SEAL Next Door Read online

  It was only after Sam stepped inside that she noticed the wine and flowers in his hands. She almost said something about him not needing to bring anything for the dinner, but then her eyes locked on the bouquet and all rational thoughts deserted her. No one had ever brought her flowers before. She never actually expected them, assuming it was an old-fashioned thing that nobody did anymore. But when she recognized the bright red poppies floating in with a nest of baby’s breath, she damn near swooned.

  He’d brought her poppies?

  Holy cupcakes with sprinkles!

  “They’re beautiful,” she whispered, reaching out to take them from him. “Let me put these in water.”

  Crap, what was she going to put them in? She didn’t even own a vase.

  Poppy ended up using a glass pitcher that Nyla had brought over once for a margarita party and ended up leaving behind when the both of them had gotten too blitzed to think straight.

  “I’m not a connoisseur of wine, but the woman at the store promised this chardonnay was a good choice,” he said as she put the flowers on the table.

  “I’ll have to take her opinion then,” Poppy said with a laugh. “I know almost nothing about wine beyond white goes with chicken and red goes with beef. Though it’s possible I might have that backwards.”

  He flashed her a grin. “Well, whatever we’re having, it smells delicious.”

  Poppy got him working on opening the wine while she checked the food. The lightly seasoned garlic bread was done and immediately went into a wicker basket with a microwave-warmed dishtowel in it—a trick her mom taught her to keep it fresh. Then she took the lid off the alfredo to let it thicken up before turning her attention to the angel hair pasta, which had cooked as quickly as she’d expected.

  “There’s salad in the fridge if you want to put it on the table,” she said, carrying the pasta over to the sink to drain it. “I have a couple different kinds of dressings in there, too, since I wasn’t sure what you liked.”

  For the next few minutes, they moved around each other in the kitchen without a single misstep. Like they’d done it before a hundred times. When they finally sat down at the small table in the open area between the kitchen and living room, Sam raised his wine glass in a toast.

  “Thank you for making dinner,” he said with a smile. “I was trying to come up with an idea of where we should go tonight when you texted me with the invite. It was the perfect suggestion.”

  She gently touched her glass to his. “I’m glad you were cool with it. I would have been okay with going out somewhere again, but thought a low-key evening at home would be fun, too.”

  He took a bite of chicken and pasta, letting out an audible moan of appreciation, making Poppy smile. While she loved to cook, part of the reason she’d wanted to make dinner was to see him enjoy it.

  “How was work this morning?” she asked as she speared a tomato with her fork.

  “Not bad,” Sam said after finishing the bite he’d just taken. “We just had to sit through a short briefing. I spent most of the morning hanging out with my Teammates getting ribbed about having a new girlfriend they didn’t know anything about.”

  Something warm bubbled up in her chest then, and it took Poppy a few moments to figure out what it was. At first, she assumed it was simply the fact that he’d told his Teammates about her. Then it struck her that he’d referred to her as his girlfriend. The word bounced around in her head for a while, generating emotions she couldn’t remember ever feeling. But that was probably because she’d never been anyone’s girlfriend before. Someone’s date, yes. A friend with benefits, yes. But not a real girlfriend.

  “So, you told them about me, huh?” Poppy grinned. “Only good things I hope.”

  “As if there’s anything bad I could come up with,” he said with a chuckle. “I told them that I’d met someone beautiful and intelligent. Their only comment was that if you were so intelligent why would you be going out with me.”

  As they ate, Sam went into more detail about his friends and Poppy couldn’t help laughing more than a few times as he repeated what he’d told them about her, and their playful teasing in return. She and Nyla were close, but other than that, she’d never had any friendship like the kind Sam described with his buddies.

  “It sounds like you and your Teammates are really close,” she said, sipping her wine.

  He smiled, helping himself to chicken and pasta. “That obvious, huh? But yeah, they’re more like brothers than Teammates really. The bonds you develop with the people you work with are one of the things I love most about being in the Navy. I saw that with my dad and his Teammates, so it was a big part of why I joined.”

  She twirled some pasta around her fork. “Your dad was in the Navy, too? Was he a machinist mate like you?”

  Sam hesitated for a moment, and she wondered if she’d touched on a sore subject, but then he grinned. “Yeah, he did the same thing as me. Retired less than a year ago from Coronado actually.”

  “It must have been cool growing up with a dad in the Navy,” she said.

  He poured a little more wine into her glass and then his own. “I guess that in the beginning—when I was a little kid—it was like that. I mean, my dad wore a uniform, like some superhero in the movies or a comic book. But as I got older, what really stuck with me was the sense of camaraderie I saw between my dad and his Teammates. He’d do anything for them and vice versa. I knew deep down that the guys my father worked with would be there for my family and me as much as they were for him, and always will be. That realization stuck with me.”

  Poppy compared that to how she’d grown up. As a mechanic, her dad had worn a uniform of sorts, and to the people who needed their cars fixed, he was definitely a superhero. But while he’d occasionally had coworkers over for dinner or to watch a game on their big TV, it had never felt like any kind of extended family. They were merely coworkers.

  “That sounds amazing,” she said. “But having him deploy had to suck, I guess.”

  “Yeah, it did.” Sam frowned down at his plate. “Dad was away frequently when I was a kid. Floats could last anywhere from six to nine months at a time, and those happened every couple years. But there were also special mission deployments. Those weren’t as long, but they happened all the time. In between those, there were training exercises, many of them no-notice. I got used to seeing my dad at breakfast and then coming home from school to have my mom tell me he had to go somewhere.”

  It was her turn to frown. “That must have been hard.”

  She realized how much she’d overlooked what it was like to have her dad at home when she was little. It was something she’d taken for granted.

  Sam pushed his empty plate and salad bowl back a little from the edge of the table. “I won’t lie. Sometimes, it seriously sucked. When you’re a kid, especially a young teenager, there are times you just need your dad there to talk to, you know? Then there were birthdays, Christmas, and the football game when you played in the state finals. But he couldn’t be there for a lot of those.”

  Poppy came to another realization then that sometimes, people didn’t realize just how difficult it was for the military families. She definitely wouldn’t have been as strong as Sam obviously was as a kid.

  The corner of Sam’s mouth edged up. “But we dealt with it as a family. My mom is the rock of the family. She kept it together for me, my brothers, and sister. Truthfully, she’s the real superhero, which is something my dad would agree with.”

  Poppy blinked. “You have siblings? I didn’t know that! Why didn’t you say anything before now?”

  He chuckled. “It’s not like I was trying to hide it, even if they are huge pains in my ass most of the time. Madison is the baby of the family. She’s fifteen going on thirty, and scarily similar to my mother. Kayden and Ashton are twins. They’re almost seventeen going on five. I love them to death, but wouldn’t leave them alone in an empty tool shed for more than ten minutes because they’d find a way to blow it up.”


  Poppy laughed. She’d always wanted a brother or sister, but she was an only child. “They sound like a handful. I hope I can meet them sometime.”

  “Oh, you will,” Sam promised. “As a matter of fact, my parents are holding a cookout at their house next Saturday. A bunch of people from my Team will be there, along with my sister and brothers. If you’re cool with it, I’d love for you to come, too. We don’t have to stay long, but I’d really like to introduce you to my parents.”

  Poppy sat, fork dangling loosely in one hand, praying her mouth wasn’t hanging open like a carp. He wanted her to meet his parents. She couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do!

  “I’d love to go to the cookout with you,” she said softly, fighting the urge to giggle. Instead, she focused on gathering up the empty plates littering the table, looking over at Sam carefully so he wouldn’t realize how incredibly excited she was about something he likely thought of as trivial.

  Then again, when Poppy saw the size of the smile that crossed Sam’s face at her answer as he helped her clean the table, she started thinking maybe he was as thrilled at the possibilities as she was.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “You made tiramisu?” Sam asked, his eyes open wide like it was Christmas morning and he’d just walked downstairs to see all the presents under the tree. And it was adorable.

  Poppy laughed as she set down two plates on the coffee table, the square of cocoa powder covered cake on Sam’s dish twice the side of hers. “I should probably fib and say I made it, but I picked it up at the bakery. Every time I try to make tiramisu, it comes out more like a thick pudding than a cake.”

  Beside her on the couch, Sam took a bite, rolling his eyes in pleasure. “You’re talking to a guy who eats every meal out of a takeout bag or from a microwavable container. You could have fed me beef jerky and Twinkies and still come out ahead.”

  Poppy laughed again, wondering for about the fiftieth time how she’d been so lucky to stumble over Sam. Being with him was so easy and fun.

  “I wish you would have mentioned that before,” she said with a fake groan of disappointment. “I walked right past the rack of Slim Jim at the store. Think of all the time I could have saved making dinner.”

  He took another big bite of cake. “Slim Jim alfredo with pasta? That could work. You might want to lay claim to the credit now before someone else figures it out.”

  Poppy snorted so hard she almost choked on the creamy, cheesy goodness of the tiramisu filling. She didn’t complain as Sam soothingly rubbed her back with his big hand. Yeah, it was nice.

  As they ate dessert, the conversation turned into a random listing of their favorite supermarket junk food, which then somehow became a friendly debate where they attempted to convince each other that one particular favorite was better than the other.

  “Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies are fudgy chocolate, covered with chocolate icing, sprinkled with dayglow colored chocolate chips,” she stated firmly. “There is actually no way you can get more chocolate per square inch anywhere in the universe—not legally anyway. I win. Period. The end.”

  Sam let out a snort. “Please!”

  He’d long since finished his piece of cake and some of hers, too, then slid both plates to the far end of the coffee table, like he felt they might need the space soon. She could only hope.

  “Hostess Powdered Mini Donuts are junk food royalty,” he added in a serious voice, like he was arguing his case in front of the Supreme Court. “They’re soft, yummy, and covered with enough sugar to jumpstart a herd of narcoleptic elephants. It’s also been scientifically proven that you can’t eat just one, so there is absolutely no guilt when you eat the entire bag for breakfast.”

  Poppy laughed so much it hurt, and before she knew it, she was climbing onto Sam’s lap, not sure if it was his idea or hers. She pulled the hem of her boho-print dress up to mid-thigh so it was easier to straddle his legs.

  “You’re amazing,” she said softly, her body warming from the heat in his gaze. “You know that?”

  “I think that’s my line,” he whispered, one hand sliding up her exposed leg, the warm tips of his fingers tracing fire from mid-calf all the way to her waist. She sighed and leaned into his touch. She’d been waiting for this all evening. She’d needed it since last night when he’d left after getting her all warmed up.

  He slid his free hand into her hair, tugging her down for a kiss. She moaned at the mix of tiramisu and masculinity that seemed to define Sam. Wiggling her hips, she moved closer until her knees were pressing into the back of the couch and she was pressed tight to the bulge in his jeans.

  The kiss went on for so long that Poppy wondered if she was getting dizzy from lack of air or from how good Sam was at taking her breath away. She decided it had to be the latter since she could still breathe fine out of her nose, after all. He gently tightened his grip on her hair, tilting her head a little as his other hand slipped under her dress to caress her hip. She could get lost in this moment forever. Simply let herself go and never bother coming up for air again.

  It took Poppy a moment to figure out what was happening when strong hands shoved her dress up over her hips, but once she did, she did whatever was necessary to help. She so seriously wanted to be naked right then. She couldn’t remember ever being this hot for a guy. Then again, Sam wasn’t like any of the guys she’d ever been with.

  Her bra disappeared at some point—or at least she assumed it had—since Sam’s fire warm mouth was around one of her nipples with nothing getting in the way. The sensation of being nearly naked on this man’s lap while he was fully dressed was beyond exhilarating.

  Poppy arched her back, pushing her breasts forward, both of her hands coming up to latch onto the back of his head and holding him right where she wanted. “Oh, yes. Keep doing that,” she murmured as he nipped her tender nipple. “Harder.”

  It was like Sam could read her mind, biting down just enough to ride that fantastic border between pleasure and pain. At the same time, one of his hands came up to squeeze and tease her other nipple, like he didn’t want it to feel left out. Poppy was all for that.

  She was so busy enjoying the attention he was showing to her breasts that she didn’t realize she was grinding on his lap like he was a life-sized sex toy. At least not until she felt that familiar tingle building up between her legs. If she didn’t stop, she’d orgasm right here on his lap.

  Poppy pulled back slightly, trying to break contact between her throbbing clit and his jean-covered cock. But Sam grasped her hips, trapping her right where she was as he leaned back on the couch.

  “Don’t stop,” he said, his gaze locking with hers, the heat there bringing a rush of warmth to her face. But even if it was a bit out of character to do anything this forward, she couldn’t imagine stopping now, not with the way he was urging her on.

  She spread her knees a little wider, pressing against his hard-on. What she wouldn’t give to have him naked right then.

  Unfortunately, Sam wasn’t naked, so she’d just have to make do. Not that it was a problem, since the tingles between her thighs were already building up to dangerous levels.

  Gyrating on Sam’s lap while she held onto his shoulders to keep her steady, getting herself off while he watched was positively sublime. It was light years beyond anything she’d ever dreamed of doing, but the thought of stopping never entered her mind.

  The orgasm hit Poppy hard, going from tingles to body-shaking spasms in the space of a few heartbeats. It was Sam’s firm hands on her hips that kept her going, pulling her against him as her vision whited out and her throat ran raw from keening out her pleasure.

  When she came back to the realm of rational thought, Poppy was a little surprised to find that she’d collapsed onto Sam’s broad chest, his arms around her and her face buried in the curve of his neck. Yummy shoulder muscles had somehow found themselves between her lightly clenched teeth. Sam didn’t complain. Instead, he sat there letting her regain control. When she finally
pulled back to look down at him, there was something indescribable in his eyes. Something that did crazy things to her insides. Even more crazy than her recent orgasm.

  “Do you know how beautiful you are right now?” he asked huskily. “Or how spectacular you looked as you came on my lap?”

  There was a thud that was probably audible only to Poppy. And yeah, she was pretty sure it was her heart. It wasn’t supposed to happen this fast. It probably shouldn’t. Yet, there it was.

  Poppy slithered off his lap, partly because she thought it would be sexy, and partly because she was still limp and boneless after riding the bus to orgasm town. On the way down, she grabbed his belt, popping the buckle and the buttons underneath with no problem. Getting his jeans and underwear down over his hard-on took a bit more effort, but she was determined, and Sam lifted his hips to make it easier. He laughed when she tossed them across the living room.

  It wasn’t like Poppy had mountains of experience when it came to the male form, but something told her that he was worthy of worship. All lean muscle, his shaft was long, thick, and slightly curved. She was pretty sure Sam was going to ruin her for all other men.

  Dropping to her knees on the floor between his legs, she leaned forward to swipe her tongue across that perfect tip. The taste of him made her groan, and she wrapped her hand around him, squeezing gently. She scratched the nails of her free hand down his bare thigh, reveling in the feel of him tensing under her touch.

  “Yes,” Sam groaned.

  The sound drove a spike of pure pleasure through Poppy’s midsection, making it difficult to think about anything but getting him to come as hard as she had. Taking that as a challenge, she brought both hands up to wrap around the lower part of his erection, her mouth moving down to meet them, her tongue flicking at the sensitive underside of the head at the same time. The intoxicating feeling it gave her was hard to explain, but if she had her way, she’d do this for the rest of the night.