A hand reached down, and she took it, praying she reached for her rescuer. The hard palm was broad, familiar. She sobbed again as he pulled her up and onto the boards beside him. An instant later, strong arms surrounded her. Deke rocked her against his chest. Kisses landed on her forehead, her hair as she curled against him, clutching his arms.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you. Baby, I’ve got you.” He tilted her head and looked down into her face.
In the dim, distant light, all she saw were sharpened edges—his jaw, his cheeks. A wonderful sight.
“We can’t stay. They were likely acting alone, but we can’t bank on that chance, honey.”
She gave him a nod, and released her grip on his body, waiting until he stood to help her up because her knees were still weak. He ducked and put his shoulder under hers, wrapped his arm around her waist, and they headed as quickly as her shaking legs would allow, back down the parking lot to a sedan he’d left with the door open. She slid across the seat, not taking her gaze from his face as he climbed in behind the wheel and turned the key. Not until he’d wound his way out of the parking area did she let out a deep breath. Once on the road, he stretched out his arm, bringing it around her shoulder to pull her against his side.
His body was rigid, so tight there was no give, no softness. She leaned her head against his neck, her ear pressing against his pulse, where it pounded still, heavy and fast. “I saw you in the parking lot at the hotel,” she whispered. “I hoped you wouldn’t lose us.”
His arm tightened around her, his face turned and he gave her a quick kiss before swinging back to watch the road. “I kept my lights off and hung back. Didn’t want them spotting a tail.”
His voice was hoarse and thick. She took comfort in how he still seemed to be affected by her abduction. “I’m guessing we can’t go back to the hotel.”
“No. They likely have people watching all the hotels now. We have to keep moving until the plane arrives in the morning.”
“How long?”
“Eight hours.” He blew out a deep breath. “Not the romantic night we planned, huh?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, glancing up at his stark features. “It’s not every day a girl is rescued by a hero, and a buff SEAL at that.”
Deke snorted. “Baby, you rescued yourself. If he’d gotten you to the boat…” He gave a sharp shake of his head.
Nicky reached across to place her hand over his thudding heart. “I’m okay. You’re okay. And we can watch the sunrise together. That’s pretty romantic in my mind.”
His mouth lost a little of its tension, and he gave her a smile. “You can rest if you like,” he said then he glared sideways. “After you buckle your damn seat belt.”
His wonderful deep rumbling voice washed over her, and she laughed. Maybe it was a little shrill, but the last of the fear that had gripped her over the past hour rolled away. She wasn’t moving from his side. Only when their bodies touched did she feel safe. The moment was pretty romantic all right. With the moon above them and the quiet filling the space inside the car, she leaned against his sturdy body, happy as hell he’d been the one her daddy chose.
*
Deke stood with a beer in his hand beside the barbeque grill, in “man territory” because stepping outside the zone made him uncomfortable. The scent of cooking meat, freshly cut grass, and the roses from the carefully tended bushes the commander’s wife doted on assailed him. So did the sounds coming from a hundred plus people assembled inside the fenced back yard of the commander’s quarters. The picture was right out of a magazine, the perfect family gathering, but this gathering was comprised of navy SEALs and their families. Today, the group felt a little too incestuous. And he felt edgy and claustrophobic. Too many people. Too much laughter. And to hide his own grumpy disposition, he’d pasted on a smile that was beginning to make his face ache.
His buddy Little Joe turned the steaks on the grill then lowered the hood of the large Weber. “Should only be a few more minutes.” They both volunteered to cook the steaks to keep well away from the herd of children running through the back yard. The women who wore shorts and sundresses were like pretty flowers moving around the row of picnic tables assembled in his commander’s back yard.
The barbeque was casual, but still, their presence was required. One of those things his team did to show solidarity and build a spirit of community among the group. Married or not, with kids or not, everyone came.
“So, have you called her?” Little Joe drawled, sipping his own beer.
Since everyone in his unit was well aware of the details of his unsanctioned mission, Deke couldn’t pretend he didn’t know who “her” was. “Nope.”
“And why the hell not?”
Deke shot him a quelling glare. “Because the mission ended.”
Little Joe sighed. “You are one stubborn son of a bitch.”
Deke took another long pull of his beer, but a commotion at the sliding doors at the back of the house drew his gaze. When the crowd around the newcomer parted, he spotted Commander Martir as he stepped onto the porch. Several men standing nearby pulled to stiff attention. Those not under the awning snapped salutes which the congressman waved away with an impatient wave, offering his hand to shake instead as he made his way through the crowd.
Deke held his breath, his gaze on the doors, waiting, hoping. A moment later, Nicky stepped outside, looking so beautiful in a pale blue sundress his stomach hurt.
She paused, glancing around her, her eyes growing wider at the smiling greetings she received. Her gaze swept the back yard, landing on him and staying there as her smile faded.
Deke swallowed hard and handed Little Joe his beer.
“Thought the mission was over,” Little Joe said, chuckling.
Deke ignored him, making a beeline for Nicky as she stepped off the porch. They stood facing each other a foot of space between them, too many inches to his mind. His hands itched to sink into her silky hair and pull her close for a much-missed kiss.
A throat cleared beside them, and Deke blinked, angling his head and finding the congressman standing beside him.
Martir offered Deke his hand. “Good to see you, Deke. And thanks again, for everything.”
“Anytime, sir.” He returned his gaze to Nicky, who stood silently staring up at him. When their gazes locked, every argument he’d had with himself over the last week dissipated like vapor. He’d missed her. Until he’d met her, he hadn’t known what was missing from his life. Now, all he wanted was a chance to make this thing between them work.
But did she feel the same way? Or had her former reservations about what he really was and the dangers he faced tarnished what they had?
“I’ll leave you two alone to talk,” the older man murmured. “She rode here with me, but I imagine she could hitch a ride back home with you…?”
Deke gave him a vague nod, never looking away from Nicky whose cheeks were turning a deep rose.
The congressman moved away.
“I think my dad just hooked me up.”
Deke’s lips twitched. “If you’d rather have someone else take you home.”
“No.” Her chin jutted out.
She blurted it so quickly, he almost grinned. This was the Nicky he adored. Brazen, impetuous. “Do you think they’d notice if we snuck out the side gate?” he asked, lowering his voice so only she could hear.
“Yeah, I do,” she whispered back. “But I think that move is expected.”
He glanced around to find all heads turned their way, smiles on his buddies’ faces, Little Joe smirking openly. He gave them all a blistering gaze, and would have lifted his middle finger, but remembered there were kids around. He grabbed her hand. “I’ll apologize to Commander Callahan’s wife later.”
They made their way quickly out through the gate and down the car-lined street until he reached his pickup. Handing her up into the cab of his F-150, he couldn’t resist trailing a hand along her naked arm. There was so much more he wanted to to
uch, but maybe she wasn’t ready to go full-on so quickly, if ever, with him again. Most importantly, he didn’t want to rush her. If she wanted to be wooed properly, he’d take care of his sudden affliction himself in the shower tonight.
He jogged around the front of the truck and climbed into his seat. He gave her a quick glance. She was smiling, her finger twisting around a curl of hair as she eyed his clothed chest.
His resolution to take it slow vanished. He started the truck and drove to the nearest hotel.
They lay in the bed, side-by-side, pillows stacked behind their shoulders, holding hands. Thankfully, they’d made it past the threshold and closed the door before they’d begun tearing off their clothes. The coverlet and top sheet of the bedding were wadded on the floor exactly where he’d tossed them. He’d wanted nothing in the way of his getting inside her as quickly as he could. Thank God, she’d been just as desperate.
Now that they could breathe again, neither could seem to stop smiling.
She pouted her lips. “Why didn’t you call me? I gave you my number.”
“I remembered verbatim what you told me that last night on the island.” He ran his thumb over the ridge of her knuckles. “I figured once you got back to the real world, you’d have second thoughts. I wanted you to have some time to think. Plus I needed time to think.”
“You still beating yourself up about losing me at the hotel?”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I should never have left you alone in your room.”
She shook her head. “I should have followed orders and never opened that door.” She laughed. “All I could think of was how many showers we’d need before morning came.”
“We both made the mistake of acting like we were really on vacation. That trouble wouldn’t find us.”
“Oh, trouble found me all right,” she said, walking her fingers up his chest. “More than I was sure I could handle.”
“And now?” he asked, smiling, but barely breathing because he didn’t want to miss a word of what she might say. If she was willing to have him, he’d already decided the time had come to reconsider his life. He’d do anything to keep her, even give up the navy.
“I think after the initial shock, I handled things pretty well, don’t you?”
She was still teasing, with her twinkling eyes, with the fingers that had backtracked and were now walking south.
He caught her wandering hand and held it away. “Baby, don’t play with me,” he grumbled. “I’m trying to have conversation.”
“So, I’m listening.” She rolled to her side and began caressing his chest then smoothing her hand downward.
Why in hell is this so hard? He caught her other hand. “I want to see you,” he gritted out.
She laughed. “I don’t think there’s an inch of me you haven’t already seen, Deke.”
He rolled his eyes. “Maybe we should have this conversation with our clothes on.”
“And I thought we dealt better without.”
Smart ass. Deke rolled over, trapping her hands and legs against the mattress as he loomed over her. “I want this to be more.”
“For a guy who’s usually so succinct describing what he wants, you seem to be having a little trouble here, SEAL-boy.” Her smile was soft. Soft doe eyes glittered.
He closed his eyes and ducked his head into the corner of her neck, feeling like a coward because what he was about to say would leave him naked. Vulnerable as he’d never been before. So, he kissed her cheek, nuzzled her ear, delaying the moment because he was girding his already heavy loins. When he finally lifted his head, rising over her, his mouth an inch from hers, he whispered, “I love you, Nicky Martir.”
She gave an exaggerated sigh. “Whew. I thought you’d never have the guts to say those words.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Seriously?”
Her smile was wide, her happiness there in her glittering wet eyes. “I love you, too, but I said some things, things I didn’t mean.” She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Okay, so I meant them at the time, but I didn’t really understand why I thought that way. My mom didn’t love my dad. Simple as that. If she had, she’d have waited on the tarmac after every mission, waving flags along with the other wives. She wouldn’t have harbored so much resentment over being left behind, left to shoulder a load she was fully capable of handling on her own. Because she wasn’t really alone. Just selfish.” Her gaze flicked to the side and then reconnected with his. “She forgot all about me, too. When she cut her ties, she didn’t give a moment’s consideration over what the divorce would do to me or my relationship with my father.” She paused, taking a deep breath, and then giving him a tearful smile. “I’d wait for you.”
Deke swallowed hard, his own eyes burning. “Do you think this is happening too fast?”
“Not at all,” she said, shaking her head. “We’ve already been through the worst together and come out the other side whole.”
“Your father…”
“Told me I couldn’t do any better than you.”
“Huh.” Amazing. He let go of her hands, settling his weight on top of her then releasing her legs, which she immediately drew up along his sides. Deke encircled her with his arms and rolled, not stopping until she was on top, her smile fading while her eyes narrowed with heat. “You said you liked landing on top.”
She straightened, shaking her hair back before tilting her chin. Another challenge thrown down. “No more doubts?”
“Not a one.” He couldn’t hold back a wide grin.
“Glad to hear it,” she said, then bent over him, gliding her lips across his cheek to his mouth, and sucking his lower lip between hers. She arched a brow as she bit his lip, pulling it outward as she raised her head, and then taunting him with a grin to retaliate.
Deke chuckled, and then groaned when she began to circle her hips, grinding down on him, moist heat igniting a fresh lick of flame. “No more teasing.”
“Don’t dish what you can’t take.”
Again, he rolled, found her center, and thrust deep, loving the sound of her indrawn gasp and the way her fingernails dug into his back. In the back of his mind, he wondered if her dad had been doing some matchmaking by pairing them together. Deke couldn’t imagine a better fit. They’d both had their baggage to overcome. Both were stubborn, and both were loyal to the core. “I’d leave the navy for you. Take a job at a desk. Anything to make you happy, sweetheart.”
“I’d never ask it. Being a SEAL is not a job; it’s who you are. And I love who you are, Deke.”
Reading sincerity in her voice, he gave a short, satisfied nod and began to move inside her. Setting a steady rhythm, he kissed her, pouring everything he had into it. Whatever the future held, whatever hellhole he might enter, there’d always be a sweet light at the end of a dark tunnel. Her loving light to watch over him.
The End
For more Adventure Girls, Inc. stories, check out:
Dangerous Liaison
A pampered travel agent, roughing it at an anti-terrorist training school, escapes through the jungle with an undercover DEA agent when a drug lord mistakes her for a rival’s daughter.
Mutiny’s Bounty
Expecting an adrenaline-packed adventure, a travel agent finds more excitement than she can handle when she falls into bed with an ex-SEAL, and then into deep water, swimming with sharks when the yacht they’re sailing on is taken.
It Takes a SEAL
A travel agent visiting friends in the Bahamas is stranded on a desert island with a sexy ex-SEAL after their private pleasure cruise is interrupted by men who mistake her lover for a reclusive billionaire.
About Delilah Devlin
Delilah Devlin is a USA TODAY bestselling author of erotica and erotic romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. She has published over a hundred twenty erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths, and she is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’
s Cave, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Montlake Romance, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing. In May 2014, she added Grand Central to her list of publishers when Her Only Desire released!
You can find Delilah all over the web:
WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK FAN PAGE |
Or email her at:
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SEAL’s Obsession
Elle James
Tasked with finding and eliminating the source of terrorist pirate activities off the coast of Honduras, SEAL TEAM 10’s Jack Fischer “Fish” goes undercover as a deck hand on a floating medical boat where he finds himself protecting and falling for the beautiful doctor who runs the show.
Devastated by an auto accident that took the lives of her husband and baby daughter, Dr. Natalie Rhoades, has dedicated her life to helping people who don’t have access to good healthcare through her nonprofit floating medical boat. When she finds herself and her crew the target of a leftist guerilla group, her new deckhand proves resourceful.
Jack and Natalie fight to provide the care needed to the underprivileged while battling an attraction neither thought possible as it heat intensifies in Central America.
From the Author
I’m dedicating this book to my 92-year-old neighbor who spent 26 years in the Navy, was a fighter pilot who made over 600 carrier take offs and landings and fought during WWII and Korea. He’s an amazing man. Thank you for your service!
Escape with…
Elle James
aka Myla Jackson
Chapter One
‡
“I wonder what you have to do to retire in a place like this?” Navy SEAL Corpsman Jack Fischer cut the engine on the jet ski, letting it slide across the crystal clear water and up onto the white sands of the beach.
Hot Alpha SEALs: Military Romance Megaset Page 49