Susan was more than ready. Had liked being handled by a brawny man. A revelation really, since she’d always thought she preferred a leaner build. But the way he’d hauled her up, gently but firmly, and the strong grip of his hands as he molded her curves, arranging her for his pleasure, stole her breath.
When he broke the kiss, she could barely breathe, much less form a coherent thought. Justin was a man. She was a woman discovering she liked his domination. Nuff said.
Justin hurried to the bridge. Susan was showering, and he needed to check in. He entered, giving the captain a brief smile as he accepted the extended satellite phone. “Dex, did Halloran make it off the island okay?”
“The escort handed him off to the helicopter. Johnny and Hank are with him in Miami now. All’s well. How’s it on your end?” There was a hint of amused drawl in his voice.
Justin relaxed. “It’s going fine,” he said, not willing to divulge any intimate details. Fine was an understatement.
“The ladies are a little miffed you spirited away their friend.”
“We’ll be back this evening. They’ll have to wait for another gossip.”
Dex chuckled. “Susan enjoying herself?”
Justin’s hand tightened around the phone. How could he answer that without letting the world know his mind was completely blown by Susan Evers? “She is. The yacht is great, who wouldn’t enjoy it?”
“Well, keep the boat away from the island until it’s near dark. Halloran’s business will be concluded by then. If anyone’s watching, the hour will be too late for any countermove.”
After the connection ended, Justin met the captain’s amused stare. “Any blips on the radar we need to worry about?”
“We passed a fishing boat when we left dock, and it’s still in range. We’ll keep an eye on its location and let you know if anything changes.”
“You find that perfect spot I asked about?”
The captain gave him a wink. “Yeah, no worries. We’ll be there in under an hour. Cook’s got a basket ready.”
Justin left, a niggling doubt still making his skin itch, but maybe he was just paranoid. Being overrun by pirates once could do that to a man.
Susan’s stomach fluttered with excitement as Justin raised a hand to help her from the swimming platform into the small skiff. He’d arrived back at the cabin just as she’d finished dressing, tossing a bundle of swimsuits and sarongs onto the bed. “Choose a suit and a cover-up, and get on your flip flops. We’re going for a picnic.”
She’d redressed in minutes in a skimpy flame-red bikini with a flowered, silk sarong tied around her hip. “A picnic. Where?” she’d asked.
But he’d shaken his head. “It’s a surprise. Want me to spoil it?”
Once on deck, she’d noted the slowing of the yacht’s engines as they approached a tiny island, one that looked straight out of a postcard—green palms rimming a pristine white beach, dark green forest behind it. Large rocks rose to one side of the beach to provide privacy.
“A friend of Halloran’s owns the island. It’s private. No one’s there at the moment. There’s a cabin farther into the jungle, but we’ll only go as far as the beach.” A crew member approached with a large basket and handed it to Justin. “We’ll have lunch and a swim, and I’m pretty sure there’s a blanket at the bottom.”
The way he said the last bit, a brow arching, told her they’d make good use of that rock outcropping. Seated on a wooden plank bench in front of Justin as he aimed the skiff at the beach, she didn’t think the day could be any more perfect. The sun shone overhead in a cloudless sky. The sea was calm with only the gentlest of waves. The closer they got to the beach, the more enthralled she became with this little piece of paradise. Windy, cold Chicago seemed worlds away. So did her worries.
Justin seemed intent on continuing to impress her. Although he needn’t have gone to these lengths. She was already hooked on his blend of boyish humor and manly physique. In fact, she doubted she’d ever met a more complex and capable man. A momentary pang struck her in the chest at the thought that in a few days, she’d have to leave him.
Facing forward, she let the wind tug at her hair and blow away that sad thought. If he was bent on showing her a good time, she’d do her best to make a memory she’d savor for years.
He slowed their speed as they approached the beach, then let the motor idle as momentum and a lapping wave drove them into the soft sand bank. After cutting the engine, he leapt barefoot into the water and drug the small boat by a rope until it scraped against the dryer sand. Then he turned to offer his hand while she stepped out.
She slipped off her flip-flops and tossed them into the skiff then stood with her toes digging into the warm wet sand. How long since she’d been on a beach? “This is heaven, Justin. Absolutely beautiful.”
“Glad you like it.” He reached into the boat for the picnic basket. “Let’s get set up. Then I need to slather you with sunscreen.”
The idea of his hands on her body sent a shiver over her skin. She grinned at his word choice. “Sounds messy.”
“It will be.”
They chose a spot behind the tall boulders for privacy. While she unpacked the blanket and bottles of water, he gathered rocks to anchor the corners. They decided to swim before they ate, so she dropped her sarong on the blanket and ran into the water, Justin on her heels. Once there, he picked her up and waded in waist deep until he let her feet drop. She lifted her legs and encircled his hips, holding onto his shoulders as he braced against the waves.
“Should we be doing this in view of the ship?” she asked, winding her arms around his shoulders.
“Doing what?”
She reached between them, running her hand along his tight abdomen, and wrapped her fingers around his cock, which was beginning to expand inside his swim trunks. “I don’t know. How far are you willing to take this?”
“Too many layers,” he muttered through gritted teeth.
“But no chance of sand getting into crevices?”
He snickered. “And Dex said you were cool and classy.”
“My friends had their adventures. It’s my turn.”
She untied the sides of her suit bottom and pulled up the scrap of fabric, winding it around his neck. “Don’t want to lose it.” Then she shoved down his trunks, just far enough to free his cock.
The water lapped their hips.
“We should take this a little deeper,” he murmured.
“My thoughts exactly,” she whispered, but she knew they weren’t talking about the same thing. She gripped his shoulders and raised herself several inches, then came down on him, her eyes closing as he slid inside her sheath. Skin to skin. The contrast of cooler water with his hot shaft had her tightening, everywhere, around him.
The water ebbed and flowed around their joined bodies, and Justin shook his head, then strode deeper into the water. Every step jostled her, deepening his penetration. By the time he halted, with his back to the boat anchored outside their cove, she no longer spared a thought about what anyone might see. She was ready for him to thrust.
His fingers dug into her ass, and he began to move her up and down. She assisted him, pushing against his shoulders. And because she wanted the extra sensory stimulation, she peeled down her top to rub her breasts against his sparsely furred chest.
Sex in the water was noisy. Water splashed and churned, around them, between them. Building arousal was also harder than she’d thought it be. Sure, the water gave her buoyancy, but it also muted the impact of her body against his, robbing her of sharp bounces, which she needed, because she wanted the sex rougher, harder, faster.
She nipped his chin. “This working for you?” she asked, her mouth pouting.
“I’m doing just fine,” he said with a half-smile. “Anytime my cock’s buried inside you is a good time, baby.”
She groaned and tightened her legs around his waist, preventing any churning. “You have to help me with my suit.”
His chuckles w
ere low and dirty as he lowered her, then unstrung her bottoms from his neck and worked with her to gather the ties and knot them around her hips.
When they were decently covered, they strode out of the water. She moved at a much faster pace, but then he must be contending with an erection that bunched against his shorts with every step. By the time she saw him round the boulder, she’d flung away her suit and was settling on her back in the center of the blanket.
As he pushed down his trunks, he winced then fisted himself a couple of times. “Have to heat it back up. Water was cold.”
“The water’s like a bathtub.”
“It’s not as hot as your pussy.”
She shook her head at his crudeness, but her body didn’t seem to mind, releasing a hot trickle of fluid. She laid back, her head on her forearm, her hand cupping her sex, fingers playing, her core cramping with a rush of lusty heat as his gaze went straight to her busy hand.
He dropped to his knees, palms settling on hers and parting them. Without preamble or one of his smart-ass cracks, he bent to nibble at her breasts, licking then biting, and moving downward quickly, his tongue licking between the fingers still stroking her lips until he sucked at one tip. She slipped the rest into his mouth, letting him lick and nibble, doing things to her fingers she was dying to do to his cock, but he wasn’t forgetting about her either.
His fingers replaced hers inside her channel, swirling in her moisture.
Susan dug her curling toes into the blanket. “Justin, please,” she whimpered.
“Don’t want sand where it doesn’t belong,” he said, raising his head. “Turn around for me, baby.”
The thought of him seeing her that way shouldn’t have given her pause, but they were out in the bright daylight. She bit her lower lip and moaned.
“It will be all right,” he said, pulling on her arm to help her up. “Nothing I haven’t seen before. Nothing I haven’t been kissing.”
“There’re some things you haven’t kissed.”
“An omission I could rectify now.”
His emphasis on that one word sent a hot blush to her cheeks. “Why did that sound so dirty?”
“Because you have a dirty mind. Just one of the many things I love about you.”
She allowed him to turn her, his hands guiding her to her knees. A large palm pressed between her shoulders to lower her chest to the blanket, so that her bottom was up.
“Baby, I love your ass.”
At the last hissed word, she giggled and buried her face in her arms while hot kisses were dropping on her buttocks and between them. By the time she’d stopped laughing, he’d taken her last inhibition, because he did love every inch of her intimate flesh. Thoroughly.
His mouth tugged on her folds, and his tongue sank inside her. “Ready or not…”
“Not,” she cried out when he bit her there. But he was already moving, hands slapping her buttocks, the backs of her thighs, and then inside them, light taps that warmed her skin, and nudged her stance wider. The sound of something tearing then the sound of latex snapping reassured her.
When the blunt head of his cock bumped against her sex, she tilted up and wriggled, helping him ease inside, and she moved, undulating, circling her hips as he screwed deeper.
When he was seated, he let out a loud sigh and folded over her, covering her back. He kissed the backs of her shoulder and bit the fleshy top. “I could fuck you like this forever, Susie Q.”
Forever didn’t sound long enough. And she said so.
His hands covered hers ripping a handful of blanket; their fingers interlocked. With their heads low and close together, he began to pump against her, shallow pulses that worked up heat, but were more of a tease than what either really needed.
He pushed upward and wrapped an arm around her middle, bringing her upright, their bodies still connected. He smoothed his hands down her arms, plucked hers from her thighs, moving them over the skin of her belly, guiding them to cup her own breasts. His face burrowed into the corner of her neck. “When I bend you over, the finish is gonna be quick. Touch yourself, baby. Whatever you need.”
The raw texture of his voice made her shiver. She loved the sound, loved his large body surrounding her, inside her. His hands slid away. An arm hugged her waist, holding her hips still, preserving their connection. They tilted together, each going forward—him to rest on both arms, her on one while her fingers found her clit and began to circle. When he pulled out, she quivered, waiting. His first thrust was steady and deep. So was the next.
Her breaths grew ragged, her body shuddered. Pleasure washed through her—a wave of desolation when he left, radiant joy when he thrust forward. His motioning hips found their rhythm, tuned into the beating of their hearts, and he thrust faster, harder, driving the air from her lungs. When her ascent was assured, she braced on both hands, shoving backward to meet his thrusts. Their opposing slams quickening, shortening, and at last she arched, head flinging back.
The keening cry she gave was his signal, and he powered into her, three hard, grinding thrusts and then his shout rang in the air.
They knelt together, his weight making her arms quiver until he eased from inside her and lay on the blanket, opening his arms in invitation. She fell over him, straddling one thick thigh, his hands on her bottom and in her hair while their gusting breaths quieted.
Susan gathered her courage. “The things you said…” Her courage fled before she could be more specific.
“About the things I love about you…?”
“Yes.” She swallowed, hoping “love” wasn’t just part of his breezy vocabulary.
“It’s true. I’m pretty sure I’m love with you.”
Her heart leapt and started thudding against her chest. “But you don’t know me,” she said, nuzzling his chest, afraid to meet his gaze.
“No, I don’t know everything.”
Her natural defensiveness rose. What did she really know about this man? “But…”
“I don’t have to know everything about you to know I love this—being with you. That I love your smart mouth and killer glares. Both of those things turn me on, by the way. I wanted you the minute I saw you in the airport. You looked…impossible.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You had your chin up, and your mouth was tight, but I could tell it was meant for kissing. I wanted to know what it felt like, what was needed to soften it up. For me. But I thought you were a million miles outside of my reach.”
At the touch of his hands smoothing up and down her back, she realized she’d grown tense.
“It’s okay. I don’t expect you to feel the same way. But I do hope knowing my feelings doesn’t scare you so much you don’t want to see me again.”
She lifted her head, meeting his gaze. His expression was hard to read, his gaze open, but his jaw squared, as though he expected a blow.
Susan did the only thing she could think of, she pushed up, sliding her thighs to either side of his hips and settling hard against the firming knot at his groin. She braced her hands against his chest and glared downward. “You think I’m coward?” You think I can’t love you.
“I think you’ve always had plans for your life, and that someone like me doesn’t fit in those plans.” He traced a finger along her cheek. “And I know you’ve been disappointed before, that you don’t trust men.”
“I trust you,” she said swiftly, before she gave herself a chance to think of something less revealing.
“Well, that’s progress,” he said softly and smiled.
Anger burned inside her. “Shouldn’t you expect more for yourself?”
“I hope for more. But I can take one day at a time.” His lips spread wider. “You’re with me now, aren’t you?”
“People don’t fall in love at first sight. That’s a myth,” she muttered, her breath hitching.
“Well, I did.” His chin jerked in a tight nod. “And I would have been the first to say it only happens to folks in love with t
he idea. Who wouldn’t recognize the real thing if it bit them in the ass.”
She jutted her chin. “You bit my ass.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
Thoughts whirled through her mind but she didn’t know. Or maybe she wasn’t ready to admit to herself what she’d meant. She shook her head.
Justin gave her a crooked smile. “Did you mind so much? You seemed a little shy about turning around—”
“It’s the middle of the day. The sun—”
“Yeah, I had a really good look, but like I said, I love your ass.”
“I don’t want to feel…weird…or anything.” But she already did. Like she was disappointing him. Like she was lying.
“That’s the last thing I want. But hey, we have the perfect sky, calm seas.” He spread his arms to indicate the beach. “Why don’t we eat lunch and take a swim? By then, you’ll have had more than enough sun. We can head back to the estate.”
And they would part. But she didn’t want time away from him. To think. To decide this was crazy. Because part of her already felt as though she knew him, too. That she could like having him around, forever. Maybe even more than like. Which was the issue because the thought of permanence, of having to sustain a relationship, of being on her best behavior or being sweet 24/7 so he wouldn’t discover she was less than warm and fuzzy, scared her to death.
She might be falling in love with him, but he didn’t really know her. If he did, would he still want her? And that was the question that had niggled at her from the second he’d curled her fingers around those bills. He thought her gesture was funny, the instant reaction she’d had when she’d thought about inviting him into her bungalow. She’d tried to pay him to put him in his place, not that he’d needed a set down. Oh no. She’d needed to relegate him to the status of bell hop or pizza delivery boy, because she hadn’t been ready to be attracted to someone she might let matter.
Chapter Seven
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 6