“Don’t worry Laney, I won’t let that happen.”
I shook my head and pushed my plate away. “Bennett I can’t have you getting hurt on my behalf. If you want, I’ll have you reassigned to another professor.” The thought that he would get hurt on my behalf left me feeling sick. “I know you’re a tough Navy guy, but this isn’t your responsibility and I can’t have it on my conscience.”
“Sweetheart you don’t have a choice in the matter. I live here, and if you even think about firing me I’ll let Austin know what’s going on.”
I sucked in a breath at his implication. “Wait, are you threatening me? No, blackmailing me so that I’ll let you protect me?” That made no sense whatsoever.
“No. I’m just telling you how it is.”
I grinned. “Is it weird that I’m aroused by that?”
He shrugged and stood. “I don’t know about weird, but it is quite fortuitous for me, isn’t it?”
“Me too,” I nodded.
Bennett scooped me out of my seat and carried me back upstairs and spent the next few hours showing me just how lucky we both were.
The answer?
So damn lucky.
I mean, aside from the potentially murderous hitmen after me.
Bennett
After all the excitement last weekend, I couldn’t wait a full week to touch base with Commander Mahoney. He needed to know about the guy from the club and I needed any new intel he might have for me. Two calls went unanswered and unreturned, and I knew I would have to wait. After spending the weekend in bed with Laney, we resumed our normal schedule when the work week started. Class and then lunch, sometimes we went running, and at other times we ended up back in bed. My little scientist was insatiable. And inventive.
And brilliant as all hell. She finally told me a little more about her project, and though I didn’t understand all of it, I knew enough to comprehend her brilliance. Now I also had a better understanding of why people were after her. And I knew enough to expect more danger was around the corner. Which meant I would need to stay close to her to protect her.
When Friday rolled around, I took the chance while Laney lounged in the bath to call the Commander again.
“Commander Mahoney here.”
“I have news, sir.” Mahoney preferred his updates to be short and without exposition, so I gave him the briefest rundown of what happened at the club. “The guy’s accent was European. And Commander, he specifically mentioned her research.”
“Dammit! How is Dr. Watson?”
“She was a little shaken up, but she’s fine now. Doesn’t seem worried about the research, so I assume it’s protected, she’s worried about ending up dead.”
“Well I should hope so considering that big brain of hers.” He paused a beat before asking, “Any suspects on who leaked her info?”
“She doesn’t have a team, so it has to be someone close to her in the department.” I didn’t want to voice my suspicions yet, because I had a few things to check out first.
“Go on then Atlas, check out those hunches and I’ll talk to you same time next week, or before if something comes up.” I would never get used to his abrupt non-goodbyes, so I could only shake my head and grin at the phone.
While Laney worked in the basement, I sat in the living room on my laptop looking into the background of all the people in the science department, with a focus on the engineering and physics professors, researchers and even interns. I didn’t think it likely that interns had access to people who wanted this research, but I wouldn’t rule it out. Not until I could rule it out. Officially.
Two hours later and I had narrowed the list down to five. When Monday rolled around I would start my investigation into their lives. Until then I had nothing but time to kill. So I put away my research and went to the kitchen, eager to see how Delaney would respond to me cooking her dinner.
The woman was a conundrum, so strong and independent, yet innocent and trusting. She was used to doing things for herself and often shocked when someone did something nice for her with no ulterior motive. Tonight I wanted to see the look on her face when she ate my scampi, and if she happened to make noises that made my dick stand on end, well that would be a bonus for me.
The door smacked against the wall and a tiny redhead bounced up the stairs with a mile wide grin. “What smells so good up here? I couldn’t even concentrate with those delicious scents sneaking downstairs.”
I looked over my shoulder and caught her staring at my ass. “It’s dinner. For us.”
Blue eyes that looked far too big for her face went wide. “You made dinner? Thank you, it smells yummy.”
“I told you I’d do my half of the chores.”
Lush lips pursed and she prepared to argue. “Actually you said you’d do half the shopping, but this is much better. I didn’t want a sandwich or pizza so I am so excited about this.” She rubbed her hands together gleefully. “I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll set the table.”
“Already done.”
She froze, and her smile softened right along with the rest of her. “Great. I’ll be right back.” Her light steps sounded above me and I grinned. Delaney Watson was too appealing and as much as I wanted to, keeping my distance was proving impossible.
Which meant the sooner I figured out who the leak was and secured her safety, the sooner I could get back to my life. The last thing I needed or wanted, was any long-term attachments. Few SEALs managed to keep their marriages together for any length of time when they were active. Long deployments you couldn’t talk to your woman about made things tough. But scars, nightmares and other details also weighed heavily on relationships. I wasn’t quite ready to leave the Navy, which meant I couldn’t go there with anyone and especially not a woman as special as Laney.
“What’s wrong?”
I blinked and set the salad on the table before turning to her. “Nothing, why do you ask?”
“You were standing there scowling like that salad ate your last meal. Why?”
“Just thinking. You smell good.”
She blushed. “I just took a shower and you are trying to distract me.” Her grin was sly and she walked to the fridge. “Wine, beer or soda?”
“Neither. I bought scotch. Really good scotch.” Because, like a fool, I wanted to introduce her to something new that she could appreciate.
“I’ve never had scotch before.”
I grinned and guided her to the table. “I figured.”
“Okay sailor, I am your willing servant.”
Damn. My cock twitched at the cheeky grin she flashed. “I’ll remember you said that later.” And I planned to make use of the willing part.
“Good, because I think I’d like to try spanking. I am interested in experiencing, at least once, the pleasure-pain phenomena.”
I nearly choked at her bald, matter of fact tone. “Laney stop. Pick up the glass and take one small sip.”
She did as I said, and squeezed her eyes shut. “Wow that has a kick but it’s surprisingly smooth.” She took another. “Delicious. I wonder if-,”
“Laney?”
“Yes,” she gave me a smile that said she knew exactly what she was doing.
“Shut up and eat sweetheart.”
Fork in her hand she speared a few pieces of salad and held the fork inches from her mouth. “I love it when you get all demanding.”
“You are killing me Dr. Watson.”
“Ooh, I like that even more!”
Yep, this woman would be the death of me.
***
Monday morning came far too soon, and much too early after a weekend spent mostly in bed with Laney. The woman had tons of energy and a zest for experimentation that left my legs weak and my chest aching in a way I didn’t want to examine too closely.
So instead of self-examination, I walked her to her office inside the science building and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor where the interns shared an office. Four of them were already in, talking so mu
ch they didn’t notice me pretending to check my email as I listened in. This was apparently the place to find out every dirty little secret about any and every person connected to the hard sciences.
Including me.
“There’s no way she let him stay out of the kindness of her heart, have you seen him?” A young blonde in khakis and a sweater asked the room at large.
“She does have a kind heart Alison.” This came from a kid in a black Ramones t-shirt and baggy jeans. “I wonder what she’s working on. Howard says she’s keeping it under wraps big time.”
Alison laughed, but there was little humor in it. “He’s so jealous of Dr. Watson he can taste it. She might be a little awkward with people but she is brilliant, and he’s a hack.”
That information would be useful to me later so I tucked it away and kept listening. Talk about a fly on the wall.
“He’s not a hack Alison, he just doesn’t have any new or original ideas,” chimed in another girl, this one with ebony hair and butterscotch skin. “She’s probably keeping it under wraps because she knows he’ll try to steal it even though he couldn’t replicate it if his life depended on it.” She shook her head and swiveled her chair, eyes flashing when she caught sight of me. “I wonder if its too late to get on her research team.”
I’d heard enough at that point, I didn’t need to stick around. But I hung around for just a bit longer because office gossip might help me figure out where to look next. My money was still on Dr. Howard, even more so after hearing the interns talk, but if he had a mistress or a boyfriend on the side, that might come in handy later. When I finally got up to leave, the ebony haired intern gave me a small wave and a knowing smile.
“See ya,” I told her, drawing gasps from the others who hadn’t realized I was even there.
The next person on my list was Dr. Claire Stevenson who had traveled abroad for six months last year, testing her new water pump system in various deserts around the world. Her research wouldn’t be published for another few months which meant she was still a suspect. That, and the fact that her husband had spent two years in a certain European city while working on his dissertation a decade ago. Though she seemed to be thriving in the field of engineering with plenty of published papers and two bestselling books, she had enough foreign connections that I needed to dig deep before crossing her off the list.
Her office was empty though the sign on the door clearly stated she had office hours right now so I waited, looking at photos and diplomas and other achievements she liked to surround herself with, and for good reason. Dr. Stevenson was an accomplished scientist in her own right.
“May I help you?” She was a handsome woman with long brown hair, wearing an outfit more appropriate for an east coast professor than the sunny west coast atmosphere of Stanford. Cool, beautiful and intelligent I bet that look intimidated most people.
Too bad I wasn’t most people, and I had one hell of a poker face. “Dr. Stevenson, I presume? My name is Bennett Atlas, Dr. Watson’s teaching assistant.” Violet eyes flashed recognition at the name and female appreciation at my appearance, but nothing more. “Delaney thought it would be helpful to speak with other professors in the department to explore my options when I retire from the Navy.”
“The Navy? How interesting,” she said in a tone that said she really did find it so. “Physics or engineering?”
“Engineering ma’am.” Her skin flushed at the show of respect.
“If you want my advice Mr. Atlas you should stick with Delaney Watson. She’s smart as a whip. More importantly she is going places. Once she gets comfortable speaking in front of large groups she’s going to be unstoppable.”
Damn. I expected at least a hint of jealousy, but Dr. Stevenson was a woman comfortable with herself and her accomplishments. “Thanks for the advice, but shouldn’t I be asking if I could be an asset to someone like her?” If that thought struck a little to close to home, I pushed it aside because I had work to do and a SEAL didn’t get distracted by sexy redheaded geniuses.
Stevenson shrugged. “You have experience in parts of the world she does not, and I can tell you rarely find yourself in uncomfortable situations Mr. Atlas.”
“Bennett.”
“Right. Well Bennett, I think you could be just what Delaney needs to get where she’s meant to be.”
“Pardon me for saying so Dr. Stevenson, but you sound like a fan. Isn’t that taboo in academia?”
Her grin lit up her face, hinting at the beauty she played down, probably to be taken seriously in a male dominated field. “Yes, I am a fan. A mind like hers doesn’t come around often, and though she is nearly always the smartest person in the room, she doesn’t go out of her way to make others feel stupid. Confidence without arrogance is rare in people like her.”
I noticed the same thing. Laney didn’t seem to know that she was more than the complete package, and that just made her even more appealing.
“So you’re not bothered by her success, or the potential of her research? I was just up in the intern office and well, they talk. A lot.”
Stevenson laughed and shook her head as she took a seat at her desk. “Oh don’t get me wrong Bennett, I’m jealous as hell. She’s young and beautiful and brilliant, but completely unaware of the first two which should make me hate her. But even if I got my hands on her research I’d have no clue what to do with it.” She leaned back and touched her fingertips together, eyeing me with a hint of contemplation. “Delaney is a great kid and she doesn’t yet know how powerful she can become, but I’m guessing you know that don’t you?”
“I do ma’am.” No point lying to the woman who seemed to know all anyway.
“Well then, you know only a real bastard could resent her accomplishments. She’s been here a long time already, but this research of hers is going to take her far from here.”
I frowned at her words. “She’s leaving Stanford?” She hadn’t said anything to me about leaving.
Dr. Stevenson gave me a look that I couldn’t quite interpret. “Stanford is a great institution, one of the best in the world. But Dr. Watson is meant for much bigger than academia. I doubt she even knows it yet, but if what I’ve heard of her research is even half true, this place will soon be nothing but a memory for her.”
Of course the woman was right. “Right. I hadn’t really thought of it like that. It was great to meet you Dr. Stevenson and uh, thanks for the advice.”
“You as well Mr. Atlas.” Her expression gave nothing away, but I had a feeling I amused her for some reason. “And do take care of Delaney Watson, she’s special.”
I gave an uneasy smile as I left her office but I felt certain Claire Stevenson posed no threat to Delaney.
The question was, who the hell did?
Delaney
“Do you smell that?” A sound woke me up in the middle of the night, at least I thought it was the middle of the night but I couldn’t be absolutely certain since time meant nothing once I got naked with Bennett. Why couldn’t I get enough of him, and why was he the man who did it for me? Turned me inside out and kept sex on my mind? And why was it that the first scent to hit my nostrils wasn’t that of Bennett’s masculine odor, or the aroma of sex, but smoke?
“Smell what?” His voice was thick with sleep and I took a moment to appreciate my role in knocking him out so thoroughly.
“Smoke,” I told him impatiently, but his breathing had already returned to a deep and even pattern that signified he’d already fallen back to sleep. With an eye roll I had never used in my life, I grunted as I slid from under his heavy arm and mumbled as my feet hit the cool wood of the floor. “I guess I’ll check it out myself.”
I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and though normally I didn’t let instinct guide me, there were other factors contributing to that feeling. For starters, we ordered from a local Chinese restaurant which meant the stove had been off since this morning, and the only candles I kept in the place were in the master bathroom around my tub.
I took one step back when a hand gripped my arm, and though logically I knew it had to be Bennett, my body hadn’t caught up to that realization and my elbow went flying back and up into his gut.
“Ooof.”
“Sorry.”
“What the hell are you doing?” His handsome face scowled but all I could think about was kissing that twisted up mouth of his.
“Checking on the smell. You can go back to sleep if you want.” He rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me back into the master bedroom.
“And just what were you going to do if you’d found someone downstairs? Or the fire?”
“Come and get you, obviously Sailor.”
He smirked and shook his head as he picked up his jeans and stepped into them. “I’ll go.”
“We’ll both go. I heard at least two voices Bennett.” I found my own jeans and the t-shirt I had on earlier before stepping into my sneakers.
“Laney,” he said in that tone I’d come to recognize as long suffering.
I shook my head, insistent. “This is my problem Bennett, not yours. You are my TA, not my bodyguard and I won’t have you getting hurt trying to protect me.”
“I may be your TA but we both know I’m more than qualified to guard your body, just as we both know I’m not letting you go down there by yourself. Or first.”
I sighed and nodded because he was too alpha to let his protective instincts go. “Whatever. Let’s just go.” By the time we were halfway down the staircase there were flames licking up the whole front wall.
“Bennett,” I grabbed onto his bicep, panic clear in my voice.
“I see it Laney, just stay calm. This is a tactic,” he said as his hand pushed my belly until I took a step backwards and then another as he followed my path.
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