Raging Hard: A Stepbrother SEAL Romance (With bonus novel Based!) (6 page)

She shrugged her shoulders and looked out at the ocean. “Maybe in some circles it is. But to me, he’s just one big disappointment.”

I stared at her, shocked that she’d outright admit to that, before turning and walking away without another word.

––––––––

“O
kay, so where’s this thick hunk of sexy-ass muscles at? I want a quick peek at what he’s packing.”

“Come on, Lydie,” I said, giggling. “Calm it with that.”

“I can’t calm myself. I know there’s a hunk nearby. I need to at least see what we’re working with before I can get myself under control.”

“Maybe self control is something you need to work on. Remember puking in the bushes?”

“I will never forget that moment as long as I live.”

“You looked like a dolphin diving in there. With puke coming out, obviously.”

“It wasn’t my finest moment.”

I leaned back in my chair, smiling to myself, the sun reflecting off the suntan lotion I had spread all over. The pool moved in slow lapping circles from the light breeze as Lydie and I sat in reclining chairs along its edge. After that awkward as hell lunch, I had decided I needed a little buffer from the family, and Lydie had been more than delighted to come over.

Of course, she had her own motives. She wanted to meet my new stepbrother, which both annoyed me and made me laugh. She had no clue what she was getting herself into. Nate wasn’t like the guys she normally messed around with. She was used to being able to control those guys and to get her way.

But I really doubted anyone could control Nate. It seemed like he did pretty much whatever he wanted to do. He would definitely walk all over Lydie and then some.

“Whatever happened with those guys you brought into the VIP, by the way?” I asked her.

“Ugh, they were creeps.”

“What did they do?”

“The one guy, remember the tan one?” I nodded. “Well, he said he wanted to put his dick in my butt. Like, totally out of nowhere, he just said it.”

“
What?
”

“Seriously, Claire. It was so disgusting. He leaned into me right after we took a shot and whispered in my ear, ‘Girl, your ass is so fat I want to stick my dick in it.’ I started puking right there.”

I burst out laughing. It was the most absurd thing I had ever heard in my entire life.

“Did he think that was going to work?” I managed to ask through laughter.

“I have no fucking clue. He was so gross. I’m actually almost glad I started throwing up. Made it clear how I felt about him.”

“Got you away from them, too.”

“Totally. The second I told them I felt sick, they dumped me in the bathroom and ran out of there. Vomit is basically dickhead repellent.”

“Assholes.”

“Don’t even say that word.”

I rolled over, laughing again. I looked up toward the ocean, and suddenly the laughter died in my chest.

“I’m so sick of guys like that,” Lydie was saying, but I hardly heard her. I was too busy staring at Nate walking up the path toward the house, his shirt wrapped around his head like a turban, his chest glistening with sweat.

“Hello? Claire? I’m busy bitching about the finer points of the male animal’s psyche and you look like you just saw a ghost.”

“Oh, uh, sorry.”

“What are you . . .” Lydie started to say, but trailed off when she noticed Nate. “Oh damn. Hot fucking damn.”

Lydie dipped her sunglasses down, her mouth gaping.

“That’s my stepbrother,” I said sheepishly.

“He’s way hotter than I remembered.”

I had to admit that I agreed. He was an incredible specimen, to be totally honest with myself. The way he moved was smooth and serious, and his body was cut like steel. Every inch of him was sculpted and tough, and the tattoos that snaked up around his body were sexy and dangerous. He stopped a few feet away from us, grinning.

“Well, is this who I think it is?” he asked me.

“Nathan, this is my friend Lydie.”

He reached his hand out and she shook it. “I remember you,” he said to her.

“I remember you, too,” she answered, not even pretending like she wasn’t ogling him.

“What were you doing?” I asked him before Lydie started drooling.

“Went for a run.”

“In your jeans?”

“You can run in just about anything, it turns out.”

“Thanks. But isn’t it hard?”

“Not yet, but you girls are about to make it hard.”

Lydie giggled at his dumb joke and I rolled my eyes.

“By the way,” I said, “my dad wants me to take you out on our boat.”

“Just the two of us?”

“No,” I said, looking at Lydie. “You’re coming, right, Lydie?”

“Oh, uh, sure. Yeah, I’m totally coming.”

“Not to be rude, but do we really have to do this shit?”

“What do you mean?”

He sat down at the end of my chair, sighing. “I’m not the fond-family type, you know? I don’t really do afternoons on the fucking yacht.”

I made a face. What an arrogant asshole. “You can do whatever you want, but I won’t lie to my dad for you.”

“Can’t lie to daddy, or just feel like fucking with me?”

“A little bit of both.”

“Harsh.” He grinned at me. “Okay then, I guess I have no other choice.”

“Great. Tomorrow?”

“Cool. How about you, Lydie?”

She smiled stupidly. “Tomorrow. Sure. I’d love to get with you tomorrow.”

He raised an eyebrow, smiling.

“Go you with, I mean,” she said quickly. “Go with you tomorrow.”

“Great. Sounds like a little threesome.”

I rolled my eyes at him. He stood up and stretched, and I could have sworn he gave me a little wink. Lydie, meanwhile, was practically fingering herself.

“See you girls later.”

“Bye, prick,” I mumbled.

“Bye, Nate,” Lydie chirped.

He turned and walked away. I stared at the muscles in his back, shocked that there could even be so many.

“Get yourself together, Lydie,” I said to her after a minute.

“Did I just get in the pool? Because I’m soaking wet.”

“Gross. He’s a total asshole.”

“Are you kidding? He seems amazing.”

“You don’t know him.”

“Maybe.” She looked at me seriously. “Can I go for him?”

I blinked at her, surprised. I shouldn’t have been, but part of me was assuming she wouldn’t go any further than making stupid jokes and comments. Then again, she didn’t know what had happened between him and me, and as far as she knew we were just stepsiblings. He was technically fair game for her.

And yet why was I so annoyed? I didn’t want Lydie anywhere near him. She was my best friend, but she had always been the popular one. She had blond hair, big boobs, a nice body, and a bubbly, out-going personality. She was basically the opposite of me, except for maybe the boobs. The thought of her with Nate made me somewhat angry, although I shouldn’t have been.

“Sure, whatever,” I said, looking away. “He’s just my stepbrother.”

“Are you positive? Seriously, Claire, I won’t do anything if you don’t want me to.”

What was I supposed to say?
Sorry, Lydie, I want to suck my stepbrother’s cock so bad it makes my pussy practically burn with desire
. That would be stupid. If I told her not to, I’d look lame and petty.

“Go ahead. Do you.”

“Thanks, girl.” She turned over, laying facedown.

I turned myself over, too, annoyed. I pulled out my phone and began to scroll through Facebook, trying to ignore my own feelings. Meanwhile, Lydie seemed to fall asleep. More likely she was having a wet dream about Nate pulling his Navy SEAL magic on her overused pussy.

I stopped myself mid-thought. I shouldn’t be unfair to her. She had always been a good friend. It wasn’t her fault that I was too much of a chicken to tell her the truth. I needed to get over my own insecurities and move on.

Besides, maybe it was better this way. If Lydie kept Nate entertained, he’d stop messing with me. Really, it was a win-win for everyone. Nate got the sex he so obviously craved, Lydie got the hot Nate body she so clearly was obsessing over, and I didn’t have to worry that my drop-dead gorgeous stepbrother was going to try to get me off again.

Tomorrow was going to be okay. We’d get through it and make it work somehow.

I sighed, relaxing, letting the bright sun warm me to sleep.

J
onathan gestured at a boat with the words “Sea Fairy” in red on the side.

“There she is,” he said proudly.

“Sea Fairy?” I asked him.

“My second wife picked the name,” he grumbled. “Felt wrong to change it.”

“Sure. Of course.”

I would never own a boat with a name like that
, I thought to myself, trying to keep from laughing.
I’d rather sink the damn thing.

It was around ten in the morning and the girls weren’t ready yet. The marina was walking distance from the house, and so Jonathan had insisted on bringing me down early to show me the boat.

As if I’d never been on a boat before. I could pilot his piece of shit yacht through a hurricane if I had to. Sailing it around the bay was something I could do blackout drunk and blind. But Jonathan clearly cared a lot about his Sea Fairy, and I didn’t feel like pushing the point. He probably wanted to impress me, but it was really just a giant, glorified party boat with a slightly bigger engine and a much nicer décor.

“She’s one of the biggest here,” he was saying as we climbed aboard. “Fully stocked, so don’t worry about that. Take whatever you guys want.” He motioned toward the aft. “Bar over there, if you feel the need.” He winked, and I almost wanted to punch him.

My new stepfather walked me through the whole length of the thing, showing me every opulent feature and trying to impress me with his knowledge of sailing terms. I put up with it because I figured it would be easier than the alternative. Plus, if I wanted to keep staying in luxury while teasing my fucking sexy stepsister, I needed to play nice. As much as it annoyed me.

Still, I had to admit that the thing was nice, even if a little prissy. He clearly put a ton of money into it, because it was all expensive fabrics and real wood and fully stocked bars and a nearly full-size kitchen. I could have easily lived on his boat for a year with just the provisions he had aboard and nothing more.

Wouldn’t that be nice? I could sail around the Atlantic, maybe become a pirate. I’d be good at stopping and boarding drunk frat kids out on their spring break. I’d probably stop and board a few of the drunk college girls, too.

Finally, the tour was over. “Any questions?” he asked me.

“None, sir. She’s a lovely boat.”

He nodded proudly and patted the railing. “She’s my everything, so you be careful with her.”

“I will. The Navy taught me to respect all sailing vessels.”

That seemed to put him at ease, even though it was total bullshit. If anything, the Navy had taught me how to push a boat to its upper limits, destroying the thing for the sake of the mission. I cared about boats like I cared about any other tool: so long as it was useful, I kept it around.

“Well, I can see my girl’s in good hands,” he said. “I’ll just leave you to it, then.”

Not just the boat,
I thought to myself,
but your other girl is going to be in my hands, too.

I nodded. “Sounds good.”

He lingered for a second, as if he were uneasy about leaving, and then turned and walked back toward the house. He probably wanted me to ask more questions, or maybe even invite him out with us, but there was absolutely no way I was doing that.

Once he was gone, I got back on board and climbed up to the top deck. I spread out a blanket and lay down, my hat tipped over my face, my arms spread behind my head. The gentle lapping of the boat’s movement reminded me of being back on a mission, and I smiled to myself.

There was nothing more relaxing than the soft motions of the ocean. I felt drowsy, the warm sun on my face. I forgot all about Claire and her friend and Lucille and Jonathan. I forgot that I could be called back to base for a mission at any moment, despite the injury to my leg. There was just the ocean and me. It was going to be a relaxing day.

“Holy shit, girl,” came a voice suddenly piercing through my relaxation. “Look at this bitch. It’s fully loaded!”

I groaned to myself.

“Careful, Lydie,” Claire’s voice came. “My dad never lets people use this boat.”

“No kidding. I’ve known you how long? We’ve never seen it, let alone been on it.”

Great. I was really hoping that they had changed their minds. Claire sure as hell seemed like she wasn’t interested in going out on a fishing trip with me, and that was totally fine. I could fuck with her any other day, but it wasn’t often I got to relax on some rich guy’s boat.

“Seriously, is this a bar?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Hell yes! This day got even better.”

“It’s not even noon yet.”

“So? It’s just a little champagne.”

I heard a cork pop and a giggle. I could imagine Claire’s face. She was probably busy worrying whether her daddy would get mad at her for drinking his alcohol.