Reaching For Normal Read online

  Sawyer’s hands tightened on her hips and he breathed out her name.

  Changing direction, Myla wound her arms around his neck and slid her fingers into his hair and then pulled herself up on her toes to kiss him.

  No tentativeness, no questioning. She kissed him with all the need clawing inside her heart. She might make her living with words but she didn’t have any to tell him how much she needed him. How much she needed to have him want her this much.

  Her message translated because Sawyer growled low and long as he devoured her mouth. He yanked her up and her body nearly exploded from the full contact.

  Myla rubbed against him causing another growl. A heady rush of power shot through her and she repeated the movement.

  Sawyer retaliated by easing his hands under her butt and lifting her so her legs wound around his hips. Myla shuddered and tightened around him.

  Then he settled her on the kitchen table and let his hands go to work.

  He cupped her head and leaned in to kiss her, while his other hand trailed down her leg.

  Her left leg.

  Panic shuddered through her, battling with the lusty haze. This was real. He was touching her. Not only was she letting him, she was pushing him. Demanding his touches. And he was going to touch her leg.

  Sawyer kept his hands moving, one stroking up and down her jean-clad leg. He eased his lips back just enough to speak. “You keep thinking that hard, you’re going to hurt something, Myla.” His eyes bored into hers. Deadly serious. “You can change your mind at any time. You’re in charge here.”

  In charge.

  That made her smile. She doubted this man let anyone truly take charge of him. But she didn’t pretend to misunderstand. The decision was hers. He’d respect it. Respect her.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  SAWYER grinned at the surprise and the desire in Myla’s voice. She wanted to be in charge and he was prepared to enjoy every minute of it.

  He’d been so sure she’d run and if hadn’t smelled like something dead and buried, he’d have never taken the risk of showering and giving her time to escape.

  Seeing her in the light of his sled, full of anticipation and nerves had gone a long way to healing the scars from the disasters of the last few days.

  A quick online search as he’d stripped for the shower showed dozens of listings for Myla Esperanza articles. The titles he’d checked were all about adventures. It was enough for now.

  Now he wanted to devour her. Virgin or not.

  Myla leaned in and up, brushed her lips softly over his. “Kiss me.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  He swallowed her laugh and tasted her again. Somewhere between sweet and sultry. Addictive. He doubted he’d ever get his fill of her taste.

  Sawyer pushed the thought aside and concentrated on lowering Myla’s stress level and increasing her pleasure. She was worried about her leg. The first time he’d touched it, she’d recoiled. He wanted that worry gone, so he kept touching her through her jeans. He could tell the leg was thinner, weaker but that was something he’d already guessed. Nothing major.

  Although it was to her.

  Sawyer slid his hand beneath her hair and caressed the back of her neck. She melted a little more and her breasts touched his chest. He wanted the layers gone.

  Running his hand down her leg again, Sawyer concentrated on making her melt even more. Their tongues dueled and she pulled him closer. When his fingers reached beneath the hem of her jeans, she tensed.

  He pulled back. “You’re beautiful, Myla. All of you. It’s just a leg.”

  “But it’s—“

  Sawyer silenced her protest with another kiss and let his hand explore a little further. When he reached her calf, the weakest part of her, he spoke again. “You’re strong. You let nothing hold you back.”

  Her eyes widened and her lips parted, so he had to taste her again.

  “You’re gorgeous and I want nothing more than to see you. All of you.”

  Tears flashed in her eyes but she shook them away and swallowed hard. “You’re a pretty amazing man, Sawyer Banks. I want to see all of you too.”

  Triumph zipped through his veins and he dropped his head to taste the skin covering the pulse pounding in her neck, enjoying its sudden kick and her soft gasp.

  He considered moving to the hot tub but it would take too long to heat up. They’d save that for round two.

  Keeping the hand on her leg moving and exploring, Sawyer reached with the other to tease the skin beneath her shirt.

  “Holy shit, Myla, you’re freezing.” He’d forgotten she’d been outside without a jacket or gloves. “I’ll get you a blanket.”

  She laughed and pulled him closer. “I kind of like this blanket.”

  God, she slayed him.

  Sawyer reached down and hooked her legs around his waist. “Hold on. Let’s get you warm.”

  When he lifted her off the table, she squeezed him with her thighs and he nearly threw her back down and took her right there.

  His need to ensure her comfort overrode his own needs and he hurried them down the hall toward the bedroom. When she ran her tongue over his chest, he took a deep breath. Focus. He was a SEAL. He could make it to the damn bed.

  Feeling like he’d survived BUD/S training all over again, he tumbled her onto the duvet and followed her down. Her softness gave beneath him until he felt like they’d already become one.

  Her hips arched up into his groin and he buried his face into her hair to give himself a moment. Except the damn hair smelled like her. And it was spread over his bed in all its wild and untamed glory.

  Myla shoved him up enough so that her hands could start on his chest again. Made him want to flex every muscle he had as the fire in her eyes flamed with every touch and kiss.

  Hooyah.

  He wanted his own turn to look. “You’re wearing too many clothes, Myla.”

  Her eyes sparkled and she cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe you should do something about that.”

  Sawyer grinned down at her. “Bossy, huh?”

  When worry crept into her eyes, he laughed and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “I like it.” He felt the shiver through his lips as he nibbled. “Slow or fast, Myla? Remember, you’re in charge.”

  His teeth pulled on her ear lobe and she gasped out a moan.

  “You want me to rip everything off? Start at the bottom? The top?” Her fingers curled into his biceps. “Maybe with my teeth? That way I can touch everything with my tongue.”

  When she whimpered, his body hardened to granite. “And I do mean everything.”

  Myla breathed out his name and arched into him.

  “Let’s go with that, then.”

  Sawyer ran his hands through her hair, brought some strands to his lips. “This hair has been driving me crazy from the first moment I saw you in that ditch.”

  Her hazel eyes warmed like the sun easing over the horizon and for a long minute, their eyes did all the touching. Passion built in the silence until he could feel it pulsing in the air. This woman who’d been driving him bat-shit crazy with desire for days continued to do it by doing absolutely nothing but breathe.

  “You make me wild, Myla.”

  She grinned and kissed his chin.

  “Be sure about this. Really, really sure.”

  Her fingers came up to trace his lips and she smiled a slow and sexy smile. “I’m sure. Really, really sure.” She brought her lips right up to his and whispered. “Show me what you got.” After a quick, hard kiss, she added, “Come on, Sawyer.”

  Hearing his own phrase turned against him made him laugh and lust in equal measure. When their mouths crashed together, her laugh filled him up.

  While their mouths were busy, he shifted his weight to lean on his side and traced the skin between the top of her jeans and her sweater. Soft. Silky.

  Slowly, he inched up, grinning at Myla’s attempts to get him to move more quickly. “We’ve got all night, honey. No need to
rush.”

  Her breath exhaled in a groan. “There might be a little need.”

  Impossible to resist this woman.

  Sawyer moved his mouth to her neck while his hand continued its slow travel northward. Inch by delicious inch while Myla softened. And gave.

  When he finally, finally ran his fingers over the lace of her bra, they groaned in unison, causing another eye lock, another smile.

  He watched her as his hand traced the edges of the bra, then circled the lace, closer and closer to her nipple. Her breaths came in pants but she didn’t close her eyes, didn’t look away from him. She absorbed every move, every touch.

  Sawyer’s body was hard and ready but he’d never felt such a need to give. To wait. To tease and entice. The anticipation might well kill him but her reactions were so open and honest, he didn’t speed up. Not when her eyes told such stories about the power of his touch. Not when her body promised such joy.

  He teased her breasts through the lace until they were both trembling. Lifting her gently, he slid the sweater over her head and tossed it. Pale blue lace. Pretty. But it needed to go. Sensing his thoughts, Myla smiled and arched so he could unclasp the bra and touch her. He drew her nipple into his mouth and she nearly shot off the bed as she gasped.

  Her hands latched into his hair, holding him close. Her responses were instantaneous and sensual. Fluid. Now that her guard was down and she'd stopped worrying, her body oozed sexuality. How had no man seen what an amazing woman she was? Undoing the button on her jeans, he eased down the zipper, exploring each newly exposed inch with his hands and then his tongue.

  She started to tense as he slid the jeans down, continuing to touch and taste and savor. She shivered as he reached her thigh, made a half-hearted attempt to bat him away from her leg. Instead, he chuckled and intensified his efforts, slipping her jeans all the way off in a single tug. "It's just a leg, Myla. It's part of you, not something separate. You're beautiful. All of you."

  And she was. Nothing hideous about her leg. Smaller than the other. Thinner. Weaker. Some scars. Nothing any soldier hadn’t seen many times over. He continued to murmur and soothe as he kissed and touched until every last bit of tension left her body.

  Sawyer reached her toes and started back up, stoking the fire as he went. When he reached the apex of her thighs, he lifted his head to watch her. As his finger reached inside to stroke, she arched off the bed and let out a quivering sigh. Her reactions fascinated him as he discovered what she liked, what her body craved. When her hips shifted, he replaced his fingers with his tongue.

  Paradise.

  He'd found paradise.

  He brought her right to the edge, enjoying the rush as she gasped his name. Instead of letting her go over, he slowed his touch, brought her down, and then back up. And again. Until she trembled from head to toe with need.

  Watching her flushed skin and listening to her softly gasping for breath, he couldn't wait anymore. He brought her up, kept her hovering right there. Right there. "Come on, Myla. Come for me. Come on, honey." And she flew over the edge while gasping his name.

  It was incredible. Amazing.

  It wasn't enough.

  As she was descending, he relentlessly pushed her back up and over. And again.

  Myla kept panting out his name and as he slid up her body, she clutched at him, pulled him up. "Now, Sawyer. Now."

  Now seemed like a hell of a good idea. He grabbed a condom from the nightstand, slipped it on, then thrust into her.

  He felt the resistance of her body, even as he pushed through it.

  Everything in Myla stilled and he forced himself to the same. He leaned down and kissed along her jaw. “You okay?”

  She took a deep breath and then another. He held his lower body still as he waited. He didn’t have a clue what to do next. If she wanted to stop, he’d pull out.

  He hoped she didn’t want to stop.

  “I’m good.” She shifted her hips experimentally and Sawyer closed his eyes and steeled himself to immobility.

  Another few wiggles tested every last trick he’d learned in training.

  “Damn right you’re good.” His mutter had her giggling and he couldn’t stop his own grin.

  He lowered his forehead to hers and waited while she adjusted.

  It was only a few moments before she reached her hands to cup his jaw and tilt his head back. Her kiss was hot and affected him far more than he wanted to admit.

  When she stopped to breathe, she whispered, “I know I’m not the experienced one here but shouldn’t we be moving?”

  A laugh barked out of him. When else had he laughed during sex? “I’m letting your body get used to it. Trying to be gentle here, Myla.”

  “Screw gentle.”

  Another laugh. Sawyer kissed her and started moving. He kept the pace slow, not only because gentle was definitely the way to go but watching her was addictive.

  Her eyelashes fluttered as if she wanted to see but was too overcome to keep them open. She sighed softly and moaned not so softly at every move he made.

  When he leaned down to fuse their mouths together, she arched up into him, creating friction in all the right places.

  In only moments, Myla’s body tensed and she rushed over the edge again. Sawyer kept moving, kept watching.

  When her eyes finally fluttered open, they sparkled with something close to awe. Instead of letting her settle all the way to earth, he gave her a hard kiss and picked up the pace.

  Her eyes widened and her grin lit up his world until she caught her breath as her body started to soar again.

  When she went over the next edge, he let himself follow.

  #lucky

  Clumsy Girl Disintegrates into a Million Pieces—and Loves Every Second of It.

  Myla wanted to laugh. And cry with joy. And leap tall buildings with a single bound. Anything was possible.

  The world was full of roses and sunshine.

  And love.

  She'd made love with Sawyer. They'd made love together. He hadn't been disgusted. Hadn't turned away.

  Instead, he'd turned her inside out with pleasure.

  As her breathing leveled out, Sawyer raised his head. She ran her fingers over his scruffy jaw. Who could have imagined that stubble could cause such delicious sensations? She reached up and kissed him, enjoying the textures until he pulled back.

  His serious eyes studied her. “You okay?”

  That made her laugh. "Any more okay and I might explode. Again."

  A soft smile appeared. “Any regrets?”

  “Not a one.”

  Sawyer moved off her. “Let me deal with the condom. I’ll be back.”

  Myla watched him cross to the attached bathroom. The man was a piece of art. Strong muscles, smooth movements. Someone who knew his body well and kept it finely tuned.

  Myla tugged the sheet more tightly about her. He certainly hadn’t acted like Joel. Not that she’d expected it. Sawyer had more decency in his baby toe than Joel had in his whole heart.

  He also had made her feel things she hadn’t expected. And that wasn’t limited to the orgasms that had nearly melted her bones.

  She was afraid Sawyer’s fears had been right.

  Her heart was way past wobbling, it had gone and plopped itself right into a puddle of love.

  Unless that was an aftereffect of orgasms.

  She had to be sensible about this. Logical. Practical.

  The plan was to leave Bloo Moose in a few days. Which meant she’d only been in town for a week. No one fell in love in a week. No one.

  Certainly not someone who had never experienced love.

  That was it. The only explanation.

  She was latching on to poor Sawyer because he was her first. And the only one who had ever really paid any attention to her. Sexual attention.

  Which she wanted to enjoy as long as she could.

  Love schmove. Sex was where it was at.

  All she had to do was convince her heart.

>   Sawyer opened the bathroom door and his self-satisfied and hungry grin had Myla forgetting everything except that sexual attention.

  As he prowled toward the bed, shivers traveled over Myla and her imagination started figuring out ways to spend the rest of the coming week.

  SAWYER hadn’t seen much of Darby over the past few days, so he popped into the B&B early. He was taking Myla to Fortini’s that evening. The first time he’d taken her out.

  They’d spent most of the past day and a half in bed. Or the shower. And hot tub.

  Before his mind could conjure up more of places they’d spent some quality time, he shut down the images. He was going to chat with his sister. Not the time to be thinking about Myla gripping the kitchen counter with her legs over his shoulders.

  Sawyer drew in a breath and brought up the reintegration statistics for the wolf program and ran through them a few times before climbing the steps into the B&B.

  As she was most days, Darby was in the kitchen and the place smelled like heaven.

  She was scraping plates and loading the dishwasher so he moved to the sink to start on her pots and pans.

  “What smells so good?”

  “Chicken marsala.”

  “Never heard of it but I’m invited the next time you make it.”

  Darby laughed and gave him a hip bump as she moved past him to grab the cutlery she rinsed in the sink. When she was done, she grabbed a towel and started drying the pots.

  “You picking up Myla?”

  Sawyer nodded. “In a bit. Thought I’d pop in and see you first. Things okay?”

  Darby smiled and nodded. “Of course.”

  Sawyer wasn’t fooled. He knew his sister had been spending more and more time in the B&B and less time out and about with people. She was the friendly one, the one everyone liked. But something had changed and he wondered if he should be worried or if she was happy with the way things were.

  Women were tough to figure out.

  “You seem to have gotten over your distrust of Myla.”