HOT SEAL Hero

by Lynn Raye Harris

  “Lucky you,” Melissa answered.

  Chloe fluffed Melissa’s hair and spritzed her with hair spray. “There you go. Ready for your girls’ lunch.”

  “Thank you, Chloe. It looks amazing, as always. The girls will be envious.”

  Melissa paid and tipped her before sashaying out the door in her white dress and gold jewelry. Chloe would have sworn she put an extra swing in her hips as she passed Ryan, but he didn’t even look up from where he sat with his phone in his hand. Once the bell above the door tinkled, he got to his feet in a fluid motion, bag in hand, huge smile on his face as he swaggered toward her.

  “Hey, babe. Thought you might like some lunch.” He stopped and kissed her on the cheek, and she inhaled the sunshine and spice scent of him. Was this really her life right now?

  “That was thoughtful of you. I’m starved.” She’d been planning to call and order a salad from the diner, but whatever he had in the bag smelled even better. She led him to the break room and they sat at the small table. Though she usually ate with Avery, JoJo, and Milly, it wasn’t happening today anyway. Avery had to run an errand, Milly didn’t come in until this afternoon, and JoJo had a client who’d called and begged for an appointment during lunch because she had a funeral to attend this afternoon. So it was just her and Ryan today.

  He opened the bag and pulled out a Styrofoam container. Chloe opened it and inhaled. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a roll. Heaven on a plate. “How did you even know I would eat meatloaf?”

  He blinked at her. “Really? You’re a Southern girl. You have to eat meatloaf. Probably even have an amazing recipe for it, I bet.”

  She laughed as she speared some green beans on her fork. “How do you know so much about Southern girls?”

  “I listen to Cowboy talk about Miranda. I’ve also eaten her meatloaf, which is delicious by the way.”

  “Guess I’ll have to fix my meatloaf for you then.”

  “Soon, I hope.”

  “Maybe.” She took a bite of the meatloaf. It was good—really good—but maybe not as good as hers. “What are you going to cook for me?”

  He arched an eyebrow. “Hmm, well, I order a mean pizza. I’ve been known to throw a steak on the grill and it comes out decent. I can open cans of things and heat them up. Oh, and I can make ice. Beyond that, I’m afraid I’m not much of a cook.”

  “It’s never too late to learn, sailor boy.”

  “True of most things,” he said with a grin. He pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped on it. “Need to show you the video we got of the guy who delivered the message yesterday.”

  Chloe’s belly twisted. “Ugh, okay.”

  “Do you want to wait until we finish eating first?”

  She shook her head. “No, it has to be done.”

  Ryan queued the video up and it started to play. A man walked down the street, then stopped and looked right at the bank before he disappeared inside the salon. Chloe frowned. “I don’t know him. Never saw him before.”

  Ryan pocketed his phone again. “Okay. Good to know.”

  “Any idea who he is?”

  “Not yet. We’re still trying to figure that out.”

  Chloe closed her eyes and forced out a breath. “I hate this. I hate not knowing who’s been sending me messages. I mean I feel it has to be Travis, but what if it’s Darrell Pruitt? And if it’s Travis, then why am I still here? I should be packing a suitcase and getting the hell out of town. Before he shows up in person.”

  16

  Ryan didn’t blame her for wanting to run, and yet the idea she could tweaked something deep in his soul. He’d been raised by his aunt because his father was a SEAL and gone all the time. But more than that, he’d been raised by his aunt because his mother walked out before his fifth birthday and never came back. She’d washed her hands of him, and it still stung sometimes.

  Between his father and his aunt, he’d grown up knowing he was loved. But he’d missed his mother so badly at first. He remembered crying at night when he was still a little boy, asking why she didn’t come home. Asking if he’d done anything bad to make her leave.

  He shook away the despair those memories caused and focused on Chloe. There was a sad resignation in her gaze that he didn’t like. He took her hand, traced his thumb along her palm. She squeezed reflexively.

  “Would you really run away again? From the friends you’ve made here? The life you’ve started to build? Is that what you want to do?”

  She shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “No. I don’t want to keep running—but what if I have to, Ryan? What if he won’t stop looking for me? You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

  “No, maybe not. But I think you’re underestimating what I’m capable of.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I’m not underestimating you. If anything, I’m afraid of what you could do to him. And I don’t want you getting in trouble for me.”

  “Who said anything about getting in trouble? I take care of what’s mine. I’m going to take care of you.”

  She pulled her hand from his and dropped her gaze to the table. “Please don’t talk like that.”

  “Like what?”

  Her eyes lifted to his. There was a hint of fire in their depths. “Like you own me. You don’t. We don’t own each other. We’re having sex, and sex is fun—but I don’t belong to you and you don’t belong to me.”

  Ryan frowned. His insides churned with anger, but he told himself it was important to understand where she was coming from. How she’d been scarred by Travis James and his ideas of ownership.

  Except the wounded little boy inside Ryan’s soul, the one who was never getting over the fact that people who were supposed to love him took off and left him, didn’t want to be understanding. He wanted to be acknowledged. “I never said I owned you.”

  “You said you take care of what’s yours. I’m not yours. I’m mine.”

  He held up his hands, palms out in surrender. But his gut boiled with hurt. “Okay, fine. You’re not mine. I’m still going to take care of you—unless you decide you’d rather skip town, in which case I guess I’m not going to take care of you because I won’t fucking know where you are.” He got to his feet, flipped the lid on the remnants of his lunch as a low-grade anger set in. “I have to get back to work now. Thanks for having lunch with me, and for watching the video. I’ll be back when you get off work to make sure nobody’s waiting in the parking lot for you.”

  She jumped up as he turned away. “Ryan—”

  “No, Chloe. Just no. I’ll see you later.”

  Chloe picked at her lunch but her appetite was gone. Her stomach clenched into knots. She’d handled that so badly. But he’d said he took care of what was his, and something inside her snapped. Even though she knew he wasn’t like Travis, all she could hear was Travis’s voice telling her she was his. That she belonged to him. That he owned her.

  Chloe shuddered. She didn’t think Ryan was anything like Travis—no, she knew he wasn’t anything like Travis—and yet she’d lost her cool. Which was insane considering that it was just a few hours ago when she’d thought of him as her man.

  JoJo came into the room just then, frowning. “What happened, girl? Your hunky SEAL stalked out of here like somebody took away his favorite gun.”

  Chloe sighed. “We had a disagreement.”

  “Uh oh.” JoJo went over to the fridge and grabbed her sandwich. “Look on the bright side.”

  “What bright side?”

  JoJo waved the sandwich around. “Makeup sex! That shit is hawt. Make him beg for it, too.”

  Chloe stabbed the meatloaf. “I think I’m the one who’s going to have to beg.”

  “Oh dear.”

  “Yeah. It’s just—he said something that reminded me of my ex…”

  “Oh sweet Jesus, you did not compare your new man to your ex man, did you?”

  Chloe cringed. “Not directly, no.” But Ryan wasn’t stupid. He knew that’s what she’d been doing. Jeez,
she’d fucked that up, hadn’t she? But how was she supposed to maintain her independence without asserting herself when something bothered her?

  “But he figured it out,” JoJo said knowingly.

  “Yes.”

  “Mm, mm, mm,” JoJo said, taking a bite of her sandwich. “You better figure your bit out, Chloe.”

  “I know.” Easier said than done these days, apparently.

  By the time Ryan returned at the end of the work day, Chloe had been fretting about what happened for hours. She almost thought he wouldn’t come for her, but when she saw his familiar form appear on the sidewalk, relief washed through her.

  Avery was finishing up her last customer, but JoJo and Chloe were done. Ryan swaggered in the door and both Avery and JoJo fawned over him, saying hey and how was he and did he need anything. He was fine and he didn’t, according to him.

  Even old Mrs. Keene couldn’t keep her eyes off him. He was polite to everyone while Chloe concentrated on sweeping up the hair beneath her chair. Her heart hammered and she didn’t quite know what to say. How to explain herself. Maybe he wouldn’t even let her. What then?

  Except she didn’t feel like she was entirely wrong. She didn’t want to be owned. It was important to tell him how she felt about that. If they were going to stand any chance of having a relationship that was more than just sex, he had to know.

  Chloe blinked. A relationship? Since when did she want one of those? After Travis, she’d told herself it would be a long, long time before she ever ventured into relationship territory. She didn’t even know what a healthy relationship was supposed to look like.

  That’s what she got for letting her damned hormones take over when Ryan wanted to have phone sex. He’d talked about licking her pussy and making her come and she’d lost her damned mind.

  But oh, it was worth it, girl. The man can lick!

  Except that wasn’t everything, was it? There was a lot more to a relationship than sex. Clearly. And it was all those other things she was failing at. If they were just having sex, she could do that. But add in the nuances of emotion and stuff, and she was a nutcase.

  I’m not ready!

  Okay, maybe not. But she’d crossed a line when she’d let him into her bedroom and now she had to deal with it.

  Ryan took a seat in the waiting room and pulled out his phone. Chloe kept sweeping. When she was done, she went into the back to take off her smock and fluff her hair before she got her purse. Her feet ached because she insisted on wearing heels, but she had a pair of tennis shoes that she changed into. She inserted the heels into the bag she’d had the tennis shoes in and tightened the drawstring. Then she sucked in a breath and walked into the salon again.

  Avery was ringing up her customer. JoJo had disappeared into the back. Avery walked Mrs. Keene to the door and then locked it behind her. When she turned, she smiled. “Another day, another dollar,” she announced. “Now I’m going to go home, fix a margarita, and cuddle with my honey.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Chloe said, forcing a smile because Ryan was listening. Avery disappeared into the back and Chloe moved toward Ryan. He got to his feet in a fluid motion, towering over her. But he didn’t intimidate her. Not like Travis would have.

  “You ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “I parked beside you.”

  “Oh. I thought you were out front.”

  “No, I walked around and came in the front door.”

  She didn’t move. Neither did he. “Ryan,” she began.

  “Forget it, Chloe. I’ll follow you home. I suggest you stay with me and Neo, like we planned, but if you want your own space, we can give it to you. The house has four bedrooms.”

  She didn’t know what to say. “I, uh… Okay.”

  He nodded. “Let’s go then.”

  She led the way to the rear door, saying goodbye to Avery and JoJo on the way. JoJo waggled her eyebrows and gave Chloe significant looks. “Makeup sex,” she whispered in Chloe’s ear when she leaned in for an air kiss. Not that they typically air-kissed, but JoJo was nothing if not dramatic.

  When Chloe reached the door, Ryan stopped her from walking outside. “I’ll go first,” he said. “Wait for my signal.”

  Chloe stood back and waited for him to exit. He walked down the steps, gazed at the parking lot, then turned and motioned to her. She stepped outside, glancing around the space and trying to see what he saw. He walked over to her car and waited for her to unlock the door. Then he grabbed the handle and pulled the driver’s side open for her.

  “Thank you,” she said, hesitating.

  “Get in, Chloe.” He seemed distant. Disappointment swirled in her belly as she did what he said.

  “I’ll follow you,” he said.

  “Where do I park?” she blurted.

  “In your drive or on the street.”

  She frowned. “And then?”

  “Walk to my place. If Travis James is watching, he won’t come for you there. Even if he did, Neo and I can take care of it.”

  “If we’re going to make it obvious, why stay with you at all?”

  He shrugged. “Up to you if you want to stay alone. But if you’re at our place, you’ve got two SEALs ready to protect you. Across the street and you’ll have to let us know.”

  She could see the merit in what he said. “Okay.”

  He shut her door softly and she started the car. Then, when he was inside his truck and ready to go, she led the way home. She studied the street as she turned onto it. There was nothing out of place, no cars she hadn’t seen before. She pulled up in front of Ryan’s house and put her ancient Camry into park. Christopher had helped her find this car once she’d arrived. It wasn’t a car that Travis knew to look for, but if he’d found where she lived, then he already knew what she was driving.

  Ryan emerged from his truck and strode toward her as she swung her door open. She was on her feet by the time he reached her. “Is there anything else you need from your place?” he asked.

  She glanced at the house with longing. “No, not tonight. Unless you want the leftovers.”

  For the first time since he’d arrived at the salon, he grinned. “Hell yes I want those.”

  It didn’t take long to retrieve the food. Ryan had his hands full as they approached his door. It quickly became apparent he wasn’t going to be able to open the door without setting a few things down. “Give me the keys,” she said.

  “In my pocket. Right front.” He shifted his hips toward her, an eyebrow arched. “Or you can take some of these containers and I’ll get it.”

  She took his dare, sliding her hand inside and digging for his keys.

  Oh, Lord. He wasn’t hard, but he was there. So there. She grabbed the keys and pulled them free, her face heating. Ryan didn’t say a word as she inserted them into the lock and twisted.

  They went and put the food in the fridge, then he led her toward a different door from yesterday. “Guest room,” he said, swinging it open. “We have to share a bathroom though.”

  She didn’t know what to say. Disappointment was a drumbeat in her brain.

  “I’ll get your suitcase from this morning. It’s in my room.”

  She knew that because she’d been with him when they’d brought everything back. “Thanks,” she said, her voice sounding strained.

  She went into the guest room and set her purse and shoe bag down. Then she turned and took in the room. It was small and plain, no touches of personality at all. Just a twin-size bed with plain white sheets and a white-washed quilt, a night table, and a dresser.

  Ryan returned with her suitcase and set it at the foot of the bed. He glanced around the room. “I know it’s nothing like having your own bed, but hopefully we’ll get this sorted out in the next couple of days and you can go home.”

  Her heart throbbed. He was still so distant. She hated it. “Ryan.”

  He swung his head in her direction. “Yeah?”

  She folded her arms over her middle, a protective ge
sture that she was sure he didn’t miss before she forced herself to drop her arms to her sides. “I overreacted earlier. I’m sorry.”

  He sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. “It’s all right, baby. Maybe it needed to happen. We’ve moved pretty damned fast. I think maybe we both need to catch our breath. I don’t want you uncertain about what’s going on with us.”

  Now why did the thought of him wanting to slow things down make her heart ache? “I understand. Still, I shouldn’t have compared you to Travis like that.”

  His gaze speared into her. “And I shouldn’t have made you think the comparison was warranted. I’m not typically a possessive kind of guy. But I’ll protect the people I care about if I have to. Just wanted you to know you were in that category, even if I didn’t do it well.”

  And now she really felt like a heel. “Thank you. For everything. You’ve done so much more than I ever could have expected—” She didn’t know what else to say, how to apologize and thank him and tell him she wanted to keep exploring the heat between them too. Basically, she didn’t know how to turn back the clock.

  “I wanted to, Chloe. I still want to. But maybe we need to back it up and take our time on the other stuff. Maybe we jumped into it too soon.”

  “Isn’t it a little late to shut the barn door? The horse is already gone.”

  He snorted. She hadn’t expected that. “You Southerners and your sayings. No, it’s not too late. We’re going to catch the horse and put him back in his stall. Then we’re going to spend some time getting to know him. Once we do, we can take him for a ride. A nice, long, thorough ride.”

  Chloe couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I understood everything you just said. I think.”

  He grinned. “I’m sure you did. Hey, you think you might want some of those leftovers? I’m starved.”

  “Let me change and I’ll be right there to help heat it up.”

  Neo wasn’t home yet so they only heated enough for them. Ryan helped Chloe navigate the kitchen, pulling out pots and pans and finding correctly sized containers for reheating. He didn’t like the way things had ended between them this afternoon, and he’d spent the rest of the day at work wishing he’d handled it differently. Yeah, abandonment was a trigger for him. He knew it and he didn’t typically get whacked out about it.