Page 18 of Submitting to the SEAL's Protection

Jared kissed the inside of her right knee. “I’ll be the judge of what’s necessary. But I’m glad you like the look of the tub.” Putting her foot back on the floor, he rose and turned to adjust the water flow before pouring the salts and lavender oil in the tub.

Turning back toward Rita, he reached for the fly on her shorts. He freed the clasp and tugged the zipper down, dropping her shorts to the floor. Stretching up, he kissed her as his hands made lazy circles around her hips. Pulling her even closer, Jared continued to kiss her silly while kneading her ass in his hands.God, she has the most perfect ass, he thought. He stood up, now towering over her instead of the reverse. He reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head. Then, he reached for the front clasp on her bra. A quick tug and her bra followed her shirt to the floor.

Jared tightened his hold on her hips and pulled her against him. His eyes never left her as he slowly slid his hands up the sides of her body and around her back. He touched her everywhere, inspecting her. As his hands swept around to her front, he firmly cupped her breasts. At her sudden intake of breath, he watched as her eyes clouded over.

He would be ready for it if and when Tucker came for her. He would protect her at all costs; it was a vow he made without words.Stop thinking about that for now, he chastised himself.Be here with her.Jared looked at Rita: her pupils had grown quite large in the dimmed light. Smiling tentatively at him, Rita reached for the buttons on his shirt. When she had some trouble getting her hands steady enough to cooperate, he reached up and took over before she could wrench his shirt open. While he finished taking his own shirt off, she moved on to his belt buckle. She unhooked it before tucking it in the front pocket of his jeans.

Jared cupped her face, and Rita paused to smile at him. Her eyes were still wet with tears, and in that moment, Jared knew that he wanted to wipe those fears from her memory forever. Scooping her up, he placed her in the tub, and then he finished stripping off his clothes and climbed in behind her. Reaching for a washcloth, he grabbed the soap and began to wash her slowly, determined to remove the day’s filth and stress from her. Leaning back against his chest, Rita nestled her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. “That feels nice,” she murmured, and pride at taking care of what was his roared in his chest.

He washed her back thoroughly and then brought her to rest against his chest. He dropped a kiss to her shoulder and began washing her chest. With each swipe around a breast, Rita would gasp. The textured sensation against her fevered skin had Rita arching against him. Pausing to add more soap, he pushed Rita’s legs farther apart as he swept the washcloth around her hips and over her thighs. Sliding his left arm around her waist, Jared pinned her tightly against him as his right hand cupped her mound. The rough texture of the towel coupled with the gentle bubbles as he moved in the water had Rita tossing her head back against his shoulder. Moaning pitifully, she tried to lift her hips, but he held her tight.

He slid a finger between her folds, continuing to massage her with the washcloth even as his finger began a slow push. In and out. Rita tried to grind down against his hand, but he held her firmly in place. All he would allow her to do was take. Moving his left hand to put pressure against her lower abdomen, Jared lifted her slightly as he continued to pump his fingers. Rubbing his cheek against the side of her head, Jared nipped at her ear before murmuring, “I want you to let it out. All of it. Don’t hold back.”

* * *

Rita gave in to the sensations he was wreaking on her body. All these sweet, gentle ministrations that had her trembling. Rita felt light kisses trail down her cheek. She hadn’t realized that she had started crying until she felt Jared’s lips kissing her where her tears fell. Beneath the surface of the water, between her thighs, two more fingers joined the first as Jared continued to plunge his fingers slowly in and out. Spreading his hand, Jared twisted his fingers lightly, touching her G-spot as his thumb massaged her clit. Rita gasped and bucked uselessly in his grasp. As he pushed harder against her abdomen, Rita could feel pressure building. Moving his head, Jared suckled Rita’s neck as small fireworks began going off inside her.

Rocking against him, her orgasm rolled through her as Jared continued to slowly, rhythmically, thrust into her with his fingers. In doing this, showering her with this relentless gentleness that she couldn’t get away from or redirect into something hard and punishing, he drew out all of the pains of the day, the pains of her past, and all of her fears—like he was drawing venom out from a wound. As Rita’s first orgasm faded, Jared didn’t stop. Instead, he reached over and coated his fingers in the liquid soap. He reached down her backside and pressed a single finger against the furled entrance. Lightly. Consistently. New electric shocks began to pop around her. Tuck had always wanted to have anal sex, and she’d never been interested. She was too afraid it would hurt…and more, that he would enjoy it hurting and would go out of his way to never make it a pleasurable experience.

As Jared continued, he added a bit more pressure as he pushed against her back entrance. Rita moaned; her body contorted in a strange, heady pleasure-pain as his finger popped through the ring. She trembled as she felt the possibility of another orgasm building. He scissored fingers inside her, pressing against her walls. Rita held her hands in tight fists, shaking now. She wasn’t in pain, but her body couldn’t figure out what to do with everything she was feeling.

“You’re holding back. Don’t hold it in,” Jared whispered against her ear.

Rita pushed down harder, and Jared deepened his actions. As the fingers on his right hand twisted, deep inside her, the middle finger on his left continued to pump in and out of her ass. One moment, she was fighting all of the sensation, and then, she was pushed over the edge. With a sob, Rita arched against his chest, riding the waves of pleasure as her lower body spasmed around Jared’s fingers. Rita continued to ride out the orgasm as Jared drew all the angst and anger from the day out of her until she sagged against him.

He pulled his fingers slowly out. Reaching out with his foot, he flipped on the hot water tap as fresh hot water warmed the now tepid bath. Grabbing a washcloth, Jared continued to bathe her as Rita cried. Turning the water off, he turned her over so she half lay on his chest. He hugged her tightly to him. Clutching him closely, Rita kissed his chest. “I love you.”

Jared stilled beneath her. “What did you say?”

She met his eyes, suddenly shy. As if he hadn’t just watched her fall apart in his arms. “I said, I love you.”

Lifting her off his chest, Jared stood as a wave of water swept out of the tub. He stepped out, quickly pulled Rita to her feet, and scooped her back up. Turning swiftly, he strode out of the room and carried Rita to his bed. Tossing her onto the bed, Rita squealed, “Jared, the bed, it will be soaked.”

“I don’t care,” he replied as he followed her down. For a moment, he kissed her deeply, then he pulled back and hovered over her. She could feel him hard and wanting against her thigh. Want flared within her again.I’m an addict. “Say it again,” he said, pulling her out of her wanton lust.

She reached up and cupped his cheek, then smiled up at him. “I love you, you big oaf.”

Jared brushed her wet hair from her face. “I love you too, Rita…but you have to know, I fucked up two perfectly good marriages in the past.”

“You never told me that you were married.”

Sighing, Jared moved so that he was propped up on his elbow beside her. She mirrored his position. “There’s a lot about my past with the SEALs that I can’t discuss, and it bothered my ex-wives a lot. That wasn’t the only reason for either divorce, but it was the final straw for one and got the ball rolling for the other.”

Rita’s smile slipped from her face. She studied him. “Can’t discuss orwon’tdiscuss?”

“I can’t,” he admitted. “There are things that I’ve done…that I’ve been involved in that are matters of national security. Even as a retiree, I’m bound by the oath that I took when I enlisted. My exes didn’t understand that. They thought I was withholding, and…hell, maybe I was in some ways, but it doesn’t change the fact that I made an oath that I do not intend to break.” Jared hovered beside her for a long moment, trying to take her all in, and when her frown only deepened, he started to pull away. Rita practically attacked him with kisses.

When she pulled back, she said, “Jared, I understand. I really do. It’s not my business to know about the inner workings of the military or the government, and I don’t really care to know… I can’t stand a liar, though. If there’s something you can’t tell me, you just have to say so, but don’t lie.” Jared nodded. Her grin flared to life once more. “Now, if I were someone who kept count, which I’m not,” she said cheekily, “I would say that you have some catching up to do.”

As Rita leaned down to kiss him, she reached out to cup his balls and rolled them around in her hand. She couldn’t resist a chuckle at his sudden intake of breath. Jared cleared his throat twice before he was able to say, “Well, then, maybe you better get me caught up.”

12

“Are you ready for this?” Jared asked as they stood outside the San Diego Police Department. It had taken him three days to get Rita to agree to go to the police about Tucker. She had tried to convince him to just let it go, but he couldn’t. Not when she was sleeping in his bed every night because they were both too afraid for her to go home.

“No,” she said and squeezed his hand, “but let’s do it.”

They walked through the front door and up to the reception desk. “Can I help you?” the uniformed woman behind the counter asked.

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