A SEAL's Pleasure

by Tawny Weber

  “I did it my way at my first wedding, remember? And it was a disaster, right down to the wrong flowers, the rain and that horrible whole-grain cake. My mother didn’t talk to me for months afterward. And after all of that, it still ended in divorce a few years later.” Livi’s face fell, the pain of everything she’d gone through clear in her eyes. “I know it’s silly and superstitious, but this time I’m not taking any chances. This time, instead of pretending I can handle it, I’m letting the experts take over.”

  There had to be a middle ground that would still let Livi have her dream wedding, but Tessa figured that since her particular expertise was actually pretending she could handle things, she’d just keep her mouth shut. Besides, the unfortunate memory of that cake was still clear in her mind. If nothing else, she could be grateful that there would be no soy buttercream or oatmeal cakes this week.

  “But hey, if we can’t have the drama and excitement of the cliffs, this is a great venue,” Livi said with a smile, her expression hopeful as they pulled up to the hotel. “Pauline was worried the ballroom wouldn’t be elegant enough, but once she changed a few things she decided it would work.”

  Elegant enough? Tessa sighed. She appreciated pomp and drama. Hell, she lived for it. But Livi was more suited to fairy-tale romance than chic sophistication. Deciding to give it one last try, she waited until they were out of the car.

  “As long as you and Mitch are happy,” Tessa said.

  Livi’s face softened at the mention of her fiancé. Maybe that was the key, Tessa realized with a frown. Livi was so hung up on the guy that he was her dream. The actual wedding, with its elaborate plans and carefully staged pomp, was just one day. Her brow twitching, Tessa amended that to one very stressful, extremely expensive day.

  “Mitch is amazing,” Livi said, gesturing for Tessa to precede her into the hotel lobby. It was like walking into an underwater grotto with its rich shades of blue and purple, twisted glass in the corner and glistening lights dangling overhead.

  This, at least, suited Livi.

  Tessa checked in while Livi extoled the many and varied virtues of one Mitch Donovan. Since all of those virtues seemed to have a PG rating, Tessa only listened with half an ear. Even half an ear was enough to make her nervous, though.

  She could understand the temptation to lose yourself in a certain kind of man. A sexy man with a clever mouth and an intriguing mind. One who laughed easily, who understood the little games between the sexes and didn’t get all weird about them. One with dark eyes and black hair, razor-sharp cheekbones and lips that could melt a girl in two seconds flat. What else could a man like that do? she wondered. Once he got going, he could probably do absolutely anything. And do it very, very well.

  She wet her lips, her breath a little tight at the idea of just what Gabriel could do. She’d had more orgasms with the man by telephone than she’d had in most of her so-called relationships. Needing to cool off a little, she slipped her sweater off to let the air waft over her bare shoulders.

  He was quickly becoming the only stable thing in her life. It was as if he were her touchstone to something she understood.

  Sex.

  The kind of sex she could become addicted to.

  And that was the problem with losing yourself in someone, she realized. How did you find yourself again when it was over? So tired of struggling with her own identity crisis, Tessa shuddered. What if there was simply nothing left?

  “I’m hoping Mitch will be here in the next day or so.”

  Livi’s words cut through Tessa’s frantic head trip. Taking her old-fashioned key from the concierge, she turned to Livi with a frown.

  “Mitch isn’t here yet?”

  “He’s on duty,” Livi said simply.

  On duty? This was their wedding week. Wasn’t he supposed to be here, participating or something? Tessa couldn’t imagine herself ever getting married, but if she did, she’d damned well expect her husband-to-be right there, suffering beside her.

  Wasn’t Livi pissed? She narrowed her eyes, inspecting her friend’s face. All she saw was a calm glow. It was freaky.

  “How do you do that?” Tessa asked, marveling. “I mean, I’ve seen you take on a lot of pretty intense challenges, but I’m blown away at how you’ve adapted to this military thing. I can’t imagine being so at peace with it all.”

  “It’s who Mitch is. Asking him to change that would be like his asking me to give up exercise. Since fitness is my career, my lifestyle and my passion, giving it up would change who I am.”

  Tessa bit her lip but couldn’t stop herself, and asked, “But don’t you worry?”

  “Would it help if I did?” Livi mused, staring out the wall of windows at the ocean. “Maybe it’s the years I spent letting other people run my business and direct my life. But I just don’t see how worrying is productive. It’d stress me out, it’d upset Mitch and it wouldn’t make any difference at all to whatever outcome I was worrying about.”

  Having seen some of the disasters other people had created in Livi’s life, Tessa was truly baffled at the idea of simply letting things happen.

  “But isn’t worrying about something the first step to changing it for the better?” she asked.

  “Has worrying about Flirtatious helped you fix the issues there?” Livi asked with a gentle smile.

  Tessa wanted to growl. This peaceful Zen pregnancy thing Livi had going on was going to drive her crazy. Especially since she had a point.

  “You know Jared is up to something. You’re doing everything in your power to figure it out. And since you’re a strong, smart woman, you also know that whatever happens, you’ll be okay.” Livi arched her brows. “Right?”

  “Ri-i-ight,” Tessa said, her reluctance drawing the word out into three syllables. She debated filling Livi in on the details of what was actually going on. But as she had every time she considered it over the past few days, she immediately tucked the thought away. Livi didn’t need to hear her problems right now. Not with everything else she had going on.

  Besides, if she told her, Livi would ask how Tessa felt about it, what she wanted. And she simply didn’t know. It was bad enough feeling confused and lost without admitting it.

  “Then, what good is it to worry? How’s that going to help?” Livi asked in a tone so reasonable that all Tessa could do was offer a stiff smile.

  “So, no Mitch,” she said instead. “Knowing Pauline, his list of assignments was at least as long as mine. Is there anything I can do to help cover until he gets here?”

  Livi smiled, tucking her arm into Tessa’s as a young man approached them with a tray.

  “Like any good groom, Mitch sent his second-in-command. Gabriel got in yesterday. He’s such a sweetie. He’s been helping with everything, including keeping Pauline off my back.” Livi pressed her tongue to her upper lip before grinning. “Well, everything except that satisfaction part.”

  “Oh, but he’d be so good at it,” she teased. “Isn’t that how he built his reputation? On charm, that wicked smile and a slew of satisfied smiles?”

  “More than a slew, if this week is anything to go by.” Livi laughed. “Poor Gabriel. Everywhere we go there are women throwing themselves at him.”

  Really...

  A vicious buzzing filled her ears.

  She wanted to ask if he’d caught any of them. But Tessa—the queen of sexual freedom and no strings—couldn’t bring herself to say those words because the image of Romeo with anyone filled her with blinding fury. She’d never been a possessive woman—with the notable exceptions of her shoes and her friendship with Livi—nor did she feel an ounce of jealousy over the myriad of women in Romeo’s past. But his present? His future?

  Her stomach clenched.

  She’d just have to seduce him stupid and make sure he was too sexually spent to get even a hint of a rise fo
r any of those other women. She’d give him the best sex of his life, hook him as if he was an addict and she the only dealer in his world.

  Romeo wouldn’t know what hit him. Because she’d be damned if anyone else was getting a piece of that man until she’d had her fill.

  And given the way she was feeling, she might never be full.

  “Would you be interested in a drink to welcome you to Casa Bella, ladies?” the waiter offered, his voice breaking through Tessa’s bizarre trip into emotional overload.

  With a murmured thanks, Livi accepted an iced sparkling juice. Still reeling at her reaction to imagining Gabriel with someone else, Tessa had to blink a couple of times before she could focus on the tray.

  “Tequila?” Tessa asked, eyeing the tall glass of what looked like a melting sunset. At his nod, she grabbed it with unladylike haste. And gave a momentary thanks that Livi had hold of one arm, otherwise she’d probably have grabbed two.

  Before she could swallow a sip of the soothing alcohol she felt a tingle. Like the gentle fingers of the sun skimming over her body—barely there but very discernible. A knot tightened in her belly—whether it was nerves or sexual need, she didn’t know.

  “Oh, there’s Gabriel now.”

  She didn’t need her friend’s delighted exclamation to tell her what her body was already screaming out. Livi turned to wave. Since her arm was still linked through Tessa’s, Tessa turned, too.

  And froze. Which was the only reason her smile didn’t fall clean away.

  Romeo.

  Casual in jeans and a black T-shirt that hugged his broad shoulders and lovingly skimmed those mouthwatering biceps, his grin lit up the room. His eyes were locked on Tessa’s, making it impossible for her to look away.

  Trapped by that dark gaze, her mind spun in a million directions, even as her body heated, passion engaging instantly. Her nipples poked against the satin of her bra in a desperate greeting, her stomach tight with excitement.

  She’d have ignored it all if she could.

  But all she could do was wet her lips and stare.

  Well, well. There he was, her lust anchor.

  Tessa might not know how to tell her best friend that she had backslid into being a complete doormat, or have any idea how to express her frustration over being totally shoved aside. She might not have a clue what to do about her own future or how to keep her career from imploding.

  But this feeling she had for Romeo?

  The edgy lust that tangled tight with sweet passion’s promise?

  She knew exactly what to do with that.

  10

  GABRIEL STOPPED SHORT just inside the balcony doors, his ears ringing as if he’d had a close call with a cluster bomb. His senses hit full alert, muscles tight and brain racing to assess the possible damage.

  As a man who specialized in blowing things up, he’d know danger when he saw it. And the woman standing not twenty feet away was pure danger, for a multitude of reasons.

  Not the least of which was that she was so damned gorgeous.

  Gabriel’s gaze heated as he looked her over. Long black hair streamed like a waterfall over her bare shoulders, almost hiding the tiny red straps of her little red dress. The fabric curved like a temptation over her ample breasts, then tapered along her waist before flaring gently over her hips to flow to her knees. There was nothing provocative about her look—if anything it was simple and sedate compared to Tessa’s usual sensual style.

  Now his body was rock hard for a very different reason. His ears ringing with the sounds of Tessa’s orgasms as they’d echoed through his cell phone. Heat funneled through his system, loosening his muscles even as his fingers flexed in preparation for the delightful exploration of that gorgeous body.

  All that in five seconds flat.

  It took another five to come to his senses.

  Reel it in, he warned himself, curling his fingers into fists. As much as he wanted Tessa—and, oh, God, he wanted her—he was still struggling to get his head around everything that’d happened over the past few days. Given how things had gone down with Jackrabbit, he knew his judgment was iffy, his reactions edgy.

  He was walking a precarious line right now.

  If he fell on one side, he’d quite likely grab her up, haul her off and plunge into the glorious depths of a body he’d spent the past few months dreaming about. It’d go too fast for finesse, too wild for appreciation. Hell, the way he was feeling, he wasn’t even sure he’d wait for permission.

  A plummet down the other side involved emotional declarations, promises and, God help him, possibly even begging.

  Neither option was pretty.

  A day, he promised himself.

  All he needed was another day.

  He’d have it all figured out by then. What to do about the charges, how to make up for the damage, where he stood in the fallout. And, of course, which of the emotions flying through his system were real, which were lust mirages and which were spawned from a desperate need to believe that breaking one of his own rules wasn’t going to completely jack up his entire life.

  By tomorrow night, he’d have a handle on his thoughts, know whether he was acting wisely or reacting emotionally. The former being the goal, the latter would be disastrous.

  Sure he had everything settled in his head, he watched Tessa approach, dimly aware of the pretty blonde by her side. The hypnotic sway of Tessa’s hips had the skirt fluttering around million-dollar legs, making Gabriel wonder how tight she could wrap those babies around his body. Could she link her feet behind his back to get a good grip? Of course, she was so tiny, she probably didn’t weigh as much as his backpack. Even if he had to slide his hands under that sweet ass of hers to support her while he drove into her body, he didn’t figure holding her would slow him down any.

  Control.

  Gabriel shoved his clenched fists into the pockets of his cargo pants. Both to keep from reaching out for her, and to disguise his growing erection. He tried to channel his lust into his fists to squeeze it away, but they were a little too close to said erection to make moving his fingers very smart.

  “Gabriel, hey.”

  He nodded at Livi’s friendly greeting, the trickle of guilt making its way down his spine for being the one here with her instead of Irish, who was stuck cleaning up the mess Gabriel’s report had created.

  “I thought you were going sailing,” Livi continued, reaching him before Tessa did and giving him a quick hug. “At least that’s what I heard the burlesque trio say this morning as they hurried out in bikinis.”

  “I changed my mind and went for a hike instead,” he said, not admitting that he’d made that decision when he’d saw them approaching the boat.

  His gaze cut to the reason for his disinterest.

  Tessa had stopped just a few steps behind Livi. Too far away to touch, but close enough for her scent to wrap around him like a husky whisper on a dark night. Her heavily lashed blue eyes were locked on him, an amused look on her face as if she found it funny that he’d run from a chance to have sex with three women who made their living straddling a long, hard pole.

  An offer he wouldn’t have been able to refuse if she’d made it, he admitted to himself. As long as she made it tomorrow, after he’d cleared his head.

  “Well, well, if it isn’t Romeo,” she said in greeting in her usual sexy purr. Her voice, the memory of how she’d used it like a sex toy when they’d talked on the phone, sent a shaft of desire racing through his system.

  It wasn’t as though he was some sex-crazed teenager, or a horndog sailor hitting shore for the first time in eight months, or a jerk with no sense of tact or style. He could easily control himself.

  Tessa slid her tongue over her bottom lip, her eyes doing a slow, thorough inventory of his body with enough heat that he was surprised his c
lothes didn’t burn away.

  Okay, so control wouldn’t be so easy. But he was a SEAL. He could handle it.

  As long as he didn’t touch her.

  “Hello, angel,” he said, offering a warm smile from a safe distance. “Gorgeous as always, I see. Red suits you.”

  Of course, he was pretty sure she could make burlap look sexy.

  “Well, it’s no bikini,” she demurred with a sweep of those lashes before offering a wicked smile. “Or, you know, a towel.”

  Gabriel rocked back on his heels, his smile growing almost as wide as his dick was hard at the reminder of their phone call and her offer to remove his towel with her teeth.

  “I was getting ready to show Tessa around the hotel,” Livi said, sounding amused. Maybe. He couldn’t tear his eyes off Tessa’s face to check. “You know, for all that wedding stuff we’ve got going on.”

  “Right. Wedding stuff,” he repeated absently as his eyes wandered over Tessa’s face. She looked the same, he realized with a slight frown. He wasn’t sure why that surprised him. Maybe because it felt as if so much had changed between them that there’d be a sign of some sort.

  “Mmm, wedding stuff. And maybe some lingerie shopping. I saw the cutest little boutique on our way here,” Tessa said, the wicked edge on her smile making him nervous.

  Him.

  Nervous.

  Holy crap.

  Gabriel ran his hand over his buzzed hair, wondering what the hell was going on. Maybe the California air was finally getting to him.

  “Oh, Olivia, there you are,” someone called out.

  Both women winced, a move Gabriel mentally echoed as he recognized the voice. He’d spent more than his share of time with Pauline in the past day and a half.

  “Uh-oh,” Tessa murmured. “I haven’t had enough to drink to deal with your mother yet. I’m going to steal Romeo, ’kay? We’ll do the wedding stuff later this afternoon.”

  “Sure,” Livi said, her face tightening at her mother’s approach. “Half the things will probably have changed by then anyway.”