The Maverick Page 10

  He bisected her middle with his finger, then slid the pad of his thumb over her clit, causing her to arch up against his hand. She whimpered, enjoying the torture, but he knew she wanted more.

  “Guy, please— I need— I want— Now.”

  In an instant he was sheathed in a condom, positioned between her legs and a half a second later—though it had felt like an eternity—he was sliding between her pink folds, then dipping into her, teasing her. Instinctively her feminine muscles clamped around him, attempting to trap him, draw him in. His dick throbbed with pleasure and he felt the beginning tingle of a climax stir in his loins, tighten his balls.

  Too soon, Guy thought.

  He dipped again, this time lingering a moment before withdrawing, savoring the feel of her tight heat fisting hard around him.

  Julia’s neck bowed, exposing her delicate throat, and her mouth opened in a silent moan of ecstasy. She arched beneath him, lifted her hips and rocked, then slid her hands up over his belly, grazed his midsection and scoured his masculine nipples with those neat, manicured feminine nails.

  Talk about a turn-on.

  He shuddered, closed his eyes, and only by sheer dent of will did he manage not to collapse on top of her, push himself so deeply inside her it would take a serious tow package to drag him out.

  He pushed again, this time surrendering, and buried himself deeply inside her. A sublime smile of satisfaction curled her kiss-swollen lips and her lids fluttered shut beneath the weight of pleasure. She didn’t just want him, Guy realized, she had to have him—the same way he had to have her.

  Seeing her reaction, feeling the absolute flawlessness of being inside her, made Guy’s his own eyes too heavy and they drifted shut as well. He set his jaw as the matchless perfection of being inside her suddenly consumed him.

  She was— She was— Words ultimately failed him. His throat clogged, his heart pounded out an odd rhythm in his chest and, were his toes not firmly planted into the blanket, they would have undoubtedly curled.

  Julia clamped around him again, rocked her hips, a silent but effective request and because he wanted nothing more at the moment than to lay in this meadow and make love to her for the rest of his life, he set everything else aside and concentrated on being her pirate—and he’d start by stealing an orgasm from her.

  With a deliberate flex, he withdrew and plunged into her again. Found a slow rhythm, savoring the resistance, the perfect draw and drag of their joined bodies. She drew her legs back and attached them to his waist, then reached around and cupped her warm hands over his ass, squeezing, urging, a mewl of carnal pleasure, a purr of satisfaction. She matched him thrust for thrust, easily, as though they’d done this hundreds of times, finding his pace, keeping it, then demanding more.

  He felt her tighten around him, then her voice caught, and she upped the tempo. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, whimpered and thrashed, the fever driving her mindless. Whereas seconds ago she’d been boneless and limp, now she’d gone rigid and wild, desperate for the orgasm Guy firmly intended to serve up. Previous lovers had left her wanting, but not him. He’d take her until his balls burst before he’d let her leave his arms unsatisfied.

  His own loins were experiencing the fiery torments of the damned and every cell in his body was ready for release. The instant she caught hers, Guy knew he’d come.

  He wrapped an arm around her waist, then pumped frantically, pistoned in and out of her until he thought for sure that his heart would explode. Her feminine muscles clamped again, heralding her impending climax.

  A long keening cry tore from her throat. Her body bowed off the blanket, bucked beneath him and the walls of her tight sex collapsed forcefully around him.

  And that was all it took to make him explode like a nuclear bomb, pleasure imploding upon itself. She spasmed hard around him, flexed and quivered, and with each pulse he felt himself quake even harder inside her. Her climax perfectly sapped his, draining him of everything but the unmatched satisfaction of phenomenal back-bending wild gorilla sex.

  When the very last pulse throbbed out of him, Guy gently withdrew, then collapsed next to her and rolled her up firmly next to his side. He draped the blanket over them, watched a butterfly drift lazily from the wildflowers blooming in the meadow.

  Her head lay nestled against his chest, her hair spilling over and tickling his side. She rested her sweet palm upon his abdomen, and slung a smooth leg over his thigh. In short, she melted over him like hot caramel over a scoop of ice cream and he didn’t know when he’d ever felt anything more remarkable—altering—in his life.

  Heart still pounding, Guy bent and pressed a kiss on top of her head, then looked up at the clear blue sky and felt a wash of contentment bathe over him.

  Dammit, he shouldn’t be feeling this—shouldn’t be wanting her the way he did. Needing her. He was a bachelor, dammit, committed to his lifestyle of…what? Guy wondered suddenly.

  Of nothing.

  Work, friends, mother and a dog. The K.I.S.S. approach to life—Keep It Simple Stupid.

  “Guy?”

  He swirled his fingers on her upper arm. “Hmm?”

  A slow sigh slipped past her lips. “Thank you for everything this week. I needed… Well, you know exactly what I needed and you gave it to me and I’m…” He felt her swallow. “I’m grateful.” She paused. “And I’m going to miss you.”

  His chest tightened, forcing him to swallow, as well. He knew he should say something—she’d opened herself up to him—and yet he couldn’t find the words. Or at least not the right words because everything he wanted to say was the exact opposite of what he knew was ultimately right.

  He wanted to say “I’ll miss you, too” or “Why miss me? This doesn’t have to be over.” But those were the words of a man looking for a committed relationship, of a man who ultimately longed for a family and someone to come home to in the evenings.

  Until this week, Guy had never wanted anything remotely resembling that and yet a few days with Julia and he found himself longing for things he’d long ago decided would never be right for him. Bad blood, he’d always told himself. Why risk it?

  Resisting the idea had been easy because up until now he’d never met a woman who awakened those kinds of feelings inside him. He’d never wanted the honey-I’m-home fantasy. Never wanted to see another girl past his three date limit. He’d already had more than three dates with Julia, she’d eaten off his plate last night and, though he knew it was an exercise in torture, he planned to blow the bachelor rules all to hell and spend the night with her tonight.

  Leaving, when he knew their time was almost up, was out of the question. He didn’t have the strength.

  The new question, of course, would be if he had the strength to leave her tomorrow…

  JULIA LAY PERFECTLY STILL and waited to see if Guy would respond to her “I’ll miss you” comment, the one and only concession she intended to make on how very much he’d impacted her life in just a short time and how much she wished it wouldn’t end. Five beats slid to ten and then she was forced to come to the unhappy conclusion that he was content to leave things the way they were.

  Okay, she thought and released a slow breath.

  She’d be fine, she told herself. The tightness in her chest would eventually go away and the heart which had lodged in her throat had to settle at some point. She felt her eyes sting, because things had been simply magical—better than anything she’d ever experienced and instinctively knew would ever experience again—but she determinedly blinked back the moisture and told herself to buck up.

  Even knowing that they were through, Julia knew she wouldn’t change a single thing about this week. No, that wasn’t true. Realizing how precious their time would be together, she wouldn’t have wasted that first day. One more day, she thought.

  Who would have thought it would have been so important?

  Of course, one day would lead to another and another and probably, given the tender emotion which rose in her chest
every time she looked at Guy, she’d always want just one more day.

  Her lips quirked. One more now.

  If nothing else, he’d given that. Julia no longer believed that she was a poor lover. Guy had made certain of that, taking her hard and fast, then soft and slow and always—always—wanting her. She could see it in those clear green eyes each and every time he looked at her. Desire, sexual hunger, always lurked in her pirate’s gaze, Julia thought, smiling. Her shoulders shook with an unexpected chuckle. He’d certainly plundered the living hell out of her, that was for sure.

  “What’s so funny?” Guy wanted to know.

  She giggled. “Nothing.”

  “That didn’t sound like a nothing kind of giggle,” he said suspiciously, drawing away so that he could look at her. “Come on,” he cajoled. “Tell me.”

  Julia felt a blush was over her cheeks, but decided to share anyway. She rubbed a hand over his belly and sighed. “You know how I’ve told you that you remind me of a modern-day pirate?”

  Guy chuckled. “Yes. You cited my disregard for rules, I believe.”

  “Right. Well, I was just laying here thinking about how fabulous being with you has been and— Well, what are pirates famous for?”

  “Eye patches and peg legs.”

  “Smart-ass. Aside from that, what are they famous for?”

  “Pillaging and plundering,” he told her.

  “Right. And I’d say you’d plundered the hell out of me, wouldn’t you?”

  Guy’s neck arched back against the blanket and a loud laugh rumbled up his chest, vibrating her side. “Now that’s an interesting analogy.”

  Julia smiled and pressed a kiss against his chest. “Well, you’re an interesting guy.”

  “Thank you,” he murmured. “You’re pretty damned interesting yourself.”

  “I don’t know about that,” Julia said doubtfully. “But thanks for the compliment, anyway.” She traced a jagged scar on his chest and frowned. “Did you get this while in the military?” she asked.

  He stilled. “No. That one—all of them actually—came from my old man. He was a mean bastard.”

  He said it glibly, as though getting beaten by his father had simply been a foregone conclusion. Horrified, Julia leaned up on one elbow so that she properly look at him. “Guy,” she breathed softly, aching for the little boy he’d been. No wonder she hadn’t been able to imagine him being small—he’d had that luxury snatched away from him at the hands of a parent, the ultimate betrayal.

  He turned to look at her and offered a bracing smile. “No big deal,” he said. “He was a drunk. He left when I was seventeen. Believe me, it was the best thing that ever happened to me or my mother.”

  “She couldn’t protect you?”

  He swallowed. “She tried.”

  Julia wanted to ask the obvious question—why didn’t she leave a man who would beat her child? What in God’s name had possessed her to stay? “Don’t judge her,” Guy said, evidently reading her line of thought. “He was good at being repentant and she was very religious. She did the best she could. She was a victim, too.”

  Julia knew that, but still…

  “What about your family?” Guy wanted to know. “You’ve talked about your dad, but never mentioned your mother.”

  Julia rested her head against his shoulder once more. “Mom’s mom,” she said, smiling. “She’s the poster child for plastic surgery and is swiftly running through Dad’s retirement fund for the latest procedures, but he doesn’t seem to mind.”

  “Plastic surgery, eh?” Guy said. He hummed under his breath. “You’re not into that, are you?”

  “No,” Julia said, dragging the word out for emphasis.

  He drew back to look at her again. Curiosity gleamed in his gaze. “Struck a nerve, did I?”

  Julia chewed the inside of her cheek. “No.” She sighed. “Let’s just say my mother has never had any problem pointing out my imperfections.”

  “What?” he asked, seemingly outraged. “What the hell does she think is wrong with you? You’re perfect.”

  Julia’s lips slid into a grin, warmed by his comment. He had no idea what it meant to her, which made it all the more special. “I’m not perfect, but thank you.”

  “Stop arguing with me,” he told her. “If I say you’re perfect, then you’re perfect, dammit. Anybody who says otherwise should have their eyes checked. Tell your mother to have laser surgery.”

  Julia chuckled. “She already has.”

  “What’s she want to change about you?”

  “My nose,” Julia finally admitted. “It’s big, I know. But it’s mine and I’m not changing it.”

  Suddenly serious Guy leaned up so that he could look at her. “Julia, there is nothing—nothing—wrong with your nose. You are beautiful and what makes you so pretty is the fact that you don’t realize how gorgeous you truly are.” He bent down and pressed a gentle kiss on the tip of nose, causing her eyes to inexplicably water. “Don’t ever change it.”

  “Thank you,” Julia said, twining her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her mouth for a slow, deep kiss. She put every ounce of feeling she possessed into the melding of their mouths, the gratitude and desire, the hunger and the need. Gave it everything she had and then drew back.

  Mossy green heavy lidded eyes stared back at her. “You should probably plunder the hell out of me again,” Julia told him. “Now.”

  His lips quirked and humor danced in his gaze. “Shiver me timbers,” he drawled, then fastened his mouth to hers.

  11

  “THANKS FOR GIVING me another audience before you leave,” Garrett said to both Julia and Guy. Looking beautiful but oddly tense, Guy watched Julia take the seat next to him. “I was interested in your final assessment and overall impression of the team. Ms. Beckam—” Garrett said, directing his attention to Julia “—how do you think the men responded to your portion of the class?”

  Julia smiled. “Well, like most men they were a little concerned when they found out that I was a relationship therapist and I think they were afraid I was going to whip out the hand puppets or pass around a talking stick and make them share their feelings,” she teased. “But once they realized that I was merely there to suggest ways to help them recognize, build and authenticate trust, they relaxed.”

  She’d hit the nail on the head, Guy thought. “Honestly, sir,” Guy chimed in. “While I appreciated your original opinion on the matter, I was concerned, as well. However, Julia came right in and put the group at ease and I am certain that these men have benefited tremendously from her participation. She did a helluva job.”

  Julia smiled at him, evidently surprised at his praise. But it was true. She had done a fabulous job. She’d been organized, witty and well informed and the new team had responded to all of those things.

  Hell, he had.

  Garrett nodded, seemingly pleased. “Excellent,” he said. “Would you be interested in doing this again, Ms. Beckam? Maybe on a longer scale?”

  Julia nodded. “Certainly, sir. It was a pleasure.”

  “Thank you.” His gaze slid to Guy. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to McCann alone.”

  Julia blinked. “Oh. Certainly.”

  She was leaving? Guy thought, suddenly panicked. Now? Oh, no. She couldn’t leave. He needed to talk to her. There were things he needed to say. He wasn’t entirely sure what yet, but he knew he couldn’t let her walk away. “Don’t leave before I get back,” he murmured. “Please.”

  Catching his gaze, she looked a little wary, but nodded anyway.

  Garrett waited until Julia had quietly let herself out of the room before speaking. “Okay, McCann, you’ve had a chance to look at Project Chameleon’s replacement team. You’ve worked with them first hand. It’s nut-cutting time. How do you think they’re going to do? Do I need to retire? Or am I good for another few years?”

  Guy blew out a breath and leaned forward in his chair. “They’re green,” he admitted. “But th
ey’re a good team, Colonel. And they’re only going to get better. Each man brings something unique to the group and it’s a good, solid dynamic. Furthermore, while they don’t have the history that the first team had, they have been together enough to genuinely build a solid base.” He leaned back once more. “I’d say you’re career is safe for the time being.”

  Garrett deflated, his shoulders rounding under the weight of relief. “Thank God,” he said. “The wife keeps yammering on about my joining the Garden Club and taking up photography.”

  “Photography?”

  Garrett scowled. “She wants us to have a hobby we can share,” he said grimly, as though it were a fate worse than death.

  Guy suppressed a smile. “Oh.”

  “There are worse things, I’m sure, but I’m just not ready to end this chapter of my life.” He paused and considered Payne thoughtfully. “I admire you, McCann, for having the courage to make a change. You and your friends.” A long sigh leaked out of his lungs. “You stay in the same rut for so long that you lose the nerve to rattle the cart and clear the ditch. I love my job,” he said. “I really do, but it’s because I’ve never learned to do anything else.”

  Guy paused, touched by Garrett’s unexpected confession and resulting praise. He’d always thought that he, Jamie and Payne had let Garrett down when they’d left the military. He’d never realized that the colonel had actually admired them for having the stones to make a change. Furthermore, he knew this little conversation hadn’t been easy for Garrett and he truly appreciated that he’d taken him into his confidence.

  Guy smiled at Garrett. “There’s no need when you’re so damned good at what you do, Colonel.”

  His face instantly creased into a broad smile. “Thanks, McCann. So what’s next for you? I assume your security business is doing well?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “What about a personal level?” he asked shrewdly. “Flanagan and Payne certainly haven’t wasted any time finding a woman to keep the home fires burning.”