A Major Seduction (4 page)

“I’m going to hell,” he groaned.
Maria
and
cock
should
never go together, yet he couldn’t not think of them in the same sentence
anymore. Perhaps he was losing it for real. It had been months since he’d last
gotten laid.
Of course.
Sex would
solve everything.

Pleased he thought he’d found the answer to his new dilemma,
he called Brad and arranged for an outing. Tonight they’d hit a few clubs along
the beach and find women who wanted a good time. Nothing more, and for damn
sure nothing less, because he didn’t think his aching cock could handle it if
he didn’t come soon in something beside his hand.

He arrived home and took a long shower after easing himself
to fantasies of Maria, despite not wanting or meaning to. “Totally going to
hell,” he muttered as he dried off and dressed.

Brad arrived to hear him talking to himself. “Ah, you on
meds, bro?”

“Shut up.”

“Because I once dated a nurse, and I’m pretty sure I could
get you some more.”

“Ha ha.” They left and drove down to a popular hook-up bar
in Atlantic Beach.

After making small talk, Brad asked, “What the hell crawled
up your ass and died?” His smile grew. “Or should I say who?”

“Is it just me, or is Maria different?” Mike heard himself
asking and wished to hell he hadn’t.

“Different how?”

“I don’t know. Maybe her hair’s longer or something.” He
felt like an idiot the longer he talked, so he downed his beer.

“Maybe you’re finally seeing the real her.”

“Meaning?”

Brad sighed. “Meaning the girl has spent years trying to get
you to notice her. And bro, she’s really cute. Nice and funny, and Mom and Dad
love her. But you never saw her as anything but Olivia’s clone.”

“They’re always together.”

“Not always.”

Remembering her and Bobby at the beach, he described what
he’d seen to Brad.

“Oh yeah. Sergeant Bobby Thorn. Nice guy.”

“You’ve met him?”

Brad looked affronted. “You don’t think I checked his ass
out the minute I heard she was seeing him? Cavas take care of our own.”

Mike nodded. “Good.”

“But Bobby’s a good kid.”

“Kid? He’s maybe two or three years younger than you.”

“More her own age, sure. He’s solid, and he treats her well.
What’s not to like?”

The conversation severely annoyed Mike. “Yeah? Well, he was
talking about going down on her on a public beach, for Christ sake.”

Brad, the ass, laughed. “Who
wouldn’t
want to go down on her? Or are you into guys now? I mean,
it’s okay with me if that’s your thing. But, bro, Dad might—”

“Fuck you.” Mike glared and finished his beer. “It’s just…
She’s all grown up and changed. Different.”

“A real girl, eh, Pinocchio?”

“You are so annoying.” Mike wanted to rip his brother in two
but refrained lest he start a bar fight. He’d already seen a few of his Marines
mingling on the dance floor. No need to show himself as the ass his brother
often accused him of being.

“Annoying but perceptive,” Brad said. “Face it. It was
flattering to have a cutie like Maria crushing on you. Then she grows up and
figures out it was a phase. So now you’re bereft of a familiar association.”

“Seriously? You talk like this at work, it’s a wonder your
guys don’t pound the shit out of you on a daily basis.”

Brad laughed. “I’m sure they’d like to. Look, I’m good at
reading people. Maria’s all grown up now, Mike.” Brad’s eyes narrowed. “So all
that lust you’ve been carrying around for her all these years, you can put it
to good use.”

“Bull. I never lusted after her. She was just a kid.”

“A cute kid who turned into a beautiful woman. One with a
gorgeous body. You should see her legs.” Brad sighed. “She runs like a
gazelle.”

Maria had been a jogger for as long as he’d known her. The
only reason Mike wasn’t planting his fist in Brad’s face was that he knew his
brother had seen said legs the other night when she wore that sexy excuse for a
sundress. Not like Brad had seen her naked or anything…

“So you and Maria? You guys ever hit it?”

Brad scowled. “Hell no. She was always into you. And that
would seem a little incestuous, in a weird way.”

“Thanks. Now you’re grossing me out.”

“Sorry. Look, let’s have a good night. Get laid, get
drunk—me, not you, you’re driving. It’s not often we get to hang out on the
same coast.”

Mike gave a reluctant smile. “Good point. Okay, one more
beer and I’m done. But feel free to indulge yourself.”

Which Brad did. The jerk hooked up with a hot chick and left
with her. Mike tried to make conversation, and many of the women he talked to
seemed to want something more. But for some fucked-up reason, his lust centered
on a pixie-like blonde who could out-swear a Marine.

Brad and his stupid
ideas. As if I lusted after Maria for years. Yeah right.

But try as he might, he couldn’t get the image out of his
head of that jackoff Bobby going down on her. And then it was Mike—not
Bobby—between her legs, hearing her soft sighs of pleasure, feeling her grip
his hair with her small hands while he licked her until she came...

He left in a worse mood than the one he’d arrived with and
blamed one particular blonde for all his problems. Now what to do about her was
the question.

His ride home felt uncomfortable, his dick like an iron
spike. What to do about it? Her?

Hell.

Olivia, I’m here,
he texted his sister while he waited outside her house in his truck. The late
afternoon clouds gave him some respite from the blazing sun overhead.

She texted back,
In
the bathroom fixing the shower. Water everywhere. Need help!

Damn it. He wanted to ask if Maria was around, and if so, he
planned to wait in the truck. Avoidance had worked for him with the annoying
blonde for the past four days. Unfortunately, asking his sister would prove he
was the pussy Brad called him. So he manned up, left the truck, and went to
help his sister.

If he ran into Maria, he’d smile, not think about her
kick-ass body, and focus solely on helping fix their leak.

He walked through the front door of the old house and heard
the shower in the back. Following the colorful runner over hardwood floors, he
knocked on the door and heard her tell him to come in.

He pushed inside and saw the curtain closed. He yanked the
curtain wide. “I have to see the problem to—”

Maria shrieked and tried to cover herself.

But the damage had been done. No way he could forget the
sight of her naked, shaved—
oh my God,
shaved
—and dripping wet. Her breasts were on the small side but perfectly
shaped, her nipples a pale pink and stiff under the water. She had an almost
boyish figure, no fat on her anywhere, and the most gorgeous legs. Toned all
over, golden except where her bikini had covered paler flesh, and so fucking
sweet he was dying to have a taste.

She yanked the curtain out of his hand and closed the it
around her. “Get out!”

Which answered his question that she hadn’t been behind
Olivia’s text.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and glared down at his
erection. “Uh, sorry. I could have sworn Olivia told me to come in here and fix
the water leak.”

“Water is supposed to come out of the showerhead, Mike,”
Maria snapped. “It’s called a shower. Now
get
out.
”

“I’m going. I’ll be out there.” He slammed the door behind
him so she’d know he closed it then spent the next few moments calming his
raging cock back down. He’d just gotten himself together when Olivia sauntered
into the hall.

“Oh, hey, Mike. What’s up?”

“You know exactly what’s up,” he snarled. “I just scared
Maria half to death.”

“Really? Because my bathroom is still leaking.” She glared
at him and pointed up. “You know, the one outside our bedrooms?”

He blinked. “What?”

“I told you I needed help.”

“You said the shower was leaking. You only have a tub up
there.”

“Tub, shower, same thing.” She shrugged. “Now are you coming
to help me or not?”

Grumbling all the while, he followed her upstairs and fixed
her simple leak by tightening a fitting around her pipes. “I came all the way
out here for this?”

“Well, the timing’s perfect. I have a few errands to run,
and Maria needs a ride to her mom’s. We had an issue with our cars this
weekend, so I have to take mine in and hers is at her mom’s. This way I won’t
be late to my appointment. Thanks.” She danced out of the bathroom and raced
down the stairs before he could stop her. He heard the front door open and
close.

Great.

Footsteps in the room next door warned him to tread warily.
He feared seeing Maria naked again because, if he did, he might not be able to
control himself and make a move on her. If she rejected him, he’d probably
expire on the spot from the worst case of blue balls known to man.

Shifting himself in his jeans, he again thought about
nonsexual things. Family, next week’s training op, his C.O. He left the
bathroom and walked back downstairs.

He heard a blow dryer, then some music, and waited,
wondering how long she’d take to get ready. A few minutes later she walked
downstairs and stopped in her tracks when she saw him. She turned a pretty
shade of pink, and once again the dichotomy of seeing her as his sister’s
friend and a woman he wanted to do dirty things to struck him mute.

“I, um, where’s Olivia?”

Get a grip, asshole.
“Look,
I’m sorry for seeing you…in there.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “I
misunderstood my sister. Good news is the upstairs tub is fixed.”

“Oh, good.” Her cheeks remained flushed.

“Bad news is Olivia had to scoot to a car appointment, so
she asked me to take you to your car.”

“Why is that bad news?”

He smiled at her attempt to play off her embarrassment.
Funny how the frank talker wasn’t so ballsy now. “Because I just saw your
golden body dripping wet and naked in the shower. Didn’t mean to, but now I
can’t stop seeing you that way.”

She glared at him, and once again, he grew hard. “Well, quit
it. I’m your sister’s best friend. I’m like your own little sister, remember?”

Problem was that image and her mouth made any kind of
sibling-sense disappear. “As you’ve reminded me, several times, you’re
not
my sister.” He smiled at her growing
unease.

“Well, that’s true. I mean, we’re not related. But we might
as well be,” she tacked on in a hurry when he took a step closer. Her gaze
moved down his body, and her eyes widened when she noticed the thick bulge
between his legs. “So let’s go then.” She darted to the hall table, grabbed her
purse, and shot through the front door like her hair was on fire.

Giving Mike all kinds of thoughts about what to do with the
blonde goddess sadly growing out of her crush on him.

Maria had a hard time breathing calmly as Mike drove them to
her mother’s house, just a street over from his parents’ place.
Olivia is a genius.
Her plan to trick
Mike into seeing Maria naked had worked worlds better than Maria’s lame attempt
to lose her bikini top years ago.

The look he’d given her in the house had seared her to her toes.
So much for getting all clean. She’d dampened her panties since she’d put them
on, thoughts about seducing him doing nothing but arousing her.

“What’s wrong with Livie’s car?” he asked and popped a mint
into his mouth. He offered her one, so she took it. Wintergreen—her favorite.
One more thing they had in common.
Le
sigh.

“An oil leak. I don’t know. Nothing major, but your sister
is anal retentive about stuff.”

“That’s true.”

He would know. Olivia might be organized, but Mike was a
carbon copy of his father, a dictator who liked giving orders. According to his
family and friends who knew him, he was an amazing guy to work for. He
listened, was no-nonsense and fair, and always gave praise where deserved. He’d
also been known to chew out a Marine with the ferocity of a bulldog.

But Maria wasn’t one of his Marines. She didn’t have to
follow his orders. Why then did the thought of doing so get her hot and
bothered?

She stared out her open window, at times feeling Mike’s gaze
on her while he drove.

They finished the trip in silence, the windows down, the
salt air cooling off the hot temperature. She watched the afternoon beachgoers
heading for fun in the sun as she and Mike drove into Emerald Isle toward her
mother’s house. But instead of turning left, Mike went straight.

“My mom’s is back there.”

“I know.” His voice sounded gravelly, and she contained an
inner shiver.

No doubt about it, Olivia was a friggin’ genius. Whereas
playing hard to get hadn’t worked for Maria when ten years old, it sure the
hell was working now. Olivia had also advised Maria to keep the big guy away,
pretending indifference while at the same time tempting him. Maria had risked a
lot to let him see her naked. What if her skinny body repulsed him? His usual
type ran to earthy, busty women. Sexy women. Yet Olivia had insisted the shower
trick would entice him. Mike would want what he couldn’t have. So Maria hoped.

He pulled into his parents’ driveway, turned off his truck,
and sat.

“Okay, I’ll walk to the car.” She shrugged. “Thanks.” What
was his game?

She left the truck and shut the door. Before she could take
two steps off the driveway, he gripped her by the shoulder.

“Hold on.”

She huffed. “Look, Mike. I have things I’d like to get to. A
good book, some dinner, maybe even that new dance show on TV. I put in a full
day at work. I’ve earned the downtime. So what’s up?”

They both glanced at his hand on her shoulder. He tightened
his grip, and her belly flipped over itself in excitement. Then he let her go.

“I promise I won’t take up more than a few minutes of your
time. But there’s something I need to show you inside.”

“This isn’t one of your etchings, is it?” She snorted with
laughter.

“Smartass. No.” He tugged her by the arm with him, and she
pretended a reluctance to being led right where she wanted to be. Alone with
him near a big-ass bed.

They entered, and she stopped in the living room and planted
her hands on her hips. “Well?”

He rolled his eyes. “Just hold on, would you? And stay right
there.” He disappeared down the hall. She heard him moving around and wondered
what the hell he had to show her. This was seeming less and less like a
seduction. What a letdown.

He returned with a determined glint in his eye.

She sighed. “What is it you have to show me?”

He wasn’t holding anything. “Brad’s not here. It’s just you
and me.”

“O-kay.”

He stalked her like a hungry tiger, and to her bemusement,
she felt herself retreating until her back hit the wall.

Oh momma. This
is
a seduction.
“Mike?”

“It’s just you and me.” He caged her between his massive
arms, his dark gaze intent as he watched her. “I’m going to kiss you.” He
leaned closer.

She felt his breath over her lips, smelled the mint he’d
been eating in the car. “Why?”
Oh please
oh please oh please…

“Because I need to see something.”

“This probably isn’t a good idea,” she said, breathless, and
stared at his approaching mouth. His lips were pink and firm and so lickable
she felt tingly all over.

“I know this isn’t a good idea,” he growled then kissed her.

She froze, shocked at the power of such a simple press of
his lips against hers. She trembled, weak at the knees, lightheaded, and so
turned on she wondered if she might combust on the spot.

He groaned and deepened the kiss, and she gripped his
shoulders and tried to yank him closer, but it was like pulling on an oak. He
wouldn’t budge. Instead, he controlled her with nothing more than his mouth.

Using his lips and tongue, the gentle nip of his teeth, he
coaxed her to kiss him back, to let him inside her mouth and do whatever the
hell he pleased. When she’d reached the end of her breath, he pulled back,
panting.

“
Fuck.
You tell
me, yes or no, if we’re going to see where that leads.”

“Um.” He’d frazzled her brain.

Then he used that smooth, low voice, the one that never
failed to make her wet. Not that he’d ever used it on
her
before. It was the one he’d used on those women he wanted to
fuck. “You on anything, honey?”

Oh, honey. He’d pour it over himself and demand she lick it
up. Yum. “Wh-what?”

He nipped her throat, and she arched into him.

“You on birth control?”

“Yeah. Why?”

He kissed her again, and she sagged into his hold. Before
she knew it, he’d carried her down the hall into a spare bedroom. He put her
down in front of the bed. “Yes or no, Maria?”

“To what?” Not her fault she couldn’t function. He made it
worse when he cupped her breasts and squeezed. “Oh my God.”

“We’re going to see where that kiss leads, aren’t we?” He
pinched her nipples, and she squirmed, aroused beyond need into desperation.

“I-I…
Yes,
okay?”
she snapped then yanked him down for another kiss.

His chuckle against her lips disappeared when she grazed his
taut abdomen.

All teasing ended, and the kiss grew into something so much
more. Then any control she thought she might have had in her seduction
disappeared, without a trace.