Tempted by a SEAL (10 page)

“Something like that.” He laughed one more time, and one more time she got pissed at his reaction.

She would freely admit he had the hard body that was likely the result of hours of working out, which fit the whole military story of his. But the rest of it—his disappearing from his family for nearly a year, his ability to hear parents across the house—
that
she wasn’t going to be so generous about.

“Food’s on the table.” The summons came from down the hallway in her mother’s voice.

“Okay.” Lydia didn’t move after answering, not willing to be the first one to back down from what had turned into a battle with Mack.

He didn’t move either. When neither one budged an inch, he finally said, “We going in?”

“You first.”

He smiled again. “Oh, no. I always make sure the lady goes first with me. Or more accurately,
comes
first. Well, except for that one time this morning, but I made up for it in the shower.”

She widened her eyes in shock. He was talking about that here and now? It was too much to take. She let out a sound of frustration that was more growl than she’d intended.

Spinning, she headed for the kitchen, leaving Mack behind her.

 
“Mmm, mmm. I do like that dress you’re wearing.” Mack’s suggestive comment almost had her tripping over her own feet again.

Refusing to give him the satisfaction of reacting, she continued striding down the hall.

It turned out ignoring him was impossible.

She was angry, she was annoyed, and she never wanted a man more.

CHAPTER 9

“Are you done with your plate?” Laurie asked Mack.

“Yes, but I got it. You sit. You did all the cooking so I’ll take care of the dishes.” Holding on to the dish so she couldn’t take it, Mack stood.

He had a plan. And hell, if it won him some brownie points in the eyes of his father, all the better.

“I can’t let you do the dishes. You’re the guest.”

“No, I’m family. Sit.” He was used to people doing as he instructed. He was happy to see his new stepmother was no exception.

Smiling, Laurie finally lowered herself into her seat. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. Lydia, wanna help me?” He grinned, knowing he was putting her on the spot and knowing she’d be annoyed by that.

More importantly, he was arranging for them to be alone in the kitchen.

The way she looked in that dress that showed off his favorite assets on her, and how those boots made him long to feel the heels digging into his ass as she wrapped her legs around him—yeah, he was going to be a very happy man.

The prospect of washing dishes had never been so enticing to Mack as it was now.

Lydia was as thrown by his suggestion as he anticipated she’d be.
 

“Liddy.” There was surprise and a good bit of censure evident in Laurie’s tone. “Go help your new brother with the dishes.”

Brother?
He had to stifle a laugh.

Yeah, no. In no universe were they or would they ever be brother and sister. Not in his mind, anyway.

Perhaps in the eyes of the law they were somehow technically tied together—and he wasn’t even certain about that.

They were both adults and, until last night, strangers. The fact their parents had gotten hitched didn’t affect him any.

His lips twitched as Lydia paled and stuttered a few times. She obviously didn’t like the insinuation that they might be stepsiblings any more than he did.

Still thrown, Lydia glanced from him to her mother. “Um. Okay. Sure.”

Gathering a few more dishes, he controlled his smile until he was in the hallway alone with Lydia. Then he let the grin spread. “Thanks for the help, sis.”

She swiveled her head to glare at him.

Mack enjoyed teasing her too much, so he continued. “What’s wrong, sister dearest?”

Letting out a humph, Lydia stalked ahead of him and into the kitchen. She let the dishes drop hard enough into the sink that he cringed. Feeling a tad guilty, he had to wonder if there would be any porcelain casualties thanks to her anger at him.

“Hey, now. Don’t take your bad mood out on the poor dinner plates.”

She spun to face him, looking a little surprised and mad to find him directly behind her. In his defense, he had a handful of dishes of his own to deposit into the sink and she was in his way.

“You have to stop teasing me in front of them.”

That’s what she was upset about? Wasn’t that interesting?
 

Reaching past her, he put the dishes he held far more gently than she had into the sink, before he asked, “And why is that?”

“Because they’ll figure it out. You might be a frighteningly good liar, but I’m not.”

He basked in the glow of her compliment even though chances were good she hadn’t meant it as such. But more intriguing was how she reacted to his closeness, becoming as flustered as she was about his teasing.

Taking a step forward, he closed the small distance between them. With Lydia pinned between his body and the sink, Mack decided to take advantage of the situation.

His hands on her waist, he dipped his head toward hers. She turned her face to dodge his kiss but that was fine, he had another goal anyway.

He hovered just shy of her ear. “What’s wrong, beautiful? Can’t control yourself around me?”

She shivered at his words. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit to himself that her reaction cut straight to his core.
 

“No. I mean yes. I mean . . . stop.” Her demand was less than convincing.

Running his hands lower until he cupped her ass through the fabric of her dress, he asked, “Do you really want me to stop?”

He didn’t exactly give her a long time to answer before he closed in on her lips.

With half his attention focused on listening for their parents, he still had plenty left to enjoy kissing her.

She was too damned tempting to resist. And that she was fighting her attraction to him—and losing that fight with herself—was enough to have his male ego swelling.

Other things were swelling too. He made sure she didn’t miss that as he pressed closer against her.

She pulled back, gasping. “Mack.”

“Hmm?” He moved to run his mouth over her collarbone.

A faint scent tickled his sense of smell. Makeup, maybe? He pulled back enough to see her neck, and spotted the bruise she’d tried to cover.

Had he done that? Pawing through his memory, he couldn’t remember doing it on purpose, but he did recall latching onto her throat at one point.

He tried to feel bad about it, but all he felt was satisfaction.

Unconsciously, he’d marked her as his. He’d do it again if given the opportunity. Odd since he usually didn’t care about claiming a woman past one night.

Somehow being with Lydia was different.

“We’re going to get caught.” Lydia continued her protest.

 
Maybe that was part of the appeal. That they were keeping this from their parents. But the reality was, as much as he valued his privacy and didn’t want his personal life or his sex life on display he really didn’t give a shit if his father or her mother found out.

She did though, he could see that, so he said, “No, we won’t. I have excellent hearing.”

And he’d like to hear her cry out his name as she came, like she had when they’d been together in the shower.
 

He considered the dangers versus the opportunity for barely a second—he was good at making quick decisions. That skill came with the job.

It didn’t take any time at all for him to realize the dress and that she wasn’t wearing stockings beneath it offered him easy access to what he wanted.

He spun her around to face the sink and pressed against her ass.

“What are you doing?”

“Helping you do the dishes.” He flipped on the faucet low and listened.

The sound of the water was soft enough, he’d hear footsteps coming down the hall. His dad had on cowboy boots and her mom had on heels.

After giving himself points for his keen power of observation, he snaked his hand beneath the hem of her dress. He connected with warm bare skin.

She hissed in a breath. “Oh my God. You can’t do that here.”

“Sure, I can.” To prove the point, he slipped one digit beneath her underwear and kept going until he reached the heat of her core.

“But—” Lydia never finished her sentence. Instead, her complaint dissolved into a tiny noise of what could only be described as satisfaction.

“You were saying?” He should keep his mouth closed, but teasing her was too fun. So was torturing her with the orgasm he knew wasn’t going to take too long to achieve.

“Shut up.” Her breathless command had him smiling.

“Yes, ma’am.” He had better things to do with his mouth anyway, like work her earlobe until she sagged against him.

She was reduced to a trembling, panting, beautiful mess in mere minutes. He used his free hand to keep her pressed against him so she wouldn’t collapse.

Hell, who was he kidding? He kept her against him because damn she felt good against his cock, even with clothes between them.

Her cries got louder. Too loud. He shushed her quietly, gently. Other than that he let her soar, more than happy with the knowledge it was completely his doing.

Finally, he eased up on her. Any longer and he wouldn’t be able to control himself. He’d have his pants open and be plunging into her right there against the sink. During that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to listen for daddy and step mommy, let alone get Lydia’s and his own clothes righted before they were discovered.
 

Wanting her and not being able to have her was its own kind of exquisite torture, but a man could only take so much.

He’d have her later. There was no doubt in his mind about that.

Easing his hand out of her underwear, he leaned his head against hers. “Come back to my place tonight.”

She flipped off the water and then turned in his arms. Her color was high. Her eyes bright. There was nothing more beautiful than a woman after she came.

Still recovering her breath, she glanced at the doorway behind him, before meeting his eyes. Finally, she said, “Okay.”

“Good.”

He’d worry about everything tomorrow. His apparent addiction to this woman. The fact that even if he wanted to walk away from this and not look back, he couldn’t now that they were connected by family.

He’d managed to forget that one little detail while his hands had been all over her, but it made this whole thing far more complicated.

He didn’t usually do complicated. His job made his life complicated enough.

Then again, he didn’t usually do overnights or repeats either, but here he was inviting her back to his place two nights in a row.

It seemed quite a few things were different this time.

What was done, was done. He might as well roll with it and see where things ended up.

Looking at her now, still shaky from his touch, he knew one thing. It was going to be a hell of a ride for however long it lasted.

“How are you two doing in there?” Laurie’s question came from a way down the hall.

With his lips twitching with a smile, Mack asked Lydia. “How are we doing?”

She twisted her mouth into an annoyed looking expression, before she leaned past Mack. “Fine, Mom.”

Mack smiled full out when she leaned back and leveled a glare at him.

“Glad you thought so, though I’d say you were doing better than just
fine
judging by what I heard and felt.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I—”

“Do you need help?” Her mother’s distant words interrupted whatever Lydia had been about to say. Apparently Laurie wasn’t happy not being a part of the clean up in the kitchen.

“No. We’re good. Stay in the living room with Joseph and relax. We’ll be there in a minute.” Lydia’s panicked response to her mother’s offer had Mack laughing.

“Afraid Mommy will take one look at you and recognize that post-orgasmic glow?”