“Space? So you are breaking up with me. You’ve had nine months of space! You’ve had nine months of ‘long distance’.” Rage consumed me. How could I have been so wrong about her? I’d never been more sure about anything in my life. Why was she doing this to me?
“It’s for the best.” Her words were a whisper, but I heard them as loudly as if she has screamed them at me.
I used my strength to get out of bed, grab her by the arms, and stare into her eyes. “What is it, Mia? You’re not telling me something. You would never dump me to transfer schools or because you needed space. You love me, and I love you. We’re meant to be together. Your mine, fucking mine. I see it in your eyes when we make love. I hear it in your voice when you call me. I fucking know you. Why are you doing this? Please just be honest with me.”
She paused and stepped toward the door with tears staining her face, and one hand clutching her belly. “No, Grant, you’re wrong. I’m not hiding anything. I just don’t want to be with you anymore.”
And before I could hobble after her, she gave me a final glance and walked away.
I took the ring box and threw it across the room.
Fuck that bitch. I was about to propose. She’d been with me every night for the past month taking care of me, making love to me. Why now? Had I really become that much of a burden?
I vowed at that moment to never let her, or anyone else, in again.
I would never be that pathetic boy again, consumed by his girlfriend. I was a man now, and I refused to rely on any woman, especially Mia.
I did believe that she had been raped, and I could sort of understand why she ran away. She was right—the knowledge that some motherfucker violated her would’ve driven me mad.
The cruel irony of being a Navy SEAL was that while we were out on missions protecting America, our loved ones were back at home completely vulnerable. She said it wasn’t my fault and that it could have happened anywhere or anyone. But it happened to her while I wasn’t home.
I took a deep breath and loosened my fingers, which had been balled into fists. What happened was years ago. She made the choice not to tell me, she took that away. I didn’t know her anymore and couldn’t trust her. For all I knew, she was probably still lying to me about something.
As nuts as I thought she was, I didn’t think she was lying that she believed her son had died. There was no way even the Mia I thought I knew back then would give her son to a stripper to raise and then lie about. No. In my heart of hearts, I couldn’t believe that, and I never would. If she went this far for Joaquín, I was sure she would do anything for her own child.
I only had one goal: figure out if Julián was my son, our son. She had given me two more clues tonight. The child she had was a boy, and she believed he had died.
She had told me her truth—that she believed her son was dead. If she was telling the truth, what did that mean? Was he kidnapped? Switched at birth? What the fuck was going on?
I wouldn’t rest until I figured out what happened to her son.
I emerged from the shower. Time to lay out some rules.
Mia was sitting on my bed with her shoulders slumped as she bit her nails.
“I’m not done with the questions. What happened to you the other night when I picked you up in El Cajon?”
She hesitated. “Well, actually I was kidnapped by Daniel Reed, Joaquín’s lawyer. That’s my own dumb-ass fault. I was the one who showed Joaquín my bracelet when you took me to jail the first time, and then he told Daniel that I was Mia. Daniel decided to have his buddy run me off the road so he and I could have a little chat.”
I had been right about the bracelet. I put on my boxer briefs and shook my head.
“A chat about what? What the fuck did he want from you?”
“Oh. Just to confirm Joaquín’s suspicions.”
I narrowed my eyes. “He could’ve just asked you. Why did he run you off the road?”
“To get me alone. Probably didn’t want to raise suspicion with you or any of the other SEALs at The Pickled Frog. But either way, I think Daniel is shady.”
So did I. But I kept my suspicions to myself. “How could you have been so careless? You went through thousands of dollars of plastic surgery and then you go around waving your wrist? Who else knows?”
She crinkled her lip. “No one.”
“Dammit, Mia!” I took a step toward her. “I told you to stop lying.”
Her gaze focused distantly above my head. “Just Mitch.”
I clenched my fist. Why the fuck would she tell him and not me? “Mitch? You fucking told Mitch?”
“Well not just straight out. I drugged him first.”
“Jesus. He could’ve killed you.” The hits kept coming. “I’d almost give you a high-five for pulling that off, though. Why did you drug him? When?”
Her lip curled, but she stopped herself from biting it. She was about to lie to me. Again.
“I thought he killed Tiffany.”
I never once thought Mitch killed Tiffany, and I didn’t really care about her thoughts on the subject. “And you don’t now?”
“I’m not sure anymore. It doesn’t fit.”
That was all she was going to give me.
“You will move out of that place you’ve been staying at. You can keep your job at The Pickled Frog for now, but you will not work Diamond. And you are to have no contact with Mitch. I’ll tell him we’re back together. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
I stared at the girl I once loved. For years, I had imagined what it would be like to fuck her again. There was never a single scenario where it happened like this.
“No arguing? You’re going to agree, just like that?”
“Yes. Just like that. Listen, Joaquín’s innocent, and even I know there is only so much I can do. His lawyer won’t help him, and no one else on the Team will help either. So, if agreeing with you means that you’ll help me, then I’ll agree. “
“Fine, I’ll help,” I said reluctantly. I had my doubts about Joaquín’s innocence, especially since I found out about Julián, whoever he was. Joaquín now had a motive for murder. If he had a one-night stand with Tiffany years ago and found out she had his kid, he could’ve snapped and killed her. Or alternatively, if he found out that Tiffany was involved in kidnapping Mia’s kid, he could’ve also lost it and murdered her. Either way, I would do anything I could to find out what really happened so I could learn more about Julián. “But no games. You have to do exactly as I say. You don’t go anywhere or do anything without my permission. Once Joaquín’s trial is over, we’re done, and I don’t ever want to see you again. I’m doing this for him, not you. Got it?”
“Yup.”
Mia’s eyes brightened, and she stood up and kissed my cheek gently. “I promise I’ll obey you if you help me free Joaquín. Is there anything else you want me to do?” Her voice was breathy.
This beautiful woman, the only woman I’d ever loved, was standing right before me. I wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.
“Yeah, one more thing . . .” her eyes widened in anticipation, “get on your knees and suck my cock.”
3
Mia
“My pleasure.”
Mia had never given Grant a blow job, no matter how much he hinted that he wanted on. Ksenya was his sex kitten. But now, I would prove to Grant that I wanted him. I loved him. As me. As Mia.
I turned off Ksenya’s act. She would no longer control my actions.
I knelt before him, pushing him back so he was sitting on his bed and releasing his cock from his boxers. “You know how many times I fantasized about this? How much I wanted you?”
He caressed my face, urging me toward him. “Yeah, baby? Tell me.”
I kissed his thighs as I grasped his base with my hand.
“I knew you wanted me to, but I thought I would be bad at it.”
“Nah, baby. You were never bad at anything. I loved you so fucking much I would’ve thought it was pe
rfect. You were perfect.”
Damn, I was the one getting turned on. He had told me tonight that he didn’t love me. And I knew in his heart he believed that, but I prayed that deep in his soul, someday, once my brother was exonerated, Grant would forgive me. Grant would love me again.
“Come on, baby. Don’t tease me. Show me how much you want me.”
I inhaled a deep breath and wrapped my lips around the head his beautiful cock. He gasped as my tongue licked up and down his shaft.
“More.” He twisted his fingers in my hair and pressed me deeper.
I glanced up at him, and there was a self-satisfied smirk on his face. All those years we were together, I had always been curious about his fantasies, but we never shared our desires with each other. That smirk told me that this was only a very small fraction of whatever fantasies played out in his head.
“Deeper, baby.”
I obeyed, taking him as deep as I could and gliding my lips up and down his cock.
But then everything shifted. His fingers tightened and his hips started to thrust. With each pass of my lips and tongue over him, his façade of calm fell away and the badass SEAL took over.
I inhaled and did my best to keep from gagging, making sure not to scrape him with my teeth. He thrust harder, deeper, and the tip of his cock hit the back of my throat.
“You like that, Mia? Taking my cock? Are you my dirty girl?”
I hummed yes and nodded, taking him deeper into my throat.
His rhythm sped up, and I held my breath steady. He was so big, this was so fucking hot and demanding that I fully yielded, letting him take full control of my movements.
“God, baby. I’m going to come in your sweet little mouth.”
Yes, please. I was dying to taste him.
I sucked as hard as I could, grabbing his hips and pulling him deeper into my mouth. Two more deep thrusts and he let out a final groan, his hot cum hitting the back of my throat and filling my mouth. He tasted incredible—salty, manly, viral.
His body jerked, and he released me.
I swallowed and then lapped up the remaining cum from his cock.
Grant’s eyes looked dazed as he pulled me up to my feet and clutched me to his chest.
He stroked my hair. “That was so hot, babe.”
I savored the feel of his arms around me, and if I closed my eyes, I could imagine that, if only for this moment, I was his again.
He’d just shown me who he really was—raw, primal, nasty. I’d never seen those sides of him. He’d never let me. Back when we’d been together, I’d been the inexperienced virgin, too worried that I would never be enough for him. I finally knew that I could fully satisfy him, and I would for as long as he let me.
And there was never any doubt in my mind that he could satisfy me.
4
Grant
We spent all night fucking, each time more intense than the last. I’d never been so gratified in my life, and I didn’t have a clue how I would break my addiction to her. I woke before dawn and rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb Mia. I watched her sleep for a few minutes and attempted to push the bittersweet emotions out of my head. I felt vindicated. I had been right—Ksenya was Mia, but my heart was full of sadness. This entire situation was so incredibly fucked up. Joaquín was still in jail, Mia had fucked up her looks and her life, and Julián had no parents.
Though, I hoped he was my son.
I hurriedly dressed and scribbled Mia a note, letting her know I was going to work and that she was not to leave. The notes I used to leave her were always much nicer, but I wasn’t that guy anymore, and she wasn’t that girl. I didn’t want to be nice and sweet. I wanted her to stay the fuck in this house until I got back.
I climbed into my truck and headed into Coronado, taking a moment to appreciate duality of the place. Coronado was beautiful on the surface but hid a dark side: murders, excessive wealth, and drugs.
Drugs.
There had to be a connection. I tried to remember the details of every Team party where my brothers had been high. Never me, though. I’d gone through too much to become a SEAL, I wasn’t going to throw away my hard work and sacrifices for a fleeting high. Plus, we were drug tested randomly. That would be like playing Russian roulette, and I had known more than one guy who had received a dishonorable discharge for popping positive.
Many of my Team brothers loved to live on the edge.
We all had our vices, but mine was lust not drugs.
Sex was the ultimate high for me, especially sex with Mia.
I rolled up on base and flashed my ID to the guard, who waved me through.
I had to find Mitch.
I parked and headed into our compound. The morning was eerily quiet, which wasn’t unusual since half the place was deployed, but there were a handful of guys in the common area.
I was about to shoot a text to Mitch when the devil himself walked through the door, wearing a cocky smirk and dark sunglasses to shield his eyes.
“Hey. What’s up?”
I looked around the room at the few guys who were lingering around and tilted my chin to the door.
“Let’s go PT.”
He nodded, probably sensing that I wanted to talk to him alone. I wasn’t as close to Mitch as I was to Joaquín, but even so, Mitch was my brother. We’d been to war together, and I trusted him with my life.
Just not with my woman.
We changed into our PT shorts and ran along the beach. It wasn’t until we were out of sight of the buildings that I slowed my pace a bit and let him catch up.
“I know you know about Mia.”
He didn’t reply at first. Instead, he just gave me a side-glance and we ran in silence for a bit before he answered “Yeah, I assumed you’d already figured it out. She’s fucking crazy.”
“Batshit.” I was certifiable too because I was helping her and jealous of the fact that Mitch had spent time with her. I had no intention of staying with her once this was over, but that didn’t mean I wanted Mitch anywhere near her. “Did you fuck her?”
“Nah, man. But that bitch drugged me and put a gun to my head.”
“What the fuck?” I stopped running, and the sand from Mitch’s shoes flew into my face. She told me that she had drugged him, but she held him up at gunpoint? She had really gone mad.
Mitch finally stopped, turned, and jogged back to where I was standing. “Look, she’s lost it, but she loves Joaquín. She’d do anything for him, clearly. They have no family but each other. Not many women are that loyal to anyone. You have to admire that.”
“She’s only loyal to Joaquín, not me. Why the fuck did she drug you? Did she think you had something to do with Tiffany’s murder?” I lifted up my sunglasses and stared right at him. “Did you?”
Mitch laughed at me. “No, not at all. You got it all wrong. I don’t think she suspected me in that, but maybe she did. I don’t know.” He paused, his eyes scanning my face.
“Spill it, Mitch.”
He looked toward the ocean. “My scar.”
I gritted my teeth. I’d seen the scar on Mitch’s crotch a thousand times, it wasn’t like our occupation offered much in the way of personal privacy. “Yeah. What about it? I thought you didn’t fuck her? How did she see it?”
“Relax, asshole. I already told you I didn’t. I pulled my dick out at the club and she freaked. She thought I raped her years ago.”
What the— “At that party? Why would she think that? We were in Yuma.”
“Because.” He raked his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze the information out of him. “I was there that night. I was the one who found her. Sorry, man, I never told you.”
My blood incinerated through my veins. “You fucking knew she was raped and never told me? Start talking, Mitch, start talking right fucking now.” I didn’t know when I had closed the distance between us, or when I had twisted my fist into the front of his shirt, but I had, and he sm
acked my hand away.
“You were being transferred to the hospital. April and I were fighting, which wasn’t anything out of the normal, and she was taunting me about some guy who wanted her at the party. I was so fucking pissed about her partying with some guy while our kids were with a sitter that I drove out there and went into the frat house to find April. When I opened one of the doors, I saw this girl passed out with some guy standing over her. He saw me and bolted, but I didn’t get a look at anything other than his freaking hood. I was going to run after his ass, but I wanted to make sure the girl was okay. That was when I realized it was Mia.”
I pointed my finger in his face. “Then why the fuck did she think you raped her? I swear to God if you touched her, I’m going to stuff your balls down your throat.”
“I swear to God I never touched her. When she woke up, I was the only one there. It was dark, I don’t think she could even see my face. She plunged her fucking heel into my groin.”
My hands shook. “Are you fucking kidding me? We’re brothers! How could you keep something like that from me?”
His voice cracked. “I never said nothing because you were all fucked up and recovering, and then you guys broke up anyway. So, I figured it didn’t matter.”
“Didn’t matter? It completely fucking mattered. Did you know that was why she left me? That she was pregnant and didn’t know who the father was? Did you fucking know!” I shouted at him.
“No, I didn’t know. Grant, if I had known, I would have helped you track her down myself. Come on, you know that.”
I did know that. Mitch may have been a dick most of the time, but he followed the damn code. I took a deep breath and tried to focus past my anger. “You don’t remember anything about the guy? Height, weight, build, anything?”
Carnal (Se7en Deadly SEALs Book 4) Page 2
