Navy SEAL’s Virgin Lover Read online

  She rocked him against her bosom, and when finally the sobs became irregular and gave way to a peaceful quiet, they lay together for what felt like hours more, curled up against each another, the one not wanting to let go of the other, and when finally he spoke, it was in a hoarse whisper.

  “I love you, Erin.”

  Her heart rejoiced, then, and she knew she had found her soulmate. She had traveled to the other side of the world to find him, and find him she had.

  She gazed up at the stars, twinkling high above, and smiled. Thank you, she thought. Thank you for leading me here.

  Chapter 14

  “Did you come?”

  Erin blushed at the question. She and Sophie were lying in their respective beds, the lights out, and talking excitedly about the events of the day.

  “No need to be shy about it, Erin. It’s a very simple question. Did you come or didn’t you?”

  “I…”

  Sophie giggled. “You didn’t, did you? Boy, are you in for a treat next time Raminar boinks you. It’s only natural, you know. Lord knows it took me several times before I finally managed to come with a man.”

  “I may have come,” said Erin indignantly, “but I was so wrapped up in the moment I probably missed it.”

  Sophie was silent for a few beats, then her incredulous voice sounded. “You mean to tell me you’ve never had an orgasm, Erin Walters?”

  “Why, no. I mean, yes. I mean…” She raised her voice. “I really don’t know why you’re making such a fuss about it anyway.”

  “Trust me,” Sophie voice came back dryly. “If you had come, you would know. It’s pretty much the best feeling in the world.”

  “If you’re such an expert, why don’t you explain to me what it feels like? That way I won’t miss it when it finally happens.”

  “Oh, you won’t miss it,” Sophie retorted without missing a beat. “And when it happens, you’ll want to be inside, not somewhere out there on the beach.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Cause you’ll raise the roof.”

  “I loved every second of making love to Ram,” said Erin, intent to get back to what to her was the most important thing that had ever happened in her life so far. “And did I tell you that when it was all over he cried? He actually cried!”

  “Why? Didn’t he get off?”

  There were moments when Erin wished her friend was a little less prosaic and more romantically inclined, like she was, and this definitely was one of those moments. “He ‘got off’ all right. In fact his… sperm was all over my belly.”

  “Better on your belly than in your belly, honey, believe you me.”

  “I think he was overwhelmed. He was a soldier all his life, you know, and must have been taught from an early age to keep his emotions in check. I think what happened was that he finally let go. You see what this means, don’t you?”

  “That he’ll want to boink you again?”

  “That when he’s with me he can be himself. He can drop the mask and reveal his true self. His heart. He told me he loved me.”

  “They all do when they get to shoot their load.”

  Erin decided not to mention one more word about the extraordinary events of the evening to Sophie. It was now obvious to her that her friend simply didn’t know the meaning of the word love. Sex was all she knew, and perhaps all she’d ever know. Love was a mystery to be cherished and protected from ignorant people like Sophie, she suddenly thought, and when her friend’s even breathing announced she’d fallen asleep, she decided to step outside and share her emotions with nature instead.

  Slipping from beneath the single sheet, she padded to the door, and noiselessly opened it.

  Walking a little distance, she sat down on the sand and stared up at the night sky.

  The universe had granted her wish, and gratitude filled her being.

  And she’d just decided to return indoors, when she saw that the lights were still on in the cabin next to hers.

  With rejoicing heart, she decided to look in on Ram for a goodnight kiss, and she’d reached the window and taken a peek inside to see if her lover was alone, when she saw that not only wasn’t he alone, he was accompanied by Burke and three more people she’d never seen before.

  Frowning, she drew closer for a better look. Through the mosquito netting covering the window, she saw that the five men were seated around a small table, studying a piece of paper laid out in front of them.

  From her vantage point, it looked like a topographic map, and she briefly wondered if Ram was planning some kind of military-type campaign. Since he’d told her he was retired, she quickly dismissed this as ridiculous. Besides, what would an American former special forces guy be organizing military campaigns in Goa for?

  She did notice now that the three men with Ram and Burke all appeared Indian. Then another crazy idea struck her. Perhaps it was some type of treasure map and Ram and his colleagues were in search of it?

  She had no idea if these parts of Goa held treasure, but why else would be studying maps in the middle of the night?

  She quickly dismissed the idea for being just as ridiculous as the last, and smiled to herself.

  Apparently love had made her lose her mind. She definitely wasn’t thinking straight. As she withdrew and returned to her own cabin, she decided to pose the question tomorrow. She was pretty sure there was a perfectly reasonable answer and Ram would be only too glad to give it to her.

  After all, he loved her, and didn’t lovers share everything, even their most intimate secrets?

  Chapter 15

  Burke didn’t much care for the plan Ram had outlined. Though he hadn’t said anything at first, he knew he had to speak up before Ram put the plan in motion and there would be no turning back.

  He didn’t like to contradict his former teammate and longtime friend, but if he didn’t speak up now, he’d probably regret it all the more later on.

  “I think you’re making a big mistake, Ram,” he finally burst out the moment the other men had left and it was just the two of them.

  “Oh?”

  Burke heaved a deep sigh, then trudged ahead. They hadn’t come this far to sell each other bullshit when what they needed most was the cold, hard truth.

  He waved a hand at the map, still prominent on the table. “It simply won’t work, buddy.”

  Ram’s response was quick and devastating. “So you’re the expert all of a sudden? Interesting.”

  “You’re the expert,” Burke conceded, “but you have to admit I have a little bit of experience when it comes to these things too, Bradley. And I’m telling you this won’t work for the simple reason people won’t respond the way you’re anticipating.”

  “They will,” Ram was quick to counter. “Once they see the possibilities, they’ll jump at the chance.”

  Burke shook his head and sat back, the chair creaking under his weight. Ram had always been the dreamer of the outfit, and it seemed to him nothing had changed. He still dreamed big but essentially unrealistic dreams. The only thing he regretted was that he’d let himself get involved in one of them. At least his friend had paid for his ticket and expenses.

  “Look, I’m telling you, they’ll laugh you right out of the room, buddy. You don’t know people the way I do. The moment you hit them with this big scheme of yours, they’ll simply stop listening and kick you out on your ass.”

  Ram gave him a hard stare, just like he’d known he would. Dreamers dream hard, and when the world throws their dreams back in their faces, they fight back. Ferociously, sometimes.

  Raminar pounded the table with his fist. “Dammit, Burke. This will work, I’m telling you. Developing these beaches along the lines we’ve discussed would be good for everybody.”

  “Not for the investors, who can make a lot more money building yet another high-rise. Did you know that for every one of your ‘villages’ a savvy investor can plunk down a tower that will net him millions more? It’s the language of money, buddy, and you still don�
�t get the picture.”

  “They will see my vision for the future of these beaches and they won’t be able to deny it’s what’s best for the people, for the tourists and the environment.”

  In one fell swoop, Burke wiped the map from the table, along with cups and glasses. They smashed against the wall. “Fuck the environment!” he cried. He wagged an impressive finger in Ram’s face. “That’s what they’ll be thinking, Bradley. They won’t say it to your face, like I’m doing now, but you be damn sure they’ll be thinking it.”

  “So what?” countered Ram, standing his ground. “All we need to do is find enough investors with the vision to see beyond the short term, and we’re in business.”

  Burke shook his head, his jaw working. “You won’t find them. Trust me. You simply won’t.”

  Ram grinned. “I will find them, and when I do, you’ll look really stupid, do you know that?”

  Burke laughed his booming laugh. “Not much difference from my usual look then, huh?” Ram gave him that pleading look he’d come to know and fear. “Oh, no. Not that lost puppy look again, Bradley. It won’t work on me, man. I’m immune.”

  “Come on. You gotta see this through. Even if you don’t believe in me, you’ve gotta stay until the end. You owe me that much.”

  Burke heaved a deep sigh. He did owe his friend a favor. A big one. If not for Bradley, Burke might not even be alive right now.

  “Look,” he offered. “I’ll help you this one time, but read my lips: if it doesn’t work out, I’m gone, you hear me? Next time—”

  Ram’s eyes shone with a holy fire. “There won’t be a next time, buddy. This is it. And trust me, we will succeed. You wanna know why?”

  “Do I have a choice?” Burke said wearily.

  “Because this time… I’m in love!”

  Burke’s eyebrows rose. This was a surprise. “In love? You mean in love with the land, the sea and the people of this fine country?”

  “I’m in love with Erin Walters.”

  Burke closed his eyes. “Oh, God.”

  “We made love tonight, Burke, and it was the most enchanting experience of my entire life.”

  “Enchanting, huh? Is that what you kids call it nowadays?”

  “We made love under the stars and it was magical.”

  “It was sex, buddy. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  Ram shook his head decidedly. “Uh-uh. It was more than sex. I felt a connection I’ve never felt before with any woman. It was love.”

  Burke yawned cavernously. “Well, good for you, Bradley. I hope you’ll be very happy together.” When his friend didn’t respond, he looked up in alarm. Ram was staring out the window into the night. “Raminar? Are you all right, buddy?”

  Ram shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said softly. He looked over at Burke, and the latter was surprised when he saw the pain in his friend’s eyes. “It’s just that… I’ve never been in love before, man. I-I’m scared I’ll screw up.”

  Burke placed a beefy hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said in a low voice. “You will.”

  Chapter 16

  “I don’t think you should ask.”

  Erin slipped on her bikini top and picked out a shirt. “Why not? It’s not as if he won’t tell me. We were intimate last night, remember?”

  “Intimate?” Sophie snorted. “Girl, what century do you think this is?”

  Erin shrugged. She was feeling light as a feather and whatever Sophie said, nothing could bring her down today. Not after the wonderful night she had with Ram. She wasn’t a virgin anymore, and it felt great! As if some great weight she hadn’t even known rested on her shoulders had finally been lifted. “I just think he wouldn’t mind telling me, that’s all. We’re lovers now, and lovers don’t keep secrets from each other.”

  Another muffled snort sounded from the bathroom, which Sophie had occupied for over half an hour now, but Erin decided to ignore it. If Sophie didn’t have a romantic bone in her body, that couldn’t be helped, but she’d be damned if she let her friend drag her down to her own sordid level.

  “It’s probably something really silly,” she went on. “Maybe he’s working on some secret project for the Indian government.”

  Sophie walked into the room, adjusting her shorts. “Didn’t you tell me it had something to do with treasure?”

  Erin blushed. She shouldn’t have confided her silly ideas to Sophie. “That was just a thought. It looked like a treasure map.”

  “You really are a hopeless romantic, aren’t you? Love at first sight, nookie under the moonlight, and now treasure maps? Next thing you’re going to tell me Burke is actually Captain Burke and runs a pirate ship off the coast of Goa!”

  “Well, he sure looks like a pirate.”

  “And he fucks like one, too.”

  Erin had to giggle at the crude language. “Sophie!”

  “What? Call a spade a spade, honey, it’ll save you a lot of heartache.” She held out a hand. “I dare say there’s no love lost between me and Burke, but he’s one hell of a sex machine and that’s good enough for me. True love?” She shrugged dismissively. “I’m too old for fairy tales.”

  “Well, I’m not,” riposted Erin stubbornly. She believed in all the things Sophie dismissed so easily: love at first sight, soulmates, everlasting devotion between a man and a woman…

  She believed in love and she believed she’d finally found it with Raminar, and if Sophie was too jaded to see it, so be it. She wasn’t going to let her friend’s cynicism destroy what was the high point of her life—the fulfillment of a life-long dream.

  She slipped her dolphin earrings in, and walked into the bathroom to check her look in the mirror. Her pixie face seemed to glow, and she wondered if it was the glow of love that was now shining from within.

  She was wearing her favorite aquamarine shirt, her fluorescent top underneath, and stylishly torn jeans shorts, and if she said so herself, she looked pretty hot this morning. Then, looking closer, she thought she detected a fresh dusting of freckles around her tilt-tipped nose. Dang…

  But then she shrugged and grinned. Judging from Ram’s behavior last night, he definitely liked her, freckles and all. Hands on her hips, she stared at herself defiantly. Erin Walters, she thought, you are the full package, girl, and you better believe it.

  To her own surprise, she actually believed it, too. The power of love, surely.

  Sophie stuck her head in the door and rapped the jamb impatiently. “Let’s go out and find some food. I’m starving!”

  They walked out and locked the door behind them. After what had happened at the hotel, they’d learned their lesson and had stored all their valuables in the small safe inside the bedroom closet.

  Walking along the sandy path that lead to the beach, they passed Ram’s cabin, and Erin noticed the door was open. While Sophie was waiting impatiently, she hesitated for only a brief moment before applying her knuckles to the doorframe.

  When no sound came, she peered inside. And as she did, Burke’s huge frame rose into view, only clad in a towel casually slung around his waist, his hair still dripping wet from the shower. For a moment, he froze, then a wide smile creased his lips. “Erin. You’re early, honey.”

  He came ambling over with outstretched hand, and dwarfed hers with his large mitt. “We were never properly introduced. I’m Jake Burke.”

  “I know. We met yesterday, remember?” said Erin uncertainly. He was so huge, and his chest glimmered in the morning sunlight.

  His smile widened still. “I know. But I was a little, um, busy to formally introduce myself.”

  Her mind rolled back to the necking competition between Burke and Sophie and a hot flush mantled her cheeks at the recollection. She quickly cast down her eyes. “I-I remember.”

  “So now that we’re all friends, what did you have in mind for breakfast? Bradley tells me there’s some great chow in this place?”

  Her eyes scanned the room behind Burke. “Is he here? Raminar?”
<
br />   Burke followed her gaze, then said, “Didn’t he tell you? He had to go out early this morning. He won’t be back until this afternoon I’m afraid. Business.”

  A pang of disappointment held her momentarily in its grip. “No, he didn’t tell me,” she said slowly. Nor did he have to, she chided herself. They might be lovers now, but that didn’t mean he had to share his every step with her. Besides, they’d been too busy to talk about such trivial matters as where he would spend his day today. Still, he might have told her…

  “Sophie!” suddenly boomed Burke, and caught her friend in a tight embrace, instantly locking lips with her.

  As she discreetly stepped away from the cabin to give the couple some space, she thought ruefully that even though Sophie said she and Burke were ‘only fucking’, she seemed to be seeing more of him than she of Ram. And she was definitely getting a lot more ‘action’ as well.

  She just hoped he wouldn’t be long, and when he returned, he’d finally let her in on all this mysterious business stuff he was involved in.

  Chapter 17

  As it turned out, she didn’t have long to wait before the mystery was revealed. Over breakfast Burke, who was probably the most garrulous man Erin had ever met, talked a mile a minute about his friend’s ‘cockamamie’ plans as he called them.

  Erin felt compelled to come to the absent Ram’s defense, but she had to admit that saving the beaches from developers sounded like a difficult proposition even for a man of Ram’s obvious passion and talent.

  “He told me his father was an architect. And that he dreamed to be one too when he was little,” she marveled. She’d never realized how deep that dream went, if now, after a life in the military, he was revisiting it with a vengeance.

  “Well, the world did lose a great architect when Bradley signed up,” agreed Burke. “Though I have to tell you, the man was a fine soldier too. So all in all, I guess things worked out for the best. And if he wants to dabble in architecture now, he can do it to his heart’s content.”