Her Seal Protector

When he returned to Gabby she was standing exactly where he’d left her, still, and as frightened as a deer in headlights. But she wasn’t panicking. And she’d obeyed his order. Which he hadn’t been sure he could count on.

Knowing how sound could carry, he spoke low in her ear. “We’re turning around. Follow the path I cleared, move quickly, but try to step softly. All right?”

Her breathing was shallow, but she nodded and did as he asked. Clay followed behind her trying to cover their tracks as best he could. He hadn’t disturbed the vegetation at the edge of the meadow. With any luck, the hunters wouldn’t find their trail.

They’d traveled only ten minutes before darkness swallowed the forest and he was forced to click on his pin light. He covered the top and shone it only on the jungle floor, but he still felt like he might as well have gift wrapped their position to the kidnappers. His gut clenched as he heard leaves rustling behind them.

He clicked off the light, grabbed Gabby and pulled her off the path. Hand over her mouth again, he held her still and waited.

Frogs croaked. Crickets chirped. A pygmy owl hooted.

The rustling drew closer. The kidnappers were practically on top of them, the shafts of light from their flashlights barely missing them. Gabby tensed and tightened her arms around his waist. He didn’t know when they’d put their arms around each other, but he lowered his head close to hers and stroked her hair. He still held his Sig in the other hand down by his side, slowed his breathing and prepared to spin and shoot.

The bandits walked right past them. The sounds of their crunching footsteps faded.

Clay became aware of her breathing, her soft breasts pressed against his chest. She lifted her face and her lips brushed his with a quick intake of breath.

He didn’t move, letting his mouth hover over hers. She let out the softest moan. She was so small, petite, the top of her head barely reached his shoulders, but her body was full and lush, her stomach cushioning his growing hard-on.

His blood pounding, his pulse racing, he wanted to take her trembling lips with his so badly.

Don’t do it.

He dropped his hands and stepped back. Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep, clearing breath. His mission was hostage rescue. That should be his only thought. Getting Gabby out of Paraguay safe and sound. Not how he wanted to pull her to him and kiss her. And certainly not how he wished he could cup her breasts in his palms, slide his hand—

Right, Bellamy. Get your head in the game. She was his responsibility.

He had to get control of himself and figure out what their next move would be. But, now that the immediate danger had passed, all he could think about was how she’d felt in his arms, how her quiet little moan had made his body come alive.

“Are they— Are they gone?” she whispered.

Snapping back to the here and now, he focused on the sounds of the jungle around them. “Long gone. We’re safe for now.” He holstered the Sig while he ran through various scenarios in his head. Night had shrouded the jungle in darkness. He had his night vision goggles, but Gabby would be left trailing after him essentially blind. And he couldn’t risk lighting their way again. No choice now. “We’ll hunker down here for the night, and then make our way to the extraction point at first light.”

That decided, he slid out his knife, slipped the goggles down over his eyes and cut several large, smooth palm fronds to build a makeshift cover. Chances were it’d be misting, if not outright raining before dawn.

He whispered for Gabby to join him under the leafy umbrella, but she didn’t move. “You checked for snakes?”

He smiled as he flipped the goggles onto the top of his head. “All clear.”

With a brief flash of white teeth, she sat beside him and he retrieved his MRE from his pack and offered it to her. “Dinner is served, ma’am.”

He could tell she was trying not to grab it from him and devour every bite. “Don’t you want some?”

“Not really hungry.” He pushed the ready meal into her hand.

Ignoring his growling stomach, he sipped the last of his water. They’d be at the river by oh-seven-hundred. And back at forward base by lunch. He’d gone way longer than this without eating. Even before he joined the military.

After hesitating a moment, she shrugged and finished off the food in minutes along with most of her water, then borrowed his knife again, along with his night vision goggles, and disappeared a couple of yards away. When she needed to return he called softly so she could sound her way back.

She dropped down next to him, returned his goggles and then scooted closer, leaning on his arm. “How far to the rescue site?”

“Less than a mile, I’d say. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.” He slipped the strap of the goggles over his head and scanned the area.

“Do you think they’ll come back?”

“Doubtful. They won’t want to travel far in this jungle at night any more than we do.”

“Still...”

When she didn’t finish her thought, he asked, “What?”

“Do you have an extra gun?”

He did, but he wasn’t about to give it to her. “You had any training with a weapon?”

“No, but—”

“Tell you what. There are a few basic moves that’ll get you out of any hold.”

“Oh, like self-defense stuff?”

“Yeah, I could teach you a couple, all right?”

“Okay. I should know how to defend myself. That was one of the things I thought of the last couple of da—ys.” A huge yawn interrupted the end of her sentence and her head landed on his shoulder.

“You should get some rest.”

“You promise you’ll teach me those moves?”

Clay smiled. The last couple of words had been mumbled. He’d bet she was barely awake. “I promise.” If they had time, he would. “Now try to sleep.”

There was silence for a moment before she raised her head. “Aren’t you sleeping, too?”

“I’m going to keep watch for a while.”

He heard her exhale a large sigh, and then lowered her head back onto his shoulder. “Okay, good night.”

After less than a minute her head drooped forward, and he slipped his arm around her as she slumped into his lap.

Clay tried to ignore her soft body pressing into him. He listened past the bird calls and chirping insects for any man-made sounds, and scanned the area continuously while his charge slept the sleep of the exhausted, mumbling, at times moaning, or sighing. She wasn’t a quiet sleeper either.

After another moan she turned and nuzzled into his stomach. Great. His body had a will of its own when it came to a woman’s mouth being that close to his cock. His pants got uncomfortable and he tried to slowly shift their positions.

“What?” She lifted her head, the whites of her eyes blinking up at him. She sat up, pushing off his thigh with her hand. Her palm cupped his rock-hard erection. But instead of moving her hand away, she stilled. Several beats passed, yet he allowed her hand to stay where it was. She slowly began to trace his cock up to its root and back down to the tip again.

He bit off a strangled sound. Before he could stop her she cupped his face in her palms and fit her lips to his, at the same time she rose up and straddled his thigh. He pressed her close, all the while his brain was shouting for him to get control. When she rubbed her hot center against him, he got even harder. He hadn’t thought that could be possible. He felt her fingers run over the short hair at the back of his head and he gave in, returning her kiss, coaching her to open to him, deepening it.

Her lips were as full and lush as her body. He cupped and squeezed her butt, and she hummed her approval. He lost himself so much that, when she would’ve pulled away, he followed and lingered, teasing her with his tongue. He wanted more.

She was kissing him for all she was worth, and he was letting her. His mind was thinking any minute now he’d stop. He shouldn’t do this. But his mouth moved over hers with the hunger of a teenage boy.

When she finally came up for air, she was still clinging to his face, stroking his temples. “Make love to me, Clay.”

4

EVEN IN THE PITCH-DARK, Gabby could tell she’d made a huge mistake.

Clay froze for an instant, then set her off his lap and sprang to his feet. “I need to check the perimeter,” he said tonelessly. His shadow moved silently away.

Her face flamed and she closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d done that.

But she refused to regret it. She shoved her thick, tangled hair away from her face. She’d been kidnapped, thrown into a hole in the ground, shot at and almost bitten by a deadly snake. And she wasn’t safe yet.

What about all the things she’d never done? All the risks she’d never taken, the chances that might have been lost forever. All her life she’d let fear prevent her from truly living. And fear of what? Of making a fool of herself? She’d survive that. Clay had returned her kiss. And that hard length beneath her palm had not been his gun. Her thighs clenched in need just thinking about the feel of him beneath her hand. Remembering his mouth moving over hers, his tongue, his hands caressing down her hips...

Was she going to worry about disappointing her parents? That, too, seemed so irrelevant now. What if she died without having really lived?

She clasped her Mary medal. She was done worrying about what other people thought. Done being the good girl. From now on she was going to live life to the fullest. Take risks. Go for it.

Resolve swept over her, winding its way through her psyche, obliterating her embarrassment.

“You awake?” As quietly as he’d left, Clay returned, giving her a verbal warning in his soft Southern drawl before he crouched beside her.

“Yes.” She definitely wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon.

An awkward silence passed. One thing she did regret was that her actions had made him feel uncomfortable. “Look, I’m sorry, I—”

“No. I get it. You’ve been through a lot. It’s the whole ‘Speed’ thing, right? Shared danger can produce intense feelings of intimacy. But that doesn’t mean they’re real feelings.”

“No.” She fiddled with the collar of her blouse, pulling the ends together. “That’s not it.”

“Believe me. Situations like this—it’s pretty normal.”

“No, you don’t understand.” Through the dark she found the shadow where she thought his face was. “I could’ve died. Still could. And there’s so much I’ve never done. Never experienced. And I don’t want to die without knowing what it’s like to...to be with someone.”

The sound of chirping crickets in the face of Clay’s silence would’ve struck her as comical if she wasn’t so mortified. She wished she could at least see his expression. Did he get what she was saying? Did he understand?

Growing up, she’d been taught sex was something sacred between a husband and a wife. That her body was something she needed to respect and save for marriage. And even if she had been tempted as she got older, her average looks and nerdy shyness had kept the big decision out of her hands.

Once she reached college she hadn’t remained a virgin out of some sense of morality or even inhibition. She’d come close a couple of times. But the longer she waited, the more important it seemed that it should be with the right guy. And so far...the right guy had never turned up. Until now.

“You’ve never...?” Clay sounded incredulous. Of course he was shocked that any twenty-six-year-old would still be a virgin. And worse, he was horrified. As if he thought she still wanted him to...accommodate her.

Gabby pressed her palms to her eyes. Why had she told him? Why had she felt the need to explain? If only she had just kept quiet, and let the moment pass. She uncovered her eyes. “Oh, please can we just forget the whole thing?”

After another long moment, she felt him shift to a sitting position, caught an impression of his arms hanging off his knees. “Got about two, maybe three hours till dawn.”

Thank goodness he wasn’t any more anxious to pursue the subject than she was.

She nodded. He probably couldn’t see her, but his announcement hadn’t really required an answer.

More silence.

Could she take three to four hours of sitting here, wondering what he was thinking of her? Worrying about snakes, and kidnappers, and imagining all the many scenarios where they didn’t make it out of here alive? She’d lose it for sure. She needed a distraction. Like a bolt, an idea hit her. “Hey, you never told me about the Peach Jam Jubilee.”

* * *

CLAY GRIMACED. As a change of topic, it sucked, but at least they weren’t talking about feelings and—he cringed. People who’d never had sex before.

For a virgin she was an awfully good kisser. Too good. Trouble was, he’d been so into that kiss he’d forgotten all about his job. His duty. And that was unacceptable. Not during a mission. Not ever. No woman had ever distracted him like that. And no woman ever would.

“Clay?”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “What is there to tell? It’s just your usual hometown parade. The Peach Queen gets crowned and waves at everybody from her float.”

“Sounds...peachy.” She snickered.

Clay couldn’t stop a smile. She was something else. Cracking jokes after all she’d been through. “Yeah. There’s peach jam, peach pie, peach preserves.”

“Peach cobbler.” She gasped. “Peach ice cream,” she moaned the words.

That throaty, feminine sound made his breath catch. Don’t go there. “And don’t forget peachy pork chops.”

“Pork chops?”

“You’ve never had ’em? They’re good.”

She groaned. “Now you’re making me really hungry.”

She didn’t know the half of it. He snapped his night vision goggles down over his eyes and scanned the area. “You should try to get some shut-eye.” This time he’d be prepared for all those sexy little noises she made in her sleep. And the feel of her body against his.

“I don’t think I can.”

She wiggled and bumped into him and he looked over. She was clutching a silver medal hanging around her neck and biting her lip. Her skirt was hitched up to midthigh. She had beautiful legs. Her hips were curvy, but her waist was small. And that thin white shirt outlined her beautiful— He flipped the goggles up. Didn’t seem fair that he could see her and she couldn’t see him.

“What about the—the Speedway? Do you like car racing?”

He shrugged. “It’s okay. I went a few times in high school.

“What else did you do growing up in Talladega?”

Seriously? He’d rather go through BUD/S training all over again than talk about his life before the Navy. “Not much.”

The woman stayed quiet so long he knew—he just knew—she was staring at him expectantly. What? She wanted him to spill his life story? Not gonna happen. “It was just a regular town, with regular people, okay?”

“Okay.” She sounded disappointed. “So, you’re like a Special Forces kind of guy in the military? What is that, a Marine?”

He scoffed and threw her an insulted glare she probably couldn’t see. “I’m a US Navy SEAL.”

“Oooo, wow. A SEAL? Like the guys that got Bin Laden? Were you there?”

He shook his head. “That was SEAL Team 6.”

“What’s the difference? I mean, do all the teams have different specialties?”

“Some. SEAL Team 6 focuses more on counterterrorism. We’re SEAL Team 2. Artic Warfare, Rescue Ops.”

“Well, thank you for coming after me—us.”

“That’s my job.”

“Right, of course.”

Clay sighed. That hadn’t come out right. She’d been a real trooper, considering they’d traipsed through the jungle all day in sweltering conditions, and she’d almost been bitten by a venomous coral snake. She was just trying to make it through the night. Seemed the least he could do was talk to her.

Besides, after tomorrow, he’d never see her again. She’d asked about growing up in Talladega? He quietly sighed. “So, no Peach Jam Jubilee where you’re from?”

“In Texas?” She sounded insulted, but in a good-natured way. He caught her white teeth in the darkness. “It’s all football, all the time. My two brothers live and breathe the game. Did you play?”

“No, but my sister was a cheerleader.”

“Does she still live in Talladega?”

“Yep. I’m the only one that got out.”

“Got out? You didn’t like it there?”

He ground his back teeth. “Just nothing for me there. More opportunities elsewhere.”

She made a nodding-in-agreement type sound. “That’s why I moved to New York. I want to help my parents. They work so hard.” He could hear the genuine love in her voice and it bothered him.

“My papa is the grounds custodian for a famous shrine in San Juan. My mama cleans houses. I was the first one in my family to graduate high school.”

Clay was pretty sure his mom and stepfather hadn’t graduated high school either. Even Ashley almost hadn’t. And he’d left for basic training before his own graduation ceremony. No walking across the stage to get his diploma or throw his cap in the air. It’s not like his parents would’ve gone, anyway.

“What do your parents do?”

He snapped shut his memories. “They both work at the quarry.”

“Quarry? I didn’t know Alabama had a quarry.”

“More than one. Probably the largest industry in the state. If I hadn’t joined the Navy I’d probably still be working there.”

“You worked there, too? Like, actually digging out the rocks?”

“Yep.”

“What kind of stone?”

“Marble, mostly. Some limestone, and a few other minerals, but Alabama’s famous for its white marble.”

“Huh.”

“Started when I was fourteen. Lied about my age to get the job, too, if you can believe that. It was backbreaking work. Other than my paycheck every two weeks, I hated everything about it.”

She made a sympathetic sound and he squeezed his eyes closed. How had they switched to talking about his life again? “Tell me about New York.”

She made a different sound this time, a hum somewhere between excitement and nervousness. “Manhattan is so different from my little hometown. Growing up I never would’ve thought I’d live there. I have a little studio apartment in Greenwich Village. It’s small, but I love it. There’s a library right across the street and on the weekends, I love to take my laptop and just hang out there.”

“At the library? You live in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Don’t you want to party on the weekends?”

“I’m not really the partying type.” Her voice lowered. “I told you I was a nerd. Hanging out at the library is about the most exciting thing nerds do.”

He could kick himself for bringing that self-doubt into her voice. “You sure don’t look like a nerd.”

Funny how he could sense her stillness. He winced. He hadn’t meant to use his pickup-line tone. He wasn’t at Barney’s on a Friday night trying to find some hot woman.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the other protein bar he’d been saving for her and held it out in front of her. “Here.”

“What is it?”

“Breakfast.”

“Oh.” When she groped for the bar her fingers grazed the back of his hand and he had the crazy urge to grab her hand and bring it to his lips. Dawn couldn’t come soon enough.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

He heard the crinkling of the wrapper. “You want half?”

“I have another. You eat that one.”

Out of nowhere rain began pelting down. Good. He needed to cool off. He pushed to his feet. “Gonna check the area again. Try to sleep. When I get back, we’ll head out.”

5

@nerdybankanalyst

Wanted to kiss the ground at LaGuardia yesterday. Love getting back to my job and my apartment. BTW #USmilitaryrocks

IN SOME WAYS, her time in the Paraguayan jungle seemed like a dream.

Well, more like a nightmare.

Except for the last night.

Chin propped on her palm, Gabby stared at the report on her computer screen. Her supervisor wanted this data analysis done as soon as possible, but she’d been staring at the same column of numbers for more than half an hour. Which was not a good sign for her first day back.

But her mind kept drifting. Remembering...

How she’d had to squint at the bright sun reflecting off the river as she and Clay broke through the dense foliage that morning. How the water had sprayed a fine mist on her face as a thunderous helicopter chopped through the air. How Clay’s hand clapping her shoulder had reassured her as he snapped a harness around her chest and then gave the thumbs-up signal to the men waiting to haul her up.

Clay.

Once the helicopter landed at the embassy, a nurse had tried to whisk her away before she could tell him goodbye. He’d been talking to one of the other soldiers and hadn’t even glanced in her direction.

All she could think was that she’d never see him again.

Setting her jaw, she’d wrenched from the nurse, ran to him and thrown her arms around him. He’d held his arms out away from his sides as if he had no idea how to handle such a display of emotion. But despite his stiff reserve, she’d buried her nose in his strong chest, and then looked up into light brown eyes that glinted with wariness.

She’d dropped her arms and stepped back from him with a smile, trying not to burst into tears. “You were phenomenal.”

“Just a grunt doing his job, ma’am,” he’d said with a solemn nod.

He’d been so much more to her. But she hadn’t said that. “Well. Thank you, anyway.”

He’d nodded again. “You take care, now.” Then he’d turned and strode away, back to the helicopter. She’d watched as he climbed in and the chopper lifted off and flew away.

He hadn’t looked back.

“How is it being back at work?” James appeared at her cubicle.

Gabby jumped, her heart racing. “James,” she gulped his name. “You scared me.”

He frowned, looking hurt and concerned at the same time. “I’m sorry.”

“No, no. It’s not your fault. I’m jumpy lately.”

“Me, too. Ever since...” He gestured vaguely to the room. “You know.”

Gabby nodded. At her boss’s insistence, she’d spent two weeks recovering with her parents in Texas before New York Corporate Bank Inc. allowed her to return to work. But the time off hadn’t really helped. She still had nightmares. Insomnia. Depression.

Her family was worried, but they didn’t understand. Didn’t know what to do for her, or how to act. She’d found herself resenting their normalcy. Their ability to go about their everyday lives while she—she kept seeing Mr. V with blood gushing out of his head.

She’d been told they’d recovered his body. There was a funeral in New York, but Gabby had still been in Texas. Half of her had wanted to attend the service. The other half had worried that she would completely lose it and embarrass herself. She just couldn’t believe he was dead. Gone forever.

And she’d come so close to meeting the same end.

James stepped into her cubicle and drummed his fingers on her desk. “It might help to talk about it. Want to get some lunch?”

No, she didn’t. “I brought mine from home.” She pointed at the brown paper bag sitting beside the printout of reports she’d planned to work on while she ate. “I’m weeks behind.”

“Yeah, sure. I understand.” James stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor. “I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted. Before we were rescued, I mean.” He winced and raised devastated eyes to hers.

“It’s okay.” She reached up and patted his upper arm. “It was a horrible ordeal. And no one really knows how they’ll react under such circumstances.”

Except, a small voice crept into her thoughts, Clay would never have acted that way. He had protected her, reassured her and, ultimately, saved them. Of course, he was a soldier. He’d been trained to handle unspeakable violence and mind-numbing terror. But even so, there’d been something about the man. An indefinable quality that no training could give.