She shuddered with need, the bones liquefying in her legs, and she slumped slightly against him, ready to collapse.
"Hmm, yes, nice and wet," he murmured against her neck, his arm wrapped around her waist to keep her from sinking to the floor as he continued to stroke her. "Just right."
Wriggling against his fingers to get maximum penetration, she rubbed against his arousal, and he groaned. She smiled.
"Vixen."
"Let's move this to the hot tub," she said, her voice drenched with lust. "But the water better be hot enough. After all the cold weather we've been through, I'm not getting in unless it's super heated."
"I'll warm you right up."
"Not in the water if it's not soupy."
He released her. "I guess you're not willing to take a swim in the Pacific with me from time to time then."
She turned around and traced his nipples through his sweatshirt. "Not unless it's by mistake."
Hunter laughed under his breath and walked over to the Jacuzzi and poked his hand in. Hot, but not as hot as Tessa was. He shook the water off his fingers and turned on the jets.
"Perfect temperature." He reached his hand out to her. "Join me."
"I thought I already had," she said, her voice like smooth satin.
She rested her small hand in his, and he pulled her close. He leaned down and kissed a corner of her sensual mouth, then brushed his lips across hers, and kissed the other corner.
"You realize you have to keep Meara and Cara in line whenever I'm not around, don't you?"
He slipped her blouse off and held her arms hostage. Dipping his head, he kissed her mouth, deepening the experience. Wet, wild, tasting of fermented grapes, sweet and delectable, rich and full-bodied.
Her heart beat harder and she barely breathed, enraptured with his touch as much as he was with her.
But then her fingers tackled his sweatshirt, and she hurried to wrestle it over his head. And he smiled.
"You didn't tell me all the details about what I have to do and can't do," she said, nipping his bare shoulder. "Not that it means you can tell me what I have to do and can't do, and I'll blindly serve."
"You can handle it. I have every faith in you."
He pulled her jeans down to her ankles, then ran his hands over her silky panties trimmed in lace. Her eyes were bright and expressive, her brows slightly elevated, her lips rosy and swollen. Already he was at full mast, ready to mate her again.
She yanked off his sweatpants and he kicked them free. "I believe," he said, stripping off her bra and panties, "you've had control over me since you dragged me from your beach."
She let out a lusty chuckle. "Dragged you. Right. It was only a show so you could get your hands all over me."
"Worked, didn't it?" From the moment she'd rescued him on the beach, he'd wanted just that.
He lifted her hot little body and carried her into the Jacuzzi, the steam enveloping them in a warm, wet caress.
"Hmm, after having been so cold, this feels just right." She sank into the tub, the bubbles bumping against the swell of her breasts.
"Better than right." He crouched at her knees and spread her legs, opening her up to him.
A smile percolated on her lips.
If anyone had told him he would've taken a human as a mate, that she would have been a siren in disguise, or he would be sitting with her in a gray cop's Jacuzzi for his mating night, he would never have believed it.
He licked the water off her neck, and she trailed her fingers across his muscles making his erection dance.
"You're all healed. No scratches, bruises, cuts-- nothing but blemish-free, golden skin stretched over rock hard muscles."
"And you," he said, taking her hand and kissing it.
"Yoloff didn't bite me hard enough. Nor did you. Nothing remains of the bite marks."
He ran his hand down her leg to her ankle, his chest touching the water, his eyes focused on hers. "And your ankle is all right now?"
Tessa took a deep breath. "Miraculously, yes." She kissed Hunter's neck, her tongue licking a trail down his skin, her warm breath caressing as he gave in to the erotic sensation. His fingers played in her hair while she licked his nipple, then her lips pulled on it gently.
"Tessa," he moaned, trying to hold onto his last thread of restraint, wanting their lovemaking to last.
She looked up with the most innocent expression, and he cast her a devilish grin back. She was no innocent, the vixen, knowing damn well what she did to him with that sweet mouth of hers.
He bent his head and ran his mouth across her bare shoulder, and then the other, loving the feel of her water-speckled skin against his lips. She arched her head back, her lips parted, and moaned, offering herself to him, baring her throat, her body. He took advantage of her need, loving her eagerness that only matched his own, pulled her off the seat and switched places, settling her on his lap, her knees spread, readied for his penetration. And he was damned ready to oblige.
She leaned down and kissed his upturned lips, her hair falling around his face, his shoulders, the strands floating on the surface of the water like a mermaid's silky tresses.
He smiled inwardly--the Navy SEAL had ensnared his mermaid, or maybe just the opposite.
Their tongues mated in a ritual dance as he lifted her onto his rigid erection. Sweet torture as he penetrated her deeply.
With a seductive moan, she closed her eyes and rocked on top of him, her hands kneading his shoulders, her mouth and teeth nibbling his ear. Blazing desire raced through him, making him lose control of his measured moves.
Unable to last much longer, he kept his hands on her hips, directing her, every thrust he made, bringing him closer to climax. She was everything he'd ever wanted in a mate: clever, strong, determined, loyal. And sexy as hell--even in her pajamas and especially bared to him, skin to skin.
She arched her back and he sensed she was near completion, her lithe body attempting to rock harder, her breasts bouncing with a mesmerizing rhythm. He gave into her, drew her to the top.
"Oh, Hunter," she called out, no longer worried that anyone might hear her cry of jubilation.
He quickly followed, filling her with his seed. "Tessa," he groaned, unable to say anything further. Sweet ecstasy, she was perfect for him--and his forever, this, only the beginning.
She sank down on top of him, her head resting against his neck, and he kissed her flushed cheek. "Time to get some rest, sweet Tessa." He hit the button on the Jacuzzi, turning off the jets, then lifted her off his lap, her body limp with satisfaction, soft, wet, and sensuous.
The sly smile she gave him assured him they wouldn't get much sleep tonight.
Early the next morning, Tessa turned her head toward the front of Allan's house as she and Hunter grabbed a hasty breakfast. "A car door just shut." She seized her bagel and headed for the front window as Hunter poured himself another cup of coffee.
She couldn't believe how she could hear the slightest sounds, everywhere and anywhere. The heater turning on, a school bus picking up kids, although the bus never came down Allan's street, the whisper of a breeze stirring an oak's branches out front. She hoped she would soon get used to it because for now it was wreaking havoc with her sleep. Not that Hunter's wanting to make love with her throughout the night hadn't something to do with it also. Ahem, well, some of it was her fault also.
"A patrol car just arrived. It's Caruthers."
Hunter joined her at the window and rested his hand on her shoulder in a comforting way. "Time to see your brother."
Trying to squash her nervousness at seeing her brother in prison, she finished her bagel and looked up at Hunter. "Do you always get that much exercise at night?"