“I’m sorry, Brooke. I’m so sorry. Don’t cry, sweetheart. I’ve got you.” He murmured again and again, gently rocking them as he stroked his hand over her hair.
How could she, for even one moment, think this man wasn’t solid? Misguided, maybe, but his heart was in the right place. She realized that now.
He loved his mom. He only wanted what was best for her, but his judgement was clouded by the past. And whose wasn’t? She condemned Asher for shutting out the possibilities outside of the military, but hadn’t she done the same thing with her own job? She’d sacrificed countless relationships because of her work and she couldn’t even blame it on the money. She was on salary, so forty hours a week or eighty, her paycheck remained the same.
“Brooke.” Asher’s voice sounded strangled. He reached out, brushing his thumb across her cheek to catch her tears.
“I’m okay,” she said for the third time, but this time, she meant it. Obviously, some things needed to change. She needed to take a long, hard look at her life and decide what she deemed truly important, without input from her inner nine-year-old.
As for Asher, he thought keeping her at arm’s length was for her own good. Well, she was going to prove him wrong.
Brooke sniffed sharply, then wiped her eyes. “Can we get out of here?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Somewhere I can shower off the sand.” And maybe burn her dress. It was one of her favorites, but she doubted she’d ever get the smell of Brett’s cologne out of the fabric. “My room, I guess.”
He reached behind his head and gently pulled her hands from around his neck. Brooke shifted from his lap to the sand and Asher stood. She raised a hand, wanting him to pull her up, but instead, he bent down and scooped her back into his arms.
Legs dangling, Brooke looped her arm around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“You don’t have any shoes.” Asher started walking toward the canopy where their dinner sat, cold by now.
“Neither do you. You can put me down, you know.”
He shook his head. “Can’t. Not yet.”
Brooke studied his chiseled profile. She ran a finger along his jawline, fascinated by the way the muscles tightened against her touch. “Are you okay?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You broke Brett’s arm.”
“He put his hands on you. And the arm will be fine … eventually. The dumbass dislocated his own shoulder because he struggled when he should’ve played dead.” The corner of Asher’s mouth twitched. “If he thinks the pain is bad now, he’s in for a real treat when the alcohol and dope wear off.”
Brooke shouldn’t have been happy about another person’s suffering, but she couldn’t conjure one ounce of sympathy for the guy.
Asher carried her to the golf cart, stopping only to ask one of the waiters to grab their shoes and Brooke’s purse.
Asher set her down and slid onto the seat in the back of the cart. Since he didn’t slide over to make room for her, Brooke turned to walk around to the other side.
“No. Don’t.” Asher stopped her with a hand on her wrist. He tugged her onto his lap, his arms once again circling her waist. “I need to … just let me hold you.”
The waiter delivered their belongings and then took the wheel.
Brooke relaxed against Asher’s chest for the ride. Neither one of them spoke. When they got back to the hotel, Asher took her hand and led her through the lobby toward a bank of elevators. Brooke pulled up short.
“We’re going to your room? Are you sure that’s a good idea? What about your mom and sister?”
Asher backed her into the empty elevator. “They have their own room. Your suite might be swankier than mine, but I’ve got a better view.”
And boy he wasn’t kidding. Brooke sucked in a breath as she crossed the threshold of Asher’s suite. The living space was lined with windows. There was a door that lead to the balcony and she couldn’t resist. Brooke ran to it, pulled it open, and stepped into the night. There was nothing but stars and ocean for as far as the eye could see. If she didn’t look down toward the beach, she almost felt like she was flying.
“Pretty great, right?”
Brooke hummed her agreement as the heat from Asher’s body warmed her back. Nerves struck her hard and fast, her belly erupting with fluttering butterflies. This was it. After eight long years, she would finally have him again. But, the question remained, would she be able to keep him?
The answer didn’t matter tonight.
His fingers caressed the bare skin of her shoulders, traveled down her arms and back up again. A feather-light touch on the back of her neck made her shiver. She wrapped her hands around the top of the balcony railing as he traced the line of her dress, dipping down below her shoulder blades.
Her breath caught when he reached the top of her zipper. He hesitated.
“Don’t think about him.” His voice was heavy, gruff. “He doesn’t get a say in what happens here. He doesn’t get a say in what happens between us, ever.”
Brooke realized then what Asher was doing. He was trying to replace Brett’s touch with his own. She appreciated the gesture, but she had no trouble differentiating between his touch and Brett’s.
She spun around, a hungry, needy sound ripping from her throat. She clutched his shoulders. “You’re the only man I’m thinking about.”
His arm came around her at the same time his mouth met hers, immediately taking the kiss from one to a thousand in the space of a heartbeat. He shoved a hand in her hair, tugging her head where he wanted it. It seemed Asher had no time for gentle and sweet, which suited her just fine. She had her own pent-up need to unleash.
“Gotta get inside you,” Asher murmured against her lips. “Need to feel you around me.”
“Yes.”
Asher deepened the kiss as Brooke felt her feet leave the ground. He devoured her. He worked her mouth with precision, a man who took what he wanted and made no apologies. His tongue was hot and determined, and oh, so wicked. She sucked him into her mouth and Asher groaned, tightening his hold on her.
The next thing Brooke knew, she was horizontal on the bed. Asher nudged her legs apart with his knee, and she opened for him, wanting his weight against her, pressing her into the mattress. He settled between her thighs. She rocked her hips, desperate to feel the hard ridge of his erection. She gasped against his mouth as she found him hot, hard, ready.
A wave of dizzying lust caught Brook off guard. She dug her nails into his shoulders, an anchor to keep her grounded.
Asher broke the kiss with a curse. He shoved back, the loss of his heat leaving her wanting. She was about to complain, but his fingers were already working the buttons on his shirt. Brooke rose to her elbows, riveted, her gaze glued to the skin he revealed, inch-by-inch. When he opened the button at his waistband, Asher switched gears and went to work on his belt.
He glanced up and caught her staring. “This show ain’t free, baby. Tit for tat. It’s your turn. Pull up your skirt. Show me where my cock is aching to be.”
Her belly dipped as she sat up. She grabbed hold of the edge of her dress and slowly, so slowly, teased the material up her legs, stopping just before she revealed her panties.
Asher licked his lips, the heat in his gaze scorching her, making her feel brazen.
“Is this what you want to see?” She shimmied the material over the tops of her thighs. Brooke bit her lip as he pulled his belt free of his pants with a wide sweep of his arm. The buckle clanked softly as he tossed it away.
“Show me,” he demanded. His pants were the next thing to hit the floor. He kicked them away and stood by the end of the bed in nothing but boxer briefs, waiting. His erection was thick and heavy, pressing against the material as if trying to reach for her. Brooke laid back, taking the hem of her dress with her, exposing her panties and belly.
“You’ll need to unzip me if you want to see the rest.”
A condom landed on the bed next to her as Asher put his hands on he
r knees and slowly trailed up her thighs. His thumbs traced the edge of her panties, but he didn’t go where she needed him. He teased over her sex, avoiding her clit, as he continued to move up her body.
“Asher,” she groaned.
“I want to see it all,” he said as he slipped his hands under her. Brooke arched her back, giving him better access to the zipper. Within seconds, he had it open. He fisted the thick straps of the dress and yanked them down her arms, freeing her naked breasts.
“Christ, you’re beautiful. You make me wonder how I’ve lived all these years without your perfect body underneath mine. Without your mouth. Without these.”
Asher bent his head, taking a nipple into his mouth. He sucked hard and released her with a pop. “There are so many things I want to do right now.” He plumped her other nipple between his fingers until she shook with the sensation. “But I can’t wait, Brooke. I need you.”
Brooke was beyond words. She nodded. Yes, yes, yes. He wasn’t the only one desperate. She wanted him inside her more than she wanted her next breath. Her clit throbbed for attention. Her breast still held the warmth and sting from his mouth. She needed him. Now.
She wrestled her arms from the material of her dress as Asher moved back to strip off his briefs. She worked her panties down her legs and just like that, they were both naked.
Asher’s gaze darkened as he wrapped a hand around his cock and stroked from base to tip. He was bigger than she remembered. Thick and heavily veined, the tip an angry red.
“I’ve had this exact dream,” he told her. “You, naked and spread out on my bed, wet and ready for me.” He dragged a finger over her slit. “I like the live version better.”
So did she.
He reached for the condom, tore open the package, and rolled it down. Brooke scooted up the bed as he crawled over her like a predator stalking his prey. His elbow came to rest beside her head. With his other hand, he teased the head of his erection up and down her sex. Once, twice, and then he circled her opening and, without warning, shoved deep.
Asher dropped his forehead against her shoulder. “I want to go slow, Brooke, but fuck me, you feel good. So fucking hot and tight around me.”
“Go slow next time,” she panted. “For now, just move.” In case he didn’t realize she was serious, Brooke squeezed her inner muscles hard.
“You’re gonna pay for that, sassy girl,” Asher growled and pulled all the way out.
“Asher,” she whimpered, the heat radiating from his head hovering right above her clit. She rolled her hips. If he would just—
“Say please.”
“Please. God. Please!”
Those were the last words either one of them said for a while. Their mouths met in a tangle of tongues and scorching heat as Asher rammed his cock into her, the force of it moving them up the bed.
She was close, and he’d barely gotten started. He stretched her with every pump of his hips, touched her deep, in a place no other man had reached.
Brooke broke away from his mouth. She arched up to meet his thrusts, the force of his hips driving the breath from her lungs. The tingling started in her toes and shot all the way through her. Her thighs quivered.
“Open your eyes, baby,” Asher said from above her. “Look at me. I want to see those pretty blues as you come.”
Brooke hadn’t even realized her eyes were closed. She found his gaze and held there, drowning in a rich pool of emotion at being with him again, like this. Joined together, as close as two people could be.
His jaw was clenched tight and she knew he was holding out for her.
She slipped her hand between them, brushing her clit with the pad of her finger. That was all it took. The orgasm hit her fast and hard, locking her muscles down tight. The pleasure was almost too much to bear as Asher kept working her, pumping his hips faster as her sex continued to clench around him.
“Fuck,” Asher groaned. “That’s it. Jesus. You feel so good.”
He drove into her once more and stilled, his chest heaving as he came, pulsing inside her.
He dropped his forehead to hers, their pants mingling in the sliver of space between their lips. Brooke caressed his sweat-dampened back, soothing them both now that the storm had passed.
“Stay with me tonight. I’m not ready to let you go.”
You don’t have to. Not ever.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
11
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Asher rolled over and let out a long-suffering groan. Not again. He knew damn well if he didn’t get up and answer the door, his sister would continue to pound on it until he did.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Case in point.
Beside him, Brooke rolled over and stretched her limbs. She looked good in his bed. She’d look even better on his lap, riding his morning wood as he played with her perfect—
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Brooke sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. “What is that? Is someone here?”
“That is my lovely, soon-to-be-strangled sister.” Panic flashed through Brooke’s eyes and he glared at her. “Don’t you dare move,” he warned. “I’ll get rid of her.”
Asher rolled out of bed. He could feel Brooke’s eyes on him as he rummaged around for a clean pair of pants. Just to be ornery, he grabbed the jeans. He tugged them on, grunting as his balls shifted and shoved against the denim in protest. Commando and jeans? Not always the best decision. With a quick adjustment, he carefully zipped, but left the button undone. He shoved his arms into a sleeveless gray tee and pulled it over his head.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
He yelled to Gracie to hold her fucking horses. He shot Brooke a wicked grin, loving the way she licked her lips as she looked him over.
He was so amped last night after the fight, after seeing that motherfucker’s hands on her. At first, he just wanted her close, to reassure himself that she was okay. Unharmed and safe. And then … then he’d been all about getting inside her. He needed to erase every bad thing that had happened—the argument, Brooke walking away, finding Brett and his assholes on the beach—and replace them with something good. Something explosive.
“Are you okay?” He hadn’t been gentle with her last night. Not the first time. Not the second time, when she woke him by rubbing her ass against his dick and he slid in, taking her from behind. And not the third time, when they’d finally made it to the shower.
“I’m naked in your bed, my dress isn’t fit for public, and Grace is at the door. What do you think?”
I think I love you.
Not that he could tell her. He tucked the words away where they belonged—nowhere near this amazing woman who deserved so much more than he could give her.
He stretched across the bed and kissed her. “Sounds perfect to me. Minus the Gracie, part. I’ll just go take care of that right now.”
“You better,” she called as he left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
When he opened the door to the suite, Gracie was leaning against the wall, inspecting her fingernails. She glanced up and straightened. “Took you long enough.”
Asher held the door open with one arm and gripped the jamb with the other, blocking the doorway. “Nope. Not this morning. Take a hike, squirt.”
“Why? Is Brooke here?” When he didn’t answer, she blew out a breath. “I’m here to warn you. Mom and Joel aren’t far behind me. He told Mom and me what happened on the beach last night. Nice bruise, by the way.” She poked at his jaw.
“Hey, knock it off.” Asher jerked his head back and slapped her hand away, his irritation mounting. “What do you mean they’re right behind you?”
“I mean, you’ve got about ten minutes before the firing squad commences. With food. They’re bringing breakfast. And questions. Mom’s worried.”
With that, Gracie spun on her heel. Asher leaned out, watching until she got to the door to her room. She gave him one last look, stuck her tongue out, then disappeare
d inside.
Asher shut the door. He leaned his back against it and banged his head against the smooth wood a couple of times. What the hell was he going to do now?
Asking Brooke to leave felt all kinds of wrong, but they’d been down this road before and it hadn’t ended well for him. He knew this time wouldn’t be any different. Might even be worse, since it would be obvious to everyone what he and Brooke had been doing last night.
He pushed away from the door.
You know what? Fuck it. He was making too big a deal. They were all adults. It wasn’t as if Brooke hadn’t met his mom before, and she’d been sitting with Gracie yesterday—a fact he’d meant to ask her about but forgot.
He and Brooke could share a meal with his family without it being a life-altering event.
When Asher walked back into the bedroom, Brooke was spread out on his bed like a fucking Sunday buffet. Her arms were thrown over her head, giving him a pretty good idea of how she would look restrained. Her breasts were high and tight, the pretty pink tips peaked. Her rib cage moved in smooth waves with each breath. Her stomach was firm and flat.
Asher’s gaze trailed lower, where the sheet covered the rest of her. But he knew what was underneath. A sweet pussy and legs that should be wrapped around his head right now as he buried his face beneath a strip of golden curls.
“You done?” she asked.
God, he loved that sassy mouth. He glanced around. “This isn’t my patio, but I warned you I’d do more than look if you showed up topless.”
He watched, entranced, as Brooke palmed her breasts, pushing the beautiful mounds together while her legs scissored under the sheet.
Ten minutes. You’ve got ten minutes.
He only needed five.
It occurred to him as he jerked the sheet from her body that he should warn her, give her time to dress and get out of there if that’s what she wanted to do. But then his gaze found hers, and he saw the longing there. Being the greedy bastard he was, he did the only thing he could do. He grabbed her ankles.
Brooke squeaked as he jerked her down the bed. He went to his knees, used his shoulders to shove her thighs wide, and took the taste he’d been aching for.
Hot SEAL, Bourbon Neat (SEALs in Paradise) Page 11
