Somehow Cayla foundthe muscle control to scoot back on the bed, leaving room for Holt to join her. He kept his eyes on hers as he lowered the zipper and eased the cargo pants and boxers down just enough to free his erection. She wanted to wrap her hands around the proud, thick jut of it, but she wasn’t quite sure how to handle this part of the proceedings, so she waited to take her cues from him. He turned his back to her, giving her a view of his magnificent ass as he sat and worked off his clothes. The outer sleeve of his prosthesis came all the way up his thigh. He rolled it down, carefully extracting his leg and setting the artificial limb aside. Then he rolled down the inner sleeve, and she spotted the deep groove on the outside of his leg. Up ’til now, he’d been very careful to shield her, always wearing shorts or undressing in the dark, but there was no hiding the scarring that told a story of incredible violence and pain.
She didn’t realize she’d gasped until his shoulders bunched.
“Shrapnel.” The word was clipped and brusque, ripe with unspoken horrors.
Not wanting to reopen that wound, Cayla crawled down to him, skimming her hands across those rock-hard shoulders, following with a slow trail of kisses. “Come to bed, warrior mine.”
He twisted to search her face. She held his gaze, letting all the raw heat and hunger show in her face because the last thing she wanted was for him to mistake her compassion for pity or disgust. At last, his shoulders relaxed, and he tipped her back with a wicked glint in his eyes.
Slowly, so maddeningly slowly, he kissed his way up the length of her body, starting at her ankles. Those nibbling kisses lit little fires in their wake, adding layer upon layer of sensation with each inch higher. At the juncture of her thighs, he took a detour that had her bucking and desperate.
“Oh God, I’m so close.”
“Good.” The heat of that one smug syllable against her center had her quivering at the edge.
She tightened her hand in his hair and tugged a little. “No. I want you inside me this time. Come here.”
For once, he followed orders, climbing the rest of the way up her body and reaching for a condom from the box on the bedside table. He rolled it on, giving his erection a testing stroke.
“Mine,” she breathed.
The corners of his mouth tipped up. “Yes, ma’am.”
He settled between her thighs, bracing himself above her with an arm on either side of her shoulders. Cayla loved having the weight of him over her, feeling him surrounding her. She reached between them, finally getting her hand on him as she guided him to her entrance and lifted her hips. “Now. Please.”
Face a mask of concentration, he pressed inside her, and she lost her breath. She was wet and so ready, but he was big.
“Okay?”
“So okay,” she gasped. “Don’t stop.”
He sank the rest of the way in, and she cried out at the sensation of him filling her up, her body arching in search of more. Then he began to move. A gloriously slow advance and retreat, going a little deeper with every stroke until he hit some vital point and made her shatter.
She was still shuddering when he rolled to his back, taking her with him so she straddled his hips. Dizzy, delirious from pleasure, she gasped again as he continued to move, his hands gripping her thighs.
“Ride me,” he ordered, and damn if that bossy tone didn’t have her body climbing again.
She could see him better from here, watch his face as she moved, learning what drew out that gasping growl. His eyes were blue flames on hers as she dragged her hands up her torso to cup her breasts, rolling her nipples as he’d done.
“Cayla.” He groaned her name, and it sounded as much like a prayer as a plea.
It had been so damned long since she’d felt like a woman. Since she’d felt desired. And she’d never felt wanted like this.
His exquisite control was starting to fray. She could feel it in the tightening of his grip, holding her tighter against him as his movements shifted in rhythm, holding longer inside her before he drew back and thrust again. A wave building, building as it got closer to shore.
He came on a roar, his head thrown back, the tendons in his neck cording. The pulse of him inside her tipped her impossibly over the edge again, into delicious madness.
Sweaty, exhausted, Cayla simply wilted down over his chest. It heaved as much as hers. From some deep reserve, he found enough energy to wrap his arms around her, turning his head to kiss her cheek. That little gesture of tenderness made her heart flutter, and she cuddled against him, basking in the sensation of closeness.
They lay in silence for a long time. So long, Cayla wondered if he’d fallen asleep. Summoning the last dregs of energy, she lifted her head a few inches to peer down at him.
His eyes were open and on her, the corners crinkled with a smile. “Well, I think we’re going to have to make some investment in soundproofing.”
She damned well wasn’t going to apologize for enjoying herself and him. “You’re lucky I don’t have the energy to smack you.”
“That wasn’t a criticism. I’m going to need to make you do that again as many times as possible.”
More than mollified, she folded her hands on his chest and rested her chin on them. “While I am fully in support of this plan, we’re going to have to get creative. New lock aside, we still have a very adorable cock blocker in the house.”
Holt stroked a hand down her spine, ending with a proprietary squeeze of her butt. “I’m extremely motivated.”
“I am extremely hungry. I say we clean up and go forage before taking all possible advantage of the time we’ve been given.”
“I might have brought something home from the bakery. Why don’t you go check. I’ll be along shortly.”
Understanding he needed a few minutes, she kissed him soundly and scooted off the bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom, she headed for the kitchen, grabbing Holt’s t-shirt off the floor and slipping it on. From the crate in Maddie’s room, Banana Bread stirred.
Her gold and black tail wagged as Cayla came in. “Guess we woke you. No surprise there. I’d apologize, but I’m really not sorry at all.”
BB trailed her into the kitchen, where she found a bakery box on the counter and pounced on it like a kid. Nestled inside was a stack of sugar-dusted lemon bars.
“Unicorn,” she murmured.
Lifting two out, she carried them with her as she opened the back door and stepped out onto the porch. The dog dashed into the yard and began to sniff.
“Stay close. We aren’t gonna have a repeat of this morning.”
While she waited for BB to do her business, Cayla took a huge bite. The tart, sweet buttery goodness melted on her tongue, dragging out another moan.
“Getting started on another round without me?”
“Hush, I’m having a religious experience here.” She shoved the rest of the bar into her mouth as she turned.
Holt stood framed in the doorway. The cut-off sweatpants he wore hung low on his hips, leaving the v-grooves on either side of his six-pack abs exposed. The sight had her mouth watering for a whole other reason. He strode out to join her, bending to skim his lips along her throat before taking a bite of the other lemon bar in her hand.
“These are amazing.”
“I had some time on my hands while I was waiting for the cake to cool. I know chocolate is Maddie’s favorite, but I was taking a guess that lemon is yours.”
“Good guess.” She took another greedy bite, sighing with utter contentment. “How many calories do you suppose orgasms burn?”
“No idea. We could probably google it.”