SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle (8 page)

“So that’s…” she pulled back just a bit and frowned at him. “So that’s your plan? You’re going to live in tiny little Bolton most of the time, and join us on missions?”

“Not all the time.” So what if his skin crawled at the idea? “Just be there enough to make sure stuff is sorted out.”

Hopefully the routine would be Camo Cay—and Larken—most of the time, and home once or twice a month. Short visits.

“And are you going to find a sweet little Georgia girl to marry? Carry on the family business, make you cookies, and have cute little half-Cuban babies?” Larken shoved to her feet.

“Did you just take offense to something imaginary happening in your head?” he yelled at her as she stalked off.

“Nope,” she shot over her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Come on. We have more team-building exercises to do.”

Jogging after her, he gave her enough space to realize she was being snippy. He replayed the conversation in his head, but couldn’t figure out where he’d gone wrong.

“Help me out,” he finally said as she started gathering firewood back in the clearing. “What did I say to piss you off?”

“I’m not—”

“Don’t even start, Larken. You threw some nonsense at me about a wife and kids. Given that we just made love, that’s out of left field.”

“We had sex,
Vince
. Don’t worry, I didn’t over-romanticize it.”

I did
, he wanted to point out, but this definitely wasn’t the time. “Is this about me splitting my time back and forth between here and Georgia?”

“Nope.” But she said it like it was definitely that. Definitely.

Shit.

“I’ll be here as much as possible.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey.” He said in his drill sergeant voice because he’d had enough of this.

She snapped her back straight, then turned slowly and gave him a hard look. “What?”

“I wasn’t worried about it. I thought it sounded like a fine plan. Clearly you have a different opinion, and I’m standing here, telling you I’m fucking interested in your thought process. So do me a favor and open the fuck up, okay?”

“Nothing to open up about,” she said bitterly, picking up a piece of kindling and whipping it at the pile. “I’m not asking you for anything. I don’t have any claim on you. I appreciate your honesty, and I’m sure we can keep fucking when you’re around.”

Oh, hell no. He stormed across the clearing and picked her up, flinging her over his shoulder.

“Put me down!”

“No.” He turned in a circle while she whaled on his back with fists of fury. He didn’t care. Stomping over to the wooden platform, he sat down and pulled her into his lap.

“What the hell?” he yelled at her, not loud enough to hurt her ear drums or anything, but loud enough to be impolite. “When did I ever give you the impression that I just wanted to ‘keep fucking’?”

Her lower lip trembled as she glared at him.

“Last time I…” he trailed off. The last time he’d looked her up had been ten years ago, and he’d done it on the sly. She’d still been in the Army then, in Iraq. A lot must have happened in the next decade. Hell, she’d told him as much, hadn’t she? “When did you start working for Rik?”

She glanced away. “Just a few months ago.”

“And in between?”

She gave him a tight, unhappy smile. “Let’s not do this memory lane thing. It’s not fun.”

Jesus, this woman. He pressed his forehead against hers and glowered. “Me encanta tu temperamento.”

*

I love your
temper.

Larken blinked. He what? She swallowed hard and tried to cover her reaction. “Tempera-mento?”

“You’re such a hot head. Let me spell this out for you. I don’t want you to be my fuck buddy on or around missions. Fate or God or something has brought us back together, and I’m…
temperamento
and all, I like you, Larken White. A lot.”

“Okay.” She should tell him the feeling was mutual. She opened her mouth again. Nothing came out.

He sighed and shook his head slowly as he gave her a look. “What are you scared of?”

“Nothing.”

“Look, tough girl. I’m scared of shit. I’m scared that my mother’s health will deteriorate and my grandmother’s occasional absentmindedness will turn into full-blown dementia.”

That was hardly the same. And way more important. “What’s wrong with your mom?”

“She’s got diabetes, and she doesn’t always manage it well. And after my dad died, she was diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder, and it’s gotten way worse since my grandfather passed.” He winced. “I should probably move back there full-time, but I…”

“You can’t.” She touched his face, her heart aching for him. “No, of course you can’t.”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“My general dislike and distrust of men isn’t even on the same scale as what you’re dealing with. Tell me more about what the truck stop needs.”

“Tell me who hurt you so I can kill him.”

She took a deep breath. “He outranks you. Is there something I can do to help?”

“What do you mean, he outranks me?”

“Let it go. You know what it’s like for a woman in uniform.” She scowled at him. “Or maybe you don’t. No chicks in the SEAL teams, right?”

“That’s not my call.”

“Whatever. It’s in the past.”

“No, not whatever. We’ve got eighteen hours to hash out this shit between us.”

“Oh, come on. We’re alone on a secluded island and I packed four bikinis, each one skimpier than the last. Do you really want to talk?”

“First of all, what you do isn’t talk. You bark. And secondly, I like the bikinis—a lot. But I don’t like it when you throw that at me like I’m not supposed to notice you’re a beautiful woman.”

“What? I didn’t say it like that.”

“You said it like something.” He swore under his breath in Spanish. She’d noticed he only used it when they were alone, when she pushed him. And this time she hadn’t caught what he said. She felt cheated, like she’d missed a secret glimpse into his mind.

“Well…” she sighed. Man, this was awkward. “You are a great guy. But you are also a little bit like…well, like all guys. You gave me a cheesy pick-up line while I had a Glock pointed at your head. All because you saw some boobs in a bikini top.”

“Pretty sure the Glock and your legs and the fucking smirk on your face had just as much to do with my instant hard-on as your breasts did, because that’s your whole package, and I like it, but sure. Think the worst of me. Let’s see how far that gets you.”

“Hey, hey.” Now it was her turn to placate him. “I’m sorry. I don’t think the worst of you. I’m just saying that… even you, even the good guys, you sometimes objectify women.”

“First of all, I don’t think any of that shit, cariño. I hard-core believe that beauty comes from within. We’ve both worked with guys who can be vain. They’re fit as fuck and they let that go to their heads. Then they get a leg blown off—or worse—and all of a sudden, they want to die.” Vince squeezed her arm with his hand, then smoothed over that spot with a gentle rub. “Self-worth can’t start and end with what our bodies look like because that’s damn fragile.”

She made a face because he was right. Damn him and his secret sensitive side. “Wow.”

“What?”

“You…you’re right. And now I feel like an ass.”

“Nah, don’t. Some men are assholes who objectify women. But I’m not one of them. And second of all…to me, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. Inside and out. Temper and all. Your breasts and your legs and tan lines and your gorgeous blue eyes. I’m not objectifying you when I notice that. I’m appreciating it, because it blows me away. It always will.”

She snaked her arms around him and squeezed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. And I feel the same way.”

“You think I’m the most beautiful woman in the world?” He laughed.

“Yep. With the longest eyelashes and nicest legs.” She sobered up. “I really am sorry. I’ve been too hard on you.”

“I think you’ve hinted enough that there’s some good reasons. Who was he?”

She wiggled closer in his lap. The only way she could tell him about David was if she was holding on for dear life—and if she didn’t have to see Vince’s face while she talked. “You need to know that I was stupid. Incredibly stupid. So you don’t need to tell me that again, okay? I’ve beaten myself up about it many, many times.”

“Just tell me,” he said quietly, his hands splaying wide across her back. She closed her eyes and let the heat of his skin warm her. She was chilled despite the late afternoon warmth of the Caribbean sun.

“His name is David. We met in Afghanistan. He was a liaison officer, and my section had been assigned to escort him and his team to a few friendly villages. The first three were day trips, but the last two, we made camp for a night each time. And he struck up a conversation with me.”

Both of them had known it was against the rules. He wasn’t directly up her chain of command, but it was close enough that he was considered her superior.

Vince tensed as the silence stretched out. “When did he seduce you?”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“What was his rank?”

“He was a major.”

“Then yes, it
was
fucking like that. When?”

She nervously swiped her tongue across her lower lip. “While we were still in Afghanistan. My roommate thought it was romantic. So she gave us privacy. I was…I thought we were equals in the relationship.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing, at first. Our returns were staggered. He was home for almost a month when I got back, and he couldn’t make the coming home ceremony, but he brought me takeout that night and slept over. Then he pulled away, claimed it was too risky. I was—” She’d felt heartbroken, at the time, but now she knew better. “I was disappointed. And confused. I could keep a secret, and I wasn’t looking for a real relationship. We both worked too much to socialize as a couple. But then he told me he was going back to his wife.”

“He was married?” Vince’s voice had dropped to a sharp slice of sound, just above a whisper.

“Yes. That was the first I’d heard of it. And that was the end…until he emailed me a few month later to say he was leaving his wife again, this time for good.” Her voice cracked as she recounted going out on actual dates, and then the last time, where he’d introduced her to his kids.

She’d never forget how easily she fell for his lies.
“Just as a friend, Larken. They’re not ready to know I’m dating yet.”
He’d told her that, and she’d made them cookies and promised they could come back. He’d made her lie, too.

Larken closed her eyes as Vince shifted his hands, gripping her arms. He moved her away from his body, but he didn’t move her far. Just enough so he could touch his fingers under her jaw and lift her chin so she was looking at him. She assumed—it felt like they were face to face. Like a coward, her eyes were still shut.

“Look at me, cariño.”

Her heart leaped at the endearment. She blinked her eyes open.

His steady brown gaze was locked on her face. “You did nothing wrong.”

“That’s not what the U.S. Army decided.”

“How did they find out?”

“His wife. Turned out he wasn’t exactly separated either time.”

“Please tell me he was dishonorably discharged.”

She nodded. “Conduct unbecoming an officer.”

“And you?”

“I’m here.” Her punishment had been less severe, but her career had still been cut short. She’d run out her contract as a supply clerk and after two seasons of playing over-qualified lifeguard at a resort in Clearwater, she’d leapt at Rik’s offer.

“That’s…well, it’s fucked.”

She shook her head. “I ignored a lot of clues. I didn’t know, honest to God I didn’t, but something didn’t add up. And I didn’t ask any questions.”

Resignation and understanding dueled in his eyes. “So you don’t trust easy now.”

“I…no. I don’t.” It hurt to acknowledge how bitter and brittle David had made her.

“And here I come, full of swagger and impossible good looks…” He winked at her as she laughed despite herself. “Right? I’m irresistible even though you can’t trust me. The mysterious man from your past.”

“You’re not that mysterious. And I trust you. I do.”

“You wanna talk about the marksman competition?” He pulled her close again, kissing her jaw, then nuzzling her neck. His beard seemed to be getting longer by the minute, and now it brushed her skin.

She shivered.

He nudged her again, and she sighed.

“What is it?” he asked, his voice melting like butter on a hot plan. From serious to sizzling in no time flat.

“I don’t want to talk anymore.”

“Because of some neck kisses?” he nipped at her skin. “You’re so easy all of a sudden. I don’t know what to do with that.”

“Because of your stubble, you wild man.”

“Feels good?”

She breathed in deeply. “So good.”

“You deserve it.”

She turned to straddle him and pressed her index finger against his lips, shushing him. “You deserve to feel good, too.”

He rolled back onto the platform, carrying her with him. They tumbled until she was flat on her back and Vince loomed over her, filthy intentions clearly written all over his face. “Then we’re in agreement on the next team building exercise.”