Free Wounded (An Aspen Series Novella) (Prequel to Relentless) by Cindy Stark

night air.
    He trailed his fingers down her stomach until he
reached the waistband of her cutoffs.  He had to know.  She stilled as he undid
the button and slid down her zipper.  He didn’t bother removing her clothes. 
He needed to feel her now.  Needed physical proof of how much she wanted him.
    Her body couldn’t lie.
    He slid his hand beneath the lace that covered
her, and she opened, allowing him access to her secrets.  His breath whooshed
out of him as his fingers found her heated core.  Ah, God.  She was so hot and
wet for him, he nearly came right then.
    She bucked as he delved inside her.
    “Shit,” he whispered.
    “Take me, Jerry.  I can’t wait any more.”  Her extreme
need echoed his.
    He wanted so much to savor this moment, but it
seemed their bodies had been too long parted.
    He jerked her shorts and panties from her legs
and rid himself of his jeans just as quickly.  “I don’t have a condom,” he said
as he hovered over her.
    “I don’t care,” she whispered.  “I haven’t been
with anyone but you.”
    His heart swelled.  Not Eric, he wanted to ask,
but he wouldn’t let that bastard ruin their moment.  “Me, either.”  He wasn’t
about to bring up pregnancy.  As desperate as it may seem, if they created a
baby tonight, she’d have a much harder time leaving him.
    He needed this woman in his life.
    He locked his gaze with hers and buried himself
into her welcoming depths.  She gripped his biceps, her nails digging into
him.  They both moaned at the same time.  Then laughed.
    He slid out and then slammed back into her.  She
arched and sighed with pleasure.  “Again,” she whispered breathlessly.
    He pounded himself into her with an unmatched
intensity.  It was as though he’d waited his whole life for this moment, and he
couldn’t get enough.  She wrapped her legs around him, encouraging him as she
held on.
    She cried his name as she stiffened and shuddered
beneath him.  The sound of her voice and the feel of her nails digging into him
cost him his control.  His muscles tightened as he spent himself inside her,
the feeling owning him for a few glorious moments.
    He rolled off her, pulling her into his arms.  At
some point, the fireworks had ended, and now they were left in the darkness
with the quiet chirping of crickets.  “God, I’ve missed this.”  There was no
doubt in his mind, he was home.
    “I’ve missed you,” she whispered as she stroked
his chest.
    He crushed her to him, so afraid he might lose
her again.  “You know we belong together.”
    She nodded, bumping his chin.  “I know.”
     “How did we get so off course?”
    “I don’t know.  You’d been gone so long, and I
hadn’t heard from you in forever.  I know it’s not a good excuse, but I found
myself in a dark and lonely place, and I let others influence me.”
    “Eric.”
    She nodded again.  “I only dated him once.  Then
I heard what happened to you, and my world fell apart.  I knew I could never
love anyone like I love you.”
    He squeezed her to him, emotion thickening his
throat.  “I’m sorry I didn’t call.”
    She slid her fingers along his jawline, her thumb
playing with his stubble.  “It was so hard not hearing from you.  I’ve spent my
whole life wondering if my dad would come home at night, worrying some bad guy
might do him in.  As a child, that’s pretty tough to take, knowing the only
person you have left in the world might not come home.  Not hearing from you
was ten times worse.”
    “I’m sorry.”  He wanted to tell her why, but that
was the tough part.  That was why he’d backed off in the first place.
    “I understand that you couldn’t call all the
time, but even an email, something, anything to let me know you were alive.” 
Her voice cracked, and he hated himself for what he’d put her through.  “The
not knowing was the worst.”
    He had to tell her.  If he wanted to give this
thing between them the best chance to work, she