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Tate licked his lips as he stared at her mouth, and she realized how she sounded…and why he was staring at her. And just like that, arousal hit hard . She’d been practically orgasming over the hoagie. No wonder he was staring at her with heat in his eyes.

“I’m tempted to ask for a box for mine,” he said in a low, tortured tone.

Surprising herself, Laryn asked, “You don’t think you’ll need the energy it gives you?” Nodding at the burger in front of him.

The spark of lust in his gaze made her feel confident and sexy at the same time, even in her coveralls and smears of grease. Somehow, this man made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world. And the fact that he so obviously wanted her was heady.

Without a word, he picked up his burger and took a large bite.

They ate quickly, enjoying every bit of their dinners.

The fries disappeared just as quickly, as they shared the plate between them.

By the time she was finished eating, Laryn was stuffed…

but that hadn’t diminished the spark of attraction between her and Tate that literally felt like a live wire.

“You ready to go?” he asked quietly after he’d paid the bill.

Laryn nodded. She’d been confident enough to flirt when the table was between them and they were busy eating, but when he stood and stepped toward her, putting his hand on the small of her back to encourage her to head for the door, she felt awkward once again.

This was Tate. The Night Stalker. The man other women acted foolishly around, trying to catch his eye.

“Stop thinking so much,” he ordered as they walked toward his car.

“I can’t,” Laryn said honestly.

Tate walked her around to the passenger-side door. He took a long look around the parking area before turning his attention to her. He backed her against the door until she had to tilt her chin to look at him .

“I’m thirty-four years old, and I’ve never been turned on simply by watching a woman eat like I was with you just now.”

Well. Alrighty then. That was blunt.

“And I’m thirty-five, and I feel the same.”

“The way I see it, this can go one of two ways. We can go back to your apartment, say good night, and you can go to your room and get a good night’s sleep while I crash on your sofa.”

“Or?” Laryn worked up the courage to ask.

“Or, we can go back to your apartment, and you can take me to your bed and have your wicked way with me. We probably won’t get a lot of sleep because once I see you, all of you, I’m going to want to make up for lost time…my fault, not yours.”

Oh, Laryn wanted that. So much. But…“Is this because we’re being deployed? If this is a matter of you scratching an itch, I’m going to have to pass. I’m not the kind of woman who sleeps around. I’ve got a vibrator and I know how to use it, thank you very much.”

“Damn,” Tate said under his breath, moving a hand down to his crotch to adjust himself. It was somehow the hottest thing Laryn had ever seen. He was uncomfortable because of little ol’ her .

“This is not a one-night stand. I wouldn’t disrespect you like that.

There’s something between us, Laryn. Something that I should’ve seen way before now.

I’m an idiot, I already told you that. I’ve finally opened my eyes, and I have a feeling whenever we do decide to take our relationship to the next level, it’ll change both our lives for the better.

But I can wait. Things on deployment are going to be intense, as always.

We won’t have any privacy or a chance to see where things might go between us.

But I’m telling you right now, things are still going to be different this time around.

No more going our separate ways all the time on the ship.

I want to eat with you, check in and see how you’re doing, talk about the helicopters, and hang out with you and my fellow pilots whenever possible. Is that okay? ”

It sounded like heaven to Laryn. Deployments had always been a bit lonely for her.

She didn’t fit in with the sailors and soldiers onboard.

Since she wasn’t an officer or even in the military any longer, people were reluctant to say too much around her.

They certainly weren’t going to go out of their way to befriend her, since it was likely they’d never see her again.

So having Tate say he wanted to spend more time with her onboard was actually something she was looking forward to.

It should make the deployment less boring and more bearable.

“That’s more than okay,” she reassured him.

“Good. So? Door number one or two? No pressure. Seriously. Just as you’re an expert with your vibrator, my hand does the job when needed.”

The thought of him masturbating in her shower, or even on her couch when she went to bed, made Laryn’s nipples harden under her coveralls.

“Two,” she blurted.

His pupils dilated before her very eyes.

To his credit, he didn’t ask if she was sure. Didn’t try to talk her out of her decision. He seemed just as anxious as she was to open door number two and see if their physical attraction was as intense as it seemed.

Before she knew it, she was buckled into her seat and Tate was driving like a bat out of hell toward her apartment complex. Neither of them spoke, but Laryn took a chance and reached out and placed her hand on Tate’s thigh.

He immediately covered her hand with his and gripped it tightly.

Holding hands with this man was more exciting, more arousing, than anything she’d done with anyone else.

It was overwhelming and almost scary. But in a good way.

An I’m-at-the-top-of-a-roller-coaster-about-to-fly-down-that-first-hill scary.

Laryn had no qualms about his driving abilities.

The man was a highly trained Night Stalker pilot…

if the Army trusted him with multimillion-dollar aircraft, not to mention the lives of the SE ALs and Deltas he routinely transported in and out of some seriously nasty situations, she could trust him behind the wheel of his car.

Even while sporting the hard-on that was tenting his flight suit.

Seeing it made Laryn squirm in her seat. She might be making a huge mistake, sleeping with Tate, but fuck it. She’d wanted him forever, and she wasn’t going to pass up the chance to see if all the sleepless nights thinking about him were worth the buildup in her mind.

Tate let go of her hand after he parked, but only long enough to walk around his car to her side, then he reached for her once more. He didn’t speak, the anticipation building around them both as he walked up the stairs, towing her behind him.

He stood at her side as she unlocked her door, then he spoke for the first time since the parking lot of the restaurant. “Wait here,” he ordered gruffly.

Confused, Laryn did as he asked and watched as he quickly searched the kitchen and living area of her apartment.

She heard him open the shower curtain in the bathroom and open and close the closet door in the hall.

She assumed he went into the second bedroom that was more like a junk room, which she used to hold stuff she didn’t know where else to put, and then her bedroom, before he materialized in front of her once more.

“All clear,” he said matter-of-factly.

It dawned on her then that even fully aroused, and anticipating a sure thing, he’d taken the time to make sure her apartment was safe.

Had anyone put her safety above their sexual needs before? No. The answer was definitely no. In her experience, once men had sex on the brain, that’s all they could think about. Anything else was secondary. But she should’ve known Tate would be different.

He stepped into her personal space and gently cradled her head in his hands. Laryn felt his erection against her once more. But he didn’t grab at her, didn’t immediately start stripping off her coveralls.

“Still good with your decision?” he asked quietly.

“If I said no?” she asked, more curious about his answer than really wanting to change her mind.

“I’d step back, say good night, and see you in the morning,” he said matter-of-factly.

Yup. This man was definitely different than anyone else she’d been with. He was honorable. Rough around the edges, yes. Cocky, definitely. But good down to his core for sure.

“I haven’t changed my mind,” she told him, reaching around him and running her fingers through the hair at his nape.

“Thank fuck,” he breathed before wrapping one arm around her waist and picking her up.

Laryn smiled as he carried her down the hall, her legs tangling with his as he walked.

She tried to pull her knees up to make things easier for him, but he hadn’t lifted her high enough and the angle was wrong.

Instead, he almost tripped over their legs as he entered her bedroom, and Laryn couldn’t help but laugh.

He chuckled as he finally put her on her feet by the mattress.

“That’s new,” he said casually.

“What?” Laryn asked as she looked up at him.

“Laughing. I don’t think I ever really saw sex as fun before. It was always something I took very seriously.”

“And you aren’t taking this seriously?” she asked, more surprised than upset by his words.

“Oh, this is as serious as it gets,” he told her, making those pesky goose bumps break out on her arms once more.

“But it’s also fun. I get to unwrap you.

See what you’re hiding under that hideous mechanic’s tent you wear all the time.

And I get to see what turns you on. I get to figure out if you’re ticklish, if your tits are sensitive, and if you can come with my mouth on your pussy or if you need a rougher touch. ”

Damn. She wasn’t going to survive this.

He grinned once more. “And that look on your face only makes this more fun for me.”

“Do I get to do the same? Figure out if you like your nipples sucked, how much control you’re willing to give me when I go down on you? If you’re the kind of man who pumps, bumps, and grunts, or if you’ve got more finesse?”

Tate threw back his head and laughed so hard, Laryn might’ve been offended if she couldn’t feel the evidence of how her words affected him. He’d gotten even harder against her belly, if that was possible.

“Pump, bump, and grunt?” he asked, still smiling.

Laryn shrugged. “It’s a thing.”

“I’m sure it is. But I’d like to think I’m not that guy. And if you want control, you can have it. Do you?”

She was tempted to say yes, to test that he wasn’t lying, but truthfully, she didn’t want to be in charge.

She had to be in control in every other aspect of her life.

She didn’t mind handing over the reins in bed to her partner.

As long as he knew what to do with that control, and he didn’t take things too far.

She wasn’t exactly submissive, but she wasn’t a Dom either.

“No,” she told him simply.

“Good. Because while I don’t mind you sucking my cock—in fact, that is now one of my biggest fantasies—I’m not sure I can give up all control. I’m kind of type A when it comes to that sort of thing.”

It was Laryn’s turn to chuckle. “Yeah, figured that out, Mr. Night Stalker, always-in-control pilot.”

He smirked. Then sobered. “If at any time you change your mind, everything stops. You decide you want to mess around, but no penetration, that’s cool.

I can always stop. Just say the word. I don’t want you to regret anything we do here.

This is going to change us. For the better, but different all the same.

I’m looking forward to that. I want it. But if you aren’t sure, if you want to slow things down because we’re moving so fast, I’ll understand. ”

Time for some serious honesty here. “I’ve wanted you for three years,” she confessed quietly.

“Part of the reason I was looking into leaving was because of you. Because it was so hard to work with you day in and day out, and know that I didn’t have a chance in hell of being with you the way I wanted. ”

“Oh, Laryn,” Tate whispered.

“I’m not telling you that to make you feel guilty.

I get it, your life was way different than mine.

I just want to reassure you that I’m not going to regret tonight.

How could I, when it’s everything I’ve ever wanted for so long?

I admire you, Tate. Respect you. You’re a good man, pilot, friend.

And knowing you take consent so seriously… it’s the icing on the cake for me.”

“I’m sorry I was such an idiot and didn’t recognize what was right there for so long. Thank you for waiting for me.”

He was thanking her for waiting for him?

Damn , she loved this man.

In response, she went up on her tiptoes and kissed him with every ounce of emotion she’d held in for so long. It was too soon for the words, but she could show him how important he was to her. How impressed she was by him.