Breaking Ties by Elle James
Chapter 4
Beth rolled over onto him,straddling his hips, her knees pressing into the couch cushions. Now that she’d started down this path, she didn’t want to stop. “I don’t want to miss anything about this night or the possibilities that it holds. I leave tomorrow. I need something to hold me over until I get back.”
Dawg rested his hand on her hips. “I have protection, but it’s in the bedroom.”
Beth drew in a deep breath, threw back her head and let the air out slowly. Then she climbed off his lap, held out her hand and pulled him to his feet. “Last one there has to give the other a back rub.” Before he could get off the couch, she was halfway down the hall, giggling as she went.
He caught up with her as she reached his bedroom door. Dawg scooped her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way into his room and set her on her feet. “Now is your time to back out. If you don’t, all bets are off.”
“I’m willing to take that wager and raise you one.” She pushed his T-shirt up over his head and tossed it against the wall. Then her hands rose to the back of her dress her fingers curling around the zipper tab. She drew it downward, ever so slowly.
Dawg brushed her hands aside and finished lowering the zipper down her back and pushed the straps of the dress off her shoulders.
The fabric slipped over her hips and dropped to the floor. She stood in nothing but a pair of black, lace, thong panties, her breasts naked, exposed to his gaze. Rather than cover them, she pushed her shoulders back and tipped her chin up.
“Beautiful.” Dawg groaned and captured her butt cheeks in his hands, lifting her up.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and lowered herself over his hard erection, encased in blue denim jeans.
He groaned again.
Beth liked that he was so hard with his desire for her. It made her feel powerful. She cupped his cheeks between her palms and leaned down to press a kiss to his lips, opening to let in his tongue.
He swept past her teeth, deepening the kiss until she was breathless and hungry for so much more.
Dawg laid her on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling over the side, and ripped his shirt over his head.
His chest was as broad and muscular as she’d imagined. Several scars added character to the smooth, tanned skin.
Beth’s pulse quickened. She sat up and reached for the button on his jeans, pushing it loose. Then she gripped the tab on his zipper and pulled it downward slowly, thinking boxers or briefs?
When his cock sprang free, she gasped.
Commando!
She pushed the jeans over his hips and down his legs.
Dawg shoved them the rest of the way down and stepped free. He stood before her naked and stunningly sexy.
Her breath caught and held in her throat as she reached out to cup his erection in her hand.
Slowly, she moved her fingers over his hard length, loving the velvety smoothness over the rock-hard strength of his desire. Tracing the tip of her finger over the head, she bent to touch her tongue to the tip where a drop of moisture glistened.
His body stiffened, and he gripped her hair in his hands.
Slowly, savoring every moment, every taste and texture, Beth closed her mouth over his cock and drew him in.
Dawg threw back his head, his hands tightening in her hair, urging her to take more.
She sheathed him with her lips until he bumped against the back of her throat. For a long moment, she held him there, flicking her tongue around his girth. Then she slid her hands around his backside and urged him out of her and back in, establishing a pace he picked up.
He moved gently in and out of her mouth, careful not to gag her.
Heat coiled around her core, manifesting itself in moisture between her thighs. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait to have him inside her. Already, she was tingling at her center.
When Dawg pulled out of her, he dropped to his knees in front of her, parting her legs. “Your turn,” he said, his voice deep and gravelly as if he were holding onto control by a thread.
“You don’t have to,” she said and gasped as he parted her folds and flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue.
“Oh, sweet heaven,” she moaned and fell back against the comforter, her fingers gripping the fabric, holding on to keep herself grounded while he sent her body to the moon.
Again and again, he flicked her there and nibbled and licked until Beth could barely breathe.
The tension in her body mounted. Every breath she took hitched. She wove her hands into his hair as she shot over the edge, sensations racing through her system with her release.
For a long time, she pulsed, her hips rocking, her head thrown back.
Dawg continued his attack, licking, flicking and stroking her until she fell back to earth, satiated, yet wanting more.
Then he climbed to his feet, reached into the drawer beside the bed and grabbed a small packet.
Beth took it from his fingers, tore it open and rolled the condom down over his shaft.
Dawg bent to claim her lips, tasting of her. As he did, he touched his cock to her drenched entrance and eased into her.
Beth wrapped her legs around his waist.
As he stood beside the bed, Dawg moved in and out of her, picking up speed with every thrust until he rocked like a piston. His hands on her hips, he pounded into her until his body stiffened and he thrust one last time, burying himself deep inside of her.
For a long moment, he held her there, his head back, his eyes closed and his jaw hard. When his cock quit throbbing against her channel, he drew in a long, slow breath and let it out. “Wow,” he said and pulled free of her. Then he helped her slide up on the bed and laid down beside her, gathering her into his arms. “Are you really leaving tomorrow?” he whispered against her neck, nuzzling her earlobe.
She nodded. “I report in the morning for my briefing. I have to have my gear with me because we’re leaving soon after.”
“I’d like to see you again,” he said.
She smiled and touched his lips with the tips of her fingers. “I’d like that, too.”
His brow furrowed. “Problem is…I don’t know when that will be.”
She chuckled. “I’ll leave an opening on my calendar when I return.”
“Seriously.” He smoothed a hand over her hair and brushed his thumb along her jawline. “I want to see you a lot more. I wish we had found each other well before being deployed. I feel like we’re out of time.”
She turned and shot a glance at the clock on the nightstand. “Actually, we are out of time. I need to get back to my place. I still have a few things to pack and I have to be up before the crack of dawn.”
“Right,” Dawg rolled up on his arm and stared down into her eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman, Beth Drennan. I’m glad we were both trying to escape the crowd at the Salty Dog last night.”
She smiled up at him. “Me, too. Who knew the night would only get better? And I got to meet Chewy.”
Dawg kissed her, hard, taking her in his arms and holding her close, skin to skin.
When he raised his head, his lips pressed into a flat line. “I need to get you home.” He rolled out of the bed, grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. Then he snagged Beth’s dress and panties and handed them to her.
She swung her legs out of the bed and stood, beautifully naked and unashamed or shy. She stepped into her dress and pulled it up her body, sliding her arms into the straps. Then she turned for him to zip the back.
He did so, gladly, his knuckles brushing her skin, making him want to take her back to bed.
When he finished, Beth leaned back against his chest. “I wish I didn’t have to leave right now.”
Dawg swept his hands down her arms to her hips. He leaned close and pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck. “Do you have to?”
“Mmm. Soon,” she said and turned in his arms.
His lips curved. “Real soon?” He slid his hands under the hem of her dress and cupped her naked ass.
Her irises flared, and she moved closer, pressing her hips to his. “Maybe not too soon?”
He bent and hooked the backs of her thighs and lifted her.
She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her center against the ridge beneath the fly of his jeans. “One for the road?”
He nuzzled her neck. “As long as you can reach into the nightstand.”
Beth leaned over, pulled open the drawer and fished out another special packet.
“Good girl.” Dawg carried her into the dining room and sat her on the edge of the table where they’d had dinner. “We’ll call it dessert.” He unzipped his fly. When his cock sprang free, he leaned back and let her apply the condom to his engorged staff. Her hands on him made him even harder and more determined to have her again.
Once she’d sheathed him, Beth guided him to her entrance and scooted to the edge of the table, giving him more access.
He slid into her warmth. She felt so very good wrapped tightly around him, making him swell inside her.
Then he moved. Slowly at first, then building up speed as he pumped in and out of her.
With her dress hitched up around her waist, she leaned back on her hands, her head tipped back, her eyes closed.
He reached between them and fondled her clit, stroking it with his fingers, flicking the little nubbin of flesh until her breathing grew ragged and her channel tightened around his cock.
When she cried out her release, he slammed into her once more and held onto her hips as he rode his orgasm to the end.
He kissed her again, pulled free and stripped the condom off, dropping it into the trash.
Once he’d washed his hands, he retrieved Beth’s panties from the other room and found her shoes beside the couch.
She still sat on the edge of the table. “I don’t think my legs will hold me,” she said with a grin.
“Then allow me.” He slid her panties over her feet and ankles and up her long legs as far as he could while she remained seated. Then he slipped her shoes onto her feet and pulled her off the table, standing her in front of him. When she swayed, he slipped his arms around her and held her close. “I need to get you to your place so you can get some sleep.”
“I can sleep on the flight to wherever the hell I’m going,” she said.
“And you still don’t know where you’re headed?”
Beth shook her head. “I won’t know until the briefing tomorrow. And then, maybe, only the continent.” She snorted. “It’s all hush-hush.”
Once she was steady on her feet, he reached beneath her dress, pulled her panties in place then stepped back and offered his hand.
She took it and let him lead her toward the door.
Chewy was up and trotting beside them, eager to go wherever they went.
“Sorry, buddy,” Dawg said. “You have to stay. I’ll be right back.”
When Dawg looked up, he caught Beth smiling at him, the light dancing in her eyes.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“Nothing. I just think it’s cute that you talk to your dog.”
He held up his other hand. “Doesn’t everyone who has a dog?”
Beth frowned. “I can’t imagine my ex talking to a dog. He barely talks to his patients. He only spares enough conversation to diagnose.”
“Not much of a bedside manner?”
She shook her head. “Not much of one. But he’s amazing at diagnosing and treating people.”
He led her out to his truck and helped her up into it. Once he climbed in beside her, he glanced across the console and into her eyes. “I don’t want to take you home.”
“I could call for a cab or Uber,” she suggested. “There’s no need for you to go out this late.”
He shook his head, a smile teasing the corners of his lips. “No, it’s not that, it’s not wanting to end this evening. I know we won’t see each other for a long time.” He started the vehicle and pulled out onto the street in front of his house. “I’m just getting to know you. I’d like a little more time.”
“But we go when we have to,” she whispered.
The rest of the drive was made in silence.
When Dawg pulled up to her apartment building, he shifted into park and started to get out.
Beth laid a hand on his arm. “Stay here. I can see myself to my own door.”
When he opened his mouth to argue, she shook her head. “Seriously. It’s hard enough parting like this.”
He reached out and cupped her cheek. “If only we weren’t deploying in the next couple of days...”
She covered his hand with hers and leaned her cheek into his palm. “It’s not goodbye. I refuse to let it be.”
He brushed his thumb across her lips. “I hope you’ll consider going out on another date with me when we’re both back stateside.”
She nodded. “I’d like that.” Beth leaned across the console and kissed him long and hard.
He captured the back of her head and deepened the kiss.
When he let go, she slipped out of the truck and ran across the parking lot to her door. Moments later, she was inside with the door closed between them.
For the next few minutes, Dawg sat in his truck staring at Beth’s apartment door, wondering when he’d gone from liking the pretty nurse to falling in love with her.
Now that they were being separated by their duties, he wondered if they’d ever get back together. Or had what they’d experienced that night only been a dream, never to happen again?