By Honor Bound Page 3

  He sat up, shrugged off his shirt, and tugged his T-shirt over his head.

  Angela’s mouth went dry at the sight of his long torso. Without a pound of spare flesh, every bone and muscle shone like a granite statue chiseled by the most talented artist. Scars marked his torso, some faded white, others still pinkish. Closing her eyes, she swallowed past tightness in her throat. The idea of him suffering combined with the knowledge that Jim had died enduring the same tortures was almost too much to tolerate. She drew a deep breath and shook her head. If Abe had lived through it, then she wouldn’t turn chicken on him now.

  Instead, she concentrated on the light dusting of hair that covered his chest, tapered down his flat abdomen, and disappeared beneath the waistband of his trousers. She sat up and splayed her hands across his back, her fingertips tracing several jagged scars.

  “Are you going to be cold down here on the floor?” he asked.

  “Somehow I doubt that.”

  While he finished undressing, Angela did the same, rolling off her stockings and sliding out of the dress. She was about to remove her slip, but her gaze riveted to Abe. For a moment, she was unable to move, only stare. She’d never seen a naked man in the flesh, but Abe was far better than anything she’d looked at in those stupid magazines.

  His legs were incredibly long, dusted with hair, and curved with rock-hard muscle. With narrow hips and buttocks big and tight enough to make a woman’s heartbeat skip, he personified male beauty.

  Again, he stretched out beside her. Angela inched closer as he drew her into his arms. Closing her eyes, she rubbed her cheek against his chest and inhaled his sexy scent of clean, male flesh. His body was so warm and hard. Nothing compared with being wrapped in the arms of a man like this!

  “I want you so bad, Angela,” he said in a husky voice, one of his hands pressed against her back, the other buried in her hair, stroking tenderly.

  “Then take me, Abe.” She tilted her face upward and gazed into his eyes, her pulse racing. “Take me.”

  Abe’s hand swept down her shoulder and arm. It slid across her lower back then cupped one of her smooth bottom cheeks. He kissed her temple and cheek before claiming her lips in a kiss that made her forget everything else.

  “Oh, Abe,” she murmured, refusing to take her hands off him even as he sat up.

  Angela’s breathing quickened. He looked so gorgeous, kneeling there, his lips slightly parted and his eyes burning with lust. Reaching up, she caressed his chest and brushed a fingertip across one of his flat, pink nipples peeking through the crisp hair. It felt soft, the nub scarcely visible. Her hand trailed lower, feeling his ribs and the hard, defined abdominal muscles.

  Her gaze fixed on his cock. It stood, thick and pinkish, above a nest of dark hair. The balls dangling below were large and looked so full, so alluring, that she couldn’t resist taking them in her hand. They spilled over her palm as she gently squeezed, loving their softness and warmth. He drew a deep breath as her fingers ran up and down his cock. Now that felt hard. Stiff and hot, like steel covered in warm velvet. The little eye in the smooth, bulbous head fascinated her. She ran her thumb over it and around the underside.

  “Do I pass the test?” he grinned.

  “Looks good to me,” she replied, gazing at him through her lashes and tossing him a coquettish look. “Not that I have anything to compare it to.”

  “You know, Angela,” he slid the straps of her slip down her shoulders and inched toward her feet where he tugged off the entire flimsy piece of satin and lace, “I kinda hope to keep it that way. Are you going to take off those undergarments, or do you want me to do it?”

  Her heart leapt and she licked her lips as a sudden case of nerves struck her. In moments, she would be completely naked with a man who stirred her like no one ever had. Was she nervous? Of course. Did she still want him? More than anything she’d ever wanted in her life.

  Sitting up, she unhooked her bra. The heat of his gaze was almost tangible as she bared her breasts and tossed the bra aside. They were full, rounded globes tipped with rose-colored nipples now elongated with desire. Her entire body was covered in smooth, creamy flesh tinted delectable pink. She was pleasantly rounded with flaring hips and long, curvaceous legs. Abe could scarcely wait to be buried deep inside her.

  But he would have to. He knew without question this responsible and pretty tutor was innocent in the ways of love. Though he sensed no fear in her, curiosity such as she exhibited, as well as the naïveté of her touch told him she had little experience with men.

  Damn, he felt lucky. It was as if after a year of the worst kind of hell, he was being rewarded by finding the woman of his dreams. Reaching out, he brushed his hand down her arm. Her skin was so soft and warm. Not only did she arouse him physically, but she reached inside him and touched upon buried emotions. All his life he’d longed for the true affection only offered by a family. As a child he’d been denied the love of his parents. Into adulthood, no woman had ever breached his cool, warrior’s heart. Maybe it was fear, like one of the shrinks had suggested. Fear that if he did love somebody, they’d be snatched away. He protected himself with his loneliness. What he didn’t have, he couldn’t miss.

  Now he realized exactly what he had been missing. This woman did things to him he’d never felt before. She twisted his insides and wrapped his soul in hers, breaching his mental defenses when even the VC couldn’t.

  A slight blush on her cheeks and a sexy little smile on her lips, Angela lowered her eyes as she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her white satin panties and slid them off. The triangular patch of dark hair between her legs made his breath catch. It seemed everything about her was beautiful.

  He cupped one of her calves in his hands and stroked upward, over her soft, smooth thighs and ran his fingers through the arousing thatch of curly hair. With one of her hips in his hand, he used his other to continue stroking her soft mound. His thumb found the ruddy peak of her clit and he stroked over it. She drew a sharp breath at his touch.

  Tenderly, he parted her thighs and circled her clit with this fingertip, pushing it in slightly. She felt so hot and wet that his erection leapt. It seemed he turned her on as much as she aroused him.

  Removing a wet fingertip, he circled her clit.

  Angela shivered and fell back on the rug, closing her eyes as he stroked and caressed where she was so warm and aching. Her clit throbbed as he stroked faster.

  “Oh, Abe!” she gasped. His free hand moved up her ribs and found her breast. His thumbs rolled over her nipple and clit simultaneously. Angela was going to shatter, but she didn’t care. He was giving her something she so desperately needed. So desperate—

  “Ahh! Oh, God! Oh, Abe!” she panted, her entire body convulsing in hot waves of throbbing pleasure. As they crashed over her, she couldn’t see. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. Every muscle in her body convulsed in the most exquisite manner imaginable.

  She lay still for several moments, her eyes closed as her breathing returned to normal. Angela had orgasms before. She enjoyed masturbating every now and then, just to rid herself of natural sexual urges. Never in her life had she dreamed an orgasm so intense. It must have been because she’d been under Abe’s control. The thought of him touching her was as exciting as the actual sensations. The combination created almost unbearable pleasure.

  “That had to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Abe said, lying beside her and stroking her throat.

  Opening her eyes, she smiled. “That had to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever felt.”

  “It will get even better, darlin’. I promise.”

  “I know.” She cupped the back of his neck and drew his face closer for a kiss. “I want to feel you inside me, Abe. I want to know what it’s like.”

  Reaching for his trousers, he tugged something out of his pocket. She watched as he opened the condom and rolled it on.

  With a raised eyebrow she asked, “You always come prepared or were you planning this
after all?”

  “I won’t lie. I was hoping for it.”

  “Well, you are honest.” She lay on her back and stared at the ceiling.

  “But I wasn’t hoping just for tonight, Angela.” He turned her face toward him. “I can’t explain how I feel. I’m a man of action. Always have been. I can’t rightly put these emotions I have into words.”

  “Try.”

  “The other day when you opened the door, I felt like somebody had kicked me in the gut. You grabbed hold of my heart and you’re not letting go. That’s never happened to me before.”

  “Me either, but I always hoped it would.” She smiled. “Either I’m the biggest fool in the world or I’m right about you being…”

  “Being what?”

  “If I say, I’ll probably scare you off.”

  Lying beside her, he pressed her body close to his as he stared deeply into her eyes. “You’re never scaring me off, understand? I’ll go if you ask me to, but other than that you’re not getting rid of me any time soon. How do you feel about a broken-down Marine set on making you his woman?”

  His woman!

  “Abe, we’re moving too fast, aren’t we?”

  “Way too fast.” He smiled, nuzzling her neck.

  “You know, I don’t care. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever been this happy.”

  His gaze held hers. “I’m glad, Angela.”

  “So am I.” She clutched his head as he kissed her.

  Looming above her, his hands braced on both sides of her head, he gazed deeply into her eyes as the tip of his cock pressed against her pussy lips.

  Abe resisted the urge to groan with pleasure as he inched his way inside. She was so warm and soaked with passion that he longed to plunge in hard and fast, but he couldn’t. Angela was not some two-dollar dock-hanging whore. Beneath him, she stiffened a bit and drew a sharp breath as her tight, virginal pussy rebelled a bit against his thickness and length.

  “Try and relax, sweet thing,” he murmured against her lips.

  Her arms slid around him and she gripped his back tightly as he moved with agonizing slowness. Finally he remained still, buried hilt-deep. After a moment, she relaxed and wiggled her hips. A smile curved her delicate lips and her hands stroked his back. It felt so damn good buried inside her that it was all he could do keep his thrusts slow and easy.

  Angela’s eyes slid shut as Abe thrust. Wrapping her legs around him, she pressed her heels against his calves as her hips joined his rhythm.

  “Oh, Abe!” she gasped, clinging to him tightly.

  His thrusts quickened. Other than the rasp of his breath, he remained a quiet lover, his lust and desire simmering inside, waiting to burst forth.

  “Ahh!” she cried, convulsing in waves of pleasure.

  A couple more thrusts and he came, his silence broken with a throaty groan of pure ecstasy. “Damn it, woman! Angela, oh, God!”

  Orgasm shot through him, wrapping him in pleasure from head to toe. He collapsed atop her and listened to the slowing of their breathing.

  Lifting his head from her shoulder, he gazed at her.

  “You all right?” he asked, stroking wisps of hair from her forehead.

  She smiled. “Better than all right.”

  Angela snuggled close. Wrapped in each other’s arms, they gazed at the flames crackling in the fireplace.

  Chapter Four

  Angela awoke to the aroma of coffee and the sound of rhythmic chopping. Flinging off the covers, she smiled as cool air fanned her naked body. What a marvelous night it had been. The memory of Abe’s gorgeous, powerful body claiming hers with such tenderness and affection was better than any fantasy. Running a hand over his side of the bed, she longed to see him again as soon as possible.

  Reaching for her robe, she slipped into it as she walked to the window to find out the cause of the annoying chopping sound. Tugging up the shade, she blinked against the sunlight. Again she smiled. Abe shoveled ice from her front walk. As if sensing her stare, he turned, his lips curving up in the slightest half-smile as he waved.

  Feeling giddy as a schoolgirl, Angela waved back and disappeared into the bathroom where she washed and fixed her hair and makeup.

  Naked, she walked into the bedroom just as he stepped inside. Gasping, she covered her breasts, then realized how silly that must appear after last night.

  “Sorry,” he said, his gaze sweeping her. “Should have knocked.”

  “I guess it’s a little late to be shy.” She tried sounding nonchalant in spite of the blush heating her face.

  “God, you look beautiful.”

  She placed a hand on her hip. “So are you going to keep looking or let me get some clothes on?”

  “I apologize, ma’am.” He looked amused as he left her to pull on her underclothes and a sleek black-and-white polka dot dress with a red belt that matched her lipstick. Slipping her feet into black pumps, she glanced at herself in the full-length mirror behind her door. It must have been the happiness she felt being with Abe, but she hadn’t looked this good in weeks.

  In the kitchen, he stood, barefoot and shirtless, making more coffee. Angela licked her lips, her pulse racing. The sight of his big bones and hard muscles had her more than ready to head right back to the bedroom.

  He glanced at her over his shoulder as she approached and ran her hand from his forearm to his shoulder.

  “Took off my shirt and shoes. Picking ice can be as messy as shoveling snow. I drove back to my place early this morning. I needed a change of clothes and you needed salt for your walk.”

  “Thanks for doing that. Would you like eggs with your toast?”

  “Scrambled.”

  “Fine.”

  As Angela cracked eggs into a bowl, her heart fluttered as she asked, “How many days’ worth of clothes did you get at your place?”

  He chuckled. “Is that ‘cause you’re afraid I’ll overstay my welcome?”

  “Actually I was hoping you’d stay for a few days. Polly will be with my parents for the rest of the week.”

  His arm slid around her from behind and his hand folded over hers as she used a wire whisk to beat the eggs. Taking her earlobe in his teeth he licked it gently then kissed her cheek.

  “If I stay here for a week, it’ll be awful hard to leave.”

  “Maybe not.” She turned, gazing up at him. “We might find we can’t stand living with each other.”

  “So maybe we should make like a couple of those long-haired hippies and try out living together.”

  “Excuse me, Master Sergeant, but just because I slept with you doesn’t mean I’m a—”

  “Hold on, darlin’.” His brow furrowed and he grasped her shoulders, turning her to face him. “That blood on those sheets this morning surely wasn’t from some two-dollar whore practicing free love and all that. I guarantee if I stay here I won’t want to go.”

  “You’ll have to. With Polly—”

  “I’d never do anything to hurt your reputation or expose that girl to a damaging situation.”

  “Then what are you saying, Abe?”

  He dropped his hold on her and walked across the room, running a hand over his peach-fuzzed head. What the hell was he saying? That the short time he’d spent with her had given him a taste of what he’d been missing all his life? That he was tired of having no one to come home to after spending months in strange places having his ass damn near blown off by enemy fire? Was it really Angela he wanted or the illusion of what she offered? No. He’d never been a man ruled by dreams and fantasies. He was thirty-three years old and had never gotten this close to any woman. Sure, he’d had sex, but he’d never hung around afterward to chop ice off her front walk and look at her whip up scrambled eggs. Just seeing her in that prim, high-necked dress with a strand of pearls around her neck and her hair combed just so as she cooked breakfast made his gut twist with tender feelings he’d never experienced. Earlier, when he’d walked in on her, the sight of her blushing face and gorgeous naked curv
es had not only given him an erection that would have shamed a breeder bull but stirred his emotions.

  “Abe, I really want you to stay,” she said, “but I’m afraid.”

  “Of me?”

  “Of doing something I’ve been told all my life is wrong.”

  “Then I’ll go.” He cupped her face in his hand. “Just tell me we can see each other again?”

  Angela sighed and took his hand. She kissed his palm. “And I’m afraid because—”

  “What?”

  She was falling in love with him. Falling fast and hard. Unless she stopped herself, he’d probably end up breaking her heart. Not intentionally, but as a side effect of his duty. Losing Jim had been terrible, but she couldn’t imagine losing a husband to war. Something told her that if she and Abe continued as they were, they would undoubtedly marry. She didn’t buy for one moment her insinuation that after living together they’d find they weren’t compatible. Like any other powerful emotion, love was often immediate. The brain registered hate, pain, hunger, thirst, and jealousy right away, so why not love?

  The phone rang. Glad for the interruption, Angela reached for it. “Hello?”

  “Sweetheart, it’s Mother.”

  “Hi, Ma. How’s Polly?”

  “Just wonderful. She’s playing with her Christmas gifts. I wanted to make sure you got home all right.”

  “Is the Marine there?” Her father shouted in the background.

  “That’s none of our business if he’s there!” Patricia snapped. “Just as long as you don’t do anything you’ll regret later, sweetheart. Remember, if a man can get his butter for free, why pay the dairyman?”

  Angela gritted her teeth. “I got home fine, Ma. I was just about to eat breakfast. Can we talk later?”

  “Uh-huh.” Patricia sounded all-knowing. “He’s there, isn’t he?”

  Yes, Mother, he’s here and after breakfast he’s going to take me upstairs and fuck me even better than he did last night.

  Abe glanced at her with a raised eyebrow as he placed aside his coffee mug and squatted beside her, sliding a hand up her skirt and stroking her clit through her satin underwear.