Catch (Coronado Series Book 4) Read online

  She rolled off him and sat up. “You’re a powerful man, and you have a powerful effect on me. It scares me half to death. The other half is excited to get at you. I’m not sure which half is going to win out.”

  “I guess you know which half I’m hoping wins. My kindergarten crush just exploded into all-out infatuation, lust, desire, and probably love.”

  “I’m not sure what to say.”

  “Just say you’ll give it a chance.”

  “I’ll give it a really big chance, the sort of chance that other chances only dream of.”

  He leaned in and kissed her resolutely. “That’s all I ask.”

  ***

  Chris lay in bed in shorts and waited for Rachel to finish with her shower. He was experiencing something that was rare and unwelcome. Nerves. He hated nerves. They always screwed things up. He was a man who moved through life with a lot of confidence that things were going to work out. They worked out because he had trained for them or studied for them or was prepared for them. Nothing in his life primed him for Rachel Miller in his bed. Yes, he’d slept with a lot of women, but none of them were like Rachel. He was probably going to marry her. What experience in life ever prepared someone for his wife? None.

  He heard the water shut off and knew she was going to be walking out the door fairly soon. Maybe he could go for nonchalant. As if this was no big deal. Yeah…right. Like that was ever going to be possible. It was pretty much a given that he would say something stupid. He just needed to make sure it was something that he could recover from.

  Rachel opened her travel bag and started her nightly routine. Lotions and potions were applied as her mind worked over the possibilities of sleeping with Chris. Nothing was computing because she was on overload. The day, the week, the year had proven to be more than she could handle. “Fine. I’m just going to crawl into bed and snuggle up to him and pass out. After I get some pretty underwear tomorrow, I can come up with a better plan.” It simply wasn’t reasonable to come up with a seduction plan when all she had were boy shorts and a college T-shirt. She needed the props because they gave her confidence. She wasn’t a naturally sexy woman, and she needed all the help she could get. She was naturally smart, and that didn’t help her when she had a big, sexy man in her sights. “No big deal.” She stared into the mirror and nodded. “No big deal.”

  Turning off the light, she walked into the room and over to the bed. “Are you asleep or are you faking that you are asleep?”

  “Faking.”

  She lifted the covers and slipped in. She smiled as she scooted over and rested her head on his chest. “Thanks for being a knight in shining armor and for the date. I almost forgot about the great date you took me on seven hundred hours ago.” She lifted her head and kissed him gently. “Sweet dreams.”

  She moved around a little until she was comfortable, closed her eyes, and let exhaustion take over.

  Chris lay like a statue. He had soft, sexy Rachel with her head tucked into his neck and her arm across his chest. There was only a T-shirt between them, and she smelled like the best thing on earth. Her hair was wet, her body was warm, and her curves were pressed against him. He was sporting the effect of a year of pent-up lust. He had a blue-steeler lying flat against his stomach, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. He couldn’t have been happier. Warm, sexy Rachel was draped over him like a blanket, and she was starting to snore gently. Okay, it wasn’t so gently, but he couldn’t remember anything sounding so good to him. He closed his eyes and moved his hand up her top and let himself relax. Rachel Miller in his bed was a great start to the weekend.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Rachel opened one eye and looked over her shoulder at Chris smiling down at her. “You’re happy this morning.” She rolled over and laid her head against his chest. The deep beat of his heart was just like the man himself. Strong and sure. “Did I steal the covers last night?”

  “I didn’t notice. I think I must’ve kept moving toward you in my sleep. When I woke up, we were tangled together.” Kissing her head, he ran his hand up and down her back and smiled. The reality of lying mostly naked next to Rachel was better than all the fantasies he’d had over the last year. “I like sleeping next to you.”

  “I can’t remember the last time I slept through the night, so I know I like sleeping with you.”

  He rolled into her so that they were face-to-face. Taking a moment to study her, he realized she was just as desirable to him in the morning without makeup as at any other time he’d seen her. He liked her warm and half-naked best. Actually, sated, naked Rachel would be even better. Maybe they could work on that next. Her hand roamed across his chest, which made his morning condition worsen, so he tried to adjust himself. There was no need to push the evidence of his arousal into her stomach so early in the morning.

  “I already felt it, Chris. You don’t have to move around.” Tilting her hips against him, she welcomed the pleasure of excitement. “I have to get some pretty underwear before we have sex, because I can’t seduce you when I’m wearing weekend underwear.”

  “Is weekend underwear different from period underwear?”

  “Yes, completely. Weekend underwear is for hanging out at home and relaxing or doing chores.” Lifting her T-shirt, she showed him her boy shorts. “See…weekend underwear.”

  He looked down at all of her soft skin, and his breath hitched. Holding himself still, he resisted the urge to dive in and consume her. His voice grew gruff with desire. “Rachel, I’m not sure if I could take more than what you have on. What you’re wearing is working just fine.” Running his finger down her neck toward her breasts, he heard an inhalation of breath as her muscles rippled under his touch. He was going to take that as encouraging sign that he could proceed.

  He rolled over her, lifted himself up on his forearms, and framed her face with his hands. “I think what you have on is pretty damn sexy. Why don’t we take it off? Then we don’t have to worry about what kind of underwear you have on. Problem solved.”

  “Chris, I want to impress you.”

  “I’m impressed enough. I don’t think I can take much more impressing.” Dipping his head, he kissed her with all of the desire he’d built up over the last year. He slicked his mouth over hers and ran his tongue along her lips until she opened for him on a sigh. It began as a slow exploration as their tongues moved against each another, but quickly heated up. Her body responded and moved against his as they tried to get closer to one another. Lifting his mouth, he stared into her eyes. “Honey, I need to get inside you quick, because I’m about to lose my mind. I’ve been thinking about you for a year, and I can’t seem to find the will to slow this down.”

  Arching against him, she ran her hands along the top of his boxers, slipped them inside, and moved her hand slowly against him. “Let’s not waste time on foreplay, then. We can do that next time.”

  When she ran the length and breadth of him, he about lost his control as he sucked in a deep breath. “Honey, I need you to move your hand, because what you’re doing feels too damn good.” He shifted his hips away from her as he sat up and pulled her up with him. “Are you ready for this? Because once we start, it’s going to be close to impossible for me to stop.” She pulled his head toward hers and pressed her lips to his. “I’m going to take that as a yes.” Taking possession of her mouth, he let the chain of control go and started to explore.

  He felt the moment she let herself off the leash and gave in to what was happening between them. Her body melted into his as her hands grasped him urgently. Moving his hand away from her lovely breasts, he tugged at her T-shirt, whipped it over her head, and let out an involuntary gasp. Rachel Miller was the most desirable woman he had ever seen. He dropped his head and let his mouth run across her chest in worship. There was no other way to describe what he was experiencing at the sight of her beautiful breasts. “I’ve been wondering what you look like naked.” The tips of his fingers brushed her bare skin. “You’re better than anything I ever came
up with.” Lifting his head, he gazed into her clear lavender eyes and confessed, “I want you, Rachel.”

  She responded by tugging at his boxers. “Help me, Chris. I can’t get these off you.” He liked her answer.

  As he lifted his hips and yanked them off, they both looked down. He saw her brow knit together and was worried that she was going to be scared of what she saw. He was a big man, and one of his big parts was pointed straight at her. There was no confusing how much he desired her. Her eyes grew big as she lifted her hand and touched him gently. His hips pushed into her in reply. “Baby, I won’t last long if you do that.”

  “That’s okay. I’m sure you’ll recover quickly.”

  Shaking his head, he moved his hips out of her reach. He rolled her underneath him and freed her of her underwear all in one move. “I’ve never wanted someone more than I want you.” Tilting his hips so he rested at her entrance, he waited for her to invite him in. When her legs fell on either side of him, he took that as the welcome he needed.

  He was smooth, hard, and hot against her. She wiggled her hips and grinned. “This is better than I thought it would be.” She sighed.

  “We haven’t even started yet.”

  “So far, so…amazing.”

  He pushed himself slowly into her warm, welcoming heat and almost exploded instantly. “I saw the patch on your hip, so I’m going in bareback. You’re the last woman I’m going to sleep with.” And with that, he pulled out slowly and watched her eyes roll back as he thrust heavily in. Her hips tilted into him in a welcome that he never could’ve imagined as his mind shattered with pleasure. His body took over, and a groan tore through his chest and echoed in the quiet room. Hearing her call his name as her leg wrapped around him set him off. “Rachel, this feels amazing.” When she nodded in agreement, he let himself go. He rocked in and out, over and over again, and her body answered his. She clung to him, and she moved with him. “That’s it, honey. Let me know how it feels.” Soon, she stiffened and knew her release was imminent. “Now, Rachel. Let it go.” Her release came as he exploded into her with a shout. Pushing himself in as far as he could go, he emptied himself into her welcoming body. His hips continued to thrust in and out gently as waves of pleasure rolled over his body.

  It felt like hours before he was able to stop moving in her. He just kept slowly moving and grinding against her as the spasms left both of their bodies. Collapsing on top, he buried his head in her hair and gasped as he tried to capture some air.

  Quiet fell over the room, and all that could be heard was their breathing as it began to slow down. Chris lifted himself off, rolled over, and pulled her with him. Their bodies were slicked and sticky, and she shivered as she lay against him. Pulling up the sheet, he put it over her shoulders and hugged her closer. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so relaxed and happy. This was different from the usual postcoital glow. This was a happiness that came from his bones. It was a deep connection with another human being that went beyond physical intimacy. Staring down at the woman in his arms, he knew that this was it. He was going to marry her or die trying. The men who were married always talked about knowing right away, and the same thing was happening to him.

  “I wonder what’s going to happen when I buy some pretty underwear today and you see that. Because what just happened between us was beyond anything I could’ve imagined.” Glancing up, their eyes locked and her chest tightened. Her breath became shallow as she fell into his beautiful toffee eyes.

  “I guess we’ll find out. We could just skip the underwear, and you can come to bed naked every night.”

  “I could, but I think I might want to seduce you a little. They say anticipation is part of the fun, so I want to give you something to anticipate.”

  A lion’s grin spread across his face as he studied her. “I like that. I can buy you pretty, sexy things to wear, and only I will know what you have on. The pleasure of buying it for you and knowing that I’m the only person who’s going to see it would be fu…I mean, amazing.”

  “See, it’s already working, and we’re only talking about it.”

  “I like talking about it, but I think I’m ready to show you what I’m thinking about.” He rolled her over on her stomach, covered her with his body, ran his mouth against her neck, and felt her shiver against his lips. “I just discovered a good spot.” He continued to run his hands and mouth all over her body and learned where she was the most responsive. “Let’s try all the different positions and see which ones we like best.” He lifted her hips up, placed a pillow under them, and watched as she turned around and laughed at him.

  “Chris Ellis, we can’t do that all in one day.”

  “Okay, we’ll just try the first five or six and then move on from there.” He dipped his head, kissed her right above her tailbone, and rested his head against her back as he said a silent prayer of thanks. Life made, right here, right now, in this moment. He raised himself slightly and guided himself into paradise as he entered his home for the second time that morning. Her moan of pleasure was her response to his body inside hers. Yeah, life definitely made.

  Chris rolled over, checked the clock, and couldn’t believe it was almost twelve. He’d never spent this much time in bed with a woman during the day. He heard her quiet snores, and she lay asleep next to him. Apparently, the third time had been too much for her. Rising slowly, he padded over to the bathroom and decided to take a quick shower. It was time for food, and he didn’t want her to think he was incapable of taking care of her. It was important for her to feel confident that he would always put her first and make sure she had whatever she needed.

  ***

  He opened the fridge and was glad that he’d stocked up earlier in the week. They didn’t have to leave the house all weekend if they didn’t want to. Pulling things out, he decided to make one of his famous scrambles. They would need to fuel up for what he hoped would happen this afternoon.

  When his phone buzzed, he checked the number and picked it up. “Hey, Laird. Thanks for calling me back. Yeah, her apartment is in pretty bad shape. The guy destroyed her bed, books, stuff in the kitchen, and most of her underwear. Do you have time tomorrow to help me haul the stuff out of there? I don’t want Rachel to have to see it again.” He heard the shower turn on and knew he should get started on breakfast. “Okay. Are you sure? Thanks. We appreciate it.”

  Dropping his phone on the counter, he got busy in the kitchen so he would have everything ready. As he put the ingredients together, he thought about the last week and wondered what else was in store for them. These must be the rough waters that they had to get through to reach the shore of their happiness. He was used to challenges. Hell, sometimes he loved nothing better than facing them down and coming out on the other side. This was one of those times. He just needed to keep Rachel safe while he took care of it.

  He was almost done with breakfast when he smelled her stroll into the room. Turning around, he admired the woman who had captured his heart over a year ago. She had on a pair of well-worn jeans that hugged her beautiful curves. Her eyes were set off by the lavender sweater she was wearing. She gave him a shy smile as she stepped into the kitchen, and his heart almost exploded. A smile from this woman was a powerful thing, and he wanted to make sure he kept getting a lot of them. “Brunch is almost ready.”

  “It smells delicious. Why didn’t you wake me? I would’ve helped you with all of this.” She stepped closer and looked into the bowl of fresh-cut fruit. “Everything smells great. I didn’t know you could cook.”

  Wrapping his arm around her waist, he gazed into her startling eyes and smiled. “I like to eat, so I learned how to cook over the last couple of years.” She was perfect in his arms, and he wanted her in his arms in this kitchen for the foreseeable future. “I hope you’re hungry.”

  “I’m starved, and I could eat a horse. I haven’t felt like that in a year.” She took the napkins and cutlery, walked over to the table, and starting setting it. “I’m sorry that I
slept so long. I was so tired that I passed out.”

  He watched her from the kitchen as he filled their plates and wondered why she was apologizing. “I’m glad you slept, because you must have needed it. It’s time you started taking care of yourself, or better yet…let me do it.”

  “You certainly did that this morning.” She returned and picked up the bowl of fruit and cinnamon bread that he had out. “What else do you want me to grab?” She noticed his sexy grin and smiled. “I’m not talking about that.”

  He winked at her as he took the plates. “Ms. Miller, you have a dirty mind. I was thinking about juice and coffee.”

  “I might have a dirty mind, but I’m fairly confident that yours is worse. After all, you’re a sailor, and you have tattoos. You know what they say about sailors…well, it’s not something I can repeat.”

  He kissed her quickly before he set down their plates. “Ms. Miller, I would love to be enlightened about what they’re saying about sailors these days.”

  She started to laugh and leaned over and kissed him. “I have no idea about what they’re saying. I just made that up. As for your tattoos…well…they’re damn sexy.” She sat down in the chair, spread the napkin across her lap, and smiled at him as she waited for him to join her. “What? Why are you staring at me?”

  “My thoughts are circling the possibilities of your dirty mind, and I can’t seem to get beyond that.”

  She laughed as she served him some fruit and put a piece of cinnamon bread on his plate. “I may share with you later on. We’ll see.”

  “Oh, we will definitely be seeing. I think I may need a demonstration and not just an explanation. I seem to learn better that way. I’m a visual guy, and I don’t want to forget anything.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for this lovely breakfast.” She started eating and let out a little moan as she made her way through the meal. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually tasted food, but knew it had been far too long. She noticed Chris studying her. “What did I do?”