Full Surrender Read online

  She didn’t even see the scenery outside, couldn’t think about anything except what was going to happen when they arrived at their destination.

  “That’s okay. I’m pretty wired, too. It seems like every time we’ve messed around the last two days, I peak faster.”

  He took a hard right turn and shut off the ignition. His eyes slid to hers, a sly grin on his face.

  “I thought that was because my technique was improving.”

  “I think it’s because I can’t stop fantasizing about going all the way.” Her dreams of him had been full-blown sensual scenarios that felt deliciously real. “It’s like being a teenage virgin all over again.”

  Vaguely, she realized they must have arrived at their destination. She couldn’t pull her attention away from him long enough to look.

  “Only now, you’re going to be satisfied by a man who knows what he’s doing and not some clueless twit.”

  “Who says my first time was with a clueless twit?” she teased.

  “You have your fantasies. I have mine.” He withdrew the keys from the ignition and handed them to her. “The house key is the red one. If you get the door, I’ll get the bags and we’ll have what we both want all the faster.”

  He pressed the keys into her palm without touching her and she was pretty sure he’d kept his hands to himself on purpose. He hadn’t been kidding about being wired.

  Her pulse pounded. She could feel it thrum everywhere, an insistent internal beat that urged her on. Soon, they were going to be together.

  “Okay.” Her fingers closed around the cool metal. “Deal.”

  Levering herself out of the car before he could even think about getting her door for her, Stephanie practically sprinted up the cobblestone walkway. The weathered cedar-and-stone structure had been built in a bungalow style with multiple roof peaks and dormers, plus a cute second-level deck. She reached the entryway door and slid open the lock, letting herself inside while Danny retrieved the small suitcases they’d brought.

  She’d tried having sex two years ago during her failed relationship with Josh, but it had been awful. It wasn’t necessarily his fault, but she’d thought about Danny nonstop and ultimately known she was with the wrong guy. Of course, she’d been so slow to admit that to herself that she’d missed the opportunity to be with Danny on his last visit home. Her timing had been all wrong. Or, more likely, she was just slow getting herself together after her abduction. There’d been the year of nightmares, the fear of the dark, the counseling, the debacle of the book...

  Now, she was where she needed to be.

  She’d found the light switch and flipped it on when he came into the foyer behind her. Her longtime fantasy, come to life.

  He bolted the door and took the keys from her, setting them on a window ledge in the living room, which was decorated in white and neutrals with a few dark wood pieces. A pair of old oars hung above a small stone fireplace. Antique snowshoes stood in the corner near the kitchen.

  “You’ll warn me if you want to stop,” he told her, his voice low in her ear as one hand slid beneath the white cotton peasant blouse she wore. His palm was warm on her skin, his touch possessive.

  “I won’t want to stop.” She swayed slightly, mesmerized by the thought of being with him.

  Of ending a five-year dry spell that had made her fear she’d never feel this way again.

  He turned her in his arms to face him. His green eyes burned right through her until she thought she’d go up in flames before they ever got to enjoy this time together.

  “But if you need to, or if you have any worries—”

  “I will warn you. I promise.” Her heart squeezed tight at his need to make that point very clear.

  His nod was so quick she almost didn’t see it before he leaned down to take her mouth. She swooned like an old-time Southern belle, her knees going out from under her as she sank into him. Slipping her arms around his neck, she tried to anchor herself against the hard, muscular length of him.

  He groaned and the sound echoed everything she was feeling. She knew she could lose herself in the moment. He’d proven it multiple times to her over the past two days. Now, she could simply enjoy sex like a normal, red-blooded woman.

  There was no better gift he could have given her.

  “Upstairs,” he managed to say between kisses. “Come with me.”

  “I plan on it.” She released him and took his hand, following his steps as he turned a corner and climbed a staircase to the second level.

  Dark hardwood floors were covered with a few woven rugs, while overhead the exposed ceiling beams were painted white. A few windows were open to let fresh sea breezes inside, as if someone had readied the place for Danny’s return. She hoped that whoever had prepped it didn’t mind waiting a little longer to see him. After five years, she refused to feel guilty about claiming dibs on him first.

  They reached a large bedroom that overlooked the water in the distance. Big elms brushed up against the deck outside, the close branches making her feel as if they were in a tree house.

  He took his shirt off and any fanciful tree house thoughts vanished. He was hard everywhere, his abs chiseled into rows that led her eye downward to more rock-solid body. His need for her could not have been more obvious. Or more gratifying.

  She walked toward him, flicking open the top button on her skirt along the way. His gaze followed the movement, zeroing in on the small patch of bare skin she exposed.

  “Let me,” he coaxed, his hands reaching for the next button. “I want to undress you.”

  A shiver went through her at the scratchy roughness of his voice, the throaty rasp that made her feel as if he was dying of thirst and she was the drink.

  “I’d like that.” She rocked her hips from side to side, edging the garment down a little more without ever touching it.

  Her thighs brushed together, adding to the ache between her legs that had been growing since they’d been in the car. He hooked a finger in the V of the open placket and tugged her closer by the material. She stepped out of her flip-flops on the way. His shoes were already gone. She knew because they brushed toes on the carpet.

  And then his fingers were spearing through her hair, cupping the back of her neck so he could cradle her head. He held her steady while he kissed the ever-loving daylights out of her. She was pretty sure she saw stars.

  By the time he eased back, her skirt was on the ground and her blouse was falling off her shoulders. She shifted her body to nudge it the rest of the way down until she wore nothing more than a matching yellow lace bra and panties. Sunlight spilled over her, making patterns of shadowed leaves against her skin while Danny bent to trace the edges of the moving outlines with his tongue.

  A fierce longing pierced her and she tightened her grip on his shoulders, running her fingers around his back.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he murmured against the swell of her breast.

  “No. It’s me who can’t get enough of you, and I’ve waited so long.” Already, the coiled heat in her core tightened, her body more than ready for the kind of pleasure he could give her. “Please say you brought protection?”

  “Taken care of.” He lifted his head and gripped her shoulders, steering her backward toward a queen-size bed with a thick white duvet. “Right front pocket.”

  She grinned as she dipped her fingers into the place he indicated.

  “I’ve been wanting to get into your shorts.” She withdrew two condoms and tossed them on the bed. “Now I’m finally enjoying my chance.”

  She reached for the fly to unfasten it, but he held her hand in place before she could.

  “Actually, this can’t be your chance or I’m going to lose it before we get started.” He withdrew his grip from her wrist before she even began to worry about being restrained.

  But then, he was so thoughtful of her, he’d probably already taken that into account.

  “Tell me what I can do,” she urged. “I just want to touch you so
mewhere. Anywhere.”

  He lifted her palms to his shoulders and left them there. She flexed her fingers, digging into his skin just a little. He reached around her back to unfasten her bra and she let go of him just long enough for him to pull the straps down her arms. Then, her hands were right back where he’d wanted them.

  His attention shifted lower, and he dragged her panties down her legs until they fell to the floor. He tucked his hands under her butt to lift her onto the bed, parting her thighs to make room for himself between them. By now, she was so ready for him she tugged him closer to her. He made quick work of his shorts, only pausing for a second to be sure the zipper cleared his erection before they were off.

  Her fingers danced down his arms, unable to stay still, wanting to wrap around the thick length of what he’d revealed. Instead, she waited, seeing the expression on his face as he reached for a condom and rolled it on.

  The waiting was costing him. He handled himself very carefully, as if too much friction could send him hurtling toward a finish. She wanted to be the cause of that finish. And she wanted to feel him inside her when they both reached that moment.

  * * *

  DANNY WATCHED Stephanie, her blue eyes taking in all of him as he tried his damnedest to get the condom in place without losing it. But it felt as if he’d been waiting for this moment for five years, not two days. That, on top of being out at sea for six months, meant his control was nonexistent.

  Gritting his teeth, he finished the task and allowed himself a look at her naked body spread out before him. She was so gorgeous. So immersed in the moment and the pleasure she didn’t have any reservations.

  That alone made him want to roar in victory and bury himself deep inside her.

  He gripped her waist, moving her hips closer to his where he stood at the edge of the bed. Her breathing was so fast her breasts lifted with each inhalation. Her thighs hugged his as if to draw him near.

  Then, he couldn’t hold back another second. He nudged the slick heat of her core, her body yielding sweetly to his. He gripped her legs, steering her right where he wanted her as a fierce urgency took hold. Lights flashed behind his eyes. Her body gripped his, squeezing gently. He bit his lip until he tasted blood, wanting to wait another minute.

  Or at least wanting to wait for her...

  Remembering the way she liked to be touched best, he reached between their bodies and stroked her lightly, circling her taut sex with the pad of his thumb. She must have been wound almost as tight as him because her body convulsed almost immediately, the spasms wracking her even as they melted into him.

  He came hard, moments after, their shouts lost in a sea of pillows as he collapsed on top of her, careful to keep his weight on his arms so she didn’t feel restrained. He shuddered again and again, his body barely under his control anymore. She felt so damn good. So perfect.

  So his.

  The spasms went on for a long time, his and hers. Just when he thought the after-tremors were done, some small inner squeeze of her body triggered another response from his.

  Sometime afterward, he fell onto his side next to her, turning her in his arms so they faced each other. He wanted her again with the same insatiable need he’d felt for her so long ago, only this was even more insistent.

  This new need had been compounded with a possessiveness born the day he’d learned she was taken. It was almost as if those hellish weeks of thinking about her obsessively, praying for her return and basically losing his mind had created a cavernous hole in his chest that only she could fill. Now, she was here, filling that gap for the first time.

  He was happy as hell.

  As long as he didn’t think about the fact that the very same spot would be ripped open all over again in three weeks. He didn’t have a clue how he’d let her go. So right now, he planned to hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

  * * *

  “DANNY?”

  The urgent whisper woke him. Stephanie was still in his arms and quiet for long moments afterward, so he thought he’d just dreamed her saying his name.

  Muted light from a wall sconce in the hallway filtered through the open door across the bed. He guessed it was around midnight. They’d ordered a pizza a few hours ago and he’d played his guitar until she fell asleep listening to him. It had been the perfect night. He’d told her about his work aboard the USS Brady and she’d told him more about her time overseas. Not the kidnapping, but the better memories that came before it—meeting locals in the rural parts of southern Iraq before she’d traveled into the city of Baghdad.

  Now, her hair fanned out along the pillowcase like an inky tattoo. Sleeping in one of his old T-shirts, she lay with one hand tucked under her cheek and the other resting lightly on his bicep. He still couldn’t believe she was here with him after all this time.

  “Danny!” Suddenly, she squeezed his arm hard, her eyes flying open to stare at him in the scant light, her body tense.

  “I’m right here.” He smoothed a touch along her shoulder and down her back. “You’re safe.”

  She blinked a few times, coming more fully awake. Slowly, the tension in her eased. He tucked the blankets around her on one side and tucked her against him on the other.

  “Sorry.” She rested her head on the pillow again, a pink daisy earring glinting as she shifted. “Did I wake you?”

  “Not really. I’d just closed my eyes.” He tipped his forehead to hers, already imagining what it would be like to wake up to her on a permanent basis. “Did you have a nightmare?”

  “No.” Her soft, sleep-husky voice wrapped around him. “Sometimes I startle easily or have little moments of panic. They’re not bad anymore. It probably only happened because I’m sleeping somewhere different.”

  Yet she’d called out for him, even in her sleep. New possessiveness surged through him, making him more determined than ever to show her how good they could be together.

  “You want to...talk about it?” He was rough in the sensitive-conversation department, but for her, he made an effort. He’d seen enough guys screwed up by combat in the navy to know that talking about past traumas was better than stuffing it all down inside and pretending it never happened.

  “No. I’ve discussed the kidnapping with a therapist and I’m...solid as I can be with what happened.” Her hand settled on his chest, her fingers skimming light patterns over his skin. “But thank you.”

  He searched for something to say, something to take her mind off whatever it was that sent her into panic mode.

  “Can I ask you something else then?” He liked the way she touched him, the light caresses straying over his shoulder and down the inside of his arm before jumping back to his chest.

  “Mmm?”

  “What made you start photographing pets?”

  Her touch paused for a moment. Then started again, slower.

  “My mother is still upset that I haven’t gotten back to my so-called real job, filming news video,” she began, her frustration evident.

  “Hey.” He captured her fingers and brought them to his lips to kiss. “I’m not judging. I think it’s a great career. I’m just curious how you made the switch.”

  “You know I got into the news media because I wanted to travel. See the world. Make a difference.” They’d talked about her dreams when they’d met the first time. “But there isn’t much call for objective reporting anymore. The media is so entertainment-driven that I didn’t enjoy it.”

  “So you left the old job after you wrote your book.” He knew the timeline of that first year after she came home since he’d been keeping tabs on her from a distance. “I remember hearing you volunteered at a counseling center, too.”

  “My therapist thought it might help. I guess a lot of people are healed by helping others after the kind of ordeal I had, but it had the opposite effect on me. It really brought me down.”

  “You’re a sensitive person.”

  She shrugged and her fingers resumed their light motion across his chest.

/>   “Maybe that was part of it. But I met a volunteer at the counseling center who brought in therapy animals—cats, dogs, goats, you name it.”

  “Cool.”

  “One day she brought a therapy donkey—I kid you not, a donkey.” The happiness of the memory was evident in her voice. “Her name was Buttercup and the therapist had an old straw hat that she put on the donkey’s head. It was so cute I had to take a photo.”

  “And your talent became evident.” He liked hearing about good things that had happened to her since her return. He’d spent so long feeling a burning in his chest every time he thought of her that this new insight soothed some of his old fears where she was concerned.

  “Kind of. I liked the photos and when I showed them to the therapist, she asked if she could use them in an advertisement. Soon, I had developed a word-of-mouth business on the side. The more I photographed pets, the more I enjoyed it.” She pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “There is a warmth and acceptance from animals that relaxed me in a way no other form of therapy had. Besides, I was good at it.”

  “So you started your own business.” He couldn’t ignore the feel of her lips on his skin, her kiss igniting fresh heat even though he’d planned to let her go back to sleep.

  “Exactly.” Another kiss followed, her mouth hot and moist.

  His heart rate jacked up. And that wasn’t the only thing elevating.

  “Steph.” He gripped her shoulder, holding her at arm’s length. Meeting her gaze in the dimness.

  “Yes?” A mischievous light danced in her eyes.

  “You know you’re winding me up over here.”

  “Thank goodness.” She grinned. “I thought I was losing my touch.”

  With a growl in his throat, he reeled her closer, fitting her body to his. He cupped the base of her neck, tilting her toward him for a kiss and much, much more.

  9

  STEPHANIE AWOKE TO banging from outside. Still half asleep, she wondered if the siding was getting ripped off the house or if someone had decided to bulldoze the place down.