Trusting the SEAL (Saving the SEALs Series Book 3) (6 page)

She tried to relax, telling herself it was just the stress of travel, of the presentation that was making her worry about everything. Probably all of it would add up to nothing, she thought as she rinsed the last of the conditioner out of her hair then shut off the water.

Toni stepped out of the shower and dried off, then padded into her bedroom and pulled on a fresh outfit for the day—a modest white skirt that hit below the knee, sunny yellow crewneck top, comfy flats—then slicked her wet hair back into a ponytail and walked out into the main part of the suite. She was about to start a pot of coffee, thinking there was no way Spencer would be up this early and that maybe it would give her a chance to do a little Internet snooping into him before he got up.

After starting a pot of strong coffee, she headed back into the sitting room where she’d left her laptop the night before and noticed a strange clacking sound from out on the balcony. Slowly, she inched her way toward the open French doors and caught sight of Spencer sprawled on one of the two chaise lounges, her computer opened on his lap and her cell phone beside him.

She gave up any pretense of hiding and charged outside. “What the hell are you doing?”

He looked up at her, his eyes going wide for the briefest moment. If she’d blinked, she would’ve missed it, because then his face went smooth and businesslike. “This isn’t what it looks like.”

“No? That’s my private laptop and my phone.” Toni stalked over, incensed. “Give them to me.”

“I’m just looking out for you. Checking for viruses, bugs, malware, spyware, stuff like that.”

“Part of your comprehensive ‘service’, huh?” She attempted to wrangle the thing from his grasp, but to no avail. “I don’t remember this being on your resume. And I have excellent firewalls, thanks so much. And you don’t have my passcode for my phone, so no luck there I guess.” A new idea occurred. He’d acted all squirrelly each time she mentioned her dad’s name. Not to mention how overqualified he was with his background to be playing her bodyguard… And now this? Toni crossed her arms and scowled. Nope. The guy was here for more than babysitting purposes. She was sure of it now. “Did my father send you?”

“What? No. Why would you say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because he disappeared months ago without a word to anyone? Do you know where he is?” She held her ground, cheeks blazing with anger. “You know what. It doesn’t matter. You’re fired.”

“Fired?” he said calmly. “You don’t mean that.”

“Like hell I don’t.” Beyond niceties now, she glared at him. “Tell me who you are and what you’re really doing here.”

Spencer looked at her, incredulous. “I’m Spencer Nixon and I’m here as your bodyguard.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Would you choose
that
as a pseudonym?”

“Not your name. Your reason for being here. Why the hell would a Navy SEAL want to babysit a nobody like me, huh?”

“You’re not nobody.” He growled. “You’re the head of a successful charity foundation and you’re Coran Williams’ daughter.”

Right. Of course. He wouldn’t be the first guy who’d hoped to get to her billionaire dad through Toni, nor would he probably be the last either. “Got it. I understand. You’re using me to get to my dad.”

“Not in the way you think.” Spencer shook his head and scowled. “And pardon my French, but you don’t understand a damned thing, sweetheart.”

“Then explain it to me,” Toni said. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you just tried to hack into my personal computer and access my personal phone records. Do you have any idea what the punishment for stealing is in Jubail?”

Her instincts had told her he was up to something and she should’ve listened, dammit. She made a grab for the computer again, only vaguely aware of the strange look on Spencer’s face, like a dog alerted to a high-pitched noise no one else could hear. She ducked instinctively at the exact moment Spencer lunged, grabbing hold of her and toppling them both to the ground, her laptop and phone clattering to the floor between the lounge chairs.

“Seriously? Tackling me is a ridiculous ruse to cover your ass,” she quirked a brow up at him. “I mean I caught you red-handed.”

“Shut up and look.” He pointed to an oddly round hole in the stone wall, just over his shoulder. A bullet hole, she realized, just as another round whizzed past them and adrenaline surged through her veins. Stone chips rained down and Toni yelped, ducking her face against his warm, solid shoulder.

“Someone’s trying to kill you!” Spencer said.

L
ounging
beside the brilliant turquoise blue pond, Spencer could almost forget he was on a mission in the middle of the desert, thousands of miles from home. Because of the oasis’ location behind the towering dune, it was protected from the worst of the heat and blazing sunshine and a constant light breeze rippled the lush green foliage around him, stirring the scent of lilies and jasmine through the air. There was even a small waterfall in one corner of the space, creating a nice white-noise filter to drown out any intrusion by the real world.

Toni had been right. It was a little private paradise.

And speaking of Toni, she was currently stretched out on her towel beside him, looking so gorgeous in that tiny scrap of material she seemed to think qualified as a bikini, it hurt. He’d always been partial to women with a bit of meat on their bones and this girl definitely had killer curves in all the right places.

At her urging, he’d stripped down too—wearing only his tighty-whitey boxer briefs now—with the rest of his clothes folded neatly into a stack beside him.

“So,” she said, turning her head to look at him, “you’re like some kind of undercover badass, huh?”

“I’m a badass period.”

She snorted at his arrogant joke. “Humble too. I wonder what you were like as a kid.”

Normally, he never talked about himself. Sharing personal details with people outside his team could be deadly, but getting to know her better was part of his mission. She’d divulged a bit about herself, so it made sense for him to return the favor. “I got in trouble for fighting once.”

“Just once?” She raised a brow and grinned. “Go on.”

“I was nine. Caught a couple of kids in my class stealing stuff from the room’s supply closet. Pencils, toys, junk like that. Anyway, I roughed them up a bit then kept them there until the teacher came back. The principal though, she didn’t even punish them. Only gave them a slap on the wrist. Nothing else. No detention. Nothing.” To this day, it still pissed him off. Actions had consequences. End of story. He shook his head and looked away, staring across the pond. “I was pretty bummed, so I went home and told my dad what had happened and he told me something I’ll never forget. He said that sometimes, you have to find your own justice.” Spencer shrugged and wrinkled his nose. “Of course, being a kid, I wanted my dad to be proud of me, so the next day, after classes, I cornered those same guys out in back of the school building and handed out my own form of punishment. Beat the snot out of both of them. Justice served. They never stole anything again, as far as I know.”

Toni pushed up onto her elbows, frowning. “Wow. Did you get caught?”

“Oh, yeah.” He sniffed. “Got suspended for a month and had to deliver papers for a year to pay for their doctor bills, but it was worth it. I taught them a lesson and gained my dad’s approval.”

“Huh. Men.” She sat up and brushed the sand off her hands. “You guys always think getting physical is the only way to settle disputes. How about talking out your issues? How about forgive and forget?” Grumbling, Toni pushed to her feet and removed her sunglasses, tossing them on top of her scarf on the beach. “I’m going for a swim.”

Spencer leaned back on his hands and watched her walk away, his gaze narrowed. Well, that hadn’t turned out like he’d hoped. Sure, he got the whole non-violence thing, and these days, he did try to use his brains and not his brawn to handle things, but there were still some times when might
was
the right way to go.

She dove neatly into the water and he couldn’t help admiring the shape of her body as it disappeared below the surface of the pond. It had been far too long since he’d taken a woman to bed and he was sure that was part of his overwhelming attraction to her. The other part though, the bigger part of it, was just her. She really was beautiful, with her dark hair swishing against her smooth, tanned back, the pert, round cheeks of her ass just begging for his touch, the soft, pink fullness of her lower lip constantly enticing him to lean in for a taste. Then, of course, was her intelligence, her way of finding the positive in every situation no matter how dire, her resourcefulness, her quick wit. Yep. Toni Williams was the whole package. Exactly the kind of woman he could see himself falling head over heels for, if the circumstances were different.

Didn’t stop his libido from reacting though. He shifted slightly to hide the growing bulge in his drawers.

Given the outcome of that last conversation, the last thing he needed was her knowing just how much he wanted her physically. They had enough going on between them without sex complicating matters too. Besides, since he’d told her why he was here, how was he to know if anything that happened between them was real or if she was only trying to distract him from finding her father’s whereabouts?

“Hey, you should try this,” she called from the middle of the pond, her hair wet and slicked back now, water dripping down her face and neck into the valley between her full breasts. Toni splashed loud and laughed. “Spencer, come on. Have some fun for a change.”

Scowling, he looked away. He should get up and get dressed. Survey the area. Make sure they were safe. Get the hell back to their rendezvous point with the limo and wait there until this temptation passed. It was too soon to get involved with her and far too dangerous. Kyle would already have his nuts on a platter for leaking intel about their mission. If his team leader found out he’d screwed the target too…

He raked a hand through his hair. Was it his imagination or had the temperature in this little paradise gone up considerably in the past couple minutes? Sweat trickled down his back and he rubbed his eyes, doing his best not to notice how the material of her neon yellow bikini top had gone a bit see-through with the water, outlining her taut, pert nipples and the darker areolas. His cock hardened and his resistance faltered.

Then again, Kyle didn’t really have to know, not about this anyway. And it wasn’t like he could call the guy anyway. Cell reception out here was basically nonexistent. Besides, his sex life wasn’t anyone’s business. He was a grown man, for fuck’s sake. He could sleep with Toni without losing himself in the process. It would be quick and hot and dirty, get them both off, then get back on track where this mission was concerned. Release some steam, work off some tension and stress. Hells yeah. When he looked at it like that, it almost sounded like a good idea, a necessity. A brilliant plan.

Toni waded closer to the shore and the water level now rested near the bottom of her hips. Moisture ran down her body in rivulets, like some kind of frigging island-themed porno flick. She looked luscious and ripe and so ready for the taking. His gaze flickered to her swimsuit bottoms, the small triangle of material covering the treasure between her legs and he damned near embarrassed himself on the spot.

Jesus
. She had this uncanny knack for making him behave like some kind of awkward virgin around her, despite his years of experience in the sack.

“Spencer? Please?” she said, just a touch of yearning in her tone, her eyes going soft with need, and
damn
… Her plea was his undoing. He stood and walked out into the pond like a man in a daze, his concentration focused on her alone. She’d become all he wanted, all he needed, the only thing that would keep him alive.

Before she could protest, he stalked straight out into the water and pulled her to him. Brought his lips down hard on hers in a deep, hot kiss meant to claim and tame. At first, she stood motionless, and for a brief second Spencer worried he’d read the situation wrong. Maybe she didn’t want him. Maybe…

With a deep groan, Toni twined her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking him to her as she ground against him, then pulled back just enough to dig her fingers into the hair at his nape. “God, I’ve been waiting for you to do that since the first time we met.”

“So have I, partner,” he said, cupping her butt and lifting her up into his arms. She tasted like sugar and curry and his every wicked fantasy come to life. “So have I.”

* * *

T
oni couldn’t get enough
of him. She wanted to taste and touch and lick every single inch of his body, make him call out her name in ecstasy as they both came over and over and over again. She’d never been the aggressor in the bed room before, but something about this guy made her want to throw caution to the wind and let loose her inner animal. They had to be quiet though. Public sex was frowned upon, to say the least, in Arabic society. The last thing she needed now was to make headlines for breaking the indecency laws in Jubail. But she wanted Spencer with every fiber of her being, and dammit, she’d have him.

He carried her over to a small rock ledge on the side of the pond and sat her on it, erasing the height difference between them and finally putting them face-to-face. With his forehead leaning against hers, he stared into her eyes. “Are you sure about this? Tell me now if you want me to stop.”

His voice sounded strained and breathless and his pupils were blown wide, all but obliterating his emerald green irises, and her own passion soared. She ran her nails down his bare chest, scratching over his nipples and causing him to hiss through his teeth. “I’m sure.”

She’d no more uttered the words than his hands seemed to be everywhere at once, removing her top, cupping her breasts, pinching their hard, sensitive tips—not enough to hurt, but enough to drive her insane with lust. Toni arched against him, all but throwing herself at him as she slipped her fingers into the waistband of his briefs, her fingertips grazing over the tip of his hard cock.

“Fuck,” he growled low, nipping at the side of her neck. “Keep that up and I won’t last.”

“We can’t have that,” she teased, stroking him again and enjoying his answering shudder. Somewhere in the back of her mind, alarms went off. This was happening so fast, too fast, but she couldn’t have stopped if she tried. Truth was, she’d wanted Spencer Nixon from the moment he’d walked into her office that day and saved her from a sniper’s bullet. And now she’d have him, just this once, to get him out of her system. Then she could get back to work, focus on her foundation and all her responsibilities. But for this moment, she was lost in sensation, lost in him and all the marvelous things he was doing to her body.

She slid her fingers farther inside his underwear and cupped his balls, but he caught her wrist tight in his grip, his grin dark and hot and infinitely sexy. “No. Not yet. Not until I say.”

Before she knew what was happening, he’d taken her bikini top and used it to secure her wrists behind her back, leaving her at his mercy.
So he is into kink, at least a little,
she thought, remembering that biting comment he’d tried to brush off
.
Eyes wide, she struggled against him, shocked and more aroused than she could ever remember being. He tapped her bottom lip with his index finger then he nuzzled her ear. “Trust me?”

“I-I…I don’t know…” she panted, moisture and heat gathering between her legs.

“I would never harm you, Toni. Never. But I will make you hurt so good you’ll beg me for more.” He winked then bent to take one of her nipples between his teeth, biting oh so lightly before lapping the area gently with his tongue, soothing the tiny jolt of pain with exquisite tenderness. It seemed her entire world, everything she was, focused on that one spot, that one movement of his lips and teeth and tongue until she was nothing but a writhing ball of need. As if sensing her inner turmoil, he chuckled then slid his hand down her belly to cup her through the material of her bikini bottoms. At the touch of his fingers where she needed him most, Toni cried out. “Yes! Please, God. Spencer, please.”

“Please what, darling?” he murmured against her breast, nipping her skin gently. “Tell me what you want.”

She groaned low, rocking her hips upward into his palm, searching for more contact. “I want… I want…”

“That’s right, darling.” His fingers stroked lightly over the slick fabric covering her wet folds, teasing her, taunting her, pushing her closer and closer to the edge. “That’s right. Tell me how to please you the best. Tell me how you like it.”

“I want your fingers inside me.” Heat stormed her cheeks at her brazen request. She was never this vocal during sex, but with him it felt natural, it felt right. “I want you to stroke my clit and make me come. Make me come so hard for you.”

“Yessss,” he hissed, claiming her lips for another scorching kiss as he quickly dispensed with her bikini bottoms then spread her thighs wide before him. “Stay still for me, sweetheart. I want to taste you first.”

Toni wrested with the fabric binding her wrists, wanting to hold him and guide him where she needed him most, but he’d tied her too securely. There was no escape, no way to do anything except balance there on the ledge and allow him to pleasure her as he wanted. The first brush of his lips against her sensitive folds had her arching hard against him, seeking more. The second lick of his tongue had her screaming for release. The third time, his tongue dove deep inside her slick walls and she felt her body convulse around him as her first climax hit hard. “Oh, God. Spencer,” she moaned.