Page 102 of Peace Under Fire

He shrugged. “You’ll learn. I’ll teach you.”

“Really?” Surprise and hope echoed in her voice. She hoped she didn’t sound too needy or desperate. But…holy cow…this offer was a dream come true.

“Sweetheart,” his voice was gentle; so were his eyes, “everyone starts out with nothing but instinct to guide them. You might be behind the curve age-wise because of your circumstances, but everyone started out where you are now. You’re not alone in this.” He patted the blanket next to his hip. “Come on, sit down.”

She dropped to the blanket with much less grace than he had, and scuttled around until she was sitting next to him. Since he’d crossed his legs, she did too.

“We’ll start by getting you used to my touch. I’m going to put my arm around you. Remember, if anything makes you uncomfortable, let me know and we’ll try something else.”

“Okay.” She held her breath again as his arm settled around her shoulders. It felt good…warm and protective.

“Breathe, sweetheart. Relax. Nothing’s going to happen.”

She softened at the patience in his voice. But how long before she strained his tolerance? “You said I could ask you questions?”

“That’s right. What do you want to know?” His voice was easy, relaxed.

She snuck a peek at his crotch. There was a definite bulge there. She tensed and started to pull away. He instantly dropped his arm. It was insane how much she missed his warmth as soon as it was gone. Particularly since it was her action that had driven it away.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he said, his gaze gentle on her face.

She swallowed and forced the question out. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe that bulge was normal for him. “You have an…erection…don’t you?”

“I do.” He paused, searching her face. Whatever he saw there brought a frown. “You look worried. Why?”

“A bunch of those internet articles I read were from guys. And they all said an erection without release was painful. And that the woman responsible for causing the erection was nothing but a tease if she didn’t give it up right away.” The words tumbled out so fast, she wasn’t sure they made sense.

He threw back his head and laughed. “Christ, what a bunch of whiny bullshitters. They’ve probably never gotten laid and were trying to strongarm some poor woman into taking them to bed.”

The laughter reassured her. He wouldn’t laugh if it was true, right? “So that’s not true? An erection isn’t painful?”

“Most of the time it feels…sensitive, even pleasurable. Kind of tingly and warm. Although where you get one can turn things uncomfortable in a hurry.”

She leaned forward, intrigued. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve already noticed it’s difficult to hide an erection. Now imagine giving a mission briefing in front of your squad and commander and something reminds you of a certain brown eyed, brown haired woman in a purple, form fitting t-shirt that emphasizes her gorgeous tits… and boom, you get stiff.”

Her eyes went wide. “Shut up!” She slammed her palm into his shoulder, rocking them both back a couple of inches. “You’re making that up.”

He traced the sign of the cross above his heart. “I’m not. Swear to God. Every damn erection I’ve had over the past year has been because of you.”

She shouldn’t feel so happy about that. Really, she shouldn’t. Regardless, a big, contented smile spread across her face. “So, it isn’t painful for you?”

That made all the difference in the world.

He shrugged, looking completely unphased. “If it gets too uncomfortable, I take care of it myself. Erections, and handling them, are a part of life. At least a dude’s life,” he added with a wry grin. “Now, since we’re clear about that. How about giving the arm cuddle another try?”

This time, when his arm slipped around her shoulder, she relaxed fully into him with a contented sigh. He felt so good against her. All warmth, hard muscle, and gentle strength. Before long, the shoulder cuddle turned into a two-arm, against-the-chest embrace. She melted into him, boneless and warm, more content than she’d ever been before.

As she listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart, she couldn’t wait for the next step on this journey with him.

CHAPTER 27

Now that she knew what to do with her arms and how to move her mouth, Mandy loved kissing. She loved the warmth and tenderness of his lips against hers, and the way their tongues would flirt. She loved the hard heat of his arms wrapped around her and how he tasted like mint and lust. Or at least what she imagined lust might taste like. His erection had gone from a concern to a blessing. It’s breadth and girth told her unequivocally that she was doing something right, that he was as engaged in kissing her as she was in making out with him.

His erection was her touchstone now, reassuring her that she was not, in fact, a dead fish.

Currently, they were making out on the couch in their cabin. He was stretched out on his back, with her splayed across him, her legs draped over his hips and her arms tight around his neck. They’d experimented with more than kissing over the past three days. His shirt had come off. So had hers, as had her bra. The memory of his mouth sucking on her hard nipples brought a quiver.

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