Navy SEALs Complete Series: 3 Books + 3 Novellas (Tempting Navy SEALs) (9 page)

Joe shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about this one, brother. A bad feeling all the way around.”

“Not good,” Grant muttered.

No, it wasn’t good. Joe lived his life by his gut; he always had. It was one of the reasons he’d left the SEALs, one of the reasons he’d taken command of this task force.

“So why are we here?” Grant asked again. “I could be curled around my Maggie, sleeping peacefully, Joe. McIntyre ain’t stupid. He’ll watch her tonight.”

That was Joe’s intention. Clint needed time to assess the situation, to think about things awhile without interference. If that hit was against Morganna and another came too soon, then he’d jerk her out of the assignment and cart her off gagged and bound. Joe couldn’t afford that. He needed the other man in this assignment fast.

“We’ll help him watch her awhile,” Joe murmured. “You can sleep tomorrow.”

“Man, Maggie ain’t in the bed through the day. You suck, Joe,” Grant griped.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Grant was missing one pitiful night with his wife. So what? Joe was missing every night with his.

“If I were that mean-assed SEAL, I’d cart little Morganna off as hard and fast as possible and tell you to kiss my ass,” Grant continued. “What makes you think he won’t?”

“She won’t let him.” A tight smile curved Joe’s lips. “She’s had a taste of adrenaline, Grant. A taste of danger. She likes it. She likes it real well. And she’s damned good at the job.”

He knew the signs, knew the fire that burned in the eyes and in the soul. It made her careful, but it pushed her, made
her eager for the job. Given a few more years, a little balance and experience, she would be a damned good agent.

“You’re a bastard, Joe,” Grant accused, his voice low, sad. “You’ve really sunk, man. You knew what you were doing when you let her come in, didn’t you?”

“Did I know McIntyre would follow?” he asked knowingly. “Yeah, I knew. Just like I made sure she was in the right place at the right time when I needed him. I’m good like that.” Maneuvering it had been a bitch, though.

“You’re evil like that.” It wasn’t a compliment. “He’ll kill you if he finds out.”

“So?” If McIntyre found it, then it meant the operation had been completed successfully. That was all that mattered. Nothing mattered but the mission.

“You scare me sometimes, buddy,” Grant whispered. “Sometimes you really, really scare me.”

“I’ll watch your ass.” That one was a given. Always.

“I’ll watch yours,” Grant promised. “But, brother, one day, payback is gonna be hell.”

Joe was already paying.

Morganna saw the shimmer of color just beneath the awning of the small shed out back and knew that Clint was parked there.

He was watching over her. A sad smile reflected in the window as Morganna sat tucked into the wide frame, knowing he couldn’t see her, that he was unaware that she was watching him even as he was watching her house. And she bet he didn’t even know why he was sitting out there.

Clint would excuse it, just as he always did, but in his eyes she would see the truth. He was as helpless against what he felt for her as she was against her emotions for him.

Maybe in a way she could almost understand his determination to keep her out of the line of fire, away from danger. If she could keep him home and safe, then she would have done it years ago. But the one thing she understood about
Clint was the fact that he was a warrior. He believed in what he did; all the way to the bottom of his soul he believed in it.

Just as she believed in what she was doing.

Clint may have made certain she was no longer working this case. Morganna had no doubt that Commander O’Reilly wouldn’t prefer a trained SEAL, familiar with the role he was playing, working it. But he would place Morganna somewhere else.

Perhaps it was time to request an assignment outside of Atlanta, she mused sorrowfully. She could tell Reno what she was doing now; it was too late for him to stop her. He wouldn’t like it, it would hurt him, but he would accept it.

And if she left Atlanta, then the chances of seeing Clint again would be nearly zero. At least slim enough that maybe she could find a life outside the constant hope she managed to keep alive in her heart.

She loved him. She had long ago grown used to the fact that she would always love him.

And she was terribly afraid Clint would never change. He would always fight what he could feel for her. And he would always insist on attempting to save her from herself. As though she were a child rather than the woman who ached for him nightly.

She touched her hand to the window, her gaze never leaving the dull shimmer of color beneath the awning. He had shown her more of himself tonight than she had ever seen in him before. She had felt his kiss, his touch, his passion, and the need for more burned inside her with a ferocity she couldn’t fight.

She had fought too long to allow Clint to take this from her, though. This was different from the parties he had dragged her away from and the boyfriends he had frightened off. This was her life, and if he didn’t want to share it with her, then he could step aside and let her live it in peace.

Even if it meant she had to eventually leave Atlanta herself.

“Good night, Clint,” she finally whispered, pressing her lips to her fingers before placing them against the glass once again.

Then with a self-mocking little snort she moved from the window, shed the robe she had donned, and climbed into her empty, lonely bed.

“Why am I so not surprised to see you here?” Morganna muttered as she followed the scent of freshly ground and brewed coffee from her bedroom to the kitchen.

There were few people capable of making decent coffee. Clint was one of the best.

He was sitting at her kitchen table reading the newspaper. Dressed to kill in well-worn jeans and a white shirt that begged her to unbutton it and strip it off his wide shoulders. If she weren’t so damned mad at him, then she would have tried.

Her one concession to modesty herself was the loose light cotton pajama bottoms with Kiss This written across the rear and a rosy pink camisole top that left a swath of creamy bare skin from just above her belly button to the band of her pj’s that lay below her hips.

“I brought donuts. They’re probably still warm.” His voice was soft, almost conciliatory, as he laid the paper down and picked up his own steaming cup of coffee.

“Cream-filled?”

“Would I bother with anything else?” Amusement laced his voice.

Okay, so her habit was pretty well-known. Krispy Kreme cream-filled glazed. She opened the box and inhaled as a shiver of pleasure washed over her. Forget sex with grouch-ass. She would drown her sorrows in fluffy cream filling and melt-in-your-mouth sweet perfection.

“Why are you here?” She shuffled over to the coffeepot and picked up the waiting cup.

She heard his sigh behind her. She didn’t trust Clint when he was being nice. Which said something about their non-relationship.

It sucked.

“I promised Reno I’d look after you while he was gone.” Clint cleared his throat with uncharacteristic nervousness.

She restrained the urge to throw the cup of coffee at him.

“I’ll lie for you and tell him what a great job you did when he gets home.” And in the meantime she would figure out how to heal the lacerations he was inflicting on her heart.

“Morganna . . .”

She turned, watching as he wiped his hand over his face, his expression somber as he lifted his eyes to her. Not just somber, his blue eyes were dark with emotion, with a rare tenderness that never failed to clench her heart.

God, she loved him. And at times it just seemed so hopeless.

“Look, I just want to talk sensibly. Can we do that? Just once?” he asked.

“I always talk sensibly, Clint. You can just never get past the fact that while I’m doing so, I’m making you hard,” she pointed out sadly. “That’s not my fault.”

He lowered his head, rubbing fiercely between his eyes as he grimaced.

“I’m trying here, Morganna. Can’t you?” The irritation faded from his expression as he stared back at her sincerely. “Just for a few minutes?”

“Have you changed your mind about working with me?” That betrayal was the worst he had dealt her so far.

“I can’t do that.” Regret filled his voice.

She breathed in roughly, fighting past the pain that rose in her chest, thickened her throat.

“Then we don’t have anything to talk about,” she told him evenly. “You wasted your time this morning, Clint. The donuts were a nice try, though.”

She moved to the box of donuts, lifting the lid and removing one as she glanced back at him. He was watching her silently, calculating.

Damn him, he knew how she felt, knew how weak she
was toward him. Surely he wouldn’t try to use that against her now?

She knew Clint, to the bottom of her soul. What he couldn’t get yelling at her he would try to “reason” her into. Sadly, his male reasoning sucked, which meant she wasn’t in any danger of agreeing with him. He hadn’t tried sexual coercion. Yet.

Moving back to her coffee, she leaned against the counter, crossed her ankles, and bit into the near-orgasmically delightful confection. His eyes followed every move.

“You’re not going to even try to understand, are you?” he asked quietly.

“That you’re being unreasonable?” She licked the thick, fluffy cream from her lip with a flick of her tongue. “I understand that completely, Clint. I actually expect it from you.”

A frown marred his brow. “What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that since the moment you caught me wearing makeup and dressing like a girl instead of a tomboy, you’ve resented me. You see me as a pretty, worthless party girl without a brain in her little head. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to play into your image of that forever. I’ve actually grown quite sick of it.”

Morganna picked up her coffee, sipping at the hot brew as she watched his expression closely.

“That’s not true.”

“Of course it’s true.” She smiled gently, inhaling a ragged breath. “You think I’m just like your mother. Unable to settle down or care for her children while her husband is off fighting wars.”

There. It was out in the open. Morganna steeled herself against the hard expression that came over his face, the ice in his eyes. God, she hated it when he looked at her like that.

“This has nothing to do with her.”

“Of course it does. It always has.” She shrugged, fighting back the tears, the pain. “Do you think I haven’t realized
what the problem was all along, Clint? You believe I’ll screw around on you while you’re gone, simply because I wear makeup and like to dance. Because she did. As far as you’re concerned, I have no more honor than she did.”

“You’re reaching, Morganna.” He shook his head.

“Am I?” Her smile was forced, as was the calm edge of her voice. “I don’t know, Clint. The evidence is pretty overwhelming from where I sit. We were getting along fine when I was a little tomboy chasing after you. Once I started wearing makeup and having a life outside you, you hated me.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“You can’t keep your hands off me and you hate yourself as well as me for it.”

Her heart was racing as his brows lowered ominously, his expression becoming darker. “Morganna. That has nothing to do with this operation—”

“Of course it does.” She lifted her chin defiantly. She was not going to cry over him again. She had spent weeks crying a year ago when she made the mistake of going to his apartment to comfort him after his buddy’s death. “It has everything to do with it. How can a party girl, one step above a tramp, possibly contribute anything worthwhile to such an important cause? I’m a hazard to the entire operation, aren’t I, Clint? It doesn’t matter that I’ve been training for this for years. That I fought for this assignment and that it means something to me. All that matters to you is that you can’t handle it.”

“Because you’re inexperienced and that will get you killed.” His jaw clenched almost violently. “You’re not cut out for this life.”

She stared back at him silently for long moments. She didn’t fight the pain he could cause her. It would rise and ebb, like the tide. What tore at her heart now would ease to no more than a dull ache in a few weeks.

“Taking me off this assignment isn’t going to make a difference,” she finally said. “When I return to the agency, the commander will find me something else. Perhaps not
something that means as much to me, but something I believe in. What will you do then, Clint?”

He didn’t answer her. Clint rose slowly from his chair instead, his expression blank, though his eyes churned with emotion as he watched her.

“Don’t make the mistake of coming back to one of those clubs tonight,” he announced, his voice hard.

She tossed the donut to the top of the box as she stiffened defiantly. “Don’t make orders you can’t enforce, Clint. It is a free country here, you know.”

“Don’t you underestimate me, Morganna.” He towered over her, glowering down at her from his lofty height with arrogant confidence. “I will put a stop to this.”

“Why?” Her fists clenched as anger enveloped her. “Why do you even care, Clint?”

“Because it’s no more than I would expect from Reno if it were Raven acting so damned foolishly,” he growled. “I won’t let you risk your life, Morganna.”

“And you don’t? Has either Raven or I demanded that you leave the military and take a nice safe little job shuffling papers? Your double standards suck, Clint.”

“Then they suck,” he retorted, his voice harsh. “Dammit, Morganna, you’re asking too much of me.”

“And you’re a liar,” she raged back rashly. “This isn’t about Reno, or friendship, or anything else. The fact of the matter is that you can’t admit how much you care about me, so you’re just going to jerk me out of something I’ve worked my ass off for. Your selfishness amazes me, Clint.”

“Bullshit!”

“The hell it is.” She was in his face and didn’t even realize how she’d gotten there. Her finger jabbed into his chest as she stared up at him challengingly. “You won’t work with me because you know if you did, you couldn’t keep your hands off me or your stone-cold heart safe. That’s your problem. Walk away like you always do. But no, you have to destroy my dreams while you’re at it.”