Embrace the Night (5 page)

“Your wish is my command.”

Chapter 8

Zack edged closer, dropped a kiss on her knee, and then ran a trail of them up one thigh until he was at her center.

There was a noticeable tan line just above the darker triangle of carefully trimmed hair and he placed a kiss along that line before shifting lower.

His hands shook as he bent his head to her center and found the sensitive nub there.

A sharp gasp escaped her as he tongued her clit and then licked his way all across her lips before another long lick along the nub.

“Zack,” she murmured and cradled the back of his head, urging him on.

He shot a quick glance at her and shifted his hands up to cup her breasts and the tight buds of her nipples.  He tweaked the tips and she closed her eyes and butted her hips toward his mouth.

She draped her legs over his shoulders and he buried his head against her center, licking and sucking the delicate flesh while he played with her nipples.

Her soft cries of pleasure and the shift of her hips and legs, pushing toward him and opening to give him greater access, drove him on.

He dropped one hand to her center and as he swept his tongue along her nether lips, he found her clit with his thumb and applied pressure, dragging a long needy moan from her.  Beneath his lips he felt the pulsing of her vagina and his cock swelled and jerked at the thought of being inside her.

But first he wanted her to come.  He wanted her to experience the pleasure that he sensed she’d not had in a long time.

Dipping his fingers down, he eased one in and then another while shifting his mouth to her clit.  As he stroked her with his fingers, he sucked at the nub until her body was shaking against his and lifting from the edge of the bed, seeking release.

“That’s it, Sam.  Come for me.  Let yourself go,” he urged and continued to work his fingers along the slickness of her vagina.

“God, Zack.  It feels so good.  So good,” she said, eyes closed.  Her body arching toward his.

“Come for me,” he urged yet again and stroked her harder, feeling the first glimmers of her climax tightening around his fingers.  Knowing she was so close, but holding back, almost as if afraid of letting go.

“I’m here to catch you, Sam.  I’m here,” he said and bent his head and kissed her clit again.

Her release burst against him a second later.

Her back arched ever higher and she keened with pleasure, but he wasn’t done satisfying her just yet.

He shot to his feet and positioned himself at her center, his cock nudging the damp folds.

She opened her eyes and met his gaze.  “Yes. Please, yes.”

Sam bit her lower lip as Zack drove in and her release climbed ever higher.  Her body shook and she could feel herself tightening around him, drawing him into her core.

Drawing him into a part of herself she hadn’t given anyone access to in a long time.

“God, you’re so beautiful.  So perfect,” he said as he paused deep within her.

She was far from perfect.  She was broken in so many ways, but with him . . .

Over the many months of knowing him, she’d come to believe that she could be different with him.  That she could maybe be whole again.

Maybe . . .

All thought fled her mind as he finally moved, drawing her up again into the pleasure of the physical.  Of being with this very special man who despite his pain and his scars, could live and love again.

He pumped in and out slowly at first and her climax ramped up with each thrust until she was rising up off the bed, meeting his every thrust.  Begging for him to take them both over since the passion was almost too much to bear.

A long low groan escaped from him and he dug his fingers deeper into her hips, holding her tight as he increased his pace.  His flesh slapping against hers until with one sharp drive, he took them over, his gaze locked on hers.

He was so beautiful
, she thought, reaching up across the fine lines on his sweat damp chest to the back of his neck to draw him down to her.

She kissed him, opening her mouth against his. Opening so much more with the gentle play of her mouth, offering him thanks and peace and . . . love.

Yeah, I could love this man
, she thought as he returned the kiss in a way that made her feel treasured.

After long moments of the kiss, he shifted away slightly and asked, “You okay?”

She smiled and nodded.  “Way more than okay.”

He grinned, that sexy boyish full of life grin that she’d seen earlier as he surfed.

“Would you like to stay the night?”

Chapter 9

Zack couldn’t imagine anything better than spending the hours with her in her bed.  Except maybe waking up in the morning with her beside him, all sleep warm and mussed.

“I’d love to.  Let me just do one thing,” he said and with regret, pulled out of her to head to the nearby bathroom.

Inside he washed up and grabbed a washcloth, wet it with warm water.  When he returned, she was still on the edge of the bed, waiting for him.

He smiled, joined her, and with tender strokes, he bathed her center with the washcloth.

“That feels good. Thank you,” she said and cupped his cheek.

Grinning, he said, “I have to admit that at first I didn’t really like getting a sponge bath.  Maybe it was ‘cause I was feeling like shit and wallowing in self-pity.  But I got to like them.  They were relaxing.”

He turned and tossed the washcloth back into the bathroom.  “I’ll pick that up later,” he said.

She rubbed her hand across the lean muscles of his chest and with a sexy purr she said, “Or maybe I can give you a bath later.”

His dick jerked with the thought, but it was way too soon for another round.  He wanted time with her that wasn’t just about having sex.

Fuck me, I’ve gone all sensitive guy
, he thought, but grinned with the pleasure filling him.

“I’d like that, but first, how about we just rest a little.” He bit back a comment about cuddling because that would totally cost him the last of his manhood, but shit, he did want to cuddle with her.

She scooted up toward the headboard, ripped down the sheets and patted the space beside her.

He sat on the edge of the bed and hesitated.  He didn’t sleep with the prosthetic, but taking it off now was awkward.

“Could you . . . ?” he stopped short, suddenly not ready for the kind of intimacy he’d been anticipating just moments earlier.

He felt the weight on the mattress shift and shot a look over his shoulder.  She had flipped onto her side, her back to him, obviously aware that he’d needed those few seconds of privacy.

Breathing easier, he depressed the buttons to break the vacuum that helped keep his leg on and eased it off. Then he removed the sleeve that protected his skin and create a seal for the prosthetic. There was immediate relief from the pressure of both the sleeve and artificial leg against him and a sense of freedom that almost matched that of having it on and being able to walk again.

Slipping beneath the sheets, he spooned against her back, wrapped an arm around her waist, and dragged her close.  She was a perfect fit against him with her sweet butt right against his cock, her long lean back nestled all along his torso and her head tucked just beneath his chin.  Heat immediately built between them and he savored the feeling of having her beside him.

Sam rested her hand against his, enjoying the warmth of his body all along hers and the pleasant weight of his arm around her waist, keeping her near.

I could get used to this
, she thought, grateful that she’d taken a chance to explore the attraction between them.  Wondering if she could be brave enough to let it be something that grew beyond this one night of pleasure.

“This is nice,” he said, echoing her thoughts.

“Mmm,” she murmured, loathe to say a word and shatter the peace she was feeling at that moment.

He sighed deeply and the action brought them ever closer.  She snuggled back even tighter against him and let herself melt into the moment.

Long minutes passed. The arm around her waist relaxed and he fell away a little, but kept her tucked to his side.  His deep even breaths confirmed that he had fallen asleep.

She let herself drift into that place between wakefulness and sleep where everything was not quite as clear and time just seemed to tick by in slow motion.

She spent a lot of time in that in between world at night, barely asleep, but not quite awake.

She hadn’t really been able to fully sleep since Afghanistan and that fateful night she’d come alert to find herself in the middle of an unexpected fire fight.

They were supposed to have been far from danger during their patrol.  No one had reported any Taliban in their area and the river patrol she’d been on had confirmed that.

They’d been so wrong.

The Taliban had come out of nowhere.  Too many of them to fight and she’d been taken prisoner.

She fought back the images of the days that followed.  Of the beatings and threats of rape.  She was surprised they hadn’t done that right away, although they’d certainly taken their liberties as she lay there bound and naked.

Freedom had luckily come quickly as the Army had scrambled a team to rescue them.  In less than a week she was back on her ship where she had been serving with Mark.

On the outside the bruises and scrapes had healed and she’d put on a brave face to not show what was inside.

Fear.

Pain.

Doubt and oh man, doubt was the absolute worst of the emotions.

Like Mark had said earlier that day, any decision was better than indecision.

In the years since her capture and torture, she’d just been running in place.  Afraid to make a choice because on some level she held herself responsible for what had happened that night.

She’d been the leader on that Riverine Squadron mission and she’d trusted the intelligence she’d been given.  She’d trusted her own observations about the lack of any threat.

She’d been wrong on both counts and she and her men had paid the price.  Luckily without any deaths, but not without all of them being wounded in one way or another. Whether physically or emotionally damaged, she felt responsible.

Turning, she faced Zack, who lay asleep on his back.

A hint of a smile teased the corners of his mouth in sleep, making him look more youthful.  Maybe because at twenty-eight he was still young. Younger than her by half-a-dozen years, not that it mattered considering what they’d already experienced in their lives.

They were both old beyond their physical years.

His upper torso was bare, revealing the planes and valleys of his lean muscles and the evidence of the trauma he’d suffered.

A magnificent body despite the scars.  Maybe even more impressive because of them.

She traced the edges of his smile with her fingertip and the smile grew broader as his eyes fluttered open.

He turned onto his side and propped his head up on one arm.  “I can tell you’re deep in thought.”

Puzzled, she was about to ask him why, but he quickly said, “You have a very expressive face.  Poker is definitely not your game.”

She smiled.  “No, it isn’t.  The guys cleaned me out my first time.”

“What were you thinking about?” he asked and bracketed his hand around her waist.  He gently stroked the tender flesh there with his thumb.

“You,” she said and laid her hand on his chest.  She lightly ran her fingers along the network of scars there as she moved downward before laying her hand along the swell of his hip.

“How did it happen?” she asked and couldn’t fail to notice the way his body stiffened beneath her touch and he tightened his hold on her.

The smile on his lips thinned into a harsh line, but then he blew out a rough breath and the words tumbled from him.

“We were on a mission in Kandahar.  Rolling down the road when we started taking fire.  An RPG landed close by, disabling our Humvee and we had to run for cover.  We made it to a nearby building when I realized two of my men had been hit and were out in the open, easy targets for whoever was firing on us.  I told my men to provide cover for me and with one other man, we ran out to get our guys.  We’d almost made it back to the building when an explosion sent us flying.  I remember landing hard and feeling heat all over my body.  Then I blacked out.”

She ran her hand up and down his side, offering comfort.  He took a long shuddering breath and held it for a second before finishing.  His gaze locked on hers, gauging her emotions.

“When I woke up it was in an Army hospital.  My men had been able to fight off whoever had attacked us and gotten all of us back to base alive.  I was grateful we hadn’t lost anyone, but then reality hit.  Reality and pain.  With every breath, there was pain until I finally started to heal.”

Healing.  Something she hadn’t really done in the many years since her own ordeal.  But Zack’s story brought hope and more.

“I admire what you’ve gone through, Zack.  How strong you are,” she said and looked away, unable to face his intense gaze.

With tenderness, he put his thumb and forefinger beneath her chin and applied gentle pressure to urge her head upward.  “You’re strong, too, Samantha.  You’ve survived and when you’re ready to move on, you will.”

She shook her head and sniffled. “I’m not sure I can. I feel so . . . lost sometimes.”

Something tightened around his heart at the thought of her pain.  He cradled her jaw and swiped his thumb across her cheek to wipe away a tear.  “You’re not alone.  You have all your friends.  Me.  I’m here to help.”

A ghost of a smile flitted across her lips.  “You can’t even begin to understand how much you’ve already helped, Zack.  Tonight . . . it’s the first time in so long that I feel almost normal.”

He slipped his thumb across that faint smile and offered up a big grin.  “I feel the same, but it doesn’t just have to be about tonight, Sam.  We can hold onto this feeling for more than just this night.”

She wanted to hold onto it.  She wanted to embrace tonight and the promise of tomorrow that he brought into her life.