Navy SEAL Romance: MC ROMANCE: Axel (Bad Boy Alpha Male Military Romance) (Military Suspense Protector Romance) (43 page)

"Why don't we stay for a bit?" I asked huskily.

His eyes nearly lit up in the darkness, and he closed the distance between us.

"I thought you'd never ask."

He stalked toward me and pulled me roughly against him, devouring my mouth with his. My whole body was on fire, sparking with every graze of his hand against my back, my side, wrapped in my hair. His lips spoke of hunger and need, and I responded in kind.
              His arms were a steel cage that embraced me, trapping me, protecting me. The rest of the world slipped away and I felt only him. If there was nothing else ever again, it wouldn’t have bothered me even slightly.

We tumbled to the grass below, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks adding music to the dance of our entwined bodies.

Gage

The feeling of Hayley's head on my chest made me want to rumble with pride. We were both tired, spent. We listened to the waves below and the sound of each other's heartbeats. She was mine now, and I would keep her in my arms for as long as I could.

It was getting late though, and I had an idea that required getting back into town before sunrise.

"We need to get up," I informed her. "It's time to head back."

Hayley muttered something that sounded like "don't wanna", but ultimately, I was able to pull her up onto her feet. We both redressed, and then I grabbed her hand and led her back through the trees.

It was pitch black under the leafy canopy, and I had to seriously watch where I stepped. Nonetheless, we made it back to the road without so much as scratch.

I got on the bike and Hayley straddled the seat behind me. When I started it, she squeezed her arms around my middle, and I smirked under my visor.

We cruised back through the darkness a little bit faster than when we had been going to the place earlier. Then, I had thought I would enjoy the ride more than the destination — now I knew the ride was only part of the fun, and that the real fun would begin after we had taken care of a couple matters of business.

I stopped a couple blocks down from her parents' house.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, her voice muffled by the helmet. She pulled it off. "I live, like two blocks that way."

I pulled off my helmet too and craned my neck to catch her eye. "I know, but I didn't want to wake your parents up."

She laughed. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not sure that they'd approve of me taking you away for the next couple of days."

Hayley got off the bike and stood in front of me. "What do you mean?"

I smirked. "Exactly what I said, gorgeous," I replied. "You and I are going on a trip. We're going to go see some of those places you want to see. I figured you’d want to pack a bag."

She crossed her arms over her chest. Oh, I thought I was about to get it for something.

"I'm twenty-three, Gage," she said flatly. "I don't need my parents' approval to go away for a couple nights."

I shrugged. "I know," I said, "but all the same, I doubt they'd appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night by some guy's bike right before he dragged you off to god knows where."

She pursed her lips. They looked delicious. "Good point," she admitted.

She placed her helmet down on the ground beside the bike and began a hurried walk toward her house. She returned a few minutes later with a small bag of essentials. I handed her helmet back to her, and pulled mine on too.

Then, with a mighty roar, we careened off into the night.