SEAL of My Heart Read online

  “We do all this and it’ll be over soon, and then I’ll have to rest a bit, sweetheart.”

  She stopped, her arms and palms covering her full breasts, hiding her beauty, those pink tips of her nipples, from his gaze. With one hand cupping the back of her head, he gripped her scalp, bringing her face to his lips. He plunged his tongue deep, then swiftly pushed her long, beautiful curls away from her ear, kissed her, and said, “I want to fuck you slow, Kate. Make it last. Baby. I need to feel you come under me.”

  He bit her earlobe and she hissed, pressing harder so he could bite her again.

  “Let’s slow down, baby,” he said, squeezing her breasts before finding a hiding place between her legs. She laid her sex on his palm and undulated, making love to his fingers. One by one he penetrated her wet lips as he began to feel her shudder.

  Kate wasn’t going to go slow, which meant he had to work harder to help her reach the crescendo he wanted her to feel. Having her shatter beneath him, calling his name, became the most important thing in the world.

  He flipped her on her back with a fluid, cat-like movement. Her hands slid up the sheets, diving under the pillows to grip the bars of her headboard. He pulled aside one soft pillow, placing it under her rear to raise her pelvis up.

  “Taste me, Tyler,” she whispered.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “Pleeeease,” she whined. “God, I need you.”

  “Slow down and I’ll do it all to you, baby. And I’ll make it last all night, sweetheart.”

  She turned her head to the side and moaned into the pillow. He pressed one thumb on her nub and she gasped.

  “Not fair, Tyler.”

  “Shhh, baby. Slow baby.” With deliberate figure eights, he thumbed over her nub, bending to tweak the little organ with the tip of his tongue. She tried to raise her hips, to push her pussy into his mouth, but he smiled and pulled back. “Slow, Kate. We take it slow, like this.” He rimmed her opening with his forefinger and she tilted her pelvis up towards him again. She rolled to the side and held his hand between her legs and undulated slowly back and forth, making love to his fingers again.

  “Yes, baby.”

  “Need you inside me, Tyler.”

  Her body in profile, moving back and forth, burying his hand in her soft moist juncture, was a beautiful thing. He smoothed his hand against her ass cheek, gently following the cleft, tracing a line he kissed from her anus to her channel. Pushing the firm flesh of her cheek back, he exposed her sex, the red swollen lips that called to him. He bent and explored the slit with his tongue, sucking on her nub before lifting his head to look at her.

  She was trying to make the fingers of his other hand impale her again, but he slid his arm up her torso, between her breasts, reaching around her delicate neck to grip the hair at the back of her neck and whispered, “Slowly, my sweet. Please, Kate, I’m begging you.”

  She wasn’t listening. Her moans fought against his resolve. She was ravenous to be satisfied and Tyler was slowly losing his ability to keep from spilling. He quickly slipped on a condom and rooted himself along her cleft, pushing hard against her from behind, sliding underneath until he was poised at her opening. She angled her pelvis, spreading her underside wider until just his head entered her body.

  She arched and inhaled, pushing her whole body against his cock, forcing it inside her deep. “Yessss, Tyler.”

  So much for being slow. The sight of her quivering beneath him spurred him on. He forced himself in from behind, so deep she made guttural groans of pleasure. Careful and slow at first, his deep penetrations became more urgent and finally he was pumping her hard, spreading her ass cheeks open so he could slip under for deeper penetration.

  He felt her internal muscles clamp down on him. She was tight as she milked him. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “You like that baby? You like fucking me, baby?”

  “God, Tyler. Don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.”

  He stopped holding back, thrust several times, and held himself inside her to the hilt. She seemed to flex and then soften against him as she allowed him to penetrate deeper than he’d ever been before. He felt his seed spurt inside the condom buried deep inside her while she shuddered and groaned. He bunched up her lips with his left hand, turning her head slightly to let her have her way with his tongue, which he plunged deep, just as he rode her deep, forcing his hips against her and then releasing.

  She wanted to turn, so he moved her left leg in front of him and looped her knee over his shoulder. At an angle he fucked her, which gave him a whole new sensation. She felt it too, as she gasped, her insides vibrating against him. Her hands flew to his shoulders, up his neck to cup his cheeks. “No other place in this earth I’d rather be right now, Tyler. Here. Here is where I belong. Here is where you belong.”

  “Yes, baby.” Her arousal was building again, slowly rising in tandem with his own. Suddenly she broke, pulling him tight against her chest and then pushing him away to arch back, pushing him deeper inside her. He held her, restrained her movements, while she struggled to no avail. The harder she struggled the more she came, the harder he held her, and the more he spilled.

  At last he watched her arms flop back onto the mattress, sweat covering her body, which glistened through the filtered glow of the bedroom curtains. Her perfect breasts were wet, sweat streaking down between them as her torso rose and fell with her heavy breathing. One of her hands made its way back to his mouth where she traced his lips with her forefinger, allowing him to draw it into his mouth and suck on it.

  He measured his breathing to coincide with hers in perfect tandem. When she moved, he altered his angle of penetration, keeping himself fully seated, in case round two came soon.

  But as he suspected, she wanted to snuggle into the space under his chin, leaning into his chest, with his arms about her waist. Her left thigh was riding his hipbone. His hands cupped her ass cheeks and pressed them into his groin.

  She was perfect for him. Everything about her was perfect. Her hair splayed all over the bed was perfect. Her perfect mouth and white teeth smiled at him as her eyes danced a seven-veil dance with the promise of future liaisons. Her flawless, smooth, porcelain white skin rubbed against his tough warrior flesh, and he felt as though all the bumps and scars of battle were being lovingly rubbed off him forever.

  C

  hapter 27

  Next morning, she took him to the little Bistro three blocks from her cottage, bordering the Square. The town was made for lovers, he thought. Funny, now that he was fully in the throes of new love, he saw couples all around him. He noticed stolen glances between men and women he might otherwise have overlooked. His radar was set, fixed on this warm chocolate feeling that somehow just being with Kate would ease the problems of the whole world.

  Every time he thought about his Team’s upcoming mission, he purposely forced it out of his mind. Kyle had told him it was going to be especially dangerous, even though it would be a short one, or should be a short one. There were still no guarantees.

  They’d managed to get the terp, their Afghani interpreter, out after last deployment, which had been an incredible feat. He’d never known the Navy to move so fast to relocate a valued American ally. But it meant the family that their terp, Jack Daniels, or Jackie—which wasn’t his real name, but the name they could use in public when they were in the middle of a mission—his family was left behind. With the recent fall of several cities thought to be American-friendly, Kyle said Jackie’s family was being hunted, and some of them had already been captured and killed, including the parents of the young lady friend Tyler and the Team had rescued a year ago from an evil warlord.

  Now the whole country was overrun with warlords. Chaos was the order of the day. Without significant American forces as backup, the SEALs were being sent in quietly to rescue people trapped in the carnage and extricate them.

  Lying in Kate’s bed, with her favorite things displayed all over her walls, the sunlight beginning to bring a
blush to the sky, the normal stuff of life, he’d have to say, the Juice of Life, it was a banquet spread before him, his to partake of for a few hours.

  This was what he was fighting for, so Kate and people like her could enjoy themselves and be kept far away from the death and destruction of an imploding society. He watched the way her porcelain skin rose and fell, her muscled thigh draped across his, the way her breasts felt as she slept against him. Everything about the picture was pure chocolate, warm, and apple pie. The birds began to chirp in a nest tucked under a nearby eave, and still she slept, secure in his arms, as it should be.

  He brought his palm up to tousle the hair at the back of her head. She jerked at first, and then softened and gave a delighted groan when she felt him underneath her. Her hand slipped up his neck and then her fingers walked across his lips as she raised her messed-up head with the hair all over everywhere and gave him that sexy good morning smile he’d had imprinted on his brain. He’d remember this every morning while he was away. How she needed him. How exhausted he had been, how so freakin’ happy he was to have this woman in his arms. He decided if his life was limited to just these two days with Kate, it would have been worth it.

  “You want to get up, get some breakfast, Tyler?”

  “Um hum. Whatever you want, sweetheart. Might not be too many good places open this early.”

  “I can think of something we could do for the next hour or so until the coffee shops open.”

  “So can I, but you sleep, baby. I love just lying here feeling you sleep on me just like this.”

  Kate did the opposite. “Gotta get up to work, lover,” she whispered. Rising up by propping her beautiful torso with her forearms placed against his upper arms, she let her breasts gently swipe against his, kissed him sweetly, but let it develop slowly, just like he liked it. She teased him, made him advance on her, using their tongues to mingle and taste. His fingers moved down the small of her back, over the dimples at the top of her butt cheeks, down the sexy cleft until he could feel her wet peach.

  Groaning and undulating against him, the press of her pubic bone against the large muscles of his thigh, triggering his own need, lit the bonfire he knew would consume them both.

  This delicate creature was made for him. He knew he’d finally found home, after all the years of looking in hookup places, in schools, in bars and with friends, the woman of his dreams was begging him to make love to her again, and damn, he was all in. Would be all in until she rang the bell.

  After all, he never would.

  She insisted on wearing the T-shirt he’d had on yesterday. She didn’t have a bra, so her knotted nipples peeked deliciously through the thin white cotton fabric. Sitting across from her at the coffee house, he was constantly aware of her breasts swinging toward him, plump and inviting. She’d slipped off her jacket and the tee had fallen off her shoulder so her bare skin tempted him, too.

  Over her coffee mug, her dark brown eyes dared him to be inappropriate with her. The foam of milk on her upper lip stayed just a couple of seconds until her pink tongue swiped it clean. She leaned further forward and gave him a kiss that tasted like coffee candy. The suction of their lips was making noises. They could have been slurping oysters, but it was a coffee shop, with other breakfast patrons nearby, and clearly Kate didn’t care. She’d have fucked him on the table if he’d asked it of her. He knew that about her already.

  “I’m getting all turned on just watching you drink coffee, Kate,” he said, low enough for her ears only. A young woman sitting at the table next to them looked up.

  “I can see that. It turns me on when you’re turned on, baby.”

  “No worries there,” he said as he massaged her bare foot that had migrated under the table from her clog to his groin. “I love everything about you.”

  She partially closed her eyes and seemed almost to purr.

  “I love touching you everywhere, baby.” His fingers slipped up her leg from her ankles to squeeze her calves. “I like seeing you come, lose control.”

  This time the young woman glared at Kate, not at him, so he chuckled.

  Her look of focused need and complete hunger was a thing of beauty. His whole life he’d wanted a woman to look at him like that, with that kind of a fever for him, a flame only he could extinguish. He loved setting her on fire and feeling them both burn.

  He drove her to work in her little SUV, their fingers entwined over the center console. The day was going to be warm. Cars were everywhere, even though it was early on a Saturday morning. Shops were being set up, sidewalks sprayed off, cappuccino makers were squealing, runners and cyclists speeding along on their focused quests. He thought perhaps he’d take a nice ten-mile run while she was working. He wanted to explore the beautiful Dry Creek valley floor they were traveling along. Maybe he’d bring her lunch. He could find a vineyard that was private, maybe find a little shady spot with a blanket…

  He knew they were close because that deep crease at the middle of her forehead was there, signaling the return to her previous life. Not what her life was going to be like from now on, but her previous life. With that guy.

  Through the tall pillars marked with a large H logo, identifying it as Heller Estate Vineyards, he drove up the crushed granite drive to the tasting room. It was a modern two-story stone and wood structure, with oversized doors and windows. Rows of lush, bright green vines were maturing all around them. The soil was dark and freshly tilled. The front of the building had stainless steel containers bursting with flowering plants.

  She directed him towards the side, where he parked. He turned in his seat, put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. “Showtime, baby. Go sell some wine.”

  He could tell the way she lingered in his kiss, she didn’t want him to go.

  “Shall I walk you in? You want to show me off to anybody, anybody named Randy, perhaps?” He allowed his feral look to descend upon her, including a half smile á la Captain Jack Sparrow.

  “That wouldn’t be very fair, now would it? Put you in an awkward position?” she said just before she let herself out of the car.

  He got out quickly and ran around to meet her, giving her a hug, not letting her go. “I’m not in any awkward position. Besides, I loved all the awkward positions you put me in all night and early this morning.” He kissed her in front of whoever might be looking. “I’m thinking of those positions, baby. Those you did for me, those little private lap dances, and I love it.”

  She was blushing as she took his hand and led him into the snake pit of the tasting room. She didn’t seem surprised to see two people standing near the bar. One was an attractive, rusty-red-haired young woman about Kate’s age, and the other was a handsome, graying older man. And then he recognized the redhead. They’d had a one-night stand in San Diego. A very drunken one night stand. And the lady had been a blonde then.

  Holy fuckin’ shit. What were the odds?

  Tyler recognized the older man from the website photos he’d studied.

  “Mark Heller. You must be Tyler.” The man extended his hand and shook Tyler’s with a firm grip. His face was hard to read. His lips formed a thin line yet his eyes seemed genuinely warm.

  The young lady’s eyes got huge as a sly smile curled up her lips. She didn’t eye him like girls often did in San Diego at the beach, not bothering with anything but his package. That’s how she’d been that night, and he’d fallen for it. But now her eyes flirted with him openly, sending an alarm straight to his gut. She was thinking about outing him with Kate regarding their night of sex. She was toying with him and enjoying it.

  “And this is my friend, Sheila,” Kate said.

  Sheila’s blue-green eyes, enhanced by contacts, delivered the cool message that she was available if Kate should suddenly have a change of heart, or if he did. Maybe even hinting she’d be more likely to keep quiet if he’d show her a little attention again. He’d had to work damned hard the first time to get rid of her. She had been such a frog hog to all the Team g
uys down there, she even broke up a couple of marriages. Holy fuckin’ hell. I’m screwed.

  Kate appeared to be completely oblivious to Sheila’s wayward charms. Or maybe it was just the sexual energy those types of girls had—something that translated to men but couldn’t be picked up by other women. He’d been a magnet for that kind of woman in the past. They seemed to know he would cave easily, if they came after him. But he would never call them back.

  Not ever.

  Kate was going to be his forever, and it didn’t matter how long or short it was. He wanted her tight against him. He hoped to God he could get Kate alone to explain if Sheila—and was that even her name?—if Sheila opted to play dirty. He certainly knew she was capable of it.

  “Nice to meet you, Sheila,” he said with a slight bow, ignoring her outstretched hand. Her eyes got murderous but her smile was all vixen. It was a challenge he had totally lost his appetite for and would not accept.

  Heller addressed Kate with coolness. “I have some things to go over first, if you have a moment, and then I’ll not interfere with your work.”

  “Of course,” she said. Turning to Tyler, “I’ll only be a moment. Wait a bit for me?” She gave him a quick kiss on her tiptoes and he whispered yes.

  Her innocence caused him pain, especially since the woman he wanted to forget was swaying from side to side, eager to be able to speak with him alone. He wanted to be anywhere but there. Kate allowed herself to be led to a distant office, where Heller waved to Tyler before closing the door behind her.