His mouth dropped to the curve of her breast. He wished he had a more romantic setting than some dank rusted-out hut and smoky woodstove firelight, but they weren't guaranteed forever.
Josh drew deeper on her through damp fabric. Alicia's breathy sigh proved as encouraging as any words.
He peeled the plaid sports bra up and off, tossing their dog tags into a tangle. He broke contact with her skin for only a second — forever for him —before returning to kiss up her neck while his hands moved lower.
He cupped the warm weight of her breasts, plucking, tugging gently at her ni**les while his tongue delved deeper and explored until a moan vibrated her chest against his. He wanted to taste more of her, now, sooner. But he held back, lowering his mouth to take her lips instead, tasting apples and warm, moist Alicia.
Her fingers trekked down his sides, slipping into the waistband of his boxers.
"Slow down. We have all night." And he intended to make full use of every minute of that long night, longer than normal thanks to the storm and lengthy Alaskan winter solstice.
She smiled against his mouth. "I'm thinking I'll enjoy the second process more if we finish the first process fast."
Ever-efficient Alicia. He shook his head.
"No?"
"Definitely no." His hands slid from her br**sts around to her back, and she groaned her regret before teasing her ni**les along his chest. His vision fogged. He inhaled a steadying breath. "Plenty of time."
Swinging a lithe leg over, she straddled his lap, the heat of her burning clear through cotton underwear.
"You told me to let you know what I want."
She kissed him, long, deep, moist, and somehow the rest of their underwear went flying away without either of them breaking apart. His hands roved her back while he invested serious energy in exploring the perfect curve of her ear with his mouth.
"Josh?"
"Yeah, my love?"
"Since you wanted me to talk," she interjected in a breathy ramble, "and just in case you're wondering, that's just right. Perfect. More would be..."
"A good thing?" "A very good thing."
"For both of us, since there's nothing I enjoy more than touching you." Making out with Alicia by firelight certainly posed no hardship for him.
She sighed into his mouth, her pleasure sparking through him. "And Josh? I just thought of something else
I like. A lot."
"What's that?" He'd be all over it in a heartbeat. Hadn't he always been first in the class?
"Touching you." The woman was a natural seductress. "Then feel free to indulge to your heart's content."
Her hands stroked him with a thoroughness that left him gritting his teeth against the need to take her. As much as he longed to lay her back on the giving softness of the sleeping bags, he also wanted to hold on to this moment longer. Nothing could equal the sensation of her hands, the sound of her whimpery sighs.
Damned straight he should go slow, but his hands glided lower, anyway, just to her hips. He could touch, grip, caress a little more of her without losing it. Right? Her gasp hitched somewhere in her throat, her br**sts branding him as surely as the woman had branded herself in his mind.
While he nibbled along the line of her shoulder, he watched the firelight playing over her body, even better than his fantasy plan of romancing her by their new fireplace with merlot because he appreciated her more now. Their struggle of the past days taught him too well how intolerable it would be to live in a world that didn't include the vibrant presence of Alicia. >But he didn't argue, instead slipping those long, corded legs into the cottony warmth beside her. Gulp.
"Uh, Josh? In what way have I freaked you out?"
"I've always trusted that you could hold your own in the air, but this isn't about flying. And before you go getting your back up, I really mean that. I'm okay with your fighting in combat. That's work, and you're trained."
"Then what do you mean?"
"This other thing going on...it's not about work." He stared into the open grate, flames licking higher, sparking from the logs. "I'm a man, damn it. Your husband. Call it Cro-Magnon, but it's tough for me to accept there's no way I can right this wrong done to you. Hell, give me somebody to punch or a target to take out. I'm having trouble not being able to fight back. That's why I joined the Air Force after the crap that happened in college. I needed to defend." He shook his head. "I know, I know. It doesn't make any sense. This should be about you, anyhow, not about me."
She admired the way he'd found to make something positive out of something so awful. If only she could have managed the same.