Staying on Course (17 page)

“There’s something I need to tell you. We’re not alone—” Bryce is cut off by a voice that makes my skin crawl.

“You really are a cheerleader,” Liza says accusingly.

I stiffen, and Bryce’s arm snakes around my waist possessively. Nate raises one eyebrow at me, waiting for my reply.

“Yes, I am. How are you, Liza?”

“Great, but it’s been a while since I’ve been in a college bar. Forgot about all this shit.”

Right as the word ‘shit’ comes out of her mouth, Quinn and Crystal walk up. Then another woman I don’t recognize joins us at Liza’s side. She’s also very pretty but more in the ‘girl next door’ way. Suddenly, I become anxious, knowing Bryce is here with them. Quinn sums up the situation instantly and takes care of introductions.

The new girl’s name is Dani, and she’s also on the ship with Bryce. She gives me a warm smile, and I immediately relax. Unlike Liza, she is kind and non-threatening. She shakes my hand enthusiastically and congratulates me on my engagement. At her words, Liza rolls her eyes, which adds fuel to Quinn’s fire.

“So, Bryce, are you going to chill since the date’s been set?” she teases him.

“I’m not falling for it, Quinn. Not taking your bait tonight.” He drinks his beer and rests his head on my shoulder.

“There’s a date?” Crystal squeals.

“Yep, June nineteenth,” Quinn answers for me, and I catch Liza scowl.

Her eyes lock with mine and turn stony. I turn away, trying to figure out why the hell she’s here. Bryce feels me tense and kisses my neck lightly. “She’s a part of the program tomorrow. She and Dani are at a hotel, and we asked them to drop us off here. If you want to leave, we’ll get our bags out of her car and leave.”

“No, she’s not ruining my night,” I whisper back.

Quinn fills Crystal in on my wedding plans so far, and Nate guzzles his beer shaking his head. He mumbles something like, “Shoot me now.”

Then Liza makes her big mistake. She lays her hand on Nate’s shoulder and pats lightly, talking softly, “Don’t get upset. June’s a long time from now. A lot can change.”

She may have thought she was funny, but the whole table goes still. Nate’s face swings to the side with irritation. Bryce growls behind me and slams his beer to the table. Crystal and Dani look at me uncomfortably.

Quinn shakes her head, chuckling obnoxiously. “Let me give you a hint, Navy Girl—DON’T POKE THE BEAR. And by bear, I mean Bryce.”

Liza squares her shoulders and narrows her eyes at Quinn. “My name is Liza, not Navy Girl. And I hardly think pointing out that things can change in eight months is poking anything.”

Bryce speaks up, his voice is deep, giving her a warning. “You’re right, Liza, a lot of plans can change in eight months. Flowers, dresses, shit like that. I’m going to assume that’s what you were referring to.”

“That’s exactly what I meant. Why the hell is everyone so sensitive? Jesus Christ.” She looks right at him then me. Her expression is blank, but her eyes tell me exactly what she meant.

It’s official. This woman’s going to be a problem.

My skin tingles where Bryce’s lips kiss up my spine. When he reaches the area between my shoulder and my neck, he bites down gently and then runs his tongue along the sting.

“Your taste is like a drug to me. I literally wake up wanting to lick every inch of you.”

I whimper and arch into him.

His hand skims down my side and around my waist until his thumb grazes the sensitive area below my belly button. My legs spread apart, one wrapping around his thigh. His fingers slide lower, teasing me, until I’m grinding against his hand.

“Bryce.”

“Hmmm?”

“Stop teasing me.”

“I’m not teasing, baby. I’m taking my time. This morning it’s all about you. All weekend, I’ve fucked you hard and fast, but not now. Now, I savor.”

Slowly, he glides one finger into me, rubbing lazy circles around the surrounding skin. Another finger goes in, and he massages me from the inside. I tighten my muscles, and he nips my earlobe. Removing his fingers, he untangles my legs and rolls me to my side.

I rub my thumbs along the scruff that’s grown the last few days. “I like the three day growth. It’s sexy.”

His eyes melt, and he bends down, kissing me lightly. He positions himself over me and breaks away, covering my chest with small pecks. When he reaches my breast, he licks my aching nipple, his teeth scraping on the tender skin.

“Ahhh…” I move my hands to his head.

He switches to the other one, giving it the same attention then continues to kiss down my body until he reaches my hipbone.

“I’m serious, Devon. I’m addicted to your taste. You’re so fucking wet right now, begging for me to lick you. You have to be quiet, baby. Can you do that?”

“Ummhmm.”

He places my legs over his shoulders and licks a pattern until finally swirling his tongue inside of me. My hands fly to the sheets and grip hard. On reflex, my hips buck into him, begging for more. He licks, nips, and sucks until I squirm uncontrollably against his mouth. His teeth graze my clit, and I shatter, moaning into my pillow.

He sucks once more, sending another ripple of pleasure before moving away. His hands grip my hips as he positions himself and slides inside. Electric sensations shoot through every nerve until we’re flush against each other.

I push the pillow away and find his eyes piercing into mine. We rotate in sync, never breaking our stare. Heat and energy fill the space around us as he makes love to me. I tilt in to capture his mouth with my own.

His hips swivel, and I hum on his tongue. His resolve to go slow breaks as his strokes speed up. Sweat trickles down my back, and I have to break away to breathe. My mind dizzy with lust and desire. The familiar coiling starts in my stomach again with the intensity of his movements.

“Come with me baby.” His voice is smooth and sexy.

I do as he asks, rasping his name when the orgasm explodes. Tremors rock my body, and I gasp to catch my breath. He grips my hips and groans deep, pulsing inside of me. His body stills, neither of us moving as our heartbeats race together.

“I dream of the days that we can start every morning like this.” He sweeps my hair over my shoulder and rests his head.

“Me too.”

We stay wrapped together until our breathing evens out. He leans back, breaking our connection, and rolls off the bed. He comes back from my bathroom with a warm cloth and cleans us both before crawling back in bed.

“Shit, I need to unlock the door in case Nate needs to get in.”

“I’ll do it.” I glance at my clock and gasp. “It’s six am!”

He shrugs and then links his hands behind his head, smirking. “What can I say? Told you I was addicted to your taste. I had a craving.”

Flush creeps up my cheeks as I throw on his shirt from last night. “Well, lucky for me.”

“Anytime, babe. You want to get lucky, say the word.”

I prance to the bathroom and turn back, giving him my most seductive glance. “You have five minutes, then it’s your turn to satisfy my craving… again”

“Greedy this morning?”

“I figure if you can start my day with incredible sex and two orgasms, we should keep going.”

His smirk turns into a full-blown smile and sends another shiver down my spine. Safe to say, I’m not unlocking that door anytime soon.

*****

A soft knocking wakes me up, and Bryce stirs against my back. I slide out of bed quietly and throw on his shirt again then crack the door open. Quinn looks at me with fury in her eyes.

“You are not going to believe that bitch,” she spews.

“What are you talking about?” I whisper.

“Liza is here. She’s ready to go. Said she texted Bryce so he should be ready.”

“What time is it? It seems so early.”

“Nine.”

“They aren’t supposed to leave until two!”

“I know. Nate is talking to her now.”

“Okay, we’ll be right out.”

She gives me a sympathetic look as I close the door.

“What’s going on?” Bryce’s voice is laced with sleep when I crawl in next to him.

I tell him what Quinn said, and he reaches for his phone on my nightstand. Sure enough, he has two texts from Liza about leaving earlier than discussed. He exhales loudly and gets up, going to the bathroom.

When he comes out, he’s in shorts and a t-shirt, and his expression is angry.

“I’m sorry about this. I promise to never ride with anyone again. Let me go talk to her.” He kisses the tip of my nose and leaves.

I rush to brush my teeth, wash my face, and throw on some clothes. When I get to the living room, Dani gives me a sad smile and a little wave. Liza ignores me completely. Nate pats my shoulder on his way to my room.

“Liza’s team has a small problem. She may need to work tonight. We need to get back early,” Bryce tells me.

“Oh, okay. Well, do you have time for me to make everyone breakfast?”

Liza starts to talk, but Dani speaks up. “That sounds nice. We were going to stop somewhere anyway.”

“You sure, Dev? You could always go back to bed.” Bryce tucks my hair behind my ear and looks at me sadly.

“There’s plenty of food. I’ll get started while you pack.”

He searches my face for a short second then kisses my cheek and walks back to my room.

Quinn comes in with two coffee mugs and hands one to Dani. They turn on the TV to Bill Tames’ Sunday morning program. When Dani learns that we know him personally, she launches into a hundred questions about our trip and mentors. Liza picks up the student newspaper on our coffee table and looks at me with unbelieving eyes when she sees the front-page article.

“This is you?” she asks, pointing directly to my name.

“Yes,” I confirm, turning to the kitchen.

I gather all the ingredients and prepare one of my mom’s recipes, wishing like hell we weren’t having breakfast with Liza. I’d like to think she’s no threat, but I’d be lying to myself. Even though Bryce gives me no reason to worry, she’s definitely got an agenda.

“You’re talented; I’ll give you that.” Liza’s voice jars me out of my thoughts. “Heard that about you for weeks, never believed it.” She sits at the kitchen bar, staring at me.

“Not sure if that was a compliment or an insult.”

“Bryce and Nate have mentioned your knack for words and pictures. Even Nicole said the pictures you took were cool. When Bryce said you were celebrating your work, I assumed it was a puff piece, but the article was good.”

“Why do you act so surprised? You don’t know me well enough to make assumptions.”

She shrugs unapologetically and looks at me with the same distaste I’ve become used to.

I square my shoulders and swallow hard, staring right into her cold eyes. Confrontation has never been my style, but she’s testing my patience.

“Listen, Liza, I’m not sure what your problem is, but you need to get over it really quick. I’ve never done anything to you, but the few times we’ve been around each other, you’ve had this silent communication. It’s obvious you’re interested in Bryce, but you need to forget about it. If you think throwing yourself in his line of sight constantly is going to get him into your bed, you’re mistaken. Just because there’s distance between us doesn’t mean shit. Bryce is faithful and dedicated. You’re wasting your time on the wrong man.”

Her face changes and fire blazes in her eyes. Suddenly, it’s clear; she not only interested in Bryce; she’s
really
interested in him. Anger washes over her, and she glares at me before finally speaking. “I’m going to say this as respectfully as possible, seeing I’m in your apartment. You are delusional. What are you, like twenty? I can see how you would build it up in your head about plans for the happily ever after, but I’ll bet anything I have that there is no wedding next summer. Bryce has the potential for an incredible future with the Navy. You’ll never understand what that is.

“He may think he loves you. I’ll give you both that. But the first time he’s on a ship for months at a time, not many men can handle the temptation. I can personally attest to this. My half-sister is a product of an on-ship tryst. Only other Navy people can truly understand the lifestyle.”

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh
is all I hear as my ears ring with her declaration. She smiles smugly, and my skin starts to crawl.

“
Did you insinuate that Bryce will cheat on me? Not only that, did you also imply my wedding will be canceled because I can’t be a Navy wife? And what does my age have to do with anything?”

“Truly, I’m trying to give you advice and insight. Will Bryce cheat? I can’t say for certain, but the chances are there. As for being a Navy wife, you aren’t cut out for it. That’s written all over you.”

Quinn and Dani come into the kitchen, and Quinn hisses, “
besteria cadela.”

“Don’t speak cheerleader language.” Liza insults her openly.

Then it hits me, and the thought slips out of my mouth, “You don’t really have to work tonight, do you?”

She shrugs, non-committal.

Anger pulses through my veins, and I open my mouth to scream when Nate comes into the kitchen and immediately assesses the scene. He gives me a questioning glance, and I jerk my head, too mad to talk.

“Liza, tell me you aren’t pulling your shit standing in my sister’s kitchen,” he hisses.

“No shit. I was only telling her about the challenges of being a Navy wife. Oh yeah, also complimented her on her article.”

He looks between us, clearly not trusting her, but also not wanting to cause a scene.

“I’ll give you a hint, and you really should take this seriously. Bryce will flip his fucking lid if you upset Devon. There is no bullshit to this. If you provoke him, you’ll regret it. He’s made it clear where his priorities are to almost everyone. Why you don’t get it, I don’t understand.”

“No need to get testy. Devon’s a big girl. She should be thanking me for helping her understand our lifestyle.”

“What lifestyle?” Bryce walks in, clueless. He comes straight to me and tucks me to his side.

“The Navy lifestyle. Liza was telling me that it takes some adjusting to.” His chest tenses under my hand.

“Well, lucky for us, by the time you’re done with the Master’s program and move to Norfolk, I’ll help you adjust.”