A SEAL's Surrender (Alpha SEALs Book 3) (10 page)

“Why the hell are you here anyway?” she asked, her voice shaking.  “Last I checked, Navy SEALs don’t live in oceanfront hotels.”

“I came here for you,” he growled.

She pulled away and spun around to glare at him.  Heat flushed her cheeks.  She was aroused, angry, and everything else in between.  How dare he chase after her now.  He had his chance ten freaking years ago, and he blew it.  “You shouldn’t have come.  Actually, no, you never should have left in the first place.  But that’s on you.”

His eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer, forcing her to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.  No way was she letting his size and strength intimidate her.  Christopher was angry.  Turned on.  Her mouth dropped open in surprise at the heat in his eyes.  Ten seconds ago he was ready to pummel whoever had been in the SUV.  He’d been worried about her.  Now he looked only like he wanted to haul her over his shoulder and not let her out of her hotel room until morning.  To work out whatever it was still brewing between them between the sheets.  Repeatedly.

“Walking out on you was the biggest fucking mistake of my life.  I’ve regretted it every single day since.  I’m not sure how the hell I got lucky enough for you to show up in my life not once but
twice
, but I know there’s still something here between us.  Last night was pretty damn amazing, and as long as you’re here, I can’t keep my hands off you.”

His eyes softened as her lower lip began to tremble.  She couldn’t keep doing this dance with him—not tonight, not ever.  Maybe he did regret the past, but that didn’t mean their future was any different.  Life would go on as it had—without Christopher.

“Come with me tonight, Lexi.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.  Last night shouldn’t have happened.”

He flinched, and his lips pressed together.  “Not to your hotel room.  Let’s take a drive, me and you.  We’ll go to the beach just like old times.”

She searched his brown gaze, trying to summon the strength to tell him no.  There were a thousand reasons that she shouldn’t go anywhere with this man, but a tiny part of her yearned for what once was.  For the girl she’d once been.

“I need to change.”

“I’ll wait.”

“Meet me back here in twenty minutes.”

“Some guy spooks you in the garage, and you think I’ll let you meet me right here?  Not a chance in hell.”

Lexi rolled her eyes.

“I’ll pick you up in front of your hotel.  Twenty minutes, or I’m coming up after you.  And no one will be able to keep me from tearing the goddamn door down.”

Christopher pulled to a stop at the secluded north end of Virginia Beach, Lexi tucked safely into the passenger seat of his truck.  It was quiet here, peaceful in the waning evening light.  The lazy red sun was dropping in the sky behind them, seagulls swooped down through the air, and powerful waves crashed against the sandy shore.  It reminded him of nights with Lexi a lifetime ago—of beers and bonfires on the beach when they’d both been young, foolish, and carefree.  When he’d been high on life and love and hardly a damn thing could bring him down.  When he’d make love to his girl until morning.

Seeing the pain on her face when she’d shot him down the morning after their fight all those years ago had crippled him.  She’d been the one good thing in his life, and he’d thrown her away, like garbage.  When her roommate had shown up a week later, telling him Lexi was long gone, he’d felt like his goddamn heart had been ripped from his chest.  The hole had been vacant for years, empty and aching, and until he’d seen Lexi the other night at Anchors, he hadn’t quite realized she held the missing piece.

Nearly ten years had hardened him—he’d seen more damage and destruction as a SEAL than he could’ve ever imagined.  He’d been so hurt by Lexi’s inability to forgive him that he hadn’t ever been in a serious relationship since.  That and the fact that she was the one his body craved.  Fighting with his men for those who needed help made him prouder than damn near anything.  But doing right by his girl?  He’d be on top of the world.

Lexi glanced at him from the passenger seat, looking hesitant, wary.  She’d been angry last night, furious this morning, but at the moment?  She mostly looked defeated.  The sadness filling her violet eyes was overwhelming.  He’d give her anything she wanted just to have her stop looking at him that way.

Long black hair cascaded down to the floral sundress she wore, trailing across her bare shoulders and collarbone.  Her cheeks were slightly flushed.  She was so feminine and beautiful it ached just to look at her.

Reaching across the seat, he took her delicate hand in his. His thumb lightly caressed her knuckles, and she closed her eyes.  He’d do anything to know what was on her mind—to take any sadness she had away.

“Let’s go for a walk,” he said huskily.

She looked out the window, refusing to meet his gaze.  “I think I should go back to my hotel.  This wasn’t a good idea.”

“Just hear me out,” he insisted.  “If you still want to leave after that, I’ll drive you back.”

And beg you to give me a second chance.

She sighed and agreed, pulling her hand away.  She was out the door before he could assist her, and he grumbled as he jogged around the truck and again took her hand.  Her sundress blew in the breeze, dancing around her shapely legs.  She’d kicked off her sandals and stood barefoot, looking innocent and unsure.  He laced his fingers between hers and tugged her down toward the water so they could walk alone along the deserted beach.  The wind blew in off the ocean, and Lexi shivered.  Late summer days gave way to cool evenings, and Christopher was more than happy to tuck her under his arm.

Right where she belonged.

“Why’d you leave Coronado?” she asked, surprising him.  He expected about a million different questions from her, but that one wasn’t even on the list.  She knew his mom was there in California, and he’d planned to stick around to help her out.  As much as he could anyway, since his SEAL team deployed frequently.  He sent his mom money every single month, thinking she deserved a break after struggling to support him for so many years.  Hell, his own goddamn father had failed to provide for them in any way.

“It was too hard to stay,” he admitted.  “Every single thing there reminded me of you.  The beach, my apartment, even the damn FA-18 Hornets racing across the sky.”

“You remember watching them together on the beach.”

“You were the best thing in my life, Lexi.  After you left, I couldn’t even walk around base without imaging you there.  I was a complete and total mess.”

She looked up at him in surprise, shock crossing her face.  He stopped and turned Lexi to face him, resting his forearms on her slender shoulders.  She gazed up at him, leaning her head against his arms like a pillow.  His gut clenched at how right it felt to hold her close.  She was fragile and feminine.  Sweet and caring.  He’d fucking
hurt
her because he couldn’t get his shit together back then.  Because he hadn’t dealt with his past.

He’d grown as a man in the years they’d spent apart, and he’d never let any harm come to her again.  From him or any other man.  The thought of her with another, however, made his blood boil.  After having her last night, he couldn’t fathom letting another man snatch her away.  Not when they’d finally found one another again.

“Lexi, I never should have walked out that night,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.  “It was wrong for a thousand different reasons—the crux of which was hurting you.”

“You were an asshole,” she whispered.

“I was a scared kid,” he said, stepping even closer.  “My own dad walked out on me—just vanished.  It was for the best, as messed up as that sounds.  He used to hit me and my mom.  I tried to defend her, but I was just a kid.  He drank, and then he beat us.”

Lexi looked up at him in horror, tears brimming in her eyes.  “Why didn’t you tell me?  I would’ve helped you.”  A lone tear slipped down her cheek, and he tenderly wiped it away before clasping his hands behind her again.

“I never wanted kids because I was afraid I’d do the same damn thing.  I was worried that any child of mine would be better off without me.”

“You’d never do that!” she insisted, looking angry.  “How could you even think that?”

He nodded grimly, words escaping him.  Lexi believed in him, was his staunchest supporter, and he’d ruined everything.

“But why the hell would you ask if the baby was yours?  You knew, you
knew,
I’d never been with another man.  You hurt me.”

Christopher clenched his jaw, his eyes filled with regret.  “I’m sorry.  If I could take it back—take everything back—I would.  I asked myself a thousand times why I didn’t chase after you, why I said that.  I was scared out of my mind and a complete fool.  I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but my God, Lexi, I’d do anything for a second chance.”

She wordlessly watched him, and the pain in his chest nearly was unbearable. “Lexi, I was so panicked that night I couldn’t see straight.  I bolted, tried to run from my fears.  If I could do it over, I would. In a heartbeat. I drove around aimlessly for hours thinking, just needing to be alone, and then I watched the sunrise.  I came back the second I realized—” he broke off, clenching his jaw.

“Realized what?”

“That I was in love with you.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Please don’t cry; I can take bad guys shooting at me, broken bones, bruised body parts…but I swear to God, Lexi, I can’t take your tears.”

***

“You should go,” she said, hastily swiping them away as she tried to pull away from him.  Stupid emotions.  She was the picture of professionalism at work, but get her around Christopher, and she was an emotional wreck.  She’d bottled up her emotions for years, and a few minutes with the man and she was crying and coming and feeling more than she’d felt in a decade.

He didn’t move a muscle.

“You should go,” she repeated.

“Honey, the US Navy couldn’t drag me away from you.”

His lips brushed against the top of her head.  It was soft, sweet.  Completely at odds with his usual alpha male, dominating ways.  She looked up at him in confusion, and his thumbs wiped away the tears beneath her eyes.  He ducked his head lower and kissed her softly.  Heat burst through her as his mouth moved over hers.  He took his time, slowly letting it build between them, as her body pulsed with awareness.

He pulled his arms from her shoulders and slid them down her sides, his fingertips skimming against the sides of her breasts, before he gripped her waist and hauled her into his arms.

She clung to him, desperately, legs and arms wrapped around this solid man.  The sun had long ago sunk beneath the horizon, and a million stars dotted the night sky.  You couldn’t get this view down at the busy stretch of beach, but to the north, after the boardwalk ended and there was only ocean and sand, it felt like you could see the whole universe.

Christopher carried her to the bed of his truck, parked at the edge of sand near some dunes, and she realized he’d lay blankets there earlier.  The hatch was already pulled down, and gently, he laid her on the soft cotton.  The night surrounded her, the dark sky twinkling above.  She shivered, and then Christopher’s hands were on her, fisting her dress as he pushed it up above her hips.  The night air kissed her bare stomach, and she trembled.

His lips dragged across her flat stomach.  Hot.  Hungry.  She gasped at his warm mouth on her chilled skin, unwittingly arching up beneath him.  His tongue swirled around her belly button, teasing.  He kissed his way to her hipbone, his teeth grazing her.  Marking her.  Tonight she was completely his.  She’d go back to the Pentagon, eventually.  She had her career with the DoD, and Christopher had his in the Navy.  But tonight, she needed to be that young girl again, completely smitten with her handsome Navy SEAL.

He ducked his head lower, his nose skimming across her panties as he inhaled her arousal.  “So fucking sweet,” he muttered.  He kissed her through the lace, leaving her hot and aching.  She was swollen and wet—for him.  Desperate for his touch.  No other man had ever pleasured her this way—although she’d slept with several in the years since leaving California, she’d never let a man kiss her so intimately.  Only him.

His fingers slid in the waistband of her panties, gently pulling them down her legs.  Rough hands spread her thighs apart, opening her to his gaze.  Baring her completely to him.  She trembled as she watched his eyes darken in the moonlight.  He kissed his way up the soft skin of her inner thigh, taking his time, leaving her gasping.  The whiskers of his five o’clock shadow scraped across her tender flesh.  He skimmed his nose across her mound, not stopping, kissing and nipping at the skin on her other thigh.

His face hovering so close to where she needed him was making her crazy.  Frantic.  She cried out and arched up, desperate for his touch.  His fingertips skimmed up her seam and then teased her soft folds, already dripping with slick arousal.  He caught her gaze for a moment as he touched her, letting his fingertips caress her.  Christopher dipped one finger into her center, swirling arousal around her throbbing bud.  Waves of desire enveloped her, each touch guiding her higher, closer to the precipice.  He stroked her softly as her eyelids slid shut, the pleasure exquisite. The little whimpers and mewls coming from her mouth were sounds she’d never heard before.

“Do you like that, honey?”

Heat swirled through her, coating her skin with warmth.  She felt drunk in her desire for him, dizzy and lost to everything but his expert touch.  He removed his fingers, and before she could protest the loss of his touch, his mouth was upon her.  Kissing, sucking, drinking in her sweet ambrosia.  His tongue laved against her folds, delving into her swollen flesh with the fervor of a man starved.  His tongue probed her wet center, nearly shattering her right then and there.  Gentle thrusts in and out had her squirming, bucking against his mouth.

His tongue slowly trailed up, stroking softly against her clit.  She gasped at the sweet pleasure as heat coiled down from her center, spiraling out through her body until every single nerve ending was alight from his touch.  Thick fingers penetrated her, filling and stretching her silken walls.  She moaned from the wonderful pressure.  He crooked his fingers, touching her sensitive flesh deep inside, and sucked her clit into his mouth.  Waves overtook her, buoying her up, pulling her under.

Hands and mouth sped up their movements, driving her wild, and she exploded.  Her body bucked helplessly as she screamed into the night, the powerful onslaught nearly too much to bear.  Her sex fluttered against his mouth and tongue; her inner walls clenched tightly around his thick fingers.  It was too much, not enough, and her climax went on and on as Christopher never let up, determined to wring every last ounce of pleasure from her.

At last she lay there, gasping for breath, and Christopher hauled himself over her small frame.  Undoing his trousers, his thick erection sprang out.  Even in the moonlight, she could see the engorged head, dripping with his arousal, ready to sink into her soft folds.  He rubbed himself against her slickened sex and then lined himself up, slowly penetrating her as she moaned, her walls still pulsing around him.  He sank in balls deep and held still, pinning her to the bed of his pick-up, holding her right where she belonged.

Christopher slowly pulled out and sank back into her softness, making love to her gently, sweetly.  He kissed her, murmuring sweet words in her ear neither of them would likely remember in the morning, they were both so far gone in pleasure and lost in one another.  His thick length stroked her, claimed her as his, filled her in a way no other man ever could.  His thrusts grew faster, harder, building her up once more as she panted for breath. Her orgasm exploded from nowhere, Lexi crying out again his solid frame, bucking beneath him.  Christopher immediately followed, hardening even more before releasing his seed deep inside her.