by Rachel Hanna
Jake buried his face against the smooth skin of her neck as he continued to stroke harder and harder. She felt her orgasm building deep within her, then felt the burst of hot rush burning her nerve endings in the best possible way. She arched her back against him, pleasure washing over her in waves. Lost in her own orgasm, Veronica was almost unaware when Jake picked up the pace, gripping her hips tightly and pressing into her, his own release leaving him panting.
They were silent for several minutes, the only sound in the room their ragged breathing. Neither of them spoke, unsure of what to say after the whirlwind that had been the last two days. When Jake finally pulled out of her and rolled onto his back, he snagged a pillow that had fallen to the floor and tucked in underneath his shoulder before pulling Veronica closer to him. He held her tightly, pressing her back against his chest. She closed her eyes and soon fell asleep next to him.
Chapter 10
“Jake hasn’t made it in yet?” Knox asked, sipping his coffee while scanning the weather update from NOAA. No one answered right away, finding excuses to be too engrossed in something else. “Hey! Ghost town! I asked a question, has Jake showed up yet?”
“Uh, no. He’s not here yet,” Mike answered, keeping himself occupied in his flight manual.
“Well, has anyone called him?”
Again, no one answered, hoping against hope that either Jake would walk through the door any second, or Knox would let it go. Finally Madison broke the tension.
“He’s still… he’s still at Veronica’s,” she stammered, looking down at a loose thread on her flight suit.
“What? He spent the night with the lady he hated? The reporter lady?” Knox said, holding back a laugh. “What, did she eat him alive and put the leftovers in her fridge? Where is he?”
“His bike was still there when I was coming in to work this morning,” she mumbled.
Knox was quiet as he thought it over. On the one hand, he was horrified that Jake may still be out there with a pushy woman who left him with an unsettling feeling. At the same time, spending the night with a good looking girl was the most normal thing he could have expected from Jake, at least from the “old Jake” everyone knew. It might be a sign that things were finally looking up.
“Okay then,” he finally sighed. “I guess it’s not like we have set hours to clock in, or anything. It’s just… not like him. Somebody give him a call, okay? Just make sure he’s okay and that he remembers he has a job.” Knox pressed his lips together in a grim line that was supposed to resemble a smile, then went back to his reports.
Only Jake didn’t need a phone call to wake him. He opened his eyes when the first rays of sunshine filtered through the blinds, taking in his surroundings for a moment and remembering everything that had been great about the night before. They’d made love, slept, woken up to make love again, and repeated the cycle all night long. It was no wonder he’d slept in.
Jake slid his arm carefully from beneath Veronica’s neck, watching with amusement as she wrinkled her nose in her sleep, disturbed at losing the warm body curled up beside her. He stepped into his jeans and made his way to the kitchen outside her bedroom to look for his phone.
“Shit,” he muttered when it wouldn’t turn on. The screen stayed black, and Jake searched the tabletop frantically for a charger cord that might be compatible with his phone. He sighed gratefully when he spotted one wrapped up next to Veronica’s laptop, then reached for it and unwound it.
The cord brushed against the laptop keys just long enough to wake her computer, and the sight of her screen made Jake go cold. There on the screen was an enlarged photo of the rescue effort from a few nights ago. He couldn’t help himself, he clicked the arrow at the bottom of the screen to look at the next image. More pictures of the entire S&R team working to save the downed plane’s passengers appeared. He continued clicking, and saw photos of the team seated at the restaurant’s outdoor patio, laughing and talking.
Jake did the math. The patio pictures must have been taken while she was still in her car the other night. When he clicked through those again, he even saw a little bit of his bike at the edge of one frame, some of his leg in another frame. She had to have been photographing the team when he pulled up, right before she hit him with her door. That’s why she hadn’t noticed him beside her, because she was too busy spying on his friends.
“But the wreckage,” he whispered to himself, clicking back through the pictures once again. How had Veronica gotten photos so close to the rescue site? There was no way, unless she’d been there herself.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a shrill voice behind him demanded. Jake jumped slightly, then turned around in a fresh rage.
“What am I doing? Are you serious? What the hell is all this, Veronica? Why do you have these pictures?” he demanded. She clutched the sheet she wore even closer to her body, then darted forward and closed the laptop.
“They’re my work. It’s my job, remember? Interviewing you? Writing an article about search and rescue operations?” Her voice wavered slightly, a sure sign that she was lying. And Jake knew it.
“Bullshit. There’s no way a reporter is taking that kind of shit. A reporter takes pictures on the scene, sure, but how in the hell did you get four miles out to sea? And why would you take pictures of us rescuing them, instead of taking pictures of the victims or the plane?” Veronica blinked rapidly, scrambling to answer, so Jake pressed on. “And what gives with the pictures of us sitting around eating pizza? That’s not for an article, and you know it. And I want answers…NOW!”
Veronica jumped when he barked the last word, but instead she squared her shoulders and looked him in the face, challenging him back. “I don’t answer to you. I have a job to do, and if you don’t like it, then that’s too bad.”
“Really? We’ll see about that.” Jake turned away and scooped up his clothes. He grabbed his phone from the table and dropped it down in the pocket of his jeans. Then, with a last piercing glance at Veronica, he reached out and snatched the laptop out of her hands, bolting towards the door with it.
“Hey! That’s private property!” she screamed, chasing after him still wearing only the sheet. He didn’t even pause at the doorway, but instead jumped down the stairs and threw a leg over his bike. His jeans were still unbuttoned and his arms were loaded down with clothes and the computer, but he managed to turn the key in the ignition and tear out of the parking lot.
Jake shifted the items in his arms at the first stop light he came to, trying to get a better grip on all of it. The clothes could drop the pavement for all he cared, but he was keeping the laptop. He took off when the light changed, still clutching the thin but heavy device.
All eyes turned to stare when he reached S&R headquarters. Jake was still half-naked, clutching his loose jeans with one hand and the laptop and his clothes with the other. Knox was the first to notice him, and made a show of checking the time on his watch.
“About time, soldier,” he teased, but he stopped when he saw Jake’s aggravated expression. “Whoa there, what’s wrong?”
“This,” Jake answered, putting the computer on the desk and stepping away from it like it was poisonous. “That lady who’s been following us? She’s been really following us…like, following us at work, at dinner, the whole thing.”
The others stared at him in shock, stunned by both his appearance and his manic outburst. Angel was the first to approach him, inviting Jake to show him what he meant.
“There, it’s all on her laptop,” Jake insisted, pointing to the screen as it lit up. The others gathered around and squinted at the images, unsure of what they were seeing at first.
“Holy shit, you’re right. That’s the plane rescue from the other night. Look, there’s the raft. How’d she manage to get out that far?” Angel asked, speaking to no one in particular.
“I called in a favor,” Veronica answered from the doorway. “Not that it’s anyone’s business.”
Everyone whirled around to fac
e her, shocked to see her leaning casually against the door frame in the face of such damaging evidence. She sauntered into the office like she wasn’t concerned in the least, holding her hand out and waggling her fingers.
“Now, if you don’t mind, that’s personal property and I’ll be taking it with me.”
“Not so fast. We work under a government funded contract,” Knox said, intervening before Jake could lash out at her. “You don’t have the proper authorization to photograph an FAA-controlled crash scene. In fact, if it’s later determined to have been an act of war, you can be prosecuted for photographing victims of war crimes.”
Tanner turned and shot Knox a look, but Knox only shrugged. It was a long shot, of course, but it was the only way he could think of to stall.
“Trust me, I have all the authorization in the world. And I’m taking that computer now.” Veronica shoved her way past the group and reached for the computer, but before she could grab it Jake took her elbow and turned her around. He half-carried, half-shoved her outside, closing the door behind them.
“I want to know what’s going on right now!” he bellowed. Behind him, someone opened the door a crack, but Jake lunged for the doorknob and pulled it shut without ever taking his furious eyes off of Veronica.
“I don’t answer to you! And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll remember that…and you’ll stop interfering!” she answered just as angrily.
“Interfering with what? A human interest piece on ocean-going lifeguards? Answer my question!” he roared.
“No! A US Naval investigation into the current activities of SEAL Team 11!” Veronica spit out. As soon as she’d said the words, she pressed both hands to her mouth, her eyes going wide. She hadn’t meant to reveal the real reason for her surveillance, but now the truth was out and there was no taking it back.
Chapter 11
“What did you say?” Jake asked, lowering his voice and stepping closer. “Why does the Navy want to know what we’re up to?”
Veronica shook her head, her hands still covering her mouth. “No, that was a mistake. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s a matter of national security.”
“Too late, you said it,” Jake growled, stepping closer and putting his hands on Veronica’s shoulders. He held her in a grasp that was almost painful, but she didn’t notice. All she noticed was the intense look in his eye, a look that was halfway between wanting to rip her clothes off and wanting to rip her head off.
Veronica sighed, then looked away tearfully. “I’m not supposed to say anything,” she repeated tearfully. Jake lifted her chin to meet his gaze, his anger evaporating at the sight of her moist eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s me, remember? Just tell me what it is.”
“I’m not a reporter,” she began, “I’m an officer in the United States Navy.”
“Yeah, I figured you were some kind of officer when you opened your mouth. You act like you have a stick up your ass all the time, so ergo… officer,” Jake teased.
“Cute,” Veronica answered with a snarl. “This is less funny though… I’m your new commanding officer.”
Jake stared at her, trying to decide if this was some kind of joke. When he realized she wasn’t playing games with him, he dropped his hands immediately, taking a step back to put some distance between himself and a superior officer.
“Are you serious?” he whispered.
“Lieutenant Commander Veronica Thompson, reporting for duty,” she answered in a teary voice.
“I don’t get it, this has to be some kind of joke. Why would a commanding officer sneak around and follow us, taking our pictures. Hell, why would my new commanding officer take me to bed?”
“Yeah, that last part wasn’t in the plan. I don’t know, I just… I just felt something special,” Veronica explained. “I know it was wrong, but… I couldn’t help myself.”
“That’s just great,” Jake fumed, kicking at the ground with his boot. “So it goes on my record that I was fraternizing with my superior officer, while you get to explain to an advisory board somewhere that you just couldn’t help yourself!”
“It’s not like that. I don’t have to report it to anyone,” she insisted, but the fight went out of her. She knew that Jake’s worry was all too real.
“So what exactly is this about? You’re not a reporter, you’re a superior officer who somehow didn’t just land in a giant crap pile for sleeping with another member of the US Navy. Thanks for that, by the way. But it’s time you drop the act and tell me the truth.”
Jake struggled to contain his rage as he stared at her. Veronica trembled, wondering how all of this had gone so horribly wrong. What had she done? How had she come to this point? Jake was… everything she never wanted in a man, but something about him—whether it was his tough exterior that hid a soul that would melt the hardest of hearts, or the fact that he put his life on the line whenever someone was in need…or both—something about him was too hard to ignore.
“The truth?” she finally said, looking down and laughing softly. “The truth… SEAL Team 11 is being considered for active duty.”
“What did you say?” he whispered, the blood in his veins turning to ice water.
“You heard me. I was sent to evaluate your team and keep tabs on you, to see if you’re all fit to return to service.”
“I don’t get it… how were you supposed to decide that? By following us? Going out for a beer with us? What?” Jake demanded, not ready to let himself hope that this was real.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to all be together. Whoever issued my orders didn’t, either. I thought I’d have to drag myself all over the fifty states, spending a little time in each of your home towns, getting to know you and see how well you were fitting in. It was sheer dumb luck that you guys decided to stick together, and even open this business.”
“That’s why we did it. We started SEArch&Rescue to keep up our skills, hoping they would bring us back. But now, you’re saying… they are?”
“No, I’m saying they’re thinking about it. I have to submit my report, but I’m just one small piece of a really big puzzle. There’s still the matter of clearing up the… never mind,” she said, cutting herself off.
“Oh no, you don’t! You were gonna tell me what happened. You can’t just leave me hanging and not tell me why we were taken off the front lines,” Jake insisted, grabbing Veronica by the shoulders roughly before remembering that he had his hands on a lieutenant commander. He pulled his hands away like she was on fire, then mumbled an apology.
“I really can’t tell you, it’s classified. I mean, I don’t even have access to that information. I promise.”
“Fine, then what are we supposed to do now? You turn in your report, and casually mention that ‘oops, by the way, I screwed one of the team member’s brains out?’ Because that will look just super on your report.” Jake crossed his arms, his anger flaring up again in light of knowing they had been so close to being recommissioned.
“Of course not. That’s not the kind of thing you share with anyone. It was a mistake that won’t be repeated, and never needs to be spoken of again,” Veronica promised him with a business-like nod.
“Oh, a mistake? Nice. Which mistake, the part where I undressed you, or the part where you ripped my pants off? Are the nail marks down my back the mistake, ‘cause they did kind of hurt but they were totally worth it. Or maybe you’re referring to the second time we made love—or was it the third, I can’t remember—when you were riding me so hard the neighbors in the apartment next door banged on the wall to complain…” Jake wrinkled his brow in mock confusion.
“Would you keep your voice down?” she hissed, looking around to see if any of Jake’s team members had heard him. “I didn’t mean having sex with you was a mistake, I meant… I don’t know, I meant we shouldn’t have done it.”
“No, you mean YOU shouldn’t have done it. YOU knew you were a Navy officer. I thought you were just a really beautiful, really horny r
eporter,” he answered, doing his best to look innocent and uninterested.
“Oh my god, could you shut up? You’re so irritating, I swear—”
“I’m irritating? That’s funny. I’m not the one who chases people down until they sleep with me.”
“You’re an infuriating jerk!” Veronica screamed, shoving at Jake’s chest with her fists. The movement threw him off guard and he landed against the door behind him, only to be bounced forward into Veronica’s arms when the door opened. Madison stuck her head out in time to see Jake land face-first against Veronica’s chest. He struggled to right himself while Veronica adjusted her shirt.
“Um, guys? It’s gotten pretty loud. Could you take it outside?” Madison asked pointedly.
“We are outside!” Jake and Veronica bellowed at exactly the same time. Madison blinked in surprise.
“Uh, yeah. Then maybe you should take it inside, and the rest of us should come outside.”
“There’s no need,” Jake said, a low growl in his voice. “There’s nothing else to say. We’re done here.” He stared at Veronica for a second, then stalked over to his bike and climbed on. He took off out of the parking lot without another word.
“Well?” Madison said, crossing her arms and staring at Veronica.
“Well what?”
“Well… are you just gonna let him leave like that, or are you gonna go after him?”
“There’s nothing for me to say to him. He has no reason for me to follow him.”
“It’s not whether he wants you to follow him or not… he needs you to follow him. And I think you kind of need to follow him too, am I right?” Madison asked, a knowing smile on her face.
Veronica shook her head. “It’s the worst mistake I could make.”
“Somehow, I don’t think so. I think the ‘worst mistake’ ship sailed last night… Commander.”