by Lara Swann
“You know, you were supposed to be a fucking bad lay.”
Seth was propped up on one arm, looking down at me as I traced the eagles outlined on his hard pecs with a finger. For some reason, I couldn’t shake my fascination with the elegant ink. I covered it with my mouth, tongue flicking along the dark lines as he moaned, before glancing up at him with amusement.
We were lying together on my once-innocent bed, a rare moment of quiet where our muted desire wasn’t the focus of our attention. We’d sated that not too long ago anyway, but somehow our attempt to get dressed and get on with our day had ended up with us back here in bed. Again. It might even have been my fault this time…I think I’d objected to his t-shirt until I’d had a chance to look at the tattoo in more detail.
“Ah yes, one fuck was supposed to horrify you enough to end it all between us - I remember.”
His eyes glittered as his mouth leaned in to capture mine, hand running through the hair that was almost permanently freed from the ties I usually used when around him. There wasn’t even any point taking it up these days - the moment we came together he’d release it again. Seemed obsessed with it - not that I was really objecting when it felt so good to feel his touch.
“Yeah, fucking disappointment, Bella.”
His mouth and tongue put the lie to his rough tone, and I couldn’t help laughing at him. With the constant outlet for our passion, the banter had become an expression of something much sweeter than the frustration it had been used for before.
I cast a meaningful glance over to my laptop screen, which had held the same page of information on the MCAT syllabus for the last several days.
“Well, maybe I’d better fix that - and then after you’re sufficiently repelled, perhaps I can finally get back to doing something useful.”
I extracted myself from his arms and flopped back on the bed with a long breath, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Okay - no blowjobs until I come a hundred times. Now fuck me as I lie here like a dead fish.”
My eyes sparked with amusement as I waited for him to laugh, but instead his expression turned intense, looking at me with a consideration that had me shuddering. He moved slowly on top of me, the deliberation in his actions stirring that part of me that had come to anticipate that shift of his mood to an alpha SEAL badass acting with deadly intent.
“You know, even as a dead fish, you’re sexy as hell, Bella.”
He was above me now, just one hand caught in my hair and gently caressing my cheek. I bit my lip to keep from moaning. There was something about feeling that tenderness when he was demanding and dominant as fuck that did something to me. His mouth nibbled at mine, then down my neck and to that sensitive spot as it joined my shoulder, while I tried to keep my legs from curling up around him.
How could he do this to me with barely a touch?
“…and I’ll tell you why…”
He continued on, working his way down until he was at my breasts and the bra I’d barely managed to put on. It only took a tug of his teeth to undo the front-facing clasp and I felt the familiar wetness at the evidence of his prowess.
“…because, baby, whatever you claim, the moment I start doing this…”
His face nuzzled against me, mouth and tongue working as my hands clutched the covers on the bed. My chest was already aching and ready for him, tits hard as his mouth closed over them. I gasped and he chuckled softly against me.
“…you can’t help but react. And I’m addicted to your reactions, babe.”
I groaned as he proved his point, keeping up the valiant defense of the position I’d claimed for at least a few minutes while his mouth, tongue and hands drove me crazy.
Bastard.
“Fuck, Seth.”
One clever flick of his tongue at the same time as his hand had my panties flooding with heat again and I gave up. My legs came up around him and I grabbed his head for a kiss.
“You are such an unfair, infuriating, piece of…”
The amusement in his laugh made me melt again and his hand wandered down to the belt of my jeans - a choice he’d objected to vehemently, claiming skirts were better for access. I was loathe to see his point right about now.
“…the best ass you’ve ever had?”
I growled and bit at his lip, which he reciprocated as he pushed back, holding me down on the bed in a way that never got old. I loved feeling the strength and power of his impressive body overtaking me. Somehow it had a way of making me feel safe and protected, even when it was being used to throw me around and pin me for his passion. Or maybe especially then.
“We just…did this, you know. I was kinda serious about doing something useful.”
My objection was only half-hearted though, the same way any I made were…I liked seeing his passion overcome our better sense.
“Should’ve known better than to give a SEAL a challenge, then…one hundred times, hmm? And does earlier count?”
I gaped at him, my eyes opening wide at that as I shuddered to think about just how serious he was.
The sensitivity of that…
As his head nuzzled at my breasts again, I moaned lightly, concerned just how that might have changed our afternoon plans.
“Annabelle!”
A sharp knock at my door had Seth and I looking at each other in shock. Heat flushed my face, but Seth was up within moments, disappearing to my balcony before I could quite gather my wits.
Damned SEAL reaction times.
“Just a…just a minute!”
I grabbed for the bra to either side of me, hooking it again and then darting up to find a t-shirt to slip on quickly.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck.
I took a few deep breaths before opening the door, dreading to think what I looked like. The frown that crossed my father’s face as he saw me only made my gut sink lower.
“Are you alright, Annabelle? You’re all red, and…your hair.”
Of course.
It was probably a state, tangled and unkept from Seth’s attentions. And my father had never really liked it down, either.
“I…er, yes. I just…had a bath.”
“In the middle of the day?”
“Umm, yes. I…wasn’t feeling that well.”
The lie came awkwardly to my lips, and something in me clenched at saying it. I never lied to my father.
He laid the back of his hand against my forehead and nodded as he considered.
“Hmm, you do seem to be burning up.”
Plus one for embarrassment.
“I’m sure it’s fine. Don’t worry. Did you need something?”
“Not if you’re getting ill - but if you do feel better, I think Cora would really appreciate your help with working out the collection of funds for this charity ball. She seems to be struggling a bit.”
The last was said with a slight puckering of his brow, and I nodded.
“Sure thing, dad. Will do.”
He nodded and turned to go, then paused as something seemed to occur to him.
“You’re spending a lot of time in your room these days. Is everything alright?”
“Ahh, yes, fine. I was just…starting prep for the MCAT. You know how long studying takes.”
His expression eased, and he gave me a small smile.
“I’m glad to hear that, Annabelle. If you need any help with it, just let me know - I can arrange a tutor if you’d like.”
“Sure, thanks dad. I’ll see how it goes.”
He shut the door and I slumped back against it, breathing hard.
Fuck.
A crazed laugh tried to bubble up inside me but I pushed it back down. Lying like that was pretty terrible and the adrenaline surging in me had me shaking slightly, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to regret it much. Not considering what I’d just been doing…
The balcony door opened again and Seth came back in - still wearing only jeans. He eyed me and then he did laugh.
“So? I suppose you didn’t tell him to stop interrupting us?”
/>
“Damn you.”
The words were amused though, and he came to sweep me up in his arms again, carrying me back to the bed - a good thing, too, as my limbs felt suddenly weak.
“This whole thing is so messed up, Seth.”
His eyes were serious for a moment, then he shrugged.
“I’ll stop anytime you tell me to.”
His mouth nuzzled at mine again, hands sneaking up under my t-shirt and trying to undo my hasty attempt to get dressed.
“Stop.”
“You have to mean it though, babe.”
He continued his slow seduction of my body again and I cursed him with a laugh.
“Bastard.”
“Just giving you what you want, girl.”
I shook my head, his attitude beyond belief, but driving me crazy anyway. Pushing at him, I rolled us over so I was on top - something that only happened when he felt like it, since my attempts to move him were almost impossible.
“Seriously, what are we doing?”
He shook his head, eyes still lit with that smoldering fire that never quite dimmed around me.
“You really need to stop asking that question. It’s never once been a good idea.”
Actually, it had always been a much better idea than completely ignoring the issue, which was what we were doing. It just wasn’t what either of us wanted to think about.
“I’m showing you just what a Navy SEAL can do, babe. Giving you the time of your life. Making your body light on fire and come alive under me. Everything you’ve ever wanted.”
The casual arrogance sent its usual spark of irritation, amusement and desire through me and I shook my head.
I didn’t ask what would happen after he’s shown me all that, and then left. What that would do to me. I’d decided to deal with that when it came. It wasn’t fair to ask him for answers he didn’t have.
Especially when it made no damn difference anyway. This was intoxicating, invigorating, insane and amazing. I wasn’t giving it up until I had to.
“I probably shouldn’t be distracting you from other things, though.”
I glanced back to the laptop and sighed, the conversation with my father replaying again.
“Yeah, guess I have an exam to prep for.”
He frowned at that.
“That wasn’t what I was talking about, Bella. Forget that nonsense - what happened to the other stuff you wanted? The forensics thing?”
I raised an eyebrow, surprised it wasn’t obvious as the familiar disappointment swirled through me.
“You were there that day - didn’t that show you just how useless those ideas were?”
“It showed me you’re fucking not living in the Tenderloin, that’s all.
He snorted, then brought me down for a quick kiss.
“It also showed me you should definitely pursue the other stuff.”
“What?”
At my confusion, he shifted us, taking us back to being side by side as he looked down at me, fingers idly tracing the curves of my body.
“I saw you with those guys, chatting them up about working in a crime lab - they were seriously impressed with you, babe.”
I frowned.
“You remember that?”
“It was only a couple of weeks ago, baby-Bella.”
“Yeah but…it was boring as hell for you. I thought you zoned out over that lunch.”
He grinned at that, eyes lingering on my body again before jumping back to my face.
“Yeah, I did - started picturing you naked, all the ways I was going to take you and make you mine again…hmm, maybe you’re right. Guess they might not have been impressed with you after all - maybe I just remember how impressed I was at the thought of you like that…”
The frustrated laugh strangled in my throat and I slapped my hand against his chest again.
“God damned arrogant asshole.”
“You love it, babe.”
His mocking tone had me rolling my eyes.
“Okay, maybe I’ll think about it. Time to get out of here.”
He grinned again, took one last kiss and levered himself up from the bed.
“Good - I’ve got more important things to be doing, anyway.”
I shook my head at his attitude as he took to the balcony again, still not bothering to reclaim his t-shirt. Which I was maybe grateful for as I watched the way he stepped over the railing and then lowered his body to hang from the bottom before dropping to the ground.
Our rooms weren’t close to each other, and we hadn’t wanted to risk people seeing us coming and going from each others rooms or constantly walking down the wrong hallways. The way the bedrooms were arranged had each facing a central garden, with balconies overlooking it - and for Seth, it was a simple matter to climb from his room to mine via that garden. The first time he’d done it he’d muttered something about the horrendous security, and I’d pointed out it was for pleasure, not built with terrorists in mind.
I turned with an affectionate sigh and settled down in front of my computer. There was a reason I hadn’t gotten very far with this MCAT prep - beyond just my constant arrogant distraction. His words replaying again in my mind, I hesitated, then swapped to the tab with the information on that internship.
Chapter Fifteen
Seth
I knocked firmly on Bella’s door, and the surprised expression when she opened it and found me on this side for once amused me.
“Seth?”
“C’mon, we’re going on a road trip.”
She squinted at me, confused, and then the familiar frustration flickered over her pretty features.
“I can’t - my father—”
I was still annoyed her father seemed to insist on treating her like a child, and that she didn’t do anything about it, but I didn’t think this was the time to mention that. Instead, I grinned.
“Don’t worry - this time we’ll go on foot.”
“What?”
Her eyes glanced over the large rucksack on my back and she frowned at me. For someone with laser-sharp intelligence, sometimes she could be a little slow. Of course, I wasn’t making much sense, but still - with a girl like that, you had to take any edge you could get, and I liked being one step ahead of her for once.
If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.
Ace’s motto came back to me and I took her hand.
“You promised next time I’d pick the location. I’m holding you to it.”
“You are?”
“Are you coming or not?”
I flashed her a seductive smile and let my eyes linger on the tight t-shirt she was wearing. The high-cut shorts gave me a lovely glimpse of her thighs as well, and my hand found it’s way over to the waistband.
“Cut that out!”
She glanced hurriedly down the corridor, but I chuckled. If there’d been anyone around, I would have known.
“You really need to start trusting me with that, babe.”
“I trust you to know if we’re being watched. I don’t trust you to care enough about it to stop what you’re doing.”
Probably a fair point.
Her glare had me grinning again and I grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind me, deciding we’d had enough conversation.
She sighed and followed, looking at me with that fond exasperation I was starting to enjoy, a slight color lighting her cheeks as we made our way down the stairs. It wouldn’t have mattered a bit if anyone had seen me dragging her along anyway, as that seemed like fairly typical brother behavior to me. But I preferred her coming willingly, and enjoyed the curiosity that lit her face as soon as she got over the way I’d taken her from whatever she’d been doing without any notice, or indeed permission.
“So where are we going?”
“To my idea of a road trip.”
“A beach with a view?”
Yep, that sharp intelligence was back on it. So much for the surprise.
“I’ve already got the view, baby-Bella. So reall
y, just the beach.”
I took an eyeful of that view and she shoved at me again, shaking her head. But she smiled, obviously liking the idea.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go along with it. But I might drag you in the water.”
“No way - I think I’ve already suffered that enough for you.”
We made our way down the garden towards the private beach at the end, messing with each other in the way we did to give an outlet to other, more intense desires while other people could potentially see us. With the the flurry of activity in the garden that was probably a good thing too, as people ran around putting up marquees and setting up tables to serve food and drink at the gala this weekend.
I was smiling easily and it was hard to believe the lightness of my step as we crossed past the railings that screened the start of the beach. Crazy to think what a good round of fucking could do to a guy, but the edge from those long, hard months away was finally starting to wear off. I was sleeping better - at least, when we slept - and starting to feel at ease with things again. The guys at base had even commented on what good pussy I must be getting.
I glanced down at Bella again and smiled as I thought about just how good. Turns out, my eighteen year old self hadn’t been such a bad judge after all. And who would have thought the things a prissy, stuck up rich girl would want to do? Not that that description fit Bella very well - at least when she was with me. Untamed wildcat might be better. Fierce and ferocious and just as eager for it as I was.
When we got to the beach, I turned off, heading away from the open area to a nice alcove I’d found to the side. It was still probably Terence’s land, but it was kind of in between two of the private beaches along here - but not really visible from either. It reminded me of a few of the places on the more public beaches I’d been, and the things I’d done there…
Bella gasped as we turned into it and stopped to look at me. I’d laid out the rugs, lanterns and practical stuff like crockery earlier in the day, but the food was on my back - figured if I left it laying around, some animal would get to it before we could.
“Seth…”
“See? Should’ve gone with my idea in the first place.”
She laughed a little and flopped down on the rugs, exploring the area I’d made for us.
