but the closer I looked, the more I realized he’d deliberately painted a skewed picture of the truth. I wanted to know why he would do that, and the only reason I could come up with was that he was the one with something to hide.”
Nick gaped at her. “So, you decided to follow him into the woods to find out?”
Heat rose in her cheeks. “Well, no, that wasn’t actually part of the plan.” Bree told him about going for a drive, ending up in Sumneyville, seeing Lenny exit from the bar, and then acting on impulse.
“That was really stupid. You know that, don’t you?”
Her first instinct was to say something in her defense, but he had been right. It had been stupid, blindly following Lenny into unfamiliar territory, alone.
“Yes,” she sighed as the truth sank in. She wasn’t, nor would she ever be, a good investigative field journalist.
“What would have happened if I hadn’t seen you on those cameras, Bree? If Lenny had found you instead of me?”
There was that SEAL again, peering at her through luminous green eyes, and it was then she knew. He wasn’t just angry that she’d followed Lenny; he’d been really worried. Scared that something could have happened to her.
Because he cared about her.
Warmth blossomed deep in her chest and radiated outward. She rose and walked over to where he stood, his hands on his hips, still as a statue.
She wrapped her arms around his waist. “But he didn’t. And you did.”
For a moment, he did nothing. Then, those strong arms enclosed her. She pressed her head to his chest and closed her eyes, basking in the solid warmth of his body and the steady beat of his heart. His hand began to stroke along the curve of her back. It felt so good that she sighed softly and melted into him.
Then, she began to pet and stroke him, too.
“Bree ...”
“Shh. No more talking. Let’s just have this, okay?”
Thankfully, she didn’t have to tell him twice. His head lowered, his lips meeting hers in a tender kiss that stoked the slow burn building in her core. He deepened the kiss; his hands roamed further south, reaching under the soft cotton fabric to cup her ass. Her bare ass.
Nick wasn’t the only one who could go commando.
He let out that rumbling growl she loved so much. She barely had time to appreciate it before he scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, practically tossing her onto the bed.
“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice husky.
“Absolutely, positively, unequivocally—”
Her words were cut off when he knelt on the floor, grabbed her by the ankles, and pulled her backside to the edge. The motion made the cotton T-shirt roll up and expose her, which seemed to be exactly what he’d intended.
Placing his hands on her knees, he opened her to him, his eyes bright with lust. Starting with kisses to the inside of her thigh, he worked his way toward her center. She draped her legs over his arms, tangled her hands in his hair, threw her head back, and reveled in the feel of his lips and tongue working their magic.
Before long, she was clenching her thighs around his head and screaming out her orgasm.
Nick brought her down with gentle licks and soft kisses and then worked his way upward, raising the hem of the shirt as he went. Hands beneath her knees, he lifted and moved her further up onto the bed. Then, he pressed her backward, looming over her with his much larger body. Lost as she’d been in the throes of another incredible orgasm, she hadn’t noticed that he’d removed his own pants at some point.
The feel of his smooth, hard cock against her skin sent waves of fresh desire over her despite the fact that she was still quivering from her climax. She reached down between them, and she greedily filled her hand, making him groan.
“Please tell me you have condoms in here,” she pleaded.
He nipped her skin. “I never make the same mistake twice.”
His grin was pure triumph as he reached into the bedside stand drawer and extracted an entire box of prophylactics. She watched, amused and delighted, as he tore at the seal with his teeth. That amusement changed to pure heat when he rolled the condom down his length.
She wanted that inside her more than she’d ever wanted anything.
Without further ado, she lifted her knees in invitation and reached for his shoulders. Nick positioned himself at her entrance