CHAPTER 4

Staff Sergeant Kira Martin slipped on her dress and tried to smooth out the wrinkles, but they were a lost cause.

At least the cum stain from last night had disappeared, courtesy of a travel-sized bottle of stain remover in the toiletries basket.

Fancy hotel rooms apparently came well-stocked for situations like this, and gosh.. Just thinking about last night, it make her horny again as hell. Knight, the name of her partner last night (if its really his name) had effectively ruined her for one-night stands from here on out. 

Actually, last night hot sex, was almost worth Kira going back on her firm rule of never trying for a relationship with anyone she picked up, no matter how much she liked them in bed. And for the first time in years, she wanted to break that rule.

After a two-month-long mission in Syria, fighting behind enemy lines in several countries, and a longer deployment elsewhere before that, Kira had needed to destress.

And her usual approach to that task was to fall into bed with someone. Kira had never been a big believer in love at first sight.

Lust, sure, and she felt a hefty dose of that right now, but for all that Knight had been relentless in bed, he’d done so while being exquisitely careful of Kira’s needs and desires.

Knight had picked up on Kira’s few verbal cues and even many of the non-verbal ones. It helped Kira reach the point where her mind got fuzzy in a good way quicker than she ever had before. And the overriding pain that accompany the pleasure, becomes her warm blanket for most of the night. And even now, his skill in that area left her still in daze from how good it had felt.

Kira shook herself from her daze, looked at the mirror in front of her and firmly said, “No.”

But fuck it, she can't stop herself from wanting more.

Kira ran a hand through her damp curls while she opened the bathroom door.

She didn’t know the exact time, just that it was still early, the gray light of dawn slipping around the curtain edges. The sound of the city waking up could be heard now that the room’s privacy mode with its sound dampeners had been shut off.

Knight was up, halfway dressed and shirtless, frowning down at his iPad where he sat on the edge of the unmade bed.

Kira took a moment to soak up the sight, knowing that the clock was counting down until she had to leave and wouldn’t get another chance to see this man after this.

Knight's broad shoulders and sculpted physique made Kira’s mouth water with the memory of what that body had felt like over her, in her, last night.

She gulp, forcing back the heat of desire that was so quick to rise in her. She’d had her fun after a long mission. Now it was time to leave.

“Hey,” Kira said.

Knight looked up from his iPad, his frown smoothing out into a smile. “Hey.”

Kira tilted her head at the hotel door. “Figured I’d head out. I got a meeting at nine o’clock and I still need to get home and change.”

“It’s fine,” Knight said easily enough. “I need to handle a couple of work emails before I head out as well. I’ll check us out downstairs when I leave.”

Ordinarily, Kira would insist on splitting the bill. Since this was the Ritz-Carlton, and he seemed more than capable of paying for that luxury, Kira wasn’t going to fight him on it. “Thank you.”

Some little bit of heat left over from the hours of passion they’d shared crept into Knight's gorgeous eyes, and Kira knew that if he said something or even cue her that he wanted more she know for sure that she'll give in so she waited for him to speak in holding her breath and oddly nervous. “I feel like I should be the one thanking you.”

Kira sighed with discontent or relief. She didn't know but she didn't let it show. She just smirk his way. “Don't worry, I feel the same.”

Because there was something to be said about finding a man who was able to hold her down and give her exactly what she needed to get out of her head for a little while.

Kira was aware she could be demanding in bed, chasing an edge very few people felt comfortable going up against. But this man hadn’t once faltered when Kira urged him on and on. He’d held his own and then some, driving Kira mad with ecstasy during their several rounds of lovemaking. He will be the perfect lover, and anyone would be lucky to have him.

It just wouldn’t be her, no matter how much Kira didn’t want to let him go.

Knight got up from the bed and followed Kira to the hotel door. Before Kira could even reach for the handle, she felt a hand catch her by the shoulder and gently turn her around. She went willingly, body caving beneath the touch. Kira let him push her up against the door, stepping in close until they stood flush together. After the hours they’d spent learning each other’s bodies last night, Kira didn’t fight him at all.

Warm fingers curled over her chin, tilting her head back. Kira stared up into Knight's handsome face, drinking him in, waiting for whatever the other man wanted to give him. His thumb dragged slowly over her bottom lip, and Kira sucked in a careful breath.

“You keep doing that, and we’re not going anywhere. I really do have a meeting I can’t be late for,” Kira managed to say when all she wanted to do was fall to her knees and taste him once again.

“Can’t have that, now can we?” He murmured. While he leaned down, slanting his mouth over Kira’s in a kiss that was scorching in its gentleness, the memory of last night buried deep in it.

Kira twined her arms around Knight's neck, holding him close. She slipped her tongue past his teeth, tasting him one last time, all the while telling herself she needed to let go, to leave, and to put last night where it belonged.. In the past.

Knight nipped at her mouth one last time before pulling away, his hands flexing on Kira’s waist.

Knight opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Kira kept staring at him, heart pounding in her chest, wondering if he would ask him for something more than last night.

If Knight did, Kira knew she didn’t have it in her to say no.

Knight cleared his throat and closed his mouth, the silence between them strained. Finally, he shook his head and stepped back, putting distance between them. Kira curled her hands into fists so she wouldn’t reach out and grab him and never let go.

“Thank you,” Knight said after a moment, the words coming out thick.

Kira nodded slowly before she wrenched her gaze away from him and left the hotel room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

She stood in the hallway for a few seconds, a heavy sense of regret weighing her down.

You can’t stay, Kira told herself, forcing her feet to move.

Kira walked away with the memory of Knight's hands on her and the knowledge that was all she could let herself have.

She was twenty-eight years old and a Special Forces operative. Her life belonged to the Strike Force.

But for the first time in a long, long time, Kira wished it didn’t.

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