SEALed and Delivered

by Monroe, Jill

  Dancing had never come naturally to her, although in this instance she was more than determined. She approached Jake with a look in her eyes that she hoped would say, “I plan to give you a good time.” Between the V of his legs, she simply moved her hips side to side, and he moaned deep from his chest. As each moment passed, she felt less awkward, more empowered. Amy slinked closer. So near she felt the heat from his thighs.

  She began to bend her knees, getting lower and lower. Evidently, this move made a man think of a blowjob. She couldn’t imagine Jake ever thinking that since she’d never given him one, but she certainly spotted his reaction. He bulged beneath the zipper of his khakis.

  Raising herself, Amy turned and did the same sinking motion with her back to him, only bending over. He groaned at the sight of her thong.

  “You are so sexy,” he said, his voice rough.

  She smiled, for the first time believing that he found her sexy.

  Straightening, she backed up. The next suggestion was to caress her own body. Think of it as slathering on lotion.

  Amy bent forward, giving him a full view of her cleavage. When she reached her ankles, she made lazy circles and strokes up her calves. She brushed her thighs with her fingertips and—

  “I want to be doing that so bad.”

  She glanced up. Oh, hey, this touching herself thing did work. Their eyes made contact and what she saw burning in his green depths sent another flood of warmth between her legs. She straightened, taking the opportunity to thrust her breasts at him. Her fingers trailed up her stomach, to touch her skin where the cutouts were, around her breasts, then down her arms. First to remove one leopard print glove then the next. Both landed in his lap.

  The next move was to actually do the “lap” part of the lap dance. With slinky moves, she sauntered once more between his legs. She turned and rubbed her backside against his lap. The force of his erection floored her. She’d never felt him so hard. And it was all for her. Because of her. She settled against him, giving him more of her weight with a moan-inducing grind.

  “Do you like this?” she asked.

  “Yes.” His reply was a long drawl, like it was difficult for him to get the word out.

  “I have more.” Her fingers reached for the straps of her teddy, sliding them over her shoulders and down her arms.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted his hands move. “No touching,” she warned.

  Amy lifted off him and backed a few feet away. With the straps no longer a barrier, she peeled the teddy over her breasts and down to her waist. She found Jake’s eyes had narrowed to slits.

  “Look at me,” she said, loving how her nipples hardened as his gaze touched her skin. Amy caressed her breasts then, cupped them and molded them the way Jake did in the dark under the sheet.

  It felt good, but it would feel better with his hands on her breasts. Amy approached him once more. She teased his lips with her nipples, but when he opened his mouth, she backed away. “Not yet.”

  She shimmied the teddy down her legs, standing before him in only her thong and shoes. “I could make this a full body dance if you were on the bed.”

  Jake needed no second urging as he leapt out of his chair and was flat on the mattress in seconds. There was that curl of feminine power again that she’d been missing. With a slow gait, she walked to the side of the bed and pushed the thong down her legs. Amy would leave the shoes. Doing Jake with her shoes on sounded just like the kind of naughty thing she’d love to try. So did referring to making love as “doing it.”

  But what sounded even more wicked was to leave all of Jake’s clothes on, just exposing the one part of him she really needed. She lowered her body to his, slowly sliding upwards until she cradled his hardness between her legs. His eyes closed and lines formed across his forehead.

  She found the sensitive place above his collarbone and kissed. Then she shifted to the buttons of his shirt. Alternating between a kiss and a lick, she had that whole shirt unbuttoned and his body for her pleasure in no time. Amy gave a quick swipe of her tongue under his bellybutton.

  “Keep going,” he urged. “This is really getting interesting.”

  As adventurous as she was prepared to be, Amy was not quite there yet. So she smiled and shook her head.

  Jake propped on his elbows to tug the shirt off.

  “No,” she told him. “Leave it.”

  Her hands fumbled for just a moment with his belt buckle, but then she had it loose around his waist and his zipper down. Only the black cotton of his boxer briefs separated her hands from his cock. Her hands were impatient as she tugged the material down and she reached inside. He fit perfectly in her hand.

  “Pants staying on, too?” he asked.

  With a nod, she straddled him. Despite being lovers, there were a lot of things she’d never done. Never initiating sex was one of them. She felt a little awkward, but soon she was teasing herself with the tip of him.

  “You’re so wet,” he said. “I’ve never felt you so wet.”

  She squeezed her eyes tight in anticipation.

  “I want to taste you,” he whispered. The sexy, carnal words nearly did her in right there. They’d never done oral play. The one time Jake had brought it up, she’d been so horrified he’d spent their next date apologizing.

  Now she wanted him to taste her, ached for him to. And more, she wanted to feel the hard length of him against her lips. In her mouth.

  But the oral stuff would have to wait for another night because the sensation of caressing herself with his penis was exquisite. She positioned him in place and slowly sunk down on him.

  When he was fully inside her, he groaned. “You feel so good.”

  Those were the exact words she wanted to hear. She squeezed her eyes tight again, but this time she was trying to stop a tear from sliding down her cheek. Amy needed to know that she made him feel good. That he wasn’t turned off by her sexual needs. The book had said a caring and tender lover would want to hear her desires, and it was right. Jake seemed more sexually excited and charged than she’d ever seen him before.

  His hands fisted at his sides, and she felt the struggle within him to let her keep the lead. Amy began to move. The angle, her control of the angle was all new to her, and it felt amazing. She forgot all about books, and mortification and thoughts and just felt. Enjoyed the sweet friction of his body sinking into hers. A tension coiled inside and soon her motions grew erratic. She was so close, so close to something, but she needed a little help.

  “Jake. You can touch me now. I need it.”

  With a powerful burst of released his energy, Jake gripped her hips and began to pump inside her. Amy felt him grow even harder. With a gasp, her inner muscles began to clench and she ground against him harder still.

  “Now, now now,” she urged. “Deeper.”

  She wanted more. Needed more. And Jake delivered.

  Amy couldn’t stop the cry that came from some primal part of her body as wave after wave of pure ecstasy hit her.

  The sound of their labored breathing filled the room. Amy felt sweaty and relieved and very, very dirty.

  “Wow, I’ve never heard you come so hard,” Jake said, his voice sent a trill of sensation down her neck.

  Yeah, there was a reason for that. She kissed his cheek. And even though this night was all about talking, some words were better off not spoken.

  10

  “DID YOU SEE THE LOOKS those two were flashing each other this morning?” Hailey asked as she brought the last of the breakfast dishes in from the Tea Room, where they’d served Amy and Jake this morning.

  “It looked to me like she couldn’t figure out whether to pounce on him or run away as fast as she could,” Rachel replied, putting away cups and saucers.

  “She apparently opted for the running away because Jake is out there all by himself.”

  Rachel gave a quick peek out the door. Jake sat alone in the Tea Room, pushing aside the made-to-order omelet Hailey had worked so hard to
create.

  “Now that is just ridiculous,” she said to Rachel. “I mean, I know he’s a little confused about life right now, but to waste the delicate fluffiness of the egg like that…It was the kind of omelet mom would have made, and he’s ruining it.”

  Rachel shrugged and took a step back. “Don’t look at me, I never turn down food.”

  Hailey reached behind her to untie the apron strings. “I’m going to talk to him.”

  “Hailey, maybe that’s not such a good idea. It’s just an egg.”

  Hailey almost laughed out loud. “Silly. I’m not going in there to confront him about his omelet. We’re going to discover why he’s wasting food like that, and work toward a solution together.”

  Rachel’s eyes widened.

  Flashing her sister a wink, she looped her apron on the hook by the door. “I’m messing with you.”

  “Still maybe we should maintain a policy of staying out of our guests’ lives.”

  “It wasn’t exactly on purpose, it just sort of happened. Besides, I think I did a pretty good job with Amy. At least there’s a little more going on now than just those two arguing. Looks like he’s trying to hide a hickey.”

  Rachel gasped, then she squinted, trying to catch a better glimpse of Jake’s neck.

  Hailey picked up the coffee pot off the warmer. “Here’s what I was thinking we could do for tonight. We’ll set up a nice little romantic dinner in the Tea Room…then the champagne and the Fate Delivery Cards will do the rest. Or better yet, we can set the meal up in the Bridal Suite. Cuts out all the work of walking up the stairs to get to the bed.”

  Rachel shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m not letting those cards anywhere near guests of The Sutherland from now on.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m taking out any of the potentially dangerous cards before I let them loose on that couple.”

  Rachel gasped. “But that’s cheating. I’m not sure we should be messing around with fate like that.”

  Hailey shrugged. “Maybe fate wants me to ‘fix’ the cards. Maybe fate put the idea in my head in the first place.”

  Rachel sighed heavily. “I hate it when you’re like this.”

  Hailey gave her sister a little salute with the coffee pot then headed in Jake’s direction.

  “Refresher?” she asked.

  Jake glanced up, startled. “No, I’m good,” he told her.

  “The eggs not to your liking?”

  The man had the character to look a little guilty. That should prove that Amy had herself a good man. A man who knew good food, and felt remorse when he didn’t appreciate the hard work that went into preparing the meal, demonstrated true integrity. He cleared his throat. “No, I—”

  “Hey, it’s okay. You’re having a rough time with it. It’s perfectly reasonable you’re not hungry.” Sort of.

  He dropped his napkin to the table. “I don’t understand how something that could be going so great could fall to shi—er, crap so quickly.”

  Excellent. Her opening. “What’s Amy saying?”

  “Other than the first night, she hasn’t said much.” A touch of red tinted his cheeks, and Hailey could guess that the book she’d given Amy had inspired her to take action that didn’t involve a lot of talking. That hickey simply confirmed it. “And I can’t get her to open up to me. Really talk.”

  As the woman who knew exactly what Amy’s problems were, Hailey realized she must proceed carefully. She wanted to point Jake in the right direction, but not reveal all of her guest’s confidences.

  “Amy told me she was raised by her grandparents,” she said, aiming for the right conversational tone. “Sometimes I thank my lucky stars I was never born in that generation. We have a lot to be thankful to the women who stood up and paved the way. Our lives have so many more options. And freedoms. Come to think of it, men have benefited in a lot of ways, too. Remember those old black-and-white shows where the couple slept side by side in twin beds? Some of our old records indicated The Sutherland had a few rooms with that set-up.”

  Jake didn’t appear to be particularly uncomfortable with the conversation, the sexual repression problem was clearly Amy’s. However, the cluelessness trouble rested squarely on Jake’s shoulders. Hailey should probably press further.

  “I actually had this one friend who thought her boyfriend would be put off if she showed him her sexual side. They eventually broke up.”

  Too heavy-handed? Maybe, although something seemed to be spinning inside his head because suddenly Jake started eating. A good sign.

  “How could she think that?” he asked after nearly draining his coffee cup.

  “You’d be surprised what some women are told about sex and their bodies. That double standard is still alive and well. In fact, I have the perfect book upstairs in my room. You might find it very interesting. Be right back.”

  Owning Your Bed, Owning Your Orgasm was written by a woman for women, but even the chapter headings should give Jake the right hint. All her life Amy had been given mixed messages about her sexuality and how her worth as a woman was tied into that. Hailey had a feeling Jake was exactly the guy for Amy to work out all her frustrations and confusion with. And on.

  Nate looked like a man who could handle something like that. Come to think of it, she had a lot of frustrations…

  Focus on Amy and Jake.

  Five minutes later, Hailey was charging down the stairs, book in hand when the guest doorbell rang. It had been three days since Hailey had seen or talked to Nate. The fact that she’d noted that it had been three days was a bad sign. Even the Navy hadn’t seen fit to grant her a training exercise in the ocean outside The Sutherland, despite the fact that she’d strained her eyes trying to catch a glimpse of a swimmer or a helicopter.

  Turned out it was Nate at the door looking tall, and gorgeous and someone she couldn’t wait to get her hands on. Her breath caught. He was early.

  Definitely her kryptonite.

  “Nice book by the way,” he said, as he strode through the foyer.

  Her gaze slipped to the title in her hand. Perfect. “It’s not for me.”

  “Hey, anytime you want to own your orgasm, I’m your man.”

  She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Is something wrong?” she said. Their SEAL speed-dating night wasn’t for several more hours.

  “I came to help.”

  And he ladled on a whole new layer of kryptonite. She would be ignoring that little skip to her heartbeat that thought gave her.

  Hours later, the Tea Room was buzzing and Hailey had to marvel at Nate. He’d delivered—boy how he’d delivered. A buffet of men, some dark and handsome, some fair and striking, they all shared that powerfully built swagger of a man who knew how to take care of himself. The women would be thrilled. And better yet—word would get out.

  Now those men were polishing off the last of the pot roast and by the compliments she’d received, her mom’s recipe still delivered.

  Amy, Tori and a few of the other wedding shower guests had come through as well. Over twenty women waited in the lobby. A lobby that would soon have a new sound system thanks to these ladies’ money. She could almost jump, Hailey was so excited.

  Rachel cleared the dishes in the Tea Room while Hailey stood at the kitchen counter putting the finishing touches on the mojitos they were to serve when she felt, felt Nate’s presence.

  This was super bad.

  “Thought I’d stick around for crowd control.”

  Her lips twisted into a grin as she turned to face him. “Those big, tough Navy SEALs afraid of a few women?”

  Nate shuddered. “Terrified.”

  She laughed out loud. Nate probably wasn’t afraid of very much, if anything. Their eyes met and she felt her heart softening. Her resolve to keep things light and uncomplicated dimmed. She swallowed past the tightness in her throat. “Thanks, Nate. I can’t tell you how much this means to me. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble, I can’t imagine it was that much of a fair trade.”

  �
�I’m getting another date out of this, too.” Then the smile faded from his face, and he reached for her hand, his thumb lightly stroking her skin. “I would have done it even without the trade, Hailey. All you had to do was ask.”

  Then Hailey Sutherland did the craziest thing she’d done in a long while. Overwhelmed by the moment, his gray eyes, and by his words, Hailey reached up and planted her mouth on his.

  Nate didn’t meet her lips with any sort of surprise or hesitation. His kiss devoured her. And made her stronger, all at the same time. His hands wrapped around her hips and he dragged her close. If he’d hoisted her up on the counter, drew her panties aside and plunged inside, she would have wrapped her legs around his waist. And wouldn’t have let him go until he’d given her the pleasure his every look, every word, every kiss had promised her since they’d met.

  The buzz coming from the Tea Room broke through her concentration. The click clack of heels and the excited laughter of women poured in from the lobby. With an effort, Hailey pulled away. The sound of their labored breathing filled the large kitchen.

  A light sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead, and her stomach tightened, thrilled that her kiss affected this big strong man as much as it had changed the way she planned to deal with Nate. The last time they were together, she’d told him to bring the condoms. Had he? The idea shot a tiny thrill to her heart.

  “We’ll finish this later,” he assured her.

  And that’s what she was afraid of.

  AMY NOTICED SHE HADN’T had a moment to think all evening. The Tea Room was filled with men and women. The numbers were off with more gals than guys, but the time system Hailey had implemented gave each woman a few minutes alone with every SEAL to see if a connection could be made.

  As she walked around the room refreshing mojitos, Amy couldn’t help thinking of the connection she’d forged with Jake. The red number circled on her calendar signaling their wedding date loomed still. Well, hadn’t they worked out their problems? Sure they hadn’t yet had their long overdue conversation, but things were back on track between them, right?