They walked down the boardwalk hand in hand. Max didn’t normally go in for the whole PDA thing. He’d had girlfriends before who clung to him, which drove him nuts. He needed to have his hands free and be able to do what he needed to do without a woman hanging on him. It was a defensive issue. Lacey was different though. He needed to hold her hand as they walked because he didn’t want to not be touching her.
“Is this okay?” he asked.
She grinned up at him, nodding.
So they walked back to her car hand in hand. She handed him the keys to the little Toyota sedan and as he drove them back home she kept her hand under his on his thigh.
Max didn’t remember the drive, only the feel of her hand through the fabric of his pants, inches from his aching dick. He parked the car and went around to open her door but she’d already gotten out. He followed the sway of her ass up the flight of stairs to her door and nibbled kisses against her neck as she unlocked it.
“If you don’t want this,” he murmured, “you need to tell me before I come in.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him, her blue eyes dark with arousal. “I know.”
Pushing the door open, she tugged him inside by the hand.
Excitement surged through him, and a little fear. Lacey was a wonderful woman. She deserved better than he could give her, but he followed her into the bedroom anyway. Maybe if he took care of her better than any other man ever had, she’d keep him around.
Lacey stopped at the side of the bed and reached for the buttons down the front of her dress, but Max stilled her hands. “I want to do this.”
First he captured her lips, trying to convey to her how beautiful she was. He hadn’t even undressed her but he knew she was going to rock his world. Settling his hands against her rib cage, he teased the underside of her breasts with his thumbs. “You know, you have incredible breasts.”
She grinned and nodded, but the smile drifted away as he cupped her weight in his hands. His thumbs brushed over her hard nipples and she cried out.
Urgency pressed at him, making his fingers fumble as he unfastened her dress. Again, she did a purely feminine shimmy and stepped out of the fabric, revealing a pale peach bra and panty set. She reached behind her and released the bra. Max could not contain a groan. Simply beautiful. As she lay down on the bed in front of him, dark hair spread beneath her, Max had a genuine worry he wouldn’t last long enough to enjoy the feast before him. But they had all night.
Shucking his clothes, he stood before her, proud and erect. Lacey smiled and sat up to reach for him. “No more road rash and bruises. And you’ve been working out.”
Max had and his battered ego loved that she’d recognized that. He took a moment to reach into his pocket for his wallet with the condom inside and rolled it on. Then, stepping forward, he eased down on top of her. Lacey’s legs fell open in welcome and he wedged himself against her panties. Lacey gasped, hands tightening on his sides. Covering her mouth with his own, Max shifted against her, loving the feel of her breasts cushioning his chest. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, he rocked against her. He could feel her arousal climbing as he kissed her.
Leaving her mouth, he moved lower to her chest. Dragging one dark pink nipple into his mouth, he drew it tight against the roof of his mouth. Lacey cried out, cupping his head in her hands. She didn’t move him away though. As his mouth played with her breasts, he reached for the gusset of her panties. They were soaked with her excitement. Max had to stop and breathe for a moment to tamp down his own impending orgasm.
When he thought he could continue, he shifted enough to draw her panties down her long legs. Moisture glistened against the dark curls. With a single finger, he eased between the plump folds of skin. She was drenched with excitement and shifted beneath his touch, angling her hips into his fingers. Max circled her clitoris once and she cried out.
“More,” she gasped.
He made the same movement twice more and she quivered. Letting her catch her breath, he focused on her breasts again, blowing cool air against the moist tip closest to him. Shuddering, she clutched the sheet beside her hips, panting faster. Max kept her on that edge for several long minutes, taking her almost to the peak, then drawing back to cool her off. When she was crying out his name, demanding he come to her, Max almost slipped inside, but he had a feeling she could come several times. Doing steady, hard circles around her clit with his fingers, he gently bit her nipple.
Lacey cried out and convulsed in his arms, her orgasm ever so more beautiful because he had caused it. Her smooth tummy clenched and her legs shifted as the driving tension eased. Max gave her a couple of minutes to catch her breath, then eased over top of her. As her hazy, languorous gaze caught his, she gave him an exquisite smile.
Emotion made Max pause at her entrance, feeling as though he was on the edge of something momentous. He inched forward, wanting to etch every moment on his memory. In spite of what he wanted, as her tight, slippery heat pulled him in, he lost all sense of himself. Rocking forward, he basked in the sensations coursing up through his body. Euphoria like he’d never felt before overwhelmed him, making him surge harder. Within just a few heavy plunges, he was at the edge of orgasm.
Max stilled, panting into her hair, trying to maintain some sanity. Lacey moved beneath him, peppering kisses up his neck to his jawline. Max tilted his head just a little to meet her hungry mouth and the enthusiasm she showed him cranked his own need. Without even moving, his orgasm loomed closer.
Then she raised her legs higher on his hips, rocking into him, and every thought of restraint left his head. Surging deep and sure, he took what she offered.
The orgasm struck him hard. He’d denied himself for so long. As the pleasure consumed him, he arched his back and cried out, unable to curb it. Then came the spasms, involuntary as he emptied himself into her, but delicious. Lacey echoed his cry as another orgasm consumed her as well.
Lacey’s arms were clamped around his body and she was pressing kisses to his jaw when he finally caught his breath enough to look up at her. She arched her brows at him. “You okay?”
Max nodded, too overwhelmed for words. She gave and gave with her mind and body and soul, and she was asking him if he was okay. “I’m beyond anything I can express. I truly think that was the most perfect thing I’ve ever experienced.”
The words were true. He’d had sex many times before, but something about Lacey and him together felt totally different. No one else had pulled the emotion and need from him that Lacey had. And the appreciation.
The appreciation was a little confusing. Was he so wrapped up in her because she was the only one who had seen through the drugged-out mess to the man beneath? The thoughts were too deep to think right now.
Lacey stroked his back, just at the edges of the scar. He was conscious of where her hand was, but no longer anxiety-ridden about what she thought of it.
Though he regretted pulling away, he had to dispose of the condom. As soon as that was done though, he pulled her back into his arms.
Lacey woke to kisses being planted down her spine and a heavy shape looming over top of her. She glanced over her shoulder, brow raised.
Max looked up at her and grinned.
She giggled. “Again? Really?”
Though she teased him, her body began to respond. Just the thought of his sex made her center go liquid. They’d loved all through the night but she was ready to go again.
Max laid her flat but propped her hips up a little. Lacey arched, knowing he was coming in from behind. As she planted her hands against the mattress, the head of his dick breached her opening.
“I don’t think I was the only one ready for another round this morning.”
She chuckled as he glided deep in her moisture, then moaned. They fit together like they’d been built for each other. As he began to rock his hips into her, Lacey began to pant.
“Fuck, you feel so good this way,” he gasped. “I’m not going to last.”
Neithe
r was she. As he seated himself deeper and deeper with every surge, rubbing over that bundle of nerves at the front of her pubic bone, the tension in her lower belly wound tighter and tighter until it couldn’t tighten any more. She shattered. As the orgasm rocked through her, prolonged with every plunge of his body, she wondered if she could stand it. Max responded to the clutching of her body, heaving deeper as his own orgasm caught him in its grip. He slammed into her, spasming over her back, crying out. Lacey arched harder, extending his pleasure, until he finally collapsed on top of her. He forced his heavy shoulders to the side so that he wasn’t crushing her and panted into her ear. “I don’t know where the hell you learned to do that, but you need to do it again.”
Lacey laughed, swiping her sweaty bangs away. “I wasn’t taught to do it but it felt right.”
“You’re not kidding,” he murmured.
She could tell he was falling asleep. His arms tightened around her and they ended up spooning. Lacey’s own eyes drifted closed.
When they woke a little later, they were both famished. They stumbled to the kitchen, intent on filling their bellies. Lacey wanted an omelet loaded with as much crap as she could get in it, so that’s what she started. Max wanted the same but with toast. When everything was ready, they sat at her little dining room table across from each other.
“I haven’t been this hungry in forever,” Lacey murmured around a mouthful of ham and egg.
Max leered at her. “I’ve been starving for a long time.”
Lacey chuckled, knowing he was referring to sex. “How long has it been?”
His eyes sobered. “Well, I got injured in February, but we’d been in and out for months before that. I haven’t been involved with anyone for more than a year and a half.” His dark brows furrowed into a frown. “Damn, that sounds bad.”
Lacey grinned, shaking her head. “It’s been longer than that for me. More like a couple years.”
Max scowled. “I can’t believe nobody’s snatched you up. You’re sexy and incredibly smart. Sane.”
She gave him a narrow-eyed look. “Well, normally I avoid military men. When you live just a few miles from the largest Naval station in the world though, that becomes a little difficult.”
“I can see that. Why do you stay here?”
Lacey looked at her plate for a long minute. “Well, not sure exactly. I guess because it’s what I’m used to. I love the feel of a military area.”
“But you don’t want to be connected to the military?”
Frowning, she shook her head again. “I was burnt out dealing with all the trauma that came through Walter Reed. I loved it there, but I had to have counseling when I left because I would wake up crying, dreaming of the next trauma rolling in. I still don’t sleep right all the time. When I saw you, I knew exactly what you were going through. And the help that you needed.”
Max set his fork down. “I’m sorry I took so long to convince. When I walked into your apartment that night and saw that bloody towel against your head, I almost threw up. I knew I had to change if I had any kind of chance with you.”
Lacey’s eyes teared up. “I knew you didn’t mean to hurt me, but I’m kind of glad it happened if it got your butt moving in the right direction.” She brushed her eyes with her hands.
Max stood and circled the table to kneel at her side. He took her hands in his. “You mean a lot to me, Lacey Adams. I have a feeling I’d do just about anything for you.”
Those damn tears blurred her vision again and all she could do was wrap her arms around him, loving the feel of him wrapping himself around her.
“Do you have family?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Not close. My mom lives in Florida but I don’t talk to her much anymore. She’s always been a little more involved in being her than taking care of her kids. I have a brother in design at New York University. A few cousins here and there. Nobody very close.”
“I’m kind of the same. Parents were in London last I heard, but that was a few years ago. My lifestyle was too reckless for them, they said. No other close relatives. Grandparents on my mother’s side died years ago, but my grandfather on my father’s side is in a nursing home in Florida.”
“Do you get to see him very often?”
Max shrugged. “Every once in a while. It’s been a couple years though. He’s got dementia and doesn’t remember who I am.”
“Hm. That’s hard.”
They talked all through the night, comparing childhoods and schools. All of the miscellaneous things couples talk about early in their relationships that they had missed out on while Max was gone. It was the best night of Lacey’s life.
They settled into an easy relationship. Too easy, Lacey thought sometimes. Max moved back into his apartment. The woman had been the relative of one of the guys from his old team. She’d been in town for business for a week and had needed a place to crash.
Lacey was glad the woman was gone. She’d had some crazy thoughts about her being Max’s ex or something, moving in to rekindle a relationship.
The only reason she’d been thinking that way was because she was insecure.
Max greeted her as soon as she got home, sometimes even jogging down to give her a kiss in the parking lot and carry her things. He continued to go to counseling, to a guy Eric had suggested in town. Again, they avoided the VA and got more immediate treatment, which was better for all involved. Yes, he still struggled with flashbacks and anxiety attacks, but for the most part he stayed on an even keel.
Lacey was amazed at the change and humbled that he credited her with setting him on the right track. She didn’t like wondering what would have happened if they hadn’t hit that wall that night. Or the floor, as it were.
The only thing that wasn’t working for them were their careers.
Max’s medical disability paperwork came through and he was in a funk for days. Being a Navy SEAL was truly a calling, and when he couldn’t do what he’d loved most in the world, it hurt. His old team had moved on to other missions, calling only when they were back in town. And even then they couldn’t share what they’d done or where they’d been.
“I don’t know what to do with myself,” he murmured, lying in bed with her that night. “I watch the clock waiting for you to get home. I’ve looked at school and I guess I can do something—I just have no idea what.”
Lacey propped herself on his chest, hands stacked beneath her chin. She’d been thinking about something for the past couple weeks, but didn’t know how he would react. “What do you think about moving?”
Max cranked his head around to look her in the eye. “Where?”
Lacey shrugged a little. “Away from the military that we can’t be a part of anymore. Away from all the reminders. I know we haven’t talked much about where we are going,” she wiggled a finger between them, “as a couple, but it may be an idea.”
Max looked at her as if he were debating a problem in his head. “My life is a mess right now. As crazy as I am about you I don’t know if it’s fair to tie my life to you when I’m floundering.”
Lacey looked away, swallowing hard. “I understand.”
She rested her head on his chest and listened to his pounding heartbeat, but tension had crept between them. They’d lived together for the better part of two weeks now, so the thought of him not being around made her chest ache.
Max shifted, sitting up in the bed cross-legged. Lacey sat up as well, adjusting her sleep shirt. Max ran a hand through his dark hair. “This feels like something big we should talk about. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the hundreds of hours of counseling I’ve done in the past couple of months it’s that you open your mouth and speak up to get things settled. Talk to me.”
Lacey knew he was right, but she didn’t want to pressure him to do anything he wasn’t ready for. She looked into his golden eyes, wondering if she was about to send her SEAL running. “I think in order to keep my sanity I need to change some things. And I have an idea for you, but I
need to make a phone call. It may not pan out, but it’s been niggling at me for a couple of weeks.”
Max pressed a hard kiss to her forehead, then craned down to reach her lips. “I trust you implicitly. How can I not? I love you. You’ve never led me wrong on anything.”
Lacey reeled back. “Wait, you love me? Where did that come from?”
Grinning, Max shrugged his muscular shoulders. “It just seemed like the right time to tell you. I’m kind of surprised you didn’t know.”
She shook her head, dazed, but elation began to fill her. Lunging forward, she tackled him to the bed, giggling. “I love you too, damn it. I can’t believe you told me like that. I thought you were breaking up with me!”
“Why the fuck would I break up with you?”
“You just said you didn’t think it was fair to tie your life to mine.”
“I know,” he admitted softly. “But I don’t think I can ever give you up.”
She giggled as he nibbled kisses down her sensitive neck.
“That’s good,” she gasped. “Because I don’t think you could force me away now. I’ve been freaking out over telling you I love you for weeks.”
His eyes sobered. “Weeks? Really?”
She nodded, dropping a kiss to his chin. “At least. I fell in love with you when you sent me the yellow roses.”
Max wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight. “Thank you,” he told her softly, leaning up for a kiss. “I never imagined I could be this happy after the past year I’ve had. You really are the best part of me.”
“I think we bring out the best in each other,” she whispered.
Relaxing into his hold, she set out to show him again why they were so great together.
Epilogue
‡
Max looked at the piece of paper Lacey handed him three days later. “What’s this?”
“Your interview time and address.”
Duncan Wilde, Lost and Found Investigative Service.
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