Page 15 of Waiting for Him
Kat flipped back and forth from one side to the other, sleep eluding her for several reasons. She was in a strange room and bed, and the walls were paper-thin, so she heard every noise outside their room in the parking lot. But Benny sleeping on the other bed, and her body hyper-aware of the fact, were the main reasons she was wide awake at two a.m.
She flopped back over to her left side and stared at the beautiful man lying a few feet away. She could see him thanks to the light from the motel sign breaching the curtains’ edges. Sometime in the last hour, he’d kicked his covers off. While he wore a pair of sweatpants, his torso was bared for her viewing pleasure. And what a pleasure it was. His shoulders, chest, and abs were sculpted to perfection, and she longed to touch each valley and peak. With her hands. With her tongue.
Moisture pooled between her legs, and she squeezed her thighs together. Over the years, she’d only had a few dates. She tried to have a normal life, but the whole time, she always kept one eye looking over her shoulder, ready to run at a moment’s notice. And most of those dates had never panned out. The closest she’d ever come to having a boyfriend was about two years ago.
Tim Hartman was a local police officer who’d gotten a new canine partner. He’d flirted with Kat during his training time at the facility where she worked, and she was flattered. He was a good-looking man, two years older than her, and he made her laugh, which wasn’t something she did often. She had too much sorrow in her life. Too much stress. They’d dated for six weeks, but every time she tried to relax during intimate moments, she couldn’t. He’d been understanding initially, but after several weeks of not advancing past kissing and petting, he’d gotten frustrated and lost interest.
On the other bed, Benny took a gasping breath and began to twitch and moan. Flailing his limbs, his breathing increased as Kat sat up. What was he dreaming of? Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. She threw off her covers and leaped to his side when he let out a pain-filled cry. Jake would hear him and think they were in trouble if she didn’t wake him soon.
Kat sat down on the thin space between him and the edge of the bed, shaking his shoulders. “Benny. Ben, wake up.” He groaned louder and thrashed his legs. She tried harder. “Benny, please wake up.”
Boomer lunged into a sitting position and grabbed his left leg. The sudden movement almost sent Kat flying onto the floor, and she clutched his arm to prevent it. He was panting and disoriented for a moment before the present came rushing back to him. His arm went around her waist to keep her from falling. “Holy shit, Kat, are you okay? What happened? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
“N-no, you didn’t, no. Are you okay? You were moaning and stuff.”
Running his other hand through his hair, he felt the dampness on his forehead. He was sweating like a pig--damn it. The frequency of his nightmares had eased off these past few months, but they reared their ugly heads every once in a while. He could still hear the roar of the RPG as it hit the truck he’d just jumped out of, the screams of the injured, and the ringing in his ears, which had taken days to disappear. The mental image of his shin bone sticking out of his leg still made him nauseous. But he was alive . . . and still had all his limbs attached. Some of the other SEALs and Marines, who’d been there when they’d come under attack, hadn’t been as lucky.
As he concentrated on getting his breathing back to normal, he downplayed the nightmare to Kat, trying to ease the worried expression on her face. “Yeah. Just some flashbacks to when I got hurt. I guess it’s good that they only come when I’m sleeping. Some guys I served with get them while they’re awake.”
“Stay here a sec.” She jumped up and disappeared into the bathroom. Boomer heard the water running, and then she returned with a wet washcloth. He was shocked when she sat beside him again and wiped the sweat from his face, neck, and shoulders. His muscles froze, and as cool as the cloth felt against his sizzling skin, he wished nothing was between her hand and his flesh.
Goosebumps popped up everywhere, and his dick twitched. Swallowing hard, he watched her face as her gaze followed the cloth gliding down his arms. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to touch her. Kiss her. Own her. He’d deal with the fallout later.
Reaching up, he cupped her chin, and she started, her eyes flashing up to his in surprise. He was in awe of her, and his voice came out as a raspy whisper. “You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known, Kitten.”
Her jaw dropped at his statement, and he took advantage of it. Rubbing his thumb across her bottom lip, he inched his head forward. He gave her time to back away. But when a small gasp escaped her, and her breathing increased, all the reasons why this was a bad idea flew from his mind. Drawing her closer, he tilted his head and replaced his thumb with his mouth.
Oh, dear God in heaven!
He’d dreamed of this moment, a moment he’d been certain would never happen again. She tasted like wine, roses, sunshine, and everything else poets compared women to.
Boomer leaned back and pulled her with him until she was draped across his bare torso. Holding her head in place, he plunged his tongue into her mouth, tasting and savoring. His other hand skimmed down the T-shirt she’d worn to bed and clutched her ass cheek through her cotton shorts. He shifted and ground his hard shaft against her mound, causing her to moan and shiver. Mouths melded, teeth clashed, and tongues dueled as she buried her hands in his hair.
Flipping her on her back, Boomer followed, never taking his mouth from hers. His hands were everywhere at once. Her hair, breasts, waist, and hips. Skin, he needed to feel skin. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, he began to tug it upward and felt her stiffen. What the fuck? She wanted him to stop? Fuck, she did have a boyfriend, didn’t she?
He ripped his mouth from hers and sat up. Trying to get his breathing and cock under control, he stood and paced the room while running his fingers through his tousled hair. “Shit, Kat. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have . . . I mean . . . you must have a boyfriend, right?”
“No.”
Boomer screeched to a halt and gaped at her. “No?”
Swallowing hard, Kat shook her head. “No. I don’t have a boyfriend.”
No? Then why did she freeze when he tried to take things further? Because you haven’t seen each other in twelve years, you ass-hat. You’ve only known she was alive for about thirty-six hours, and you’re ready to rip her clothes off. She deserves better than that.
“Oh.” He ran a hand down his face. “Well, I’m still sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped you like that. We should . . .” He cleared his suddenly dry throat. “We should get back to sleep. We’ve got to get up in a few hours because I want to be at the bank when they open.”
Kat bit her lip and nodded before moving back to her own bed. She watched as Ben quickly ran to the bathroom before returning and lying down again. His eyes avoided her, and he shifted onto his left side, facing away from her. She sighed inwardly.
Her heart was still pounding, her blood still boiling with arousal. The dampness and tingling between her legs proved she hadn’t wanted him to stop. She should have told him she’d never . . . but she hadn’t been able to. He’d felt and tasted so good. His body, his touch, was what her own had craved for the past twelve years. A few more minutes. She’d wanted a few more minutes in his arms. For the first time since she’d kissed him as a teenager, she wanted more. She wanted him. All of him. A few more . . .
He was right—they needed sleep, not . . . not what they were just doing. But damn, she hadn’t wanted to stop. Maybe when this was all over, and if she was still alive, they could pick up where they left off. Turning on her side, she closed her eyes, but it was a long time before sleep overtook her again.
Chapter Eight
“You see anything, Reverend?” Boomer spoke into his cell phone. It was ten after eight in the morning, and Jake had been across the street for the past hour, scouting the area.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. No one lingering except a bum in the alley over this way. I checked, and he’s sleeping off a bender. You’re good to go.”
