Virginia took a quick shower, dressed in comfortable, dark clothes, then slipped out to do a bit of snooping. Gabriel did have an ally, whether he wanted one or not.
~ * ~
Several hours later, Virginia clutched the small piece of paper in one hand, poised uncertainly at Gabe’s door. Was the little something she’d found important enough to warrant the intrusion? Or was she simply using it as an excuse to see him again?
Yes, there was something about the man that intrigued her, but he had said to let him know if she saw or heard something that might be useful, hadn’t he?
She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and lifted her hand, knocking softly in case he’d already retired for the night. Unbidden, visions of a sleeping Gabriel Michaels hijacked her overactive imagination, of moonlight streaming through the window, draping his bare upper body in silvery highlights while his lower half remained beneath sheets that barely covered a finely-toned backside.
Virginia shook her head to dispel the image and knocked again, slightly harder this time. In the quiet of the evening, the sound of canine nails clicking over the hardwood was audible, followed by the half-snort, half-sniff of a doggie nose at the bottom of the door.
She pressed her ear to the door, listening for any indication that Gabriel was still awake, hearing none. She was just about to turn and walk away when Fred started to whine.
“Sh,” she shushed against the door, not wanting to wake Gabriel. The man probably slept with a gun—or a knife—or both under his pillow, and was definitely the type to strike first and ask questions later. Even if he didn’t, the last thing she needed was an image of a half-naked, messy-haired Gabriel to add to the mental album she’d already started.
Unless he slept completely in the nude. That would be even worse.
Unfortunately, her soft shushes only made the hound whine louder.
Placing her hand on the knob, she held her breath and turned, surprised when it moved easily. She opened the door slowly and peeked in. Moonlight was streaming through the window, just like in her vision, but thankfully, the bed was empty.
A quick perusal around the room revealed a light shining from beneath the bathroom door.
Letting out the breath she’d been holding, she attempted to quiet Fred before Gabe heard him fussing. “Sh.” Fred pushed his nose toward her pocket, his acute sense of smell zeroing in on the small treats she’d slipped into her pockets for Sander’s guard dogs. Fred’s powerful tail swung back and forth excitedly, thumping loudly against the door and the frame.
“Okay, one treat,” she whispered sternly, “but you have to sit and be quiet.”
Fred dutifully dropped his back end to the floor and looked at her expectantly. She reached into her pocket and extracted the beef-basted doggie cookie, smiling as Fred’s furry lips and tongue brushed over her outstretched hand.
“Good boy,” she praised when the room suddenly grew brighter. Virginia’s gaze snapped up to find Fred’s master in the open doorway, towel-drying his hair.
A backlit, well-defined, very naked master.
He stilled almost immediately, his green eyes practically glowing, or was that glowering?
Embarrassed, she dropped her gaze, but that didn’t help at all. Her eyes traveled downward, over the powerful chest dusted with dark brown and silver and along the ridges of defined, toned abs to a sharply cut V that set off a series of tingles deep in her core. Knowing she shouldn’t, but unable to stop herself, they continued their happy journey, skimming over a dark patch of hair to—
Virginia inhaled sharply, then stopped breathing altogether.
Holy hellfire. The man was hung.
“Was there something you wanted?” he rumbled, his deep voice resonating along nerves she didn’t even know she had. Her eyes snapped back up to his as heat rushed to her face. She licked her dry lips—clearly, all the moisture had fled southward—and tried to remember why she had come to his room.
“Oh, uh, yes. I found something.”
Her eyes dropped down again of their own volition. When she forced them back up, one brow was raised, and she could have sworn she saw amusement ghosting over his features. He didn’t seem to be bothered at all by the fact that he was standing there in the nude while she ogled him. In fact, he seemed to be daring her to continue.
She, on the other hand, felt a tsunami-level hot flash coming on. She had to get out of there, pronto, preferably before her lust overpowered her logic.
“But it can wait till morning.”
She backed out of the room quickly and pulled the door shut, refusing to look back as she high-tailed it to her own room.
She locked the door for good measure, then flopped down on her bed and covered her face with her arm. Images of Gabriel in all his naked glory flashed behind her lids, making her groan. How many years had it been since she’d had sex? Ten? Twelve?
Way too long, her raging hormones answered. And never with a man who looked like that. Skin dusted with dark hair and lit by moonlight, stretched over powerful legs and arms and . . . other things.
A sharp knock sounded at the door. She bolted upright and held her breath, knowing exactly who it was. Maybe if she remained quiet, he’d think she’d gone somewhere else. Or maybe, her hormones suggested hopefully, you could go into your bathroom, strip, and then treat him to the same show he gave you.
“Ms. Miller, I know you’re in there.” A soft woof of confirmation followed the statement.
Damn it, Fred. She took a deep breath and willed her voice steady. “Yes? What is it?”
“You said you found something.”
Virginia realized she still clutched the slip of paper in her hand. “It’s probably nothing. I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
A weighted pause ticked off with beats from her pounding heart. “If you have something that might facilitate the investigation, I’d prefer to see it sooner rather than later.”
She exhaled, then pulled herself to standing and went to the door, opening it several inches. Thankfully, Gabe was now fully dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt. His hair was still damp, though, curling slightly at the ends, just above his collar. The scent of clean, masculine soap and shaving cream tickled her nose. It should have helped, but it didn’t, because that scent would now forever be associated with a clear mental image of what lay beneath the cotton and denim. In fact, she might never be able to look at him again without picturing him naked. Not exactly a hardship, but not particularly good for her sanity or self-control, either.
She slipped her hand through the crack and held the paper out to him, refusing to look into his face. “Here, I found this. I don’t know if it’s useful or not.”
Fred used the opening to push his big body through, bulldozing into her room. He made a beeline for her bed, leapt up onto it, then proceeded to circle twice before settling himself firmly in the midst of her pillows with a plop.
“Fred! Down!” Gabe commanded, reminding her unnecessarily that he was all alpha-male. That deep voice, when combined with his nearness and the recent images she’d acquired, brought on another wave of heat. She needed distance. The sooner, the better.
Fred, however, didn’t seem inclined to agree. The dog looked from her to Gabe and back again, but kept his head between his paws.
“He can stay,” she said quickly, making up her mind.
Gabe crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze on hers. “If he stays, I stay.”
“Fred, get down.” Virginia whirled around and moved toward the bed making shooing motions with her hands. “Come on, you heard the man. You have to go.”
Fred looked at her with big eyes so soulful she almost reconsidered. Almost. She really wouldn’t have minded the company, but the price was just too high.
“No,” she said firmly, pointing her finger to the door. “Go.”
Fred slowly got to his feet and moved to the edge of the bed where he nuzzled her. That, she couldn’t completely resist. “Maybe another time,�
� she whispered softly, rubbing his ears, “but not tonight.”
“Sorry about that,” Gabe said as Fred dutifully jumped off the bed and sulked toward the door.
He didn’t look sorry. He looked amused. As if he knew he’d flustered her and was quite pleased with himself. Damn alpha males.
“Right, well,” she crossed her own arms over her chest, mimicking his earlier stance. “I’ll let you know if I come across anything else.”
One corner of his mouth quirked upward. “You do that.”
“Goodnight, Commander Michaels.”
“All things considered, I think you can call me Gabe now. Pleasant dreams, Ms. Miller.”
Chapter Thirty-One
Gabriel
Gabe walked away from Virginia’s room, smiling to himself. He’d forgotten how much fun women could be.
No, not women, he mentally corrected, woman. One woman. One enigmatic, intriguing woman in particular.
He couldn’t get a read on her, and that appealed to him. Just when he thought he had her figured out, she did or said something that made him reconsider.
Like tonight, for example. He wouldn’t have expected her to seek him out, and certainly not to let herself into his room.
Nor would he have expected her to react to the sight of him as she had. Thus far, she’d been helpful and friendly, nothing more. Tonight, though, there had been a flare of heat in her eyes as she’d gawked her fill, as well as an audible, swift intake of breath before her hasty departure.
He was tempted to pursue the possibilities. In another time, another place, he would have. Virginia Miller was a very attractive woman, and he’d be lying to himself if he said her blatant interest hadn’t stirred a few carnal urges of his own. But, once again, he’d shut those down pronto. There was too much at stake to start mucking up the waters just to scratch an itch.
But what if it was more than just an itch? his inner voice whispered.
He refused to consider that. His thoughts had followed a similar vein twice before in his life, and the only things they had gotten him were two disappointing marriages and the knowledge that he was better off alone, Fred excluded.
After his second divorce—which had been particularly nasty—he’d given it a lot of thought. How could he have been so wrong, not once, but twice? How could love turn to such dislike and resentment in the span of a few years?
That was when he’d made the stunning self-realization that perhaps it hadn’t been the women he’d loved as much as the concept of a soul mate. Of a woman so in tune with him that she could accept his alpha nature without diminishing her own. One he could love fully and completely.
Oh, he’d loved his exes, at least at first, but not with the soul-deep connection he craved. The kind that wouldn’t have been so easy to walk away from, either for him or for them. By the time the papers were filed, he’d felt only a sense of relief, not loss.
He wasn’t an easy guy to live with, that much he knew. The same qualities that made him an excellent SEAL—determination, perseverance, intensity, discipline—also made him hard to get along with. Compromise, such an important factor in any relationship, wasn’t in his vocabulary. It was just the way he was wired.
Finding a woman willing and able to deal with all that wasn’t easy. Oh, they might think they liked his take-charge personality at first, but they soon learned otherwise. A woman would have to have a backbone of steel not to break beneath him.
Thankfully, dogs didn’t think like women. They were loyal and loved unconditionally. Gabe knew that if he had a bad day, Fred would still be around in the morning, wagging his tail and happy to be there, not slamming doors and filing separation papers.
Although, Fred didn’t seem all that happy with him at the moment. His ears and tail were down as he moped along beside him. Whether it was because Gabe had been stern with him or because Fred wouldn’t be getting to spend more time with Virginia was unclear.
“It was a good try, buddy,” Gabe told him. Fred turned his big head upward. “If it’s any consolation, I think she would have gone for it if you’d been flying solo, but we’re a package deal, right?”
Fred looked away, leaving that question unanswered.
The phone in his pocket vibrated. He pulled it out, frowning when he saw the notification on the screen. Someone had tripped the sensors in his room.
He picked up the pace, moving swiftly and silently through the corridors. He paused at the last corner, drawing his weapon with one hand while he signaled Fred to stop with the other. Peeking around he caught sight of a dark, hooded figure exiting his room.
“Stop right there,” he commanded.
The figure hesitated for only a moment, then took off running. Gabe lifted his weapon and fired off a warning shot, not to kill, but to disable. The suppressor kept the noise to a soft ping; the figure jolted as the bullet made contact, but kept going.
He and Fred gave chase, Fred moving faster on his four feet than Gabe did on two. The hound made it around the next corner before he did. They raced through the dimly lit hallways and down the stairs. Up ahead, Gabe heard Fred’s angry growl, followed by a heart-stopping yelp and subsequent silence.
Only then did Gabe realize he was in front of Virginia’s office. He entered carefully through the open door, willing his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He listened for movement, but the only sounds he heard were Fred’s whimpers and heavy breaths.
Gabe moved silently toward the sound, his weapon at the ready, but his gut told him the intruder was already gone. He’d just reached Fred when the lights suddenly came on, bathing the room in light.
“Oh, my God, what happened?”
“Virginia, stay back!”
Wide-eyed, Virginia completely ignored his command and rushed into the room behind him, going to her knees in front of Fred. Her hands moved over the dog as she murmured words of comfort.
“Oh, poor baby. Good boy. No, no, don’t try to get up. Who did this to you, sweet boy?”
A quick search confirmed the room was empty. The French doors were locked and secured, as were the windows. Satisfied they were in no immediate danger, Gabe knelt beside her. Blood was visible on the side of Fred’s face and muzzle, his breathing labored. Virginia’s hands moved deftly over the dog’s body. Fred’s whimpers grew louder when she touched his side.
“How bad is it?” Gabe asked, afraid of the answer.
Virginia spoke quickly but kept her voice low and soothing. “He’s got a gash above his eye and tender spots along his left shoulder and ribs. Not life-threatening, but we need to get him to a vet as quickly as possible. There’s one about thirty minutes from here.”
Gabe nodded, handing Virginia his keys. “You drive.”
Gabe scooped Fred into his arms, wincing when he cried, and ran swiftly from the room with Virginia at his heels.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Gabriel
Gabe looked over at Virginia, taking in her disheveled hair and worried expression. It was the first time he’d seen her look anything other than perfectly composed. Her expression was raw, one of genuine concern as she looked toward the door of the room where the vet was performing X-rays on Fred. How odd it was, seeing everything he was feeling on her face.
“Thank you,” he said into the quiet waiting room.
She turned questioning eyes to him. “What happened, Gabe?”
It was the first time she’d called him by his given name. He blamed the emotionally charged moment for the tiny frisson of pleasure it gave him.
“Someone was in my room. Fred and I gave chase.”
Her eyes widened. “Someone was in your room? Who? Why?”
Excellent questions, both. “I don’t know. I didn’t get a look at his face. He was dressed in black and wore a hoodie.”
“Oh, my God.”
He hated that look of fear he saw in her eyes. Wanted desperately to remove it. Visions of pulling her into his arms and sheltering her against him assaulted his mind’s eye, unbidde
n.
He pushed them away before they had a chance to settle in, redirecting his focus toward something more beneficial, like reviewing the events of the evening instead.
“Why did you come down to your office so late?”
She blinked, then sighed. “After you left, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, so I decided I might as well put the time to good use by going over everything again. I feel like I’m missing something, but I don’t know what.”
There was no point in asking her why she hadn’t been able to sleep; he already knew the answer. When he’d left her room, he hadn’t exactly felt tired, either.
“Perhaps it’s better if you don’t go wandering around at night, at least for the time being.”
“This is insane!” she said, shaking her head. “I live there. It’s my home.”
“Consider the circumstances, Ms. Miller.”
“The intruder wasn’t in my room,” she said irritably, then shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. I know you’re just trying to help. I just . . . I want this to be over. For things to get back to normal.”
He understood her frustration. She was tired. She was worried. She was surrounded by people who treated her with disdain. Her only champion was MIA, and she was unsure of what the future held for her—yet more reasons why he needed to complete this mission and get out as soon as possible, before he started entertaining ridiculous notions of being part of that future. Besides, once she discovered how he planned to use Christos as a means to get to Darius, chances were she wouldn’t want anything to do with him.
Until then, however, he wanted—no, needed—to keep her safe.
He exhaled. “Like it or not, you are involved with some very dangerous people.”
“Gregory and the others can be rude and condescending, but I’ve never feared for my safety. And Chris is not like his father. You don’t know him.”
“No, I don’t. But I do know he’s not as clean as you think he is. And I think that deep down, you know it, too.”
SEAL Out of Water (Silver SEALs, #7) Page 13
