Tex, p.7
Tex, page 7
She loved that he was so in tune with people, caring about them and their needs…even more sexy caring about her and her comfort and needs. No ego, just an easy-going cowboy. “Seriously? Don’t apologize for saving my life and my feet.” Her eyes danced as she glanced over at him. “I’ll need both to make your life miserable.”
He chuckled as he turned left, his strong hands gripping the wheel. They were big and powerful, and she couldn’t help but wonder what those hands would feel like—
That wasn’t a good road to go down. She needed a distraction, right now, and she reached out for one that would put him on guard. Regardless of how he made her feel, she was here for a purpose, and it wasn’t for hot, wild sex with Tex. “Mary Reed and her father arrived only hours ago. I’m afraid they’re going to want to meet with your CO, you and your team. It’s unavoidable.”
The spark of humor in his eyes faded, and he stared straight ahead, a heavily retrospective look settled on his face. “I’m sorry to disappoint her, but I have my orders. I regret her husband’s death more than you or she can know.”
She recognized the self-reproach in his tone. It would have been a perfect opportunity to point out to him that he was underestimating her pull, but she refrained and steered the conversation in a different direction. “Did you know Lieutenant Commander Reed?”
Tex didn’t answer for a moment, then, sighing heavily, a pained look settled on his face. “Not well. But I respected him. I can’t say I’m all up on the politics of funding and budgets for special operations, but I do know Senator McPherson can hurt us. My boss knows that and JSOC knows it as well.”
All the frustration associated with her father’s death, the anger at having her wings clipped by a hidden disease and the pain and grief in Mary and her father washed over Nora. “Then why can’t you—”
“I know I sound like a broken record, but as a lawyer, you have to understand the need for privilege and protecting your client at all costs.” His voice grew solemn and intractable as he said quietly, “It’s an ongoing mission…sensitive and classified. That’s where we are right now. Protecting a vital mission. I can’t say anything more.”
Nora realized that she wasn’t going to change his mind, and she resented Admiral Clearwater for putting her in this position. She sure understood how orders sucked. Without meaning to, she muttered. “I told her I wasn’t a good match for this case.”
“Who did you tell?” The inn came into sight, the turn coming up.
Grimacing sheepishly, she gave him a wry smile, her head starting to pound. She wasn’t sure if it was the blow to her temple or the thought of letting down the head of JAG. “Rear Admiral Kristen Colette ‘KC’ Clearwater. My boss,” she said as he pulled into the parking lot.
“A formidable woman?”
“In some circles, she’s been referred to as a battle-ax, ball-buster, harridan, old bag, hag, and fucking bitch.”
“Wow. A varied career.”
“Those are her dissenters. You understand when people don’t like you for how you handle your life and your job. Admiral Clearwater is protective of her people, served with distinction, was a brilliant intelligence officer, and runs JAG with a tight-ship mentality. I can’t fault her and she’s one of the best bosses I’ve ever had. She sees your potential and forces you to grow. But, yeah, she is a battle-ax, ball-buster. But don’t tell her I said that.”
“Your secret is safe with me.” His voice was quiet.
He got out of the jeep and came around to her side, quickly shrugging into his backpack. Before she could protest, he was scooping her out of the seat.
“Room number?” he asked, and she automatically gave it to him.
“I can walk. The hotel is carpeted.”
“I don’t think so. It’s door-to-door service.”
“But your injury—”
“Is fine. You weigh less than my M4 and rucksack together.” The tiny lines around his eyes crinkled as he nearly smiled, and Nora wasn’t sure her knees wouldn’t buckle if he put her down. She caught the full force of Tex’s charm as he added very softly, “Now stop worrying that beautiful head over me.”
Beautiful? Oh okay, this was crossing onto iffy ground. But it warmed her heart like nothing else to hear him use a word she associated with other women. He thought she was beautiful. Okay, she could handle that. Barely. But she could handle it.
His dark hair gleamed in the moon’s diffused light. He was watching her with an intentness that Nora found unsettling, making her even more conscious of him as a man. Everything about him was disturbingly masculine—his strong features, his heavily muscled body, his effortless strength, even the way he moved. He possessed a predatory grace that spoke to the primitive female in her, aware instinctively that this man was a protector and a warrior.
He headed for the entrance, and luckily it was late enough that the only person in the lobby was the hotel clerk. He glanced up, but when Tex took her toward the elevators, he went back to his work.
“Press the floor button,” he murmured as she stared up at him.
She hoped he thought she might still be dazed from the blow to her head. He supported her as she reached out and pressed her floor.
Once the elevator came to a halt, he walked off and started toward her room. When he got to the door, she fumbled for her cell and used it to key the door. It opened and he pushed his way inside.
He didn’t set her down until he reached the sofa. He then went and flicked on the light. She clutched the blanket around her a little tighter, shivering a little. She really needed to get out of her damp suit. “Thank you for bringing me here.”
He took off the backpack and set it near the sofa, and she looked down at it puzzled.
“Oh, I’m not leaving,” he said.
“What?”
He leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb that jutted out between the kitchen and the living room and folded his arms, his chin taking on a tenacious set to it. “Twister said you couldn’t be left alone tonight. So, since you wouldn’t consent to going to the hospital, I’m your swim buddy for the night.”
She met his gaze with a hint of defiance. “Swim buddy?”
“No SEAL goes in the water without his swim buddy. I have your back, Lieutenant.”
She gave him a derisive snort as he shot her an intractable look. “That’s very…commando of you, Lieutenant, but I will be all right on my own.”
He raised his eyebrows in an I’m-not-changing-my-mind gesture. “No can do, lady. I’m sticking.”
She didn’t say anything as she tried to assess her best line of attack. “It’s really not necessary.”
He grimaced, schooling his expression into one of woe, and said, “You wouldn’t want me to break a time-honored, hallowed SEAL rule, now, would you? That would be equivalent to leaving your wingman high and dry.” His tone quiet and serious, and with a truly wicked sparkle in his eyes, he said, “You would never do that, right? So don’t force me to get tough.”
There was that irresistible charm again. Damn him and his sincerity and the fact that he was completely right. She would never leave a wingman.
Realizing he had her cornered by bringing in the wingman analogy caused all kinds of fierce emotions in her, and he’d known it would. She’d get nowhere trying to argue her way out of it. So, she yielded with a tip of her head in unwilling agreement.
He straightened, his tone clipped. “Hot shower lady, before you shiver yourself to death. I’ll wait for my turn.”
She rose with the blanket still wrapped around her and out of the corner of her eye, she saw that self-satisfied gleam in his eyes. She turned back to him, intently assessing him. “You’re gloating, aren’t you?”
Knowing darn well his eyes had given him away, Tex held on to his bland expression, his tone pacifying. “I would never,” he said innocently.
She held his gaze for a long moment, then the corner of her mouth lifted just a little. “Like hell you wouldn’t.” The now familiar sizzle shot through her, and she steeled herself. She stared him down as he leaned against the jamb, an amused yet somehow intimate look lighting his eyes. Nora’s heart skipped a couple of beats and a host of butterflies unfurled in her tummy as her gaze connected with his.
He held back a laugh, then said, a warning tone in his voice. “Don’t make me carry you.”
He fixed this gaze on her…one that told her he would follow through with his threat. With a hard breath to keep her grounded, she took her time walking to the bathroom. Before she closed the door, she stuck her tongue out at him.
Tex woke up with a hard-on. That was just full circle because he’d gone to bed with a hard-on. Feeling like a creep, he’d gone into Nora’s room several times to find her fast asleep and breathing easily. She roused each time with a shove and a grumble that she was fine. It made him smile every time.
He had to admit that he looked at her in her bed and couldn’t get his thoughts to go back on an even keel. She had the kind of curves that made him imagine how she would look without that pure white nightgown that almost showed her dusky nipples through the fabric. They had puckered when he’d woken her up, a response to the cool air against her warm skin. Those hardened tips made his mouth water. He craved to see her naked with nothing but moonlight caressing her creamy, soft-looking skin. Then there was all that silky blonde hair the color of intoxicating champagne, those defiant and contrary blue eyes, and those tantalizing lips of hers that could give him sweet, wry, and wicked smiles. How would that mouth feel against his, against his aching skin, clamped over his dick?
A door slammed, the sound jarring Tex out of his inappropriate thoughts. He was too smart to go down that road. Soon she would be out of here, back to Norfolk, which would be a damn relief and a fucking shame. He wanted her. But he understood how stupid it would be to get involved with her during this tragic time.
He might have never gotten the chance if he hadn’t been there last night when she’d been clipped by that surfboard. She would have drowned and the coincidence that he’d been there to save her wasn’t lost on him.
Was that a sign he should give into his thoughts?
He was also not immune to her response to him…the way she’d looked at him several times had taken his breath away and her sincere dismay when she’d seen the knife slice made tenderness for her wash over him.
It just made him harder.
He had already done his PT and was dressed and ready to get to Little Creek. She walked past him on the couch and said cordially, “Good morning.” But it was clear to him that it wasn’t good at all. She was tired. She breathed a sigh of relief. “You made coffee?”
“Yeah. We can both use it.”
She was dressed in her serviceable khaki, the pants hugging her small waist, the shirt buttoned over her generous breasts, covering up her tantalizing cleavage. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek bun. He hated Navy uniforms and damn regulations right now. He wanted to unravel her buttoned-up and professional look.
If she’d been anyone else, he’d have had her by now, in all the scandalous erotic ways he’d imagined since he’d first laid eyes on her.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t anything like the easy, forgettable strap hangers he met in bars all over Virginia Beach. A woman he could enjoy for a few hours, days, or weeks until he had his fill, then leave her behind. No, this beautiful woman came with too many complications, and he wasn’t about to compromise his professional life by bedding her. She was a woman with enough tenacity and daring to keep him stimulated physically as well as intellectually. A rare feat and challenge he’d more than welcome if it weren’t for the impossible situation.
“I hope you’ve had enough sleep to deal with Mary and her father today. I’m afraid it will be inevitable.”
He nodded. “I’ve done more with less sleep,” he murmured.
“I’m sure you have,” she said with a flinty snap. She turned away and smoothed her hands through her hair.
“Nora…” he said, wishing he could be more forthcoming.
She shook her head and said, “I know how she feels.”
He cursed as he detected a bit of despair in her voice, and damned if he didn’t see a hint of vulnerability.
She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders, pulling herself together. “No. I got it. You have your orders.”
She headed for the door. “I should get going,” she said.
His intention was to let his CO handle the senator and his daughter. But he snagged her wrist before she could open the door and kick his ass out. He scrubbed his hand along his tense jaw and knew there was no stopping what he was about to offer. “I’ll meet with her and the senator. Try to give them some closure.”
It dawned on her in stages, then her eyes widened. “You were going to let Dade handle them.” Her lips tightened into a thin line. Then her breath shuddered out and something changed between them. Her presence was more than physical and everything about her made him ache.
She stood rock-still, breathing quick, and he saw fear in her eyes, a bit of pleading, and that damn vulnerability again. He sank like a stone, his defenses shot to hell. He was on her in a heartbeat, pulling her flush against him. He didn’t have to pursue, she was there, and he took her mouth, then took more. His relief intensified, and he set himself free, his hands memorizing her curves as the kiss turned raw, primitive. She answered his hunger with her own, ravaging him, and he hooked her knee, drew her leg up, and ground into her softness. She thrust back, her tongue pushing between his lips and doing amazing things as her fingers sank into his hair. Oh fuck. She drew him into her, stealing away any thought as her mouth molded savagely over his. He trapped her against the wall, her passion flooding over him.
God, the consequences.
He tore his mouth from hers, and drew back suddenly, then carefully laid his hands flat on the wall alongside her head. His breathing ragged, his chest expanding and contracting with each frantic breath. Doing anything with her was more dangerous than a loaded weapon. He wasn’t sure he could resist her. Her breathing labored with his as she met his gaze.
There was a knock on the door, and they froze.
“Nora, it’s Con. I need to talk to you now.” Tex recognized the urgency in his voice. Something was up and he was immediately on guard. This would impact him and his team. He could feel it.
He stepped back and she closed her eyes, swearing softly. She had no choice, she had to answer the door.
He stepped behind it, and she shot him a harried, grateful look.
“What is it?” she said, her voice husky.
He could see her partner’s face between the crack in the door. “I just got a call from the ME.” He stared at her for a moment as if he detected her arousal, the telltale flush on her face. But then he continued, his news obviously important. “Reed’s death…it was friendly fire.” Nora gasped softly. “The admiral is going to call us on my laptop in five minutes.” He took her arm. “Let’s go to my room pronto.”
She closed the door, and he stood there galvanized by Lieutenant Mikos’s words. Fuck! That meant someone on his team killed Lieutenant Commander Jerry Reed. Admiral Clearwater had just gotten leverage and Nora was going to be the pitbull she sicced on Tex and his team to apply that leverage.
And he couldn’t stop thinking about fucking her hard and deep.
6
Tex took a quick trip home, shaved, and dressed in utility khaki. He was going to have a busy official day and he was going to meet with Reed’s widow and a US senator. He had promised Nora. The uniform was about respect.
After that, he called Bondo and told him to muster everyone from the team in the ready room on base. He was to make sure they were spit-shined. When he got to his CO’s office, he needed answers, details as to how the ME came to the conclusion that an American killed the pilot and fucked up the mission.
He was ushered into Dade’s office the moment Dade’s assistant saw him.
“Lieutenant, come in,” Dade said, looking haggard. No one in the military wanted to hear that one of their own had been killed by friendly fire. “I assume you’ve heard.”
“Yes, sir. I did.” It wasn’t one of my guys. No way. We train way too hard for that to happen. “What evidence does the ME have that it was friendly fire?”
“The Venezuelans carry Glock 17s and Browning Hi-powers. Reed was killed with a Glock 19,” he said wearily. “Mike, he was shot in the back.”
Tex stood there and absorbed that information. During that freaking firefight, someone from his team had killed their most needed asset and spun this whole mess into another dimension. There would be hell to pay when Mary and her father were informed. The team member who had killed the pilot was going to be crucified. Pushed by political pressure, someone was going to be blamed, and he had no doubt that the Navy would have to give the family satisfaction.
“I need to talk to my team before JAG talks to them.”
“Exactly, we need to keep this contained.”
“Not to contain the information, sir. There will now be charges for whomever killed Reed. I need to talk to my team, look them in the eyes and get answers.” If whoever killed Reed did it in the fog of war, and that person was acquitted, the political pressure would soon focus on him, the CO of the op. He wasn’t naive enough to think he couldn’t lose his bars over this. After all, he hadn’t come up the usual way in the Navy, even though he’d been singled out and attended the Naval Academy. They would say he was an enlisted man who had lofty ideas and couldn’t live up to his potential.
He didn’t give a damn about any of that. What he feared was letting his team down.
“This is an active mission, Lieutenant. We can’t afford to lose one man. It’s imperative that we get back out there and finish before this really gets nasty. Mrs. Reed and the senator need to be kept in the dark until this mission is completed.”
“What about JAG?”
“I have already spoken to Admiral Clearwater. Per Navy procedure, the two JAG officers will investigate, but until we have their findings, and a full report is complete, there will be no disclosure of the details to the family.”
