan that tore from her, knew she was holding his shoulders so tight she was probably leaving marks but couldn’t ease up. The pleasure, this slow, relentless climb he was forcing her to make instead of racing to the summit, was tearing her apart.

Helpless in its grip, she writhed in his unbreakable hold and let it expand until it broke over her. It felt like she was dying. Jake’s mouth smothered her wild cries as the orgasm took her, adding his own deep groan of male satisfaction. The waves were still breaking when he drove deep once, twice, then wrenched out of her body.