by Elle Boon
He ran a hand down his face as she maneuvered the muscle car out of a tight spot with ease then headed away from the house that was no longer her home. Jogging to his rental, he quickly jumped in and followed at a safe distance. His curiosity piqued as the couple who’d been with her at the funeral left her apartment above the salon she owned, without the child, shortly after she arrived home.
With a sigh, he sat back and waited to see what she was up to. More than likely the couple had taken the child to a family member or something, he reasoned. “Fuck, this is the shittiest part of an assignment,” he muttered.
Jase didn’t mind sitting around in the middle of a desert or even on some frozen countryside watching an enemy camp for days on end. Hell, having done it more than once, it was almost second nature. However, sitting in a rented SUV outside his ex’s place hadn’t ever been on his list of things to do. The last time he’d left her place, dreams of a future with the stunning beauty were filling his head. Admiral Frazee put a huge gaping hole in those plans, and his heart, that night. Hell, they all knew he wasn’t good enough for Brooke when she’d been twenty-one to his thirty, but age didn’t seem to matter to them. Looking back, he could see why her father thought differently. He was a SEAL who put his life on the line, while she was…everything he wasn’t. Of course, Mark Frazee was a fucking traitor who had risked all their lives and sent him to prison by setting him up. Yeah, he didn’t shed any tears for the bastard when the news of the car accident spread.
He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, wondering why someone had been sent to watch over Brooke. Ever since he’d been freed from Fort Leavenworth, although freed was not really the word most would use since he had been officially a wanted man until he’d faked his death. Jase had been working on the outside trying to find how far up the chain of command the dirt went, but it was slower than he’d hoped. The phone buzzed next to him, it’s caller ID showing him it was his contact within the military. “Tyler here,” he said in a clipped tone.
“Have you made contact with the admiral’s daughter?” The distorted voice asked.
The light from the huge window overlooking the street went out. “That wasn’t my mission,” he answered.
A sigh came over the line. “How are you supposed to protect the target if you don’t make contact?”
His teeth ached as he ground his jaw together. “I wasn’t informed that was the mission.” Fuck, he didn’t think he could be in close proximity to Brooke without wanting to make love to her. Shit, she’d probably smack him upside the head and call him ten thousand names, ones he was sure would blister his ears, and he was a SEAL. When the time came for him to break things off with her, she’d had tears in her eyes, but with her teeth gritted and a dismissive nod, she turned around and walked off. To this day, he hated himself for breaking her heart. Her father was a lying, cheating bastard who had an agenda all his own. How the man could’ve looked Jase in the eye and told him he loved his daughter and couldn’t stand the thought of her being hurt, when all the while he was selling out his country, giving terrorist information that cost hundreds of thousands of lives was still a mystery. Up until then, Jase had thought he was good at reading people, but he’d bought the admiral’s story and was sure Brooke hadn’t cared for him the way he had her. His mind wandered back to the last night they’d had together.
Chapter Three
Three years ago…
Jase checked the cooler, making sure everything had survived the bumpy road on the way to the secluded spot. He wanted to make tonight special for Brooke and him. He checked his watch then glanced at the door to her parent’s house. At twenty-one, he was shocked she still lived at home, but hearing about her brother’s suicide and how her mother was still shaken from the loss, he understood. He whipped his head back to the house, the breath nearly freezing in his lungs. “Holy shit, you look amazing.” He wasn’t sure what surprised him more. The sight of her in a flirty little blue and white polka dot dress or her shy smile. His Brooke was always sexy, but she usually wore jeans or shorts.
“Why thank you, kind sir. You look mighty fine yourself.” She did a little curtsey as she said the words, making his dick hard.
He looked back toward the house, wondering if he should go say hi to the admiral. His eyes must’ve given him away as Brooke leaned up and kissed his cheek. “My father isn’t home. Let’s get going,” she said in a husky whisper.
Damn, everything she did and or said had him harder than he’d ever been, even way back in the days of his youth as a pre-teen with a dirty magazine in his hands. “In you go.” He opened the driver’s door of his pickup and helped her in, getting a glimpse of her blue panties.
He headed back toward the area he’d set up earlier, hoping she liked the place as much as he did.
“You gonna tell me where we’re going, or do I have to guess?” She sat next to him on the bench seat, her hand holding his.
“You’ll see.” He gave her fingers a little squeeze.
The trip took a little over twenty minutes. Jase had never truly enjoyed listening to a woman chatter, but with Brooke, he found he loved it. Her dreams weren’t crazy. Attainable would be the word he used.
“I love the salon I work in now, but I want to own a place that is uniquely mine.” She let go of his hand and gestured with her hands.
Jase grinned as he watched her move. “Everything about you is unique.” And it was, down to the cute little dimples in her cheeks.
A blush bloomed on her face and neck. He wondered just how far south the becoming color went then cursed himself as his cock twitched behind his shorts.
“You, Jase Tyler, are most definitely a charmer. I like it. What did you pack for us to eat?” She glanced through the back window at the cooler.
He grinned but didn’t answer her as they made their way toward the little slice of paradise. Oh, he was sure lots of people had been where he was taking her, but for tonight, it was theirs. Her little gasp of delight had him reaching for her hand again. “What do you think?”
“It’s wonderful. I’ve never been back here before.” Her gaze took in the large pond with the gazebo on the far side.
“We can fish, swim, take a little boat ride around the pond. Whatever you want to do. From here we can see the fireworks from the ball game without the crowd.” He turned the truck off and rolled the windows down to allow the cool breeze to blow through.
“Did you bring fishing poles and live bait?” Brooke turned in the seat with one leg on the bench, her eyes shining with happiness.
He snorted. “Of course, what kind of fisherman would I be if I didn’t come prepared.” His mind went to other things he’d come prepared for, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.
“Well, let’s go, then. I bet I catch more than you,” she teased.
As they fished, her face shone with happiness. Of course, she’d caught more than him, since he kept having to rebait her hook, giving her the chance to put her line back in more often. He didn’t mind in the least, since his reward was a kiss, which usually led to him losing his own bait. “You’re speaking to the fish, aren’t you?” he teased.
By the time they were done fishing, they were both hungry. Their dinner was packed full of her favorite food from a local café, bought solely because he wanted to please her. “Come on, let’s go eat.” He led her to the gazebo after grabbing the cooler out of the back of the truck, her tiny hand enclosed in his.
She squealed in delight as they entered. The place was clean and looked nice since knowing they were coming there Jase made sure to set it up earlier, wanting to make it special for her. “Jase, what did you do? This is beautiful.”
He shrugged, feeling a little stirring of something, he wasn’t sure what to call it, flutter in his heart. Pushing aside the odd sensation, he guided her to the table that was set up in the center. After carefully taking out the food, he sat down opposite her. “I wanted to take you somewhere special where everyone didn’t constan
tly stare at us. Somewhere we could relax and have fun, just the two of us.” The farmer had nearly been robbed by some kids trying to steal his wallet, but Jase had saved him, albeit without expecting anything in return. When the old man had recognized him as the young feller who was taking young Brookey around, he’d offered to let him court her out at his old farm. It had been pure coincidence, or fate, for him to help the man out on the same day he was trying to find a place special to take Brooke.
“Thank you. This has been the best day of my life.” She ducked her head and started eating.
Jase reached across the table and lifted her chin with his hand. “Mine, too,” he said with honesty.
They ate in silence as the sun dropped in the sky, and as they finished dessert, he led her to the grassy embankment that faced the north where the fireworks would go off. “Tell me your biggest dreams, Brooke. Something you’ve never told anyone else.”
“I wanted to be a singer,” she said with a laugh.
“Not a fantasy but your dream for the future. What do you see yourself doing, or what do you want, that you’ve never told anyone?” The sound of insects chirping could be heard as silence descended. He didn’t think she was going to answer, and that was okay. Not everyone wanted to share their inner most dreams.
“I want to get married and have children. I want to have my own salon where people make appointments, because I’m in demand. And I want my mother to love me,” she whispered the last.
He rolled over on his side. Her dreams started an ache in his heart. A family. She wanted a family, something he wanted as well. He placed his hand on her stomach, thinking of her as his. Then, his brow furrowed. “Your mother loves you.” Having only met Mrs. Frazee once, and while she was sort of cold, he didn’t think she disliked her daughter.
Brooke sat up, dislodging his hand. “No, she doesn’t. My mother doesn’t love anyone but herself.” She wiped her fingers under her eyes. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to ruin this magical night with thoughts of my mother.” She turned sparkling eyes toward him. “Make love to me under the stars, Jase.”
His heart raced at her words. Common sense told him to slow down, that she wasn’t in the right place emotionally. Then, she leaned over and kissed him and rational thought left him. The feel of her slender body leaning into him snapped his control like a twig, and there, beneath the stars, he lost his heart and soul to Brooke Frazee.
Jesus, he’d fallen so hard for her. They’d made love under the stars, and again while the fireworks had gone off, making their own explosion together.
When he drove her home, she’d never looked more beautiful to him. She’d brushed her hair and put her flirty little dress back on. “I’m keeping these,” he said holding onto the little blue panties.
“You are such a bad man,” she giggled and smacked his arm.
They pulled up to her house, and he cut the engine. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”
“Thank you for making tonight…magical.” She ducked her head.
Jase tugged her against him. “This is only the beginning. I plan to have many more nights like tonight with you.” He rubbed his cheek against the top of her head.
At the back of the house, he gave her a long kiss goodnight, hating to part with her, waiting until she was inside, and he heard the door lock before he went back around to where his truck sat. He pulled up short as he saw the admiral leaning against the side, anger pouring off the older man.
“Did you have a good time fucking my daughter, soldier?”
Jase’s body tightened. “Don’t talk about her like that, Sir.”
“That’s my baby girl. Whatever happened between you two is over. Do you understand me? Over!” The admiral stepped forward, his finger stabbing into Jase’s chest.
It took all of Jase’s willpower not to break the older man’s finger as he glared into his eyes. The man’s anger was felt in every prod of his finger as he jabbed him right above the heart. “I believe it’s up to the both of us, whether it’s over or not, Sir. And with due respect, I care very deeply for your daughter,” he gritted out when all he wanted to do was tell the man to go fuck himself.
The admiral laughed. “Boy, you think she cares about you?” His eyes narrowed. “Oh, you thought she was single, well she is, but that’s only because her and Darron have had a little spat. He’ll be back in a few weeks, and they’ll be back like they’ve always been. Your best bet is to pack up tonight and move on, or I promise I will make your military career a living nightmare.” The honesty in the other man’s words hit Jase harder than a sledgehammer.
He struggled to keep his temper in check. The thought of Brooke playing him for a fool while her boyfriend was out of town had him clenching his jaw. “If what you say is true, I’d like to hear it from Brooke.”
“If you want to continue moving up in the Navy, son, I suggest you climb up in that truck and head back to where you came from. My daughter doesn’t need to get mixed up with a soldier boy. Not even one I admired.”
Jase didn’t miss the fact the admiral spoke in past tense. It was as if he’d already dismissed everything that Jase had accomplished because he’d made the decision to fall for his daughter. Fuck! He looked back at the house knowing Brooke was inside and would probably think he screwed her and then left without a backward glance.
“Don’t worry about her. Just as soon as Darron gets back, she’ll forget all about you and this little thing you two had. I’ll make sure she thinks you were called out on a mission so you don’t look like a total asshole. She’s my little girl. The light of my life. I only want what’s best for her.” The admiral took a step back, his hands clasped behind his back like the decision had already been made.
“And if I don’t agree?” Jase asked.
The admiral’s eyes hardened. “You do have aspirations to be more than what you are now, don’t you? Captain, Lieutenant, or even higher?” The admiral waited a beat, looked up at the sky before staring back into Jase’s eyes. “Believe me, I do have that kind of pull. Don’t test me, son.” He reached his hand out to touch Jase’s shoulder.
Jase moved out of the way. “Don’t call me son. As of tonight, don’t call me anything other than Tyler.” It was a designation a lot of senior officers called those below them, only addressing them by their last names. Jase would never look at Brooke’s dad as Mark Frazee, father of Brooke again. No, he was the fucker who took his heart and stomped it into the ground. He jerked the door to his truck open, climbed inside and left without causing a scene.
He jerked awake two days later as he was getting ready to ship out. The feel of a three day old beard was rough against the palms of his hands. He looked around the room, wondering what had pulled him from sleep when he heard the banging on the door. It took him a couple seconds to pull a pair of jeans on over his nakedness, hopping over to the front door in his hurry to see who was there. A peek out the small window made him swear internally and his fist clenched at the vision that met his eyes. Brooke Frazee in all her gorgeous glory stood on the other side of the door, looking as if she’d been crying.
Jase exhaled and opened the door. “Hey, what’s going on?”
Brooke blinked up at him. “Why haven’t you returned my calls? Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something wrong?”
He heard the catch in her throat and hated her father and himself even more. “Babe, you were great. It’s just…I’m shipping out tonight as a matter of fact. Didn’t your father tell you?” Jase wanted to kick the asshole in the nuts for lying to him.
She wiped her hands on her legs. “No. He left the day after our…he left a couple days ago. Just because you’re leaving doesn’t mean we couldn’t have spent more time together. Or even after you left, it doesn’t mean we have to,” she waved her hand between them, “stop being together.”
“Yeah, it does. Long distance relationships don’t work, Brooke. I figured it would be better to just break it off. I spoke to your dad.” He had to look away when he m
entioned her dad, or the rage he felt couldn’t be hidden. Just looking at her made him want to pull her into his arms and promise to keep her safe, yet knowing her father would rain hell down on him and her kept him on his side of the door.
“So, you’re saying you used me for what? A good time? A wham bam thank you—”
Jase couldn’t let her continue thinking he thought that way. It was one thing to leave and for her to think he was shipped out, but another to have her think he thought less of her. He covered her mouth with his, pulling her body into his. The instant connection had her softening against him, moaning into his mouth. God, he wanted to spin on his heels and take her to bed, take her far away and not have to answer to the admiral. However, reality reared its head with an incessant ringing from Brooke’s purse, breaking the moment.
She gasped and shoved against his chest, struggling to find her phone. Her eyes squeezed shut then opened. “It’s my mom.”
He nodded, waiting for her to answer. The distraction allowed him to refocus and look across the street to see a black sedan with tinted windows. His eyes narrowed as he watched the car move forward, the very fact the vehicle had the fine hairs on his neck standing up made him reach for Brooke.
“I’ll be right home, mother,” she said in an agitated tone.
Jase dropped his arm. She wasn’t his to protect. Hell, more than likely the car was following Brooke on the admiral’s orders. “I assume you’re leaving?” He couldn’t hide his displeasure of her father from his tone.
“My mom has…issues and needs me to stop and get her prescription. When do you leave, Jase?” Her eyes lifted to his bare chest.
“This afternoon,” he answered. “Listen, Brooke. You deserve better than I can give. Go home to your mother and your fancy house. When your boyfriend Darren, what’s his name, returns you can lie and pretend I never existed. Pretend this thing between us never happened. The most I’d be able to give you is a life of uncertainty, fear and a good time in the sack. Is that what you want, another round with me, only this time on a bed?” Taking a deep breath, he put his hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. You deserve better.”