“Do you each have different roles?”
“Yes, I’m a corpsman, so in addition to my SEAL duties, I take care of the team’s medical needs.”
She turned and raised her brows. “Really?”
“No lie. It took years of training, including a special ops combat medic course.”
“That must be—intense.” Her voice softened, the way it often did when people envisioned what he might have gone through. “You’ve probably seen more than I could ever imagine.”
Had he ever. A flash of Donovan returned. Before he let the memory overwhelm him, he snapped his attention to the surrounding scenery with the sunlight glimmering on the water. “True. But it’s a beautiful day and I’d prefer not talk about some ugly things.”
“Understood,” she said in a gentle tone. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about?”
He gave her a one-sided grin, eager to change to a lighter topic before he ruined their afternoon with a somber mood. “How I’ve lucked out spending the day with a gorgeous woman.”
An adorable shade of pink spread across her cheeks, and she glanced away as if flustered by the compliment.
“Is anyone going to be pissed off that you’re here with me?” he asked.
“Meaning a boyfriend or husband?”
“Yes.”
“Nooo.” She frowned. “I wouldn’t be here with you if there was.”
“Just making sure.” Being married hadn’t stopped people he’d known from finding someone on the side.
“I’m a single woman who lives with two kittens.” She arched her brows. “What a cliché.”
He laughed, mostly with relief that she was single. “It’s all a matter of how you look at it. How about you’re a badass neuroscientist who wrangles two mischievous felines?”
“The wrangling is right. Mischievous is also accurate. I never knew how wild two kittens could be. I’ve had cats before, but these two feed off each other’s energy.”
“How old are they?”
“Almost a year. Maybe they’ll calm down soon. I have my neighbor checking in on them while I’m here. So far, no calls that they’ve destroyed the place. So, there’s that.”
“You’re not home yet. They could have done some major damage while you were gone.”
She swatted his bicep. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
He glanced at her hand, wishing she’d kept it on his arm. “I’ve lived with various pets growing up. When they’re quiet, that means trouble.”
She clucked her tongue. “How true.”
He brushed his fingers over her bare shoulder, unable to keep from touching her. “I can’t believe I ran into you after all the years—and finding someone hasn’t snatched you up. You’re smart. Sophisticated. Sexy. Sassy…”
Her lips curled into a semi-smile. “I like the alliteration.”
“And sarcastic.”
She laughed. “Snappy.” With a quick glance at him, she said, “What about you? No wife or girlfriend?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Military life is tough, especially for the person who stays home. I already have my mom worried about me. I can’t put another woman through that.”
She glanced at him with a speculative expression. “Still, some couples make it work, right?”
“Yeah, some of my teammates are married and have kids. I don’t know how they do it. Not only would I feel guilty about all the worrying I’d cause, but…” He paused, not sure he should finish what he’d started to say.
“But what?”
He stared out to the ocean and exhaled. “I’ve seen a lot of cheating. People getting lonely, maybe. Or jealous. Wondering about that might drive me crazy.”
A few seconds passed before she responded. “I guess you’d need to find the right partner. Someone you could trust completely with your heart.” Her expression turned wistful.
Exactly. “An elusive discovery.” He grunted and added, “Not that I’ve been looking.”
He glanced at her and their gazes locked. He heated from the inside out while his brains scrambled, sizzling like an egg being dropped on the pavement at midday in Kabul.
No. Time to get a grip. He broke the gaze. “Enough about me. Now it’s your turn to spill.”
She didn’t answer right away. Would she?
“You knew I was planning on going to MIT, and I did. Then I earned my doctorate at Brown, focusing on brain science.”
Not only had she pursued her goal to study at MIT, she’d gone beyond it and earned her doctorate. Admirable. That was one of the things that drew him to Cate back in high school—her intelligence. She was different from the other girls. They could talk on the phone and never run out of conversation.
“What made you go into that field?” he asked.
She let out a soft exhale. “I know it’s been a long time, but do you remember what happened with my cousins?”
His mind raced back there, and once he remembered, it all made sense. “One had epilepsy, another a tumor, which turned out to be cancer.”
“Exactly.” Her demeanor darkened and worry etched in her expression.
Now for the difficult follow-up question. He swallowed. “Are they all right?”
“They are.” A relieved smile passed over her face, and like an ocean wave, it was gone. “They’re both in high school now. One should have graduated by now, but he missed a lot of school during the treatments.”
“I can see why you’d want to learn more about the brain,” he said.
“Right.” She turned to face him and gestured with her hands. “They’re the reason I started to learn about it when I was younger—and the inspiration for me to want to help people with brain issues. The more we understand how it functions, the better we can treat conditions like what my cousins had to endure. Maybe even prevent them from ever happening. I’m mapping out areas with technology and conducting experiments to see how we can encourage other parts of the brain to adapt and take on functions of damaged areas, like memory in Alzheimer’s patients.”
As she spoke, her eyes brightened and her tone turned excited, showing passion for her work. What a difference from how she’d seemed closed off about it minutes before.
“That’s impressive, Cate,” he replied. “So many warfighters suffer traumatic brain injury. We’re always trying to improve medical treatment on the battlefield. You want to save everyone you can.”
Her gaze fixed on his, as if seeing right into him. “But sometimes you can’t.”
His throat tightened. He cleared it. Before they probed that topic deeper, he had to steer away. If she could do that, so could he. “You work in Providence?”
“Right, at a university. Although I teach, I’m still learning. There’s so much we still don’t know about the brain. And if we did, it could lead to tremendous advances, not just in medical treatment for kids like my cousins, but other areas of health care.” With a nod in his direction, she added, “Even for military and veterans.”
He gulped. “Like PTSD?”
“Yes, exactly. Once you understand what the brain needs and how it functions, you can help it heal. Memory is one aspect that fascinates me. Intuition is another.” She studied him with a keen gaze. “Do you ever get a sense that something is wrong, without knowing why?”
Angelo’s muscles tensed. Hell, he’d experienced it on the mission with Donovan. The hair on the back of his neck had raised as they traversed the dense forest in South America.
Something had been wrong. What, he couldn’t place. It had gone beyond situational awareness.
Moments later, their team had been ambushed. Enemies attacked from out of nowhere, like camouflaged ghosts haunting the jungle. Everything turned FUBAR. Donovan had been hit. The gash on his abdomen hadn’t been pretty. The prognosis didn’t look good.
Angelo attempted to treat the wound, taking slow breaths while bullets whipped past his ears. The scent of gunfire engulfed the surroundin
g forest. Cold sweat drenched his overheated body and his fingers trembled.
“I’ve got you, Donovan. You’re going to be okay.”
A damn lie. Donovan bled out on the jungle floor. Angelo’s face was the last he had seen.
“Are you all right, Angelo?”
He snapped back to the present at the sound of her voice and her hand on his shoulder. His heart slammed against his ribs as if he were still there in the forest. It had all been so vivid.
Catherine watched him with a concerned expression, and then moved to pull her hand away. He placed his hand on top of hers, keeping it there. His skin felt too hot. Too tight. Too clammy.
He took measured breaths and scanned his surroundings. They were near the ocean in Newport. Not in some jungle fighting off an ambush.
Shaking the disturbing memory off like it was an unwanted blanket in a blazing hot desert, he replied. “Yes, I’m fine.” He released a shaky exhale. “I was thinking about what you said.”
“I’m sorry if I said something that upset you.”
Shit, he had to get himself together. He couldn’t unravel in front of Cate. He released her hand and squeezed his hands into fists. Fuck. The doubts slipped in, the ones that slithered like eels making him question how much longer he could do this. This leave was a test of sorts. If he could recuperate during leave, he’d be able to return to his team and function the way they needed him. The entire team looked up to the corpsman. After all, he’d be the one to try to save their asses when it came down to it. He couldn’t lose his edge. If so, he’d no longer be an asset to the team.
Compartmentalize. Look around you and come back to the present.
He fixed his gaze on Cate and forced himself to lighten the sudden somber vibe. “Forget about it. I was thinking how good you got me yesterday,” he lied. “If my team finds out, I’d never hear the end of it.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “I won’t tell.”
“Where did you come up with that story?”
Cate flinched. Her eyes darkened.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She brushed at her tank top like she was removing something, which he guessed was nonexistent.
“Did I say something?”
“No.” Every part of her appeared to tense, from the tightness in her lips to her straight spine.
What had he said that triggered her response? “Something seems off. If you don’t want to tell me, Cate, I get it. I haven’t been a part of your life, and I have no business asking you personal questions.” Plus, he’d just evaded revealing what bothered him to her and then straight up lied. He grimaced at the hypocrisy.
Although it was none of his business, it bothered him. He had to know things. And when he didn’t, he’d continued to poke at it until he found out. But he wouldn’t push her and kill their day together.
“It’s not that.” The strange tone of her voice made him stop to face her. She stopped walking.
“What is it?” he asked. “Are you afraid of something?”
She shook her head and then bit her lip. Her troubled expression indicated she might be wrestling with something. She took a deep breath and exhaled with a catch in her sigh.
“Yes, I’m afraid.” She stepped closer so they were less than a foot apart. She stared up at him with vulnerability in her eyes.
“Of what?”
Her breath quickened, breasts rising and falling. She continued to stare into his eyes and the mood changed. Heat engulfed him, entirely separate from the summer sun. She lifted her hand and ran it over his beard with a gentle caress.
“Regrets.” Her eyelids lowered and her voice turned breathy.
Being so close to her, gazing into her eyes, having her look at him like that—it left him taut with anticipation.
“Regrets?” he repeated.
Her gaze lowered to his mouth and she leaned toward him. Instinct drove him to lower his head in what seemed like slow motion. Her warm breath fanned his face. With their lips only inches apart, she exhaled with a soft sigh. That tiniest of sounds affected him more than he thought possible.
“I’m afraid of walking away and then I’ll drown in wonder and regret.” She rose to her tiptoes and moved a hairbreadth from his lips. “Not this time.”
Chapter Six
Catherine
The instant Catherine’s lips touched Angelo’s, sparks ignited. Every nerve ending seemed to flare with life.
Had she really been the one to make the first move? They were on a public walkway along the cliffs where anyone could walk by! This was so unlike her, and the first time she’d been so bold. What was it about Angelo? Since she had run into him yesterday, her thoughts were so confused, as if her brain was forging new neural pathways. Their conversation had turned intense. When he’d asked about how she’d come up with her act, she had to end that conversation. Trent’s intrusions had invaded enough of her head space. She wasn’t going to let it interfere with what might be her only chance to reconnect with Angelo.
It was time to shut her overanalytical mind off and be in the moment. Finally experience what she’d fantasized about for years.
When he pressed his tongue to the seam of her mouth, she opened her lips wider, and their tongues clashed. He tasted clean with the faint hint of minty toothpaste.
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body against his. A new wave of heat pulsed through her, intensifying within her core. She ran her fingers through his hair, moaning softly into his mouth. With the other hand, she trailed her fingers over the back of his neck.
She was so damn glad she listened to her body this time instead of letting her head get in the way.
After all these years, she was kissing Angelo again. It was even better than she’d remembered, and more romantic than she’d fantasized with the seaside setting. They devoured each other in this kiss as if it had been building up for ten years.
Well, it had—for her.
She lost herself in the kiss, but then strove to imprint every detail to memory. The romantic glow from the sun warming their skin and twinkling on the water. His beard fanning her face, so different from the last time they’d kissed when he had been clean-shaven. The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks and the salty scent permeated the air. The touch of his hands as he stroked her lower back left a trail of heat burning through her. Even the soft brush of his hair under her fingertips affected her in a strange way deep within.
And there was no mistaking his excitement when he pressed against her. It sent a wave of wet heat in between her legs.
The sound of giggles nearby barely registered.
Angelo pulled away from her. “Come on, we should get moving.”
She gasped for air. It took a couple of seconds for his words to sink in. Go where? And why? She was content to stay where they were, kissing Angelo for eternity.
A glimpse at the passersby on the trail who cast quick glances at them sobered her. Ah, right. They were in public. There were middle-school girls nearby, giggling as they shot glances over.
Hot damn. Her cheeks heated. What a blatant public display of affection, something she would never, ever do.
A slow smile spread across her face. It had been worth it.
An hour later, they were seated outside at a seaside restaurant on the wharf with a view of the ocean. Seagulls flew nearby, likely searching to scavenge for a scrap of fallen seafood. A gentle breeze caressed Catherine’s skin. She breathed in the ocean scent, hoping it would calm her racing pulse.
She had to center herself. Her reaction to him was too volatile. She stirred her cup of clam chowder, whisking the oyster crackers around until they were buried.
She’d agreed to spend the day with Angelo. But, what about the night?
He took a bite of the clam chowder and her gaze drifted to his mouth. His lips were right there. If they both leaned across the table…
“What are you thinking about?” He eyed her with speculation.
She snappe
d out of her ruminations and stirred with more vigor. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
The way he continued to appraise her indicated he knew she was full of it. She struggled to not let her emotions control her reaction. What was happening in her body was just a biological drive for reproduction. The attraction consuming her mind was simply a chemical reaction.
Don’t overthink this.
Why couldn’t she let go and enjoy herself? If she could brush off her inhibitions and avoid over-analyzing the implications, she could invite him back to her place for the night and do the things she regretted not doing with him ten years ago. Hadn’t she waited long enough?
“You look like you’re worried about something.”
“I’m just—” She released the spoon. “Thinking.”
“About?” he prodded.
Clearly, he wasn’t going to let it go.
She leaned back in her chair and smoothed invisible wrinkles from her tank top. “Do you ever think about the night before you left?”
He grunted. “Of course. That was my last night as a civilian. I was scared shitless about what I was about to get myself into.”
“I mean—what happened—or almost happened, with us.”
He put his spoon down. “Oh. That.”
The back of her neck tensed. Why had she brought that up? It was a decade ago. Stupid. So stupid.
“Of course.” His voice lowered to a smooth, dark timbre.
She glanced up, not knowing what to expect. His deep brown eyes were warm as they probed hers, locking her in. She seemed to sink into his gaze, the intensity of it was too much.
“I wish things had gone differently that night,” she admitted.
Her face warmed. Had she just blurted that out? Damn him and his penetrating stare, drawing the truth out from where she’d buried it many years ago.
“Me too,” he said. “But you weren’t ready.”
True. But it would have been better to lose her virginity to him, someone she cared about, rather than during an awkward encounter with a college friend. Then again, with Angelo it might have left her heart in more splintered pieces when he went away. It had been devastating enough.
Angelo: A Second Chance Navy SEAL Romance Page 6