So Weston gave her time. But when he stopped at another light he glanced over at her and gently asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah. No. I don’t know. Depends on what you’re asking about.”
Weston was surprised by her honesty and also thrilled she wasn’t hiding from him.
“Let’s start with Chasin going into your apartment.”
“I don’t care about that. Everything’s ruined. What’s he gonna see? My tampons all over the bathroom? Mildly embarrassing but whatever. My underwear thrown all over my room? I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure he’s seen women’s underwear.”
Jealousy and irrational bitterness bubbled in his gut, thinking about his friend seeing Silver’s panties. Weston had caught a glimpse of pink scraps of lace on Silver’s bedroom floor and he sure as fuck didn’t want his friend seeing them, let alone touching them.
“Maybe I should call Chasin and tell him I’ll go back tomorrow,” he grumbled.
“It’s whatever, seriously. Weston, I don’t care about anything in that apartment. Everything’s gonna be thrown away.”
Fuck, he hated that for her, hated the melancholy in her voice.
“So if you don’t care about that, then why do you look upset?”
She was quiet for a moment and he wished she’d hurry up before the light turned green and he couldn’t look at her when she answered.
“Will McKenna be upset I’m staying at your place?”
What the fuck? Why was she worried about McKenna?
“Why would McKenna care?”
Silver pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, a gesture that was so sexy when her teeth sank in and started to worry the corner of her mouth, all of Weston’s good intentions flew out the window. Not that there were windows in his Jeep—but the sentiment was the same.
Without thinking, he reached over and used his thumb on her chin to pull the abused lip free, then turned her face toward him. Wrong thing to do. When her hazel eyes met his, the electricity between them couldn’t be denied. Even looking wounded and forlorn, Silver was the sexiest woman Weston had ever seen.
“I’m gonna be sleeping in your bed.”
Weston still didn’t understand her concern but his cock jerked in his pants at the reminder. And if he had his way, he’d be in that bed with her sooner rather than later.
“I can promise you, Nix’s woman could care less who I take to my bed.”
“Nix’s woman?” Something flashed in Silver’s eyes, something that looked a hell of a lot like relief, and his cock took notice of that, too.
“Yeah, babe. McKenna is Nixon’s woman. They’re engaged. Micky also works for Gemini Group. She does all of our computer work.”
“Oh.”
Realization dawned. Fuck yeah. Silver had been worried McKenna was his. And by the look on her pretty face, she didn’t like that thought.
There was a lot Weston wanted to say, but none of it could be said while he was driving. It was a conversation that needed to be had when he had her undivided attention, and that wasn’t happening right now. But the conversation would be had.
“What’d Micky say?” Weston prompted when the light turned green.
Unfortunately with his concentration back on the road, he lost sight of Silver. But not before he saw her look back down at his phone.
“Working on traffic cams. But I want eyes and ears in the boatyard. We’ll work on that tomorrow. Please tell Silver if she needs anything me and Kennedy have her back.”
Weston thought about letting Silver sweat it out a bit wondering who Kennedy was, but that would be a dickhead move that’s only purpose would be to feed his ego, knowing Silver would be jealous.
“Kennedy is Jameson’s woman,” he told her. “He used to live at the farmhouse with us but moved in with Kennedy. So now it’s just me and Chasin in the house and Holden lives in his Airstream.”
Weston found the shopping center he was looking for and pulled in. There weren’t many options in Middletown, but in a pinch Silver could find the necessities.
“Holden lives in a trailer? Is there not enough room in the house?”
Weston found a spot, pulled in, engaged the emergency brake, and cut the engine.
“Don’t let Holden hear you call his baby a trailer.” Weston chuckled. “He’s crazy about that damn thing. When he bought it, it was junk. He spent two years between deployments and missions fixing it up.”
“Two years?”
“Yep. And by the time he was done, he’d spent enough money on the damn thing he could’ve put a down payment on a house.”
“Why did it take him so long?”
Her innocent question was not something he wanted to answer while sitting in his Jeep in front of a TJ Maxx. At least not fully.
“We were gone a lot,” he answered, and Silver seemed to understand his need for privacy.
“Right.”
Shit, maybe she didn’t understand.
“Not a conversation I want to have sitting in my Jeep.”
“I get it.”
“No, babe, you don’t. I’m not saying I won’t tell you. All I’m saying is it’s not something I want to talk about while we’re both hungry, and especially after the day you’ve had. We’ll table the conversation for another day when you’re not stressed out, worried, haven’t been held against your will, and my team’s not rummaging through your stuff.”
Silver’s face paled and Weston wanted to kick his own ass for being such an inconsiderate asshole. Not that he’d meant to be, but he certainly shouldn’t have brought up the day’s events.
“Silver, I—”
“You don’t need to say anything. I know what you were trying to say. It just feels weird.”
“What does?”
“Everything that happened. I’m kinda on autopilot. Like it doesn’t seem real. Or like, all of that didn’t just happen today. I don’t know. It’s hard to believe this morning I was handcuffed in the hull of a ship and now I’m sitting here with you. I don’t know if I thanked you for saving me.”
“You did.”
“Right. In the middle of my temper tantrum. It probably didn’t sound sincere or heartfelt, but I really do appreciate it. I knew I wasn’t getting off that ship.”
Weston really wanted to let her get it all out, tell him everything she was bottling up, but now was not the time. He wanted to be able to pull her into his arms and hold her when she finally processed her kidnapping.
“Hey,” he called and her gaze came to his. “Let’s get you some clothes, eat dinner, and get you back to my place. After that, we’ll debrief. I want to hear everything. But I want you to feel safe when you unload it. I want to be able to touch you. And I can’t do that here.”
“Why?” she blurted out then blushed. “Forget my question.”
“Not a chance.” Weston smiled. “I want you to have clothes so you’re comfortable—you’ll be staying awhile. I want to feed you because I know you’re hungry. I want you to feel safe when we’re talking because I swore to you I’d protect you. And I want to be able to touch you because…fuck…because it feels right. Because I think we both feel it. Because I keep trying to ignore my reaction to you but I’m failing miserably.”
The pretty pink in her cheeks deepened, and damn but Weston wanted to know if it had traveled under his sweatshirt down to her chest.
“Am I wrong, Silver?”
“You’re not wrong,” she whispered and some of his worry waned. “But it’s crazy, right?”
Instead of answering, Weston climbed out of his Jeep, made his way to Silver’s side, and helped her out of the vehicle. His sweatshirt hung on her, the curves he knew she had hidden from his sight, and his baseball hat concealed her face. Needing to watch her as he spoke, he tipped her chin up so they were looking at each other, then moved his hand to the nape of her neck, wishing her soft hair was down so his fingers could tangle in the strands.
“Wanna know what I thought when I first saw you?” he asked.
>
Silver’s eyes widened but she nodded. Brave girl.
“You took my breath. You strutted yourself into that meeting room and the first thing I noticed was your confidence and it was sexy as fuck. Then I took in your shiny brown hair and I wondered if it was as soft as it looked. Then I looked at the rest of you—from your gorgeous eyes to your fantastic figure—and I was fighting to remain seated. And as the day went on, the more you laid out what was going on the tighter my gut got. I didn’t want you anywhere near these assholes. The next time I saw you, we’d had time to go over your intel and I knew it was more dangerous than we’d originally thought. And I really didn’t want you putting yourself out there. The thought of something happening to you was abhorrent. I knew you’d be pissed, but I’d rather take your anger than have you caught up in the middle of a dangerous operation.”
“Why didn’t you say that instead of recommending I be pulled because I lacked experience?” Her tone held no ire, just curiosity.
“Because I couldn’t very well tell Alec Hall and the Lieutenant Commander I was having strong feelings for a beautiful maritime pilot, who by the way was nothing more than a stranger to me, yet I wanted to protect her at all costs. Both men would’ve looked at me like I’d lost my mind, and for the record I had. And the truth is—and I know you hate it but I hope you can understand it now—you do lack tactical training. And that doesn’t say anything bad about you or make you less competent on the water. How could you understand our battlefield tactics when you never learned them?”
Silver’s body went solid and Weston prepared for her response. He knew it had been only a matter of time before her stubborn side made its comeback.
“You made me look stupid in front of them,” she argued and tried to pull away.
“No, I didn’t,” Weston told her and tightened his hold. “Neither man questioned your ability or the information you brought to the table. We all trusted your instincts and the intel you’d gathered. We were impressed by the manner you collected it and precautions you’d taken. You’re smart, Silver, and your intellect was never in question. What was, was your safety. And at the risk of pissing you off further, there will never be a time that I agree to anything that will put you in harm’s way.”
“But you didn’t—”
“Babe, seriously. I did know and I was right. You’re back to fighting a losing corner and trying to protect yourself from someone you don’t need to hide from or guard yourself against. I won’t hurt you. I won’t belittle you or question your competence. I know you’re strong and capable. I know you’re a good captain. I know you’re skilled in navigation. I know you can handle any watercraft you board. But, honey, you cannot tactically outmaneuver my team. And we cannot keep you safe while you’re swinging your ass out there. There are too many variables.”
Some of the stiffness started to fade but she was still holding herself back.
Baby steps, patience, and a healthy dose of self-control. Two of which Weston knew he sucked at. He was all about action. Once he’d zeroed in on his target there was no stopping him from accomplishing his mission. The self-control—Weston had that in spades, but the sexy woman in front of him pushed him to the brink of breaking and tested him like no other.
“I already told you, you were right about that,” she snapped, and Weston wished to God Almighty he could kiss the sass right out of her.
It wouldn’t take much to lower his mouth and take hers. And once he did, he knew she’d forget all about her snit. But Weston was smart enough to know that kissing her in the shopping center was not his best play. Not that she’d fight him, but they were at least twenty minutes from home and if he started something now, that drive would be knocked down to fifteen and they would skip shopping and dinner altogether.
“Come on, let’s get you some clothes.”
He stepped away but grabbed her hand, and much to his surprise she didn’t fight it. Not when he walked her across the parking lot and into the store. Not when she was picking out clothes, and the only time she dropped his hand was to pull something off the rack and toss it in the cart. Then her hand went back to his and Weston pushed the load one-handed and didn’t mind one fucking bit it was difficult to navigate the thing without the use of both his hands.
For the first time in a long time, he was content.
And he was also pleased as fuck, Silver was the one reaching for him.
8
If Weston was bored when we’d been shopping he’d done a good job hiding it. The only snag was when we’d gotten in line and I remembered I had no purse, therefore no way to pay. An argument ensued, right in the checkout line of TJ Maxx. Then when I relented because I had no choice but to get a few things because I had nothing, and tried to put back most of it, Weston looked like he was going to lose his mind.
His grip on my hand tightened, something else that had been frightening and exciting at the same time. We’d held hands like teenagers the whole time we were walking around the store. At first, I wanted the connection—it had only been that morning I’d been taken prisoner and thought I was going to die, but shortly after we got into the store I continued to seek out his touch simply because I liked it.
I knew I was borrowing trouble, but couldn’t for the life of me stop myself. It was stupid and I was going to get burned, but at that juncture, I didn’t care, and a part of me knew the pain of his departure from my life would be worth it.
Dinner was great, except when I tried to order a cup of soup, since again I had no way to pay. Weston got pissed and ordered me crab cakes, a salad, and a bowl of lobster bisque. When I protested the amount of food he’d ordered he simply growled “babe”, something I’d learned was his go-to word. He could use it as an answer, a statement, or as a question. It was mildly annoying but when the food came I’d forgotten all about my irritation.
Another thing I learned that didn’t annoy me was Weston was funny. He didn’t crack jokes or have an arsenal of one-liners—it was the way he told mundane stories. He was animated when he talked, and his delivery was hilarious. It was also very apparent he was close to his team, respected them as partners in the business they owned together, but it went beyond that, they were like brothers. And he genuinely liked his friends’ women—McKenna and Kennedy.
He told me a little bit about what they’d gone through and encouraged me to take McKenna up on her offer to talk. I was still on the fence about that. Growing up I didn’t go to a regular school, so I’d never had friends my own age. That made making them in college difficult. There was also the fact that most of my classmates were men, so I’d never really had women friends. I knew my classmates’ girlfriends but none of them were ever particularly nice to me. And part of me understood those women probably didn’t like that I was hanging out with their boyfriends even if it was strictly platonic.
I was afraid McKenna and Kennedy would treat me the same way and not want Nixon and Jameson to help me. And truthfully I needed the help more than I needed friends so I thought it was best to stay to myself. Besides, after this was over it wasn’t like I’d be around them.
So, shopping was good, dinner was better, the drive home was relaxed, but now that we were back at Weston’s house alone in the kitchen I was no longer feeling the calm the evening had afforded me. I was on-edge and didn’t know what to do with my hands. I was fidgeting and it pissed me off I was acting like a dumb schoolgirl with a boy she had a crush on.
Which may’ve been the case—not the schoolgirl part—but the dumb crush was a definite possibility.
Weston finished pulling two bottles of water out of the fridge, set them on the counter, then twisted so he was leaning against it with both his hands at his sides holding onto the edge. The new position did nothing to settle my nerves. Now I had the perfect view of his front. Top to toe, the man was gorgeous and by the smirk on his face, he knew it.
“Come here, Silver.”
“No way.” I shook my head for emphasis.
I didn’t mind
the few feet of space between us.
“Do you think I’d hurt you?”
“What? No. Of course not.”
“Do you think I’d do something that would make you uncomfortable?”
Oh my God. I didn’t like where this was going, mainly because I sucked at lying and there’d never been a time when I successfully pulled off a fib. Not even a small, white one. Everyone could tell when I was being dishonest so I just bluntly told the truth. But right then, I wanted to lie. I wanted to hide from Weston because the truth would be embarrassing.
“No.”
“Then why aren’t you movin’?”
“Because I’m afraid if I do, I’ll do something that will make you uncomfortable.”
His smirk turned into an out-and-out mega-watt smile and sweet Jesus my panties dampened and it was a good thing he hadn’t let me put any clothes back or I’d have to do laundry every time he smiled like that.
He didn’t look sexy, it went so far beyond that it wasn’t funny. This man could and would devastate me. No man should be as beautiful as Weston. It should be outlawed. A crime against the sisterhood.
“Babe, come here.”
I shook my head and my feet stayed cemented to the floor. At least there was that, I was paralyzed by his good looks. Never had I ever been so mesmerized by a smile. But in my defense it was wicked and the promise behind it was something, in my current state of arousal, I couldn’t understand.
“Then I’m comin’ to you,” he announced and even though I wanted to run as I’d mentioned, I was freaking paralyzed. I couldn’t get my legs to move but had no problem with running my mouth.
“Oh, no. You need to stay right where you are.”
“Why’s that, Silver?” he asked, pushing off the counter without waiting for my answer.
“Because you’re dangerous,” I blurted out.
My outburst did nothing to stop his approach and if it were possible his smile grew as he stalked toward me. My feet came unglued and I stumbled back, hitting the counter behind me, trapping myself between the Formica top and an unforgiving wall of muscle.
Weston's Treasure Page 5