Her Sensual Protector: A Navy SEAL Romance (Night Storm Book 5)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  He smiled seductively. “Wasn’t planning to.”

  He looked down where his fingers brushed against her, circling and plucking. Daisy was shaking. He caught her around her back and held her up as he continued his sexual torture. He loved watching her face as she climbed the ladder toward ecstasy.

  He listened to her little cries of need, watched as her face suffused with color and her hair thrashed around her head. Nothing in his life had ever been as sexy as seeing Daisy reach for her release.

  “Leo,” she wailed as her hands grabbed his biceps.

  “Come for me, Daisy,” he said as he teased her flesh a little harder, just a little more, watching her face.

  Her body shuddered, her eyes got wide, and then it hit her and she shouted out his name.

  “Leo!”

  “I’ve got you, Sweetheart.”

  She slumped forward and he pulled her close. For long moments, Leo did nothing more than hold her trembling body close to his, murmuring words of praise and comfort. Finally, she pushed up, her gray eyes glittering with mischief.

  “Uh-oh.”

  “I call for a do-over.”

  “Are you saying you didn’t like that?” Leo teased.

  “Oh, you know I did, but I know a way we could both like it better.”

  He pushed back a stray lock of hair away from her cheek. “Daisy, listen to me, seeing you come apart in my arms, was one of the best moments of my life.”

  11

  “Do you want to talk about what was bothering you now?” Leo asked.

  Daisy couldn’t understand what he was saying. Was he crazy? Hell to the no. A lady never left a gentleman wanting. At least not in her codebook.

  She leaned forward and once again cupped his face. She loved the feel of his scruff against the palm of her hands. She knew she was going to have whisker burn on her breasts, and wasn’t that the best? It had just added another dimension of pleasure along with his tongue and lips.

  “No, Daisy, no kisses, talk,” he protested. She bit his sexy lower lip and he groaned. Then she pressed her lips against his for a soft and gentle kiss. The man deserved love and care after all the beauty and bliss he had just provided to her.

  Daisy felt his fingers spreading through the strands of her hair as he held her head, getting into the kiss. She scooched back a bit so that her bottom nestled his erection. He groaned into her mouth. There would be no more talking.

  She began to move her hands, tracing them down the strong line of his neck, ever downward to the curls of chest hair.

  Does anything feel better than this?

  Daisy found his nipples and scraped her fingernails over them.

  “Jesus,” he groaned.

  Ah, he liked that.

  She pushed up and back so that she was straddling his hips and not his stomach. At long last, she was looking at his beautiful erection.

  Daisy used her thumb to stroke from the bottom of his shaft to just below the head, her eyes darting between what she was doing and Leo’s glittering expression. He hissed out a breath between gritted teeth.

  She did it again.

  And again.

  Then she tried to enclose his length with one of her small hands, but it didn’t quite work, so she used both hands and squeezed.

  “You’re killing me.”

  He felt so good, so much strength encased in smooth velvet, and it was hers to play with. She was in heaven. Daisy watched with interest as Leo flung out his arm and grabbed his wallet from the nightstand and wrenched out a condom.

  “But I’m not done playing,” she protested.

  “Oh, there will be playing involved. Lots and lots of playing.”

  He dropped the condom by the pillow then lifted up into a sitting position.

  How did he do that so easily?

  He pulled her into a hug, then rolled them over so that she was lying beneath him.

  Until this moment, she hadn’t realized what a big man he was, and she liked it, she felt safe with him. He drew the backs of his fingers along her jaw, then bent in for a kiss. Another soul-defying, wonderous kiss, that took her into a whirlwind of sensation. He plundered her mouth, and she relished every sensation.

  When he broke free, he looked down at her. “Are you absolutely sure about this?”

  It took her a moment to figure out what he was asking. She turned her head slightly and caught sight of the condom in his hand. She grabbed the packet, put it to her mouth, and ripped it open.

  “Now put this on.”

  His laughter shot through her like a sugar rush. He knelt up and applied the latex and she licked her bottom lip in anticipation.

  “Lady, you are amazing.”

  He made her feel amazing. He made her feel wanted in a way that she never had been before. How was that even possible? Then as Leo started his slow invasion into her needy flesh she drew in an agonized breath. His eyes were staring at her face as he slowly eased his way not just into her body, but into her heart, into her soul.

  As soon as those foolish thoughts entered her head she banished them, focusing instead on the feel of his cock and how good he was making her feel. She wrapped her arms around his chest, trying to seal their bodies closer together. She burrowed her face into his neck, needing to stop his penetrating gaze.

  He held her, and continued to hold her, as his thrusts met her upwards undulations. She couldn’t get enough of him. When had her legs circled his waist? Was that her making those needy sounds?

  She felt his hands stroking her hair and he brushed a kiss against her temple as he continued to press into her. Every stroke took her deeper into a vortex of rapture, every move drove her further into a place she’d never been before. She pulled back her head to look into his glittering brown eyes.

  “There you are,” he smiled.

  He actually saw her. Her heart stuttered. Leo laid a gentle kiss on her lips as he continued to push her higher into the throes of pleasure. It was more than she could possibly bear.

  “I don’t know…”

  “I’ve got you, Daisy. You’re safe.”

  And with those words, she shattered into a paroxysm of pleasure, unlike anything she’d ever known before.

  Somehow, even with the tidal wave of rapture, she could still hear and feel Leo’s release, which catapulted her into another torrent of ecstasy.

  Slowly, ever so slowly, when she came back to herself, she found herself on her side, wrapped in a loving embrace, the sight and scent of Leo surrounding her, holding back the world, keeping her safe. She snuggled even closer.

  “Go to sleep, Honey. I’ll be here.”

  And she did.

  As soon as he felt her lapse into a deep sleep, Leo got up and disposed of the condom. He came back to the bed and stroked Daisy’s beautiful brown hair. He pulled the sheet and duvet over her.

  What in the hell had gotten her so upset?

  He pulled on his pants and picked up the rest of his clothes and hers. He folded them up and put them on ottoman, then he went to sit down at Daisy’s computer. He knew that whatever had upset her had to have come from a phone call or a communication from her computer. He was tempted to snoop, but he couldn’t in good conscience. He needed her to tell him what had upset her so badly.

  He looked back over at her and heard her give a soft snuffle. Even the sound of her snoring was dainty.

  You have it bad, Perez.

  God, it was only three days and he was caught up by a woman, who would have thought it? Sure as hell not his brothers and sisters, that’s for damn sure. His mama would be nodding her head, saying ‘of course, mijo.’ His mom would already be planning a wedding. Leo laughed to himself. She had been trying to marry him off for the last four years; it had been killing her not to have all of her chicks married.

  He got up from the desk and went into the bathroom to check his messages. The only important message was from Kane who was texting to check up on him. Yesterday had been long, and they’d only gotten about four hours’
sleep before getting up at ten this morning. Then he got here by one o’clock. He sent back a brief note asking when he was needed back. Kane said tomorrow would be soon enough, which Leo appreciated.

  The other messages were to be expected. But one from his sister Rosa cracked a big smile from him, seeing his niece Olivia eating her first birthday cake. It looked like she was washing her hair with the pink icing.

  He quickly texted Rosa back to say how beautiful her daughter was, and how he couldn’t wait to give her his gift in person. He had it stuffed in the back of his closet. It was a lamp that projected butterflies on the wall and ceiling of the nursery. This was the seventh time he’d been made an uncle, and he loved this duty and took it seriously.

  He went back into the bedroom and saw that Daisy now had tried to take up all of the bed, her arms and legs splayed out. But she was such a tiny little thing, she’d still only taken up half of the bed. Leo took off his pants and folded them up and put them on the ottoman with the rest of the clothes and got into bed beside her. He pulled her in close and she immediately cuddled up. It felt good.

  He started to replay what he’d seen and heard this morning, and then when he had gotten to Daisy’s room. Was it possible they were connected? If she knew that her father had been beaten, it would explain Daisy’s shattered mood when he had arrived, but how would she have found out?

  She cuddled even closer, and the scent of orange and vanilla wafted from her hair. The smell sank into his bones. She felt so warm and soft against him, he found his mind starting to turn off and focus on the woman in his arms.

  Daisy couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so good, so unencumbered. She nuzzled Leo’s neck, taking in his unique masculine scent. She wanted to remember this moment always. It was a moment out of time. How had she ever gotten this lucky? But now it was back to reality. Now it was back to the horror that she had witnessed. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath.

  “You’re awake,” he said softly, as his lips brushed against her temple.

  “Yes,” she murmured. “So are you. Do you know what time it is?”

  He lifted his arm so that they could both look at the sturdy watch on his wrist. “Five p.m. Do you know how long we slept?”

  “I’d say three hours if I had to guess. I wasn’t really paying attention to the clock.”

  She rolled over so she could get a good look at him. A smile was playing on his lips, but he wasn’t making fun of the situation—he looked like a man who was happy with the world. If Daisy had to guess, she had a similar expression.

  “I don’t mean to break the mood, but I need to go use the bathroom.”

  Leo grinned. “In that case, I have to break the mood too, because I’m hungry. Wanna order room service?”

  She pushed up from his chest and smiled. “I like you, Leo Perez.” She got out of bed and wandered over to the coffee table and grabbed the room service menu. When she spotted her sleep shirt folded up on the ottoman, she was touched. She went to grab it.

  “Don’t.”

  She looked up and saw Leo with his hands folded behind his head, leaning against the headboard.

  “What?”

  “Don’t get dressed, at least not until you have to. You’re gorgeous the way you are.”

  She could feel a blush starting from her chest heating upwards to her cheeks. She walked back with the menu. “Read this, I’ll be right back.”

  Daisy swore she could feel his eyes on her the entire time it took her to walk to the bathroom. And….she was pretty sure she liked it. By the time she got back into the bedroom, Leo was sitting up with the phone in his lap.

  “What kind of food are you in the mood for?” he asked.

  “Surprise me.” This time she did pick up her shirt and shrug it on, then went to her suitcase to grab a fresh pair of panties.

  “Hey, I thought we had a deal,” he griped.

  “I’ve got to see what the e-mail fairy gifted me with, and I refuse to sit naked on the chair, it just seems wrong.”

  Daisy tuned Leo out while he was ordering and focused on the forty-three new e-mails that had come in since she’d last checked. She forced herself not to think of the video that she had seen. After years of practice, she was pretty good at compartmentalizing, and she would use that skill now.

  “Shit.”

  “What?” Leo asked.

  “Oh, it’s nothing new. Just more roadblocks on one of the schools we’re trying to open in Cambodia. The government’s only happy if they get their beak wet.”

  “Is that something you can handle now?”

  She shook her head. “It goes to Reggie. Chanlina was just telling me because she still doesn’t feel comfortable talking to men. I’m going to have to send Reggie to Phnom Penh for a month or so, then she can see what a good guy he is.”

  She jumped when there was a knock on the door.

  “Why don’t you hit the bathroom and I let in the server?” Leo suggested.

  It made sense, and she really appreciated it, so she nodded. When she went into the bathroom, she took a good look at herself and laughed. Never had her hair looked so eighties girl-band before. She definitely was sporting sex hair.

  She got out her brush and went about taming it. When she was done she looked down at the spot where she had been curled up in front of the toilet this morning and bit her lip. An overwhelming wave of anguish hit her as she thought of her dad. She had to grip the sink to continue to stay standing.

  “Are you all right in there?”

  “Huh?”

  “I thought I heard you cry out. Are you okay, Daisy?”

  She looked at herself in the mirror and realized she really wasn’t okay.

  12

  Leo knocked again and Daisy opened the bathroom door just as he was going to knock once more. She was not the same woman who had gone into the bathroom. Something had happened.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She just shook her head and moved past him, careful not to touch him. Yep, something was way wrong. Once again she looked like the woman he had walked in on hours ago. This time he was going to get to the bottom of things.

  “I’m going to put some clothes on real quick, then we can eat.”

  “Okay,” he said slowly. He watched as she grabbed something from her suitcase then went back to the bathroom. This he could understand; after all, he was back in his clothes. In a Muslim country, he wasn’t about to open the door in just his pants, of course he had put on his shirt.

  She came back out in yoga pants and a peach sleeveless blouse that fell past her hips. Her expression was stoic.

  “I think you need some food.” He sat her down at the small couch in front of the coffee table and whipped off the lids from the food. He hadn’t ordered Western food—it was always such a crapshoot in other countries, it was best to stick with native dishes.

  Daisy gave a wan smile even when he unveiled badenjan borani to start.

  “Oh Daisy, there must be something really wrong if this isn’t doing it for you. It’s eggplant simmered in tomato sauce with garlic yogurt. I thought this would really turn your crank.”

  She let out a half-hearted laugh.

  He put the lid back over the dish and sat down beside her. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

  “It’s Dad,” she whispered.

  “Alistair?”

  She shook her head. “Ethan. My biological dad. I saw something horrible.”

  Ah fuck. She’s seen the video.

  “Do you want to tell me?”

  She looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

  “Yes. No. I don’t know.”

  He scooched closer and grabbed her hand. “You saw a video, didn’t you?”

  She put her other hand on top of his and nodded her head. “How did you know? Did someone tell you about it? Did you see it?”

  A tear dripped down her face. She swiped it away by wiping her cheek onto her shoulder.

  “Yes, I saw it.”

/>   “They hurt him so bad. They want to kill him, Leo.”

  That was the point when he realized that she hadn’t really—hadn’t consciously—figured that out yet. She might have talked a good game, but this was the first time it had settled in for her that her father was going to be murdered. He thought back to their talk at lunch, the way she seemed to compartmentalize her feelings, especially when it came to Ethan.

  “I know, Daisy.”

  “I don’t want him to die,” her voice was forlorn.

  “I know you don’t.”

  “What am I going to do? How am I going to save him?” Her hands clenched his.

  “Honey, you’re not. You can’t. What you’re going to do is let the professionals handle it.”

  “But that’s not what I do. I always help.”

  God, she’s killing me.

  He wrapped his arms around her and she fell against his chest. She didn’t cry, but her body heaved dry sobs against him.

  “But what if you can’t rescue him?”

  “We can. It’s what we do.”

  Jesus, did I just make that promise? Stupid, Perez. Really goddamn stupid.

  She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with tears. “I know you’ll try. But I don’t want you hurt, either.” Her hands gripped his shirt, her nails biting into his chest.

  “Daisy, how did you get ahold of that video? Who gave it to you?”

  She looked away. “I can’t tell you.”

  “You have to. Not only is it important from a security standpoint, but whoever showed you that video is not a friend of yours.”

  “How can you say that? I needed to know what was going on with my father. Leo, you should have seen it. It was horrible.”

  “Daisy, I did see it,” he admitted. “That’s why I’m saying whoever showed it to you isn’t a friend of yours. Think about it—would you ever show a family member something like that? Ever?”

  He watched her wheels turn.

  “Ever, Daisy. You would tell them about it, and say that their father was alive, but you wouldn’t show it to them, right? What kind of person would show that to you?”