by Jaime Lewis
“Why is that?”
“Because, according to him, Potter doesn’t date or take an interest in women to spend time and get to know them.”
“Good to know,” Tenley replied, then opened her door and got out, sending a clear message that the conversation was over.
Alex got out and took a deep breath as she looked at the front doors to the building. Here goes nothing.
◆◆◆
Ace was hanging out by the pool with the team at Alex’s house, relaxing and having a beer. He’d invited them and Derek over to help move furniture, hang pictures, and unpack boxes. When Alex had given him the tour of her house last night and had explained where she wanted everything placed, an idea had formed in his head.
Knowing she would probably be mentally exhausted when she got home from her appointment, he thought it would be nice to surprise her by having everything placed where she wanted. But with the amount of shit she had, he was forced to call in reinforcements. As it was for Alex, none of the guys had hesitated. Shit, they’d walk over hot coals and swim through a pool of sharks for her.
“How was Alex last night?” Derek asked, taking a slug of his beer.
“She was exhausted. We talked for a while, had dinner, and then watched a movie.”
Out of respect, Ace wanted to tell Derek what Alex had asked him last night about moving in with her, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to rock the boat.
“Spit it out, son. I can tell there’s something else.” Christ, he swore nothing ever got by the Commander. Ace picked up his bottle of beer and took a big gulp.
Here goes nothing….
“Alex asked me to move in with her.”
Derek sat forward in his chair, cleared his throat, and Ace couldn’t tell what reaction he was going to get.
“Ace, Alex is an intelligent woman. She’s never made a decision without thoroughly thinking through all of the ramifications of it. As I told you yesterday, you two are good for each other. She understands our line of work. If every SEAL could find a woman like her, I don’t believe that the divorce rate amongst SEALs would be as high as it is, and more men would be married.” Ace nodded his head in agreement.
“She’s it for me. I can’t explain it, but I just knew it the moment I met her.”
“Well, as long as she is happy, I’m happy.”
Ace looked at Derek with wide eyes, making Derek laugh.
“I know it’s serious because she’s never introduced any other men to me. Plus, this saves me the hassle of doing a background check on you. I already know your life story.” Derek reached over and shook Ace’s hand. “But I’m telling you now, you fuck her over, and I will make the rest of your life miserable.”
A huge grin spread across his face. “Thank you, sir, but unless she leaves me, I’m not going anywhere.”
Derek tapped his beer bottle against Ace’s and chuckled. “Ah, speak of the devil; there are the girls now.”
Ace turned toward the French doors, and the expression on Alex’s face made him flinch. Someone had pissed her off.
◆◆◆
Alex was confused when Tenley pulled into her driveway. At first, she did a double-take just to make sure Tenley had pulled into the correct driveway. But she looked at the address on the house, and sure enough, it was hers. The front of her house looked like a parking lot with all the trucks and SUVs parked there. But one vehicle stood out from the rest. She knew the silver Tahoe was Derek’s. Good thing he was here, it would save her a phone call. She had some choice words for him—the nerve of him to send her to that lunatic of a doctor.
She stormed through the house, making her way to the back door with Tenley following behind her giggling. She was glad someone found her ordeal amusing. She flung the back doors open and went straight for Derek, who was sitting at the patio table with Ace.
“Hey, honey, how was the appointment?” Derek said with a smile, but that smile quickly faded.
Stitch, who was kicked back on one of the lounge chairs next to the pool, must have seen the scowl on her face because he sat up and yanked his sunglasses off. “Oh shit, I know that look. Who done pissed you off?”
She turned toward Derek, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Alex stopped him.
“I will never step foot into that egotistical, arrogant bastard’s office again. I would rather sit around and talk to monkeys than be put through that torture.” The way she was fired up, she’d put on one hell of a fireworks show.
“Friend, I think you scared the poor doctor so much that he already notified the guards at the gate on base and told them that you weren’t allowed to come within fifty feet of his office.” Tenley was doing everything possible not to laugh at Alex, and that just pissed her off more, to the point that it started to make her cry again. For the love of God, she was tired of crying. Not wanting to be the freak show of the hour, she turned around to gather her composure.
◆◆◆
Ace could tell Alex was distraught, so he got up and pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back.
“Sweetheart, what’s got you all fired up? This appointment was supposed to help you, not upset you more.”
Ace knew the doctor she was seeing tended to be an asshole, but for Alex to be this upset, he must have said or done something to the extreme to make her this emotional. She tilted her head back. Her puffy red eyes and a red nose from her crying nearly did him in.
“I felt like he wouldn’t listen to what I was saying; instead, he tried to speak for me. You know, like putting words in my mouth and interrupting me.”
Ace tightened his hold around her waist and looked at Derek. None of them were fans of Dr. Kaminski. But the other doctors on base didn’t have any openings for another two weeks, and her uncle wanted to get her in before she had second thoughts and changed her mind. That was the only reason she saw Dr. Kaminski.
“Are you comfortable sharing with us what you discussed with Dr. Kaminski?”
“I don’t mind.” She turned toward the others who had started to get up to leave. “No, stay, you don’t have to leave. You have all seen me at my worst already, so I don’t mind sharing with you.”
If Ace was right, he was sure that his teammate’s respect for her just shot off the Richter scale.
He got her settled in the chair, then took a seat next to her. Ace noticed Potter had gotten up and offered his seat to Tenley, then stood to the side of her, not taking his eyes off her. Interesting.
Ace took Alex’s hand in his and squeezed it.
“I think what initially started us off on the wrong foot was when he asked me how I was doing emotionally, and I told him that I felt emotionally constipated because I haven’t given a shit about things in weeks.”
A couple of the guys snickered, which drew a faint smile from Alex. “See, that was what I was doing. I was trying to lighten the mood a little, but the doctor didn’t seem to like my sarcasm. He told me that I was trying to mask my true emotions by trying to redirect my mind. Asshole.” She said the last word under her breath but loud enough that everyone could hear her.
She took a deep breath, “Anyway, his response to everything I said was ‘well from my point of view,’ and I just got tired of him saying that, so I finally told him that I’d like to see things from his point of view, but I couldn’t seem to fit my head up his ass. The icing on the cake was when he told me that my anger and aggression concerned him because those were traits for someone who was suicidal. So, I said to him that if I ever wanted to kill myself that I would climb his ego and jump to his IQ. And let’s just say that was the end to our session.”
Ace was biting the inside of his cheek so hard to keep from bursting out laughing that he swore he tasted blood. Hearing her innocent voice talking, nobody would ever expect what she told the doctor to come out of her mouth. And from the glances of the other guys, neither did they.
He watched as she turned to her uncle. “I’m sorry, and I know I’ve probably embarrassed you, but I promise tha
t I’ll do whatever to clean up the shit storm I’ve probably caused.”
Derek threw his head back and barked out a laugh. He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Alex, if you hadn’t already earned the respect of every man here, you would’ve just earned it. That prick of a doctor has the worst reputation, and I’m sorry for subjecting you to him. If one of the other doctors had an opening, I would have sent you to them instead.”
◆◆◆
Alex looked at Derek and broke into a fit of giggles. “Well, now we know why he had an opening.”
She glanced at all of the guys, “What are you all doing here, anyway? Not that I’m not happy to see you all.”
Jesus, she was exhausted. Not caring in the least that Derek was sitting right there, she climbed over into Ace’s lap. She curled her legs up and laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes. She would never get tired of being near him. The feeling of his steel thighs under her ass and his strong arms wrapped securely around her; she was in heaven. With the way things went with her appointment this morning, it had zapped all the energy right out of her.
“When you were giving me the tour last night, you pointed out stuff that still needed to be done, and I knew it would still be a while before you were able to do most of it. So, I called the guys so we could surprise you.”
Alex sat up and then remembered she had seen things on the wall when she came in. She stood up and looked at everyone.
“You guys are the best; you know that?” She told them as tears once again threatened to spill over. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for everything you’ve done. Damn, I’m starting to cry again.”
Irish walked over and hugged her. “Aww, sweetness, don’t cry.” She hugged him back, but then she heard a growl come from behind her, which made her giggle.
Ace stood and pulled Alex against him. He looked at the rest of the guys, giving them his best scowl. “Hands off, all of you. Find your own woman. I know for a fact that you won’t have any issues.”
Tenley snorted a laugh, which drew the attention to her. The look she got from Potter had her squirming in her seat.
◆◆◆
Tenley had been sitting back, watching, and enjoying the friendly banter between the team. Yesterday was the first time she had gotten to meet the whole team in person. She had hung out with Stitch and Frost on several occasions, but those outings just consisted of the three of them.
One, in particular, had snagged her attention from the start. Potter was tall, dark, and dangerous and had dark eyes that were filled with an intensity she couldn’t explain. Alex was right; she had been drawn to Potter. There was something so unique about him that fascinated her. Or maybe it was because he seemed actually to pay attention to her when she was speaking, unlike her current boyfriend, who lately only paid attention to her when they were in bed. Even then, the sex was all about him.
Everyone thought she was so happy and in love with Chaz, but boy, did she have them all snowballed. In fact, it was the complete opposite. She was miserable and had been for a while now. Over the past month, Chaz had changed. He’d become secretive and distant. Just recently, he had become verbally aggressive with her. And that didn’t sit well with her. She wanted what her best friend had. Someone honest, caring that would protect her. Could she get that from the man standing beside her?
Refocusing on the present, she watched as Ace playfully reprimanded his team for flirting with Alex. When he commented on them finding their own woman and not having to have any issues with it, she hadn’t realized she had snorted a laugh out loud. So, now she had the attention of every person on the patio, including Potter, the man who had a starring role in her dreams last night.
Clearing her throat, she opted for her witty act that had everyone fooled, “What?”
“You think that we would have problems finding a woman?” Potter asked as his eyes penetrated hers, making her want to throw caution to the wind and jump into his arms and say, take me.
She stared right back at him. “Nope, completely the opposite. I’m sure any of you can have any woman you want.” She waved her hand in the air, “I mean, look at you guys. You all have kick-ass bodies. Any woman in their right mind would be stupid to pass up an opportunity with you.” Like me. If I had the opportunity, I’d be on you like white on rice.
“You guys are like gremlins. What do they do to you at BUD/S training, drop a couple of you in water so you can multiply?” She said laughingly. The others thought it was funny, but when she looked up at Potter, he was in a dead stare with her. Her smile faded, and a sudden uneasy feeling washed over her. It was as if he could see through her charades. Maybe she needed to explore more of the attraction that was obviously between them. Before she could say something, Alex started talking about food, and just like that, the spotlight was directed elsewhere, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She had a lot to talk to her friend about, but for now, she would just kick back and enjoy being in the company of friends.
Chapter Twenty-One
“Where the fuck is the rest of the gear that was delivered last week?” Ace shouted over the loud music playing as he and the team did the gear inventory.
“Christ man, who in the hell yanked your dick?” Irish asked, giving Ace a sideways look.
Potter snorted a laugh. “That’s the problem. Nobody, except maybe Ace’s rosy palm and his five sisters. Our Lt. Commander here needs to get laid,” he said, giving Ace a friendly slap on the back.
“Fuck you, Potter,” Ace replied, shaking his head but giving his teammates a smirk.
If someone had asked his teammates, they’d say he’d been a bear to work with the past few weeks. He had so much tension built up in his body that if he didn’t find some relief soon, he thought he might explode. He had been walking around with a severe case of blue balls. Since moving in with Alex four weeks ago, sleeping with her had gotten more difficult. The way she likes to cuddle at night had been testing his patience. Her frustration was growing as well; however, he wasn’t doing anything until she got the all-clear from the doctor.
Although sexually frustrated, he was so damn proud of her. After the fiasco she had with Dr. Kaminski, Derek introduced her to Dr. Ruskin. He was a well-respected psychologist on base. Since her first appointment with him two weeks ago, Ace had already seen a vast change in Alex’s recovery. Her nightmares had lessened drastically, and when one did occur, she wasn’t afraid to talk about it.
Another positive in her life was when she’d received the approval status for the new charity organization she’d started in honor of her late father. The organization would aid veterans and their families with gaining medical help and expenses that the government wouldn’t cover.
She had plans to open a medical clinic fully staffed with medical volunteers that would cater strictly to veterans seeking medical help or advice. The best part about it was there would never be a waiting period to get an appointment, and all treatment would be covered free of charge. She already had money coming in, and people were lining up to volunteer when the clinic did open.
The planning, meetings, and paperwork had kept Alex’s mind occupied, which had been a tremendous help with her recovery as well.
For the most part, things had been quiet; however, Alex had received a call from Mason two weeks ago, informing her that the agency was closing in on a suspect who they believed was working with Bert. The agency had been very cooperative with Alex, considering the issues she could cause for them about how they handled her situation back in Afghanistan. She had even received a hefty bonus, which she used for the startup funds for her foundation.
Mason told her that he would keep her in the loop if he heard any news but for her to keep her eyes open. Since then, she had taken precautions when she’d been out in public and always carried a weapon with her.
Ace heard his phone chime with an incoming text. Pulling it from his pocket, he saw it was Tenley, but what stole his breath was the picture of Alex with the words
“your woman is rocking it.”
And indeed, she was. The pair of blue jean hip huggers fit snugly over her round ass. The black, long sleeve shirt hung off her shoulders, showcasing her fit upper body. And lastly, she wore a pair of black, open-toed stilettos. Her long chestnut brown hair was half up in some sort of messy but sexy up-do. Her face was free of make-up except for her eyes, which were done in a smoky palette of colors, making her green eyes even more stunning.
The picture was taken at the house out by the pool, and it was apparent Alex didn’t know Tenley was taking it. She appeared deep in thought, and he wondered what had been on her mind.
He heard a long whistle over his shoulder and saw Diego looking at the picture.
“Damn Lt., she is gorgeous. You taking her out tonight?”
“No, she and Tenley are going to a new club that opened recently. She mentioned the name, but I can’t remember it. The owners are huge supporters of the military. They heard about Alex’s Foundation through some friends and want to contribute. She met with them yesterday, and they invited her to the club tonight for some show they’re hosting.
“You’re letting her go to a club alone looking like that? Aren’t you afraid of all of the men that’ll hit on her?”
Ace shook his head. He knew men would try and hit on her, but he knew Alex only had eyes for him, so it didn’t bother him for her to have a girl’s night out. Plus, he wasn’t a fan of the club scene or any scene really where people are packed into a building like sardines. It made him uncomfortable.
“She can handle herself. Anyway, one of the owners is former law enforcement. And from what Alex told me, he runs a tight ship. So, I don’t anticipate any problems.”
“Well, if Alex is going out, how about joining the rest of us for a beer?”
“Yeah, I could go for a beer and just chilling for a few hours. The first round is on me for me being a prick the last couple of weeks.”