by Susan Stoker
“Ah. That makes sense,” she said.
Slade relaxed muscles he didn’t realize were tense when he felt her melt into him once more. “I’m going to call Wolf now, that okay?”
“Sure.”
He dialed Wolf’s number and waited as it rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Wolf. It’s Cutter.”
“When are you coming back?” the other SEAL asked without any other pleasantries.
“Why? You miss me?” Slade teased.
“Fuck yeah. That guy who took your place at work is slow as molasses. I swear to God, I had to show him how to change the margins on a Word document today. How in the hell he ever got a government admin job is beyond me. Please tell me you’re coming back. Where the hell are you, anyway? I heard you went to Vegas?”
Slade could feel Dakota smiling against his shoulder. Wolf sounded extremely put out. It was funny as shit. “I’m hoping to be back in town tomorrow night.”
“Thank fuck.”
“But not at work yet. My plate is still full with the reason I took the leave of absence in the first place.”
“Damn.”
This time, Dakota giggled.
“This a bad time to talk?” Wolf asked, obviously hearing the quiet giggle.
Knowing the man was trying to be both professional and nosy at the same time made Slade’s lips twitch. “Not at all. Dakota, meet Wolf. Wolf, Dakota.”
“Hi,” Dakota said softly. “It’s nice to sorta meet you.”
“Same, darlin’,” Wolf said. “How come I’m gettin’ the feelin’ it might be longer before you’re back at work than I’d like, Cutter?”
“Need a favor,” Slade said without answering his friend’s question.
“Name it,” Wolf responded immediately.
“I need a place to crash with Dakota for a few days.”
“You got it.”
“I don’t know how long we might be there,” Slade warned.
“Basement’s yours as long as you need it,” Wolf said.
“Thanks. Appreciate it.”
“You know I have your back no matter what. But I gotta ask…is whatever you’re involved with gonna have blowback on my wife?”
Slade hesitated. He wanted to say no but the bottom line was, it was possible. Until Tex found out more information about how Fourati had tracked Dakota, he wasn’t sure. “We can stay at a hotel,” Slade told Wolf.
“That’s not what I was implying and you know it, Cutter,” Wolf said in a low, hard voice, very unlike the easygoing tone he’d been using thus far. “I wouldn’t give a shit if Osama Bin Laden was hot on your heels, I’d still open my doors to you with open arms.”
“Isn’t he dead?” Dakota whispered after Wolf stopped speaking.
Slade didn’t even crack a smile even though she was cute as shit.
“Oh my God,” Wolf exclaimed. “It’s her, isn’t it?”
Slade knew what he meant. They’d had a few conversations since they’d known each other about how Wolf had known from the moment Caroline had helped save his life that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, even though he’d tried to deny it. He’d even gone on to say that it didn’t matter how old Slade was…he’d know when he saw his own woman.
“Yeah.”
“Fuckin’ pleased for you, Cutter,” Wolf told his friend. “And to answer your question, Dakota, Bin Laden is dead, a team of Navy SEALs killed his ass. But even if he was a ghost coming back from the grave to haunt Cutter, I’d still let the man next to you stay in my house. All I need is a head’s up.”
“That sounds fair,” Dakota murmured under her breath. Then said, “I bet Wolf isn’t afraid of ghosts. He’d explore the Goldfield Hotel with me.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not afraid of ghosts, I’d just rather not have a brick thrown at my head by one,” Slade told her, squeezing her waist at the same time.
He felt her smile against his chest, but cleared his throat and told his friend what was going on. “Remember that LAX bombing? Looks like it wasn’t a one-time thing.”
“Already know that, Cutter.”
“Dakota was there. She can ID Aziz Fourati.”
Wolf whistled low and long. “He know where she is?”
“Unknown.”
“Okay. I’ll talk with the team. We’ll set up rotating patrols around the house. I’ll send Caroline to Cheyenne’s house. She needs some baby Taylor time anyway.”
Slade swallowed hard and closed his eyes, trying to get his composure back. Wolf and him had always been friendly. They’d shot the shit about some of the non-top-secret aspects of his missions and Slade had always offered his advice when asked. But for the man to not only readily agree to let them stay at his house as a place for him and Dakota to lie low, but to arrange for his SEAL friends to keep watch over them and send his wife away without even seeming to blink was almost too much. Slade knew he’d missed being a part of a team, but he hadn’t realized until right this moment how much he’d missed it.
“Thanks, Wolf. If it’s any consolation, Tex is on this. I don’t expect this to drag on. I’m gonna end it sooner rather than later.”
“Anything that gets your ass back in the chair behind that desk, I’m one hundred percent behind,” Wolf joked. “I can’t stand your temp replacement another day longer than necessary.”
“I’ll let you know when we’re close to home,” Slade said.
“Great. I’ll give you the code to the alarm when you call.”
“Wolf?” Dakota piped up.
“Yeah, hon?”
“Thanks.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting you. And when things settle down, I know my wife and her friends will descend upon you en masse. Just a friendly warning.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Heh. You say that now. Take care of Cutter for me. The office can’t run without him. Later.” And like Tex, Wolf ended the phone call without waiting for Slade to sign off.
“I think your friends like you,” Dakota told Slade after he’d leaned over and placed the phone on the table next to the bed.
He shrugged.
“What is it that you do in the office that Wolf can’t seem to get over?”
“Paperwork.”
“It’s gotta be more than that,” Dakota insisted. “He can’t stand whoever is there now.”
“I’m good at what I do,” Slade told her without conceit. “I have a knack for it. Maybe it’s because of the years I spent on the teams, or that I don’t put up with bullshit from anyone. But I get stuff done. One way or another.”
“I can see how that’d be important.”
“Yeah. Now, can we stop talking about my job? You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow’s gonna be a long day.”
“Can I say one more thing?”
Slade sighed in mock exasperation, but gave Dakota a squeeze, making sure she knew he was teasing.
“I like that you’ve got people who’ll have your back.”
“You don’t have that.” It wasn’t a question. If she did, Slade knew she’d be with them now.
“Not really. I mean, I’m good friends with the secretary at the school, and some of the teachers and I get together at times for dinner or drinks. But those are more work relationships, if you know what I mean.”
“I do know what you mean,” Slade told her.
“I guess you and those men tonight are work friends too, but it’s different.”
And it was. When you put your life in the hands of another, bonds were formed. Unbreakable ones. Throw in several life-or-death situations and friendships for life were the result. “Yeah,” he said softly.
“I’m relieved that you found me,” Dakota said in a small voice. “I’m glad it was you.”
“Me too. Now close your eyes. Sleep,” Slade ordered.
“You don’t mind me sleeping like this?” she asked, tightening the arm over his belly, indicating her closeness.
“Fuck no. I want
you right here. It about killed me to sit next to you in your car this morning and not touch you. You looked so uncomfortable in that seat.”
“How long were you sitting there before I noticed?” Dakota asked.
“Two hours.”
At that, her head popped off his shoulders and she peered at him in disbelief. “Two hours? How in the world did I sleep though you shutting the car door? And you were there the whole time?”
“You were obviously tired. And yeah, the whole two hours,” Slade said.
“What did you do?”
“Watched you sleep.” He didn’t even pretend not to know what she was talking about. “I sat there for two hours and watched you breathing, wishing I had the right to pull you into my arms. I also devised a plan to keep you safe.”
“Wow,” she said, and dropped her head back to his shoulder. “I had no idea.”
“If I was a threat, you would’ve known I was there,” Slade told her definitively. “But because I wasn’t, your body allowed you to stay asleep.”
“I think you’re giving me way more credit than I deserve,” Dakota said. “I’m not that astute. I’d probably sleep through Aziz bombing a hole through a door to get to me.”
“Sure you are. You’ve been on the run for months. You trusted me from the get-go.”
“That’s true,” she agreed.
“Now…will you please shut your eyes and get some sleep?”
“Are you gonna lie here and stare at me if I do?”
Slade grinned. She constantly surprised him with her offbeat humor. “Maybe.”
“Whatever. But you have to drive. And maybe shoot at people tomorrow if they find us. You’d better get some sleep too.”
He knew she was kidding, but he would absolutely use the pistol he had in his ankle holster to protect her if he had to. “Shhhhh,” he murmured, running his hand over the back of her head in a gentle caress. When she sighed in contentment and burrowed farther into his shoulder, he did it again.
“That feels good,” she whispered. “No one has touched my hair like that since my mom died.”
Her words hurt his heart, so he continued running his hand from the top of her head all the way to the ends of her hair in a rhythmic motion.
Within minutes, she relaxed against him completely. Dead to the world, but safe in his embrace.
Slade lay under Dakota, his hand petting her as he tried to relax enough to sleep. All his senses seemed heightened, just as they were when he’d been on the teams and on a mission. And he was on a mission, the most important one of his life.
As if all the times he’d been sent overseas for his country were dress rehearsals for this moment, Slade went over as many scenarios as he could think of for what might happen in the next couple of days. And every single one ended with Aziz Fourati dead, and Dakota free to live her life without fear…with him.
Chapter 9
“You doin’ okay?” Slade asked for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
Dakota was not okay. She’d been on the back of Slade’s bike for eight hours and was more than ready to get off the stupid machine. Her cooter was numb and her feet had been tingling for the last hour or so. The only thing that worked in her favor was the weather. It wasn’t as cold as it’d been in the higher elevations of Nevada and she was quite comfortable in the leather jacket Slade had gotten for her.
She’d woken up that morning, stiff and sore beyond belief, but also extremely comfortable. She and Slade had shifted in the night, and she’d been on her side in front of him by morning, his large body curled around hers. His arm had been around her waist, and as she’d shifted, she’d felt his very large morning erection pressing into her ass.
“Mornin’,” he mumbled, even as his arm tightened and pulled her closer to him.
She didn’t say a word, caught in that half-aware state between being asleep and awake. But Slade didn’t seem to care that she didn’t return his morning greeting. The hand at her waist moved and slipped under her T-shirt. He caressed her belly, which she tried to suck in, but she promptly forgot about any excess weight around her middle when his hand kept moving toward her breasts.
He shifted behind her, propping his head up on his free hand. The morning light made its way through the thin curtains, giving the room a weird orange glow. When Slade’s fingers made contact with her bare breast, Dakota inhaled sharply, which pressed her chest into his questing hand.
Taking advantage, his fingers brushed over one of her nipples lightly. Dakota felt it immediately tighten, as if begging for Slade’s touch. He didn’t disappoint. He tested the weight of her breast in his hand for a moment, then his fingers went back to lazily playing with her now rock-hard nipple.
He continued for several moments, before Dakota finally squeaked, “Slade?”
“Shhhh, don’t panic. I’m not going any further than this,” he said softly. “I just need to touch you. I’ll stop if you’re uncomfortable. Just say the word.”
Dakota shook her head, not liking the idea of him pulling away from her. “No. I’m okay with this. More than okay with it.” She could feel his erection, fully engorged now, pulsing against her ass, and she couldn’t help but push back against him when he pinched her nipple. The eroticism of his movements overwhelming.
“You like that,” he said, and repeated the action on the other nipple this time.
Dakota nodded, speech beyond her at the moment.
Slade pulled back, and when she was about to open her mouth and complain about losing him, he put pressure on her hip and she turned so she was lying on her back next to him. His face was inches from her own and he murmured, “good morning” again, then bent his head and began what was the most amazing good morning of her life thus far.
He kissed her forehead, then her nose. He skipped her lips and tasted her earlobe. Then he licked the side of her neck and leisurely kissed every inch of skin he could reach. In the meantime, his fingers went back to tormenting her breasts, much more accessible to him now that she was lying on her back.
Dakota wasn’t sure what to do with her own hands, so she grabbed the sheet at her hips and held on. It wasn’t until Slade moved down her chest and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth through the cotton of her T-shirt that she found her voice.
“Slade, God, that feels so good. It’s never felt like this before. Never.”
One of her hands came up to rest on the back of his head, and she tried to press him back to her breast when he lifted his head and murmured, “For me either, sweetheart. I swear I could come just from just sucking on these beauties.”
“Me too,” she told him dazedly, but with a smile.
He kissed her nipple, which was now clearly visible through the damp material of her shirt, then commented, “Slept like a log.”
“What?” Dakota’s mind was slow catching up to what he was saying. She was still lost in the sensation of his mouth and fingers on her body.
“Haven’t slept that good in a very long time. I usually wake up a couple times a night…remembering some of the shit I’ve seen in my life. Last night, didn’t wake up once. Slept like a baby. All night.”
His hand was still beneath her shirt and his thumb was gently brushing back and forth on the underside of one of her breasts. The morning had started out erotic, but morphed into a gentle intimacy. She’d never experienced anything like it, and knew she’d crave this from him from this moment forward.
Dakota brought a hand up to his face and lightly brushed her fingertips over his beard. It wasn’t long, it wasn’t short. It fit him. The thought raced through her mind about what it might feel like against the sensitive skin of her breasts or inner thighs, but she stopped her thoughts before they went any further. The thought of his beard between her legs as he feasted on her was too much for the moment.
“Last night was the first since the bombing I didn’t dream of Aziz,” she said softly.
“What do you dream?” Slade asked.
“What d
on’t I dream?” Dakota countered. “He’s raping me, shoving his tongue down my throat, laughing as he shoots a child in front of me; he taunts me, saying that no one will ever find me, that I’ll have his babies, which he’ll raise to hate women and be killers.”
“Jesus,” Slade breathed, then lowered his head until his nose nuzzled the skin behind her ear.
“But I didn’t dream of him last night.”
“What did you dream about?” Slade asked, his voice muffled.
“You. Us. This.” The three words were simplistic, but had so much deeper meaning, Slade inhaled sharply.
“I want you,” he said as he lifted his head. “In my life. In my bed. I want to be the reason you’re safe in your dreams.”
“It’s crazy, but I want that too,” Dakota whispered back, scared, but at the same time surer than she’d ever been of anything in her life.
They stared at each other for a long moment and Dakota thought they’d get down to the business of making love, when Slade stated, “We need to go.”
She must’ve made a pathetic noise, because he smiled in resignation. “I know, sweetheart. There’s nothing more I want to do right now than pull off your shirt and feast on your beautiful tits. Okay, yeah there is, I want to taste your very essence. Inhale it and let it mark me. You’re going to ruin me for any other woman, and I can’t fucking wait. I want you to ruin me. But we need to get to Wolf’s tonight. It’s the safest place for you, and I won’t do anything that will put you in any more danger than you’re already in. Because of that, instead of lying here with you in this bed and planting my cock so deep inside you we don’t know where one of us ends and the other begins, I have to get some painkillers in you and we need to head south.”
Dakota liked everything about Slade’s words. She could feel how much she liked it, on her inner thighs. She was soaking wet for him and wanted his mouth and fingers on her. She wanted to watch, and feel, as he emptied himself inside her…but he was right. They had no idea where the men were who’d tracked her to Rachel or if Aziz had sent more to try to intercept them.
“Okay, Slade. But can we maybe…” She trailed off, suddenly unsure about what she’d been about to ask. It was too soon.