Tempting Target: Heart of a SEAL (14 page)

“Lieutenant Commander Perrier,” Matt answered in a voice so sharp it would be able to cut something.

“At ease, Perrier. Come to the mess hall by the north tower; I need to talk to you. I’ll be waiting so don’t dawdle.” The captain didn’t mince words, so he must have a mission or task he wanted him to complete.

“Yes, sir.” Matt hung up the phone and tried not to be discouraged about having to stop looking for medications for Emmy, especially since he’d just gotten her permission, but the military called and he was there to answer.

“I’ve got to go, but I’ll continue my search when I get back.” He moved toward the door and watched her wrap her arms around herself. She was really something special. Leaning down slowly, he went in for a kiss, but he wanted to make sure she was on board. They’d already had the talk about people just taking from her. When she raised her head, he went in without concern, but he knew the soft peck they were giving each other could get out of hand like a California brush fire. “Stay safe.”

“You too.” She was looking like a lost puppy, and with the way things were going, he didn’t want that to be the last thing she thought or said to him.

“I’ll be back,” he promised, hoping that it was true.

“You’d better be,” she answered back.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Emmy didn’t know what to think about the sudden events of her life. The crew that was keeping them informed was telling them one thing, that everything was going to be fine and they’d be out of there soon, but Matt had eluded more than once that this storm was more serious than they were all being told. It made sense. If all these people thought there was a problem and their lives were in danger, there would be chaos and terror—two things that didn’t work well together if they were going to do things in a calm and orderly fashion.

She made her way back to her cot and was not surprised that everyone was staring at her. There wasn’t much news going in or out of this area and people were relatively bored. Her story was the most interesting thing going.

“So?” Carolyn was the only one to actually put voice to the questions, but that was probably because the woman thought they had some kind of bond between them.

“Matt has been trying to find some medication for me since I have a heart condition that requires that I take an anticoagulant. Before you ask, it’s a medication that keeps my blood flowing through my veins. Without it, I may develop some clots that could ruin my life. Seriously and permanently.” Emmy wanted to let the people know what was going on because after talking to Matt she could kind of understand her family a bit more than she normally did. She’d always get defensive when someone wanted to do something for her—not taking it as what it was…a sign that the person loved her and wanted to help her do what was right…whether she wanted the same thing or not.

“Where is he?” the woman on the cot behind her called out.

“He got an urgent call and had to go somewhere on the base.”

“They said the storm is coming up quickly, and they are going to batten down whatever hatches they have. I hope your man friend doesn’t get caught out there and whipped around in the storm.”

Although she was sure that last comment was said in good spirits and with the best of intentions, the thought that Matt could get hurt in the storm twisted something in her gut. The rains that pelted the building were fierce, and Emmy sat by the door, hoping that the person she was looking for would come through it at any time, but it didn’t happen. The storm blew harder and harder on the cinder block building, but it didn’t seem like anyone was worried about Matt.

The blonde, that seemed to be the spokesperson for the airline and this disaster, stood by the door as well.

“There isn’t any way to check on someone who’s out in this storm, is there?” Emmy tried to get information from the frazzled-looking woman using her sweetest voice. It sometimes opened up doors that her more confident demeanor couldn’t.

The woman ran around to her group of papers that had everyone’s name on them. “Who was it? I thought we had everyone accounted for.”

“Oh no… I’m sorry. I was talking about the man who was helping me find medication. He’s a Navy SEAL named Matt Perrier.”

The woman stopped shuffling through her papers and looked at her. “We don’t have any control or authority over any of the military personnel. If he was helping you, he is probably still around.”

“He got a call and had to go outside to meet someone.” Emmy was thankful that the woman was trying to be helpful, but she could tell that the lady didn’t think she’d be able to help her.

“The man went outside? Recently?”

“About a half hour ago I’d say.”

The look on the woman’s face wasn’t encouraging, as she walked over to the one small window that was made out of blocked glass. It wasn’t a crystal clear view, but it was obvious that the storm had arrived. Whether it was the main one or a different one, it didn’t look like it was fit out there for man or beast.

“I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe he’s out there waiting until the storm slows down.”

That is what someone who had any sense would do, but she knew, somewhere deep down in her soul, that he’d try his best to make it back to her…or die trying.
Die trying.
That phrase that she’d always heard and didn’t really pay attention to seemed to reverberate around the chamber of her head. That fool better not die trying to get back to her. It would be so much better if he just stayed where he was until the weather was better. If she had his cell phone, she could have called, but that wasn’t something she had at her disposal.

The winds could be heard blowing around the building. She wasn’t quite sure what a typhoon was, but it sounded scary as all hell. There were things hitting the building, and the rustle of the trees outside were like newspapers being thrown around. It crossed her mind several times that this place was an island and could probably be taken down by the sea without much effort. That wasn’t the best use of her mind space but what else could she do.

There was a pounding on the large steel door that seemed to shake the hinges. The staff that was stationed by the door looked like they didn’t know what to do but got up to open the door. When they tried to crack it open, the doors blew back, and in came a rush of wind, rain, and debris along with three men.

She went over to see what was going on, and when she locked eyes on Matt she didn’t care what had gone before or what was going on after, she was going to be with him right now. She got to him at the same time the man in the white uniform came behind him.

“Is this the woman we’ve all risked life and limb for?” His gruff voice was slightly hostile in tone, but she didn’t blame him.

“I’m sorry for any inconvenience, sir.” Emmy was sorry for all that these men had gone through because they looked like they almost didn’t make it. Three men were out in this storm, and now she found out it was for her own needs. It was humbling.

“Sorry for my attitude, young lady. This young man wanted to make sure you had what you needed, and he was so persuasive I wanted to go and get it with him. None of this is any fault of your own, and as they say…All’s well that ends well.”

The older man walked off, and Matt grabbed her hand and walked her to his room in the back. When they were almost there, the lights went off.

“Everyone stay near your cot until further notice.” A voice rang out in the darkness. It was dark outside, but the inside of a warehouse with very limited windows made it unbelievably dark.

A small light shone on the area right by Matt’s feet. Of course, he’d have a flashlight… what kind of fighting machine would he be without that. He led them through the maze of people until he got to his room. He was able to open the door with his key and get them inside. When he closed the door, it was like they were in their own private world. It was dark, besides the light of his flashlight. Although Emmy could still hear the rustling of the trees and the howling of the wind, it was more like a sanctuary instead of the cluster fuck it seemed like beyond these walls.

She heard a crinkling of a bag, and he walked over to her with the brown medicine bottle. With him near her, she could see the bottle had her name on it—and the name and dosage of the medication.

“You didn’t have to do all this. I thought you were going to just get me a few pills to make it through.” Emmy was overwhelmed with gratitude over how hard he’d worked to get this medication to her. It was more than just a pill. It was about how much he cared about her, whether he said it or not, and how important her safety and well-being was to him.

“I wanted to make sure you had what you needed, no matter how long all of this takes. If I rested and you weren’t where you needed to be by tomorrow, it would be just that much more of a problem. I like to take care of things that are important to me.”

“I don’t know if I should be bothered because you said I was a thing, or if I should be flattered that you said you care about me.”

He didn’t add anything to what she was saying, and she wondered if he somehow let that slip when he’d not really wanted to say it.

“You must be tired,” she said and giggled because she knew how that sounded.

“Boom chica waa waa,” Matt sang in a 1970s porn song way.

“I knew you were going to think that was a cheesy line, but really, you’ve done a lot today.”

“I’m rather tired, but I’m just happy you got your medication. I don’t want to tick you off further since we had that very enlightening conversation earlier, but how about you actually take the pill that I risked my life and the lives of two other military personnel to obtain?” He handed her a bottle of water, and he watched intently as she took the pill and washed it down with some water.

“Happy now?” she asked him.

“Very,” he said, as he lay on his bunk.

She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. Go back to her bunk, lay down with him, or stand there awkwardly in the middle of the floor?

“This is a very bad storm. Even with how horrible it sounds outside, this isn’t the storm that everyone is terrified about. That storm is behind this storm. There are so many things we need to work out and so much to say, but for right now, let’s just lay here together and be happy that we can do so.” Matt didn’t sound sleepy, just tired.

It was almost like he was telling her that they were doomed. He was calm, but she wondered what it must be like to live like this all the time. Going from crisis to crisis, seeing everyone at their worst and leaving when things were getting better, only to go off to find another crisis.

She lay in the bed next to him, and it couldn’t be anything other than intimate. It was a twin bed, and they were both grownups, so it wasn’t like sleeping at her cousin Lily’s house in her cute Strawberry Shortcake bedding. The bed may have been child sized, but the man in it wasn’t.

There were times during the last few hours that she’d wished she could just forget the man who was Matt Perrier, but it was always just a fleeting thought because she had more fun with him than anyone else she’d ever been with. If she was going to face an end of the world scenario, she’d rather have done it on a video game, but since it was not like that, she couldn’t choose anyone other than Matt to be with.

“Is everything alright?” Matt said into the darkness.

She didn’t want to answer because everything was alright…and then again it didn’t seem like everything was ever going to be alright again. Emmy slid her hand across Matt’s midsection and then lowered her hand to the front of his pants. It didn’t take long for the substantial bulge that she was used to seeing and feeling popped up.

He placed his hand over hers. “I heard what you were saying before I left earlier. I didn’t ask you to lay next to me so I could explore your beautiful body again. My only goal was to have you near me for a little while and get some rest while we ride out the storm.”

“I hate this waiting. I feel cooped up and filled with energy. You’re not forcing me to do anything. If anything, I’m kind of pushing myself on you.” She should feel like she was wishy washy for coming on to him after she’d already told him she had to be done with him, but the situation they were in called for honesty and understanding. “I understand what you were saying about keeping me away from you for my own safety. I won’t say I like it, but you’re a protector and it’s hard for you to keep yourself out of my business when you think you can help.” She jabbed him in the ribs playfully.

“Thanks. Being in charge all the time can make me rather forceful when I think someone should be doing something I think they should be doing, but I heard you when you told me I was acting like your family.”

She hadn’t stopped rubbing his cock, and it was almost the way they’d first met—with her spilling a drink on him and then somehow practically giving him a hand job through his pants.

“Are you planning on doing something with that?” he murmured in a voice loud enough to hear but low enough that it sounded like a caress to her ears.

“That’s the line that got us here in the first place.” She rolled over like she was going to see his face, but she was met with only darkness.

“I have a confession.”

“What is it?” She was already turned toward him, so she just stayed that way, but her heart was beating fast. What was he going to tell her? That he had lied and he was married with children and a dog? That he was just making her feel good when he’d met her on her vacation? That the real reason he hadn’t wanted her cell phone number was because she was just a mercy fuck?