Naughty Heroes

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Mitch could barely form a coherent thought. He’d kept his cool in battle situations, always knowing what to do next, but Sara made a mockery of any semblance of self control he possessed.

It wasn’t smart to make love, not without talking first. And then there was that pesky detail that the drug task force agent suspected her.

And the agent was out of his mind. No one changed that much. His Sara had always hated drugs and what they did to people. Alcohol was bad enough, but at least it was legal.

No, she wasn’t involved in the drug ring, but she could be hurt by it since she worked at the bar. There was nothing he could do about that. He hated that he was lying to her, would most likely hurt her again if things went according to plan.

Then she popped open the button of his jeans and pulled down the zipper tab, and he didn’t care about anything but them. Sara was in his arms. It was his dream come true, the one that had kept him alive and fighting all those years, had gotten him through recovery of his multiple surgeries and back on his feet again. It had always been Sara.

She shoved her hand inside the opening and pressed it over his c**k, curling her fingers around his shaft.

“f**k, Sara. That’s so good.” Too good. He’d come in his pants if he wasn’t careful. And he hadn’t done that since he was a kid.

He had to get her naked. There was no skill involved, only desperation, as he yanked her top and bra away and started in on her jeans. Not to be outdone, she shoved her hands inside his boxer briefs and cupped his ass, giving it a squeeze before pushing his clothing down.

It might not have been pretty, but he had her naked in record time, her clothes a tangled mess strewn across the bed and floor.

Naked beneath him, she was a goddess. Her lush breasts were tipped with taut n*****s that were a dusky pink. They were even lovelier than he remembered. Her waist dipped in and her hips were curved. His gaze zeroed in on her p***y. A neat little triangle of curls covered her mound and he loved it. A lot of women chose to shave down there, but he preferred the natural look.

He ran his hands up the inside of her legs. “Open for me, honey. Let me look at you.” He was practically salivating at the thought of tasting her. He wanted to explore every inch of her body, relearn what made her gasp and moan.

Stopping when his hands were almost at the top, he waited. She was watching him intently, her gray eyes darker and more mysterious than ever. No man really understood a woman’s mind. And if he said he did, he was a liar. Her lips were parted, and as he watched, her tongue came out to tease the bottom one. Her hair was curled around her head like a brown halo.

Mitch held his breath, his c**k aching, his balls tight.

Then she slowly parted her thighs, and he wanted to howl with pleasure. He skimmed his thumbs along the crease at the tops of her legs before moving inward and stroking them over her slick folds.

She was wet for him. There wasn’t any bigger turn-on than knowing his woman wanted him. He sprawled between her slender thighs, using his shoulders to push them wider. Ignoring the almost painful throbbing of his c**k, he lowered his head and inhaled her musky scent.

“Mitch.” Her voice quivered, a note of uncertainty giving him pause.

“Let me do this for you. Give me this.” He needed to taste her, to hear her breathy sighs and moans as he pushed her to orgasm.

When she didn’t object, he leaned inward and ran his tongue over her p***y, stroking up one side and down the other. The little sound of pleasure that came from her had his balls constricting and the base of his spine tingling.

Oh yeah, this was what he wanted.

Using everything he remembered about her and everything he’d learned in his years away, he set to work bringing her the most pleasure possible. He inserted a finger into her core, loving the way she pushed her hips forward, trying to get him to go deeper. He added a second finger and drank in her deep moan.

She grabbed at his head and shoulders, trying to get him closer. He wished his hair was longer so she could grab onto it.

Her hips were rocking, and every time she moaned his name, he had to fight not to spill on the sheets. She was so close. He dragged his tongue over her c**t, and she almost shot off the bed. He sucked on the little bud while flicking it with his tongue.

“Mitch.” It was somewhere between a scream and a moan. Her entire body jerked. Her inner muscles clamped down hard on his fingers, drenching them in her essence.

She’d barely finished when he pulled back and practically dove off the bed for his jeans. Condom. He had to get one on and get inside her before his c**k exploded.

Sara was sprawled across the bed, her skin damp with perspiration, her eyes closed, her lips parted.

He swore and managed to get the condom out of his wallet. He hadn’t exactly prepared for this tonight and only had the one. With great care, he ripped the packet open and rolled it on. His hands were shaking by the time he’d taken care of protecting her. Less than a minute had passed, but it seemed like a lifetime.

Supporting himself on his forearms, he lay on top of her. His c**k nudged at her opening, as eager as he to be inside. He waited until she finally opened her eyes and looked at him. Their gazes locked, he slowly pushed inside.

* * * * *

Sara was shaken to her core. They’d made love years ago, but it had been nothing like this. Back then it had been fun and full of love. She wasn’t sure what this was, but it was intense. And whether she liked it or not, it was emotional.

Her heart, which had been locked up for years, had broken the bonds imprisoning it.

The orgasm was stronger than any she’d ever had. Stars had exploded. Heck, maybe even entire galaxies.

The way he’d touched her, seen to her pleasure with a single-mindedness that had been both thrilling and disconcerting, had rocked her.

He was a stranger, yet he was still her Mitch, taking care of her, making sure she came before seeing to his own pleasure. She hadn’t understood that wasn’t the norm back then. Now she knew just how special he was.

He’d pulled away almost immediately and rolled on a condom. She was glad one of them was thinking because she sure as heck wasn’t. Then their gazes locked and he pushed inside. Her body struggled to accept him.

“Relax, sweetheart.” He rocked his hips back and forth, easing his way. She tensed and he immediately stopped. “Everything okay?”

He stroked a lock of hair off her forehead with his thumb and then kissed the tip of her nose. She gripped his powerful upper arms and clung to him, on the verge of tears without knowing why.

“Sara?” The passion in his gaze had been replaced by concern. That wasn’t what she wanted.

“I’m fine. It’s just been a while for me.” She hadn’t dated since her divorce, and the last year she and Connor had been together they’d been fighting. So yeah, no s*x then either. She refused to put out as he’d termed it. Not when he was cheating on her.

“We can stop.” He rocked his hips. “Or we can go slowly. Whatever you want.”

Whatever she wanted. What a novel concept. For too much of her life, she’d done what others wanted, caving to their expectations, but no longer.

She pulled her legs up, pressing them against his sides. The motion pushed him deeper. Mitch groaned and swore. He was sweating, the muscles in his upper arms quivering at the strength it took to control himself. Oddly enough, that gave her confidence.

“I don’t want to stop,” she told him. “I don’t want to go slowly either.”

He smiled and it softened his hard features, reminding her of the boy he used to be. “Never let it be said I didn’t do my best to please a lady.”

She almost snorted, but he chose that moment to thrust, and all she could do was gasp as he seated himself to the hilt. Her inner muscles rippled around his hard length. He pulsed inside her, like a heartbeat.

He shoved his hands under her and curved them around her shoulders, holding her steady while he took her hard and fast. This was what she wanted, what she needed. Fast, mind-blowing s*x.

She clung to him, loving the hard play of muscle beneath her hands as he powered in and out, taking them both higher with each thrust. Her breasts ached, so she dragged him down on top of her. He kissed her, stealing her breath. Taking and giving at the same time.

All the while, he flexed his hips, filling her, his c**k stimulating all the right places, tempting her to go over the edge once more.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, holding him as tightly as she could manage. Her name fell from his lips, a broken moan. He peppered hot kisses all over her face and neck.

He groaned, long and loud, his entire body clenching for one long second. He angled his pelvis and kept thrusting, stimulating her c**t with each stroke. She came again, crying out her release.

Totally exhausted, she lay beneath his heavy body. He was still hard inside her even though he’d come. When the ringing stopped in her ears, she could hear his heavy breathing interspersed with whispers of her name.

She wasn’t sure how she felt. Fulfilled in a way she hadn’t in a long time. The s*x was phenomenal. But there was still an empty space inside. Why had Mitch come back? How long would he be here?

Now that the glow was wearing off, she had questions. She was also sweaty, sticky, and a little hungry.

Mitch pushed up, which drove his c**k deeper. The both groaned. Then he gritted his teeth and eased out of her before rolling off the bed and heading to the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

She managed to tug the sheet over her. Staring at the ceiling, she wondered what came next. Would he leave? Would he stay? Did she want him too?

The toilet flushed, the pipes rattling, and then he was back. She had no idea what he was thinking. So instead of looking at his face, she checked out his body. His shaft was softening but twitched under her gaze. She went lower and her entire body went into shock. Scars ranged up and down his left leg. Long, nasty ones that went from thigh to almost his ankle. And not just one. A lot of them.

“I know it’s not pretty.” He sat down on the bed beside her, seemingly unconcerned by his nakedness.

“You were hurt.” She didn’t care about the scars, only what they meant. He could have died, and she might never have known.

He dragged his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Yeah. Roadside bomb. But I’m okay. I got to keep the leg. I’m luckier than a lot of guys.”

She knew that too many died or lost limbs, and while she sympathized and hurt for the veterans and families, none of them were hers. “I’m so sorry.” Totally inadequate words for what she was feeling. She couldn’t shake the sense that she should have been there for him.

He shrugged. “It’s done and I’m getting better.”

“Is that why you left?” He’d always talked about becoming a Marine, about serving and building a career. She’d expected to marry him and be a military wife for thirty years. Never had she pictured him walking away from it.

He remained silent. There was a wall between them, a reminder that they were no longer a couple and this was just s*x. “I shouldn’t have asked.” Feeling more vulnerable than she had when they’d had s*x, she glanced around for her clothes.

“You should ask.” He swiveled and looked at her then with pain-filled eyes. “I’m just not sure how to explain it.”

He wasn’t trying to shut her out. He was just hurting. “It’s okay.” She wished she knew how to comfort him.

“No, it’s not. I thought I might be able to come back from my injury, but it just didn’t happen. I’m still figuring things out.” He ran his fingertips over the side of her face.

She swallowed hard, just glad he was alive.

“I’m sorry about Cyrus.” She knew Mitch’s uncle had died a few months back. “Is that why you came home? To deal with the house and stuff?”

“Partly.” When he didn’t say anything else, she really looked at him. She’d known him better than anyone else. They might have both changed and grown, but she couldn’t shake the notion he was holding out on her.

Not her business. Not really. She eased over the side of the bed, tugging the sheet behind her. It was caught under Mitch where he sat on the edge. He moved long enough to release it.

“Thanks.” How stilted they were now. It hurt more than she’d thought it would. s*x was no problem, but talking was. Still, she deserved answers.

“What happened all those years ago? Why didn’t you write or call?”

A muscle in his jaw flexed, and she knew he was gritting his teeth. His gaze narrowed and pure anger filled them. “I did.”

Whatever she’d expected, it hadn’t been that. “What do you mean, you did?”

He stood and yanked on his underwear and jeans, the motion jerky and filled with barely suppressed fury. “Just what I said. I wrote you every day that I could. I called, too. Your daddy always said you weren’t home. Finally, he told me you weren’t interested, that you’d moved on.” Hands on his hips, he studied her. “Why didn’t you write me?”

Indignant, she faced him wearing only a bed sheet. “I wrote you every single day. I took them to the post office myself and gave them to Aunt Ida…” She trailed off. Surely her aunt wouldn’t have tampered with the mail. That was a federal offense. Not that she would have seen it that way. To her it would have been a family matter.

Sara sat down hard on the bed. “Oh my God. She didn’t mail them.” That was the only possibility. “He never told me you called either.”

“What about your email at school? I tried that too.” She could tell Mitch wasn’t convinced.

“Equipment broke down and we didn’t have computers for the final year. There wasn’t money enough to replace them until the following one.”

“Well, shit.” Mitch sat down beside her and draped his arm over her shoulders.

“I’m sorry.” She’d blamed him all these years for abandoning her, when it had been the fault of her family all along.

“I shouldn’t have been surprised. But Sara, my pride, my feelings were hurt when your daddy said you’d moved on. Then I heard you were getting married.” He cupped her face in his hands, forcing him to look at him. “Why?”

It was complicated in so many ways. “I was so hurt when I didn’t hear from you. I felt abandoned. Alone.” She’d been so young then. Stupid too.

“But Conner Richmond?”

“Yeah, shocked me, too.” Connor’s daddy was the bank manager and his mother came from money. “I really didn’t know him at all, but apparently he’d seen me.” And wanted her. And he was spoiled enough that what he wanted, he got.

“You’re a beautiful woman.” Mitch said it like it was a given. She hadn’t felt beautiful, not back then. She’d been gangly and shy. Only Mitch had made her feel special.

“Anyway, he’d seen me and decided he wanted me. My daddy had taken out a loan on the house and land.” Something she hadn’t known until he’d demanded she marry Connor.

“Tell me he didn’t make you marry him?” Mitch’s touch was gentle but his expression was fierce.

“It seemed logical at the time. Connor would pay off the loan and give my daddy the papers as a wedding gift. I could save my family by marrying him. I was hurt and alone and I figured at least Connor wanted me.”