Catch (Coronado Series Book 4) Read online

  He covered her hand with his. “Nothing, honey. I just like watching you eat. I’m happy you’re enjoying what I made. That’s all.”

  She shrugged, wiped her mouth, and studied him. “There is something else.”

  “I’m happy you’re here. I’m happy that we made love all morning. I’m happy that you’re staying here and we can keep doing this. I’m happy that I get to help you pick out underwear, and I’m happy because we’re together.” He leaned over, pressed his mouth against hers, and fell under her spell. So this is how it’s supposed to feel.

  Rachel placed her hand against his cheek, felt the warmth of his skin, and returned his kiss. This was such an unfamiliar feeling to her. It was desire mixed with ease and something else that was wholly unfamiliar. It was welcome, but confusing. She wanted to breathe him in and somehow make him a part of her. “I’m happy, too, Chris. Thank you.”

  They lay on the couch after they were done with breakfast and gazed out the patio doors. Rachel sat up. “I just realized that you have a pool. You’re so lucky. I would love to have a pool.”

  “You have one now. It’s all yours.”

  She lay down, curled into him, wrapped her arms around his middle, and buried her nose in his chest. She understood in that moment that he would give her anything, and it broke the dam. She’d been holding all of her emotions in, and his offer had somehow released them. She took a deep shuddering breath. He wanted her to stay, and that was the key that somehow unlocked all of her feelings. She tried to shove them down, and they didn’t seem to be cooperating.

  Chris could feel Rachel’s body stiffen, and he heard her take deep breaths. Rubbing his hand up and down her back slowly, he had a feeling that she was about to break. “Go ahead and cry, because you need to let it out. You are way overdue for this.” He wrapped his leg over hers and kissed her head as he continued to rub circles across her skin. A small snuffle escaped, and then she gripped his shirt and let it out. Her sadness and anguish poured out of her body as she let out the emotions. It was hard to believe how strong this tiny woman was. She had tried to face this for a year on her own and the whole time he would’ve gladly taken it on. It was hard to believe that one person could hold so many tears inside. Was it possible to become dehydrated? He tried to lift her face, but she shook her head and gripped his shirt tighter. Message received: not done yet. Kissing her head, he held her through the storm and whispered soothing nonsense.

  Slowly it subsided, and her body relaxed against his. She let go of his shirt and moved her head so her cheek was lying against his heart. Looking down, he watched her try to wipe her eyes. Shifting slightly, he lifted his T-shirt and wiped her face with the bottom of it. He gently wiped her eyes and cheeks and finally her nose. Realizing his shirt was soaked from her tears, he lifted up and pulled it over his head. He settled them, wrapped his arms around her, and she snuggled back in.

  “Thank you, Chris.” She rolled her face into his chest and kissed him over his heart. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep instantly.

  “You’re welcome, Rachel.” He tightened his hold and closed his eyes with the woman of his dreams in his arms. He drifted off as his mind replayed their morning together. His last thought was of what they could try next.

  Rachel awoke with a start when Chris moved against her and tightened his hold. The man was a bloody furnace. She was hot and tried to move away a little.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m hot.”

  “Yes, you are.” He felt her push against him. “We haven’t even gone underwear shopping yet.”

  She rolled away and studied him. “I’m going to seduce you after I get some good underwear. Prepare yourself, Chris. I’ve got you in my sights.”

  He scooped her up, laid her on top of him, and smiled. “Maybe you could start the seducing now.”

  His smile cracked her heart open. He was a good-looking man, but when he smiled, he was devastating. She had a feeling that he didn’t do it often, so it was a welcome sight. She dropped her mouth to his, kissed him hard, and tried to hold on to his shoulders.

  Chris moved his hands and cradled her face as he answered her kiss with his own. Moving her hips against the bulge in his shorts, she hummed in pleasure.

  Not breaking contact, he sat up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and stood. “No curtains on the front windows. We’re taking this down the hall.” Rachel clung to him and laughed as he got rid of her sweater before they made it into the bedroom. He kicked the door shut with his foot and gently dropped her on the bed.

  She smiled as she stared up at this mountain of a man and liked the dark look in his eyes as he bent down and unzipped her jeans. The house was quiet, and the sound of her pants coming off seemed unnaturally loud. He threw the pants over his shoulder and smiled down at her. “How come I feel like I’m the one being seduced?” she asked.

  “Because you are, honey. Now keep your eyes open and tell me what you like.” He moved his hand slowly up her leg, followed by his mouth. By the time he arrived at her hip, he discovered several spots that made her hum and her back arch off the bed. “Now tell me what kind of underwear these are?” He slipped his fingers into them and pulled them down her legs as he kissed the apex of her thighs.

  “They’re the kind that come off easily.” She stared down at him and was burned by the desire that shone in his eyes.

  “Then these are the best kind of underwear there are.” He moved her legs a little farther apart with his shoulders and settled in. “Perfect.” He dropped his mouth and swiped his tongue across her, and she jolted off the bed. Moving his hands to her hips, he held her against the bed. “I guess that’s a spot you liked.” He glanced up, winked at her, and then moved his mouth again and didn’t stop until she fell apart and screamed his name. Nothing quite as satisfying as having a woman call his name as she exploded in ecstasy. He licked his lips and moved his fingers in and out and tried to see if he could keep it going. Fucking powerful to be in charge of her pleasure. To know that he could give this to her was mind-blowing. He kissed his way up her body and kept moving his fingers slowly in and out as she gently came down.

  Opening one eye, she smiled. “I think I just had a religious experience.” She lifted her head and kissed him and tasted herself on him.

  “I have to tell you that it was pretty powerful when I made you go up like that. I’m going to have to keep doing that.” He rolled on top of her, held himself at her entrance for a moment, thrust once, and buried himself in paradise. “Now, that feels amazing.” Driving himself deeply into her heat, her muscles tightened around him. “If you keep doing that, then…” She did it again as she tightened her legs around him. “I can’t hold back now, baby. I hope it’s okay.”

  “Don’t stop, Chris.” She held on as he moved heavily into her and sent her over the moon. That’s what she was…over the moon about this man.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Rachel stood next to Chris as he flipped the steak on the barbeque and looked out over the pool. “I wish that I’d brought my bathing suit.”

  “You don’t need a bathing suit. I’ll just turn the lights off in the pool. I don’t think any of the neighbors can see over the fence.”

  “You want to swim naked?”

  “Yes, I want to swim naked with you tonight after dinner.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay.”

  He closed the barbeque and checked his watch. “Dinner in five minutes. Do you want more wine?”

  “No, I’ll wait until dinner. I’m exhausted. Having sex all day and then having an emotional breakdown sure seems to take it out of me.”

  “Yeah, I can see how that would happen. Thanks for letting me be the one, Rachel.”

  “Thanks for being the one, Chris.” She took his hand, leaned her head against his shoulder, and let out a sigh. “I hate to think about what I have to face at my condo. I’ll call a hauling company on Monday and see if they can take the bedroom furniture out. I need to go over
there tomorrow and take pictures, clean up, and get my car.”

  “It’s all taken care of.”

  She swiveled her head and stared at him. “Can you repeat that, please?”

  “It’s all taken care of. I called Laird, and he organized the guys, and they took everything out of your condo today. I thought they were going to do it tomorrow, but they were able to do it today. They stacked up your books so you could make a list and replace them, and Mike is sending me a copy of the police report for your insurance company.” He watched her face and thought she might start to cry again. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

  “I can’t believe it. I was so dreading it, and you’ve taken that all away for me. You took care of everything.”

  “I told you that’s how it worked. I take care of you, and you take care of me.”

  “I’ve never had anyone take care of me.”

  “Neither have I, Rach.”

  “Well, then we will just figure it out with each other.” She leaned her head against his arm and smiled into the fading light. “I should make dinner for the guys to thank them and reimburse them for whatever expenses they incurred.”

  “I told you, you are not going to pay for things. But I’m sure the guys would enjoy a home-cooked meal.”

  “Why don’t you invite them over for football tomorrow, and I’ll cook then. Maybe I should include Lexi and Bella since Laird will be coming.”

  “I didn’t know you’d become friends with Lexi.”

  “We spoke a couple of times this week, and I offered to babysit Bella if she ever needed anyone. I miss my nieces, and I thought it might work out for both of us.”

  “Okay, let’s invite them over tomorrow night. Laird will be out of his mind if Lexi comes, because he has it bad for that woman. I’d better tell him so he can take a shower before he comes over.”

  “You have to tell him to shower?”

  “Yeah. When the guys come over, it’s fairly relaxed.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “I can see that you’re worried, but don’t be. It’s going to be fun.”

  “I think it will be fun. It just might not smell good.”

  He laughed and checked his watch. “Dinner is ready. Let’s eat. I need to fuel up for tonight.”

  “There is no more tonight, because I’m worn out.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I am. This might not be a big deal to you, but it’s a big deal to me, and I’m worn out.”

  “It’s a big deal to me. My parts just don’t get as worn out as yours.” He waggled his eyebrows and grinned.

  “We can watch football, and I can see if I like the outfits.”

  “Honey, they’re uniforms, not outfits.”

  “Why can’t they be outfits?”

  “Girls wear outfits, and men wear uniforms.”

  “Everything matches and is coordinated, so a uniform is an outfit.”

  He laughed as he took her hand and walked into the house. “Okay. Outfits, it is. I think you should tell the guys your theory tomorrow.”

  She narrowed her eyes and studied him. “I like to call them outfits instead of uniforms. So they better not laugh at me.”

  “I would never let that happen.”

  “Yeah, it probably wouldn’t work out for you if your friends laughed at me. It might make me feel bad, and then I wouldn’t be friendly when it was time to go to bed.”

  “There will be no laughing at you…ever.”

  She smiled at him and nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

  She turned and strolled into the kitchen. Lesson number one: Rachel was always right. Lesson number two: if in doubt, refer back to lesson number one.

  ***

  They lay on the couch and watched the college game that Chris had recorded earlier. “These boys are too young for me to look at.”

  Chris let out a loud laugh. “I’m happy to know that you have standards. How old are you, Rachel?”

  “I’m twenty-nine. My birthday is in two months, and I’m sadly leaving my twenties behind.”

  “I’m thirty-two. After we get married, we’d better start on kids right away, because we’re not getting any younger.”

  “When a woman tells you she’s about to turn thirty, it’s never good to respond with something like that.”

  “I’m getting older, and I want kids, so I want to start right away.”

  “That’s a lot better than your first statement. That one I can live with.”

  He squeezed her shoulder and kissed her gently. “See, I’m getting better at this.”

  “You sure are, Chris Ellis, and you’re hard to resist.”

  “Well, then don’t…resist.”

  “I’m not. You got at me four times today. I think you’ll live until tomorrow.”

  “All right.” He glanced down and winked. “You’re irresistible to me, and I’ve wanted this with you for a long time.”

  She leaned up, kissed him gently, and then smiled at him. “You say the nicest things.”

  “It’s true, honey. I’m head over heels.”

  “Me, too.” Rachel laughed.

  The game went to commercial, and Rachel sat up. “I’m sorry that I fell apart all over you today. I wasn’t expecting to melt down and let everything come out. I’ve been holding it all in, and I guess I couldn’t anymore.” She stared down at her hands and twisted her fingers together. Looking through her lashes at him, she expected to see a different expression than the one on his face.

  He sat up and clicked the remote to turn off the game. This conversation was long overdue, and he was happy that she’d brought it up. “I don’t know how you’ve lasted this long. I’m thankful that you allowed me the opportunity to hold you through the storm. Rach, I don’t think you realize how important it is for me to be the one you count on. My kindergarten crush blew up the other day, like I told you, and it’s been replaced with some serious, adult feelings. I’ve spent my whole adult life protecting others, and the fact that you have chosen me… Well, it’s everything.” He took one her hands, held it, and wiped the tears rolling down her face with his other hand. Picking her up, he put her in his lap and held her as she clung to him.

  “I’ve always considered myself a strong person, someone who’s willing to face the challenges of life. But I’m not sure if that’s true, because at the first opportunity, I’ve dumped everything in your lap. And now you’re taking care of it for me.”

  “Do you think that you need to know how to do everything yourself?”

  “Of course not.”

  “If your car needs to be repaired, you take it to a mechanic. If your sink needs to be unplugged, you call a plumber. If you have a crazy ex stalking you, you call a SEAL. Simple, honey. I’m just the right man for the job.”

  She pulled away from him and sat up and faced him. “But I’ve been attracted to you for a year. Am I taking advantage of you?”

  “God, I hope so. Please, please take advantage of me.”

  “So you would like to be repaid for your kindness in sexual favors?”

  “Yes, I would. Is that wrong?”

  “I guess it depends what the favors are. Do I get to have some say?”

  “You have all the say. We could just do what we did today. Every day. That would be repayment enough. That way you wouldn’t be taking advantage of all my training and skills.”

  “I’ll think about it. I may just want to write you a check.” She looked at the expression on his face and started laughing. “I’m just kidding. But four times every day is a lot!”

  He pulled her against him, drew her mouth to his, and moved gently against her. “There are no checks, only kisses. You can pay me in kisses, and it will be more than enough. Soon, we’ll be married, and then all of our funds will be comingled.”

  She crawled into his lap, faced him, took his face in her hands, and stared deep into his eyes. “Kisses. I will pay you in kisses.” She dropped her mouth to his and kissed him with every feeling in her he
art. The light ones, the dark ones, the deep ones, and the ones that had no names. It was all wrapped up in the kiss that she laid against his mouth. She would probably give this man anything he wanted and some things that he wasn’t ready for. He made her feel like he could handle it. It might be an illusion, but it was the best illusion she’d seen in a long time. He seemed invincible to her, and she wondered how true that might be. Often those who appeared to be that way were the most vulnerable. She would need to find out where the knife went in for him and then protect the hell out of it. She might be small and incapable of fending off a crazy ex-boyfriend. But she was wholly capable of protecting Chris and his heart. In fact, she might consider it a new full-time job. She had a distinct feeling that his was a heart worth protecting. He could protect the outside, and she would protect the inside.

  He held her fiercely as she laid the kiss of a lifetime on him. He knew it was more than their mouths mating. There was something under the kiss that had meaning for them both. He just hoped that she would explain it to him. She was going to have be his translator to the wild world of feelings. He had them in spades. He just didn’t always understand them. His feelings were straightforward with little subtlety. He wanted her, and she was going to be his, and he would spend the rest of his life protecting her and making her happy. He knew that was the male version. There was probably a female version that would require a lot of explanation. He smiled into her eyes. “As far as I’m concerned…I’ve been paid in full.”

  “Once I get some pretty underwear, I’m going to seduce you. I know it doesn’t seem possible, but I promise you, it is. I’m more than willing to pay my debt in sexual favors. I think it works in my favor anyway, because you’re a sex magician.”

  “You think I’m a magician?” He lifted her T-shirt and looked at her bra. “This seems like it could work magic.” He tugged one of the cups down and ran his mouth against her skin. “Yeah, this definitely works.” Pulling her shorts away from her stomach, he gazed down. “What kind of underwear are these? These seem like seducing underwear.” His hand slid down the front of her panties, and he slipped his fingers inside and ran them around. “You’re all nice and wet, so these are definitely seducing underwear.” He moved his fingers and played a little as he watched her face for signs of what was working. Her smile told him more than any words that came out of her mouth. Leaning forward, he captured her lips and nipped at the bottom one with his teeth. “You’re definitely seducing me, and I’m under your spell, so maybe you’re the one with magic.” She moaned into his ear as he let his fingers plunge into her center. “You just go ahead and seduce me when you’re ready.”