Watch Over Me: A Military Romance (Uncharted SEALs Book 1)

by Delilah Devlin

  By now, he was feeling nearly delirious, because she was working his cock faster and faster. At the same time, he was growing anxious, because she continued sliding closer to forbidden territory.

  When she tickled him where she shouldn’t, he clamped his hands around her cheeks and lifted her from his cock. Then he rolled, trapping her beneath him. With her hands held beside her head and her legs locked beneath his thighs, she was completely at his mercy.

  “Was this what you were hoping would happen?” he asked, giving her a disapproving look.

  “Must have liked it,” she said, sounding breathless. “Took you long enough.”

  Deke drew a deep breath. She was unrepentant and grinning. He almost smiled, but that would be capitulation. A thought rose of a way they could both win this battle of wills.

  He pushed up and pulled her into his arms, then walked her toward the captain’s chair. With a quick turn, he bent her over the low-backed leather seat then reached for one of the tie-off ropes and quickly unwound it, using it to tie her clasped hands to the wheel. With her torso stretched, she was helpless. But he wasn’t finished. He quickly pulled down the bottoms of her swimsuit. With his toes, he nudged her feet wide apart then stood back, admiring his work and her soft rounded ass. The view was sexy as hell and his alone to enjoy.

  She angled her head, trying to look back at him, but failing. “Look, I wasn’t planning on doing any more than teasing you. Promise I didn’t have any designs on your virtue.”

  “Getting nervous?” he asked, smoothing his hands over her bottom. When he parted her buttocks, she drew in a hissing breath.

  “Yes,” she said quickly, then tossed back her hair. “No.” Her breath held as he traced the length of her divide. A shiver worked its way down her spine.

  “Baby, you have a great ass. Anyone ever tell you that?”

  “Yes. My last boyfriend,” she gritted out.

  Jealousy sliced through him, a foreign emotion that surprised the hell out of him. His eyes narrowed. He didn’t want to hear about her former beaus. And yet, he never felt possessive of his partners. Nicky had managed to get under his skin.

  He cupped his palm and smacked one side of her cheek. The blow was louder than it was hard, but still she yelped. Maybe he’d surprised her. Maybe she just liked making noise.

  Unable to resist, he petted the spot he’d just slapped. “You deserve a spanking,” he murmured.

  She remained silent, so he gave her another cupped clap—this time on the opposite cheek.

  Her head dropped, and her feet inched slowly outward.

  Oh, she liked it all right, and now begged silently for more. Interesting.

  Deke went to his knees behind her and stroked her folds with his fingers, and then his tongue. A quiver shook her thighs. Moisture seeped from inside her. He cupped his hand again, and popped it against her sex. Then smacked it again and again, until she was wet and his hand was soaked. She was wriggling, bucking, but still wasn’t complaining enough for him to take her resistance seriously.

  He gave her inner thigh a kiss. “Have you learned your lesson?”

  “Not quite yet,” she said in a small voice.

  Satisfied that she appeared eager for more, he spread her labia and sank two fingers inside her, curving them to rub against a spongy spot deep inside.

  A gasp sounded, and then a tiny, kitten-like mew. “Deke. Yes, I’ve learned. I won’t do it again. Not ever.”

  He tsked and twisted his fingers inside her then bent toward her and tongued her clit. It was exposed, the hood having slid free from over the aroused bud. He tapped it with his tongue, then latched his mouth around it and sucked.

  When he heard her keen, he released it, withdrew his fingers and stood behind her.

  She was breathing in deep jagged breaths, her head lowered, her back shivering.

  He reached and tugged the knot to loosen it, freeing her hands. Then he pulled her backwards and folded her hands over the top of the seat. “Stay bent, baby. We’ll do this standing.”

  Her fingers crushed the leather, and again, she widened her stance. When he came close, clutching her hips and nudging her with his cock, she pushed back to meet him.

  With his feet braced to accept the roll of the boat, he slid slowly inside and began to thrust. For Deke, the moment was perfect. Every time they came together was strangely better than the last. Hotter, grittier. Perhaps knowing better what pleased her, being free to show her what pleased him, was the reason, but he wasn’t sure that was all of it.

  Nicky Martir was addictive. What else explained the fact he was standing in a boat in the middle of the Caribbean, food scattered at his feet, and the only thing he cared about was whether she came, how hard she came, and whether she would agree to see him once they are back in Virginia.

  Shock at that last errant thought sent a wave of cold over him. He went still. Not realizing it, he dug his fingers into her hips.

  “Ouch,” she said, casting a look behind her. “What’s wrong?”

  He shook his head and lowered his gaze. What the hell was he doing?

  “Deke.”

  He pulled free then stepped back. His hands curled at his sides. This was supposed to be light. Just sex. When had he decided he wanted it to be more? No, he needed their relationship to be more. And that couldn’t be. The last thing Nicky needed was some SEAL with a ton of baggage showing up on her doorstep. And he had things to work out, guilt to overcome, before he could trust himself to be the kind of man a woman would want past a night or two of pleasure. When he glanced up, Nicky had turned.

  One hand held back her hair, the other stretched out, reaching toward him, but she slowly let it drop. Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “It’s not nice stringing a girl along like that,” she said, the husky tone of her voice at odds with her words.

  Exactly his thoughts. But she was right. His body was still hard and ready, she didn’t deserve to be left wanting simply because he’d had an inconvenient flash of self-awareness. He held out his hand, then walked toward her, passing her to sit in the captain’s chair, then pulling her next to him. He guided her with his hands until she straddled him. “Take what you want, Nicky. What you need.”

  Her brows lowered as she stared into his eyes. “I hate when you do that.”

  “When I do what?”

  “When you shut down on me.”

  Rather than pretending he didn’t understand, he pushed back her hair and met her steady gaze. She deserved honesty. “I like you a little too much.”

  “And that’s a problem?”

  Jaw tight, he nodded.

  She sighed and settled against him, snuggling close. “I hate that you think of me as a problem.”

  “I’m no good for you,” he said simply.

  “That’s horseshit,” she said, her words gusting beside his ear.

  A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Your daddy know you talk like that?”

  “My daddy was SEAL. Do you really think he cares?”

  “Baby, he cares.” So do I. He wrapped his arms around her and tightened them. “We both know this is just a…thing.”

  “A vacation fling?” She leaned back, her expression neutral, her eyes studying his expression.

  “It’s all it can be.”

  Her mouth opened, as though she was about to say something, then snapped closed. She planted her hands on his shoulders and pushed up, circling her hips until she caught the tip of his cock, and then she lowered herself slowly down. She leaned toward his ear. “Flings are supposed to be fun,” she whispered and bit his lobe.

  Deke grunted, relieved she was back to sexy teasing. He gripped her hips, taking charge of the pace as he moved her up and down on his lap.

  Nicky tossed back her hair. “Thought you wanted me to do all the work, to take my pleasure.”

  “Are you feeling good?”

  Her breasts shook when he bounced her a little quicker. She cupped both, and her eyelids dipped. “Do that again a
nd I won’t utter another complaint.”

  Knowing he might be fighting a losing battle, he shook his head. Loving her the way she deserved was proving impossible to resist.

  Chapter Five

  ‡

  “Señor, you said to tell you if anyone asked about the girl…”

  Deke held the handset of the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he rolled up his shirt sleeves. He and Nicky had been freshening up before dinner. He shot a quick glance toward Nicky who was busy brushing blush across her cheeks at the bathroom mirror. Her gaze met his in the reflection then her eyebrows rose in question.

  He shook his head and gave her a small tight smile, and then turned away to hide his tight expression. “Who was inquiring?” he asked in Spanish.

  “He didn’t register for a room, so I don’t have a name. And he didn’t ask for your lady by her name. Only asked whether any American women had checked in recently. Pretty ones. And young.”

  Maybe he was just a jackass looking for a green card romance. A slim possibility, but Deke didn’t believe in coincidences. “What did you tell him?”

  “I said there were several American couples here. Since you and Miss Martir have been spending time together, I did not lie.”

  “Is he still here?”

  “He left about an hour ago, after he’d walked through the restaurant and checked the beach.”

  “Did he say anything else? Was he alone?” Deke ran through his memories of docking the boat and returning to the hotel. No one had been paying them undue attention.

  “Nothing else. And I didn’t notice any others with him. But he…”

  The clerk’s hesitation made his stomach knot. “Is there more, Manuel?”

  “He had dead eyes. If you know what I mean.”

  Deke took a deep breath. He knew exactly what the other man meant. He’d seen the expression many times before—down the scope of his rifle. He wrapped his fingers tightly around the handset. “Thanks for confirming our reservation for tonight,” he said in English, pitching his voice a little louder to keep Nicky from becoming suspicious.

  “Comprendo, Señor. I will inform you if he returns. And if you stop by the desk, I will have a photograph I printed from the security camera.”

  “I’ll be sure to stop by your desk.” Deke hung up and remained still for a moment. The hair had risen on the back of his neck. Maybe the man with the “dead eyes” wasn’t looking for Nicky, had another woman targeted, but he couldn’t take the chance. He glanced at Nicky, only to find her staring steadily back at him, her makeup forgotten.

  “I take it something’s happened?”

  He was tempted to shield her from the news, but what would doing so buy them? They wouldn’t make that date in the dining room. He couldn’t take the chance with her life. Even if this turned out to be nothing, she deserved to know. “We have to leave.”

  Her lips pursed, and then she nodded. “All right. Are we going to another hotel?”

  How had she guessed that a threat had arrived? “We’re taking the first flight home.” With his cell phone stashed across the hall, he picked up the phone again, asked for an outside line, and quickly punched the numbers for his handler for this mission. The conversation was brief. A chartered flight would arrive first thing in the morning.

  “We’ll order a meal from room service,” he said, not meeting her gaze, because he remembered all too well how he’d teased her about room service. But now wasn’t the time for distractions.

  “Do you think we should leave the hotel, spend the night somewhere else?”

  He shook his head. “We’d be more vulnerable in the open. Besides, if he hasn’t gotten sight of you yet, he won’t be sure.”

  “He?” Her body stiffened.

  “The concierge only noted one suspicious man.”

  “So, you have the hotel staff involved in your surveillance?”

  “Since this was strictly off books, I used what resources were available.”

  “And yet, you have a plane at your disposal?”

  “A friend of your father’s arranged it.”

  Her face had grown pale, but her gaze remained steady. “This could be all for nothing, you know.”

  “That how you feel about this?” About us?

  “I’m not sorry he chose you, if that’s what you mean. But after hearing the arrangements, I’m feeling pretty guilty about inconveniencing so many people.”

  “Your dad said you tend to be stubborn.” He shrugged, not wanting to add to her uneasiness. “That you refused to reconsider your plans despite his warning.”

  “That makes me sound stupid…and petty. And I guess I was.” A grimace twisted her lips and her head dipped. “I did take his warning into consideration. It’s not like I headed straight to Columbia or deep into Mexico. This island seemed safe enough. Off the beaten path.”

  “Which means someone kept tabs on you since before you left Virginia. If this is what I think it is.” He crossed his arms over his chest to keep from reaching for her and hauling her close. “Or they could simply have put your picture out to all their contacts and asked them to find you. This guy could be working alone.”

  “What do you think this is?”

  The knot that had tightened his stomach the second Manuel said someone had asked after Nicky grew heavier, clenched tighter. “An abduction.”

  “For ransom?”

  “Or to influence your father.”

  Her mouth formed a bitter smile. “All that bother, and you know he won’t negotiate with them.”

  “He might not negotiate…”

  “But he would send someone after me, wouldn’t he?” She closed her eyes for a brief moment.

  “Yeah, they likely know he’d never deal with them in any official way, but maybe they’re just flexing muscle. Showing us they’re not afraid to take on U.S. SEALs.”

  She made a little scoffing sound. “Could they be more stupid?”

  No argument there. He gave her a one-sided smile. “You seem to think highly of us.”

  “You’re the best in the world at what you do,” she said, her eyes sad. “My issue was never with the SEALs.”

  “Your issue was just with your father?” At last, Deke strode toward her and opened his arms.

  She snuggled against his chest. “My mother said she never signed up for a career military man.” Her voice was muffled against his shirt. “She thought he’d give it up once they started a family. Long deployments killed their relationship.”

  Deke nodded. “The life’s not for everyone. But for every guy I know whose marriage failed, I can show you another that’s solid. Wives don’t have to go it alone. There’s a whole community of people who step in to help. I’ve done my part.”

  She drew back, her brown eyes glittering. “I saw it from her side. She was afraid every time he left that it would be the last time she saw him.”

  “And that’s a risk we take,” he said, lifting her chin with his thumb. “I’ll admit it’s tough. On both ends.”

  Her gaze fell away. “Time away didn’t seem to weigh on him the same way it did her.”

  “Give him a break, Nicky,” he said, lowering his voice. “He had men under his command he had to keep safe.”

  “I know. Being the last priority, after the mission and after the team, well, I’m not sure I could handle that, either.”

  Her words left a bitter taste in his mouth, but Deke shrugged. “Since I’ve never been married with a wife waiting for me to come home, guess I’m not entitled to an opinion.”

  She stared at the buttons of his shirt, then slowly lifted her face. “I’d still like to hear it.”

  Deke felt as though whatever he said next would be judged and weighed. That a misstep here might be a deal breaker. But he couldn’t sugarcoat what he felt. “I think the woman who takes on a SEAL has to know what she can expect, and then she has to accept what she can’t change.”

  Her lips twisted. “Whining not allowed?”

&nb
sp; “Baby, I can’t imagine you ever whining.”

  She sniffed and raised her chin. “Since I’ll likely never marry a SEAL, I guess we’ll never know.”

  Deke swallowed hard, another weight settling in his gut. He gave her a bleak smile and turned toward the door. “I have to pack my things. Close the door behind me. Butt the back of the desk chair against it, too. Do not open the door to anyone but me.” Then because there wasn’t anything more to say, he left.

  After she jammed the chair beneath the door handle, Nicky sat on the edge of the bed, feeling hollow. What the hell had just happened? All her bitterness over her parents’ divorce had come spilling out like a tidal wave right over Deke. He hadn’t deserved that. Hell, she wasn’t even sure her father would have deserved it—except perhaps for choosing her mother as a wife, knowing full well she hadn’t been made to be a SEAL’s wife. Her mother had been enamored of a handsome man in uniform, someone tall and brave, but she had thought he’d quickly come to heel, join her father’s business and pull out his old uniform on Veterans Day to reminisce. She’d never really understood his deep devotion to the SEALs.

  Nicky had hated leaving Little Creek. Hated leaving her father. But she’d spent too many years hearing only her mother’s complaints. Her father had never talked about the demise of his marriage. Had never talked badly about her mother except to say they ended up not being compatible.

  Now Deke thought she hated what he was, which just wasn’t true. But it was probably too late to take back everything she’d said. And Lord, how she wished she could because she wanted a chance to know him better, to see if this feeling growing inside her—an instant resonance of another person’s heart and yearnings—was the real thing.

  Something had clicked inside her when she’d seen his shutter come down, seen the light in his eyes grow dim. In a flash of intuition, she’d known that loving a man like Deke wouldn’t be easy, but since when had doing things the easy way made her happy? Loving him, period, would make the long absences worth it. Any time spent in his arms would be savored. She wasn’t her mother, but had a life of her own, a job that would keep her busy. If children came along, he was right—support could be found within the community, other wives who shouldered the burden of child-rearing, but who pitched in to help out. She didn’t have to go it alone.