Shock was all Hayes felt as the plane landed in San Diego. Everything had been a rush from the moment he picked her up to the second they boarded the aircraft. He hadn’t been lying when he said they were leaving on a jet plane.

He’d explained his plan on the ride to the airport, and she had been humbled by his thoughtfulness. Levi never ceased to amaze her. Their bags had been in the trunk of his car, and while she had little say in the matter, she enjoyed what he was doing. She worried that going to see Ryder would make all her insecurities rise to the surface.

Reaching such a huge milestone in her life without him there to witness it had weighed quite heavily on her heart for a few months now. Not wanting to always be a reminder to her parents about it, she’d confided in Levi about how she felt.

The term “best friends” was such a lame way to describe her and Ryder’s relationship. He was so much more than a brother and friend. He’d been her greatest confidante, and not having him there on the biggest day of her life was a sad reminder of both their dreams not coming to fruition.

“You ready?” Levi asked her as they disembarked the jet.

“As I’ll ever be.” Her voice was quiet as she followed him to baggage claim and then to the rental place.

The look on his face was comical when the lady at the counter told him he’d be getting a little Fiat. “I don’t think I’ll fit.” His words were horrified. The woman simply smiled and sent them on their way.

When they reached the parking lot, Hayes had to hide her laughter with a cough as Levi stood behind the vehicle. His body towered over it like he did her. “I’m not going to fit.” His face was so serious, his eyes agitated.

“Push the seat back?” she suggested heading to the passenger side.

Opening his door, he looked inside from one end to the other and deadpanned, “To the trunk?”

“This was your idea,” she reminded him.

“You should have poked me,” he grumbled out, sitting and pushing the seat as far back as it would go. He fit, but just barely.

The mood turned somber as Levi drove the thirty minutes from the airport to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery where Ryder had been buried alongside their grandfather and great-grandfather who’d also served in the Navy.

She had mixed feelings about going to see her brother for the first time in over a year. Has it really been that long? The thought made her sad. They used to speak every day when he wasn’t deployed. Living almost half a country away was a good reason not to see him as much as she used to. She missed talking to him, telling him all the things that happened during her day, no matter how stupid. He always seemed to delight in her phone calls.

All too soon, they were pulling up to the gates of the prestigious grounds. The view over the San Diego Bay never failed to take her breath away. The sun gleamed off the water, often emblazoning a stunning array of color reflecting off the stained-glass chimes hanging haphazardly on tree branches throughout the graveyard.

Levi seemed to know where he was going as he drove down rows upon rows of white headstones, showcasing each soldier’s name and credentials. It was odd; she always felt they looked impersonal, and yet they couldn’t be more personal. One slab of stone showed exactly who each man and woman was. What they wanted in life. What they believed in.

When the car came to a stop, Hayes fought a battle with her lungs to breathe. “Now or never.” Her words were barely above a whisper.

They climbed out of the car together. Levi rounded the tiny hood to wrap his arms around her, giving her every ounce of strength she needed. As she pulled away, he told her, “I’ll be right here.”

Nodding, she turned and began walking. Looking at the markers but not seeing the names as she passed each one, she knew exactly where the Morrison men were buried. Touching her fingers to her lips, Hayes laid them on each stone, kissing them in death, wishing they had life.

Coming around the front of Ryder’s, tears immediately began streaming down her cheeks as she sat on his grave. Closing her eyes, she tried to pull up the last memory she had of them together.

Six months before his life ended and hers was born anew, they’d been planning her qualifications for tryouts. He pushed her beyond what she thought she could do, and he was right. She was the fastest runner on record for her age.

She’d been ready to go to the Olympics. He’d been ready to leave his post and support her. The gold hadn’t been just for her, it was for Ryder, also. It had been one of the best days of her life.

“I wish you’d have stayed.” She picked at the grass as she spoke to him. “I miss you so much, Ryder.” Her gaze strayed to Levi leaning against the tuna can car. “You’d have hated Levi so much the first time you met him.” She laughed without humor. “He’s everything you’re not. He has no control over his feelings, and I love that about him. He’s always beat up and scruffy, your polar opposite.” Levi was a good man, one of the best she’d ever known, she just wished Ryder could know him, too.

“I’m graduating on Sunday.” Her breath caught in her throat, blocking her breath. “I really wanted you to be there.” Closing her eyes, she confessed what she knew he’d never want to hear. “I gave up on the Olympics. With my hip and knee, I’d never get there. Maybe in the special Olympics I could, but without you, it’s just not the same. I’ll be going to Colorado State in the fall to study Food Science and Nutrition. After that, Levi has offered me a job at the gym he’s opening.” She didn’t’ know what else to say to him. He was gone, and no amount of talking to his headstone was going to bring him back or even give her the semblance of closure she may have wanted. “I miss you, brother.”

Standing back up, she said a prayer of peace for him and walked back to Levi. The trip might not have been as productive as what Levi had planned, but she felt a bit better at having been by to visit him.

“You doing okay, sugar?” Levi’s concern always touched her soul.

With his arms wrapped around her, she felt like nothing bad could happen. “I will be,” she murmured into his chest.

* * *

Hayes had been quiet since they left the cemetery, and Levi was beginning to worry. She’d told him she just wanted to lay down and rest. After heading back to the hotel, he’d ordered Chinese food to be delivered and rested in the huge bed with her for a bit. She fell asleep before their food even arrived.

He watched her sleep, her face scrunched up with whatever she was dreaming. Her fingers kept twitching, and he found it adorable. Playing with her hair, he was fascinated with the way the colors changed from light, almost strawberry blonde, to a dark rouge in the sunlight. When he got her excited, the blush coloring her cheeks often matched the tone of her hair.

A soft moan left her lips as he ran one hand down the curve of her body. Her waist flared out at the hips, reminding him of the way she’d rode his cock the night before. The abandon on her face as she gave as good as she got.

“Levi.” His name was soft as the wind from her lips as she slept.

At least, he knew what she was dreaming about.

Gently guiding her onto her back, he moved down her body to remove her socks. Running his hands lightly up her legs to her waist, he pulled the strings cinching her sweats closed to loosen them as he pulled them down and off her body. Her bare, pale skin was silky smooth. His mouth salivated wanting a taste of her flesh. Lifting one leg up to his shoulder, he kissed the side of her knee while tracing circles on her thigh, light enough not to wake her but hard enough not to tickle her.

Closing his eyes, Levi savored the feel of her soft skin in his rough hands. The way they seemed to blend together. He was meant to be hers, and she his. A light touch on his hand had his eyes opening. Hayes watched him with a look of such intense love, all he wanted to do was be buried deep inside of her. Melt his hard-muscled body into her soft womanly one.

Without a word being said by either of them, he stripped his own clothes off before helping her from hers. Once both were naked, her thighs parted in invitation. He dissolved into her waiting arms, his hard cock immediately finding entrance to her waiting pussy. She was wet and ready for him.

Her hands went on a guided tour of his body as she accepted him into her softness. His arm wrapped around her back to hold onto her shoulders as his hips began to pump in and out of her. Breathy sighs and deep moans from the soul poured into the room as they got lost in each other’s arms. Her thighs rubbed up and down on his hips like a kitten in heat while her nails dug into his biceps the moment his thrusts got to be too much for her to endure.

“Levi,” she sighed in his ear.

“You were made for me, baby,” he whispered just before taking her mouth in a kiss so fierce and raw they were left breathless and panting for more.

Their tongues moved in the same fashion as his hips. Thrusting together, he felt her body tense up beneath him seconds before a rush of fluid covered his cock, and she cried out into his mouth.

* * *

They were sweaty and filthy. Stars lit behind Hayes’ shuttered eyelids as Levi took her over the edge, and she tumbled into euphoria. A pleasurable pulse rocked her body into sweet agony as he continued a slow slide in and out of her channel. Not once picking up the pace or slowing down to draw out her pleasure. He continued to chase his own ecstasy, using her body to do it.

When she’d awoken to the feel of his lips on her skin and his fingers tracing her thighs, she’d known immediately what they both needed. What she desired more than anything else in the world. She craved Levi in a way she couldn’t fully understand until he was embedded in her body to the fullest. There wasn’t a single part of her that wasn’t surrounded by him.

“Hayes.” His groan brought her back down from the erotic plane she had been floating in. His hands squeezed painfully on her shoulders as he came apart inside of her. His pleasure bled through to her own, and soon, she was skyrocketing again.

“I love you, Hayes.” His words in her ear had her body constricting on him again, and they both moaned together in sated bliss.