My Kind of Love: a Military Romance (Finding Love Book 1)

by Nikki Ash

  “I buy Hayley spa days,” Caleb says.

  “I take your mom away,” Dad adds.

  “I buy Bella houses,” Marco deadpans.

  When everyone looks over at him, he shrugs. “How do you think we acquired the beach house in Venice, the cabin in Breckenridge, and the condo in Jupiter? I tend to fuck up a lot.”

  “I would start with flowers,” Mom says. “And an apology.”

  An hour later, I’m walking into the house with RJ in one hand and dinner and flowers in the other. I’m not even completely through the door when the scent of burnt food hits my senses. The smoke has clouded the living room and kitchen, so I swing the door back open to air it out. I set RJ down by the door so he’s not affected and go in search of Micaela.

  I only make it as far as the dining room when I see her sitting at the table. With her head in her hands, she’s softly crying.

  “Babe.”

  She looks up at me and frowns, not even bothering to wipe her eyes that are filled with liquid. Her hair is up in a messy bun, and her face is all splotchy.

  “Is there a fire?”

  “No,” she says, her voice devoid of all emotion. “Just ruined dinner.”

  It’s obvious we need to talk, but I first need to lay RJ down since he’s passed out in his car seat. I shut the front door and open a couple windows. Then, I carefully take him out of his car seat and lay him in his crib. He starts to fuss, his lips puckering, but the second I give him his pacifier, he calms, falling back into a content sleep.

  “He’s asleep,” I say, sitting next to her at the table.

  She nods and mutters, “Thanks.”

  “I brought dinner.” I lift the bag I left on the table.

  She eyes the bag for several long seconds before she shifts her gaze to me. “I made dinner.”

  “I thought you said it burned.”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t know that.” She huffs. “I asked you if you would be home for dinner and you said yes.”

  “And I am.” Fuck, this woman has me so damn confused I don’t even know which way is up.

  “My God, we suck at this,” she says, fresh tears filling her lids and falling. She shakes her head and covers her face with her hands.

  Needing to touch her, I pull her into my lap, so she’s straddling me, and remove her hands from her face. “Stop it. Nobody sucks at anything.”

  “We’ve only been living together for less than twenty-four hours and we’re failing badly.”

  I can’t help the laugh that escapes. “We’re not failing.” I kiss the tip of her red nose. “There’s no pass or fail. We just need time.” I think about what my parents, Marco, and Caleb said earlier. “This is new to us, and there’s going to be a learning curve. I’ve been in Afghanistan for the last year, and before that, I was gone more than I was home. And you’ve been living at home with your parents.”

  She opens her mouth to argue, but I cover her lips with my hand. “We’ve got this, Micaela. I promise. I’ll put my clothes in the hamper and you won’t turn them pink.” Her eyes narrow, and I laugh. “You can buy me a nose plug so you don’t kill me and a blanket so I don’t freeze my ass off.”

  “I do not—”

  “You don’t what?” I ask, cutting her off. “Keep the AC at arctic temps? You damn sure do. And then you steal all the blankets and use them as your own personal igloo.” I press my lips to hers before she can argue. “And it’s fucking adorable.”

  She sighs, finally calming down.

  “I’ll make sure to put the seat down, so you don’t go swimming in the toilet, and I’ll cook so you don’t burn the house down,” I continue. “And we’ll get a whiteboard for the door so I remember to let you know where I’m going.”

  She wraps her arms around me and smiles a watery smile. “I love you, Ryan Cruz.”

  “And I love you. You’re right. It’s only been twenty-fours. We’ve never done this, but we are doing it, and it’s going to be fucking amazing.”

  Micaela

  “We’ve never done this, but we are doing it, and it’s going to be fucking amazing.”

  His faith in us is an aphrodisiac. Everything that could’ve gone wrong, has, yet he still has all the confidence in the world that we’re going to be okay—because he believes in us. Just like I need to. We’ve come too far to give up now. While I was crying over burnt chicken and pink clothes, he was buying me flowers and dinner. He was thinking of solutions to make things better.

  With his strong hands cupping my cheeks, his mouth gently presses against mine. His lips part and his tongue darts out, seeking my own. When his tongue finds mine, I release a soft sigh that seems to set him off. His hands glide down my neck, shoulders, arms, landing on my ass, as he deepens the kiss. His mouth devouring mine, taking my breath away.

  He lifts me off his lap and sets me on the edge of the table, spreading my legs and standing between them. We’re all teeth and tongue and lips as we work frantically to remove each other’s clothes. Shirts and pants go flying. My bra gets thrown somewhere. He peels my underwear off, tossing it behind him, at the same time I push his boxers down his muscular calves. His dick springs up and I fist the thick member. Precum seeps out of the tip, and I use it to help stroke him up and down. He feels soft and smooth like velvet and all I can think about is taking him in my mouth.

  As if he can hear my thoughts, he breaks our kiss and says, “As much as I want you to suck my dick, I need to be inside you.” His lips find the slender column of my neck and he trails open-mouthed kisses along my heated flesh. His fingers part my folds, and when he finds out that I’m soaked, he moans against my skin. “Yeah, I need to be right the fuck inside you. Now.”

  Gripping my thighs, he parts my legs and, in one fluid motion, sinks inside me. And everything I was upset over melts away as I get lost in Ryan. In his touch. In his love. Nothing else matters but being with him, letting him love me. My legs wrap around his torso and his hands release me. One palm slaps the table to hold himself up and the other finds the apex of my thighs, going straight for my clit. The man has got to be the best damn multitasker I’ve ever met. I can barely focus on not yelling too loud so I don’t wake up our son, while he manages to bring my entire body to life. He kisses down my throat, suckling on my collarbone, before he dips lower and takes my breast into his mouth.

  He wraps his lips around my nipple and bites down at the same time his finger swipes across my clit, sending waves of pleasure coursing through my body. Being with Ryan is like having access to the most potent, addictive drug. It doesn’t matter how much he gives me, how much I take, it’s never enough.

  I always want more.

  His taste. His touch. His words. His love.

  I want it all.

  His time. His smiles. His patience. His heart.

  And he gives it all to me. Everything I want. Everything I need. He hands it all over on a silver platter.

  Tugging on his hair, I pull his face to mine, and my mouth crashes against his. His orgasm rips through him, and he shudders above me, groaning against my lips as he releases his hot seed inside me. For several long minutes, even though we’ve both come and are sticky and sweaty, we stay where we are—kissing, touching, loving each other—refusing to break the connection.

  Until our son’s shrieks ring through the house, letting us know he’s awake.

  “Let’s go away,” I murmur against Ryan’s lips. RJ is down for the night and we’re snuggled on the couch with a movie in the background that neither of us is paying attention to.

  “What?” he asks, confused.

  “Neither of us has any obligations,” I explain. “Let’s take RJ to the beach house. Back to where all this started. We can introduce him to the sand and the ocean. Spend some time with Lexi and Georgia. Maybe have Tristan and Charlie babysit so we can all go out. Charlie’s offered several times.”

  Ryan considers this for a moment before he says, “I don’t want to run, baby.” He kisses me softly, as if to lighte
n the blow. “I know you’re scared, but we’re in this together. Running to another state isn’t the answer.”

  I want to argue that that’s not why I want to go away, but deep down I know he’s right. Living in a bubble with Ryan is amazing, but every time that damn bubble bursts and we’re smacked with reality, something goes wrong. If we could run to the beach house, that bubble has a better chance of staying intact.

  “Why don’t you invite them here for the weekend?” he suggests. “We can have one of our parents watch RJ so we can go out. You’re twenty-one now, so you can even legally drink.” He waggles his brows playfully. “Then I can bring you home and have my way with you.” His smirk tells me he’s remembering our time at the beach house when we went out and I got drunk—only this time he wouldn’t have to play nice.

  “Fine, but I still want to take RJ to the beach.”

  “And we will.” He presses his lips to mine. “Once you’ve gotten the hang of the laundry, we know the kitchen is safe from fires and flooding, and I know you won’t kill me in my sleep.”

  Micaela

  “Ahhh!” Lexi throws her arms around my neck and molds her body to mine, hugging me tightly. “I’ve missed you so much! This semester almost killed me.” She steps back and pouts. “Please tell me you’ve secured a babysitter. I need to have some fun.”

  “And what, spending time with my son isn’t fun?” Ryan says, joining us.

  “He’s the best kind of fun,” Lexi argues, “but I also need some pre-mom Micaela fun. The kind where we’re too drunk to remember the trouble we got ourselves into.”

  She walks into the house like she owns the place, rolling her luggage behind her.

  Georgia stifles a laugh, giving me a one-armed hug. “She took three art classes,” she says with a playful eye roll.

  “And a math class,” Lexi points out. “One very exhausting and traumatizing math class. Why anyone needs to take math when they’re majoring in art makes no sense.”

  Ryan snorts, snaking his arms around me from behind and kissing my cheek.

  “Hey, don’t laugh,” Lexi says, pointing a manicured finger at Ryan. “I’m an artist. I create. I don’t do math. Math is… structured and I don’t do structure.” She points to Georgia. “She does structure.”

  “And she did most of your homework,” Georgia says, referring to herself in the third person. “So, if anyone deserves a fun night out, it’s me.”

  Lexi snorts a laugh. “Oh, really? A fun night, huh?” She steps into the living room and picks RJ up, giving him kisses. “What kind of fun are we talking here, dear sister? The drinking kind?”

  “Maybe.” Georgia shrugs.

  “Oh, I can’t wait to see this,” Lexi says, cracking up laughing. RJ joins in, not having a clue why he’s laughing but still laughing nonetheless.

  “Your house is beautiful,” Georgia says, looking around.

  “Yeah, very… grownup,” Lexi adds with a wink.

  “Thanks. My parents are going to take RJ for the night,” I tell them, showing them to their rooms. Since the house has four bedrooms, two of them have been turned into guest rooms for the time being. When we confirmed they would be staying with us, Ryan ordered two bedroom sets and had them delivered.

  “Once we’re ready to go, I’ll just run him over and then we can take off. We’ll order an Uber so nobody has to drive.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Lexi kisses RJ’s cheek then hands him to Ryan, who takes him into the other room, while Lexi, Georgia, and I climb onto the queen-sized bed together. Georgia and I sit against the headboard, and Lexi sprawls out across the end of the bed. “Is anyone else going besides us?” she asks.

  “I considered inviting a few friends from school.” I shrug. “But I stopped talking to most of them when Ian died. And the few who kept in touch kind of disappeared after I had RJ. I guess having a baby isn’t exactly most people’s idea of fun.”

  “Then they’re not friends,” Lexi points out. “Real friends stay by your side, even when shit gets tough. You need to move to LA so we can be closer.”

  “I agree,” Georgia adds. “You could go to school with us.”

  “And where would I live? I can’t exactly live with you and your parents.”

  “We’re moving out,” Lexi says with a mischievous grin. “And we convinced Dad to pay for it.”

  “How the hell did you pull that off? You live like ten minutes from the school.”

  “We told him we’re growing up.” Lexi shrugs, like it was just that easy. I’m not buying it, though. Uncle Tristan is super protective of his daughters.

  “And,” Georgia adds, “we also told him that if we had gone away somewhere, he would’ve paid for dorms, but we lived at home instead, which saved him a ton of money, so we asked if we could use it toward an apartment, and since we’re both doing well in school, he agreed.”

  If it weren’t for Ryan paying the bills here, I’d be living with my parents forever. It’s expensive to live in Vegas, and without a degree, whatever job I were to get would never pay enough. They had offered to pay for my dorm in San Diego after Ian died and I told them I would still like to go to school there, but that feels like so long ago.

  “Have you found a place yet?”

  “No, but we’re looking. We’re hoping to be moved in soon. I want to throw a party to celebrate summer. You could move in with us,” Lexi offers, and I love her even more for that.

  “One, I wouldn’t want to cramp your style.” She opens her mouth to argue, but I continue. “And two, if I were to go away to school it would be to San Diego. Right now, I’m just focusing on RJ and Ryan. I’ll figure my schooling out later.”

  “So, does that mean you and Ryan are…” She waggles her brows, and Georgia giggles.

  A huge grin breaks out across my face, remembering the last couple weeks since Ryan returned home. The first few days were rough, even after I kind of lost it and we talked then had the best makeup sex on the table, but every day gets easier. We spend our days with RJ and our nights together. Some days Ryan works out on his own, while I hang out with my mom. Other days, we work out together. Since RJ is five months old, he can hang out at the gym daycare, but usually one of our parents are around and insist on taking him.

  Since Ryan is an exceptionally good cook, something I forgot about from our time together at the beach house, he’s been showing me how to make different meals. And I’m proud to say nothing else, since that first day, has burned. He also makes sure I fall asleep before him, and thankfully, he doesn’t snore every night. He thinks it was from the dust in Afghanistan. It had his sinuses clogged.

  Don’t get me wrong, things aren’t perfect. He still leaves his clothes on the floor more than he remembers to put them in the hamper. I fell into the toilet once more before he made a conscious effort to remember to put it down. We learned I have a tendency to leave the cabinets open, and he’s hit his head on them no less than five times. He also curses my amount of ‘girly products’ on a daily basis. I leave them all over the sink—my deodorant, hair products, makeup, lotion—and every time he uses the sink, he manages to knock everything to the floor. I’m working on putting it all away after I use it, I swear.

  But even with all that’s not perfect, we’re together and happy and spending time as a family with our son. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

  “We’re together,” I tell them.

  “Remember when we were younger, and he was in town for the holidays.” Lexi giggles. “He was in the hot tub with his wife…”

  “Oh my God!” I exclaim, remembering what she’s talking about. We were probably twelve… maybe thirteen years old. We were all in Breckenridge for Christmas and had snuck out to go use the hot tub at Bentley and Kayla’s place, since they were the only ones with one—only Ryan and Laura were already out there.

  “That body.” Lexi whistles. “He became the star of my older man fantasy. All wet and hard…”

  “Who was wet and hard?” Ryan asks, s
caring the shit out of all of us.

  “You,” Lexi says without apology.

  Ryan’s one brow arches in confusion.

  “We saw you and Laura in the hot tub when we were younger. You were shirtless,” I explain.

  Lexi nods, and Georgia blushes.

  Ryan laughs. “I don’t remember that, but I know damn well nothing happened in that hot tub.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Lexi says. “We were barely teenagers and you were a good eight years older. You simply in a hot tub with a woman was like watching porn for us.”

  “You ladies are insane.” Ryan shakes his head. “RJ is at your mom’s. He was getting tired, so I brought him over so he could fall asleep there.”

  “Thank you,” I say, getting off the bed and walking over to give him a kiss. “We’re going to go get ready,” I say to Lexi and Georgia without taking my eyes off Ryan.

  “Uh-huh, sure you are.” Lexi laughs. “More like thinking about Ryan in a hot tub got you all hot and bothered and now you’re going to go bone him since you can.”

  “Don’t say bone,” Georgia chides. “She’s not hooking up with him. She’s making love to him.”

  Lexi and Georgia both laugh.

  “Be ready to go by nine,” I say, dragging Ryan out of the room.

  “Is that true?” Ryan asks, once we’re alone. “Did me in the hot tub get you all hot and bothered?”

  He pulls me into his arms and dips his fingers into my pajamas shorts, under my panties. “Fuck, woman. You’re drenched.”

  “It’s not my fault,” I whine. “You’re hot and you know it.” I pull his face down for a kiss. “And it makes me very happy to know Laura and you didn’t do anything in the hot tub.”

  “Oh yeah,” he murmurs against my lips. “And why is that?”

  “Because I fantasized about us doing it in the hot tub many, many times when I was younger, and now that we’re together, I’m going to have to insist on that fantasy coming true.”