Brushing past him she walked on shaky legs out to the living room. Resting on the wooden coffee table in the middle of the room were three pizza boxes. Sure she was hungry, but the chances of her devouring one pizza was slim, eating three—impossible.
Behind her she sensed more than heard Tom enter the room. Glancing over her shoulder at him she quirked an eyebrow. “Expecting company?”
He laughed and the sound filled her with joy. “Nope, wanted to give you a couple of options and I’m hungry. Besides this will feed me for a couple of days.”
Her good humor deflated in seconds. Did he mean he was going to take her to a hotel after all? Why else would he say that the pizza would feed him and not her. Determined not to let him see the spark of hurt his words caused she plastered on a smile. “Makes sense.” She held out one of the bottles she still had a hold of. “Here’s your beer.”
Tom took the bottle from her, but his fingers closed over hers, effectively squashing any attempt of hers to put some distance between them. “What’s wrong, Ambs?”
No way was she going to tell him about her doubts. In all the time she’d known Tom he didn’t seem like the wham bam thank you ma’am type of guy. However, it had been years since she really spent any time with him, and she’d heard the stories about how military guys had girls in every port. Why wouldn’t Tom be that way? He had the looks for sure.
“Nothing, I’m getting hangry.”
“Hangry?”
“Yeah, you know, getting angry because I’m hungry.” She pulled at her hand and he relinquished the grip had on it.
His eyes narrowed as he twisted the cap off his beer bottle. A second ago his hands had had her trapped, unable to move. Now his eyes were doing the same.
Damn, what they did in the kitchen shouldn’t have happened, it had wrecked the easy camaraderie they’d always had between them.
Twisting her own cap off the beer, she took a long swallow hoping it would break the spell between them. The bitter brew coated her tongue and she grimaced. “God, I hate beer.”
Tom shook his head and smiled. “Then why did you grab one?”
She shrugged and, now that the sensual spell that had been woven around them had been broken, she walked to the couch. It looked like he’d ordered cheese, pepperoni, and the works pizzas. Well she planned to avoid the works, it had onion on it and the last thing she wanted was onion breath. Then again if Tom took a piece of it and then kissed her, wouldn’t he have onion breath as well?
Oh my God, what the hell am I thinking. Onion breath? Am I thirteen?
Amberley picked up a piece of pepperoni and took a massive bite. At least if she had her mouth full of food nothing stupid would come out of it. She noted Tom also grabbed a piece of pepperoni, and sat beside on her on the couch their knees brushing against each other. Maybe he had the same idea as her—no onion breath.
She concentrated on eating and not the fact Tom hadn’t bothered to put his shirt back on. His six pack was as distracting as a dog seeing a squirrel. How much time and effort did it take to maintain a body like that?
A hot flash of desire rushed through her at the idea of watching Tom work out. Arm muscles straining as he did push-up after push-up. His t-shirt clinging to his ripped torso the longer he did the exercises.
Could he bench press her?
Her twitter friend sent her a GIF where a guy was doing pushups over the top of a woman. Could Tom do that? Maybe naked. Maybe she could add it into her script.
Wait.
No.
Shit, having sex with him had befuddled her mind. The main reason for her visit to Tom was to get insight for her script, make it as authentic and real as possible. She didn’t think the SEAL teams went around doing naked push-ups. As yet the casting hadn’t been decided on. She knew the director had started to approach actors, teasing them with the synopsis and basic idea for the movie. Because Pascal was directing the movie, some actors may commit before they’d seen the script. Her job was to ensure that once they read it, they were even more committed to the project.
What she had to do was her job and not fall for Tom. She couldn’t fail with this script and give her mom the satisfaction of saying I told you so. Which meant what happened in the kitchen earlier couldn’t happen again.
No matter how temping he was.
Chapter Five
Tom went through the motions of PT on auto pilot. Not since BUD/s training had he been so exhausted, not even while on a mission. At least when he’d been away he’d been able to catch some form of shut eye, but living with Amberley, sleep had gone out the window.
Since she’d arrived, five days ago, she’d been doing everything to avoid touching him, like he carried some communicable disease. If he hadn’t had scratch marks on his shoulders, he would’ve wondered if he’d dreamed having wild sex with Amberley in the kitchen. There’d been no more touches or kisses.
He had fully expected to ask her to join him in his bedroom after they’d eaten the pizza so he could explore every inch of her body. Instead, she’d blurted something about needing space and had all but run to the bedroom he’d shown her earlier.
“Fuck, Red, get your head out of your ass.” Robot’s voice thundered close by. He looked around and saw the guys all looking down at him where he’d been doing push-ups.
Quickly, he jumped to his feet. “Sorry, Robot.” He withstood the gazes of his teammates, knowing that if he flinched even a little they’d be on to him, asking him questions he wasn’t ready to answer. They’d already hounded him the day after Amberley arrived and his answers had been generic. At the time he knew it wasn’t enough, but he still wasn’t ready to be questioned about what he was doing with Amberley.
“Is there anything you need to talk about?” asked Italy.
Tom rolled his eyes. “Really? We’re not a knitting club, sitting around and gossiping. We’re Navy fucking SEALs. So how about we get back to doing our PT?”
He began to jog down the beach, knowing the guys would follow. Well hoping they would.
What the hell was that with Italy? Asking if he needed to talk. Over the last couple of years, with everyone finding love and getting married, it had made the guys more willing to talk about anything. Well he wasn’t in that club and had no plans to join it. If they wanted to get together and talk through their problems like they were on Dr. Phil, well all power to them. It wasn’t his thing.
Thirty minutes later they all traipsed back to base to find Commander Black waiting for them.
A muttering of shit and fuck echoed around him.
“Glad to have you back, gentleman. Shower, change and meet me in the conference room for a briefing. You’re going to be wheels up in four hours.”
Fuck, four hours?
Tom slow jogged with the rest of his teammates toward the showers. He had to inform Amberley he was about to ship out.
How would she take the news?
Would she get on a plane and go back to LA or would she wait for him?
As if she’d wait for him, why the hell would he even think something like that? The logical thing for her would be to go back to LA. She may have been avoiding touching him, but she had talked to him about some of the things he’d gone through to become a SEAL. Asked him questions about battle scenes, the equipment they used and the atmosphere of the places he’d gone too. She’d even let him read a couple of pages, for clarification that she’d gotten terms and other stuff correct and he’d been impressed. Through her words she’d captured the essence of what it was to be a SEAL on a mission.
Now she’d be able to find out what happened when they got called up at a moment’s notice. How it would affect families and loved ones knowing their men were going off to parts unknown to do things they couldn’t imagine.
Which brought him back to his thoughts about how she’d react to the news. No way would she stay at his place until he returned. There was no reason and he had no idea how long he’d be gone anyway. He could be gone for a couple of days
or a couple of months. It all depended on where they were going and what their mission was. Except he couldn’t get the thought of walking back into his apartment and seeing her there, waiting for him, from his mind.
“What are you going to do about Amberley?” Cowboy asked as they walked toward the conference room ten minutes later.
He lifted a shoulder as if he didn’t care one way or the other. “Not sure. She’ll probably go back to LA. I think I’ve helped her enough with her script.”
“Well if she wants to stay I’m sure Faith and the others will all welcome her.”
No way. Not happening. He loved all the women his teammates had partnered up with, but he wasn’t about give everyone ideas he and Amberley were a couple. For a few moments, that first night, he wondered if there could be something between them. After the way she fled to her room later on that night, he got the message loud and clear—there was no chance of a future for them.
“I don’t think that’s necessary. As I said I’m pretty sure she’ll head back to LA.” They’d reached the door and walked in. The rest of the team were assembled.
“Take a seat, gentleman,” Commander Black said. “We’ve got a situation over in Africa. There’s a hostage we need to get out. Time is of the essence which is why you’ll be wheels up today.”
“Where are we headed?” Robot asked.
“You’ll be headed to Sudan. It’s not going to be easy, there’s a group of insurgents who have kidnapped, raped and tortured women and children. The woman you’ll be rescuing is a photojournalist. The guy she was with was killed when they took her. She’s been missing for two weeks.”
“What the fuck, two weeks? Why wasn’t action taken sooner?” T-Rex demanded, leaning forward on the table. Tom could understand why his teammate was anxious, his wife Brielle had been kidnapped and they’d been the ones who rescued her.
“I know, we’ve only just got the intel now.” Commander Black continued, outlining the situation and where the hot zone was.
Tom listened to his commander, but half of his mind was on Amberley and how she was going to take the news. Did it even matter how she took it? They were friends and friends only. She’d come here for his help and he’d given it to her.
End of story.
Amberley stood by the door, watching as Tom moved around his room. Every step precise, and he packed with an efficiency she could only wish she possessed.
“How long will you be gone?” she asked, sure he’d told her but the second he mentioned he was leaving on a mission, white noise had filled her ears and she hadn’t heard another word he said.
“I told you, I don’t know. I never know how long a mission can take because there are always variables we don’t know about until we get there.”
Amberley wrapped her arms around her waist, wishing the tension that existed between them would disappear. It was her own fault. She’d created it by freaking out after they’d had sex. For the last week she’d lain in bed at night wishing she could walk into Tom’s room and climb into his bed. Have his strong arms wrap around her.
And every night she’d talked herself out of it, saying it was better for her to keep her distance. The only good thing about the whole situation was that the words were flowing and she had a rough draft of the script almost completed. Tom had answered her questions, and given her such an insight to team dynamics that she knew it brought a richness to the script she never would’ve been able to achieve if she hadn’t visited. Amberley hoped she’d been able to transfer that into some amazing scenes for the movie.
There was no reason for her to stay. With Tom going away it made her return to L.A. easier. But going home was the last thing she wanted to do. Her mom had been messaging her daily, wanting to know when she was returning. Amberley hadn’t answered any of them.
“Amberley?” Tom’s voice penetrated her consciousness dissipating her inner thoughts.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
“I asked what you were going to do?” He had a bag slung over his shoulder. Tension vibrated from him and she didn’t know if it was because of his upcoming mission or because he was getting frustrated with her inattention.
“I guess I’ll go back to LA. There’s no reason to stay, is there?” She left the question hanging, wishing and hoping that he’d tell her she could stay until he returned. Which was completely ridiculous. Why would he want her to hang around? She’d given him no reason to believe she wanted to be with him.
“Right. Well you’re welcome to stay until you get a flight out.” Tom glanced at his watch and then looked at her. The message loud and clear. He needed to leave.
“Thanks, I’ll—umm—I’ll check out flights. I should be able to get one tonight, even if I have to deal with a couple of stops. I don’t want to impose on you.”
God, how she wanted him to drop his bag, frame her face with his big hands and kiss her. Ask her to stay and wait for him to return. Amberley went to take a step forward, but pulled back at the last second.
A thump was the only warning she had that something was about to happen. She gasped when Tom’s hands curled around her shoulders and his lips crashed down on hers. A moan escaped from her and she aligned her body against his. Even through his uniform she could feel his muscles bunching as he tightened his hold on her.
His lips roved over hers and she opened her mouth, allowing his tongue access. God, why had she pushed him away? She could’ve been experiencing this for the last few days. Why had she felt the need to put distance between them when all she’d ever wanted was to be close to him? How magical would it have been to wake up in his arms? Would she ever experience it?
Fear crept over her at the thought of never being able to see him again. Knowing that when he walked out the door on his mission he may never return. Over the years the fact his job was dangerous had always been in the far recesses of her mind. But being with him and hearing him talk about the various maneuvers used in a mission the dangerous reality of his job sunk in.
Tom pulled away from her, resting his forehead against hers. “I have to go, Ambs.”
“I know. Before you go I need to say something.”
“What?”
Suddenly it became imperative to tell him she’d always liked him more than him just being Jenny’s big brother. This could be the last time she saw him and she didn’t want him to leave without knowing.
She leaned back so she was looking up at him. “I had the biggest crush on you when I was a teenager. You don’t know hard it was to not jump you whenever I came over. I hated Joanna for having what I wanted.”
Tom’s eyes widened with her declaration. His mouth opened and closed before he spoke. “I can’t believe you’re telling me this as I’m about to walk out the door.”
“I know, the timing sucks but I wanted you to know.”
He closed the distance between them, his lips a hairs breadth away from hers. “You weren’t the only one who had a crush. I wanted you big time too.”
A sigh rippled through her as he kissed her once again. His touch light and gentle but full of emotion.
Why had she pushed him away? It was so stupid of her. Now he was leaving and she didn’t know how long it would be before she saw him again.
Once again it was Tom who broke the kiss. “I really have to go now.”
Somehow she found the strength to extract herself from his embrace, the last thing she wanted to do. Amberley reached out and placed her hand on his chest, over his heart. “When you get back, call me, okay?”
How she managed to keep a begging tone out of her voice amazed her. Standing in front of him she swallowed hard to keep the tears from falling down her cheeks.
“Yeah. You take care too. Don’t let your mom set you up anymore, you’re taken, remember?” He finished with a wink.
“I remember. Be careful, Tom.”
Her eyelids drifted closed as he trailed a finger down her cheek. “Always.”
A second later his touch was gone. She co
uld hear the soft tread of his feet as he walked toward his door, opening her eyes in time to see him look back at her.
“Bye.” She whispered.
Tom pressed two fingers to the mouth that had been ravaging her only moments ago and blew her a kiss. The door shut behind him and she grasped the imaginary kiss out of the air and held it against her heart.
She would keep his kiss safe until Tom returned and then she could give it back to him.
Chapter Six
Three hours later, Amberley sat in the first class lounge at the airport waiting for her flight. She’d managed to get on a late afternoon flight out of Norfolk, landing at LAX after a stop in Denver. Not the most ideal of flights, but she’d jumped on it the moment she’d found she could get a seat.
After the door had closed behind Tom, the silence in the apartment settled around her, almost stifling her. She hadn’t felt that way when he’d been at work. Maybe that was because she’d known he was on base and not off to places unknown. Doing God knows what and putting his life on the line so that she had the freedom to sit in the airport lounge, sipping champagne while she waited to go back to the fake world of Hollywood.
Her phone trilled and she placed her drink down. Glancing at the screen she saw it was director of the film she was writing the script for. She sat up a little straighter, like she was going for an interview. “Hi Pascal, how are you?”
“Good. Good. I wanted to know how you’re getting on with the script. We’ve got a couple of people lined up and I’m hoping we can show them part or all of it.”
“It’s going well, I’m almost done. In fact, I’m at the airport now, heading back to LA. I land close to midnight. I can meet with you tomorrow and show you what I’ve got.”
“You’re not in LA?”
“No, I’m in Virginia. I have a friend who is military and he helped me with research about how teams work etc. I wanted to make sure what I’ve written is authentic and what happens during missions. I want to make this movie a success so I believed getting input from military personnel was necessary.”
Guarding Amberley Page 5
