Securing Caite

by Susan Stoker

  Caite knew she was blushing again, damn it, but she hoped they would misinterpret her flushed cheeks as a result of the heat. The air in the elevator wasn’t exactly cool, and she knew it would only continue to get warmer until they were rescued.

  “Where are you staying?” she asked, simply for something to talk about.

  “Housing on the base,” Ace told her. “Where do you live?”

  Not even thinking that it wasn’t smart to tell strangers where she lived, Caite said, “There’s an apartment complex right outside the gate. I was too chicken to get a place too far away from here. I don’t have to drive to work, I can just go right out my apartment building and walk here. I’ve only gone into Manama once, and I was with three other DOD employees.”

  “Maybe if we’re here long enough, we can show you some of the city,” Ace said.

  Caite blinked. She hadn’t been fishing for them to escort her anywhere, but it probably had sounded like she was. “That’s okay.”

  “How about dinner?” Rocco asked. “I was serious about that.”

  He was staring at her so intently, she shivered. He couldn’t be asking her out, could he? She’d never, in her entire life, been asked out. She’d gone on dates, and had even had one long-term boyfriend, but they’d all been set up by friends.

  Caite had long since come to terms with who she was and how she looked. She’d never be called beautiful. Her nose was a bit too big and her features were simply too plain. She liked her hair, but it didn’t stand out in any way. The light brown locks were thin and if she tried to grow them out too long, they broke off at the ends and looked straggly. She’d never been the kind of woman that anyone took a second look at. She wasn’t hideous, but she wasn’t model beautiful either.

  It had been her experience that men simply overlooked her. She wasn’t pretty enough, interesting enough, or skinny enough to deserve a second glance. Especially since she tended to keep to herself in social situations. There were always women around who were more interesting, outgoing, and pleasing to the eye.

  But Rocco was looking at her as if she was the most fascinating person he’d met in his entire life. If she was being honest, it was discomfiting. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention.

  Knowing she’d been silent too long and things were getting awkward again, she quickly said, “Um…yeah, I can join you guys in the cafeteria one night if you want.”

  “Not what I meant, Caite,” Rocco said. And once again, the husky, low tone of his voice did weird things to her insides.

  She glanced at Ace and Gumby, and they were both smiling once more at her and Rocco. Not in a “my buddy’s gonna get him some” way, but in a genuinely pleased way. She licked her lips and looked back down at her hands. “Oh, um…okay.”

  “I don’t know when, though,” Rocco went on to say. “I wouldn’t mind if it was tonight, but I’m afraid we have to check in with the base commander and get the lay of the land. Not to mention we have to get a job done while we’re here. But I’d like to make the time to get to know you better. If that’s all right with you.”

  All sorts of things were swirling around Caite’s head. Big caution signs, for one. This gorgeous man couldn’t really be interested in her. Maybe it was a joke. Maybe he thought she’d go to bed with him because she’d been here so long and obviously didn’t get out.

  But…she didn’t get those kinds of vibes from him. She was pretty good at spotting players. And Rocco seemed more mature and above those kinds of games.

  Deciding that this was the most exciting thing to happen to her in months, besides getting stuck in the stupid elevator, Caite nodded. “I’d like that.”

  The smile on his face widened. “Good. Tell me where you work so I can find you later this week.”

  She did—and noticed his smile dimmed a bit.

  “What?”

  The emotion immediately cleared from his face. “Nothing.”

  Caite shook her head. “No, it’s something. What?”

  “It just so happens that you work for our temporary commander,” Ace volunteered.

  “Oh.”

  “And he doesn’t approve of work relationships,” Gumby said.

  “This isn’t a work relationship,” Rocco grumbled. “It’s dinner. We aren’t going to go off and get married or anything.”

  Caite smiled at that. The thought popped out of her mouth before she could recall it. “Right. But if we did get married, he couldn’t do or say anything about it, could he?”

  Ace and Gumby chuckled as she looked up at Rocco, horrified. “Not that I think you’d want to! I mean, it’s just dinner and… Oh, shit,” she said, and closed her eyes and rested her forehead on her knees. “I’ll shut up now.”

  She felt Rocco take her hand in his and she reluctantly looked at him. “Relax, ma petite fée, I know what you meant.”

  Caite blinked. Had he really just called her “my small fairy” in French?

  “Did I say it wrong?” he asked, smiling gently at her.

  “What did you mean to call me?” she asked.

  “Small fairy.”

  She shook her head. “You didn’t say it wrong.”

  “Good. I’m fluent in Turkish, but have picked up a bit of French here and there.”

  Caite wanted to ask why he’d called her that, but was too embarrassed. She was all too aware of his friends sitting there staring at the two of them, and the last thing she wanted was to hear him say it was because she reminded him of a child in some way.

  “You’re fluent in Turkish?” she asked instead.

  “Yes.”

  He didn’t elaborate, and Caite felt awkward all over again. She wasn’t used to being the center of attention. She liked listening to others talk, not having to carry a conversation all by herself.

  Just then, the elevator lurched and immediately fell about three feet before stopping once again.

  Caite screeched in fear and reached out to grab ahold of something, anything. Her hand encountered Rocco’s camouflage-covered thigh and she gripped him—hard. She hadn’t been wrong about how muscular he was. It almost felt like she was holding on to a rock rather than a human being.

  Rocco immediately moved closer and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into him. His beard brushed against her cheek for an instant before he looked at his friends. “We’re done.” He lifted his chin as he said the words.

  As if they’d been waiting for his say-so the entire time, Ace and Gumby leaped up and immediately got to work on the hatch in the ceiling.

  Caite’s attention was brought back to the man at her side when he looked down at her and murmured, “Easy, ma petite fée, we’ll be out of here in a few minutes.”

  Caite barely heard him. She was tucked against his side and she’d never, ever felt safer. If the elevator suddenly plunged to the ground, she had no doubt she wouldn’t feel a thing.

  Somehow, even in the overly warm small space, Rocco smelled delicious. Not like cologne; no, a man like him would never be caught dead splashing that stuff on. But like soap and…man. She couldn’t explain it. But if someone found a way to bottle it, they’d make a fortune. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle up against him, tucking her head under his chin and resting it on his chest, but she forced herself to loosen the death grip she had on his pants and try to straighten. But he wouldn’t let her go.

  “I’m okay,” she said quietly.

  “I know you are. Just hang tight for a few more minutes.” Rocco sounded completely calm.

  And just like that, things clicked in her brain.

  He and his friends were SEALs.

  She should’ve figured it out way before now, but she’d been distracted by his looks. He was all muscle under his uniform, and the fact that he and his friends were here for a “mission” was a big giveaway. She’d met several different SEAL teams during her tenure, and they all had a certain aura about them.

  But it was the way he and his friends handled the situation in the
elevator that clinched it for her. Without any fuss or discussion, Ace and Gumby had the hatch in the top of the small space unlatched and Gumby disappeared through the hole as if he did this sort of thing every day.

  “We aren’t even very high,” Rocco reassured her. “Even if the car did fall, we’d only fall a story or two. But Gumby will figure out how far we are from the next floor and he’ll get us out. Don’t worry.”

  Caite could only nod, and that made his beard brush against her shoulder. She couldn’t feel it through the long-sleeve blouse she was wearing, but her nipples didn’t seem to care. They puckered, and she hoped like hell her slightly padded bra was doing its job. She sneaked a glance downward, relieved to see that she wasn’t giving Rocco and his friends a peep show.

  “Still okay?” Rocco asked, sounding concerned.

  “Yeah,” she said immediately. “Thanks. I was just startled there for a second.”

  “Can’t blame you,” Rocco told her.

  “Good news,” Gumby said from above their heads.

  Caite looked up and saw him staring down at them through the hatch.

  “The car’s just below the second floor. The doors are right here. We can pry them open and climb out from up here.”

  Rocco nodded and removed his arm from around her shoulders and stood. Caite immediately felt chilly, which was ridiculous, as it was at least eighty-five degrees inside the elevator. He held his hand out to her. “Ready to get out of here?”

  Caite nodded and reached for his hand.

  As his fingers closed around hers, and he helped her up, she never wanted to let go.

  Apparently, he felt the same way. Once she was on her feet, he intertwined his fingers with hers and held on tightly.

  Feeling giddy and like she was a teenager on her first date, Caite stood there while he discussed the safety of what they were about to do with Ace and Gumby.

  “Ready?”

  Caite forced herself to pay attention. “What?”

  Ace smiled down at her. “I asked if you were ready.”

  Caite shook her head and said at the same time, “Yes.”

  The men all grinned once more at her contradictory word versus her head movement. She wasn’t all fired up to climb on top of the elevator and crawl out onto the second floor. There were bound to be others around who would gawk at the four people climbing out of the elevator shaft. She hated being the center of attention.

  “You got this, ma petite fée,” Rocco said, then squeezed her hand.

  She nodded and took a deep breath. “How am I going to get up there?” she asked no one in particular.

  “I’ve got you,” Rocco said.

  “Give me your briefcase,” Ace said, and Caite let him take the bag from her.

  Rocco kneeled in front of her and held his hands up. “Step up onto my shoulders. I’ll lift you. I won’t let you fall.”

  Caite said the first thing that came to mind. “It’s a good thing I’m not wearing a skirt today or you’d get a show.”

  All three men chuckled again, and Caite blushed furiously.

  “I’m actually more relieved you’re not wearing heels,” Rocco told her. “Those would hurt like hell digging into my shoulders.”

  “Can’t stand the things,” Caite said. “They hurt my feet, and it’s not like two or three inches would make that much of a difference in my height. I’d still be smaller than just about everyone.” She tried to think of something else to say that would delay the inevitable, but Rocco obviously read her body language.

  He looked up at her from his crouched position and patiently continued to hold his hands out to her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, Caite.”

  “I’m heavier than I look,” she blurted.

  His eyes quickly darted from her face down to her chest and hips, before coming back up to meet her gaze. “You’re perfect,” he said. “Besides, I carried this guy,” he used his head to indicate Ace, standing nearby, “for more than a mile once. In full combat gear. Compared, you weigh next to nothing. Come on, ma petite fée, trust me.”

  How could she not when he called her his little fairy in that adorable, horrible French accent? She wanted to hear more about when and why he’d had to carry his friend, but knew asking would be just another stalling tactic. Without further delay, she reached for his hand and lifted her leg to step up onto his shoulder.

  Within seconds, she was standing on his shoulders, bent over and clutching his hands for dear life.

  “Easy, Caite. I got ya,” Rocco told her as he rose slowly until he was standing under the open hatch.

  “Let go of one of his hands and reach upward,” Gumby ordered from above her head.

  Caite took a deep breath. She didn’t want to be a wuss, but damn, this was so not something she was enjoying. It took a few seconds, but none of the men rushed her. Ever so slowly, she loosened the fingers on her right hand and blindly reached upward.

  She immediately felt her hand grasped by Gumby’s large warm one.

  “Now the other one,” he said softly.

  Carefully, she let go of Rocco’s other hand. Even as Gumby was grabbing hold of her, she felt Rocco’s hands grasp the back of her calves, steadying her, holding on and making sure she was secure.

  The elevator wasn’t all that tall. By the time Rocco was standing up straight with Caite on his shoulders, she was practically out of the elevator already. All it would take was a small step up and she’d be standing on top of the metal box next to Gumby.

  “That’s it,” Gumby said. Clearly this wasn’t a big deal for him…or the other two men. He’d leaped right up and out of the elevator as if he did it every day of the week. When she glanced at their clasped hands, she saw that the sleeve of his uniform was pushed up, and she caught a glimpse of tattoos around his wrist.

  They fit him. She could totally imagine him riding a motorcycle wearing nothing but a leather vest as he raced down the road. She’d been obsessed with Sons of Anarchy when it had been on, and Gumby could totally fit right in with all the characters on the show.

  “Caite?” Gumby asked. “I’ve got you. You aren’t going to fall.”

  Mentally chastising herself for not paying attention, she said, “I know.” She shifted her weight and picked up her right foot.

  Within seconds, and without much effort on her part, she was standing on top of the elevator car next to Gumby. The entire process took less than a few seconds and was so smoothly executed, she knew for a fact that they’d definitely done this before. She wondered how many other damsels in distress they’d had to rescue from broken-down elevators.

  Gumby left his hands on her waist for a second, making sure she was stable. “Okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Now let’s see about getting the hell out of here, shall we?”

  Before she could blink, Ace and Rocco appeared. With all four of them on top of the elevator, things were a bit crowded. Rocco stood behind her and replaced Gumby’s hands on her waist with his own. He pulled her close, until she could feel his chest against her back. “Let’s give them some room to work,” he said.

  Caite wanted to tell him to be careful. To not back up too far. The last thing she wanted was for him to fall, or for the stupid elevator to suddenly start up again and have him get caught in the cables or get scraped against the walls of the shaft, but she kept her mouth shut and watched Ace and Gumby make quick work of forcing open the doors on the second floor.

  Ace hopped up and out of the elevator shaft and placed her briefcase on the floor. Then he turned and held out his hand.

  Rocco walked her forward until she was standing in front of the elevator doors. On her, they were at about chest height. “Up you go,” Rocco said softly, and tightened his hands on her waist. She reached up and grabbed Ace’s hands just as Rocco lifted her off her feet as if she weighed no more than a sack of potatoes. Once out, she hurried out of the way and watched as Gumby and Rocco hopped out of the elevator shaft as if t
hey did it regularly.

  The air conditioning felt awesome, but it also made her shiver.

  Something struck her then, as she watched the three men talk with one of the maintenance workers who had shown up.

  They could’ve gotten out of that elevator at any time, but they hadn’t. They’d sat on the floor and chatted with her instead. It hadn’t been until the elevator had lurched and scared her that they’d gone to work on the hatch in the ceiling.

  She wasn’t sure why they’d waited, but she didn’t have time to think about it as Rocco came toward her. “Ready?”

  “For what?” she asked stupidly.

  He smiled. “To go to work.”

  Caite wrinkled her nose and Rocco grinned. “Come on, we’ll go with you and make sure you don’t get in any trouble.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she told them honestly. Her boss could be an ass, but it wasn’t like she could help the fact that she’d been inside the elevator when it had gotten stuck. Everyone who worked in the building knew the thing was persnickety.

  “We’re headed the same way you are anyway,” Gumby informed her.

  “Oh. Right.” Caite felt stupid. They hadn’t pushed any other buttons when they’d gotten inside the elevator. Of course they were going to the third floor. Reception for all temporary employees and sailors was on her floor and her boss’s boss was their temporary commander.

  “The stairs are this way,” she told them, and gestured toward the end of the hall. Ignoring the stares from the other contract employees and military personnel, Caite held her head up and acted like she climbed out of an elevator shaft—with three of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen—every day of her life.

  Chapter Two

  By sheer force of will, Rocco kept himself from looking back at Caite as he and his teammates continued alone toward a door down the hall. There was something about her that had immediately snagged his attention. The second he’d seen her standing against the back wall of the elevator, his protective instincts had almost overwhelmed him.

  She was shorter than him by nearly a foot, which for some reason intrigued him. The top of her head came to about his shoulder but when he’d put his arm around her in the elevator, they’d fit together perfectly. Her light brown hair was smoothly styled and just brushed against her shoulders. She had a cute little pixie nose and her cheeks had pinkened every time he’d stared at her a beat too long.