by Marie Harte
“A real girl, eh, Pinocchio?”
“You are so annoying.” Mike wanted to rip his brother in two but refrained lest he start a bar fight. He’d already seen a few of his Marines mingling on the dance floor. No need to show himself as the ass his brother often accused him of being.
“Annoying but perceptive,” Brad said. “Face it. It was flattering to have a cutie like Maria crushing on you. Then she grows up and figures out it was a phase. So now you’re bereft of a familiar association.”
“Seriously? You talk like this at work, it’s a wonder your guys don’t pound the shit out of you on a daily basis.”
Brad laughed. “I’m sure they’d like to. Look, I’m good at reading people. Maria’s all grown up now, Mike.” Brad’s eyes narrowed. “So all that lust you’ve been carrying around for her all these years, you can put it to good use.”
“Bull. I never lusted after her. She was just a kid.”
“A cute kid who turned into a beautiful woman. One with a gorgeous body. You should see her legs.” Brad sighed. “She runs like a gazelle.”
Maria had been a jogger for as long as he’d known her. The only reason Mike wasn’t planting his fist in Brad’s face was that he knew his brother had seen said legs the other night when she wore that sexy excuse for a sundress. Not like Brad had seen her naked or anything…
“So you and Maria? You guys ever hit it?”
Brad scowled. “Hell no. She was always into you. And that would seem a little incestuous, in a weird way.”
“Thanks. Now you’re grossing me out.”
“Sorry. Look, let’s have a good night. Get laid, get drunk—me, not you, you’re driving. It’s not often we get to hang out on the same coast.”
Mike gave a reluctant smile. “Good point. Okay, one more beer and I’m done. But feel free to indulge yourself.”
Which Brad did. The jerk hooked up with a hot chick and left with her. Mike tried to make conversation, and many of the women he talked to seemed to want something more. But for some fucked-up reason, his lust centered on a pixie-like blonde who could out-swear a Marine.
Brad and his stupid ideas. As if I lusted after Maria for years. Yeah right.
But try as he might, he couldn’t get the image out of his head of that jackoff Bobby going down on her. And then it was Mike—not Bobby—between her legs, hearing her soft sighs of pleasure, feeling her grip his hair with her small hands while he licked her until she came...
He left in a worse mood than the one he’d arrived with and blamed one particular blonde for all his problems. Now what to do about her was the question.
His ride home felt uncomfortable, his dick like an iron spike. What to do about it? Her?
Hell.
Chapter Four
Olivia, I’m here, he texted his sister while he waited outside her house in his truck. The late afternoon clouds gave him some respite from the blazing sun overhead.
She texted back, In the bathroom fixing the shower. Water everywhere. Need help!
Damn it. He wanted to ask if Maria was around, and if so, he planned to wait in the truck. Avoidance had worked for him with the annoying blonde for the past four days. Unfortunately, asking his sister would prove he was the pussy Brad called him. So he manned up, left the truck, and went to help his sister.
If he ran into Maria, he’d smile, not think about her kick-ass body, and focus solely on helping fix their leak.
He walked through the front door of the old house and heard the shower in the back. Following the colorful runner over hardwood floors, he knocked on the door and heard her tell him to come in.
He pushed inside and saw the curtain closed. He yanked the curtain wide. “I have to see the problem to—”
Maria shrieked and tried to cover herself.
But the damage had been done. No way he could forget the sight of her naked, shaved—oh my God, shaved—and dripping wet. Her breasts were on the small side but perfectly shaped, her nipples a pale pink and stiff under the water. She had an almost boyish figure, no fat on her anywhere, and the most gorgeous legs. Toned all over, golden except where her bikini had covered paler flesh, and so fucking sweet he was dying to have a taste.
She yanked the curtain out of his hand and closed the it around her. “Get out!”
Which answered his question that she hadn’t been behind Olivia’s text.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and glared down at his erection. “Uh, sorry. I could have sworn Olivia told me to come in here and fix the water leak.”
“Water is supposed to come out of the showerhead, Mike,” Maria snapped. “It’s called a shower. Now get out.”
“I’m going. I’ll be out there.” He slammed the door behind him so she’d know he closed it then spent the next few moments calming his raging cock back down. He’d just gotten himself together when Olivia sauntered into the hall.
“Oh, hey, Mike. What’s up?”
“You know exactly what’s up,” he snarled. “I just scared Maria half to death.”
“Really? Because my bathroom is still leaking.” She glared at him and pointed up. “You know, the one outside our bedrooms?”
He blinked. “What?”
“I told you I needed help.”
“You said the shower was leaking. You only have a tub up there.”
“Tub, shower, same thing.” She shrugged. “Now are you coming to help me or not?”
Grumbling all the while, he followed her upstairs and fixed her simple leak by tightening a fitting around her pipes. “I came all the way out here for this?”
“Well, the timing’s perfect. I have a few errands to run, and Maria needs a ride to her mom’s. We had an issue with our cars this weekend, so I have to take mine in and hers is at her mom’s. This way I won’t be late to my appointment. Thanks.” She danced out of the bathroom and raced down the stairs before he could stop her. He heard the front door open and close.
Great.
Footsteps in the room next door warned him to tread warily. He feared seeing Maria naked again because, if he did, he might not be able to control himself and make a move on her. If she rejected him, he’d probably expire on the spot from the worst case of blue balls known to man.
Shifting himself in his jeans, he again thought about nonsexual things. Family, next week’s training op, his C.O. He left the bathroom and walked back downstairs.
He heard a blow dryer, then some music, and waited, wondering how long she’d take to get ready. A few minutes later she walked downstairs and stopped in her tracks when she saw him. She turned a pretty shade of pink, and once again the dichotomy of seeing her as his sister’s friend and a woman he wanted to do dirty things to struck him mute.
“I, um, where’s Olivia?”
Get a grip, asshole. “Look, I’m sorry for seeing you…in there.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “I misunderstood my sister. Good news is the upstairs tub is fixed.”
“Oh, good.” Her cheeks remained flushed.
“Bad news is Olivia had to scoot to a car appointment, so she asked me to take you to your car.”
“Why is that bad news?”
He smiled at her attempt to play off her embarrassment. Funny how the frank talker wasn’t so ballsy now. “Because I just saw your golden body dripping wet and naked in the shower. Didn’t mean to, but now I can’t stop seeing you that way.”
She glared at him, and once again, he grew hard. “Well, quit it. I’m your sister’s best friend. I’m like your own little sister, remember?”
Problem was that image and her mouth made any kind of sibling-sense disappear. “As you’ve reminded me, several times, you’re not my sister.” He smiled at her growing unease.
“Well, that’s true. I mean, we’re not related. But we might as well be,” she tacked on in a hurry when he took a step closer. Her gaze moved down his body, and her eyes widened when she noticed the thick bulge between his legs. “So let’s go then.” She darted to the hall table, grabbed her purse, and
shot through the front door like her hair was on fire.
Giving Mike all kinds of thoughts about what to do with the blonde goddess sadly growing out of her crush on him.
Maria had a hard time breathing calmly as Mike drove them to her mother’s house, just a street over from his parents’ place. Olivia is a genius. Her plan to trick Mike into seeing Maria naked had worked worlds better than Maria’s lame attempt to lose her bikini top years ago.
The look he’d given her in the house had seared her to her toes. So much for getting all clean. She’d dampened her panties since she’d put them on, thoughts about seducing him doing nothing but arousing her.
“What’s wrong with Livie’s car?” he asked and popped a mint into his mouth. He offered her one, so she took it. Wintergreen—her favorite. One more thing they had in common. Le sigh.
“An oil leak. I don’t know. Nothing major, but your sister is anal retentive about stuff.”
“That’s true.”
He would know. Olivia might be organized, but Mike was a carbon copy of his father, a dictator who liked giving orders. According to his family and friends who knew him, he was an amazing guy to work for. He listened, was no-nonsense and fair, and always gave praise where deserved. He’d also been known to chew out a Marine with the ferocity of a bulldog.
But Maria wasn’t one of his Marines. She didn’t have to follow his orders. Why then did the thought of doing so get her hot and bothered?
She stared out her open window, at times feeling Mike’s gaze on her while he drove.
They finished the trip in silence, the windows down, the salt air cooling off the hot temperature. She watched the afternoon beachgoers heading for fun in the sun as she and Mike drove into Emerald Isle toward her mother’s house. But instead of turning left, Mike went straight.
“My mom’s is back there.”
“I know.” His voice sounded gravelly, and she contained an inner shiver.
No doubt about it, Olivia was a friggin’ genius. Whereas playing hard to get hadn’t worked for Maria when ten years old, it sure the hell was working now. Olivia had also advised Maria to keep the big guy away, pretending indifference while at the same time tempting him. Maria had risked a lot to let him see her naked. What if her skinny body repulsed him? His usual type ran to earthy, busty women. Sexy women. Yet Olivia had insisted the shower trick would entice him. Mike would want what he couldn’t have. So Maria hoped.
He pulled into his parents’ driveway, turned off his truck, and sat.
“Okay, I’ll walk to the car.” She shrugged. “Thanks.” What was his game?
She left the truck and shut the door. Before she could take two steps off the driveway, he gripped her by the shoulder.
“Hold on.”
She huffed. “Look, Mike. I have things I’d like to get to. A good book, some dinner, maybe even that new dance show on TV. I put in a full day at work. I’ve earned the downtime. So what’s up?”
They both glanced at his hand on her shoulder. He tightened his grip, and her belly flipped over itself in excitement. Then he let her go.
“I promise I won’t take up more than a few minutes of your time. But there’s something I need to show you inside.”
“This isn’t one of your etchings, is it?” She snorted with laughter.
“Smartass. No.” He tugged her by the arm with him, and she pretended a reluctance to being led right where she wanted to be. Alone with him near a big-ass bed.
They entered, and she stopped in the living room and planted her hands on her hips. “Well?”
He rolled his eyes. “Just hold on, would you? And stay right there.” He disappeared down the hall. She heard him moving around and wondered what the hell he had to show her. This was seeming less and less like a seduction. What a letdown.
He returned with a determined glint in his eye.
She sighed. “What is it you have to show me?”
He wasn’t holding anything. “Brad’s not here. It’s just you and me.”
“O-kay.”
He stalked her like a hungry tiger, and to her bemusement, she felt herself retreating until her back hit the wall.
Oh momma. This is a seduction. “Mike?”
“It’s just you and me.” He caged her between his massive arms, his dark gaze intent as he watched her. “I’m going to kiss you.” He leaned closer.
She felt his breath over her lips, smelled the mint he’d been eating in the car. “Why?” Oh please oh please oh please…
“Because I need to see something.”
“This probably isn’t a good idea,” she said, breathless, and stared at his approaching mouth. His lips were pink and firm and so lickable she felt tingly all over.
“I know this isn’t a good idea,” he growled then kissed her.
She froze, shocked at the power of such a simple press of his lips against hers. She trembled, weak at the knees, lightheaded, and so turned on she wondered if she might combust on the spot.
He groaned and deepened the kiss, and she gripped his shoulders and tried to yank him closer, but it was like pulling on an oak. He wouldn’t budge. Instead, he controlled her with nothing more than his mouth.
Using his lips and tongue, the gentle nip of his teeth, he coaxed her to kiss him back, to let him inside her mouth and do whatever the hell he pleased. When she’d reached the end of her breath, he pulled back, panting.
“Fuck. You tell me, yes or no, if we’re going to see where that leads.”
“Um.” He’d frazzled her brain.
Then he used that smooth, low voice, the one that never failed to make her wet. Not that he’d ever used it on her before. It was the one he’d used on those women he wanted to fuck. “You on anything, honey?”
Oh, honey. He’d pour it over himself and demand she lick it up. Yum. “Wh-what?”
He nipped her throat, and she arched into him.
“You on birth control?”
“Yeah. Why?”
He kissed her again, and she sagged into his hold. Before she knew it, he’d carried her down the hall into a spare bedroom. He put her down in front of the bed. “Yes or no, Maria?”
“To what?” Not her fault she couldn’t function. He made it worse when he cupped her breasts and squeezed. “Oh my God.”
“We’re going to see where that kiss leads, aren’t we?” He pinched her nipples, and she squirmed, aroused beyond need into desperation.
“I-I… Yes, okay?” she snapped then yanked him down for another kiss.
His chuckle against her lips disappeared when she grazed his taut abdomen.
All teasing ended, and the kiss grew into something so much more. Then any control she thought she might have had in her seduction disappeared, without a trace.
Chapter Five
Mike couldn’t understand why he wasn’t moving faster. He wanted to fuck her like crazy. But he didn’t want to stop kissing her. Or touching the ripe breasts and hard little nipples under his callused palms. Or miss out on sliding down her body and going to town on that smooth, bare pussy he couldn’t stop seeing in his mind’s eye.
With such a gourmet feast, where to start?
The kiss, of course. But he wanted a naked kiss. He pulled back from her mouth, loving the sleepy-eyed sensuality in her sky-blue eyes. He knew the look of a woman in lust, and Maria wanted him. No doubt.
Reaching slowly for her top, not wanting to but knowing he had to give her the option to change her mind about him, he pulled it up and off her, praying she let him finish this. He had to put an end to his soaring lust. Especially since she’d caused it and now no other woman would do.
He noted the light blue lace bra she wore but didn’t care about anything but taking it off her. He fumbled at the back clasp before finally releasing it. The lace fell to her feet, and he stared down at perfection.
“I don’t—Mike—” She gasped as he took one ripe bud in his mouth and sucked. He teethed the nipple, gratified by her short, choppy breaths and groans
for more. Alternating his mouth to her other nipple, he played with its twin, keeping her in a high state of arousal.
“Please, Mike. Touch me,” she begged.
“Where?” he asked against her breast, knowing exactly what she needed. He’d never been so hard in his life, and he wanted nothing more than to sink inside her heat.
She took his hand at her breast and slid it down her flat belly to the waistband of her cotton pants.
He unfastened them and trailed his hand down, cupping her over her underwear, pleased to find her so damp.
“No, in me.” She moaned, rubbing against him.
He sucked her nipple deep, then let her go and straightened, his hand still over her panties, trapped beneath her pants. “Take off the rest of your clothes,” he ordered.
She blinked at him, her carnal need and innocence making a mess of his emotions. How the hell this had turned from a need to fuck into a need to fuck and protect, he didn’t know. But this had become much more than a fun, dirty coupling.
“Do it,” he said through gritted teeth.
She bit her lower lip and nodded then gave him a shy smile that shook him to his core.
Pushing her pants and panties down her trim hips, she stepped out of them and her sandals. Now completely naked while he wore his T-shirt and confining jeans, the power exchange between them seemed just about right.
She tried to take off his shirt, and he stopped her. “No. You do what I say, when I say it.”
“Oh?”
“I’m not going to take your sass,” he warned. “I’m going to fuck that stubborn out of you.” Her breathy moan nearly undid him. “Yeah, let’s see exactly where that kiss leads, hmm?”
“What… Oh, Mike.”
He watched her watching him kneel before her. He spread her legs wider, then, without hesitation, he kissed her there, between her legs.
She shivered and shook, clutching his hair as he lapped the sweet taste of her. So wet, so greedy as she ground against his mouth. He loved it. She wasn’t faking this kind of desire or desperation. And he felt the same.