He brought his free arm over her head, and squinted at the glow-in-the-dark dial on his watch.
Past time to go.
He found his clothes, what little there was of them, and slipped them on in the dark. He had to hand it to Sean’s brother. He’d certainly thought of everything when it came to having a good time. When all you had to worry about was a sarong, creeping out in the pre-dawn hours was easier than finding a STD in port.
Only this morning, he’d stopped before opening the door and returned to the bed. He couldn’t remember the woman’s name and that had bothered him. His eyes adapted to the near total darkness, a skill he’d found useful in his former life. He brushed a strand of hair from her face. She slept deeply, her features lax and porcelain fine. Her lips were full, and he recalled how they looked after he’d kissed her—swollen and a deep russet that matched her auburn hair. Her nipples had the same coloring, and had been as responsive to his touch as the rest of her.
He placed a kiss on her parted lips. Nothing much, just a touch, but the contact had singed his system as if he’d touched his tongue to an electric fence. She stirred, and her pink tongue darted out to wet her lower lip.
For the first time he could remember, he left a woman sleeping, rather than wake her and fuck her senseless, as his body had urged him to do. It was a complication he didn’t need, not with Celeste back in his life.
Drew stared unseeing at the blank screen. He needed to focus on his job, but no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts veered off course like a ship without a rudder.
His feelings for Celeste hadn’t changed. Every time he thought of her, he got a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, and something in the region of his heart ached like a son-of-a-gun. If it wasn’t love, he didn’t know what else it could be. The last thing he needed was to be involved with Celeste’s partner. Absolutely nothing good could come from that.
That thought brought him full circle to wild imaginings about what Sean was doing to Celeste. He’d seen enough of them together when they’d been a team, working behind the scenes gathering intelligence for the DIA, to know something about their sexual relationship. Sean was a dom, and Celeste had been his sub. They thought they hid it, but it crept into their professional life in small ways, and Drew had picked up on the signals easily enough.
He’d fantasized about showing Celeste another way to find enjoyment in the bedroom, his way, but he wouldn’t have ever acted on his fantasies, not as long as she was with Sean. Then, they’d been captured, and in a moment of insanity, he’d spilled his guts to Sean. He couldn’t regret it. They’d all believed they were going to die that day, and Sean had offered him a moment’s peace, buried in Celeste’s sweet ass. He was certain Sean had made the offer more for Celeste’s sake, as a way to distract her from the inevitable, but he’d seized the opportunity to have any part of her before he departed this world. She’d accepted his loving for what it was, a declaration of unspoken love and a farewell.
Drew swallowed the lump in his throat. Everything would have been fine if the Marines hadn’t rescued them. Living had screwed up all their lives. He didn’t know what had actually happened between Celeste and Sean when they all returned stateside, but it was pretty easy to figure out why Sean had demanded she choose between them, and why she had run.
Celeste was here now, and for some crazy, inexplicable reason, he thought she might make that decision now. What it would mean to the three of them, he couldn’t imagine.
He shut down the part of his brain that could imagine what was going on right now. Down that path lay nothing but insanity.
He’d brought the first of that night’s offerings up on the big screen when the office door opened. The woman from last night, the one he now knew to be Agent Bree Stanton, stood
Past time to go.
He found his clothes, what little there was of them, and slipped them on in the dark. He had to hand it to Sean’s brother. He’d certainly thought of everything when it came to having a good time. When all you had to worry about was a sarong, creeping out in the pre-dawn hours was easier than finding a STD in port.
Only this morning, he’d stopped before opening the door and returned to the bed. He couldn’t remember the woman’s name and that had bothered him. His eyes adapted to the near total darkness, a skill he’d found useful in his former life. He brushed a strand of hair from her face. She slept deeply, her features lax and porcelain fine. Her lips were full, and he recalled how they looked after he’d kissed her—swollen and a deep russet that matched her auburn hair. Her nipples had the same coloring, and had been as responsive to his touch as the rest of her.
He placed a kiss on her parted lips. Nothing much, just a touch, but the contact had singed his system as if he’d touched his tongue to an electric fence. She stirred, and her pink tongue darted out to wet her lower lip.
For the first time he could remember, he left a woman sleeping, rather than wake her and fuck her senseless, as his body had urged him to do. It was a complication he didn’t need, not with Celeste back in his life.
Drew stared unseeing at the blank screen. He needed to focus on his job, but no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts veered off course like a ship without a rudder.
His feelings for Celeste hadn’t changed. Every time he thought of her, he got a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach, and something in the region of his heart ached like a son-of-a-gun. If it wasn’t love, he didn’t know what else it could be. The last thing he needed was to be involved with Celeste’s partner. Absolutely nothing good could come from that.
That thought brought him full circle to wild imaginings about what Sean was doing to Celeste. He’d seen enough of them together when they’d been a team, working behind the scenes gathering intelligence for the DIA, to know something about their sexual relationship. Sean was a dom, and Celeste had been his sub. They thought they hid it, but it crept into their professional life in small ways, and Drew had picked up on the signals easily enough.
He’d fantasized about showing Celeste another way to find enjoyment in the bedroom, his way, but he wouldn’t have ever acted on his fantasies, not as long as she was with Sean. Then, they’d been captured, and in a moment of insanity, he’d spilled his guts to Sean. He couldn’t regret it. They’d all believed they were going to die that day, and Sean had offered him a moment’s peace, buried in Celeste’s sweet ass. He was certain Sean had made the offer more for Celeste’s sake, as a way to distract her from the inevitable, but he’d seized the opportunity to have any part of her before he departed this world. She’d accepted his loving for what it was, a declaration of unspoken love and a farewell.
Drew swallowed the lump in his throat. Everything would have been fine if the Marines hadn’t rescued them. Living had screwed up all their lives. He didn’t know what had actually happened between Celeste and Sean when they all returned stateside, but it was pretty easy to figure out why Sean had demanded she choose between them, and why she had run.
Celeste was here now, and for some crazy, inexplicable reason, he thought she might make that decision now. What it would mean to the three of them, he couldn’t imagine.
He shut down the part of his brain that could imagine what was going on right now. Down that path lay nothing but insanity.
He’d brought the first of that night’s offerings up on the big screen when the office door opened. The woman from last night, the one he now knew to be Agent Bree Stanton, stood
Similar Books
