Desert Alpha: A Lady Boss Press Navy SEAL Novella, Bethany Lopez [readict books .txt] 📗

“Faster.”

Damn, she’s bossy during sex. And I absolutely loved it.

When I felt myself getting close, I moved one hand to find her clit with my thumb and worked her until her breath caught and she bowed up, before coming with a thready moan. Once she started to sink boneless into the bed, I found my own release and let her hips relax as I leaned down to kiss her.

The kiss was kind of sloppy as I struggled to catch my breath, but I felt her smile against my lips and knew she was as elated by what had just transpired as I was.

Chapter 19

Cassandra

I turned into Rip and snuggled closer, loving the euphoria I was feeling.

I shifted my legs and snorted. “I’m wearing a top but no bottoms.”

“Me, too,” Rip replied, his mouth against my head. “Next time we’ll get to the tops.”

“So, bottoms but no tops?” I asked.

“Ugh, I guess it depends what you’re trying to accomplish.”

I laughed and moved my hand down to cup his bare ass. “You’re right. Naked it is!”

Suddenly, a voice shouted, “Hey, Rip, I’m home!”

“Oh my gosh, King! Do you think he heard us?” I asked.

“If he’s been home longer than five minutes, I would say, absolutely. That’s probably why he’s shouting through the door now, so we know he’s back.”

“Lord, how embarrassing,” I said as I tried to burrow in deeper.

“Don’t be embarrassed, he doesn’t care. Do you want to go out and hang out for a while or stay in here?”

I thought about it, and even though I’d love to lounge in bed with Rip, I wanted to say hi to King too and finish our drinks. I wasn’t even remotely tired.

“Let’s go out there. Just give me a minute to freshen up.”

I gave him a quick kiss and then got up to get my bag and take it into his bathroom, very aware that I was bottomless, but trying not to let the fact that Rip’s eyes were on me make me self-conscious.

He obviously liked what he saw, so why should I worry about it, right?

Once I was in the bathroom, I cleaned myself up and put on what I brought for pajamas, which was actually just a pair of running shorts and a tank top. Now that I knew Rip and King lived together, I was happy I’d opted for comfort rather than sexy lingerie.

When I opened the door the bedroom was empty, so I padded out and down the hall. As I neared the living room I could hear Rip laughing at something King had said and rounded the corner to see them sitting on the big sectional sofa, a basketball game playing on TV.

“Thanks for getting my wine from outside,” I said when I saw it sitting on the coffee table. Then I looked at King and smiled. “How’s it going?”

He stood up, his face friendly, and moved to give me a quick hug before taking his seat again.

How sweet. He was being a gentleman and not making a big deal about what he’d probably heard coming from Rip’s room.

“I’m good, how about you? How was the rest of your tour?” he asked.

I grabbed my glass and moved to sit on the couch next to Rip.

“Not too bad, pretty uneventful. I’m sorry you guys ran into trouble.”

King gave a half shrug and said, “It comes with the job.”

I guess it was like Rip had said, they couldn’t really talk about what had happened, which I completely understood.

We watched the basketball game and had a few drinks. Well … they watched basketball and I played a game on my phone, breaking for conversation every time there was a commercial or a time-out.

Once the game was over, Rip and I said goodnight to King and went back to his room.

“I love how big your bed is,” I told him as I climbed in. “And this blanket is so comfortable.”

“Yeah, I spend so much of my life with shitty sleeping arrangements, so I thought it was worth it so splurge on the best bed and bedding I could find.”

“You did good,” I told him, moving into his arms when he got in beside me and opened them for me.

I gave him a kiss then laid my head on his chest, inhaling the spicy scent of him as exhaustion began to hit.

“Thanks for hanging out with King. I know the last thing you probably wanted to do was watch a basketball game, but we’ve all been a little on edge since our tour and I didn’t really want to leave him alone.”

“No problem. I liked being there with you guys and I don’t mind entertaining myself with a game or book. I’m pretty easygoing,” I assured him.

“I appreciate it … I appreciate you.”

Warmth flooded me at his words. Wanting more contact, I started drawing things on his chest with my finger. Hearts and flowers mostly, since that was where my head was right then, as I felt myself beginning to seriously fall for Rip.

“That feels good,” he murmured, his tone thick with sleepiness, and I knew he was about to doze off.

I kept doing what I was doing, soothing myself as well as him, long after I felt his chest rise and fall and knew he was out.

I was tired, but my mind would not shut off as I thought about when we’d met and how things had progressed between us in such a short amount of time. I wondered what it all meant and if he was falling as hard as I was.

Plus, how would it work logistically?

It wasn’t like either of us could just up and move because we wanted to. There were rules and orders and factors outside of our control.

My mind full of questions, I eventually tumbled into sleep.

Chapter 20

Rip

The next morning we went to breakfast and spent a few hours with Scotty at the hospital.

I don’t know if it was waking up with Cass in my