Before the Mission Begins (When The Mission Ends) (6 page)

His obvious arousal bolstered her courage.
She nodded as she scooped up the wine glasses. “Hmm, you do make a convincing argument.” She strolled casually toward him, swaying her hips. When she got to him, she handed him the glass in her right hand and then slid her hand up under his t-shirt. He hissed in his breath at her sudden touch and the muscles flexed under her hand. She liked having that effect on him. It was empowering and pushed her to take it further.

She pushed up onto her tiptoes so that she could reach his neck with her mouth. There she slowly licked and nibbled, at the same time her hand travelled further up under his shirt. She found the hard apex of a nipple and flicked it with her fingernail. He groaned and reached around her waist with his free hand and pulled her up taut against him.

He whispered into her ear, “This is very nice, but let’s sit down, enjoy the fire, enjoy our wine, and talk.”

Talk?
What was she doing wrong that he wanted to talk rather than make out or do even more interesting other things? Finally, she was turned on enough that she thought she’d enjoy things and he wanted to talk. She cocked an eyebrow at him, trying to quell the frisson of alarm. “What do you want to talk about?”

He
sat and pulled her down beside him. “You said they were re-doing your kitchen and you obviously cook quite a bit. So what are you doing? Upgrading?”

She gave a self-deprecating laugh as she said, “Um, not quite. A couple of months ago, I accidentally torched my kitchen. It’s taken this long to get the insurance sorted and contractors in to fix it.”

His eyes widened. “You set your kitchen on fire and Cassie left you here unsupervised?”

“What? I’m not twelve. It was a freak accident. Besides,” she mumbled, “I brought a fire extinguisher with me.”

He laughed. “You can use your body like a lethal weapon and you come armed with a fire extinguisher. You’re definitely a surprise, Butterfly. How did I not realize that before?” He tugged her across the couch, leaning back into the corner and pulling her so that she leaned up against his chest.

They lay there watching the fire, with only the crackle of the flames breaking the silence. It was nice, relaxing. Julie would never have guessed that things could be so comfortable with Chris. He gently rubbed his fingertips along the band of exposed skin at the side of her
waist, sending chills up her spine. The sensation held the promise of something more. Julie trembled with need. She wanted more, more of his hands on her, more touching, more skin. That was surprising. Craving a man’s touch wasn’t a normal thing for her. It gave her hope and that scared her. She’d learned over the years that hope just led to heartbreak and disappointment.

“So tell me, why all the changes?” His voice was hushed the tone one would use with a scared animal.

A
bolt of annoyance shot through Julie. She wasn’t weak or vulnerable, but how could she explain her compulsive need to control things to him without sounding crazy either?

He would never understand about the never-ending lists, the sleepless nights, the stress, this horrible consuming need
to please. She mentally stopped herself. This was quickly becoming a list. None of those. She wasn’t that person anymore. She gave herself a shake and turned to lie against Chris’s muscular chest, focusing on the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat. “Actually, it was something my sister, Rachel, suggested. She knew I was having some issues getting past some things that have happened, so she suggested that it might help to step out of my normal persona for a while. She thought it might help me to adjust my coping mechanisms if I took on a completely different attitude toward things.”

He slowly rubbed one hand up and down her arm. “And is it helping?”

“It must. I’m here with you and enjoying things so far. Believe me, that isn’t the norm.”

He
rubbed his hand along her arm. “Good. I’m glad you’re having fun. So what’s the plan for dinner? I think we should find something to eat to go with our wine and make up a picnic in front of the fire for tonight. Does that sound good?”

She nodded and reluctantly pulled herself from the comfort of his body. As she did so, she placed a lingering kiss along his neck that
had his breath quickening, but he continued along their planned path anyway.

He gently brushed his lips against her temple. “Food first, then…”

* * *

Chris followed
Julie into the kitchen, mesmerized by the very feminine sway of her hips.
Down boy
, he chided his erection. He needed to take this slow. He still wasn’t even sure this was the best idea. Yes, absolutely he wanted her, but he didn’t want her to get hurt. But if what she said was true, she needed his help. Could he honestly turn his back on her, knowing she would just find someone else to help her work through this? The thought of her with another guy literally made him feel sick. Either way he was screwed. She’d work through her problems with someone else or he’d help her now and then she’d be free to enjoy someone else later. Fuck. There was no-win to this situation, except for this single night.

His throat tightened as he realized her nipples were hard and poking
through the layers of her t-shirt. He could have this. He could have her for one night. God help him, but he just couldn’t turn his back on this opportunity. He was a selfish bastard, but there it was. He was doing this.

“Chris!”

“What?” His eyes flashed up to hers. He’d gotten caught up in his ruminations. His gut clenched again.

She gave him a soft smile. “I asked you what are you in the mood to
eat?”

“Oh,
I’m sorry.” He shook his head to clear it. “Let’s do something light. After pizza for lunch, I don’t need a whole lot more.” Besides he was feeling more than a little anxious. Where was his wine? He looked around the kitchen counter tops, but didn’t see it. He must have left it in the living room. “I’m gonna go grab my wine while you look in the fridge. And I’ll get the living room set up, too.”

“Okay, can you get mine too, and top it off on the way back?”

“Sure thing.” He escaped into the living room, tended the fire, and took a deep breath. Why was he hyperventilating over this? This was Julie. He knew her. She knew him. No one was going to get hurt here. They both knew the score. This was only a single night and they both knew that. He could live with this. He had to.

When had he turned into such a girl?
Any other guy would be thrilled at this development. He adjusted his cock; at least that part of him was completely on-board. He needed to get his brain at the same place. There just weren’t any other options right now.

Sur
veying the room, he decided it wouldn’t work for how he hoped the night would progress. Romance. That’s what they needed tonight. He slid Cassie’s coffee table over to the side of the room, and then reached into her antique trunk she used as an end table to grab the quilt to spread over the floor. The pillows from the couch and chairs were haphazardly added next. This would be nice and romantic. Tonight, they would enjoy things. Tomorrow, he’d figure out how to deal with the rest.

He grabbed the glasses, topped them off, squared his shoulders, and headed back into the kitchen.

When he came in, she was assembling a huge platter full of food and offered him a genuine smile.

“You said light and I know that all this doesn’t look light, but this is a European dinner. It’s perfect for nibbling and snacking and works well with wine. We can just set it on the coffee table and nibble on it all night long.”

He looked down over the assorted cheeses, both hard and soft, crackers, olives, peppers, breads and cubed meats. “It looks perfect. How about we put a movie in, too?”

She nodded and then looked shyly at him. “If that’s what you’d like to do, that sounds good.”

“It is, but first you have to answer one very important question.” He raised a single eyebrow at her and smiled.

“What’s that?”
She looked at him warily.

He reached around her waist
, needing to feel her gentle curves up against him. “Will you be my Valentine?”

Her eyes reflected surprise
and something else he couldn’t pinpoint as she murmured, “I forgot today was Valentine’s Day.”

Letting his teeth graze the top of her ear, he spoke low into it
, “That’s not an answer.”

A full-body shiver went through her, but her
smile was blinding when she met his gaze. “I’d love to be your Valentine.”

“Good.” He gave her a hard, fast kiss then grabbed the up the platter to take into the living room.

* * *

Chris had put on a romantic comedy movie that Julie hadn’t seen, but thirty minutes into it, she knew tomorrow she’d still be able to say she’d never seen it. How was she expected to concentrate on a movie when Chris was lying close enough to her that she could feel his body heat even better than the heat from the fireplace?

They were lying on the quilt on the floor,
touching the full length along their sides, propped up against the couch with all the pillows for support. The only light in the room came from the flames of the fireplace and the soft glow from the television. Chris hadn’t stopped touching her in some subtle way from the moment they sprawled on the floor and her nerves were sizzling with simmering arousal. Her core pulsed in rhythm to her heartbeat and her fingers twitched with the need to touch him. She couldn’t just lie here. She was going to burst into flame.

She rolled onto her side and angled a leg up over the top of his. Tugging at his shirt, she was able to find some of that hot, hard skin that spread across the ripples of his abs. Her fingers grazed lightly and she slowly found the courage to meet his eyes. What she saw there made her want to moan, roll over, and submit to him.

His sapphire eyes had darkened with arousal. In the firelight, they sparked and she suddenly knew what it felt like to be prey. She liked it. Her palms became damp, her nipples tightened, and arousal drenched her panties. He wasn’t moving. All his muscles had tensed under her fingertips, but that look pushed her on. She leaned over him and brushed her lips across his abdomen, but that wasn’t enough. She wanted to taste. Flicking her tongue out, her senses exploded. This was Chris, every fantasy she’d ever had, come to life under her tongue and fingertips. He tasted salty, but there was an underlying essence there that was wholly him and it was an aphrodisiac to her.

She explored his abdomen
with tiny nips and kisses, slowly working her way up the ridges of his stomach and the soft fur of his chest. His breathing had picked up, but he still restrained himself, letting her just explore his body at her leisure. When she came to the puckered disc of his nipple, she worked it with both her fingertips and tongue. His breathing hitched and a low, deep moan exploded from him. The power to do that to him was invigorating.

Lying fully on his body now, she could feel the evidence of his desire pressed against her
belly and she tilted her hips toward it as she used her teeth on his other nipple. Need for him overcame any lingering fears she may have experienced. Now, her focus was all about him.

His hips surged up to meet hers
, “Aw damn, Butterfly. You feel so fucking good. I need to touch you.”

Pushing his shirt out of the way, she instructed
, “Not yet. Let me first.” She tugged at his shirt again. “Take it off.” She lifted off of him so he could remove it.

“Yes, ma’am.”
He complied and her mouth dried at the sight of all that male hardness for her to explore.

She crawled up his chest, fully pressed against him. Her panties were sopping wet.

He leaned back and she could see the tension in him as he held himself in check to let her explore. “I’m halfway naked. It’s only fair that you shed some clothing too.” His voice was low and scratchy. “Besides skin on skin will feel that much better.”

Better? No
, nothing could feel better than this, but Julie was all for more skin. Right now she wanted to feel him all over her body. She sat up to pull off the layers of her top and he sat up to help her. Straddling his lap, there was no denying what throbbed between her legs and it felt so good. Ecstasy forced her eyes shut. Her distraction didn’t pull Chris from his goal, though. He tugged on the hem of her shirts and then she could feel nothing but the searing heat of his bare chest pressed up against her. So good.

She wiggled her hips as she reached around the back of his head to pull him closer. She needed to taste again and reached out to stroke her tongue against his neck.
One big hand palmed the back of her head and the other reached around her back to pull her closer. Closer she could agree with.

His hand trailed f
arther down her back to cup her butt and then inched under her skirt. She smiled into his neck as she heard the rumble of his groan across his chest.

“Garters
,” he said reverently. “I thought they were tights, but oh my God, they’re garters.” He explored farther. “And a thong. Butterfly, you’re killing me here.” A shudder worked up his body. She had a moment of warning with the tensing of his muscles before he rolled her underneath him.