"I hear ya, Kev—now listen closely because I'm going to see if I can make this unmistakable for you. Mia has told me enough about your psychosis and inability to realize when a woman no longer wants anything more to do with you. She is under my protection now, which means she is under my team's protection. Since you seem to understand the brotherhood that exists in my organization, you also know that one phone call from me, and I can find ways to fuck with your life you never thought possible. From now on—Mia is off-limits."
Ben didn't wait for a response, just ended the call and turned the phone off. "I doubt one discussion will convince him to leave you alone. I don't want you to worry about him, though. I've handled assholes like him before, and I will eventually break him." He stood and placed her phone on the desk, and rested his palm against her cheek. "One way or another." Whether Ben would have to actually break the man's bones or just his will was the unknown variable. Didn't matter. Ben was up for either—or both.
There was a knock on the door. Ben grabbed his gun from the nightstand drawer, and tucked it into the waistband of his jeans. Peering through the peephole, he snickered as Tink smiled and flipped him the bird.
Lance followed Tink in, and the two sat at the table and proceeded to dive into the remaining plates of food without hesitation. Mia stopped eating mid-bite, eyes wide, and gawked as they shoveled food into their mouths. Dropping her bagel on her plate, she turned away from them and glanced at Ben, her expression querying is this normal? Or maybe it was your teammates are disgusting pigs. It was hard to distinguish between the two.
Ben's best answer to either was simply to shrug.
Mia stood, picked up the file from the desk, and tossed it on the bed.
"I need some room," she said, and spread the file out so both of them could look at it. Stacks of spreadsheets listing all the donations were broken down by year and month over a ten year period.
Ben picked up a few pages. "Jesus, this will take forever to go through."
"It doesn't make sense," Mia murmured, tossing documents into various piles.
"What doesn't make sense?" Lance asked around an enormous bite of pancakes and scrambled eggs.
Mia shook her head. "The way these spreadsheets are set up. There's a wealth of information here, but it's a convoluted mess. No CPA I know would set up spreadsheets this way. Maybe a master file—maybe—but the amount of information contained in one spreadsheet is overwhelming. There's no way to easily find what you're looking for."
"What do you mean," Ben asked, kneeling down next to her.
"If this were my client, and I wanted to know how much money had been provided to, say…purchase computers for a school…I would want that information readily available." She waved a handful of papers over her head. "I certainly wouldn't want to have to go through all this extraneous information to find the answer."
Mia tossed the papers on top of another pile.
"And another thing—" she continued. "I would have this information in individual spreadsheets on my computer. That way I could put specific criteria into my search bar and find exactly what I was looking for."
"Maybe this is just information MacKenzie had in the file, and the other info is on his computer," Tink said.
"Which the firm has already taken," Mia added, looking through another one of the spreadsheets. "There is no way we would be able to access any of his computer files—if they even exist anymore."
That caught the attention of Ben and the other two men, who stilled and stared at her. "Meaning?" Lance asked.
"I don't think the partners at the firm want anyone to know about this account. I told you that when I discovered the file in my office, I tried to return it to Riordan's secretary but she refused to take it…told me it wasn't one of their files. The following day, my boss asked me specifically if I had seen this file."
Tink crumpled his napkin, tossed it on his plate, and scooted away from the table. "But you did have the file at that time?"
"Yeah, I lied. I wasn't sure what the hell was going on, but Riordan had trusted me with it, and I decided to hold onto it until I could figure out what exactly to do."
Mia pulled the last of the papers out of the file. Her eyes lit up. "Ah, ha!" She pulled away some tape, and held up a thumb drive. "I'm guessing this is a copy of everything he had on his computer." She flopped backward so that she was sitting on her butt. "I wish I had grabbed my laptop while we were at the house," she muttered.
Ben snorted. "You mean while bad guys were shooting at you?"
She gave him a side eye glance. "Okay, so maybe we were preoccupied. But no computer makes getting the information on here a lot more challenging."
"Good thing I have a laptop, then." Ben stood and walked to the closet, pulled out a backpack, and placed a black laptop on the desk.
Mia popped up and stepped next to Ben as he lifted the top, and booted up the machine.
"Hold up, that's your government issued computer," Lance said. "We have no idea what exactly is on that thumb drive. It could be encrypted. It could have some sort of tracking device on it, or have any of a thousand viruses. Before we start plugging it into a laptop with secure networking capabilities, let's take some precautions." Lance put his hand out. "Let me take it to my IT guys at the Pentagon so they can do what they do to make sure there aren't any bugs we don't want crawling around a classified government network—or something that will tip off the bad guys as to our location."
Tink stood. "I'll come with you. I need to check in with the rest of the team."
Ben grabbed his cell phone, and hit the speed dial for the one person he trusted to help him uncover what might be going on with the Hutton Foundation.
"Tex, it's Humps." Tex lived in Virginia Beach, and even though he was medically discharged from the Navy, he had maintained a close connection with his former teammates. Ben met him during his temporary assignment with Wolf's team, and even though he hadn't been with them long, Ben had gotten to know Tex and was impressed by his many talents. There was nowhere a person could hide—no information—Tex couldn't get. The man was a magician.
"Hey, brother, how's it hanging?"
"To my knee, as usual."
Tex chuckled into the phone. "What can I do for you?"
"I need some information on a Senator and his charitable organization."
"Is this for your own personal knowledge or official?"
"A little of both…it's a bit of a gray area." Ben knew Tex was used to skirting the line between official requests and inquiries that may cross legal and ethical lines, but no one liked going in blind.
"I thought you were getting knife and fork training in DC?"
"I am, but I stumbled onto something and I'm not quite sure what I have, or what to do with it. All I can tell you is that Ice's friend seems to have caught the eye of men with guns who are looking for target practice, and aiming at the bullseye on her back."
"Who's the friend?"
Ben paused and glanced over his shoulder at Mia. Would she be okay with him revealing her and her problems to Tex? Ben tried to come up with any reasons contrary to Mia's health and well-being. Tex was one of the good guys. "Mia Rowland."
"I know Mia. She used to live here. Moved to DC after Ice went west with Wolf."
Of course, Mia would've met Tex in Norfolk.
"I'll get right on this and let you know what I find out," Tex said. "Tell Mia I miss her chocolate chip cookies."
Ben hung up the phone and then wanted to kick himself for forgetting to ask Tex to look into Mia's stalker, Kevin. He fired off a quick text, letting Tex know Mia was having issues with an ex.
Tex responded immediately. Cocksucker Kevin? Thought he was still serving time. Will see WTF is going down and get back to you.
Tex was one of the best men Ben had never actually had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face. Someday, he would make the trek to Virginia Beach for a proper introduction and a bottle of the man's favorite hooch.
"Who were you t
alking to?" Mia asked.
Ben turned toward her. "Tex." She was still wearing his t-shirt and shorts that were way too big for her. Didn't seem to matter. She still looked sexy as all hell. "He misses your chocolate chip cookies."
Mia chuckled. "Not me—just my cookies."
"Sure he meant he misses you, too," Ben said with a shrug. "Guys live through their stomachs."
The warm smile on her face sent shock waves through him. Mia was beautiful, but when she smiled, it was was like she had invaded his body and her warmth swam through his veins.
He had wanted to wake her up this morning and finish what they had started the night before. His damn sense of honor had stepped in again, and made doing anything other than actually sleeping with her off limits.
Just thinking about it now was giving him a hard-on. He adjusted his junk, and cleared his throat, along with thoughts of her naked.
"So, what do you want to do while we wait for them to return?" Nice, Ben…that wasn't a loaded question with a ton of implications.
Mia looked down at her shirt, and then back at him. "I'm sort of limited in my wardrobe. As much as I appreciate you sharing your clothes with me, I was thinking maybe I could get some of mine from home. Especially if I'm going to be here for a couple more days."
"Well, you do look great in that shirt," Ben said, his gaze roaming up and down her body like an overly eager teenager.
Mia pulled the hem of the shirt down. Ben lifted his head until he could see her eyes. Cheeks pink, and a smile across her face was doing nothing to quell the raging hormones coursing through his body.
Fuck, we need to get out of this room…with it's all-too-easy access to a bed.
"Unfortunately, we can't risk going back to your place to get anything," he said. Mia's shoulders dropped, and she sighed. Ben knew she needed some clothes and maybe some other personal items. The thought of her commando was not unpleasant—until he remembered Lance and Tink were often around her. "But there's a shopping center a few blocks away. We might be able to sneak in there and grab a few things for you."
That brought on a dazzling smile. In the face of all this adversity, with anonymous men taking shots at her for still unexplained reasons, she could pull out a smile that would make angels jealous.
"Let me just check in with Lance, and let him know our plans."
Mia squealed and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you." She rested her chin on his shoulder. "And thank you for dealing with Kevin. You have no idea how much that means to me." She tightened her hold on him, which brought her body closer to his.
Jesus, waiting until this was all over before having sex was going to be the hardest assignment Ben had since becoming a SEAL.
The strip mall was busy, which Mia took as a good thing. Lots of people mingling around them meant they wouldn't stand out. At least, that was her theory, and she hoped to God it was true. Ben didn't appear to be taking any chances. His hand grasped hers, nearly cutting off all circulation, and causing the tips of her fingers to become dark red with each passing minute.
They ducked into a department store and Mia quickly snatched up some jeans, tops, shorts, and yoga pants. Carrying her haul to the back of the store to the changing rooms, she turned to Ben. "Be back in a minute."
"You're trying all this stuff on?" He asked, eyes narrowed, his lips a thin white line.
Uh, duh… Did guys not try clothes on before buying them? What if they didn't fit? The amount of time wasted to return them seemed pointless.
Mia stepped into the changing room, but Ben cut her off. "If you insist on doing this, will you at least let me check things out?"
It was on the tip of Mia's tongue to ask him how the bad guys would've found here and known she would be trying on clothes, but it seemed like a much better idea to just let Ben do what he wanted. Besides, this overly protective alpha male thing was kind of a turn on. Usually she wasn't into the step aside and let me handle this, little lady mindset that came with an extremely buff, overly confident male. Knowing that it was Ben, that he was truly concerned for her well-being and taking her safety so personally—well, that was a whole different animal. As much as she hated to admit it, she was perfectly happy with the current situation.
Plus, the way he clenches his jaw when he's frustrated is a sexy as hell.
Thankfully, no one else was in the changing rooms, so Ben didn't have to chase off unsuspecting women in various stages of undress. He held the door open to one of the rooms, and stood outside. Mia listened for his footsteps walking away, but it remained silent. Of course he's going to stand guard. What had she expected? Him to act like a normal guy and wait for her to finish? The situation was far from normal, and unorthodox measures were called for, at the time.
Sliding the shorts off, she kicked them to the side. She was just about to pull the t-shirt she was wearing over her head, when the door opened, and Ben stepped inside. Oh, shit! What was wrong? Staring into the mirror at him, her heart pounded in her chest. Until she saw Ben giving her the once over, his tongue darting out of his mouth and licking along his bottom lip.
When his eyes finally met hers, they were dark and hungry. "I thought you might need some help trying things on."
Mia couldn't help but smile. "Did you now?" The pounding of her heart had traveled south and was now a steady pulse between her legs.
Ben nodded. "I know how frustrating it can be to try to unzip when it is just out of your reach." His hands grasped the hem of her shirt and he lifted it enough to see that she wasn't wearing any underwear. The thought of putting day old, dirty panties on grossed her out, and she had thought it would be safe to go commando.
"What do we have here?" Ben asked, his focus riveted to the exposed tuft of hair at the apex of her legs. "Why, Mia Rowland, you are a very naughty girl."
He brushed her hair from her neck, and placed kisses from her collarbone to her jaw. The heat from his breath turned her blood to warm honey. Her eyes fluttered shut. He dragged his fingertips under her shirt, across her ribcage, and tickled the sensitive skin on the underside of her breast. When he rolled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, a soft moan moved up her throat and slipped out between her barely open lips. Releasing the nipple, he gave the same attention to her other nipple.
Every nerve in her body tingled. When he let go of her nipple, she opened her eyes. His hand splayed on her abdomen. She watched as slowly it appeared from under her shirt, electrifying her skin, and slowly moving between her legs. She lifted her leg, and placed her foot on the bench to give Ben more access to the most sensitive, sensual part of her body. One finger slid along her wet folds and slipped inside her body. Leisurely, he pulled it out, and glided back in. His thumb pressed against the hard nub, massaging it. Mia couldn't take her eyes off his hands masterfully bringing her body to the threshold of a climax. Her hips gyrated.
"Ben, more…" she whispered. "Faster. Please."
At her command, he added another finger inside her, and increased the speed he moved in and out. And to her delight, he pushed into her as deep as he could go, which it turns out, was just deep enough to hit the sensitive bundle of nerves that had been begging for his attention.
"Mia," Ben moaned. "Oh shit, baby, you feel so good."
Closing her eyes, she dropped her head back so that it rested on his shoulder. He wrapped his free arm across her chest, and she clung to him in order to stay on her feet. Her knees were jelly, and Mia wasn't sure how much longer they would be effective for standing. Her muscles began to clench, her orgasm just at the precipice. She pushed down on Ben's hand as he thrust inside her. And that was exactly what she needed to push over the top. Her body exploded around his fingers, biting her bottom lip to muffle the scream threatening to burst from her lungs.
He pulled his fingers from inside her. Mia watched in wonderment as he lifted them, glistening with her juices, and placed them in his mouth. A post orgasmic shudder ran through her body.
A smile slid across Ben's face, hi
s eyes never leaving hers. "Do you still need to try on clothes or can we get back to the hotel?"
Mia's mouth went dry. The hotel. Where there was a bed, and a shower, and a few other interesting places to have sex. Her head wagged back and forth. "No, I think everything will fit just fine."
"Good." Ben started grabbing up the clothes she had brought in with her. "I'll pay for these while you get dressed, and meet you out front."
When the door closed, Mia looked at herself in the mirror. She should be appalled at her actions. This was a public place, and completely inappropriate for that kind of…activity. On the other hand, it had been one of the best sexual encounters of her life. It was hard to regret doing it when it felt so good, and so right. For a simple, by-the-numbers, slightly boring accountant, she felt pretty good about being so bad.
She wondered how much better it would be when they got back to the hotel, and were able to experience every part of each other. Giggling, she opened the dressing room door, and went to find Ben.
Oh, it was going to be very good, she had no doubt at all.
Ben swung into the parking spot in the below ground garage under the hotel, tires squealing. If the speed with which Mia opened the door was any indication, she was just as anxious to get back to the room and explore the new twist in their relationship. Ben grabbed her hand as they got out of the vehicle and fast walked toward the elevators. The thought crossed his mind to pick her up, toss her over his shoulder, and jog across the large lot.
That's not Neanderthal at all.
When the elevator doors finally opened on their floor, they rushed down the hallway to the room. Ben fumbled with the key card, cursing under his breath when the red light flashed at him. On the second try, the green light glowed, and the lock disengaged. Stepping aside, he allowed Mia to enter first, and ran into the back of her when she came to an abrupt stop.
Tink was sitting at the round table, one foot resting on the opposite knee. "Where have you two been?"
Ben opened his mouth to answer, but Mia beat him to it.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Mia (Kindle Worlds) Page 8