SEAL the Deal (22 page)

“Oh, God,” she moaned in ecstasy, arching
toward him as both breasts were freed from the tight lace. Sucking and
caressing, his slick tongue moved in intricate patterns over her nipples. His
mouth moved lower on a path down her belly, pausing to dip his tongue into her navel.
Her vision suddenly foggy, she only heard the sound of her zipper lowering and
felt him pull her pants gently from her legs.

He groaned, trying to maintain control as
he saw the small red triangle of lace that greeted him. His hand journeyed to her
butt and he smiled at the feel of his hands on nothing but flesh. “You wore a
lace thong the entire plane trip for me? I’m indebted.”

She let out a small laugh. “It’s itchy on
a long trip, too.”

“Let me help your itch then,” he said,
kissing her mound as he pulled the tiny fabric from her.

Now lightheaded, her soft purr turned more
to a cry while his fingers toyed with her, finding her moist and throbbing. His
tongue teased her as the light graze of his teeth against her clit made her
breath catch in her throat. “Please, Mick.
Now
.”

He gave only a slight shake of his head. “Payback,
remember?” he said as he slipped a second finger into her moist heat.

No longer able to suppress the climax, her
body spasmed, starting at her heated core and radiating outward in powerful
waves, till even the tips of her fingers were alive with sensation. She threw
her head back and cried out his name, wondering how she ever could have
preferred a pint of Ben & Jerry’s to this.

Lacey thought her body might relax for a
moment. But it didn’t, immediately climbing to new heights as Mick’s hands and
mouth kneaded her, moving over her, up her, and down her again. She cried out again,
almost in pain from her own uncontrollable need. She wanted him inside her
desperately.

“I need you. Please, Mick. Now.”

At last, he gave in to his own lust, quickly
reaching for a condom and then sliding into her, joining his passion with hers.
He thrust inside her slowly at first, her own body adjusting to accommodate his
size.

Nibbling on her breasts, his thrusts
quickened against his own will, and he became even harder, causing her to cry out
from the tantalizing pressure. Digging her fingers into him, she tugged on the
maze of muscles on his back to pull him deeper into her.

Twisted in the sheets, they rolled to the
other side of the bed—her on top, then him again, and one more roll that
sent them tumbling to the ground.

Their bodies slick with moisture, eyes
wild with raw need, Mick was on top again and Lacey’s body responded, climbing again
to another peak. She met his rhythm, rocking her hips urgently, demanding satisfaction.
She cried out a final time and felt her own release as he exploded inside of
her.

Mick collapsed on top of her for a moment,
and then moved them both to their sides, brushing a small lock of hair from
Lacey’s eyes.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Mm,” she murmured quietly, pliant as Jell-O,
with barely a trace of breath left in her body. Despite their awkward location
on the floor, she had no interest in moving a muscle.

 “If I had any idea we’d end up like
this, I would have vacuumed,” he laughed as he shifted his arm to prop up his
head.

Lacey grinned lazily. “You don’t hear me
complaining.”

Mick traced the line of her jaw with the
top of his hand. “God, you are beautiful.”

“I’d return the compliment, but I don’t think
I could adequately come up with one word to describe your body,” she said,
stroking the curved muscles in his shoulders and arms appreciatively.

He smiled, cupping her chin in his hand. “No.
I mean you are beautiful in
every
way.” He kissed her gently. “Your
body, yes.” Another kiss. “But also your face.” A kiss. “Your smile.” Another.

His kisses moved slowly from her mouth to
her shoulders, making a seductive path along her collarbone, as he continued to
list every attribute he could think of. Lacey was surprised by how many he could
name.

 “There’s the way you care about your
friends and family. Also beautiful.” He kissed her again.

 “Your laugh,” he continued with the
light touch of his lips now moving toward her breasts. Her back arched. He
smiled at the way her body reacted so automatically. “The way you look in those
stilettos.”

Their bodies pressed together, she felt
him harden at the image. Lacey’s eyes widened. “Already? I didn’t know that was
even possible.”

He ignored her comment, silencing her with
his lips. “The way you make my body respond. Beautiful…”

A beam of light peeked through the drawn
curtains and passed across Lacey’s closed eyes. She awoke confused by her
surroundings, half melted into an unfamiliar bed, her body still humming from a
night of lovemaking.

Remembering, she smiled with what little
energy she could muster and reached over to the still warm part of the bed
where Mick had left his impression. And what an impression.

Wishing he was still there, she rose to
search for something to wear. Granted, Mick had familiarized himself with every
square inch of her body the night before, but she didn’t have the confidence to
display it so easily in the unforgiving morning light.

She gave the room around her a quick
appraisal, something she hadn’t had a moment to do while Mick was stealing her
full attention all night. Neat as a pin except for the unmade bed, but stark. Some
pins and medals were left on top of the dresser, as well as two hardcover books
that seemed to be about naval battles of some sort, from what she could gather
from the titles.

There was no excess here. He was a man who
could move across the country in the blink of an eye without looking back.

Her smiled faded at the thought of time
wasted, as she peered out the window to the Academy’s parade ground. Touching
the glass, she felt an unseasonable warmth that seemed more fitting for September
than for late November. But she knew it would not last. Annapolis’s weather was
a constant tease, and the harsh chill of winter was around the corner.

Why had she wasted an entire season
fighting her feelings for Mick? She felt foolish for all the times she had
longed to be held in his arms, but had pulled herself back, thinking that her
career would somehow blossom if she deprived herself of any pleasant
distraction.

Time passed too quickly, and Mick would
eagerly leave Annapolis given the right opportunity with the Navy. She had to
enjoy each moment with him while she could.

Daring herself to venture into his
drawers, she discovered a neatly folded stack of his familiar PT gear. She
pulled on a t-shirt and cinched his shorts so that they hung low on her waist. She
jumped at the sound of her cell phone, and dug for it in the pocket of
yesterday’s jacket. “Morning, Maeve.”

“Hey, Lacey. On your way to the airport?”

“Well, not really. I flew standby
yesterday and came home early.”

“You’re upstairs? God, I didn’t even hear
you come in. Get your lazy butt down here. Bess made coffeecake.”

“I’m not in my room.”

Pause. “Okay. Well, where are you?”

“At Mick’s.”

“Oh my God!” Maeve shouted into the phone
and then called out to Bess, “They finally did it, Bess!”

Lacey heard Bess’s unmistakable “Woohoo!” in
the background.

“Oh, come on, guys. You’re acting like
you’re in high school,” Lacey admonished.

“Shut up. We need to have some fun over
here. So how was he?”

Lacey exhaled, low and slow, trying to
come up with the right words.

Maeve didn’t give her the time to answer. “That
good, huh? I figured he would be. I think the career can take a backseat to skills
like that.”

“My career’s not taking a backseat,
Maeve.”

“Fine, then, you can put Mick in the
backseat. Hm, there’s a thought.”

“Seriously, Maeve, I’m counting on you and
Bess to help me stay focused. I just realized that depriving myself of someone
I’m this attracted to might not be helping my career at all.” She filled her in
on the details of Vi’s surprise engagement and finished with a sigh. “So that’s
it. And Mick is the perfect relationship for me, if you think about it. He’s out
of here in a year or so. Knowing that will help keep my head out of the
clouds.”

“Hey, do you think he’ll keep mowing the
lawn next spring if you guys are still together?”

Lacey didn’t dignify that with a reply. “Later,
Maeve. Oh, and save me a piece of coffeecake.”

She turned off her phone just as she heard
Maeve mutter, “In your dreams.”

Behind her, the floor creaked and she turned
to see Mick, looking formidable and adorable at the same time, wearing nothing
but boxers and holding a breakfast tray. Her blood stirred. “Hi,” she said
breathlessly.

Mick emitted a low whistle at the sight of
Lacey in his PT gear. “Morning. I wanted to serve you breakfast in bed, but I
guess I wasn’t fast enough.”

Lacey’s eyes danced. “I can remedy that.” Tossing
her phone onto a heap of yesterday’s clothes, she jumped into the center of his
bed.

Raising an eyebrow, he set the tray on the
bedside table. “The eggs will keep.” Lowering his body over hers, his kiss was full
of hunger as he grasped her hands to her sides so that she was barely able to
move.

She loved the taste of him. The feel of
his mouth on hers filled every crevice of her soul.

He pulled back and gazed at her warmly. “God,
you’re beautiful in the morning.”

“You must be kidding.”

He dove into her mouth again and angled
his body on hers so that she could feel his rock-hard response against her.
“Obviously, I’m not kidding,” he murmured as his mouth left hers and traveled down
to the gentle curve of her neck. Slowly, patiently, his fingers traveled to
where she was already moist and aching for him. He probed gently into her heat.

Lacey drew in a sharp breath from the
welcome invasion, and her body arched sharply to meet the pressure of his hand
against her.

“That’s it, baby,” he whispered in her
ear. “I love seeing you this way.” When his finger pulled out, she let out a
small protest, but then his hands pulled her legs apart, and his mouth tasted
her.

Something about the morning light pouring
in made Lacey feel so exposed. “Oh, Mick. Not now. It’s just—”

She couldn’t complete her thought as her
body writhed in involuntary ecstasy. His fingers and tongue sent her soaring
upward until she cried out in a release that had her floating, free-fall, back
to reality.

He smiled in satisfaction.

Her body flushed, she purred, “Somehow
starting my morning with just coffee won’t be quite as satisfying as this.”

“Fortunately for you, I’m available most
mornings,” Mick replied, deftly pulling off his boxers and reaching for the box
of condoms.

Lacey smiled and pressed her hands against
his shoulders, urging him to lay back and let her straddle him. He groaned as
she grabbed him and sank down onto the full length of him. Still fascinated by
the hard ripples of muscle, she traced her hands down his chest, and he
throbbed in response to her light touch, aching for release. Watching her hair
fall upon him as she rode him, she quivered when his mouth grabbed her breast. His
hand reached for her other breast and he kneaded, gently at first, then with
force, until her eyes fell to half-mast.

Swiftly he flipped her onto her back and
thrust, consuming her with each passing moment, until finally he claimed her
again, sending her senses reeling with release.

It could have been minutes that passed in
silence, or it could have been hours. Their bodies, slick with sweat, had
melted into each other, lost in a tangle of limbs and sheets. It was Mick who
first lifted his head to notice the absence of steam rising from the coffee
that awaited Lacey.

“I think I’ll have to get you some fresh
coffee.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was worth the
sacrifice,” Lacey said, her hands sliding up his sinuous arms and then tracing
the contours of his body.

“No, really,” Mick insisted, pulling back.
“I’ll bring you some more. And I’ll make some fresh eggs.”

She felt a chill in the room as his warm
body left hers. Suddenly feeling awkward, she pulled a sheet over her, sensing
tension in the room. He slipped his boxers back on and reached for the
breakfast tray.

Heading out of the bedroom, he glanced
over his shoulder. His eyes were guarded, but his smile was warm. “Come to
think of it, maybe you better come downstairs to eat. Or we might be
sacrificing a few more eggs before noon.”

***

Stepping into the kitchen, Mick had to
consciously slow his breathing. He gripped the arch of the entryway to steady
himself.

What the hell was happening to him? Sure,
his body had been quick to respond to women before, but this was different. Much
more disturbing. He liked feeling in control in relationships. But with Lacey,
he was powerless.