When they got to the airport the next morning, Sam was hyper aware of their surroundings and the possibility for trouble. If someone had seen them or suspected them of being involved in the raid the day before, there could be trouble. With that in mind, he did an extra thorough examination of the jet with Emily’s help. They’d discussed it over breakfast and agreed to get to the airport early in order to check things over as best they could.
Emily helped. She knew this model of jet better than he did and was invaluable in checking for small things that could turn their flight into a crash real fast. Sam kept watch while she checked the engines and steering mechanisms. She did the same for him as he checked other parts of the plane. Then she climbed in and he watched the outside of the jet as she activated various switches, making bits move about.
Everything looked okay and they were done in plenty of time to pick up their charter and head off into the sky. Before long, they were headed back to their home base in Wichita. They’d shared a lovely morning, talking about all kinds of things and sharing a new closeness that hadn’t been as easy between them before their shared adventure—and the aftermath marathon session of lovemaking last night.
“So, how do you want to play this when we get back to work?”
“What do you mean?”
They were cruising safely and Sam figured it was a good time to strategize for tomorrow and the continuation of his mission.
“I mean this. Us. Do we go back as a couple or do you want to try to keep this under wraps? Buddy knows and others may have seen your car parked in the lot all night, but do you want it out in the open or do we keep them guessing?”
She seemed to think about it for a moment.
“What’s better for your mission?”
“We’ll make a soldier out of you yet.” He couldn’t help but compliment her reasoning. She’d impressed him, putting the good of the mission ahead of her personal comfort. Then again, he shouldn’t have been too surprised. Emily was an altogether different sort of woman from those he’d been involved with before. “It would be better to have our relationship out in the open,” he answered honestly. “It would give us a reason for always being together and it might act as a distraction in case anybody wonders what we’re up to.”
“Okay then. Out in the open it is. But no necking in the hangar. I do have certain standards to maintain.”
He liked her sense of humor. Reaching over, he ruffled her hair, then smoothed it and pulled her in for a quick kiss.
“If we didn’t have a passenger back there, I might seriously consider initiating you into the mile high club right about now,” he whispered when he pulled back. They had one passenger hitching a ride back to Wichita, but he was safely ensconced in the rear cabin with the soundproof door closed between them so they could talk freely.
“Mile high club?” She pretended innocence, though he could tell she damn well knew what he meant. Every pilot had heard the stories about the informal fraternity of people who’d had sex in flight.
“Oh, yeah.” He nipped her earlobe, then sat back in his own seat. “You tempt me beyond all reason, Em. But one of us needs to fly the plane.”
She gave a heavy, dramatic sigh. “If you say so.”
“Emily…” he growled. “Don’t tempt me.”
She laughed outright then, the sound charming an answering smile out of him. He never would have believed the stickler of a boss he’d met only a few days ago would turn out to be such a tease. Emily definitely had hidden depths he was only beginning to plumb. He looked forward to learning more with eager anticipation. But that would have to wait until they were safely on the ground.
“I was thinking, since we have a free afternoon, it would be pretty normal for me to spend the ground time doing paperwork,” Emily volunteered, changing the subject. “If you want to get a close up look at the manifests and flight plans, I have a private office at the hangar. I don’t use it much, but it is there. No windows and the door locks.”
“I like the way you think.” He sent her a lascivious grin that made her laugh. He liked to hear her sound so carefree and happy. And he liked being the one to make her feel that way.
“We can get to the hanky panky later,” she said in a mock stern voice. “But I don’t mind if people think that’s what we’re doing. It’s all in a good cause. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to get a much closer look at what I’ve been able to pull together of the suspicious manifests and corresponding flight plans. I made electronic copies of everything and hid the USB drive in my office.”
Sam was impressed at her forethought. “That’ll save me a lot of time.”
She grinned at him. “Yeah, I thought so. All I’ve been able to make of the information so far is that there’s a predominance of flights to destinations in or near the Pacific Northwest. I only started gathering the records a few weeks ago and haven’t had time to really look into it yet, but that much was pretty obvious. I had to be cautious in the way I dug up the documents. I didn’t want Scott or anyone who might work for him to know I was making inquiries.”
“Smart move. Do you think anyone knows you’ve collected all those documents in electronic form?”
“It’s doubtful. I got them all off different computers and didn’t put them into a single file. I saved them to the USB drive one at a time. I also have some of the hard copy from flights I actually made. I keep copies of all my flight information going back a year or two. I didn’t pull the individual flight data hard copies, but it’s all in there, waiting. I marked the folders with a little tear on either the tab or the edge so I’d be able to find them again when needed.”
“Good thinking. We can pull those files and take the USB drive back to your place. I have a laptop in my duffel bag that nobody at Praxis Air can trace. It’s on an independent network and we can use it to send the data back to the analysts at my home base and see what they’ve already made of what I sent them on my own—which wasn’t much.”
“Well, we can change that now that we’re working together.” She sent him a bright smile. “We’re on approach. Let’s land this puppy and get to work.”
A short while later, they were on the ground. Their passenger had disembarked and they had gotten only a few odd looks as Emily led Sam into her private office and closed the door.
“They’re definitely grouped right in this area,” Sam said to Emily a couple of hours later. They’d poured over her hard copy records together and a pattern emerged as he put the odd flights she’d earmarked together into some kind of order.
He drew circles on a topographical pilot’s map Emily had pulled out of one of her other filing cabinets. It was a map of the Pacific Northwest. In particular, he was looking at a large section in the less populated areas of Eastern Oregon, Washington state, and upper and mid-Idaho. It was a big area, but at least they’d gotten that far with the information at hand.
“That’s a lot of ground to cover,” Emily commented as she stood beside him. They had cleared her desk and were standing around it. The office was a mess with papers everywhere, but they were definitely onto something.
“Hopefully the team on base will be able to narrow it down with the information on the drive.”
One of the first actions Emily had taken after locking her office door was to go to a secret compartment in her antique desk and retrieve the USB drive. She’d given it to Sam for safekeeping before showing him the way she’d marked the file folders for the flights she’d actually made herself.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get hungry. We skipped lunch and it’s close to dinnertime.” She rubbed her midsection as she spoke and Sam became aware of his hunger—both for food and for her. Since they’d first made love, he just couldn’t get his fill of Emily’s sweet body.
He began to put the files back in order. “Yeah, let’s put this place to rights and get out of here. I think we’ve given our coworkers enough to talk about for one day, don’t you?”
Emily walked over to him and put her hands on his waist, tugging slightly at his neatly tucked shirt, deliberately disarranging it. Then she ran her fingers through his short hair, dislodging a few of the longer stands on top a bit, making it messy. He got the idea when she reached up on tiptoe and kissed him hard, grinding her lips against his.
Two could play this game.
Sam took great pleasure in messing up her pretty hair and tugging at her clothing so she’d look adorably rumpled and sexy as hell. Any red blooded male seeing her like that was going to think all kinds of lascivious thoughts, but he figured it was okay. She was going home with him. Not anybody else. He was the lucky bastard who’d have her in his bed tonight. The gods were smiling on him in a big way.
Before he could forget himself and drag her clothes off right then and there, he pulled back, taking stock of her pink lips, the sexily tousled hair, and wanton disarray of her clothes. Yes, there was no doubt about it. She looked hot.
“Damn, baby.” Sam couldn’t keep from expressing his appreciation.
“Back at’cha.”
He liked the breathless quality of her response.
“Let’s hurry and get these files back where they belong so we can finish what we started.”
“And get dinner,” she reminded him. She worked with him to refile all the folders and put everything back to rights quickly.
“Dinner’s on the list. As is reporting back to base. But then you’re all mine, Em, so be warned.”
“I can get behind that,” she agreed with a sexy grin that made him want to push her up on the desk and have his way with her right there. But it would have to wait. At least until they got back to his place.
They finished refiling the folders at record speed and Sam ran a critical eye over the office to see if he could discern any obvious differences from when they’d first entered. Everything had been put back from where they’d gotten it and the place looked good.
“We’re good to go,” he nodded at the condition of the room. They worked well together as a team no matter what they were doing, it seemed.
“All right.” She patted her messy hair and looked like she was trying to compose herself before opening her office door. Just as she would probably do if they really had been in there making love all this time. “Let’s do it.”
She nodded to him and opened the door. There wasn’t exactly an audience waiting outside watching the door with bags of popcorn in their laps, but there definitely were more people in the outside office area than there had been before. Most of them looked over when they stepped out of her office.
Sam quickly slid his arm around her shoulders and put his body between the onlookers and Emily, shielding her. It was something he’d normally do in this situation, so it wasn’t out of character. And it established them as a couple without any room for doubt. The way she snuggled into his side spoke loud and clear of shared intimacy.
They walked the gauntlet of the back office together and out into the hangar and then the parking lot without speaking to anyone. It was pretty clear that everyone present saw them and the possessive arm Sam had around Emily’s shoulders.
“A little blatant, don’t you think?” Emily challenged when they’d gotten out into the parking lot.
She might be complaining, but she wasn’t moving away. In fact, she seemed more than comfortable with his display, snuggling closer and putting her arm around his waist. It might be for the benefit of the gawkers clustered in the open hangar door. Or it might be because it felt so darn good. At least it felt darn good to him to have her close.
He bent and placed a quick kiss on her temple.
“Just staking my claim. You don’t mind, do you?”
She craned her neck to meet his gaze as they walked toward their cars.
“I don’t mind. I kind of like giving them something to gossip about. It might keep some of them from wondering what I’ve been up to snooping around lately.”
“The old bait and switch,” he agreed. “It’ll fool the casual observers, but if there’s anyone really serious—anyone who was sent to deliberately watch you—it might only arouse further speculation. Still, either way, we can use it to our advantage. And I get a little primitive thrill out of staking my claim.” He shook his head, amused by his own reaction. “Can’t say that I’ve ever felt that particular caveman instinct before.”
“It’s okay, Tarzan. I don’t mind playing Jane for a little while.” They’d arrived at their cars and she turned to face him. Her smile teased him and gave him an oddly light sensation in the vicinity of his heart. “So long as it’s understood that we’re partners, not master and servant in private, I can play the little woman in public. For now. Though you understand, it goes against my independent nature.”
He laughed outright at her over the top delivery, as she’d probably intended. She laughed with him and they had a moment of shared amusement before she stepped away from him. She fished out her keys from her purse and turned toward her car, which was parked right next to his.
They’d decided to take both cars back to her place where she would pack a fresh overnight bag and water her plants. Then they’d head to his place, which was safer. He’d chosen it for its reasonably secure location and he’d made some improvements since moving in that included some early warning sensors in case anyone tried anything.
Everything went off without a hitch and they were at his place inside an hour. They’d picked up Chinese take-out on the way and ate dinner at his small table. He’d taken a moment to start up the laptop and send the documents from Emily’s USB drive to the techs on base. That done, he sat back to enjoy dinner with her before he checked in with the commander.
After that…well, he had big plans for Emily after everything else had been handled. He only hoped they both still had the energy. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the night before and while Sam was used to pulling all-nighters and functioning well on little sleep, it was clear Emily wasn’t. She was yawning around every bite of her lo mein and her eyelids had taken on a decidedly sleepy cast as the food hit her system.
No doubt within twenty minutes, she’d be out like a light. Sam felt his plans being pushed back through no fault of his, but it was okay. He wouldn’t push Emily beyond her limits. She’d already had to deal with a lot and had risen to every challenge. She deserved his respect and his care. He would put her needs first and it was looking increasingly like her most pressing need after dinner would be sleep.
Recalculating his plans, he decided he could handle that. He was disappointed, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that he could hold her warm little body next to him in his bed until she was rested enough to join in some of the more adventurous ideas he’d been entertaining for the evening.
“You finished?” Sam nodded toward the half-eaten plate in front of her. She had been picking at her food for the past few minutes.
“Yeah. I’m afraid my eyes were bigger than my stomach. We can save this for tomorrow maybe.” She stood and repacked the take-out containers, stowing them in his fridge with Sam’s assistance.
When she’d yawned for the third time in the space of a couple of minutes, Sam simply picked her up in his arms and headed toward the bedroom. She squeaked a bit when he lifted her but her arms went around his neck and her head settled into the crook of his shoulder.
“Where are we going?” she asked sleepily.
“You’re going to bed. Then I’m going to check in with the base before I join you in dreamland. Then maybe a little later on, we’ll wake up and have some fun.”
“Sounds good.” She slurred her words slightly, exhaustion kicking in now that she’d eaten.
He placed her on his bed, pulling back the covers from under her and taking a moment to undress her. He made short work of it. Otherwise, he’d be overly tempted, and he’d yet to take advantage of a nearly unconscious woman. He wouldn’t start tonight. And especially not with Emily. She meant too much to him to abuse that way.
No, when they made love, he wanted her with him, awake, aroused, and wanting him as much as he wanted her. He could wait a few hours until she’d had a chance to rest up a bit.
That didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy every moment of taking her clothes off. It was still a new enough experience that he lusted over each inch of skin he revealed. He paused once or twice to place gentle kisses on her belly button and then up to her breasts. She moved into his touch, seeking more, but her eyes were mostly closed and she was half asleep already.
Much more of this and he’d lose all willpower. Having her naked in his bed was a sight he enjoyed all too much. Steeling his resolve, Sam pulled the covers over her and made himself leave the room. He still had work to do and a check-in to make with his team commander.
He left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen. It was the best soundproofed area in the condo and he had equipment stowed there that looked like regular kitchen appliances that contained sophisticated jamming devices. He’d checked the house when they’d first arrived, but it was standard operating procedure to use extra precautions whenever possible in a situation like this.
Commander Sykes picked up on the first ring.
“Good work on collecting all that data, lieutenant.”
“Emily gets the credit for that work, commander. She’s been gathering that information over the past few weeks. All I did was pass it along.” Sam was a strong believer in giving credit where it was due.
“Please give her my thanks then, Sam. And keep an eye out for the phone we’re sending her. It should arrive at your place by courier any time now.”
They spent a few minutes going over particulars about the preliminary data and Sam’s suspicions. Matt Sykes was a good CO. He encouraged independent thought, especially when he sent men into the field on their own.
“Emily’s going to try to put us on the Pacific Northwest flights starting tomorrow. We’ll concentrate in that area unless the team comes up with something else out of the documents I sent you.”
“Good plan. Report in when you can. We’re on twilight shift here now that the night activity has settled down. There’s always someone to answer the phone and you have my direct number if there’s an emergency.”
“Yes, sir.” Sam liked Matt’s friendly approach to command. He had a way of inspiring loyalty by giving it in return.
Although Matt was a Navy SEAL who’d been sidelined into the command track by injury, Sam was glad to have been assigned to his command across services. It had been jarring at first for an Army guy to take orders from a swabbie but only a few days into the new assignment, Sam had come to realize Matt Sykes was one of the most talented commanding officers he’d ever have the good fortune to serve under.
“Oh, and you can tell Ms. Parkington that her brother is now part of the team. We’re going to keep him and his shiny new F-35 Lightning ready in case we need air support.”
Sam was impressed. Those jets were the newest and best that had come out of the Joint Strike Fighter program designed to come up with a brand new, more versatile aircraft that could replace the aging air fleets of the United States and its allies. Sam had read that the F-35 was being developed by the United States and the United Kingdom and a few other friendly governments. Emily’s brother must be one hot flyer if he’d gotten assigned to the elite group that was putting the new fighter jet through its paces.
“From everything I’ve heard about it, that jet will be an asset to the team, sir.”
“I’ve been reading up on it. Supposed to be quite a versatile piece of equipment.” Matt’s conversational tone invited further comment.
“I believe it was designed to serve multiple purposes. It’s a single-seat, single-engine stealth aircraft. They say it can be used for close air support, tactical bombing, and direct dogfights. It’s supposed to be ultra-versatile and very high tech.”
“It looked pretty slick when it landed. Got a lot of people talking. Most of the pilots on base have been trying to talk to Parkington about the jet but he can’t say much, which suits me fine. Though I could’ve wished he flew something a little less conspicuous, it’s good to have the best the Air Force has to offer at our disposal, should we need it.”
“What about servicing the jet?” Sam knew that a new jet like that couldn’t be serviced by just anyone.
“He’ll go to his home base for that. In fact, after this initial debrief, he’ll probably go back and stay there until we need him. It’s better for the jet and he’s centrally located. Being in flyover country is probably the best place for him to offer support should we need him almost anywhere in the country.”
“Roger that, sir.” Sam liked the plan. Though they didn’t know Henry Parkington well, Sam knew without a doubt the man would never endanger his sister’s life.
They ended the call after a few more minutes and Sam straightened up the house a bit. He didn’t want Emily to think he was a total slob. He’d left a few things lying around that took only a few minutes to put away. By then the courier was at the door.
He was dressed as a pizza delivery guy, complete with pizza box that he made Sam pay for before turning it over—in case anyone was watching. Sam suspected he was one of John Petit’s CIA friends, but the man was gone before Sam could blink.
Sam took the box inside, opening it to find a smaller box taped inside. There were some interestingly tiny electronic gizmos along with a new cell phone for Emily. She’d be happy to be able to talk to her brother, he knew. He’d give her the phone tomorrow morning. He had plans for the rest of the night.
Taking the phone with him into the bedroom, he plugged it into the charger on the nightstand before undressing. He took a quick shower before joining Emily in bed. Pulling her close in his arms without waking her, he enjoyed the feel of her warm body against him for a while before drifting off himself.
Emily woke to find herself snuggly warm. Sam spooned her from behind and one of his arms rested around her waist, the hand reaching upward to toy with one tight nipple. She felt his warm skin touching hers and realized they were both naked.
Correction, she was naked. He already had a condom on. Oh, she liked that even better.
Going from zero to sixty at light speed, she tried to turn in his arms but he wouldn’t let her. His strong arms clamped around her, holding her just where he wanted her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Well, I was going to jump your bones, but you aren’t cooperating.”
She enjoyed the rumble of his chuckle against her spine.
“I had something else in mind.”
She loved the low rumble of his voice when he was in this mood. She could easily get used to it—given half a chance.
“Really? Will I like it?”
“I can pretty much guarantee you will.” He tweaked her nipple, making her squeak. It didn’t hurt exactly, but nobody had ever touched her with quite that much force. Shock followed a frisson of pure pleasure that radiated down her spine. “If you don’t like anything I do, say the word and we’ll try something else. There are lots of things I want to try with you, Emily.”
“Mmm. Now that sounds promising.”
His hand moved downward, sliding between her legs and lifting her top leg backward, draping it over his. The position left her very exposed and conscious of her own vulnerability. Did she trust him? The answer came back without hesitation. Yes.
His hand slid around, cupping her butt cheek and squeezing.
“How’s that? Comfortable?” His tongue licked at the sensitive skin of her neck as he spoke near her ear.
“I’m okay.”
“Okay?” He sounded disappointed. “By the time we’re through, you’ll be more than okay, sweetheart. I promise.”
That was one promise she couldn’t wait for him to keep.
His hand dipped lower, into the dark crevice and lower still until his fingers slid in the slippery wetness of her body preparing itself for him. He played for a minute, rubbing her clit with an expert touch, driving her passions higher. Then he slid inside, testing her readiness.
One finger was joined by another and then another until three wide fingers stretched her. She knew from experience his cock wouldn’t disappoint and she wanted him. Now.
But he held her on the precipice, not allowing her to move.
“Sam?”
“You like that, Em?” He slid his fingers in a pulsing rhythm that made her moan. “Want more?”
“I want you, Sam,” she nearly shouted. He knew how to touch her, to make her come. Or not. Depending on his whim. “Please!”
“Oh, I like that. Hearing you beg me to fuck you.”
A little thrill went through her at his use of the crude word. She’d heard worse, of course, but she’d never had a lover speak that way to her. She liked it. At least when Sam was the one talking. She wasn’t sure she’d have appreciated it from any of the few men she’d been with before.
“Please, Sam,” she repeated. He was holding her back, keeping her teetering on the knife’s edge of pleasure.
“Please what? Say it, Em,” he dared her.
She gasped as he pushed inward with a touch more force. It felt heavenly, but it still wasn’t what she wanted. What she craved. What she needed.
“Please fuck me, Sam,” she whispered.
“Well, when you put it like that…” He growled, biting down on her earlobe as he removed his fingers and replaced them with what she really wanted.
He thrust inward from behind, his way made easy by the foreplay and her astoundingly immediate response to his merest touch. She was his to command and he’d already proved it. All he had to do was trail his fingers along her arm and she purred. It was that easy. That amazing.
His angle of attack made things…interesting. She’d never quite done it this way before. He held her by the hips, thrusting slowly into her. Each breath came on a gasp of air as he pumped her closer to an earth-shattering peak.
One hand reached around to stroke her clit and she cried out as pleasure overtook her. Sam was a steady, pulsing presence behind her, around her, within her as she reached that first climax. What promised to be the first of many, though she wasn’t sure she’d survive.
There was the sensation of motion and she found herself on her hands and knees, Sam behind her, still inside her. He lifted her hips until her ass rose high in the air, at perfect hip level to receive his deep, deep thrusts.
“Okay, sweetheart?” he asked, stilling until she answered.
“I’m good,” she gasped. “Just do it.”
“Do what?” He ran the fingers of one hand up and down her spine in a soothing, scintillating caress. “What do you want me to do, Em? Or should I say, who do you want me to do?” He chuckled, the sound translating into soft pulses that she felt all through her body emanating from where they were joined.
She knew what he wanted her to say. He’d already gotten her to say something she’d never said to a lover before. She’d liked it and he knew it. He was pushing her boundaries, daring her, and she’d never been much good at resisting a challenge.
“Do me!” she shouted. “Dammit, Sam. Do me already. You know you want to.” That last was whispered on a moan as he began to move.
His hips thrust forward as his hands pulled her back onto him. She moved with him, eager for whatever he would give her. The penetration from this angle was amazing. She only wished he’d move faster.
The pressure was building again and she knew the peak this time would be higher than the last. Higher and more satisfying when he finally let her have it.
“I like the way you beg, captain.” His use of her title jarred her. It made this kinkier, and somehow more exciting. “I want to hear more of it.”
She remained silent to see what he’d do. Would ignoring his request drive him over the edge? She wanted to drive him as crazy as he was making her.
A smack sounded through the room as his open palm landed on her ass. Oh my Lord, he’d actually spanked her. That wasn’t something she’d anticipated, but it had felt surprisingly good. It cut through the dizzying pleasure, bringing it into sharp focus. Honing it until she was ready to scream for more.
“Defiant, captain? I think I like that even better than hearing you beg.” He leaned over her, making her very aware of her size in comparison to his. His presence engulfed her, his heat making her feel small, vulnerable, yet strangely powerful. “Because when you’re defiant, I get to punish you. Do you like to be punished?”
She hesitated before answering. “I—I don’t know.”
“I think you do. I think you know damn well you liked being spanked. Shall we try it again?” He rose, resuming his position behind her. Sure enough, a moment later, his hand smacked down on the other cheek with an echoing sting.
She let out a little sound this time, not quite a squeak, not quite a moan. It was something in between.
“Yeah, baby.” He rubbed the stinging spot gently, with circular motions. “I knew you liked it. Don’t try to hide it. I like it as much as you do.”
She’d think about what that meant later. For now, she couldn’t think of anything beyond the intensely focused pleasure that was building inside her with every movement, every minute.
“Now beg,” he reminded her. “Let me hear you beg, baby.”
She bit her lip to keep from giving in.
“Oh, so you want more punishment?” He sounded inordinately pleased. “I can do that too, but in the end, you’ll give in. I’ll see to it.”
Two quick smacks, one on either side, made her shriek. He laughed and it sounded triumphant. Then the real torture began.
Sam slid into her, his hands gripping her hips hard. He began a heavy, pounding rhythm that pushed her closer and closer to the stars she sought so desperately. Only to pull her back from the precipice before she could get there.
“Give it to me, Emily,” he commanded.
She moaned, caught in the grip of a tidal wave beyond her ability to control. She surrendered to it. Surrendered to Sam.
“Please!” she cried. “Please, Sam.”
The pleading seemed to do the trick. Sam sped up, pushing harder, the way she wanted. He knew exactly what she needed. A few moments later, she tipped over the edge into the abyss, but he was there to catch her. Sam followed her, his embrace keeping her safe, his body protecting hers as they flew through the stars together.
She screamed his name as she came. In the end, she thought she heard him shout something too, though she couldn’t be sure. She was too far gone in her own pleasure.
The bliss overwhelmed her. The passion shook her to her soul. She flew without a plane, with only Sam’s strong arms to support her.
“I’ve got you, Emily,” he whispered as he lowered her to the bed and disengaged their bodies. She still pulsed with pleasure, her breathing harsh and irregular.
Sam was winded too as he positioned her on the bed next to him. They both gulped in air as their shared climax began to fade into a lovely afterglow. Sam put his arm around her, tucking her into his side. That felt good. The possessiveness of his grasp felt even better.
“I never knew you were so kinky,” she whispered, amused now that the crisis of pleasure had passed.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, Em. Stick with me and you’ll learn all sorts of naughty things.”
“Is that a threat?” She craned her neck to look into his eyes. She was joking and he smiled back at her.
“It’s a promise. One that I look forward to fulfilling—anytime, anywhere.”
“I’ll remember that.” She snuggled into the pillows, needing to rest.
“See that you do.” He kissed the crown of her head.
She fell asleep with a smile on her face.