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“But what about…” She trailed off, looking for her friend Gwen who’d flown in for the occasion. This was amazing, but she really wanted her best friend there.
“Burke and I are coming too. There’s no way I was letting you get married without me.”
She laughed, and Lane hugged her hard. “Eagle and Sadie are coming too,” he said.
Laura couldn’t help but smile at the two of them as they accepted congratulations for several minutes from everyone before Sunny tugged her back to the dance floor.
* * *
Sunny noticedthe lonely pair of headlights crawling down the driveway when he was holding Laura. He had to keep telling himself not to pull her too close, but the desire to do so was almost overwhelming. The car had him stopping though and Laura did too, looking around.
He saw her frown in the dim light of the tent. “Who is that?”
“I don’t know. Everyone who was invited is already here,” he answered. “Come on,” he said, taking her hand and dragging her toward where Eagle and Sadie were dancing. Sadie had recovered from her earlier crying fit. Sunny couldn’t wait until she got home from the cruise to find two more cabins built. He didn’t know if he would have had Eagle’s resolve not to tell her anything, but let her be surprised, so more power to him.
For now, though, he tapped Eagle on the shoulder and leaned in. “We’ve got company.”
Eagle stiffened and looked around, spotting the headlights. Checking in with the other men, he saw all of them had noticed and were moving in the driveway's direction. They all watched as the car came to a stop in the line of other cars. The lights went out and a lone figure got out, walking toward the tent.
He was big, at least as big as he himself, maybe even taller. Other than that, he couldn’t tell much in the dark. The stranger approached with even steps, but he could feel his assessing eyes.
“Good evening, folks,” he drawled, and Sunny felt a tingle of awareness go down his spine. “I apologize for interrupting your evening. I’m just looking for someone and hoping you all can help me.”
They naturally deferred to Cap. Even now, he was still their leader. “What’s your name, sailor?”
Sunny jerked, but then he realized Cap was right. The man was dressed in an off-duty sailor uniform. “Ford, sir.”
“And who are you looking for?”
“Specialist Rayford Gaskell.”
No one actually looked at him, but the sailor’s eyes found him, anyway.
“Why would you be looking for him?”
The man took a deep breath, locking eyes with Sunny. “Because he’s my brother. Half- brother. And our father is dead.”
Cap glanced over his shoulder. But Sunny wasn’t doing this right now. His brain struggled to process just those two pieces of information. He had a brother. His father was dead. Nope, not happening. He spun around and headed for the barn. Eagle and Cap both called after him, but all he was truly aware of was the sailor’s eyes boring into his back.
Sunny didn’t look back, and it was only when he entered the barn that he realized he wasn’t alone. Sunny didn’t check because he knew exactly who it was. Laura. He wanted to say something to her. Ask her to go. Ask her to stay. He didn’t know. All his mind could process right now is that his father had a son in the navy. Ford. He remembered hearing the name in that last encounter.
Was he a Seal? Was this the Ford Ray Sr. was so damn proud of? Or had been proud of. Sunny felt like it should phase him more to know that his father was dead, but it didn’t.
Laura’s hand landed on his shoulder, and he didn’t shrug it off. “You should go,” he said, his voice tight.
She left her hand where it was.
“Freckles…” He trailed off at her sharp intake of breath as she stepped in close, her front to his back. She was the most enticing combination of hard and soft he’d ever felt. Not something he’d ever consciously thought of wanting but knowing the woman wouldn’t break if he… fuck. No. He could not go there. Just because they’d had sex did not mean she was ready for what he wanted.
But his body reacted to her touch.
“I mean it, Freckles. I want you right now, but I can’t be nice.”
He felt her lift up on her toes and kiss the back of his neck. “That’s ok. I don’t need you to be.”
“You don’t understand—” he ground out, but she interrupted him.
“I know what the club we met at was. You want to hurt me. I won’t say I understand, because I don’t. What I do know is I can take it. If it will help you, I’ll take it.”
Sunny spun around and had her by the throat, pulling her to him in a brutally claiming kiss. She didn’t fight. Her body melted into his even as he heard her gasp for air against the slight restraint. He pushed his tongue into her mouth. The faint taste of the barbecue and the glass of wine she’d had lingered there, but underneath was the flavor he’d grown addicted to, in just two short days all those months ago.
She met his violence with softness, and it soothed something inside him. Walking her backward until she bumped into the wall, he grabbed both her wrists and pinned them over her head with one of his hands before moving the other back to her throat.
“How do you know you can take it?” he asked, not doubting her, because her reaction to just this was sweet surrender. His eyes searched her face, taking in the quick breaths, flushed cheeks, and blown pupils. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. His dick throbbed, iron hard in his jeans, but he didn’t make a move to adjust anything until he had her answer.
Her eyes met his. “It doesn’t matter how I know. I just do.”
Sunny growled and took her mouth again, swallowing her moan as he pressed his body hard against hers so she could feel how much he wanted her. When she thrust her pelvis forward to meet his, Sunny was a goner. There was no way he could resist that kind of invitation.
