McKenzie, Cooper - The Soldier's Mate [Prequel to The Billionaire's Mate] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  Feeling steadier, Angel turned back to face the thick glass security wall that separated her from the passenger’s waiting lounge.

  Then she saw him. Tall, tan and wearing the green dress uniform of an Army soldier. He entered the building with a carry-on and a duffle bag slung over one shoulder and a huge suitcase in his opposite hand. His uniform hung from his shoulders, too big for his too lean frame.

  Had he missed too many meals while chatting with her? Or was it just from living in the desert for such a long period? She remembered Carly saying something about Peter losing twenty pounds during his last six-month contract job in the desert.

  She took a step forward just as the soldier turned and scanned the room. He looked older than the few pictures he’d sent her, but that was Nick. Her Nick. The other half of her soul.

  She stared at him until he met her gaze. When their eyes connected, the small smile he’d worn grew until it encompassed his entire being. Shifting his bags higher on his shoulder, he walked faster, his long legs quickly covering the distance between them.

  A warm electric pulse began in Angel’s middle. It felt just like the excitement she felt every time she found an email from him in her inbox, or saw that he had come online for their daily chats. The pulse grew stronger with every accelerating beat of her heart.

  She began to walk toward him as well. So lost in his sparkling brown eyes, she almost slammed into the thick glass partition separating them. At the last second, she stopped then took a step back.

  As the distance between them lessened, she watched his smile grow brighter and brighter. Soon it encompassed his entire being. She could almost see a golden glow surrounding him and wondered if he saw a similar one around her as well. She certainly felt happy and bright enough to light up the night sky.

  As soon as he passed through the opening in the security wall, he set down his bags before continuing forward unencumbered. He did not stop until only a foot of space remained between them. Their eyes remained locked, sparkling brown and glowing green, but neither said a word.

  Finally Nick blinked, and his gaze dropped from her eyes to take in the rest of her face. Lifting one hand, he cradled her cheek in his palm as he leaned forward and took a deep breath. It was so deep she wondered if he was inhaling her essence. “Oh thank God, it is you. Hello, my mate,” he whispered so only she could hear him. His voice was deeper than she expected.

  Angel wasn’t sure her smile could grow any bigger. “Hello, Nick,” she said before taking the last step to close the remaining space between them. “Welcome to New Bern. Welcome home.”

  His hand slid down and around to cup the back of her neck as he leaned even closer. Angel closed her eyes as his lips brushed over hers before backing away again as he licked his.

  “Mmmm, minty.” His breath warmed her lips.

  Time slowed as the tip of his tongue eased a line across her plump lower lip then back across her upper one. A heart beat later, he took her lower lip between the two of his and massaged its fullness. He licked every inch of it before releasing it. Tilting his head to better fit their lips together, the kiss became a living thing, growing and expanding around them to create a cocoon that blocked out every sound except the staccato beat of their hearts and the soft whoosh of their breathing.

  Heat spiraled through Angel, pooling deep in her belly, and she felt her panties growing wetter and wetter. Her mouth opened and she licked his lip, then the tip of his tongue. Her heart beat faster as their tongues intertwined and began to dance back and forth from her mouth to his. The light touch of his tongue against hers felt like butterflies licking at her. It sent ripples of reaction through her entire body until even her fingers and toes tingled from the simple kiss.

  When Nick’s long, hard cock pressed into her belly she shifted against him, the action automatic. Electrical pulses shot from belly to cunt. Her juices ran hot and wet, overflowing her cunt and quickly soaking her new silk thong.

  Finally she could take no more without stripping them both and taking him right here in the middle of the airport. Taking a deep breath for strength, she broke the kiss and dropped her head forward to rest her forehead on his chest. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she held on tight as her knees quivered and threatened to buckle.

  She felt him brush kisses over the back of her head as one arm rested against the back of her waist and the other stroked up and down her spine.

  “Wow,” he murmured hoarsely.

  “Mmmm, yeah,” Angel responded, taking a deep breath. Her lungs filled with a sexy scent that she would now associate only with Nick.

  “I’d kiss you again, my sweet Angel, but I’m not sure we would survive it.”

  “At least not with our clothes on,” she said, slowly lifting her head and smiling up at him. “Shall we go home and get better acquainted?” Her tone came out more a purring invitation for sex than she expected, but after that kiss, she wanted nothing more than to get this man alone and naked.

  Nick dropped his arms from around her and took a step back, separating them completely. “Are you sure? You know what’s going to happen if we’re alone right now. Maybe we should go visit Carly or some of your other friends instead.”

  The blistering hot anticipation that filled Angel cooled and deflated like a balloon suddenly emptying of helium. She dropped her face to stare at the gold buttons holding his jacket closed and blinked hard to keep tears of disappointment from escaping and embarrassing her further.

  She swallowed twice before she could ask in a strained voice, “Is that what you really want? To go meet Carly?”

  She tried to pull away to widen the distance between them, but Nick grabbed her arms and held her in place. She couldn’t escape.

  “Look at me, baby.”

  Angel dropped her head even further as she shook it back and forth.

  “Please, Angel, look at me.” The iron tough command was made in the gentlest voice she’d ever heard.

  She lifted her head partway, focusing on the base of his throat, responding as she always did when he used that tone on the phone. He said stand up and walk around for the web cam, and she did. He said show me your breasts, and she opened her shirt and bra. But this time she couldn’t look into his eyes. She did not want him to see her sadness. Did not want him to read the unhappiness in her tear-filled eyes.

  “Angel, please.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, fighting with herself. Should she tell him all she wanted was to get him home and naked? The warm hard hand cupping her chin helped her raise her face the final few inches.

  “Open your eyes, baby. Look at me.”

  * * * *

  Nick waited and watched as Angel fought an internal battle. Finally she blinked rapidly several times before meeting his eyes again. A single tear escaped and slowly tracked down her cheek. Nick watched it a moment before brushing it away with the pad of his thumb.

  “I want nothing more than to take you to the nearest empty room and make you mine. I knew we were meant to be together the first time I saw you on that web cam. Now that I’m here with you, I’m certain you are my mate. You are my life. I’ll never let you get away from me. But, we are still relative strangers. There’s so much we need to learn about each other, and sex right now might not be the most advisable thing. That’s why I suggested we go and be with other people.”

  Besides, he needed to tell her the one secret he had not shared with her. The one secret he’d kept hidden from the Army for the last twenty years. The reason he’d known instantly she was the woman for him.

  The wolf in him had recognized its mate the moment he’d opened the picture she’d attached to her third e-mail. The beast immediately grew restless, wanting to claim her at once. The last weeks had been hell as they’d corresponded and chatted via webcam and instant messages. Now that he was here, he suddenly felt shy. He worried she would not be able to accept him in all his forms. What would he do then? There would be only one mate, and this pretty lady was it for hi
m. There would be no other as long as he lived. But what if she refused him after she knew the truth?

  He waited and watched closely as she considered his words. When she blinked and stepped back, he let her go, though a chill shivered down his spine.

  “I don’t care about any of that. I want you. I need you,” she whispered with a siren’s smile. “If I wasn’t certain we’d be arrested for indecent exposure, I’d strip and take you in the car right now.”

  Nick blinked, his brain overloaded as the sweet scent of her arousal wrapped around him. “How far a drive is it to your house?”

  “About fifteen minutes.”

  He nodded and stared into her eyes. The trust they’d shared online was one thing, but he needed to see how well she would respond to his taking control in person. He was an alpha and needed control. Though he had no pack to lead, he had to have control over his mate. He would exert a loving dominance over her that would bring them both pleasure, but he had to be in charge. This was the first test of her willingness to submit to her mate. “I want you to go into the bathroom, take off your panties and bring them back to me.”

  He watched her eyes widen as she swallowed. He waited and watched as a fierce internal battle took place. Would the sensual submissive he knew her to be give in? Or would her independent streak win out? He waited until she took a deep breath and nodded.

  “Don’t go anywhere,” she said before turning and walking away.

  “Never, my sweet mate,” he whispered. Instead, he picked up his bags and slowly headed toward the exit. “At least not without you by my side.”

  Less than a minute after she disappeared through the restroom door, Angel emerged again, both hands fisted so he couldn’t tell which held her panties. Her cheeks flushed prettily as she rejoined him. “Here.” She extended one fisted hand palm down.

  Nick accepted her panties, not surprised to find them drenched. “Baby, your panties are all wet,” he observed with a grin. Without a thought to the people around them, he lifted the panties to his nose and breathed deeply. “Mmm, delicious. I can’t wait to taste you.”

  Angel didn’t answer. Her cheeks burned brighter as she rolled her lips over her teeth and clamped her mouth tight.

  “Fifteen minutes, eh? That just might be enough time,” he said slipping the panties into a pocket before taking her hand and turning toward the door.

  “Time for what?” Angel sounded tense, hoarse and embarrassed.

  “For you to remember that you are the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen,” Nick said, as they walked side by side through the parking lot.

  Chapter 3

  After loading Nick’s bags into the back of her small sedan, Nick held out his hand. She looked from his upturned palm to his expectant expression.

  “What?”

  “The keys,” he said with a slight furrowing of his brow when she didn’t immediately comply.

  “Why do you want my keys?”

  “So I can drive.”

  Angel shook her head. “No one drives my car but me.”

  “But I’m your mate.” Nick dropped his hand then crossed his arms over his chest.

  “And as soon as you show me a valid North Carolina driver’s license, I’ll be happy to let you drive my car. Until then, consider me your personal chauffeur.”

  Angel looked like she was trying not to laugh when she heard him mutter, “I’ve driven every form of motorized vehicle in twenty-three countries around the world, and she won’t let me drive her car?”

  Once they were in the car with the air conditioner running on high, Angel turned and touched his arm “I’m sorry, but this is my baby and no one has ever driven her except Lester.”

  Nick frowned at her as jealousy shafted through him to form a ball of fire in his gut. “And just who is Lester?” He nearly growled.

  “Lester is the mechanic at the garage I use. When I say no one drives this car, I mean no one. Not even Carly, and she’s tried on more than a few occasions to talk me into it. For me to even think of letting you is…”

  Nick nodded in understanding. “A very big sign of trust. Thank you for considering it.”

  When he leaned toward her, she met him halfway, her lips parted and prepared for another explosive kiss. When he broke the kiss and sat back after a short brush of lips on lips, she tried to follow, but her seatbelt stopped her from crawling over the center console and into his lap.

  Nick watched with a small smile as he settled into his seat. “Drive, sweet baby. I’m not sure I’ll be able to last the full fifteen minutes before I pounce and explore where that delicious scent of arousal is coming from.”

  Angel nodded and put the car in gear even as she asked, “Scent? What are you talking about? I don’t smell, do I? I took a shower this morning.”

  Nick’s smile widened, and he looked positively predatory. “You smell delicious. Fresh and clean and sweet. You smell like an English flower garden after a spring rain. Your glorious scent has me so hard I’m ready to explode just from kissing you.”

  His words added yet another flame to the blaze growing deep in her belly. There was no way she would be able to concentrate long enough to get them home safely. Not with Nick within arm’s reach beside her instead of seven time zones away. Instead of turning toward the highway, Angel headed down one of the two-lane roads that paralleled it. About a mile down, she turned right onto a dirt road that led into a thick stand of trees. She continued until she could no longer see the paved road in the rearview mirror. Then she stopped the car, parked and turned off the engine.

  Nick just watched with the glowing eyes of a starving man as she reached between them to first release her seatbelt and then his.

  “Get out,” she ordered in the gentlest way she could.

  She reached behind the passenger’s seat and grabbed the blanket she stored there for emergencies. By the time she climbed from the car, Nick was around the front of the car and waiting next to her door. Somewhere in the last few seconds he had also shed his green wool uniform jacket and necktie.

  “Where?” asked Nick, taking the blanket from her and looking around for a convenient spot.

  “Don’t care,” she said, closing the distance between them to wrap her arms around his waist and lay her head on his chest. God she needed this.

  His answer was a growl from deep in his chest as he reached behind her to push her door closed then walked them around the front of the car. Releasing her for a moment, he opened the blanket and tossed it over the hood of her car.

  “Lay back,” he murmured.

  He helped her recline onto the blanket. Leaning down to cover her, he started kissing her forehead before working his way south. His hands began tracing random patterns up her body over top of her light summer dress before one zeroed in on her breasts. In the meantime, his other hand reached between them and eased the hem of her dress up her body until it was at her waist. This left her entire lower half naked and exposed to him.

  His fingers took possession of her nipples and gently rolled them, his touch confident and just tight enough to send shivers of pleasurable pain through her.

  “Ooohhh,” she moaned as her hips lifted to hump the leg she’d trapped between her thighs. His hard length, still covered in fabric, pressed against a bare hip.

  “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hang on,” he said between kisses over her neck and shoulder.

  She pushed him back then sat up and reached for his belt. Her fingers fumbled with the belt then the button at his waistband and zipper. She didn’t stop until she’d pushed his pants and boxers out of her way. Then she reached for his cock.

  She wrapped a hand around his long, thick, solid length. “ I need you now.”

  Lying back again, she lifted one thigh, widening the space between her legs as she guided him toward her wide, wet opening.

  Nick took her other hand in his. “Need you more,” he said as he slid in and pushed deep. Once he was fully seated inside her, he stilled for a mom
ent to kiss her again.

  She returned the kiss with everything in her. When she felt his cock pull out then slide home again, she lifted both legs and wrapped them around his hips to pull him even deeper. A second and third stroke was equally slow before Nick growled again and apparently lost control.

  After that, all Angel could do was hang on as he carried them higher and higher. It only took a few minutes before her cunt tightened, her clit knotted up, her orgasm exploded, and she screamed as the intense rush washed over her.

  She felt him thrust deep twice more before freezing. His length filled her as he lifted his head and gave what sounded like a wolf’s howl. Then his hips began moving again, this time with slow and easy thrusts, causing her climax to roll on for nearly a minute before he stilled and collapsed onto his forearms, which framed her head.

  Her hands shook wildly as she lifted them to cup both sides of his face. “Welcome home,” she said, her voice as shaky as the rest of her.

  “Thank you,” he said, resting his forehead against her for a moment before kissing her gently on the lips. “Give me a minute, and I’ll let you up.”

  Angel smiled up at him. “Don’t hurry on my account. I’m quite happy here.”

  “Mmmm, me too, but I’d rather be in private behind locked doors before we continue with round two.”

  Angel sighed and smiled when she felt the cock deep inside her twitch in reawakened interest. They both groaned when he slowly pulled from her. Using a couple of paper napkins from his pocket, Nick cleaned them both up before he pulled her dress back into place. Then he tucked his cock away and redressed. Once he was presentable again, he lifted Angel from across the hood of the car and set her on her feet.