“I’m here, Ryan,” she whispered. “You don’t have to be afraid any more.”
“Holly?”
His voice was muffled by her chest. He sounded confused. Uncertain.
She trailed her fingers through his hair, soothing him. “I’m here.”
He tensed in her arms then pulled slightly away. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
But she wouldn’t let him shove her away. “Talk to me, Ryan,” she said softly. “What happened to you?”
He leaned back closing his eyes. She followed him down to the pillow, curling her arm around his stomach. She waited, not pressing him. She sensed an internal battle raging.
He scrubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath. “We got caught with our pants down behind enemy lines. Our mission went down the toilet in a matter of minutes. Most of my team managed to get out but I got a leg full of shrapnel from a mortar round. I fell behind. They fucking left me there.”
She sucked in her breath. Granted she knew next to nothing about military matters, but wasn’t their creed never to leave behind a fallen comrade?
His breath came out wavery, and she knew he struggled to keep his emotions in check.
“I wanted them to go. I didn’t want to weigh them down. But they left me. I was captured and taken to a shit hole.”
His words came out rambling, in a rush as if he had a hard time formulating his thoughts. This was likely the first time he’d talked about the experience at all.
“For two weeks, I saw and endured things I never imagined.”
His voice came out in a croak, breaking at the end.
“There was one soldier. She was British. They wouldn’t leave her alone. They enjoyed tormenting her. After six days, she died and they left her there to rot.”
Tears streamed down his cheeks. She held him closer, kissing his chest, trying to keep her own tears at bay.
“After she died, they turned their attention to me and another American soldier being held there. My leg was infected. I was running a fever and half out of my mind, but I’ll never forget the pain.”
He broke off again, his chest heaving with unspent emotion.
She pressed her forehead to his, her tears mingling with his. She hugged him to her, desperately wanting to alleviate his pain.
He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her breasts. “I need you.”
She let him shove her shirt over her head, and soon they were naked, flesh pressing tightly against flesh. She kissed him hotly, allowing the full breadth of her passion and loving to flow into him.
Tonight she was the aggressor, making love to the man of her dreams. Their tongues mated and dueled. She rained a trail of kisses down his jaw to his neck and then down his chest to his taut belly.
His hands tangled in her hair, pulling her closer, holding her tightly. Her hands smoothed over the hard planes of his body, touching, feeling, showing him her love.
She straddled him, cupping his hardness in the cradle of her pelvis. She bent forward, sinking her hands into his hair. She pulled him to her mouth, kissing him fiercely. Then she reached down and grasped his cock, guiding him into her hot wetness.
Her fingertips trailed down his chest as she rose up, threw her head back and began to ride. He cupped her breasts in his rough palms, thumbing her nipples, plumping the soft flesh in his hands.
They rode fast, hard, each reaching for the waiting pleasure. She could feel him tighten beneath her, deep inside her, and knew he was close to his release. She felt the pinch of her abdomen, the wonderful pressure as it built, spread and finally burst into an explosion of color and ecstasy.
She leaned forward, panting against his chest as she bucked and writhed in her orgasm. Then she felt the flood of semen into her womb. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, murmuring things in her ear she couldn’t make out.
He shifted enough that they rolled so she was cradled in his arms. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered.
She tucked her head underneath his chin, letting the words spill over her. She knew he didn’t utter them lightly. She didn’t say anything. She just held him until she felt the even breathing of sleep overtake him.
Chapter Sixteen
Adam shuffled into the living room, looking around for the others. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he’d slept past dawn. He’d joked about wearing Holly out, but the truth was, she was exhausting him. He grinned and flexed his tired muscles. A man could only dream of that kind of tiredness.
He continued into the kitchen, expecting to see everyone there. However, Ethan was the only one there.
“Mornin’,” Ethan said around his mug of coffee.
“Where’s Ryan and Holly?”
“In the barn.”
Adam slouched down at the bar. “The barn? They going riding? We need to be hitting the road.”
Ethan’s lips curled into an amused grin. “He’s teaching her self-defense moves.”
“Huh?”
Ethan shrugged. “They’ve been at it for the last hour.”
Adam grunted. “Ryan must be feeling better.”
Ethan set down his mug. “Holly got up last night after Ryan went to his room. When I got up this morning, they were wound as tight as two springs around each other. Ryan looked more at peace than I’ve ever seen him.”
Adam’s heart lightened at that announcement. Maybe Holly was chasing the demons from Ryan’s soul. Lord knows he’d lived with them long enough.
He leaned forward on the bar, crossing his arms in front of him. She was nothing short of a miracle. To all of them.
“She’s incredible,” Ethan said.
Adam looked up and knew Ethan had read his thoughts, knew they were of Holly. He nodded. “That she is. I can’t believe we’ve found her.”
He couldn’t describe his sense of awe. He knew his brothers had harbored their share of doubts as to whether or not they’d ever find the woman that would complete them, but he’d known they would. Felt it. He just hadn’t known when or how.
“I hope Cal can take care of the divorce as quickly as he thought,” Ethan spoke up. “We’re going to have to be careful, Adam. I don’t see her husband being willing to walk away so easily if he knows she can destroy him.”
Adam nodded, a knot of concern growing in his stomach. “I’ve had the same thought.”
The door to the kitchen burst open and Holly stumbled in giggling, Ryan right behind her. Adam watched the ease on their faces. No torment, no darkness edged their eyes. Ryan looked happy.