A SEAL's Pleasure (9 page)

“He's pissed because he outranks me but can't outgun me?” Gabriel gave a humorless laugh. “So if I go the OTC route, get my officer training and commission, he'll be okay that I can kick his ass at every single thing?”

“Probably not okay with it. But he'd quit fucking with you.”

Crossing his hands behind his head, Gabriel let his mind wander back to Tessa. She was starting to relax with him. He'd never looked for that in a woman before, but it was seriously appealing. Because a relaxed Tessa was an open Tessa.

“What're you going to do about it?”

“Do about what?” Gabriel glanced over to see Scavenger's intense frown.

“Jackrabbit's games.”

Nothing that would mess with the team. The team was family; it was everything. But Gabriel wasn't going to say that to Scavenger. Not while the guy was in such an ass-kicking mood.

“I'll watch my ass,” he promised instead.

“Fine,” Scavenger said, his tone ripe with frustration. “But if he pulls any crap again, you'd better report him.”

Closing his eyes as if he were heading for sleep, Gabriel grunted. Hopefully Scavenger would take the sound as agreement. But he wouldn't be reporting anyone. Irish had enough on his plate with the wedding coming up and a baby that looked like a bunch of squiggly lines. The last thing he needed was being stuck refereeing a pissing match.

Gabriel tried to set it all aside and slide into sleep. But it wasn't until he let his mind drift to Tessa, to imagining her face when she'd found her flowers, that he was able to relax.

Crazy, since relaxing was the last thing that ever came to mind when he thought of her.

8

“S
O
GOOD
OF
you to join us, Tessa.”

At Jared's sarcastic welcome, Tessa deliberately slowed her rush into his office to a saunter, but kept her own snarky rejoinder to herself. Just because she was in a vile mood didn't give her reason to take it out on anyone else.

“Sorry I'm running late,” she said with a saccharine-sweet smile of her own. She wasn't sure that she wanted to antagonize him. At least, not yet.

She'd actually been here on time, but she had been waylaid by their receptionist-slash-intern, who'd wanted to compliment her on her great shoes, then had whispered the news that she'd overheard Jared calling their accountant for an audit of the books.

She figured she'd see if that little fact came up in the course of the meeting and what the reasoning was. And
then
she'd decide if she wanted to antagonize him.

“Since you're finally here, why don't we get started,” Jared said, moving to take his place behind the chrome-and-glass workstation that served as his desk. Or as Maeve liked to call it, his command center. Because he always took command when he sat at it. From his trendy blond hairstyle to his five-hundred-dollar suit to the glossy shine of his shoes, Jared thrived on images. Since Tessa did, too, she knew how important those props were and didn't begrudge him. At least, not until he tried to use them on her.

It wasn't until Tessa reached the desk that she realized that they weren't the only two people here.

“Hey, Maeve,” she said in surprise. Maeve was usually a woman who was difficult to overlook.

“Hey, Tess,” Maeve said from where she'd slumped in a chrome-and-leather chair, her head resting on the edge of the backrest and her legs sprawled out in front of her. The redhead's complexion was a delicate shade of green, clashing with her magenta sweatshirt.

“You look like hell,” Tessa observed, ignoring Jared's gesture that she take the matching chair so they could begin the meeting. Instead, she dumped her satchel in the chair, then laid the back of her hand on Maeve's forehead. “You're sick. Why are you in here if you're sick?”

“Captain Bligh here commanded my presence.”

Tessa turned accusing eyes on Jared.

“You hauled her in here when she's sick? What the hell, Welch? What's so important that this meeting had to be held today?”

And more important, could he justify blowing her chances of seeing Romeo today? With Livi's wedding countdown heading into days now instead of weeks, there was a good possibility that he'd show up soon. She'd never spent this much time thinking about a man as she had Gabriel. She'd never wanted to see one as much as she did him. And Jared's little meeting was delaying that.

She pursed her lips as she looked at her business partner's face. She and Maeve had been trying to nail down what Jared was up to, but for the past two weeks, that'd been a whole lot of nothing. No more questionable behavior; no more suspicious work hours. He'd been back to business as usual. It would have been easy to write her previous misgivings off to an overactive imagination.

Except she knew better.

“I appreciate you both coming in. There are a few things I'd like to discuss.”

Tessa glanced at Maeve, feeling better when she saw the other woman had opened her eyes to give him a narrow look.

“Then hurry up and discuss so I can go home,” Maeve suggested.

“Of course.” And off he went, for the next twenty minutes, outlining where the magazine stood with subscribers, online views and advertising dollars and a couple of marketing angles he wanted input on.

At first, Tessa only listened with half an ear while thinking about Romeo. With the wedding just around the corner, they were guaranteed an entire week in each other's company. A month ago, she'd have figured that was just enough time to seduce him past his silly romance idea, have her wild way with his body a few dozen times and finally get him out of her system.

But now she wasn't so sure she wanted him out of her system. Or that he'd leave even if she tried to boot him. Swinging her leg, she admired the way the light glinted off her patent leather T-straps and mentally pictured herself wearing just the shoes, stockings and Romeo's hands.

Then Jared's words caught her undivided attention.

“We'll need to sideline a few of these new ideas of yours, Tessa. Flirting with life is all well and good, but our focus is on the singles scene. Let's stay focused.”

Tessa wanted to growl. She'd worked hard outlining those ideas, making sure each one tied into the singles scene enough to fit their demographic. Jared and Maeve had both agreed that they were a great idea to test out over the next quarter. Tessa figured it was her chance to prove—to herself if nobody else—that she was a solid writer. She gave Jared the evil eye as he continued his spiel. Why was he sidelining her ideas?

“So.” He wound up with that big, friendly smile that always convinced clients to book double their advertising space. “That about sums it up. Are you on board, ladies?”

The only thing she was on board with was the idea of throwing a tantrum over his suggestions. Since all that'd do would be to put Jared's back up, she tried to swallow the string of cuss words clogging her throat.

“Why the changes?” Maeve asked from her slump, not opening her eyes.

“Changes?” His expression as innocent as a Boy Scout, Jared spread his fingers wide as if to ask whatever could she mean. Tessa was sorry Maeve was feeling so lousy, because this really was a great performance that she was missing.

“Changes,” Tessa said, finally managing a friendly tone. “Everything you've mentioned today indicates a change in strategy for the magazine from the direction we agreed to earlier this year. Why?”

“Why don't you skip the bullshit and give us the bottom line while you're at it?” Maeve suggested, shifting to sit cross-legged. She planted her elbows on her knees, her chin on her fists, and waited.

Tessa was so relieved she wanted to lean over and kiss the other woman. But she really didn't want whatever bug Maeve was brewing. Instead, she arched one brow at the redhead. Exultation filled her when she got a slight nod in return. It was time to confront Jared and find out what he'd been up to.

“Bottom line?” he asked, his tone dripping with innocence.

“Yes, the bottom line. Explain what you've been sneaking around doing.” With a steely look, Tessa added, “While you're at it, you can explain why you called for an audit of our finances, too.”

Maeve hissed like a scalded cat, but Tessa kept her eyes locked on Jared. He looked perfectly at ease, his smile mellow and his eyes calm. But they'd worked together long enough, and she knew men well enough, that she could see the tells. His gaze shifted just a little, focusing on her ear instead of her eyes. He kept rubbing his finger over the edge of his desk, and his pulse was bouncing against his throat like a jackhammer.

“Yes, explain,” Maeve said, her nails drumming an angry beat on his desk.

“Okay, well, as you know the magazine is growing at an impressive rate. Impressive enough to catch the eye of some big names. I was approached with an offer.”

Tessa's stomach pitched when he named a huge publishing conglomerate. She subscribed to a number of their magazines. Maybe she should be flattered that they wanted the magazine. But without
Flirtatious
, what would she do? What where the odds of finding another job that would hire her to write
sexy
articles about flirting?

Tessa resisted the urge to follow Maeve's lead and press her fingers against her eyelids to stop the pressure pounding there.

“What did they offer?”

He named an amount that made Tessa blink. With that kind of money, she wouldn't have to worry about what to do for at least a year, maybe longer.

“Why didn't you tell us?” she asked faintly.

“In part because it was only an initial offer. It's a good one, but I think we can get more.” His eyes wide with studied innocence, Jared lifted his palms. “Before I brought it to the two of you, I wanted to do some research, run a few projections. Based on a few things they'd mentioned and looking into their holdings, I was able to analyze the direction they'll likely take if they buy
Flirtatious
. Once I knew that, I realized that if we initiated the changes and brought in a couple more big advertising accounts, we could ask at least three times what they'd offered.”

She tried to process what it all meant. That was obviously a lot of money, but she'd be out of work. She wouldn't have to find new ways to recycle the same topics, but those topics—flirting, the games between the sexes, presenting a pretty picture—were more than just themes. They were who she was.

“The bottom line is that you want to sell
Flirtatious
,” Maeve said in a tight voice.

“The bottom line is we have an opportunity to sell it,” he countered. “A very lucrative one. We'd be stupid to not consider it.”

Her lower lip wanted to tremble, but Tessa held it firm. She knew he hadn't set out to hurt them. She realized that he was only looking out for what was best for the company. But, dammit, she felt as though everything important in her life was slipping away and she couldn't do a thing to stop it.

“What's your plan?” Maeve asked quietly. Her eyes were bloodshot and she seemed a little shell-shocked, but Tessa could see her mind already working.

“First off, we update the format and freshen the look of the magazine, the e-zine and all our social networks. That'd be on you, Maeve. I'll focus on finessing some new advertisers and fine-tuning the proposal.”

He gave Tessa a hesitant smile.

“For editorial, the new columns and article slant are vital. The entire magazine revolves around your style, your voice. If you were to begin expanding focus, we'd see the impact much sooner.”

“Which means what?” she asked, giving up on saving her makeup—or her eyeballs—and pressing her fingers against her brows to try to relieve the pressure. He wanted her to write articles on flirting with your spouse and date nights for married couples? The Top Ten Pickup Lines to Use While Doing Dishes Together? How was she supposed to do this?

“Which means if you're spearheading the changes, odds are more readers will engage. Then, instead of waiting six months, we could probably go back to the negotiating table in two.” Noting the shocked looks on the women's faces, Jared offered a reassuring smile. “Hey, there's no guarantee it'll pan out. If it doesn't, these changes will still make the magazine stronger.”

“And if it does?” Tessa asked quietly.

“If it does, and we're all in agreement, we sell the company.” He lifted both palms and shrugged. “Then we three go our separate ways, all the richer.”

“Go our separate ways...” she repeated on a sigh.

“Nothing lasts forever.”

* * *

G
ABRIEL
WASN
'
T
A
man who believed in judging others.

He'd never ragged on the guys who spent their off hours on the phone with their ladies instead of partying or blowing off steam. He'd never understood it, though.

Until Tessa.

Suddenly he was turning down invites to drive to the nearest base and party at the officers' club because he might catch Tessa before she went to work. He was making excuses to bow out of card games because Tessa should be home from work on her side of the world. He'd even debated giving up sleep one night to call her while she was off work. Except he knew he needed to be fresh and at 100 percent for maneuvers. Especially now that word had come down what they were training for. It was going to be big, and given that Jackrabbit was still being a jackass, Gabriel needed to be on top of his game. As much as he'd like some Tessa time, he couldn't let the team down. He had no problem blowing off bartenders and suckers who wanted to give him their poker money, though.

He watched a few of his teammates and a handful of the support crew head for town, their headlights bright against the desert terrain. Then he vaulted onto the back of one of the cargo trucks, got comfortable and pulled out his cell phone.

It only took two rings before she answered.

“So what're you wearing?”

“Isn't that supposed to be my line?” he asked with a grin, barely noticing as the bands of stress and worry unraveled from his chest.

“Have you ever taken me—or rather, mistaken me—for a traditional kind of woman?”

“Sexy, gorgeous, sweet, clever, savvy, tempting, smart, intriguing, mouthwatering,” he recited, imagining her face. A task made easy since he saw it every night in his dreams. “Nope, no
traditional
on my list.”

“Well, then?”

Gabriel glanced down at the camouflage pants tucked into heavy boots, the familiar feel of his sidearm nudged against his hip.

“Let's just say I'm dressed for action,” he teased.

“Whatever sort of action you're getting, I'll bet what I've got is better,” she promised in a tone that sent dual shafts of need straight through his body. Since sex was as vital to his well-being as air, he was pretty familiar with the physical need. But the emotional need? He'd never felt that before.

Which made her even more dangerous than the action he was seeing here on maneuvers, he realized. He just wasn't sure how he wanted to deal with that fact. Avoid, engage or eliminate?

“What'd you come up with for your fifth spring break pickup line?” he asked, figuring it smarter to change the subject than to worry about all that crazy thinking right now.

“‘I forgot my number, can I have yours?'” she said in a deep voice, ending with a laugh.

“Seriously? Something that cheesy would work?”