Love, Tussles, and Takedowns (Cactus Creek #3)(47)

And by doing so, he effectively turned the next five minutes into the most torturous ones of his life.

She rode him slowly at first, with long, gliding strokes that trumped every wet dream he’d ever had rolled into one. Then as she started to experiment and draw him deeper into her snug heat, and suddenly he was finding new wet dreams to fantasize about.

All starring Lia and her bike.

About another minute of that torture and he flipped her onto her back. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I can’t take anymore. I’m two seconds away from coming and that’s not happening without you.”

He raided her mouth then. Pillaged and dominated to get back a tiny fraction of the control she’d stripped from him while taking her on a trip down memory lane of the first three bases they’d frequented the past few weeks.

Sliding into her torturously slow, he pulled back every time she tried to control the pace again. Each time he did, she sank her teeth into the base of his neck in complaint. And rippled all around him in reward.

Dipping his head, he let his teeth rake over her sensitive skin, just barely reacquainting his mouth with first one nipple, then the other.

By pursing his lips to blow.

Like he was making a wish.

She gasped just as more wet heat flooded around him. “Why are you teasing me?”

Hell if he knew. It was the most amazing pleasure-pain he’d ever put himself through, but the more she responded, the more he wanted.

He became so wrapped up in feeling every tug and pull of her feminine muscles, he didn’t even realize she’d slid one hand free from his grip. He managed to stop her from taking matters into her own hands, cutting her off at the pass by slipping his left hand between them and sliding his thumb over the exact spot he’d discovered was a favorite of hers on his last trip to third base.

Two seconds later, she was coming so hard around him that he swore.

Still buried deep inside of her, he just plain lost it when she cried out his name. Everything around him disappeared into darkness as he pumped into her long and hard. Like a man possessed—or a man in love—he surged into her again and again, silently urging her to come apart for him once more. Just once more.

And she did.

A groan helixed out of him the second her final orgasm shattered over her.

Then he followed her over the edge.



*



THREE HOURS LATER, Lia collapsed on top of him.

She should’ve known the man would be insatiable.

“Come with me to Yuma next week, baby. I miss you too much when we’re apart.”

He was also incredibly romantic.

“Could we go for a hike one day while we’re down there? I’ve heard of some great trails in Yuma. I haven’t gone on a good day-long hike in years.”

“You know, you would’ve made an excellent soldier,” remarked Hudson thoughtfully, half-dozing as he combed his fingers through her hair lazily.

She giggled. “Do I want to know what kind of soldier training you guys went through?” Though she was thoroughly exhausted, her hands were still wildly curious. Hudson’s body was like her new favorite playground.

He slid his hand down to pinch one of her cheeks. “Watch it, woman. You’re getting into dangerous territory.”

“So are you.” She wiggled. “Not that I mind.”

He groaned. “No more comments like that until I’ve recovered at least thirty-six hours.”

“Wimp.” She wiggled again.

He clamped his arms around her to stop her tempting movements. With a nibble on her ear, he continued, “I’m serious, though. You’re smart, strong. Wily. I think if you’d been one of my UW trainees, you would’ve been amazing. You could’ve—”

He broke off then, taken away suddenly by the shift in his thoughts, by the unwelcome attack of his memories.

The flash of pain she saw in his eyes tore at her heart. Hiding her saddened eyes, she burrowed into his side and teased lightly, “Unconventional Warfare, huh?” She slid her hand lower, willing him to come back to her, away from the pain of the ghosts that he rarely let haunt him. “But what could you teach me that I don’t already know?” she goaded, her voice wavering only slightly as she tried to keep it together.

For him.

When he caught her hand before it could make its final descent, he finally smiled, and the cobwebs of his demons began slipping away.

“Imp,” he chided.

It took another minute but eventually, his soft gray eyes were back here with her again. Not in the past, not in the horror that she saw him relive in the middle of his worst dreams late at night.

“Welcome back,” she said softly. As she listened to his heartbeat return to its normal speed, she offered gently, “You know, as much as I love all the sex, we can just talk sometimes. Whenever you want, about whatever you want.”

He leaned over and kissed her. “I know, sweetheart.”

As they both drifted off to sleep, she idly traced her fingers along the scars on his arms, before laying her head against his heart.

Where she knew hid the biggest, deepest scars of them all.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


HUDSON LED LIA out of the prop master’s mobile studio on site and headed over to the outdoor set where filming was taking place for the day. It was actually his day-off again because nearly all of the weapon and fight scenes were done.