The Marine's Holiday Harbor

by Kirsten Lynn

  Sitting up, I capture her scream with my kiss. Wrapping my arms around her, I lower my head and suck and lick one breast and then the other as she grinds against me. She cups the back of my head and holds me close. She is so soft, so sweet, and her whispers of my name, combined with her whimpers of pleasure, are everything a man wants to hear when pleasuring his woman. So much has changed in our lives and, thanks to me, our relationship, but when I’m inside her nothing is altered. We’re born for each other.

  Her body tenses and I reach between us, circling her clit.

  “Please, please, please,” she pants.

  I nod against her palms, not releasing her breast and increase the pressure on her nub.

  “Caleb, Caleb, don’t let go,” she says even as she releases my head and cups my face, bringing my gaze to hers where fire and ice collide.

  “Never.” I capture her mouth again and kiss her deep. She is scorching from her lips to inside her sex. Her heat is melting us and molding us together. With a cry, she wraps her arms around me and holds tight as her inner muscles clamp down and her body trembles through her orgasm. Breaking the kiss, I flip her on her back and drive deep and hard into her until I clench my jaw against the ragged bellow ripping through me as my climax threatens to steal my life. I open my eyes and continue to rock inside her as we both struggle to come down from the adrenaline coursing through our veins.

  Lowering, I press kisses to her face. “Outstanding, Angel.” I sink lower and she cradles me with her body. “You good?”

  “Yes, Caleb. I’m beyond good. I’m floating on wind touched waves. Don’t move for a minute and we can do it again.”

  I chuckle and press into her curves. “Wind touched waves sound good to me. So does another round. If I remember right, you can go all night.”

  “Mmmm…I like you inside me.”

  “Like?”

  “Okay, I’m crazy to have you inside me. It’s been a long two years.”

  “No shit.”

  She nips my ear. “Are you saying you haven’t been with another woman?”

  “That’s what I’m saying. You saying another man hasn’t been here?”

  “Never.”

  I lift my head to have eye contact. “Won’t lie, I’m glad to hear it.”

  She smiles, and she presses a kiss to my chin. “I don’t think I can go all night tonight.”

  Shifting behind her, I tug up the blankets before enveloping her in my arms. It’s been years since I’ve slept with Brynn and my body relaxes in a way it hasn’t since the last time I held her close.

  “We’ll get you back in all-nighter shape in no time.”

  She chuckles and shifts her backside against my groin. “Are you going to put me through sex boot camp?”

  “If you don’t stop moving that fine ass, you’ll have your first obstacle to climb in about three seconds.”

  She stops and drops a kiss on my bicep she uses it for a pillow. “It really was wonderful being with you again.”

  I squeeze her tighter. “It was every dream I’ve had for two years.”

  “Me, too.”

  Her voice is almost a whisper and I wonder if I’m losing her to sleep. The question is answered when her body grows heavy. I nestle close, and inhale her scent as it blends with mine as it always should. A storm threatens outside with the wind rattling the windows, but for once in twelve years, it’s not a storm I have to fight. I don’t have Marines to care for, or an enemy to prepare for, but the most important battle lies before me; caring for Brynn and the children, earning their trust, and becoming a member of their little family.

  “Rest, Caleb.”

  I smile at her sleepy order. Still, maybe tonight I’ll get more sleep than fifteen minutes at a time.

  Brynn

  “Aunt Brynn?”

  “Mmmm?” I scoot back into the solid wall of warm muscle holding me until my ass cradles his cock and he moans, tightening his arms around me. My body feels like lead sinking into the mattress, and I can’t think of the last time I slept through the night and without dreams of hearing men scream for a doc, but not being able to get to them.

  “Aunt Brynn?”

  I come fully awake with a start when a small hand touches my cheek. A blue gaze collides with mine and I quickly take in the surroundings, making sure Caleb and I are still covered. “What do you need, Ella baby?”

  “It’s scary. I need to sleep with you.”

  Only then do I hear the wind howling and rattling the windows. Caleb presses his mouth to my shoulder and nuzzles his nose in the crook of my neck. He flexes his hip and presses his hardening cock closer as his hand moves down my stomach. I pinch his hand. “Caleb.”

  “Yeah, Angel, I know.”

  “Caleb!” I snap. His eyes open and adjust. I almost laugh as he comes fully awake and realizes he’s face to face with Ella.

  “Hi, Little Bit. What ya doing?”

  “I need to sleep with you.” She starts to move the blankets and I hold on for dear life.

  “Ella.” She’s so determined, Caleb joins my side in the tug-o-war. “Ella!”

  Her gaze jerks to mine. “Please, Aunt Brynn.”

  “Yes. But I need you to go into your room for just a minute. I’ll come get you, I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  The minute she’s out of the room, Caleb and I leap out of bed like we were caught oversleeping at boot camp. He yanks on his skivvies and I tug on the T-shirt earlier discarded and a pair of panties.

  “She sleep with you often?”

  “No, just when it’s so windy. Something about the wind.”

  He nods. I don’t have time to ask if he cares or not, I have to go get Ella since I promised. She practically tackles me heading out of her room and into mine…ours. When she sees Caleb in the bed, though, she slams on the brakes.

  “Is he staying?”

  “Yes.” I climb in next to him and snuggle close. He wraps his arm around my waist and hugs me closer. “Come on, Ella.”

  She climbs on the bed and snuggles close to me. I cock my head when I hear footsteps outside the door. “Michael?”

  A small form emerges from the shadows and he shuffles into the room. “I was just checking on Ella.”

  Before I can say anything, Caleb moves back, tugging me close again. “Come on, Michael. Might as well join the family.”

  The boy needs no other invitation before he crawls on the bed and shifts to his side. “Thank you.”

  “Go to sleep.” Caleb grumbles and I hold onto my laughter at what a grizzly bear he sounds like, but it works. The children squeeze their eyes shut. This feels real and like it could last forever. I hear the earnestness in his voice when Caleb says he wants us and wants to stay always, and I feel it when he can’t seem to get close enough to me and the way he interacts with Michael and Ella. He’ll be tested tomorrow.

  Turning in his arms, I smile when my gaze meets his. “You’re awake,” I whisper.

  “You’re tense. What’s wrong?”

  He just stares at me like he already knows the answer to his question. “Tomorrow, the family.”

  “You mean my father.”

  I’ve never heard him refer to Hal Quinlin as Dad, or anything but Father, and my heart cracks for what it must have been like growing up with him. He hid it well throughout our youth. “Yes.”

  He squeezes me, his large hand warm and strong on my thigh. “Don’t worry, Brynn. This, the three people hogging the bed, are the only family I care about.”

  “Is it time to get up?” Ella mumbles.

  “No, go back to sleep.” Caleb grumps and I shake with laughter. He squeezes my hip again. “You, too.”

  “Yes, Staff Sergeant.”

  Burying my head in the crook of his arm, I absorb his warmth and strength and relax. No matter what past hurts, I have never not had his six. Tomorrow, whatever he faces with his father, this little family, hogging the bed, will have his back.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Cal
eb

  The small hand in mine is a dream forgotten suddenly coming true. I swallow the boulder of emotion in my throat and glance at Brynn. She’s carrying a pie and resting a hand on Michael’s back, but her eyes are fixed on Ella’s hand in mine. Anyone would think we were a real family. My mission is to make the picture a reality just as soon as Brynn gives me the word.

  Once I help her up the steps to the porch, I release Ella’s hand so I can hold onto the second pie and open the door. Brynn steps into the foyer after the children and stops. “You ready?”

  “Good to go.”

  “Sorry you woke up with the three of us on top of you.”

  I chuckle. “I’m good, Angel. I’ve woken up to worse.”

  She steps across the threshold and I cut a look to the white SUV parked in front of the house. Luck was not on my side. It was my hope my folks wouldn’t be here from the get, but here it is and we might as well face the battle head on.

  With one less thing to be thankful for, I walk into Rose and Frank’s house sweeping the living room with my gaze. Everyone is talking at once, welcoming Brynn and the children. Rose finds me and her smile spreads. “Welcome home, Caleb.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am? No, no, Rose.” She wraps me in a hug. Brian moves in for the save when the pie wobbles in my hand. Rose steps back and Brynn’s father holds out his hand.

  “Caleb, good to see you.”

  “You, too, sir.” I accept his handshake and correct myself when his eyebrow lifts. “Frank.”

  The next welcome is my mother, and I give her a big hug. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

  “You, too, son. It’s so good to have you home this year.” When I release her, I search the room and find my father talking to an uncomfortable Brian. I drop my gaze back to my mother and she gives me a sad smile. “How are things going?”

  For today, I’ll allow her to ignore the fact her husband can’t stand the sight of her son. “Good.”

  “Good is what you always say, then I hear things like you were in one of the worst firefights and critically wounded. Are you and the children getting along?”

  Again, I remind myself it’s Thanksgiving, and we’re guests at the Reillys’. So I don’t bring up the fact she heard I was critically wounded but never visited. Brynn and her parents are a few steps away visiting like a family who really cares about each other. The trust and loyalty is as clear as the trust and loyalty she had with the Marines. Mom tried to build that kind of family when we were little, but Mark and I only felt that with each other. After a few years apart, I turned more to my Marines and Mark to his friends at college. I envy the relationship the Reilly family shares even more than I did when I was a child.

  “Affirmative.” I mumble in a delayed response to my mother’s question.

  “And Brynn?”

  “And Brynn what?” Brynn slides next to me and hugs my arm.

  “Mom wants to know how we’re doing.”

  “We’re learning what it will take for us all to be a family.”

  “Now, she knows how to answer a question.” My mother turns her attention to Brynn. “Are the children set with everything they need? You know you can always come to Hal and me.”

  “I do, Audrey, and thank you. They’re all set for winter.”

  She holds tighter when I try to make a break as my father finally makes his way over. “Good to see you, Brynn.”

  Her hold turns to a death grip. She’s never been a fan of my father’s, but it almost feels like fear. “Happy Thanksgiving, Hal.”

  He barely glances at me. “Your mother says you’re finally home for good.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “About time.”

  “It’s not like I was just out fu—” Brynn nudges me. “Fooling around.”

  “Well, you weren’t here. You weren’t helping out your family—”

  “Dinner’s ready!” Rose calls.

  He mumbles and starts walking toward the dining room, and Mom touches my arm. “I’m sorry, Caleb, he—”

  I hold up a hand. “Do not say Mark’s death is the reason he’s saying any of this. He’s hated me since I was eight. Maybe earlier—that’s just when I remember.”

  She nods, and Brynn and I follow her to the dining room. The joy of earlier that morning fades to a gray in the shadow of my father’s animosity. Walking into the dining room, I almost want to about face and go back to the lighthouse. Even the abundant fall leaves, turkeys, and other fall decorations around the large room do nothing to hide the man sitting with a scowl directed at me.

  “Uncle Caleb, sit by me.”

  Ella’s voice is a sunbeam breaking through the clouds. I maneuver around the table to her, bringing Brynn along with me. “Michael, grab the seat on the other side of Ella, we’ll sit together.”

  Not hesitating, Michael sits next to his sister. I take the chair Ella pats with her hand, almost dragging Brynn down beside me. I glance up, thinking everyone will be looking at us as if I’m crazy. Instead Rose, Frank, and my mother are smiling like their faces are frozen. Brian doesn’t show a reaction. The only frown is on my father, but that will never change and has nothing to do with a seating arrangement.

  We’re all blessed with a reprieve as food is passed and Frank says grace. Following the blessing, I shift in my seat to help Ella cut her turkey. “Remember, Uncle Caleb, vegetables can’t touch anything.”

  “I remember. The green beans are on the other side of the DMZ.” Brynn rests a hand on my thigh under the table in a silent show of support. Despite my mood, I have to smile as the move also serves to remind me not to overload Ella’s plate. “Okay, you’re good to go.”

  “Thank you.”

  Since I forced Brynn into a seat farthest from the children, and therefore unable to reach their plates, I turn to Michael next. “Michael, did you need help?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “He’s seven years old, he shouldn’t need help with such simple things.” My father grumbles, and I watch Michael push up his glasses and shift in his seat.

  “He’s seven years old, he needs all the help he can get to learn. You’ll keep such opinions to yourself.”

  Brynn’s hand grips my thigh harder. My father’s face is a mixture of shock and rage. “Who are you?”

  “I’m his guardian.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since Mark and Liz made me co-guardian.”

  All gazes swing to Brynn. Her smile is forced. “It’s true and legal.”

  “So, you just swoop in—”

  “Hal, let’s save all this for another day,” Frank interrupts. “It’s Thanksgiving and we don’t want to ruin it. Looks like Brynn and Caleb have it under control.”

  “Fine.”

  I nod, embarrassed for bringing all this shit up at the dinner table. “Sorry.”

  I catch Brynn’s gaze and her smile turns real as she mouths thank you. We both glance at the children. Chin deep in Thanksgiving dinner, they either don’t care about the ridiculous adults or they’re pretending not to understand. Michael lifts his head, pushes up his glasses and smiles at me, answering my question.

  Just when I think the focus is off me, Frank turns to another hot topic. “So, Caleb, have you already had all the ceremonies and parties with your separation? Do you have to go back to California?”

  “Yes, sir. My honorable discharge certificate is in hand and everything. No, I no need to go back.”

  Brynn tips her head as if she just thought of something. When she frowns, I cringe. Whatever she thought of isn’t good for me. “You should have let us know so we could be there.”

  “It’s no big deal.”

  “It is a big deal.”

  Why is she so concerned about being there for me? I was already in Japan and missed any parties she had—this is bringing me down to snail slime level. “Brynn, can we talk about transitioning later? Let’s enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.”

  Her shoulders lift and fall and she sta
rts digging into her stuffing. Thankfully, the others around the table start talking about their jobs, the weather, and football. Ella and Michael continue to ignore the crazy adults around them even through pie.

  With the last bite of Brynn’s pumpkin pie, I sit back. “That was an excellent meal. Thank you all.”

  “You’re welcome. Do you want another piece of pie?”

  “Oh no, Rose, two is plenty. Thank you, though.”

  Brynn stands and gathers her plates. “I hate to eat and run, but I don’t think they got the weather right. I’ll help with dishes and then we better go.”

  Frank smiles. “You could stay the night here.”

  “Please, Aunt Brynn.” At the plea in harmony from Ella and Michael, I know we’ll be staying, because I’m not leaving without them.

  Brynn hikes a brow at me. “Do you mind?”

  “Probably the smart thing to do.” I ignore my father’s mumbling about being smart and just absorb the feeling of Brynn checking with me and not just making the decision.

  “Okay, we’ll stay.”

  The children cheer. She and I share a look that says it’s going to be the longest night ever. The only redemption will be if the, you can’t stay in the same room, rule from when we’d visit on leave has been rescinded. No sex in my future in-laws’ house, I can suck it up. A separate bed from Brynn is more suck up than I have left.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Brynn

  Tracing his face with my finger, I smile when his forehead wrinkles. “Are you getting up this morning?”

  “I’m up, believe me.” He keeps his eyes closed.

  I chuckle and press a kiss to his lips. “Mom said breakfast is almost ready.”

  He opens his eyes, but the frown remains. “How can you be so happy? Last night was torture.”

  “It was a little, but it was also amazing being held by you again.”

  “Yeah, that is pretty outstanding.” He sweeps over me with his gaze. “What time did you get up?”