“Yes, ma’am.”
Ren reached out to snatch up a rubber, ripped the package, and handed her the protection. Once he was covered, she moved to straddle him. Oh, hell no. Not this time. It wasn’t every day that a man told the woman of his dreams that he loved her. The sex was going down his way. “Uh-uh, sweetheart,” he said before rolling her from his body and positioning himself between her thighs. “Hang on for the ride.”
Taking his erection in hand, he dragged the heavy head of his cock over the drenched flesh of her pussy. He thumbed her clit, rubbing, circling, and within seconds, Sadie began to thrash beneath him. Slowly, he entered her damp, wet heat, loving the way her body clenched around him. Seated to the hilt, need running wild in his blood, he paused to look at her.
How could he have lied to himself that leaving Sadie was best for either of them? Dumb. Reckless. He might have lost any chance at happiness, and there was no doubt this woman was made by God just for him. “I love you, Sadie.”
“Oh, Ren.” She twined her legs around his hips, brushed her hands over his chest, and lovingly stroked his cheeks. “More than life itself. I love you so much.”
Slowly, he pushed into her welcoming body. In. Out. In. Out. He wanted the moments to last, but love for her and that aching savage need suddenly overwhelmed him. Ren slammed hard then repeated the action as Sadie writhed and clung. Up, up, he took her climbing with him into a well of pleasure that shook him with its intensity.
Sadie’s body quivered beneath him as her cries filled the room. He took her higher, leaving her teetering on that high wire before she finally gasped and fell apart against him. Ren grit his teeth as lust consumed him, and in a blast of hunger, he followed her to the edge of the world and back.
****
Early the next morning, they lay in exhausted sleep only to be rudely jarred awake by the insistent jangling of Ren’s pager.
“Fuck.” Ren mumbled the word then rolled from Sadie’s warm body to grab the thing.
“You have to go.”
Her words were softly spoken, and the tinge of worry and sadness was unmistable. Their time was over. At least for a while.
“Yeah.” Ren scrubbed his face and reached for his cell phone. He punched in Coyote’s number. “Pick me up outside the hotel where I’m staying.” He rattled off the address then listened. “Okay. Meet you out front in twenty.”
Ren stood from the side of the bed. “I have to go.”
“Yes. Yes I know. How can I help?”
As he walked toward the bathroom, he glanced over his shoulder at Sadie, hating everything about his quick leave-taking. “Could you make sure everything is in my bag? I packed most of it up last night but could you double-check?”
“Of course. Grab your shower.”
A few minutes later, he emerged from the steamy bathroom to see Sadie standing quietly on the balcony. He pulled on some clothes, clipped the pager into the waistband of his jeans, and set his small bag at the foot of the bed before heading out to joint her. “Some of the team will be here in a few minutes. I don’t have much time.”
Sadie turned with a little cry and launched herself into his arms. Tears drenched the front of his T-shirt, and the only thing he could do was hold on for dear life. Every moment was precious, and they were passing faster than a speeding bullet.
“Don’t cry, honey,” he whispered into her hair. “I don’t know where I’m going or when I’ll be stateside again, but you’d best be ready for it. Shh. Shh. Now listen to me. I want you to go back home and make some plans.”
“Plans?” She looked up. “What kinds of plans?”
Ren kissed her quickly, his heart in his throat. “Marriage kind of plans. You know the drill. Church. Flowers. All that foo foo frilly shit you ladies like. What kind of ring do you want?”
Sadie cocked her head. “Big. Sparkly. Ostentacious. That’ll do it.”
Ren grinned then felt it fade. “I’m asking you to marry me, sexy Sadie. Will you? What do you say? I promise to love you forever even though I won’t be around every day to tell you so. Does that sound like a deal?”
She nodded, her eyes brimming. “Sounds like a hell of a deal to me. I love you. Please come back to me.”
“Count on it.”
With one last kiss, he was out the door. Please God don’t let him cry in front of the team. He’d never forgive himself though he knew they would. A black SUV waited out front. Ren opened the door to the sound of down and dirty rock blasting from the radio, and after tossing his bag inside, he looked up.
As he expected, Sadie still stood on the balcony, watching him, and he knew she was struggling, too. Suddenly, she smiled, giving him the best kind of image to carry with him into the field. In true Sadie-style, she kissed her fingertips and threw the invisible kisses his way. Yeah, there was a knot in his throat, but there was also the best kind of happiness curling warmly through his body.