Two cigarettes after we’d left the precinct, Kim and I made our way to my car.
As I waited for the AC to cool everything off, I turned to her. “We’re both back to work tomorrow. I guess I should take you home so we can get unpacked.”
“Oh God.” Kim pinched the bridge of her nose. “Goddamn it. I don’t want to go back there.”
“Back where? The barracks?”
She nodded.
“What? Why?”
“Word was getting around. Even before I went on leave.” She lowered her hand and leaned over, hugging herself. “I heard some of the guys in the barracks talking about how hot pregnant women are. And fucking them is awesome because you don’t have to use a rubber.”
“Yeah, guys talk.”
She eyed me. “And they’ve conveniently brought up that subject three times while I was within earshot.”
“Fuck . . .”
“Yeah. And . . .” She swallowed, and her jaw tightened as she stared out the window.
“What? Tell me?”
“They, um . . .” She pulled in a deep breath as she turned to me. “I heard someone say if a chick’s pregnant, she obviously, well, wants it. To be fucked, I mean.”
“Jesus.”
She sniffed. “Isn’t it nice that our chain of command leads by example?”
I couldn’t even muster a smile. I reached across the console and held her hand in her lap. “Sweetheart, do you feel safe in the barracks?”
Kim shuddered.
“Why don’t you come stay with me?”
She turned her head. “I’m an E4. I can’t live off-base.”
“Under the circumstances, I don’t think you should live on-base.” I squeezed her hand. “It’s up to you.”
“You really don’t mind?”
“Not in the least.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
I took her back to the barracks so we could pick up a few things for her. As she packed, I glanced down the hall. A few doors were open and male voices talked shit over video games while a couple of guys in uniform headed out, probably on their way to work. Only a door and thin walls separated her from any of them. I could only imagine how she felt living here. If it was anything like how I’d felt after Afghanistan, then she needed to get the hell out of here and go someplace safe. Maybe she couldn’t get away from these guys at work, but she could at least undress, shower, and sleep without being terrified every time she heard someone walk past her door.
After she’d packed, I took her seabag and hoisted it onto my shoulders. She slid her laptop and a paperback that had been sitting by her bed into a small backpack.
She followed me to my apartment, which was about fifteen minutes from White Beach, and we carried everything upstairs.
I set her seabag beside the couch in the living room. “It’s not much, but you can stay as long as you need to.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” She set on the edge of a couch cushion. “I feel a lot better being away from that place, at least for now.”
“I don’t blame you.” I sat beside her and put my hand on her knee. “And I have to admit, I kind of like having you here anyway.”
“Yeah?” She finally smiled. “Why’s that?”
I wrapped my arms around her. “Why do you think?”
She let herself be pulled closer, and when she released her breath, the knots in her shoulders seemed to vanish all at once.
“I like being here. Being with you is so much safer.” She lifted her chin and kissed me gently. “But that’s definitely not the only reason I like being with you.”
“I would hope not.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers.
And didn’t pull back.
I’d only meant for a light, affectionate kiss, but the softness of her mouth was addictive. And after the day we’d had, all the bullshit and stress and fucking chaos, I couldn’t resist the reprieve that her warm embrace offered. One kiss, a tighter embrace, and the next thing I knew, we were way too close for this to end anytime soon.
I broke the kiss and murmured, “I’ve, um . . . I haven’t shown you the bedroom.”
“Hmm, no, you haven’t.”
“I should fix that.” I took her hand, and she let me lead her down the short hallway.
As I was pulling her back into my arms, she scanned our surroundings, and a smirk played at her lips. “These walls concrete? Like in the barracks?”
“Yep.” I snaked my hands around her waist. “Which means the neighbors won’t hear a thing.”
She giggled and pulled me closer. “That’s what they think.”
“Mmm, why do I get the feeling you see this as a challenge?”
She nudged me toward the bed. “And you don’t?”
“I never said that.” I dragged her down onto the bed with me, and the second my back hit the mattress, we were too busy kissing to bother with playful banter. Too busy kissing and too busy getting past all these clothes to the skin underneath.
We quickly stripped off everything from the waist up. My bra hadn’t even hit the floor before Kim moved in and started on my breasts. She spent ages on one nipple, teasing with lips, tongue, and teeth, before moving to the other.
I slid a hand beneath her shirt and found her breast. Her nipple was rock hard, and when my fingertip brushed it, she jumped.
“Still sensitive?”
“Mm-hmm. But keep . . . keep . . .”
“Don’t mind if I do.” I pinched her nipple gently, but firmly, and kissed my way down the side of her neck. Moaning, she squirmed under me, pressing her breasts into my hands and her body against mine.
“We should really do something about all these clothes,” I said.
“Mm-hmm. But I like . . . what you’re . . .”
I pinched her nipple a little harder, and she groaned.
“Fuck, Reese.”
“We should get undressed,” I whispered. “So I can touch you all over.”
“Yes. Now.”
We separated, and she grabbed my waistband. Her hands were steadier than mine, and she managed to get the button and zipper undone with less trouble than I probably would’ve had. Then she pushed my shorts over my hips, and I sighed as her warm hands slid over my newly bared skin. In between kissing and touching, we shed the rest of our clothes and pulled each other close on top of my comforter.
She ground against me. “Fuck. I can’t get enough of you.”
“Me neither.” I kissed her. “So you didn’t get bored with this in Hawaii?”
She laughed. “Oh fuck no. Did you?”
“Not even a little.” I traced her sides with my palms. “I wanted to stay another month just so we could do more.”
She moaned. “We can do everything here.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Can we just stay here all night?”
“If we do,” I murmured, “we’re not going to be able to move tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to move tomorrow.” She curved her hand around the back of my neck. “I just want you.”
“Oh God . . .” My nipples grazed hers, sending a tremor through me. “The feeling’s mutual, baby.”
“Thought so,” she said and kissed me.
Hands all over skin, breasts against breasts, lips and tongues playing—God, I really didn’t give a fuck if I could move tomorrow, either, as long as this didn’t stop anytime soon. And she was going to be staying here? In my apartment? In my bed? Jesus . . .
Kim pushed me onto my back and parted my legs. As she sat up and straddled my thigh, drawing my other leg up toward her hip, my breath caught.
Oh yes.
Yes, please . . .
She slid forward, and I exhaled as her pussy pushed up against mine. Then her hips were in motion, and holy fuck, I loved the way she felt, the way she rubbed over my clit. I met her rhythm, rocking my hips with hers so we rubbed together just right.
I couldn’t get enough of running my hands all over her naked skin. Of having her against me and above me as she brought me closer and closer to what promised to be an intense orgasm.
And the way she moved her hips was fucking divine.
“Jesus, Kim.” I licked my lips. “You feel amazing.”
She grinned. “So do you.”
Her breasts bounced in time with her thrusts, and I couldn’t resist cupping them. As I teased her nipples again, she closed her eyes and exhaled, her rhythm faltering for a second before she recovered and ground even harder. Not hard enough to be painful, but teetering right there on that fine line between perfect and too much.
“Oh fuck, baby.” I swept my tongue across my lips. “I’m so . . . I am so gonna come if you . . .”
She whimpered softly. “Me too. Fuck . . .”
I closed my eyes and moaned. I was so fucking close, my whole body trembling as cool electricity surged through my veins. So close. So, so close. Right on the edge. Nothing existed but that point of delicious contact, where her pussy rubbed against mine and sent me higher and higher and higher until—
“Oh fuck!” My eyes flew open, and my back arched off the bed. “Fuck . . .” She didn’t stop, and neither did my orgasm, and I was sure I was going to black out or fall to pieces or . . . or something. I let go of a loud cry, and the neighbors probably heard me, but I didn’t care.
Kim moaned. Her rhythm fell apart. Then she did. She dug her fingers into my leg, pulling it harder against her hip as if she just needed something to hold on to, and she threw her head back as her whole body trembled above mine.
We both relaxed. She let my leg slide down, and I drew her down on top of me. Closing my eyes, I stroked her hair, and we just lay there for the longest time, wrapped up in each other while we caught our breath. I was distantly aware of the shitstorm still going on in our professional world, but here in this one, everything was perfect. Warm skin against warm skin, both of us breathing in unison as our hearts slowly came down. It just didn’t get any better than this.
I had nearly dozed off when Kim murmured, “What’s that sound?”
“That— Shit! That’s my phone.”
She lifted herself off me, and I grabbed it from the nightstand.
I didn’t even need to look at the caller ID. The ringtone said it all.
“MA2 Marion.”
“Hey, it’s Alejan— It’s MA1.”
I winced. “Hey.”
He cleared his throat. “I pulled some strings. I left a message for Lockhoff, but figured . . . I figured you might see her. If you do, would you tell her she starts at Pass & ID tomorrow morning at 0800? Please?”
Kim didn’t answer to me, so this was definitely outside of protocol, but I knew Alejandro. This was I want you to know I did what I could wrapped up in professionalism.
I wrapped my arm around Kim’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “Thanks. I’ll pass the message along.”