“Sure, what's on your mind?” She asked with a tilt of her head. The movement exposed her neck, as her hair tumbled to one side over her shoulder, and she watched his eyes follow the movement and the way that his Adam's apple bobbed with his swallow before he cleared his throat.
“So what do you do for a living? I've been curious,” he leaned back in his chair casually, and it was all she could do to not stare at the way that the shift exposed his collar bone.
“Well, I guess that's not an unfair question,” she said softly, tucking some hair behind her ear. “But I'm not entirely sure that you'd believe me.”
“Try me,” he said easily, and she felt that he was keeping his mind open for her, something that she appreciated immensely.
“So,” she started, straightening up in her seat. “I work in the IT department at my work, and also do some computer building and repair on the side for some extra money.” He tilted his head with a frown, clearly confused.
“Why on earth would I not believe you?” He asked in a surprised tone. “That's a common job for people to have, and it's one of the better ones to have in the civilian world, if you ask me.”
“I'm just used to people not believing me, or worse, my coworkers making it seem like I don't need to be there,” she curled into herself. “It wears on you after a while.”
“It's a load a bullshit that you have to go through that. And your boss just, what, let's it happen?” She nodded her head glumly.
“Every day,” her eyes darkened in frustration. “It's always the same – either everything is working just fine, and they question why they bother paying me, or I'm fixing something, and they're yelling at me that I didn't keep it working, and question why they bother paying me.” She sighed. “It just wears on you, so I just tend to keep in the server room and avoid talking to anyone when I can.”
“My, don't they seem... charming,” Lance drolled sarcastically as he took a sip of his drink. Elora nodded with a snort as she stirred her strawberry lemonade so that the strawberries were more proportionally distributed in her drink.
“Oh, they're the absolute best, let me tell you,” she said just as sarcastically. She took a sip of her drink, humming in pleasure at the taste. “I was tempted to find work with another company, but that mentality toward the IT workers permeates the entirety of the business, so there'd be no point in me looking for another job until I can find something that I can enjoy in my field,” she glowered into her lemonade. “It drives me crazy. For a few years now, I've felt like I was never going to get away from that place.”
“I can understand not being appreciated at your workplace,” he said as he rested a hand over hers. “I'm a commanding officer, so no one really looks forward to dealing with me to begin with, doubly so when I have to bark orders at my men, or tell them that they have to stay late to work on something for a field op.” She smiled and squeezed his hand.
“That means more to me than you could possibly know,” she said softly. Lance retracted his hand as the waitress came back to take their orders, which they gave in a rather polite but succinct manner. After the waitress was finished scribbling down their respective orders, she gladly took their menus and scurried off again, back to the kitchen to put their orders in.
“So,” Elora said softly after a few moments of companionable silence where they enjoyed their drinks. “What's it like as a Lieutenant in the Seals?” She stirred her drink to keep her hands busy. “I'm just curious what you guys do in your day to day, but if you can't answer or something, don't worry about it.”
“I guess that's a fair question,” Lance said with a nod as he set his tea down. “I don't mind. It's probably this super mysterious thing to everyone outside of it,” she nodded, and he continued, “It's mostly drills and paperwork when we're not on operations. Those don't happen nearly as often as some people might think that they do,” he chuckled. “So we just keep training and occupy ourselves in other ways for most of the time.”
“That's really cool, though,” she said conversationally as she slurped another few noodles into her mouth with her chopsticks.
“Not really,” he laughed. “It gets quite boring after a while. Eventually, you just kind of go through the motions and look forward to the weekends so you can do something different for a change.”
“Sounds like my work,” she said with a sigh. “Really, it's just five days of monotony to just wait for the weekend where I can do things that I actually like to do.” They chatted amicably as they ate, and as they talked, Elora felt the beginnings of affection stir in her heart, and it took her by surprise.
As their date drew to a close, Elora found that she didn't want it to end just yet, but knew that there would be other dates to come, if his clear attraction to her was any indication. Even as he drove her home, she found that she was looking forward to the next date that they had already. He was kind enough to get out and walk her to her door, even though it was only early evening, something that she was secretly thrilled with.
“I had a wonderful time today,” she said as she lingered outside of her door. She fiddled with her keys, stalling in saying goodbye.
“This was probably the best day out that I've had in a long time.” He grinned down at her. “i don't suppose I could call on you again next week?”
“Please, call on me sooner than that,” Elora said with a smile. “But I'd love to go out with you again next weekend!”
“Done and done,” he said softly, bringing his face closer to hers and pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. Her heart melted, and she found herself gaping after him as he wished her a good night and left. She shook her head and walked inside in a daze, feeling as though she were floating, already looking forward to hearing from him again.
As it turned out, they talked almost every day for at least a little bit, and went out on dates every weekend. Elora hadn't felt so happy or so attracted to someone as she did Lance in such a long time. Their dates were varied, but really, she was just glad to be able to spend time with him when he was off. Though they had kissed, and even snuck in some heavy petting, there hadn't been much more than that, and it wasn't long before they were on their way to celebrating their six month anniversary.
As she got ready for their anniversary date, she decided that, if he wanted it, that she would make it clear to him that she wanted to spend the night with him tonight, and that she wanted to get to know him in every sense of the word. Though she was nervous, she found that she was looking forward to the chance to spend more time with him, and eager to see how the night turned out.
He picked her up outside of her house, the same as usual, but this time she felt the electricity of excitement tingling at her fingertips, like they were about to embark on a new chapter together. She hopped into his car and gave him a peck on the cheek as he pulled out and drove to the restaurant that they had a reservation for. The ride itself wasn't long, she knew, but it still felt as though it took forever, like time was slowing down because she had something to look forward to.
He was the perfect gentleman even before the date truly began, helping her out of the car and holding the door open for her as they walked inside of the restaurant. He gave the greeter his name and the reservation time, and they were soon led to their table. The waiter that was taking care of them took their drink order – a bottle of wine for the table – and went on their way to get it, leaving them to their own devices.
“This place is so fancy,” Elora commented as her eyes took in the crème walls accented with ruby red curtains and hushed lighting. Lance nodded and took a sip of his water.
“I wanted our six month anniversary to be special, so I thought coming here would be a good idea.”
“That's so thoughtful of you,” she said with a smile, reaching across the table and taking his hand in hers. “Thank you. I'd just be happy to spend time with you, but this is wonderful.” He grinned back at her and ran his thumb across her knuckles. They let go of their hands as they picked up
their menus to look over and decide what they wanted to eat.
The waiter came back with the bottle of wine that they ordered and popped the cork off with a flourish to pour their first glasses for them. After taking their orders for their food, she was off again, scurrying to the kitchen to put their orders in.
“How has work been? They haven't been too awful on you, I hope?” Lance asked as he took a pull from his glass of wine.
“Nothing worse than normal,” she said after taking a sip of the sweet wine. “But it's nothing that I can't handle. I've learned to just ignore them and their comments and stick to the server room as much as I can.”
“Probably for the best,” he said, though looked genuinely remorseful over the fact that she was still not being treated well at work. Her heart swelled at the display, knowing that he cared so much for her.
“How have things been with your unit?” She asked as their food was set in front of them.
“Slow, but that's normal,” he said as he picked up his fork and knife, eager to cut into his steak. “We've mostly just been doing day long field ops so that we're used to hauling our gear around.” He carved a bite of steak out and popped it into his mouth. “Frankly, it's getting dull. I can only walk around sand dunes for so long before I start to go a little crazy out there.” She giggled at the mental image of him trudging around with a mountain of gear on his back, huffing about because he didn't want to be there.
“I see,” feeling bold, incredibly attracted to him, and so in love that it hurt, she toed off one of her pumps and let her foot run along the inside of his leg. He shivered, clearly not expecting it but certainly not turning away the attention.
“My, my,” he cooed as he grinned over the rim of his glass of tea. “Are we feeling bold today?”
“Perhaps,” she said with a grin. He arched a brow at her, evidently intrigued by what she could potentially do to him. “Maybe I decided that I really like you,” she licked her lips hungrily at him. “Maybe I want to see where things go with you.”
“Really, now?” He asked, a grin tugging at his lips. “Perhaps we could go back to my place when we're done, and we could... get better acquainted?” He asked in a deep rumble that sent shivers down her spine.
“I would like that,” she said as the waitress brought their food to the table, ending their flirtatious talk.
“I'd best eat up, then,” he said with a wink as he picked up his sandwich. “It wouldn't do for me to work myself out on an empty stomach.” She nodded and picked up her chopsticks.
“It all looks absolutely delicious,” Angela said, mouth watering as she looked at her pho, steaming in its bowl and smelling absolutely scrumptious; she could smell the broth, the pork, and the vegetables all coming together in a savory harmony of flavors that she couldn't wait to sample on her tongue. She readied her chopsticks eagerly and began to silently slurp some noodles. She practically moaned in a sexual manner when she tasted the broth that the noodles had soaked in, and eagerly tucked into her meal with gusto, unaware of how hungry she had been until she tasted some food. He grinned as he watched her enjoy her food. Picking up his sandwich, he bit into it, a moan of pleasure of his own escaping as he chewed on his bite of it.
“Can't say I blame you for enjoying your food so much,” he said once he'd swallowed his mouthful. “This is delicious. What about yours?” He asked, gesturing with the hand that still held half of his sandwich, as it had been cut in half for easier eating.
“This is the best pho I've ever had from this town,” she said as she began to nibble on some of the vegetables that were stewed in the broth.
“From this town? You've had better elsewhere?” He asked, surprised. She nodded around another sip of the broth.
“Homemade from a friend of mine whose mother was from Vietnam and made every part of it from scratch. Even used her own vegetables from her garden. Sometimes, you just can't beat homemade,” she said with a definitive nod. He laughed and sipped at his tea.
“I can't say that I blame you; no matter where I have it, I still prefer homemade chicken noodle soup that my mom makes when I visit back home. Nothing else seems to hold up by comparison!” They laughed and chatted amicably while they ate, but the atmosphere was different now, like there was this unresolved sexual tension between them. Her continual teasing with her foot against his leg grew bolder until her bare toes brushed along the front of his pants lightly, where she felt an erection already rising up to meet her ministrations.
He moaned again, and this time, she knew it wasn't because of the food. They finished their meal, and it didn't take long before he paid for the check and all but dragged her by the hand to the car. She laughed at how eager he was, and yet how gentle he was being; though he was holding her hand and pulling her through the restaurant to the car, he wasn't hurting her, and his grip was loose, so that she could pull away if she wanted, something that she appreciated more than she could say, that he was still letting it be her choice.
The car ride home was a test of frustration, as Lance evidently had every intention of getting revenge for her teasing at the restaurant. As he drove, he teased her with a hand that cupped her womanly folds through her dress, never fully entering her through the fabric but still touching her just enough that she found herself coming alive under thoughtful fingertips. The feeling was so intoxicating that she found herself reluctant to leave the car when they pulled up to what she guessed was his place, fearful that the feeling would bleed out into the sidewalk before they even reached the front door.
And yet, the walk itself proved to be more electrifying than she could have hoped for; his hand on her hip became bolder from their time in the car, beginning to rub up and down the inward curve of her waist and drifting down to the generous swell of her hip to grip her buttocks. She was hardly idle herself, palming him through his pants and teasing him twice as much as she did before with kisses pressed to his neck. It was enough to distract him in his attempts at unlocking the door, and he fumbled with the keys, but they eventually stumbled in, a tangle of limbs and buttons and zippers and she spun and kicked the door shut behind her.
His lips found hers, and something inside her swelled, something she was just a touch too fearful to put a name to, something that sat somewhere between love and attraction, and she knew in that moment, no matter that, she was doomed. He guided them to his bedroom and backed her up slowly until she felt her knees hit the edge of his bed. With a graceful spin, she sent him toppling onto it with a gentle push to his open and well toned chest. Swaying seductively, she pulled her dress off from the shoulders downward and stepped out of it, leaving her heels on and kicking her discarded dress off to the side. She crawled on top of him, mouths coming together to dance in that age old way that they do. And it wasn't long before their bodies followed suit, in an even older dance that was led purely by instinct, once they'd managed to tug the last of the layers of clothing separating them off. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as she finally took his manhood in her hand and began to slowly pump his shaft in long, languid strokes.
His large, smoothly calloused hand found its way to her clit, the pad of his thumb circling the womanly pearl with a sense of urgency that rivaled only her own, as she increased the tempo of her hand working his cock. The heat that coiled tightly in her belly begged for release, his wickedly talented fingers going to work on her core, in addition to his thumb stimulating her little bud of nerves. She arched her back and cried out from on top of him, her fingers traveling up her body to play with her already rock hard nipples.
“Close,” she panted, rolling a nipple between her fingers and rubbing her slick folds against his throbbing erection. “I'm close, please, Lance!” Her back bowed tightly as the coil finally snapped and she was sent careening into the abyss of her pleasure. “Your cock,” she begged through the haze of her orgasm, still cresting the waves of pleasure that sent her awash in the tide. He moaned brokenly against her as he sat up, face buried in the crook of her neck,
and rolled them over so that he was on top of her, towering over her.
“Not just yet,” he moaned against her lips. “I'm not finished with you,” he growled as he trailed a path of kisses down her body until he nipped the flesh of her hip. She knew what was coming, and trembled in anticipation for it.
“Oh, yes,” she breathed in a high pitched voice when he pressed a teasing kiss to her womanly folds. His fingers slipped inside of her to continue to tease her for a few moments before he slipped them out again. She whimpered from the lack of stimulation but soon choked on a gasp when he replaced his fingers with his clever tongue, plunging into her as deeply as he could, as if he were doing the best that he could to taste every drop of her that he could glean out of her. Her back bowed under his touch, and she nearly screamed when the tip of his tongue found her clit and swirled around it. He clutched at her hips and drew her further to his mouth, as if he needed to drink her in as much as possible, and it was all Elora could do to clutch the sheets and ride out the rolling of his tongue.
Impossibly, she felt her second orgasm begin to build within her. It alarmed her how quickly he could make her cum, and how many times in a row that he was able to make it happen. Her head spun as he nipped at her clit with her teeth, her eyes rolling into the back of her skull as she rode out her pleasure. She rocked her hips in time with his tongue in an attempt to help him find that one stroke that would send her over the edge again. She was so ready to cum again that she was nearly sobbing by the time his clever tongue found the one artful stroke that sent her toppling over the edge once more, her hips jerking erratically as she worked through her orgasm.
He crawled back on top of her and pressed his mouth to hers, letting her taste herself, and she moaned brokenly because of the way that it only served to make her even more ready for him to fill her with his cock and have his way with her.
ROMANCE: NAVY SEAL ROMANCE: Morning After (Military Bad Boy Pregnancy Romance Collection) (New Adult Alpha Male Paranormal Short Stories Collection) Page 10