Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(36)

God, she was perfect.

He slanted his mouth over hers, tangling their tongues. He could spend hours kissing her. Later, he would. But he needed her now—so fucking badly.

He pressed her back against the bed before realizing he’d forgotten something. Damn it. He bent and fished out his wallet, happy that he’d started carrying an emergency condom there decades before.

One day he wouldn’t need it. Even as he opened the packet and began rolling it over his cock, Dax realized he didn’t want to wear one with her. He would for now. They needed time together to solidify what he knew in his heart. But one day he wouldn’t need that thin piece of latex to separate them. She would welcome him as he planted his seed. She would carry his babies. Together, they would have a family.

First, he had to convince her that they would work.

He wasn’t stupid. He knew that tonight wouldn’t solve their problems. They would still exist tomorrow. So he had work to do if he wanted to make her believe in them the way he did.

And he had decisions to make. After hearing about her mother’s sad life and Holland’s fears, maybe the time had come to exit the Navy. He would work in the private sector. Sure, he’d always believed he would retire as a Naval officer, but the idea of leaving Holland behind to keep the home fires burning for months on end didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t imagine not spending time with her, not being here to protect her.

Maybe it should surprise him that she’d become more important to him than any career. It didn’t.

He secured the condom and climbed over her, spreading her legs and settling himself between her thighs. “I’m crazy about you, Holland.” He couldn’t divulge the true extent of his feelings. She wasn’t ready to hear them.

Her smile was lazy and sexy as she reached up for him. “Back at you, Spencer.” She touched his face and seemed to sober a bit. “I’m crazy about you, Dax. Have been since the day I met you.”

He pressed his stiff flesh against her soft opening, remembering the day. Joy had been dating Zack for a few months before Dax had gone out to San Diego for some R&R. The gang had been there, everyone meeting Zack’s girl for the first time, but all he’d been able to see was Holland. He couldn’t remember if the sky had been full of gloomy rain or brilliant sunshine. All he remembered was the yellow sundress she’d worn and the way her smile had lit up the room.

After tonight all he would be able to remember was how delicate she felt in his arms and how her eyes looked sleepy after she came even as she still welcomed him into her body.

Dax eased inside her hot, slick channel. Damn, she was so tight around him. He worked his way in, inch by inch, joining their bodies together. She wrapped her arms around his neck. When he pressed in deeper still, her eyes flared wide.

He froze. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Those nails of hers dug in slightly. “Don’t you dare stop. It feels good. So good. I’m not fragile, either. Don’t treat me like I am.”

She wasn’t weak, nor would she break if he was a little rough. She’d been built to take him, his need, his passion, then give it all back.

With a savage groan, he pushed inside her.

Fuck. It felt so perfect. So fucking right. He held himself still inside her, moving in to take her lips again. He slid his tongue against hers, showing her the rhythm he intended to use when he took her body. He thrust in and out of her mouth, just as he would the rest of her until he made a home for himself deep inside her soul.

He ground his hips against her as he started to thrust in sync with his kisses. Instantly, sensations swamped him. This was beyond anything he’d felt before. He was connected to her—and not just by their bodies. He could feel her all around him, her quiet reserve, her feminine strength, her intelligence, that sass she often hid.

Holland gasped and tightened her legs around him. She clung to him, her nails not so gentle on his back as he withdrew then sank deeper than before.

God, he loved it. He liked the little bite of pain from her nails as he ramped up the pace, shifting to hit the sensitive spot he’d found inside her. Her breath caught. She looked at him, stunned and needy, before she closed her eyes and cried out. She dug her fingers into his shoulders as she went over the edge. She couldn’t seem to help herself. And he’d done that to her, given her that pleasure. That jerked him off the leash. Dax let go of his restraint and pounded inside her.

She tightened again around him, her body tensing. She screamed his name.

His spine tingled and his whole body tensed. His heart slammed into his chest. Pleasure brewed, bubbled and rose, engulfing him in a torrent. It morphed into a consuming ecstasy that burst free and had him moaning with a guttural roar as he came. He gripped her as if he’d never let go and gave her everything he had, the bliss drowning him as it dragged him under in waves.

Timeless moments later, he dropped against her, completely spent.

She held him tight, panting from one breath to the next. “Are you sure that’s not why they call you Captain Awesome?”

Dax laughed. “Nope. That was all for you, sweetheart. And don’t think there isn’t more where that came from.”

He rolled to his side and kissed her again, determined to prove his point.


*

Dax’s mood was contemplative as he walked up the flower-lined path to his mother’s house. Earlier, Holland had headed into work, but he had the day off. He’d planned to ask some questions, poke around a bit, shake some trees. But he and Holland now had a deal. She would be leading the investigation. He would follow. It wasn’t comfortable exactly, but she was right. She had more experience with crime. And he trusted her to do the right thing.