Casey tilts her head back, giving me full access as my lips travel from the hollow of her jaw down to her breastbone. Bringing one hand up, I splay my fingers underneath her shoulder bra strap and pull just a little. I don’t expose her, but I make it one hell of an intimate touch. I go down further to the swell of her breasts, and a jolt of electricity sears through me as her hips finally begin to respond to mine.
She’s working with my rhythm now, even if just a little. Of her own volition, her pussy lips slide against my hard cock as my hands roam up and down from her shoulders to her ass. With one hand, I hold onto the round of her buttocks and help to guide the gentle sway of our hips. With the other, I pull at her bra strap, exposing her a little more.
I look up at her as my thumb slips lower to the cup of her bra and underneath. Casey’s bottom lip trembles as my skin makes contact with her nipple. She takes in a quick breath, eyes riveted to mine as I swirl a finger around the sensitive nub in accordance to the motion we have set below. Nothing in those beautiful eyes of hers are telling me no, so I dip my head once more.
An absolute thrill runs through me as I take her nipple between my lips, and she arches her back. She’s been trying to be quiet this entire time, but now Casey lets out a shattered cry. She straightens her spine and offers her breast to me. I take it gladly. I cup her with my hand, taking her more into my mouth and suck.
I’m full mast now and it’s taking everything within me not to grind up against her full force. With my other hand, I slide my fingers underneath the waistband of her panties and get a good handful of ass. Her moans and gasps are pure desperation, and I know what she’s desperate for. I move around to the front of her panties, pushing them down as I go.
As soon as my fingers come close, Casey’s hands move from my hair to my chest, and she pushes. She pushes hard. She launches herself across the Jacuzzi and sits on the other side, breathing hard and fixated on me with a wild look.
Her voice is quiet and not at all strong, and yet there’s a resolution in it. “We can’t.”
My eyes dart to the living room and back to her. What was I thinking? Her kid is right in there. “Of course. I’m sorry.”
Casey adjusts her clothing, her eyes looking for anywhere to rest but me, the perfect image of shy embarrassment. “Don’t be sorry. That was… nice.”
I can’t help but smile, and it shows through in my voice. “It was very nice, Casey. Please, can we finish our wine? I was enjoying your conversation. Tell me about the places you’ve traveled for gymnastics.”
I insisted on driving and taking my truck last night when it became obvious that Tobias would be digging through his phone to find a place to stay. After arriving at the luxurious cabin, I had felt how much a step down it was for him to be riding in my little rust bucket. And yet, he kept insisting how much he loved my truck and how good I looked in it. Every time he complimented me, and it brought a blush to my cheeks, because I couldn’t stop thinking about what transpired in the Jacuzzi tub. Or about the sweet yet consuming kiss he gave me before I split off to join Jenna in one of the guest bedrooms.
The cab of the truck bounces over uneven terrain as I pull back into the campsite. Jenna sits between us, holding the eggs aloft is so they wouldn’t break. She’s been sworn to secrecy and filled in that this was a situation in which it was okay to tell a lie. As far as everyone else was concerned, the three of us had gotten up at the break of dawn and gone out to the local grocery store to purchase breakfast goods.
I know that later on, Jenna and I would have to have a talk about the socially acceptable lie. She was right at that age where she might take it a little too much to heart – or a little too broadly. Jenna stares straight forward through the windshield as I put my old truck into park. I glance over at Tobias, and he’s giving me that knowing, flirtatious smirk he’s been sending my way all morning.
I push away the surge of desire that’s been keeping my panties a little wet since I got dressed. Tobias is only home for a few more weeks, and I’m a long-term kind of girl. Last night was wonderful, but we’re no match. That became all too evident when he thought I put the brakes on things last night just because Jenna was inside. I didn’t have the courage to tell him the reason why. Guys either don’t believe me, or they get even more excited. I am not a conquest.
As soon as the doors slam shut, our arms full of groceries, a couple of women swarm Tobias. They take the bags from him, leaving Jenna and I to trudge off to the center of the campsite unaided.
A busty blonde in clothing not very appropriate for camping lays a hand on his shoulder. “Oh, honey, I would’ve gone shopping with you. We could’ve made a few stops along the way — you know — taken our time. Kinda like last time you were home. We had a good time, didn’t we?”
My eyes roll so dramatically, I have to get my head into the motion. I’m sure he’s used to women being that obvious.
His voice comes out as unsteady as I’ve heard it yet. “Yeah. We had a good time.”
I can feel his eyes on me, and I check over my shoulder. The two women are walking rather close to him, and he is also looking rather uncomfortable. Real tragic.
The other woman, who is donning a safari style hat, joins in, nodding in my direction. “Looks like you’ve already had your fun for the morning. I’m sure you’re going to have to go shopping again later today, so you just come and get Annabel and me. We’ll both be more than happy to give you a hand. Or a mouth. Or —”
“Thank you, ladies,” he interrupts. “I’ll let you know.”
My cheeks sear red once again, but this time it’s a flush of anger. Men aren’t the only ones who can get a one-track mind. The assumption that I would skip out for an early morning screw has me inexplicably boiling inside. No, I know why it has me boiling. I’ve waited this long to give it up, some hasty bang in a storage closet – or God knows where – is not how I’m going to lose my virginity. Not that those women would understand.
I try to center in on the anger in order to distract me from the jealousy. I have no right to be jealous. I’ve known him for one evening, and those women have obviously known him longer. Hell, if my sister knew him back when he was the stud on the football team, he probably fucked her, too. Yeah. Tobias Dean is not exactly a one-woman, long-term kind of man.
I notice he’s still watching me, but those women are still hanging on him, so I pick up my speed.
Jenna keeps up with my pace, and she leans in for a whisper. “I’m having so much fun, Mom. I love camping.”
I nudge her with my elbow. “I’m not sure that we’re technically camping, honey. We stayed in a luxury cabin, not our tent.”
She lights up with a big smile. “That was awesome, too! Can we go back there again tonight?”
Oh hell, if my heart didn’t just race when she asked. My brain tells my body not to respond like that. Tobias Dean is not a man to trust myself with. “I’m not sure, honey. It’s awfully expensive.”
Honest child she is, she brings up the obvious. “But Toby said he rented it for two nights and that he’s going back there with or without us. And he’s cool. I like him.”
“You don’t really know him, Jenna.”
“I know he made you smile. I’ve never seen you have a good time with a guy before — it looked good.”
I swallow down the lump in my throat in just enough time to greet Kelly as she comes to help with groceries.
It’s nice to get out into the woods and away from the crowd. True to Kelly’s notions, quite a few of those who had come for the night were already leaving this morning. But now, different individuals and families are filtering in. It’s going to be a couple weeks of this. Casey had a pretty good idea last night — getting away and getting the cabin, for sure — but also setting up a secluded spot for myself somewhere back here would be nice.
Kelly had been helping to make and serve breakfast all morning, and my family had recruited Casey to crack and beat about twenty dozen eggs. Not Jenna. The young la
dy was eager to be on the move again, and she plodded through the woods with me, jumping off every stump and fallen tree she could find. The kid really did like being airborne.
The woods open up into what might be about a quarter of an acre clearing. There are brambles and a few really small saplings, but overall — a pretty good spot to set up camp. Jenna celebrates the newfound open space by turning a couple of cartwheels and moving straight into a handspring. The girl moves with an astounding amount of grace. Her limbs just follow one another like they know exactly where they’re supposed to be going.
I cast about me and find a small fallen tree about four inches around. I grab on and haul it out into the clearing. “Show me some of your balance beam routine. Let’s see how good these skills really are.”
Her enthusiasm for the sport is apparent. She gets this shit-eating grin and skips right over, spreading her arms wide and mounting the fallen tree as gracefully as though she were in a gymnasium. She lifts one leg high up into the air to test the stability of her platform and then spins on her heel, executing a quick one-eighty.
Nice. “You and your mom have a good time last night?”
She talks casually as a she goosesteps across her makeshift beam. “That cabin was awesome. Can we go back?”
“I guess that’s up to your mom.” I search my mind for a better way of putting it, but hell, the ages of Jenna and her mom just don’t seem to match up. I was already out of country by the time Casey was an upperclassman, but Kelly never said anything about her best friend being pregnant in high school. “How old are you, Jenna?”
She keeps her eyes on her feet and jumps up into the air, lifting her legs lightning fast into the splits. She lands again and checks her balance before answering. “I’m ten.” She must catch the incredulous look on my face out of the corner of her eye, because she retorts, “I know, I’m a little small for my age, but Mom says most gymnasts are.”
I do the mental math. “So, that would make your Mom…” I go for the most political conjecture. “… Twenty-eight?” There’s no way she’s only a couple years younger than me.
Jenna spurts out a little giggle that reminds me so much of Casey’s. “Oh my God, no. That’s ancient. Casey’s only twenty-two. And she’s not really my mom.”
Relief and curiosity both flow through me. Relief, because having a kid as young as she would have to would have made life pretty damn hard for Casey. Curiosity, because the two still look so alike. “Is that right? Did she adopt you?”
Jenna swooshes her hands over her head, tips ass over tea kettle, and performs a handless cartwheel — landing perfectly with arms outstretched once again. “Yup. My real mom died a long time ago. I was only four. They were sisters. Casey’s been my mom ever since.”
Shit. That must have been Susan, the sister we were talking about yesterday. Something inside of me twists. It’s really easy to forget as a soldier that civilians die every day, too. The vast majority of men and women I know who have died at a young age have been soldiers, sailors, and airmen. But it happens to the cheerleaders and young mothers of the world as well. I wish I could make that kind of shit stop happening, but that’s beyond my paygrade.
I check Jenna’s face closely for signs of discomfort, but it truly must seem like a long time ago to a ten-year-old girl. Good on Casey. Six years raising her sister’s kid. That means she took on the responsibility when she was sixteen. Fuck. All I was doing when I was sixteen was running around the pigskin and screwing every girl who would let me. Including Casey’s sister. Okay, get your mind off that subject.
“Hey, Jenna. What do you think?” I walk over to the south side of what I graciously now think of as my property and spread my arms out in front of me, gesturing. “Tent here? We should be able to get the first morning rays of the sun in this spot.”
My new favorite little kid jumps off her balance beam and comes to survey the area with me, her hands on her hips. “We? Mom and I get to come out here with you?”
“I’d like that.”
How easily the words roll off my tongue surprises me. I would like that. There’s nothing like hearing about the woman behind and fighting through their own struggles to make a man want to come home and take care of them. If I’m being honest with myself, I almost took up Annabel and Lori on their offer to head out for a wild night in an even wilder threesome. But the further I walked away from the main campsite, the less excited I became by the proposition.
I’m even more surprised by how quickly my desire for one-night stands has faded. Thad has tried to get me out on the town ever since I flew in, but I still haven’t gotten laid. How long is it then? I usually don’t have a hard time finding a willing female service member overseas, either. They love the special forces Special Forces boys and get just as randy and lonely as the men. But hell, it’s been months.
There’s one woman on my mind who I would very much like to establish something more than a one-night stand with. Someone I would like to take care of at least while I’m home. I look down at the little girl that someone loves as her own daughter. “Tell me. If you could have anything you wanted — a fantasy campsite — what would it look like?”
Jenna puts a couple of fingers to her lips and squints — her gears turning. All the sudden, her eyes go wide, and she begins to fidget and dance. “Safari tents!”
A full day and night have gone with another day about to pass me by, and I haven’t had much more than the passing communication with Tobias. I won’t lie, a large part of me feels let down — as though I had been led into believing that there was some sort of spark between us. Neither can I deny the jealousy, assuming he must have taken one — or both — of those women back to the cabin last night. In our Jacuzzi. But I know I have no right to be jealous. They probably gave him what he needs — what I can’t.
Still, I was hoping for some sort of a repeat of that night. Naïve of me, I know. A man like Tobias — strong, masculine, and panty-melting attractive — didn’t need to take it slow with someone like me. An inexperienced woman who wouldn’t know what to do with a naked man if he was standing in front of me. Those two women — they can probably do things to him I couldn’t even understand.
Dusk is setting in, the sun drawing closer to the horizon, and I take a good look around me to try to find Jenna. I’ve seen her just as seldom as I’ve seen Tobias. She’s been checking in with me here and there, but she has been absent — and happy. Good. I don’t want to bring down her mood. We may be staying at the campsite longer than first expected.
I check my phone once again. The reception here is terrible, but every once in a while — either by some mysterious blowing of the wind or movement of the trees — a little bit of data gets through, and everyone’s phones chirp with incoming emails and text messages.
Sure enough, the companywide email hasn’t disappeared since last time I checked. They just had to wait until the weekend to send it, didn’t they? The dreaded layoffs went through, and middle-management got hit the worse. My entire department has been eliminated. Four years of working myself into that position, and it’s gone. Why not stay a little longer? It’s not like you have a job to go to on Monday.
I don’t know whether it’s the beauty of the sky beginning to turn colors or the deeper depression that begins to settle into my soul, but my chest tightens, and I feel the urge to cry. If life could only be as simple as standing on the edge of this little lake and looking over the water.
I hear a chorus of halloos and turn to see who the crowd is saluting. Tobias and Jenna are emerging from the woods with huge smiles plastered across the face. That’s where she ran off to. She looks so natural tromping beside him. I know it’s not fair to her to only have me. A girl her age could benefit so much with a father figure in her life. Hell. I would benefit so much from a strong man in my life as well. I’ve never been the kind to yearn for a shining knight, but I must be honest with myself, it’d be pretty damn nice right about now.
Tobias lifts his hand high
into the air and gives the crowd around the bonfire a big wave, but he directs his footsteps in my direction. I’ve set myself and my sour mood apart from the group — I’m pretty sure I’m contagious. But as those two get closer, their big smiles, bright eyes, and cheerful aspects prove to be infectious as well. I grin at them despite myself.
I forget my unwarranted annoyance at Tobias as he draws near and offers his arm. “My lady, will you accompany the two of us?”
Jenna grabs his other arm and bounces in her excitement. “Come on, Mom. We have a surprise.”
What the hell? I could use a surprise right about now — as long as it’s a good one.
—
I’m pretty sure the blindfold wasn’t necessary. And yet, here I am, being led through the woods with unsure footing. Jenna has one hand, and Tobias has the other. He also has a hand on the small of my back, and that simple touch is sending some very inappropriate signals between my legs.
If I’m not mistaken, I begin to hear the light tunes of music wafting through the woods. Classical? Or perhaps jazz. “You guys just had to insist on the blindfold, didn’t you?”
Jenna’s disembodied voice comes to me from my right. “It’ll be worth it, promise.”
The music becomes more clear, and I identify it as more of a modern classical music — if that makes sense — kinda like the thing you would hear in a slow moving movie score – the kind of thing that gives the nerves a breather between the action scenes. Part of me is okay with them guiding me a little longer if it means Tobias keeps his hands on me. There’s something about being blindfolded that heightens my sense of touch and makes his skin on mine feel like fire. But alas, it is not meant to be.
SEAL's Secret: A Secret Baby Military Romance Page 4