Chapter 35

Aaron laid her on the bed and then quickly stripped, revealing a lean and muscled body that made her mouth water. He followed her down onto the sheets. The weight of him pressed between her thighs felt wonderful.

Her alarm clock combined with the city lights through her thin curtains provided enough illumination to see by.

She watched his eyes heat to inky black as he took her in, leaning on his elbows. He kissed her, tongues tangling, lips exploring, the taste of him filling her senses. It had been so long that the need for him ripped through her and made her muscles clench. She wanted this. She couldn't believe he was here or that she wanted him this much. She needed him, before he changed his mind or came to his senses.

Before she did.

He surprised her when he pulled away, lifting her nightgown to reveal her abdomen and matching panties. A friend who lived in the UK had sent her the clothes along with a subscription to a dating app a few years ago. She'd never worn them. Never looked at the app. She didn't even know why she'd kept the nightclothes—until now.

He inched down the bed and licked her through the silk, zeroing in on her clit without effort. She jolted in surprise. He pressed down harder with his tongue, and her back arched up off the bed. He took advantage of the move by sliding his hands under her ass and lifting her to his mouth. His tongue slid down the side of the panties before he pulled the thin strip of material to one side. He found her center, sinking deep and making her toes curl as the air evaporated from her lungs.

The bristles of his beard and the warm breath on her most sensitive skin made her cry out but he quickly pulled away.

"As much as I want to hear you scream in pleasure, the slightest noise will have this whole house on high alert and the guys rushing in here to save you."

She laughed quietly even though she was appalled by the notion. She whispered, "Are we having stealthy sex, Operator Nash?"

"We are having covert, stealthy sex. Hell, we are having black ops sex, and if anyone finds out I will have to kill them." He reared back and dragged the scrap of silk down her legs before tossing it aside. "But I can't seem to help myself."

He crawled back up the bed and his mouth was on her, inside her again, driving her higher and higher. She kept the noises inside because no way did she want to get Aaron in trouble, nor did she want anyone else to know their business. Everyone thought they knew everything about her.

This was private.

Very private.

And, oh my God, Aaron Nash knew his way around a woman's body. She tried to hold on, but he pinched her nipple between two fingers and then licked her hard while his fingers filled and stretched her. She rocketed so quickly over the edge she had to bite back the cry that caught her completely by surprise as she shattered into a billion particles of stardust that shimmered through her body.

She grabbed his hair and pulled the dark silky strands between her fingers.

"Come up here for a moment, soldier."

He crawled up her body but stopped at her breasts, stretching the material of her nightgown tight across her nipples before sucking on them with his hot mouth, gently scraping them with his teeth.

"Oh, my God," she whispered. The wet material rubbed the hard beads of sensitive flesh, driving her mindless with lust, and she didn't know what to hold onto to ground herself. "You are so good at this. Did you take classes somewhere? Is that what you're a professor in?"

She loved the flash of a grin he gave her. "No, but I appreciate the performance eval."

"Keep it up, and you'll get an A-plus."

His smile turned grim around the edges. "I'll do my best."

She ran her hands over his shoulders. "I want you inside me, Aaron."

He reached over and snagged a condom off the side table, and she grabbed it out of his hand and tore open the packet, reaching down to sheath him.

She widened her legs, and he positioned himself against her before holding her gaze as he slowly eased inside.

Her nails dug into his back, and she wrapped her legs around him, pressed her heels into his ass as he slowly filled her up.

It felt incredible.

He rocked forward, trapped her head between those large hands of his and held her gaze as he filled her again, and again, and again.

"You're beautiful." His words matched his expression, and they scared her a little.

She hadn't expected to feel the intensity of this quite as keenly as she did, but it had been a long time and marked a lot of firsts. It would be stranger if she wasn't knocked off balance and disoriented by the experience.

It was just sex, but sex was an intimate act, which was why it was such a betrayal when the trust was broken.

She tilted her pelvis to take him deeper still. He groaned softly, nuzzled her neck, her ear. His hand found her breast, and his fingers found her nipple, stroking it, playing with it, finally pinching it until her back arched again, and she exploded into convulsions of pure ecstasy.

He waited for her to come down again, to float back to reality, before he carefully rolled them over so she was on top.

The snow outside made the room so bright she could see every perfect inch of him.

"I don't know if I can do that again." Her voice was a murmur in the velvet darkness.

"Try." His black eyes challenged.

She nodded, then began to move, cautiously at first, then with more confidence. This position gave her all the control but also meant he was as deep inside her as it was possible to be.

She'd forgotten how good it could feel.

He dragged her nightgown up over her head and tossed it away. The desire in his eyes grew feral. The clench of his jaw tighter.

His hands gripped her thighs as she rode him. She went slowly at first, cautious until she found her rhythm, then faster, harder, feeling the need build higher again, the expectations and anticipation coiling inside her. On and on, driving him, driving them both with utter absorption in this connection, this want. And then he wrapped his arms around her so she was immobile as he thrust deeper and harder, and she felt the ripples of his release set off another orgasm as her muscles spasmed around him. Afterward, she lay sprawled across his chest, unable to move, her muscles lax and sated.

He rubbed his hand over her back and nuzzled her neck.

She wanted to thank him but that might sound weird.

A light came on his phone, and he reached over and grabbed it, still inside her.

She went to move away, but he gripped her to him. He read the phone screen and put it down again. Reached for the condom before letting her ease away.

He rolled up and went into the bathroom. She heard the tap run for a while as if he were washing up and the toilet flush before he came back.

She supposed she should cover herself, but instead she lay there on the bed, completely naked. She wanted him to see her. She wanted him to want her again. She didn't want reality to crash in on them yet.

His eyes latched on to her naked body.

"Something important you need to do?" she murmured.

"Novak said the marshals think they have Somack and Roberts cornered in a small wood not far from where they were last spotted."

She moved up the bed. "Does that mean you have to leave?"

He looked uncertain for a moment. "I can't sleep here, Hope. Not tonight. Maybe when this is over?—"

"I wasn't thinking about sleep, Aaron." This wasn't about the future. This was about the now. She bent her knee and watched him swallow.

"Do you have to leave right now?" She ran her hand down her front.

He huffed out a breath. "I admire your confidence in my abilities."

"Lie down." She patted the sheet. "Let's see if I can help."

He stood there for a long moment and then finally lay down on the bed. She stretched out in the other direction and started by kissing the delicate bridge of his left foot. He jerked softly, clearly ticklish. She worked her way up to his ankles, his strong calves, figuring out the muscle and bones that made up this man. Suddenly, he grabbed one of her ankles and dragged her across him, way up the bed until he could once again feast with his mouth, and she discovered the astonishing recovery power of a virile man.