Page 66 of Deserving Lara
Then the fun would start.
Carter could hardly wait.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Tomorrow was the day they were leaving to head up to Seattle, and Owl had to admit he was nervous for Lara’s sake. Yes, she’d been doing so well, hadn’t had a panic attack in weeks now, but leaving The Refuge was going to be stressful for her.
Tonight, the two of them were spending a quiet evening in their cabin. They’d played on the flight simulator for a few hours, and Owl was impressed with how good Lara had become for never having been in a helicopter before. Well…while conscious. She wasn’t quite ready to join the Army and sign up to train as a Night Stalker, but he loved seeing the joy on her face when she made it through an entire flight sim—on the beginner level—without crashing. She wasn’t the greatest at takeoffs or landings, but Owl had no doubt that she’d master those soon enough.
“What are you thinking?” she asked as they cuddled together on the couch. He was pretending to read, and he’d thought she was engrossed in the sitcom on the television. Owl shouldn’t have been surprised that she knew he was thinking rather than relaxing. He’d been going over and over their travel plans, trying to come up with scenarios for how to react if the worst happened.
“Not much,” he lied. No way in hell was he going to pile more worry on Lara’s head.
“Are you excited?”
“Yeah,” Owl said with a small smile. And he was. He’d never dreamed that one day he could be part owner of his very own helicopter. And it made it even better that Stone would be at his side. Flying for pleasure would be a welcome change from the countless stressful missions they’d been on in the Army.
The last few days had been filled with details for their trip, emails to the seller, and generally trying to get everything together for him, Stone, and Lara to fly up to Seattle. He’d spent time with Brick, Pipe, and the others, taking their advice for keeping her safe, suggestions he welcomed. The last thing he wanted was something happening to Lara on his watch. He’d never forgive himself.
“Are you sure you still want to go?” Owl asked.
“Yes.” Her answer was immediate and heartfelt. Owl felt pride well up inside him once more. His Lara was tough.
She turned to him. “Do you stillwantme to go?”
“Of course I do,” Owl said, his brow furrowing. “Why would you think I wouldn’t?”
“Because ofhim. Having me around makes everything more stressful.”
Owl turned to the woman he loved and palmed her face. “No, it doesn’t. I’d be stressed out if you were there or not. And you know what else? I wouldn’t sleep. And that would make the trip more dangerous. Because who wants a pilot who hasn’t gotten enough sleep?”
Lara rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
“I’m serious,” Owl said with no hint of humor in his voice. “For a man who hasn’t slept through a night in over five years, you’re a miracle.”
“So you’re with me because I help you sleep,” she said, her voice teasing.
“No, I’m with you because you make me happy. You make me feel as if I can be the man I’ve always wanted to be. You make me yearn for what I thought I’d never find…a family. I’m with you because you’reyou, Lara. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Owl kissed her. He wanted so badly to push her backward and take her right then and there. Hard and fast. Show her without words how vital she was to him. But he forced himself to keep the kiss light and easy. He’d rather stick his dick in a light socket than do anything that would bring back any of the trauma she’d experienced.
Lara gripped his shirt tightly and pressed herself harder against him. He loved when she took control. Not only because it meant she wanted him as much as he wanted her, but also because it let him off the hook when it came to worrying about how much was too much when it came to intimacy.
But all too soon, she stopped, pulled back and stared at him. Owl couldn’t read her expression. He frowned, worried now. “What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said quickly, biting her bottom lip.
“Talk to me, Lara. Do I need to call Henley?”
“No! I mean, I’m fine. I just…do you like it when I take control of our lovemaking?”
Owl arched a brow. “Do you mean to tell me you don’t know if my orgasms are real or not?” he joked.
She smiled at that. “No, I definitely know you aren’t faking those. Your come dripping out of me in the morning tells me that.”
Owl couldn’t stop his satisfied smile. He loved filling her up. Loved seeing his release drip out of her when she got up in the morning. It was a purely masculine reaction, and he probably should be ashamed of himself, but it was so damn erotic, he couldn’t dredge up the energy to feel bad. He’d kind of freaked out the first morning, worrying about how she would react, but she’d simply given him a sheepish smile before heading to the bathroom.
