The SEAL Next Door (Alpha SEALs Book 5) (12 page)

“I like holding you close.”

He dropped their snorkeling apparatus onto the sand and kept moving until they reached their discarded towels and beach gear.  Swiping both towels from the sand, he carried her off toward some hidden dunes.

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Yes, but what are we—?”

His mouth was on hers again in an instant, and he gripped her body, slowly rubbing her against his throbbing erection.

“Oh!” she gasped as heat bloomed inside her.  She’d been growing steadily more aroused from the moment he’d first kissed her, but to have him handle her this way would surely drive her completely out of her mind.

Matthew only stopped when they were hidden from view, and he set her down for a moment to spread their towels down on the soft sand.  “I can’t wait until we get back,” he growled, pulling her toward him again.  His hands fumbled with the ties of her red bikini top, and soon the triangle cups were falling forward, baring her to him.

“So beautiful,” he murmured, laying her down on a towel.  He palmed her breasts with his hands, caressing them gently as he nibbled on the tender flesh of her neck.  She cried out and arched toward him, arousal dampening her bikini bottoms.  His teeth skimmed across her flesh, and then he kissed his way south, moving down the slope of one breast.  He sucked a taut bud into his mouth, worshiping her, teasing her.  His thumb ran across her other nipple, leaving her writhing beneath him.

“Please, Matthew, I need more.”

He flicked his tongue lightly over her peaked nipple, and she cried out, thankful for the loud waves crashing against the shore.  His knuckles skimmed across her stomach, and then he kissed his way down from her breasts, moving tenderly down her abdomen.  He tugged the flimsy strings of her bikini bottom, yanking it free, and she was exposed to him.  Matthew ducked down, lifting her legs over his broad shoulders, opening her completely to him.  He lapped at her, drinking in her arousal as she whimpered and clutched onto the towel for dear life.  Heat coiled down from her belly, spreading warmth through her entire body.

She felt like she was floating away, unable to do anything but yield to the pleasure he was giving her.  His broad shoulders spread her legs wide, and she couldn’t move away from the intensity that was pure Matthew.  He lightly teased her clit with soft ministrations, and she nearly cried at the sweet pleasure of it all.  Without warning he increased his pace, leaving her helplessly bucking against his mouth as she gasped.  Matthew’s hands slid beneath her bare bottom, and suddenly he lifted her toward him, like she was the feast he was devouring.

Brianna cried out as he lapped at her, unable to move away.  He trailed his tongue through all of her sensitive folds and finally penetrated her with his tongue, pulsing in and out of her channel as she moaned out his name.  She was so far gone she didn’t even care what she sounded like.  Matthew finally sucked her clit into his mouth, lightly grazing his teeth across the sensitive bud, and suddenly she screamed as the onslaught of pleasure overtook her.  Matthew didn’t let up, holding her to him as her orgasm went on and on, and he lapped at her and drank all of her release.

She lay gasping as he moved over her, his chest brushing against her tender nipples.  Matthew tugged his swim trunks partway down, and she felt his thick length nudging at her core.  She edged her hand down, wrapping her fingers around him, feeling the heavy weight of him in her palm, the velvety softness surrounding steel.  Matthew groaned as his cock jerked in her hand.  She guided him to her entrance, and then he thrust in, making her his once more.

Her walls clamped down around him, milking him as the aftershocks of her orgasm coursed through her.  He slowly withdrew and thrust back in, his face clenched as he tried to hold himself back.

“Faster,” she breathed, wrapping her legs around his hips.

His thick length speared her again and again as he increased the pace of his thrusts, and she moaned in pleasure as he penetrated and filled her completely.  Matthew rubbed her clit with his thumb and pumped into her, relentless, unyielding, until she threw her head back in ecstasy.  He came right along with her, stiffening inside her and softly muttering her name like an oath.

Matthew panted into her neck, alternately kissing and nuzzling her.  Brianna lay dazed beneath him, loving the feel of the weight of his body atop hers.  He had her completely beneath him, thoroughly sated.  His semi-hard cock still twitched inside her, and as he pulled free, she realized they’d forgotten to put on a condom in their haste.  She did a quick calculation in her head, deeming it unlikely that she’d actually have anything to worry about from one episode of careless behavior.  Hell, it had been worth it.

“Shit,” Matthew muttered, apparently having the same thought as her.  “Condom.”

“I think we’re okay.  I mean, I’m not on birth control, but it shouldn’t be the right time.”

“I’m clean, I promise.  The Navy tests us all the time.  And I’ve never gone bare with anyone before.”

Brianna nodded as he ducked down and kissed her.  He grabbed her red string bikini, the skimpy material looking even tinier in his firm grasp.

“Did I tell you how much I love you in this?” he asked huskily.

Brianna smiled.  “Not in so many words.  But I kind of gathered that when you ripped it right off me.”  She took his hand as he helped her sit up, and Matthew grinned as her breasts bounced.  He lightly caressed the side of one, and then ran his fingertip around the areola.  Her nipple instantly peaked again at his touch, and she couldn’t believe she already felt aroused again.

“You’re so gorgeous,” he said in a low voice.  “I hate that I’m leaving tonight.”

Brianna reluctantly took her bikini top from him and tied it back on, much to Matthew’s fascination.  She tied the straps on the bottom as Matthew pulled his swim trunks back up and grabbed their towels.

“Come with me,” he suddenly said.

“Where?”

“Back to Virginia Beach.  I have to go back, you need a new job.  It’s perfect timing.”

Brianna gave him a sad smile.  “Perfect timing except Beckett will be back soon—hopefully—and my parents could use the help.  Plus I can’t just up and leave everything here.  I don’t have a job at the moment, but I’m waiting to hear back from a bunch of marketing firms.”

“Just think about it,” Matthew said, taking her hand.  “It doesn’t have to be today.  But promise you’ll consider it.”

Brianna nodded as the thought took root in her mind.  She could go visit him.  Stay with him for a little while.  But certainly he couldn’t mean forever.  And she couldn’t ask him to make promises he couldn’t keep.

“So he just left?” Ella asked the next afternoon. Brianna watched her add cream and sugar to her coffee as the two women sat in a sidewalk café down by the beach.  A breeze blew in off the water, rustling the loose napkins on the table.

Brianna sipped her iced coffee, nodding.  “Yeah.  He had to go back for training this morning.  Evan and Brent flew out with him last night.”

“But you slept together.  Twice!”

Brianna blushed, looking around.  Although she didn’t mind sharing some of the details with Ella, she didn’t need the whole place listening in.  Or all the random people walking by.  She brushed her blonde hair back, glancing down at the pale pink top and white skinny jeans she had on.  She felt pretty and pulled together today, and Matthew wasn’t even around to see her.  When he’d run into her having coffee over the weekend, she’d been in yoga pants and loose sweatshirt. “Technically, more than twice.  He spent the entire night, and then there was the beach.”

“Wow,” Ella said, flashing her a huge smile.  “I’m kind of shocked after the night you had at the bar.  I’d be curled up in a ball and a complete wreck.”

“Yeah, it just sort of happened.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve had a crush on him forever.  My entire life.  I’m not even sure he realized that.  But he’s one of those guys that never settle down, so I don’t see anything happening.  It was just the timing and stress of the situation.”

“Well some of them settle down.  What about Evan and his girlfriend?  They live together and are having a baby.”

Brianna paled slightly, thinking of the unprotected sex she’d had on the beach yesterday.  She couldn’t imagine Matthew ever wanting kids—not after what he’d told her the first night he’d been back in town.  That a family didn’t go with the life of a SEAL.  And although she did want children, someday, now certainly wasn’t the time.  She’d be married with a house and job when that day came.  Far off in the future.

“Are you okay?” Ella asked, looking concerned.

“Fine.  Just thinking.”

“And he did ask you to go back to Virginia Beach with him.  I mean, guys don’t just invite anyone to do that.”

“Yeah, I know.  But it was sort of in the heat of the moment.  We’d just made love on the beach for heaven’s sakes.  Not even two nights ago he told me he’d never have a family.  So my moving there to be with him for a while doesn’t exactly add up to forever.”

“Well, I find it hard to believe that he regularly asks women to come home with him.  And what did he mean anyway by asking you to come with him—like move in together?”

Brianna shrugged, fiddling with the straw in her drink.  “I have no idea.  That’s sort of the problem.  We haven’t discussed specifics about anything.  We’ve known each other forever, but even so, you don’t just abandon your own life for a guy like that.”

“You do if he’s that hot,” Ella laughed.

Brianna raised her eyebrows.

“No, don’t worry; I don’t have a thing for Matthew.  I just mean, those Navy SEALs were pretty easy on the eyes.  Not to mention a hell of a lot nicer than most of the other men that I meet.”

“You’ll meet someone,” Brianna assured her.  “Not moonlighting as a cocktail waitress, but at school or somewhere you’re supposed to be.”

“Maybe, maybe not.  But speaking of the bar, Frank left me two more messages.”

“What?” Brianna asked, nearly dropping her iced coffee.  “What did he say?  I can’t believe he’d call you again.”

“First he asked me to come back, and then he said he’d withhold my paycheck unless I did.”

“He can’t do that,” Brianna insisted.  “You worked those hours, fair and square.  Even if you up and quit without a good reason—which you did
not
—he has to pay you for the time you’ve already put in.  He can’t just make up his own rules.”

“I know, but what am I supposed to do?  I need the money for my tuition.”

“Get another job. 
Any
other job.”  Brianna looked around the outdoor cafe they were currently relaxing in.  “Work here if you have to.  It’s safe.  It’s money.  I bet you could make some decent tips.”

Ella laughed.  “Look, we both know the reason you and I were there serving cocktails to a mostly male clientele—it paid well.  Nearly twice as much as anywhere else I could work.  I don’t have a degree, remember?  It’s not like I have a lot of options.”

“I know, I know.  But promise me you won’t go back there.  I mean, I’d loan you the money if I had any.  God, did I tell you Matthew wanted to pay my student loans?  There’s no way in hell I’d ever let him do that.  He probably thinks I’m a complete idiot what with losing my job and then serving drinks.  Some good my MBA did, huh?”

Ella shrugged.  “Lots of people have to work their way through school.  Look at me, look at everyone here,” she said, gesturing around to the young waiters and waitresses.  “And it’s sort of sweet that he offered to pay them for you.  I know you’d never accept money from him like that, but it must be nice to have someone care about you that much.”

Brianna nodded, thoughtful.  Of course Matthew cared about her—they’d practically grown up together.  But caring about her didn’t necessarily mean they had any sort of a future.  It didn’t mean that he wanted her to come to Virginia Beach forever.

“So anyway,” Ella said.  “What was the deal with your brother?  You said you didn’t want to talk about it yesterday over the phone, which I understand.  Is he okay?”

Brianna frowned.  “Yes and no.  He’s okay and stable right now, but the reason he didn’t come home was because he tried to commit suicide on Saturday.”

“Oh my God!” Ella said, covering her mouth with one hand.  “I’m so sorry.  I can’t imagine what it must have been like hearing that after everything that happened at the bar.  When did you find out?”

“My parents flew up there Saturday night before I got home.  They left in such a rush they left me a note on the kitchen table.”

“A note?  That’s horrible!  They should’ve told you in person.  Or waited until you got home.”

“Yeah, probably so,” Brianna said, blowing out a sigh.  “They were in shock though.  They’ve been through so much—first with fearing the worst after his accident, then dealing with his recovery and life as an amputee.  We’ve all been looking forward to his coming home, and this was pretty much the last thing we ever expected.  I thought he’d be happy to be alive.  Not everyone makes it back.”

“Are you going up there?” Ella asked.  “To Walter Reed?”

“Next weekend.  My parents are up there now and said to wait.  They didn’t want to overwhelm Beckett with visitors, and I think it’ll be good to space out our visits.  Hopefully it’ll give him something to look forward to.  It sucks though.  I don’t know what his state of mind is or anything.  I want to just knock some sense into him, tell him he’s lucky to be alive, but I know that’s not how it works.  It could be an even longer road to recovery after this.”

“He’s lucky to have you,” Ella said.  “I don’t have any siblings, any parents.  I know this is a tough time, but your family will be there for him.  He’s already got an advantage by having so many people care about him.”

“You’re right.  It was just such a shock.  I mean when I talked to him Friday he sounded fine.  I never expected him to do anything like this.  Thank God he’s okay.  And hopefully when I get to see him, I can find out more.”

Ella glanced at the time on her phone as the two women finished their drinks.  “I hate to up and run, but I’ve got another paper to write.”

“Yeah, I’ll let you go.  Thanks for meeting me for coffee.”

Brianna tossed her empty cup in the garbage can as the two said goodbye.  She sidestepped around a young couple making out on the sidewalk, rolling her eyes, and walked back to her car. She decided to quick check her email before she drove off to see if any prospective employers had emailed her.  There was a note from her mother assuring her Beckett was doing okay and that they’d be back home in a day or so.  She scrolled down some more and was surprised to see a quick note from Matthew.

Bri,

Send me your resume. I may have a job lead for you.

Matthew

She looked quizzically at the email as if somehow more answers would materialize from the brief message.  Matthew was in the Navy for God’s sake.  What kind of job could he possibly know about that she would be interested in?  There was no mention of their weekend together or anything else, but he was at work, she reasoned.  It’s not like he’d be sending her a love letter or something.  She smirked at the thought.  He might kiss her until she was breathless and give her more orgasms that she could count, but Matthew wasn’t exactly a romantic at heart.

Her mind flashed back to saying goodbye to him yesterday.  After making love on the beach, they’d picked up her car at the bar and driven home separately.  Matthew had followed her inside, kissing and caressing her as they’d showered together.  But there’d been no time for more lazy lovemaking in her bed.  They’d said goodbye, and he’d disappeared back next door to pack and have his parents drop him off on base.  He’d promised to call tonight, but in the few hours they’d been apart, it was almost as if she could already feel him slipping away.