Dirty Seal

by Harper James

  “Feeling better?” Bella asks, nudging me when I level up at Donkey Kong.

  “Much,” I say. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. If he does anything else shitty to you, by the way, I’ve got three girls on standby to help spread a rumor that his nine inches is more like four.”

  I snort laugh so hard that beer goes up my nose, and Bella laughs loudly in response. “Okay, okay, I can’t let you do all the work for me,” I say with confidence I’ve only got with a handful of beers in me. “Here we go.”

  I walk over to Leo, Jack’s friend and the guy who posted the picture that included Heath. I know Leo okay, but not well— we talk at parties now and again, and I think we’ve gotten brunch together once with a few other people. He’s decent looking, but a little more artsy than I like my men— wirey and tall and with ever-changing facial hair.

  “Leo!” I say warmly, and hug him tightly. “I saw you earlier but couldn’t get over to say hi. What’s new?”

  “Hey, Karli,” he says, a little surprised but not at all displeased. He smiles at me and I see him sneak a look at my body. It may be a sweater dress, but it’s fitted, and I know it hugs my scant curves nicely. “Nothing new with me. Well, that’s not true— been working on some ceramics stuff for the shop.”

  “Oh, cool,” I say, even though I don’t think I’m totally certain what “shop” he means. “I didn’t know you’d gotten out of painting.”

  “I haven’t— ceramics just pay better. People gotta have coffee mugs, you know?” he says playfully, and I laugh harder than the joke called for. Leo seems to attribute it to the bar setting, though, and grins, then waves down the bartender. He order us both another round, and I slide onto the stool next to him.

  We chat for fifteen minutes, give or take, before I dare to sneak a look at Bella. She’s delighted by all this, and nods toward Heath, convincing me to glance his way. I’m not quite as thrilled as she is, though, when I see Heath’s expression. He’s staring at the bar, face hard lines, muscles tense. He doesn’t look jealous so much as furious.

  But why should I care? He still hasn’t texted me back, and he could’ve come over to talk to me any time in the last two hours. I push my shoulders back and smile harder at Leo, making conversation about ceramics and the value of art and how the market is so much better in California for his type of work.

  “I think I need a smoke— want to come with me?” Leo asks. Truthfully, I loathe smoking, but I do sort of want some cool air— the bar has become hot and humid with so many people inside. I nod, make a few hand signals toward Bella so she knows what’s up, and follow him out the front door. He immediately lights a hand-rolled cigarette and takes a long, steady drag of it.

  “You want one?” he asks.

  “No— I don’t smoke,” I say, standing a few feet away.

  “Good for you,” he says, then takes another puff. He steps forward, closing the gap that I’d just intentionally left between us. “You know, we should really hang out more. Just the two of us.”

  “Yeah,” I say plainly. “That’d be nice.” And…it would be? Except not the way Leo is thinking. He’s decent enough to be around, but I’m pulling teeth trying to make conversation with him— we just don’t have anything in common.

  Not that I have much in common with Heath, I remind myself, and before I mean to I glance inside to see where he is. To my surprise, Heath is looking right at me, his eyes somehow weaving through the crowd to find mine on the other side of the Porter’s front window. I try to look away, but I fail— he’s got a hold on me.

  “Do you know Heath well?” I ask faintly, still staring at him.

  “Jack’s friend? Nah, we met yesterday. Jack had to work today and asked me to take Heath out for a good beer. Apparently he’s been stuck drinking military stock beer for ages— he’s in the SEALs.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I say. Someone walks between my and Heath’s line of sight, and it frees me. I blink and look back to Leo, feeling more breathless than a long gaze should have warranted.

  “Honestly? He’s sort of…frigid. Like, I can’t get him to joke around or anything. It’s like having a conversation with myself,” Leo says under his breath. “I guess I can’t blame the guy. The government sends you out to murder people, you can’t just come back and rejoin society like it’s nothing.”

  “That’s a pretty harsh way to look at it,” I say, surprised.

  Leo shrugs. “I guess. My point is just that it can’t be easy to go from a life where people want you dead to one where people want to grab a beer with you.”

  That much is true, I agree, and I nod a little. I’m about to say something more when the door to the Porter pushes open, the hinges groaning at the speed. My eyes widen when I see Heath standing in the doorway.

  “Hey, man! Heading out?” Leo asks in a pleasant voice.

  “Are you?” Heath asks, and his voice is far from pleasant. It’s practically a threat.

  Leo’s eyes widen in both alarm and, perhaps, a little fear. “Huh?”

  “You’re going with him?” Heath asks me accusingly.

  “No, I’m not, and even if I were, how’s it any of your business?” I ask tartly.

  “It’s not,” Heath answers.

  He turns, and I can’t believe he’s going to walk away. Just like that— like he didn’t just storm out here, like he isn’t clearly furious, like there isn’t something between us despite his lack of messaging back and my flirtation with Leo, false as it may have been.

  “If you wanted it to be your business, then you should have answered me!” I call over to him, louder than I probably need to be seeing as how he’s only a few feet away.

  “What? He snaps, looking over his shoulder.

  “What?” Leo asks.

  “You said it wasn’t a one night thing, but you didn’t message back all day. And it’s not like you were busy,” I say, waving at the Porter.

  “This is so messed up,” Leo says, rolling his eyes.

  “Sorry,” I say, and I sort of mean it, but I’m too wrapped up in the back and forth with Heath to put much of that meaning into my voice.

  “Yeah. You two work your shit out, I’m gone,” Leo says, rolling his eyes again for good measure. He gives Heath a “your problem” look and vanishes through the Porter’s front doors. There’s a burst of warm air as the doors shut, and then it’s back to the cold fall evening.

  “I told you, I’m leaving in less than two weeks. It wasn’t a one night stand, but you didn’t seem particularly interested in a short term relationship.”

  “Only because I don’t think a long distance one is realistic for us,” I say.

  “Then you’re not interested in the short term one!” he says.

  “Then you’re saying it was a one night thing!” I snap back.

  “Jesus Christ,” he snaps, grabbing his head in perhaps the biggest show of emotion I’ve seen yet. “This is what I get for wanting the girl who slammed into me with her car.”

  “You. Braked. Suddenly!” I yell back— really, actually yell. I’m not honestly yelling about the car, though, and I think Heath knows that.

  “And I didn’t see your message, by the way. I don’t carry my phone with me everywhere. So you can drop that,” he snaps.

  “Who doesn’t carry their phone?”

  “Someone who’s been deployed for a year and a half and doesn’t get many calls!”

  “Oh!”

  We stare at each other.

  And then he lunged forward, grabs me, and kisses me. I shove away, and he allows it, which surprises me— but then I see in his eyes that he’s only allowing it because he thinks that I really want to escape him. And I don’t. I don’t want to escape Heath at all.

  I grab the edge of his t-shirt and pull myself back to him. He wraps his arms around me, strong, tight, then lifts a hand to wind his fingers in the back of my hair, the pressure keeping my mouth on his. I fight against him when he licks at my closed lips, trying to slide his tong
ue into my mouth, but only because I want to feel him defeat me— and he does, pressing at me until my lips part and his tongue sweeps across mine hungrily.

  “Come on,” he says against my face. “We’re leaving.”

  “Where are we going?” I ask huskily.

  He’s already leading me to his car. “We’re going to my house this time.”

  Chapter 10

  I feel myself growing wet in the car, already desperate for Heath’s cock, for his body, to feel him inside of me. I stare straight ahead in an effort to control myself, and Heath must notice.

  “Put your legs on the dash,” he instructs me at a stoplight.

  “What?”

  “Do it, Karli,” he says, and the stern tone in his voice undoes me— I like his confidence, I like his control. I lick my lips and lift my legs to the dash. The light is still red; Heath looks over, then reaches between my legs, nudging them apart. I have leggings on, but I still moan as his hand runs down to my pussy, where he pets me almost fondly.

  “I can already feel how wet you are,” he says, heat in his voice. “Damn it, Karli.”

  “Why damn it?”

  “I shouldn’t want you this bad. I shouldn’t need you—“ the light turns and Heath takes a rocky breath, and we ease forward. “Take those off,” he says, motioning to my leggings.

  “Now?”

  “Yes.”

  I unzip my boots and shimmy out of my leggings. The dress I’m wearing is shorter than one I’d wear without them, but I like how my ass feels against the seat of Heath’s car— I’m only wearing a thong, so there’s little between me and the leather seats.

  “Legs back up,” Heath says, and I prop my legs back on the dash. We’re heading out of town, and it’s only when we take an unfamiliar turn that I realize I don’t really know where Heath lives. We’re driving into the more rural parts of town, where houses sit on hilltops, lit up like tiny Christmas village homes.

  We come to a four way stop that void of any sign of life; Heath looks over at my legs on his dash, an animal-like gleam in his eyes, then reaches between my legs again. This time I cry out when his fingers find first the fabric of my thong, then my pussy beneath. He doesn’t penetrate me, but explores my folds in long, delicate strokes, wetness pouring from me in a way that would be embarrassing if I weren’t so hot for him.

  “The dress. Take the dress off,” he says.

  My eyes widen a little more at this. “Now? In the car? What if someone drives by?”

  “Karli—“

  “Alright,” I say, shaking, excited, terrified. I grab my dress and pull it over my head, tossing it in the backseat. He groans with want when he sees me in my bra and panties, then accelerates hard.

  “How much farther?” I ask.

  “Not very,” he growls, and I love that need in his voice. I prop my legs back on the desk and lower my own hands to my pussy, massaging my wetness, rocking back and forth slightly as I do so.

  “Are you going to fuck me hard, Heath?” I ask. I feel powerful, dangerously so, especially now that I can feel the heat rising from him— and see the bulge rising through his pants. I lick my lips. I want his cock in a way I’ve never wanted any man’s.

  “Karli,” he says through gritted teeth. “You’re going to make me crazy.”

  “Why wouldn’t I want that?”

  “I don’t want to hurt you. You can’t just get fucked the way I want to fuck you. We have to build up to it.”

  “More training. How military of you,” I say, and for a moment I think he mistook my play for an insult, but then he smiles wickedly.

  “Take the rest of your clothes off.”

  I almost protest— am I going to walk into his place naked? But what’s the point— I know I’ll do it. I know I’ll do anything he wants. I take off my panties and abandon them in the floorboard, then my bra, and I feel electric and alive. Heath turns onto a small driveway and we start up the hill into near darkness. He looks over at me, letting his eyes linger on my bare breasts, then shakes his head as if in wonder.

  “I had no idea what I was in for, with you,” he says.

  “Same,” I answer, and lift my feet back to the dash. I barely have time to touch myself, though, because Heath suddenly comes to a stop, parking the car. He’s leapt out and is coming around the side so quickly that I don’t even get a chance to get a look at his house before the headlights are off.

  Heath appears at the door and leans in, kissing me, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me up into his arms. I sigh and lean into him to escape the cold.

  “That’s right,” he murmurs against me as he carries me forward. “I like you undressing for me, Karli. I like you doing what I ask.”

  “I like it too,” I practically purr at him, and he kisses my neck. He shifts me into one arm like I weigh nothing at all, and I realize he’s fumbling for his keys— we’re at the front door.

  It’s no wonder I didn’t see the house— there are no lights on, and it’s an old cabin-type structure. It’s cute, Pinterest-y and quaint, so far as I can tell. He pushes open the door and a sweeping scent of masculinity wafts over me.

  “On your feet,” he says, lowering my toes to the bare hardwood floor. I stand naked in the middle of the room as he closes the door and flicks on lights.

  The house is tidy and nearly bare, with no decorative touches whatsoever. It’s clearly an old farmhouse, and while it doesn’t appear to lack any modern touches— a decent kitchen, lights, the warmth of a heater— it’s clear that this isn’t one of those gut jobs where the place’s character has been stripped out. No; the walls are still plaster, the floor worn and uneven wood, the air musty in a sweet, storied way.

  “This is your house?”

  “I share it with another guy in the service,” Heath says. Tossing his keys on the counter. I look back and see that he’s staring at my body; he begins to circle me, a predatory walk that makes me want him even more.

  “Look at you,” he murmurs, almost more to himself. “Standing here like you’re ready for me.”

  “I am ready for you,” I say, turning with him, letting my right hand drift to one of my breasts. I play with my nipple lightly, and moan not at the sensation, but at the way it makes Heath shudder.

  “Tell me if I hurt you,” he says seriously, his eyes rising to mine.

  “Heath, you won’t—“

  “Tell me,” he says again, and I nod. He takes a deep breath, and then rushes at me.

  Heath backs me up to the kitchen table, then lifts me up onto it, running his hands along my sides. He kisses my neck, my shoulders, and then leans me back as his mouth finds one of my nipples. I groan, loud and unashamed, and arch against him as he flicks it with his tongue, his teeth grazing my breast as he tries to take more of me into his mouth. He squeezes my other breast gently with a hand, running his thumb back and forth across that nipple before turning his mouth to it. Electricity shoots through me, and I lift my legs to wrap them around his waist.

  “Slow, slow,” he says through my breast, though I think he might be telling himself this just as much as he’s telling me.

  “I need you in me,” I gasp, my words a plea.

  “We have all night, baby,” he answers.

  “Heath—“

  He almost laughs, then raises his head to look me in the eye. “Alright, Karli. I’m going to make you come so that you can relax a little. Then we’re going to fuck all night. As many times as you can take.”

  “Okay. Please,” I say, nodding feverishly. I’ve never felt like this before, I’ve never felt so needy and desperate.

  I expect to see Heath unbutton his pants— I want to see his cock, I want to feel it push into me. Instead, though, he pulls me up to sitting, then eases me to the edge of the table. He the drops down to his knees—

  “Oh, I—“ I freeze, realizing what he plans on doing.

  “Is there a problem?” he asks.

  “No, I just…” I swallow, as nervous have overpowered my
excitement at whiplash-worthy speeds. “No one’s ever done this to me before.”

  Heath looks genuinely confused, then says, “Baby, are you telling me no one has ever licked your pussy?”

  I shake my head. I’ve only had two serious boyfriends, and we were the get-naked-have-sex-fast type of couples. There was never any oral sex, never any foreplay, even.

  “How?” he says, looking amazed. He pushes my knees apart gently, and stares straight at my pussy, like it’s beautiful. I flush; I’ve never been able to feel someone’s breath between my thighs before.

  “It’s just never happened,” I say weakly.

  “Mmhm,” he says, leaning closer, and I whimper at the sensation of his mouth so near me. I stare as he gets closer and closer to my pussy.

  “Have you ever sucked a cock before?” he asks.

  I shake my head, barely able to concentrate as his warm air tickles along my slit. I can’t imagine fitting Heath’s cock in my mouth, but the idea excites me more than I expect it to.

  “One step at a time, then,” he says, and then leans forward and licks my slit in one long, bold stroke.

  Chapter 11

  I cry out, nearly a wail, and pleasure shoots through me at the tenderness, the precision of his tongue. My hands grasp for the table behind me to support myself as he presses in closer, and begins to suck at my most private places, burying his mouth in me. I can barely keep my eyes open, the pleasure is so intense— but I also can’t bring myself to look away from the sight of Heath’s head between my legs.

  Heath fucks me with his tongue, exploring me, then looks up at my eyes as his lips find my clit. I moan and buck my hips up without entirely meaning too, but Heath has wrapped his arms around my thighs and managed to keep his mouth exactly where it needs to be. He flicks my clit with his tongue, massages it, sucks on it until I begin to sweat and writhe. I lift my feet to his shoulders without intending to, and fight the urge to lift away. It’s not that I want to, it’s that I can barely stand the feeling, the electricity rippling through me— I think it might tear me apart.