Starting Over(Hart of Seattle)

Chapter Nine



Von moved and the situational awareness he’d learned as a child in foster homes and later honed in the military had him awake and alert between one heartbeat and the next. She stirred again and he propped up on one elbow. His internal clock told him less than an hour had passed. Her eyes slowly opened and her gaze connected with his.
He couldn’t help but smile. She had the look of a woman well and truly loved. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Sean.” She glanced around nervously.
“Uh-uh-uh. Regrets not allowed. The night’s still young and I still have plenty more fantasies to fulfill.”
A small smile peeped out. “You mean this,” she pointed, indicating their still joined bodies, “wasn’t enough?”
“Oh, darling. This was just the appetizer. I want the full meal deal. But first...” He rolled to the side and stripped off his pants, tossing them to the side. Then he straddled her body and began tugging on her nightgown. “...I need to get both of us naked.”
Von’s intent gaze concentrated on his penis and he felt that member responding. When it swelled, her face reddened and he chuckled. Her gaze jerked to his. Von’s face disappeared briefly, swallowed by the voluminous gown as he pulled it over her head and off. As soon as her hands were free, she covered her breasts with her arms.
“Oh, no you don’t. No hiding.” Sean un-tucked them and held them out to the sides.
In the soft glow of the bedside lamp, he looked down her body. Her pert little nipples reminded him of chocolate kisses perched atop mounds of Jamoca ice cream. Sean’s mouth salivated. He glanced up to find Von watching his cock with curious fascination.
Sinking back on his haunches, he brought her hands forward and laid them on his thighs. “Touch me.”
She looked at him, a question in her eyes.
“Anywhere. Any way you please, as long as your hands are on me.”
Her gaze roamed over his body and the hunger and feminine appreciation in her expression made him happy about all the PT he’d put in over the last few months. Sean straightened his shoulders and stuck out his chest, pulling in his already flat stomach. He just barely resisted the urge to flex his muscles and show off a bit.
“Anywhere?” Her expression was so innocently provocative that Sean felt his cock jerk and a bead of moisture leaked from the tip.
“Anywhere and any how, but first...” his gaze landed on the small diamond solitaire sparkling in the lamplight on the middle finger of her left hand, “...let’s get rid of this.”
He watched close for her reaction as he tugged the engagement ring off her finger and tossed it onto the floor. Von didn’t protest and her body didn’t tense. She didn’t even track the ring with her eyes when he threw it. Her gaze remained steadily on his. Sean breathed a silent sigh of relief.
Her gaze dropped once more to his erection and she licked her lips. Sean bit back a groan at the thought of her mouth on his dick.
“Anything I want?” She lifted heavy lidded eyes to his and the hunger he saw in them almost made him topple onto her and thrust inside her tight, waiting heat. Instead, he gritted his teeth, shut his eyes, and nodded.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice concerned.
“Nothing,” he bit out through his clenched mouth. “You simply have no idea how much I want to f*ck you right now.”
“I think I do.” A soft finger stroked down the side of his penis and he cursed.
“Lie down on the mattress, hands above your head, legs spread wide.”
Sean’s eyes popped open at the command.
One look at her expression had him hurrying to obey. His shy, virginal mate was getting off on the idea of being in control. Sean made a mental note to remember this for future reference. And there would be a future between them.
As soon as he was in position, Von crawled over him to kneel between his legs. Her hair pooled over her shoulders, obscuring her breasts and sex like a modern day Lady Godiva.
“Don’t watch me.”
She’s kidding, right?
“I can’t do this if you’re watching me.”
Damn, she’s serious. Sean laid his head on the pillow and gazed at the ceiling, curiosity burning a hole in him. Then he felt it. Von’s hands on his inner thighs, fingers spread wide as she glided them forward toward his heavy, throbbing sex. The muscles in his legs immediately tightened.
She reached the inner crease and paused, her hands perfectly framing his balls and cock. Sean clenched his fingers around the railing. Von moved one of her hands and gently captured his balls, rolling the sack around in her palm before squeezing gently. He hissed and his hips lifted of their own accord.

“You like this?”
“Yes.” He barely managed not to growl his response.
She tugged gently on his scrotum then shifted her hold to the base of his cock. He could feel her breath on the sensitive skin as she explored his sex, stroking, gripping, and caressing his meat with feminine curiosity he swore would kill him before she was satisfied.
Then something moist touched the tip. The muscles in Sean’s arms bulged as he fought to keep from lurching off the mattress. It shocked him how the most innocent of touches from this woman was more powerful than the ministrations of the most experience whore.
“You taste...” Von licked him again and his hips shot off the bed in reaction.
“Shit!”
“...good. Salty but good. Nothing like I expected.”
Gathering his fragile control, Sean flattened his lower body to the mattress and managed to semi-calmly ask, “What did yo—” This time, Sean’s upper body arched off the bed when she engulfed the whole head of his cock in her mouth and gently sucked.
“Son of a bitch!” If she kept that up, he was going to blow, and he didn’t think she was ready for that. “Von, baby, you have to stop. I’ll come if you don’t,” he hoarsely warned.
She hummed and took him deeper.
He couldn’t help himself. Sean pumped his hips, f*cking her mouth. Von gripped the base of his shaft in her fist and sucked him harder. She did something with her tongue and he came off the bed with a roar as his beast broke loose.
When Sean came back to himself, his cock was buried balls deep inside of Von’s sweet p-ssy and he was shaking and shivering like he had Palsy after coming so hard he’d seen stars. He dropped his head on the mattress beside hers, unable to believe he’d lost his cool like that. Von lazily stroked his back.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No.”
“You’re sure? I lost control.”
“Yes, I know.” Her tone was lazy, smug.
Sean raised his head and looked at her. Yep, the tone matched the expression. “You appear to be mighty pleased with yourself.”
She smiled and pushed a lock of hair off his forehead. “I am. I like knowing I can affect you this way.” The smile faded. “With Derrick...”
Sean placed his finger over her lips. “Don’t mention him. Not here, not now.”
She twisted her face away. “I have to tell you this.”
Von waited until he reluctantly nodded.
“With him...I hated the way he was always in control. It’s like nothing I did ever affected him. It made me feel...” She seemed to be searching for words. “I made me wonder if he really wanted me. If he found me sexy and attractive, or if he was just toying with me.”
Sean cupped her face. “You’ll never have to wonder with me. You look at me with those pretty brown eyes of yours and I instantly get hard. You touch me and I have to fight to keep from throwing you against the nearest hard surface and f*cking you silly. And when I’m inside of you, it takes everything within me to make sure you come before I do. If I could live with my cock buried inside your p-ssy, I would.”
Her eyes were wide by the time he finished, and new moisture coated his hardening dick.
“Did you come just now?”
Von slowly shook her head.
“You will this time.” Sean slowly set about making his promise a reality.

****


Hours and multiple orgasms later, as Von lay with her head on his chest, their bodies still intimately joined, Sean began to speak.
“We came in by boat and hiked to what Intel told us was Tango’s last known position. Our mission was to slip in quietly, take them out, and ease back out the country with none the wiser. But when we got there, the bastards were ready for us.”
He took a deep breath and grounded himself in the feel of his woman’s arms around him. “Pyro and Brick bought it in the firefight.”
Von sucked in a sharp breath, but didn’t move otherwise.
“They threw us inside of a metal building with no windows. A f*cking hellhole in the middle of nowhere that flooded whenever it rained, which was constantly. No food, undrinkable water. It was a nightmare—” He broke off, even now unable to tell his sweet, innocent Von of the torture he’d suffered. “They planned to kill us after they got what they wanted.”
“How did you get free?”
Sean stroked her back, the quiet settling around them while he debated on how to explain this next part. Finally, he decided to tell her straight out. She’d discover the truth of his words soon enough.
“Spook had a secret that turned out to be our salvation. He’s Lycan born and offered to make us Lycan, too.”
Von raised her head to look at him. “Lycan, like in the movies?”
Watching her warily for her reaction, he answered, “Yeah.”
“You’re saying Spook’s a werewolf, and he made you guys werewolves, too?”
She didn’t verbally refute him, but he could tell she didn’t believe him. He firmly pressed the back of her head until she laid it down on his chest again. While gently massaging her scalp, he explained the process of becoming Lycan. “Ferret and Eagle didn’t survive. Only me, Weasel and Monk did. After our first change, those who survived, escaped.”
The change wasn’t fast, nor was it easy. It was loud, slow, and agonizing. He’d screamed, they all had, the pain more excruciating than anything he’d ever experienced, the reshaping of their bones and ligaments sounding like gunshots in the night air. Spook, whose change was quicker and easier, took out the guard that came to see what all the commotion was about. While he was still feasting on the man’s flesh, the rest of them burst out of the building.
Some of events of that night were hazy. Others in full vivid Technicolor, seared on his brain, never to be forgotten. Some of their captors ran screaming, “Los Diablos Lobos,” devil wolves. Others rained a hail of gunfire to no avail. In the end, they accomplished their mission, though in the end it would take DNA testing to tell which bone belonged to which terrorist.
His stomach lurched as he remembered how he’d killed, tearing men apart with his bare, clawed hands, blood running a river down his muzzle and chest as he fed on their remains.
Von placed her hands on his chest and pushed to a seated position, straddling his hips. Then she leaned forward and planted her hand beside his head, getting right in his face. “Whatever you did to survive, no matter how brutal, I’m glad. I’m sure they deserved it.”
She was reading him, feeling his guilt. He shook his head, negating her words.
“Yes.”
“You don’t understand.”
She sat straight and crossed her arms over her chest. “Then explain it to me.”
“The whole thing should have never f*cking happened,” he exploded. “I knew something was off. I felt it here.” He punched his chest with his fist. “I should have aborted the mission. Because I didn’t follow my instincts, six good soldiers died. Six men. My men.”
Sean blinked rapidly to combat the sting of tears in his eyes, and when that wasn’t effective enough, threw his forearm over his face.
Von pushed it out the way and gathered his head to her breasts, murmuring comforting words. Sean grabbed her in a bear hug and let it all out with no fear that she’d think him less a man for expressing his grief at what happened. She rained kisses all over his hair and neck, any place her mouth could reach. Then she held him while he cried.

When the storm eased, he rolled them over until he was on top and nudged her legs apart. As he settled his hips in her cradle, he kissed her deeply, his tongue in her mouth. Then he kissed each eyelid, the tip of her nose, each cheek, and her chin before returning to her lips. “Thank you for listening.”
She placed her hand on his cheek, an intense look of love on her face. “Always.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Then, “A werewolf, huh?”
Sean allowed a smile to escape. “Yeah.”
“You really expect me to believe that?”
“You will, come the first full moon.”
She arched one eyebrow. “You’re saying you only change with the moon?”
“Then, or when in the grip of extreme emotion, then our wolf half comes to the forefront,” he explained.
Von’s gazed searched his face. “You really believe that you’re a werewolf, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but if what you’re saying is true, why doesn’t the military have you locked up in some scientist’s lab, studying you?”
Sean laughed at her suspicious nature. “Because, they already know about Lycans. I’m told they have units full of them. One of which I’ll be joining if I decide to re-enlist.”
Diverted from the topic at hand, Von asked, “You’re thinking of coming out?”
Straight-faced, he told her, “That depends on you.”
“On me? How so?”
He placed his forearms on either side of her head and leaned in close. “I love you, Von, and want you to be my wife. If you won’t leave with me, I’ll stay here with you. Either way, I won’t leave your side.”
“Sean...” Her gaze bounced around the room, looking everywhere but at him.
“Hush, I know you’re not ready to hear this, but I want you to know I’m not playing any games. I’m in this for the long haul. I love you and I believe you love me, too. I know we belong together. I’ll give you the time you need to figure it out,” he promised.
He kissed her mouth closed. “Now it’s late, or early, depending upon your perspective, and we’ve had a long tiring day. Let’s get some rest before I forget you’re totally new at this loving business and take you again.”
She glanced down their bodies to his erection that lay on her mound. “Well, maybe once more wouldn’t hurt.”
Sean groaned and shook his head, then kissed her hard on the lips. “I’ve created a monster.” He shifted to lie on her right and reached for the light.
Von’s hand landed on his stomach and moved lower as the room went dark. “Are you sure?” she asked, her voice temptation itself.
Capturing it, he used her arm to turn her around so he could spoon her body. When she wriggled her ass against his cock, he popped her on the butt. “Behave, woman.”
She giggled but settled down. Soon the sound of her steady, deep even breaths filled the room. Sean pulled her closer, marveling once again at what a fool Hooch was to let someone as precious as this woman get away. Hooch’s loss was his gain, and unlike Hooch, Sean recognized the treasure he held and there was no way he was letting her go.
He vowed it to the heavens as he followed her into sleep.