Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance (16 page)

“Are
you alright, Annabelle? You’re all red, and…your hair.”

Of
course.

It
was probably a state, tangled and unkept from Seth’s attentions. And my father
had never really liked it down, either.

“I…er,
yes. I just…had a bath.”

“In
the middle of the day?”

“Umm,
yes. I…wasn’t feeling that well.”

The
lie came awkwardly to my lips, and something in me clenched at saying it. I
never lied to my father.

He
laid the back of his hand against my forehead and nodded as he considered.

“Hmm,
you do seem to be burning up.”

Plus
one for embarrassment.

“I’m
sure it’s fine. Don’t worry. Did you need something?”

“Not
if you’re getting ill - but if you do feel better, I think Cora would really
appreciate your help with working out the collection of funds for this charity
ball. She seems to be struggling a bit.”

The
last was said with a slight puckering of his brow, and I nodded.

“Sure
thing, dad. Will do.”

He
nodded and turned to go, then paused as something seemed to occur to him.

“You’re
spending a lot of time in your room these days. Is everything alright?”

“Ahh,
yes, fine. I was just…starting prep for the MCAT. You know how long studying
takes.”

His
expression eased, and he gave me a small smile.

“I’m
glad to hear that, Annabelle. If you need any help with it, just let me know -
I can arrange a tutor if you’d like.”

“Sure,
thanks dad. I’ll see how it goes.”

He
shut the door and I slumped back against it, breathing hard.

Fuck.

A
crazed laugh tried to bubble up inside me but I pushed it back down. Lying like
that was pretty terrible and the adrenaline surging in me had me shaking
slightly, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to regret it much. Not considering
what I’d just been doing…

The
balcony door opened again and Seth came back in - still wearing only jeans. He
eyed me and then he did laugh.

“So?
I suppose you didn’t tell him to stop interrupting us?”

“Damn
you.”

The
words were amused though, and he came to sweep me up in his arms again,
carrying me back to the bed - a good thing, too, as my limbs felt suddenly
weak.

“This
whole thing is so messed up, Seth.”

His
eyes were serious for a moment, then he shrugged.

“I’ll
stop anytime you tell me to.”

His
mouth nuzzled at mine again, hands sneaking up under my t-shirt and trying to
undo my hasty attempt to get dressed.

“Stop.”

“You
have to mean it though, babe.”

He
continued his slow seduction of my body again and I cursed him with a laugh.

“Bastard.”

“Just
giving you what you want, girl.”

I
shook my head, his attitude beyond belief, but driving me crazy anyway. Pushing
at him, I rolled us over so I was on top - something that only happened when he
felt like it, since my attempts to move him were almost impossible.

“Seriously,
what are we doing?”

He
shook his head, eyes still lit with that smoldering fire that never quite
dimmed around me.

“You
really need to stop asking that question. It’s never once been a good idea.”

Actually,
it had always been a much better idea than completely ignoring the issue, which
was what we were doing. It just wasn’t what either of us wanted to think about.

“I’m
showing you just what a Navy SEAL can do, babe. Giving you the time of your
life. Making your body light on fire and come alive under me. Everything you’ve
ever wanted.”

The
casual arrogance sent its usual spark of irritation, amusement and desire
through me and I shook my head.

I
didn’t ask what would happen after he’s shown me all that, and then left. What
that would do to me. I’d decided to deal with that when it came. It wasn’t fair
to ask him for answers he didn’t have.

Especially
when it made no damn difference anyway. This was intoxicating, invigorating,
insane and amazing. I wasn’t giving it up until I had to.

“I
probably
shouldn’t
be distracting you from other things, though.”

I
glanced back to the laptop and sighed, the conversation with my father
replaying again.

“Yeah,
guess I have an exam to prep for.”

He
frowned at that.

“That
wasn’t what I was talking about, Bella. Forget that nonsense - what happened to
the other stuff you wanted? The forensics thing?”

I
raised an eyebrow, surprised it wasn’t obvious as the familiar disappointment
swirled through me.

“You
were there that day - didn’t that show you just how useless those ideas were?”

“It
showed me you’re fucking not living in the Tenderloin, that’s all.

He
snorted, then brought me down for a quick kiss.

“It
also showed me you should definitely pursue the other stuff.”

“What?”

At
my confusion, he shifted us, taking us back to being side by side as he looked
down at me, fingers idly tracing the curves of my body.

“I
saw you with those guys, chatting them up about working in a crime lab - they
were seriously impressed with you, babe.”

I
frowned.

“You
remember that?”

“It
was only a couple of weeks ago, baby-Bella.”

“Yeah
but…it was boring as hell for you. I thought you zoned out over that lunch.”

He
grinned at that, eyes lingering on my body again before jumping back to my
face.

“Yeah,
I did - started picturing you naked, all the ways I was going to take you and
make you mine again…hmm, maybe you’re right. Guess they might not have been
impressed with you after all - maybe I just remember how impressed
I
was
at the thought of you like that…”

The
frustrated laugh strangled in my throat and I slapped my hand against his chest
again.

“God
damned arrogant asshole.”

“You
love it, babe.”

His
mocking tone had me rolling my eyes.

“Okay,
maybe I’ll think about it. Time to get out of here.”

He
grinned again, took one last kiss and levered himself up from the bed.

“Good
- I’ve got more important things to be doing, anyway.”

I
shook my head at his attitude as he took to the balcony again, still not
bothering to reclaim his t-shirt. Which I was maybe grateful for as I watched
the way he stepped over the railing and then lowered his body to hang from the
bottom before dropping to the ground.

Our
rooms weren’t close to each other, and we hadn’t wanted to risk people seeing
us coming and going from each others rooms or constantly walking down the wrong
hallways. The way the bedrooms were arranged had each facing a central garden,
with balconies overlooking it - and for Seth, it was a simple matter to climb
from his room to mine via that garden. The first time he’d done it he’d
muttered something about the horrendous security, and I’d pointed out it was
for pleasure, not built with terrorists in mind.

I
turned with an affectionate sigh and settled down in front of my computer.
There was a reason I hadn’t gotten very far with this MCAT prep - beyond just
my constant arrogant distraction. His words replaying again in my mind, I
hesitated, then swapped to the tab with the information on that internship.

Chapter Fifteen

Seth

I
knocked firmly on Bella’s door, and the surprised expression when she opened it
and found me on this side for once amused me.

“Seth?”

“C’mon,
we’re going on a road trip.”

She
squinted at me, confused, and then the familiar frustration flickered over her
pretty features.

“I
can’t - my father—”

I
was still annoyed her father seemed to insist on treating her like a child, and
that she didn’t do anything about it, but I didn’t think this was the time to
mention that. Instead, I grinned.

“Don’t
worry - this time we’ll go on foot.”

“What?”

Her
eyes glanced over the large rucksack on my back and she frowned at me. For
someone with laser-sharp intelligence, sometimes she could be a little slow. Of
course, I wasn’t making much sense, but still - with a girl like that, you had
to take any edge you could get, and I liked being one step ahead of her for
once.

If
you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.

Ace’s
motto came back to me and I took her hand.

“You
promised next time I’d pick the location. I’m holding you to it.”

“You
are?”

“Are
you coming or not?”

I
flashed her a seductive smile and let my eyes linger on the tight t-shirt she
was wearing. The high-cut shorts gave me a lovely glimpse of her thighs as
well, and my hand found it’s way over to the waistband.

“Cut
that out!”

She
glanced hurriedly down the corridor, but I chuckled. If there’d been anyone
around, I would have known.

“You
really need to start trusting me with that, babe.”

“I
trust you to know if we’re being watched. I don’t trust you to care enough
about it to stop what you’re doing.”

Probably
a fair point.

Her
glare had me grinning again and I grabbed her hand, pulling her along behind
me, deciding we’d had enough conversation.

She
sighed and followed, looking at me with that fond exasperation I was starting
to enjoy, a slight color lighting her cheeks as we made our way down the
stairs. It wouldn’t have mattered a bit if anyone had seen me dragging her
along anyway, as that seemed like fairly typical brother behavior to me. But I
preferred her coming willingly, and enjoyed the curiosity that lit her face as
soon as she got over the way I’d taken her from whatever she’d been doing
without any notice, or indeed permission.

“So
where are we going?”

“To
my idea of a road trip.”

“A
beach with a view?”

Yep,
that sharp intelligence was back on it. So much for the surprise.

“I’ve
already got the view, baby-Bella. So really, just the beach.”

I
took an eyeful of that view and she shoved at me again, shaking her head. But
she smiled, obviously liking the idea.

“Alright,
alright, I’ll go along with it. But I might drag you in the water.”

“No
way - I think I’ve already suffered that enough for you.”

We
made our way down the garden towards the private beach at the end, messing with
each other in the way we did to give an outlet to other, more intense desires
while other people could potentially see us. With the the flurry of activity in
the garden that was probably a good thing too, as people ran around putting up
marquees and setting up tables to serve food and drink at the gala this
weekend.

I
was smiling easily and it was hard to believe the lightness of my step as we
crossed past the railings that screened the start of the beach. Crazy to think
what a good round of fucking could do to a guy, but the edge from those long,
hard months away was finally starting to wear off. I was sleeping better - at
least, when we slept - and starting to feel at ease with things again. The guys
at base had even commented on what good pussy I must be getting.

I
glanced down at Bella again and smiled as I thought about just
how
good.
Turns out, my eighteen year old self hadn’t been such a bad judge after all.
And who would have thought the things a prissy, stuck up rich girl would want
to do? Not that that description fit Bella very well - at least when she was
with me. Untamed wildcat might be better. Fierce and ferocious and just as
eager for it as I was.

When
we got to the beach, I turned off, heading away from the open area to a nice
alcove I’d found to the side. It was still probably Terence’s land, but it was
kind of in between two of the private beaches along here - but not really
visible from either. It reminded me of a few of the places on the more public
beaches I’d been, and the things I’d done there…

Bella
gasped as we turned into it and stopped to look at me. I’d laid out the rugs,
lanterns and practical stuff like crockery earlier in the day, but the food was
on my back - figured if I left it laying around, some animal would get to it
before we could.

“Seth…”

“See?
Should’ve gone with my idea in the first place.”

She
laughed a little and flopped down on the rugs, exploring the area I’d made for
us.

“You
never actually suggested it, you know.”

“Well,
a 6 hour round trip sounded a little more attractive…”

“Hah
- so what’s the plan, hmm? Did you bring me chocolate?”

I
shouldered the bag off and lay back down beside her, our bodies settling into
their usual side-by-side array as I started rooting one handedly through the
large rucksack, bringing out various things.

“I
set things up with plates, cutlery and wine glasses, and you want something I
could feed you with my hands?”

Her
eyes dilated a little at the mention of feeding her and I put that on the to-do
list for this afternoon. The thought had my cock twitching too - already hard
and eager. I was planning on a
little
more than just sex though.

“Okay,
I’ll shut up. You tell me.”

“Babe,
I don’t think anything could shut you up.”

“Hey!”

Her
outrage was quashed by my mouth as my hands found something else to think about
than the food.

“Mm,
so this food…it doesn’t need eating immediately?”

Her
mind was obviously going to the same place, but unfortunately the answer to
that question didn’t work quite so well.

“Ah…mostly.
Except the ice cream.”

Her
eyes lit up and she jumped back from me. My body protested at the loss of
contact and I dragged her back.

“You
brought me ice cream?”

I
god-damned hoped that breathlessness was because of me and not the thought of
ice cream, but I laughed anyway.

“You
and your ice cream…”

“So
we could eat the ice cream…then the rest of it later?”

I
scowled at her.

“Sandwiches
before ice cream. That’s how it works.”

“Ugh…since
when were you such a stickler for the rules?”

“I
am in the Navy, remember.”

“Okay,
okay, sandwiches.”

I
shook my head, but my own body was protesting that course of action, and I
suddenly wondered why I was insisting on doing things in the proper order.
Taking her here and now seemed like a damn fine idea to me. Except that I
had
intended to spend a bit of time with her not fucking.

Stupid
idea.

“Right,
understood, next time I won’t bother with the food. Except maybe dessert.”

Bella
laughed again, and the warm, happy sound of it made me smile. God, this girl
did things to me.

She
helped me pour the wine and start opening the little packages I’d brought.

“This
looks good - did you make it?”

“Hah,
no. I only cook for survival. Becky did.”

The
sharpening of her glance amused me - or would have done, if there wasn’t a
whisper of unease at what it might mean. The idea of her being jealous was
cute, but the emotions that might lie under that were dangerous. And not
something either of us could embrace.

“Who’s
Becky?”

I
held her gaze mildly and the slightly accusatory expression dropped off a
little.

“Wife
of a military buddy. He’s down range at the moment, so we help out sometimes.
She gave me these in return.”

I
recalled the way Becky had looked me up and down, commented that she thought I
was eating better but decided to give them to me anyway. For the truck, she’d
said, since
boys like us
needed food constantly. I swear half the time
she thought of us the same way as she did her kids.

“Oh.
Okay.”

I
could see her mind whirring behind her eyes, taking in the world she knew
nothing about - didn’t have a part in. It might bother her, I knew, but there
was no way I was mixing up those two parts of my life. One was stability and
security - a home that I would always return to. The other was a crazy leap of
insanity, a spark soaring on the wind that would peter out soon. They didn’t
have any place together, and I’d protect the first with everything I had.

She
bit into the sandwich and let the moment pass, and I was glad I didn’t need to
articulate that. Somehow, I didn’t feel it would go well - and I didn’t really
want to spoil the beautiful day.

We
chatted casually as we made a slow way through the sandwiches, nuts and fruit
I’d brought.

“I
used to come here all the time, you know.”

“To
your father’s beach?”

That
didn’t seem surprising.

“No
- this alcove. It’s sat right between our land and Kaylee’s - we used to hide
out here as girls.”

“It’s
a good place. Nice and private - that was probably useful for a couple of young
girls.”

She
gave me a slow look, knowing exactly where my mind was going, but I continued
anyway.

“Useful
for other things too…”

She
smiled up into my slow kiss, but then pushed me off.

“You
promised me ice cream first.”

I
laughed and shook my head, sitting up and reaching for the small cool-bag that
had hopefully protected it from the blazing summer heat.

It
was a little soft, but ice cream was always better like that anyway. Bella
certainly seemed to have no objections, and I was glad I’d remembered her
fixation with the stuff as I lay out on the rug, feeling satisfyingly full but
with another ache I was looking forward to satisfying. My eyes closed as I
listened to her chatter about some of the things she’d done with Kaylee here,
my mouth quirking at the description of her childhood.

Then
she went silent, and a moment later landed on my chest in complete disregard
for my ribs.

“Ughh…”

“Hah,
I thought these hard muscles didn’t even notice impact.”

“Depends
on the impact.”

I
muttered it, but decided to take full advantage as my hands came around her
pert ass and pressed her further against me, her lips finally reaching mine for
a deep kiss made a little more sticky and sweet by the ice cream.

“I
take it you’re all done?”

“Well,
not
all
done…”

I
laughed and twisted us over, placing her beneath me on the rug as my hands
started exploring again. She gave a breathy moan and started doing the same to
me, coming up under my t-shirt and running those hot little nails along my
chest the way I loved.

“Mmm,
you know, I’m looking forward to this military themed gala…”

“Uh
huh?”

It
wasn’t really at the top of my mind right now.

“I
know you weren’t convinced about inviting your guys, but it’s worked out pretty
well in the end.”

My
mouth started nuzzling at her neck and my hands slipped up the t-shirt that
clung to her beautifully, covering her warm breasts as she melted against me
while for some reason continuing to talk.

“It’ll
be fun to meet all your hot SEAL friends.”

That
did
have me raising my head, and I found myself with a dose of that unpleasant
emotion I’d almost criticized her for earlier. My voice came out as more of a growl
than I’d intended.

“You
better not be looking at them too closely.”

She
just laughed, clearly enjoying the effect she had on me. Which only made me
both harder and more possessive. She wriggled under me, one eyebrow rising.

“Well,
you know, I think I might have a thing for guys in uniform.”

My
eyes sparked at her as she looked up and down at me, even in civilian clothes.

“In
uniform, or out of it, baby?”