A SEAL's Seduction (Alpha SEALs Book 4) (6 page)

Kenley dreamily closed her eyes as the masseuse adjusted the warm towel and began massaging her shoulders and upper back.  The firm strokes kneaded her aching muscles, and she happily gave in to a moment of pure bliss.  The scent of lavender and other essential oils permeated the air, soothing music filled the dim room, and she felt so relaxed that if she let herself, she could drift off to sleep.

“You have some tension in your shoulders,” the woman said.

“Mmm-hmm,” Kenley mumbled.  Tension indeed.  She hadn’t slept well at all last night, anger coursing through her from the encounter with Mike at the bonfire.  What had he wanted on their walk back?  For a moment, when he’d stepped right up to her, it had almost seemed like he was going to kiss her or something.  Like he had a reason to after their little afternoon at the pool.

She didn’t even like him.  Jackass.

She’d carelessly tossed his sweatshirt onto the chair beside her bed last night, and that had been a mistake, because his spicy scent had filled her bedroom.  His image had filled her dreams.  His body had been moving over hers, the scruff from his five o’clock shadow scraping against her skin, his hardened cock rubbing her just where she needed him…and she’d woken up.  Flushed and aroused and angry all at the same time.  Not to mention unsatisfied.  She’d tossed and turned after that, unwilling to let herself waste another minute thinking of him.  Unwilling to spend another
second
on that insufferable man.

And the fact that she’d actually been turned on by her dreams of him?  Well that was just the last straw.  She was done associating with Mike.  The sooner she finished up this project and made it back to the safety of her apartment in Northern Virginia, the better.  Lexi could have Christopher and the guys on his SEAL team, because Kenley sure the hell didn’t want anything to do with any of them.  She’d find a nice, boring guy to settle down with and move on.  End of discussion.

“Think the guys are done moving everything around the apartment?” Lexi asked sleepily from the adjacent massage table.

Kenley opened one eye and looked over at her blissed-out friend.  Lexi’s eyes were shut, her jet black hair cascading down one side, and Kenley was happy they had a girl’s day to relax and unwind.  After the kidnapping incident a few weeks ago, Lexi deserved a day to not worry about a thing.  It had been tough on her at first to be alone, but between Christopher’s reappearance in her life and Kenley’s temporary assignment in town, the two of them had kept her occupied and helped her readjust.

Their spa day had been in the works for two weeks.  Kenley was glad they’d finally coordinated their schedules to spend the day being pampered.  First they’d had facials, then they’d relaxed in the heat of the sauna.  After their hour-long massages, they’d get mani-pedis and enjoy a late lunch.  Perfect way to spend a Sunday.

“Probably.  Christopher will do anything you ask him to.”  The man was completely smitten with Lexi, and Kenley was happy they’d rekindled their decade-old romance and gotten engaged.  Her best friend deserved nothing but happiness.  It was ironic that the man Lexi had hated the most had been the one she’d ended up with, but life was funny sometimes.  The way Kenley’s own life was going, she didn’t imagine herself ending up with
anyone
.  But she was thrilled for Lexi.

Kenley groaned as the masseuse massaged her instep, and she heard Lexi’s soft laughter in the background.

“I’m sure Mike would do anything you asked him to,” Lexi teased.

“Oh God.  No more talk about Mike.”

“I only said one thing!” Lexi protested.

“One thing too many.”

“You were pretty upset last night when you got back to the bonfire.  If the situation with Mike is bothering you that much, don’t you think it means something?”

“Nope.  Doesn’t mean a damn thing.”

Lexi snorted in disagreement, and Kenley closed her eyes again.

“He’s over there now you know.”

“Who is?” Kenley asked as she flipped over, letting the masseuse work on her temples and scalp.

“Mike.”

Kenley instantly froze.  “What?”

“Relax,” the masseuse chastised.  Kenley squeezed her eyes shut, but her heart beat furiously in her chest.  Blood pounded through her veins.  She took a deep breath and tried to calm down, focusing on the soothing music in the background.  Couldn’t she even enjoy her Sunday without dealing with this drama?

“He’s helping Christopher move furniture around.  They’re making room for when I move in.”

“Perfect,” Kenley groaned.  “At least he’ll be gone by the time we got back.”

Lexi laughed.  “Not likely.  They’re watching the game.  You’ll see him when we get back.  Unless you just drop me off without coming inside and run off like a scaredy-cat.”

“Then that’s the plan,” Kenley agreed.

“Oh come on,” Lexi protested.  “You can’t leave me alone with a bunch of men watching football.”

“Not even when one of them is your fiancé?” Kenley commented dryly.

“Besides, I’m pretty sure Mike has a thing for you.  That kiss at the pool looked pretty scorching hot.  And he didn’t stop looking at you once last night.”

“Oh, give it a rest.  I’ll be going back to Northern Virginia soon anyway, and Mike will be ancient history.”

“Famous last words.”

Thirty minutes later the two women were showered, dressed, and relaxing with their feet in bubbling foot spas as they got prepped for their pedicures.  Kenley handed the dark polish she’d selected to the attendant, the dull color suiting her mood.  She’d been having a perfectly relaxing day until Mike’s name had been mentioned.  Ugh.  Why did he stress her out so much?  Why was she still even thinking about him?

“So how’ve you been after everything?” Kenley asked.  “Any more nightmares?”

The kidnapping a few weeks ago had left Lexi shaken.  She’d confided in Kenley that she’d had trouble sleeping, but she’d all but moved in with Christopher for the time being.  Kenley was relieved Lexi had him.  The Defense Department had granted Lexi a month of leave to deal with her trauma, so she hadn’t even returned to work yet.  Although Lexi was hoping to relocate to Virginia Beach, she’d be returning to Arlington and her job at the Pentagon soon, just as Kenley would be returning to her home office up there.  It would be surreal to go back and return to her old routine, but life moved on.

“I have good days and bad days.  Mostly good—I mean thank God nothing happened when I was kidnapped.  I was scared, but it’s not like they actually hurt me.  I just still don’t like being alone.”

“I understand.  You should stay with me when we go back to Arlington.”

“Yeah?”

“Absolutely.  We can be roomies for a while.”

“I’d like that.  Christopher’s not too happy that I’ll be leaving soon.”

Kenley shrugged.  “I get why he’s overprotective, but you have your work there, and he’s got his SEAL team here.  It’s not like either of you can just pick up and immediately move.  Think you’ll get the job down at Little Creek?”

“It seems likely,” Lexi said.  “The need someone who’s an IT expert—”

“And that just happens to be your specialty,” Kenley laughed.  “Well, that’s pretty damn perfect then.  I wish you never had to go through the kidnapping, but it sounds like everything will work out for the best.”

“You’re right.  I never imagined I’d even see Christopher again after ten years—let alone somehow end up working with him and getting engaged.  You just never know where life will take you.”

The nail technician spread peppermint foot scrub all over Kenley’s feet and calves, and she happily sighed.  Too bad she couldn’t justify getting pampered like this every weekend.

“This feels heavenly,” Lexi said.

“I was just thinking the same.”

“We should do a girl’s spa day before the wedding.  You, me, and Cassidy,” she said, referring to the third women in their trio of friends.  Cassidy had come down for a weekend to visit with them but had to return home to work.  She’d taken one look at all the hunky military men wandering around town and had promised to return soon, Kenley remembered with a smile.

“That sounds perfect.  And one of these weekends we need to go dress shopping!”

“Absolutely.  You’ll be my maid of honor, right?”

“Of course!” Kenley said, beaming.

The women relaxed and chatted as they finished up at the spa.  After their mani-pedis had dried, they decided to go to a seafood restaurant down by the water for a late lunch.  Kenley found a parking spot on the busy street, just down the block from one of their favorite places to eat, and the two women walked around the corner.  The area was crowded with locals and vacationers enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon down by the ocean.  Hopefully they could nab a spot on the outdoor patio, enjoying some of the warmth of the late October day.

Kenley’s stomach rumbled as she smelled the delicious aroma of food permeating the air.  It had been way too long since breakfast that morning.  She was already planning exactly what to order when a car door slammed, and Lexi stiffened beside her.  A man in a dark suit and sunglasses got out of a blacked-out SUV across the street.  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but as Kenley continued to walk down the sidewalk, she noticed Lexi was frozen in place.

“Lexi?  Everything okay?” Kenley asked, growing concerned.

“That looks like him,” Lexi said frantically.

“Looks like who?  OH!” Kenley exclaimed, suddenly realizing Lexi had mistaken the man in the SUV for the asshole who’d kidnapped her.  “Lexi, that bastard is in jail.  That’s not him,” she said soothingly, grabbing onto Lexi’s arm.

Lexi began to tremble, and Kenley pulled her friend into a souvenir shop off the main drag.  They still hadn’t gotten lunch, but they couldn’t exactly continue to the restaurant given Lexi’s current state.  “What do you want to do?  We can leave,” Kenley assured her.  “You want to wait here while I get the car?  Or we can walk back together.”

“No, I can’t go back outside,” Lexi said, shaking.

“Sweetie, it’s not him,” Kenley soothed.  “Want me to call Christopher?”

“Yeah,” Lexi said, eyes watering.

Kenley pulled her cell phone from her purse and selected Christopher’s home number from her contact list.  It went straight to voicemail, so she tried again.  If the guys were at the apartment moving stuff around and watching football for hours, why hadn’t he picked up?

“Hello?” a deep voice answered after two more rings.

“Christopher?”

“No, this is Mike.  Lexi?”

“Kenley.”

“Is everything okay?” Mike asked, sounding concerned.

“Well, yes and no.  Lexi’s freaking out because she saw a man that looked like her kidnapper.  Obviously it’s not him, but I don’t know what to do.  We’re in a store, and she doesn’t want to go back outside.  I think maybe she’s having a panic attack or something.  Is Christopher there?”

“No, they’re dropping off stuff in storage.  Where are you?”

Kenley gave him the name and location of the shop.  It wasn’t too far down the street from Anchors, the bar the guys on the SEAL team liked to frequent.  Christopher should be able to find them easily once they got hold of him.  She glanced back at Lexi, who was suddenly looking wan.

“Lexi looks really pale.  Maybe I should take her to the doctor or something.  Or the emergency room.”

“Have she eaten anything?”

“No, we were just on our way to lunch.”

“She might be in shock.  Get her some juice or something if you can to raise her blood sugar.  I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Juice, got it.”  She scanned the store, wondering if they even sold anything like that here.

“Kenley, hang tight.  I’ll be right there.”

“But what about Christopher—”

“I’ll be there in ten.”

Kenley sighed as the call disconnected.  The last person she wanted to see was Mike, but what was she supposed to do?  Lexi was freaking out.  She didn’t want to drag her back outside in the midst of a full-blown panic attack.  And she had to admit, she knew Lexi would feel better if one of the guys was there to offer protection.  Although Kenley knew there was no threat, if it would ease her friend’s mind to have Christopher or one of his SEAL buddies there, they might as well wait for Mike.

“I feel sort of dizzy,” Lexi said weakly.

Kenley looked around the store again and saw a refrigerated beverages section near the back.  Grabbing an apple juice, she made her way to the front and paid for it, instructing Lexi to take a few sips.

“Is everything okay?” the young cashier asked.

“Yeah, she just saw someone outside that freaked her out.”

“Her ex?” the cashier asked, snapping her gum.  “Because my ex is a jackass.  Want me to call the cops?”

“No, we’re fine,” Kenley said, scanning the street.  A moment later Mike came rushing in, looking muscular and mouth-watering in cargo khaki pants and a football jersey.  His large frame filled the entire doorway, and the cashier gasped in shock at his larger than life presence.  He looked ready to take on the world and fight off anything that would harm them.