by Monroe, Jill
After a few minutes, the man beside her signaled to his crew still in the water. With a few waves of the hand, that Hailey was sure meant something, they continued on with whatever it was they were doing.
Now, after taking care of everything and everyone else, the SEAL lowered himself to the sand and stretched out his long legs. She tried to avert her eyes, she really did, but that dark wetsuit he wore like a second skin left nothing to the imagination. Actually, both her imagination and reality were enjoying a great show. He finally slicked the water from his face, then glanced her way. His eyes widened as if he was seeing her for the first time.
“Than—”
“Uhh,” the man between them stirred, reaching toward his head. A trickle of blood mixed with the water from the ocean was beginning to trail down his temple.
“Don’t touch.”
“Try not to touch,” she said, injecting calm into her voice.
They spoke at the same time. Only his words sounded more like an order.
The injured man blinked a few times against the sun, then his gaze settled on her. “What kind of salvation is this?” He slowly rubbed the saltwater from his eyes. “An angel, and my head hurts like a bi—”
“That’s enough, Ensign Ortiz,” Colossus said, authority lining every word.
The Ensign’s gaze cut toward Colossus. “What happened?” he asked.
Yeah, she was curious about that, too.
“Head.”
Okay, not helpful.
The man on the sand squeezed his eyes tight for a moment, took a deep breath and then with a force of will she’d never seen in another person, pushed himself up to a sitting position. “I’m ready.”
It didn’t fully sink in that the Ensign, who was unconscious only seconds before, had every intention of going back into the water. And that Colossus was going to let him. “But you can’t,” she said, scrambling to her feet. Colossus had already smoothly stood, his tall frame blocking the sun from her eyes.
“It’s his job,” Colossus told her.
With another show of will, the Ensign shoved to his feet. He barely remained upright, then gathered his balance steadily. “Ready,” he repeated.
“Look this way,” Colossus ordered. He examined the Ensign’s eyes, his face relaxing a tick. “Knots on your head?” he asked.
The younger man felt along his scalp, shaking his head no.
Colossus angled his head toward the water. “Okay.”
With a look of relief, the other man began to walk to the ocean.
“But he’s bleeding,” she protested.
“The saltwater will take care of his wound,” Colossus stated, seemingly unconcerned.
She glanced back toward The Sutherland. “I have some anti-bacterial foam—”
Colossus’s lips moved as if he was trying to suppress a smile. “He’s trained to fight with worse.”
She swallowed. Of course he was.
“I can’t believe what he’s doing,” she said, watching the Ensign as he made a smooth dive into the waves, and swam toward the other men still treading water. “Maybe we should have waited until the paramedics arrived.” Yet with every stroke he seemed to gain more strength.
“I’ve had combat medical training. I checked for signs of concussion. He’s fine.”
These men lived in a different world, far away from the corresponding bridal ribbons, chocolate shavings and the waterproof bandages she would have suggested next.
She turned away from the swimming soldier to face Colossus, and that’s when her gaze collided with the steel gray of his. Her breath hitched. Sure she’d noticed the strength of his body outlined so perfectly in his wetsuit, his air of authority and control as he’d handled the situation with the injured soldier, but this man’s eyes were something else. Something inviting and very, very sexy.
A cool breeze from off the ocean fanned her face, her bare arms. Although she tried to fight back a shiver, her nipples tightened. She hoped he’d think her bodily reaction was due to the weather and not the hot, suddenly carnal thoughts popping into her mind about him. Like running her fingers along his arm to feel the solidness of his muscles. To lick that drop of saltwater off his cheek. Or discover just how one gets a wetsuit off a man. Zipper? Scissors? Who knew?
No. No. And hell no. These thoughts were ending right here. She was not in the market for a fling. Or a boyfriend. Boyfriends tended to become fiancés in her world. This would make Fiancé Failure Number Four. And that she was finding someone attractive that she didn’t normally go for meant nothing. In fact, her virtually nonexistent male filtering system had probably just widened the search parameters.
Then Hailey realized they’d both been standing facing one another far longer than necessary. A pause, a tension sprang up between them, and hung heavily in the air. His gray eyes narrowed, something deep in those depths flared. Her lips parted, and she acknowledged her urge to lean into him, get closer. His gaze flickered to her lips, then returned to her face.
And what that brief glance at her mouth did to her.
Go. Now was the time for him to leave. To turn around and head back to the ocean.
“I’m glad your friend is going to be okay.” The words rushed out of her. Okay, so she wasn’t actually ready to let him go. “That was pretty impressive what you did.”
He shrugged, obviously uncomfortable with that tiny bit of praise.
“I liked the way you rushed to help.” Not that she’d done much, but it was nice to hear.
She should be uttering a quick goodbye, and get back to her guests. But her gaze settled on his lips and a rush of warmth blasted through her.
You’re supposed to kiss him.
That heat became a fire. What would his lips feel like? Did she dare? With the fate card in mind, Hailey gave herself permission to do what she really wanted to do all along. She followed that push to be closer, and found herself tilting slightly forward. His hands raised, and—
The sounds of giggles had her taking a quick step back. Hailey looked away from Colossus to see Amy, Tori and her sister carrying their shoes and casually making their way towards her and the Navy SEAL.
“Oh, Hailey. That is definitely ‘first man you see’ material,” Tori teased.
In addition to the cards, this would be the last time they served champagne at any wedding showers.
“I’ve been keeping my eye on you, and you haven’t fulfilled your fate yet,” Amy said with faux sternness as she handed Hailey the card.
Hailey’s gaze went to her sister who only shrugged and flashed her a smile. Why had she even bothered looking at Rachel for help? She was obviously getting a kick out of this.
Colossus was retreating, clearly confused by the conversation, happy not to get involved. “Thanks again for your assistance.” He was all business now.
Hailey would just have to ignore that disappointment she felt at the loss of heat between them. Well, from his side. She was still very, very hot.
“Wait, you can’t go.” Amy’s voice lifted higher on each syllable.
“Right,” Tori said, lifting up her nearly empty champagne glass. “Hailey hasn’t kissed you yet.”
Colossus paused. He glanced her way. “You Hailey?” he asked, interest in his eyes.
Did she hear a hopeful tone in his voice? Dear God she hoped so. Hailey surveyed the ladies all eyeing her Navy SEAL. Amy lifted a brow, but her lips twisted in a smile.
They didn’t think she was going to do it.
They weren’t egging her on because they thought it was funny or were trying to encourage her. They were goading her because it would be even funnier when she didn’t kiss him. Well, now. She was having none of that. Hailey hadn’t read a dozen self-help books on visualizing the goal and actualizing, for nothing.
Goal = Navy SEAL’s lips.
Now for the actualization part.
Hailey straightened her shoulders, determinedly took the two steps to reach the man’s side and tugged on his shoulder until
he fully faced her. Surprise widened his eyes, but that was the last thing she saw as she closed hers, stood on tiptoe and pulled him down to meet her mouth.
For a moment, he stood still, his lips warm, firm and unmoving beneath hers.
One. Two. Three seconds and she was done. Fate fulfilled.
But apparently fate wasn’t done with her yet, because her Navy SEAL had just gripped her hips and crushed her to his chest. The water from his wetsuit seeped to her breasts, making her shiver, but she didn’t care because his lips weren’t unmoving anymore. They were opening and drawing a sweet response from hers. His tongue traced the seam of her mouth, and a deep longing flowed inside her.
He smelled of the sea and ocean air, and tasted of salt and delicious man. Hailey wanted nothing more than to keep kissing him as she sunk her fingers into his short hair, still wet from the swim. And just when she settled into the kiss, his hands began to roam.
Hailey’s heart raced, her legs weakened and she could think of nothing better than to keep doing what she was doing.
So that’s why she pushed herself away.
That shove was an effort, but she took a step back, and their gaze collided. His face was tight, and desire burned in his eyes. Desire burning for her. She sucked in a breath, but walked away. If she kept looking at the clear hunger in his confused eyes, she’d be right back in his arms. Instead, she stopped at the three stunned ladies staring at her. Hailey gave them a breezy smile. “Done.”
The sand sifted between her toes as she ambled slowly back to The Sutherland where the rest of the guests waited for her on the terrace. She swore she felt Colossus’s gaze on her back as she walked away from him, but that was ridiculous.
“Wait, Hailey,” she heard her sister call, but she kept on walking.
After grabbing her shoes, she ascended the steps. She was greeted by a mixture of uncertainty from the guests. And in herself. Her self-imposed male isolation hadn’t done much by way of inoculating her from their sweet temptation.
The maid of honor was only then leaving the Tea Room with cell phone still in hand. “What’d I miss?”
Hailey’s fist tightened around the Fate Delivery Card for a moment before she thrust it at the woman whose fate she’d just fulfilled. “Here’s your card.”
NAVY SEAL TRAINING HAD prepared Nathaniel Peterson for a lot of things. But after Hell Week, Phase Two, SQT and two deployments he shouldn’t have been caught off guard when a beautiful woman kissed him.
And he’d stood there like an idiot when she’d walked off. The hottest, most unexpected kiss of his life, and he failed to follow up. He deserved to watch her walk away, but oh, how he would remember the sweet taste of her mouth and curves of her body pressed to him.
“I can’t believe she did that?” said one of the women.
They traded incredulous glances between themselves then began to laugh.
Stop standing there like an idiot.
“Okay, well, bye,” said the one woman with a bunch of mismatched ribbons in her hair. She caught the arm of the woman who’d called him “first man you see material” and the two of them followed along the same path his kisser had fled.
The last lady eyed him up and down. Then, with a nod to herself, she whispered, “Her name’s Hailey. She works at The Sutherland.” With a point at the large Victorian, she took off, following the others.
A slow smile spread across his face. How could he not appreciate it when the locals provided much needed intel? Or the way Hailey’s skirt cupped her ass as she climbed the stairs away from the beach. With a shake of his head, he turned and sprang into action, hitting the waves and swimming back to his trainees.
They continued to tread water; this long and cold endurance exercise would prepare them for the water insertions they’d practice next. From the tight looks on his men’s faces, they were fighting grins. And losing.
“That looked real dangerous.”
“We were considering whether or not you needed backup.”
Yeah, yeah yeah. He probably deserved the razzing. But should he end it? Instructing was still so new to him. Training was exhausting, stressful work, and handling a few cracks from another SEAL was a low price to pay for pushing them as hard as he did. Besides, he’d already played hardass once today.
“She need mouth-to-mouth?”
Low price to pay to a point. “Shut it, before I drown you.”
The water grew choppy, which signaled the helicopter’s return. The men were then forced to handle their communication by hand signals. It was just as well. Nate had a few hand signals in mind that weren’t Navy regulated.
A rope ladder descended from their transport above, and Nate supervised as each man made his way safely out of the water. He gripped the rung, and hauled himself out of the water, his knee aching with the effort. He gritted his teeth and began to ascend the ladder. It was no secret to the men he trained he’d rather be out with his Team than in San Diego, but orders were orders, and he had enough discipline to admit that until he was fully healed, he’d be more of a hindrance than a help.
It still didn’t make him wish for something different.
Nor did it stop him from glancing once more at the beach. Commander Nate Peterson knew three things: he was in for a longer stretch in San Diego than he’d planned, his need for the woman who’d kissed him hadn’t lessened, and he would see her again. He’d make sure of it.
3
“YOU KNOW HE STOOD there even after you left. He watched you.”
Hailey put down the dishtowel she’d been using to dry the pretty yellow-flowered china that Sutherlands had served delicious meals on for generations. Gripping the delicate plate between her fingers, she stared at her sister. “No, he didn’t.”
“I think he was waiting to see if you’d turn around or something,” Rachel said as she wiped suds off a saucer.
“I’m going to swat you with this towel if you don’t stop talking about it,” she warned.
Rachel lifted her hands out of the soapy water in surrender. “Fine, don’t believe me. I was just wondering if you wanted to rinse off or something since that was the most intense eye-screw—or do you prefer eye-loving since you’re such a romantic—I’ve ever seen.”
He’d watched her? Something warm and tingly shimmied down her back, and she blinked. What was that? Some kind of shiver of desire? Nope, not going to acknowledge it. Didn’t happen. What shiver of desire? She should never have dissed fate.
“And then with the other girls laughing, it had to have been weird for him,” her sister continued.
Nope, Hailey would ignore that twinge of guilt. He was a Navy SEAL, he could handle it. “I thought we were going to drop this subject,” she said, pulling the newly rinsed saucer out of the water.
“I remember you suggesting it,” Rachel said, grinning. “Who knows, he might sort of…show up. Or maybe you could stroll up and down the beach in case Mother Nature starts raining men again.”
Hailey wouldn’t even respond to that little bit of insanity.
But she’d lived with the woman beside her almost her whole life, and knew when her sister wasn’t going to let something drop. She placed the newly dried china saucer in the cabinet above her head and faced Rachel. “Why are you pushing this? You know my track record. The last thing I need to be is within shouting distance of a man.”
The playful look on her sister’s face faded. “Maybe you need a little hair of the dog?”
“Like cures like? Use a man to get over a man?” Hailey shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m pretty sure that rationale is what got me engaged time number three.”
Rachel reached over and squeezed Hailey’s hand. “I hate seeing you this moody, Hailey. For a minute there, out on the beach, I saw the feisty, never-turn-down-a-dare Hailey. I miss her.”
If she were being honest, Hailey would admit she missed her old self, too. But something wasn’t right in her life. And hadn’t been for a while. “Yeah, well, the old Hailey made great work
of her life so far. Four years of college, a degree in Art Adminstration under my belt and where do I find myself? At a complete dead stop in my career and right back at the family business. Art’s to be experienced. I should be out there working to bring the best collections to the people. Managing field trips and docents. Helping teachers present the arts in their classrooms.”
“Maybe this is where you’re meant to be,” her sister said gently.
Hailey released a heavy sigh. “Even if I gave that some credence, which I don’t, there’s still the issue of my three failed engagements. And let’s not forget, you were the first person to tell me how bad my taste is in men. So, no, we may miss old Hailey, but at the age of twenty-seven, I’m here to find myself and nothing is going to stop me no matter how great a kisser the man is.”
Or how solid his chest.
Or strong his legs.
A little shiver fluttered through her stomach.
Rachel’s lips twisted in a not-so-great effort at hiding another grin. “Did you say find yourself? Now you sound like crazy Aunt June. What happened to her?”
“I think she moved in with her sister. We called her cool Aunt June until then,” she reminded her sister dryly.
Her sister propped a hand on her hip. “See? There’s the old Hailey I missed.”
“You missed sarcasm? Now shoo—the new Hailey has a lot of work to do. I want to finish these dishes, take a nap and tackle that new self-help book.” And work on never thinking of that man and his dangerous kisses again.
“Okay, okay,” Rachel said, sinking her hands into the soapy water.
They worked together in silence cleaning the last of the china. The very modern stainless steel commercial dishwasher took care of the rest of the party utensils and serving dishes, but the Sutherland china was always washed by hand.