Chapter twelve

[Ray’s POV]

I couldn’t hear anything but the heavy thud thud of my heart and even if she said anything, which she didn’t, I wouldn’t have heard her. Her lips were slightly spread apart and her pink tongue darted over her bottom lip to wet it again. I begged her with my eyes and with a slight nod of her head I pushed forward and grabbed the back of her head, feeling her silky strands gather between my fingers and I pulled her towards me.

Her breath was short and hot and I just wanted to breathe the same air as her. I don’t know what it was about her but I wanted her. I wanted to know every inch of her smooth skin and every dip and hollow. I bit her bottom lip between my teeth and ran my tongue over it before sucking on the plump skin. I could hear her breathy moans and feel her small hands shaking on my knees. She widened her lips a little unconsciously inviting me into her mouth but I held back. No, I wanted to explore every bit and savour every moment.

I nibbled at her lip until the blood underneath swelled inside and kissed both corners, slightly tasting the ice cream she was eating earlier. I was playing with fire, my own hardness was pushing so hard against the material of my jeans I shifted slightly to ease how uncomfortable it felt. Seychelles was moaning in frustration and with a quirk of my lips I kissed her fully. I could never get used to how soft her lips were and how well they moulded with mine.

Our lips toyed with each other and after a minute of teasing her and her open invitation for more, I finally slipped my tongue through her lips and tasted her. Moans escaped from the both of us but and the more I tasted her, the more she pushed harder against me to taste more of me.  The room began to feel hot but neither of us seemed to care. I tightened my hold in her hair and she tightened her grasp on my thigh making my already throbbing er*ction jump in need.

I pulled back and gasped for air, just as she did, and slowly moved back before collapsing at the back of the sofa. Damn, she was an amazing kisser! My groin throbbed painfully and I quickly covered it with a pillow. Seychelles’ hair was all over the place, her face was flushed and her lips red and swollen while her eyes were glazed over. She looked utterly stunning and the only way she could look better was if she was on her back and stripped from her cotton barriers.

I would shoot myself in the leg again just to see her like that.

“Wow” she croaked, her eyes focusing again. “Feel free to do that whenever you want Beast”

“Oh... I have free permission now do I?” I smirked. I was glad she seemed to pull out of her daze and look so unfazed. I was still reeling a little bit.  She nodded with a blush and stood up dusting off invisible dirt from her shirt. I couldn’t help notice the hardened nubs poking through her material and felt ease that at least I wasn’t the only one affected by our earth tilting kiss.

“So how about that massage Lieutenant?”

I glanced down at my lap and gulped, thinking of my high school teacher Ms Chenkins again to get this hard on down. “Uh... yeah in a minute”

She threw me a confused look but her eyes wondered down to the pillow covering my lap and her face lit up like the fourth of July. It was a beautiful colour on her skin.

“Oh okay, sure. I’ll just uh... I’ll be right back” she mumbled and turned to walk into the hallway.

As soon as she was out of sight I threw the pillow aside and stared at the tent in my pants. “I know! I know she’s ridiculously good looking and has a mouth to die for but you need to disappear!” I whisper shouted at my crotch. “Now is not the time!”

I sighed and leaned back thinking of everything from high school algebra to training back at the base and eventually it worked. I stood up and wondered where Seychelles was hiding and walked down the hallway. I walked past her room only to walk back again and saw her sitting on her throwing a sheet over her bed.

“Need some help?” I asked making her jump.

“Oh! No, no I’m fine. I’ll just grab the oil and while I do that you can get ready like last time. There’s a towel here for you” She quickly walked out of the bedroom closing the door behind her and I quickly stripped off my jeans and wrapped the towel around my hips. A tentative knock sounded at the door and I shouted for her to come in.

She stood smiling in the doorway and walked in gesturing for me to lie down. I followed her instructions and watched her slather the oil over her hands, I just hoped I had enough will power to keep my er*ction at bay this time. She positioned my leg the same as before and this time, instead of staying quiet, she began to talk to me. We spoke about her house, my mother and Tom, we spoke about her gym and all the other safe topics that kept away from us.

“How’s the rest of your body Ray?” She asked me softly.

“A little sore, I guess. Especially my back” I mumbled. Her hands were magical and I was beginning to grow sleepy.

“I can massage the rest your back and shoulders if you want?” she whispered.

“That’d be amazing, Seychelles. I’d owe you one” I slurred. Her hands traced my lower stomach just above the edge of the towel and goosebumps erupted all over my skin as she slowly pulled my shirt up. In the back of my hazy mind I laughed mentally at how this role seemed to be reversed. Usually I was the first one to remove the woman’s shirt, not the other way around.

I lifted my body up for a moment to help her take off my shirt and she instructed me to turn around onto my stomach. I heard her slight intake of breath and nearly jumped out of my skin when her finger lightly trace over the swirls and lines of my tattoo. She squirted more oil onto her hands and began to rub them over my back, massaging and easing out all the knots. Before I knew it my eyes slid shut.

“Take cover!” I shouted as another round of bullets came flying through the air. Tom had been hit by a stray bullet, I wasn’t sure whether it was enemy or accidental friendly fire but I’d risked my own neck running out in the open to drag his bleeding body  to safety.

At an interval between shots I jumped up and began to fire at the enemy. A bullet grazed my ribs and I hissed in pain but otherwise ignored it. I’d managed to shoot down five men but they seemed to be getting in lucky shots when another bullet grazed my arm. An angry shout came from my left and I quickly dodged the man with a knife. I squeezed the trigger as I aimed the gun for a clear head shot but realised I was out of ammo.

The man lunged at me again and caught me off guard as the blade of his knife slashed across my chest. Using the butt of the gun to strike him down I kicked him away and ignored the streams of blood flowing down my body as I dragged Tom deeper into cover.

I snapped my head up with my heart thudding fast and loud in my chest and sighed in relief. It was just a dream – a memory, but a dream. One of the many times I’d ended up with a scar decorating my body. Seychelles hands stilled and laid on my back as she peeked over to me. “Are you okay Ray?”

My eyes darted to her and I don’t know what it was, but I felt overwhelmingly relieved to see she was safe. It wasn’t as though she was in my dream, or even in any sort of danger, but I turned and sat up before dragging her close into a hug. I breathed in her scent and felt myself relax. I never needed anyone to relax or felt like this over anyone besides my own mother and it was surprising.

Seychelles timidly hugged me back and stroked her fingers through my hair. “You okay?”

I nodded but pulled her down to lie next to me on her bed. I needed her, and I wasn’t one hundred percent sure why. I crashed my lips down to hers and, unlike our kiss in the lounge, I didn’t wait to plunge my tongue into her mouth to taste her. I pulled her close to me, crushing her tiny body against mine but she didn’t complain. She pushed and pulled me closer as though she needed me as much as I needed her.

Our kissing deepened and intensified. There was an amazing chemistry that just seemed to sizzle between us like electricity and when we touched or kissed that electricity sparked like tiny fireworks bursting across our skin. I flipped her over and ground my raging hard on against her just needing to ease some of the discomfort. I broke our kiss and began nibbling and biting down her jaw line to her neck, tasting the soft skin.

Her soft mews of approval set my blood on fire and before I even realised what I was doing I pulled away from her and hauled myself off the bed breathing in ragged breaths. She sat up with her hair tumbling everywhere with her eyes dilated and the smell of our lust filling the room. Her eyes shot me a questioning look while she breathed heavily, almost as though her lungs were desperately trying to take in enough oxygen to talk.

“Ray?” She panted.

“I’m sorry Beauty... I shouldn’t have done that. You deserved far better than that.” I groaned rubbing my eyes with the heels of my hands. I was very aware that the towel was sporting a very desperate tent between my legs but I already knew that I wouldn’t be able to do anything about that any time soon. “I... I think I should go, Seychelles”

I grabbed my jeans and discarded shirt pulling them on quickly before throwing the towel into the hamper in the bathroom. “Ray... it’s okay. I wanted you to... I-“

“No Seychelles, I’m going about this all the wrong way. But don’t worry... I’ll get it right” I promised before grabbing my keys and driving away cursing myself and my damned too-eager body.

[Seychelle’s POV]

What the hell just happened?

What. The. Hell. Just happened?

I stared at the empty doorway and felt my brain give up trying to rationalise what the hell just happened. I flopped back onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. One moment we were locked in a steamy make out session, all I could think of and feel was Ray. He seemed to be everywhere. He was intoxicating and felt like an addictive drug that I couldn’t seem to get enough of.  

His skin was soft, yet rough, and so very, very hot. I couldn’t have helped splaying my hands over the muscles in his back if I tried. I touched my tender lips with my fingers and closed my eyes remembering our kisses; his slight stubble rasping against my skin and leaving my face and neck tingling with its memory. Ray definitely had a way with his lips and tongue and I bushed at the thought of them kissing elsewhere on my body.

If he hadn’t freaked out and left.

A million thoughts were running through my mind and I couldn’t seem to concentrate on just a single one. I wondered what made him panic when he woke up in the first place and what made him stop kissing me just before he left. He had left me feeling confused and utterly wound up.

‘I’m going about this all the wrong way. But don’t worry... I’ll get it right’

What did he mean by that? He’s going about it all the wrong way? He’ll get it right? “Ergh!” I groaned and kicked at the sheets. “Ray Hodges, you are one mysterious and confusing man”

***

I walked into the gym feeling a little less energetic than normal. I didn’t see Ray on the beach this morning which is probably the reason why I felt so sluggish and down trodden. I wondered if he thought I’d be angry at him or feel awkward, but I wouldn’t feel that way at all. Even if he thought it was all a mistake and didn’t want to be anything more than friends I would’ve still wanted to see him. He had a charismatic personality and I could see us being friends, as much as that word felt a little bitter on my tongue, in the future.

“Morning Mimi” I murmured before quickly walking into the office. I stopped in the doorway with wide eyes when I saw the bouquet of long stemmed blood red roses sitting on my desk. “What the...?” Curiosity got the better of me and I excitedly dashed over to it and opened the little card that sat in the middle.

Beauty,

Please forgive me for last night. Not only did I freak out on you but I left you suddenly without a proper goodbye.

I don’t know how you feel about ‘us’ or if there even is an ‘us’, but I want to explore this chemistry we have... I know you feel it too Seychelles, please let me make it up to you.

Meet me tonight at nine o’clock on the beach where the bonfire was. There’s something I want to show you...

Waiting,

Beast

I squealed, a Cheshire cat grin pulling at my lips so hard that my jaw began to hurt. I felt hope blossom in my chest at the realisation that he wasn’t brushing me off and it was quickly replaced with excitement, anticipation and curiosity. I suddenly had a little too much energy, I couldn’t sit still for the life of me and since I didn’t have any appointments today I decided to leave and spend the day running errands to make time run faster.

Nine o’clock seemed so far away and the anticipation was killing me already!

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A/N

I bet this update surprised the pants off you lol!

Dedicated to @SparsivaVriel  my Papi Li (n.n)

Nix <3