The Soldier Next Door: A Forbidden Romance Read online

  It’s big. So big, in fact, that I’m unsure that I can take it for my first time. But I want it, and I don’t want to look like a beginner. What do I do?

  “Put it in your mouth, sweetheart,” Brady rasps, blue eyes flaring. “Give it a kiss and a lick.”

  Obediently, I wrap my lips around him and watch him groan with the same delight I just experienced. I work my mouth up and down him, playing with the tip with my tongue. I reach under and squeeze his balls, causing him to moan a little more in pleasure.

  Brady looks down at me and I look directly at him as I take more of him into my mouth. I know what he must see: a luscious, curvy vixen on her knees, her big eyes so innocent even as her mouth is stuffed full of cock. Sure enough, it’s seconds before he pulls me up and sits me on top of him. His shaft probes my damp folds.

  “Ahhh,” I moan, throwing my head back. “It’s so big!”

  “I know, sweetheart,” he pants. “But you’re very wet. You can take it.”

  Sure enough, soon I’m fully seated on him, our bodies connected deeply. The sensation is agonizing, yet so pleasurable too. Brady takes his time with me, slowly pumping up and down. It’s a little painful, but I feel so full and warm that nothing else matters.

  He starts moving faster, pulling me down on top of him so that the thrusts are more forceful. My breasts start bouncing freely as he grips my ass. Then, Brady loses control and starts slamming into me from beneath my curvy form. We both cry out in pleasure, unaware of the party still happening below us.

  Then, he rolls me over, putting my knees on my shoulders. He enters me once again, pausing as I wince in pain.

  “Are you okay?” he rasps.

  “Yes,” I whisper, smiling. “I’m fantastic.”

  Slowly, he pumps in and out of me. I feel a wave coming over me and a heat rush to my face. He goes faster and deeper, making my breasts bounce uncontrollably on my chest. He grips them and continues driving into me, speeding up and becoming more forceful with each stroke. He goes faster and faster until the wave breaks, and my legs start shaking uncontrollably on his shoulders. My whole body feels like it’s seizing and I’m overwhelmed with pleasure.

  My climax brings him over the edge, and Brady lets out a roar as he fills me with his warm liquid. He’s panting hard and collapses on top of me. We both lay there, a mess of sweat, sex and love.

  He looks at me, his blue eyes like an ocean that I can dive into.

  “That was the best sex I’ve ever had, sweetheart,” he says. “You were amazing. I had to stop myself from coming several times,” he growls in my ear. “Could you tell?”

  I smile, feeling sated and so womanly. “No, but I feel the same way. I’m so glad you were my first and I’ve never felt this good before. I could do this with you over and over again. Forever.”

  He pushes a piece of sweaty hair, matted to my forehead, out of my face.

  “Me too.” He kisses me gently, then stands, sliding out of me and leaving me with a void. He grabs my shower towel hanging up on the wall.

  “Sweetheart, you’re dripping my fluids. Let me take care of you.” He takes the towel and gently wipes at the warm liquid running down my leg. I sit up, shocked at the intimacy, even as Brady carefully cleans my used sex.

  “You are so beautiful, Susie Monroe,” the soldier murmurs, cupping my breasts and pulling me in for another kiss. We savor one another, but then he pulls back. “Let’s get you back to the party before we get something else started.”

  I nod in agreement. Marcella is only going to be able to keep my parents distracted for so long. We stand up and he quickly slides on his boxers and uniform. Then he finds my panties and helps me get dressed. As he slides them back on, he kisses up and down my legs gently, as if I’m made of the most delicate porcelain. Then he finds my bra and clips it in place, readjusting my breasts to make sure they’re snug and secure.

  “I think you like helping me get dressed so you can feel me up some more!” I tease him.

  He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “Something like that.” He finds my dress and helps me put that back on too, gently tossing my hair over my shoulders. We kiss once more, tenderly, before he looks me in the eye.

  “I’ll leave first and then you follow?” he asks.

  I nod and he presses one last kiss to my forehead, smiling down at me. Then, he embraces me in a tight hug and quickly, after glancing down the hallway, exits my room.

  I fall back on my bed, the place where we just made love. I can still smell him, and I feel like a different woman. I can’t believe that that just happened, and that I lost my virginity to the handsome soldier I’ve been dreaming of for more than a year. Everything happened so fast, but at the same time, it was magnificent. I sigh happily, and then readjust my bedspread and spray it with a couple of spritzes of perfume, hoping to mask any evidence of what just happened.

  I waltz out of my room casually and head back down to the party. The crowd has dwindled slightly, and my parents see me from across the room and gesture.

  “Susie darling, your grandma wants to leave. Go say bye. Hurry! She’s outside,” calls my mom.

  I take a deep breath and then laugh gently to myself. Of course, my parents wouldn’t notice if I was gone for twenty or thirty minutes. It’s not that long of an absence, and they’ve been busy looking after their guests. I make my way outside to find my grandmother.

  “Bye Mamie,” I say. “I hope you had a good time.”

  My grandma says something in return, but I don’t hear because I’m watching the soldier I love cross our front yard and step onto the porch of his house. He’s gorgeous, huge, and more than a few female eyes follow his handsome form. But I smile to myself because Brady Firestone is mine, and mine alone.

  10

  Susie

  * * *

  I roll over and check my phone. Eleven o’clock? How could it have gotten so late? I never sleep in, so I must have been tired.

  After Brady left yesterday, I mingled some more at the party, but I really didn’t want to be there. I wanted to go over to Brady’s and do what we had just done again, and again, and again. Thankfully, people started leaving soon after and going to other graduation parties or just going home after a long day.

  I helped my parents clean up and then I went out with Marcella and some of our other friends. I didn’t tell any of them what happened because I wanted to savor the moment a little longer. Marc and I hung out until about midnight and I came home and found Brady sitting on the porch.

  He looked tired, but said he wanted to make sure I got home safe. Both of us were too exhausted to do anything but talk, so we just sat on the porch and caught up. We laughed about how we sent all those naughty notes and pictures back and forth. Then he pulled out a pair of sexy pink panties that I sent him in the mail. The lacy frippery looked so incongruous in his bronzed hand. I tried snatching them back, but he held them out of my reach and stuck them back in his pocket, saying he would keep them forever.

  We talked for about thirty minutes and then kissed each other goodnight. I went home and fell right into a deep sleep.

  Now, it’s morning. Or almost noon, in fact. I lay there for a moment, checking my phone. I see a good morning text from Brady and smile. I text him back and check my phone for other notifications. While I’m lying there, my stomach starts growling, which causes me to roll out of bed and peek outside my room. There’s no noise, which means that my parents are likely already gone and lunch is going to be on my own.

  While I’m brushing my teeth, I look at myself in the mirror. Is something different? Do I look different? I feel different, definitely. I feel older and more mature. I smile sheepishly at myself and continue my morning routine.

  I go down to the kitchen and glance out the window, hoping to catch sight of Brady in the backyard, but I don’t see him. I’m a little sad, but then start thinking of last night again. It was magical and I had sex. And it wasn’t the normal awkward, fumbling, sneaking around, two-minute pump
high school sex that my friends have had. It was so romantic and passionate. Brady took care of me and made sure I was okay. It was better than anything I’ve read in my romance novels, and I never imagined that my body could catch fire like that. I start to realize I’m a little sore down there, which is to be expected given his size, but I’m not hurting. It is a good kind of ache.

  I’m humming to myself while making a sandwich when my parents walk back in.

  “Good morning dear,” my mom sings. Jackie’s in an unusually good mood. I think my parents went to the casino last night and are just now getting back in, to be honest. Most parents are in bed by 9 p.m., but not Jackie and Jim. Despite their suburban appearance, they love going out.

  “Good morning,” I say, kissing them both on the cheek as they pass me in the kitchen. “Are you guys just getting back? Win a lot of money or something?” I ask, glancing at the clock. It’s almost noon.

  “No, no, we just got up really early and did some shopping. Now we can get started with some summer cleaning!” my mom says excitedly.

  I glance at my dad and we share the same brief, weary expression. No one likes cleaning like my mom and unfortunately, my dad and I are usually dragged into it with her.

  “I’m going to go vacuum. Your father is going to start in the downstairs bathroom, and we’ll give you a task when you get done eating your sandwich. Sound good?” Jackie asks, pulling the vacuum out of the cleaning closet.

  “Yep,” I reply with a weak smile. I plan on taking the slowest, smallest bites so hopefully she’s done by the time my lunch is over.

  “Great!” my mom says, dragging the vacuum up the stairs.

  “Where did you guys go last night?” I ask, turning to my dad who is putting away groceries.

  Above us, the vacuum starts humming loudly. We can barely hear each other.

  “Joe had some people over, so we went over there and stayed longer than we planned. Did you have fun last night?” my dad asks me.

  “Yeah, it was fun just hanging out with the gang one last time. Some of them are leaving today for summer jobs, so it was a little sad, but still.”

  He nods in understanding.

  “It can be a little heart-wrenching to move on, but that’s life. You’ll have reunions, so don’t worry, you’ll see them again, Susie Cue. Well, I’d better get to this bathroom before your mom comes down and has a panic attack.”

  I chuckle a little as he walks past me to the guest bathroom and closes the door.

  Suddenly from above me, I hear a loud shriek and the vacuum cuts off immediately. I drop my sandwich and dash up the stairs. My door is slightly ajar, and I rush in.

  “Mom, are you okay?” I ask before stopping dead in my tracks. Jackie’s sitting on my bed, mouth wide open and eyes filming with tears of horror and shock. She’s got the box where I store all my letters and photos in her hand and she’s staring at one of Brady’s drawings of me.

  “What the hell is this?” she asks in a trembling voice, shaking the drawing at me. “Who did this? How did you get this?”

  “I…how did you…uh,” I stammer, struggling to get a good answer out. I make my way over to her but she just keeps flipping through the materials in the box. My heart drops. There’s a lot of X-rated stuff in there, and now my mom knows.

  She holds a letter before her, her fingers trembling, and reads from it: “Susie, I can’t wait to explore all parts of you with my tongue. Really? This is how you are talking to…Brady? Do you mean our neighbor, Brady? The grown man who lives next door?” she screams, looking at me in horror.

  I start to feel flushed and hot. I have no words and am in shock myself. Then my mom jumps up. Her hair is practically sticking out from her head, like she’s just been shocked by static electricity. “Is this why you two disappeared yesterday? You’ve been taking up with him? He’s two decades older than you! He’s old enough to be your father!”

  I am shocked and take a step back, insulted. “No, it’s not like that! Brady’s not like that, and what we’re doing is right, and real. He’s not taking advantage of me at all. I wanted it!”

  Jackie stands up and lets out a bloodcurdling scream before chucking the box at the wall. The pictures and letters scatter onto the floor. I scramble to pick them up, but she grabs me by the arm and yanks me up.

  We’re about the same height, but I’m probably twenty pounds heavier. Still, Jackie terrifies me with the disgusted look on her face and the way her mouth is curling up in a snarl.

  “You dirty little slut. You think what, that the man loves you? That you’re special? That man took advantage of you, you naive little hussy. And guess what, it probably wasn’t that hard because you’re a fucking slut! You think he hasn’t been fucking dozens of women when he’s out of town?”

  I start to well up and tears brim over, running down my face. “Mom, I’m not a whore and he does love me! We’re going to be-”

  “Shut up! I can’t even look at you right now. This is what you’re doing? My perfect little Susie Cue is actually a dirty, shameful SLUT!”

  I twist my arm away and run out of the room. My dad is standing at the bottom of the stairs, confused and in shock.

  “Susie, what’s going on? What is your mother talking about?”

  I push past him and run out the door. I don’t stop running and crying until I’m standing on Brady’s porch, pounding on the door desperately. I keep beating until I hear footsteps and a click as the door unlocks and opens.

  “Susie, are you okay? What’s wrong?” my handsome soldier asks, immediately concerned.

  I rush into his house and he closes the door behind us. I run and embrace him, a rush of emotions pouring out of my heart in a torrent. He holds me close and murmurs soothing words into my hair.

  “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart,” he whispers. “Everything will be okay.”

  And I know, in that moment that he’s right. Brady Firestone is my future, and I just need to take the next step.

  11

  Brady

  * * *

  I stand there and rub Susie’s back gently, trying to console my lovely girl. I was shocked to hear someone banging on my door and rushed over when I realized that it was this beautiful, curvy woman, distraught on my porch. We stand there for a few moments longer while she calms down. I keep holding her tight, running my fingers through her hair.

  “Susie, take a seat, and let me get you some water.” She sits down, wiping the tears from her face. I make my way to the kitchen and fill up a glass of water. Then I bring it back to her and she takes a sip before letting out a deep, shuddering breath.

  “Thank you,” she says in between sniffles.

  “Of course, sweetheart. Now what happened?” I ask, putting my hand on her knee gently. “What’s got you like this?”

  She looks at the water, and then seems to relax into the sofa. After taking another sip, she says, “My mom found my secret shoe box with all of our letters and pictures in it. She was vacuuming and I must have left it in the open. Usually, I hide the box under my bed, but sometimes I read your letters before going to sleep. They make me feel safe and warm, and I guess I forgot to re-hide them last night. God, I’m so stupid!” She smacks herself on the forehead and falls back into the couch.

  I rub her knee sympathetically and stroke her arm with my other hand. “Hey, no, you’re not stupid. It was a mistake. Everyone makes them. How did Jackie take it?” I ask, already knowing the answer from her reaction.

  Tears come to Susie’s eyes again.

  “She went ballistic. She called me a whore and a prostitute. She said you were just using me like all the whores you’ve probably fucked when you were away, and all this crazy stuff. I thought she was literally going to hurt me she was grabbing my arm so hard,” she explains.

  I briefly look over her arms and notice they are a little red. Oh shit, someone set hands on my beautiful girl? Immediately, anger swells up inside of me. I stand up abruptly and pace around the room, shaking my head
. My heart starts pounding and I’m breathing heavily. I walk around my living room, and can feel Susie watching me, nervous.

  “She called you a what again? What the fuck?” I demand, smacking the wall. I see Susie jump, her eyes wide and frightened. Immediately, I apologize.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. It just makes me so angry that anyone would talk to you like that. You are a caring, passionate, smart, and driven young woman. You have so much ahead of you and you’re so disciplined. How many other women would have waited that long and saved themselves for someone? Don’t let anyone make you think that you are not special, not even your parents. I will never let anyone disrespect you like that.”

  She looks up at me with those addictive, soul searching brown eyes. I can’t help but love this woman.

  “You mean it?” Susie asks. Her voice is so small and precious, and I can’t help but laugh a little.

  I push her hair back and wipe the tears from her face. “Yes Susie, never again. I love you. I knew I loved you from the moment you sent me my favorite passage from the book you were reading back in January. Do you remember what it was?”

  She’s smiling and leaning her head into my hand. “Was it the kiss paragraph from Cyrano de Bergerac?” she asks.

  I smile, nodding. “Yes, ‘and what is a kiss specifically? A pledge properly sealed, a promise seasoned to taste, a vow stamped with the immediacy of a lip, a rosy circle drawn around the verb ‘to love.’ A kiss is a message too intimate for the ear-’”

  “‘Infinity captured in the bee’s brief visit to a flower, secular communication with an aftertaste of heaven, the pulse rising from the heart to utter its name on a lover’s lip: ‘Forever.’” She lets the words flow off her plump, heart shaped lips, finishing the passage from one of my favorite books.

  Susie told me she was reading it months ago and that she had fallen in love with the characters because they reminded her a lot of us. I thought that was her subtle way of telling me she loved me because why would she quote Cyrano otherwise? And the fact that Susie randomly referenced one of my favorite plays confirmed that she was right for me.