“She’s not. And I’m not hers.” The admission tasted like sand in his mouth. He’d been looking forward to spending more time together.
“Funny. Lace and Maya seem to think you’re both hitting it off.”
“Really?” His chest filled with a quick rush of warmth.
“Yeah, said they hadn’t seen Susan act quite so…awkward around a man in forever.”
“And that’s a good sign?”
Dex’s shoulders lifted. “I guess.”
The three men took simultaneous sips from their drinks.
“Too bad you’ll be stuck on that boat all alone tomorrow night,” Johnny murmured.
“Yeah,” Dex said softly. “160-foot boat. Only a skeleton crew…”
Justin grunted. “Can’t invite her to stay then put on the wig and Halloran’s clothes without giving her an explanation.”
“Like you couldn’t cook up some cover story?” Johnny said, snorting. “Hell, you could probably take the Clementine out to sea. Have Halloran’s chef prepare something special for dinner, something you could serve cold and have it ready in the galley…”
“It’s up to you,” Dex said, leaning closer. “But if you got her to stay on the boat, Angel and I might be able to grab some alone time with our wives.”
“Want me to take one for the boys?” Justin said, a smile beginning to stretch his lips.
“Would it really be a sacrifice?” Dex asked.
Justin remembered the way Susan had laughed, her head thrown back. There was a passionate woman locked behind her cool reserve. Something inside him stirred whenever he was with her. Something beside his cock. A wistful yearning to see her smile. A strangely unselfish need to give her pleasure. He met Dex’s watchful gaze and nodded. “Sounds like I need a plan.”
They knocked their beer bottles together then turned to stare as darkness fell across the sea.
Chapter Three
‡
For Susan, diving was always a cerebral pleasure. A chance to quiet the noise in her head. An active meditation, just the gurgling of water bubbles and her own steady breaths to keep her company. But this excursion was different.
The couples had paired up, keeping within sight of each other, but basically alone together in the deepening darkness. Ahead, she saw the dim glow of headlamps as the two couples in front of her and Justin slowly descended.
She recalled his briefing aboard the boat.
“Blue holes are sink holes,” he’d said. “Formed during an ice age when ice reduced sea level by several hundred feet, and limestone caves, where rainwater weakened the rock and the cave ceilings, collapsed. We’ll descend straight down until we reach the point where saltwater and freshwater meet. I’m not a chemist,” he said with a smile, “but when freshwater and saltwater meet, it causes a corrosive reaction in the rock. Over time, this created sideways passages, horizontal caves, and we’re checking out a couple of the larger ones.”
The Clementine had dropped anchor beside a sink hole off of Andros Island. The women had gathered on the uppermost deck to stare down at it. Around the hole, the water was a pretty Caribbean blue. The center of the seemingly perfect circle was a dark navy.
“Dex says it gets dark down there pretty fast,” Lace said. “And we may encounter stuff that looks like floating cobwebs. It’s bacteria, and it can make you itch, so get through it as quickly as you can.”
“And this sounds safer than swimming with sharks?” Maya said, wrinkling her nose.
“It’s safe,” Lace said, “and Susan and I have big strong SEALs along to keep us safe.”
“My guy’s no lightweight,” Maya grumbled with a pout.
Lace laughed. “He’s got experience diving too, so we’re all good.” She glanced at Susan. “Sorry we interrupted you with Justin. Looks like it was about to get hot and heavy.”
Maya’s gaze rubberbanded toward Susan. “What’d I miss?”
“Nothing happened,” Susan said, her cheeks heating. “Nothing was about to happen.” So it was a teensy lie, but the near-kiss still had her tingling inside.
“You dog,” Maya said, giving her a playful shove.
“Justin is a good guy,” Lace said.
“Don’t tell her that,” Maya said. “You’ll scare her away.”
“I’m not scared,” Susan said, shaking out her hair behind her. “He said this can be just about the sex.”
“You’re already talking about sex?” Lace’s eyes rounded. “You dog.”
“You do know you both sound like a pair of horny teenage boys, right?”
Lace leaned in to give her a quick hug. “We can’t help it. We’re both so happy. We want the same for you, sweetie. A sexy guy like that would be perfect for you.”
“I don’t need a guy in my life, sexy or otherwise,” Susan said, lifting her chin and ignoring the hitch in her breathing. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t like to play…occasionally.”
Lace shook her head. “You don’t have to change your life for the right man.”
“Look at you.” Susan raised her eyebrows and gazed at her friend who seemed to glow. “You moved to the Bahamas.”
“Well, I might have done that anyway,” Lace said, shaking her head. “I hate the cold. And can you believe this place?” She held out her arms as she glanced over the blue ocean. “Sharing the adventure with someone else only makes it more exciting. I didn’t lose a thing marrying Dex.”
Susan felt as though the balmy air was closing in around her. “I’m not looking for a roommate or a husband.”
“Why are you so resistant?” Maya asked, her voice softening. “I know you’ve had some terrible boyfriends, selfish stinkers, but not all men are like that.”
At Maya’s concerned tone, Susan felt her throat tighten and shrugged. “It’s just easier.”
“So you don’t get your hopes up and never feel disappointed?” Maya asked, her dark eyes resting on Susan.
Pretty much her philosophy to a T. “Will I sound completely pathetic if I say yes?”
“Yes!” her friends said.
Lace placed an arm around Susan’s shoulder. “We’re not saying Justin is ‘The One’—but don’t close yourself off to the possibility. Just go with it. Enjoy yourself. Enjoy him. He’s very easy to like.”
Susan looked from Lace to Maya, warming despite the jittery feeling that always accompanied the thought of leaving herself vulnerable to a man. “I see what you both have, and I’ll admit I’m more than a little jealous. You found your perfect matches.” She wrinkled her nose. “And I will concede that there might be someone out there for me, as well. But I seriously doubt it’s Justin, despite the fact he’s probably the sexiest man I’ve ever laid eyes on.” She ignored her friends’ instant smiles and crossed her arms over her chest. “We’re neither of us looking for anything more than a hookup.”
“It’s a start,” Lace said, her gaze going to Maya.
Lace nodded sagely. “Maybe they’ll light a spark.” To Susan, she said, “Okay, we’ll stop with the teasing. No pressure. But if you do it, you have to give us all the juicy details.”
At the last comment, Susan laughed. “You’re both impossible.”
“We love you,” Maya said.
“Sisters from different mothers,” Lace said, and held up her hand, her pinky finger crooked.
The three of them hooked their fingers together for a sacred shake. “Maybe not all the juicy details,” Susan said slyly. “He makes me crave some very naughty things.”
They’d giggled like school girls and then hurried down to the swim platform. She’d been eager to see Justin again, but hyper-aware of her friends’ scrutiny. As luck would have it, their husbands distracted them, helping them suit up for the dive as Justin came forward, carrying gear he’d prepared.
She gave him a frown. “I know how to assemble my own gear.”
“Check it over. I thought I’d save you a little time. You girls seemed to be enjoying yourselves,” he said.
His blond eyebrows gave her that sexy arch she was becoming quite fond of. Ignoring the heat filling her cheeks, she bent over the gear, checked filters, checked the tank’s pressure, assuring herself there was plenty of air for the dive. She inspected the regulators and then inflated and deflated her BCD. When she straightened, she noted that his expression was warmly approving. “Guess everything’s in order,” she said, feeling as though she’d passed some kind of test.
Then he’d helped her don her gear, his actions methodical. But every light graze of his fingertips against her skin set her heart fluttering and her nerves igniting. When he stepped back, his own expression betrayed the arousal growing between them—flared nostrils, dipping eyelids, deepened, heavy breaths. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I really needed that kiss.”
Now, her solitary meditation was replaced with a gentle happiness, a feeling of connection, perhaps because he stayed beside her throughout the dive. And it was unlike any dive she’d ever made before; being inside the blue hole felt otherworldly. No coral or curious fish, very little light. The deeper they went, the darker it got, and she was grateful for the lamp on a headband he’d insisted she wear.
“Yellow’s not my color,” she’d quipped when he handed her the headlamp.
“There’s not a color that wouldn’t look beautiful on you, but I am partial to pink,” he’d said, gliding a finger along her blushing cheek.
The divers dipped beneath a cliff overhang, and the entrance of a large cave loomed. As they entered the cave, a floating web parted. The water had a pinkish tinge which seemed to flow just beneath them. Her skin itched and a sulfur smell entered her mask.
At a tap on her shoulder, she turned to Justin, who gave her a thumbs-up to reassure her. She kicked her fins to hurry away from the toxic water, forcing herself to take even breaths. They entered a larger cavern, with walls looking very like eroded canyon walls with curiously shaped rock formations. Alone, Susan knew she might have felt overwhelmed, surrounded by water and enclosed by rock. A single malfunction of her diving gear could have frightening consequences, but she remembered Lace’s ordeal, dropped to the sea floor without a tank, and how calmly Dex had reacted, demonstrating how to use his buddy regulator then sharing his air, saving her. Lace had managed without panicking, which would have proved fatal. Susan wouldn’t let her own small bout of claustrophobia create problems where none existed.
Besides, she had Justin beside her, and although he seemed completely relaxed, she knew he was watchful, ensuring her safety. Although such behavior wasn’t something she was accustomed to, she was relieved to have him there, to rely on his knowledge and solid presence to give her comfort.
They explored the cave for a while; Justin swam to one corner of the cave where he sifted in the sand until he pulled out the large skull of a crocodile. Something that shouldn’t have been there, and she realized had likely sat on the cave floor since prehistoric times. He handed it to her, and she blinked, telling him without words how much she was enjoying herself.
But at last, he checked his gauges and pointed upward. Time to head back to the boat. They swam toward the others and, this time, Justin and Susan led the way out of the dark underwater cave and toward the surface of the blue hole.
Back at the yacht, Justin climbed the ladder to the swim platform then held out his hand, pulling her from the water in one strong heave to set her on the edge.
“Show off,” she said, smiling widely as she wiped water from her face.
“Was the dive worth it?”
“Yes, but the cavern was strange,” she said. “Not like any place else on Earth. But I still prefer the pretty reefs.”
“Speak for yourself,” Lace said as she approached. “I want to go again. No sharks!”
Once they were all on board and their gear stowed, the engines started up. The boat pulled away from the reef to head back to Grand Bahama Island.
With farewell waves, the couples strolled away toward the middle deck and the cabins to freshen up—and no doubt, enjoy a little privacy for sexier pursuits—leaving her alone with Justin on the platform.
He leaned against the rail and folded his arms over his chest. “So, I was wondering if I could ask you out on a date.”
His hair was nearly dry, and clumped together in gold locks like a Rastafarian’s dreads. Not that the look wasn’t appealing. His broad, bare chest was deeply tanned, a smattering of brown hair stretched between flat male nipples. The shadow on his jaw made him look a little scruffy, but again, it appealed. She could imagine him nude on white sheets, looking just like this after a night of hot sweaty sex. The twinkle in his eyes said his thoughts were wandering a similar sensual path.
Susan pretended to consider her suggestion, when her mind was already made up. “My friends tell you I have high expectations for first dates?” she asked, lifting her chin.
“No, but I assumed as much. Stay aboard the boat with me?”
She looked up, deliberately narrowing her eyes. “Sounds like a lazy date. You don’t have to surprise me. Don’t have to go to any effort to impress.”
“Oh, I think we both know a lot of effort will be goin’ on, Susie Q.”
Lust hit her hard—an instantaneous rush of heat that turned her core liquid and caused her nipples to tingle and tighten. “This effort…will it include dressing for dinner?”
One side of his mouth kicked up into a wicked, crooked smile. “Only if you find pleasure in the undressing.”
“Another time,” she said, her voice sounded breathy even to her own ears.
He blinked. “You turning me down?”
Susan moved closer, and closer still when he dropped his arms. “No,” she said, touching his shoulder with a single fingertip and sliding it down to his chest where she gave in to the urge to explore a brown nipple. “I meant, we’ll undress another time.”
He placed a hand over hers and mashed it against his chest. “Stop doing that. I’m not wearing enough to hide what you do to me.”
Close now, she leaned against him, enjoying the hardness of his chest against her nipples, and the evidence of his growing arousal nudging her belly. “Think there’s anyone watching?” she whispered, letting her head fall back, inviting his kiss.
“Yeah, everyone on the bridge and the guys in the escort boat. You care?” he asked, his voice hoarsening.
“Fuck no,” she whispered.
“Damn, I told you I love dirty talk.” He lowered his head, his gaze searching hers for a long moment.
He must have read her eagerness, because his mouth came down on hers, and not gently, as any other first kiss she’d ever shared with a man. His was ravenous, harsh, hungry.
She sank her fingers into his slightly damp hair and scraped his scalp, pulling him closer.
His head slanted, and his tongue stroked her lip before pushing inside her mouth, and she was lost to the pleasure, tongues tangling, mouths suctioning. A carnal kiss. One that didn’t satisfy because she wanted him. Urgently, desperately. Right now.
They broke apart, both breathing heavily. “I have a cabin,” Justin murmured.
Wow. She dragged in a ragged breath and nodded. “You better follow me,” she said, giving him a nudge of her hip, right against his very rigid, very large cock.
He cleared his throat and grinned. “I like you, Susan Evers.”
“Better. Or you’ll feel cheap after I’m through with you.”
He laughed and turned her, his hands clutching her hips. “I’m right behind you, baby.”
They hurried from the platform, up the metal stairs and down the outside aisle to the third cabin. Once he pulled down the handle, she grabbed the waistband of his shorts and dragged him behind her, straight to the large California king bed. The pretty carpet and curtains, the glassed-in shower, the priceless art on the walls—she took in with a single glance, but her focus was on the tall bed with its sumptuous covers.
Once she reached it, she turned and pulled his waistband outward, pushing down the fabric
to expose his cock. Her breath caught at her first sight of the round mushroom head, the gleaming skin stretched around the thick shaft.
With a sigh, she sank on her knees and gripped him with both hands, eager for a taste, desperate to begin. She opened her mouth and wagged her head, circling the cushiony cap, wetting it before giving it a lick. A drop of pre-ejaculate smeared on her tongue, and she groaned at the salty flavor, dragging in the scent of his pungent, masculine musk. Then she pulled down his cock and bobbed forward, taking him deep, while his belly tightened and his fingers dug into her shoulders as he steadied himself.
“You move fast,” he muttered.
She bobbed again, keeping him in her mouth, but letting go of his shaft to shimmy out of her bathing suit.
“I’m not fast enough,” he murmured. “Baby, slow down. Let me help.”
“Umm,” she said, her mouth still full of him, the cool air prickling her damp skin. When she came off him, she stood, shoved her suit down the rest of the way and scrambled backwards onto the mattress.
He kicked his trunks off his feet and followed, his gaze hot and dangerous, sending a delicious thrill of alarm through her body.
When she reached the pillows, she stopped and waited impatiently as he crawled between her legs, his cock sliding up her inner thigh, bumping her pussy, then pausing, pressed against her heat.
His body tensed and he closed his eyes. “Fuck.”
“A condom,” she blurted, leaning to the side, her hand going to the table beside the bed, and pulling out the drawer. Inside, she fumbled for a box, found one and brought it between them, impatient when she discovered it had never been opened and roughly ripped off the lid.
Condoms fell around her, and he began to chuckle, the sound low and dirty. He plucked one off her breast and tore it with his teeth, then pushed back, sitting on his knees while he rolled it down.
Heart racing, she stared the whole time, not glancing up at his face until after he’d given himself a slow stroke. His gaze was on her, on her eyes, and she settled back, placing her hands beside her head, signaling her willingness to let him take control.
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 3