We kept our distance for the rest of the party until I finally convinced him to leave. I hated myself right now. What on earth was I doing? I had this amazing guy, the type of man that my mom had repeatedly told me would never be interested in me, and I was pushing him away. He was insanely hot, incredible in bed, a Navy SEAL, sweet to his family, educated, and supportive. I’d be an idiot not to try to make a go of it with this man.

Okay. Tonight. I was going to tell him tonight.

If he liked me as much as he claimed, it wouldn’t change his feelings toward me. He could help train me and be there for me through BUD/S.

If we were meant to be, it would all work out. If he had a problem with it, I’d be devastated, but at least I would be prepared. There was no certainty about relationships. My mom had never been in a stable one, so I didn’t even have a role model to aspire toward. I could only rely on myself, and as much as I cared about Erik, I couldn’t let anything stand in the way of me achieving my goals.

He drove back to my place in silence. When we arrived, I invited him in, and to my relief he accepted. I let Flounder out and then sat on the porch, staring up at the stars.

My phone buzzed. Eight missed calls from my mom. I could not deal with her right now.

When Flounder was done taking care of business, we went back inside my place. Erik was sitting on the sofa with a stone hard expression on his face. Was he still mad at me? I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Or feeling. And it killed me.

I sat next to him, my heart pounding in my chest, and nearly wept with relief when he put his arm around me.

“I’m sorry. I—”

He pressed a finger to my lips. “Don’t. It’s fine, baby.”

“No. I owe you an explanation.”

“Aria, you don’t owe anyone anything. Just do whatever you got to do in your life. I’ll be here when you’re done.”

I blinked back tears. What had I done to deserve his blind loyalty? I knew the answer to that. Nothing. Why did he even like me? I could never be good enough for an incredible guy like him. “You mean that?”

“I do. I’ll be around until you leave, and then I deploy. It’s not like I’ll be dating when I’m Iraq. You know, since women still aren’t on the Teams.”

I punched his arm. “Smartass.”

“No seriously. Go and do whatever it is that is next in your life. We can stay in touch while I’m gone. And we can see where we’re at when I return.”

My body flushed with warmth. I straddled him and looked into his eyes.

Say it, dammit. Tell him the truth.

But no words came out of my mouth. He reached behind my neck and undid my bustier as easy as if he was picking a lock. My breasts bounced free, and the cool air hardened my nipples.

He pulled my wig off, and I shook my hair free as it cascaded over my breasts.

“Aria,” he rasped as he planted kisses on my neck. “You’re so sexy.”

I squeezed the muscles in his arms, slowly tracing the intricate ink from his tattoos. What were the stories behind his body art? Tribal patterns were interwoven with some script. There was so much about this man that I had yet to discover. But all I knew was I needed to get lost in him, feel his strong arms encircling my body. For so long I had been so independent, relying on no one but myself. But for as long as I was with him, I would depend on him.

I flipped back my hair as he buried his face into my chest. The warmth of his tongue excited me, and I gasped when he sucked on my left nipple as his hand worked on my right one. My own hands became addicted to his body, kneading his muscles, stroking his back, never wanting to let go.

I let out a moan when his mouth switched to my other nipple. My enthusiastic response invigorated him. He grasped my hair in his fist, kissed me aggressively, his tongue probing my mouth.

He pulled my panties down over my legs, leaving my boots on. I hiked up my skirt and wrapped my legs around his waist, desperate to feel his hard cock.

“That’s it, baby. Rub your pussy all over me. I’m going to get you off before I fuck you. I want to watch you come.”

He grasped my hips, situating me closer, and began to rock me back and forth.

His mouth went back to work on my nipple, and his other hand massaged my breast.

“Oh my god, baby. That feels so incredible.”

I swiveled my hips around as I grasped his thighs. I was so close to coming, but I wanted to hold on to this edge of ecstasy.

He spread my legs wide and pulled me into him and rubbed me over his hard cock. “Come for me now, champ.”

“Oh! Yes! Yes!” My breath hitched, and I crashed into paradise, riding him and savoring every last second of my orgasm.

He cradled me in his arms as I relaxed in his embrace. Enjoying the perfect beauty of the moment.

He leaped up and stripped off his leather pants. As he stood stark naked in front of me, I marveled at how ridiculously hot this man was. He had a better physique than any Olympian I’d ever met, and the hair on his chest made him look so masculine, so virile. I’d found other men sexy, but I had never felt an insatiable hunger for anyone else as I had for Erik.

With one arm, he flipped me around, and his hand slid down my belly and landed in between my thighs. His finger parted my lips as he pressed it inside me and then slowly removed it. He angled my ass up, gripped my waist, as the tip of his cock pushed into me. He was so hard, and I was so wet, the perfect combination of pressure and ecstasy sent me soaring again.

He filled me up as he went deeper and deeper, fucking me so hard I was panting as if I had just run four miles.

“You have the perfect ass, baby.” He spanked me, and I moaned.

“Ooh.”

“You like that? You like it rough? Are you my dirty girl?”

“Yes!”

He pulled my hair as if it was in a ponytail and spanked me again.

The sting from his hand on my ass contrasted with the pure pleasure of his cock inside my body. My clit was throbbing, and I was desperate to come again, come with him. I could feel his pace quicken, his breath coming in hot spurts on my neck.

“Erik!” I screamed. My hands clutched the sofa as he pounded into my pussy again and again until there was no him and no me, just us as one, coming together.

He held me tight as I quivered and I wanted to stay in this moment forever.

But I knew that we could never return to this perfect time. Once I told him my truth, he would never feel the same about me as he did right now.