“After you dumped him on your first date, you mean?”
“Funny.”
“I thought so.” He toyed with the edge of his towel. “You know, I never got to hear you say it.”
“Say what?”
“That I was right. I told you that slimebag wanted you.” He lifted his brows, daring her to defy him. “So let’s hear you say it, babe.”
After a long pause, she yielded to him. “You were right, Seth.”
As much as he liked hearing those words come out of her mouth, he hated the thought of some sleazebag lusting over Miranda. A streak of possessiveness shot through him, followed by a rush of anger that sizzled in his bloodstream. His gaze gravitated to the luscious female body stretched out on the bed before him, and suddenly the only thought that registered in his head was mine. This woman was his.
His fingers trembled as he reached for his towel again. He let the soft terry cloth drop to the floor, enjoying the lust that flared in Miranda’s eyes.
“I want your mouth on my cock,” he said roughly.
She was off the bed and scrambling to her knees in a nanosecond.
Smiling, he twined a strand of her hair around his finger and said, “Eager much?”
“Very much,” she murmured. And then she opened her mouth, and his blood burned hot. Fuck, that was sexy.
Without a word, he guided his erection to her waiting mouth. She wrapped her lips around his shaft and made a soft humming noise that vibrated along his flesh and made his balls tingle.
“That’s nice,” he muttered when she delicately licked a circle around the crown of his cock. “Keep teasing me, baby.”
She kept teasing. Tongue darting out only to quickly retreat. Lips closing over his tip only to flit away before he could thrust deep.
Her fingers stroked his aching balls, her loose brown hair brushing his thighs and tickling his knees. He tangled his hands in that silky hair, but he didn’t take control of the encounter, no matter how badly he wanted to push all the way to the back of her throat and fuck her mouth until he came.
“I love your cock.” Her breathy whisper heated his shaft, which was slick with saliva and precome.
“That’s good, because my cock loves you,” he rasped.
She laughed before getting to her feet. She gently stroked his erection, laying her other palm directly over his left pec. “Your heart’s racing,” she noted.
“Are you surprised? You’re getting me pretty excited here.”
Miranda squeezed the tip of his cock, and another clear drop of fluid seeped out. She rubbed her thumb over it and smiled. “Hmmm. You are excited.”
His hands, which had been idle until now, cupped her bare breasts and did some squeezing of their own. When he toyed with her nipples, getting them nice and stiff, Miranda responded with a sharp intake of breath. Then he pinched those distended buds, eliciting another gasp.
“You like a little bit of pain?” He studied her passion-glazed eyes.
She nodded wordlessly.
Intrigued, he bent to capture one nipple with his mouth. He flicked his tongue over the tip, then grazed it with his teeth, taking a gentle bite. Miranda jerked in surprise, then moaned when he soothed the sting by rubbing his lips over that pretty pink pearl.
“Do that again,” she begged.
Pure male satisfaction coursed through his blood. Chuckling, he repeated the process on her other nipple, summoning the same excited response. He moved a hand between her legs and discovered that she was wetter than she’d ever been. Oh yeah.
As he teased her entrance with the tip of his finger, Miranda kept jacking his erection, her strokes lazy, tender.
Bringing his hand between them, he wrapped his fist around hers and squeezed hard. “I’m in the mood for rough tonight, babe. Jerk me harder.”
Her movements became faster, forceful enough that he groaned. He pushed his finger into her pussy, curving the tip and stroking that sweet spot deep inside, the one guaranteed to make her moan. His other hand played with a breast, kneading the warm, succulent mound, pinching and toying with her nipple.
As Miranda began grinding into his hand, Seth couldn’t handle a second more of foreplay. “I need to be in you. Now,” he ordered.
“God. Yes.” She shifted around and grabbed for something on the comforter, a position that put her perfect ass on display and made his mouth water.
She turned back with a condom in her hand. Seth tore it open and had the latex on in a nanosecond, but rather than throw Miranda on the bed, he gripped her waist and spun her around.
“I’m going to fuck you from behind.” He pressed his erection against her ass and rolled his hips.
She responded with a moan and wiggled her cute butt, straining to get closer.
Bending her over the bedframe, he admired the arc of her spine, the flexibility of that dancer’s body. One day they’d have to explore all the delicious positions those flexible limbs of hers had to offer, but tonight, he was too impatient for experimentation.
He slid into her in one fast stroke, filling her to the hilt. Her wet heat surrounded him, her inner muscles clutching him so tightly he realized there was no chance in hell of taking this slow.
“Tell me if I hurt you,” he mumbled, and then he pulled out and slammed right back in, so hard she cried out.
“We have to be quiet, baby.” He ran a soothing hand over the curve of her ass. “You okay? Did that hurt?”
“No. It felt amazing.”
He wished he could see her face, and she must have sensed he needed reassurance because she twisted her head and shot him a faint smile. “I’m serious. I want it hard and rough tonight, Seth.” Her eyes blazed with scorching, needy desire. “Now make me come.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You getting sassy with me, woman?”
“Yep. You got a problem with that?”
“Not in the slightest. Sass turns me on.”
He started to move, gripping her ass as he rammed into her with absolutely no mercy. Each stroke went deep, sending him closer and closer to the edge. The slap of their bodies echoed in the air, accompanied by erratic breathing and Miranda’s soft moans, which grew more and more agitated by the second.
When he saw her hand dart between her legs to rub her clit, he growled and quickened his pace, desperate to feel her pussy clench from her orgasm.
His own release gathered in his balls, but he held off, waiting, fucking her harder, urging her with husky commands to let go. When she came, he felt it in his cock, her muscles clenching and unclenching, milking him so hard that he came without warning. His vision blurred, heart thudding uncontrollably as he lost himself in the mind-shattering sensations.
Eventually he collapsed on her, his sweat-soaked chest sticking to her sweat-soaked back. Groaning, he flung one arm around her chest and climbed up on the bed, then rolled them over so they were spooning.
He was so blissfully content, so utterly sated that his blood was humming and his heartbeat had slowed to a lazy tempo. And maybe that body-numbing release had shorted out his brain and messed with the wiring up there, because that was the only explanation he had for the words that slipped out of his mouth.
“I love you.”
Miranda shifted around in surprise, and when her entire face lit up, he realized a fried brain was not the reason he’d said those words. Not by a long shot.
“I love you,” he repeated.
The light in her eyes shone brighter. She brought a hand to his cheek and gave it a gentle stroke. “I love you too.”
Chapter Nineteen
August
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
Dylan glanced over at Jen and rolled his eyes. “Would you stop saying that? You sound like a broken record.”
“I’ll stop only when you provide me with a logical explanation for that.” Jen pointed a dainty finger at the frolic fest happening in front of them.
He followed her gaze, and yeah, even he had to admit that seei
ng Seth horsing around in the pool with Miranda’s children was pretty frickin’ surreal. But unlike Jen and the rest of their friends, Dylan lived with the guy, so he’d had more time to come to terms with Seth’s transformation. If you could even call it that. Truth was, Seth was the same cocky, sarcastic smartass he’d always been. He wisely toned that side of himself down when he was around the twins, but as far as Dylan was concerned, the only differences in Masterson were that he now seemed to like kids, and that he was madly in love with Miranda Breslin.
“She’s right,” Jackson drawled, overhearing Jen’s last remark. “This is weird and unnatural.”
The tall Texan sat on the edge of Jen’s lounge chair, the beer bottle in his hand dripping with condensation. It was sweltering hot, so Dylan had suggested they hang out at the pool over at Cash and O’Connor’s building. It was only supposed to be him, Seth, Miranda and the kids, but somehow the little soiree had ended up tripling in size.
Cash, Jen and Matt had appeared in their swimsuits, and Jackson had decided to stop by too. Then Ryan Evans and his girlfriend Annabelle had come down from their third-floor apartment to join the group, and, not long after, Carson and Holly Scott made an appearance, carrying huge platters of food.
The concrete deck ringing the rectangular pool offered white lounge chairs and a handful of tables with umbrellas that provided some shade, and the area was now teeming with SEALs and their wives and girlfriends. Oh, and two highly energized six-year-olds who were currently being tossed around like beach balls by Cash and Ryan, leaving Seth free to swim away and corner the children’s mother in the deep end.
“Cut Seth a break,” Dylan said with a grin. “He’s in love. Which is perfectly unweird and very natural. Even smartasses are allowed to be happy.”
Jackson sighed enviously. “Who wouldn’t be happy with a woman as fine-looking as that warming your bed?” His whiskey-colored eyes rested on Miranda, who was treading water with Seth at the edge of the pool, laughing at something he’d said.
Dylan followed Jackson’s gaze. He had to admit, Miranda did look mighty fine in that black string bikini. Shit, so did Annabelle, he realized, when his gaze shifted to the curvy brunette whose full breasts were practically pouring out of a low-cut, red one-piece. He shifted his gaze and noted that Holly’s perky ass looked incredible in those boy-short bottoms. And Jen, in her skimpy yellow two-piece, made for a tantalizing sight too.
Son of a bitch. He was in need of sex in a dire way.
Jen caught him staring and raised one delicate blonde eyebrow. “Is there a reason why you’re checking out every woman in this pool?”
“Other than the fact that he’s a man?” Jackson answered for him.
“I don’t see you doing any ogling. Does that mean you’re not a man, Texas?” she asked sweetly.
“Oh, I’ve been ogling, sugar. I’m just not as obvious as Wade over here.” Jackson’s tone grew distracted, his gaze elsewhere. “Oh nice, there’s still some ribs left.” The big man got up and absently ambled off to the table where Holly had left all the food.
The second they were alone, Jen snapped into interrogation mode. “So?”
Dylan feigned innocence. “What?”
“Are you really going to play dumb?”
“Are you really going to make me talk about it here?” He shot a discreet look in the direction of the pool.
Jen waved her hand. “No one’s paying us any attention. So spill.”
“There’s nothing to spill.” He reached for the Bud Light he’d set on the deck and brought it to his lips.
“But isn’t he—” she lowered her voice, “—isn’t he supposed to come home this weekend?”
Frustration lodged in Dylan’s throat. “Nope. He has to stay in Washington for another month.”
“Aw, really? That sucks!”
No kidding. He’d been trying not to dwell on it ever since he’d read that disappointing email from Aidan last night. For the past month, he’d been distracting himself by training, hanging out with the boys, and hitting the clubs, but he hadn’t gotten laid since Aidan left town, and he hadn’t intended to. Now, with the grim knowledge that relief was still another month away, he might have to rectify his celibate status and give one of his regular hook-ups a call.
“But when he gets back, you’re going to…?” She grinned, letting the question hang.
“I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”
“Don’t forget what I said about taking pictures.”
“Don’t forget what I said about ‘fuck off, Jen’.” He punctuated that by flashing his middle finger.
She threw her head back and laughed. “Fine. But I still expect details.”
Fortunately, his phone rang before he had to give her the finger again. But then he saw his brother’s number and stifled a sigh. If Chris was calling to announce that Claire was pregnant or some shit, Dylan was going to flip.
“My brother,” he told Jen as he rose from his chair. “I’ll be back.”
He walked to a quieter location on the manicured lawn away from the pool, the grass warm and soft beneath his bare feet. “Hey, man, what’s up?”
“Nothing much. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“Not really. I’m just hanging out at my buddy’s pool. I’ve got a minute to talk, though.”
“Oh, good. I wanted to let you know that Claire and I will be in town at the beginning of September. It’s only for one night—I’ve got a meeting with one of the senior partners at our firm’s San Diego location.” Chris paused. “I was hoping we could stay with you.”
“Of course,” he said immediately, making an effort to hide his lack of enthusiasm.
Last time Chris and Claire had stayed at the house, the woman hadn’t uttered more than five words to him. He was so not in the mood to deal with Little Miss Ice Queen again, but what was the alternative? Force his only brother to stay in a hotel?
“Great,” Chris said, sounding excited. “We’re coming in on September first. We’ll take a cab from the airport, so don’t worry about picking us up.”
“Okay, but if you end up needing a ride, let me know.”
“Will do.”
After he hung up, Dylan stood there for a moment, his gaze taking in the flurry of activity happening across the lawn. In the pool, Sophie was shrieking with delight as Cash and Seth played a game of human catch with her, while Jason splashed around in the shallow end with Ryan and Annabelle. Carson had stolen Dylan’s lounge chair and was chatting with his sister, and over by the tables, Holly’s green eyes were animated as she spoke with Miranda and Matt, who were both laughing their asses off.
At times like these, he was so incredibly grateful for the life he’d built for himself here in San Diego. Joining the navy, undergoing SEAL training, forging a bond with his teammates…best decisions he’d ever made.
He suddenly had to wonder if getting involved with Aidan was a decision that would fall under that same category, or if it’d end up being a huge mistake. Screwing around with a random guy, sure, probably wouldn’t result in much. But what if he embarked on a sexual relationship with Aidan only for it to blow up in his face? For it to end in a messy, catastrophic way that ensured everyone he knew found out?
Chewing the inside of his cheek, he tried to quell the troubling questions. No point in overthinking any of this. He and Aidan had already opened that door. That explosive kiss they’d shared last month made it impossible to turn back now.
Anticipation coiled tight, tormenting his cock. Definitely no turning back. He might have to wait another month, but he still had every intention of walking right through that door and seeing where it led him.
Miranda couldn’t believe the number of calls she’d been getting. Ever since the summer recital, her phone was ringing off the hook with parents wanting to enroll their kids at All That Dance, and nearly all of them had been referred by existing clients. The parents who’d attended the recital had been thrilled with their children’s progres
s, and several of them had brought Miranda and the other teachers flowers after the show. She was thrilled about how well the show had gone, not just because it had led to an influx of business, but because she was genuinely proud of all the kids who’d participated.
When she’d left Vegas, this was exactly what she’d hoped for. She truly had loved dancing on that big stage at the Paradis Theater. Contrary to what a lot of people believed, the theater’s performances had been more A Chorus Line than Showgirls, and sometimes Miranda still missed the bright lights and deafening applause and elaborate costumes. But she’d gotten tired of working six nights a week and constantly leaving the twins with babysitters. If they were at school during the day and she was at work during the night, how were they ever supposed to spend time together? Now that they were getting older, it was even more important for her to be a strong presence in their lives. Unfortunately, that hadn’t been possible in Vegas.
But now it was possible. Hell, nothing seemed impossible anymore.
Smiling to herself, she listened to the latest message in her voice mail and jotted down the details, adding to the growing list of calls she had to return. Through the glass sliding door, she saw Seth and Sophie in the backyard, putting seeds in the bird feeder. Her smile widened, taking on a dreamy quality as she fixed her gaze on Seth’s sexy ass, which looked exceptionally yummy in his snug gray board shorts. It was Sunday evening and they’d already eaten dinner, courtesy of Seth, who’d offered to cook because she’d come home from the dance school sore and exhausted.
A loud shriek jolted her back to the present. Sophie was sprinting toward the sliding door, and either Miranda was hearing things, or Seth was actually shouting, “I’ll cover you!”
Both of them were breathing heavily as they burst into the kitchen. Sophie made a beeline for her mother and threw herself into her arms. “It tried to kill me, Mom!”
She smoothed the top of Sophie’s head in a reassuring caress. “What are you talking about? What happened?”