Yes to Everything (30 page)

He stripped her down and took off his boxers, guiding her under the water. He washed her hair and took a long time deep massaging her scalp. Then he conditioned it and washed her body. Stroking over her tattoo, he smiled and she stroked her fingers through his hair. He flicked her piercing with the tip of his tongue and went back to scrubbing her body despite her moan. When he was finished, he quickly soaped and rinsed himself.

Stepping out, he wrapped her in a towel and got a chair from the other room for her to sit in. He started working a comb gently through her hair. As tendrils started to dry, he saw it spring into curls. Picking up the hotel hairdryer, he started working it through the heavy length. She laid her head on the bathroom sink and actually dozed off as he stared in shock at the mass of curls. His hands went still and she opened her eyes. “What?”

“Why in the world do you straighten it?” Rex asked her with a growl in his voice.

She shrugged, “I forget it’s curly. I pull it into a tight bun when I get out of the shower, always have. I think Mama used to do that. Anyway, it keeps it wavy more than curly. Then the flat-iron over that makes it super long and, well, the male demographic likes that I have some of the longest natural hair in the industry. Stupid right?”

“Baby, have those surveys mentioned how much men love curls by any chance?” He stood behind her and gathered it in his hands, watching the shimmering gold ringlets sift through his fingers. “Oh pretty girl, I’m sure you could be more perfect but I don’t know how.” Rex met her eyes in the mirror and she smiled.

His huge hands went to her shoulders and he kneaded her muscles firmly, watching the happiness in her expression. Running his hands down her arms, he tugged her gently to her feet and moved the chair away. Stepping closer, he pulled the towel and her eyes dropped shyly, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

“I love that you can perform night after night, shaking your beautiful ass while you sing your heart out and yet still blush when I make you stand naked in front of a mirror. You’re an enigma, Brooke. Look at me, baby.” She met his eyes in the mirror and he smiled at her. “I can’t believe it’s only been a week since I saw you. It felt like a year.” She nodded and leaned back against him. “How are you feeling, honey?”

“Much better now, thank you baby.”

“Brooke, I want you to know you three almost made four hardened men come like teenage virgins while we watched you last night.” She gave him a small smile. “Did you want me to come to you, Brooke?” She nodded more firmly this time.

Her hands reached back and stroked over his thighs. “Does it make you happy to know we were on a plane three hours after we talked to you?” She smiled and tugged her lower lip between her teeth. “I see that makes you very happy. I’ve never felt the need for a woman like this in my life, baby.”

His hands went to her hips, stroking forward over her tight stomach, over the tops of her thighs, up to cup her breasts, his thumbs flicking her nipples as he lowered his mouth to her ear and maintained eye contact, “Your nipples harden so pretty baby. I want to suck them so bad but I’m going to make myself wait. Build my suspense.”

She was trembling against him, her lips slightly parted as she watched him. “You’re so receptive to all things sensual, Brooke. Just talking to you tightens you up, darkens your eyes and nipples. It is fucking gorgeous to watch.” He never looked away from her as he stroked her body.

When his hands stroked flat to her hips and inner thighs, pushing her legs wider, she gasped softly. “I can’t neglect anything, baby. That would be wrong. To avoid these smooth folds, so golden on the outside, perfect pink on the inside. This swollen clit with its pretty jewelry I’m going to tug on with my teeth very soon. A little lower to this tight little pussy, already so wet, so hot.”

He stroked two fingers inside her, keeping his thumb on her clit in small circles. “You’re ready for me, aren’t you, Brooke?” She nodded without hesitation. “No foreplay, no buildup, baby? You know how much I love to eat your perfect pussy, honey.” She shook her head, moving her hands to his cock, stroking him between their bodies.

Then she released him and leaned over the counter on her hands, never taking her eyes off his as she lifted one knee to the hard surface. “Oh Brooke. Baby girl, you are far too perfect for a man like me.” She shook her head fiercely. He stroked his hands through her soft curls, over her lower back, cupping her ass in large palms. “Don’t move.” He left and returned seconds later, rolling on a condom and she smiled in victory. “Slow and easy baby?” Her head moved back and forth seductively. “Fast and hard Brooke?”

Her voice low, she asked, “Whose pussy is this, baby?” She watched the switch from playful to hardcore alpha male, “Who do I belong to, Rex?” Grabbing her hips, he set the head of his cock at her pussy and surged deep in one thrust. His fist went into her hair and the other hand went under her body to brace her pelvis, the tips of his fingers over her clit, working in tight circles.

Then he was fucking her with brutal force and she was encouraging him, “Yes, baby, you feel so fuckin’ good. Don’t take it easy on me. I missed you so bad, Rex. I’m comin’, oh baby, I’m comin’ so hard it hurts. Don’t let me go.” His hand tightened in her hair and he held her face up so he could watch her face while she rode her climax. She chanted his name, reaching down to put one hand over his at her clit. “Please don’t let me go. I need you, Rex.”

He pulled her upper body to him, his arm across her body, the other hand gripping her thigh. His mouth was at her ear, his eyes on hers in the mirror. “I’ll never let you go, baby. I love you, Brooke.”

She reached up to grab the back of his head. “You do? You really do?” He nodded and she whispered, “I’m so glad, I…I thought I was all alone. I love you, Rex.”

He pulled out and turned Brooke around, sitting her on the counter and slipping back into her body as she wrapped herself around him. His voice was dominant, rough, “Say it again.”

Brooke cupped his face in her hands, “I love you, Rex. Thank you for loving me back.” He kissed her slow, his fingers massaging the back of her head as he held her to him. Her arms held him tight and he felt her trembling.

She whispered in his ear, “I’m so glad you’re here. I wanted to see you, just see you for a little while. We all feel so immature and foolish and didn’t want to admit we’re not handling this long-distance thing very well. None of us are usually emotional and we’re trying to hang tough. You’re all so solid. We’re acting like a fucking after-school special and didn’t want you to regret us. Sidney’s trying to play it cool but we’ve caught her crying. Jeanette is a wreck, an absolute wreck. I’m not doing too good either, but I’m trying to fake it. I’m sorry, Rex.”

“Oh, Brooke baby, I need to thank you for loving me, not the other way around. We’re struggling, too. Sitting in Chicago with you all so far away. None of us are used to real emotions at all, to tell you the truth. We’re freaking out without you close, like last night. It isn’t that you’re too young for us, I guess it’s that we’re too old for you.”

“Rex, my body isn’t going to look like this at forty. No matter how I fight it, how hard I work out, there is truly only so much you can do. Men age better than women. It’s a fact.” She stroked his face. “You work out and take care of yourself. But after twenty years in the military, harsh conditions and sunburn, heat and cold, field rations…you are still so beautiful. Laugh lines and dimples, that’s it. My parents were the same age and Mama looked a few years older by the time they hit their mid-thirties. You’re so calm and it’s a wonderful balance to my mania. You see things differently than I do based on experience and the male perspective. I love that about you. There is so much you bring to the table. I will literally be a teenager for another two years and I don’t want you to be embarrassed by that. I want you to be proud of me.”

“Brooke, oh my god, honey, I’m already so proud of you. And you see me so differently than I see myself. When are you going to see I get all the perks in this relationship? You’re smoking hot, half my age, and half the male population wants you. You care about the military. You care in general, about everyone and everything. You’ve embraced your sexual nature with both hands and make me feel things at a level I didn’t realize was possible. I need you, right now, I need to show you.”

He carried her to the bed and followed her down, whispering words he never thought he’d have a chance to say, admitting feelings he never thought he’d have, and allowing himself to be vulnerable for the first time in his life as he eased her fears about not being enough for him.

By the time he allowed himself to come, he was in agony and she was begging.

Then he swapped the old condom for a new one and started again.

Mack entered Jeanette’s room and closed the door silently. He didn’t see her in the bed. Looking around, he found her in the bathroom, curled up on a towel in front of the toilet. She was shivering in her little pajama shorts and tank top. “Oh pretty baby.” Putting the glass on the bathroom counter, he knelt beside her and gathered her in his arms, sitting on the side of the tub.

Her huge brown eyes opened and she whispered, “I’m not strong enough. I knew I wouldn’t be strong enough. I’m sorry.” Then she moved over his lap and wrapped herself around him as she cried. Mack held her hard, stroking her back and murmuring soothing words into her hair.

“Baby, oh Jeanette, please don’t cry. You don’t have to always be strong. No you don’t. I’ll be strong for you, baby. Let me love you. Let me be strong for you, Jeanette. I want that so much.”

She raised her head and her eyes seemed larger with the sparkle of unshed tears. “Wh…what?”

He smoothed her hair back from her face and smiled, “I love you, Jeanette. Let me love you.”

She swallowed hard and laid her hand on his cheek. “You can’t love me. I’m not the kind of person who gets to keep a man like you, Mack. I’m not shiny and exciting. I…I’m a bookworm and stuffy. Not the kind of woman you need, that you deserve. You’re big and beautiful and perfect. You need someone better, someone really great.”

Planting kisses over her forehead, eyes, cheeks, and lips, he whispered, “It causes me such pain that you see yourself like that, baby. You are a bookworm and I like that. We have more in common than you think. There are so many things about you that excite me. There is no one better than you and you’re the only woman who will get to keep me, Jeanette. I love you and I know you love me, don’t you, baby?” Her lower lip was trembling and a single tear overflowed down her cheek. “Yes, I know you do. We’re going to work everything out. First I want you to drink this. It works for my hangovers, every time.”

He reached over and grabbed the glass, holding it to her lips. She took it and drank it down, giving a small burp at the end that made him grin. “It’s the fizz. God, you’re so fucking adorable. Come on, brush your teeth and let’s lie down. We’ll snuggle and you can sleep a little longer.” He held her hair and watched as she washed her face, brushed her teeth twice, and gargled with mouthwash.

“I hate getting sick to my stomach more than anything. I feel so out of control.” He nodded and when she dried her face he bent to pick her up and tucked her under the covers. Taking off socks and sneakers, he started to climb in beside her and she scrunched up her brow.

“More?” She nodded and he hid his smile. Turned out, she wasn’t happy until Mack was down to boxers. He lay down on his side and pulled the covers over both of them. He held open his arms and Jeanette came into them without hesitation. Raking his hands through her hair and down her back, he sighed happily. “You’re exactly where you belong, Jeanette, in my arms, exactly where I need you to be, so badly baby.” She was staring at him and he smiled.

With a small voice filled with sincere adoration, she told him, “You are honestly the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. It’s so overwhelming up close.”

“You are very good for my ego, Jeanette.” She wrinkled her brow and he smoothed it with a fingertip. “If it’s the last thing I ever do, you will understand how lucky I feel to have you right here with me. You will fully grasp the fact that I find you as beautiful as I do brilliant. To me, you are the only woman who exists, the only one worthy of my attention and my love. You’ll get that, sweetheart.”

She said, “I love you and I’ve missed you, Mack.” What she said slammed into his heart so hard it took him a moment to realize she’d said it in perfect Spanish. He pushed her to her back and leaned over her.

“You learned a language for me, Jeanette?” his eyes were bright in his caramel skin and she wanted him to the point of pain.

“I still have two disks but I’ve gone through most of them, yes. I have didactic memory as well as photographic. Every night I listen to at least one. It’s been helping me sleep.” She stroked his face and took a deep breath. “I want you so badly, Mack. You’re the only thing I’ve ever wanted just for me. I’m not doing well without you and that makes me ashamed.”

She shrugged one shoulder delicately, “On a purely non-emotional level, I understand it has been less than eight days and is bizarre in the extreme to have attached so completely to you. My only relief is in knowing I’m not the only one. Brooke and Sidney are suffering, though I’m the worst at hiding it. I believe it’s because we three have been achingly lonely, have had to be strong for different reasons, stronger than most women our age usually have to be. We managed to meet the only men we would trust to show our weaknesses to. It scares me to death, Mack.”

He’d been tracing her features with his fingers while she made her confession and he felt his heart fill to a level he’d never thought himself capable. “Don’t be afraid, Jeanette. I won’t hurt you, I’ll only love you.” He bent to kiss her and her hands moved over him constantly. “I love how tactile you are. I’ve missed you, baby. So much.”

She pulled him over her and both of them shoved their clothes away urgently. Surging to his base inside her, he immediately realized he’d forgotten a condom. Stroking into her pussy bare was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before and he wanted to keep going. He started to pull out and she kept him to her.