Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Anthony stared at the closed door for several moments, waiting for his legendary patience to take hold. Okay, he really didn’t have any patience. Not when it came to his personal life. Work, he was good. It was one of the reasons he made a good NCIS agent. No matter what he was working on, he could sift through the evidence and find the culprit. Too bad he didn’t have that patience when it came to women—especially Lalani. Really, only Lalani. There was something about her that got under his skin.

He drew in a deep breath and counted backwards from ten. He needed something to keep himself busy. He went and got that glass of water he said he wanted. He sucked down the first glassful and then filled it up again. This time, he sipped it as he went back into her living room.

This was his fault. It had been his dumbass idea to come down to see her. It had been so hard not to casually stop by in the last few days. He had fought the urge for a little while, but now…he didn’t know what the hell to do.

He walked to the sliding glass door that led to her lanai and studied the bustling street below. It was late afternoon so locals and tourists littered the streets and the beach. It was especially hot today, but no one cared. They were in Hawaii, they had spent a fortune and they refused to take it easy. He shook his head. What a fucking waste. Then he smiled. Damn, he might become a Haole yet.

“What has you looking so smug, Santini?”

He turned and stopped at the sight of her. She’d let her hair down, and the curls cascaded over mostly bare shoulders. Anthony was sure she thought nothing of the yellow sundress she’d slipped on in a hurry. It was simple in its form, but it draped over her curves perfectly while adding a glow to her skin. His fingers itched to slip beneath the spaghetti straps.

“Santini? Anthony?”

He shook his head, then cleared his throat. “I was just thinking about how stupid tourists are.”

She smiled. “Why did you think that?”

“It’s hot out, but they are running from place to place, ignoring the beauty around them.”

She nodded. “Ready?”

Ready? He was beyond ready. He was probably ready the moment he saw her.

“Ah…”

He had to make a decision. It was wait forever, and let the feeling fade away, or confront his attraction head on.

His father raised him to be a Marine, and that left him with one option.

He stepped forward and slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer to him. Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t resist. If anything, she moved with him just as he would expect a dancer to react.

“I know this might be stupid,” he said. “So, I guess we should both walk away.”

“Screw that,” she said and rose up to her tiptoes to kiss him. It was a simple kiss at first, just a pressing of her lips against his. Then, she slipped her hands up from his shoulders and cupped his face. He had the joy of watching her eyes flutter shut as she opened her mouth to let him invade.

The moment he did, he was lost to her. He pulled her closer. She pulled back abruptly, and he growled. Instead of being afraid, she laughed. He opened his eyes. Her eyes were shining with amusement, her smile wide. Something tugged at his heart. She was such a happy person, and being with her made him so fucking happy, he didn’t know what to make of it. Before he could come up with an answer, she took control of the situation.

“Come on.” She took his hand as if she meant to lead him into the bedroom like a little boy. He wasn’t about to let her do that. He stopped, yanked on her hand until she turned back around. Quickly, he lifted her up in his arms. She giggled, and the light sound moved through him. It was a magical sound that he knew he had taken for granted one too many times. But at this moment, in this time, he knew he was the one who had made her laugh, and he felt like he owned the world.

When he did nothing but stand there and stare at her, her smile faded. “What?”

He shook his head and kissed her. “Just sounded nice.”

“Oh, no, Santini, don’t get too nice on me. We might have issues then.”

He shook his head as he took her to the bedroom. “Any other woman would melt when I said their laughter sounded nice.”

“Why do I care what other women would do? And why would you care at this moment? You have me.”

He stopped in front of her bed. How could this woman he needed to have so badly do this to him? She was arguing with him even as he was taking her to bed.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you have a big ego?”

She snorted. “Pot, kettle, black.”

With a laugh, he tossed her on the bed and followed her down. She bounced up with a laugh, then moaned as he pressed his lips against her. The sound of it skated across his flesh and sunk into his soul. From the moment he met her, he had been a little out of control and now, he relished it. He wanted nothing more than to lose every bit of his restraint and just feel.

But—he also wanted to take his time. He pulled back from the kiss, and she protested by pressing her hand against the back of his head. He was laughing as she took possession of his mouth. His blood heated to boiling as his arousal surged. Soon, though, he needed more. He needed to feel his flesh against hers. He pulled back and this time Lalani let him go.

Anthony slipped from the bed and pulled her along. With fast movements, he slipped the sundress off her body. It slipped down, each inch revealing golden brown skin. She was wearing a strapless bra and matching panties. It was all lace and silky material.

His first instinct was to rush, but something told him to take his time. This moment was important. He skimmed the back of his knuckles over the tops of her breasts. Then he walked around her, keeping physical contact with her the entire time.

“I feel like you’re going to kick my tires.”

He chuckled. “Sorry, but lord, woman, if I had known that reality was better than the fantasy, I don’t think I would have lasted a day without trying to get you into bed.”

“Are you telling me that you fantasized about me?”

He chuckled. “Oh, yeah. Morning, noon, and night, Hawkins.”

Leaning forward, he kissed her shoulder and saw her quick smile. Again, something nudged at him, pulling on his heart—and other important bits. It left him lightheaded, but he shoved it aside again.

With easy, slow movements, he undid her bra, letting it fall to the floor with her dress. The woman was made of long, lean muscles and fragrant, golden brown skin. And lord help him, her ass. He had fantasized about it more than once, but he had never known perfection like this existed in the world. Her training had made her what she was on the outside, but add that to the woman he was starting to get to know, and he was overwhelmed.

He lifted her hair up and over her shoulder. He kissed the nape of her neck.

“Hmm.” It was all that came to mind. His body was raring to go, and he was pretty sure all the blood in his brain had drained. He kissed his way down her spine, then leaned down to slip her panties off. He turned her around, laying her out on the bed again. She settled back on her elbows and frowned.

“Don’t think you aren’t getting naked, Santini.”

He chuckled. “I don’t have to be warned more than once.”

In what he was sure was record time, he’d slipped off his clothes, then stepped close to the bed. She sat up and wrapped her hand around his erection. He closed his eyes as he tipped his head back. With nimble movements, she stroked him, testing his already strained control. A shudder moved through him before he could stop it.

He took the sweet torture until he knew it had passed beyond his control.

“Enough,” he said, pushing her back onto the bed. When he saw the knowing little smile, he decided to pay her back for that.

First though, he took in the sight of her. God, almighty how had he gotten so damned lucky?

He kissed her mouth first, taking his time to drink in the unique flavor of her. Slowly, he kissed his way down her neck, scraping his teeth over her pulse point, then licking it before moving further down.

When he reached her breasts, he teased one, pinching it between his fingers as he bent his head to pull the other between his lips. He pulled her to the edge of the bed, and spread her legs wide. After kneeling beside the bed, he pressed his mouth against the very center of her. Slipping his tongue into her sex, he shuddered again. The sweet, pungent taste of her danced over his taste buds. She moaned his name and started to keep rhythm with him, lifting her hips off the mattress.

He slipped his hands under her ass and lifted her up, controlling her movements. He continued to taste and tease, pulling back each time he felt her nearing the edge of completion. Soon, though, he knew he had pushed himself too far. He needed to be inside of her, to lose himself to the pleasure.

With his hands and his mouth, he pushed her over the precipice. She slipped her hands into his hair and held him against her sex. As she shouted his name, she convulsed, her body bucking up against his mouth. He didn’t stop there. As she was coming down from her orgasm, he stroked her into other one.

Anthony would have loved to take his time and give her more pleasure, but he just couldn't take a chance on embarrassing himself. He stood, grabbed his shorts, so he could get a condom. By the time he had it on; his hands were shaking. She had already moved further onto the bed and he joined her there. Settling on his knees, he grabbed her hips. They both moaned when he started moving. He couldn’t wait, couldn’t savor the moment. Not now. As he drove into her again and again, he thought of nothing else but their mutual gratification.

She wrapped those long legs around him, squeezing him closer. She met him thrust for thrust as he neared his orgasm. He kissed her then, stealing inside for another taste of her. In that moment, her inner muscles squeezed his cock hard as she came once again. He followed her, thrusting into her one last time and losing himself to pleasure.