by Paige Tyler
She collapsed on his chest, resting her hands on either side of his head. Then she rode him nice and slowly gazing into his eyes.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you look right now?” Logan asked softly as he grabbed her hips and helped her move.
She smiled down at him. “No, but by all means feel free to tell me. I never pass on a compliment.”
He chuckled, the sound husky. “Well, you’re gorgeous. And if I have my way, I intend to tell you frequently.”
She opened her mouth to tell him that was perfectly fine with her when Logan’s big hands came up and grabbed her bottom. She’d suspected he was an ass man when he’d been paying so much attention to it in the shower. Obviously, she’d been right.
Getting a firm grip on her butt, he rocked her up and down on his cock. Felicia whimpered and traced her lips along his jaw then down his neck and over his shoulder, alternating warm kisses and little nibbles. He tasted so good, she could eat him up.
Beneath her, his body tensed, and she knew he was about to come. But she could also sense him holding back like he was waiting for her to come again first. She adored him for that, but she’d already come twice, and she wasn’t sure she could climax again for a while. And after his making her come twice already, she wanted to give him as much pleasure as he’d given her.
Leaning in close, she put her mouth to his ear and breathed out her desire in a soft whisper. “Come for me.”
Her entreaty seemed to have flipped a switch. One moment Logan was thrusting hard and the next he tightened his grip on her ass and pounded up into her. Felicia closed her eyes and held on for dear life.
She hadn’t thought she could come again, but she’d been wrong.
It wasn’t as hard as the first two times, but it was even more special, because this time he came with her, his body clenching under hers and a deep growl of pleasure tearing from his throat.
Okay, that was simply amazing.
She lay atop him, tremors still working their way through her body and her breath coming hard and fast, beads of moisture rolling off her skin. She thought for a moment she was still wet from the shower but then realized she’d actually worked up a sweat. That had definitely never happened to her during sex before.
Felicia slid off his chest to snuggle beside him, her thigh resting possessively across his. “I think we missed our dinner reservations.”
He chuckled. “I hope you have something in the house we can snack on because I don’t think we’re done.”
That’s when she felt his cock hardening under her thigh. She reached down and wrapped her hand around his shaft, marveling at how fast he could recover.
“In that case. I’m going to have my snack now,” she said softly.
Then she slowly began kissing her way down his body.
Chapter Nine
LEAVING FELICIA AT o’-dark-thirty the next morning so Logan could go back to his place and change into his uniform had been hard as hell. To say last night had been amazing simply didn’t do it justice. He and Felicia had make love for hours until they were both exhausted then they’d fallen asleep in each other’s arms. They’d never gotten around to getting something to eat, but Logan had been more than satisfied.
He had a hard time putting what they’d done last night into coherent words, or even thoughts. Special didn’t come close to describing it, and any other term would have come off sounding like a romance book cliché.
Bottom line—he was hooked.
Logan was smiling at the realization when his phone rang. He dug his cell out of his pocket, assuming it was Felicia checking to see if he’d gotten home okay. She’d wanted him to call when he got there, but maybe she’d gotten impatient and called him first. His grin broadened. Having someone to worry about him was kind of nice.
But when he saw the name in his phone, he cursed. It was headquarters.
“Dunn.”
The call was short and to the point. He and his Team were going wheels up—immediately. No details on where, but then again, there never were.
Logan did a U-turn and headed for base. Everything he needed was already there, including fresh uniforms. He thumbed his contacts list, finding Felicia’s number.
“You’re home already?” she asked the moment she picked up. “You didn’t speed, did you?”
His mouth curved. “No, I wasn’t speeding. I got a call from HQ. I have to leave on a mission.”
On the other end of the line, Felicia was silent for a moment. Logan braced himself, not sure what he expected exactly. But when she spoke, her voice was surprisingly calm.
“Do you know where you’re going? Or how long you’ll be gone?”
“No.”
Logan didn’t bother to add that even if knew either of those things, he couldn’t tell her. He held his breath, waiting to see what she would say. He remembered Kurt telling him about the first time he’d told Melissa about a no-notice mission. It hadn’t gone so well.
“Be careful,” she said. “And call me when you can, okay?”
“I will,” he promised. “By the way, last night was incredible.”
“Yeah,” she said, and he liked to think she was smiling. “It was, wasn’t it?”
“I’ll call you when I get back.”
Logan hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket as he steered his SUV onto the bridge leading to Coronado. She’d certainly handled it better than he’d thought she would.
His hand tightened on the wheel as a bizarre thought suddenly hit him. What if the reason she’d been so cool with him going was because she didn’t care one way or the other?
Okay, where the hell had that come from? Felicia had given him absolutely no reason to think that.
But, still. How many guys did he know who’d left on a mission thinking they had a girlfriend waiting for them only to return home and discover their girlfriends had moved on in his absence?
As he flashed his ID card at the MP on guard and drove onto base, he told himself it was stupid to think it would be like that with Felicia.
He only hoped it wasn’t wishful thinking on his part.
* * * * *
Felicia yawned for what must be the fifth time since walking into work the following Monday morning. Not surprising. She hadn’t slept well at all since Logan had left.
She’d gotten a few hours’ sleep after Logan had called and told her he was leaving on a mission the morning after they’d slept together. She’d been worried but told herself that was silly. She’d seen him and his Teammates in action. She knew how good they were at their job. He’d be fine.
She’d done okay at work Thursday, thinking about him but not allowing herself to worry. Thursday night had been okay, too, even though she’d woken up a few times, not really sure why, but merely feeling uptight.
Friday, on the other hand, sucked. She didn’t remember most of what she’d done that day, since it was mostly a blur. She’d gone through the motions of working but hadn’t accomplished anything.
The weekend had been even worse. She’d laid in bed both nights, Chewy at her feet, and spent more time staring at the ceiling thinking about Logan than sleeping.
Felicia was shocked by how Logan’s absence affected her. Yes, she liked him, and yes, they’d slept together, and yes, it had been amazing. But she and Logan had only been dating for a short time. His being gone shouldn’t be such a big deal.
But it was.
Truth be told, she was frigging worried about him. Not knowing where he was, what he was doing, and when he might come back was driving her nuts. She normally wasn’t so clingy about stuff like this, but all she could think about was him.
With the sunrise wedding coming up that weekend, it shouldn’t have been difficult to distract herself. She still had a buttload of last minute things to do, like confirm the caterer, the bartender, and the waitstaff, as well the people setting up the tent, tables, and chairs then cleaning everything up afterward. Despite all that, she still couldn’t seem to get her act together. Ev
ery time she started a task, she found thoughts of Logan creeping in.
Felicia was reading over the new reception menu her sunrise bridezilla had emailed her this morning, realizing she’d already read the damn thing three times and couldn’t remember a stupid thing on it when the door open and Hayley walked in, a dark-haired girl about Stef’s age at her side.
Surprised to see Hayley, but glad for any excuse to stop staring at the ridiculous menu, Felicia stood up and stepped around her desk.
“Hey! What are you doing here?”
“I thought I’d stop by to see how you’re doing,” Hayley said. “I hadn’t realized Logan had gone out on this mission with Chasen until Melissa told me this morning. I remember the first time Chasen left and thought you might need someone to talk to.”
Over by the counter where various invitations were displayed, Heather’s eyes widened. “Is that why you’ve been such a zombie the last few days? Why didn’t you tell me Logan was gone?”
“I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it,” Felicia told her then hurriedly introduced Hayley before Heather could chastise her any more.
Hayley introduced the girl with her as Kyla Wells. “I thought maybe we could grab lunch while we’re here?” she added.
Felicia opened her mouth to say she had too much to do, but Heather overruled her.
“Might as well have lunch. You’re not getting anything done anyway.”
They settled on a grill and bar three blocks from the office and within easy walking distance. After they got a table and ordered, Hayley told the story of how she and Chasen had met for Heather’s benefit.
Felicia sat there wide-eyed as Hayley elaborated, confiding in them about coping with PTSD after getting held hostage in Nigeria, the crazy stuff with Nesbitt and the councilman’s involvement in the death of Kyla’s father, and finally the way her best friend had kidnapped and nearly killed her and himself.
“Okay, back up,” Heather said, brow furrowing. “There are about a dozen parts of that story requiring more details. Like why you still go visit this Brad guy in a mental institution after he tried to kill you?”
Hayley picked up her glass of iced tea. “He’s my friend, and in a lot of ways, I blame myself for what happened to him. He lost part of himself when I got kidnapped in Nigeria and he never really recovered. I go to see him a couple of times a week so he knows I’ll never abandon him.”
Felicia couldn’t help but be impressed. She wasn’t sure she could be so understanding—or forgiving.
“Is he getting better?” Heather asked tentatively.
Hayley’s smile was a little sad. “Some days, like when he remembers who I am and what he did. He’s ashamed and embarrassed on those days, and when he’s like that, I can almost believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
The waiter brought their food then, interrupting the conversation, and after he left, they talked about Kyla’s mission to find the man who shot her father, a hired killer named Nestor Stavros.
“I want Nesbitt to go to jail,” Kyla said as she dumped ketchup on her plate. “But I’m not going to stop looking for the man who actually pulled the trigger until he’s in prison, too.”
Felicia dug into the grilled chicken she’d ordered. “That’s going to be hard to do on your own, isn’t it?”
“I’m helping her,” Hayley said. “The bigger problem will be convincing the cops to arrest the murdering son of a bitch after we find him.”
Felicia wanted to offer help if they needed it, but she didn’t have much experience with tracking down bad guys, much less what to do if they found him.
As they finished lunch, the conversation turned to Logan and where he and his Team might be.
“Chasen can never tell me where he’s going, but if you watch the news, you can probably figure it out,” Hayley said. “My guess is somewhere in West Africa, Afghanistan, or Syria. Those are the hotspots right now.”
Felicia frowned. “Doesn’t not knowing where Chasen is drive you crazy?”
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” Hayley admitted. “But this is part of what I signed up for when I decided to be with a SEAL.”
Felicia stared into her glass of iced tea. “I didn’t intend to get emotionally involved with Logan. I invited him over for dinner because I wanted to thank him for what he did for Stef and me, and because I thought it would be fun. But before I knew it, he’d gotten under my skin.”
“Let me guess,” Hayley said. “You didn’t realize it until he left, right? That’s kind of how it seems to work.”
Felicia sighed. She wasn’t saying she loved Logan, but she couldn’t deny she definitely had a place in her heart for the sexy Navy SEAL who’d saved her life.
Beside her, Heather shook her head. “I think you two are crazy. I couldn’t date a guy who wasn’t around, especially a SEAL who’s deployed to dangerous places all the time. I need a man who’s going to be there for me when I need him, which would be frequently.”
“It’s all about the math I guess,” Hayley said with a smile. “For me, at least, the good outweighs the bad.”
The waiter interrupted them again, this time to bring the check. Hayley and Heather immediately started squabbling over the bill, each insisting on paying. While they did, Felicia thought about the conversation they’d had.
Did she truly want to get involved with a guy who’d be gone all the time? Hell, who was she kidding? She was already involved. Which begged the question, could she accept it and deal with it the way Hayley seemed to be able to? She wasn’t so sure she could, or even if she wanted to.
But the alternative meant walking away from Logan now before she could even find out what they might have. Like she’d told her sister the other night, a long-term commitment for her meant building a partnership with a guy and working toward the same life goals. In other words, planning for a future together.
Did she want to commit to a man who was probably in the middle of some crappy part of the world getting shot at right now?
The emotional part of her wanted to say, Hell yeah!
However, the rational part urged her to proceed with caution. Move too fast and you might make a mistake you’ll regret.
Yet, if she moved too slowly, she might regret it anyway.
Chapter Ten
I THINK I remember this rock,” Nash muttered as he moved alongside Logan through the mountainous terrain in complete darkness.
Several yards away, Dalton laughed. “I doubt it. We’re miles away from where were the last time. We’ve just spent so much damn time over here, it’s starting to feel like home.”
“Yeah, well, I vote we wrap up this mission and get the hell back to San Diego before I forget what our real home looks like,” Nash grumbled.
That worked for Logan The only thing that sucked worse than being back over here again so soon was being over here to do the job they should have finished two weeks ago,
He, Nash, and Dalton, along with Chasen and the CIA SOG team were once again in northern Syria, this time ten miles east of Aleppo, hoping to meet up with the local Kurdish fighters and make the exchange for the damn Russian pilot.
They’d been lucky this time, though. For one thing, the only foreign fighters they had with them were two Kurds to lead them to the place where the exchange would happen. For another, there was a major battle going on to the south of Aleppo as Syrian rebels and fighters from the al-Nusra Front mounted a major offensive against Assad’s government forces there. That meant this particular part of the country was almost peaceful. The best you could hope for around here was that the people trying to kill each other did it far away from you. If he and his Team were lucky, they’d be able to pick up the pilot and get out of here without anyone ever firing a shot at them.
When they reached the coordinates for the exchange point a few miles later, they spread out and settled in to wait. They didn’t know exactly when the exchange was going to go down, but something told Logan this could take a while.
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“You’ve been kind of quiet since we got here,” Chasen said softly from beside Logan as they leaned back against a huge rock formation.
Logan glanced around, taking in his surroundings through his NVGs. Nash and Dalton had moved ahead with the Kurdish guides, and Joe and his SOG team were spread out all around them. He and Chasen were relatively alone.
“Just got a lot on my mind, that’s all,” he said softly.
“Is it about Felicia?”
Logan’s first instinct was to deny it. This wasn’t the time or the place to be talking about this kind of stuff. No doubt that’s why Chasen brought it up. He didn’t want Logan distracted out here.
“I’m a little worried Felicia might not be able to handle the job,” he admitted quietly. “Hell, I’m not sure she’s going to be there when we get back.”
“Did you guys have a fight before we left?” Chasen asked.
“No. She actually seemed okay with me taking off. Which concerns me even more than if we’d fought.”
It was still early in their relationship—crap, he was even using that word now—but he liked her a lot more than any other woman he’d ever been with. The idea Felicia might not be there when he got back gave him a weird feeling in his chest. He hadn’t felt anything like it before, and he didn’t like it.
“Look,” Chasen said. “It’s not like I have an ass-load of experience with this kind of thing, but if you expect Felicia to be there when you get back, you need to have an honest conversation with her about how you feel.”
Logan cringed “That’s going to be damn hard since I’m not sure how I feel.”
Chasen grunted. “You’d better figure it out because she’s not going to be able to read your mind. If you don’t give her a reason to stay, she won’t.”
The sound of approaching boots in the darkness silenced them.
“Sit tight and keep an eye on things back here.” Chasen got to his feet. “I’m not sure how much I trust Joe’s people and I don’t want anyone slipping up behind us during the exchange.”
Chasen disappeared into the darkness, leaving Logan alone to worry about their six—and think about what he’d say to Felicia when he got back.