Falling for the Seal

by Mia Ford

  Drew pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear and smiled. “If I'm being honest, I always wanted what Mason had,” he said softly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “With Carrie. I always wanted that. That sort of deep, abiding love and stability. I wanted it even though I mocked him for it relentlessly. The truth of the matter was that I wasn't sure anyone would have me the way Carrie and Mason had each other.”

  Reaching out, I stroked his cheek and he closed his eyes as he leaned into my touch. “I don't know why you'd think something silly like that. You're gorgeous.”

  “And fuck –”

  “You're not fucked up in the head!” I said, cutting him off before he could finish that thought. “Stop that.”

  “Sorry, hard to break the thought process, I guess,” he said. “It was a process that started long before I enlisted.”

  “I figured as much,” I said. “But we're going to work on that, okay?”

  “You're not my therapist anymore,” he teased. “Makes it kinda hard to work on it with you.”

  “I don't have to be your personal therapist,” I said. “I can still help you become a better person.”

  He looked at me for a long moment and then gave me a warm, genuine smile – the first I'd ever seen cross his face.

  “I'd like that, Amelia,” he said. “I'd like that a lot.”

  The way he said my name, as if it was some sort of delicate flower, was nice to hear. After hearing him call me nothing but Dr. Emerson for days, it was refreshing to hear my first name on his lips. Which speaking of lips – Drew leaned forward and kissed me, his soft, full lips pressed to mine as he slipped his tongue into my mouth. I felt his hand in my hair, gently pulling on it as I kissed him back, relishing in the sensation of his lips against mine.

  “Not here,” he said, pulling back.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, my desire growing by the second.

  I wanted him, and I wanted him right then and there. But if not there, then where?

  “Let's go to the bedroom,” he said. “I mean, if you want to.”

  This Drew was a different animal than the one I'd met that first night. He was actually somewhat sweet – now that we were looking at something different, something potentially more than just a one-night stand. I could get used to seeing that side of him.

  “Yes, please,” I said.

  We moved to the bedroom, where Drew laid me down on my back, planting a line of soft kisses all the way down my neck as he undressed me. He moved slowly this time, was more deliberate knowing that there was no reason to rush. No reason to hurry. I wasn't going anywhere, and neither was he.

  Drew moved between my legs, placing his mouth on my most intimate parts. My body moved upward as his tongue circled my clit. He took his time and savored my body, kissing and licking and sucking before fucking me with his tongue. When he finally slid his tongue inside of me, I thought I was going to come. My body shuddered and my eyes rolled back in my head. Needless to say, it felt amazing.

  The way he used his mouth was magical, sending me to the brink of orgasm within a matter of minutes. The first orgasm hit me hard and fast, and I held onto Drew's head, pushing his tongue deeper inside of me as my body writhed on the bed underneath him.

  Just as my orgasm subsided and my heartrate came down to somewhere below somebody who'd just run a marathon, Drew looked up at me, my juices on his lips and smiled. God, I wanted him inside of me. Need it. And in that moment, that's the only thing I wanted, so I pulled him up until he was on top of me, his cock pressing against my opening.

  This time, I managed to say, “Wear a condom, please,” before he plunged into my depths.

  Drew reached over to his nightstand, pulled out a rubber and slipped it over his cock, which already had pre-cum brimming at the top. He reached back in the drawer and pulled out some lube – for which I was grateful – and stroked it down the length of his shaft until it was glistening.

  It was going to be a whole different experience with this bit of preparation – but I knew it was going to be just as amazing. Of that, I had no doubts.

  Once he was wrapped up, I reached out and took him into my hand, stroking him before placing him against my opening once more. He pushed himself inside of me, stretching my pussy as it swallowed up his big, thick cock. My entire body shuddered as he entered me and I let out a low groan. I raised myself up to meet his thrust, our bodies becoming one as the pleasure took hold of me.

  He stared down into my eyes as he gently moved in and out of my warm, wet pussy, taking time to get used to one another and enjoying every second of it. He was raised above me, his strong arms holding him up, his body already covered in sweat from fucking me. I leaned upward, kissing him as I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on for dear life.

  Together, we found a rhythm that worked perfectly for us. He thrust inside of me as I moved up to meet his body, as we groaned with pleasure in unison.

  “Drew, oh Drew...” I said, my head thrashing from side to side.

  It felt so nice to say his name – to know his name – before having him inside of me again. If I'd thought what we shared before was amazing, this time was ten times better. The intimacy, the connection between us was deeper, stronger – and that always made the sex way better.

  And that's how I came a second time, with him on top of me, staring down into my eyes like I was a Goddess – and in that moment, I truly felt like one too. When I was with him, I felt like there was no other woman but me for him. I never caught him sneaking a peek at the tight ass of some sweet, young waitress, or some chick on the street with a top cut so low, her tits were hanging out. When he was with me, I felt like the only woman in the world for him.

  As he pumped his cock into me again and again, I let out a scream and he held onto me. My orgasm subsided soon after, but he continued moving in and out of me with an expert pace. I writhed underneath him and scratched at his back as he fucked me, unable to control myself as I called out his name over and over again.

  “Yes, Amelia... Oh God, yes,” he said, his body beginning to tremble.

  The way he said my name – with such a depth of feeling – and the way he looked at me. It was perfect.

  Drew groaned, his eyes closing as his breath grew ragged and shallow. I knew he was fighting the need to explode inside of me. He was trying so hard to keep going, to extend our pleasure. And as much as I wanted the pleasure to never end, I also loved knowing I drove him this crazy enough that he couldn't control himself.

  I clenched my vaginal muscles around his cock, squeezing him tight as he pounded himself deep into me. His body shook violently and his eyes flew open as he stared down at me, a look of near panic on his face as he completely lost all control.

  “Oh God...” he moaned, his words becoming nothing but animalistic grunts and groans as he thrust that big, beautiful cock deep inside of me one last time.

  Seeing the look on his face as he thrust himself deep into me made me come again. Hard. We came together as one, our bodies thrashing wildly as we lost all control, letting the pleasure take hold of the both of us. And we stared into each other's eyes, revelling in the look on his face, as we experienced one of the best orgasms of my entire life.

  Drew collapsed beside me, letting out a deep breath. “Wow,” he said.

  “Wow indeed,” I replied. “Though it seems like a vast understatement.”

  We both stared off into space for a moment, revelling in that post-sex glow. But then he turned and kissed me. Deeply. Passionately. There was a lot behind that kiss – a lot more than just sex. It was a kiss with real feeling. And real meaning.

  “Thank you, Amelia,” he said.

  “For what?” I laughed. “I should be the one thanking you.”

  “Not for the sex – although I should, it was pretty amazing,” he said and laughed. “But for coming back. For not running away from me.”

  “Oh,” was all I could think to say in that moment – as ridiculou
s as it sounded.

  I really had no words to say to that. I was happy that I came back too. This wasn't just for him; it was for me as well. I was getting chilly, so I pulled the covers up and nestled myself down deep into them. His bed was so cozy, so soft, and so wonderfully warm. I could probably die right then and there – after mind-blowing sex and in the most comfortable bed I'd ever been in – and have been perfectly happy.

  “Promise me one thing, please?”

  “What's that?”

  “Promise me you won't sneak out in the middle of the night again,” he said. “Because I'd really like to make you breakfast this time.”

  “That sounds nice,” I said. “Really nice.”

  And Drew pulled me close, my head resting on his bare chest, and I thought to myself – I could really get used to this.

  BOOK 3: CRUSH

  Chapter One

  “Belle!”

  My head snapped up and I saw my roommate and best friend, Alexa, bounding across the kitchen. She grinned at me as she dumped a handful of pasta into a pot full of boiling water on the stove.

  “Hey,” I said with a grin. Setting my backpack down on a chair, I did a lazy twirl across the hardwood floor. It felt good to be home – especially considering today had been my last week of classes before finals. I’d worked my ass off this week, and I really needed a break.

  “I’m making dinner,” Alexa said dryly. She grabbed a jar of marinara sauce and started unscrewing the lid. “This looks good, right?”

  I snickered. “You’re not supposed to put that in until the pasta’s done,” I said as kindly as I could. Alexa had never really been prone to making good meals. In the two-and-a-half years that we’d been living together, I’d done the vast majority of the cooking. But I didn’t mind – that was one of the things that made me and Alexa work so well as roommates. Sure, we were good friends. But we also knew our strengths: I was a better cook, and Alexa wasn’t bad at cleaning…and gossip.

  “Thanks, sous chef,” Alexa teased. She set the sauce down on the counter and sighed dramatically. Her big blue eyes widened as she slapped her hand against her forehead. “I had the worst day,” she added.

  I frowned, knowing a story was coming. “Oh, yeah? Tell me about it,” I replied. Moving my bag from the chair to the floor, I slid down in the chair, making sure to keep one eye on the stove. Alexa’s dramatics were nothing new, and I knew from experience that it was a good idea to keep track of time. Knowing my best friend as well as I did, I knew her story could take hours.

  “Well, I ran into Jared,” Alexa said. She paused for dramatic effect.

  “And?” I rolled my eyes. “What happened?”

  “Only the worst thing ever.” Alexa pranced from one end of the kitchen to the other, swinging her graceful arms through the air like she was practicing dance.

  I giggled. “He ignored you?”

  Alexa’s nostrils flared. “Worse,” she complained. “He made this huge thing about how we hadn’t talked in forever! And he tried to hug me!”

  I snickered. “Heaven forfend, a man try to touch you.”

  Alexa smirked. “Well, I could tell he missed me.” Irritation spread over her features and she flopped down into another kitchen chair. “But that’s not the point.”

  I stood up and walked over to the stove, poking at the pasta with a wooden spoon. It was still a touch too stiff for my liking, so I set a lid down on the pot and watched the cloudy water swirling around. Cooking had always been soothing for me, even though I hadn’t done much of it growing up. We’d always had a maid, and a cook, and usually a sommelier…although my stepdad, Mitchell, had been talking for years about how he wanted to learn more about wine himself.

  Even though it sounds like I grew up really rich, the truth is a little more complicated than that. When I was twelve, my mother Anne married Mitchell Rhodes – real estate mogul and consulting pro. He’d made billions from New York City real estate over the past few decades, and he lived like a king. Before Mom met Mitchell, our life was pretty boring. We’d lived in Buffalo, in a little apartment with bad insulation and no heat in the long winters. Mom had fallen for Mitchell when she’d met him in New York, on a trip with her girlfriends. He’d swept her off her feet, and they’d married within the year.

  Mom had teased me when I was younger. I could still see her happy face now as she stroked my hair and pulled me into a tight hug. “I named you Belle because you were my little princess,” Mom had said. “But now you’re really going to be a princess!”

  In reality, things had been a little murkier than that. Mitchell had always been kind to me, but it was clear that he didn’t have much interest in being a stepfather. And his son, Jackson, my stepbrother, was an asshole. There weren’t any other words I could use to describe him. He was a perfect, smug, gorgeous asshole.

  Just thinking about him made me want to shudder. I hadn’t spoken to him in years – Jackson is nine years my senior, and thankfully he left Mitchell’s house as soon as he turned eighteen so we never even lived under the same roof. The last time I’d seen him, when I was sixteen, he’d spent the whole afternoon flirting with me. I’d been so taken by his charms that I hadn’t even noticed that my period had started. But Jackson had, and he tricked me into exposing my bloodstained butt to a roomful of people…. everyone waiting to wish Mitchell a happy fiftieth birthday.

  It had been the most embarrassing moment of my whole life.

  “Belle?” Alexa snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Hello? What happened? You just like, totally faded on me!”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, blushing hotly. “I was just thinking about…well, never mind.”

  Alexa crinkled up her nose and giggled. I guessed she was used to it – I’d always been kind of spacey, after all.

  “I was thinking about my family,” I confessed. “I really miss Mom, you know? I haven’t heard from her in weeks.”

  Alexa nodded, but I could tell she didn’t understand. Unlike me, she’d never been close with her mother. Alexa had come from money, too, but she’d never been the outsider of the family like I had. To look at me now, you wouldn’t have been able to tell where I’d lived as a teenager. Most of my clothes came from Target, and I never wore makeup. I’d never been a real “girly girl” – Mom had told me that I’d probably grow into it, but I never had.

  “Yeah, I bet,” Alexa replied. She grabbed the boiling pasta from the stove and gestured for me to help her. As I held the plastic strainer over the sink, I braced myself against the hot steam. Still, it felt good – winter in Alfred, New York, was almost as bad as winters in Buffalo had been as a kid. And even though Alexa and I lived in the nicest building of student housing, it was still student housing…right down to the painted concrete blocks of the walls.

  “So,” I said casually. “You gonna date him again? Or not?”

  Alexa bit her lip. She set the empty pan back down on the stove. “I don’t know,” she confessed. “I mean, he’s super-hot.” She raised her eyebrows. “Hey, why don’t I get Jared to ask his roommate Steve if he’ll come out with us? Steve’s really hot, too,” she added kindly. “I bet he’d totally wanna date you.”

  I swallowed. Just the mention of a date was enough to make my heart flutter.

  “I don’t know,” I said shakily. “I don’t think he’d like me.”

  Alexa put her hands on her slender hips and stared at me. “Belle, come on,” she said. “You know you’re gorgeous!”

  I shook my head. “I’m not,” I protested. I glanced down at my body and sighed.

  Alexa grabbed my hand and shook my arm through the air. “Yes, you are,” she insisted. “You just don’t see that about yourself for some reason.”

  I sighed, knowing there was no use in arguing with Alexa. She’d always been like – bossy, insistent, and usually, one hundred percent correct. But this time, I knew she was wrong. There was no way I, Belle Harrington, was anything even close to beautiful. I had boring brown eyes, even more bo
ring brown hair, and pale skin that would have been pretty on anyone else but somehow just made me look more washed out. When I was younger, Mom always told me that my eyes were “hazel” and my hair was “chestnut,” but I knew she was just trying to make my looks seem less boring than they really were.

  I’d never enjoyed working out (or eating healthy), and as a result, I had a figure that most would call “curvy.” I didn’t mind – I actually kind of liked the fact that I wasn’t a stick figure. But men had never really paid attention to me, and the few times they did, I always thought they were messing with me. I mean, who would want to ask me out? Especially when I was standing next to a knockout like Alexa.

  “I’m not beautiful,” I said flatly. “I know that I’m not.”

  Alexa rolled her eyes. She dropped my hand and it fell limply to my thigh. “Well, you’d better say yes. I know Steve would really like you.”

  “I can’t,” I said. I shook my head. “Are you totally forgetting about finals? I have to study, Lex!”

  Alexa blew a hank of hair off her face in frustration. “Belle, come on. You know you’re getting a four point this semester! And at this rate, you’re gonna be a virgin for the rest of your life!”