Chapter 7
“Is she okay?” Patrick asked half an hour later, his brow furrowing.
They’d all gathered back in Christopher’s apartment, and Mike glanced over to where Lexi stood in the kitchen with Kenley and Christopher. They each had an arm around her, and Christopher was rubbing her back in a soothing motion. “Yeah, I think she just got spooked. They saw some guy that looked like the jackass who kidnapped her.”
Patrick stiffened and clenched his fists. “That shit is messed up. I wish they would’ve let us deal with him our own way; I would’ve beaten that son of a bitch within an inch of his life.”
Mike nodded grimly. “Not if Christopher had anything to say about it. He would’ve killed him with his bare hands.”
“There’s something fucked up about guys who harm women and children. I swear to God, if anything had happened to Rebecca when that stalker was after her, I never would’ve been able to live with myself.”
“I hear you,” Mike said, glancing over at Kenley again. She looked petite and fragile in the short, loose dress she had on. It skimmed her curves and left plenty to the imagination, but there was something sexy as hell about it. A lightweight cardigan covered her slender arms, but those gorgeous bare legs were on full display again. When the weather turned cooler in a few weeks, he was going to miss all the peeks of skin. Those shorts from the other night, this dress…. Hell, especially that killer bikini she’d had on. What he wouldn’t give to spend a night exploring all of her womanly curves. Kissing every inch of her body. Finding out what she liked, what made her cry out his name. His groin tightened, and she glanced over his way, almost as if she knew he was watching her.
A cascade of brown curls framed her delicate face, and her cheeks flushed slightly when she met his gaze. He barely knew the woman, but somehow he felt protective toward her. Possessive. He didn’t want her to return to Arlington and fall into the arms of another man—he wanted her here. Now. In his arms and in his bed. Hell, if no one else had been around, he had half a mind to march over there, pull her into his arms, and kiss her until they both admitted there was something brewing between them. That it hadn’t just been one intense kiss yesterday that had them both stirred up.
Mike and all the men on his SEAL team had been trained to read people—and even if she was throwing up walls like she was building a damn fortress, he was certain she was interested. He’d seen the way she looked at him. Felt the ways her eyes caressed his body when she thought he was unaware. And there was no hiding her excitement when he’d kissed her yesterday in the pool. Those little gasps and pants along with the desperate way she clung to him gave him half a mind to chase after her and never let her go.
The fact that she wanted him too made him harder than hell. What would it take to convince her to give in to temptation once more? To prove that yesterday hadn’t been a mistake and that he deserved a chance?
“Christopher just about lost his shit when you called us,” Patrick said.
“I can imagine. Is there more stuff to move or are we all set for the day?”
“We moved all the boxes to the storage unit, so we’re good. I’ll probably head out if things are under control. We’ve got training early tomorrow, and I want to spend some time with the kids.”
“Kids, huh?” Mike asked with a smirk.
“Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it,” Patrick said, punching him in the arm.
“Thanks again guys for helping today,” Christopher said, walking over. “I think Lexi just needs some time alone now.”
“Yeah, we’re gonna head out,” Mike said. “Unless you need help with anything else.”
“I think we’re set,” Christopher said. “Sorry about missing the end of the game.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Patrick said. “Family comes first.”
“I guess I should get going, too,” Kenley said as she joined them. Mike’s gaze flicked back to the kitchen, where Lexi had sunk down into a chair and was sipping some tea, looking completely exhausted.
“I’ll drop you back at your car,” Mike said, meeting Kenley’s gaze. She nodded uncertainly, and his gut clenched. Hell, was she afraid to be alone with him? What was it going to take to convince her he was a decent guy? Staying the hell away from her was seeming like less and less of an option.
Patrick glanced between the two of them, noticing the tension. “I can drop you off if you like,” he said.
“Um, thanks, but I’m okay. I can get a ride with Mike.”
Patrick raised his eyebrows, and Mike felt a swell of male pride surging through his chest. Even if Kenley was uncertain, the fact that she’d just agreed to be alone with him had to be a good sign.
“Then let’s get going. Should we say goodbye to Lexi?”
“No,” Christopher said. “Just let her rest. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
They exchanged goodbyes, and then Mike, Patrick, and Kenley walked outside to the parking lot. Mike clicked the remote to his SUV and opened the passenger door for Kenley. He tried not to groan as she ducked into the vehicle. Hell. That dress was getting his imagination all sorts of worked up. What he wouldn’t give to bend her over the nearest surface, flip up that flimsy little dress, and sink straight into heaven.
No doubt that would freak her the hell out, he thought with a smirk. He could be patient. Mike had the distinct impression that Kenley would be well worth the wait. He was impressed with the way she’d handled herself during the few weeks he’d known her. She’d rushed down from Northern Virginia when her best friend was in trouble. She’d handled him after he’d eventually released her at the condo. Maybe physically she hadn’t been able to fend him off when he thought she was one of the kidnappers, but verbally? Damn. She’d given him a tongue lashing he’d never forget once she’d gotten her wits about her.
And she was sweet. Sensitive. All her soft curves up against his male hardness was just about damn near perfection. Her body fit against his she’d been made just for him and him alone. And what he wouldn’t give to learn all the other ways their bodies perfectly aligned—to sweep his tongue inside her sweet mouth. To bury his cock so deep inside her tight walls that neither of them knew where he stopped and she began. To thrust into her again and again, driving her skyward until she screamed out his name.
Hell. He had to get his mind off getting her into his bed and onto driving her back. His pants had already grown uncomfortably tight.
“You didn’t eat much,” Mike said as he eased into the driver’s seat. “Want me to take you to get some food?”
“Oh. I was just worried about Lexi, I guess.”
He started the engine and glanced over at her. “It’s normal to have some trauma after a situation like that. It’ll take her a while to get readjusted, but she’s actually doing great.”
“You seem pretty confident,” Kenley commented.
Mike shrugged. He glanced back over his shoulder and backed out of the space. Patrick was already pulling out onto the road. “I’ve had medical training. We have to know how to treat men who are in shock if they’re injured in battle.”
“Do all the guys have medical training?”
“Yeah, to some extent. Theirs is more basic though. Every man on the team has to have a particular skill set—Christopher’s the IT guru, as you probably already know. Patrick is our team leader. I’m the medic in the group. That’s how I got my nickname.”
“Patch, right?”
“Yeah, because I patch people up.”
Kenley laughed, and a sudden feeling of warmth filled his chest. She sure didn’t laugh much around him, and hell if he didn’t wish that wasn’t the case. Her whole face lit up when she smiled, and her eyes shone brightly. Not to mention that rosy hue that crossed her cheeks, which is what Mike liked to imagine she might look like when she came—panting and screaming his name in ecstasy.
“When did you get that nickname?”
“Not until my first op. Some guys get theirs in BUD/S—that’s the traini
ng we have to do to become a SEAL. But I was, uh, attending to a guy who’d gotten a bullet wound in the leg. He was ready to keep on fighting and was screaming at me to patch him up so he could get back into battle.”
“Was it one of the guys on your SEAL team now?”
“No, I was originally with a different unit. This one’s the best though.”
He glanced over to see Kenley smirking. “Modest as always, I see.”
Mike chuffed out a laugh. “Hey, I’ll admit I can be cocky some of the time—hell, maybe even a lot of the time. But when it comes to my guys, I’m not just blowing smoke up your ass. Uh, sorry. I just mean we’re the best of the best. Not even a question.”
Mike pulled onto the road that made up the main drag of Virginia Beach. It was dotted with hotels, restaurants, and souvenir shops. Not to mention plenty of tourists and locals who’d been enjoying a lazy Sunday down by the water. “So listen, I know we got off to a bad start a few weeks ago. And with the whole jumping into the pool thing yesterday. Let me buy you dinner—make up for it.”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah, that meal people eat at the end of the day.”
“I know what dinner is,” Kenley said, rolling her eyes. “I just don’t know why you think us going to dinner together is a good idea.”
“It’s an apology. And it’s just dinner—I promise I won’t make any moves on you.”
Kenley blushed as Mike raised his eyebrows. It was too damn easy to get a rise out of her. The ways she reacted to everything he said was priceless. “That is, unless you want me to. I sure didn’t mind kissing you in the pool.” He winked, watching her turn an even deeper shade of red. Hell yeah, this was going to be a good night.
Chapter 8
Mike eased into a parking spot on the busy road, instructing Kenley to sit tight until he could help her out of the SUV. She watched him round the front of the vehicle and felt a small flush of pleasure at his attentiveness. Was this how he treated all the women in his life that he was supposedly only friends with? Unlikely. And who was she kidding—they weren’t exactly “just friends.” Not with the heated glances he’d been throwing at her for the past hour. She could pretend all she wanted, but after that kiss they’d shared at the pool? She wasn’t fooling anyone. Not even herself.
He opened the door, and her breath caught as he reached out to help her. Kenley let Mike take her hand and help her out of his SUV, his large, muscular hand nearly enveloping her much smaller one. His grip was warm and firm, and she tried not to gasp at his closeness. At the heat she could feel from his large frame as he hovered over her. His other hand came to a rest atop the open door, essentially trapping her against the passenger seat.
She tilted her head back, meeting his eyes.
“I like you,” he said, his voice husky.
Heat coursed over her skin. “Excuse me?” She couldn’t have heard him correctly. Hadn’t he just said a few minutes ago he wasn’t going to pull anything?
He ducked his head lower, holding her gaze. “I like you. I don’t play games; I don’t beat around the bush. I’ll be your friend, but know that I want more.” His thumb lightly caressed her knuckles, sending shivers down her spine, and then he released her, backing away, giving her space. Leaving far too much distance between them again.
She didn’t know how to react to that. Maybe there was some sort of electricity still sparking between them, but she was leaving in another week or so. And he was all wrong for her. She didn’t do one-night-stands; she didn’t need a guy like him around. Except—no one else had made her feel so alive in such a short amount of time. They’d only spent the briefest of moments together, and each time it hadn’t been nearly long enough. Her body craved more of everything—his touch, his voice, his scent. The unfinished promise of what could happen between them if only she’d let it.
It didn’t mean anything though. She was in lust, maybe, but not in the beginnings of a relationship. That kiss yesterday might’ve been the best kiss she’d ever had, but it had been a fantasy. A moment of adrenaline and heightened hormones. And since she’d be gone in days, not a thing would ever come of it.
Shakily she stepped onto the sidewalk as Mike shut the door, setting the alarm. “Where to?” he asked, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
She felt off-kilter by his admission but steeled herself, determined to pretend everything was fine. “Do you like seafood?”
“Angel, I’m in the Navy. I’ll eat anything.”
Did he just call her…angel? She hastened a glance his way, and he winked.
Brushing it aside, she began walking. “Lexi and I were planning to eat at this seafood place down the block. Does that sound good?”
“Sure, wherever you want is good with me.”
“Did you guys get to finish helping Christopher today before everything happened?”
“Yeah, we moved a ton of furniture around as you could probably tell. And Patrick and Christopher hauled a bunch of things down to storage. It’s all set for whenever Lexi wants to move in.”
“Wow. It’ll be so strange when she’s down here permanently.”
“You can come visit; it’s just a few hours away. I’ll even let you stay with me if you want.” He casually slung his arm around her shoulder, and she sighed. His warmth and strength beside her felt too good. Maybe he was claiming to be playing it casual, but her body was screaming for more of those heated kisses and stolen caresses.
“Are you forgetting my parents have a condo here?” she asked lightly.
“Ah, the infamous condo. I couldn’t forget that—that’s where we first met.”
“Met,” she scoffed. “You held me against the wall when you thought I was one of the kidnappers.”
Mike ducked his head low, his lips hovering near her ear. “The next time I have you against a wall, it will be for an entirely different reason.”
She flushed, heat coursing through her veins, as images of Mike holding her against him flashed through her mind. There were a few different ways to interpret that statement, all of them entirely too tempting. All of them entirely wrong for her.
His lips brushed against her cheek, heating her skin even more. “I love how you blush around me, Kenley. It makes me think you’re more affected by me than you want to admit.”
Embarrassed, Kenley abruptly pulled away from him, putting her hands on her hips. “What do you want Mike? You acted like this was just a friendly dinner, but obviously it’s not.”
He raised his eyebrows, a smug expression crossing his face. “I wanted to see how you’d react. You sure seemed to like me yesterday at the pool. Then at the bonfire, you blew me off. So which is it?”
Kenley threw her arms up in the air. “I give up. Forget about dinner. I’ve got to go.”
“Kenley, wait—” he said, gently grabbing her arm as she turned to leave. “I’m sorry.” His fingers barely clasped her arm, but she felt trapped in place, tethered to him. She took a deep breath, desperately trying to fill her lungs with precious oxygen. Why was it so hard to breathe around him? It was like he sucked all the air from the space around her, leaving her breathless. Making her desperate to stop whatever it was he did to her—before she fell so hard there was no turning back.
“We’ll never be friends, Mike,” she said angrily. “We’ll never be anything.”
His expression clouded, and a hint of regret flashed across his eyes. “Kenley, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, sorry you’re acting like a jackass. But what’s the point? You’ll act nice for a little while then turn into a jerk again.’
“Let me walk you back to your car.”
“Don’t bother,” she said, stalking away. Knowing he would follow, she glanced back over her shoulder and shot him an icy glare. “Just leave me the hell alone.”
***
Mike watched Kenley walk away and muttered a curse. He’d pushed her too far after promising he wouldn’t hit on her tonight. But hell, how long was she going to go a
round acting like there was nothing between them? He’d kissed plenty of women over the years, but that kiss he and Kenley had shared yesterday? It had been the hottest one of his life. Holding her to him in the pool like that, feeling all of her softness up against him, the sweet and gentle way she’d yielded to his kiss and touch? It made him want a hell of a lot more time alone with her.
He didn’t think a little harmless flirting would cause her to freak out like that. He was a man, not some teenage boy too shy to talk to the pretty girls. If he was interested in a woman, he’d let her know. What was there to pretend about anyway? They were consenting adults. Maybe he did want to take her to dinner and then straight to his bed, but that didn’t mean the night would’ve ended that way.
He sighed, looking back and forth on the busy road. He still needed to eat, and they had early training tomorrow. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out of his pocket to see a text from Brent. He and Matthew were at Anchors tonight. Might as well join them, he supposed. He had to eat sometime, and Kenley had just blown him off. He sure the hell would’ve liked her company more than his buddies, but what was he supposed to do? Chase her down the street like some asshole? She clearly didn’t want to see him.
Walking down the block, he pushed open the door to the busy bar. Even on a Sunday evening it was packed, and Mike scanned the room. A group of women near him made a big show of giving him the once over, but he didn’t give them a second glance. His buddies were at a table in the back, along with a couple of co-eds who were laughing hysterically at whatever Brent was saying. Mike noted the women they were with were not the nurses from last night. Hell. Wouldn’t those guys ever tire of an endless parade of women? Maybe he was getting too old for this scene.
He’d left Christopher and Lexi at their place; Patrick had been hurrying home to see Rebecca and their kids. Even Evan, the youngest man on their SEAL team, now had a girlfriend. He and Alison lived together and seemed completely content. Although Mike usually enjoyed weekend nights out with his buddies, the women and booze a welcome relief from the stress of their training and deployments, the days were starting to feel a little empty.
A SEAL's Seduction (Alpha SEALs Book 4) Page 7
