A SEAL's Seduction (Alpha SEALs Book 4) (13 page)

Kenley moaned the next morning, waves of pleasure washing over her as sunlight streamed in the room.  She felt relaxed and content in the comfortable bed, and she shut her eyes more tightly, not wanting this delicious dream to end.  Heat was spiraling down from her core, setting all of her nerve endings on fire.  Her entire body pulsed with pleasure.  Reaching down, she felt Mike’s head right where she needed him, pleasuring her like he’d done last night.  God, she never wanted it to end.  What he did with his mouth and his tongue was magic, and if she thought she’d come hard from their lovemaking, it had been nothing compared to Mike going down on her.

She gasped, arching her hips up to meet his clever mouth.  He eagerly increased the flicks of his tongue, simply devouring her.  Shockwaves of pleasure rocked through her, the exquisite feeling almost too much to bear.

The sensations stopped for just a moment as she opened her eyes, and she gasped in shock at the sight of Mike crouched on the bed, holding her legs apart.  “Good morning, baby,” he murmured, smug male satisfaction crossing his face.

“Mike….”

He slung her legs up over his broad shoulders, opening her even more to him.  He’d told her last night that he planned to wake her up this way this morning, but she’d thought he’d been teasing.  This was too much, too good—she was going to explode only seconds after waking. 

Mike slid his hands under her bottom, pulling her closer to his face.  She squealed with pleasure, and he continued his erotic kiss.  She was helpless to this man, her legs splayed over his shoulders, her sex wide open and his for the taking.  He held her to him so she couldn’t have moved away if she’d wanted to.  And holy hell, she never wanted this pleasure to end.

His tongue lapped at her clit, sending her higher and higher with each stroke.  She cried out, nearing the precipice, and he sucked her throbbing bud into his mouth. His ministrations got faster and faster, and she screamed out his name, bucking wildly against his face as she came on his tongue.

Mike didn’t let up, drawing every last ounce of pleasure out of her as she writhed and clutched the sheets in her hand.  The arm in a cast lay heavy on the bed, and she was spent, exhausted from the Earth-shattering orgasm.  He kissed her softly on her nether lips before letting her legs down and shooting her a lazy grin.  “You taste like a fucking goddess, Kenley.  I’m going to wake you up like that every damn morning.  I can’t get enough of your taste on my tongue.”

He prowled back up her body, his thick erection lying against her thigh.  She tried to wrap her arms around his broad shoulders and winced in pain as she moved her wrist at that angle.  The painkillers from last night had long worn off.

“Shit, are you okay?” he asked, immediately easing off of her.  “Did I hurt you?”

“No, my arm is just a little sore.  It didn’t hurt until I tried to move it just now.”

Mike jumped up from the bed, unabashed in his nakedness.  His erection stood loud and proud, but he strode to the bathroom and was instantly back with medicine and a cup of water.  “Here, drink this.  I’ll make us breakfast while it kicks in.”

She glanced down at him.  “But….”

“Honey, I’m always hard around you.  Get used to it.”  He winked and slipped on some boxer briefs, walking out of the master bedroom.

Kenley heard him rummaging around in the kitchen, along with the clanking of pots and pans.  She should offer to help him, but how much use would she really be with her injured wrist?  Plus the painkillers would take a little while to start working.  She snuggled back under the covers and shut her eyes.  Maybe if she drifted off to sleep for a few minutes, she’d feel better.

***

“Do you have to go into work today?” Mike asked as he set a steaming plate of bacon, eggs, toast, and chocolate chip pancakes in front of her.  Kenley looked thoroughly sated, he thought smugly.  Her face was flushed, her eyes glowing, and that gorgeous head of curls was rumpled like she’d spent the entire night rolling around between the sheets.  Which they pretty much had.

“Wow, this looks delicious, but I’ll never be able to eat all this.”

Mike shrugged.  “I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

“Well, thanks.  I’m starving.”

Mike grinned.  “I wonder why you’ve got such an appetite this morning,” he teased.  Kenley turned an even rosier hue but smiled at him.

“No idea,” she commented dryly.  “And to answer your question, my boss left me a message this morning, telling me to take the day off.  Someone else is driving all that paperwork for the new hires down, and HR from the home office will schedule the second round of interviews.  I’ll be the one conducting them of course, which means I’ll be back at it tomorrow.  But at least I have a day to take it easy.”

Mike frowned.  After the night she’d been through, one day hardly seemed like enough recovery time.  And he hadn’t exactly let her get a ton of rest last night, he thought guiltily.

“What time is it?  Don’t you guys usually go in really early?  I thought Christopher always had to be on base at the crack of dawn.”

“That we do,” Mike agreed.  “We’ve got a later start time today though because we’ll be doing some night training.”

“Oh, with night vision goggles and stuff?  Are you going to deploy soon?”

“Don’t know.  We don’t get much advance notice.  When you’re a SEAL, you’re pretty much at Uncle Sam’s beck and call twenty-four seven.  We can be ready to roll out in a matter of hours.”

Kenley frowned, and Mike felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him.  Was she concerned about his missions or the fact that he was gone a lot of the time?  He didn’t like the idea of her being upset or worried about him.  Usually when his SEAL team was sent on an op, he didn’t worry about a thing back at home.  If the idea of leaving Kenley behind gave him second thoughts about leaving, then what was she thinking or feeling?  If things progressed between them, they’d have to discuss it at some point.

It was difficult maintaining a relationship when you were in the military, and especially when you were a SEAL.  Lots of wives and girlfriends couldn’t handle the stress of not knowing where the men were going, where they’d be while they were gone, or when they’d return.  Not that he and Kenley were a couple or something.  They’d spent one night together.  A fantastic, amazing night that he was looking to repeat as soon as possible.

Mike cleared his throat.  “I wish I could stop by tonight to check on you, but we’ll be out late.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” she replied, looking surprised that he wanted to check in on her.  Hell, after the night they’d spent together, was it really that shocking?  He cared about her.  Couldn’t she see that?  “I’ll probably just rest today and then get back to work tomorrow.  That reminds me, did Matthew and Christopher have trouble with the car door?  I couldn’t get it open last night when I ran off the road.”

“They didn’t mention it.  It was probably just blocked by whatever you hit.  We had it towed back onto the highway, and the guys drove it back without incident.  We can check it out this morning before you go if you’re concerned.  Or take it in to be fixed if need be.”

Kenley looked slightly uncomfortable.  “I can take it by a repair shop.  I might need to get a recommendation from you though.  My mechanic is back in Arlington, so I don’t exactly know what’s around here.  But I need to be able to get in and out of the car.”

“I’ll go in with you this morning if you’re worried,” Mike said.  “I don’t have to be on base until noon.”

“No, don’t worry about it.”  She pushed the food around on her plate, and a pit settled in Mike’s gut.  After the past twelve hours they’d spent together, why was she pushing him away now?  It was almost like she didn’t want his help.

He raised his eyebrows when she looked up and met his gaze.  “Thanks for offering,” she hastily added.  “I’m just used to doing things by myself.”

“You don’t have to as long as I’m here.”

She shrugged.  “But that’s just the thing. I’ll be leaving after I conduct this second round of interviews.  Going back to Northern Virginia.  I mean, I appreciate you offering to help me today.  Let’s just not pretend this is something it’s not.”

“Arlington’s not that far away.  What, maybe four hours?  You think just because you’re going back there that I don’t want to see you again?”

“Maybe it’s not too far from Virginia Beach, but it’s a hell of a long way from Afghanistan.”

Mike raised his eyebrows.

“Mike, I work for a Defense contractor.  Maybe you can’t tell me exactly where you go all the time on your deployments with the SEALs, but I certainly have an idea.  When I was kid, my parents were gone all the time.  I was
always
left to fend for myself, and I’m not going to do that anymore.  Not in a relationship.  When I do eventually meet someone,” she quickly added, heat rising in her cheeks, “I want it to be someone who’s there for me.”

Mike’s gut twisted.  It was true, when out on deployments, he wouldn’t physically be there.  And he might not readily be able to contact her at every moment.  But hell, Mike would do whatever was in his power to make sure Kenley always felt safe and secure.  Hadn’t he driven out in the rainstorm last night looking for her after she called?  Hadn’t his friend hacked into the cell networks to pinpoint her exact location?  And hell, lots of couples had long distance relationships.  Maybe that wouldn’t work for an entire lifetime, but was she really not willing to give him a shot at all?

It figured.  After all the women chasing after him over the years, the one who’d caught his attention was also the one who wanted to slip away.  The hell with this.

“So we spend one spectacular night together, and that’s it?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Say you felt what I did,” he said, rising from his chair and kneeling down in front of her.  They were exactly at eye level now, and he nailed her with a gaze.

“Mike….”

She looked so lost, he wanted to envelop her in his arms.  Promise her that he would be there for her.  “You didn’t feel anything?” he asked, leaning in slightly closer as her breath hitched.  “Not even when you came on my fingers or my tongue?  When my cock was buried so deep inside you and you screamed out my name?”

Her lower lip trembled.  Hell.  He wasn’t trying to make her cry, just to make her admit that she felt something for him, too.  That they weren’t just some one-night-stand.

“If I kissed you right now, you’re saying it wouldn’t mean anything to you?”

“Don’t make this harder than it is,” she pleaded.

He lifted a hand to her face, and his thumb skimmed over her lower lip.  He leaned in slowly, ready to kiss her sweet lips once more.

“Stop,” she said, pushing her good hand against his chest.  “Just stop.”

Mike froze, his chest tightening.

“I should go,” she whispered, scooting her chair back and rising.

“Kenley—”

“I have to go!”

“Let me get your things,” Mike conceded, rising to help her.  She didn’t have much—just her purse and the clothes she’d been wearing last night.  She couldn’t exactly go home in her cut up blouse.  Kenley seemed to realize the same thing and glanced down at the shirt she had on—one of Mike’s tee shirts.  “You keep it.  You need something to wear home.”

She nodded uncertainly, tears welling in her eyes.  He’d let her go now.  She was spooked.  Scared.  But that sure the hell didn’t mean he was willing to let her walk out of his life for good.  Not when she just may be the best damn thing that had ever happened to him.

Kenley glanced around the coffee shop from a table in the back an hour later, inhaling the scent of freshly roasted beans.  There weren’t many people here this morning—many of the tourists had gone home after the weekend, and the locals were at work.  There were some cute grandmotherly types seated a couple of tables over and a young couple, but she and Lexi mostly had the place to themselves.

Kenley wrapped her sweater around her shoulders, chilled despite the hot drink she was sipping.  Her whole world felt off-kilter after the past twenty-four hours, and settling in with her best friend for some girl talk was exactly what she needed.

“Wait, so what happened?” Lexi asked, confusion clouding her face.

“I left,” Kenley answered simply.

“You left him right there in his kitchen?”

“Well what was I supposed to do?  We spent a night together.  Mike seemed to think that meant we should start a long distance relationship or something.  I mean we barely even know each other!  We’ve never gone out on a date.  We’ve never spent a day together just hanging out, seeing what we have in common.  Yes, he helped me, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.  But that doesn’t mean we’re a couple now.”

“He was really worried about you,” Lexi protested.  “Christopher had him on speaker phone when we were trying to locate you, and that man was in a near panic.”

“He was worried, I know.  I get that he’s a decent guy most of the time.  I mean he’s still a bit too cocky for my taste, but he can be sweet.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“He’s the kind of guy that
always
has a woman around.  I saw him at the bonfire; I’ve heard stories about all the guys on the SEAL team.  I’m not anything special to him.”

Lexi’s eyes softened.  “Sweetie, of course you’re special.”

Kenley rolled her eyes.  “I don’t need you to patronize me.  I’m not anything special to
him
.  Mike’s the kind of guy that’s been with dozens of women.  Trust me when I say he knows his way around a woman’s body—holy hell.”

Lexi laughed.  “Whoa, slow down.  What exactly happened last night after he found you?”

Kenley leaned in closer, whispering a few of the details so that the other patrons in the coffee shop didn’t hear them.  Because that was all she needed, somebody’s grandma knowing all about her sex life.  She took a sip of her café mocha as Lexi’s eyes grew wider and wider.

“Well, we can’t say he isn’t thorough,” Lexi teased.

Kenley nearly spit out her coffee.  “Shhh!”

Lexi laughed.  “And you’re willing to give up all that just because you think he wouldn’t be willing to give up the single life for you?  Because you’re going home in a week or two?  He wouldn’t suggest seeing you again if he didn’t mean it.”

“It’s not just that,” Kenley admitted.  “Even if, say, something did start up between us….”

“I’d say it already has.”

Kenley glared at her best friend.  “The point is, Mike wouldn’t be around.  I dealt with that all the time growing up, and I just don’t want that for my future.  What if we had kids?  Then their dad would just be gone half the time?  I lived that life, and it sucked.”

Lexi raised her eyebrows.  “So you’ve considered having kids with the man, but you won’t date him.  Interesting.”

Kenley blew out an exasperated sigh.  “You know what I mean.”

“Don’t you think you’re putting the cart before the horse?  Maybe the long distance thing won’t work for you.  Maybe you’ll meet someone else.  Maybe the whole thing will fizzle out in a month or two.  But don’t give up on your entire future without even giving him a shot.”

“You seem pretty confident.”

“Kenley, I’ve never seen you look at a man the way you do Mike.  Ever.  And the way he rushed off to find you like that in the middle of the rainstorm?  That man cares about you.  So what if he’s been with a hundred women in the past.  I assure you he doesn’t bring them home with him.  Or cook them breakfast in the morning.  Or, what, offer to get your car fixed for you?  Guys just don’t do that for women they have no interest in.”

“I don’t know….”

“Hey, he already slept with you.  Multiple times from the sounds of it.”

“Lexi!” Kenley hissed.

She laughed and took a sip of her latte.  “I’m just saying, he wasn’t doing all that to get you into bed.  He already had, you know?  He cares about you.”

“We barely know each other,” Kenley muttered.

Lexi shrugged.  “You guys have chemistry.  A connection.  You can’t fake that, and you can’t fight it either.  And even if you claim you’ll never see him again, that’s not going to happen.  Christopher and I will be planning our wedding.  You’ll have to see Mike at some point.  And do you really want him bringing some other woman along as his date?”

Kenley’s stomach dropped at that image.  No, she didn’t want Mike kissing, dating, or sleeping with any other women.  But that didn’t mean she was ready to fall head-over-heels for him either.

***

Mike cursed as he pulled onto base just before noon.  Christopher was getting out of his pickup truck a few spots down, which meant Mike would have to deal with another round of twenty questions.  Fucking perfect.  After the way Kenley had blown him off this morning, he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone.  Hell, the very first time he’d cared about a woman enough to bring her home, she up and bails on him at breakfast?  Weren’t women supposed to like that sort of thing?  Usually Mike was the one running out the door the morning after, offering his excuses.  It twisted his gut to be on the receiving end of that kind of brush-off.

“It’s gonna be a long day, man,” Christopher said, slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder.  “I’m psyched for some night ops training though.”

“No kidding,” Mike grumbled.

“So is Kenley doing okay after the accident?  Lexi left earlier to meet her at a coffee shop.  I figured she’d be spending the whole morning with you.”

“So did I,” Mike said as they fell in step beside one another.  “Kenley didn’t exactly like my suggestion of seeing each other when she went back to Arlington.  You’d think most women would be thrilled a guy didn’t want to blow them off after one night.”

Christopher chuckled.  “Maybe she doesn’t want to do the long distance thing?”

“That’s part of it.  I don’t think she likes the military thing either.”

“But she stayed at your place last night?”

“Yep.”

Christopher raised his eyebrows expectantly.

“Not gonna lie, man, it was pretty fucking spectacular.  Not enough to convince her to give it a go another time though.  Hell, I’ve never even taken her out on a date.  We’ve been together in all these group situations—the bonfire, the pool.  And without going into details, let’s just say the chemistry between us is off the charts.”

“So ask her out.  On a real date—dinner, flowers, the works.”

“Pretty sure she’d turn me down, man,” Mike said.

“She still arguing with you half the time?”

“Not last night, no.  That was the first time she let her guard down and I got to see the real Kenley.”

“Foreplay, man.”

“What?”

“All that fighting you were doing was nothing but foreplay.  No wonder last night was so spectacular.  Trust me, after ten years of Lexi being angry with me, when we reconnected this summer?  Fucking amazing.”

Mike laughed.  Christopher and Lexi were hardly the same as him and Kenley.  They had a history together.  He’d had but a few encounters over the past month with the woman he was falling for.  Yes, he wanted more—much more.  But if the woman wouldn’t give him a damn chance….

Patrick nodded at them in greeting as they walked into the locker room.  “What’s fucking amazing?”

“Just the woman of his dreams,” Christopher snickered.

“Kenley bailed on me this morning,” Mike said, stuffing his gear into his locker.  “As in she couldn’t get out of my place fast enough.”

“So she spent the night.”

“Yeah.  She doesn’t like that I’m a SEAL though.  Or that we live four hours apart.”

“You’re not going to be a SEAL forever,” Patrick pointed out.  “None of us will.  And hell, who knows what’ll happen next month or next year?”

“That’s true enough,” Christopher agreed.  “If she works up in Arlington, and things did somehow work out for you, you could get a job at the Pentagon.”

“
Somehow
work out?” Mike mumbled.  “Hell, things barely even got started.”

“You could find her again in ten years like Christopher did with Lexi,” Patrick said with a smirk.

“Best thing to ever happen to me,” Christopher admitted.  “I wouldn’t suggest waiting ten years to chase after her though.”

Mike blew out a breath, slamming his locker shut as the men headed to the weight room for some PT.  “Maybe I don’t want what you guys have.  I’m doing just fine on my own.”

“Right,” Patrick chuckled.  “Then why the hell do you look so damn miserable?”