Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance (28 page)

“Yes.
I can’t imagine anyone being willing to lose you, baby. He’ll call.”

I
smiled lightly, my heart skipping a beat as I put the worry about my father out
of my mind.

It
hurt like hell to leave him there like that, but even if he never called…I’d
rather make my own family with Seth than live constrained by the one my father
thought best for me.

I
paused as we reached the truck and Seth pinned me against the door again, his
hard body pressing against me while he took his time showing me just how much
tonight meant to him.

The
kiss overwhelmed me and I gave everything to it - everything to him.

Always.

“Where
are we going to go?”

I
had a few ideas in mind, but we hadn’t exactly had time to think or talk about
it.

Instead,
Seth just grinned at me with that provocative, arrogant smile and kissed me
again.

“Home.”

Epilogue

Bella

I
dropped my bags at the guest house and changed quickly, more interested in
heading down to the private beach.

This
was meant to be one of the best places in Southern California, and I wasn’t
waiting for Kaylee to arrive when there was a whole Laguna to explore. Besides,
she was late - as always.

My
mouth curved into a smile at that, my heart light as I headed down the rustic
steps.

It
had taken us a little while to make up after what I’d termed her
betrayal
.
She, of course, hadn’t seen it that way, and eventually I’d come around to
agreeing with her. I would have preferred to talk to my father on my own terms,
but as she’d rather bluntly put it - I probably couldn’t be sure that would
have happened. Still didn’t stop me calling it that, but at least now we were
laughing and joking again together.

Which
was a good thing really, since she’d been a godsend when Seth was deployed.

It
had been almost a year since he’d gone, and I ached for him every day, but the
knowledge he was out there - fighting for me, to come home to me, kept me going
with a bright fire burning inside.

That
was probably half the reason she’d suggested this trip - she still knew how to
take care of me, even if I was independent and living my own life now.

The
wind off the sea wrapped around me and I grinned at tinge of salt in the air,
inhaling deeply and letting it relax me as I wandered down and finally broke
the crest of the rise that blocked my view of endless white sands and crashing
waves.

Then
I stopped, frozen as I stared at the figure standing there in the small bay the
water made.

That
wasn’t Kaylee.

He
turned to look at me and I screamed, running down the rise at full pelt,
everything within me exploding at the sight.

God.
Fuck. Ohh, damn.

His
face flickered with laughter as I barreled into him, his body absorbing the
impact easily as his arms wrapped around me and squeezed tighter than I thought
possible.

“Seth.
Oh god. Damn. Fuck. You didn’t tell me…”

Then
he was kissing me and all the thoughts left my mind, the two of us all over
each other as we couldn’t touch and feel and taste enough. Every part of my
body tried to meld with and touch his, my heart racing as our tongues twisted
and devoured each other.

Oh
god oh god oh god.

“Seth.
Seth….Seth…fuck.”

He
laughed roughly under me, his hands touching and exploring every aching,
waiting part of my body.

Please
god, oh fuck…

I
jumped up, my legs wrapping around his waist as he held me easily, his thick
body supporting me while I tried to look and take in every part of him at the
same time as touching and covering him with kisses. He was trying to do the
same and it was impossible, the desire raging through both of us all-consuming
as we tried to make up for all the lost time.

“You’re
back? Are you back? Tell me you’re back.”

He
laughed again, catching my hair and holding my head back to look into my eyes
with his own beautiful gray gaze.

“I’m
back, baby. I’m back.”

“You
fucking asshole - you didn’t tell me!”

The
words were a laughter, a light breath as I kissed him again, moaning and
complaining and feeling every part of him around me. His eyes were almost
innocent when he looked up at me.

“I
thought you liked surprises. Big gestures. That kind of thing.”

“Asshole.”

I
muttered it again, but couldn’t stop touching him. That was obviously mutual,
and his hands slid to his belt, undoing it with the same deft ease he showed in
everything.

“Seth!”

“It’s
a private beach, baby.”

I
was longing for him, wasn’t sure I could even think until we did this, my pussy
soaking and waiting for him as it had been for so long, but still…

“For
all
the guests.”

“There
are no other guests.”

“What?”

His
mouth nibbled and licked at my neck and I moaned.

I
had no idea how he knew that, but I didn’t care anymore. His hand rearranged my
skirt around him and pushed aside the thong I was wearing, my entire body
seizing as his rough finger stroked past my entrance.

“Oh
god, Seth…”

“I
need you, baby. I’ve thought of nothing else, all the time I was gone. I
fucking need this.”

“Me
too. Fuck, Seth, I want you.”

He
pushed into me a moment later, lowering me easily onto his hard length and then
everything was finally complete and right in the world.

The
best dildos and vibrators in the world couldn’t compare to this. To his hot,
pulsing cock inside me, surging and thrusting with the strength only a Navy
SEAL could offer.

I
was already so wet and desperate for him, and every touch and kiss set my body
on fire as I moaned and cried out with abandon, letting him drive us further
and further towards that edge.

“You’re
mine, Bella. You’re…fucking…mine.”

Faster
than I would have believed possible, we were both there, and I clenched hard
around him as he pushed past that sweet, fierce climax, all the need of the
last ten months exploding within us. His cock pulsed hard and I felt the hot
seed spread through me as I gasped and tried to catch my breath, his strong
arms still holding me with no obvious effort, and my legs unwilling to abandon
their death-grip around his waist.

The
way the heat and need was coiling within me, I wasn’t even sure what I felt was
precisely relief…it felt like I wanted it again. And again. And again.

It
felt like I’d never get enough of him, not if he was here attached to me every
moment of every day.

And
since he wasn’t…we had
so much
to catch up on.

But
he lowered my legs down and took me back into his arms, holding me close as we
murmured how much we’d missed each other. I accepted the brief reprieve, but
hoped it was going to be just that - brief.

“So
how was it, baby? Were you okay?”

It
was an impossible question.

How
had missing him for the last ten months been?

Terrible.
Impossible. Completely infuriating. I’d missed him every moment of every day,
with an ache that had never subsided.

But
at the same time, I’d survived. It had been fine. I’d laughed and lived and had
fun. And every moment with him now was taking the difficulty and the pain away,
until it already felt like a distant memory. Like he’d always been here. Always
would be here.

“I
thought about you the whole time, every day…I missed you more than life itself.
But…it was okay, baby.”

He
smiled at me and nodded, kissing me again.

“I
wanted nothing more than to come home to you. The whole time. They always
said…the other guys - they always said what drives you is the thought of home.
I never really understood that until I met you. My home. I’m back, baby. And
I’m going to show you everything I thought about while I was gone.”

The
lust and depth of his tone made me shudder as I pressed against him, kissing
and nibbling at his neck, inhaling that beautiful masculine scent as I finally
relaxed against him.

“Becky
and the others helped a lot. And Ryan came home, Seth. Five months ago—”

“I
know, baby. I was so relieved. Are they okay?”

I
laughed, thinking of Becky’s reaction, but nodded.

“They
are - she threatened to chain him to her bed for the rest of time, but they’re
happy. The kids escaped the worst of it, too.”

He
chuckled, eyes dancing.

“I
imagine he didn’t object too much to that idea.”

I
slapped his chest lightly, then squeezed him again.

“You’re
back. You’re real.”

“I
didn’t just prove that to you?”

His
raised eyebrow had me looking archly at him.

“I
don’t know, Seth - maybe you’ll have to try again.”

He
grinned and swept me up in another kiss that left me breathless, before looking
seriously at me again.

“It
was really okay?”

Scowling,
I poked him and nipped at his lips briefly.

“It
was fine, baby. Actually gave me a chance to focus on work for once. And I got
an offer - they want me back after the internship ends!”

He
squeezed me tight again, crushing me to him in a way I never wanted to end. I
felt on top of the earth.

I
had everything I’d ever wanted - the beginnings of a successful career, and a
home with the fiercest Navy SEAL I knew.

The
one who set my heart alight and my body on fire just from being around me. Who
drove me crazy with lust and need and unrepentant teasing.

The
one with a sweeter side than he let on.

It
was perfect.

“I
even made up with my father, you know.”

He
stepped back again, tilting his head as he tried to take in my expression, but
there was nothing there to worry about. Things were good.

“He
apologized, actually. Took him a damn long time to do it, but he did. Claimed
he wasn’t sure he could be happy about what we were doing, but that he
remembered a time when he would have done the same. Time is a useful thing, I
guess. And after I stopped listening so carefully to him, it turns out he
finally started hearing me.”

He’d
stayed away for a while - both of them had as Cora followed his lead and
brandished her own upset at the way we’d walked out on her big day. But
interestingly, the moment Seth had been deployed, she’d been the one to call -
long before my father was ready.

I
think she cared more than Seth knew, and though her marriage to my father
didn’t sound entirely stable, I couldn’t help hoping that regardless of what
happened between them, maybe at least her relationship with her son could be
rebuilt.

Those
familiar thoughts disappeared a moment later as I noticed the happiness and
pride sweeping across Seth’s face, making me happier than I could have ever
imagined.

“Well,
it looks like you have everything sorted without me then. Maybe I should go
away more—”

“Don’t
you fucking dare!”

I
kissed him before he could finish the sentence, pulling him to me with a hard
insistence.

When
we finally broke the kiss, he chuckled again, his eyes alight with laughter
and…something more.

A
smile spread across his face, the same cocky one I’d always hated adoring, but
with a lightness behind it that made my heart skip.

“Glad
you feel that way, baby.”

And
then before I could work out what was happening, he was down on one knee, his
large hand flicking open a ring case.

“Because
I want to make you mine forever. I love you, Bella. My Belle. I always have,
and I’m never going to let you go. Marry me.”

The
last was more demand than question, but that only made my heart beat faster as
I took in the sparkling diamond-and-emerald ring.

Everything
inside me exploded with happiness and desire and
want.

I
opened my mouth to reply but the only thing that came out was a small scream as
I launched myself at him, wrapping around that thick, ripped body as I kissed
him all over, again.

“Yes…god,
yes…oh damn, yes…”

He
was laughing as he kissed me back, his arms around me once again until I
finally calmed down - physically, at least - enough for him to slide the ring
onto my finger. He closed his hands around it as he looked at me.

“My
Bella. Always.”

I
nodded and tucked myself back into his body, letting his arms hold me as we
kissed for what felt like forever.

THE END