SEAL Firsts Page 20

  “I love this,” she said. Then she turned her head. He saw it there, she knew it. He saw what she wanted to say, but wouldn’t until he did.

  “Anything is possible, Christy. Anything.” He buried his head at the nape of her neck and pulled her against his chest and held her tight, but didn’t look at her.

  A minute later, she heard him snore, sound asleep. For some strange reason, the idea that he was so relaxed that he could fall asleep thrilled her. He was totally vulnerable, totally at risk to her. He had bared his soul. The words would come. She knew they would.

  A half hour later, she pulled the blanket over them so Kyle would sleep longer, but he jerked awake. He’d fallen asleep inside her and began to pump her from behind again.

  “Hmm. I’ve missed this so much.” She leaned back into him.

  “Me too,” he whispered. “Sometimes I think about you, like this, and I can’t concentrate.” He thrust up into her.

  “God, that feels so good.”

  He continued. He propped himself up on his arms, letting his groin have its way with her. She rose to receive him. “Yes,” he said.

  “I just want all this…agh…past…to be over with, so we can get on with our lives,” she whispered between his kisses.

  “Me, too.” He rubbed his lips against her neck, tipped her head back, and kissed her under her chin. He pulled her lower torso to him, his fingers finding the spot between her legs as he touched their joining. She matched his hands with hers and they touched together, lacing fingers. It was more than sex. Way more than sex. For the first time in her life, she was making love to the man she loved with all her heart.

  His hot kisses made her cheeks and chest flush. Her insides began to glow with fire. She was going to explode.

  He held her as her body jerked. “Yes,” he said as she gave him her climax. He held her tight, pressing with his fingers, pulling with his forearms.

  She was spent at last. He continued kissing her until the very end, when he thrust, arched up, and groaned.

  She turned to face him. He touched her face, fingers brushing over her lips, thumbs smoothing over her cheekbones. He planted another gentle kiss under her chin. His warm blue eyes searched hers.

  She saw he wanted to say something. She wasn’t going to ask. When he did speak, it wasn’t exactly what she was expecting.

  “You may never know where I am or what I’m doing. I won’t always be here to help you with the nerves. And you’ve got to get used to the fact I might not come back.”

  That filled her eyes with tears. “No, Kyle, I can never get used to that idea. That just isn’t something that is going to happen.”

  He smiled down on her. “Well, then, hold on to that thought. It’ll be my homing beacon. Just remember how nice it is when we’re together. I have no right to ask for anything else.”

  Her heart was aching. If there ever was a time she wanted to hear that he loved her, it was now. She knew he cared. But she wanted to hear it. She was looking for the man who could tell her he loved her. He wasn’t there yet. But she would wait. She’d do it. She’d try.

  He held her hand as they meandered down to the marina and the Salty Dog restaurant. He sat next to her so his thigh could be pressed against hers, and he took every opportunity he could to inhale the wonderful warm scent of her. His left arm encircled her waist while he tried to eat with his right hand.

  She was looking out over the boats, her brown eyes sparkling. Her face was flushed, hair with that just-fucked look that made him hot for her all over again. The whole afternoon had been one turn-on after another.

  Did she feel as good as he did? Did she feel the connection, the mating that could be for life, if there ever was such a thing possible?

  He told himself the answer was yes. As incredible as it was, he believed it had finally happened to him.

  She turned, and her eyes were hungry as she leaned into him. She pressed the nipples of her breasts against his chest and softly kissed him. She was telling him the space between her legs needed to be filled again, that she needed his tongue there and then needed to be filled with his aching erection. She didn’t have to say it. She was ready to go home and give herself to him all over again, all night long. She didn’t have to say it. He could feel it hitting his face and chest like a blast furnace.

  After they finished their chowders, she led him down the walkway by the boats and out along the promenade. Bells in the distance, a foghorn and lapping water, were all familiar sounds of this place that had molded him, had made him a man among men. These things sang to him. The familiar chilly saltwater mist heightened the warm feel of Christy’s velvet smooth lips on his neck, working their way down his chest, as they sat on a bench overlooking the water. She unzipped his pants and felt inside to grab him. She squeezed her fingers over his shaft, up and down, ending with her thumb rubbing a drop of precum over his crown. She straddled him, slipped aside her unnecessary panties, and impaled herself on his cock.

  God, he loved how much she needed him.

  Her elbows squeezed her breasts together, pressing the firm mounds against his pecs. Her warm ass was a handful in each palm. He lifted her to rub a thumb over her nub as she rode him, and gasped with an “oh” from the sudden jolt of pleasure. He could watch her do that all night. He would surprise her, take her in his mouth, and push his way inside her from behind and deep, from the side at an angle. He wasn’t going to stop until his body gave out. He’d trained well for this mission, and he wasn’t going to end his pleasuring her until she was unable to walk, and then some.

  She was riding him deep, her back arching as he lifted her and pulled her down onto him. He ground against her in the darkness, and then let her free only to have her sheath him again. He felt her thighs rub against his jeans as she moaned and fluttered her eyes. He started spurting first, and then she shivered and came on top of him. He wanted to reach inside deep, press against her womb as she rubbed it over the head of his cock and jumped with every little spasm.

  “God, I could just sit here all night,” she whispered. She lowered her lips to his and ground her pelvis.

  “I wish you would. I’m a polar bear.”

  “You can keep me warm, then. I don’t like the cold.”

  “Yes,” he said as he moved against her. He was fully spent. “I can do that. Give me an hour and I can keep you warm all night long.”

  “Kyle, I feel like I’ve known you my whole life.”

  Me, too.

  She leaned into his space and he held her tight, encircling her back and shoulders with his arms. He fell into the rhythm of her breathing and felt the tiny flutter of her heart against his chest. She had fallen asleep. He loved the feel of her warm breath against his neck. She murmured something.

  “Are you warm enough?” he whispered.

  She nodded and then looked at him. Her hair was messed up and covering her face. He smoothed it to the sides.

  “I was having a wonderful dream just now,” she said.

  “God, I hope it was me you were dreaming about.” He smiled and was rewarded with a smile in kind. He started to say something perhaps he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop himself.

  “Christy, I…”

  “Shhh.” She put a finger to his lips. Her eyes sparkled with the reflection of lights from downtown behind him. “Don’t tell me the bad news. Tell me how right this feels. Tell me you won’t ever go.”

  “No bad news,” he said, touching his forehead to hers. “It’s all good here. All of it. I want it all, Christy. I want all of you.”

  And there. He’d said it.

  She leaned back and searched his eyes. He had put himself out to her, and for the first time, he felt totally at a woman’s mercy. She could end his life with a word. With a frown.

  Tears formed in her eyes. She nodded. “Me, too, Kyle. Me, too.”

  Nothing more needed to be said. A perfect moment, a perfect evening.

  Chapter 22

  In the morning, Christy got u
p first. Kyle knew he had to get going. But hell, he’d be back. She’d tried to let him sleep, but the sounds of her doing things in the kitchen and the smell of fresh coffee kept him awake. He heard her take a shower, thought about the texture of her silky skin as he massaged warm steamy bubbles over every delicious part of her. But as nice as the vision was, he had a job to do and needed time to think.

  The waiting was getting harder. And, damn, so was he.

  Not again.

  She finished getting dressed and puttering in the kitchen. He pretended to be asleep when she climbed back into bed with a steaming mug of coffee for him.

  She might have known him better by now. He wasn’t at all interested in the coffee.

  He took the mug from her fingers, took a sip, and watched the need in her eyes fan his own desire. Oh, the things he was going to do to her this morning. There’d be time later for their little talk.

  Kyle stared at rays of sunlight that filtered through a palm tree outside, making patterns on the ceiling.

  Armando? Where the fuck are you?

  “Kyle.” Christy was awake and had been watching him think. “There was a report on the news about a fire in the Santa Nella forest. You know anything about that? About a couple of dead guys?”

  “Had nothing to do with us.”

  She sighed. “I want to believe you.”

  He thought about that. Good that she trusted him. But should she? He knew the pause told her things. Things she didn’t like. He sat up, eased off the bed, and pulled on his boxers. If he stayed in bed with her a minute longer, they’d be into another lovemaking session. A long one.

  She donned her robe and followed him into the kitchen. He could feel the questions mulling around in her head. Questions he wasn’t ready to answer yet. There were no answers in the refrigerator.

  She handed him the yogurt mixture he was looking for.

  He thanked her. “I can’t tell you things because it’s safer if you don’t know. You must promise me you’ll not go anywhere for a few days.”

  “But I will have work. I told them I’m taking a couple of days off, but I can’t afford not to work, Kyle.”

  “Exactly. Stay in place for now. Work on the computer from home. Live.” He stepped to her, slipping a hand under her robe. “God, I love this robe.”

  “I love the tie,” she whispered, pressing her breasts against his bare chest.

  Kyle leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. He felt her breath catch as he eased one hand down to her rear. “I do, too.” He couldn’t get enough of her.

  “I promise to wear it 24/7 then.” She kissed him again. She pulled back and smiled. She handed him fresh coffee, then tiptoed to whisper in his ear, “And nothing else.”

  His one free hand roamed her backside, then felt her wetness and her need. “Wish I could do this all day, but I can’t.” Her lips were soft and hard to tear away from.

  “Well, sailor, I’m totally at your beck and call. You can come here morning, noon, and night. I’ll just be waiting here, in this robe.” She fingered the tie. The silk robe parted so he could see the little triangle at the apex of her thighs he loved looking at. That place he could lose himself in.

  It almost worked.

  She fluffed her hair and licked her lips. She hadn’t given up. But damn, he had to.

  Kyle didn’t try to cover up how she made him feel. And how he hated to go. But the urgency of finding Armando crept back in. He was tired of waiting. He knew his buddy would send another sign. And he would have to be ready to go.

  Somehow.

  With regret, he dressed in two minutes. She’d made him a turkey sandwich, tucking it and an apple in a brown paper bag she handed him. He’d finished off his coffee and the granola yogurt mixture.

  “So, when?” she asked as she fingered his T-shirt that ribbed at his neck. He could still feel her pert nipples through her robe through his tee.

  “Can’t say. But I’ll call you.”

  She nodded.

  “Christy, you have to be very careful. Watch everything. Notice everything. I don’t want something to happen to you while I’m gone.”

  She nodded again. “Promise.” She cocked her head to the side and smiled. “But I like being punished when I’m a bad girl.” She held up the silk tie.

  Her eyes stopped sparkling when she saw his serious expression. Kyle saw she was waiting for her dose of medicine.

  “Honey, I don’t want you anywhere close to danger. You’ve got to stay away from Armando’s house, maybe even me for a while. They could be following me. And now, they could be following you.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “Well, look at all the attention you’ve attracted already.”

  She nodded. “Because of you.”

  “They want something from him, and yes, maybe from me, too.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “If they’d wanted to kill him, they would have. We’d already have found his body by now. Those guys always leave a calling card like a neon sign for anyone else to read. There’s something else they want.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t say. Please, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you, but I need to keep you out of this.”

  “Do I have to stay physically right here?”

  “With the gates and guards, this is probably the safest place to be.”

  “How about the gym?”

  “I’d say no.”

  “But it’s inside the complex…”

  “Christy, someone could have gotten a temporary pass key. You were right about that place. I can’t defend you if you’re not right here.”

  “I’m sure it was my imagination. This place is tougher than Fort Knox to get into.”

  “I got in without any trouble.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “How?”

  He pulled out a spare scan key from his pocket. “I took the Realtor’s key she left in the door when she was distracted with your shameful behavior.”

  “That’s where my other card went. She must have mine.”

  “Promise me you won’t go anywhere for a few days.” He leaned in close, next to the side of her head, and said softly in her ear, “Please? Just for a little while longer. When this is all over…”

  His cell phone chirped.

  “Hey, Fredo. What’s up?”

  “Not good. Not good at all. They want you for questioning.” Fredo’s voice was calm, measured, but laced with tension. It brought reality back like a cold wave.

  “What about the help from locals?” Kyle asked.

  “Not even on the horizon until you answer their questions about the bodies.”

  “They really think a bunch of SEALs would off some local muscle? Besides, those thugs who took Armani used to be military. I’m sure of it.”

  “Who the hell knows?”

  Kyle scanned his choices.

  “So what now?” Fredo asked.

  “Well, I’m not about to oblige them. I’m not going anywhere near a police station.”

  “Thought you’d say that, boss.”

  Kyle felt his choices drying up by the minute. Armani, anytime now. Another message would be great.

  “Boss, something new. Coop got intel from his Fed connection there’s a gang working with some Special Operators, bringing in some illegals, drugs, and guns. There’s a hint that there’s some official cooperation for protection.”

  “Not possible it could be Team guys.”

  “You and I know it and Cooper knows it. Timmons is shit-kicking mad and says you gotta comply. It’s bullshit, man, but hey, the locals are working with the Navy regulars. Having some jurisdictional catfight I’d actually like to see.”

  Kyle thought about the thorn in his side: Carlisle. He could smell the ill intentions of this cretin from miles away. And Carlisle wasn’t stupid, either. He’d heap it on, for sure. Tell them what a fuck-up Kyle was. How many reprimands and citations Kyle had been issued. How Kyle was such a loose cannon. Ye
ah, he could see that happening.

  “Only one thing to do, then.”

  “Yup,” Fredo agreed.

  “Meet me at the Scupper in a half hour.”

  “How you gonna get there?” Fredo asked.

  “Fly. What do you mean?”

  “They impounded your Hummer, Kyle. Found all your gear, filled with enough guns to worry the locals. Shoulda brought ’em with you, bro.”

  “I was entertaining a…” Kyle looked over at Christy. Her body spilled out from the silk robe she’d neglected to secure. She was watching him, her smile as missing as water in the Sahara.

  “Well, it’s not looking good, man. Maybe they know about her too. You better think about that, man.” Fredo’s staccato burst of words hit Kyle. Square in the middle of his gut. Christy said there’d been two sets of officers, regular SDPD and a deputy sheriff.

  Damn. How did this happen?

  “You gotta get out of there, Kyle, before they come in and get you. Get you both.”

  “Thanks. I’m on my way.” He was about to hang up when he thought of something. “You bring the razor wire back, or was that in my bag?” Although he knew he’d wiped the metal down as best he could, he didn’t recall putting it anywhere. It wouldn’t be good to have blood in his bag match the bodies.

  “Dude, you don’t remember that?” Fredo sounded irritated with him.

  “No, I don’t. I think I stuck it in my bag.”

  “Then the cops have it. You’re in some sorry shit, man. You better get your ass over here.”

  Kyle hung up and wanted to throw a chair through the window. How could he have been so fucking stupid? And it would be only a matter of time before the cops came for Christy too. His prints and hair were all over this place.

  Christy came up behind him and leaned into his back, wrapping her arms around his waist. He stiffened. She jerked in response and abruptly stopped stroking his chest. He grabbed her hand before it could start to travel again down to his groin. He turned around to face her. There was going to be no easy way to tell her the bad news and he had no time to do it properly.

  “I screwed up, Christy. They want me for questioning.” He saw her eyebrows rise up into little tents, saw creases form in her forehead. She cocked her head, and then shook it from side to side.