He remained slow and reserved, playing her so finely, attuned to what she wanted, that she began to spin out of control, found herself calling his name and begging for more.
His pace quickened like a gradual wave that could go on forever. His lips kissed and sucked her nipples; his tongue devoured her. His thumb pressed her bud as he furiously stroked her insides. The long, rolling orgasm had begun at last, making it impossible to hold on, but she still tried. She was slipping, slipping into the warm abyss, and still she wanted more.
“Let go, Gretchen. Take me with you,” he whispered.
Her muscles slammed against his. She tore herself from under him and climbed atop, pushing down with his cock buried deep inside her. She was a wild woman, a female she’d only dreamt about. He gripped her buttocks hard, and she felt herself squeeze down on him, making him jump. As he began to come, he wrapped his powerful arms around her, nearly squeezing the breath out of her, holding her on his lap at the edge of the bed, forcing himself deeper still until both their bodies began to shudder in unison.
She was wrung out. Her chin rested on his massive shoulder. Sweat trickled down his spine. His fingers found the wet hair at the back of her neck as he pulled it aside, and he kissed her there. The scent of sex and unbridled desire filled her nostrils and made her want to come all over again.
She barely had the energy to turn her head. She bit his ear lobe, their bodies breathing together heavily, and she whispered, “I don’t want this to stop.”
His deep grumble and groan gave her a flash of energy as he pumped his pelvis up, lifting her body impaled on his cock.
“Baby, I can do this all night. I don’t think I can stop.”
She leaned back to see his face in the moonlight. Glistening beads of sweat coated his forehead and the sides of his cheeks. His full lips were soft to the touch as she brought her fingers up to feed his mouth and then feel their joining tongues.
Picking her up, he brought her into the shower, turning on the warm water, letting it wash over her burning body. He pressed her against the cool tile wall, lifted her right leg behind the knee, let his fingers explore her channel and pinch her nub, then guide his thick member home. Her fingers tried to grip the smooth, wet surface of the tiled wall. She angled her pelvis back, begging him to fill her. His pumping action brought tears to her eyes as she moaned and cried out.
Her body was electric with the need of this man. She muffled her voice, pleading against the wall, desperate for him.
His words, whispered so sweetly in her ear, made her insides explode.
“I’m here, baby. Not going to leave you. Not ever going to leave you, baby.”
Chapter 18
Trace slept very little. When he wasn’t fully consumed with the touch and feel of Gretchen’s smooth flesh as he made love to her over and over again, he watched her sleep, held her against him, and did what she asked. He pretended he’d never been hurt. That he’d never known the heartache of a love blown or fading away. He felt more and more possessive of her the more he fed from the sexual energy she gave back to him. She was strong, but pliable. She was female, but not fragile. She was a free spirit, giving up the secrets of the rhythm she liked, what she wanted to feel, and how he could please her. Unashamed. Even the way she’d slipped off her panties and bra told him she had bared her soul to him.
It wasn’t a mere fantasy. The lovemaking was more than sex. It was communion, a bridge between two hearts starved for one another. The rest of the world, true to her wish, was a universe away.
He mentally pushed the sun back under the horizon, tried to stop the new dawn from breaking through, because he wasn’t done loving her, and he didn’t want her to go back to her other life. In this room, in this big bed, he was master of her body, and she had enslaved him in the golden rings of pleasure she brought to him. The more he took, the more he wanted.
She stirred, her thigh slipping over his, her sweaty sex breathing against his flesh as if it was begging to be fed one more time. He’d do it, when he got good and ready to. But, for now, he wanted to look at her face, her eyes closed, her tongue licking her lips as she crawled up his thigh, pressing herself against him, and then shifting herself down again. As she breathed, her breasts made wet pools on his chest. Her blonde hair darkened against her face. His fingers pulled her hair back and off her forehead, where he kissed her, then inched down to plunge his tongue deep inside her mouth. Her satisfying gasp told him he’d pierced her veil of sleep and once again she was his to command.
“Trace,” she mumbled.
He kissed under her chin to let her finish. “Tell me. Right here, baby.”
“Don’t stop, Trace.”
“I don’t intend to, sweetheart.”
He rolled her to her stomach, pulled a pillow under her, folding it in half and elevating her sweet butt. All too tempting, he touched her hot core, pressed two fingers inside her, and felt the vibration of her deep moan into the pillow.
“You like that, baby?”
“Trace—Oh God, Trace!”
“Right here, baby.”
He bent, kissed both butt cheeks, and then slipped his tongue inside her opening, adding a thumb, then a finger, then two as she writhed beneath him.
Her hand came around to grip his arm and pulled slightly, asking that he ride her from behind.
“You like this, baby?” he said as he got to his knees, spread her cheeks, and watched his cock tease the pink lips of her sex. She was raising herself to accept him, and he was withholding until she needed him even more. Her forlorn moans nearly broke his heart.
“Please,” she begged.
“I’m going to fix it. I have what you need, baby.”
“Yes! Please.”
He placed his crown at her opening and very deliberately inserted himself, stopping on each of her moans, kissing her cheeks. The feel of her swollen lips squeezing his girth and their combined juices was delicious when he tasted his fingers. He pinched her bud gently, rolling it around between his third finger and thumb, and then gently pulled. He felt the stretched opening of her channel and rimmed it with his fingers.
He pressed himself inside her and then held her pelvis up with one hand on her belly, gently raising the angle, pulling her onto him so he could plunder deeper still.
Her shoulder muscles rippled under her sweaty flesh. While fully seated, he could feel the spasms inside her milking him, begging him to spill. He kissed the back of her neck and swept aside her sweaty hair. He arched back to angle deep again, then leaned back, pulled her right thigh up and over in front of him, turning her onto her side, and fucked her at an angle, the delicious feel of flesh coating his member. His hands fondled her breasts. He watched her dazed eyes yearn for him to play her further.
He took her right hand, and together, they massaged his balls, traced the liquid outline of her opening, and then fed her the juices they’d made.
“Oh God,” she cried suddenly as she began to orgasm.
He flipped her onto all fours and furiously pumped her, her breasts overflowing in his hands. She grabbed the metal headboard tightly as he released himself to her.
The morning sun gave gentle warmth, their bodies glowing against the white hotel sheets. They lay facing each other, watching each other’s eyes until their breathing allowed speech.
“You’re incredible, Gretchen,” he said, still catching his breath.
“You make me incredible, Trace. I never knew sex could be like this. It’s like—”
He answered her smile with one of his own. “Like we’re brand new at this, discovering sex for the first time.”
She nodded. “Like wiping the slate clean.”
He dared not say anything more, because the night and now this morning were perfect. There would be time enough to let the real world come calling.
He was starved for a big breakfast. Gretchen smiled the whole time while they walked to the restaurant. She hardly touched her food, but avidly watched him shovel it in.
“What time did you tell her we’d be home?” she asked.
He fed her pancakes dripping with syrup. “God, I love those lips. Do you suppose those lips could—?”
“More coffee?” the perky waitress asked, holding up her round little pot half the size of her oversized boobs.
They both nodded, chuckling, and accepted the hot liquid.
“I’d give anything to see her expression if she’d really heard you,” Gretchen began. “But what I’d really like is to have you finish your sentence.”
She was blushing.
“I’m game.” Trace moved to sit in the booth closer to her. “I was wondering if those lips,” he continued as he fed her another forkful of pancakes, “would suck my dick when we get back to the hotel.”
“So Mrs. Gray doesn’t have to be back right away, then.”
“I told her noon. She said she was going to give them a painting lesson somewhere downtown, and then we’d meet her at your house at noon.” He kissed her syrup-drenched lips. “Hmmm. You taste good.”
She quickly scanned the room as if making sure no one she knew would hear her. “Then I’d probably have time to suck your dick. Maybe twice.”
He liked that she played along. “Now why didn’t I think of that? That would be perfect. I think I could be persuaded to make you scream my name again.”
Gretchen was still smiling when they left the restaurant.
“I like your smile, baby,” he whispered as they walked casually toward the hotel.
“You made that smile,” she answered and squeezed his hand.
Confident and content, he nodded in agreement.
Yes. He. Did.
Chapter 19
It wasn’t until Trace had boarded the plane that Gretchen let down the gates and allowed the rest of her world to come crashing in. The girls had been great those last two days Trace was with them. He didn’t overplay it or make a fool of himself. He showed his genuine interest in them. If it was an act, it was a very good one.
Every once in a while, she’d catch him watching her from across the room, and when their eyes connected, she felt that same thrill she felt the first time she kissed him. But those were few and far between. Daytime was filled with activities involving the girls, and the nights, those breathless nights, were made for love. There was never a time they could sit down and just have a long talk. She knew he missed that as well. So his leaving left a lot of things undecided and unfinished.
A part of her wondered if the distance between them or lack of constant rubbing up against one another would make their fondness grow cold.
Does that happen when the girls go off to camp or go visit their grandparents? Then why am I worried about this?
She didn’t push for a commitment, still unsure she could trust herself, recalling that discussion they’d had when Mrs. Gray came to babysit. Though he acted casual and relaxed, she knew he was good at masking his emotions. It was way too soon for talk of a long term plan. They were still getting to know each other. And part of her worried they’d been thrown together with Clover’s kidnapping. If that hadn’t happened, they wouldn’t have connected as strongly as they did. Under stress and crises, people formed bonds they wouldn’t otherwise. She didn’t trust herself.
Instead of feeling sad that he was leaving, she was filled with uncertainty. He hadn’t volunteered a promise nor had she given him one. They didn’t even have a time they would get together again, and he’d stopped asking her for a visit down to Coronado.
Tony and Joanie were at the house with the kids when she returned from the Portland Airport. She expected Joanie, but with Tony in tow and the girls sitting in a row on the couch with their hands folded and their legs crossed in the same direction and Clover’s face looking like she’d been crying, Gretchen knew something was up.
Setting down her shoulder bag, jacket, and keys, she accepted Tony’s peck on the cheek after she walked over to them all. Tony sat back down and Joanie, who had also stood, had missed her chance to give her a hug or a handshake, which would have been weird.
Angie cast her glance down, but kept her chin up, trying to maintain a certain demeanor. Rebecca looked the same as normal.
“So, Gretchen, I understand your SEAL boyfriend left today. I would have liked to thank him for what he did for Clover,” Tony started. It was also unlike him to be so nice.
“He’s not my boyfriend, Tony. He’s a good friend.”
Angie inhaled and was about to say something, and Gretchen stopped her with that look she could give the girls. She knew the little one was going to say something about how he was a good kisser, since this delicious new piece of vocabulary crept into nearly every discussion these days.
Clover winced, her right eye in a fluttery spasm. She looked uncomfortable.
“Well, there’s time for that later, I suppose. I’m sure you’ll find someone really worthy some day.”
Again, Tony’s demeanor was off. Joanie grabbed his enormous hand and wove her fingers around his. It looked like an act of encouragement.
“You guys want anything to drink?” She had been looking at Tony and Joanie, but all three of the girls answered. “Yes, Mom.”
“You two stay put, and Clover come with me to help out. Tony? Joanie?”
Joanie said yes, but he said no.
“Just water, please, Gretchen. Don’t go to any trouble,” Joanie said sweetly.
Without asking, Gretchen filled two short glasses and four taller glasses with ice from the freezer door and cool water. She whispered to her oldest, “Give these to your dad and Joanie. I’ll take these for you and your sisters. And thank you, honey.”
“I don’t like being around her, Mom,” Clover whispered back. “Will I have to stay with them more, now that they’re—”
Clover stopped, suddenly aware of something she almost said and wasn’t supposed to. Gretchen was beginning to understand Tony’s reason for stopping by on a game day.
“Is that what this’s about?”
The small-talk background conversation in the living room had ended and was still. Too still.
Clover’s eyes drooped, and her forehead wrinkled. “Can they take me away from you?”
Panic sparked through Gretchen’s body. This had completely taken her out of her idyllic mood, with the taste and the memory of Trace still on her lips—the man who made her feel whole and safe. Now she would have to face this demon alone.
“We’ll discuss it later in private. Don’t worry. No one’s going to take you away, ever, without your approval, Clover.”
Her hands shook slightly, holding the four glasses including one for herself. She wanted to touch Clover’s cheek, but instead followed her into the living room.
Tony’s timing was pretty good, just like it always was. She was without her backup, and she’d not had time to prepare, mentally.
She handed the glasses to her girls, requesting they scoot aside so she could sit between Clover and Angie, and then carefully took a sip of water and waited.
Tony downed his in one gulp. “Gretchen, Joanie and I are planning a June wedding. We’d like the girls to be very involved.”
Gretchen knew there was more, but she vowed not to let a single crack in her granite exterior to show.
“That would be fun,” she said. As she looked at each of the girls, they all nodded. “You’d have a good time with that, wouldn’t you?” Rebecca and Angie were polite and nodded with wide smiles. Clover was sullen.
And then the other shoe dropped. “Gretchen, Joanie and I were talking, and we’d like the girls stay with us half the time at first. But perhaps it could be made into a permanent arrangement later on, if you wanted some freedom. You’ve worked so hard these past years, scraping together the money to keep the house, and I know you must be exhausted. I’m giving you the chance to go live your life. Travel. Have fun.”
Gretchen hadn’t realized she hated Tony as much as she did. Every ounce of respect and care she had for the man had been r
educed to the size of a fly she was about to step on.
Tony was about to give another reason why his proposal was a good idea when Gretchen stopped him.
“Tony, shut up. The girls are my family. They are not a burden. They are my pride and joy. And even if it were true, how dare you say these things in front of them? I would never consider sharing custody with you.”
“Well, the law has changed, and fathers now have rights.” Tony was getting his hackles up, working into an angry phase she knew all too well. “Before, I was single. But now I’m getting married. And, let’s face it, I can more afford to take care of them than you can. I’m the right choice.”
“Except have you asked the girls what they want?” Gretchen asked.
“I just mentioned it today. They have a while to think about it.”
“Think about it? This isn’t a unilateral decision, Tony. You can’t just waltz in here and decide you want to do this. It’s not fair to me, and it’s certainly not fair to them.”
“Oh sure, poison them against me, like you always do.”
The argument continued for several minutes. Gretchen worked to stay calm, but Tony was near boiling point.
The girls looked very somber, heads bobbing between their mother and then following their father’s retorts. Joanie was caught in the middle. Gretchen was grateful she had her arms around the girls, because it reminded her that they were the most important people in the room. The argument wasn’t really about she and Tony. It was about the girls and the impact this would have on their lives.
Tony wasn’t considering them for a second.
“I’m calling a break here, Tony. No more. If we’re going to have this discussion, it’s going to be in private. And since we can’t seem to be civil to each other, perhaps we should have someone else do it,” she said.
“I’m fine with that,” he said, slamming down his glass on her coffee table. “I’ve got the best attorneys in the State of Oregon. And I happen to know you struggle to even pay your phone bill. Gretchen, who do you think’s going to come out ahead?”
SEAL My Love: A SEAL Brotherhood Novel Page 12