The low hum of the music broke into the deep sleep that had her in its clutches. Ellie slowly cracked open her eyes to find the bright Hawaiian sun streaming into her bedroom, curtains wide open. Facing her was a man—correction, it was Bennett.
He still slept, his scruff thicker than it had been the previous day, but damn if it didn’t still make her panties wet.
Or would if I was wearing any panties.
Bennett lay on his side, facing her, thick lashes resting upon his cheeks. His lips were parted as he slept, deeply. No snoring, just heavy restful sleep. He didn’t have a lot of body hair, which suited her just fine. This way she had a clearer, more unobstructed view of his defined pectorals and abdomen. She could see his scar but it didn’t take away from his attractiveness. It scared her, however, to think he may not have been in her life at all if they’d not been able to save him.
That was definitely a sight to wake up to. The pale green sheet was up over his hips, hiding his lower half from her lustful gaze.
So damn tempting to lift the sheet, just to steal another look or three. I don’t know if he’d wake up, but hey, if he did that would be fine as well.
They’d worked out whatever needed to be between them from the hiking incident. There wasn’t any deep discussion but there’d been enough for her to realize that was a sore point for him. Not like she’d not figured that out when it happened out on the hiking trail. Either way, for the moment, sex had solved the issue. And she was okay with that.
She slowly slipped from the bed and drew on a long t-shirt before padding her way out to the kitchen to begin breakfast and coffee. For a brief moment, she thought about flipping on the news but decided that it wasn’t a way for her to begin her day. She cracked some eggs into a bowl and whisked them. Pulling out some fruit, she put them in the sink to be washed off after she put the eggs in a baking dish for a frittata.
“I could do to find my cell phone, though.”
She wasn’t sure where she’d put it. Typically, she was good about it but with the injury on her finger, it hadn’t been her top priority. Scanning her small apartment, she replayed last night’s events through her mind. Right up until Bennett appeared at her door. Her phone had already been put somewhere when he showed and she sure as hell wasn’t about to forget their time together.
She went to her purse and rooted through it, frowning when she didn’t see it in there. There really wasn’t anywhere else for it to be. Unless it was in the pants she’d been wearing to the emergency room, she’d check those later. If she went to do so now, she’d wake him up.
The rich smell of coffee reached her and she turned to the machine with a smile. This was her love. Right there. Good strong coffee. Going to the cabinet, she pushed up on her toes to reach for a mug.
A low whistle had her casting a glance over her shoulder. There he stood. Bennett wore only his jeans, showing off his defined chest and bare feet. Instantly she wanted to forego breakfast and take the time to spend enjoying the physique she stared at.
“I could have gotten it down for you.” He walked easily to her, brushed his lips along her cheek and removed not one, but two, mugs.
“I’m capable of reaching a mug.”
“And look so fucking hot doing so. Maybe it was nothing more than a ploy to get me right next to your body.”
She quirked an eyebrow and snorted. “You spent all night next to my body, at what point did you start thinking you needed a ploy to get there?”
Handing her the vessels for the coffee, he thought about her words. Sure, he had the approval for now, but he was thinking something much more long term. Arms crossed, he watched as she made short work of fixing their drinks. Even home, she moved with short effective bartender moves, nothing wasted in the creation of her drink. Or his.
He knew it was perfect and took a drink to validate the thought. I was right.
Placing the sky-blue mug on the counter, he nudged her away from the fruit in the colander waiting in the sink. “I got the fruit. You keep your hand dry.”
Her hand. She sneered as she stared down at the vibrant reminder that she had more than one klutzy tendency. At least it didn’t happen at work. This would have put me out of work for a spell.
“Right,” she mumbled.
Facing the casserole dish, she finished mixing up the frittata, checked the temperature of the oven, and slid the dish into the interior. Once she set the timer, she picked up her drink and went back to the table where she sat with a groan.
Bennett moved behind her and began massaging her shoulders. She released a pure moan of pleasure and allowed her head to fall forward, offering him more access.
“Touch of the gods.”
“I live to serve.” A light brush of his lips danced along her exposed skin. “What do you want to do today?”
“Bookstores,” she replied immediately. “I have a few on a list that I want to check for a few items I’m searching for.”
He kissed her shoulder then sat beside her, long jean clad legs sticking out along the edge of the table. She ran her gaze up them and lingered her attention to his groin. He cleared his throat and she snapped her eyes up to meet his amused ones.
“What’s the deal with you and the bookstores?” He gestured around her place. “I don’t see a lot of books around here, so the ones you get, what do you do with them?”
She laced her fingers around the mug, swearing yet again at the bulky wrapping around her injured digit. “I have a list—okay, a few of them—on my computer of books that I need to complete older series. I hunt old bookstores to find them and when I get them, I take them to the storage unit and keep them safe.”
He bent his left leg, drawing her attention once more to the easy flex of muscle in his quad beneath the denim. “Safe?”
“I have an air and humidity-controlled place that I keep the books at.”
“Why don’t you just get them on a Kindle or some other e-reader?”
She stared at him, blinking as she absorbed and replayed his words over and over in her head. Those offensive words. “Comments like that will get you kicked out before breakfast.”
He shrugged. “What? It’s not only a legitimate question, it would save you space and time.”
“I happen to love going to used bookstores. I love the scent of real books, the heavy weight of them in my hand. And these are first editions I’m looking for. Not the fifth or sixth reprint with a new cover.”
“So those ones you got the other day, where are they?”
“I gave the dragon ones to Jason and the other three are on my end table. You probably would have noticed them there if you’d not been more interested in bending me over the back of the couch.”
“I’ll always be more interested in bending you over something than a stack of books. That I promise you.”
The easy banter continued through breakfast and the shower that followed. He drove them downtown and parked. She slipped her sunglasses on her face as she stepped out of the truck and took the hand Bennett offered her.
The police sirens rose and fell as the cars raced by heading to their destination. She didn’t care, it wasn’t her concern. This was time for her to walk about and spend some time with the man beside her.
“How do you feel about helicopters?”
“I’m not a pilot but if you’re asking me if I am scared of them, the answer is no.”
“Good, I’ve got us booked on a flight around the islands later.”
“Sounds like fun.”
She pushed up on her toes and kissed his cheek before setting out for the first bookstore of the day. A happy smile curved up her lips as they began their adventures for the day. One thing was for sure, she owed her boss for giving her this forced vacation. It’s what she needed to renew her soul.
αβ
“Fuck me!” Bennett cried out, his body lurching up, driving his cock deeper into the perfect mouth around him. Ellie watched him with her amazing eyes as she sucked him off and he accepted he wasn’t going to be holding out much longer before he released his load.
Tightening his fingers in her short hair, he prayed for this exquisite torture to last even longer. He closed his eyes as she teased his balls before tugging on them with short, careful touches. It wasn’t to be so. With a low roar, he bucked his hips and came hard.
It wasn’t until an hour more had passed that they untangled their bodies from one another. They’d had a full day—bookstores, helicopter ride, dinner. Ellie yawned and rolled over on her other side before snuggling down beneath the blankets.
“My mom wants us to come for breakfast tomorrow.”
She stilled, a deer sensing the predator but unsure of where it watched her from. He tucked his arm around her gut and drew her back into his naked body.
“I know you’re not sleeping, Ellie.”
“I heard you. I didn’t think you were asking me if it was okay.”
“Of course I’m asking. I want you to come with me, she wants to meet you but I’m not going to force you.”
“While I’m not sure I’m ready for that part, sure, I’m in.” Another yawn. “I’m beat, you wore me out today.”
“Sleep, Smash.”
In moments, the room was full of her soft snores. With a quick kiss to her temple, he climbed from the bed and located his phone. Checking his messages, he dialed Drummer.
The man answered after three rings.
“Yes?”
“Am I interrupting?”
“Only a little bit but that’s okay, she can keep sucking while I talk. I didn’t tell you to stop, honey, keep going.”
What a pig.
“Are you at my place?”
“Not at the moment, I was planning on crashing there again if that’s okay with you.”
“Yeah fine. We missed dinner today.”
“I have time to meet for a beer. We’re shipping back out tomorrow, holy shit,” he yelped. “Watch the teeth.”
“Meet me for a beer when you’re done. I really don’t need to be on the phone with you while you’re getting blown.” He ended the call, shaking his head.
Bennett stared at the woman sound asleep in her bed. She lay on her side but as he watched, she shifted to fully be on her stomach, head slipping beneath one of the numerous pillows on her bed.
Yelling at himself for this decision to go meet with Drummer as opposed to crawling back into bed with the woman lying there, he shook his head. He needed to visit with his friend.
“I’ll be back,” he whispered as he grabbed his clothing and stepped into the shower for another quick one.
Within the hour, he walked into Last Call and gave a nod to the man he’d come to see. Drummer lounged at a table, long fingers already curved around the handle of a beer mug.
“Didn’t wait for me I see.”
He claimed a seat across from him, caught Rachel’s eye, and held up one finger. She gave him a sharp nod in response, so he met Drummer’s blue eyes.
“I see you lost the leech.”
Drummer’s dark eyebrows rose beneath the hair falling over his forehead. “Excuse me?”
“When I talked to you last, you had something sucking on you.”
The grin crossing his face had Bennett laughing.
“I left her satisfied.”
Rachel brought his drink and placed it on a coaster before him. “Here you go, doll.”
“Thanks, Rachel.”
“You frequent here a lot if they know your name.”
He sipped the cold brew. “Actually, she didn’t use mine, I used hers. But I do come here often. Where are you going?”
Undesirable emotion flickered over his features. “Fucking Sandbox.”
For a brief intense moment, Bennett was jealous and angry that he could no longer be upset he was heading around the world once more. He rubbed his chest, cursing the partial lung that had removed that option from him for the rest of his life.
Ellie’s words floated around in his mind. She’d been spot on. He couldn’t continue dwelling in the past and what may or may not have been his path in life. Were he still in, there wasn’t any guarantee he would be alive at this moment.
That thought soured his gut. Dead meant no Ellie.
“How are you? What are you doing? Does your injury hold you back?”
“I work at an IT company, from home. So, no, it doesn’t hold me back.” He struggled not to reach for his chest and rub the ever-present scar that haunted him and had ended his career.
Drummer whistled. “Nice. Do you get to set your own hours?”
“Mostly. There are sometimes I’m on to help them out even more but I’m typically in the background, working on code.”
“You were definitely our tech guy out there. How’s civilian life?”
Bennett leaned back in his chair. “Different. You thinking of getting out?”
“I ain’t getting any younger.”
“What about Laura? How does she feel about you retiring from the Teams? Or at least considering it?”
Drummer shoved his hand through his hair. “No clue. We’re not together anymore.”
He heard the longing in his voice. “Sorry, man. Divorced or separated?”
“Separated, not that it matters. We’re not together.”
“Not true. She didn’t divorce you, so there’s hope, yes?”
“I haven’t seen my kids either.” He finished his beer and rocked back in his chair. “I miss my family.”
“Go get them. Are they still in California?”
He nodded. “Or so I knew last.”
“When you’re back, head there. And, I’m not exactly the best for this bit of advice, but here goes anyway. Keep away from the women.”
Drummer glared. “She’s the one who wanted the separation, not me.” His words were low and forceful.
“And?”
“So what harm is it if I pay some whore to suck me off?”
“I would imagine a lot. How would you feel if some man marries your daughter and gave you that excuse as to why they were with another woman?”
“I’d fucking kill him.”
Bennett just cocked a brow and waited for it to sink in to his friend. He’d never approved of the man’s promiscuity not even while they served together, but he had different ideals about that than some did.
Drummer accepted another drink and let the conversation die. Bennett didn’t push it; Drummer’s decision was his own. No one else’s.
Eventually the talk turned to catching up on the other guys he’d served with. He stayed for two hours, occasionally spying Dogfish as he manned the bar. The crotchety Marine cast a few looks in his direction and Bennett wasn’t sure he was happy or not to see him there.
Paying his tab, Bennett said farewell to his friend and left, giving a nod to Dogfish as he headed out.
I see why she walks to work.
It was a nice stroll from her place to the bar. Well lit, at least for the most part, and he felt better about her doing this night after night. Back at her place, he let himself in, stripped back down, then crawled into bed, curling into the warm feminine body already there.
“Where’d you go?”
“Met Drummer for a drink.”
She laced their fingers. “Who’s Drummer?”
“SEAL I used to work with.”
“Oh.”
Her word was a bit sharp and he got it. Last time they’d mentioned his past career he’d blow his shit and yelled at her. However, hearing the issues that Drummer was having made him all the clearer on what he wanted. And that was Ellie. She had a right to voice her opinion when they had a conversation.
“He ships back out tomorrow.” Bennett nipped her shoulder. “So, we had one last drink before he goes.”
“You didn’t want to spend more time with him?”
“He had something else in mind after the beer.”
“I’m sure he did.” She rolled over to face him. “You weren’t having any of that?”
“Hell no. I was coming home.”
“Nice,” she murmured, burrowing closer to her.
He thought so. She’d become home for him and centered the wildness within.