Chapter 19

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 a.m.!”

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.”

Liza’s face changes at the mention of my continued schooling. Her thoughts are clear.

“Quinn, can you watch the oven? I need to speak to Devon for a sec.” Bryce takes my hand and leads me to my bedroom.

Her words bounce around in my head, and I debate relaying our conversation. He turns me to him and cradles my cheeks, lifting my face to his. The instant our eyes lock, I know it was stupid to let her get to me. She’s a callous, jealous, and nasty woman who knows nothing about Bryce.

“I don’t know what she said, but I heard Quinn call her a bitch. Do you want to tell me why you look like you’re about to cry and scream at the same time?”

“She’s very interested in you, Bryce, and I’m afraid even the ring on my finger isn’t going to distract her. She’s beautiful and—”

“Stop. It’s done. No more. I’ll have a talk with her and make sure to set things straight.”

“She’s your co-worker.”

“Yeah, and I’ll have to deal with her. But you won’t.”

“I can handle it.” I shove my face into his chest, and his hands massage my shoulders.

“You can, but you shouldn’t have to. You’re my priority. She made you feel uncomfortable, which is unacceptable. I’ve never given her any indication we’ll be more. I’ve been off the market since a certain sassy-mouth came into my life at fifteen years old. It wasn’t until three years later, when she laid her perfect lips on mine, that I knew she was going to be my angel. I fucked up once and paid dearly with a void in my heart. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to fuck this up?”

“No, and I’m an idiot. She played on my insecurities. Don’t you see her positioning herself into your personal life?”

“Not until this morning. That’s exactly why, once I get my ass back on base, she’s nothing more than a colleague. This was a mistake to come to Charlottesville together.”

“No.” I sigh and look back up at him. “It makes sense to carpool since it was a work function. I’m being childish.”

“As of this second, erase her from your mind. I want you concentrating on this morning.” He nibbles lightly on my earlobe. “Until you visit me in two weeks, I’m going to replay the vision of you underneath me, squeezing my dick until I saw spots, the taste of your skin on my lips.”

“Bryce.” I squirm, rubbing my legs together.

“Yeah, I’ll remember that, too. All the ways you say my name when I’m inside you. This is what I want your mind to be filled with, not anything else, because there is no woman- ever- who will turn my head. And if I haven’t proven that by now, then I’m falling down on the job.”

“I’m sorry. You never make me doubt you.”

“Remember our rule. Never be sorry. Always be honest.”

I nod and lift up, brushing my lips against his. “Always. Now, we better get back in there because Quinn may have used her entire Portuguese dialect and started on more creative phrases.”

“Tell me you love me,” he hums against my mouth.

“I love you more than anything.”

“Don’t forget it, Devon. We’re a team, and the Lizas of the world can’t threaten my feelings.”

I nod and smile with a renewed sense of security.

Fuck you, Liza!