“I like it. Just what I signed up for when I originally got my Trident.”
“They let you keep it?” Morgan wanted to know.
“Until they ask for it back. But no one’s gonna see it,” Taylor whispered and then followed up with a grin.
After the boys were fingerprinted and photographed and signed the application form for “Special Duty Officer-Counter Terrorism Expert,” Morgan congratulated them. They were given J.J.’s contact information, along with five hundred dollars each, and asked to check in tomorrow morning. They’d be staying in an apartment the CIA would be arranging for them near the Mosque in Stockton.
“Wait! We have to live in Stockton?” asked Stanley.
J.J. and Morgan froze.
“Just kidding. That’s up by the San Francisco Bay, right?”
“Yes, on the east side of the bay,” answered Morgan. “Better than Beauford, North Carolina.” He grinned at Taylor.
“Don’t knock it,” Taylor quipped back. “I always say, Beauford population: One hundred thirty-two. Number of teeth per population: Sixty.”
“I’m sure the founding fathers are delighted with your description,” chuckled J.J. “But I happen to know it’s pretty country. All of it is pretty.”
“Welcome to the team,” said Morgan.
“Thank you, sir.”
Morgan checked his watch. He had a half-hour before he needed to pick up Halley. “I got to get you back to your truck. Supposed to pick up Halley at noon at the Rose.”
“We’re done here.”
On the way back to Apricot street, J.J. flew a couple of questions his way. “Looks like you and Halley are getting along better. Anything happen I need to know about last night when you took her home?”
“Not a thing,” Morgan answered.
“And I notice she hasn’t requested I take her to buy the new computer.”
Morgan just shrugged and kept driving. “I’d not read anything too much into it. She’s scared. Just clinging to the familiar, perhaps. Doesn’t mean she’s surrendered her body or anything.”
J.J. sighed. “Miracles can happen, my friend.”
“Yea, but not to me.”
Morgan was on time. He walked casually into the lobby, wearing another button-down shirt he usually hated. And this one was pink, on top of it all, but he knew Halley would love it.
He even polished a pair of brown loafers and wore socks that matched his trousers. But he left his stubble from yesterday and applied a tad of J.J.’s aftershave. He knocked. Halley was glowing in another sweater, this time red. She could wear red better than anyone else he knew. With the red lipstick, she could have been the real life Jessica Rabbit with her small waist and oversized but well-formed chest. She had on a skirt with red heels to match her sweater. It was borderline siren package territory. She was being a tease on purpose.
“You look terrific in pink, Morgan. Never seen you wear that before.”
Bingo.
“And you know full well what you’re doing to me, Halley.” He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his ankles because his dick had gotten to be the size of a gorilla’s.
“Well, it’s not my problem,” she said, batting her eyes, and then giving him one luscious smile.
The fact that he knew what she tasted like, how she quivered when he rubbed her little nub with his tongue or made her breasts jiggle, that he’d explored more of her than everyone else combined, and still couldn’t get enough made it ten times worse. He was always sorry when he came, wishing the joining and the coming together could last for a whole hour, perhaps whole day. It was that special. He let her see it in his eyes, if she dared.
She stopped the ridiculous exaggeration of her eye fluffing, lowered her chin, and just stared back to him. He could see the vein at the right side of her neck pulsing and, unless he was crazy, could smell her arousal.
But he was strictly hands-off. She’d have to strip him naked if she wanted anything from him sexually. And for that possible pleasure, he’d let her lead him all over the shopping mall by his dick if it needed to happen that way. He’d be walking knock-kneed and buck-footed to protect the package that felt like it sunk all the way to below his mid-thigh. He was a throbbing jumble of veins and constrained muscle tissue trying to break free. He’d pay for this dearly.
It’s all worth it.
“You’re not coming in?” she asked.
He dipped his head inside and scanned the room. Her bed was unmade, and a light pink nightie was slung over the wing chair in the corner. “I don’t see any computers here. I think we’d have better luck at the Apple store, don’t you?”
She picked up her purse, inserted her room key into the little zipper pocket in front, and slipped by him. He didn’t move and accepted whatever she wanted to give him, but he wouldn’t grab her. Her thigh got an idea how hard he was, and she hesitated there and then continued to the hallway and toward the elevators without looking back.
Morgan sucked in air and closed the door, ambling down behind her, and then running because the elevator doors had opened.
There was an older couple inside, dressed in tennis garb. They appeared to be in their seventies and in better shape than some of the SEAL wives in their twenties. Nobody said a word. Halley didn’t have to. Her perfume did all the talking, as did the rising and lowering of her chest.
He stumbled on the slight difference in surface at the elevator opening but righted himself before he’d have to brace on anything. His hands felt awkward and his feet clumsy. He chalked it up to the shoes he was unfamiliar wearing.
At the shopping mall, they found the Apple Store and were able to get a salesman to help them without making an appointment. He let her do all the talking, since he didn’t even own a laptop.
They didn’t have any red laptop covers, so she bought hers in white instead of silver. She was going to pay for it and then remembered the rule about using her credit cards. “I didn’t think about this,” she said in astonishment.
“I did.” Morgan had gotten four thousand dollars from J.J.s credit card, and he handed over the wad of bills for the sale.
“Purchase contract?” The young, cheerful salesman wanted them to buy an extended warranty.
“Not yet. I’ll think about it.”
“The lady also needs to register this under a new gmail account. Can you show her how to set that up?” Morgan asked.
“Certainly! We don’t cover Google or Google products, but I have gmail and can show her how to set up a new one.”
Within minutes, she was set up, and the purchase was completed.
She was given instructions and partially shown how to retrieve things from the cloud so she could access some of her old computer files. She was pleased when her program notes and the rough draft start of her next book were also stored properly. Morgan would have to say she was almost giddy with delight. He loved being around that side of her.
With the computer purchased, he carried the large box out to the truck and met her at the phone store, where Halley picked out a beautiful phone, but it wasn’t a burner.
“No, this isn’t going to work.” He leaned into the counter and asked the young attendant what he wanted.
“Okay, gotcha. I didn’t pick up on that. When she said prepaid—”
“No worries. And son, make that two. I need one, too.”
It took less than ten minutes to get their new phones. First call he made as they were walking out to the parking lot was to J.J.
“I’m hooked up. Halley has her computer and her phone.” She showed him the number written on the outside of the box. “We requested a 650 area code for Halley.” He gave J.J. both numbers.
“Good going. I got our apartment and the keys. Going over later to take a look and show the boys. You wanna tag along?”
“Let me see how it goes with Halley. See if she needs anything.” He glanced her way, but she pretended not to notice. “I think she’ll want to fly home tomorrow, so is there anything we need
from her first?”
That got Halley’s attention. She didn’t object, so Morgan had figured right about her timing.
“We should try to get in one more meeting. They should have the computer and the phone tomorrow morning, and I’ll call Lambert to see if they have questions before she leaves. But at least now she can call her assistant, and we need to talk about the boyfriend. Put your thinking cap on.”
“Will do. Will check in when I’m returning back to my house.”
“I’m not going to take the guys over there. So tomorrow’s meeting will be at the apartment. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Gotcha.”
“Hey, Morgan?”
“Yea?”
“Behave yourself.”
“Always. No worries there. I have it all figured out.”
“I’ll just bet you do.”
Chapter 14
Halley said little on their short trip back to the Coronado Rose. She had checked for a return flight and booked the five-thirty. That gave them more time to discuss strategy and get their instructions straight. She was glad there would be one more meeting, since she didn’t want to pack everything into tonight and then battle the crowds getting home. Being out of her element, her normal daily routine seemed to be good for her. But she knew it wasn’t something that would last.
Morgan was patient while she texted Gibril and let him know she’d be returning tomorrow evening. She tried calling Crystal but got no answer, so she left a message to take one more day off, and she’d see her on Wednesday. She arranged for a driver to meet her at the airport for the ride home. She tried to check her phone’s voicemail, but she couldn’t access it. Her landline at the house was barely used, and since she’d long ago forgotten her password, she couldn’t access that voicemail, either.
In short, her real life was going to have to wait another day. She’d pick up the pieces, hoping that tomorrow’s meeting would give her some direction. If it was possible to still do the event, she would. If it was safest not to, well, then she’d have to cancel. She understood it did no good to stand up and show she was unafraid if it got everybody killed.
Morgan parked the truck and came around quickly to help her from the cab. He carried the large box for her laptop, while Halley brought the bag with some accessories and the two cell phone boxes. They waded through the lobby and took the first elevator available, which was nearly packed with people. Morgan was able to squeeze in, and he pulled Halley in with him. One by one, the cage began to thin out until they were alone at the top floor, where her room was.
She unlocked her door and laid the packages on the bed. Morgan opened up her computer box and took out the laptop, the cord, and all the components and manuals, neatly packaged in the signature white boxes. He plugged it in to charge but didn’t open it.
“It will take me days to update all my passcodes, reauthorize my online banking, and reset my social media.”
“Maybe you don’t need as many as you thought. Maybe lightening up would be a good thing, not a bad thing.”
“But I need—” She stopped herself as she began to see Morgan’s eyes glass over. “Funny how we just keep adding things until we don’t know what we’re doing it for, and all of a sudden we have this massive machine we have to try to control. It would be like me trying to operate a Harley.”
“I understand your need to be out there in the news, using social media to promote your seminars. But now you understand there are risks.”
“Nothing is totally risk-free,” she said and then quickly regretted it.
Morgan had been standing with his back to her, outlining the edges of her computer with his forefinger. He made a half-turn and stood in profile, admiring the view from her window. The sunset was just about to start, and the glow looked otherworldly.
When she joined him, she felt the dying sun’s heat reflected off the window glass. He didn’t touch her, and she could tell he wanted to.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“Not exactly,” he said to the window. He still wasn’t making eye contact, but his left hand was fisting and unfisting. She knew something was brewing inside him.
“Can you stay?” She wasn’t sure it was her own voice calling to him. He slowly peeled his eyes off the orange horizon.
“You want me to stay?”
“Is it allowed under your mission rules?”
He adjusted so he was directly facing her now. “I was ordered to behave. I gave my word.”
She was watching the side of his face pick up the orange from the sunset and followed the shape of his moist lips after he licked them. His huge shoulders loomed larger than she’d ever remembered before. He wore a spicy cologne that was delicate and not at all fitting the man in front of her, as if it belonged to a school boy. Morgan was so many pieces, and her body went so many places just watching him. It was clear he would not make a move to touch her, so she had to touch him.
She stepped closer, felt the heat of his body barely touching hers, as she placed one palm over his heart. He quickly responded by pressing it hard against him.
“It’s been a long time, Morgan,” she whispered as his face came closer, as his mouth opened just before she closed her eyes.
“Too long,” he whispered to her lips as he first brushed against them and then inhaled and kissed her deeply.
Her pulse soared as her knees wobbled. He braced her shaking body with his arm at her back, fingers splayed at her shoulder blades, holding and pressing her into his chest.
She couldn’t believe what was happening. He was ready to devour her, his probing fingers halfway up her thigh, sliding her skirt up and hooking her panties. She was wet as the tips of his fingers found her core. When his thumb pressed against her nub, she nearly fainted.
“Tell me, Halley, what you want,” he whispered to her ear. His fingers were rubbing the back of her skull, having their way with her hair. He was kissing her temple, running a tongue around the arch in her ear, ending with a nip to her earlobe impaled with a single stud diamond.
“I—I’m having trouble thinking,” she sighed into him.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, and I’ll help.”
He had slid his palm up and under her sweater, delicately rolling it up and over her head and then dropping it to the floor. He took a step back to look at her, his lips still wet from their kisses. “Tell me,” he repeated. “I want to know what you want.”
She was desperate for his touch. “I’m thinking about all the times I’ve wondered what it would be like to pretend that the last ten years never happened. Can you make those go away, Morgan?”
He began unbuttoning his shirt, all the time watching her remove her bra. He finished with the cuffs and then let the thing fall to the ground near her sweater. She put her thumbs under the hem of his tee shirt and slowly pulled it up over his beautiful, hard body. His muscles rippled as he cupped her elbows with his palms and slowly drew her forward to him. He watched her knotted nipples touch his flesh. His huge hands lifted her butt cheeks and pressed her hard against his erection with such strength that her feet were nearly airborne.
He raised his knee slightly into position, and she rode his thigh, lazily rubbing the lips of her sex against him, hands gripping the back of his neck to pull herself up and then down hard against him. The delicious pulsing of her sweet spot began to set her insides on fire, just as his teeth and tongue found her left nipple. She touched his cheek, laced the back of her hand against the stubble, and then lined his lips with her forefinger before he sucked it.
“What is it you want from me, Halley?”
She climbed higher, pulling herself up so she could whisper in his ear. “I want you to fuck me, Morgan.”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s what I’m going to do alright. But, honey, just after you get those lips on my cock. I’m about to explode.”
She shimmied his pants down over his hips, smoothing his backside with her palms while she dropped to her knees. He was working the
zipper on her skirt, leaning over while she rooted for him. Just as she took him into her mouth, rolling her tongue over the heavy veins and trying to accommodate his huge size, he had lowered her skirt down to her knees and was tracing the deep cleft in her rear.
She could feel Morgan tense, so she stopped her sucking and just rolled her tongue over his tip, released him, and then took him back deep again. At his groan, she thought he was going to spill so she stopped again, allowing him to pull out and feel the tension of her suck.
“Geez, Halley! I gotta get inside you, but man, I don’t want you to stop.”
She massaged his balls and worked his shaft with both hands. “You want me to stop? I can hardly take you in my mouth already.” She kissed his tip and got to her feet. Her skirt dropped to the floor so that she was standing naked in front of him, wearing her red high heels.
Morgan stepped out of his pants around his ankles and abruptly picked her up and threw her on the bed. She spread her knees and arched her back, digging the red heels into the bed covers, calling to him with her arms.
He dove in, throwing one leg over his shoulder, laving her lips with the stiff curl of his tongue, sucking her bud, and making her jump. He brought his thumb to press that little organ, inserted two fingers inside her, and watched the pleasure she took. Her body was on fire, and an orgasm had started to stretch across her insides, flushing her core with juices.
He quickly grabbed one of the pillows and pushed it beneath the small of her back, raising her pelvis to him while he got to his knees, rocked over her shattering body, and plugged her deep. The force of his entry nearly took her breath away as he then gradually began a rhythm of strokes, each one deeper than the next. She was hanging onto him then wrapping her legs around his waist as she worked in unison with his heavy thrusts. Her red heels were lightly tapping against his buttocks.
He switched angles and pumped her from the side. Halley clutched the pillow to her chest, feeling her internal muscles milking him, the orgasm taking full hold of her body now.
Bachelor SEAL (Sleeper SEALs Book 5) Page 11
