Hard: A Military Stepbrother Romance Read online

  HARD

  A Military Stepbrother Romance

  Lara Swann

  Call me a badass mother-f*cker all you like, I'm a Navy SEAL to the bone - and I take what I want.

  Bella

  He's a foul-mouthed, panty-soaking bad boy with a string of one night stands.

  I'm the good girl who never did anything wrong - until I laid eyes on him. I knew better, but his arrogant charm sucked me in and ripped me apart when he disappeared for good.

  It's fine - I'm over him.

  Or at least I was until he sauntered right back into my life again - a Navy SEAL now, all grown up. That sinful body filled out with muscles hard enough to break my heart all over again.

  My new step-brother.

  Screw him. I'm done. I'm not going anywhere near that arrogant bastard again. This time, it will be different.

  Even if my body aches with the memory of his touch…

  Seth

  I was a reckless bastard with no sense of boundaries - tearing my way through the panties of every so-called innocent girl I met. Until one fiery-eyed wildcat pulled me in too deep and sent me running from something that never had a chance.

  Now the Navy's taken me in, chewed me up and spat me right back out again. They may have smoothed my rough edges, but I'm still a predator at heart - and I take what I want.

  At least until my wayward mother screws up my life again.

  The only girl I ever came back for.

  My beautiful, provocative baby-Bella.

  My new step-sister.

  Forbidden. Impossible. And so utterly irresistible.

  F*ck this. I'm a badass Navy SEAL, and forbidden is just another kind of invitation.

  I won't hurt her again, but I'm going to get what I want.

  Bella is going to be mine.

  Copyright © 2015 Lara Swann

  Copyright © Cover Design Cormar Covers

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real events, people, or places is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without the permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations used for review.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status of products referred to in this book and acknowledges that trademarks have been used without permission.

  This book contains mature content, including graphic sex. Please do not continue reading if you are under the age of 18 or if this type of content is disturbing to you.

  NOTE: All characters in the book are 18+ years of age, non-blood related, and all sexual acts are consensual.

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  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty One

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Chapter Twenty Five

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Epilogue

  Mailing List

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  This book wouldn’t have been possible without all the support I’ve had from my loving friends and family.

  Thank you to my sister, who read every piece I excitedly sent her, put up with my endless questions of “wait, does this work?” and “do you think I can do this?”, and made the editing process so much easier.

  Thank you in equal measure to the rest of my family, who accepted my refusal to let them read this novel piece-by-piece so that they could enjoy it as a whole. Hopefully that anticipation was worth it!

  And thank you to my friends, whose excitement on hearing about it galvanized me further.

  Writing a novel was a huge endeavor for me, and it meant more than I can say that when I announced I was going to do it, everyone I knew accepted it without question.

  That made the difference when my own belief faltered – until here we are, on the other side of a novel.

  One that I hope will light you up with love, laughter and possibilities.

  To my partner,

  who rolls his eyes at my love of romance novels,

  - but has no objection to providing inspiration when needed

  Prologue

  Bella

  I heard the click and pushed the hotel door open in one quick movement, refusing to give the butterflies dancing in my stomach any chance to make me hesitate.

  I want this. I’ve wanted it for months.

  That didn’t change the way my eyes darted around when I finally drew up inside. The dimmed lights of the spacious room let me skip over the rich furnishings quickly - taking in the sophisticated, traditional decor and forgetting it a moment later.

  At least until I saw the bed. That large, four-poster monstrosity immediately brought to mind what I was doing here tonight, and my eyes flitted away and back within a few seconds, alive with the same anticipation and hesitancy that had plagued me all night. My heart rate jumped as I took it in, and I tried unsuccessfully to tell myself that I wasn’t nervous.

  A low chuckle interrupted my thoughts, drawing me to a sight that always banished my doubts and hesitations.

  “So, you actually showed up.”

  Seth leaned easily against one of the pillars of that extravagant, over-the-top bed. His half-naked form gleamed in the low light, shadows highlighting rock hard abs and a body more powerfully sexy than any eighteen year old had a right to be. He shifted slightly and his muscles flexed under my gaze, inviting my eyes to run down to the light spattering of hair that arrowed temptingly under his jeans.

  Smart jeans - a nice dark gray with an impressive lack of rips or tears. For Seth, that counted as dressing up. The corner of my mouth turned up as I pictured the Principal’s face earlier that evening when he’d shown up in jeans and a shirt to our black-tie graduation ball - I was sure he’d be refused entry for the outrage, but only an hour later he was sauntering across the dance floor, the attention of every girl there regardless of what he chose to wear.

  Somehow, Seth had always been able to get away with anything.

  His hot gaze sent lust shuddering through my body and gave me confidence in my own sensuality as the heat of his expression seared me. It was easy to rise to his challenge with a quick quirk of an eyebrow, the role feeling familiar and natural as I ran my eyes obviously up and down his hard, taut body, letting one hand settle on my hip.

  “I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about.”

  His eyes smoldered as they looked at me, every line of his body dangerous - and unbelievably sexy. He shifted closer with a predator’s grace and I found my breath caught as it always did, pulse beating hard in my ears.

  Instinctively, I wanted to rush to him, let my hands touch the firm heat of his muscular chest while his arms encircled me - but I couldn’t move. Lust was already building within me, everything we’d ever done rising through each movement and g
esture now and promising so much more. I stood, caught helplessly, as he approached.

  That slow, sexy smile as his eyes read everything in my expression lit my panties on fire, making me fight not to moan aloud as his hand cupped my chin, a gentle finger caressing my cheek while he tilted my head to hover moments from his lips.

  His body held apart, he took me with just that one contact holding us together - a sweet, sensual kiss warming my eager lips, keeping it slow and steady as I longed for more, ached for more.

  Oh god…

  I was already gone. I tried to take it further, to push hard against his mouth, but that one hand and devilish body controlled me utterly, forcing the slow pace as he kept me in that chaste kiss for an age.

  By the time his soft lips opened to let his tongue dance with mine, I was lost in the one simple, powerful sensation he was giving me, everything hinging on that sweet penetration, on that almost-innocent joining of our bodies while my pulse started beating with need in my center.

  Just as I was sure I was going to have to throw him down on the bed myself, he withdrew, looking back at me with eyes that sparkled with amusement on top of our shared lust.

  “Well?”

  This time I did moan, not even trying to pretend my customary display of aloofness.

  “God…dammit…”

  I pressed against him, my hands exploring his strong muscles unreservedly while I let my lips graze his neck, tongue darting out to taste his flesh as his hands came around to grip my ass hard, rubbing my soft body against the thick wall of his - the sweetness he showed only to tease turning instantly to a burning need that I knew would take me over completely. I smiled against the skin of his neck, shooting him a glance as my hands hovered around his hips, taking a deep reassurance in how solid he was.

  “I liked you in that shirt, you know.”

  He chuckled again, the roughness of it stirring my blood as his lips brushed across my temple.

  “Too bad, baby.”

  Yeah, he wasn’t going to be caught wearing that again - not even for me.

  A girl could hope…

  He drew back and ran his hands down my smooth satin dress, chasing the fabric as it tucked in close to my body. The floor length gown was a regal purple, darker lace covering the tops of my breasts until it met the silken material, the long dress following my curves until mid-waist when it dropped sensuously to the ground, layers of amethyst that shifted as I walked to give a glimpse of the darker layer underneath. It flattered me in all the right places, and I’d never felt as sexy as I did that night - my graduation…and, if I kept my nerve up, another milestone I was longing to pass.

  “I’ve been picturing stripping this dress off you all night.”

  His dark promise thrilled me, but I found myself latching onto that spark of amusement between us - a light touch that provided some relief to the intensity that threatened to overwhelm me.

  “But I spent so long picking it out…”

  One strong brow rose over those deep gray eyes and his mouth teased mine again while he watched me.

  “Oh? Surely the most important factor when picking out a dress is how quickly it will make others want to get it off you.”

  I scowled up in mock outrage, pushing one hand ineffectually against his muscled chest as I drew myself up.

  “Maybe among the people you know, jackass, but I can assure you I’m not that type of girl.”

  The quick banter slipped out easily, a bigger part of our relationship than the red-hot desire - the top-of-the-class ‘good’ girl and the notorious bad boy who couldn’t stand each other. When he’d shown up at our school at the beginning of the year, I’d made it obvious how disgusted I was with how quickly everyone had seemed to fall over themselves for a few cocky, arrogant muscles. But for some reason, that disdain had only drawn his attention.

  I’d put it down to the perverse desire for something he couldn’t have, and shot down every mocking jibe he sent my way. Until our initial dislike slowly grew into a reluctant respect for the others’ quick-witted responses, the competition heating until we somehow moved beyond that simple understanding of our enmity.

  And then he’d kissed me. Sure, I’m convinced it was just another trick to get a rise out of me, but it was the first decent kiss I’d ever had…and after that, we couldn’t stop ourselves.

  We poured our passionate dislike into every touch, every kiss, every stolen, secret moment - until my body raged for him at night and my blood lusted after that hard, infuriating body I’d held myself so aloof from. And surprisingly, he didn’t push us further - despite that devilish reputation, our little teases played out for months without a single suggestion for more.

  Or at least - not a spoken suggestion. His body…well, that was hell-bent on convincing me.

  Which meant that tonight had been my idea. The intelligent, driven academic girl. The butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth good girl. The frigid, stuck-up bitch girl. Inviting the most outrageous, inappropriate piece of delicious man-flesh to the hotel room her father had paid for.

  The father who would never approve of his good, obedient daughter’s wild behavior.

  And my father was right about that, of course. I knew that. He always was. But that couldn’t stop the driving lust, the endless curiosity - and surely, I couldn’t be expected to go off to university still a virgin? Not that I was going to ask my father that particular question.

  With a brief frown, I tried to push him out of my mind, the thought of his disapproval sending a shimmer of unease through the hot lust I’d been enjoying just a moment ago.

  He’ll never know. And you’ve done everything else he could ever have expected…

  Seth’s voice deepened with amusement while his hands explored the smooth dress he was so keen to have me out of, bringing me back to the moment I wanted to lose myself in as he stroked my ass with a firm confidence that had me rocking back against him, his mouth stealing kisses from mine as he murmured into it, turning our easy banter into something more as he stroked the pure desire simmering within me.

  “So high and mighty, Baby-Bella, perhaps I should do something to take you down a notch…”

  I shuddered at his words and let his mouth take mine again, meeting him with every movement as my body pressed hard against his. I could feel my chest rising with every quickening breath I took, my breasts sensitive and desperate to be free of the restrictive dress to take the attention he promised so much of. I’d only felt his tongue against them once before, and that had been what finally drove me to insisting on this night.

  His hands found the zipper to the side of the dress the moment I raised myself on my toes to murmur in his ear.

  “God, Seth…do…”

  He laughed again, but it was strained this time, his own desire thick in his voice, and the knowledge of what I was doing to him drove my need even deeper. One smooth movement opened the side of my dress and his head dipped to kiss along the laced edge still holding up at the top, my hands balanced against his broad shoulders as I threw my head back and let him have what he wanted. He gave a couple of quick tugs of my dress down, before raising his mouth back to me in a frustrated growl, his body pressing up against mine, hips rocking and letting me feel his thick need for me for the first time.

  God damn.

  What I felt there was far bigger than I’d anticipated, and even as I felt myself clenching with the need to feel him deep inside me, my nerves danced through me again.

  “How do I get this damned dress off you?”

  His mouth covered mine as he spoke, teasing and nibbling at my lips while I tried to reply, breathlessly gesturing with one arm.

  “Over my head.”

  Before I’d quite understood just what my answer to that question meant, he had the bottom of the dress in two hands and was drawing it up and over my shoulders. It slipped past me with an ease I wasn’t expecting and suddenly I was standing before him in only the thin, laced material of my panties and bra, my elegant high
heels suddenly seeming to enhance my vulnerability instead of the sexual confidence I’d felt only moments before. My face flushed instinctively as I found myself both trying to cover my exposed body and push him away with a glare.

  “Hey—!”

  “You asked for it, babe - and see, it worked. Not nearly so smarmy now are you?”

  His grin sent both lust and fury spiraling through me and as I stepped forward to explode in indignation he folded his arms neatly around me, pulling me back into him and letting me feel the sudden heat of flesh on flesh. Electricity sparked between us and I shuddered with the sudden intimacy as every part of me longed to feel him all over. The warmth of his body overtook me and I couldn’t help burying my head against his chest, inhaling his musky male scent as I let my arms find his the hard muscles of his back.

  My sputtering embarrassment subsided into a moan as his hands glided across my sensitive exposed skin. He came down to nuzzle at my bare neck, the roughness of his stubble contrasting with his soft lips to make me breathless all over again before he raised his head to look me in the eyes.

  I bit my lip at the intensity between us, lost in his eyes as I felt his hands running through my artfully styled hair, pulling it out of its coiled position on top of my head and gently taking it down to curl in waves around my shoulders. His fingers tangled in my thick locks and caressed my scalp as he shook it out, eyes taking on a strange gleam as his gaze lingered on my red-gold hair glinting in the low light.

  It was strange for a moment, having it tumble down around me out of my usual practical tie, but the look in his eyes was making me feel like a different person tonight.

  “You look so beautiful like this…Belle…my beauty.”

  The whispered caress touched something inside me, making my heart squeeze with a sudden longing I couldn’t name. He’d only called me that a few times - the one name that didn’t seem invented to wind me up - and every time I’d seen that strange look in his eyes.

  Before I could stop it, my mind turned to the one place I’d promised myself I wouldn’t go tonight, the words slipping past my lips as I felt him slowly stepping forward, taking me backwards until the full weight of the bed was behind me - the significance of what we were doing hitting me again.