An Honorable Seduction

by Brenda Jackson

  “How about dinner tomorrow night?” he asked her.

  She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she broke eye contact with him and glanced down at the sidewalk. Hadn’t they seen each other enough these last few days? Where was this leading? Wasn’t he leaving the Keys in less than a month?

  She glanced back at him. “Why? We’ve gone out twice already. I wouldn’t want to dominate your time.”

  “You’re not. And the reason I want to take you out again is because I enjoy your company.”

  She certainly enjoyed his. “Can I ask you something, David?”

  He nodded. “Yes?” Considering her history with William, it was something she probably should have asked David before going out on their first date. She’d discovered the hard way that a man not wearing a wedding ring didn’t mean anything these days.

  “What do you want to ask me, Swan?”

  She met his gaze and hoped she would be able to see the truth in his eyes. “Do you have a wife or a significant other?”

  Instead of guilt flashing in his eyes, she saw surprise. “No. I’m not married and I’ve never been married. I dated a woman for years but because of my frequent travels, she decided to end things. That was over six years ago.” He then leaned against a light post and asked, “What about you, Swan? Have you ever been married or is there a significant other?”

  “Of course not.”

  He nodded slowly. “Then I assume there is a reason you thought that maybe I was in a relationship?”

  “I needed to be sure.”

  He didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked at her as if tumbling her answer around in his head. “But like I said, I assume there is a reason you needed to know.”

  “Yes.” However, she didn’t intend to go into any details.

  “Well, rest assured there is not a Mrs. David Holloway out there anywhere. Nor is there any woman wearing my ring. Satisfied?”

  “Yes.”

  At that moment, a taxi pulled up. “Thanks for dinner again.” She was about to move toward the taxi when he reached out, took hold of her hand and tugged her to him. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her quickly but soundly on the lips.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, his words a soft whisper against her wet lips.

  “Tomorrow?” she asked in a daze from his kiss.

  “Yes, we’re supposed to go over designs for the earrings, remember?”

  It was hard to remember anything after a kiss like that. “Yes, I remember,” she said.

  “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  She nodded, and when he opened the door for her, she quickly got into the taxi and headed home alone.

  * * *

  The moment Flipper entered his hotel room he went to the small refrigerator beneath the wet bar and pulled out a beer. Just then it didn’t matter that he’d already drank a couple at Danica’s. He needed another. There was just something about Swan that was getting to him, touching him on a level he wasn’t used to when it came to women. He had truly enjoyed her company tonight.

  He and his SEAL teammates had just returned from a two-month mission in South Africa and more than anything he had needed to unwind. He would be home in Texas doing just that had he not been summoned to the admiral’s office.

  So here he was, and although he was in Key West on official military business and he was supposed to be investigating Swan, he loved spending time with her.

  Tonight, when she’d met Danica, it had been priceless. You would have thought Swan had met a Hollywood celebrity. He had sat there while the two women conversed, immediately as comfortable as old friends.

  The sound of Swan’s voice had been maddeningly sexy with a tinge of sweetness that had stroked his senses. For the first time since returning to the States, he had allowed himself to uncoil, to loosen up and relax while appreciating the richness of her personality. Her persona was uniquely hers and the sensuality of her very being called to him in a primitive way.

  And that wasn’t good.

  Taking a huge swig of his beer, he switched his thoughts to what he should be focused on—what she’d told him about Jamila and Rafe. Remembering what she’d said, he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his shorts and with one click he connected to his friend Nick Stover.

  “This better be good, Flipper. Natalie is taking an art class at the university tonight and I have babysitting duties.”

  Flipper couldn’t help but smile. Like Bane, Nick had triplets and from the sound of the noise in the background, the triplets had him. “Stop whining. Taking care of a trio of three-year-olds can’t be too bad.”

  “Then you come do it.”

  “Sorry, I’m on assignment.”

  “So I hear. In the Keys, right?”

  He figured for Nick to know that much meant he’d either talked to Bane, Viper, Mac or Coop. “Yes, I’m in Key West.”

  “While you’re there, be sure to stop by Danica’s. Give her a hug for me.”

  “I did that already. Tonight, in fact.”

  “Good.”

  “I think she has more photos of the triplets than you do.”

  “I wouldn’t doubt it. So if you can’t be a backup babysitter, why are you calling?”

  “When you arrive at your cushy job at Homeland Security tomorrow, there are two people I need you to check out for me. I’ve read naval intelligence reports on them, but something isn’t adding up. Call me a suspicious bastard, but after that situation with Bane, when those traitors within the agencies were exposed, I’m not taking any chances.”

  He then told Nick about the discrepancies between what the reports said and what Swan had told him. “Somebody is lying. Either Jamila lied to Swan or someone falsified the report, and I want to know which it is.”

  Four

  “He’s baaack,” Jamila said.

  Swan pushed away from her desk. She didn’t have to ask who Jamila was talking about. “I was expecting him,” she said in what she hoped was a professional tone. “He needs to look at designs for earrings.”

  “If you say so. I’ll send him in here.”

  Swan was about to tell Jamila they could use the computer out front, but Jamila was gone after closing the door behind her.

  Standing, Swan inhaled deeply. How she had finished the books last night, she wasn’t sure. Thoughts of David had been stronger than ever after their night out. When she’d gone to bed, she had dreamed about him. Okay, she’d dreamed about him before, but the dreams last night had been so hot it was a wonder they hadn’t burned her sheets. She had been tempted to do something she hadn’t done in a long time, reactivate her vibrator.

  She drew in a deep breath when she heard the knock on her door. “Come in.”

  And in walked David, looking sexier than he had the other times she’d seen him. Last night, to stay focused, she had come up with every reason she could think of for why she shouldn’t be attracted to him and why a relationship with him wouldn’t work.

  She’d even thrown in the race card. But of course that was thrown out when she remembered her parents and how happy they had been together. Yet she also couldn’t forget how her father’s family had ostracized him for his choice in love. Would David’s family be the same way? There was no reason to think they wouldn’t. And wasn’t she getting ahead of herself for even throwing love in the mix?

  “Hello, David.”

  “Swan.” He glanced at her desk, taking in all the folders spread across it. “You’re busy.”

  “That’s fine. Besides, I need to get those earrings ready for you.”

  Now that he’d seen her desk, it would make perfect sense for her to suggest they use the computer out front to design the earrings. But now that she had him behind closed doors, she liked it.

  Not that she planned on doing anything about having him here.

&
nbsp; “Please have a seat while I clear off my desk.” Today he was wearing jeans and she couldn’t help but watch how fluidly his body eased into the chair. How the denim stretched across a pair of muscular thighs. She quickly switched her gaze before he caught her looking.

  “Nice office.”

  “Thanks.” She closed the folders and placed them in her inbox tray. She then glanced over at him and caught him looking at her. She followed his gaze and soon figured out why he was staring.

  She was wearing a skirt with a V-neck blouse, and when she’d leaned over to place the folders in the tray, her shirt had shown a portion of her cleavage. Instead of calling him out for trying to cop a view of her breasts, the fact that he was interested sparked a distinct warmth between her legs.

  She quickly sat down. “Now if you would roll that chair over here, I am ready.” Too late, she realized how that sounded and quickly added, “To look at designs.”

  He smiled. “I know what you meant.”

  He rolled his chair behind her desk to place it right next to hers. When he sat down, their legs touched. Moving away would be pretty obvious so she let the denim of his jeans rub against her bare legs.

  “Now, then,” she said, trying not to notice how good he smelled. “What do you think of these?” she asked, bringing up a few designs on the computer screen.

  When he didn’t answer, she glanced over at him and found him staring at her. Sitting so close to him, she could look directly into his laser-blue eyes. It was as if his gaze was deliberately doing something to her, causing a surge in her breath and arousal to coil in her core. She saw the dark heat in his eyes and desire clawed at her even more.

  “May I make a suggestion?” he asked in a voice that seemed to wobble in a sexual way.

  “It depends on what that suggestion is,” she heard herself say.

  He leaned in a little closer and whispered, “I want to kiss you again. Only problem is that I don’t want to stop until I get enough. And I’m not sure I would.”

  She had been staring at his lips, watching how they moved while he talked. She slowly dragged her gaze back up to his eyes. She saw need flare in his gaze at the same time that anticipation for his kiss thickened the air flowing in and out of her lungs.

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Don’t say anything, Swan. Just bring your mouth closer to mine.”

  She knew she shouldn’t, but she found herself doing it anyway.

  * * *

  Flipper drew in a deep breath when Swan’s lips were almost touching his. He flicked out his tongue and she gave a sharp intake of breath when he began licking her lips from corner to corner with the tip of his tongue.

  “What are you doing?” she asked on a wobbly breath.

  “Since you asked...” He captured her mouth and when she closed her eyes on a moan, he reached up and cradled her face in his hands while he kissed her with a greed he didn’t know was in him.

  What was there about her that made him accept the primitive part of himself that wouldn’t be satisfied until he made love to her? Was it because she crept into his dreams at night and into his every waking thought? Or was it because an arrow of liquid heat shot straight to his groin whenever he saw her? Or could he blame it on the fact that whenever she touched him, he burned? She made him edgy and aroused him as no other woman could.

  It was all of those things and more.

  Right now, he didn’t know how to back away. So he didn’t. Instead he accepted the stream of heat in his gut and the crackle of energy passing between them.

  Their lips were copulating in a way that sent blood coursing through his veins like a raging river. It was raw, hot and explosive, causing a hot ache to erupt in his gut. It wouldn’t take much to lose control and take her here on her desk. At that moment, his entire body was tight with need, totally entranced by everything about her.

  The phone rang and they quickly broke off the kiss, drawing in deep breaths of air. He watched as she reached across her desk to press the speaker button. “Thank you for calling Swan’s.”

  At first, no one said anything and then a deep male voice said, “Swan? Are you okay? You sound out of breath.”

  He watched as she pulled in another deep breath before a smile touched her lips. “I’m fine, Godpop 1. How are you?”

  Knowing who she was talking to on the phone was like a pail of cold water drenching Flipper. He was quickly reminded why he’d been sent to Key West. His admiral would have him court-martialed if he knew what Flipper had just done with his goddaughter. If the man had any idea how many times Flipper had kissed her already and how each time he’d wished they had gone even further...

  She turned off the speaker so he heard only one side of the conversation, and from the sound of her voice, he knew she was happy about receiving the call.

  Feeling a tightness in his crotch from his still-aroused body, he got up from the chair and walked to the window. If she could have this sort of effect on him just from a kiss, he didn’t want to think about what would happen if he were to make love to her. Just the thought of easing his body into hers had his stomach churning and caused an ache low in his gut.

  Knowing he needed to think of something else, he glanced up into the sky. It was a beautiful day. Monday was Memorial Day and he wondered if Swan had made any plans to celebrate. He’d heard there would be a parade and unlike some places in the States, where stores remained open on Memorial Day, the laid-back businesses in the Keys closed up for one big party.

  He liked the Keys. When he retired from being a SEAL, he could see himself moving here to live out the rest of his days. The island was surrounded by the ocean and they didn’t call him Flipper for nothing. He loved water. Being in it and being a part of it. Living this close to the sea would certainly be a plus for him. But then there was the question of how he would deal with Swan if he chose to retire here. Even if he could prove she was not guilty of espionage, there was always that possibility she would hate his guts regardless of the outcome, because he had not been truthful with her.

  “Sorry about that, David.”

  He turned, not caring that she could see his still-hard erection. It was something he couldn’t hide even if he had tried. Was she sorry they’d been interrupted or was she regretting that they’d kissed in the first place? He hoped it was the former because he doubted he could ever regret kissing her. “I take it that was one of your godfathers?” he asked, knowing it had been.

  She was staring at him below the waist, but after his question, her gaze slowly moved upward to his face. “Ah, yes, that was one of my godfathers. The other two will be calling sometime today as well. It always works out that they all call within twenty-four hours of each other.”

  He nodded and slowly walked back over to his chair to sit down. “I know you’re busy so let’s look at the designs.”

  Had he just seen a flash of disappointment in her eyes? Did she want them to continue what they’d been doing before she’d gotten that call? Didn’t she know how close they’d both been to going off the edge and falling into waters too deep to swim out of? Even for him, a SEAL master swimmer.

  Somehow they got through the next half hour looking at earring designs. Just as each one of the necklaces were different, he wanted the earrings to be different as well and reflect each one of his sisters-in-law’s personalities.

  When he was satisfied with his choices, he stood, convinced he needed to rush back to the hotel and take a cold shower. Sitting beside Swan and inhaling her scent without touching her was one of the most difficult things he’d had to do in a long time.

  She was so female that the maleness in him couldn’t help responding to everything about her. A part of him felt drugged by her scent and the intense physical awareness of her. Even now, desire was racing through his bloodstream.

  “I owe you additional monies, right?” he asked.
A couple of the designs he’d selected cost more than what she’d originally estimated.

  “Yes. I’ll let you know the difference after I finish designing them, when you pick up everything.”

  He hadn’t missed the fact that when he stood her gaze had immediately latched on to his crotch once again. Was she still hoping to see him with a hard-on? If that was true, then she wasn’t disappointed. He could get aroused just from looking at her.

  And why did she choose that moment to lick her lips? She had no idea that seeing her do such a thing sent the pulse beating in his throat and desire hammering against his ribs.

  On unstable legs and with an erection the size of which should be outlawed, he moved around her desk and looked at her. “Yesterday I asked you to go to dinner with me again, but you never gave me an answer.”

  He figured that seeing how aroused he was, she probably wouldn’t give him an answer now either. She surprised him when she said, “Yes, we can dine together this evening.”

  He nodded. “Okay, you get to pick the place.”

  She took a slip of paper off her desk, wrote something on it and handed it to him. He looked at it and he must have stared at it too long, because she said, “It’s my address, David. I’m inviting you to dine with me this evening at my home.”

  He broke eye contact with her to glance back down at the paper she’d given him. He looked back at her while trying to downplay the heat rumbling around in his gut.

  “Do you need me to bring anything?” he asked her.

  “No, just yourself.”

  * * *

  Swan glanced around her home and felt the knots beginning to twist in her stomach. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake inviting David here.

  Today marked a week since they’d met and if she was going to continue to see him while he was on the island, she couldn’t take advantage of his thoughtfulness and expect him to invite her out without ever returning the kindness. However, more than anything else, she needed to keep things in perspective. She needed to remember he was someone she could have a good time with and that’s it.