Targeted: Newlywed Navy Seals Risk It All! (Truth and Lies Series Book 1)

by Pinki Parks

  Ava bit down on her lip when the sound of her phone chirping on the nightstand started to break up the silence that had hung over most of the apartment. Irritation sat on the edges of her mind and she pulled herself into a sitting position, but not before screeching loud enough to vibrate the window panes.

  Her chest rose and fell harshly as she pulled her hands against the bed. Ava threw her arm out towards the end table and snatched her phone off of the edge. She held the phone to her ear and said, “Ava Lawrence?” Years of putting on a face when she’d rather being lying in a ditch had taught her the importance of pretending like your problems didn’t exist when you were doing business.

  The all-business tone of her clients was absent, however, as Tristan’s voice filled the speakers, “Hey, Ava.”

  Ava’s eyes widened and she sat back onto her knees. She held the phone away from her face, and sure enough, Tristan’s name was on the screen. Ava screwed her features into a look of confusion and said, “Tristan?”

  “Yeah. I-I just thought that it's’ been a while and I wanted to see how you were doing…” He trailed off as if he’d been distracted by something, a part of her wondered if he was seeing the girl from the night before to the door. “I don’t have class for the rest of the week, and I don’t have to be anywhere until Sunday.”

  Ava couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. “Dinner with your parents?”

  Tristan chuckled, “That’s right, for Sunday dinner. Listen, I should be upfront with you.”

  Ava knitted her eyebrows together and said, “Alright, that’s fine.”

  “I think I saw you last night? At my apartment building?”

  Oh, my God! He saw me! Ava withheld a groan and said, “What do you mean?”

  “You were standing outside my apartment building. It looked like you were waiting, but then you took off down the street.”

  A thick silence passed between them and Ava said, “You looked busy,” she swept her legs off of the side of the bed and placed one foot onto the floor. Her legs carried her into the living room, and then into the kitchen.

  She leaned against the counter and hovered in front of the expensive blender that had been used exactly once since it’d been pulled out of the box. “Are you still busy?” She chanced.

  Tristan chuckled and said, “No, I’m not. I just- I guess that I’m trying to say that it’s nice you were thinking about me.”

  “Of course. I’ve thought about you. Trust me, I’ve got plenty of experience in shaking off thoughts about guys I’ve… hung out with. But, I’m happy that you’re happy. Your girlfriend seems cute.”

  She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, “She is cute. Not my girlfriend though. She couldn’t handle Sunday dinner. Turns out she saw enough of Mom in the class that they take together. That, and I don’t think that she’s what I’m looking for.”

  Ava laughed and said, “Does that mean that you’re looking for a woman that waits for men in the cold, and runs away from them like she stole something?”

  Tristan’s tone moved away from the lightness it carried a moment before and he said, “Well, I might. I’d have a few conditions, for sure.”

  “You’re giving me conditions?”

  “The first one is that you stop running from me.”

  “I can do that.”

  Tristan laughed and said, “Good. The next one is that you let me take you on a real date. And that you come up to my apartment.”

  “...I’m listening-” Ava held her hand out in front of her and said, “It better not be Sunday dinner.”

  “I’ve got one more condition, Ava.”

  “What’s that?”

  “We’re going to pick up right where we left off.”

  “How soon can you get here?”

  ***

  Ava yanked the door open and slipped her hand in Tristan’s. She tugged him inside and said, “That was fast.”

  Tristan wordlessly removed his jacket and tossed it to the floor. He snatched his arm out of hers and bent his knees. He swept his arms underneath her thighs and pressed his fingernails into her as he moved towards the bedroom. Ava’s lower belly already pulsed with want as they moved into her bedroom, he tossed her onto the bed and rolled his shirt up his body. It fell to the floor and he said, “You made me wait such a long time,”.

  She raised one of her feet and tugged on the stretchy waistband with her toe.

  “Come on,” she urged.

  Tristan smirked and said, “Let me see you.” Ava’s eyes followed Tristan’s hands as he reached up and tugged the ribbon loose on Ava’s robe.

  The perfectly tucked corners of the comforter came loose and spread out around them. He lowered himself until he could look at Ava from between her thighs. They made passionate love that evening. Both of them revealing how much they had missed each other and how much they wanted one another.

  The light of the morning sun turned into the faint rays of the afternoon before either of them left the bed.

  ***

  Tristan stepped out of the shower and snatched a towel off of the shelf beside him. Through the open door, he could see Ava sitting upright in bed. Her fingers were curled around her phone, and the sheets were wrapped around her body. Her hair spilled over her shoulders and threatened to cover the screen. Tristan grinned as he wrapped the towel around his lower half and moved into the bedroom.

  Ava slowly lifted her eyes up from the screen, her bright green eyes rested on his chest before moving towards the towel that covered his still damp thighs. She bit down on her bottom lip and said, “You can’t come in here like that, we’ll never leave the room.” Ava tossed her phone to the side and scooted towards him, the ends of the sheets trailed behind her.

  Tristan smiled and pressed his lips into her forehead. He toyed with the curled ends of her hair and said, “Well, I’ll get dressed then. I’ve got something cool planned for us.”

  Ava raised a brow as she sat back on her hands. “Huh? You wanted to go somewhere?”

  Tristan nodded and said, “I was serious. I want to take you out on a real date.”

  Ava lowered her eyes to the bed and Tristan rolled his eyes. “You were serious?”

  His tone dripped with irritation and judgement. Ava shook her head and said, “No, I was serious. I- just- why do you want to take me out when I can pay for anything that you’d want to do?” She slid off of the bed and let the sheet fall to the floor. Ava wrapped her arms around him and said, “We could go anywhere on my jet- Cuba, Rome, Paris-”

  Tristan rested his finger against her lips and said, “That’s awesome that you can take me all of those places, but that can wait.” He punctuated this with a shrug and gripped her shoulders as he walked around her. His towel fell to the floor and he pulled his legs through his underwear. He bent over, the heat of Ava’s gaze was on his backside, and he put on the jeans that he’d left abandoned on the floor. He redressed and said, “What I want to do doesn’t cost very much money.” He raked his fingers through his hair and said, “Snowboarding.”

  Ava smirked and sat on the edge of the bed and said “I’m a little too old to be learning how to snowboard.”

  Tristan grinned and said, “Don’t be a buzzkill. Besides, you will be completely under my care. And if it makes you feel better, you will be wearing a mask.”

  Ava gently slapped him with a light hand, gave a cool look and turned her head. I don’t know if I can do anything after the workout I had last night and this morning.

  Chapter 18

  The snow splashed off their boards quieted every thought in Ava’s head. Ava’s knees bent, her hips swayed as she maneuvered her weight side to side working the bumps on the small practice run, a slope meant for beginners. The scarf that Tristan bought her from the ski shop clung to her mouth as she breathed in the cold mountain air. The chairlift took them to a slightly higher slope, as Ava took in the calming mountain view, she gripped the metal bars
on the chairlift with fear. She turned her uneasy gaze onto Tristan and said, “Are you sure about this?”

  Tristan jumped off the chairlift onto the snow and confidently took Ava’s hand. She jumped off with a trusting smile and followed him. Tristan easily snapped his boots onto his board and he placed his full body weight on it. He turned towards Ava and said, “Of course I’m sure. Can’t you feel the excitement? It’s the baby slope but it’s rush for your first time. At least it was for me when I first came here when I was ten.” Tristan winked, and took off on the board. I graduated university then, Ava thought. Ava’s hands trembled as she looked down at the board in her hands.

  She’d seen plenty of people snowboard before, especially in college. Ava had always considered it to be a thrill-seeking activity, and she’d never been much for thrills until recently. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the others on the slope, a small gust of wind teased her cheeks as she realized they were all young children. Ava chuckled and found herself feeling truly grateful that there was little chance she would run into one of her business colleagues.

  I’m the only thirty-five-year-old in this park. Ava took a deep breath and set the board onto the snow. She lifted one boot and brought it down onto the board, then the other. She yelped, when the slick board dove forward without her control, her hands flew into the air as she slid uncontrollably down the kiddy slope. She slid right pass Tristan and finally slowed to a stop and fell in the snow.

  Tristan’s board came soaring towards her, he stuck his arm out and slid it around her waist. “You okay?” he smiled.

  Ava scoffed as she took off her mask, “Peachy.”

  Tristan wore a goofy grin as he pulled her up “You might like it once you get the hang of it! It’s great exercise, it’s easy to just forget everything and glide down the mountain.”

  Ava shook her head and said, “I’m more focused on falling-Ah!” She threw her hands around her head as a group of boys breezed past them, the snow splashed at her feet.

  Tristan put his hand on her shoulder and said, “You were awesome!” his eyes burned into hers as they took in a few silent breathes. “Wanna go again?”

  “Yeah.” Ava’s cheeks were bright pink, but the cold didn’t have much to do with it. She gritted her teeth together as Tristan pulled her forward. Tristan chuckled and stepped over to the other side of Ava as a group of boys almost came careening towards them. “Remember to shift your weight and turn if you want to stop.” Ava bent her knees and mimicked the same motions that Tristan did as he slowly showed her the motions.

  Ava glided down the mountain the rest of the hour, mastering the kiddy slope as Tristan glided behind her, around her, did turns and fake jumps to show off. She thought, this is fun. Lots of people my age snowboard. I could get used to this.

  Ava’s mind floated back to the tall building that she’d sat outside of the night before, the embarrassment that she’d felt had been completely replaced by how genuinely excited she was to see the inside of Tristan’s apartment. She grinned and squeezed his hand as her legs were about to give out “Okay.”

  ***

  Ava held her breath as they moved throughout the hallways. She hated it when something made her feel out of touch, she’d always sworn to herself that she wouldn’t let her money keep her from being able to connect with things that regular people faced every day. And nowadays, most people didn’t make anywhere near enough to live in the same building as hers before they were forty. She squinted at the faint pattern on the yellowing wallpaper. A part of her wondered why they would even bother with wallpaper with a building as old as this one. The floorboards creaked underneath her boots, and she could hear the distinct conversation happening between two characters on someone’s television.

  Ava jerked her thumb towards the solid brown door besides Tristan’s door and said, “Is it always that loud? How do you get any studying done?”

  Tristan smirked as he fished around in his pocket for his keys. “With earbuds, Ava. It’s not so bad. It’s probably a big change from what you’re used to.”

  Ava shook her head and said, “No, I had friends that lived in this neighborhood when I was around your age-” Ava winced, it sounded a lot worse out loud than when she thought it. Although, I never visited those friends at their houses.

  Her gaffe went unnoticed by Tristan, he pushed his shoulder into the door and stepped inside. Ava’s eyes widened as she stepped inside, and immediately bent over to pop her feet out of her snow-covered boots. The inside of Tristan’s apartment was a far cry from the hallways that waited outside. Just as he mentioned, the speakers of his neighbor’s television faded and it turned into a muffled noise instead.

  The smell of freshly baked tortillas and honey sat in the air, and it was only complemented by the fresh breeze that came in through the window in the living room. Ava wandered over to the window and hovered by it, she took a deep breath, and held it in her lungs. The air that blew into Tristan’s apartment didn’t smell like the city. The smell of gasoline, cigarettes, and soot were gone. She rested her palms against the window pane and tilted her gaze towards the sidewalk. A bodega was on the other side of the building, and an older couple sat on the sidewalk with a blanket full of spices, herbs, and mixtures they’d created.

  Ava lifted her head out of the window and turned her gaze onto the rest of the apartment. Tristan’s place was a classic studio, his bed was classily tucked away into the corner, a divider that complemented the rest of his furniture separated the couch and bed. Most dividers that she’d seen in studio apartments were tacky, they were usually covered in shades of red and orange, or with big, poorly printed flowers on them. Tristan’s was a simple brown, and a bookshelf of the same color was beside the bed. Books threatened to spill out of the bookshelf, and Ava grinned as she pointed towards it.

  “I didn’t know you were such a big reader.”

  A racket rose out of the kitchen area as Tristan put a pot of hot water onto the stove. He pulled open a cabinet and pulled out two sticks of cinnamon. He tossed a chuckle over his shoulder and said, “You would have known that if you had thought of me as more than a booty call.”

  The skin on Ava’s cheeks and neck were on fire, she busied herself with snooping around the rest of the apartment. The door to the bathroom was to the right of her, a respectable distance from his bed. She pushed the door open, and a tidy bathroom lied out in front of her. The bath mats looked as if no one had ever stepped onto them, dripping with water. His counter was free of clutter, and there was a small stack of toilet paper inside of a brass holster next to the toilet.

  “Are you kidding me.” she whispered.

  “About what?”

  Ava tossed her arms into the air and screeched, her wild eyes fell on Tristan, who stood behind her with two identical black mugs. “You scared the shit out of me!”

  Tristan smirked and said, “Why don’t you stop snooping and come have some hot cocoa with me?”

  Ava giggled and followed Tristan as he eased onto the bed. She crossed one leg over the other and turned her head towards the paintings that hung on the wall. “These are beautiful,” she accepted a mug of hot cocoa.”

  Tristan nodded, “My Dad did those, forever ago.” He watched as she lifted the mug to her lips and breathed in the fumes. She blinked and asked, “Cinnamon?”

  “It’s Mexican hot chocolate, only way I’ve made it my whole life.” Tristan said, he tilted the mug towards his lips and watched as she took a tentative sip.

  Ava grinned and ran her tongue along her lips. “This is delicious.” A warm silence sat between them as they slurped from their mug, the chill of the mountain was long gone within minutes. Tristan reached forward and set his mug onto the floor. Ava watched as he pried her mostly empty mug out of her hands and said, “Stay here with me tonight.”

  “Here?”

  Tristan laughed and said, “Yeah, like what people do when they like each other.”

  Ava swatted Tri
stan across the arm and said, “It’s just that- it’s been a while since I’ve stayed at a guy’s place-”

  Tristan’s lips were warm against hers as he softly touched his lips to hers. He grinned and placed another light kiss on her lips. “Hey. Remember my conditions?”

  Ava’s shoulders relaxed and she fell back onto the bed. The ceilings seemed higher than they appeared before, and she had a perfect view out of the window. She patted the space beside her and said, “Who said that you get to call all of the shots?”

  Tristan chuckled and said, “You’re not in charge here, Ava Lawrence.” He fell into place beside her and snaked his arm around her waist. Ava’s body pressed into his, but her eyelids shut within minutes. Her chest rose and fell slightly, and a light snore rose out of her open mouth, a sound she would have been mortified about if Tristan were awake long enough to hear it.

  Chapter 19

  This is crazy. Everyone knows this is crazy. I bet they can practically smell how old I am. Ava smoothed the sides of her dress, a sexy, strapless number that hugged her curves in all the right places. She complemented it with a pair of six-inch stilettos, and her hair fell around her in thick, straight sheets. Ava weaved throughout the crowd, and her heels clicked against the floor, her clutch hung loosely from her arm.

  A part of her couldn’t believe that she’d actually gone through with it. She’d always thought that it’d take far more than a couple of homemade dinners at Tristan’s and a bundle of flowers for her to agree to an official, in public, couple’s date with him. She ran her eyes over scarves and beanies with loud and complex patterns. A girl leaned against a wall, pretending to be disinterested in the extra-large painting beside her. She tensed as Ava moved past her and Ava surmised that it was her painting that she was trying to play it so cool about.