Covertly Strong (The Strong Series Book 1) (18 page)

Nix’s fingers make a slow descent down her collarbone. Their path is a hot trail that continues between her breasts and down her stomach until they grasp the material of her dress that rests at her hip. He turns her body back towards his, their chests pressing against each other. His hand glides underneath her chin, forcing her gaze. His eyes are penetrating, practically smoldering her with a passionate inferno as her body continues to hum in desperation.

She feels greedy, wanting to soak up every single inch of him, to savor every touch, every caress…to relish everything that is
Nix
. Sloan’s mouth parts as her breath hitches, her lips begging for his. Her brain screams for his kiss.

His thumb slides across her soft, full, pink mouth. His other hand goes to the small of her back as he continues to move them both to the music.

“Everyone has a secret, but can they keep it?”
The lyrics of the song resonate inside her mind.

Can she keep it?

Can she continue to hide behind the façade?

Where Nix is concerned, she can’t. He reaches her on a level that defies normal, rational logic, and this scares the fucking shit out of her. Her mind waves the red flag and she abruptly puts some distance between them.

His face contorts in confusion as his hand falls away from her face.

“I h-have to get home,” she stutters in a quick rush of quiet words.

“Okay.” He nods and holds his hand out to her. “I’ll go with you.”

“That’s not necessary.” Frustrated, she sighs.

Why does he have to make this harder than it already is?

“Yeah, sweetheart, it is necessary.” His voice is stern yet gentle, soft but firm.

Hearing the sweet sentiment from his lips reminds her of them together—young and in love. Irrational tears threaten her eyes as she follows his lead. He pulls her off the dance floor and back towards their table. She glances at the clock above the bar and realizes that it’s almost one thirty a.m.

Shit. I had no intention of closing down the bar.

One drink turned into two and two into three, and then, the next thing she knew, she was dancing with Nix. Her body can still feel the heat of his skin pressed against hers, almost like he scorched her, left his mark on her. His touch is the only touch that’s ever resonated within her. One stroke of his fingertips turns her into someone she thought she had forgotten.

“I’m going to make sure she gets home okay,” Nix tells his friends, who are perched comfortably on their barstools, casually sipping from their beers.

Approving, both Slade and Julian grin.

“All right. Nice meeting you, Felicia,” Slade says as he stands up and pulls her into a quick hug. “Don’t be afraid to smack this dick around if he gets out of hand,” he goads into her ear.

She laughs despite the nervous, uncertain, hesitant energy that’s rolling around inside her belly. “Have a good night, guys,” she offers with a wave and grabs her purse.

Nix throws down enough cash on the table to cover everyone’s drinks and takes Sloan’s hand, promptly pulling her out of the bar.

THE CAB RIDE TO HER apartment feels like an eternity as Nix fights the urge to pull her onto his lap and kiss her until their lips are sore and swollen and chapped. His cock aches relentlessly underneath his dress slacks, and he has to discreetly adjust himself several times just to relieve the discomfort.

Desperate—
the only word strong enough to describe his current state.

He is desperate to be inside her, desperate to claim her again.

In an instant, Sloan is back in his life, and his body is already responding to her as if she’s a necessity for him. Her importance rivals his lungs need for oxygen and his hearts need for blood. He feels like he needs her to survive.

His mind can’t stop the visuals of dancing with her from replaying over and over and over again. Their bodies moving together, her soft curves pressed against him—these are images that are ingrained in his brain. His skin is still buzzing from the feel of her. That dance might as well have brought him to his fucking knees. One glance from her dark gaze and she still possesses the power to unravel him.

And for once in his life, Nix has no idea how to navigate this. Yes, this is Sloan—
his Sloan
—but things are different now.
So fucking different.
She’s changed. She’s living her life under a completely different name—a goddamn façade—and he has no idea why. His military instincts tell him that there’s an important reason for this.
I will find out. There is no other option.

As the cab pulls into the parking lot of her apartment building, Nix makes a mental note of the address and location. He turns his face to hers, watching her closely. Dark eyes stare blankly out the window as her teeth bite down on her bottom lip. Her face is filled with apprehension and uncertainty.

His brain takes inventory of their current state in the back of the taxi cab. Her leg is touching his in the backseat. Her flowery perfume fills the small space with a delicious scent that goes straight to his head. He watches her chest move up and down as she takes a deep breath, her pulse fluttering wildly in her delicate neck.

She’s visibly worked up about something, but what?
Is it from me?

The irrational side of him is pissed at her for lying because she should know that she can trust him with anything. The rational side of him—the Navy SEAL who understands the need for anonymity and to protect information—fully recognizes that whatever reason she has for having a different name and not verbally expressing her recognition of him must be pretty fucking important.
An ‘if I tell you, I’ll have to kill you’ kind of reason.

He runs through the long list of possibilities…

Is she in some kind of trouble? Part of Witness Protection? Is she some sort of criminal?

None of those seem viable considering she just spoke in front of hundreds of current and former military tonight.

An international spy?
Probably not.

Military? Secret Service? FBI? CIA?
These seem like better options.

The outline of a knife that’s barely visible under her black dress proves that she has a need to protect herself.
But from what?

And yeah, the fact she has a knife strapped to what he presumes is a garter belt isn’t lost on him.
That’s really fucking hot
.

The cab stops in front of her building, and Nix hops out to open her door.

She slides out with ease, her stilettos and black clutch in her hand. A warm breeze stirs past, softly blowing through her thick, brunette hair.

Fuck, he always loved her hair, loved the feel of his fingers clasping the silky waves.

She peers up at him through her delicate, black lashes, her big, brown eyes hesitant.

Those eyes still manage to be one of his favorite things about her. They had the power to suck him in and leave him completely entranced.
They still have that power
.

“It was really nice meeting you, Nix.”

The sound of his name on her lips speeds his heart rate up.

“You too, Felicia,” he responds huskily as he slides his hand into her brunette locks, tucking them gently behind her ear.

Her eyes close and her breath hitches slightly.

Nix doesn’t miss her reaction to his touch.

“Well…” She pauses for a moment, staring up into his eyes. “Thanks for the drinks. I had a really nice time. I never get to go out for drinks.” A self-deprecating laugh escapes her mouth. She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth, rolling it softly under her teeth.

Fuck.
He needs to adjust his cock again, and he can’t deny the overwhelming urge to bite, lick, and kiss those lips until they’re both breathless and gasping for air. God, he wants to kiss her. Taste her. Leave a mark on her mouth. He wants to force her lips to remember him.

After his brain regains the majority of his body’s blood flow, the corners of his mouth crease down from her words. His chest twinges at the idea of her rarely getting out, rarely enjoying herself. The Sloan he used to know lived for moments where she could let loose and be carefree. She thrived and shined and was at her most beautiful when she was simply loving life.

“I think you need to change that. A beautiful woman like you should be able to go out and enjoy herself from time to time.”

She shrugs her shoulders. “My job doesn’t exactly allow for much free time. Zero free time to be exact. This was the first time that I had a night out that didn’t revolve around business or patients or whatever else in a very long time. Years probably,” she whispers quietly into the warm night air.

He grabs her black clutch from her hand and opens it immediately before she can argue. His fingers grasp the iPhone that rests inside.

Sloan continues to look at him questioningly, but he ignores her scrutiny.

After adding his name and number to her list of contacts, he pushes send and calls his cell from hers—promptly giving him the ability to get in touch with her again.

“There,” he states as he places her iPhone back inside her purse. “Now you have my number and I’ll always be willing to take you out for drinks or dinner or whatever your little heart desires. We can’t have you wasting that gorgeous face behind closed doors.” He unleashes a smile that usually has women ripping their clothes off in a matter of seconds.

Her jaw goes slack and she stares back at him. “Very smooth, Lieutenant. Is that your signature move?”

The look in her eyes exudes irritation, but from what, he’s not sure. Is she pissed that he just took it upon himself to get her number? Or is she pissed because she is thinking about him with other women? He’s hoping for the latter of the two options.

“Actually, yours is the first woman’s phone I’ve ever hijacked. Most chicks just hand me their numbers, but with you, I knew I needed to find a different kind of way.” A sly smile spreads across his mouth.

“You’re kind of incorrigible, you know that?” A small chuckle escapes her throat.

A chuckle is a good sign, but a giggle—that would be even better. He used to love hearing the sound of her girlish giggle.
Best fucking sound in the entire world.

Nix shrugs his shoulders and rocks back and forth on his feet. “So…are you going to call me?”

“I wouldn’t wait by the phone…or hold your breath for that matter,” she responds sharply.

Yeah, she’s kind of pissed at him, but he doesn’t care. He’d much rather have her mad than completely indifferent. Her being pissed off proves one thing—
she still cares.

Nix leans in and gently kisses her cheek. “I had a really nice time tonight.”

She startles slightly when his lips brush across her skin.

After a few seconds, he leans back and looks deep into her eyes. “And just remember…” he whispers, stopping mid-sentence.

Their faces are mere inches apart, and her breath hitches involuntarily.

“Just remember what?” Her voice is breathy and raspy, audibly affected by his close proximity.

“I have your number and I plan on calling you…
soon
.” He steps back, giving her space to breathe—space to get her head in order. A huge grin encompasses his face. “Goodnight, sweetheart,” he says warmly before heading back towards the cab, leaving her speechless and standing in front of the door to her apartment building.

For the entire cab ride back to his apartment, Nix can’t squelch the giant smile on his face. He just managed to get her number
and
find out where she lives in San Diego.
A huge fucking victory.

One week. He has one week before she leaves for Guadalajara, and he plans to spend that time working his ass off to get closer to her. If there’s one thing SEALs are known for, it’s always stepping up to the challenge, and this woman—who he knows with one hundred and ten percent certainty is Sloan Walker—has become the ultimate challenge for him.

I will make her mine again. One smile. One laugh. One kiss. One touch. One delicious fucking lick at a time.

Game. On.