American Heroes: The Complete American Heroes Collection (A Contemporary Romance Box Set)

by Teagan Kade

  Still jerking me off over her face, her tongue comes out and licks upwards against my sack. She gently sucks my balls into her mouth, rolling them around inside the warm cavern, letting them sit on the spongey surface of her tongue while I buck and grimace.

  Fuck me.

  I’m doing everything to remain quiet, but this is too much.

  She takes me back inside her mouth. I hump lightly against the rippled inside of her cheek.

  I can feel her jaw moving, opening up as she takes my length right down her throat. She keeps going until she’s swallowed almost all of my cock, her lips clenched around the root. She continues to stare at me with those eyes and it’s driving me absolutely insane. I don’t care if Matt wakes up now. All I care about is getting off.

  Holding my thighs, she draws back until just the head of my cock remains sitting in her mouth. I hold onto the sides of the seat, worn leather warmed by the afternoon sun.

  Her hand moves, her fingers curling around the base of my cock as she takes me back in. I can’t help myself. I buck harder against her, groaning and my head tap-tapping against the back of the headrest in frustration.

  My balls are getting heavy. My climax is coming on fast.

  I’m jerking up with greater urgency, clawing into the seat as she drools over my cock. She knows I’m close, but she refuses to break eye contact, jerking and sucking me harder and faster, growing wilder and wilder.

  “Shannon,” I warn, “I’m going to—”

  She doesn’t stop.

  I come, teeth pressed tight together and my cock pumping fiercely into her mouth. She swallows fast, the muscles in her throat working overtime to take my load.

  When I’m done, she lets my cock fall away, gasping and flushed, a pearl of cum on her parted lips. She licks it away and lets my cock slip away from her hand. “Delicious.”

  She reaches up and opens the passenger door, stepping out from the foot-well onto the pavement outside. She pats her dress down. “You better get your brother inside.”

  “Where are you going?” I ask.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” she winks.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  SHANNON

  I observe my spoon. We’ve moved onto Africa—Ethiopia, to be specific. “What did you say this was again?”

  “Shiro be kibbe,” replies Gabe, spooning more into his mouth. “It’s a peasant dish, but everyone eats it over there. It’s the most popular dish in the whole damn country.”

  I look around at the restaurant. If you weren’t actively looking for it, you’d never find it it’s so well hidden. It’s more like someone’s home kitchen.

  “How do you find these places?”

  Gabe smiles that smile that won me over from the start. “Like I said before, I’m just trying to find a little bit of the greater world here in our fair city.”

  “Moroccan, Turkish, Ethiopian… What next?”

  “Ever had Italian?” Gabe jokes.

  “Does Olive Garden count?”

  He smirks at that. “That’s about as Italian as a hamburger and fries. By the way, that was some act you pulled in the parking lot last night. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

  I act surprised. “That the quiet nerd might just be a sex goddess?”

  “‘Godly’ sums it up alright. And with Matt in the back? Jesus, and I thought I was wild.”

  “There’s lots left to learn about me yet, Gabe-Gabe. You ain’t seen nothing yet.” I drop my spoon. “Hey, tell me more about the SEALs. I want to know.”

  He places his spoon down. “What it’s like, you mean?”

  “Sure, like how you started. I know why, not wanting to be a burden and all that.”

  “So you want to know the how?”

  “I do.”

  “It was pretty simple. I rocked up in my dress whites and they were stupid enough to send me to BUD/S.”

  “Like the beer?”

  “Like Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL training.”

  “Where you ring the bell if you want to go home?”

  Gabe nods solemnly. “You take hold of that braided rope and ding that sucker three times to find your release. It sits right out there on the Grinder, this concrete and asphalt courtyard where you do calisthenics, fucking thousands of push-ups—all sorts of punishment and pain you never even knew existed prior to signing up.”

  “You never thought about it?”

  “Ringing the bell? No. Once my mind’s made up, nothing’s stopping me, and I wanted to be a SEAL more than anything. I wanted to be the best, and there were guys—the fittest guys you’ve ever seen—pulling on that thing day and night. This one dude we nicknamed Conan. He was built like a mountain, completely unstoppable in PT, but come Hell Week he practically crawled his way to that bell blubbering like a newborn.”

  I push food around my plate, don’t know if I can fit in another spoonful. “Sounds like… fun.”

  “Like they say, ‘the only easy day was yesterday.’”

  “It was really that bad?”

  I don’t mean for it to sound offensive. I’m genuinely curious. Dad always spoke about the SEALs with reverence.

  Gabe laughs. “‘Abrasive’ is the best word I have for it, but it’s necessary.” He points beyond the doors. “The first time you get into trouble you’re thankful for every second of hell they put you through.”

  “And you were on Team Three, right?”

  “Correct. I’m not one of those Team Six superstars, sorry, but we had our fair share of entertainment, based in south-east Asia and the Middle East mostly, thus my love of exotic cuisine. The locals sure did better than what Uncle Sam calls chow.”

  “Well, I, for one, am enjoying it, learning about this all, about you.”

  His eyes light up. “That’s the best thing about being a SEAL. It’s the learning, the training. It never stops—rigger school, languages, marine ops, OTB… You are always filling your head with something new. I’m going to miss that.”

  “I’m new…” I purr.

  His smile turns sultry. “That you are, Ms. Bailey, but do you have something to teach me?”

  “That you don’t already know? I doubt it.”

  “It’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for,” he remarks.

  “Was I quiet last night?”

  “No, ma’am. Truth be told, I’m starting to feel a little sorry for your neighbors.”

  “Don’t worry,” I tell him. “They take their hearing aids off when they go to bed.”

  Gabe turns the conversation around. “And you. What did you want to be growing up?”

  “An astronaut,” I reply bluntly, “but you can see how that worked out.”

  “You wanted to explore the galaxy, walk on the moon?”

  “I wanted to see the Death Star, actually—Way too much time spent watching Star Wars with Dad.”

  “So you are a nerd.”

  “I’m a fan of fine films. What’s your favorite—film, that is? Wait, let me guess. Is it Top Gun?”

  “As much as the thought of buff guys playing beach volleyball turns me on, no.”

  “Under Siege?”

  “There’s only one real SEAL movie.”

  “Act of Valor?” I suggest, hopeful.

  “G. I. Jane,” he smirks back.

  I roll my eyes. “You’re joking, right?”

  He shakes his head. “Am I not. The plot’s holed up like a block of Swiss cheese, there are technical errors all over the place, but that guy who plays the master chief? He has it down pat. Gave me fucking chills.”

  “I know something else that will give you chills…”

  “Does it involve us getting naked?”

  “It might,” I reply.

  “Then signal for the bill, because this Chief is going to G. I. Jane your ass all over that bedroom tonight.”

  Less than a minute later we’re walking out the door, running to Gabe’s four-wheel-drive hand in hand like a couple of horny teenagers.

  CHA
PTER SIXTEEN

  GABE

  I’m on top of the world heading to Mom’s hospital room. Shannon’s at work, no doubt walking around on the same airy cloud I am.

  I walk in to find Mom asleep, Matt by her bed with a copy of GQ.

  I sit in the chair by the wall. “You still reading that shit?”

  Matt smiles up at me. “Hey, someone in this family has to look stylish.”

  I look down. “What, tactical pants and tight tees don’t do it for you?”

  He holds up the magazine. “It’s GQ, brother, not Gay Times.”

  “Same thing last I checked,” I shrug.

  Matt places the magazine down. “Speaking of same-same, how’s it going with your ‘fiancée’?”

  The sarcastic slur on ‘fiancée’ doesn’t go unnoticed. My brother and I rarely hold anything back from one another. I’m not about to start. “We slept together.”

  “As in catching some Zs or breaking the headboard?”

  My smile provides the answer.

  Matt sits back. “I’m happy for you—jealous, but happy.”

  “Thank you.”

  “And given that goofy fucking grin on your face I’m thinking you enjoyed it.”

  I haven’t smiled this much in years. “More than a hot shower after being holed up in Kandahar for two months.”

  “That much, huh? Did you tell her that? I bet she came on the spot.”

  I squint, leaning forward to look inquisitively at my brother. “Oh, yeah. I can see the green-eyed monster now. He’s right there under the giant penis sprouting from your head.”

  “At least you got the ‘giant’ part right,” Matt retorts.

  He jerks his head sideways to the bed. “You’re lucky she’s asleep.”

  “What, you can’t fight your own battles?” The teasing’s been in good humor until now, but I sense I’ve taken it too far with these words. “I’m sorry,” I add. “You’ve been here through this whole thing. I haven’t. That makes all the difference.”

  But Matt wasn’t offended to begin with. “You’re damn right about that, but this thing with Shannon. Do you really think it’s a good idea? I mean, she’s not exactly the kind of girl you go for.”

  “And what kind of girl do I go for, O’ brother? I’m curious.”

  “Loose with even looser morals.”

  “Those days are over.”

  “Clearly, given you’re engaged to Anastasia Steele.”

  “I’m not intending to bend her over my knee and spank her… yet.”

  Matt leans forward over his knees. “I’m serious, bro. I’m happy for you, like I said, but I don’t think she was the best choice for this scam.”

  “It’s not a scam.”

  “So she’s your actual fiancée?”

  I let it go. A thought occurs to me. “She hasn’t been to visit, has she?”

  “Shannon?” replies Matt. “No, not that I know of.”

  It’s a good thing. She did well the first meet, so well I thought she might try and go it alone.

  “Who’s visiting?”

  We both turn to the bed where Mom is slowly raising herself up onto the pillow, a crooked grimace on her face.

  “No one, Mom,” I say.

  She scowls at me. “Gabriel.”

  I know by that tone I’m in trouble here. I look to Matt for a clue, but he simply shrugs back.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Mom says.

  “Of course, Mom. You know I’m here for you,” I tell her.

  She’s on the attack. “I know, but what I’m concerned about is how you treat others.” I look to Matt again, who shoots me back a similarly puzzled expression.

  What the hell’s bringing this on?

  “Mom,” I begin, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Her features screw up in frustration. “I think you know full well. It’s about choices—the bad choices you’re making.”

  Does she know?

  She’s on a lot of painkillers, sometimes get confused, but she’s completely lucid, more lucid than I’ve seen her to date.

  “When she came here…” Mom starts.

  I’m trying to work out what she’s talking about. “Who, Mom? When who came? Was it Shannon?” I ask the question even though Matt said she hasn’t been around.

  “No, Gabriel. It was the other one, calling herself your girlfriend.”

  It takes a second for it to sink in, but once it does I’m speechless. I literally cannot speak.

  Matt too, seems shocked, looking at me dead-on. His expression also says ‘Who the fuck is she talking about?’ Maybe the painkillers are really doing a number on her.

  “Are you cheating?” says Mom. “I don’t think that’s fair, on either of those poor girls.”

  She yawns and her eyes close, head sinking deep into the pillow.

  I stand. “Mom?”

  She’s fallen back asleep.

  I look to Matt. “Do you have any fucking idea who she’s talking about?”

  Matt lifts his hands. “Hey, I don’t know how many girls you’ve got involved here.”

  “Just the one, and even that’s enough. Do you think she’s confused?”

  “Go check at the nurses’ station. Maybe they know something.”

  I head down the hall, almost bowling over a guy in a wheelchair I’m in such a rush. I arrive to the nurses’ station breathless, hands on the counter.

  The nurse on duty looks up slowly and smiles in that practiced away only medical professionals know how. “May I help you?”

  “I’m Gabriel Reed,” I begin, “Ah, Mrs. Reed’s son.”

  Duh.

  Another false smile. “Yes, Mr. Reed. How can I help?”

  “I was just curious if anyone beside my brother Matthew has been by to visit our mother.”

  She calls over another nurse, an older woman with a square jaw and marbled eyes. “Jan, has Mrs. Reed in forty seven had any visitors lately besides her sons?”

  ‘Jan’ provides the same, practiced smile to me. “Yes, there was a woman—dark hair, olive skin. I didn’t catch her name, sorry.”

  “You don’t have any records?” I ask.

  The nurse at the desk shakes her head. “No, sorry.”

  “She said she was a family friend,” continues Jan.

  It’s possible this is some acquaintance from Mom’s old work, maybe a distant friend or acquaintance.

  But they’re saying she was a family friend?

  Whatever the case, my suspicions are raised. I see the darker side of people, the scam artists and those ready to prey on the weak and sick, get their wills signed over or worse.

  I’m paying for this facility, so I try to make my next point clear without coming across too aggressive. “From now on, only myself, my brother and my fiancée Shannon Bailey are to be admitted. Is that clear?”

  The first nurse replies. “Yes, Mr. Reed. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

  I’m sure they’re talking behind my back when I leave.

  I head out front. I hold my cell ready to call Shannon and double-check she didn’t, in fact, visit at some point.

  I’m standing there about to hit call when I hear a familiar voice behind me.

  “Long time no see, Gabe-Gabe.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  SHANNON

  I wake up born again, the mysteries of the world laid out before me, everything solved with a simple ‘O’.

  Nothing simple about it.

  Which is completely true. For the longest time I’ve believed the female orgasm to be a myth, like a unicorn or healthy fast food, but what Gabe has been delivering is no myth. There have been times lately I seriously thought I was going to go blind.

  It happened, he happened, and I’ve never been so happy.

  I slide a tentative hand down the front of my panties and touch myself, my fingers jumping away at the fresh sensitivity.

  I frame Gabe in my head—his hard cock and chest, his arms holding me tight as I
shook and moaned against him again and again—when the kids start to squawk and squeak down the back. “Yes!” I shout. “You’ll get your breakfast when I’m good and ready.”

  *

  Whatever glow I’m wearing, it does not go unnoticed at work. People smile at me, compliment my appearance. It’s like I’ve got a big sign slapped to my forehead stating ‘Shannon Bailey, virgin no more!’

  Juliana, one of the more esoteric employees, looks at me across the lunch table. “Your aura,” she says, her hands enveloping me a wide circle, “it’s really beautiful today.”

  I place my cheese sandwich down. Even it tastes better today. I swallow before speaking. “Thank you.”

  “Seriously, Shannon,” she continues, “have you been doing reiki or something?”

  I shake my head. Only raking the garden.

  “Chakra cleansing?”

  Maybe not my chakra, but perhaps something else…

  She clicks her fingers like she finally has it. “A healing crystal, am I right?

  If by ‘healing crystal’ she means ‘massive penis,’ then yes, I’ve been working on that a lot.

  I nod.

  She claps her hands together. “That’s so wonderful. You must know what you’re doing. There’s no negative energy there whatsoever.”

  She collects up her trash, calling out a final “Expect miracles!” before leaving the kitchenette.

  My mind drifts to Gabe again. If you had of told me a week-and-a-half ago I’d lose my V-card to a guy like Gabe, I would have laughed you out of the room, but I’m happy it was him.

  Perhaps it will add a touch of credibility to this whole fiancée thing. I’ve got no qualms keeping it up.

  And neither does he.

  It’s true. His stamina is insane. I’m barely breathing and there he is with his cock hard again ready to rock, over and over again. Maybe it’s some magic voodoo they teach in the SEALs. I have no idea.

  After lunch I head into the abandoned office down the back and take out my cell, dialing Gabe’s number. I don’t know why, but I just want to hear his voice—the sexy, gravelly growl of it.

  The call rings until his voicemail answers.

  I try again, with the same result.

  It’s no big deal, right? He’s probably busy. He’s a busy guy.