Protected by a SEAL: Hot SEALs (Volume 5)

by Cat Johnson

  On the phone he was allowed to have when she wasn't. That had her gritting her teeth a bit as she asked, "And?"

  "They're making progress."

  "Progress how?" What could they possibly have to go on? A broken doorframe on her trailer from a bullet shot by an unseen shooter? A bullet that only Rick felt.

  "They've got a crew pawing through your fan mail from the past year."

  "What crew? Who? The police?"

  “Actually, it’s Jon, Zane, Jon's girlfriend Ali, and Darci." He cringed as his gaze pinned hers. "You okay with that? I know it's an invasion of your privacy, but Roger approved it. They really did need full access to your fan mail to figure this thing out."

  That was what he was worried about? His boss, friends and family reading her fan mail? Meanwhile he knew all about her current choice in birth control thanks to him and his brutish buddies traipsing through her bathroom before dawn.

  "It’s fine. I don't even read my fan mail. We hire an assistant to open it and answer it for me. As me, actually, so the fans won’t know the response isn’t from me personally."

  He put down the spoon he’d been stirring the onions with. "Really? That's interesting."

  "Why is that interesting?” Her defenses went up immediately. “Go on. Make some comment about how fake I am or how dishonest that is to the fans who support me."

  His brows rose high. "Whoa. Dial it back, princess. It's interesting because whoever answered that mail as you might have inadvertently encouraged this guy in their reply. What you didn’t let me tell you yet is that Jon flagged a bunch of letters. He’s very interested in one batch in particular. Since it wasn't you who responded, maybe we need to track down and talk to whoever answered those letters to see if they encouraged him in some way."

  One word caught her attention. "Letters. Plural?"

  "Yeah." He drew in a breath, as if he knew she wasn't going to like the answer. "Three dozen."

  “Three dozen?” Her voice rose high. “Over how long of a period?"

  "Six months."

  Holy moly. As she panicked, Rick already had his phone out.

  He punched in a text then set the phone on the island before raising his gaze to her. "You okay?"

  “I'm not sure.” If she had a definitive yes or no, she would have said so but right now, that was the most honest answer she could come up with. "Who did you just text?"

  “Jon. To tell him to get on finding who replied to your fan mail during that period.” Rick moved around the island.

  He wrapped his arms around her and she let him pull her tight against a chest too hard to be comfortable, yet it made her feel better anyway.

  That she let him hold her—and she liked it—was testament of how freaked out she was about those dozens of letters she hadn’t known existed until now.

  Pressed against his chest she breathed in the scent of him. Clean man and some masculine scented deodorant mingled with the smells of the cooking food that clung to his shirt.

  "Sierra, listen to me. This is good. It's a solid lead. We'll wrap this case up and have you back to work in no time."

  She managed to nod.

  Rick rubbed his hand up and down her back, soothing her. Nothing sexual. Just nice. He pulled back enough to look down at her. "I'm gonna cut the steak and make you a plate."

  "I don't know if I can eat."

  Her stomach was twisting, making her feel ill from the thought of this person writing to her so incessantly. And not one of her staff thought that was a red flag? She needed to seriously evaluate her personnel.

  She glanced up to find Rick watching her closely.

  "Stop." He said it in a firm deep tone that left no doubt he wanted her to obey.

  Too bad for him, she had no clue what it was he wanted her to stop doing. She was just sitting there.

  "Stop what?"

  "Obsessing. Worrying. Thinking. The police and my guys are all on this. There’s nothing you can do except take care of yourself. You're going to eat—your body needs the food—then you're going to take one of those sleeping pills of yours and you’re going to get a good night's sleep because that nap didn't make up for the sleep you lost last night. And no I didn’t paw through your bag. I saw the bottle in the bathroom at the hotel."

  He certainly was observant about details, right down to what medications her doctor prescribed. For some reason, she didn't hate that as much as she should.

  Maybe in the absence of all else, a person had to take what they could get. Rick was the only friend—and the only protection—she had right now. The one man standing between her and whoever was stalking her.

  Or maybe it was just that the shoulder holster and accompanying gun he was once again wearing had become oddly comforting to her.

  Like it or not, he was also the only man in her life available to hold her and make her forget everything, if even for a little while. She knew he’d dedicate all two hundred plus pounds of himself doing that, if she just asked.

  “You agree to all that?” he asked.

  Rick was focused on her, concern clear in his expression, while she was torn between being frightened to death and obsessed with having more sex with him.

  "Okay. I'll try to eat and later I'll take a sleeping pill. But there’s something I wouldn’t mind doing in between. If you’re up for it." She raised her gaze to meet his hoping he’d get the hint. That he wouldn't make her outright ask.

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. "Yeah. That sounds good."

  He dropped his hold on her and made his way around the island, but not without a backward glance that had his smile broadening.

  She was pretty sure he understood exactly what she needed.

  CHAPTER 18

  Sierra came into the bedroom carrying a prescription pill bottle in one hand. Rick slid off the shoulder holster and laid it on the dresser as he watched her put the bottle on the table next to the cold water he had carried upstairs for her.

  He looked from the table to her, his hand poised on the button at the waist of his pants. “I hope you didn’t take one of those sleeping pills quite yet.”

  “No. Don’t worry.” She glanced over her shoulder at him, her tone indulgent.

  “Oh, I wasn’t really worried.” Pill or not, he figured he would have been able to keep her attention for as long as he needed it.

  He’d let her get a good night’s sleep eventually, but right now he was going to distract her and himself for a little while.

  Or maybe a long while.

  She’d eaten. Not everything on her plate but enough to make him happy she had something decent in her stomach. But she was worried, he could tell, and he had every plan to help her forget this stalker.

  She dropped her clothes and he had the pleasure of gazing upon her. From the tips of her painted toes, all the way up to the peaks of her pink-tipped breasts. Not to mention all of the smooth silky bare skin in between.

  Hell, he’d just about forgotten her stalker too, just from seeing her like this. “Were you naked under those clothes all through dinner?”

  “Yes. Why?” She glanced back at him as she flipped back the covers on the bed.

  “I’m just glad I didn’t know that then.” Knowing she wasn’t wearing any underwear or bra would have been too tempting. He would have had to set her up on the island and do nasty but oh so nice things to her.

  That would have been a very bad idea. Not because he didn’t enjoy mixing things up in different locations besides the bedroom once in a while, but there were too many damn windows downstairs.

  She crawled onto the mattress and flipped over, sending him a heated glance. “What would you have done if you’d known?”

  “I’ll show you.” Inspired, Rick sped up his own disrobing.

  There were far too many clothes between them, and at the moment, they were all his.

  As he pulled his shirt off he moved toward the bed. He shed and dropped the remainder of his clothes as he went so he was naked by the time he reached her.<
br />
  They’d gotten along well all through dinner. No bitching or smart ass comments from her. No provoking her from his end. He’d kind of enjoyed the angry sex, but he was willing to give this a try too.

  Chances were this new peace between them would only be a temporary truce anyway. Either way he’d have Sierra sighing beneath him.

  Rick kneeled on the mattress and moved until he sat straddling her legs.

  She moved, forcing him to move with her until he had his back against the headboard and she straddled him. Leaning forward she cupped his face in her hands and pressed a kiss to his mouth.

  He hadn’t thought it possible but this hard-as-nails woman could be soft and gentle when she wanted to be.

  The kiss was sweet but thorough . . . and then she bit him.

  “Ow.” He pulled back and ran his tongue over his lip, tasting for blood.

  Sierra smirked. “Don’t tell me that hurt a big tough guy like you.”

  She ran the tip of one finger over the bruise she’d left when she’d bit him earlier. That bite had been much harder, but since he’d been occupied at the time it hadn’t bothered him at all. Hell, he’d nearly shot off from the feel of her teeth sinking into him.

  Her stare swept down his body followed by her hand, from the mark on his chest to his abs.

  He decided to let the damage she’d done to his lip go without further comment as she ran her fingers over the dusting of hair on his stomach. His breath caught in his throat as she moved her hand lower and grasped him. Then she lowered her head.

  Damn.

  He hissed in a breath as she scraped her teeth up his length, but there was no way he was going to stop her. He’d spent too much time picturing those lips wrapped around him while she’d been flapping them at him with one complaint or another to complain now.

  Besides, two could play at this game. Soon he’d have her on her back and he’d be inflicting some torture of his own.

  She had him nearing the zone to finish this when his phone buzzed.

  “Fuck.” He’d laid the burner cell, his only connection to GAPS, on the nightstand. It was close enough to reach, but the last thing he wanted to do was be interrupted now as the heat of Sierra’s mouth engulfed him.

  Ignoring a communication during a mission was so wrong it could have gotten him in deep shit when he’d been in the teams. Rick knew that, but he let the phone buzz on. He’d call back.

  Without missing a stroke, Sierra reached out and grabbed the phone. Apparently, she was not as intent on ignoring the call as he was. She slid off his cock long enough to hit to answer the call and then tossed the phone onto his chest and went right back to what she’d been doing.

  Shit. Now he had to talk. Trying to not sound as if he was doing what he was doing, Rick blew out a breath and then pressed the cell to his ear. “Yeah.”

  “Hey.” Jon’s voice came through the earpiece.

  Rick loved this man like a brother but the last thing he wanted to be doing right now is talking to him. “Hey.”

  “You okay? Is everything good there?”

  “Yeah, it’s all good here. Sorry. I was uh, just working out. I’m a little out of breath.” Rick felt Sierra’s chuckle vibrate straight through his cock. He needed to wrap up this call. “What’s up?”

  “I got news.”

  “Yeah?” Rick pulled the phone away from his face as she chose that moment to add both hands to the mix of what she was already doing to him with her mouth.

  The combination of sensations was enough to have him squeezing his eyes closed as he clenched his teeth to stop from making a sound. That would be sure to tip off Jon that it wasn’t exercise that had him breathless.

  “We turned those letters over to the cops. There’s no return address but all of them required additional postage because he was sending her homemade cards and pressed flowers and shit, so he actually had to go to the post office and have them weighed. They think because of that they’ve got enough to find an address on the guy. As soon as they do, they’re moving in. We might have you home again tomorrow.”

  “Wow. Okay. Keep me informed.”

  “You got it. I’ll call in the morning.”

  “Yeah. Bye.” Rick cut off the call with the bare minimum of formalities and tossed the cell onto the mattress.

  Holy shit, this woman had some crazy skills.

  His willpower was no match for her or her probing fingers and apparent lack of a gag reflex. She seemed to double her efforts the moment he hung up with Jon.

  There was no more need for Rick to remain quiet.

  A shout he couldn’t have controlled even if he wanted to burst from him as Sierra never let up, riding out his orgasm like a champion.

  Finally, she flopped onto her back next to him. “Who was on the phone?”

  He laughed. He was barely able to breathe yet and she wanted to talk. “Jon.”

  “What’s happening with the case?”

  “He’s going to call with an update in the morning.” Rick swiveled his head toward her, trying not to feel guilty.

  It wasn’t exactly a lie. Just a selection of the truth. That wasn’t so bad.

  What was bad, however, was his secret hope that the police would take their time locating this guy, because the last thing he wanted to do was leave their humble love shack anytime soon.

  The countdown clock to the end was now ticking.

  With that in mind, Rick rolled over on top of Sierra. He scraped his teeth over the delicate flesh of one rosy nipple treating her to the same exquisite torture she’d employed on him. And just like him, she liked it—he felt the tremor run through her.

  They were a good match, him and her, in the verbal sparring arena and in bed.

  He moved down her body, again silently willing the police to take their time and give him at least a couple more days. But then, a month of this might not be enough time for him to have had his fill of Sierra.

  Rick absorbed every nuance of her as he worked his way over her body with hands and mouth. The silky smooth warmth of her skin. The scent of her, part clean soap and part aroused woman. The sound of her gasp as he spread her legs and bowed his head to taste of her. The tremble in her thighs and eventually the sound of her cries as he pushed her over the edge.

  But he wasn’t ready to ease off of her yet.

  He pushed her further until she squirmed to get away from him, eventually giving in to his will as she let him drive her higher.

  Finally, she writhed away from him.

  Gasping she pushed at his head. “Too much.”

  It was never too much, in his opinion, but he let her off easy and pulled himself up the bed, flopping onto his back next to her.

  That’s when the damn phone buzzed again somewhere amid the rumpled and tangled sheets.

  She wiggled, reached beneath her and emerged with his cell phone. He stuck his hand out for her to hand it over, but she didn’t. Instead, she squinted at the display.

  “It’s from Jon. Tango located. Moving in.” Sierra spun her head to face him. “What’s that mean?”

  Rick let out a sigh of resignation. The honeymoon was over. Or at least would be very soon. “It means the police found the guy sending you all those letters and they’re going to get him.”

  Her eyes widened. “So it’s over? We can go home?”

  “Not quite yet, but yeah, probably soon.”

  “Like tomorrow?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Thank God. Roger and the studio will be very happy to hear that.”

  Unfortunately, Rick was not equally as excited by Jon’s good news. He watched her roll toward the nightstand and reach for the pill bottle but before she could reach, he grabbed her by the hips and pulled her until her back pressed against his chest.

  “Don’t take that yet.” He was counting their remaining time together in hours now instead of days and he wasn’t going to waste any of it.

  Rick was more than ready. His cock only knew she was close, not how cl
ose he was to saying goodbye to her sweet body.

  He didn’t wait for permission as he plunged into her wet heat.

  CHAPTER 19

  Sierra woke to the sound of the shower running. She hadn’t felt Rick get out of bed. She was usually a light sleeper, but last night at Rick’s urging she’d taken a sleeping pill.

  Of course, he’d only let her take the pill after he’d already worn her out the old fashioned way.

  She stretched and felt even more sore than she had last night.

  Muscles she hadn’t worked in a long time protested, aching as she moved to get herself up and out of the bed.

  She’d slept but the residual effect of the sleeping pill left her feeling groggy.

  Typical sedative hangover. She needed coffee.

  Uh, oh? Had Rick brought coffee?

  Her brain was running a bit slow so she had to think. She’d only really seen him unloading the cooler, and she’d seen what he’d had out to cook dinner last night. She didn’t know everything else he might have brought.

  God, she hoped there was a nice fresh pound of grinds down there. She didn’t even care what brand. She’d drink it and be happy.

  If he hadn’t he’d just have to go out and get coffee, or else she’d go herself and she wouldn’t care who recognized her.

  A memory hit her as her brain slowly woke. She recalled a text from Jon to Rick about moving in on the stalker.

  Today could end her captivity.

  That realization was almost as good as caffeine to wake her up and get her moving.

  Smiling just at the thought of going back to work and feeling safe again, she grabbed the closest thing she could find. Rick’s T-shirt. She pulled it over her nakedness and didn’t bother with anything else.

  She’d have to come up and shower as soon as he was done, so why get dressed? He’d rented the whole shack so they’d have privacy and she intended to take advantage of it.

  Feeling lighter than she had in days, Sierra padded down the stairs in bare feet, turned the corner and got smacked with one hell of a view.

  Inside the kitchen she paused in her pursuit of caffeine to take in the intense color of the sky and the water as the sun rose over the horizon. She knew the water was out there, but it wasn’t until now she’d taken the time to appreciate it.