Another Time (Guardians of Now Book 1) Read online

  “Coffee?” he suggested.

  “Not much is still open.” Her eyes wandered to the darkened street. After a moment, she met his eyes. “If you promise not to read too much into the invitation, my place is a short way down the blue line.”

  Her smile warmed him to his toes. “I’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

  She slipped her hand into his and the buzz that hadn’t gone away suddenly ramped up. The warmth that flooded his body felt good. It wasn’t his imagination.

  By the look in her eyes, Dee felt it, too.

  ~ ~ ~

  He waited as she turned her key in the lock at her door. This evening had gone so far from anything he’d imagined when he’d trudged from his apartment in a deep blue funk.

  “The place isn’t completely furnished.” She waved him in. “I haven’t had a lot of time, but I’m getting there.”

  Once inside, Dusty checked out her apartment and pondered her words. Unlike him, she owned coordinating furniture, books on shelves instead of in boxes, pictures hung on the walls, and live plants thriving near the windows. He’d been in his place for nearly seven years and had one unframed poster on the wall. Plants didn’t make it around him since they couldn’t water themselves and he never remembered.

  “I like it,” he commented. “This place feels like a home.” The mingled scent of cinnamon and ginger was stronger here and he breathed deeply in appreciation.

  “Thank you.” She headed to the kitchen alcove after motioning him to take a seat on the couch. Instead, he followed her.

  When she reached for the mugs, Dusty used his height to beat her to them. As she turned to thank him, he stepped closer, not quite trapping her in the corner of the counter.

  He expected her to push him away and he would have complied. They didn’t know each other despite his attraction to her. Instead, rising on tiptoe, she pulled him down to her lips. His arms went around her waist, lifting her to him, and he kissed her. It started as a light, tentative kiss but quickly deepened.

  When they finally broke apart, her stunned expression matched his emotions. “What’s going on?” He honestly wasn’t sure which one of them spoke the words out loud.

  It didn’t matter. Dee’s lips met his again and there was no argument from his side. His tongue slid across the seam of her mouth and she opened to him, their tongues dueling as he pulled her closer. His ardor was no secret now. Hell, she was a doctor; she knew biology and had to feel him against her.

  When oxygen became an issue, she pulled away, taking his hand . . . and led him toward her bedroom.

  Chapter 2

  In some small part of her mind, Dee gaped at herself, appalled at her actions. The larger chunk of the still-functioning part of her brain wanted to break into a run to reach the bedroom faster. Did she need an affirmation of life after her day? Was that why she’d been drawn to this stranger?

  She stopped at the foot of the bed, then Dusty’s hands removed the barrette in her hair, letting it tumble free.

  His hand wove into the thick curls, pinning her in place, while she worked the buttons of his striped casual shirt. She had no memory of him removing his jacket. It didn’t matter.

  Dee tugged the shirt from his slacks. Incredible body, broad shoulders, tight abdomen.

  She wanted, no, she needed to get closer to this man.

  Stranger or not, her body recognized him somehow. Common sense had no part in what was happening between them. This wasn’t even a first date—it was a pick-up. Yet, Dusty felt familiar.

  I want to be with him. She’d analyze later, and if necessary blame these urges on the trauma from the ER she had endured earlier.

  Her fingers roamed his chest, feeling his heart rate quicken.

  ~ ~ ~

  “So much for being a gentleman,” he murmured, lifting the hem of her sweater over her head. The bra she wore was sensible rather than sexy; her full breasts, lovely and real.

  A knot inside of him started to loosen.

  The urgent rush to have sex suddenly eased and his movements slowed as he savored removing the rest of her clothes. With no doubt where they headed, there was time for him to caress the smooth, soft skin along her hip and ease her panties down, exposing russet curls.

  Everything about her was unconsciously seductive. Sensual. He hadn’t realized there were women like her left in the world.

  Dee stroked over the sprinkling of hair on his chest, following its thin line to his belt, quickly unbuckling the flexible leather. He spotted a smile curving her mouth as she slowly lowered the zipper of his slacks. He’d worn dark green boxers tonight. They were unable to disguise the evidence of his arousal.

  The appreciation in her eyes made him relax, and Dusty felt the hint of an answering grin tug at his lips. His size, while a great ego boost in the shower room, had intimidated more than one woman. But Dee caressed his full length when she palmed him through the fabric of his boxers, and his cock eagerly responded.

  She eased away and pulled down the covers on her bed. “Lose the shorts.” It didn’t sound like a suggestion.

  Dusty wasted no time complying, taking the slacks and socks along with them. Joining her on the bed, he propped himself on one elbow as his other hand roamed over her body, discovering sensitive areas, watching her face as he explored.

  ~ ~ ~

  Dee’s fingers busily traced his pecs, played in his chest hair, prolonging the anticipation before finally heading south. Warm, velvet coated steel in her fist—Jesus, when did I start thinking like a cheesy bodice ripper—but how else could she describe this instrument in front of her?

  There was nothing clinical about her desire. She wanted him. She wanted him inside of her. Now.

  His eyes looked darker, deeper, as they gazed into hers. As if reading her mind, one long, elegant finger penetrated her wet folds and her breath caught. Her muscles clamped, begging for more.

  A second, then a third digit joined the first. Her eyes fluttered closed, savoring the contact. It had been so long since she’d felt anything like this. So worth the wait.

  Finding his nipple, she brushed lightly across it. Hearing his breath hiss, she repeated the gesture then laved her tongue around his flesh, causing the bud to harden in her mouth.

  “Jeez . . . protection . . .” He barely got the words out.

  Glad one of them had enough sense to think of their safety, she gasped, “Drawer.”

  She’d brought the sample packet home from the hospital but had never found an opportunity to open it. Dusty pulled out a sealed package of condoms and ripped through the offending wrapper to get inside.

  Fishing out a foil packet, Dee tore it open with her teeth as his eyes followed her every movement. He groaned under his breath when she smoothed the thin latex over him.

  Needing the control, she pushed him back and straddled him. He gazed at her with hooded eyes as she positioned herself and eased down onto his cock.

  Through fluttering lids, she tracked the way his hands fisted in the sheets. Maybe for extra control . . . maybe to keep from ramming himself into her. Whatever the reason, it gave her the time she needed to take him in.

  ~ ~ ~

  His eyes glued to hers, Dusty stifled a groan as she rose up, then lowered herself, taking in more of him with each glide of her hips. Hot, tight, wet—no longer able to think in words of two syllables, he basked in pure sensation. His gaze moved to see where they joined, fascinated by the way their bodies merged. ‘Becoming one’ had never meant as much as it did this moment, when she completely sheathed him.

  Then she halted her movements. He could almost feel her savoring—hell, relishing—their connection.

  Where was this feeling of oneness coming from? He’d never experienced anything like it.

  Finding her rhythm, her hands braced on h
is shoulders and he brought his palms up to encompass her waist, steadying her.

  You could die from this, right? This was the way he wanted to go, but not yet. Not now. His fingers caressed her swollen opening and found that sweet spot. She faltered, then gasped. He could feel her convulsing around his flesh. God, she was coming, her body shaking from the power of her orgasm.

  He held onto his own control with the shreds of his dwindling strength as she trembled above him. He eased from her body slowly and turned her until she lay on the bed, then entered her again even as she came a second time. Clinging to him, her nails broke skin; he could feel the sting. Desperate for her to enjoy this to the last shudder, he didn’t care if she marked him.

  Her eyes slowly opened as he began moving inside her. Faster, deeper. Now she met him on each thrust, arching into him, her muscles massaging and milking him until there was no more holding back. Dusty swore he came from his toes, his balls as tight as he could ever remember them being, thrusting with no rhythm, only the need to fill her as the heat spilled from his cock and he went blind.

  He came to earth to find her shuddering again in his arms, holding him tightly, attempting to catch her breath. He met the shock in her eyes and knew they were sharing the same thunderstruck wonder of what now existed between them.

  After a long moment, he kissed her and left the bed on trembling legs, finding her bathroom by instinct, flushing the condom. He rummaged through a stack of folded towels for a washcloth he used to clean himself, then rinsed it in warm water and brought it to the bed. Amidst her murmured protest, he applied it gently to her flesh, a careful, yet sensuous caress.

  “Let me hold you,” he whispered, and she relaxed into his arms. They were both asleep in seconds.

  He woke sometime later to find he had pulled her atop him, as some sort of security blanket. Her leg pressed against his cock; it grew eager and hard again. She must have felt his eyes on her, because she awoke with a sleepy smile.

  “You wouldn’t mind?” he whispered, out of politeness.

  She laughed and reached for another condom.

  This time they came together slower, exploring more of each other, talking a bit, though the words didn’t matter. Their bodies were in perfect communication. Dusty held his breath as she came beneath him, listening to her moans and, to his delight, the sound of his own name coming from her lips. That nearly undid him when he felt the word vibrate in the kiss he shared with her.

  She cupped his balls, pulling slightly as he groaned against her tongue. “You’re gonna kill me.”

  “Never. You’re too valuable to lose.”

  Dee’s words touched a place inside of him he’d never known existed. Or maybe this was a new place she had created for herself. He lost himself again as her body milked him of his hot essence.

  When they lay in each other’s arms with enough breath to form coherent sentences, she kissed his ear. “I’ve broken every rule with you.”

  “What?”

  “I invited you to my place on a first date, I slept with you—”

  “Twice.” He grinned and she narrowed her eyes at him.

  “At least we remembered protection.”

  “This is the first of many dates,” he murmured. “That’s my hope, anyway. I should be home by the end of the week, at which time I want you to toss out any date book you already have because I’m bringing you a new one and I’ll be on every damn page.”

  She chuckled lightly. “Works for me. I have to keep the day job, you know.”

  “Okay.” He spoke grudgingly. “Me too, I suppose. But those off hours—”

  “I’ll meet you here.”

  Dusty tucked her under his chin and held her as he plotted where he could take her on their second date, and the next after that. There were hundreds of places he could introduce to her, even places he hadn’t bothered to visit himself. His hand caressed her back and the slight buzz felt right, complete. He let the sensation of home fill him.

  His eyes closed.

  The next time Dusty woke he glanced at the clock with real regret. He had to leave her bed in order to get home, shower, and grab his luggage. He still wanted to go on this trip about as much as he wanted a root canal but the sooner he got going, the sooner he could be on the return trip.

  He eased out of bed and watched her move into the warm spot he’d left, burrowing her face in his pillow. Everything in him strained to join with her again. Even his cock agreed, although three times in one night bordered on fantasyland. Still, he was more than willing to try. He hadn’t wanted most of his “dates” to hang around that long. He’d have to plan such an experiment for when he returned. With her anything seemed entirely possible.

  Gathering up his clothes, Dusty quietly made his way to her bath where he dressed, grinning when he located his second shoe in the living room, halfway between the kitchen and bedroom. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he hunted for hers. He found it lying next to the small purse she’d carried, and took a moment to enter his number after saving hers into his cell.

  He turned to find Dee standing in the doorway.

  “I tried to be quiet. You didn’t get much sleep.”

  “Neither did you.” She laughed at the quick smirk he shot her. “Are you headed for the airport?”

  “I have to go to my place first, shower, grab my suitcase.”

  “You’d have more time if I drove you.”

  He blinked. “You—you’d do that?”

  “I don’t mind. If I’m not pushing.”

  “You’re not pushing. I’m trying to be the gentleman I spoke of last night. I do have that side to me, though I don’t use it often.”

  “Let me throw on some clothes.” She ducked into her bedroom, as he stood there dumbfounded. He wouldn’t have asked it of her, yet the idea of not having to separate quite yet warmed him.

  Dee emerged quickly, wearing jeans and a light green T-shirt. She’d pulled her hair into a full ponytail. Not a speck of makeup on her face, but her collar was wet where she’d thrown water on her cheeks to wake up.

  God, gorgeous didn’t begin to describe her.

  “What?” she asked as he continued to stare at her silently.

  “Uh, sorry. I can’t seem to get enough of looking at you.” He delighted in the color staining her soft skin.

  “Does this seem as strange to you as it does to me?”

  “Do you mean do I pick up women and have this kind of rapport? No, never, and absolutely not. The thing I’m most concerned about is you’ll get to know me and run in the other direction.”

  “I’m not much of a runner,” she said quietly. “You . . . helped me last night. I don’t know the right word, but being with you made things better.”

  Dusty realized his mouth had fallen open and snapped his jaw closed. No one had ever said anything like that to him. “We better get going. The plane, and my boss, won’t wait. You do know if I could go AWOL, I would.”

  “Yes. I do know.” She reached out and Dusty took her hand. The warmth and the buzz filled him again and his hand tightened on hers. “Come on.”

  She led the way to her car and he was mildly surprised to see a Prius in the parking space she indicated.

  “Good thing I didn’t see this last night. I would have gone off on the whole sustainable thing. Do you recycle too?” he asked as he buckled in.

  “Of course. And I don’t mind the gas savings at these prices.”

  He nodded and gave her directions to his apartment. “When do you have to be at work?”

  “Not until later. I worked late yesterday. I’ll go to the apartment and take a nap if I need to.”

  “Wish I could join you.”

  “That would kind of defeat the ‘getting some rest’ part of a nap,” Dee commented, flicking him a
teasing look.

  She followed him into the elevator once they reached his apartment. Dusty met her eyes, grimacing. “My place does not resemble yours.”

  “Huh?”

  “You apologized for not having your apartment completely decorated, which by the way, I couldn’t tell. Your place is great. I’ve lived here seven years and . . . well, you’ll see.” The elevator opened and they stepped out.

  At the end of the hall he unlocked his door and swung it open, waving her inside, praying no underwear graced the floor, other than maybe some socks. After seeing how she lived, he wanted to cringe. Why had he never before considered how his place looked?

  “It does appear as though a single man lives here,” she mused as she glanced around.

  “Yeah. One who has never invited in the fairer sex.”

  “Okay then. I feel special and privileged.”

  “You’re special, all right. The shower’s big enough for two.” He raised one eyebrow at her.

  He watched the color stain her cheeks again. “I would like that, but the plane . . .”

  “Damn plane,” he muttered as he shook his head. “Next time?”

  “I can see that happening.”

  “Oh God, now so can I. Shit.”

  She rested her hands on his chest and shoved lightly. “Go.”

  “Argh!” he growled as he headed into his bedroom.

  Chapter 3

  Dee gave Dusty’s apartment the onceover. She would never admit the place made her slightly sad. He didn’t do a lot to make himself comfortable, although the brown leather couch, huge and well-worn, must be relaxing, with dents that probably fit his body. The coffee table sported more than one circle where he’d left a wet glass or bottle. No plants, no art on the wall. The poster of some cheesy science fiction movie did not count. Now she understood what he’d meant about her place.