Again. And again. Over and over, until she was nothing but a trembling mass of sensation.
She lost track of time as she lay there, bound and helpless beneath him, while he teased and tasted her to the edge of orgasm. Her hands found the bottom of the wooden headboard. She clenched her fingers around it and held on tight, breathless and desperate for an end to the beautiful torture, little whimpers spilling from her.
"Ryan, please … " she finally managed, panting, her heart thundering out of control.
He looked up the length of her body at her, his dark eyes smoldering with a blend of satisfaction and need that shook her to the core. Slowly, deliberately, he flattened his tongue and licked up the length of her swollen sex, pausing to swirl around her clit.
Her eyes slammed shut, all her muscles tensing as the release she craved suddenly came within reach.
Then he was gone.
Her eyes flew open, a disappointed gasp in her throat. Before she could utter a single protest he was fisting the length of his rigid cock as he moved between her legs.
Face set in harsh lines of need, he braced one hand beside her face and settled the head of his erection against her slick folds. "You're mine," he rasped out, and something in his tone tugged at her heartstrings, made her wish her hands were free so she could hold him, reassure him that yes, she was and always would be his.
The words she'd been about to speak died in her throat as pressure and heat filled her. He was so thick, so damn hard, filling every inch of her, taking away the empty ache. She moaned and set her feet flat on the bed to roll her hips. Ryan fisted one hand in her hair and bent to cover her mouth with his as he thrust deep.
She cried out, his deep growl smothered by the kiss. She tasted herself on his tongue as he drove it between her lips, the erotic act pushing her arousal even higher. The hand in her hair held her head still, his weight pinning her to the mattress.
Breathless, she wrapped her legs around his, increasing the friction between their bodies each time he moved. Every thrust and withdrawal dragged the length of his cock against the sweet ache inside her.
Whimpering into his mouth, Candace gripped him tighter with her legs and pushed up harder, desperate for more. Ryan slipped his free hand between them and settled his thumb over her clit, giving her the exact friction she needed to send her soaring.
The muscles in her thighs and belly shook as she rocked up and down in counterpoint to his thrusts, each one harder than the last. Ryan took her hard, pillaging her mouth and body as he drove them both up to the peak.
She ripped her mouth free, her head tipping back on the pillow as she started to come, her needy cries echoing throughout the quiet room. He nipped her jaw, a low, shaky groan ripping free of his chest as he plunged in and out of her, then thrust deep and stiffened, his big body shuddering hard as he groaned her name.
She lay there panting beneath his heavy weight, eyes closed as the world seemed to spin around her. After a few minutes she registered the rapid beat of his heart against her chest and the sticky sweat that glued them together. The quiet hum of the air conditioning unit gradually penetrated the ringing in her ears.
She licked her lips. "Undo my hands so I can touch you." She was starved to feel him under her hands, stroke him all over. He loved it as much as she did.
He lifted up on one arm and reached past her to untie her wrists with three moves. The moment she was free, she wrapped her arms around his broad, damp back and hugged him as hard as she could. Maybe things weren't as strained between them as she'd feared. She desperately wanted everything to get sorted out, to feel as close to him emotionally as she did physically in this moment, but not now, because she didn't want to ruin it.
"That was a memorable hello. Don't think I'll be forgetting it anytime soon," she murmured, stroking his hair, his wide shoulders.
His chuckle gusted against the side of her neck. "Good." He sighed, his entire body relaxing in her embrace, and that show of trust from such a strong man turned her heart over.
She kissed his temple. There were so many things they had to talk about, but they could wait a little while longer. They would get through the transition in her career, just like they'd gotten through everything else.
"Tired?" she whispered.
"Yeah." He rolled them onto their sides, cradling the back of her head to keep her cheek to his chest while he wrapped his other arm around her hips, locking her to him. "Love you, Ace. Glad to be back home."
Something in his tone hinted that this deployment had been extra hard on him, and she got the feeling it wasn't just because of their fight. It made her even more glad that she'd bitten her tongue while he'd been away. "Love you too." She dragged the covers up over them and snuggled into his warm, hard body.
Within minutes his breathing grew deep and even and his muscles twitched, telling her he was already asleep. Content as she was, a strange, bittersweet sadness filled her as she held him.
She was nestled in her husband's arms, his heart beating beneath her cheek, but as wonderful and intense as the sex they'd just shared had been, it hadn't fully erased the hurt she felt. They only had a few days together before she was due back in D.C. and he returned to Bagram. Before that happened, she intended to bridge the emotional gap between them in the remaining time they had left together.
Get out of your head and savor this. Savor him.
Shoving the worry aside for now, she concentrated on the feel of Ryan next to her, telling herself it was stupid to feel lonely when he was holding her so close, his grip tight and protective.
They would fix everything in the next day or two, and be stronger for it as a couple going forward. The important thing was that he was here safe in her arms, and far away from anything that could hurt him.
Chapter Three
When his phone rang, Eric woke from the light sleep he'd allowed himself to fall into. He snapped on the industrial-style lamp next to the drop-down bunk bolted into the concrete wall and squinted at the call display in the sudden brightness.
It was Lyle, his second-in-command. They both used specially encrypted phones that were changed every other day, to limit the chance of detection.
"Yeah," he answered, scrubbing a hand over his thinning hair. It was long. Too long. He needed to trim it soon, as well as shave.
The connection was muddled, something they were well used to by now, but Eric understood Lyle's words perfectly. "I just got off a call with the guy in Colorado. He's in."
A slow smile curved Eric's mouth. He'd been trying to recruit the man for months now, another step in his efforts to build his network around the country. Right now his powerbase was Montana and it spilled over slightly into Wyoming and Idaho too, but that was all about to change soon. "Excellent. That's good news."
"I didn't want to wait until morning to tell you."
"Understood. What about tomorrow's training exercise?"
"We've reconnoitered the campsite and it's still clear of any eyes and ears. Exercise is a go for oh-three-hundred. That gives us plenty of time to clear out before sunrise."
Good. "You've got the suppressors and night optic devices?"
"Picked them up this morning from the manufacturer."
One of their members was a skilled gunsmith. A handy thing to have, because trying to buy that many suppressors would have raised too many red flags and brought heat Eric couldn't afford. "How many members are attending the training?" More of an evaluation, really.
Their membership had doubled in the last four months, and was now in the low hundreds. With the volatile political climate being the way it was, Eric expected that to keep growing at an exponential rate.
Every single member had to be carefully screened first, of course, before being admitted into the organization. For security reasons, no one but Lyle and a handful of others had ever seen him. Eric preferred to work behind the scenes, recruiting and organizing. Only when the time was right would he reveal himself to his followers, who knew him only as The Captain.
"Around forty or so for this exercise. We didn't invite the entire Montana membership, to keep the numbers down in case anyone sees or hears anything."
"That's fine. Make sure to sanitize the area after, the way we planned." Standard operating procedure for his organization, to limit the amount of evidence left behind after a live-fire training exercise. Right now they had to be even more careful, so certain other measures were called for.
"Of course. Darryl said he delivered another shipment of supplies to you this afternoon?"
"He did. We're set for another six months here, maybe longer if we ration it more carefully." Eric glanced around the room he slept in.
Utilitarian. Cold. Devoid of any pictures or memorabilia that would give anyone a clue to his life or background. Only his weapons, ammo, and stockpiles of supplies were down here. If any Feds did get suspicious, start sniffing around, and actually find this place, he wanted them to think he was just some crazy prepper, obsessed with readying for the end of the world or whatever.
But he wasn't crazy. Although he was prepared for the end of the world, in a sense.
The end of the U.S. government was coming, sooner than anyone imagined. It would unleash a firestorm of chaos and anarchy, and he would be ready. When the flames of destruction finally died out, he'd be ready to take his place in the new, less corrupt and more just order that would rise from the ashes.