A SEAL at Heart (14 page)

Both men had crawled into the backseat and it looked like they were going to brawl again. “Don’t even think about it!” she warned. Laurie turned on the ignition and pulled out, then turned onto Orange Avenue and headed into the main part of Coronado.

Stopping at a traffic light, she stared at the two men in her rearview mirror. What was she going to do with them? What should she say?

The cops went the other way, and as their lights revolved, shining blue and red, and their siren sounded for another call, Gich popped out of the vehicle.

“Gich!” Laurie yelled, incredulous. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I know where you live,” Gich said to Jack pointing his index finger. “Be good to her.” That was such a Gich action. To her he said, “Call you later, Laurie girl.” Then he was trotting down the street toward his car. Nobody told Gich how to live. He had his own rule book and every rule related to his protection and pleasure, except perhaps when it came to her.

“Well, that went better than I thought,” said Jack as he hopped into the front passenger seat.

Openmouthed, she stared at him. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope,” he said with blood running down one side of his mouth and obviously nursing the right side of his ribs. “You better close that mouth, before I take it as an invitation.”

Dulcis
domus
(sweet home).

—Latin phrase

Nestled in a row of identical white and beige units, Jack’s apartment was only minutes from their location and the base. The keys were barely out of the front door before he had her in his arms, slamming the door with his foot. It closed with a bang, and then he slowly lowered her to the floor. “I can’t wait.”

“I want you, too.” The words were breathy as he kissed her tenderly and then nuzzled and licked his way toward her breasts. Their clothes were barriers to what they both needed—skin-to-skin contact.

A haze of sensations filled her mind as his hands caressed, lifted, and moved her into the perfect position. Her nails scraped down his back, trying to gain purchase, as his fingers sent an orgasm shivering through her body. “Jack.”

“Yes,” he said, and then he was pushing into her.

Her voice caught in her throat. She was holding her breath as he filled her, and then her body was convulsing around his length and width until his name squeezed out of her throat, coming out as a sigh. “Jaaaack.”

***

Laurie woke up slowly, wrapped in Jack’s arms. Her body was warm and relaxation swept her senses. Raising her head, she was surprised to find that they were still on the floor. She must have nodded off right after…

A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. Jack could seriously transport her.

Looking around the room, she was prepared to compliment him on his decor, but there wasn’t any. Calling it ordinary might have been an insult to those individuals who strive for the mainstream. Jack’s home was just… impersonal. Not that her place was an advertisement for
House
Beautiful
, but the thumbprint of her personality was firmly in place.

Would
a
whistle
echo
in
here?
The idea of actually doing it seemed rude, so she resisted the urge. Also, she didn’t think her jaw would comply.

“You hate it,” he said, watching her. She froze, not really knowing what to say. Then he slowly withdrew his embrace, stood, and walked into the small kitchen. He pulled out a bag of frozen peas. “For your jaw.”

“Looks that bad?”

“A little bruised. I’ll give you some potassium.” He handed her the peas.

She sucked in a startled breath as the cold stung her skin. Regardless, she held it firmly in place, hoping it would help bring down the swelling and take away the concern in his eyes.

He offered a hand to help her up, and then grabbed their clothes and took them into the other room. The bedroom had to be through that doorway. It was the only logical choice.

“Jack, I, uh, well, we could go to…” She didn’t know what to say to him. Actually, she did kind of hate the apartment, because she couldn’t find any evidence that he’d settled here, made this place his home. What message did it convey if a man never put a nail in the wall? For her, a quiet place of her own was crucial. Somewhere she could let her hair down, take her makeup off, be in her own head without interference, or just plain walk around without clothes. All that was vitally important.

“Give it a chance, okay?” he said with a frown, standing in the doorway. “It’s not a palace, but it’s where I live.”

“Sure,” she replied. Her quick smile to reassure him was blocked by the bag of frozen peas. She gave up on comforting him, or even mitigating her faux pas. Instead she concentrated on healing herself.

“You won’t find any dust,” he joked.

“Yeah, I remember the Navy is very spick-and-span.” The kitchen had white cabinets, white walls, and a white linoleum floor. The rest of the apartment was off-white or beige. The furniture looked like it had come with the unit: glass table with bamboo chairs, a beige couch, glass coffee table and two matching chairs. All the surfaces were empty. Not even a speck of dust was present.

Huh, maybe men don’t nest.

Searching for a sign that he actually was living there and this wasn’t some elaborate hoax, she went into the bedroom, and there she found evidence of the man. Stacked along a whole wall was gear: fins, masks, oxygen tanks, scuba suits, surfboard, cross-country and downhill skis, parachute, gloves, cases that looked like they held guns and ammo, books, and a ton more stuff.

The closet stood wide open. Lining the floor was a shoe holder with highly polished shoes. On the racks were uniforms, seven shirts—from Hawaiian to button-down—and two formal suits, all in clear dry-cleaning bags. Were those hangers an exact distance apart?

Crap! She and Jack were very different. He was a neat freak and she had clean clothes piled next to her dresser to be worn, put away, or just stepped over. He’d even put their discarded clothing in a stack.

Taking herself into his bathroom, she noted his toiletries: moisturizing shampoo, shaving cream, razor, deodorant, Tylenol, and baby oil were lined up on a small plastic tray with an ornate sailboat underneath it. Nothing was in the medicine cabinet, and only toilet paper and bathroom cleaner were stashed underneath the sink.

Towels and washcloths were folded neatly and stacked in a wicker stand next to the shower. The place was spotless.

“Do you sleep here every night?” she asked, not believing anyone could be
this
neat.

“Pretty much. Do you always snoop in people’s bedrooms and bathrooms?” he quipped back with a smile on his lips.

“I just needed to make sure you’re not Clark Kent and this is your supersecret identity,” she laughed.

“I admit it. I’m Batman.” He answered.

“Wrong comic universe. You’d have to have a bat cave. Seriously though, I’m looking for signs of life.” The words popped out of her mouth before she realized she’d spoken them aloud. For a second he looked shocked and somewhat taken aback. Wounded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so…”

“Critical. Callous. Harsh,” he said, completing her sentence. “What are you looking for?”

“You.” Her comment was definitive.

Pushing past him, she walked out of the bathroom and sat on his bed. He stood in the doorway, staring at her.

She laid the peas on the nightstand and then pointed to the pile on the floor. “This looks and feels like you. The rest of this place is blank. Empty. None of your personality resides anywhere but here.”

“It’s a rental.” He shrugged. “Besides, I only come here for quiet, and to sleep. Nothing else happens here. Well, rarely happens here.”

“Do you even have food in your refrigerator?” she asked, seeking further insight into the tacit walls that Jack built to make his boundaries. The protection it provided and convenience was obviously created from necessity, a type of self-preservation. The military shuffled its soldiers all over the world, and it rarely made sense to get attached. She knew this fact from personal experience, but she had never seen someone with such overt behaviors.

Also, the arm’s-length factor was common in many people who trained themselves to live only a portion of their lives at a time. Jack obviously existed as a single label to fulfill his work. He was a SEAL, and that was his only definition of himself. Psychologically and physically, it wasn’t healthy. This kind of focus usually meant that there were emotional factors held at bay. Few were eager to confront the reason they wanted to live only one part of their life, because if things were rolling along harmoniously, why bother? A compartmentalized life cannot last forever, and Jack would eventually need to expand beyond his professional box. “Yes. Please note the frozen peas.” He nodded in the direction of the nightstand.

Her gaze swept up his rock-hard body.
How
many
unknown
areas
do
you
have
hidden
away, Jack?

He rolled his eyes. The silence must have gotten to him. “Give me a break, Laurie. I’m on the road most of the year. There’s frozen vegetables, a couple steaks, and soup, dried fruit and cereal in the cabinet, and beer in the fridge. What else do I need?”

“Nothing,” she said.
Me! Shut up, brain.

“Man, I can’t believe I’m allowing myself to feel like a dork because I didn’t buy a plant or pin an Eagles poster to the wall.” He sat down next to her. The bed sank and her body shifted toward him.

Her nostrils flared. The scent of his skin and the heat from his body were drawing her closer. The urge to kiss him and feel his muscles tense beneath her fingers was making her wet.

He was looking at her with those terminally gorgeous eyes, and her objections were quickly flowing away.

“Laurie, it’s difficult being this close to you, and not… kissing you, touching you, and feeling you exploring me.”

Her mouth was moving closer to his. There was no way she could keep her distance. What the hell was she going to do? An antisex shot had not been manufactured that would make her immune to his chemistry.

“Yes,” he said before their lips locked together.

“Ouch!” she exclaimed, pulling back from him.

“Your jaw?” he asked, looking embarrassed. “I’m really sorry.”

“Which one of you hit me?” Laurie finally asked.

“Gich. I pulled back. Your body weight on his arm set him off balance. It was sort of too late.” He looked sheepishly at her. “My apology is still valid, though.”

“Yeah, okay. That was a ‘pulled punch’… damn.” She watched him draw a bottle out of his pocket.

“This is Vicodin. I’ve gotten punched in the jaw plenty of times, and this is good stuff. I’m not much on pills, so there’s a lot of it.”

Normally, she wouldn’t have taken it, but she needed something to take the edge off. She swallowed two pills dry. It wasn’t long before the drug’s effects started to make her feel better. “Let’s try that kiss again.”

Their lips met. Her jaw ached only moderately, and then abruptly the pain was gone. All she felt was his tenderness and the beginnings of her own hunger.

The kiss transported her, taking her on a magical journey that ignited her senses. She drew her body on top of his. They rolled on the bed—kissing and mashing their bodies together like teenagers.

She suckled his fingers, tonguing the palm of his hand until his mouth opened, and then laid tiny licks along the tender flesh of his wrist, his elbow, and inside his arm. Jack tasted of soap, a faint hint of salt water, and himself, such a clearly definable sexy male musk, too.

Thankfully, there was no rush. Not even a tick of time to push them along. Nothing was claiming their attention besides each other.

She took advantage of it and him, planning to explore every part of him from the tops of his ears to the soft spots between his toes with gentle caressing strokes. She didn’t get the chance.

Jack had other designs and he took the lead, teasing his fingers along her skin—not quite tickling and still not satisfying her.

“Jack.”

“What?” he gasped, apparently surprised and intrigued at her frustrated stare. “Did I do something wrong?

“Gich taught me to wrestle for my sixth birthday.” She hooked a leg, shifted her hips, and flipped him on his back. Pushing his arms over his head, she pinned him. “I’m good. Very good. So, get to work, or let me play.”

“I have no doubt Gich did a great job, but… ah,” he said as his hands played over her skin. She arched as he cupped her breasts. Then she leaned down and kissed him. “Could we keep his name out of our more intimate discussions?”

Their tongues dueled.

“It’s a bit of a mood killer.”

Wiggling her hips on his rather exposed body, she felt his cock stir. “Aye, aye, sir.”

“I am enlisted. There’s no officer here,” he said before leaning up and capturing her lips. “Get it right.”

She smiled as his hands settled on her hips, urging her back a few more inches. She could feel his cock moving against her, but she wasn’t ready to give in to the temptation yet. There was a lot more exploring to do.

Slipping out of his grasp, she padded barefoot into the bathroom and found the baby oil. Turning the water on hot, she put the bottle underneath and felt it quickly grow warm. When it was as hot as the water could make it, she grabbed a towel and sprinted back to the bed.

Jack was still lying sprawled on top of the bed. His eyes crinkled when he saw the oil.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re going to have to work for your satisfaction, too.”

“Hey, I’m ready. I don’t walk from a challenge,” he said. The comment sat well in her gut. She knew he was the step-up type—most SEALs were.

At this moment, Jack was lying buck naked on a bed, reaching his arms out to touch her, hold her, and make love to her. What woman could deny that invitation?

Uncapping the bottle of warmed baby oil, she drizzled it along his chest and stomach. Then she abandoned the bottle for those welcoming arms.

Her body slid along his as she fit herself against him. His lips locked to hers as they rolled around the bed, rubbing the oil back and forth onto each other. Strong fingers rubbed the slippery stuff deeply into her skin before moving to her sensitive areas.

She relinquished control and allowed him to lay her on her back. Watching him lift her arms above her head, she relaxed back into the pillows and enjoyed his caress of her neck, her shoulders, her arms, and finally her breasts.

Her back arched off the bed. His tongue teased the sensitive tip and then his lips wrapped themselves around her nipple and he began to suckle… hard then gentle, fast and then oh, so slowly. Watching her reaction until she was on the verge of coming, he released the tortured flesh and moved to her other breast.

As his lips rained tender kisses along the tip and areola, his fingers caressed a path downward. Her legs opened to him, wanting him to touch her. Strong fingers tenderly parted her vaginal lips and then landed squarely on her clit, stroking firmly and rhythmically. Pleasure and heat flooded her body.

Laurie could barely contain herself as she lay under him. She bucked against him, wanting to move more, but his weight and strength kept her pinned to the spot.