He gave her his rebreather.
Water battered them once more, tossing them through the rip current like rag dolls. She had no idea how the hell they would survive this. And this wasn't even the worst part of the storm. His hand rubbed her back, signaling he was still there, still holding on to her.
Black waves. Black sky. Black clouds. Yet Noah was her light.
Chapter Eight
Noah gripped tight to Jayla's slippery body. Rain pelted his face, suffocating him as much as each blast of water from the surging waves. But he was a fighter, trained for this shit. And Jayla proved she was one, too. Somehow, they'd make it out of this.
Another wave rolled them under the water, and his fingertips slipped along Jayla's sleek waist. But she grabbed his vest, before wrapping her legs around his torso. They tumbled through the waves once more, until something brushed against his leg. He prayed it wasn't a shark. Though in this rough of a storm, they'd be deep near the ocean floor not near the surface.
Again something bumped him, and he kicked at it to figure out what it was. Solid, like concrete. Flashes of lightning blazed in a zigzag across the sky.
Land.
They'd washed through the water and drifted further than he initially thought. Another strike of lightning lit up the dark. Sure enough, a concrete ledge of some sort. It wasn't an oil rig, but more like a pier.
“Jayla, look,” Noah pointed to the dock.
Worry lines etched her forehead. “What is it?”
“A miracle,” he replied, swimming them both closer to it. “I'm going to hoist you up. Do you think you can grab on and pull yourself up?”
Gripping her by the hips, he sunk under the water as he pushed her up and out. As he resurfaced, she extended a hand to him. She pulled, stronger than he anticipated, and he jerked forward, landing on top of her.
“We've got to stop meeting like this,” he whispered, a breath from her lips. He stared into her eyes, once full of fear, now twinkling with a bit of hope. Everything in him ached to take her lips with his own, partly because they'd just survived almost being lost at sea and adrenaline surged through his body. Partly because, even drenched like a drowned rat, she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and every crack of lightning showed it to him.
She reached up to cup his cheek as if she was thinking the same, but her body trembled beneath him. He couldn't ignore the signs. Shock was probably setting in, and they had to find a safer place to ride out the rest of the hurricane. From the size of the waves, it had to be at least a category two, and they wouldn't make it sitting on the edge of the dock.
“Here,” he whispered, easing himself off her body. He stripped out of his vest and t-shirt before wrapping her up in the fabric. “It's soaked, but you'll be warmer than sitting in just your underwear.”
He slid his vest back on over his bare chest, and pulled out his flashlight. “Let's find some place to shelter until the storm's over.”
“Thanks,” she answered through chattering teeth. “The rain actually feels good, rinsing the salt water off.” A gasp escaped her lips and her body collapsed on wobbly legs.
Noah dove to catch her and cradled her in his arms. She'd passed out. Swallowed too much water, exhaustion, shock … probably all of the above. Her heartbeat still pulsed under his fingers, which calmed the anxiety clawing at his heart.
As he walked through the edge of a grassy patch near the dock, he took a look around, coming to a stop at something that looked like a runway. He scanned the area and excitement flooded his veins.
Jayla stirred in his arm, and he wiped away the water collecting on her face from the rain. A hard wind startled him, nearly knocking him and Jayla to the ground, but he planted his feet, bracing against it. They needed cover, fast.
“What happened?” She rubbed her eyes, brushing away more rain drops, before looking around. “Shit. I thought it was just a nightmare.” Her face hardened as she turned to look at up at him. And in that moment he knew she wasn't going to like the fact that he was carrying her.
“We found land. I think I know where we are, and if I'm right, there's a building on the other side of the island that we can take shelter in. Are you strong enough to walk, or do you need me to carry you?” He quirked a brow, unable to hide the smirk itching to form on his lips.
“I'll give you one guess.” Her lips pursed to a thin line.
He tilted his head with a smile. “But this place is notorious for nasty ants and bird shit. And you have no shoes. You sure?”
Her dramatic pause made him chuckle. “That's what I thought. It's not far. I'll carry you.” Noah pressed on carrying her, sporting a triumphant smile, even as the wind and rain blasted his face. He'd actually won an argument with her, and he had no idea why it pleased him so much.
Another strong gust whipped down on them, pummeling them with rain, and now hail. Each ball of ice stung his bare chest like spiked rocks. Jayla buried herself against him, pressing her face to his skin. The warmth of her flesh next to his sent a spark of desire through him. He tamped it down, focusing on the task at hand, and he sped up to a run as he tried to cover her head as much as he could with his arms.
He stopped outside of a four-story concrete building. The sign in front said JACADS.
“Where are we?” Jayla asked.
Noah eased her to standing. “Johnston Atoll. It's a deserted military base.”
Lightning crackled across the sky, like a spider-web clinging to the clouds, flashing so bright they both ducked for fear it was too close. A thunderous boom rattled the ground around them, as if the hands of God gripped the air and shook it.
“We need to get inside.” Noah tried the door, but it was locked. He reached for his SIG and aimed for the door, stopping to turn his head toward Jayla. “Can I use violence now?”
She tossed him an emphatic nod. “Why are you waiting? Shoot the fucker open!”
A laugh bubbled up in his throat as he wiped away the layers of water on his face from the fierce rain. “Step back,” he ordered. Jayla darted around the side of the wall and he fired a shot at the lock, opening the door. “Let's get inside.”
Out of the rain, Noah ran a hand through his hair, shucking the clinging water from it. Jayla wrung out her long locks and the water poured out onto the floor. His t-shirt hung around her like a tent, soaked and heavy.
He stepped closer to her, grabbing the bottom of it before raising it above her head and taking it off. “Let me wring it out for you.”
She nodded and took a wobbly step back from him, covering herself with her arms, whether in embarrassment or cold, he didn't know.
“You doing okay?” he asked, trying to get a feel for her emotional state at that point. After her poisoning, almost drowning, and now the storm, he had no idea just how much she'd been trained or could handle disaster.
Lightning crackled in a constant stream. While frightening, it provided them with light. But the roar of the thunder that followed did little to quell the nerves biting him. He wrung out the shirt, as tight as the knots in his gut. Another boom of thunder rattled the shattered glass on the door, and it crashed to the floor.
Jayla shrieked and launched herself into Noah's arms. “Other than my ass puckering at DEFCON Five right now, I'm just peachy.”
He couldn't hold back a laugh, and he stroked the back of her head to calm her. “We need to move away from the doors. The rest of the building is solid concrete. It was built to withstand hurricanes. We'll be okay.”
She gave a terse nod and pulled back from his embrace. He liked her there. She felt right in his arms. She fit, where he could wrap himself around her, protect her. And a driving need inside him ached to. He shook his head, staving off the thoughts. It was just the situation. The danger heightening everything. Making him more aware of things, of feelings.
Yet as he watched her graceful moves in the darkness, in only a bra and g-string, every innate animal side of him came alive. He stalked after her like she was prey. She brou
ght out a primal need in him he hadn't felt in a long, long time. A need to claim, to not only have sex, but to be one with someone. To bond.
Do not fall for her, Noah. She doesn't even like you. You don't need this shit in your life. Remember what happened to mom? You want to relive that? You want someone else to die at your expense? Loving her will put her in danger.
Noah swallowed hard as the words scrambled his thoughts. He clicked on his flashlight, illuminating the path in front of them as the lightning faded from view the further into the building they walked.
“I think this is good,” he said, stopping them in the middle of the first floor. “We need to stay on the lower level, in the event a tornado is spawned from the storm. If the building gets flooded, we'll head upstairs. Sound like a plan?”
A sigh puffed from her lips as she nodded, looking over his shoulder, presumably at the lightning streaking in from the door in the distance.
“Hey,” he said, gliding a finger along her jawline to regain her focus on him. “We'll get out of this. Once the storm passes, they'll come looking for us. If we're at Johnston Atoll, we're near Hawaii and the Ford.”
“I know. I just … I hate storms.” She shifted from foot to foot in a nervous little dance. “My family lost everything when Hurricane Ike hit Houston. It just brings back old memories I'd rather forget.”
“Ah, so you're from Texas?” He made his way to the floor to have a seat and beckoned her to join him.
Jayla followed suit and curled her knees to her chest. “Yeah, born and raised.”
“Let's let my shirt air out a bit so you can put it back on dry later.” Noah flipped the shirt over a metal folding chair next to him. He took a moment to look at her, as she stared off into the darkness. “You're unusually quiet.”
Laughter echoed through the hollow building. “Not sure what you want me to say. I'm sitting practically naked in the middle of an abandoned building with a complete stranger, riding out a hurricane after a botched mission where we almost drowned at sea. I don't think there are enough words to take the thoughts from my head and make them into conversation.”
“Well, there's the Jayla I know. And, I'm not a complete stranger. We made out at Wolf's house a couple days ago. It could be worse.” He shrugged. “You could have died. But you didn't. You're a survivor. You're a fighter. You'll get through this.”
“Only because your ass saved me two times. Two.” Her bright-blue eyes glassed over with each flash of lightning beaming brighter through the glass doors. The storm had strengthened, and the howl of the winds pierced the holes in the door, whipping rain, hail, and debris into the lobby. Something banged around outside the building, and the rest of the door blew through the room, shattering into a shower of glass.
Noah dove on top of Jayla, scooting them further back in the room. “Like I said before, I'll do it a third time if I have to.”
Distract her. Get her mind off the storm. Get her focus on something else so she doesn't panic.
He brushed a lock of her wet hair clinging to her cheek. She stared up at him, her chest rising and falling beneath him in a staccato rhythm.
Lightning struck so bright it nearly blinded them. The roar of the thunder that accompanied it deafened their ears, and the entire building shook like an earthquake.
Jayla winced, whimpering as she curled into a ball. Noah stripped off his vest and curled himself around her. Sliding his arm under her head, he nestled her in the crook of his elbow. Her back pressed flush against his bare chest.
She stilled in his arms before shimmying her way back, pressing herself closer to him. He wrapped his other arm around her, tucking her inside his body cocoon.
Another blast of lightning and thunder struck. Noah ran his fingertips along her arms, trying to soothe her. Goosebumps dotted her skin, and he brushed them away with his hand. He leaned in and pressed his lips to the back of her head, letting his mouth linger against her wet hair that smelled of shampoo and saltwater.
He pressed his lips to her ear as he whispered, “It's okay, Fox. We'll be okay.”
Her chest rose and fell faster, and she clamped a hand on his, running her own fingers along his with a feather touch. Was she responding? His own heart pumped a little faster at the thought.
Leaning in again, he pressed his lips to her neck, nuzzling below her ear from behind. A soft gasp escaped her mouth, and she arched her back against his chest. He ran his hand down her arm then let it fall to her stomach, where he brushed her skin with his thumb in gentle strokes.
Her timid moan lit a fire inside him, sparking a flood of adrenaline. His heart sped. He wanted her. He needed her. As much as he wanted to distract her, keep her occupied and ignore the storm, the thought of this leading to sex made his head spin. Everything inside him told him to go for it. But a part of him halted. The part that was falling for the saucy, strong woman. The part that knew if he did have sex with her, he'd be done for. It would seal it for him, and there'd be no coming back. Because how the hell do you have sex with a woman like Jayla and not want more?
So strong, yet she lay so fragile in his arms like a doll. He knew it must be killing her to admit to him, of all people, that she was afraid of something. After all they'd survived that night, it had come down to this moment that she showed him her real self. Not the courageous spit-fire, not the seductive spy, not the woman wanting to be seen in the crowd, unafraid to be herself. But the woman shivering in his arms, completely bare to him in almost every way.
No sarcasm. No seduction. No sass. Just Jayla, allowing him to comfort her. Soft, tender, and yielding. It burned his soul. She sucked him in, hook, line, and sinker. He wanted her, more than anything he'd ever wanted in his life. In the span of just a few short days, she'd changed his life. She'd consumed him.
He pressed his lips to her shoulder, splaying his hand across her stomach as his other arm tucked her closer still, until the back of her head rested against his chest. Once again she arched into him, this time rocking her ass against his pelvis, shooting a fire of desire through him he couldn't hold back, and his pants tightened around him. Shit.
He wanted to tell her right then and there that he was falling for her. But saying the words out loud would make them true, and how could he possibly fall in love when he had no idea what love was? All he'd ever had were Frog Hogs. A face here. A face there. How would he even begin to know what to do in a relationship? He couldn't have one, not in his line of work. Not in Jayla's either. And she didn't deserve a fuck. She deserved a man who could provide for her, take care of her. Love her.
And Noah wasn't sure he was capable of love. The only people he'd ever loved were dead.
“Noah,” she whispered, turning over in his arms.
He stared into those blue eyes and lost all thought and reason. She ran a hand through his hair and brought his face to hers, pulling his lips against her mouth. Their tongues met, and a growl rumbled in his throat that could have rivaled the thunder outside.
He was done for. No turning back. There was no place in the world he'd rather be than about to make love to the most amazing woman he'd ever met, in the middle of an abandoned building during a hurricane.
The distraction worked. But on which one of them?
Chapter Nine
His touch was like magic. The safety of his arms calmed her soul. An overwhelming sense of wholeness comforted her. Each brush of his fingers along her skin took her to another world. Heat from his flesh warmed her inside and out. They were two pieces of a puzzle finally come together. She ached for him physically and emotionally. Like a wounded animal, she fell prey to his tender voice, his gentle touch, but she needed more of him. She needed to lose herself in him.
She knew what he was doing. Distracting her from the storm around them. She knew it would be nothing more than another notch on his belt. But in that moment she didn't care. She needed him more than she had ever needed anything in her life. He was like air in her lungs. She longed to breathe him. To have him take h
er someplace other than where they were. To rescue her one more time.
She claimed his mouth in her own. But it would be on her terms. The minute his growl hit her ears she lost herself. Nothing else mattered but being with him.
Ridged muscle flinched as her fingers traced his abs. “My gawd you're ripped,” she gasped, breaking their kiss.
His only response was another growl as he responded to her touch. He raked his hands through her hair, tilting her head back as he reclaimed her mouth with an animalistic ferocity. Like he needed her in that moment just as much as she did him. His soft and determined lips twisted with hers, sweeping his tongue in a sensual dance as he explored her mouth. Without her control, her body reacted, arching closer to him, the innate instinct and driving need to connect, to be closer.
The roar of the thunder continued to shake the building around them, but his guttural groans buried the sound, drawing her attention only to him. One hand moved from her hair, down the side of her face, splaying his fingers along her jaw as he positioned her to take the kiss deeper, telling her things with his tongue that words couldn't quite convey. Never in her life had she been kissed with such need and calculated movements. Most of her life it had been sloppy, wet, foreplay, a purpose only to get to the end result...insert part A into part B.
Noah kissed her like he was drinking from her, pulling everything from inside of her out through his lips. He drank of her, ate of her, and went back for more.
Dragging his hand from her face down her body, he stopped before cupping one of her breasts, as if hesitant or awaiting permission. Jayla grabbed his hand in hers and directed him to it, and he needed no further prompting, kneading it, massaging it as he worked his lips from her mouth down her chin to her neck, right below her ear.
She slid a hand along the back of his neck, dragging her nails over his skin. Another growl emanated from his throat, and his lips vibrated against her skin. She could get used to this. He already had her on the edge just from his kisses and growls. What the hell would he be like when they really got to the good stuff?
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: The Fox and The Hound (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Breaking the SEAL Book 1) Page 7