Getting Hotter (32 page)

A click sounded in her ear.

Wow. Just wow.

Then again, it probably shouldn’t surprise her that Seth had entered into this relationship with the same gung-ho attitude and intensity that he committed to all his other endeavors. The man never ceased to amaze her, though. This past month, he’d completely debunked her conviction that bad boys made terrible boyfriends. He’d been attentive, sweet, quick to offer his assistance, and more than willing to hang out with the twins while Miranda was at work.

She wasn’t sure if he’d finally let go of the guilt and blame, or if maybe the simple act of sharing his grief with her had lightened some of that load, but ever since the night he’d told her about his brother, Seth had become a different person around her kids. He played catch with Jason, attended Sophie’s tea parties, took them out for ice cream. Sometimes he picked them up from kindergarten if he finished early at the base, other times he’d surprise them in the evening by showing up with dinner.

No doubt about it, Miranda was enjoying this new lighthearted Seth. But that didn’t mean the old Seth had up and disappeared—her mocking, arrogant badass still simmered beneath the surface, usually making an appearance at night, when the twins were asleep and he could have his wicked way with her.

Come to think of it, that sounded very appealing at the moment. Maybe after she dragged him away from the sewing machine they could find some time to be wicked to each other.

When she got home, her daughter greeted her at the door, beaming like a Christmas tree. “Look, Mom, Sef fixed it!”

Sophie did a little spin. The sequins on the top half of her leotard winked in the hall light, while the filmy blue skirt swirled around her knobby knees.

“Let me see.” Miranda stilled her daughter’s twirling body and squatted down to search for the damaged part of the fabric, but for the life of her, she couldn’t find it.

“That good, huh?”

She lifted her head to see Seth smirking at her. His black hair had grown out over the past month, curling under his ears in a scruffy way, and he wore his trademark black T-shirt and cargo pants. With his feet bare and his jaw prickly with beard growth, he made a seriously sexy picture.

“I can’t find a single flaw,” she admitted. “The stitching is impeccable.”

“That’s because I’m awesome.” He shot her a cocky grin.

Rolling her eyes, Miranda stood up and reached for her daughter’s hand. “You should be in bed,” she said. “It’s past nine. Where’s Jase?”

“Already in bed,” Seth replied. “I tucked him in a while ago. But Soph was too excited to sleep.”

“I get to dance tomorrow!” Sophie said happily.

Miranda smiled. “Yes, you do. And you know what you get to do now?”

“What?”

“Sleep,” she said sternly. She glanced at Seth. “I’ll be back. Thanks for taking care of that costume.”

“My pleasure.” His eyes smoldered the second the word
pleasure
left his mouth.

Their gazes collided. Miranda’s entire body got warm and tingly as anticipation began to form.

“Come on, Soph, time for bed.”

She practically dragged her daughter away, while Seth’s soft chuckle wafted from behind.

As she and Sophie reached the twins’ bedroom, Miranda’s cell phone buzzed in the back pocket of her jeans. She pulled it out and checked the display, grinning when she saw who it was from.

When the message came up, she nearly choked on her own tongue.

Taking a quick shower. Wait for me in bed. Be naked.

Her cheeks heated up, then burned hotter when his follow-up text beeped in.

And don’t even think about getting yourself off before I get there.

Oh my.

Miranda had left her bedroom door ajar when Seth skulked up to it wearing nothing but a towel. His footsteps made no sound on the hardwood, his breathing so quiet he himself couldn’t hear it. One of the many benefits of being a SEAL—he could transform into a ghost when he wanted to.

He peered through the crack in the door, hot lust clamping over his groin like an iron fist when he saw what Miranda was up to.

She was naked just as he’d ordered, her long, golden limbs sprawled on the puffy white comforter. She lay in the ultimate pinup girl pose, with one arm crooked behind her head, her legs parted and a knee propped up, providing him with a candid view of her delectable pussy. Her eyes were closed, her perfect breasts rising and falling with each breath she took. She was stroking herself, but he could tell it wasn’t a race to the finish. More of an idle exploration, fingers lightly brushing her clit and gliding up and down her slit.

As his cock thickened beneath his towel, he stepped into the bedroom without making a sound. Miranda didn’t stir and her eyes remained shut. He would’ve loved to announce his presence by latching his mouth on her clit, but the bedroom door decided to betray his presence—it creaked the second he started to close it.

Miranda’s eyes snapped open and her fingers quit stroking as she gasped in surprise.

He grinned. “Don’t stop on my account.”

“Holy shit, Seth. I didn’t even hear the water stop. How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough.”

She looked more impressed than upset. “That’s a mighty useful skill to have, Masterson. Maybe I should become a SEAL so I can learn to sneak up on people like that.”

Seth flipped the lock and closed in on the bed, pausing at the foot of it. “Did you get all the recital details squared away?” he asked.

“Sure did.”

“What about the asshole’s daughter? Is she going to dance in the show?”

“She is, but Catherine’s mother said her ex-husband is out of town, so he won’t make it.” Miranda snorted. “I think Porter’s just too much of a wuss to face me.”

“After you dumped him on your first date, you mean?”

“Funny.”

“I thought so.” He toyed with the edge of his towel. “You know, I never got to hear you say it.”

“Say what?”

“That I was right. I told you that slimebag wanted you.” He lifted his brows, daring her to defy him. “So let’s hear you say it, babe.”

After a long pause, she yielded to him. “You were right, Seth.”

As much as he liked hearing those words come out of her mouth, he hated the thought of some sleazebag lusting over Miranda. A streak of possessiveness shot through him, followed by a rush of anger that sizzled in his bloodstream. His gaze gravitated to the luscious female body stretched out on the bed before him, and suddenly the only thought that registered in his head was
mine
. This woman was
his
.

His fingers trembled as he reached for his towel again. He let the soft terry cloth drop to the floor, enjoying the lust that flared in Miranda’s eyes.

“I want your mouth on my cock,” he said roughly.

She was off the bed and scrambling to her knees in a nanosecond.

Smiling, he twined a strand of her hair around his finger and said, “Eager much?”

“Very much,” she murmured. And then she opened her mouth, and his blood burned hot. Fuck, that was sexy.

Without a word, he guided his erection to her waiting mouth. She wrapped her lips around his shaft and made a soft humming noise that vibrated along his flesh and made his balls tingle.

“That’s nice,” he muttered when she delicately licked a circle around the crown of his cock. “Keep teasing me, baby.”

She kept teasing. Tongue darting out only to quickly retreat. Lips closing over his tip only to flit away before he could thrust deep.

Her fingers stroked his aching balls, her loose brown hair brushing his thighs and tickling his knees. He tangled his hands in that silky hair, but he didn’t take control of the encounter, no matter how badly he wanted to push all the way to the back of her throat and fuck her mouth until he came.

“I love your cock.” Her breathy whisper heated his shaft, which was slick with saliva and precome.

“That’s good, because my cock loves you,” he rasped.

She laughed before getting to her feet. She gently stroked his erection, laying her other palm directly over his left pec. “Your heart’s racing,” she noted.

“Are you surprised? You’re getting me pretty excited here.”

Miranda squeezed the tip of his cock, and another clear drop of fluid seeped out. She rubbed her thumb over it and smiled. “Hmmm. You
are
excited.”

His hands, which had been idle until now, cupped her bare breasts and did some squeezing of their own. When he toyed with her nipples, getting them nice and stiff, Miranda responded with a sharp intake of breath. Then he pinched those distended buds, eliciting another gasp.

“You like a little bit of pain?” He studied her passion-glazed eyes.

She nodded wordlessly.

Intrigued, he bent to capture one nipple with his mouth. He flicked his tongue over the tip, then grazed it with his teeth, taking a gentle bite. Miranda jerked in surprise, then moaned when he soothed the sting by rubbing his lips over that pretty pink pearl.

“Do that again,” she begged.

Pure male satisfaction coursed through his blood. Chuckling, he repeated the process on her other nipple, summoning the same excited response. He moved a hand between her legs and discovered that she was wetter than she’d ever been. Oh yeah.

As he teased her entrance with the tip of his finger, Miranda kept jacking his erection, her strokes lazy, tender.

Bringing his hand between them, he wrapped his fist around hers and squeezed hard. “I’m in the mood for rough tonight, babe. Jerk me harder.”

Her movements became faster, forceful enough that he groaned. He pushed his finger into her pussy, curving the tip and stroking that sweet spot deep inside, the one guaranteed to make her moan. His other hand played with a breast, kneading the warm, succulent mound, pinching and toying with her nipple.

As Miranda began grinding into his hand, Seth couldn’t handle a second more of foreplay. “I need to be in you. Now,” he ordered.

“God. Yes.” She shifted around and grabbed for something on the comforter, a position that put her perfect ass on display and made his mouth water.

She turned back with a condom in her hand. Seth tore it open and had the latex on in a nanosecond, but rather than throw Miranda on the bed, he gripped her waist and spun her around.

“I’m going to fuck you from behind.” He pressed his erection against her ass and rolled his hips.

She responded with a moan and wiggled her cute butt, straining to get closer.

Bending her over the bedframe, he admired the arc of her spine, the flexibility of that dancer’s body. One day they’d have to explore all the delicious positions those flexible limbs of hers had to offer, but tonight, he was too impatient for experimentation.

He slid into her in one fast stroke, filling her to the hilt. Her wet heat surrounded him, her inner muscles clutching him so tightly he realized there was no chance in hell of taking this slow.

“Tell me if I hurt you,” he mumbled, and then he pulled out and slammed right back in, so hard she cried out.

“We have to be quiet, baby.” He ran a soothing hand over the curve of her ass. “You okay? Did that hurt?”

“No. It felt amazing.”

He wished he could see her face, and she must have sensed he needed reassurance because she twisted her head and shot him a faint smile. “I’m serious. I want it hard and rough tonight, Seth.” Her eyes blazed with scorching, needy desire. “Now make me come.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You getting sassy with me, woman?”

“Yep. You got a problem with that?”

“Not in the slightest. Sass turns me on.”

He started to move, gripping her ass as he rammed into her with absolutely no mercy. Each stroke went deep, sending him closer and closer to the edge. The slap of their bodies echoed in the air, accompanied by erratic breathing and Miranda’s soft moans, which grew more and more agitated by the second.

When he saw her hand dart between her legs to rub her clit, he growled and quickened his pace, desperate to feel her pussy clench from her orgasm.

His own release gathered in his balls, but he held off, waiting, fucking her harder, urging her with husky commands to let go. When she came, he felt it in his cock, her muscles clenching and unclenching, milking him so hard that he came without warning. His vision blurred, heart thudding uncontrollably as he lost himself in the mind-shattering sensations.

Eventually he collapsed on her, his sweat-soaked chest sticking to her sweat-soaked back. Groaning, he flung one arm around her chest and climbed up on the bed, then rolled them over so they were spooning.

He was so blissfully content, so utterly sated that his blood was humming and his heartbeat had slowed to a lazy tempo. And maybe that body-numbing release had shorted out his brain and messed with the wiring up there, because that was the only explanation he had for the words that slipped out of his mouth.

“I love you.”

Miranda shifted around in surprise, and when her entire face lit up, he realized a fried brain was
not
the reason he’d said those words. Not by a long shot.