Kyle and Armando shook every hand that was outstretched. Armando made some comment about it feeling like an election, with the slapping on the back and the “Well done, sons,” going around.
“Privilege, kid.”
“It’s an honor.”
“Glad we could help out.”
“Nothin’ else to do,” was Gunny’s response.
Kyle grabbed the man and gave him a bear hug. The four Team brothers locked shoulders in a circle and looked to each other without uttering a word.
Damn good to be alive.
Just as quickly as the circle formed, they dropped their arms and stepped away, all of them focused on a spot behind Kyle’s back. Kyle turned and saw Christy come up to the group. She slipped into the circle next to Kyle and wrapped her arms around his waist. And they let her stand there.
Just like one of the guys. Kyle was so proud of her.
“Now you’re an honorary member of SEAL Team 3,” Kyle said.
She threw her head back and giggled. “Yes! Accidentally.”
Chapter 41
Christy studied their faces. These were her new brothers. She was not their equal in any way, but these were brothers who would have sacrificed their lives for her. It was a family of brothers unlike any other family she had ever known or had heard about.
“Thank you?” Her expression came out like a question and she cursed to herself. “I really don’t know exactly what to say. I’m so grateful to all of you.”
“Oh, it’s okay, missy,” Fredo said. “Kyle has that effect on women all the time, don’t you, studly?” Fredo winked at Kyle and got the finger for it.
“Sorry,” Kyle whispered to the top of her head.
She answered him by clutching his body closer to hers. He chuckled and looked back down into her eyes. Their shared reverie was interrupted by groans coming from the other SEALs. But Gunny was grinning like he’d found a million dollars. Kyle shrugged.
Fredo announced they were getting out of the battle zone.
Kyle pulled Christy alongside him as they walked past the squads. There were smiles all around.
Christy heard Fredo shout out, “Kyle, for Chrissakes, would you two get a room?”
More bitching and comments bounced off the walls. The four SEALs had their swagger back. Christy knew tonight they’d be celebrating—without Kyle, of course. She had plans of her own.
They loaded up in the Tahoe, Kyle pulling Christy into the third seat for some privacy. Christy felt her skin tingle as his thigh brushed against hers. He slipped his hand under her top and squeezed her breasts one at a time.
“Satin. Red satin,” he whispered.
“What? What are you talking about?” she asked. But he covered her mouth and flicked his tongue over her teeth.
When he pulled away, he whispered, “You once asked me what kind of underwear I liked. I like you in red satin.” One hand was finding its way down the front of her pants. She closed her eyes when his fingers rubbed over her nub and sought entry along the lacy opening at the top of her thigh.
When she opened her eyes, Fredo’s chin was resting on his two fists stacked on the back of the second seat. He had a very intimate view of what Kyle was doing, and wasn’t afraid to watch. Kyle hadn’t seen him.
Yet.
“Do your nipples get hard when he does that? I’ve just always wanted to know, from a woman’s perspective,” Fredo asked with a clinical air. The Team guys burst into laughter.
Kyle raised his head and pushed Fredo so hard he almost slid off the bench seat.
Christy watched Kyle lean back, stretch, and look up to the headliner of the van. “We’ve got all night,” she whispered to the side of his face. “And your presence is required the whole time.” She smiled and saw her smile returned.
Gunny and Kyle shared a conspiratorial wink via the rear view mirror. They had something up their sleeve.
And Christy could hardly wait.
“Don’t know what it is, fellas. He gets kidnapped, he gets us running all over California looking for him, and he gets the girl. Armando, you got kidnapped and beat up real good too. Where’s your woman?” Fredo was merciless.
Armando flashed a big white smile behind to Kyle. They hand slapped their greeting.
“Yeah, thanks, man.” Armando cocked his head. “I’m hoping Kyle will introduce me here to her cute sister.”
The others chimed in, complaining about the lack of an introduction.
“Christy, this is the group. Fellas, this is Christy.” Kyle pointed. “This one is Cooper. We call him Coop. He hangs out at the beach a lot when we’re home.”
Christy nodded her head to Cooper.
“He brings his bedroom with him so he’s always ready,” Fredo added.
More laughter. Christy didn’t understand the statement and squinted.
“I’ll explain it to you later, baby,” Kyle said and kissed the side of her face. “This one, of course, is Armando. Saved my bones in BUD/S. Strongest swimmer on the team too. And, as he’s already told you, he’s from Puerto Rico.”
“Nice to meet you, Armando,” she said.
“Nah, man. The pleasure is all mine.”
Armando could have easily been a cover model, or soap opera star, once his black and blue parts healed. His quiet demeanor and brilliant smile probably stole hearts on a regular basis, she thought.
“Wish I had a sister. But sadly, I’m the only one,” she said.
“That you are, my dear. That you are.” Kyle planted a long, languid kiss up the side of her neck, ending the kiss in her ear. “And I’m going to kiss every inch of you tonight,” he whispered, but his words weren’t exactly out of earshot.
She felt her cheeks flush as she watched the envious faces of Cooper, Armando, and Fredo. Even Gunny was watching in the mirror again.
The space between her legs ached and she was so ready to let Kyle do whatever it was he had in mind. As often as he had it in mind. “I’m going to hold you to that promise,” she said as she winked at Armando. She tapped Kyle’s lower lip with her forefinger and he sucked it into his mouth.
“So I’m the invisible Mexican now?” Fredo shouted. “No respect. This discrimination thing sucks, man. Really sucks.”
“Christy, this is Fredo.”
Fredo took her hand and, just like in a historical romance, brought it to his lips. “Alphonso Manuel Esquidido Chavez, mi lady.”
“Whoa. Alphonso?” Cooper teased. “All this time I never knew that was your fuckin’ name, man.”
“You didn’t ask nice,” Fredo answered.
Everyone left Christy and Kyle alone again.
“What’s the plan?” she whispered to Kyle’s lips.
“Shower and bed. In that order.”
“And then?”
“We’ll see. We’ll have to talk, Christy.” He drew her to his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, at last.
Chapter 42
Gunny dropped them off at a boutique hotel near the Ferry Building. The rest of the guys were staying elsewhere. Disappearing, Christy thought.
The familiar ache in her stomach came back, just like the first night she and Kyle had stayed up nearly the whole night. Talking. Kissing. Making love. Until they both had fallen asleep, exhausted, entangled in sheets. Entangled in each other’s legs and arms.
At breakfast that first morning, she’d known her body was tired and that she had gotten so little sleep. But she’d willed herself to enjoy every minute in his presence. Just like today. She urgently needed a hot shower and then to feel Kyle’s hard body on hers.
She walked barefoot onto the plush flower patterned carpet of the hotel lobby, holding her remaining patent leather stiletto. It garnered some worried looks, but she was beyond caring. She wondered why she’d even brought the darned thing along. Kyle had his backpack and duffel bag slung over his right shoulder.
Gunny had made the arrangements, Kyle told her. He was very tight-lipped about what he knew, if anything. The front desk
clerk asked if they needed help with their luggage and they both laughed. If the clerk only knew what the bags contained: enough firepower to start a war. Arm in arm, they walked down the hallway to the elevators. Kyle was deliberately slow and Christy found herself dragging him a slight bit. He wasn’t hesitant in any way. He was teasing her, looking at her with that crooked grin that hinted of things to come.
She walked backward, towing him, watching the way his beautiful body moved lithely at her command. At her beck and call. She blushed as she thought about what they would be doing shortly. Loving Kyle Lansdowne was way more than sex.
It was an art form.
“Remember that elevator ride from the model that first day?” she asked as she punched the elevator call button. The doors opened immediately.
Once inside, Kyle inserted the gold plastic room card above the bank of numbers on the elevator menu, and immediately the doors closed. “Of course I do.” His eyes swept up her body. He owned her. She wanted him to see it, and he did. He stepped to her and pressed her back against the walls of the humming elevator box, clutching her hands above her head, rubbing his erection against her thigh. They kissed, Kyle teasing her lips open, his need mingling with hers.
The doors pinged open and they found themselves in a mini anteroom. Its large windows framed breathtaking views of the pier and the San Francisco Bay. The glassy sparkle of cities across the bay shot up from the horizon like copper crystals.
Only one set of double doors lead off of this reception area. Kyle put his key in the slot. Christy heard it click, and the doors were opened to a warm room done in peach tones with equally stunning views of the bay, the bridges, and beyond. On one end, a mirror hung above a gas-fired fireplace, fully flaming. On the other side, sitting atop a raised dais, was the largest bed Christy had ever seen. It was covered in a thick comforter of shiny rose pink satin and lace, littered with red rose petals and a smattering of multicolored silk pillows.
“Did you…” She couldn’t get the question finished. His mouth was covering hers again, and she melted into his arms.
Kyle’s hands found her flesh underneath her red top. He kneeled in front of her and pushed up the fabric to kiss her lower abdomen. His fingers kneaded her vertebrae at the back of her waist and then smoothed over her ass, finishing with a squeeze. He hugged her body, kissing and licking her belly button, making a wet trail with his tongue that went lower. He slid his palms down over her hips, hooking her black pants and panties along the way as he peeled her clothes down to her ankles.
She removed her top, tossing it aside, and stood before him, wearing only the expensive satin bra. She pulled his shirt up and over his shoulders and head. His fingers found the empty spot between her legs that needed to be filled. He slowly caressed the lips of her sex. Looking up into her eyes, he pressed two fingers inside her.
Christy melted, enjoying the sensation of being impaled by his fingers, which moved in a gentle rhythm. Practiced. Confident. Fingers she wanted all over her body.
She knelt down and joined him, leaning forward. She felt his chest against hers as flesh met flesh again. He hugged her tight, pressing her breasts against him.
Kyle’s belt was undone. She quickly slid his pants down to his knees and placed her palms on his shaft, lacing his length with her fingers. They held each other while blending in a deep kiss that sent her spine tingling. His stiff cock got in the way.
“Will you bathe me?” she asked.
“With pleasure.”
Kyle stood, bringing her up with him, and stepped out of his pants. They leaned against each other, fully naked. The honest look in his eyes told her she would remember this afternoon forever. There was nothing to run from anymore, and everything to savor and walk toward.
The bathroom was done in rich chocolate brown marble. Floors, walls, the massive roman tub and stall shower with dual heads were covered in the heavily veined stone. She entered the shower and turned on one spigot. Kyle took the other.
Under the warm water cascading over her body, she watched his muscled torso and his strong and thickly muscled thighs move under the steamy spray. His forearm with the little three-legged tattoo flexed as he poured shower gel into the palm of his hand and smoothed it down over his torso, and then lower to massage his thighs. He handed the plastic tube of gel to her.
She touched the tattoo. “What is this?”
“It’s the footprints of a tree frog. Everyone on the Team has them.”
She bent and kissed each footprint, one by one. Then she reached up and covered his mouth with hers. “I thought you were a SEAL.” She fed from his mouth. His hands massaged her rear. His groan was delicious and made her spine tingle.
“We are. It’s just what we do,” he whispered in return.
“Well, sailor. What else do you do?”
“I do it all. Anything you like. For as long as you like.”
She leaned back. His eyes roved over her hands as she massaged the soapy bubbled mixture over her breasts. She squeezed them together, then flicked her nipples. He licked his lips as his full erection lurched. Her hands traveled up around her neck, over her shoulders and down each arm, one at a time. She applied another generous dollop to her palm and rubbed her thighs with the gel, and then let her fingers play in and over her sex.
He was completely still as he watched her sluice her body with warm rinse water. She poured shampoo in the palm of her right hand and worked the suds through her scalp. He was fixated on her breasts that rose, her elbows above her head. She closed her eyes and let the warm spray cover her crown, working all the shampoo out of her hair. Kyle’s hands were at her knees, gently prodding them to part. She looked down and saw he had kneeled, his mouth enveloped her sex, sucking and licking her slick petals. His hot tongue sliced a wedge between her lips and then found its way inside.
Her fingers curled in his hair as he ministered to her sex, lighting her whole body on fire. One of Kyle’s palms was gently grazing her right thigh. The other hand pushed her lower torso onto his tongue, which swirled around her nub. She jumped with the burst of sensation. She felt his teeth rub against the flesh of her sex, pushing against her pubic bone. He pulled back, spread her lips with his fingers, and looked at her there.
When their eyes met, she saw the deep hunger he had for her. She cupped her hands under his jaw and drew him up to kiss him, giving him her tongue, tasting the juices of her own body on his lips.
He broke free. “God, Christy,” he whispered in her ear. “I can’t get enough of you. I don’t want this to ever end.”
She touched his cock, then wrapped her fingers around it and squeezed. She rubbed the lips of her sex against his thigh as their passion bloomed. He kissed the side of her neck, from the hollow of her shoulder to a place just under her ear.
She could spend eternity with him in the shower, until their skin withered away and their bones creaked. But she was listening for three little words. And she wasn’t going to give up until she heard them.
“Tell me again.” She smiled and squeezed his left nipple.
“I don’t ever want this to end.”
“Nor do I. Tell me again.”
Kyle halted his massaging. With the warm water coursing down between both their bodies, he looked into her eyes. He pressed his hands over her cheeks, clutching her head, rubbing his thumbs over her lips. He pulled her to his mouth and kissed her tenderly. And then he looked at her again.
“I love you.”
And there it was.
Her eyes filled with tears.
He kissed one eye, and then the other. “I love you, Christy,” he whispered again. “I love you.”
“And I have loved you, Kyle Lansdowne, ever since you tied me up and lay on top of me. I belonged to you that first day and always will.”
Christy dried off first, then ran to the bed and fell back among the rose petals. The plush satin coverlet was delicious under her warm, steamy flesh. She propped her head up with a light green pillow, put anot
her under her rear, and raised one knee.
Kyle was there with something in his right hand. His fingers wrapped around her ankle as he raised her leg into the air. He kneeled on the bed and placed the black stiletto on her foot. He traced from her ankle down the inside of her leg until the finger teased the outsides of her lips. She needed that finger plunged deep inside her, but he smiled and rimmed her opening and around her nub in a figure-eight motion.
Christy was dripping wet. She could feel her internal muscles working in vain to try to draw his digit in. With his left hand and finger strategically left between her legs, he turned and kissed her ankle, holding her stiletto-clad foot around the ankle with a hand.
He kissed her twice on the backside of her knee, then once on the front. He guided her leg to bend over his shoulder. Christy was careful not to hurt him with the pointed tip, but then she forgot about it when he inserted his finger a mere half-inch. She was insane with desire for more.
Her pleading look generated a smile and he inserted another finger into her wet opening. He kissed her thigh, then lower toward her sex, and just before his tongue touched her lips, his two fingers slid easily to the hilt. She arched, presenting herself to him. She needed to be tasted. Needed him inside her.
Christy writhed on the bed as he played with her, as he slid the surface of his tongue up and down her opening, around her folds, and tasted her. Every time she opened her eyes he was looking at her, needing to see her passion.
“I need you inside me, please.”
“Yes. Soon, Christy. I need to make sure you are ready.”
“I’m ready now.”
“Yes, soon. Before exertion you must loosen and warm your body up.”
“I’m loose. I’m warm. Trust me, Kyle, I’m ready.”
“Are you sure?” He plunged his tongue deeper.
“God, yes!” She grabbed pillows and squeezed them to her chest.
“No, no. You don’t get to cover up. I must see those. I may need to taste them, too.” He pulled the pillows away and shoved them under her rear. Her pelvis was now lifted off the bed. She clutched the satin coverlet at her sides, drunk with need.
SEAL Firsts Page 31