Page 18 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

I pressed my body closer into his, only to feel his wet shirt against mine. At the cold, wet sensation I jumped back a bit. A sharp pain raced through my foot, and a small cry escaped my mouth.

He broke the kiss. “ What’s wrong?”

“I slipped and lost my balance,” I responded, looking back at him while breathing hard. “ I must have turned my foot in a weird way.”

“New plan,” he said, grabbing my ass and lifting me to wrap my legs around his waist. “ Now there’s no weight on your foot.”

He took three steps backward and turned, pushing my back up against the wall, and went back to ravaging my mouth.

I gripped him tight with my thighs as he ground his pelvis into me, pushing me harder up against the wall.

I had nowhere to go—trapped between the wall and Jack’s hard body. It felt amazing.

His mouth released mine as I gasped for air. Then his mouth moved along my jaw, back to the sensitive spot behind my ear, and then down my neck.

I shifted my hips to align myself perfectly against him, and I could feel his hardness through the thin layer of my track pants. Tingles raced through my body at the feel of him between my hips.

“Oh, God ,” I tried to say, but my voice came out more like a strained whisper.

“Not God . It’s Jack . Say my name. I’ve fantasized about you saying my name with your legs wrapped around me since the first time I heard you say my name. So many times, I’ve fantasized about it. Say it for me, Ruthie .”

Knowing he fantasized about me in this scenario made it even hotter.

He ground up into me, pushing me harder up against the wall.

“Oh, God , Jack , that feels good.”

Jack growled, and I felt those vibrations against my neck as his breath heated over my skin.

He stopped kissing me and leaned back to look into my eyes. I saw so much lust in his, it made me feel powerful.

“What are we doing, Ruthie ?”

“Me. You’re doing me. Please don’t stop,” I said with a deep moan.

I tilted my head back, arching my chest forward into him, and felt him rub over all the right places. One hand was under my ass, and his other hand was now sliding down my chest and off to the Holy Land . His fingers gently brushed over the crux between my legs, and electricity shot up my spine.

“Oh, damn, do that again,” I begged of him.

“I thought you gave up swearing?” he teased.

“Shut up,” I grumbled back. “ Just keep doing what you’re doing and don’t talk.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled but thankfully kept at it, and I could feel myself teetering on the edge of orgasm.

Just as I got close, he stopped, removed his hand, and started carrying me somewhere.

“What are you doing?” I asked in complaint. “ Why did you stop?”

“In order for this to continue, we need our clothes off,” he explained as he walked us into his bedroom. “ I’d like to do that and not injure you further in the process, so I’m taking you to my bed so I can focus on making you come and not break any more bones.”

He carried me down the hall and into his bedroom as though I weighed nothing. Then he set me gently on the bed.

“I want you to get in whatever position is comfiest for you with your cast,” Jack said. “ I’ll work around that.”

Even though I preferred to be on top, my cast made any position other than missionary rather difficult. So I situated myself in the middle of his bed on my back and started to slide my pants off.

“Let me, please,” Jack said hoarsely. “ I’ve dreamt about this, and I want to take my time.”

Take my time meant code for slow, and I was not in the mood for slow.

“If you take your time, I’m going to spontaneously combust. I need you to move fast and get to it,” I commanded.

“I promise to make it worth your while,” he vowed as he took his own shirt and shorts off.

I enjoyed the show then stared at his ripped body, dotted with his small scars I had seen previously.

And a tattoo that ran across his upper left chest and down his arm.

I’d seen the mostly tribal pattern tattoo before, but not up close like this.

The intricate work was phenomenal and really emphasized his muscular chest and arms. He had the best body I had ever seen on a man, and he was bringing it closer to me.

He began taking off my pants, delicately navigating past my bright-pink cast. Then he removed my shirt, leaving me only in my bra and lace cheeky underwear.

“God, Ruthie . Your body is about as perfect as I imagined it would be.”

He worked his way up my body, crawling closer and kissing his way over my skin while removing my underwear.

Every time he mentioned that he had thought of me in these kinds of scenarios, I felt a kind of power I had never had before. To know that I brought this man to his knees without even trying—just one touch or kiss—made me feel important in a formidable way.

He got to my face and stared at me reverently for a moment. “ Are you sure about this? Right here?”

“Yes, though I kind of liked it up against the wall.”

I’d never had wall sex before. Then again, I’d never been with anyone strong enough to support me against a wall before.

“Did your foot hurt when I had you against the wall?” he asked, and I shook my head.

He grabbed a condom, put it on in record time, and then leaned forward.

I assumed he was going to slide inside me, but instead he lifted me up, wrapped my legs around his waist and carried me to the side wall of his bedroom.

I felt him pressed against me as he carried me, but once we reached the wall, he let me fall just a few inches, essentially using gravity to slide inside of me just a little—effectively torturing me—and then all the way.

It. Felt . Great .

He paused briefly after pushing all the way inside and made soft kisses along my neck then unhooked my bra and slid it off me.

“Jack,” I whispered impatiently, and that did it.

His strokes were no longer slow and methodical. They weren’t fast, hard, and erratic, as though he was just pumping in and out as if his body was in control instead of his brain.

I squeezed my pelvic floor and thrust my chest forward so his scruffy chest hair rubbed against my nipples.

“God, Ruthie . If you keep doing that, I’m not going to last.” His voiced sounded strained, and I loved that I made it hard for him—both literally and figuratively.

I chuckled at my own punny thought, which caused him to stop moving.

“Not exactly a time when I like to see a woman laughing,” he said, looking at me with a bit of confusion.

“I was just thinking… You said you weren’t going to last, and I thought that I loved that I make it hard for you to do that. Get it… hard for you?” I chuckled again just thinking about my little joke.

“Damnit. Now I have to fuck you harder because you’re being cute,” he said, his voice gruff.

I wanted to know what it felt like if he let go. Gave in to what he really wanted to do with me. I wanted to see that version of Jack —the uninhibited one.

“Do it,” I challenged him. “ Fuck me harder, Jack .”

He stared at me for a brief moment and then gave in. He pushed into me with strong, deep thrusts and it felt incredible. In mere moments, I could feel myself on the brink of bliss.

“Jack, I’m so close,” I whispered to him, suddenly out of breath.

“Fuck, Ruthie , you feel even better than I imagined.”

At his words, I finally combusted. Euphoric nirvana shot through my entire body. I had never in my life felt this good. Before my heart rate even returned to a semblance of normal speed, Jack grunted out my name and pushed me farther into the wall if that was even possible.

After a few seconds, he turned and carried me to the bed, setting me down gently before his body collapsed on top of mine. His one single arm for support was the only reason he wasn’t crushing me.

He exhaled sharply, and I felt his hot breath on my neck.

It felt nice. Oh who was I kidding? It felt incredible.

This whole experience felt utterly amazing.

I needed to take it in and store it in my memory because this would be the only time I let this happen.

I also needed Jack to realize that too, especially since he probably thought he had triumphed at achieving his goal.

When he finally lifted his head to look at me, I spoke up. “ This doesn’t mean you won.”

“Kinda feels like I won,” Jack responded with a small smile then looked down at our entwined bodies. “ Yeah , it definitely feels like I won.”

He kissed my neck softly, and I shivered.

“No, this was just a one-time thing,” I tried to defend. “ This doesn’t mean I finally agree to go out to dinner with you or that we’re dating.”

“Sweetheart, you’ve been having dinner with me every night for almost two months now. If you don’t want the title, that’s fine, but I’ve had more dinner dates with you than any other woman outside of my family.”

Ohmigod. He was right!

I sighed. Focus . “ Well , this isn’t going to happen again.”

“You didn’t like it?” he asked.

“Of course I did. But it can’t happen again. We work together, Jack . There are too many complications.”

“Okay.”

Okay?

That was it?

“Ruthie. Stay here with me. In the bed.”

“I don’t think you understand how this works, Jack .”

“Yes, I do. You don’t want to have sex anymore tonight. That’s fine, but I still want you to stay in this bed with me.”

“Jack, it’s not just tonight. It’s any night. We can’t.”

“I’m willing to discuss the merits of your opinion later, but right now I just want to lie down and enjoy you next to me.”

There was so much to take in from that sentence.

“Just lie with me for a few minutes, and then we’ll get up to let Dash out okay?”

I could handle a few minutes. Plus , it did actually feel nice with his arms wrapped around me.

I gave in, positioning myself so my cast was draped just past his legs. Ten minutes was what I told myself I could do. It was a good plan. The only problem was, I fell asleep five minutes later.

* * *

Who knew Jack was a cuddler. I found I actually enjoyed it, but it was also like spooning with a furnace. That man radiated so much heat.

I woke up sweaty and needing to use the bathroom. As I got up, I noticed Dash had made himself comfortable on the edge of the bed near Jack’s legs. When I finished, I stood with my crutches in the threshold to Jack’s room, debating whether or not I should just go back to the other bedroom instead.

“Stop thinking about it, and get back in the bed,” Jack mumbled.

“You’re too hot.” Yep , that was the best thing I could think of to say.

“Thank you.” His voice still sounded sleepy, but now with a hint of humor to it.

This man was incorrigible.

“I meant your body is too hot, and it’s making me sweaty.”

“Ruthie, please come here,” he softly demanded. “ I’m tired.”

I was too, so I relented, climbing back into the bed with him. I got myself situated to where I was comfortable but not awkward for my cast. Dash had repositioned himself against my front and Jack at my back. I guess I was going to sweat some more.

I sighed at this realization.

“I’ll turn the air conditioning on to cool you down,” Jack muttered behind me.

“It’s February . You shouldn’t turn the AC on,” I pointed out.

“Nobody in this bed is moving, which means you are trapped with body heat on both sides,” Jack said. “ So , if it means keeping you where I’ve always wanted you, I’ll turn the AC on.”

Trying to ignore the where I’ve always wanted you comment, I moved on to another question. “ If nobody is moving, how are you going to turn the AC on, then?”

“Even sleepy she gives me sass,” he murmured. “ I’ve got an app. Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”

Sweetheart.

To that endearment, encapsulated in bed by the two males in my life, I fell back asleep.