Guarded by a SEAL

by Julie Morgan

  “Andria, this is Ryan Waterson. Ryan, this is Andria. She’s the one I called about wanting self-defense classes.”

  Andria felt panic build. “Wait, am I learning from him? He’s so much bigger than me!” She took a few steps back and unconsciously moved behind Jax.

  Letting a chuckle escape, Jax turned to face her. “He’s a big bear. Don’t worry, Ryan would never hurt you. Well, purposely anyway.”

  “Yeah, attacking women isn’t my thing. Training them to defend themselves is,” Ryan added.

  She nodded and looked to her hands. “I…I don’t know about this.”

  “Don’t get started without me!” came a female’s voice. Andria looked up to a young woman with blonde hair pulled in a ponytail. She was athletic and had a smile on her face. She reminded Andria of a cheerleader getting ready to start up the pep rally.

  Ready? Okay!

  I’m here today to whoop your ass.

  Give me an A!

  Give me an S!

  “Andria?” Jax asked and touched her arms. “You okay?”

  She nodded with a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. “Just a lot to take in, I guess.”

  He turned to face the blonde girl and held a hand out for her. “How’ve you been, Tam?”

  “Oh, you know, same old. This her?” Tam asked with a smile.

  He nodded. “Andria, this is Tam, one of the trainers here. Tam, this is Andria.”

  “Hi there,” Tam offered with an extended hand. “Any friend of Jax is a friend of mine. And you’ve come to the right place to get some self-defense. Someone messing with you?”

  Andria stared at Tam. Between female David and male Goliath, she had her work cut out for her. Hearing someone clear their throat, she nodded. “Yes. Jax wants me to learn how to keep myself safe.”

  “Between us, girl?” Tam started, “Every female needs to learn self-defense. Never know when it’ll come in handy.”

  Andria nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

  Tam smiled and looked over to Ryan. “Watch me kick his ass.” She laughed and jogged toward the floor mat.

  Andria’s brows rose. She leaned toward Jax and whispered, “She can really take him down?”

  “Yes, just wait and see.”

  She looked up at him and Jax grinned, then winked. She smiled and felt warmth envelope her standing next to Jax. She turned her attention to the mat.

  “First thing you want to do is get free,” Tam offered. “Okay, Ryan, take me.”

  Ryan hesitated, shook his head with a sigh, then wrapped his arms around her. Tam faced him and he was easily twice her size.

  “Let up just a little, big man, so I can talk.”

  He nodded and loosened his grip.

  “First thing you want to do is expand your arms out like this.” She thrust her arms to her sides as if making a T. Doing so forced Ryan’s arms off of her, then she dropped to the floor. “Next is to drop to the floor.”

  Andria watched them and took a step forward. Curious about what would happen next, she tilted her head to Ryan when he closed his eyes, as if preparing for something bad to happen.

  And it did. Tam fisted her hand and slammed it into his thigh. Ryan groaned.

  Andria’s brows rose and her mouth opened.

  “Of course, you want to slam your fist into his nuts, not his thigh, but I’m sparing Ryan here.”

  “You’re such a gem,” he growled.

  “The idea is,” Tam started and got to her feet. “Once he’s been punched in the sac, you want to get behind him as fast as you can, push him onto his front side by kicking him in the ass, then kick his balls once more.”

  “Good lord, woman,” Jax exclaimed. “You’re making mine hurt just thinking about it.”

  “You should be up here then,” Ryan said.

  Jax chuckled. “Nope. I’m good. I choose life, and one day to have children.”

  Andria snorted and quickly covered her mouth. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Good,” Tam told her. “We’re going to show you how to do it now.”

  “Oh, we are?” Ryan said and his eyes widened.

  Tam smiled. “Yes. Now grab me.”

  “I’d rather not,” he grumbled and stepped toward her.

  Andria held in a smile as she watched Ryan once again wrap his arms around Tam.

  “Hold me tight, big man,” Tam ordered.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Yeah, like that. Shit, yeah that’s tight. Okay you ready?”

  He shook his head and closed his eyes tight. Andria really wanted to laugh, but held it in. She did not want to laugh at the man’s future pain, but considering his size to hers, he was as scared as an elephant would be of an ant. There’s no comparison, but right now, Tam could give him a run for his money.

  Then in an instant, she dropped, punched his balls, Ryan bent over groaning, Tam scrambled around his backside and kicked him in the butt, then kicked him in the balls once more, and ran backwards.

  “Holy shit,” Jax said with a groan.

  Andria looked up to him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Sympathy pains.”

  She shook her head then looked to Tam. She approached the woman with a smile. “I have no words for what I just witnessed.”

  Tam smiled and shrugged. “No one can take me unless I want to be taken. Well, unless I’m knocked out, of course.”

  Andria smiled. “Of course.”

  “Excuse me while I get ice for my friend. He’ll need it.”

  Andria nodded and returned to Jax’s side. “He’ll be okay, right?”

  “Yes, in time. Let me check on him?”

  “Sure.” She watched him as he bent down to his friend and patted his back. Andria turned to look at the different flags hung in the gym, as well as combat flags, POW flags, MIA flags. She had never dated anyone in the service, a uniformed officer, or the like. She was not sure how one could deal with letting their spouse, loved one, or family member leave for a year to go fight in a war.

  How do people do this? What courage they have.

  “Andria?” She turned to Tam when she came back with the ice. “You ready to try?”

  “Me? On him?”

  Tam shook her head with a smile. “No, on Jax here.”

  “What?” Jax asked and stood.

  Andria had to hide another smile. “Maybe, if you can walk me through it?”

  “Of course,” Tam said.

  “Wait a minute,” Jax interrupted. “I’m not ready for this. I need some protection. I’m in no way going home with ice on my dick and balls.”

  Andria laughed out loud, then covered her mouth and turned. She cleared her throat and turned back to the group. “I think protection would be good for him.”

  Tam smirked and nodded, then ran off.

  “Thanks for thinking of me,” Jax told her and walked onto the mat. He wore track pants and a t-shirt. She hoped he had on some sort of underwear to put on a cup. Or maybe he’d wear it on the outside. A part of her wanted him to drop his pants so she could see more of him.

  Tam came back into the room with protection in hand and some long underwear. “Here you go, my friend.” She handed over the supplies to Jax and took a step back. She was smiling. Andria wondered if it was to see him pants down to pull on the cup, or to see if she could, and would, take him down.

  Andria was curious of the same, on both accounts. She also hoped it was the latter with Tam. She felt a bit possessive suddenly over Jax.

  Knock it off. He’s not yours.

  She walked onto the mat and looked up at Jax. He stared at the cup, then at Andria.

  “Well, let’s do this,” Jax stated. He pulled down his track pants and Andria gasped. She wanted to turn around, but looked down instead.

  Jax stood in his t-shirt and black boxer briefs. The man’s legs were thick and sexy as hell. He pulled on the underwear Tam brought out, then shoved the cup inside. He adjusted himself with a few steps around, cracked his neck, and str
etched his arms.

  One would think he was getting ready to wrestle. In a way, he was.

  Andria stepped forward and turned to Tam. “What do I do?”

  “Stand there and be pretty,” she winked.

  Andria frowned. “You know, I really don’t like it when people say that. It’s like a man saying, ‘Close that pretty mouth of yours. You don’t need to speak. Just sit there and be pretty.’”

  Tam smirked. “I know. I’m trying to rile you up.”

  “Oh,” Andria said with a sigh, “well, it’s working.”

  “Good,” Tam told her.

  “I’m behind you, Andria,” Jax told her. “I didn’t want to scare you by putting my arms around you, okay?”

  She nodded and let out a long breath. “Okay.”

  She felt him behind her. His presence was warm and welcoming. She wanted him to put his arms around her, and not fight him off. She wanted him to hold her, dance with her, tell her funny stories. She wanted to know what it felt like to kiss him.

  Then it started.

  He pressed his body to hers and his arms wrapped around her frame. She closed her eyes and felt his breath on her neck. Chills ran down her body and she shuddered.

  “Are you all right?” he whispered to her. “We can stop anytime you feel uncomfortable.”

  A slight smile crossed her lips, then disappeared. “I’m fine,” she said back. She swallowed the thickness that developed in her throat and inhaled a deep breath, then began.

  She swung her arms out and Jax’s grip loosened enough that she could drop to her knees. She turned enough to punch him and made a fist, then stopped. She held still for a moment and Jax looked down with a raised brow. He pushed her to her back and pinned her body down with his. His nose touched hers and Andria’s heart quickened.

  She wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, but that was not what they were doing here.

  “Why did you hesitate?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure I can effectively punch.”

  “Don’t hesitate. Even if you grab and pull the sac, that will take him down.”

  She nodded. “Well, can you get off me and try again?”

  He grinned. “I kind of like this.”

  She blushed and giggled. “We have an audience.”

  “Right,” he whispered and jumped to his feet. He took her by the hand and pulled her up.

  “Should we leave you two alone?” Tam asked with a chuckle.

  Andria blushed once more and shook her head. “No, I’m ready.” This time she faced Jax and gave him a nod.

  Jax stepped up to her and invaded her personal space. She could smell his soap. He did not wear cologne, but he smelled so good just wearing the clean scent. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. She did not realize until now how thick his chest was. She glanced down and found he had hair, but it was thin, almost fine. Just enough and not too much. She grinned.

  “See something you like?” he whispered.

  She bit down on her lip then started the movements. She spread her arms and dropped down. Andria fisted her hand and plunged it into his balls.

  Jax bent over with a groan and Andria quickly scrambled out of the way. She got behind him and pushed against his ass with her foot. After he fell over, she brought her foot back to kick him, then shook her head.

  “I can’t kick him. He’s already hurt.”

  Tam walked up and shook her head. “Anytime you’re training, you’re fighting the enemy. You need to keep that in mind if, or heaven help you when the situation comes up. Fight and win, Andria. You are what is important. Your life, not his and definitely not his nut sac.”

  She nodded and shook out her hand. “Otherwise, how’d I do?”

  “Great,” Jax groaned and rolled to his back. “The cup helped but still hurt like a fucker.”

  Andria held her hand out for him. “I’m sorry.”

  “Nah, don’t be,” he told her and took her hand, then stood.

  “Who’s up for round three?” Ryan asked with a chuckle.

  “Oh, now you get back into the conversation?” Jax asked him.

  “I didn’t have a cup.”

  Andria pressed her lips together and turned to Tam. “Thank you for this.”

  “You’re welcome. Practice the moves so they’re muscle memory.”

  She nodded.

  “On our way out,” Jax started and approached her. “We’ll run by where the gun range is. I want you to get fitted for what is comfortable to you, what is easy to use and load.”

  She nodded once more. “Do you need to, umm, change?”

  He chuckled. “Yeah. Give me a sec and we’ll head out.”

  She grinned and turned around to give him a moment alone, in front of everyone else. Andria pressed her fingertips to her lips and thought of Jax having her pinned to the floor. She imagined that scenario on her bed and the thought excited her.

  “Ready?” he asked behind her.

  She turned to face him with a nod. “Yes.” As they turned to leave, Andria looked back to Tam and Ryan. Both waved to her and she smiled. She slipped a hand around Jax’s arm as they left the gym.

  When the time came to return home, would Jax tease her about pinning her down? And if he did, would she ask him to ‘practice’ the movements again? She grinned at the possibility.

  6

  Panting, Andria looked behind her. She could not see him, but he was there, closing in on her. She ran harder. Her lungs burned, her feet stung, and the air around her felt too thin. The mountains were in her peripheral vision. Colorado. She knew this much. She ran harder, pushing herself.

  He’s going to catch me if I slow down or fall, she thought to herself. She chanced looking back again and this time, Draven was closing in. She panicked. The ground felt as if it were on fire and she screamed. Something sharp caught the ball of her foot and tripped her. She fell forward and quickly turned over, looking up to a heavy breathing Draven. He was a sadist, pure and simple. He grinned and the evil in him oozed.

  He made a sudden move for her and she screamed.

  Andria sat up in bed and looked around her room. A bead of sweat ran down her back and the adrenaline began to subside.

  “It was only a dream,” she whispered. She laid back in her bed with a huff and closed her eyes. She could still see his face, that evil asshole.

  Andria kicked her covers off and sat up. Might as well get some water and walk off this damn nightmare. Asshole.

  She wore a spaghetti strap nightgown that ended at her mid-thigh. Just in case Jax was up, she did not want to expose too much of herself. She pulled on a white silky robe and tied it around her waist. Opening her door, she walked out toward the kitchen. She made it as far as the hallway and heard a creek on the floor a few feet away.

  Her dream came back to her and panic set in. She pressed her back against the wall and her heartbeat sped up. Her mouth went dry and fear spiked in her gut. She wanted to cry, wanted to run; she needed Jax.

  Jax. Maybe it was him.

  “Jax?” she whispered into the dark hallway. “Is…” she swallowed, “is that you?”

  No answer came to her and the panic rose. She slid down toward the floor and pulled her knees to her chest. She wanted to cry out, but if Draven was here, he would find her.

  Oh God, what if he found Jax first and killed him? How do I get away?

  The self-defense would do her no good if she continued to sit on the floor. She squeezed her eyes closed and a sob escaped. She could not keep it quiet, as much as she tried.

  Someone switched the light on in the kitchen. She cried out in response to the eruption of light in the dark.

  “Andria?”

  “Don’t hurt me! Oh my God, don’t hurt me!” she screamed and covered her head. She sat in a ball against the wall and sobbed.

  “Jesus, Andria, it’s me, Jax!”

  She felt large hands on her shoulders and she slapped the hands away. “Don’t touch me!”


  “Andria! Open your eyes, it’s me!”

  She shook. She sobbed. She wanted to open her eyes, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She shook her head no.

  “Andria, it’s okay. It’s just me, it’s Jax. Trust me, it’s okay. It’s just me.”

  She heard Jax’s voice, but still had a fear it was Draven in front of her. Fear clenched inside her. If she opened her eyes, it would be Draven’s fist meeting her socket. She swallowed hard and pushed through her fear.

  If you allow him to put fear in you, he’s still in control.

  Suzy’s words rang in her mind and she knew her sister was right. Andria took a deep breath and upon the exhale, she opened her eyes.

  Jax. She sobbed and lunged for the man. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and knocked him back. She cried into his shoulder, her body shaking from the adrenaline. “I heard,” she started and sobbed into his neck. “Jax, I thought he was here.”

  She felt his body next to hers. He was warm, large, an amazing creature. He was her security, her guard, her protector.

  Then his large, thick arms wrapped around her slender frame. He pulled her closer to him and shifted her body onto his lap. She sat in the open V his legs made when he crossed them.

  “Andria,” he started, his voice deep, low, and growling. “No one will get in or out of this house without me knowing. Please, trust me on that.”

  She kept hold of his neck and felt like a small person folded into the side of mountain. She felt so tiny compared to his massive size. It was what she needed.

  She pulled her arms down and nodded at his statement. “Old habits, I guess. Even after being comfortable for a few years, he managed to get right back into my head. He’s a textbook mind fuck.”

  “I have you. He can’t get to you while we’re together. I guarantee you that. He would severely pay the price for trying to come near you.”

  She looked up in his blue eyes. It was as if looking into the depths of an ocean–beautiful. She blinked and looked to his lips. They were parted and he had the shadow of beard growth on his lips, chin, and cheeks. It was as dark as the hair on his head. His tongue darted out and licked his lips.

  She gasped and shifted her gaze to his eyes. Her heartbeat picked up once more, but for a different reason. She sat in his lap as he held onto her. They were so close, so close. His scent invaded her like an invite to claim what he offered.