Her eyebrows rose, and she pressed her lips together.
“I’ll just…” he pointed at his car, “get my things…”
As he walked away, he heard her chuckling softly.
Chapter 2
After unpacking, Cass sought out Eliana in the main house to talk about the next day’s schedule and to return the outfit she’d borrowed. She found the younger woman in her bedroom, sitting in a large overstuffed, pink arm chair talking on the telephone. The moment she saw Cass, she smiled and waved her inside then pointed at her bed.
Cass dropped the stack of clothing on the coverlet and took a seat across from Eliana.
“Look, Vasili, I have to go.” A male voice sounded on the other end of the call, and Eliana made a face. “Miss you, too.”
Cass didn’t know what to say about the face, so she just raised her eyebrows when Eliana ended the call.
“He likes to call me his ‘delicate flower’,” she said, her words dripping with disgust.
“And that’s not nice?”
Eliana’s shoulders slumped. “Vasili is…old school. Any wife of his will be…traditional. No job. Waited on hand and foot. Dressed like a doll to pull out of the closet whenever he needs someone pretty to hold onto his arm.”
“And that’s not something you want?” Cass said slowly.
Eliana gave her a surprisingly direct stare. “I studied biology and zoology at university. I wanted to be a large animal veterinarian. Of course, my father didn’t care what my undergrad degree was so long as I proved to be intelligent. Intelligence is only important in our circles because we’ll hopefully breed smart sons.”
“Oh.” Cass didn’t know how to respond to that. Eliana might have a gold toilet, but her life sounded like an elegant prison.
Eliana swung her legs onto the opposite arm of her chair as she leaned back to drape herself, holding a forearm to her head in a dramatic pose. “I know. Poor little rich girl. I have it so hard.”
Cass smiled. “I guess we all have our hardships, no matter how much money we have.”
“Yes, I guess so.”
“Your English is very good. Hardly an accent.”
Eliana nodded. “My mother was American; a model from here in Louisiana. It’s why I chose Tulane.” She drew a deep breath. “And why my father permitted me to come to school here—to honor her memory.” She straightened. “So, tell me about you. I am told you were a Marine…?”
Cass nodded. “I was.”
“Why did you leave?”
Cass scrunched her nose. “I’d proven to myself that I was…tough. Over time, it got hard to put up with all the macho shit. I felt like I had to be twice as good, twice as tough as my male counterparts to move up in rank. The struggle got old—and I received an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“Working for Justin?”
Cass shook her head. “Oh, Justin is a friend of my boss’s. I actually work for a security company up in Montana, Renegade Investigation and Protection—RIP. They do a lot of the same sorts of ops as Justin’s company, only a little less bodyguard and more special ops, if that makes sense to you.”
“So, if I ever need someone to perform an extraction, to rescue me from my misery, I would call your boss…?”
From her expression, she was only half-joking. Cass gave her an equally direct stare. “If ever you were in need of…extraction…because you were in danger or being held for ransom, then yes.”
“Good to know.” She blinked and set her feet on the ground. “You’re not here to gossip, I know. We have to talk about tomorrow’s schedule. I already had Stefan make the calls to the dress shop to tell them to expect me tomorrow for a fitting. I didn’t want them to hear my voice.”
“Good thinking. Knowing who they are dressing will have them in a tizzy. Hopefully, they’ll be too flustered to pay too close attention to me.”
“Yes, exactly. So,” she pushed up from her chair, “we must find just the right outfit to keep them flustered. Something straight from the runway.”
Cass was envisioning some monstrosity with thin, see-through gauze covering her breasts and a skirt she could never bend down in.
“Your face!” Eliana laughed as she strode toward a door. “I promise you will be beautiful for that handsome man who must follow you around all day.”
“Oh, I’m not dressing to impress Trigger.”
Eliana opened the door leading into her bathroom—if one could call it that. The room was huge with a sitting area, a large sunken tub, a glassed-in shower, a toilet and a bidet situated behind a screen, and another door, which she opened. “Trigger. That’s right. His name is very strange. Were his parents one of those odd gun rights people?”
Cass shrugged, following the woman into a closet that her entire apartment could have fit inside. “Or it could be a nickname he was given while in the Navy,” she said, trying not to let her jaw drop at the amount of clothing, shoes, and accessories that were crammed into the large space. “SEALs tend to have those.”
“A SEAL. Oh my. I’m so jealous!”
“I think your two shadows, Gabe and Levi, are also former SEALs.”
“You’re right. I must ask them about that. I imagine they have many exciting experiences to talk about.”
“If they will. Some don’t like to talk about their time on missions, and of course, some of it will still be classified.”
“I can’t imagine being the wife of a SEAL. Never knowing what dangers my man is facing. And him coming home to keep those secrets locked inside. How sad that must make him. I wonder if Gabe is sad.”
Cass, again, blinked. Seemed Eliana might have a little bit of a crush. “I’m sure he’s in a much better circumstance now, watching out for you.”
“He’s very handsome…” she murmured as she shoved dresses along one rack then another, pausing now and then for a second to consider a dress before moving on.
Cass had just met Gabe, but she would never have considered him handsome. His nose looked as though it had been broken a few times. A scar bisected one dark brow. And his features were hard, his jaw very square. Still, he was in terrific shape.
“His jaw is very strong. Not like Vasili’s. His jowls wobble when he speaks.”
“I’m sure he has some good qualities or you wouldn’t be marrying him.”
Eliana snorted. “My father arranged the marriage. His company and Vasili’s have been doing business for years. Vasili’s first wife died in childbirth, along with their son. It was very sad; his wife was a nice woman. Now, he’s only looking for a brood mare. A man must have an heir, yes?”
Cass didn’t know what to say.
Eliana paused looking at another dress. This one was a soft rose color, a sleek silk sheath. No peek-a-boo gauze or silly frills. She smiled when Eliana held it up against her.
Eliana nodded. “I think this will fit. I have never worn it. I like more…sparkle, lace, you know?”
Cass smiled. “Are you sure the women at the dress shop will think this is something Eliana Rosi would wear?”
“It’s couture—and worth more than six months of their wages. Of course, they will.” Eliana gave Cass a suddenly sharp-eyed, astute glance. “I’m very good at math, too.”
“Not that you likely let anyone know, right?” Cass said grinning.
“You are pretty smart, too. I like you.”
Cass’s smile stretched. “I like you, too, Eliana.”
* * *
Later, Cass sat back in a lounge chair beside the pool, wearing her own swimsuit—a plain black one-piece. She wasn’t there to impress anyone, and after breathing in the colorful riches inside Eliana’s closet, plain black was like cleansing her palate after an overly sweet dessert.
She leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the late-afternoon sun and the quiet of the courtyard. She hadn’t seen her housemate, Trigger, when she’d returned, so she’d decided to take advantage of the break. RIP had bought her a plane ticket and issued her a dossier on h
er assignment before she’d left from her last one. No breathing space between. Something she’d told them she liked. However, after back-to-back ops for the past eight months, she thought she might be due for some down time after she saw Eliana safely on a plane to her wedding.
A shadow passed in front of her. The lounge chair beside hers scraped across the patio. She peeked between her eyelids and saw that Trigger was joining her, dressed in swimming trunks with a gape-mouthed shark’s head on his crotch. “Nice trunks,” she drawled.
“They make a statement, I suppose.”
“That you have awful taste? Or that you bite?”
He chuckled as he sat on the chair and leaned back. “I bought them for beach time with my team. Got a good laugh.”
“Bet you did.”
He shook his head. “You always such a hard ass?”
“Am I?” she said, fully opening her eyes and glancing sideways.
Trigger shrugged. “Don’t know. I’ve only had one other conversation with you where you basically told me not to get my hopes up.”
“Or anything else.”
“That, too.” He grimaced. “And you really shouldn’t say that to a guy. It gets him thinking about what it would be like to tangle with you.”
“Well, sorry if I’ve made things hard for you,” she said, then snickered.
“Damn,” he said, reaching down and adjusting himself.
And, of course, her gaze had to follow the motion. Even only semi-hard, as she imagined was the case, there was plenty to keep a girl happy.
“Not fair,” he muttered, clasping his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.
“I know. But I tend to follow movements. Training, you know. And you moved.”
“Moving again,” he gritted out.
She glanced down at his groin, and sure enough, what was underneath the thin fabric pulsed. For the first time in a long time, she thought just maybe she wanted to see it fully unfurled…
“You’re staring.”
She smiled. “Can’t help it. It’s your fault. You dared me to look.”
He groaned. “Maybe I should swim. The water might be cool.”
“Maybe I should join you.”
He turned his head, and his gaze went to her breasts. The tips of her nipples were poking against the sleek black fabric. “Cold water might make that worse.”
“Worth a try,” she grumbled and pushed up. Striding toward the edge of the pool, she didn’t pause, diving straight into the deep end. Another muffled splash sounded beside her, but she was already swimming toward the surface.
She tried to ignore his presence. She really did. Swimming lap after lap in the longer than usual pool should have relaxed her, but when she rested on the side of the pool, her arms draped on the hot pavement, all she felt was restless.
Her house buddy must have been feeling the same need to expend some energy, because he swam and swam, sometimes not surfacing to take a breath for a couple of laps. She had to admire his stamina…and everything else. He was one well-made man. Tall, broad-shouldered, a lovely tapered middle, and an eight-pack that set her fingers tingling as she imagined stroking them over the hills and valleys of all that lovely muscle.
His face wasn’t hard to look at either. His eyes were hazel, more green than brown. His hair was dark. His neatly trimmed beard didn’t hide a weak chin; she could tell because it was cut so close. And his mouth….? Good Lord, his lips were a little full for a guy and had her thinking about what they’d feel like wrapped around a nipple.
Stop lusting after your partner!
It was just that she was tired, and her walls were a little weak. Any reasonably handsome man would’ve given her a moment’s pause, making her wonder how nice it might be to let off some steam in a bed with crisp, white, Egyptian cotton sheets. The sunlight that shone through the blinds in her room would stripe his body in a lovely pattern, and she might have to follow those lines with her tongue…
Cass pressed her hands on the concrete and got out of the pool, knowing he had to be looking at her ass. The suit was conservative until you turned around. The narrow band covering her crack didn’t hide the creases beneath her cheeks. Not something she did to deliberately tease anyone, but right now, she wished she’d worn a knee-length swim dress. Something unsexy, because no way did she want him to keep having thoughts about the fact they shared the same small house—or that their bedrooms were only separated by the length of the living room.
When she returned to her chair, she reached for her towel and dried off.
He left the pool and grinned as he approached. “Cool enough,” he said.
And she glanced down again.
He laughed as he walked away.
* * *
Trigger hurried to the cottage and through the living room, leaving a trail of water, but he needed to be quick. The second he was inside the bathroom, he locked the door behind him, turned on the water, and stepped straight under the stream, not minding one bit that the water was colder than the pool had been. He’d gotten himself under control for the minute he’d needed to exit the pool and give her a smile. The second she’d glanced down at his dick, he’d felt it stir.
He didn’t think he’d be swimming again when she was around. Not and keep his dignity. He felt as horny as a teenage boy, a walking hard-on, whenever she was near. And the looks she kept giving him warred with what her mouth had said from the start. Her gaze had checked him out, and not just once. Like she knew what she was doing.
He was so confused. Could he act on her hot glances and not pay attention to what she said? Last thing he wanted was to read her wrong and end up fired for sexual harassment. He guessed the best strategy was to act casual, no matter whether his dick was feeling frisky or not. He could ignore it. Maybe she wouldn’t. Maybe she’d get curious…
Fuck, he was a dick. Thinking with his dick. How the hell could he work with her if all he could think about was how bad he wanted to back her up against a wall and be inside her?
Which was weird for him. Sure, he’d worked around attractive women. Dated some really hot women. However, he’d never felt this urgency. The thing was, he liked her hard edges. Most people would never see them because the entire package—sleek, long-limbed, toned, big tits—was so…enticing. So feminine.
When she’d bantered with him, his arousal had spiked, because she was quick, funny, and adorably sexy. A description he was pretty sure she’d frown over.
He pushed his trunks to the floor then reached for the soap dispenser on the shower wall and washed, leaving his dick for last. Then he wrapped his fingers around his shaft and began giving himself firm strokes. This was what he needed to take the edge off. He should have thought of it before he’d joined her poolside. Then he wouldn’t have embarrassed himself. Maybe he’d make it a habit to take off the edge before their every encounter.
Holy shit, he thought as he quickened his strokes. There weren’t enough hours in the day.
Chapter 3
Dinner was lowkey—the members of their security team meeting in the kitchen for a meal. Eliana joined them, making a domestic show of reheating the meal the cook had made then setting the table for them. Gabe joined her, and they managed to bump into each other at every turn as they laid out placements, dishes, glasses filled with iced tea, and utensils.
The meal itself consisted of a salad of cucumber, tomatoes, yellow peppers, and onions, with a dressing made of fresh lemons, olive oil, spices, and a sprinkle of feta cheese. The main dish was a simple roast with vegetables. Suitable for even the pickiest eater. Wine was followed with watered shots of ouzo. Not too many, because everyone needed to remain on their toes. Dessert was a sticky, moan-worthy baklava.
Gabe had the night shift, so he covered his glass when the chilled pitcher of ouzo was passed.
Trigger noted the looks that passed between their charge and the head of their team. Gabe’s expression gave away little, but his gaze followed her everywhere.
And she
noticed. Eliana’s face, even with all her perfect makeup, wore a blush throughout the meal.
Trigger felt a little sad for the couple, because nothing could come of their attraction.
Kind of like his obsession with his partner.
Yes, he finally had his contrary southern brain under control. Still, he practiced breathing deeply before glancing Cass’s way, slowing his heart, prepping his body like he would if were going into battle. Ridiculous, given his age.
The problem wasn’t that she was attractive. Not all by itself, anyway. What intrigued him was that every time she met his gaze, there was a spark of challenge deep in her pretty blue eyes. Like she was daring him to act. Was he crazy for thinking he was seeing that?
She took a second small square of baklava. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” she said. “Why have I never tasted this before?”
Eliana smiled. “And it’s not my favorite Greek dessert. You should try my grandmother’s bitter oranges in syrup. One bite and you’re in a sugar coma—and soooo good.”
Gabe cleared his throat. “We really should go over the plan for tomorrow.”
Eliana glanced his way and gave a solemn nod. “While you all talk, I’ll clear the dishes.”
“You can leave them. We can take care of our own.”
She waved a hand at him. “I feel useless. Let me do this. You have more important considerations than moving dishes to the sink for the maid to clean.” When she rolled her eyes, everyone chuckled. Except Gabe.
Watching the man, Trigger knew exactly how Gabe felt as he forced his gaze down to the tablet he held. His fingers tightened around the edges of the device.
Hot SEAL, Decoy Bride Page 2
