Footsteps sounded over their heads followed by crashing sounds. Mia's bedroom was directly above. Visions of the antique dresser that belonged to her grandmother, and that Mia had spent an entire summer refinishing, ripped at her heart. She could imagine the drawers being pulled out and tossed onto the floor, the dresser toppled over. Would they destroy it looking for…whatever they were looking for? She didn't have jewelry or large amounts of cash in the house. Nothing was high dollar, just high sentimental value. What could they be looking for?
"We need to get out of here." Ben's voice pulled her back to the direness of their circumstances. "The only way out is the front door, since it's closest to us, and open. Are you okay to run?"
"Yeah, I wasn't hit anywhere."
"Okay, I'm going to stand and block you so you can get out the door."
Mia's heart pounded in her chest, her lungs pressed hard against her ribs. At any moment, she expected to feel the bones crack and break from the pressure. "No, hold my hand, and I'll follow you out."
Ben planted his lips against her temple. "I can protect you better if you go out ahead of me."
Mia shook her head in protest. She might as well have been in a vat of cement. There was no way she could walk, let alone run. Fear had a grip on her and wasn't letting go easily.
"Trust me, Mia." Ben's voice was low and commanding. "I won't let anything happen to you. Get out the door and run for help. I'll be right behind you."
She turned her head until she could look into his eyes, the brilliant blue bathing her like the warmth of the Mediterranean Sea. Somehow, one look and he was able to calm her—and bolster her confidence. "Promise?"
"Promise. I plan on kissing those lips of yours quite a bit when we're out of danger." The cocky grin she already loved slid into place. "Ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Mia answered.
Ben squeezed her hand and gave her a nod. Jumping to his feet, he pulled her up, practically dragging her behind him as he made his way into the foyer. As soon as they were at the front door, he pushed her away from him. She bolted out the front door and down the front steps.
A shot rang out. The wood door framing next to her head splintered, sending small shards hurtling through the air. A second shot. At the bottom of the stairs, she turned to make sure Ben was behind her.
Hightailing it through the door, Ben made it onto the small brick landing. A blast lit up the doorway. He dropped to his knees. His eyes met hers, the corners dipping, and her heart dropped into her stomach.
"I'm sorry," he mouthed. A small red dot sat in the center of his chest, quickly expanding into a wider circle as blood leaked from the hole in his chest. He pitched forward, his head slamming against the brick.
"NO!" The scream began as a growl low in her belly and erupted from her lips.
Mia sat straight up in bed. Darkness was all around her. Was she dead? Had the gunmen shot her, too?
A hand caressed her back. "Mia?"
The lamp clicked on and light bathed the room. Mia turned her head toward the person next to her.
Ben!
His eyes were wide and dark circles rested under them. She reached out to touch his chest. Warm. No blood.
It hadn't been real.
"You okay?" Ben asked, placing his hand over hers and keeping it against his beating heart. Relief flooded her. Such a strong, steady rhythm.
"Nightmare."
He lifted her hand to his lips, and pulled her body against his. "About tonight at your house?"
She nodded. The false memory flooded her mind. Ben shot. Falling to the ground. Dying. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
Placing a finger under her chin, he raised it until she could see his eyes. Caring enveloped her as she stared into their depths.
"We made it out without a scratch, Mia."
She nodded and choked back a sob building in her chest. The dream wasn't real. But the visions that lingered were a little too vivid for her to relinquish.
Slowly, Ben pressed his lips to hers, soft and gentle at first. Her hand slid up his arm, her fingers running through the short hair at the nape of his neck. Ben splayed his hand across her lower back, pulling her body closer to his, and she relished the tingles being this close to him produced. His lips were firm against hers, his tongue teasing the seam until she relented and he pushed into her mouth.
Sliding her tongue along his, she gripped the back of his head, impatient to have him deeper. Her body was alight as their tongues slowly danced with one another.
Ben leaned into her, laying her back down on the bed, but never breaking their kiss. His hand traveled up her side, and settled next to her breast. She wanted to beg him to touch her—everywhere—but wasn't ready to stop kissing him in order to speak.
Running her hands down his back, she slid them over the round curve of his ass. Holy gods of great asses. She squeezed. Ben moaned in her mouth, and moved his hand to her breast, massaging it. Her nipple poked against his palm, and she moved slightly to build friction.
He released her lips. She would have been disappointed, except he moved them along her neck. Flutters moved down her body and into her toes. Dear god, this man was talented with his lips. He nipped at the tender skin at the crook of her neck.
She sighed and moved her body against his. She needed to feel his hard muscles as they flexed. She wanted every part of her body to touch every part of his.
Ben lifted his head, and stared into her eyes. He took in big gulps of air. Moving his hand to her hair, he stroked it and the side of her face. He lowered his forehead and rested it against hers.
"There is nothing I would rather do than spend the rest of the night kissing you," he whispered.
Good, let's do it!
She keenly felt the absence of his lips on hers.
"But—"
A groan slipped passed her lips. Nothing good ever came after but…
"It's not the right time, Mia. I promise, we are going to explore this—I don't know—is connection the right word? Whatever this pull you seem to have over me. I want to see where it goes. Christ, I need to."
Mia giggled. Oh my, he is adorably sexy. "Okay, I'll let you off the hook tonight, but don't expect me to be so forgiving if you kiss me like that in the future and then stop."
"Yes, ma'am," he murmured and pressed his lips to hers again. Groaning, he rolled onto his back and placed his arm across his eyes. "Mia Rowland, you may be the death of me."
Taking hold of her hand, he pulled her close until her head rested on his chest. "Want to tell me about your nightmare?" he asked.
"No," she murmured. The last thing she wanted to do was remember watching Ben die right before her eyes while she did nothing to save him. Would he understand that, in such a short amount of time, he had burrowed his way under her skin and into her heart? Doubtful. She barely believed it herself. Lifting her head, she looked into his eyes. "Can you talk to me until I fall asleep?"
"Of course. What do you want to talk about?"
She paused. A variety of topics ran through her head—do you have a girlfriend? When was the last time you had sex? Do you often tease women and leave them wanting?
Probably not what she wanted to talk about on the heels of his sexual rebuke.
"What's your call sign and how did you get it?" she asked. That seemed like a safe enough topic.
Ben chuckled. "Humps…and you can probably guess why."
"Ben Humps Wells." She mulled it over for a moment and then groaned. "No, really? You hump well?"
"What?" He pulled his head back and looked at her. "Are you doubting my veracity?"
"No," she answered. "But I am curious about how the guys in your unit knew that?"
Ben's chest rumbled with laughter under her head. "My reputation preceded me, I guess."
"Good to know," Mia murmured. "Something to look forward to. So, what about Ritt?"
"His full name is Ritt Knight," Ben said. "Lance is short for Lancelot."
Mia chuckled
and Ben tightened his hold on her.
"Mason's is Tink—I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing his is shortened from the original, also."
"From what?" Mia ran through various options, but came up with nothing.
Until it finally dawned on her.
"Tinkerbell!" They both said at the same time, and spent the next few minutes laughing. God, it felt good to let loose, even if it was for a brief slice of time. She hoped the high she felt then would help sustain her while she tried to figure out what message Riordan had left her, and what she was supposed to do with the information.
Mia drifted off to sleep to Ben's soft chuckles, his fingers methodically running through her hair.
6
Getting out of bed the next morning had been the hardest thing Ben had done in a very long time. When he rolled over after waking up, his eyes were met with Mia's messy hair splayed across the pillow. The sound of her soft inhales and exhales in rhythm with his own breathing. At some point during the night, she had kicked the covers off. She hadn't worn his shorts to bed, and the t-shirt had ridden up, exposing lacy white panties and the soft, smooth skin on her lower back.
His fingers twitched with the need to touch her. His lips ached to kiss the dip in her lower back, just above the edge of her panties. Instead, he forced himself to get out of the bed. Still wearing a pair of blue nylon shorts, he pulled on a yellow Navy shirt, tied the laces on his running shoes, and hazarded a glance at Mia. She hadn't moved at all as he moved around the dark room.
Go for a run. Safer for him.
Definitely safer for her. If he had done any of the things he had envisioned during the night, he knew he would never be able to stop. He would want all of her. The kiss they shared had nearly undone him. Touching her soft skin, running his fingers under her waistband, feeling the warmth between her legs—would've been more than any mortal man could have resisted.
The room was empty when Ben returned from his run, and the bathroom door was shut. He tapped on the door with his knuckles. "I'm back."
The door opened, catching Ben of guard, and forcing him to take a couple of steps back. Mia was wearing his t-shirt and shorts, but her hair was wet, and her skin had that pinkish red that comes from hot water.
Her eyes were fixated on his bare chest, and it took her a moment to lift her head, which didn't bother Ben in the least. "H-how was your run? I ordered breakfast. I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I ordered some of everything. Hope that's okay. If not, maybe Lance and Mason will want some. They're coming by, right? They said they would be back this morning, but maybe they told you something different."
Ben could hardly keep up with the words flying from her lips at breakneck speed. When she finally stopped talking, he grasped her upper arms. A strange feeling coursed through him. Women had admired his body in the past, but this was something new and different. Mia's reaction to him gave him a sense of pride, made him want to do everything he could to make sure she always looked at him with appreciation. But there was something else there, as well. Something in the gleam of her eyes. She was falling for him. Of course, Ben was already halfway down that hill, toppling head over ass for her.
The best part, though, was seeing Mia so flustered. Charming and totally arousing. The best of both worlds. "Slow down…and breath," he chuckled. "I'm going to jump in the shower."
The shower was quick. Opening the bathroom door, he was assaulted by the smell of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. His stomach rumbled in appreciation of Mia's overly ambitious ordering. The table was packed with plates, and Mia was moving dishes around, trying to get everything fit.
After clearing a plate of pancakes, and another plate with eggs, hash browns, and bacon, Ben dumped a mini box of Frosted Flakes into a bowl and filled it with milk. Mia was nibbling on a bagel slathered with cream cheese. Either she wasn't very hungry, or she was doing that thing guys hate when girls pretend they have the stomach the size of a nickel and won't eat in front of men. God, he hoped it was the former—he wasn't sure he could deal with a woman who was constantly hungry but refused to eat. He had dated too many of them, and they tended to be angry, bitter women who would feel a hell of a lot better if they would fill their damn stomachs with whatever the fuck they were craving.
A cell phone ringing drew Ben's attention away from Mia's bird impression.
"Dammit," Mia muttered when she looked at the screen on her phone. Holding down the power button, she turned the phone off, and tossed it on the bed.
Ben waited for her to explain what had just happened, but she seemed suddenly very interested in her bagel.
"Wanna tell me what that was all about?" He asked.
She glanced at him under the fringe of hair covering her forehead. "It's nothing."
"Enough with the 'it's nothing' bullshit, Mia. You've been getting text messages and now a phone call, and each time you look as if your world has come to an end. Tell me what the fuck is going on."
She swallowed, and it looked painful—as if she was struggling to force the bite of bagel down her throat. Dropping the bagel on the plate, she placed her elbows on her knees, and cradled her face in her hands. "When I lived in Norfolk, I dated a guy who turned out to be controlling and creepy. A few times things got out of control, and I finally broke it off with him. He didn't take it well and started stalking me. Calling and texting me day and night. He would show up at my work and demand I talk to him. He broke into my apartment one day, and hid until I came home." She shook her head, and sighed. "A lot of horrible things happened over a twenty-eight hour period—I don't want to go into it now—but suffice it to say, it was bad enough that he was convicted and sent to jail."
She lifted her head and peered at Ben for a moment. "When Caroline moved, I decided to start over, and found the job here in DC. I changed my number, only gave out information to people I trusted, and signed up to receive a notification when my stalker got out of jail. I didn't get it, and somehow he has found me. I started getting text messages a couple of days ago and have tried to ignore them. The call just now was from him."
Well, that was unexpected.
Ben sat back in his chair and let the information sink in. Stalker ex-boyfriend coming back into her life just when she is being hunted by gunmen. Could be true, but it was oddly convenient. Gave her a perfectly plausible explanation for the random texts and calls.
"Why didn't you just tell me about this?" Ben asked. Christ, hadn't he shown his willingness to help her?
She bit her bottom lip, and watched him for a moment. "Do you really think I wanted you to know about this—on top of everything else going on? This is not a post-first-date revelation a girl wants to drop on a guy she's interested in. It's humiliating enough that you're involved in this whole Riordan-Hutton mess…bringing Kevin into the mix is a whole new level of mortification."
Okay—hadn't considered her side of things.
One bright spot shone through all the crap she had relayed. "So, you're interested in me?" He raised an eyebrow.
Tipping her head to the side, she rolled her eyes. "Really? That's what you took away from that?"
Smiling, he picked up her phone from the bed and turned it on. She didn't make a move to stop him, but hawked his movements. Whoever called had left a voicemail. He pressed play and put it on speakerphone.
"Mia—it's Kevin. I know you think disappearing has been a fun game to see if I could find you—and I have—so it's time to stop the bullshit." His tone escalated. "I have your phone number. I know where you live, and where you work. Stop fucking around and answer my calls." There was a pause, then a loud exhale. "We both know we are meant to be together. You're my Mia. Only mine." His tone returned to normal by the end of the message.
Ben shook his head. If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he might not have believed the Jekyll and Hyde message. On minute, the dude was calm and collected only to shift to crazed man the next.
A tear slid down Mia's face, igniting a fire pit of rage in Ben's gut. Who the fu
ck did this Kevin guy think he was?
The time had come to make sure the asshole backed off. "Do you trust me?"
Mia narrowed her eyes. "Yes."
Ben pressed the call back button and placed the phone to his ear.
A male answered. "My own Mia. I knew you would call."
Ben's hand curled into a fist at the sound of the man's voice. If Kevin had been standing in the room, Ben would've pummeled the life out of him.
"Sorry, Kev…not Mia, and if you value your life, you will never text or call her again. And don't even think about visiting her house or work." Ben had a tight hold on his rage, and his calm voice masked the violence simmering just below the surface. He may not know exactly what this asshat had done to Mia during her captivity—the specifics didn't matter. Kevin had hurt her, and Ben was not going to let that happen again.
"Who is this? I have no interest talking to you. Where's Mia? Put her on the phone."
"You're not very bright, are you? No talking, calling, texting…no contact with Mia at all."
Kevin chuckled. "If you think you're going to stand in the way of my future with Mia, you are sadly misinformed. Now, I don't know how you got her phone, but I demand you hand it back to her."
"Or what?" Ben snickered. Does this asshat really think he can intimidate me?
"You don't want to find out the ways I can hurt you. You'll experience pain and torture you never imagined possible."
Ben doubted that very much. Kevin sounded like a guy who liked to threaten people, but didn't have the sac to actually commit a violent act—unless it was against someone weaker than him.
"I've seen what madmen can do when they're motivated. Not sure you can compete with the psychos I meet in my line of work," said Ben.
"Ah, I get it now." Kevin snorted. "You're one of those SEALs she been hanging around, lying to her about how she needs to be protected from me. Probably so you can fuck her. And you may even believe you can keep her from me. Let me make this clear, sailor boy. Mia is mine. She will always be mine. So you and your merry band of sea snakes can go fuck yourselves."
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Mia (Kindle Worlds) Page 7