Tickle His Fancy: Trident Security Book 6 (Trident Security Series) (10 page)

She’d tried not to scream, not to give him the satisfaction,
but it had been impossible as he’d cracked the whip over and over again. She’d
screeched her throat raw and, when she could no longer make a sound, she’d
passed out. Now, she was alone and didn’t know which was worse—being alone or
wondering what would happen if and when he returned. Never in her life had she
wished for death, but as she plunged back into the painful abyss, her last
thought was praying she would never wake up again.

Drying the sauté pan Fancy had made the asparagus in, Brody
placed it back in the lower cabinet. Giving the rest of the kitchen a quick
glance, he made sure everything else was clean and in its place. After she’d
pulled herself together earlier, Brody had intentionally switched the
conversation back to safer, less upsetting topics. He felt there was more to
the story about the accident than she’d told him, but he thought it was best to
save it for another time. There was something about this woman which sent all
his Dom and alpha male instincts rising, to not only protect her but to make
her his. Eventually, he would know everything he possibly could about his
Fancy-girl, but that also meant he would have to open up and reveal a few
things about himself he’d kept hidden up until now—namely that he was a Dom.

He'd been a dominant in the BDSM lifestyle for so long now he
wasn’t sure he could do without it being a part of his life. While he had no
problem dabbling in the vanilla world every now and then, any long term
relationship would have to include a D/s factor. How Fancy would respond to
that, he wasn’t sure. But tonight wasn’t the night to divulge that information.
He wanted her to be invested in their relationship before he came clean about
that, because hopefully then she wouldn’t go running into the night. He prayed
she would at least be open-minded enough to give it a try. She was a natural
submissive, despite her outer strength, and the combination had him craving her
more and more each day.

“Brody?”

He hadn’t realized he’d been standing there doing nothing
until she called his name. Shaking his head, he cleared his mind and focused on
her beautiful face. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted dessert now or if you wanted to wait.”

A grin spread across his face. If the woman only knew what he
wanted for dessert—and it wasn’t what was in the box, but he’d settle for that
now. “We can have it now. Do you like flavored or plain coffee? I have both for
the Keurig. And decaf if you want.”

“
Mmm
. French vanilla or hazelnut if you have it. And
caffeine doesn’t usually bother me at night, so regular is fine.”

He stepped over to the counter where he had a rack of coffee
pods for the machine. Selecting a vanilla/hazelnut mix, he popped the pod in
the slot and waited for the light on the brew button to turn green. “Maybe
that’s why you’re having bouts of insomnia.” He glanced over his shoulder at
her and then did a double take, as his mouth watered. “Oh my God, woman! Is
that strawberry shortcake?”

“
Uh-huh
.” She reached for a knife from the butcher
block set but then smacked his hand when he tried to dip his finger in the
frosting. She wasn’t fast enough, though, and he shoved a dollop of the fluffy
white confection into his mouth. His eyes rolled back in his head, and she
laughed at him. “Well, I guess you’re proof of the old saying that a way to a
man’s heart is through his stomach.”

“Amen to that.” He placed a mug on the tray of the Keurig and
hit the lit, brew button. “You should have seen my brothers and sisters and I
fighting over who got to lick the bowl when my mom was baking.”

“I guess that’s one thing that was good growing up with only
one sibling—no fighting over the bowl of cake or cookie mix. It also helped
that my brother wasn’t big on sweets.”

“Is he not human or something?”

Fancy giggled. Damn, he loved that sound. Switching mugs, he
brewed a second pod for himself. After all was set, he carried both coffees out
to the family room. Fancy followed with two plates of strawberry shortcake
slices—one much bigger than the other. Yup, he was going to have to start
adding some more sit-ups to his workout routine if she kept feeding him all
these goodies.

“So tell me more about Trident. Do you just do security
systems and bodyguard work?”

He tilted his head to the side and swallowed a piece of the
delicious cake. “Not really. We have a few government contracts, which I can’t
talk about. Similar stuff to what we were doing in the SEALs. We also do security
consulting and even some private eye stuff—you know, ‘follow my cheating
husband or wife and get me proof so the prenup is invalid.’”

“Seriously? People really do that?”

A small snort escaped him. “More than you’d ever think. We
don’t take many of those cases anymore, but when we were first starting out,
they paid the bills. Now we’ve grown so much, we’re training a new team here in
Tampa, and my buddy Jake is out in San Diego putting together a west coast
team. He’s in a relationship with Ian and Dev’s brother Nick, who is out there
on SEAL Team Three for another eighteen months or so. Then they’ll decide
whether to stay in California or come back and work for Trident here.” He
paused, then put his empty plate and fork down on the coffee table next to hers.
Leaning toward her slowly, he watched her eyes for any sign she was nervous or
scared. “You have a little bit of icing on your lip.”

Fancy’s eyes widened as he closed the distance between them
and used his lips and tongue to clean the frosting from the corner of her
mouth. Her breath hitched at the contact, but she didn’t move away. Instead,
her eyes fluttered shut as she silently begged for more. Who was he to deny
her?

Skimming his hand up her arm until he reached her shoulder,
he plunged it into her silky hair, reveling in the feel of it as he placed soft
kisses on her lips. The instant she took a deep breath and relaxed into the
moment, he took possession of her mouth, using his tongue to request entry. Her
lips parted, and her tongue danced with his. She tasted of coffee, vanilla,
hazelnut, and strawberries—an intoxicating mix combined with her own,
individual, feminine flavor.

His cock grew hard as his hands went to her hips to tug her
toward him. Then he eased her shoulders down until she was flat on the couch
with him leaning most of his weight on his forearms and knees. He didn’t want
to freak her out, giving her a little space if she wanted him to stop, but her
arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him down on top of her. He elicited
little mewls and gasps from her as he switched from kissing her mouth to the
sensitive skin below her ear and back again. Her one hand delved into his hair
as the other explored his shoulders and upper back. When she clutched his
T-shirt and pulled it out of his khakis, he pushed up from the couch, reached
back, and yanked the shirt over his head. Seconds later, he was back to where
he’d just been—lying on top of her, kissing the dickens out of her.

Her hands scorched his skin as she caressed the muscles of
his back. Her legs shifted until they straddled his hips and he ground his
erection into her mound causing them both to moan. Trying to get himself under
control, he leaned up on his hands and stared down at her. Her lips were red,
swollen, and moist. Her eyes filled with the same desire he knew was showing in
his own. “Tell me, sweetness. Tell me now if you want me to stop. Otherwise,
I’m going to take you into my bedroom and ravish you until neither one of us
can walk. I need to know we’re on the same page here because I want you so
badly, but you come first. If you’re not ready yet, I’ll put my shirt back on
and follow you home. No worries. No thinking this is all or nothing tonight. If
you need to wait, I can be patient.”

Tenderness flashed in her eyes, mixing with the passion. She
reached up and cupped her hand over his cheek. He turned his head and kissed
her palm. “I want you, sweetness. More than any other woman I’ve ever met. I
want to see where this goes between us. Let me show you how good it can be
between us.”

“Yes.”

That one word had barely been audible and would not do. “
Uh-uh,
Fancy-girl. I need more than a whispered word. Tell me what you want.”

She licked her lips, then bit the bottom one. He leaned down
and brushed his lips against hers. “Tell me.”

“Yes. I want you, Brody. I-I want to see where this goes. I
want to spend the night in your bed, pleasing each other.”

He noticed she was avoiding using the words “making love” but
that was okay. She’d been married and in love with Patrick long before she’d
ever met him, so those words would be hard for her to say to another man. But
as he’d told her, he was a patient man. If passionate sex was all it was
tonight, then that was what he would give her. However, someday soon, he would
admit to her what he finally realized was happening. He was falling in love
with her—his soul mate.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Fancy reached for Brody’s extended
hand. As soon as she’d told him she wanted to spend the night in his bed, he’d
stood from the couch. They were moving this party-for-two into his bedroom, and
the thought scared and excited her at the same time. The nervousness wasn’t
about him—not at all. She’d known since their first kiss at the ballgame that
he would be a gentle and patient lover. No, those butterflies in her stomach
had taken flight again because Patrick had been her first and only lover. He’d
been so understanding, and they had both taken pleasure in the things he’d
taught her and others they’d learned together. But this was nine years later,
with a slightly older man, who probably had experienced more than his fair
share of women over the years. What if she paled in comparison to those women?
What if he found her lacking in how to please him? Well, she wouldn’t know if
she didn’t give it a try.

Holding her hand, he led her down the hall to the master
bedroom, flipping the light switch in the family room off as they passed it.
The music from the TV channel still filled the air but was muted further as
they stepped into his bedroom. A shiver coursed through her as she stared at
the king-sized bed.

“Hey.” His voice caught her attention, and she tilted her
head so she could look him in the eye. All she saw there were desire and
understanding. He cupped her cheek. “Sweetness, is this the first time since
your husband?”

Her gaze dropped to his chest as she nodded. Her heart sank
when he let out a heavy sigh, but then he surprised her by stepping over to the
bed and laying down on it. He tucked his hands behind his head and gazed at her
from under desire-heavy eyelids. “Come here. I won’t bite—at least, not until
you ask me to. I’ll keep my hands to myself for now and let you explore a
little. I promise. When you’re ready to move on, then just kiss me on the
mouth.”

Jeez, he just melted her panties. And holy hell, the man
looked like a feast laid out before her. The butterflies in her stomach were
still in flight, but the throbbing of her pussy was overriding them. She
swallowed hard as she toed off her Keds. Brody didn’t say anything as she
pulled the V-neck shirt she’d changed into at the shop over her head. Instead,
his eyes stayed on hers. The soft brown of his irises was almost entirely
covered by the black of his pupils. Suddenly unsure again, she decided to take
one step at a time. She left her white cotton bra and capri pants on and
circled the bed to the far side. His gaze followed her. Climbing up on the
mattress, she crawled over to his side, knelt beside him, and lifted a
trembling hand toward his naked torso. Her mouth watered. The man had to work
out every day to keep a sculpted body like this and still eat all the treats
she gave him. She paused inches from his chest.

“Touch me, sweetness.” His voice was a little more than a
hoarse whisper. “Explore all you want. If this is as far as we go tonight,
that’s fine. But you will be sleeping with me tonight, even if it’s fully
dressed. Understood?”

She nodded, then placed her hand on his ribs just below his
left nipple. His breath hitched at the contact, but he didn’t move or say
anything. The heat of his skin warmed her palm, and she relaxed her fingers,
enjoying the feel of power beneath them. Slowly she began to explore every mesa
and valley of his upper torso. She noticed him swallow hard and felt his
muscles twitch beneath her touch every once in a while. His eyes alternated
between watching her face and following the path of her hand. The tenting of
his pants was hard to miss, but he kept his promise—his hands stayed behind his
head. With every moment that passed, Fancy grew bolder. She added her other
hand to the first, testing and learning every inch of him.

Oh God, his flesh was hardened steel covered in soft velvet.
She ran her finger down his sternum to the line of dark blond hair leading to
his groin, but stopped at the edge of his pants and reversed direction. As she
reached the base of his neck, his Adam’s apple moved as he gulped. That was all
the encouragement she needed. Bending over, she kissed the little notch just
below that and was rewarded with a groan. She peppered his neck with little
kisses and licks as she worked her way around to his ear. Now she wanted to see
if she could make him beg. His hands hadn’t moved, but she could see he was
opening and closing his fists, trying to keep from reaching for her. She knew
he was waiting for her to kiss his mouth.

“You’re killing me here, Fancy-girl. If you don’t kiss my
mouth soon, I’m going to have to reach down and give myself a little
adjustment.”

A wicked smile spread across her face. She didn’t know where
the courage came from, but she whispered in his ear, “Why don’t I do that for
you?”

“Oh, shit, yes! Please, hurry.”

Walking her fingers slowly back down his bare torso, she
reached his pants again, but this time, she flattened her hand against his abdomen
and slid it under the waistband and his boxer briefs. As she wrapped her hand
around his hard cock, she leaned over and kissed him on the mouth. He reacted
as if he’d been struck by lightning. His hips bucked upward as his hands
whipped out from under his head and plunged into her hair. He held her head in
place while devouring her mouth. Holy hell, she was in heaven. Damn, did the
man know how to kiss, or what?