Hot SEAL, Single Malt (SEALs in Paradise Book 9)

by Kris Michaels

  "Love you, too, kiddo." His dad nodded and squeezed him tighter for just a moment before letting go and stepping back. "Now, go take a shower, because I'm not going to tell you what you smell like." Silas glanced over toward A.J.'s house. "I'll give her a half hour or so before I go knock on the door and remind her we have a date. See you tonight."

  Gunner watched his father walk away. The old man made it to the pub every night and usually had the company of a silver-haired beauty. His mother had been gone a long time and Gunner was happy to see his father with an active social life. He tossed his keys in the bowl by the door, locked the front door behind him and headed to the shower. He was looking forward to work tonight and what would come after. Saturday nights were always busy. It was a good thing the pub was closed on Sundays because Gunner had every intention of keeping A.J. awake until the sun came up.

  A.J. glanced over the bar and caught Silas's eye. She motioned with her head silently asking him to meet her at the end of the bar. He excused himself from his conversation and made his way to her.

  "What's up?" He leaned on his forearms.

  "I need to ask you a question. I should have thought to do it when we were walking today, but my mind was elsewhere."

  "I know where your mind was, young lady." Silas's gruff words struck her. She gazed up at him. His face contorted and then he laughed merrily. "Hey, when your dad asks, tell him I tried, okay?"

  "You are an instigator, Silas Kincade!" A.J. flicked him with the bar towel she had in her hand. "My father loves the fact that you've taken me under your wing. Now let me ask you my question while the customers are satisfied."

  "Okay, hit me with it." Silas reached for the party mix container on the employee's side of the bar and poured himself a dishful.

  "What's Gunner's favorite meal? I told him I'd cook him dinner tomorrow night."

  "Easy. Linguini and mussels. Throw in a loaf of crusty bread, and a salad and that boy would eat himself into a comma. Better double whatever recipe you use. He'll eat you out of house and home." Silas took his bowl of bar mix and winked at her. "It runs in the family."

  A.J. watched him go back to his booth and glanced down the bar. Gunner had just refilled a Manhattan and was making a martini. In another month or so, the man would be able to handle the bar by himself even at peak capacity.

  She was not really pondering his competency as a bartender. She was seriously considering whether or not to attempt to make a meal she had no idea how to cook. Mussels and linguini. Damn. Really? Being from East Texas, her mother taught her how to cook a host of things, beef, pork, chicken, lamb, buffalo, venison, antelope, rabbit, quail, pheasant...but never mussels. She could bake the bread and make the noodles for the dish from scratch but had no idea how to cook mussels. A quick internet search for linguini and mussels was in order. She made sure Gunner was good to go and then entered linguini and mussels into the search bar of her web browser. The first recipe she saw was from a renowned television chef. The first ingredient was two pounds of live, debearded mussels. Mussels have beards? A.J.'s head popped up. Did they come debearded or would she have to...shave them? She glanced at Gunner who was busy pouring another draft. Why couldn't you like prime rib or leg of lamb or even roasted turkey? Those things she could knock out of the park.

  "Dear, may I have another Chardonnay?"

  A.J. jumped and pocketed her phone. "Of course, I'm sorry, Ms. Wade." She reached for the open bottle of Chardonnay at her end of the bar and poured the sweet lady a new glass.

  "You were deep in thought; I stood there for a while before I spoke. What were you concentrating so hard on, if you don't mind me asking?" Charlotte Wade took a seat at the bar. It was still early, and most of her senior customers would be leaving soon when the younger and rowdier crowd took over the space.

  "I was researching how to make linguini and mussels. Did you know mussels had beards?" A.J. set the glass of wine on the bar and accepted the twenty-dollar bill, turning her back to make change.

  She glanced up at the mirror and saw a smile spread across Charlotte's face. "Yes, dear, I did."

  A.J. got her change and spun around. "Excellent! Do they come debearded or will I have to do that?"

  "Oh, most of the mussels sold around here around here are farm raised. They will be debearded, but you need to check each one just in case. The beards are inedible. They are these little things on the outside edge of the mussel's shell. Grab it with a paper towel and yank it toward the hinge of the clam, not straight out. It comes out easy enough, but you have to give it a firm yank."

  "Awesome. Thank you so much. You are a lifesaver." A.J. leaned in to ask more questions, but a large party poured through the front door. Gunner glanced her way, and she smiled. It was time for the busy part of the night to commence. She glanced at Charlotte. "Thanks again."

  "No problem, dear. If you need help, Silas knows my number." Charlotte slid off the stool and headed toward the back of the pub where Silas was holding court. A.J. saw the look that passed between the two of them as Charlotte approached. She had no doubt Silas had the woman's number. No doubt whatsoever.

  Chapter 10

  A.J. counted out the cash and ran the receipts against the total the register had spit out the second the doors were locked. It was her second and last time through the numbers. Thankfully they matched so she didn't have to go looking for an unclosed tab or accounting error. There was a sense of urgency tonight. At least for her, although she assumed it was the same for the man across the room. Gunner had practically run through breaking down the bar and cleaning tonight. Her gaze lingered on him, surprised at the turn of events during the last twenty-four hours.

  She lowered her eyes and concentrated on completing the bank deposit for the night instead of letting her thoughts linger on her new lover. Tender touches and whispered endearments notwithstanding, they'd managed to behave professionally behind the bar tonight. Which was harder than she'd actually thought it would be. Keeping her attention focused on the customers rather than the six-feet-four-inch man currently mopping the floor was difficult. Especially when his muscles played under the tightly stretched black cotton bearing the Wayward Walrus' logo. Tonight, black jeans encased those thick, delicious thighs. A.J.'s eyes drifted to the dark wood under the unfinished deposit slip. She shivered at the memory of wrapping her legs around him as he made love to her.

  Not that he was actually making love to her. They were...well, they were having sex. She knew insta-love only happened on those television channels created for women. The perfect lover, perfect timing, instant attraction and a happily ever after. Her relationship thus far with Gunner was anything but perfect. Her face heated. Except when they were in bed, because that, well, that was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She glanced over at Gunner and smiled. The man was so unlike Marcus, and for that, she was thankful. Taking Gunner to her bed last night had been a leap of faith.

  She hadn't been with anyone since Marcus. When the person who claimed to love you almost kills you, it has an effect. Oh, she tried to be brave, to stand her ground, but when push came to shove, she'd left. It was easy to convince herself she was protecting her family, but with miles between her and the insinuations and intimidation of Marcus’s brothers, she could admit she was really protecting herself. In that tiny one-horse town everyone knew her business. They knew the intimate details of her and Marcus's relationship. It had all come out at the trial. Marcus’s lawyer had tried to paint her as a horrid woman, he’d tried to get the jury to see her as evil and manipulative and that her cheating was the reason Marcus had lost his temper. She'd never cheated. Never. Ultimately, the smear tactics hadn't worked, but people talked. They whispered behind her back or just glared at her, depending on who she was facing. Marcus’s family may have come from the wrong side of the tracks, but they had friends.

  The fact that his brothers had repeatedly threatened her, ignoring the restraining order that was in place, was the excuse she needed. She ran and kept running until she felt
safe. She found that sense of security and belonging here at Half Moon Bay. So much so that she'd used her share of the inheritance her grandfather had left to her and her siblings to buy into the Walrus.

  Getting close to Gunner was a risk, but one she was finally willing to take. A smooth whistled tune graced the quietness of the empty bar. The sound was eerily beautiful. She glanced up and smiled as he tossed a look her way. A sense of peaceful contentment fell in place around her. A sensation completely foreign to her yet utterly perfect. Yes, she was ready to take a chance on love again.

  "Are you almost ready to go?" Gunner's voice startled her.

  "In just a minute." It took less to fill out the bank slip. She shoved the money and slip into the cash pouch. "Ready."

  Gunner placed his hand on the small of her back and escorted her out of the bar. The warmth of his touch stayed with her during her drive to the bank and home. She pulled into her garage and glanced up at the rearview mirror, waiting. As soon as he slipped into the garage she hit the button secluding them from the world.

  He opened her car door and held his hand out to her.

  "Such a gentleman." She let him assist her from the car and shut the door after she exited.

  Gunner lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back, while watching her. "I can be when the situation calls for it."

  A.J.'s breath caught in her throat. She had proof he could be tender and caring, but... "And when the situation requires a rogue?"

  "A rogue?" His arm snapped out and seized her against him. "Be sure you know what you're asking for."

  A.J. felt the blood pounding in her veins. She wanted to see and feel this man, uninhibited and unrestrained. "Dear sir, would you be so kind as to ravish me?"

  The growl deep in his throat was the only warning she got. A.J. squealed as he dipped and threw her over his shoulder. As soon as she realized what he was doing she laughed and held on. It took less than a minute to be flopped onto her bed. He stripped in less than thirty seconds and then her clothes were gone without any fanfare. Gunner dropped an accordion strip of condoms onto the bed and pounced. A.J. shrieked, laughing at the way his beard tickled her neck. His fingers played over her ribs and under her arms. She laughed until she cried, "Uncle! I give!"

  Gunner lifted over her on his hands and knees. "Ravishing over already, my lady?"

  She held her hand against his chest just in case he decided to start tickling her again. "I'm not quite sure that was what I meant."

  He dropped a kiss to her shoulder. "I know." A trail of kisses across her collar bone ended on the other shoulder. "I'm sure there will be times that desperation forces us to go faster, but not tonight. Tonight, I want to learn every inch of your body. I want to find the places that drive you insane."

  His fingers trailed lightly over one breast causing her to shiver. He blew on her nipple; the sensuous effect elicited a gasp. She closed her eyes and ran her fingers over his skin as he set about lighting a fire deep within her core. She traced a scar on his shoulder before she levered herself up far enough to kiss it. He lifted his eyes from where he was mapping her body. The heat in his gaze sent shivers of desire across her skin.

  "You are beautiful," he whispered against her skin. A.J. closed her eyes and lost herself in the revelation of this man—his touches and her body’s responses.

  She ran her fingers through his hair. "I want to touch you, too."

  He hummed as he parted her legs and nestled between them. "Later. My turn." A.J. grasped ahold of his hair and moaned. The sensation of his mouth on her...she'd never experienced such complete concentration on her needs and for the first time in her life, she let go and dropped her guard. Never had a man treated her with such tenderness, respect and...oh, yes...pure unadulterated want.

  His return up the skin of her torso to her lips was just as sensuous, but her body needed him inside her. "Please. Gunner. Please." She panted the pleas.

  "Now, baby?" He lowered his lips to hers and consumed her with a kiss that left her out of her mind with need.

  "Now." She gasped the word when he released her from the devastating connection.

  He lifted away, ripped open a condom package and rolled it onto his cock all the while staring at her like she was the center of his universe. A.J.'s sex-addled brain realized that look, that need, was something she'd never seen before, and it was something she realized she never wanted to live without.

  He wrapped her in his arms and entered her with slow, grinding thrust. A.J. wrapped her legs around him and feasted on the expanse of skin over her. The restrained power above her was palpable. Her hands mapped his chest and his arms as his rhythm increased and the force of his body pushed her closer to her release. He moved her leg, lifting it up to his hip.

  She gasped at the impact the slight change brought. "Yes!"

  He smiled and lowered for a kiss. "Ready to be ravished, my lady?"

  She moaned at the sensations floating inside her, just under the skin, ready to erupt. "Oh, god, yes."

  He snapped his hips. The angle and force joined perfectly to push her over the edge. She heard the echo of her scream as her body drew into an immense contraction of sensation and then exploded into the atmosphere.

  A.J. struggled to breathe as she gathered herself from the detonation. She felt him tense and heard his shout as he released. His face was a study of masculine splendor. He dropped his head onto her shoulder.

  She ran her hands through his sweat soaked hair and found the breath to chuckle. He lifted his head and arched an eyebrow at her. "Not what a man wants to hear after some of the best sex of his life."

  She let out another breathless chuckle, "No, I was thinking if this was what it was like when we weren't desperate, I don't know if I'll survive when we finally get to that point."

  He dropped for a quick kiss. "Don't worry, my lady. Survival is guaranteed."

  Gunner emerged from the bay after his morning swim. He’d been promptly kicked out of A.J.'s house this morning after a night of spectacular sex. The woman was a tornado of action even first thing in the morning. He dropped to the sand in a harder packed area of the beach and got into position to do pushups, all while thinking about this morning’s conversation.

  “I have to go shopping. I have this apology dinner to make for this guy that I kicked in the balls.” She blinked innocently at him.

  He grunted and pulled her closer. The feel of her soft skin against his was addictive, and he did not want to get up yet. “I don’t think the guy needs an apology dinner anymore.”

  “Oh no. Groveling was required. Groveling shall commence.” She hopped out of bed and extended her hand to him. “But I think I do have time for a shower.”

  That little bit of fire and sass was quickly on her way to becoming very important to him. Gunner chuckled as he started his count. The feel of his muscles working, the strain of his core, back, and shoulders as he exercised was exactly what he needed. Exercise always cleared his head so he could think clearer.

  "Son, I've never been able to do that many pushups."

  Gunner lifted his head for a moment before dropping it again, keeping his pace. "Practice. Pops." He grunted each word, one on the decline and one on the pushup. He'd lost count, but the burn of his muscles told him he needed to press on. He wasn't near his limit yet.

  His father's walking shoes came into view. He could tell his dad was facing the bay, but he spoke loud enough to be heard over the breeze that always blew in from the ocean. "Charlotte and I are going to head into San Francisco for the day. May not be back tonight. There is a Broadway play that is on tour. She's mentioned wanting to see it a couple times. Thought I might take her. Spend the night, so we don't have to drive back that late."

  Gunner stopped in the up position and dropped to his knees. Sitting back on his heels he smiled up at his dad. "Good on you, old man."

  His father put his hands in his pockets and kept staring out at the bay. "I loved your momma with all my heart. This doesn't take any
thing away from that."

  Gunner lifted to his feet and grabbed his swim fins. He turned and watched the water with his father for a moment before he spoke, taking the time to arrange his thoughts so his words sent the right message to his dad. "Mom has been gone for a hell of a long time now, Pops. You've grieved. You've built a life beyond what we once had. It is alright to push forward, to find happiness. If Charlotte is that happiness, I'm fucking thrilled for you. You can't diminish what was with what is happening now. Two different phases of the same life." He turned to his dad. "If you are asking for my permission, I'll give it to you."

  His father slowly shook his head, still staring out toward the water. "No, I wasn't asking for permission. Just informing you of my intentions. I realized a long time ago I needed to move on, but nobody has ever made me want to go that direction, until Charlotte. She's an amazing woman. Has three grown children of her own. Her husband died ten years back. Cancer."

  "I hope you have a wonderful time, Dad. Enjoy the show and enjoy your time with Charlotte. If you want, take a couple days. A.J. and I can handle the Walrus. We should be back up to full staff." Hell, they'd manage even if someone called out sick. He and A.J. made a pretty damn good team behind the bar.

  "No, one night is a big enough adventure for us. I'm heading out to pick her up in about a half hour. Just wanted to let you know." Silas turned and started up the grass-covered lawn. Gunner fell in next to him picking his way through the sharpest rocks. He really needed to dig out his water shoes. They were buried somewhere in the box of exercise equipment he had in the garage. "How are things with A.J.?"

  Gunner darted a quick look at his dad. There was no indication of teasing, so he went with an honest answer. "Surprisingly well. She hasn't injured or attempted to kill me in the past twenty-four hours, so I call that a win."

  His father stopped and glanced at his watch. "That means the day before yesterday she did attempt to maim or kill you?" A mischievous expression slid across his father's face.