by KaLyn Cooper
She scoffed. “What girlfriends? I don’t have time for friends. The only people I’d even place in that category are the men that I work with because they occasionally invite me to go out and have a beer with them. Oh, and they invite me to their weddings. I think I told you, divorce is high among Secret Service agents. So are the number of weddings. At least they keep trying to find a good relationship.”
That admission gripped Dex’s heart. He decided to put a positive spin on her depressing statistics. “And see what happens when you quit looking? A good relationship finds you.” He punctuated his statement with a kiss to show her how much she meant to him.
As they sat back in their seats, he discovered his water bottle was empty. “I think I need a drink. I’m pretty sure there’s some wine, beer, and some damn good scotch back there. What’s your poison?”
“I’d love a glass of white wine. I can come back with you and get it. Besides, I want to check out this airplane.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ve never been tempted before to join the mile-high club, but I’ve never been alone in a luxury jet before either.”
“Your wish is my command.” He demonstrated how the seats could fully recline.
An hour later, the captain announced they were landing and should finish any drinks. He reminded them that all glassware needed to be placed in the dirty dish rack.
“A very nice white wine,” Rayne noted as she handed the empty glass to Dex. Grinning, with that satisfied-woman look on her face, she asked, “What do I get for joining the mile-high club?”
Dex placed the crystal glasses in the secure rack. “You already got it. In your case, an orgasm at forty-two thousand feet, several miles above the earth.”
She looked around the cabin as they made their way back to their seats. “Do you travel like this all the time? Congressman Sedgwick does, but I’d expect him to have this kind of luxurious lifestyle.”
He chuckled. “In the Navy, we rode in the back of cold, stinking helicopters that were almost as old as I am. With Guardian, though, we always fly private. We usually carry too much weaponry to be allowed on a commercial plane.”
She sat down and buckled in. “I could get used to this lifestyle.”
As he sat beside her, he suddenly remembered Alex’s invitation. “We’ve been invited to a party tonight, at Alex’s fiancée’s condo down on DuPont circle. You were just telling me you don’t get out enough. I’m sure you can meet some interesting people there. Want to go?”
“Absolutely. Gives me a chance to thank Alex for this plane and remembering to grab my clothes from the villa. Maybe I could get to know him better.”
Dex was so pleased with her response. He couldn’t wait to show off the woman in his life.
Chapter Nineteen
Rayne had to admit; she was a bit nervous as Dex drove into the parking lot of the DuPont circle condominium. But she was there for him. Reciprocating, because he’d been there for her at the funeral. She truly appreciated him listening as she hashed out her future. Everything was still up in the air, though. She still had to go through the Secret Service investigation. Then there was the agency psychologist. He should be happy that she attended Angelique’s funeral. Wasn’t sure what closure she got out of it, but it was wonderful to see Callie was doing well.
Dex came around the car and opened her door. Such a gentleman. He also held the door to the lobby open for her so she could enter first. As they stepped to the elevator, she examined her outfit one last time. She chose to go a bit more feminine tonight. She wore a pair of tailored slacks with a gold silk blouse she had bought on a whim because it felt so soft against her skin and was on sale for less than half price. She topped off the outfit with a black sweater trimmed in gold. Her black flats had tiny gold trim as well. Her ankle holster was also black, not that anyone should see it.
Damn, Dex looked good. He wore a light blue button-down dress shirt under a navy blue sweater and dark blue dress pants. It looked as though he had shined the ever-present black boots. Maybe they were a dressier version of the ones he always seemed to wear.
Dex had to insert some kind of card, then pressed the button for the top floor.
“This apartment belongs to Alex’s girlfriend?” She asked nervously.
“Fiancée,” he corrected. “I think they’’ve been engaged for quite a while, though.”
“Most of the other people here will be people you work with?” She had no idea why she was feeling anxious. She’d met several of the men, and truly liked Alex.
Dex ran his hand up and down her spine and her anxiety seemed to dissipate. “It’s just a party. If you start feeling uncomfortable, we’ll leave.”
The door opened on the top floor and the party seemed to be everywhere. It looked as though there were only three units, one on the left and two on the right.
“Dex. Rayne.” Alex greeted her with an unexpected hug. He shook Dex’s hand and then pulled him in for the backslapping, one-armed man hug. “Food is in each apartment. Kat’s been cooking all day.”
“Oh, dear. I could’ve brought something.” Rayne felt sorry for the poor woman who spent the entire day in the kitchen. She was probably exhausted.
Alex laughed. “Cooking is Katlin’s way of decompressing. They just got back yesterday from a six-week mission in the Middle East. We have these parties when they return mostly to consume all the food she cooks.”
“And, so we can catch up on our wine consumption,” the pretty redhead with gorgeous green eyes said as she walked by arm-in-arm with the tall man with broad shoulders.
“Griffin,” Dex called, and the man turned with a huge smile.
“Dex. How’s the fishing?”
He pulled her closer to him. “Parker ‘Griffin’ Mitchell the Third, I’d like you to meet my…” He looked at her as he hesitated. “Girlfriend seems such an inaccurate name because, sweetheart, you are all woman.”
Rayne didn’t know whether to blush or smack him. She chose to ignore Dex and held out her hand. “Rayne Yoshida.”
“Nice to meet you, Rayne. I’d like you both to meet my fiancée, Grace Hall.” Turning to the redhead, he continued, “Grace, this is Dex Carson. He spent a few months in Miami with me while coordinating the Venezuela mission.”
Dex leaned in close to Rayne’s ear. “Griffin is the manager of Guardian Security’s Miami Center.” He then looked at Grace. “Did I hear that you’re a Navy Lieutenant? A pilot?”
Griffin and Grace exchanged a look before she said, “You are correct. I’m a Navy Lieutenant, and I am a pilot. Our team is attached to Homeland Security, though.”
Curious, Rayne asked, “Are other members of your team here?”
Grace dropped her head onto Griffin’s shoulder. “We’re all here. Celebrating because we finally finished that mission.” She leaned up and gave Griffin a kiss. “Six weeks is a long time to be away from the man you love.”
“Come meet the rest of the team.” She picked up her wine glass and licked the last drop from the rim. “I need another glass of wine. You need one, too. Griffin, Dex needs a drink.”
Grace hooked her arm in Rayne’s and led her into the apartment on the left. Within minutes she met Dr. Nita Callahan and her husband, Daniel, and saw beautiful pictures of their little boy and baby girl. Next came Tori, who could be a runway model and owned one of the condos down the hall. She was in a relationship with Marcus, an ATF agent. Lei Lu, a petite fireball with delicate features, was sitting on the lap of a man named Zane.
Last, but not least, Rayne finally met her hostess, Katlin Callahan. After a few moments’ confusion, she finally sorted out that Daniel was her brother.
“You’re the one who killed Aahil Mohammed Jaja.” Katlin smiled and held up her hand for a high five. Their smack seemed loud in the packed kitchen.
“Finally. It only took me twelve years, but that’s one terrorist who will never kidnap another young girl.” Rayne filled her plate with food that looked too pretty to eat.
Katli
n gave her a perceptive grin. “I know exactly what you mean. My team has a very unique mission. I hear you’re a Secret Service agent. Tell me about that.”
Rayne found herself twenty minutes later talking to Katlin as though they had been best friends for years. She’d even confessed that she may be looking for a career change. It must’ve been all the wine.
“Let me get this clear. You like being in personal protection, you just don’t want to do it twenty-four-seven, three hundred sixty-five days a year.” Katlin had narrowed the problem down to one sentence. “You might also be interested in traveling some, is that correct?”
“Yes. I’d love to be able to pass the reins off to someone else after eight, ten, or twelve hours, and maybe even get a few hours of free time.” Might as well shoot for the stars, Rayne thought.
“Okay, come with me. We need to find Alex.” Katlin started with her place, but didn’t find her fiancé there, so they headed down the hall. At the last apartment on the opposite side of the hall, Katlin strode in through the open door.
Alex and Dex sat in chairs talking with a man next to a very pregnant woman on the couch.
Katlin turned to Rayne. “Have you met Harper and Rafe Silva? This is their place. Silva family, meet Rayne Yoshida.”
“I’d get up and shake your hand, but I’m being forced to sit here with my feet up,” Harper complained.
“She’s retaining water and it’s not good for the baby,” Rafe explained.
Katlin walked over and sat on Alex’s lap. “You’re the managing partner but I think Rayne would be a perfect addition to our DC office in the personal protection division.”
Both Dex and Alex looked at Rayne.
“You’re leaving the Secret Service?” Alex asked.
At the shocked look on Dex’s face, Rayne thought she ought to slow down the Katlin steamroller. “I’m considering it as an option. I haven’t been reinstated, yet, and although Homeland Security has cleared the shooting, my agency hasn’t finished their investigation.”
Alex’s gaze darted between Dex, Katlin, and Rayne. He stood with Katlin in his arms, as though she weighed nothing. Then he placed her in the chair he just vacated. “Come on, Rayne, let’s talk. You might be just the woman I’ve been looking for to fill a very unique vacancy in our DC center.”
Rayne was glad she was sitting down when Alex talked salary and benefits. It was a perfect job.
“Take a few days. Think about it. Give the Secret Service time to do their investigation, then you can make an informed decision.” Alex stood. “I think I’m going to go find Katlin and see if she’s ready to go home.”
Confused, Rayne asked, “Isn’t this her condo?” She looked around the magnificent five-bedroom apartment. It took up the entire side of the building with a wall of windows looking toward the National Mall.
“Yes. This is her place, but we usually stay in our penthouse at Guardian Security.”
“It’s nice you call it our penthouse.” Rayne thought that was so sweet. “But I guess you’ll be married soon, and it will belong to both of you.”
Alex chuckled. “It’s always been our penthouse. I may be the managing partner of Guardian Security, but she’s my silent partner…who’s not always so silent.”
Suddenly Rayne felt terribly guilty. “Are you hiring me because Katlin told you to?”
“I think I told you before, that we have a woman in personal protection out of our New York City Center. When you come to work for us, I’ll send you to work with her for a week or two. She and Blake often take jobs together so they can travel around the world.”
“Thank you, Alex. I’d appreciate it if you could give me a few weeks. I’d like to clear things up with the Secret Service first.” In her alcohol-hazed brain, she refused to think about that inquisition. Out of nowhere, she added, “I think I might take a vacation before I go back to work.”
“Rayne, you take as much time as you need.” Alex looked out the door of the study where they had been talking privately. “Right now, I need my fiancé.”
She followed him out of the room. “I’m going to go hunt down Dex.”
On the way home she told him about the offer. “What do you think?”
“Sounds pretty damn good to me.” He reached over and took her hand. “I really like the idea of us working together. I’d love to see the world with you. But how about tomorrow, we tackle the Air and Space Museum?”
“I like that plan,” she admitted.
That night, when she crawled into bed next to Dex, he simply pulled her against his naked body. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. You’ve had a big day.”
She curled into his warm body, falling deeper in love with him. Somehow, he knew that she needed to be held that night. Although she would have had sex with him, had he pressed, but he didn’t. He was such a wonderful man.
He had been twelve years ago, too. He had tried to protect her honor. What a sweet, and thoughtful man. Rayne listed every man she had dated in the past twelve years and realized she had measured each one against Dex. None could even come close.
She wondered if she was in love with him back in Nigeria, but the adult in her now understood that they couldn’t have made it back then. They were both young and too career-focused.
Listening to his slow, even breathing, she wondered if they could make it now. Was he worth taking a chance?
Fuck. Yes.
Rayne let out a deep, contented sigh. She was falling in love again, with the man who she’d fallen in love with twelve years ago.
Over the next week, Deputy Director O’Brien rescheduled their appointment three times. As directed, Rayne made daily visits to the agency psychologist. She was becoming more frustrated that they couldn’t conclude the investigation and clear the shooting. When she expressed this to the psychologist, he claimed it was the natural progression, just another stage she had to work through before she could be reinstated.
Alex’s offer sounded better every day.
Dex was there for her, day and night. After every appointment with the psychologist, they would grab lunch, then stroll through another Smithsonian Museum.
In late November, as they exited the National Gallery of Art, the freezing wind threatening sleet by the time they reached home. Rayne suggested, “I think we need to leap forward to that tropical island on my bucket list.”
Dex gave her that smile that she considered just for her as he pulled his knit hat over his ears. “So, when did you figure it out?”
“When you showed me the Hope Diamond,” she admitted, then trotted across Madison Drive onto the National Mall. She pulled Dex off the path, allowing one of the huge oak trees to shield them from the wind. She pulled off her gloves so she could touch him. Placing her palms on his already chilled cheeks, forcing his complete attention on her, she confessed, “I love that you listened. I love that you are checking things off my bucket list. I love the way you make love to me. I love that sometimes you just hold me at night. Dex, I love you.”
She pulled his face to hers and crashed her lips on his. It was as though every emotion ever pent up within her body exploded in that moment. She couldn’t get enough of him and didn’t want to ever fill that void completely. She would always want Dex Carson.
Panting, their moist breath freezing into clouds, they stood wrapped in each other’s arms, foreheads touching.
“I don’t have pretty words like you do, but you have to know, Rayne, that I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” Dex glanced away then recaptured her gaze. “I hadn’t planned any of this, so if I fuck it up, I’m sorry.” He rubbed his thumb over her cheek. “Rayne Yoshida, will you marry me? We can go right now to any jewelry store you want to pick out a ring. We can do it together, like we can do everything else together for the rest of our lives.”
Rayne was in shock. She had hoped that Dex loved her, but there had always been the possibility that he wasn’t ready to say those words, or share those feelings. She had never in a milli
on years expected him to say that he loved her in one breath and ask her to marry him in the next. She hadn’t thought ahead to marriage.
“Rayne, sweetheart, I need an answer before we freeze to death in this nor’easter.” He shook his head. “I told you I was going to fuck it up. Take all the time you need. I’ll be here. Well, I’d rather not be right here because this is going to be one hell of a storm.” He pulled her away from the tree and they started down the block toward the car. “Come on, it’s going to take us twice as long to get home in this weather.”
As they passed the Museum of Natural History, Rayne glanced toward the bench that she now thought of as theirs. She didn’t need to think about it. Spending the rest of her life with this wonderful man was exactly what she wanted. She stopped and pulled him around to face her. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
“I love you, and always will.” His kiss was filled with promise, and only ended when she started to shiver. “Can we honeymoon in the Caribbean? Soon? Like next week?”
* * *
You have reached the end of SEAL in a Storm.
Please keep reading for a sample of SEAL Forever by Chris Michaels, Silver SEALs book 6.
Chapter Twenty
Creed Lachlan pushed the throttle up on the four, 1,480-hp, diesel V-drive, inboards until the power under him lifted the nose of the one hundred-sixty-five-foot luxury yacht out of the glassy, late-afternoon, Atlantic. He held the controls at half power, listening to the throaty rumble with a skilled ear. He'd modified this baby's quad engines, and she was pushing enough horsepower to beat any tropical storm back to the safe harbor of Key West’s Cow Key Channel. The gauges showed exactly what he needed to see. Angelo's Princess was once again purring, hitting all cylinders. The gauges held true as Creed inched the throttle forward. He flicked the throttle up a quarter inch. The plane of the bow surged further upright, and he braced against the pull as he balanced behind the wheel. He gripped the steering controls and tightened his muscles as he steadily increased the power to the motor. At the throttle's top end, he was almost flying the yacht over the water. The exhilaration from the deep growl of the motors and speed of the boat fed an addiction he'd been trying to forget. Like most of the men in his career field, he'd grown accustomed to jolts of adrenaline. Check that... prior career field.