Lust in Translation (Harbour Point SEAL Series Book 1) Read online

  Breaking the kiss, I say, “Listen, Coal doesn’t want to see that mess. What would he think?”

  She kisses me again, on the mouth. “This beach brings me back to the olden days. When I couldn’t kiss you.”

  That’s why I proposed to her here. Where it all started. Before everything fell apart. When I thought about what would mean the most, it’s where I wanted her to feel free of shackles. I’m coming around to the idea that we will eventually have to move back here, to Florida. It’s where her family is. It doesn’t carry the same weight as Cape Cod does. Nothing binds me to a location any longer. Natalia is free and Kendall is my life now. Her happiness is what gives me life. That smile I can see, the laugh that haunts my dreams. I can still hear it if I concentrate hard enough. It’s the one noise on Earth I’d give up everything to hear once more. Kendall backs away from me. “You always could have kissed me,” I finally say. “You’d have gotten us both in a lot of trouble, though.”

  “I make a lot of trouble no matter what,” she says, signing as courtesy.

  “You’re so good at this,” I remark. “The whole deaf beau thing. I don’t think any other woman would fall into this role so effortlessly.”

  She squints against the sun, holding her hand up to shield her eyes. “It’s you.”

  Pausing for a beat or two, she licks her lips. “I’d do anything for you. I love what’s inside,” she says, laying her hand on my chest. “Outside, too.” Her smile widens. “You lucked out translating is sort of my specialty.”

  Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the coincidence of everything that brought us together—kept us together. “I am a lucky son of a bitch,” I reply.

  “Let’s bring Coal back to my mom’s and head over to our room,” Kendall says. The cat is staying in Kendall’s childhood bedroom instead of the hotel.

  “Is that code for something?”

  Kendall scoops the cat up and faces me. “It’s not code for anything. I want you. I will never get enough of you.”

  “Well, then. When you put it that way, how can I resist?” The walk back to her house isn’t long, and we’re entering in the back door in no time at all.

  “Honey, we’re home,” I say to Aidan who is at the sink washing out one of those misshapen baby cups that leak everywhere. I only know this because I’ve seen Aidan lose his mind four times in one week about apple juice spilling across the floor when Weston tosses the cup.

  Aidan looks to the door. His eyes light up when he sees Kendall. “Hey, you guys. How did the cat walk go?” He quirks a brow, making fun of his step-daughter.

  I watch Kendall say, “He loves the beach, thank you very much. He’s ready for a nap.” I swallow hard. Kendall would make a knock-down-drag-out mom. We all see it. Know it. Would never dream of broaching the subject after what she’s been though. “I’m going to put Coal upstairs. Where is Mom and Weston?”

  Aidan was uneasy not knowing sign language, at first, but he’s loosened up and speaks freely. I’m able to pick up things here and there, and Kendall does an amazing job of translating when she knows someone is speaking and I can’t see their mouth. “Magnolia is trying to put him down for a nap. Maybe you can read to him. I tried. He wasn’t satisfied with that, though. He’s obsessed with her. I bet if I left tomorrow, the kid wouldn’t even care.”

  Kendall laughs. “Stop it. Moms and boys. I read something about that one time. They have some weird connection. When he gets older he’ll be obsessed with you. Don’t worry. Until then you can parent me.”

  Aidan rolls his eyes. I laugh. “You need parenting. Look what you bring home on your own.” He gestures to me, smirking. “Just kidding,” Aidan adds, setting the cup in a drying rack and wiping his hands on a dish towel. “What do you need parenting help with?”

  She shoves Coal into my arms and approaches her stepdad. When she stops in front of him, she spins so I can see both of their faces. She signs as she says, “Well, I was sort of hoping you would walk me down the aisle.”

  Aidan chokes up. I see the tears spring to his eyes. His weathered face breaks out in a beatific smile. “Yes. Yes. Yes,” Aidan says, pulling Kendall into a hug. Shaking his head, he looks at me.

  “I know. I know. You’ll kill me if I hurt her or something like that, right? You almost died saving her from a fire. I respect that.”

  Kendall pulls out of Aidan’s embrace and says. “And you almost lost your life saving me.”

  Aidan’s face turns stoic as he remembers the blast. One no one wants to recount unless we’re appreciating the fact we are all here together right now. I shake my head. “That doesn’t count. Your dad laid it all on the line to save you, Kendall,” I say.

  “That’s why he’s walking me down the aisle, and that’s why this time, I’m saving myself,” Kendall says and signs.

  I palm my chest. “By marrying me?”

  She nods. “A decision I should have made long ago.”

  “I didn’t ask you back then,” I reply.

  “What? You’re saying if I asked you back then you would have turned me down?”

  I pinch my lips together with my fingers, and she shoots daggers at me. Laughing out loud, I see Magnolia rush into the kitchen holding a finger over her lips. Kendall signs a quick, “Weston is asleep.” I cover my mouth and apologize using what I think is a soft voice. It’s odd how losing my hearing has affected my speech. You forget how to talk at proper levels. Kendall says my voice is still the same, and that nothing except the decibel at which I sometimes speak is different.

  Kendall hugs her mom and tells her she asked Aidan to walk her down the aisle. Magnolia is taken by emotion straight away, tears falling until Aidan pulls her into his arms. It’s a poignant moment that isn’t lost on me. Kendall married Adam in a courthouse ceremony, so this will be the first time it was an option.

  “I’m so glad you found this with each other,” Magnolia says, and Kendall signs for me.

  Magnolia walks over and hugs me. “Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn’t. Now your next task is to get her back here. To Florida. Forever.”

  I grin. “I’ll work on it but I can’t make any promises.”

  “That works,” Magnolia says. Her lips are so like Kendall’s I can read hers, too. “Welcome to the family. I couldn’t have picked a better match for her if I tried.”

  “I appreciate you saying so,” I say, clearing my throat.

  “You won’t even hear bitching. You’re already ahead on the marriage game,” Magnolia adds coyly.

  Kendall yells, I can see her neck working. “Mom. I don’t bitch!”

  Aidan says, “All women bitch.” Then Kendall stops signing. Which is just as well. Everyone is laughing.

  “I’m offended,” I say.

  Everyone quiets, and stares at me like I have five heads. Eyes wide, and mouths ajar wondering what to say next. “Just fucking with you,” I say. Kendall rolls her eyes, and takes Coal from my arms. She bounds up the stairs to put him in her bedroom and returns a few minutes later, hovering by the front door.

  “We’re going now, guys! We’ll be back for dinner. Tell Weston I have a surprise for him,” Kendall says.

  “Welp, looks like I’ve been summoned. Can we bring anything for dinner?” I rise from the table and Magnolia looks like she’s thinking if she needs us to bring anything, but Aidan just looks happy—ecstatic, even.

  “Wine,” Magnolia says, eyes wide, speaking slow to make sure I got it.

  “I’m not blind. Just deaf. Red or white?”

  She shakes her head, laughing and tells me white. Aidan claps me on the back and I see the approval shining in his eyes. This is what I’ve been waiting for. What I’ve always wanted. This love. A family who supports each other and doesn’t fake feelings. It’s real. I’ve been waiting my whole life for real like this. It’s why I was awful to Aidan all those years ago. He had something I never had. Instead of ruining his life, I should have realized what was right in front of me.

 
I drive the mile and a half down the road to the Inn and usher Kendall into our room. She spins on me the second I shut the door. We’ve been on our best behavior on the property because a retired SEAL and his wife own this Inn and I want to mind my manners and respect them. Kendall tried to convince me to go down on her on the docks last night, but I heaved her on my shoulder and brought her up to the room as quickly as possible instead.

  “We’re here. All of your rules have been followed. The door is locked. No one is around. I’ve wanted you all day.”

  A terrible thought crosses my mind. “We don’t have condoms. The bulk box didn’t last the week.” It’s half humorous, half horrifying.

  Her smiles falls, then appears again. She shrugs. “That’s okay.” She pulls off her tank top and bra, and slides the cotton skirt off. She’s not wearing panties. “You can come on my back.”

  Clearing my throat, I cough once in surprise. “Can I then?”

  She strides forward, more confidence than a lioness, and pulls off my board shorts. I step out and then lift my shirt over my head. “I feel like you want sex so badly you’re making bad decisions.”

  “Can you pull out?” She deadpans, meeting my eyes. Her blue gaze is icy—determined.

  I nod.

  “Good. One of my dreams was for you to fuck me doggy-style against a window.” Kendall glances over one shoulder at the large bay window that overlooks the Bay. “That one will do,” she says, when she turns back to me. “I’m on birth control. For my periods. You know the condoms were just a secondary precaution.” Her gaze darts to the side as she recalls why she likes to have secondary precautions to begin with. I distract her with a kiss.

  Taking her face in my hands, I tilt her head to get a better angle, I slip my tongue into her mouth. I can tell the second her mind switches over from what she was just thinking about to me. Her kiss turns to fire, her hands grabbing at me like a desperate plea. I take her into my arms and back her to the goddamn window in question. I could ask for more details, but she’s asking me to fuck her bare and my dick is responding accordingly, like it’s Christmas morning and he’s about to unwrap the big gift from Santa.

  I kiss her forcefully, once more before I spin her body and press her against the glass. No one is outside at the moment. I made that determination when I walked her over here. Her hands leave condensation against the cool glass. I let my hands run down her body, across the small of her back, over her round ass, and between her legs.

  “Ahh, you’re already so wet for me. You’ve been this wet for me all day, haven’t you?” She doesn’t have to answer, I know the answer. My cock jumps and hits her at her core. Kendall jumps a bit, anticipating me entering. Not yet. I swallow down the anticipation of feeling her without a barrier.

  Kendall turns her face so I can see her profile as my hands stray from her pussy to her hips. There’s no foreplay needed, she’s so primed and ready. Her breaths are already heavy and her cheeks are pink. Kendall is hot for me. I want to tease her and myself, so I spread her butt cheeks apart. She moves back, seeking my dick out, ready to take me deep inside. I move back to keep my own temptation at bay as I look at her wet cunt opening and closing.

  A bead of precum forms on the tip of my shaft. Using my thumb, I push my dick down to line it up with her wet pussy. I don’t thrust in, I drag the bead across her clit, and open her cheeks wider. It would be the easiest thing in the world to fill her right now. My abs are tight, every muscle in my body controlled. I rub her clit with my dick over and over as she clenches, requesting more than a rub. Her mouth is moving and her fingertips clench into the glass.

  “Is this how you imagined it?” I ask.

  “Yes,” she says, lips barely moving. “Inside me,” she adds. “Now.”

  That’s all the affirmation I need to take what I want. I keep her spread wide as I grab my dick and tease the head into her wet core. The sight is erotic in the most feral way. Watching myself disappear inside her body is the highlight of my goddamn life. Pushing my hips forward, I go a little deeper, watching her hungry cunt take me deeper, wanting more. More. More. Mine. I slide my dick home, release her ass, and grab her hips so I can fuck her properly. After I find our rhythm, her eyes roll back in her head and she comes. I feel the waves on my dick and the weakness in her legs. She always shakes the smallest bit as the orgasm hits her. I’m so attuned to her body I know exactly how to work it. I knew she’d come quickly.

  I’m only thinking about her orgasm right now, because being inside her bare is a larger-than-life experience. One that forces the come faster than usual. I’m trying to distract my mind from her warm walls gripping my cock like a vice. Her lips part when she catches her breath and she leans her cheek against the glass of the window. I reach around and roll her nipple in my fingers, and close my eyes to embrace all the sensations at once. My balls tighten and my stomach clenches. Not yet. Not yet.

  Kendall can sense my impending orgasm and stands up straight, which draws my cock from her body. “Not yet,” she says, signing. “Kiss me. Fuck me while kissing me.”

  “Deviating from the dream, “I say, stroking my wet cock between our bodies.

  She nods. “I have a better dream. Come inside me.”

  “What?” I ask, confused. “What did you say?”

  “Come. In. Me.”

  My heart is pounding out of my chest, but I’m too far gone to have a conversation about repercussions with her right now. Especially now that she’s climbing me like a pole and sinking her sweet cunt onto my rod. I hold her under her ass and move her over to the wall. I don’t want to be responsible for fucking her through a goddamn second-story window. Wouldn’t that make a great small-town headline?

  I pin her weight against the wall, and fuck her senseless. I kiss her for a little while, but when Kendall is about to come for the second time, I know I won’t be able to hold out, so I move my face into her sweaty neck. I kiss her roughly. “Are you sure?” I ask once more.

  As her reply, she grabs me around my neck and pushes her pussy against my dick in a thrust of her own. Deep and hard. She comes apart, and I let the fuck go and come deep inside her. I have to use my bodyweight to pin her because my muscles are weak with the rush coursing my body. I filled her in all ways. We stay there, catching our breath. Kendall is stroking my hair, my back and my neck. When our gazes finally meet, she is so fucking satisfied I can’t hide my smirk. “As good for you as it was for me?”

  “Better. You don’t know what you just started,” she says, speaking slowly. “I want all of your come. Inside me. I loved coming with you. It was so intense.”

  It was. I pull out of her slowly, the cool air hitting my dick as it leaves her hot motherfucking body. When she’s standing there, my cum leaking down her legs, I take a mental snapshot for later. I clear my throat because I’m so choked up right now. I can’t even use words, and for the first time, I think that’s okay because we have our language.

  I don’t speak it, I only sign, “I love you.”

  Tears fall down her face, as her smile lights my whole world.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  KENDALL

  THE SURGERY TO FIX or improve Leo’s hearing wasn’t a success. I guess the lab rats lied. The surgeons tried their best, and we knew going into it there was a high risk it wouldn’t work. I think both Leo and I knew it wouldn’t work. There was a follow-up appointment when they switched on the experimental device they implanted on the back of his head. I wanted the first words he heard to be me expressing my love for him. I said I loved him over and over. At least fifteen times before he kind of smirked at me, but tears formed in his eyes. Instead of speaking like he usually does, he does what he does when he can’t. He signed back to me instead. I knew he couldn’t hear my words.

  Over the months, he has gained the ability to hear vibrations, which is a step in the right direction. If we play a song loud enough, he’s able to discern the low beats. Human voices still allude him. I took that into account when I sele
cted the wedding song I’d walk down the aisle to. I figured I should at least use what I know he can hear, even if it’s not much. Aidan and my mom are with me in the church choir room as I fumble with my makeup, even though it was already done an hour ago. I’m getting ready to marry the man of my dreams, perfection is important.

  I didn’t realize how many bittersweet memories this day would bring up. The new chapter in my life began the second my friendship started with Leo Callaway. The second time. While I was still married to Adam. I can’t think I cheated Adam even if I knew in my heart I’d be here, in an ivory-colored dress, marrying the man who stole my heart when I was seventeen and angry.

  For me, the marriage to Adam was more than a vow or a commitment. It was the warmth of a baby on my chest. The sweet coos and smiles of a newborn. Sharing the joy in a mutual accomplishment. The marriage held everything I dreamed of. The vows were lies. My dream wasn’t real. Real is a feeling. A vow backed by indescribable love. A commitment made because of what could be. No expectations. Leo is love. I’m disgusted with myself for the wreckage of the past, but one can only move forward with the intelligence experience brings.

  “Mom, I’m so nervous.” I rub the lace of my dress between my fingers. It’s a floor-length, mermaid-style gown that hugs my body and flares out from my knees to the floor.

  “Baby, you have been ready for this day for a long time. Longer than is legal, if I had to wager a bet.”

  I smirk as Aidan shakes his head. “That boy. I fucking called it!”

  “Language,” my mom scolds, covering Weston’s ears. I take my little brother, clad in a tux, from her arms and sit him on my lap. He’s playing with an old cellphone Aidan deactivated because he kept stealing theirs. He’s pretending to call someone chattering away in his little toddler voice. It’s adorable and my heart squeezes.