Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance
Read Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance Online
Authors: Lara Swann
HARD
A Military
Stepbrother Romance
Lara Swann
Call me a badass mother-f*cker all you
like, I'm a Navy SEAL to the bone - and I take what I want.
Bella
He's a foul-mouthed, panty-soaking bad
boy with a string of one night stands.
I'm the good girl who never did anything
wrong - until I laid eyes on him. I knew better, but his arrogant charm sucked
me in and ripped me apart when he disappeared for good.
It's fine - I'm over him.
Or at least I was until he sauntered
right back into my life again - a Navy SEAL now, all grown up. That sinful body
filled out with muscles hard enough to break my heart all over again.
My new step-brother.
Screw him. I'm done. I'm not going
anywhere near that arrogant bastard again. This time, it will be different.
Even if my body aches with the memory of
his touch…
Seth
I was a reckless bastard with no sense
of boundaries - tearing my way through the panties of every so-called innocent
girl I met. Until one fiery-eyed wildcat pulled me in too deep and sent me
running from something that never had a chance.
Now the Navy's taken me in, chewed me up
and spat me right back out again. They may have smoothed my rough edges, but
I'm still a predator at heart - and I take what I want.
At least until my wayward mother screws
up my life
again
.
The only girl I ever came back for.
My beautiful, provocative baby-Bella.
My new step-sister.
Forbidden. Impossible. And so utterly
irresistible.
F*ck this. I'm a badass Navy SEAL, and
forbidden is just another kind of invitation.
I won't hurt her again, but I'm going to
get what I want.
Bella is going to be
mine
.
Copyright © 2015
Lara Swann
Copyright ©
Cover Design Cormar Covers
All Rights
Reserved
This book is a
work of fiction. Any similarity to real events, people, or places is entirely
coincidental. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or
distributed in any format without the permission of the author, except in the
case of brief quotations used for review.
The author
acknowledges the trademarked status of products referred to in this book and
acknowledges that trademarks have been used without permission.
This book
contains mature content, including graphic sex. Please do not continue reading
if you are under the age of 18 or if this type of content is disturbing to you.
NOTE: All characters
in the book are 18+ years of age, non-blood related, and all sexual acts are
consensual.
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Table
of Contents
Acknowledgments
This
book wouldn’t have been possible without all the support I’ve had from my
loving friends and family.
Thank
you to my sister, who read every piece I excitedly sent her, put up with my
endless questions of “wait, does this work?” and “do you think I can do this?”,
and made the editing process so much easier.
Thank
you in equal measure to the rest of my family, who accepted my refusal to let
them read this novel piece-by-piece so that they could enjoy it as a whole.
Hopefully that anticipation was worth it!
And
thank you to my friends, whose excitement on hearing about it galvanized me
further.
Writing
a novel was a huge endeavor for me, and it meant more than I can say that when
I announced I was going to do it, everyone I knew accepted it without question.
That
made the difference when my own belief faltered – until here we are, on the
other side of a novel.
One
that I hope will light you up with love, laughter and possibilities.
To my partner,
who rolls his eyes at my love of romance
novels,
- but has no objection to providing
inspiration when needed
Prologue
Bella
I
heard the click and pushed the hotel door open in one quick movement, refusing
to give the butterflies dancing in my stomach any chance to make me hesitate.
I
want this. I’ve wanted it for months.
That
didn’t change the way my eyes darted around when I finally drew up inside. The
dimmed lights of the spacious room let me skip over the rich furnishings
quickly - taking in the sophisticated, traditional decor and forgetting it a
moment later.
At
least until I saw the bed. That large, four-poster monstrosity immediately
brought to mind what I was doing here tonight, and my eyes flitted away and
back within a few seconds, alive with the same anticipation and hesitancy that
had plagued me all night. My heart rate jumped as I took it in, and I tried
unsuccessfully to tell myself that I wasn’t nervous.
A low
chuckle interrupted my thoughts, drawing me to a sight that always banished my
doubts and hesitations.
“So,
you actually showed up.”
Seth
leaned easily against one of the pillars of that extravagant, over-the-top bed.
His half-naked form gleamed in the low light, shadows highlighting rock hard
abs and a body more powerfully sexy than any eighteen year old had a right to
be. He shifted slightly and his muscles flexed under my gaze, inviting my eyes
to run down to the light spattering of hair that arrowed temptingly under his
jeans.
Smart
jeans - a nice dark gray with an impressive lack of rips or tears. For Seth,
that counted as dressing up. The corner of my mouth turned up as I pictured the
Principal’s face earlier that evening when he’d shown up in jeans and a shirt
to our black-tie graduation ball - I was sure he’d be refused entry for the
outrage, but only an hour later he was sauntering across the dance floor, the
attention of every girl there regardless of what he chose to wear.
Somehow,
Seth had always been able to get away with anything.
His
hot gaze sent lust shuddering through my body and gave me confidence in my own
sensuality as the heat of his expression seared me. It was easy to rise to his
challenge with a quick quirk of an eyebrow, the role feeling familiar and
natural as I ran my eyes obviously up and down his hard, taut body, letting one
hand settle on my hip.
“I
thought I’d see what all the fuss was about.”
His
eyes smoldered as they looked at me, every line of his body dangerous - and unbelievably
sexy. He shifted closer with a predator’s grace and I found my breath caught as
it always did, pulse beating hard in my ears.
Instinctively,
I wanted to rush to him, let my hands touch the firm heat of his muscular chest
while his arms encircled me - but I couldn’t move. Lust was already building
within me, everything we’d ever done rising through each movement and gesture
now and promising so much more. I stood, caught helplessly, as he approached.
That
slow, sexy smile as his eyes read everything in my expression lit my panties on
fire, making me fight not to moan aloud as his hand cupped my chin, a gentle
finger caressing my cheek while he tilted my head to hover moments from his
lips.
His
body held apart, he took me with just that one contact holding us together - a
sweet, sensual kiss warming my eager lips, keeping it slow and steady as I
longed for more, ached for more.
Oh
god…
I
was already gone. I tried to take it further, to push hard against his mouth,
but that one hand and devilish body controlled me utterly, forcing the slow
pace as he kept me in that chaste kiss for an age.
By
the time his soft lips opened to let his tongue dance with mine, I was lost in
the one simple, powerful sensation he was giving me, everything hinging on that
sweet penetration, on that almost-innocent joining of our bodies while my pulse
started beating with need in my center.
Just
as I was sure I was going to have to throw him down on the bed myself, he
withdrew, looking back at me with eyes that sparkled with amusement on top of
our shared lust.
“Well?”
This
time I did moan, not even trying to pretend my customary display of aloofness.
“God…dammit…”
I
pressed against him, my hands exploring his strong muscles unreservedly while I
let my lips graze his neck, tongue darting out to taste his flesh as his hands
came around to grip my ass hard, rubbing my soft body against the thick wall of
his - the sweetness he showed only to tease turning instantly to a burning need
that I knew would take me over completely. I smiled against the skin of his
neck, shooting him a glance as my hands hovered around his hips, taking a deep
reassurance in how solid he was.
“I
liked you in that shirt, you know.”
He
chuckled again, the roughness of it stirring my blood as his lips brushed
across my temple.
“Too
bad, baby.”
Yeah,
he wasn’t going to be caught wearing that again - not even for me.
A
girl could hope…
He
drew back and ran his hands down my smooth satin dress, chasing the fabric as
it tucked in close to my body. The floor length gown was a regal purple, darker
lace covering the tops of my breasts until it met the silken material, the long
dress following my curves until mid-waist when it dropped sensuously to the
ground, layers of amethyst that shifted as I walked to give a glimpse of the
darker layer underneath. It flattered me in all the right places, and I’d never
felt as sexy as I did that night - my graduation…and, if I kept my nerve up,
another milestone I was longing to pass.
“I’ve
been picturing stripping this dress off you all night.”
His
dark promise thrilled me, but I found myself latching onto that spark of
amusement between us - a light touch that provided some relief to the intensity
that threatened to overwhelm me.
“But
I spent so long picking it out…”
One
strong brow rose over those deep gray eyes and his mouth teased mine again
while he watched me.
“Oh?
Surely the most important factor when picking out a dress is how quickly it
will make others want to get it off you.”
I
scowled up in mock outrage, pushing one hand ineffectually against his muscled
chest as I drew myself up.
“Maybe
among the people you know, jackass, but I can assure you I’m not that type of
girl.”
The
quick banter slipped out easily, a bigger part of our relationship than the
red-hot desire - the top-of-the-class ‘good’ girl and the notorious bad boy who
couldn’t stand each other. When he’d shown up at our school at the beginning of
the year, I’d made it obvious how disgusted I was with how quickly everyone had
seemed to fall over themselves for a few cocky, arrogant muscles. But for some
reason, that disdain had only drawn his attention.
I’d
put it down to the perverse desire for something he couldn’t have, and shot
down every mocking jibe he sent my way. Until our initial dislike slowly grew
into a reluctant respect for the others’ quick-witted responses, the
competition heating until we somehow moved beyond that simple understanding of
our enmity.
And
then he’d kissed me. Sure, I’m convinced it was just another trick to get a
rise out of me, but it was the first decent kiss I’d ever had…and after that,
we couldn’t stop ourselves.
We
poured our passionate dislike into every touch, every kiss, every stolen,
secret moment - until my body raged for him at night and my blood lusted after
that hard, infuriating body I’d held myself so aloof from. And surprisingly, he
didn’t push us further - despite that devilish reputation, our little teases
played out for months without a single suggestion for more.
Or
at least - not a spoken suggestion. His body…well,
that
was hell-bent on
convincing me.
Which
meant that tonight had been my idea. The intelligent, driven academic girl. The
butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth good girl. The frigid, stuck-up bitch girl.
Inviting the most outrageous, inappropriate piece of delicious man-flesh to the
hotel room her father had paid for.
The
father who would never approve of his good, obedient daughter’s wild behavior.
And
my father was right about that, of course. I knew that. He always was. But that
couldn’t stop the driving lust, the endless curiosity - and surely, I couldn’t
be expected to go off to university still a virgin? Not that I was going to ask
my father that particular question.
With
a brief frown, I tried to push him out of my mind, the thought of his disapproval
sending a shimmer of unease through the hot lust I’d been enjoying just a
moment ago.
He’ll
never know. And you’ve done everything else he could ever have expected…
Seth’s
voice deepened with amusement while his hands explored the smooth dress he was
so keen to have me out of, bringing me back to the moment I wanted to lose
myself in as he stroked my ass with a firm confidence that had me rocking back
against him, his mouth stealing kisses from mine as he murmured into it,
turning our easy banter into something more as he stroked the pure desire
simmering within me.
“So
high and mighty, Baby-Bella, perhaps I should do something to take you down a
notch…”
I
shuddered at his words and let his mouth take mine again, meeting him with
every movement as my body pressed hard against his. I could feel my chest
rising with every quickening breath I took, my breasts sensitive and desperate
to be free of the restrictive dress to take the attention he promised so much
of. I’d only felt his tongue against them once before, and that had been what
finally drove me to insisting on this night.
His
hands found the zipper to the side of the dress the moment I raised myself on
my toes to murmur in his ear.
“God,
Seth…do…”
He
laughed again, but it was strained this time, his own desire thick in his
voice, and the knowledge of what I was doing to him drove my need even deeper.
One smooth movement opened the side of my dress and his head dipped to kiss
along the laced edge still holding up at the top, my hands balanced against his
broad shoulders as I threw my head back and let him have what he wanted. He
gave a couple of quick tugs of my dress down, before raising his mouth back to
me in a frustrated growl, his body pressing up against mine, hips rocking and
letting me feel his thick need for me for the first time.
God
damn.
What
I felt there was far bigger than I’d anticipated, and even as I felt myself
clenching with the need to feel him deep inside me, my nerves danced through me
again.
“How
do I get this damned dress off you?”
His
mouth covered mine as he spoke, teasing and nibbling at my lips while I tried
to reply, breathlessly gesturing with one arm.
“Over
my head.”
Before
I’d quite understood just what my answer to that question meant, he had the
bottom of the dress in two hands and was drawing it up and over my shoulders.
It slipped past me with an ease I wasn’t expecting and suddenly I was standing
before him in only the thin, laced material of my panties and bra, my elegant
high heels suddenly seeming to enhance my vulnerability instead of the sexual
confidence I’d felt only moments before. My face flushed instinctively as I
found myself both trying to cover my exposed body and push him away with a
glare.
“Hey—!”
“You
asked for it, babe - and see, it worked. Not nearly so smarmy now are you?”
His
grin sent both lust and fury spiraling through me and as I stepped forward to
explode in indignation he folded his arms neatly around me, pulling me back
into him and letting me feel the sudden heat of flesh on flesh. Electricity
sparked between us and I shuddered with the sudden intimacy as every part of me
longed to feel him all over. The warmth of his body overtook me and I couldn’t
help burying my head against his chest, inhaling his musky male scent as I let
my arms find his the hard muscles of his back.
My
sputtering embarrassment subsided into a moan as his hands glided across my
sensitive exposed skin. He came down to nuzzle at my bare neck, the roughness
of his stubble contrasting with his soft lips to make me breathless all over
again before he raised his head to look me in the eyes.
I
bit my lip at the intensity between us, lost in his eyes as I felt his hands
running through my artfully styled hair, pulling it out of its coiled position
on top of my head and gently taking it down to curl in waves around my
shoulders. His fingers tangled in my thick locks and caressed my scalp as he
shook it out, eyes taking on a strange gleam as his gaze lingered on my
red-gold hair glinting in the low light.
It
was strange for a moment, having it tumble down around me out of my usual
practical tie, but the look in his eyes was making me feel like a different
person tonight.
“You
look so beautiful like this…
Belle
…my beauty.”