Page 8 of Rescued By the Major

“Because I see you,” she answers, and my head spins at the feelings ricocheting through me at the idea.

Then she presses up onto her toes and kisses me.

Eva

The pain in his voice as he asked how I knew what to say makes me want to cry, but not because I’m sad. No, those are angry tears threatening, furious tears at how cruel people can be without even realizing it. The fact that this kind man is hiding from the world makes me want to scream. I want to wash everything away for him, distract him with something good, and that’s why I do something I would never have been brave enough to do before. I kiss him.

I meant it to be a quick touch of lips, but he doesn’t let it end there. As soon as our mouths meet, he growls and I’m pulled flush against him as he takes control. His tongue sweeps over my lips, seeking entry and I give in with a hungry moan of my own. It’s like he’s tasting me, learning every inch, and I want to do the same. It’s a dance between us.

Our mouths flush.

Hands dancing across each other.

And I don't care if he sees the other scars I have.

The ones that tell a story I've been too afraid to share with anyone.

His arms encircle me, and instead of feeling trapped within a cage, it’s safety that washes over me. Protection. A certainty that he won’t let anything, or anyone, hurt me. Here with him, the world can't touch either one of us.

This thought makes me brave, and I slip my hands under the flannel shirt he’s wearing, gliding my fingertips over corded muscles, pulling a husky groan from him.

“I want to,” he chokes out as we break apart for a moment, eyes searching each other. “Take you to bed. Can I do that? Can I make love to you?”

The logical part of my brain wants me to see this as madness, that this is all moving too fast. But the storm rages on outside, wrapping us inside a warm cocoon where anything feels possible. It’s a gift. A reward for the grief I’ve suffered through, all the loss, and I'm not going to discard it.

“Yes, please,” I whisper. “I want you so much.”

His smile hitches up, and something lights up his deep brown eyes. Reminding me of the fire burning in our hearth. Warm, hopeful, a promise.

He scoops me up into the cradle of his arms and carries me into his bedroom.

8

ANDERS

I can’t believethis is happening, but I’m too afraid to question it. If I do, she might disappear, and with her will go this feeling that maybe my broken pieces aren’t too much. That maybe the scars I bear are too hideous for anyone to ever see beyond. Not if this beautiful woman, spread out on my bed, reaching for me with eager, pleading words, can want me.

Need swamps me, and I lower myself over her naked body. I don’t care that I’m still fully clothed. It’s only about Eva in this moment. Seeing her as I stripped her clothes off, throwing them onto the floor, as I drank in the sight of her. Bright hair a halo around her face, and I hope the scent of her shampoo will linger forever on my pillow. She arches up as I kiss my way down her body, as I test the heft of her breasts in my hands and roll the pebbled tips of her nipples in my fingers. She showed me some of what she likes when we were cuddled on the couch before, but being able to see her respond with utter abandon when I touch her is a heady drug. Like nothing else.

It’s a power I cherish, giving her the kind of pleasure that makes us both forget everything else, and I suck her right nipple into my mouth, drawing a gasp from her as I nip at the tip, thendo the same to the other. Little bites as I work my way down, marking her belly with a blush, and then I see the scar she told me about. A thick, raised line that cuts across her skin, and I hover over it, taking in the sight. Instinct tells me this moment is important, and I look up at Eva. She’s frozen, her eyes locked on me, and I can feel some of the ease falling away, worry starting to steal over her.

So I follow what my heart tells me to do and I press my lips to that scar, kissing it, still keeping my eyes focused on her, and saying, “You're so beautiful, Eva. Every inch of you.”

Relief washes over her, and it brings a smile to my lips. Her hands drift into my hair, carding through the strands, until her nails are stroking over my scalp, sensation shooting down my spine as she tries to pull me up.

“Not yet, sweetheart,” I answer her unspoken request. “I want to taste all of you. Got to take care of my girl.”

Then I settle between her thighs, and drink in the sight of her spread open before me, as I drive my tongue into her core.

At the first touch, she shifts and moans my name. It’s like a caress, hearing her cry out for me, and I lick over the tiny bundle of nerves again. Loving the way she pulls on my hair, the way her legs close around me, how she can’t help the way it feels. The overwhelming sense that she’s what I’ve been waiting for, what I’ve been needing in my life, hits me, and I have to take a moment to swallow down the taste of her on my tongue, to savor the moment.

“So good, Gracie. You taste so good.” I can’t stop the words from pouring out of me. It’s just natural to tell her how I feel. “Going to open you up, make you feel better.”

She chokes out a yes, a plea that makes my heart stutter, and I slip one finger inside her entrance. She’s warm and wet for me, already, and the need to make her come apart drives me on as I stroke inside her. My tongue lashes at her clit and when shearches, I sink a second finger in, stretching her even more. Her fingers tighten in my hair, her voice husky with passion as she says my name, and I devour her. Sucking on her, relishing the taste of her, even as I curve my fingers up and rub against that spot deep inside.

Eva shatters beneath me, waves of pleasure rolling through her as her walls clamp down tight on my fingers. She shivers and shakes as I work her through it all.

When the trembling eases from her muscles, I look up at her, this woman that has changed everything so suddenly. She smiles, and it’s like dawn breaking over me. So beautiful I can’t breathe.

---