Sexy SEAL Box Set: A SEAL's Seduction\A SEAL's Surrender\A SEAL's Salvation\A SEAL's Kiss (41 page)

“Word isn’t everything,” he said quietly. “Gossip always skims the surface, but never touches the truth.”

“Are you trying to say the gossip isn’t true? That this wasn’t your special place?” she asked, already knowing the answer but wanting to hear it from him. Wanting him to say something, anything, that’d make her feel like she was different than the other girls he’d brought here.

That she was more.

That she was special.

But he didn’t say a word.

He just looked at her.

The expression in his eyes was intense. Like he was searching her soul. Weighing, waiting. She didn’t know what he found, or what he’d do with the discovery. Was she worthy of him, of his special place?

Nerves added a painful edge to the desire coursing through Eden. Before she could figure out what to do, find anything to say to break the tension, Cade skimmed both hands into the thick strands of her hair, cupping his fingers behind her head and angling her mouth to his.

His lips flowed, like a whisper, over hers. She barely had time for a taste before he moved on, brushing kisses over her cheek, along her jaw and down her throat.

Her system spun into overdrive, passion smothering the nerves as she melted under his touch. Her fingers tingled as they skimmed over the hard muscles of his shoulders, down his back and cupped his tight butt. His body was a work of art. One she wanted to fully appreciate this time. To study, to explore, to enjoy.

Cade’s kisses trailed along the rounded collar of her T-shirt, soft and sweet, as his fingers danced down her side, down to where the hem met her jeans. His hands, hot and powerful, slid under the fabric. She sucked in her breath, flattening her belly as his fingers pressed higher. They trailed the wide band of her bra, scraping the length of her torso with his fingernails. She shivered, her breath catching on a low moan.

Desire flamed.

Need pounded.

She grabbed the back of his shirt, tugging hard to pull the material from the waistband of his jeans. As soon as the shirt cleared, her fingers were scrambling for skin, smoothing over the hard, hot flesh of his back before skimming around to tangle in the delicious sprinkling of hair climbing from his flat belly up to a vee between his pecs.

His body was freaking awesome.

And his hands.

She moaned when he cupped his entire palm over her now bare breast. When had he unhooked her bra? He rubbed in circles, warming, caressing, tormenting her nipple into a hard pebble.

She knew it wasn’t a race, but she still hurried to keep up, angling so she could scrape gentle nails over his nipples. He growled.

Before she could take another breath, he’d stripped her shirt and bra off, tossing them somewhere toward the bushes and grabbing her by the waist to lift her high.

For a second, he just stared. His eyes were slits, passion flaming like a conflagration in the green depths as he took in the sight of her. Eden, needing more, desperate to push him over the edge, unbuttoned her jeans and gave a gentle push so they slid off her hips. They caught on her shoes, leaving her naked from the knees up except for a tiny pair of purple lace panties.

His groan was lost as his mouth latched onto her breast, his lips skating over the soft flesh to the aching tip. He sucked, hard. Her body convulsed, her core as hot and wet as he was making her nipple. There was something amazingly erotic about being so much at his mercy that she was practically floating on air.

He nipped, his teeth scraping her flesh, his mouth still sucking hard. Eden’s fingers dug into his shoulders and she gave a whimpering cry of encouragement.

“More,” she insisted. “Make me come.”

“I’m gonna make you come more than once,” he said, pulling back to stare into her eyes. The intensity of his look echoed the promise in his words.

“Big talk,” she teased.

He laughed, then set her on the ground, but his hands didn’t leave her waist. A thrill of delight shivered through her at the idea that he didn’t want to let her go, even for a second.

“Off,” he demanded, his words low.

“You first,” she shot back.

He frowned, then, his fingers tightened for a second before he released her. His clothes were tossed aside so fast, Eden wasn’t sure he had any buttons left, even on his jeans. She kicked off her shoes, toed off her socks and in the second it took her to step out of her jeans, he was naked.

She almost tripped over her pile of clothes at the sight.

“Oh, my,” she breathed. Eyes huge, she tried to take him in. He was gorgeous.

Golden skin stretched over a body that would make a goddess weep. Sculpted muscles flowed in swimmer form, wide shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist and thighs...

Her mouth actually watered.

Oh, his thighs. Long, lean and roped with tight muscles, they were the perfect frame for the jutting length of manhood waving hello between them.

Eden’s own knees got a little weak at that point.

“I guess you’ve got what it takes to live up to that
more than once
promise,” she observed, her tone almost reverent. Unable to resist, she reached out to run her fingers along the hard, long length of him. He hissed. She angled a wicked grin his way, then did it again.

Before he could grab her and take control, she dropped to her knees. Palms flat, she ran her hands up the back of his legs from his calves to his upper thighs, then grabbed his butt for a little squeeze. At the same time, she leaned close and blew a puff of air on the rounded tip of his erection.

He growled.

She swirled her tongue around the head, lapping at the velvety knob before sucking, just that tip, into her mouth.

His fingers tunneled into her hair, the tips digging into her scalp as if he was afraid she’d pull away.

As if. She’d just been served up a huge portion of the tastiest treat she’d ever seen. She might never be done. She didn’t think she could ever get enough of him.

Her lips tight against his flesh, she slid her mouth as far down as she could, then pulled back to just the tip, sucked, and did it again. And again. And again.

Cade could only take so much. Flesh quivering, he shifted, stepping backward. From her position on her knees, Eden slanted him a pouty look. And why not? He’d just taken away her treat.

He bent, grabbing his jeans and digging out his wallet before tossing them aside.

“While you’re down there,” he suggested, handing her a condom.

“My pleasure,” Eden murmured with a wicked smile, sure it was going to be just that. Her eyes locked on his, she tore open the foil wrapper. Before she slid the latex over his burgeoning length, though, she leaned in for another kiss.

“You’re wicked,” he claimed, somewhere between a laugh and a moan. His fingers slid into her hair, a combination of a plea and a caress. Eden didn’t know when she’d ever felt this wonderful, this powerful.

She had her hottest fantasy, panting over her.

It was amazing.

Ready to see just how much more amazing it could get, she slid the condom over his erection. Before she could move, he lifted her off her knees and in a single fluid motion laid himself back on the grass and positioned her above him.

“You’re gorgeous,” he told her. His eyes feasted on her body as she settled her knees on either side of his hips, his hands going to her breasts like they were magnetically drawn. His fingers tweaked the tips even as his palms held the weight, cupping and squeezing gently.

Eden’s body heated, wet and needy as if every shift of his hands pushed her higher, hotter. Her hands braced on his chest for balance, she leaned over to kiss him at the same time she slowly, oh, baby, so incredibly slowly, lowered herself on the hard length of him.

He filled her.

Completed her.

Like they were custom fit, her body took him all, shivering and pulsing around him. For a second, Eden couldn’t move. She could only feel. Sensation after sensation rippled from her core to her nipples and back again.

Cade groaned.

Swallowing hard, she lifted her hips. Then slowly, twisting a little, brought them back down so her core was pressed tight against the thatch of curls at his groin.

Cade growled.

Eden did it again. She moved faster. Up and down. Sliding, undulating. Her body grasping at his in desperate need. He moaned his approval, letting her set the pace.

Her eyes still on his, she watched his face tighten, his eyes hooded as they languidly moved from hers, then down to her breasts where his fingers were working pure magic, then back again. It was like he was fascinated with her body. Obsessed even.

The very idea made her come a little.

More excited than she’d ever been, Eden moved faster.

The power built, tighter, needier.

Her head fell back, her body on fire as she rode the waves of sensations crashing around her. Her pounding heart echoed the power of her orgasms, beating like a conga drum.

Hands trembling, she gripped Cade’s shoulders.

His fingers tightened, holding her breasts high as he angled his body upward to lick one, then the other nipple. Back and forth his mouth went, making her crazy as the climax coiled, tight as a spring, in her belly.

Then he nipped, his teeth tugging one nipple into his mouth to be sucked, laved, teased. His fingers twisted the other, then he tugged.

Eden exploded. Her moans were whimpers now as she rode the waves, ebbing and flowing with pleasure. He followed her with a guttural growl of delight, his body pulsing inside hers.

It was like floating on a cloud of passion. Spikes of pleasure shot like lightening through her, but didn’t change the foggy haze of delight that she was riding.

“More,” she whispered, leaning down to press a soft kiss against his chin, then scattering more along his jaw and cheeks. “You’re yummy, and I’m hungry.”

“Feast, baby,” he encouraged, his tone just as satisfied as the look on his gorgeous face.

11

E
DEN
GRADUALLY
DRIFTED
AWAKE
on the bank of the lake. Was this what an out-of-body experience felt like? Gloriously delicious, as if everything had a surreal tint to it. From her body, which ached in the most deliciously satisfied way, to her senses. She slowly lifted her eyelids to peer into the evening light. The sun was setting, the lake bathed in a rainbow of pinks, oranges and purples to reflect the evening sky. Cade’s body was wrapped around hers, protective and warm.

She blinked a couple of times, not sure what’d woken her. She was limp with sexual satisfaction. So why the sudden tension? Like she should be worried, or even scared.

Then he muttered in his sleep, his hands gripping her waist as if he’d just been shoved off a cliff and she was his only hope of not plummetting to the ground.

Eden came fully awake, but was still standing on the edge of a terrifying nightmare. She couldn’t see it, but she knew it was there. And it was attacking Cade. She could feel the waves of misery pouring off him.

“No!” His denial was guttural, desperate, even though it was only a whisper.

Frowning, she tried to shift. But his fingers dug in tighter. She tilted her head back, peering up at him. Fear melted into sympathy. Her heart ached at the desolation on his face, at the pain in his voice.

“Cade,” she whispered. She reached up to his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. “Wake up.”

“No. Return fire. Stop. No!” He didn’t yell. He barely muttered the words. But the intensity, the horror in them ripped at Eden’s gut, terrifying her.

“Cade. Wake up,” she demanded, shaking harder now.

“What?”

For one second, she could see it all in his eyes. The miserable pain, the devastation. The soul-wrenching loss.

Then he blinked. All it took was a second for him to tuck it all away. Charm and a rueful sort of self-derision replaced the raw emotion on his face.

“I think we wore each other out,” he said, his smile a shadow of its usual wattage, his laugh a little rough around the edges. “I can’t believe we fell asleep.”

“You were dreaming,” she said, ignoring the hint to let it go. “Are you okay?”

His jaw clenched, then he shifted, so he could skim his bottom hand down to cup her bare butt and his upper hand toward her breast.

Before he could cup her already aching flesh, she grabbed his wrist.

“You were dreaming,” she said again. At least, if being under emotional attack in one’s sleep counted as dreaming. Eden’s eyes flew over his face, trying to see if he was okay. Stress etched lines in the corners of his eyes, bracketed his mouth. But his lips were curved in his usual, charming smile and his beautiful green gaze was determined. To fight the demons? Or to push her away?

“That’s what people do when they are asleep.” Whether because he saw how determined she was, or out of pique that she wasn’t ready to roll around on the bank again, Cade shifted. He pulled his arms away and sat upright. “It’s going to get cold, though. We should head back.”

Eden gave him a long, considering look.

Here she was at the lake, that magical place of sexual-fantasies-come-true. With the sexiest man in the world. One who’d just rocked her every idea of what pleasure was supposed to feel like. If she ever wanted to feel that rocking pleasure again, she was pretty sure she should let it go. Just let the subject change, gather up her underwear and drag him back to her bed for another round.

But she couldn’t.

This was Cade.

Her hero.

The guy who was always there for her. To save her from falling out of trees. To shoo away the mean girls. To show her that her fantasies had nothing on reality.

Didn’t she owe it to him to be there for him, too?

Even if it ruined her shot at another mind-blowing orgasm?

Feeling very self-sacrificing, and just a little worried, she ignored the tense ball of stress in her stomach and rubbed her hand over his bare shoulder.

“Cade,” she prompted softly, her tone as sweet as it was stubborn. “What’s wrong? Were you dreaming about your friend? The one you lost last year?”

Maybe she should have got up and kneed him in the balls. He’d probably have looked less betrayed.