Protecting Caroline (SEAL of Protection Book 1) (10 page)

He didn’t let go
of her hand once she was standing but merely turned and led her to the
bathroom. He helped her sit up on the counter, and had her hold up her shirt so
he could see her side.

Wolf tried to
keep his hands from wandering all over her creamy flesh, but it was difficult.
She wasn’t skinny, but she wasn’t fat. She was…soft, and squishy, and Matthew
loved it. He’d had all sorts of women, but this woman made him lose his
legendary control faster than anyone ever had before.

Not able to
resist, he ran the back of his hand up her side to just below her breast. At
her sharp intake of breath he smiled and let his fingers trail back down to her
side and her stiches. They looked good. Mozart had said to leave the wound
unbandaged, as long as it wasn’t bothering her.

“Does it hurt?
Do we need to cover it up?”

Caroline shook
her head. “It doesn’t hurt. Sometimes the stiches catch on my shirt, but it
doesn’t hurt.”

Wolf nodded,
then ran his finger around the stiches one more time. He loved seeing her
shiver in reaction. He reluctantly smoothed her shirt down and said, “Let’s go
before I decide we’re better off staying here and getting to know each other
better.”

Wolf watched as Caroline
gathered her stuff she needed for the day and they finally headed out the door.

            Caroline couldn’t
remember a nicer day. The weather was behaving and it was beautiful outside.
They’d spend the early afternoon strolling slowly around the base. Matthew
pointed out important buildings and historical plaques. They’d even been able
to get a guided tour of one of the huge ships. She couldn’t remember what kind
it was, but Caroline was fascinated at how everything worked on board. They had
their own post office and kitchen and even jail on the ship.

            After the tour
Caroline was feeling tired. She’d had a tough forty eight hours and was still
feeling the effects of the sedative. Matthew noticed, of course, and insisted
they stop and grab take-out instead of eating in a restaurant.

When Caroline
didn’t complain about eating in, Wolf knew she was probably hurting more than
she was letting on. The more time he spent with her, the more he got to know
her. She’d probably fall flat on her face before admitting she was tired or
hurting.         

            They’d come back to
the hotel and spread their dinner out on the coffee table. She’d snuggled into
Mathew’s side after eating and they found an action adventure movie on the
television to watch.

            Wolf smiled down at
the woman in his arms. Caroline fit perfectly against him. He couldn’t remember
having a date where he’d had a better time, especially when sex hadn’t even
been on the table. He knew they’d have to wait. She physically wasn’t up for it
for one, and Wolf didn’t want to rush it. He loved just sitting and talking to
her and getting to know her. Perhaps that was what was missing on his other
dates—the connection, the getting to know each other outside the bedroom.

            “Why the nickname Wolf?”
Caroline murmured softly from beside him, asking the question out of the blue.

            Wolf looked down. It
actually sounded strange to hear his nickname coming from her mouth. He was so
used to her always calling him “Matthew,” in fact he preferred it.

            “I’d love to tell you
it came about because I’m stealthy or that I have the patience of a wolf, but
alas it’s nothing so manly as that.”

            Caroline picked her
head up so she could see Matthew better. “Now I’m really interested. Go on.”

            “Many times in the
military nicknames come from a soldier’s name. Like, if my last name was
Wolfgang or Wolfowitz, drill sergeants and the other guys would start calling
me Wolf.”

            “But your last name
isn’t Wolfgang or Wolfowitz.” Caroline said giggling, stating the obvious.

            Wolf chucked Caroline
under her chin. “Yeah, well my nickname came from boot camp. It was a
completely new experience for me and I was worked harder than I’ve ever been worked
in my life. I was always hungry. Apparently every time we went in for chow I
ate my food so fast I finished way before everyone else. I’d also be happy to
eat anything the other guys didn’t want.”

            Caroline sat all the
way up, fully awake now. “Oh my God, don’t tell me. You were
Hungry Like a Wolf
?”

            Wolf laughed and
grabbed Caroline so she fell back against him. He loved how she snuggled back
down into him, shifting around until she was comfortable, like an animal burrowing
down into their bed for the night. “I haven’t thought about that old song in
forever. Jesus. And actually, yes, I was always “wolfing” down my food. The
name stuck.”

            He loved hearing Caroline
giggle. He knew she hadn’t had a lot of reasons to laugh recently.

            They both settled
back down into watching the movie. When Wolf shifted about twenty minutes later,
Caroline murmured under her breath and snuggled deeper into him. The fact she
was asleep, but still turned toward him made his heart clench. Wolf was amazed
she was such a heavy sleeper. In his line of work it didn’t pay to sleep as
heavily as she apparently did, so it’d been a long time since he’d seen it.

For the second
night in a row Wolf picked Caroline up and brought her to bed. He laid her down
and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. He didn’t dare remove her clothes. It
was bad enough seeing as much of her as he had that morning while checking her
stiches and the night before. He hadn’t wanted her to be uncomfortable by
sleeping in her pants. He’d reached under her shirt and had unbuttoned her
pants. The warmth of her skin was heavenly next to his fingers. He thought
about removing her shirt and pants now to help her into something more
comfortable but knew if he started, he wasn’t convinced he’d be able to stop, and
he wasn’t going to take advantage of her.

She’d just have
to sleep in her jeans tonight. He wasn’t strong enough to remove them again and
leave her alone in the bed.

            Wolf sat by the edge
of the bed and simply watched Caroline sleeping. He studied her and tried to
figure out what made her different from all the other women that had come
before her. After a while he gave up. It was what it was and he wasn’t going to
analyze it anymore. He just wanted to enjoy it.

            He still had a lot of
time left before he had to leave for the next mission. While he wanted to visit
with his friend, Tex, he wanted to spend most of his vacation time with
Caroline. His priorities had shifted in a blink of an eye. Wolf didn’t fight
it.

            He leaned down and
kissed Caroline on the forehead. Wolf closed the hotel door softly and headed
down the hall to the elevator. He’d meet back up with Mozart and Abe at Tex’s
house then come back early the next morning. He couldn’t wait to spend another
day with Caroline.

            Caroline rolled over
the next morning and groaned. Shit. She’d done it again—fallen asleep—and Matthew
had to put her to bed. She yawned and stretched, thinking she was such a lame
date.

            She got out of bed
and instead of heading straight for the bathroom, Caroline checked the coffee
pot…and smiled. It was set and ready to go. Matthew had obviously set it all up
before he’d left last night. Caroline liked knowing he thought about her
comfort that way. It had been so long since someone had done something so
simple for her. She liked being taken care of. Caroline turned the switch to on
and went back to the bedroom to get ready for the day.

            After showering and
checking her stiches—which were healing nicely—Caroline poured herself a cup
of coffee and settled on the couch to watch TV. She was enjoying the free time
to be lazy and not have to rush off to work. That time would come soon enough,
so for now she was happy to lounge around.

            Glancing around the
room, Caroline did have to see about checking out of the hotel though. She
figured Matthew had to be paying for it, as she certainly didn’t give the front
desk her credit card. She’d ask the hotel to switch to her card when she
checked out; it wasn’t fair for Matthew to pay for her room.

            Since she rented an
apartment before she left California, Caroline had planned on staying in a
hotel for a few nights anyway until her stuff arrived. This hotel was just as
good as any other. Figuring she had another couple of days before her furniture
arrived from California, she relaxed against the couch again. Ahhhh, it felt so
good to lounge around and be a bum. She didn’t get to do it very much and it
was a luxury now.

            The phone ringing
next to her startled her so badly she spilled her coffee. Crud. She rubbed at
the coffee that had fallen on her jeans at the same time she leaned over to
answer the phone. It had to be Matthew, she didn’t know anyone else in the
area.

            “Hello?”

            “Good morning,
Caroline. How are you feeling today?”

            God, if Caroline
thought his voice was sexy in person, over the phone, rumbling in her ear? Panty
melting. “I’m good. I’m sorry I conked out on you again last night. You’re
always taking me to bed.” She blushed as soon as she said it. It sounded much
dirtier out loud than it had in her head.

            Wolf laughed.
“Believe me, Ice, I love putting you to bed. I’m hoping sometime in the near
future I can join you there.”

            Caroline was stunned
into silence. Hell, she’d been thinking about how much she wanted him to join
her in bed, but she didn’t think he’d come right out and say it. She didn’t
know what to say.

            “Caroline? You still
there? Too soon?”

            “Yes…er…no…” Shit.
She was beyond flustered. She heard Matthew chuckle and tried to clarify.
“Yeah, I’m still here, and…a bit…but I think I want that too.” She still
couldn’t get over that Matthew, looking like he did, tall, dark and handsome, a
man who could get any woman in his bed, seemed to want
her
.

            She must have said
that bit out loud because Matthew retorted, “Hell yeah I want you, Ice. You’re
smart, you’re level headed, and I’ve wanted you since I shook your hand on the
damn plane.”

            “Uh…” was all
Caroline could get out. Holy. Shit.

            Matthew continued as
if he hadn’t just blown her mind. “So, I’m coming over in an hour to get you. I
thought I’d take you to meet my friend, Tex. The one I told you about on the
plane? He’s having a mini-get together with us, Abe, and Mozart and some of his
friends here in town. I want you to meet him. It’s casual, so don’t dress up.
Okay?”

            Knowing this was a
huge deal, meeting his friend, all Caroline could do is say, “Okay.”

            “I’ll come up when I
get there. See you soon, Caroline.”

            Caroline hung up the
phone. An hour. She couldn’t wait to see him again.

* * *

            Caroline threw her
head back and laughed unselfconsciously at Matthew’s friend, Tex. His name was
really John, but since he’d been from Texas when he joined the SEALs his
nickname was naturally, Tex. He still had a thick southern accent and was just
as brawny as all the other men standing around.

            Tex had been on a
mission and in a building which had been hit by an IED. The men downplayed the
incident, but Caroline instinctively knew there was a lot more to it than
they’d talked about.

            Tex had lost his leg
after several surgeries to try to repair it. He told her one day after he’d
been admitted to the hospital again for a severe infection, he begged the
doctors to just take it off. He figured it’d be better than dealing with the
pain of infections and numerous surgeries to try to heal it, when he most
likely wouldn’t be able to walk on it again anyway.

            Tex was hysterical,
constantly saying outrageous things to make her laugh. Caroline didn’t think
she’d laughed so hard in all her life. Caroline liked all of Tex’s friends as
well, and had enjoyed hanging out with Christopher and Sam. The guys had told
her to call them Abe and Mozart, but as she’d told them earlier, it felt weird
to call them by their nicknames when she wasn’t a part of their team. They’d
argued with her about it, claiming she
was
a part of their damn team, but
she’d gotten stubborn and crossed her arms and told them in no uncertain terms
that she’d call them what she wanted and they could just deal. Abe and Mozart
merely laughed and told her she could call them whatever she wanted, but she’d
always be “Ice” to them.

            Nobody talked about
what Tex did now that he was medically retired from the Navy. Caroline had
asked once and noticed the subject was quickly changed. She’d merely shrugged,
figuring it was a secret Navy thing or he was embarrassed about it. Either way,
it didn’t matter as she probably wouldn’t ever see him again.

            Caroline tried not to
feel self-conscious at the get together. There were some other women around,
but she kept herself glued to Matthew’s side. It was hard for her to open up,
and she felt most comfortable with Matthew. He certainly wasn’t complaining and
was constantly touching her. He’d put his hand at her waist to steady her,
brought her a plate of food once it was done, and brushed his hand against
hers. Once he even kissed her on the top of her head when she was feeling bad
for Tex and what he’d gone through. Caroline loved it, but she was still
cautious. She’d never understand what Matthew saw in her.

            After leaving Tex’s
house, Matthew had taken her to the Botanical Gardens. The gardens were
beautiful. Caroline didn’t know the name of many of the flowers, but she loved
seeing the artistic way they’d been arranged and grown on the grounds. Matthew
bought her a bouquet of some exotic type of flower and they’d made their way
back to her hotel room.

            Matthew came up with
her to the room and settled them on the couch. They’d ordered room service and
had eaten it enjoying each other’s company and the relaxed conversation about
nothing in particular.

            As night fell,
Caroline got more and more nervous. She couldn’t help but think about what
Matthew had said that morning about taking her to bed. One side of her, the
hussy side, wanted it. The other more practical side, knew it was too soon.

            “What are you
thinking about so hard?” Wolf asked, putting his finger under her chin and
lifting it so she had to look him in the eye.

            “I…just…I want you.”
Caroline couldn’t believe she’d just blurted it out like that.

            “I want you too,” Wolf
returned without hesitation.

            “It’s just…well…”

            “It’s too soon.” Wolf
finished her sentence for her.

            Caroline nodded. “I
like you Matthew, but I don’t know about this. About us. You’re…you and I’m
me…and you live in California and I just moved here…”

            Wolf drew Caroline
into his body. She felt so right there. He couldn’t believe how right she felt.
She had some valid points. They had a lot going against them, the least of
which was that they lived on opposite sides of the country.

            “Shhhh, Ice. I know
this is crazy. We just met, but I’ll tell you this, I’ve never, in all my life,
felt about someone the way I feel about you. There’s something about you that
I’m having a hard time resisting.”

            He felt her nod
against his chest and smiled.

            “I’d love to spend my
leave time with you and see if we think this thing between us can work out. I’m
not going to say we won’t make love, because I want that more than I can tell
you, but I’ll try to keep it easy for now. Okay?”

            At her soft, “okay,”
he let out the breath he’d been holding. Wolf didn’t know what he would’ve done
if she’d disagreed with him.

            “But that doesn’t
mean I’m not going to kiss you, hold you and touch you as much as I can while
we’re ‘taking it slow.’ I want to make sure you’re good with that.”

            Caroline lifted her
head from his chest and looked him in the eyes. “I’m very good with that,
Matthew.”

            He smiled and turned
and stretched her out under him on the couch. Touching from their toes to chest,
Wolf could feel Caroline’s heart beating quickly under him. He could see her
breathing increase and felt her hands grip his shirt at his waist.

            Wolf leaned down, brought
his lips low until they remained a breath above hers, and waited. She didn’t
disappoint him. She stretched her neck up until she could reach his mouth. He
sighed in contentment. Caroline wanted the same thing he did. Thank God. It was
important to him that she come to him. While he wasn’t shy or usually all that
concerned about being the aggressor in a relationship, with Caroline, he wanted
her to be sure. He wanted her to want him as much as he wanted her.

            While his lips
caressed hers, his hands roamed her body gently. He kept his hands on top of
her clothes, knowing he wouldn’t be able to stop himself if he felt Caroline’s creamy
skin against his hands. Wolf was careful not to touch her injured side, but
otherwise he didn’t hold his roaming hands back.

            He skimmed his hands
over her breasts lightly, feeling her nipples peak under his touch. He kept
moving, gentling her when she bucked under him and holding her tight against
him so she could feel how excited he was. Wolf didn’t want her to think she was
alone in what she was feeling, alone in her attraction.

            Finally with one hand
at her hip holding her close and one hand lying over her heart, he pulled his
lips away from hers reluctantly.

            “Jesus, Caroline.
You’re perfect. Perfect for me.”

            As he expected, she
blushed a rosy pink.

            “You’re not so bad
yourself, Matthew.”

            He smiled and pulled
them upright. Caroline’s hair was mussed and her lips were swollen from their
passionate kisses. She looked amazing. Wolf fitted her body next to his and
kissed her on top of her head.

            “Snuggle in, Ice. I
don’t want to leave yet, but we have to stop…that…so we’ll watch a movie. Sound
good?”

            Caroline smiled. Hell
yeah it sounded good.

* * *

            Wolf jerked awake. He
could go from asleep to being one hundred percent awake, thanks to being a
SEAL. He didn’t know what had woken him up until he heard a whimper. Caroline
was jerking in his arms. It was obvious she was having a nightmare.

            “Wake up, Ice.” Wolf
tried to talk her out of her dream, but Caroline just whimpered louder at his
words. “Caroline.” Wolf said loudly and firmly. “Wake up. You’re dreaming.”

            Wolf wasn’t ready for
her reaction. She fought against him as if she was back on the plane fighting
the terrorist.

            Caroline fought with
all her might. The terrorist was going to hurt Matthew, she had to make sure he
didn’t get to him. It was up to her to save Matthew. She batted at the hands
that were grabbing at her, ignoring his words. She had to fight, if she didn’t,
he’d kill her.

            Her struggles had
made them tumble off the couch—luckily he’d hit the floor first and prevented
Caroline from landing on her back. Wolf’s heart hurt at the expression on her
face. She was terrified and his hold on her wasn’t helping.

            “Caroline!” Wolf
yelled. She stilled, he was getting to her. He turned her over so she was lying
on her back on the floor. He hovered over her, not putting his weight on her,
but close enough he could still feel her body heat. “Wake up! You’re safe,
you’re fine. You’re here in Virginia, not on the plane. Come back to me. It’s
Matthew.”