Warrior's Heart Part 2

"I could stop and get the groceries if you want to crash. I'll drop them off at Mark's on my way home, okay?"

His eyes shot open and he stood to his feet, albeit without his usual vigor. "No, it's my turn to buy the food. Plus, this way, I get to spend time alone with you-even if we are in public and I can't do all the things I've been thinking about doing with you since last weekend."

Her heart rate accelerated as he drew closer, pulling her strongly into his arms, reeling her in.

"I keep thinking of you coming apart in my arms and I want to see it, feel it and taste it all again. You were like fire under my mouth, Cas, and I've been walking around with a perpetual hard-on thinking about what it would be like if you returned the favor."

His arms tightened around her, but she wasn't complaining. She knew if she'd made a single sound of protest he would let her go, but she couldn't find it in herself to say no to him. He'd been the stuff of her dreams for so many years, she just couldn't find it in her to push him away. She knew him inside and out, and sure, the outside was buff and totally hot, but inside, she knew he was a good person with strong values that matched her own. She admired him as a person and practically drooled over his hard body. What more could a girl ask for?

She couldn't deny she'd thought about taking him in her mouth. She'd thought about it a lot over the past few years, but even more this last week. She wanted to know what he tasted like, what he felt like, and most of all, she wanted to bring him that same satisfaction he'd brought her. She wanted to feel him explode in her mouth and know that she'd given him pleasure. It was fast becoming her fondest fantasy.

So she gave in with barely a whimper when his mouth closed over hers, demanding, strong and utterly masculine. His hands started to roam and she invited the caress of his strong fingers, leaning a bit away so he could access her tender b.r.e.a.s.t.s while his mouth mated with hers.

His tongue probed deep, eliciting a moan of desire from her. He groaned, but stepped back, still holding her b.r.e.a.s.t.s-one in each big hand, squeezing and caressing in a way that made her insides dance in antic.i.p.ation.

"We'd better cool it if we want to get our errands done." His mouth was speaking practically, but his eyes were glued to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, plumping under his hands. "Mark will be back soon, and he knew I was coming over here. There's no time for this."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself." She couldn't help but chuckle at the way he seemed transfixed by her body. She knew she wasn't s.e.x symbol material, but the hot look of his eyes made her feel beautiful and s.e.xy in a way she'd never felt before.

It made her feel daring.

"Believe me, Cas, there's nothing I want more than to strip you naked and make love to you for the rest of the night. But Mark would have both of us shot. He trusts me to take care of you."

"How about I take care of you this time?" She boldly trailed her fingers down his chest until she crossed the equator of his belt. Licking her lips, she felt lower to wrap her fingers around his straining c.o.c.k. It was bigger than she'd imagined, and suddenly she wanted to see it. To taste it.

"No, honey, we don't have time. You're playing with fire." He halfheartedly tried to push her away, but she could tell he was tempted beyond reason.

She sank to her knees in front of him, attacking his belt buckle with eager hands.

"I feel like living dangerously. And Hal, we at least have time for this, surely."

He wasn't resisting. In fact, he seemed awestruck just watching her small hands tugging down his zipper and reaching inside for the hard length that was so eager for her touch. She pulled him out gently, entranced by her first look at his long c.o.c.k. He was thick and so hard, she was amazed at how excited he'd become from just a kiss.

Okay, it had been a kiss that totally rocked her world too, but from her admittedly limited experience, men usually needed just a bit more stimulation before reaching this incredible level of arousal. He was also remarkably well shaped and pulsing as she stroked him.

She could only imagine how he would feel inside of her. Long and thick, and heavily veined, his c.o.c.k seemed the perfect instrument of pleasure. But her mission was his delight right now and she set about her task with obvious relish. She teased his length with her tongue, flicking the sensitive skin just under the head as he groaned. She looked up at him, wanting to see his beloved face and the bliss etched in the masculine lines of his jaw.

Her eyes smiled up at him and it was almost more than he could bear. She was charmingly tentative at first, but after she got her lips around him and started to stroke, Hal nearly lost his mind. Unpracticed, but a natural, she was ringing all his bells with the sweeping strokes of her soft tongue and the sucking wetness of her mouth. He pushed a little deeper and she took him with no objection, practically swallowing down the tip of him. He could feel her throat working around him and was amazed.

The sensation was like nothing he'd ever experienced before, though he'd had his fair share of b.l.o.w. .j.o.bs in his life. All the others were nothing compared to the feeling of being in this woman's soft mouth. He'd always loved Casey's smile and the way it lit her whole face, from the time she was just a kid. But now he knew he would never see that grin again without thinking of what it felt like to have her soft lips caress the most sensitive parts of him.

He wanted her mouth on the rest of his body. The little places that seemed inconsequential, but felt oh-so-good. The nape of his neck, the crease of his elbow, the dip of his spine. He wanted her to kiss him there and in all kinds of other places, but for now, this incredible act of loving would more than make do.

He vowed then and there that when they finally found the time and place to share their bodies fully with one another, he'd take an hour just kissing every inch of her skin the way he wanted her to do to him. He'd caress her with his hands and show her all the love he had inside, as she was doing this very minute.

For the look he read in her eyes was more than just s.e.xual thrill. It was love. He'd hoped and prayed to see that look on her face one day, and he knew now how far she was willing to go to please him. It was a precious gift. One that he would never mistreat.

He cupped the back of her head, softly kneading the nape of her neck as she stroked him deep into her mouth, sucking hard and blowing his mind. Her soft little hands caressed his b.a.l.l.s and every once in a while she looked up at him, her wide eyes meeting his with a shy kind of excitement. It was enough to make him come, but he held back, wanting this moment to last.

When he could finally stand no more, he let go of her head.

"I'm going to lose it in a few more seconds, Cas. Let me go now if you don't want me to shoot down your throat."

But she didn't let go. To his great surprise and intense arousal, she sucked him harder, taking him even further down her throat, working him with her hands as she felt his b.a.l.l.s draw up and his muscles clench.

He came with a shout, not holding her, letting her choose what to do this first time. He didn't want to overwhelm or frighten her, but she was doing a d.a.m.ned fine job of overwhelming him all the same. As for fear-he was deathly afraid this intense feeling would become completely addictive. It could very well kill him, he thought, but what a way to go!

He spurted over and over into her mouth and she drank it all down, her eyes smiling, her tongue working hard to pull every last drop of c.u.m out of his stiff p.e.n.i.s. She taunted him with the slick wetness of her mouth, riding with him through the most intense o.r.g.a.s.m of his life.

She kissed her way back up his body when he tugged on her shoulders. She seemed shy all of a sudden, but as he placed his lips over hers for a deep, wet kiss, he found he loved the taste of himself on her tongue-almost as much as he loved her. And that was saying something.

CHAPTER FOUR.

By the time they got on the road, the gloomy, misty day had turned to dusk and visibility was difficult. They made it to the grocery store's nearly flooded parking lot with a maximum of caution and she managed to find a relatively un-waterlogged spot near the entrance.

They got out of the car and made a dash for the front door but never quite made it. A car turning in to the lot took the sharp turn too fast for the wet road conditions and started to spin. Casey could only stare in horror as the huge hunk of metal spun directly at her.

But then suddenly Hal was there, pus.h.i.+ng her out of the way and practically launching himself at the car. Unbelievably, she saw him put out both his hands as if to stop the hurtling vehicle and by some miracle, it actually did slow. He was pushed back a few feet, but he wasn't run over as he made contact with the screaming metal.

She saw the whites of the driver's eyes as the old man spun once more before Hal somehow stopped the vehicle, using nothing but his bare hands. Finally, her limbs were able to move again and she ran to him.

Hal was standing with his feet braced apart, his forearms resting on his knees as he sucked in air. He looked as if he'd just run a long distance race. In the desert. Sweat was pouring off him and his skin was flushed in an unhealthy way.

"Hal! Are you okay?"

Speech was apparently beyond him at the moment. She looked from his big, undamaged hands to the twin dents on the fender where he'd grabbed the old Buick. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it.

"Hal?"

He must have heard the worry in her voice because he made an effort to answer, raising his head a bit as he gulped air.

"I'm okay." He breathed heavily, making her disbelieve his statement, but she let it go for the moment. "You?"

She couldn't believe he was worried about her after what he'd just done!

"I'm fine. You saved me, Hal." Her voice broke as she moved up to his side, helping him back toward her car, propping him up against the wet fender.

The old man who'd been driving was out of his car now, making clucking noises as he made his way over to them. Hal saw him coming and grasped her hand urgently.

"No police. No report." His breath was coming even more harshly if that were possible and she really started to worry. But she saw the urgency in his eyes, felt it in his super tight grip.

"I understand," she a.s.sured him.

"Get rid of him."

She turned back and a.s.sured the old gentleman that they were fine, encouraging him to go into the store. But she couldn't help but warn him to take the corners a little slower in the rain and maybe get his tires checked. Hal was worsening. She could hear his labored breaths behind her, so she wasted little time.

She put one shoulder under his arm and half dragged him around to the pa.s.senger side of her car. She

got him inside-just barely. He was too big for her to really manage, but he was still able to support himself a bit, and with her guidance, made it into the pa.s.senger seat.

"I'm taking you to a hospital!"

He grabbed her arm as she settled into the driver's seat.

"No hospital." His breath was coming in harsh pants. "I need to get back to base."

"But how?"

"Use my phone. Speed dial number one."

He was gasping so hard, she had to fight to understand his words as he fumbled with the phone clipped

to his belt. She took over, pus.h.i.+ng his hands gently away so she could detach the phone, but it wasn't like any phone she'd ever seen before.

"What is this?" She was thinking aloud as she figured out what b.u.t.tons to press.

"Sat phone," he wheezed. "Don't always have cell service where we go." A no-nonsense, masculine voice answered on the other end and she explained what was going on. The disembodied voice gave her directions to a nearby heliport that she'd had no idea even existed. Casey got the car back on the road and headed for the rendezvous after hanging up. Her nerves were frayed as she drove, shooting worried looks at the man slowly recovering beside her. He was starting to breathe a bit easier and his color was returning, but he was nowhere near normal and still had her deeply worried.

"What's wrong with you, Hal? What happened?"

He was visibly weak, and unable to lift his head very far off the headrest.

"Just get me to the heliport and I'll be fine."

"This has something to do with why you're stationed on Plum Island, doesn't it?" Her voice rose as her

panic level increased. They were only minutes from the small airfield now and she started to shake even as she maneuvered the car off the Long Island Expressway and onto the service road. "You're infected with some kind of exotic bug, aren't you?" A sob escaped before she could squelch it. "Oh Lord, you're not going to die, are you? Dammit, Hal! You can't be sick!"

A strong, but sweaty hand reached out to her, settling on her thigh and squeezing with only a shadow of

its former strength.

"Don't cry, squirt. I'm not sick and I'm not going to die. At least I don't think so. And neither do the doctors who have been studying my condition."

Her own hand covered his, interlacing their fingers as she sought rea.s.surance. Her little car raced ahead, disregarding all speed limits and most of the traffic signs. She'd never seen him so weak and it scared her.

"I knew it. You did catch something while you were overseas."

"d.a.m.n, squirt, you missed your calling. You should have been an interrogator. You're not supposed to know that there's anything different about me." He squeezed her fingers tightly to get her attention. "If

anyone asks-and I mean anyone-I came down with a stomach virus. That's it. Nothing else, Casey, you hear me? As far as you're concerned, nothing's different. I'm going to tell anyone who asks that I exerted myself out of your line of sight and you didn't see a thing. This is for your own safety, Cas. Promise me."

"All right, Hal, but you're scaring me. Just tell me that whatever it is, it's not fatal." She squeezed his hand right back, needing the connection, as small as it was.

"I shouldn't have told you this much. But no, they don't think it's fatal. d.a.m.ned inconvenient and annoying as h.e.l.l, but it probably won't end my life. Just my career." He looked away then, out the window at the flas.h.i.+ng scenery. She chanced a glance over at him and was dismayed by the look of regret mixed with anger as he focused on something outside in the darkness and light rain that only he could see.

"I'm sorry, Hal." She whispered into the darkness and only the light squeeze on her fingers let her know that he'd heard her.

They were entering the grounds of the deserted heliport now, most sane pilots not daring the light rain or the twilight dark. But there was a military helo coming in for a landing even as she watched, and she knew it was for him.

"That's my ride. Just pull up as close as you can to him. They know what kind of car you're in, so they'll know you're okay."

"How do they know my car?"

He shot her a look of disbelief. "You don't think they'd let me wander around alone without a detailed dossier on where I'd go and who I'd be with?"

Her eyes widened in alarm. "Hal, just what did you get into in Iraq?"

"More than I ever bargained for, that's for certain." He shook his head with weariness. "But don't worry, Cas. You'll be safe. Just don't let on that you know I've got anything more than a stomach virus. I'll explain what I can later. But for now, you've got to trust me. Okay, sweetheart?"

"With my life."

She couldn't say no to him, though she wanted to argue. He didn't look well and she couldn't bring herself to add to his worry. Casey nodded her agreement, stopping the car as close as she dared to the big chopper. Two uniformed men were already out of the military helo, heading directly for her car. She noted both were heavily armed, though their weapons were holstered for now.

One came to her door and just stood there, while the other opened Hal's door and looked him over.

"What'd you get into this time, sir?"

"Dammit, Rick, I'd hoped they'd send Carter or Jake. They at least know how to respect rank, if nothing else."

The other man laughed, reaching out to take Hal's pulse as if they'd done this a time or two. When he finished checking his pulse against the high-tech watch he wore, he pinned Casey with his piercing blue gaze, catching her off guard. He reached one large hand right over Hal to grasp hers and shake once firmly.

"I'm Rick Lovelace. And you must be the famous Casey."