Chapter 14

Embry

Once we were done in bed, Trace offered to take me out to breakfast. It was more of a lunch by the time we showered and got ready, since he had a never-ending sex drive, and we had to shower.

I dressed in my jeans and a loose t-shirt, braiding my hair in the mirror as I watched him get dressed. Trace was everything that I’d ever wanted in a man, and now he was mine. It was a shock how much I never wanted a man until that kiss last year with him. That was the moment that something sparked inside of me, but I had talked myself out of believing that anything could happen. He was older, he was a SEAL that was gone a lot, and I could think of a hundred other reasons why we’d never be together.

Yet, here we were.

I had a swimsuit on under my clothes, and he was wearing a pair of shorts that were for the water, while keeping some extra clothes in the car. It was warm and beautiful out today, and we were in San Diego. With so many beautiful beaches, we might end up going in. He packed a bag with a blanket and supplies for a day out, and we headed to a cafe on the water to enjoy lunch.

I ordered a seafood salad, and we chatted about his leaving again for a short time away. I knew that I loved him and longed to go with him and live his life. I wanted to be his wife and have his children, but I’d never say that. It was too soon, and I was sure that he’d forget about me once he was gone.

Trace took my hand to lead me over to the railing, looking over a beautiful beach in La Jolla. I looked over the beautiful blue water, breathing in the ocean air.

“I know that I started thinking seriously about you after that kiss last year. How about you, Embry?”

I laughed for a moment. I met Trace when I was a little girl, and he was just starting out. He worked under my father and was one of Dad’s favorites, which got him invited to a lot of summer barbeques at our house.

I always thought that he was so handsome and used to write his last name as mine on endless pieces of paper. The memory made me smile, and I glanced at him.

“I had a crush on you when I met you the first time. Kid stuff, you know? Once I got older, you started seeing Nadia and brought her over to dinner. Then you had Ben, and I thought to myself that the crush was never going to be anything more. I talked Mom’s ear off about it a lot.”

He chuckled, then squeezed my hand. He’d started to travel a lot with the SEALs after that, but I remembered him supporting me at their funeral when Ben was only three years old. It devastated both of us when a drunk driver hit them. Trace was like a son to my dad, and he was close to Gramps as well.

“Then there was that kiss,” I said. “I don’t even remember who started it, but I knew then that I wanted you. I could hardly wait when I heard that you were going to be in town again. I’ve been holding out for you the entire time you were gone.”

“Me, too. I’d think about you, hoping that you weren’t with another guy. I planned on walking into the bar and claiming you, but it ended up being a little more than expected.” Trace looked at me.

“Yeah, you were my hero that night,” I remarked as he leaned down to kiss me. It was soft and sweet before he tilted his head to deepen it.

“Let’s walk down to the beach,” he suggested, a glint in his eyes.

I frowned and walked with him down the steps to a small and mostly private beach, where we strolled down to one end. Trace seemed to be looking around, but I was focused on the water and everything that I’d just told him.

Trace pulled me around a bend where we were all alone. “Let’s go in the water.”

He stripped off his shirt as I stared at him, unable to take my eyes off his muscles. The way I felt about him was so intense.

I moved to lift my shirt over my head. The hungry look in his eyes made me freeze, and I licked my lips nervously as I realized what he wanted to do to me.

I shimmied my jeans off and left my clothes in a pile on the warm sand, before following him into the water. Trace moved into the deeper part before he pulled me to him for a deep kiss.

Yes, he wanted me again. He walked us to an area that had some rocks and slid my bikini bottoms aside, working my clit with his finger. I was worried about being seen at first but since we were in the water, it wasn’t too obvious what we were doing. Or, so I hoped.

Once my body started wanting more. I stopped caring. I came from his finger before he ripped off my bottoms and hung them on a rock above us. The red material was so bright, and I blushed as he sat down on a rock and moved me over him.