Pillow Chase

“Oh, Troy.” She didn’t give him a chance to answer when that pulsation caught the bundle of nerve endings hidden in the folds of her sex. A shock wave ran through her.

“I’m keeping that part a surprise so you’ll have something to look forward to.”

“More games.” The protest was pure bravado because Miranda wasn’t sure she wanted another surprise, not when she couldn’t decide whether to ride the palpating sensation or attempt an escape.

Troy loved doing this to her, too. He loved seeing how far he could push until she dissolved into an incoherent puddle of impulses that would do anything for satisfaction.

He also knew about paybacks. In fact, she thought he looked forward to them… But right now he was at his highly trained finest, trailing wet kisses down her jaw and neck, sucking gently at the pulse in the base of her throat, making her whole body tingle under such a sexy assault.

Her breasts had grown heavy with desire. Pulling him closer, she rasped her nipples against his chest for some relief. But her bra interfered with the friction of skin against skin, and he wouldn’t shift forward enough to make a difference.

Then again, why should he move? His growing erection had inched against her thigh, and all he had to do was arch his hips to ease his own ache.

No, Troy was having a good time exactly where he was, teasing her with openmouthed kisses along her shoulder. He used the vibrator to awaken every nerve ending between her head and toes and her panty hose eased his journey between her thighs. Slipping the tip slightly inside, he explored her most intimate places, and the feel of silk-covered tip gently probing aroused her until she could only surrender to the sensation, feeling the promise of a climax lingering in the distance. Swelling, waning and there, just out of reach.

She wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of his sexy game, either. Troy’s kisses grew demanding. He trailed his mouth down her chest, toward her breasts, and for a breathless moment she thought he might grant her wish and remove her bra, but he only speared his tongue beneath the lace, barely reaching her nipple with a teasing wet stroke.

She would have removed the thing herself, but their position hindered her mobility. He kneeled over her, all warm, hard muscle and bare skin, and she could only trace the strong hollows of his chest, reveling in the tightness that was a result of his rigorous training.

Miranda could ride his erection, though. Every arch of her hips dragged her silk-clad thigh against him. She wanted him to share this urgency she felt, but Troy obviously recognized her game because the vibrator suddenly stopped.

Sucking in a deep breath, she protested with a gasp as the intense arousal ebbed its frenzied pace.

“Don’t go anywhere.” Propping himself up, he maneuvered out of the tangle of arms and legs they’d become. “I’m coming right back.”

The gravelly rough sound of his voice made her smile. “I’m a captive audience, Lieutenant Commander. Even if you weren’t sitting on my legs, I can’t see to get up and leave.”

He chuckled and eased off her, and Miranda blindly loosened her hair from where it had caught in her bra strap, wondering what her handsome husband had in store for her next.

She didn’t wonder long. A dragging sound suddenly drowned out the throb of her heartbeat.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “Rearranging the furniture?”

“Just a chair so I can reach the next part of my surprise.”

“More surprises.” He hadn’t finished the job from his first surprise. Her heartbeat hadn’t slowed to a normal pace yet, and her bottom ached with pulsing little bursts. “Can I handle it?”

The question slipped out, proving her thoughts were still lingering too close to the surface. But Troy didn’t seem to notice. He placed his hands on her waist, his cold hands.

With a yelp, she tried to scramble out of his reach only to find herself cornered by the back of the chaise. “Troy, I don’t want a surprise that involves ice.”

Laughing, he snagged the waistband of her panty hose and worked the jumble over her hips and down her legs, warming his fingers on her skin along the way. Then he disappeared again.

The blindfold that had started out adding a thrill had become problematic. She was half tempted to remove it to prepare herself for his icy surprise, but the scent of male suddenly filled her senses. The velvet soft head of a very impressive erection brushed her cheek as Troy leaned over her.

Miranda found herself face-to-face with a perfect chance to turn the tables. Since chances this opportune didn’t come along often, she struck out with her tongue and dragged a wet stroke along his hot length.

Troy exhaled hard, and that steely erection bobbed against her mouth. With a laugh, and exceptional aim for a blindfolded woman, she drew him inside in a hard pull.

His body jolted in surprise, and he slid his hand into her hair, suddenly needing to hang on.

“Miranda.” A warning that she tested his restraint.

Exactly what she wanted. To test him. To tempt him. To take the upper hand. With an inspired move, she drew back and glided down his erection again.

And again.

She didn’t care how hard his legs shook. He shouldn’t have stuck this greedy thing anywhere near her mouth if he didn’t want to deal with the consequences. Remaining on his feet was his concern, not hers, so Miranda threaded her arms around him, sank her fingers into his butt and urged him forward for a deeper stroke.

That one almost choked her, but she managed to dodge her gag reflex just in time to hear him groan. Loud.

He seemed undecided whether to let her take control or make a break for it, but as long as his hand was on her head she couldn’t go anywhere. So with her mouth against his crotch, Miranda took him for a ride with long deep pulls and some lingering wet swirls of her tongue for good measure.

He lasted longer than she’d expected. Then again, Troy had been making up for lost time ever since their arrival at this hotel. His control should be well in place after that much sex, but she couldn’t help laughing when he broke away, a desperate move that proved she’d almost had him.

“I’m not ready to be over,” he said.

“Are you sure? I was having a good time.”

“I noticed.” Urging her forward, he slid onto the chaise behind her, cradling her between his spread thighs.

He was all hard muscle and warm skin as he nestled her in the curve of his body. She felt surrounded by him, that hot erection pressing against her lower back, and she savored the feel of skin against skin, appreciated being together.

Miranda missed Troy when he was away, but somehow never so much as when he came home again. Only then could she allow herself the luxury of remembering how his strong arms felt around her, how his body sheltered her in its heat, how she felt loved and cherished and so glad they were together again.

She gave a sigh, and the sound turned into a purr as he slid a hand between her legs to coax the sensitive bundle of nerve endings from its hiding place. With her panty hose gone, Miranda enjoyed the full potency of his touch as Troy idly fondled her, coiling the tension inside until she parted her thighs to increase that drive-me-wild friction that was swiftly driving her wild.

He’d always had this sort of power over her, the ability to shoot her from zero to sixty with the perfect combination of intimacy and exploration. He knew what aroused her because he’d taken the time to learn, continued to learn, continued to share his likes and explore new pleasures with her.

Each time he returned from a mission, the process began over again. They reveled in being together. They appreciated the contrast of newness and familiarity. They pleased each other in ways only they could. And right now, with this blindfold, Miranda became more aware of his touches than ever before.

That tension wound tighter as he dragged his fingers through her damp heat, and she nestled back against him, feeling the solid warmth of him surround her. She was content in the knowledge that they still had another week to play out this fantasy together. Another week to enjoy the pleasures of being together again.

“Trust me?” he whispered close to her ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder, pressed a kiss into her hair.

“With all my heart.”

She’d been so preoccupied with her arousal that she hadn’t felt him move, so when the first icy droplet trickled between her legs, she gasped and tried to pull away.

“Surprise.” He nudged the tip against her aroused skin, a quick touch to test her response. “The see-through vibrator turned out to be a lot more.”

“What—” she sucked in another hard breath, eyelids blinking against the blindfold in a rebellious attempt to see “—is this? A water torture device?”

“A dual temperature vibrator.” Another quick nudge that made her sex contract wildly as the cold blasted her skin. “The extreme sensations are supposed to push you over the edge.”

“I’ll be over the edge of this chaise if you touch me with that thing again.”

“Sure you don’t want to give it a shot? You’re so hot that cooling down might feel good.” He used his cool fingers to up her temperature a few more degrees.

She might be hot, but when another droplet dripped onto her stomach and into her navel, Miranda jumped.

“How about this to help you decide?” Troy finally went for her bra, lifting the garment under her arms so her breasts tumbled free. He knew exactly how to arouse her, how to make her dissolve in his arms so she’d agree to anything.

And that was exactly what Miranda needed right now. She needed to abandon herself to arousal, wanted to drown out her thoughts with pleasure, so she couldn’t think of anything but the way he rolled her nipples into a frenzy of sensation. The way he swirled the vibrator around a tip. The way the condensation chilled her, shocking in intensity.

“How’s that?” he asked.

She took a few deep breaths, willed herself to relax enough to describe the feeling. As that ache speared through her, she realized that torture wasn’t an adequate description. “It’s…different.”

“Too much?”

She shook her head. “Just intense.”

Touching the tip to her other nipple, he shot the cold through her again, making her arch her back to press into his hands, to feed this icy ache.

With skilled fingers, Troy obliged. He warmed her skin with knowing touches, and hot pleasure radiated through her, a striking contrast to the cold, an intensity that made her realize exactly what she wanted.

Curling her fingers over his hand, Miranda guided his newest toy between her thighs. “Let’s try this.”

She started tentatively, testing the feel of that iciness, pausing to prepare herself for each touch.

“Still intense?” He glided the vibrator lightly along her in a channel of chilly condensation and warm skin.

“Mmm-hmm, but nice. In small doses.”

With the flick of a switch, he made the vibrator hum to life, the pulsation against her oh-so sensitive sex causing her to moan out loud. He rolled it against that bundle of nerves, a glancing caress that made her shiver.

“I like this.” He dragged his mouth over her throat in an openmouthed kiss and pressed the length of the vibrator between her thighs, catching her everywhere with that pulsating cold.

Miranda didn’t reply. She was too busy riding the sensation, and she wasn’t the only one. Troy ground his erection against her back, a demand that conveyed his need louder than words. Her pleasure brought him pleasure. What could be better?

Miranda could think of only one thing.

Scooting up on his lap, she arched her bottom until his erection rode forward. She didn’t have to say a word. He knew what she wanted. Slipping a hand between them, he maneuvered that hardness against her chilled skin, a hot length that sank inside with an unfamiliar force that stole her breath.

She was so tight and wet that he growled, a throaty rumble against her ear as he grasped his arms around her, gave a few driving thrusts that made her gasp. And that sexy device…he held it poised where she could feel it most, and condensation mingled chilly water with their body’s heat to create a powerful sensation that had her rocking back to meet his thrusts.

Only Troy could take her apart this way, could overwhelm her with his body, with his hunger, with his love. He indulged her, took his own enjoyment in her responses, and the simple honesty of his emotions, the overwhelming honesty urged her to reply in kind, to coax him into the same frenzy.

And Miranda could always satisfy her husband in bed. She was an accommodating wife, the perfect match to her equally accommodating husband.

So why had life become such a struggle?

The question sideswiped her, a rational thought that cut through her haze of pleasure, real. And the special connection they shared betrayed her. Troy must have sensed her hesitation, guessed she’d become distracted, because he suddenly slowed his pace to press hungry kisses along her neck.

She didn’t want anything to intrude on their time together, especially not thoughts that had no place in their bed. So arching her head back, she leaned into his touch, reassured by the feel of his mouth on her skin, the way he could turn unwanted doubts into breathless gasps.

His every stroke combined with the vibrator, so direct, so intense, so overwhelming, and she forced her focus onto the way her sex clenched in greedy reply, so close to the edge.

Holding her breath expectantly, she tried to knead her climax into breaking, wanting to lose herself in the ecstasy she knew in Troy’s arms, needing oblivion to drown out the thoughts racing inside her head.

But the sensation remained just beyond reach. Even though her body burned. Even though she wanted release so much that she clung to her husband and rode him with hard strokes. Even though she tried to crowd out the intruding thoughts by the strength of her will and the blinding force of their lovemaking.

Despite the effort, her oncoming orgasm evaporated like a mist beneath the sun. Within the space of a heartbeat, all her pleasure slipped away, leaving behind only a lingering warmth to mock her.

It was gone, and wouldn’t come back. No matter how hard Miranda willed herself to relax. No matter how far she’d already traveled toward fulfillment. No matter how she yearned to feel her husband’s hands on her. The moment was over no matter what Troy might do to arouse her again.

For one blind moment she thought about admitting her climax had gotten away. It happened. All couples faced an ebb and flow of arousal when they’d been together a while. This shouldn’t be a big deal, wouldn’t have been…

Except this wasn’t the first time.

2

TROY HAD MIRANDA on the verge of coming apart in his arms and then in an instant, he’d lost her. Bonelessness had yielded to stillness. Frenzied reactions had become deliberate.

He’d been making love to his wife for a long time and knew neither of them could always be on. Miranda knew that, too. But instead of giving him a chance to find other ways to arouse her or at least being honest about losing the mood, she’d distracted him. She’d kickstarted a rhythm he hadn’t been able to resist.

She’d pretended everything was all right.

It wasn’t. They had a problem here—more than one because she refused to acknowledge what was happening. He couldn’t be sure whether she was in denial or simply hiding the issue, but all the togetherness they were sharing on this vacation hadn’t succeeded in getting her to open up.

“Come here, Miranda.” He hoped she didn’t recognize his raw tone for the disappointment it was.

Threading his fingers around her waist, he helped her maneuver until he could pull her into his arms. She stretched out, her legs twined with his, their bodies pressed close so he could feel her smooth curves against him.

With a few tugs, he loosed the blindfold until he found himself staring into her sultry blue eyes, a gaze that could be polished and cool or so alive with pleasure. Her expression was shadowed now, unreadable, as if she shielded her thoughts behind an invisible wall. He thumbed her cheek, a touch he hoped conveyed his yearning, the pleasure he felt to be with her again.

“I love you, Miranda.” He moved in for a kiss, and his mouth caught hers, his tongue sweeping inside to prove he meant what he said.

He loved her, for better or worse, always.

Miranda snuggled close and returned his kiss with a longing that might have surprised him if he’d missed what had just happened. But he felt her restlessness now, sensed her need for reassurance, even if he didn’t know what she needed to be reassured about. He couldn’t understand what was happening with her, why she’d gone from hot to cold, unless she talked to him. She wasn’t and that bothered him. A lot.

When they finally broke their kiss, he leaned back against the chaise. “I just want to lie here and hold you for a while.”

“Your wish is my command, Lieutenant Commander.”

He wished she would tell him what was wrong. But he wasn’t going to ask again. The last time he’d tried to get her talking, she’d only given him a bunch of evasions. Then she’d retreated behind her perfect wife persona—exactly what she was doing now.

She seemed blissfully unaware of anything but this chance to snuggle. Pressing her face against his shoulder, she let her eyes flutter closed and skimmed her lips along his throat, a natural, unconscious gesture that at any other time might have made him smile.

He wasn’t smiling now, and as he held her, Troy considered his options. She’d been on edge ever since they’d started this vacation. He’d attributed her mood to logistics. Niagara Falls was her hometown, and a vacation to Falling Inn Bed meant close quarters with her estranged cousin, the woman hosting the Naughty Nuptials. Add that to watching her parents gear up for an election and dealing with the antics of her big-hearted, too-wild sister, and Troy thought he’d understood why she’d had them holing up inside the Egyptian Pleasure Pyramid instead of running all around town to visit with family and friends.

But Troy had been wrong.

Suddenly everything made sense. Miranda had been trying to reassure him that everything was okay, trying to distract him from what he knew in his gut—they were in trouble. But she’d plastered a smile on her face and pretended that everything was fine.

Like she’d just done while making love.

And when Troy thought about it, he couldn’t remember the last time she’d initiated sex. He’d been doing the honors on this vacation. He couldn’t remember back before his latest deployment. How long had this been going on?

He probably wouldn’t like the answer, but he was glad she’d chosen distraction over faking an orgasm.

That would have hurt.

Burying his face in her curls, he inhaled deeply of her scent, so feminine and all Miranda. With only a week left of their holiday, he needed to reevaluate his game plan. Once they headed home, their lives would be full of commitment and routine. It would be all too easy for her to hide, and then he’d get orders and head out again.

He needed to get Miranda to share what was on her mind now, while they had only each other to focus on, so they could figure out what was happening and how to deal with it.

He wouldn’t let this go on any longer.

She’d had her chance to fess up. He was done with evasions, done watching his wife retreat behind that persona she wore in public.

He wouldn’t let her get away with it anymore. Confrontation would be a tactical error that would only put her on the defensive. No, he had to start pushing, but he had to push purposefully, quietly.

As if sensing his resolve, Miranda nestled closer and gave a small sigh, her mouth parting around the soft sound. She had a kissing mouth, a mouth that smiled with such dazzling perfection that he always wanted to tease her until she couldn’t resist brushing those moist lips against him.

Her mouth had been the first thing he’d noticed about her. Miranda was the kind of beautiful that made men stupid. He vividly recalled how his fellow officers who had toured her college group through their naval base had made asses of themselves over her.

Troy might have gotten stupid, too, had it not been for her too-cool composure that had challenged him. He could still remember how her self-possessed smiles had dared him to make her laugh, or frown. He’d wondered what it would take to get her to let her hair down.

And make her sigh with pleasure.

Troy had sensed they were a pair. Two people with adventurous souls. He’d been raised without limits while Miranda had been taught to keep her sense of adventure reined tight. With her high-power family, she’d honed her public persona to a sharp edge, but beneath that composure beat a light heart. He’d wanted to be the man to help her discover that part of herself, and he’d always tried to be supportive.

But no more.

He wouldn’t sit around and wait for Miranda to come clean. She’d had her chance. Too many chances. He wouldn’t let her slip away without a fight.

He wouldn’t let her slip away. Period.

MIRANDA HAD STARTED the morning off with high hopes of enjoying a relaxing day with Troy. No Naughty Nuptials events. No visits with family or friends.

She should have known better.

Crashing and burning on the way to an orgasm clearly wasn’t enough to deal with this morning. Now a phone call from her sister pitched her day from bad to worse, and she was this close to declaring mutiny and abandoning ship on this whole vacation.

Settling the telephone back on the cradle, she cocked a hip against the desk and stared out into the courtyard, flooded with sunlight from the glass ceiling. What appeared to be a bright day in the Egyptian Pleasure Pyramid’s oasis didn’t feel anything but gloomy and dismal.

Troy emerged from the kitchen, carrying a plate. “Lunch. I made enough for us both.”

His man-size sandwich surrounded by a mound of pickles and tortilla chips almost made her smile. “Thanks. But I’m not hungry just now.” Her appetite had gone the way of her orgasm.

“So what’s up with your sister?” He arranged his meal on the table.

“Victoria wants me to meet her in the photojournalist’s room so she can talk to me. Laura Granger will be there.”

“Laura, why?” He sounded surprised, and she wasn’t sure why. They were dealing with her younger sister here, a woman who lived life to throw monkey wrenches in situations just to see what happened.

“She didn’t say.”

Meeting with the photojournalist wasn’t a problem. But Laura Granger? Her estranged cousin was about the last person Miranda wanted to meet with any day—especially a day that had taken such a downhill turn. She was already scrambling not to let her vanishing orgasm spoil her mood.

Maybe Victoria could ignore the longtime rift between their family and Laura’s. She was the only one, though. People in this town always paid close attention whenever Fords and Grangers came together, and personally, Miranda couldn’t see what was so fascinating.

Their mothers were sisters. So what if Laura was the daughter of a rebel socialite who had abandoned her family to run off with an artist? That only proved Laura’s mother cared more about herself than the needs of her family.

Good riddance, as far as Miranda was concerned.

“Well, I suppose it’s to be expected,” she said. “I knew I’d have to deal with the whole family issue when I let you talk me into getting married at Laura Granger’s hotel.”

She couldn’t lament that choice now. If she hadn’t agreed to have the wedding here, then they’d never have been invited back as the Hottest Honeymoon Couple. She’d wanted a fantasy wedding and vacation. Now she would pay the price.

“You let me talk you into getting married here because you knew this place would be fun.” Troy dropped a pickle back onto the plate, leaned back and shot her a sober look. “And you knew if you went along, I’d make it worth your while. I’ve held up my end of the deal.”