"I don't want you to have nightmares about everything after it's all over. I'm trying to protect you from this, not hide shit from you."
"I don't need protecting, Six."
"Yes, you do. I see you, Louisa. I see the brave face you're trying to put on this. But then I see the books on my shelves are now alphabetized and that the plants in the window are now in size order. You make your bed and leave the pillows perfectly in line, and everything in the fridge faces forward. And don't tell me it's OCD because if it were, you'd be compelled to do that kind of thing all the time. But you don't. You do it when you are scared. As soon as we sat down at the coffee table, you began to pile the rocks. Look."
She looked at the pebbles in the center of the wooden table that had formed a centerpiece with a large piece of driftwood. Without thinking, she'd separated them in such a way that they now ran from the palest gray to black, like a monochrome rainbow.
He marched over to her and pressed her back up against the wall, his hands on either side of her head. "So don't tell me you don't need protecting, Lou," he said, thunderously. "I see it even when you don't. And I want to be that guy for you."
His lips seared hers as anger and frustration gave way to the one thing that had been building between them. Of all the things he could have said or done, this was the only thing that could disarm her, leave her forgetting what exactly they had been fighting over. It wasn't resolved, but she was willing to table it until whatever this was was over.
His hands slipped around her waist, pulling her to him, and she slid her hands into his hair, holding on for dear life as his erection pressed against her hip. Dear God, she wanted him to take her. Right here. On the back porch, with the stupid creaking fan cooling them from above.
"Lou," he gasped just before his tongue entered her, and she groaned in response. He tasted of the mango smoothie he'd bought, and she shivered as his hand slid up inside her T-shirt and along her ribs until his thumb brushed across the lace of her bra.
"Please, Six," she groaned as he pressed more firmly against her. His phone, which he'd left on, began to ring, but thankfully he ignored it.
He lifted her T-shirt above her head and threw it onto the chair before returning his attention to her breasts. He reached around her back, nuzzling her neck as he did so, and popped the clasp of her bra. The straps fell down her arms, and he lowered his mouth along her clavicle and down her breastbone before sucking her nipple into his mouth. She threaded her hands back into his hair and gripped him to her, silently encouraging him to lick and suck harder, which he did, making her knees weak.
Heat gathered between her legs, and she desperately wanted to relieve the pressure. The phone began to ring again and he looked toward it. She reached between them, slid both her hands into his underwear, and gripped his erection firmly.
"God, Lou. Yes. Don't stop," he said, lifting his head to look at her, his blue eyes cooler than an arctic glacier. Heat was building between them, but one that was different from their first time together. This was flammable. She was going to combust if he didn't take her soon.
Excitement shivered through her as he thrust into her hand. He wanted her as badly as she wanted him. "Not here," he said. "My bed." They started to move toward the bedroom, her hand tucked into his, but the phone rang again. "Goddamn," he shouted, but picked it up anyway. With a cursory glance at the screen he answered it. "What?" he snapped. He ran his thumb over her nipple and winked. Perhaps it was because he was on the phone with someone else, but she suddenly felt exposed and raised her arm to cover her breasts. His hand dropped away, his face losing the desire that had been obvious in his hooded lids and slack jaw. The soldier was back as he bent down to pick up her bra and handed it to her.
"See you there in an hour," he said, and hung up the phone.
* * *
Sniper school had taught Six the most important lesson of all: how to simultaneously block out everything else around him and focus on the target, yet take in all the changes in the environment. And how to ignore the dull ache in his cock. Pulling away from Louisa had been an impossible task, but he had a mission. Never had it been so difficult to fall back into his role as a SEAL. Boyfriend was starting to have a nicer ring to it, and hopefully he'd make it back to her bed before she fell asleep.
For now, all he needed to do was focus on the job at hand. Their plan was simple: surround, surprise, and drive them to surrender.