Page 25 of SEAL’S Baby Surprise (Lanes #2)

AUSTIN

I place the teakettle over the coals in the grill. I could have used water out of the tank, but I hear the shower kick on. Lee has had a rough day, and she’s held up through all of it. She deserves to have hot water.

It doesn’t take long at all for the water to heat, and I quickly wash up the cups and glasses, which is about all there is since we used disposables. Not the most earth-friendly approach but sometimes you have to think about the people.

I am just finishing up when I hear the water shut off. Lee has saved me some hot water for my own cleanup. It is one of the things I love about her. Once she understands how something could affect others, she is amazingly considerate.

Izzy had never been like that. She had always grabbed for the last roll, used all the hot water, and danced wild and crazy after I had put in a long, hard day and just wanted to relax.

Still, I miss Izzy. I miss the way she would wake up with her hair in a wild tangle, the way her eyes would flash with temper when I did something she didn’t like, and the deep passion with which she embraced causes — usually a new one every week.

Kind of like the old Jefferson Starship song, “Crazy Miranda.”

I shake my head. Comparisons are insidious, especially between the living and the dead. Izzy is gone, by misadventure if not by her own hand. Some of the things I had loved had been symptoms of her mental illness. Am I repeating the mistake with Lee?

Then I shake myself. Lee is not Izzy. Yeah, she has panic attacks. And when it comes to a lot of real-world practical things, she is kind of clueless.

But one thing I have noticed is that she rarely repeats the same mistake, not even once. Which means she is unlikely to paddleboard without using her ankle tether. And if I wrap anything in foil to cook it, she won’t try to pick it up barehanded.

Poor mermaid! That had to have really hurt. Especially that melted butter. Grease burns are the worst.

I make sure the coals in the grill are smothered, and the lid on tightly. We aren’t into the hottest and driest part of the year, but no point in taking chances.

By the time I get my shower and have pulled on a pair of boxers, just in case Julia gets up and wanders around, Lee and Ark are curled up together in the very middle of my bed.

They are so cute together, I don’t want to disturb either of them, so I ease my way over to the backside of the bed, where I can curl up against Lee.

She murmurs sleepily, and stretches out, snuggling against me. Ark gives us a look I interpret as disgust, and heads toward the front to take over Lee’s bed. It had been his bed before Lee entered the picture, so no surprise that he would take it back.

Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be jealous of Lee, accepting her as a member of his pack and under his protection.

I run my hand over the soft brush of hair on Lee’s head. Something has been bothering her today. I wish I knew what.

She wakes a little, and burrows into my armpit like a puppy. “Love me,” she begs softly. “Make me feel good.”

I run my hand down her side. “Are you sure?” I ask. “I don’t want to hurt your hand.”

“That’s just one part of me,” she says, laying the gauze wrapped limb across my stomach. “Make love to the rest of me, Austin. Please? I want to feel wanted.”

And oh, God, did I ever want her! I’d never had an easier request to fulfill.

I start by kissing her mouth gently, then ravenously. She opens those plump lips to me, tangling her tongue with mine, passion giving instruction for where experience is lacking. She is the ocean’s gift, washed up and left behind. How could I do other than my best to make her feel wanted?

I begin to nibble kisses down her neck. Then I back up and lave her ears with my tongue, which makes her squirm and giggle. She has a nice giggle. “Are you Ark?” she asks. “He likes to wash my ears, too.”

“They are nice, clean ears,” I note, “Delicate, like pink seashells.”

“Slightly sunburned,” she points out. “I’m not the pink girl anymore.”

“No,” I agree. “You are my beautiful, sun-bronzed mermaid with a halo of golden hair. And bikini lines.” I kiss my way down the streak of white where her halter top had protected the skin.

“You are my handsome Poseidon,” she returns. “My California-surfer god, all brown and golden. I didn’t expect to be rescued, you know.”

“I know,” I say, “And I don’t even care why. I’m just glad I was there.”

“You know what?” she says, “So am I. I wasn’t then, but I am now. I don’t think I’ll ever get that low again, no matter what happens. But tonight, I need for you to make me feel good, the way you do.”

I’d noticed that the unthinking panic attacks had let up, but I worry that if I weren’t around, Lee might try to walk into the ocean again. It is good to know that she isn’t likely to try again. Or at least I hope she won’t.

She wraps her good arm around my neck so she can get a better angle for kissing, changes her mind, and starts sucking on my earlobe. Ears are sensitive. The hot moisture at the bottom of my ear, her breath puffing across the central canal nearly drives me into losing it right there.

I distract her by scooching her on up so I can reach her nipples with my mouth. I’ve heard the saying that anything over a mouthful is wasted, but I promise nothing about Lee is wasted.

She has beautiful breasts, round and full, with only the slightest inclination to give in to gravity. Each one is tipped with a bright pink nipple, absolutely perfect for kissing, sucking, and gently nipping.

She throws one leg over me, and I know that it won’t be long before she wants to slide down on me. I don’t want to interrupt our make-out session, but I figure I’d best be like a boy scout and be prepared.

I reach up to the headboard and get out the inevitable foil packet. Lee looks worried. “I can’t put it on you,” she says, sitting back on my thighs.

“It’s fine,” I say. “I’ll do the honors tonight.” I make a big production out of getting the thing out of its packet and slowly rolling it down. I even give it a little pinch at the end to make sure there’s plenty of room, so it doesn’t fill up and run out the bottom.

“You make that look so sexy,” Lee says, lying back down on my belly and rubbing against me.

With only one arm to support herself, she’s at a distinct navigational disadvantage, so I lift her hips so she can get her knees under her. We’ve had enough practice by now, that I know just where everything is, and I slide inside.

The heat of her and her juices dribbling into my pubic hair turns me on in ways I cannot describe. She is the sun-warmed ocean, the upper part, rich and fertile.

She closes her eyes, as she focuses her attention inward. “That’s right,” I murmur, “Just let me love you. Let me help you feel good. You are wonderful, my lady mermaid, my gift of the sea.”

We slip into rhythm, each thrust driving us both higher and higher. She moans with pleasure, and it makes me crazy, wanting more.

I feel myself swelling, every inch of me focuses on her, and only her. I’m going to lose it soon, I know, but I want to give her as much fun as I possibly can.

Then she has a monumental, earthmoving orgasm — the kind that is impossible to fake. It goes straight to my shaft, and I follow right along after, pumping my life fluids into her.

And suddenly, something happens. I can feel her, warm, wet, bathed in my vital essence. It feels amazing! It feels out of this world. It feels…

And then it hits me. The condom had broken.

I gently lift her hips so I can withdraw and look down between us. The securing ring still encircles my penis, the rags of the rest of it looking like the flags on a security line. I ease Lee down beside me with a groan. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I think I just messed up.”

“I’ve got the implant,” Lee says.

“That’s right,” I say. “I’d forgotten. It’s going to be fine, then. We’d both know if either of us was sick with anything. And lots of married people have to practice a hundred times or more before they get pregnant.” A tiny voice in the back of my head is saying, but it only took Izzy one night.

“Sure,” she says. “Everything will be fine. It’s all right, Austin. I’ve heard that condoms break sometimes.” Then she giggles. “Will you be able to get it back off? It looks kind of funny.”

“Sure,” I say. “Just give it a few minutes, and it will come right off.”

“What happens if it isn’t all right?” Lee asks.

“Sweetheart,” I say, “How could it not be all right? We’re not going to get pregnant from this one time. I bet it’s not even your fertile time of the month. It’s going to be just fine. And by the way, it felt great!”

Lee giggles a little at that. “It did, didn’t it? Just let me clean up a little bit, Austin.”

I hear the sound of water running in the bathroom. My member relaxes a little, and I can roll the ruins of the condom off it. In my imagination, I wonder what kind of baby Lee and I would make.

Would it be a boy or girl? Whatever it might be, it would be darned cute. Idly, I wonder how Julia would feel about a baby brother or sister.

In a little while, a subdued, quiet Lee comes back to bed. I take my turn in the bathroom, then we snuggle together under a light sheet.

Lee snoozes off first, relaxing over onto her back. I fall asleep with one hand resting lightly on her belly.