them to make sure Ivy was well taken care of.
Chapter Twelve
The alarm on Jake’s watch went off at five-thirty. He fumbled for it on the night stand, silenced it, and then propped himself on Ivy’s pillows and watched the gray dawn light creep through the windows and soften her face. She was beautiful, lush curves and classic cultural features. And for the entire night she had forgotten her inhibitions, her fears, and made love with him with an abandon Jake had never experienced before. She had a wicked sense of humor, a physical strength that nearly matched her passionate and compassionate nature.
He remembered how her eyes had gone liquid when he’d told her about Arturo. Speaking about the soldier loosened the sadness of his loss. Ivy had been ready then to slow down, to accept another date before they’d brought sex into the mix. As if he’d have let her.
But her concern for him had been genuine, so much so he’d read regret on her face. He could tell that she was silently chastising herself for her impatience.
Damn, what it did for him, knowing how badly Ivy had wanted him. Now he just had to convince her they were more than what had transpired in this bed the night before. And again just an hour ago.
Dawn was becoming more of a reality, the sun pushing stridently against the cloud cover.
Jake hated to wake Ivy, but there was no way he was leaving without her knowing it. He glanced at his watch and knew he couldn’t spare anymore time staring at her.
He slid down into the covers, moving his body against hers in a long, gentle stroke. His cock came to rest against her backside and stirred as she did. A smile bloomed on Ivy’s face and she stretched her arms above her head. It was only natural that Jake would reach around her and cradle her breasts in the palms of his hands. But it could go no further than this. He had to be on base in sixty minutes and there was no way he was going to start something he couldn’t finish. He couldn’t leave Ivy like that.
He nuzzled her ear and spoke, “Morning sweetheart.”
Her eyes fluttered open and she turned so she could peer at him. “Morning.”
“It’s a work day for me,” he reminded her.
She became more alert, her eyes flaring a little and her hand curling around his bicep. “You have to leave?”
He nodded. “I should have left already.”
She moved, a slim thigh tangling with his. Her breasts came flush against his chest and their peaks beaded on contact. He felt the slight tremble of her belly and that fast his shaft stiffened.
“We have a growing problem here,” she observed.
But he shook his head. “There isn’t time—“
She tilted her hips, slid her leg over his thigh, and his erection became a throbbing need.
The head rested against her wet folds.
“Already?” He’d barely touched her.
“I was dreaming about you,” she admitted. She moved against him and the tip of his cock sank into her core. She was as tight as a velvet fist. “What do you think of the withdrawal method?” she asked.
“Foolish.”
“Hmm, thought so. I am on the Pill,” she revealed, but he heard the hesitancy in her voice. She looked over his shoulder. There were still a few condom packets unopened. She urged him to get one.
“No time,” he reminded her.
“A quickie will do,” she promised.
Not for him. Ivy was a woman to be savored. But he had only so much control. She flexed her hips, drew him deeper into her body, and Jake knew he had to do something.
“When we see each other again,” she spoke in a throaty whisper. “I’m going to finish what I started in the truck.”
Jake had to reach for the memory—but not very far. An image of her bent over his lap, her mouth covering his cock, exploded on his mental movie screen. He watched her pull on his shaft, her dark hair falling around his legs. He’d nearly lost control of the vehicle and of himself. Jake reached across the bed for a condom and pulled out of her.
“You have a wicked way of winning a point.”
She watched him sheath himself, a dazzling smile playing on her lips, and then he entered her. No preambles. No gentle build to the moment. He took her roughly, unable to deny her or himself. And she called out. A sharp scream that stunned him to stillness.
“Ivy?”
He was a big man. Too big