Page 44 of Protecting Vera

She shook her head. “No, that’s not quite what happened. I thought enough of myself to make it stop. I didn’t want him bugging me anymore.”

Ben kissed her nose and then her chin before trailing kisses down her neck. “I need you in my life.” He pulled up her shirt, staring down at her for a long moment before he lowered and circled his tongue around one nipple, then the other.

She moaned and arched up to meet his mouth. “More.”

A chuckle escaped his lips before he flicked the tip of his tongue over one nipple and then the other. “I should make you beg for it.”

“I need you.”

“And I need you. That’s why I’m not going to spend hours torturing you. But soon, I’m going to tease you until you scream my name.” He moved fast so his face was between her legs, tonguing her clit though her panties were still in place.

She moved to push them lower, but he captured her hands and held them in place as he continued to drive her crazy. After a moment, he yanked down her panties and then placed his mouth on her, sucking her clit. She cried out as she arched up. His mouth on her was too much, and she came hard.

He didn’t wait and moved between her legs, sinking in, filling her all the way with his thick cock.

“I want you forever,” Ben whispered as he pumped in.

“Yes,” she cried out, wanting it all with Ben. She wanted the good times and the bad. She wanted him with her forever. They were special together, and she knew they would last.

This man was exactly what she’d been searching for her whole life. He completed her, giving her the love and kindness she needed.

“I plan to hold you to that. You’re mine, and I’m yours.”

She lifted her hips, meeting his thrusts. He groaned and pulled out before pumping in again. His composure was cracking, but he pumped in a few more times before stilling above her.

The look on his face was filled with love. No question, they both wanted the same things in life. They would work out all the details, but they loved each other, and that mattered more than anything else.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Zip tossed back the last of his beer and stood, disillusionment filled him and settled with the disappointed burning in his belly. When he was younger, he vowed to never settle down, but seeing how happy both Trip and Hop were, along with their buddies Kevlar, Safe, and Blink, made him want something more. But getting involved with someone brought complications he couldn’t afford.

The unsettled feeling that rose up inside when he felt tied down always got him to walk away, even when the woman was great. He’d learned over the years to never allow anyone to think he wanted more with them than a one-night stand. Going back for more made women think they were important, and he’d been burned and couldn’t go back.

His last long-term girlfriend had ended in disaster shortly before he joined the Navy. Heck, she might have been the reason he joined. Joining up had been a great decision, but he couldn’t deal with another unsettling relationship.

He headed back to the bathrooms and was about to enter the gents’ when the door for the ladies’ opened and a woman poked her head out. Their gazes met and panic filled her face for a second then it was gone.

What was that about? He took care of business, and while washing his hands, he heard a faint yell. It wasn’t a scream from a guy, though. That shout was from a woman.

He stepped out into the hall, trying to figure out where the noise had come from. No one seemed excited in the main room of the bar, and it didn’t look like anything was happening up there.

Maybe one of the waitresses had shouted something. He wasn’t sold on that conclusion, though. But he didn’t know what was going on, and it wasn’t his business anyway.

He was about to head out when something banged hard against the other side of the ladies’ room door. Zip stalled, waiting for the door to open. Nothing happened.

When he heard a muffled yell he knew he had to go in. On missions, he didn’t hesitate when entering women-only spaces. Here in the US, he knew he could get in trouble, but there was a problem, and he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“Coming in!” he yelled as he pushed the door open.

The sound of struggling grew louder. He stepped in, taking in the woman on the ground and the man on top of her. The jerk punched her, but lucky for her, he hadn’t gotten a good wind-up.

Zip moved fast, hauling the guy off the woman. He had one hand on the dude as he yanked the door open and shoved him out into the hall. His stepping into the women’s room had garnered attention because the jerk he’d pulled off the woman ran into two big guys. Confusion filled their faces, and Zip pointed at them.

“Don’t let him get away. He was punching a woman in here.”

“What the fuck is going on?” the manager and part-time bartender yelled as she squeezed past the two big guys holding the jerk against the wall.

“He was beating this woman. Have you called for an ambulance?”

The woman shook her head. “Fuck. I don’t need this kind of shit.”

Neither did he, but here he was dealing with it. He stepped into the bathroom with the manager and froze as he stared down into the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.

**

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