SEALs Honor (2 page)

This
had been a training mission, one they'd repeated five times in the past two
weeks. Someone wanted them to get it right. The team was improving, but still
needed to be quieter, faster, and more aware when the mission was real. The
people they'd shot tonight had only been tagged with lasers. If this mission
went live, the ammunition used against them would be live rounds.

Leaning
back, Tuck held up nine fingers for his team to see and understand the
repercussions of wearing out their welcome in a Taliban-held village.

The
men nodded. Noise from the rotors precluded talking inside the chopper. When
they got back to the base at Little Creek, Virginia, they'd debrief before
being dismissed for the night and hitting the club.

They'd
played the same scenario five times, improving with each iteration. All six
members of the team were highly skilled Navy SEALs. The cream of the crop, the
most highly disciplined officers and enlisted men from the Navy.

Like
Tuck, the team was tired of playing pretend. They wanted to get in and do the
job. But, like most missions, they didn't know when they would go, who their
target would be, or where they'd have to go to take him out. Only time and
their commanding officers would tell. Only when they were about two hours out
would they get their final orders and all the details.

In
the meantime, they'd be off duty until the following morning's PT, unless
orders came in that night. It happened. But if Tuck waited around his apartment
for it to come about, he'd go stir-crazy. Besides, he wanted to see O'Connell
and pick up where they'd left off the night before.

Back
at base, Delaney O'Connell climbed out of the pilot's seat and grabbed her
flight bag. Adrenaline still thrumming through her veins, she knew going back
to her apartment for the night wasn't an option.

Her
co-pilot, Lt. Mark Doggett, aka K-9, fell in step beside her. "The team's
headed to DD's Corral for a beer and some dancing. I know you don't usually
like to hang out, but it's been a tough week. Wanna go?"

"Sure,"
she said, a little too quickly. Any other time, she'd have cut him off with a
quick, but polite,
no.
But if she went back to her apartment alone, Tuck
might show up and what good would that bring? Somehow, she'd fallen off the
abstinence wagon with a vengeance and she was having a hard time getting back
on.

"Great."
K-9 cleared his throat. "Do you need a ride?"

"No,
thank you. I prefer to drive myself."

"Probably
a good idea. These Navy guys work hard and play harder."

As
well she knew. Tuck had played her in bed like a musician played an electric
guitar, hitting every one of her chords like a master.

Her
body quivered with remembered excitement, her core heating to combustible
levels. Maybe going to the club was a bad idea. If Tuck was there...

She
squared her shoulders. They didn't call her Razor for nothing. She would cut
him off like she'd done so many others who'd tried getting too close. And soon.
Walking away from a physical relationship was a hell of a lot easier than
walking away from an emotionally involved one. Delaney refused to invest her
emotions in another man with an addiction to adrenaline rushes. She'd been
there once and would not go there again.

Before
Tuck, she'd gone two years without a man in her life. Two years since Mad Max,
Captain Chase Madden, bought it on a leadership interdiction mission in
Pakistan. When a Special Forces soldier had been left behind, he'd gone back
into hostile territory against his commanding officer’s order. His helicopter
had been shot down. Max had been injured, but was still alive until the Taliban
found him and dragged him through the streets tied to the back of a truck. By
the time they untied him, he'd bled out.

Delaney
had been devastated. No one knew she and Mad Max had gotten engaged two weeks
prior to his deployment. And no one would, if she could help it. Being a part
of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment was an honor she took very
seriously.

She
understood her position was precarious. On more than one occasion, her CO had
told her she was on probation as the only female ever entrusted with the honor
of flight leader in an all-male corps. The powers that be were watching her
every move. One misstep and she would be out, and she'd worked too damned hard
to get here. Three years of training, and working her way up the food chain,
and a rock-hard body, at least where it counted, had gotten her noticed.

Fooling
around with Tuck, one of the Navy SEALs assigned to this training mission,
wouldn't go over well with her commander. But the strain of anticipation and
the long bout of celibacy had taken their toll on Delaney. She'd needed a
release. When Tuck and Reaper offered to help her change her flat tire, she
never dreamed she'd end up in bed with one of them. But those damned SEALs with
their massive biceps and quads...

Holy
shit. What a mistake. And Tuck would probably think their liaison meant
something.

Which
it didn't.

She
didn't need a man in her life. Not when her missions were as dangerous as they
were. And a relationship with a SEAL was as dumb as it got. Her in the Army,
him in the Navy. Both deployable at a moment's notice and most likely to
opposite ends of the earth. Only Kismet was what brought them together at
Little Creek, Virginia, to train for a possible mission. If they deployed
together, their sleeping together would only complicate matters. And she needed
a clear head to complete the missions she would be responsible for flying.

Tonight,
she'd tell Tuck not to expect anything. She wasn't into commitment or the
long-term relationships.

Tuck
lurked in the hallway outside the ladies’ room, waiting for Delaney to emerge.

When
she stepped out, he snagged her arm, pulling her into the shadows at the end of
the hall and into his tight embrace.

At
first stiff, as soon as she realized who it was, she semi-melted into him, her
body fitting perfectly against his. "Damn it, Tuck, you scared the crap
out of me." She batted his arm and stared up, her brow twisted into a
tight frown. "You can't go around grabbing me."

He
grinned. "Kiss me."

"No."

"Then
I'll have to kiss you."

"What
part of no—"

Almost
a full foot taller than the petite, perfectly packaged helicopter pilot, Tuck
bent to close the distance, sealing her mouth with his and cutting off her
argument. Loving the feel of her warm, full lips against his, he clamped his
arms around her and lifted, wrapping her legs around his waist and spinning her
until her back was against the wall. He deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue
past her teeth and whipping down the length of hers in a long sexy slide.

For
a full fifteen seconds, she resisted, her hands pressing against his chest.
Then her fingers curled into his shirt and she kissed him back. Not gently, but
like she'd gone without food for a week and was hungry for him, her mouth
working over his, devouring him.

God,
she tasted so good, like peaches and rum. Sweet, tangy, and devilishly
intoxicating.

When
he broke for air, she leaned her head to the side. "I swore I wouldn't do
this again."

"Why?"
Tuck trailed kisses down the line of her exposed neck. He paused at the base of
her throat where her pulse thrummed like the patter of machine gun
bullets—fast, furious, and adrenaline-pumping. He liked it when he made her
excited.

"Whatever
this is between us has to end," she insisted, even as her thighs tightened
around his hips.

"Why
now?" Tuck slid his hand down her arm, skimming the side of her breast.
The nipple beneath her T-shirt puckered temptingly. His cock hardened in
response. Where she'd been hesitant to start something physical with him, in
the end, she'd flown at him like she couldn't get enough.

He
thought once would be enough with Delaney. That once had lasted all night and
through not two but three orgasms. She'd come so readily, she had to have been
denying herself for a very long time.

They
both knew the relationship wasn't meant to last. Not in their line of business.
Members of elite forces that could be mobilized at a moment's notice didn't get
involved. It never worked. But that shouldn't stop them from grabbing a little
physical release between deployments.

Tuck
was all for physical release with no emotional ties. He told women at the start
of sex it was purely physical. Don't expect him to call or ever see her again.
Some were okay with that. Some others, not so much. He'd walked away with no
regrets.

Until
he'd met Delaney. She'd pretty much echoed his stance on relationships. Don't
ask for more. It would not be forthcoming.

"What
about Cory? The three of us have been pretty tight these past couple of days."

They'd
hung out at Cory's apartment on several occasions, drinking beer, watching
sports, and scarfing down pizza. Just this morning, Cory had mentioned he could
really see himself with Delaney on a regular basis. A twinge of guilt tugged at
Tuck's conscience. He'd never kept anything from Cory. He was the brother he'd
never had growing up. "Cory will get over it."

"And
if he finds out we've taken our friendship to another level?"

Tuck's
jaw tightened. "He's a big boy. He can take it." His hand slid
beneath Delaney's shirt, rising toward her breast.

"Did
you know he asked me out on a date?"

Tuck's
hand stopped short of her bra and he straightened, eyes narrowing. A stab of
something intense ripped through him. He felt an odd sense of wanting to pound
his chest and roar that this woman was his. But he knew that wasn't so. "When?"

"Last
night." She bent to capture his lip between her teeth, pulling on it, then
sucking it into her mouth.

He
drew away. "Was that the call you got while we were in your shower?"
He'd just lathered her up, soap sliding over her breasts and down her belly to
catch in the soft curls over her mound. Damned if he wasn't feeling the need to
shower again.

She
nodded, trailing her finger from his lips down his throat to the collar of his
shirt, loosening one of his buttons.  "I told him I was busy."

His
lips quirked upward. "With me."

"I
didn't tell him
what
I was busy doing."

"Doing
me."

"Yeah,
but we both know it can't go on." Her head jerked up when a woman entered
the hallway, headed for the bathroom. "And I don't want anyone to know
about us." Delaney worried her bottom lip as she trailed a finger along
his cheek and across his lips.

Tuck
loved it when she chewed on her lip. He bent to catch that lip between his
teeth, tugging gently. "We can keep this our secret."

She
captured his face between her palms, her brows drawing together. "No more
secrets. We need to end this."

"Coward."
He smoothed the hair behind her ears, then pressed a kiss to her earlobe.

"No,
really." Her words were saying one thing, while her breasts rubbed against
his chest, her fingers sliding over his shoulders. "We can’t keep doing
this."

"We
both agreed this relationship was temporary." Though he wasn't as sure now
as he had been going into it. He liked being with her more than he cared to
admit.

"Yes,
but..."

He
kissed away her 'but'. "And
you
have no intention of making our
relationship permanent, as you emphatically stated the first night we made
love."

"Right."
She drew her finger across the top of his ear. "As did you. And what was
it you said? Ah yes, when a woman gets too close, you walk away."

He
nodded. The thought of walking away from Delaney sat like sour apples in the
pit of his belly. What was it about this woman that made him want to break all
of his self-imposed rules? He couldn't think past the feeling of her riding
him, even fully clothed. "If we're both in agreement we won't ask for
permanency, then why end it now?"

"And
if one of us changes his or her mind and wants more?"

There
she went again, biting on her lip, driving him insane. His cock grew impossibly
harder beneath the confines of his Levis. "We nip it in the bud." He
bent to nibble her full lower lip, pressing down her hips, rubbing his crotch
against the smooth silk of her panties.

"Understood."
She laid her hands on his chest and pushed. "Let me down."

With
more restraint than he knew he had, he gripped her arms. "Okay." For
a moment he held her there, enjoying the warmth of her body against his.

"We
both know that adrenaline junkies make terrible partners." Her hand
remained on his chest. "And you, Tuck, are an adrenaline junkie."

He
nodded. "I am. It's kind of a requirement of the job."

"I
know." She smiled up at him, her lips a little too tight. "And if we
see each other anymore than we have, I might break my promise to myself."