by KL Donn
Steele
“Yo! That was brutal, Lieutenant.” Garth bitches next to me as we play a game of basketball. Our unit has a few days of R&R before we begin an intelligence-gathering mission with a team of SEALs.
“Ain’t my fault you can’t play for shit.”
“You got the height, though,” he grumbles as we walk to the bench and grab some water. Wiping down my face and chest, I guzzle half a bottle and notice the mail truck arriving. “You got mail on there?” he asks with a smirk. Likely knowing I’m anticipating another letter from Ava.
I shrug and stride back to my tent, trying to keep my steps light.
It’s a full hour before I have any mail delivered, and I’m getting antsy. As soon as I’m handed the box, I barely wait for the guy to leave before I’m tearing into it.
More treats, more pictures. Fuck, is Ava’s smile addicting. Pinning the images to the board behind my desk, I drop into the chair and open the letter.
Dear Steele,
Alright, complete strangers, it is.
Hi! My name is Ava Fischer. I’m 19, and I attend UC Berkeley as an English major. I aspire to become a teacher after graduation. I love long walks under a clear night sky, swimming, and basketball. I’m known to go hiking once in a while but avoid it if I can.
I adore reading true crime novels and recently finished a chilling version of Jack the Ripper and the conspiracies on his true identity. Oddly enough, I’ve heard more than once that some people think Jack and the Zodiac Killer could be related, and if that’s not terrifying, then I don’t know what is.
So I guess that went a little deeper than I meant to.
I’m not a serial killer in the making, I swear. They fascinate me, though. There is so much to learn about why a person can kill with no remorse and continue to do so. Are they made that way, or are they born that way?
I just got even creepier, didn’t I? Sorry. Not intended.
Like you, I dream of a family one day. Husband, children, animals, nice house. I have dreams of that quintessential family life.
I think we could be incredible together, Steele, and if you’re interested, maybe we could Skype? I love writing to you, but I hate the wait in between. I guess there’s always email, though?
My Skype info is on the back if you want to.
Talk to you soon.
Love,
Ava
Booting up my computer, I don’t even think about the time difference and immediately call Ava on my secure line. She gave me the go-ahead, and I have zero desire to wait to see her.
It rings three times before she answers.
“Didn’t scare you off then?” She yawns as a light turns on.
“Shit. What time is it there?” Doing the calculations in my head, I wince. “Sorry, Ava, go back to sleep.” Fuck, I’m an ass.
“No, Steele, it’s fine.” My dick jumps at hearing her say my name. “I don’t have any classes in the morning. I don’t mind staying up to talk to you.” Her sleepy smile makes me wish I could kiss her.
“You sure? You can call me back later,” I offer while hoping she says she’ll stay.
“Positive.” I watch as she sits up in bed and puts the laptop on her legs. “Have you tried the cookies yet?” she asks with a grin.
“Cookies?” I didn’t even look at what she sent.
Her giggle cheers up the room. “Yes, Steele. Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, banana bread with almonds, carrot muffins, and chocolate croissants. All made from scratch.”
“You trying to make me fat?” I grin as I dig through the box, finding the muffins. Pulling one out of the sealed bag, I take a big bite and moan at the flavor. “Damn, girl. These are good.”
“Yeah?” I nod at her uncertainty. “Good. I was worried they might dry out. What else do you like? I can send more things.”
“You,” I mutter around another bite, leaning back in my seat. Her shocked face is, precisely, what I wanted. “Would it be too forward of me to ask what you’re wearing?”
Her eyes widen as she looks from me to down at the blanket covering her chest. “Probably.” Even through the screen, I can hear the heat in her tone.
Leaning forward, I allow my eyes to wander down what I can see of her body. “I’m asking anyways.” I was kidding at first, wanting to tease her. But now, I’m dying to see what she’s got on. I have a feeling she could make a paper bag sexy.
Twisting her lips from side to side, Ava nods her head, and I sit closer. “But you should know, I’m not wearing this because I thought you were going to call.” Standing up with the blanket pressed to her chest, she places her laptop on a solid surface, and once I can see her full length, she drops the blanket to the ground.
I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.
Chapter 7
Ava
For the past three weeks, Steele and I have video chatted at least three times a week, and I’ve realized what I felt for him before was still a schoolgirl’s crush. It had to be. Because the emotions I’m experiencing now are way more intense. More poignant.
I miss him. Ache for him on a soul-deep level. I worry late into the night until I pass out from exhaustion, and what makes everything so much worse is that I’m terrified to say the words I didn’t understand were true until we connected.
At the end of every call, I want to say I love you. I want him to know. But I chicken out at the last second, and then it’s too late; he’s gone, and I’m left disappointed in myself for not having the guts to speak truth to what I feel.
Shaking my head, I need to concentrate on what my professor is saying before I daydream myself right out of school. I record each class so that I can relisten should I miss something even though I’m taking notes. It’s helped a lot the last couple of weeks.
There are hundreds of students in this class, so I don’t think anything of it when the door opens. Not even when I see the military uniform, dark, close-cropped hair I’ve been dreaming about, or the bouquet of flowers.
It’s not until my name is called that I look at the face of the newcomer and nearly melt in my chair.
“Steele.” I whisper his name, afraid if I say it too loud, he’ll disappear on me.
“Ava.” I nearly liquefy at the way he says my name. So much emotion in the sound. Standing, I push my way through the middle of the aisle I’m sitting in and rush down the stairs, my body in complete control as I jump into his arms.
I don’t hesitate to kiss him, lay my lips across his and devour his mouth. His hands on my ass flex and squeeze as he takes control of the moment, only pulling away at the hooting and hollering from the class behind us.
“I have to go,” I tell my professor, who nods, understanding. The girl who sits next to me brings me my bag and sweater, and Steele carries me out of class.
We don’t get far. Dropping me to my feet, Steele pins me against the nearest wall and continues where we left off. Without an audience this time.
“Goddamn, am I glad to see you,” he mumbles as our lips clash. Tongues tangle, and my heart beats so hard, I think it might thunder right out of my chest.
“Yeah? I didn’t know you were coming. I thought you would have gone home.” Biting my lip, I don’t want to hear that he’s leaving me again.
“My parents wanted me to.” I’m not starting off on the right foot with them. “But I told them about you and how we haven’t done more than talk. That I needed to be here, to feel you, kiss you, hold you in my arms. I told them I had to fucking know.”
“Know what?” I gasp.
“If what I was feeling for you was because of distance or because I really do fucking love you.” Peace washes over me at his words.
“And? Do you know now?”
“Ava, baby, I knew a long fucking time ago. I love you, and there isn’t a damn thing that could stop me from being with you.” He leans down to capture my lips, slower this time. He savors the moment, pulling me closer by the hips.
“My apartment is only a few minute
s from here,” I mumble. I’ve dreamt of being with him every night since I got his first letter months ago.
“I have five days here,” he tells me, and I try not to let the sadness show. “Don’t look at me like that, baby. I don’t want to make you sad.”
“I’m not.” That’s a lie. “It’s just not long enough,” I whisper.
“Not yet it’s not. But soon.” Gripping his hand, I pull him behind me as we quickly walk back to my apartment.
Entering the building, it’s quiet, and that only compounds the anticipation building between us. As soon as the door is open, Steele slams it shut behind us, locking it. Standing in the middle of the room, I feel a little daunted now. He, however, has no qualms.
Stalking towards me as he sheds his uniform, only getting to his pants as he reaches me, Steele doesn’t hesitate to pull me into him. Kissing my doubt away and pulling my shirt over my head.
I didn’t wear a bra today, and the appreciative look in his eyes excites me. Pushing his tongue past my startled response as he hoists me up into his hold, a bruising grip on my ass, Steele bends over and drops me on the bed. As he towers over me, his wide muscled frame envelopes me, making me feel loved, cherished, protected against all the terrible things in the world.
His hands skim down my body, and he drops his head to my chest, lost in the sensations as he whispers my name. Dragging my pants off my hips, I hear his zipper lowering and the heat of his body between my thighs. “It’s gonna be quick this first time, Ava. I’ve been dreaming of being with you for too damn long to last.” He sounds tortured.
Shivering from the hungry look in his gaze, I can only nod, craving to feel him inside my body. Rocking as one, silence surrounds us, and every breathy moan from me, every shocked gasp, his guttural groans, they are all amplified.
Squirming as I feel the heat of his cock sliding through my folds, I’m over-heated and needy. “Touching you is pure heaven,” Steele groans into my neck, wrapping his arms under my back and holding me close.
When finally, I feel him prodding to enter my body, I relax as best I can and bite along his shoulder as he finally slides home, his girth slightly painful.
“Fuck, Ava.” He kisses along my neck as his hips move gingerly, igniting a hedonistic pleasure I can’t define.
“More, Steele. Harder,” I hiss, lifting my hips to meet each of his thrusts.
Rolling us over, I’m settled on top, and the muscles in his neck are so strained it looks painful. I don’t hesitate to roll my hips up and down, back and forth, languidly rocking before picking up pace as his fingers continue to sink into my hips.
As soon as I’ve got a smooth rhythm going, Steele rolls us over again and takes command, his thrusting erratic and painful in all the best ways. As my orgasm begins to take over and my body convulses, I feel him hit the edge simultaneously, and we cross the finish line together. Out of breath, satiated, and completely exhausted.
“I love you, Steele.” The words come so effortlessly, so freely, for once. I pray this is just the beginning for us.
Chapter 8
Steele
“Would you fucking listen to me, Heather.” I’ve finally snapped. My sister has been a complete bitch about Ava and me with literally no reason for it at all.
“No! She took the boy I liked, and now she’s taking you. You didn’t even come home because of her.” The whine in her voice grates on my nerves. Of all my siblings, me being the oldest, she the youngest, we were always closest, but she’s getting on my last nerve now.
“Did you even hear a fucking word I said?” I shout. “I had five days; I chose to be with her. Ava thought I was going home. She and I are together now. She’s mine, and when I come home again, I’m going to ask her to marry me. She will be your fucking sister, and you’ll damn well treat her better than the ones we have now.”
Her arms cross angrily. “No.”
“Are you a damn child or an adult, Heath? Because I’m thinking you’re about two years old right now. Ava was your best friend for years; she didn’t even know the boy was interested in her. They never once spoke, and when I told her why you suddenly turned cold, she felt terrible. It wasn’t her fucking fault, Heather!” If I were at home right now, I’d be shaking some sense into my stubborn-ass sibling.
I recognize in the softening of her eyes and the loosening of her shoulders that I’m getting to her. “I need you to be friends with Ava again. I’m so stupidly in love with her that it will physically hurt me if you hate her.” I’m not above guilting my sister into forgiveness either.
Uncrossing her arms, she blows the hair out of her face before reluctantly agreeing. “Fine. It was exhausting trying to hate her anyways. All the other girls in school were always so bitchy, and Ava was incredibly nice. I wish I could take back how I’ve acted.” Now, her vulnerability is showing.
“So do it, Heath. I know Ava will be happy to have you as a friend again. Call her.” Noticing the mail truck, I know I have a package of goodies on there from Ava. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you again next week. Love you, kid.” She waves as I hit “end call”, and the mailman arrives, handing me the package.
As I open the box, her letter is right on top this time. After I told her it was the first thing I went looking for, she promised to make it easier for me.
Dear Steele,
I miss you. Body-aching, heart-cramping, belly-twisting miss you. It’s only been a couple weeks since you left, and it feels like years. Five days wasn’t nearly long enough, but I treasure every moment we had together.
I go to class, I come home, I study. I’m just going through the motions. I never imagined I could miss you this much. The shirt you left behind helps. Having your scent with me, wrapped around me as I sleep, makes it easier.
I’m selfish in my desire to have you by my side at every moment and in my bed every night, but I’m so proud of you. The work you do. The people you help. And it’s that knowledge that keeps me from begging you to come home. To quit.
I look forward to our next call.
I love you.
Ava
Damn. My girl sure knows how to make a guy feel loved. I have four months left on my tour, and I intend on permanently making her mine as soon as I can upon my arrival. I just hope by then, she and Heather have become friends again.
Chapter 9
Ava
Dear Ava,
You keep me sane. The thought of you at home, waiting for me, keeps me from going nuts while I’m here. Things have been quiet, so it’s easy to get lost in what’s happening back home. Right now, all I can think about is the moment I can hold you in my arms again.
Whisper my love in your ear.
Indulge on your pleasure until the sun rises.
Hear you moan my name until you’re breathless.
I fucking miss you, Ava.
More than I’ve ever missed anyone in my life. The anticipation of tasting your lips is what wakes me up every morning. Even with the video calls, I can’t wait to touch your soft skin. Make love to your mind and body.
I never imagined a life where I could fall in love with my soulmate through a letter, but we did it. Even if the feelings were there before, I was blind. I know you were embarrassed, even angry at Heather for sending that first letter, but I couldn’t be more grateful because we nearly missed our chance.
I’ll see you soon.
Love always,
Steele
Sighing as I reread his letter, we haven’t been able to video chat as much the last two weeks because of finals, but that only makes this letter so much more special.
“I did it on purpose, you know.” I gaze up at Heather sitting in the chair at my desk as I sit cross-legged on my bed and see the guilt in her cheeks. “Even though I was mad at you, I knew you two were meant for each other. I could see it every time you guys were in the same room.”
“You could?” I thought I kept it to myself pretty well.
“A blind person could, Ava.” She grin
s. “I don’t know why I was so bloody mad at you over stupid Jeremy Edwards. He was an asshole. But I saw you reading that letter that day, and I glimpsed the word love when you tried to hide it from me. I might have been mad at you, but Steele is the best person I know. He deserves happiness.”
When Heather showed up to apologize a few weeks ago, I was skeptical, hesitant even, but I’ve known her long enough to recognize when she’s sincere. Since then, she’s been up twice more. We’ve grown in our friendship, and I’m grateful to have her back in my life.
Chewing the corner of my lip, I debate sharing my secret with her. My excitement bubbles over, however, and I spill. “I’m pregnant,” I blurt out, and her eyes widen to the size of small saucers.
“Noooo!” A huge grin overtakes her face. “Seriously?” I nod. “Oh my gosh!” Standing, she tackle-hugs me to the bed. “I’m going to be an aunt!” Her squeal of excitement is all I need to breathe a sigh of relief and release my sense of excitement.
“How are you going to tell him?” Heather finally asks when we can breathe again, and I have no clue.
But she has the perfect idea.
Epilogue
Steele
Four Years Later.
“Hush, little baby, don’t you cry…” Listening to Ava sing to our youngest, a little girl, as she rocks her back to sleep makes me homesick. I know I’m watching the footage hours later, after the babies have been put down and fed two more times, but it doesn’t make it any less important.
With the birth of our son, we decided to have cameras installed in the house that I could access from any secure connection in the world and watch our children grow up. Missing Maddox’s first steps nearly killed me, and now I’ll never miss anything again.
Many people have tried to convince Ava that I’m controlling because of them, but she shuts them down immediately, telling them it was her idea. One she’s insanely proud of, especially after I heard Katelyn’s first word a month ago.