by Lea Hart
“Oh my gosh, that is so sweet of you.” Opening her arms, she took the last step that separated them and embraced him.
What the hell is going on? he thought. Why does she look so happy to see me when there is a half-naked guy on her porch acting like he’s ready for a fight?
Ignoring all the noise in his head, he wrapped his arms around Brooke and discovered she smelled different. Amazing but different than he remembered.
Pressing a kiss to her head, he felt her hands tighten around his waist. “I’m happy to see you, honey.”
“Me too,” she mumbled against his shirt.
Before he could truly appreciate what was happening, he pulled back and studied her face. No guilt, no subterfuge, just the fucking amazing smile that broke him open. “You’re so beautiful.”
Hearing a gagging sound, he turned and threw Chance the asshole a dirty look. Keeping Brooke in his embrace, he threw the guy another look that had never failed to communicate how far he was willing to go to achieve his objective.
“So, you met my brother?” Brooke asked.
“Your brother?” Frisco choked out.
She looked up and gave him a funny look. “Yes, Chance is my baby brother.”
“We’re four minutes apart, Brooke. I’m hardly your baby brother.”
Stepping out of Frisco’s embrace, she punched him in the arm. “Four minutes is like four years when it comes to us.”
Letting out a loud laugh, Frisco looked over at the man who had caused him more grief in five minutes than anyone ever had in five years. He totally got it, because he would’ve done the same thing with his sister, and would’ve played it exactly the same.
“Yes, honey, we met.”
Chance gave him a shit-eating grin and shrugged. “Had to.”
“Totally understand,” Frisco replied.
“Had to what?” Brooke replied.
“Nothing, honey.”
“Do you have time to stay for lunch?” Brooke asked before smelling the flowers.
“Of course. I’ve got nothing else on my schedule for the next couple of days.”
“Unemployed?” Chance asked.
“He’s a SEAL,” Brooke answered with a frown.
“And you knew that before you started dating him?” Chance asked incredulously.
“Yes, I did,” Brooke replied with annoyance. “Come inside, and I’ll get lunch together.”
As Frisco followed Brooke in, he heard Chance mutter something about hell finally freezing over. Whatever, he wasn’t going to worry about it. As they walked into the home, he noticed it had been updated and was pretty damn nice. How she’d managed it being out of the country, he didn’t know.
As they walked into the great room that housed the kitchen, living room, and bar, he let out a low whistle. Someone had poured a bunch of money into the place and he didn’t see how it could be Brooke. No one went to work with MSF in hopes of a decent paycheck; they did it because it was their calling. “Nice house.”
“Thanks,” Chance replied as he slouched into a chair at the enormous island that dominated the open kitchen. “We inherited the place from our aunt along with a generous inheritance. We’ve been working on the place for six years on and off.”
“Chance is with the FBI HRT Team, so he’s in Virginia, but he’s managed to spend enough time at home to move our remodel along,” Brooke said as she pulled out all the fixings for sandwiches.
HRT. Now the guy’s demeanor made sense. “How long have you been with the hostage rescue team?” Frisco asked.
“Four years. Brooke and I went to Duke for our undergraduate degrees, and I decided to stay on the East Coast. Went to work for NYPD and worked my way up to SWAT and then applied with the FBI.”
“You guys handle some serious ops, man. I’ve gotten to run some training exercises with guys from your team, and I have nothing but respect for every single one of them.”
“Thanks, man.” Chance gave him an imperceptible nod.
Frisco took his own seat at the island and studied the woman who was in the process of making sandwiches that would make that old cartoon character Dagwood happy. “Anything I can do to help?” he asked.
“No. Thank you, though. I’ve been enjoying cooking for the last couple of days in my own kitchen.”
“That was after she spent the first five eating almost exclusively junk food from all her favorite places.”
Brooke pointed a long knife in her brother’s direction. “Don’t judge, because I know you do the same thing when you come home from an assignment overseas.”
“No one I know loves McDonald’s as much as you do,” he said as he frowned. “That shit is going to clog up your arteries, and you’re going to die an early, ugly death.”
Watching the two siblings bicker made Frisco relax. His heartbeat had finally returned to normal, and he was enjoying watching the two poke at one another. As he studied them, he could see the similarities and wondered how he’d missed it to begin with, because they were like two sides of the same coin. As beautiful as Brooke was, her brother was equally handsome. Son of a bitch must do okay with the ladies.
“So, how long are you in town for?” Frisco asked.
“I’ve got another week before I have to go back. Needed to come home and see Brooke and make sure she was okay.”
“Understood. If you want to come down to NAB and catch a workout, let me know.”
Chance nodded and gave him a smile. “Thanks, may take you up on that.”
“All he’s been doing for the last three days is sleeping and surfing.”
“And if you’re not sleeping, then your butt is parked in front of the TV watching all those reality shows you love.”
“And your point?” Brooke asked as she started to plate the sandwiches.
“Nothing, sister.” He gave her a smile. “Just stating the facts.”
“When are you supposed to meet the rear admiral for dinner?”
“Five. He’s coming here, and we’re going to have dinner at the Village Pizzeria. Have you changed your mind about joining us?”
“No, I’m going to pass and let you guys catch up.”
Frisco noticed her face completely shut down when she’d said her father’s name, and that meant Jax’s description of a strained relationship had been completely right on. Hopefully, she would eventually be comfortable discussing it with him and he could begin to understand exactly what the man had done to break his daughter’s heart. Information like that would be good to know, because knowing where someone was broken told you where you needed to begin loving them. Brooke slid a plate in front of him, and he grinned. “Thanks, honey.”
“Anytime.”
The sexy smile she gave him in response lit his hopes on fire that whatever had caused her not to return his phone calls was no longer relevant. Which made the fact that she sat down next to him and pressed her hand against his leg all the more sweet.
Yeah, they were definitely going to work it out.
***
Sitting on the patio with Frisco mere inches away made Brooke’s nerves bounce around like a ping-pong ball. Could she resist him?
Should she?
“Thank you for the lovely flowers.”
“Figured I better not show up empty-handed, considering you’ve been avoiding my calls.” He looked into the house and then back at Brooke. “Where did your brother go?”
“Errands.” She placed her hands in her lap and then slid her eyes to the side. “I haven’t been avoiding your calls; it’s more of a technical glitch.” He laced their fingers together, which made her thoughts scramble like eggs. “You see, the contract on the phone I use internationally expired, and I haven’t gotten a new one yet.”
“I can see how hard something like that could be. What with the covered wagon you’d have to take to the phone store, it could take days, if not weeks.”
“Ha-ha.”
“Not to be the needy one in this relationship, but…what the hell, Brooke?” H
e moved his chair closer and took her other hand. “If you’re not interested in pursuing this thing between us, just tell me.”
“And you’ll back off?”
“Hell, no, I’ll just retrench and come up with a new plan.”
Looking down at his big hands holding hers gently made her remember how much pleasure he’d given her during the nights they’d spent together. It wasn’t something she took lightly, which is probably why she’d been avoiding him. “Well…”
“Yeah?”
“You scare the hell out of me.” Leaning back, she took her hands away and flapped them in front of her face. “What happens between us when we’re together makes me want to jump off a bridge. It’s so intense, overwhelming, and life-altering that I don’t know how to handle it.”
“So, if I’m hearing you correctly, you know what we have is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and you’re scared that if we somehow screw it up, we’re doomed for a lifetime of unhappiness.”
“Uh…”
He put up his hand. “I get it. This is like the mother of all bombs that we dropped a couple of months back in Afghanistan. The combination of the two of us is like the eleven tons of explosives that we let loose on the cave complex.”
“Well, I guess that’s one way of putting it.”
“I can live with that. Just so happens that I’m pretty good with explosives and have kept up my skill set.” He lifted both hands in a gimme motion. “Bring it, Brooke. I’m more than ready.”
“What if I’m not?”
“Follow my lead, because I’ve been blowing shit up for years. The thing you have to remember about explosives is that a little can go a long way if used correctly.” Moving his finger back and forth between the two of them, he grinned. “This thing needs to be handled with care, and I, for one, am prepared to do that.”
“Really? You want to take what happened in Africa and see if we can replicate it here?”
“No, I don’t want to replicate it; I want to take that little seed and make sure we nurture it so it grows as big as the beanstalk in that fable.”
Standing, she held out her hand. “I guess that means that I need a ride to the phone store, then, because you can’t grow anything without modern technology.” When he stood and picked her up so that they were face-to-face, she realized that even if this thing blew up, it might be worth it, because the fireworks they would produce could be brilliant. “Are you going to kiss me?”
“I was thinking about it.”
“Quit thinking and start doing. All your talk about the mother of all bombs has got me to thinking about how you made me feel, and I want to see if it was just a dream.”
“No dream, honey.” He buried his face in her hair and inhaled deeply. “You smell different than you did in Africa. More like oranges and less like cinnamon.”
“Shampoo and soap probably.” Sighing contentedly, she felt his lips skim from her earlobe down to her collarbone, leaving shivers in their wake.
“You taste the same, though, so I guess I’m home.”
“Home,” she repeated as he made a masculine sound deep in his throat.
“Should we go upstairs and remind ourselves who we are together, or get you a new phone first?”
“Phone first,” she managed to grit out. “If we go upstairs, we may not come down for days.”
“How long will he be gone?”
“Not sure.”
“Then we’re going to my place after the phone store, so we can have privacy.”
“I have a door on my room.”
“Honey, I plan on making you scream, and there is no door that’s going to block out the sound.”
“How many times?”
“Until you pass out.”
Sliding down his body, she turned toward the house and motioned him to follow. “Quit gawking and start walking. I’ve got needs, and I’m guessing you’re the man to take care of them.”
He scooped her into his arms and made a beeline for the front door.
“I need my purse.”
Grabbing it off the table, he barely slowed down in his pursuit of the front door. “Slow down, Frisco.”
“Nope, not going to happen. You gave me a mission, and I’m executing.”
Holding on to his neck, she felt a burst of happiness shoot through her chest just like when they’d been together before. “Far be it from me to stand between you and success.”
“Exactly.”
As much as she wanted to cling to the feeling spreading through her body, she hesitated, because the realist in her didn’t want to get too used to it in case they ended up blowing themselves up.
Fireworks were amazing, but as far as she knew, they burned if you got too close and didn’t last but a minute.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Thursday, September 28th
Frisco unlocked the door to his condo and swung it open. “Come on in.” Stepping to the side, he let Brooke enter first and inhaled her scent and decided he liked the oranges just as much as the cinnamon.
“It’s very…clean.”
Closing the door with his boot, he let out a laugh. “Which, in ‘girl-speak,’ means it’s plain as shit.”
Turning her head, she gave him a shrug. “I’ll take plain over a place that’s super decorated.”
Moving closer, he slung his arm over her shoulder. “Why’s that?”
“If you had a bunch of pillows and plants, then I’d know you had a woman in your life.”
Throwing his head back, he let out a laugh. “I guess you’re right.” Pointing at the large photographs that dominated the wall in the living room, he said, “A retired buddy from the Teams took those, and it’s the only art I’ve ever bought.”
Brooke walked over and studied the photos. “Hell week?”
“Yeah.” He pointed to the one that showed three boat crews walking down the beach toward the hotel. “I still have a permanent spot on my head from where the boats rested.”
“Based on your size, you had to be on the top-dog squad.”
He moved behind her and rested his chin on top of her head. “I’m sure your dad told you that the biggest guys are not the ones who always graduate. In fact, by the end of Hell Week, I’d lost all but one of my teammates. Carrick and I were swim buddies, and if it wasn’t for him, the whole week would’ve been a lot harder. By the last day, our boat crew was made up of two Smurf SEALs, a Brawler SEAL, an Ivy League SEAL, and Carrick and me.”
“Which category did you fall into?”
“The one that never quit. The idea of DOR never entered my mind for a second, and to this day, I think those are the men that make the Teams.”
“Yeah, I was raised with that no-quit attitude. As much as it’s been a blessing, it’s sometimes a curse.”
Frisco looked down and wondered what life was like with the rear admiral. Clearly, not a great one if she was all but estranged from him. He had to have done something pretty horrific for her to cut herself off from her only living parent. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really.” She let out a yawn and covered it quickly. “Sorry about that.”
“Is it the company, or are you just worn out?”
“Definitely not the company.”
He took the bag with her phone out of her hand and set it on the table. “I’ll program it for you later.”
“I can do it tomorrow.”
Leading her over to the couch, he pulled her down and settled her under his arm. “I’ll go pick up some takeout later on.”
“Sounds good.” She rested her legs over his and let out a sigh. “I’ve been so tired since I returned.”
“How long does it usually take you to acclimate once you’ve returned from being OCONUS?”
“A week or two.” She snuggled closer and yawned again. “I may just be having a relapse of malaria.”
Sitting up, he studied her face. “Brooke, shouldn’t you find out for sure?”
She gave him a casual shrug. “If I don’t feel better b
y next week, then I’ll get tested.”
He tightened his hold and frowned. “Wouldn’t it better to find out sooner?”
“I’ve had it twice, so having a relapse is not that big of a deal.”
“Says you.”
She lifted her head and smirked. “Yes, as the only medical professional in the room, I say so.”
“Stubborn,” he mumbled.
“I thought you brought me here to love on me, not give me a lecture.”
“I can do both,” he said as he scooped her into his lap. Her small hands framed his face, and he felt the same connection that he had back in Chad. Time hadn’t diminished the potency of his reaction to her…or his need. Stroking his finger down her jaw and under her chin, he lifted it so he could see her beautiful whiskey eyes. “Are you ready to begin again?”
Swallowing loudly, she nodded. “I think so.”
“What are you scared of?”
“Discovering what we had in Africa was a dream and…finding out it wasn’t.” Her gaze searched his. “I didn’t call you back right away because this thing between us has me freaked out, and I don’t know how to handle it.”
“Let’s find out together.” He dropped his mouth and gave her a sweet kiss and then released her. “Let’s go get some of that magic going so you can quit worrying about what was or what will be.”
“I guess that would be okay.”
Standing in one motion, he lifted her in his arms and started walking to the bedroom. “Don’t sugarcoat it, honey and tell me how you really feel.”
“How about I show you?”
“I can work with that,” he mumbled as her arms went around his neck and her mouth pressed against his skin.
Heaven, pure and simple.
When he made it inside the door of his room, he let her slide down his body. Steady, he said to himself silently. Just as he stepped forward, her hand flew up. “What?”
“I should call my brother and let him know that I’m not coming home tonight.”
“Really?”
She popped her hands on her hips. “Yeah, really. He’ll worry, and I don’t want him to.”
Sliding his phone out of his pocket, he handed it to her. “Of course.”