She didn’t have to face the disgruntled SEAL to know he was excelling toward them at tsunami pace. His fury and determination zapped like static electricity on a carpet.
“Hey, babe, what’s taking so long?” He stopped behind her, sliding both hands around her waist as he drew her back against his chest—hard—forcing Rojas to drop his hand.
Despite the anger she could feel vibrating within Sam, his tone was pleasant, and when she turned to him, she was surprised to find a neutral expression on his face.
If not for the protruding vein at the side of his temple, she never would’ve guessed he was angry.
Then he crushed her close and kissed her.
Okay, so, he was angry. And maybe a little possessive.
Caught off guard, she hesitated a second before heat sliced through her body. Not raised a dummy, she slid her hands around his neck and kissed him back. Whether the unexpected embrace was for the snickering men’s benefits, or to fill a need in Sam to warn the guys to back off, Lisa took advantage of the opportunity and enjoyed the moment. Completely.
From the scrape of his big, callused hands spanning her back, to the demanding mouth on her lips, she took all he gave. To anyone watching, his dominance had to be unmistakable. Her heart rocked in her chest squished tight against his body. She wanted to dominate him, too.
But, they were in public, and had a job to do. Apparently, he finally remembered, because he drew back a moment later, and heaven help her, his smoldering gaze tripped her pulse.
“So, what were you and our friend from last night…” He stopped and shifted his gaze to the man behind her. “I’m sorry, I never caught your name.”
His tone matched his gaze. Hard.
Stiffening, she twisted back around to face the others, noting a dark glint in Rojas’ eyes. A shiver raced down her spine as the arms dealer’s gaze remained glued to the SEAL.
“Santiago.”
Ah, great. His tone was just as hard. She flicked her attention to the Russian sitting quietly on the Colombian’s other side, an evil grin curving his mouth as he watched on with interest. Okay, so he wasn’t going to help, but neither would he instigate. It was up to her to diffuse the situation before the two alphas started to knock shoulders…or heads.
Smiling, she angled her body a little and waved a hand between them. “I was apologizing to Santiago for stepping on him in the elevator last night.”
Sam’s hold tightened on her hip, stopping her from moving too far. “Won’t be a problem,” he said, reaching around her with his other hand to lift one of their drinks the bartender just placed on the bar. “Only fruit juices today.”
Rojas opened his mouth to reply when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and stiffened. “Excuse me,” he said, then turned his back, switching to Russian as he took the call.
Lisa stepped to the bar to grab her drink, hoping to appear not to eavesdrop as they lingered. “Have a grape,” she said, plopping one into Sam’s mouth, awareness rushing through her body as her finger brushed his lips.
Bugger held her gaze and returned the favor. She didn’t bother to suppress the tremor his touch created. It was good for their cover, especially since she could feel the Russian’s slimy gaze still on her.
A second later, Rojas ended his call, after assuring the party on the line their lunch was all set for two in the afternoon the next day. Thank goodness. It was all becoming too tiring. And creepy.
“It is time I met my wife for lunch,” the Colombian said in their direction, so she turned toward him out of politeness. That’s when he took her hand and kissed it right in front of Sam. “Enjoy your fruit juice, niña.”
She could feel the SEAL stiffen behind her, but before he could react, she tugged free and smiled. “I will, thank you. Enjoy your lunch, and please, give your wife my regards.”
“But of course.” Rojas nodded, acknowledged the Russian, then strode toward the resort.
Sam slipped an arm around her waist and kissed her shoulder, his mouth warm on her skin as he lingered on her freckles. Memories from long ago rushed through her mind of how he used to love to take his time to kiss each one.
A lot more had appeared since then.
Which meant his mouth would brush her skin a lot longer. Her belly fluttered at the thought.
“Let’s finish our drinks up in our room.” His voice was thick, but she knew he’d recover by the time they made it to their floor.
Without waiting for her reply, he led her into the hotel, and she got the impression it wasn’t because he couldn’t wait to get her alone to finishing what he’d started, but rather to lead her away from Koslov and the nasty glint in his eyes. She also understood the suggestion was code for: let’s go somewhere private so you can tell me what you overheard. Too bad she wished it was for an entirely different type of private reason.
A private reason she was beginning to realize made more and more sense. They were given a second chance at the incredible. It would be stupid not to take the opportunity, even if it was only for the night.
By the time they entered their suite, Sam’s control had returned, along with his closed expression. How the hell did he turn off his feelings so easily? Her mind was still hazy and body way too turned on from that kiss by the bar. The best she could do was try to ignore the ache he’d resurrected with his touch and talented lips.
As soon as the door shut behind them, he released her and strode straight to the laptop. “Let’s contact your dad so you can tell us both what Rojas said, instead of making you repeat it.”
Mr. All Business had an agenda.
It was going to be short lived, if she had any say.
She slid a chair against his, making sure their bodies would touch. “There’s not much to tell,” she said, waiting for her father’s face to fill the screen before she sat down and relayed what she’d heard about tomorrow’s meeting.
As always happened whenever their skin touched, a line of fire raced down her side. Sam stiffened, but other than that, his expression remained the same. Neutral.
Her father appeared not to notice. He nodded. “All right. Doesn’t seem as if there’s anything else you can do, so you should both lay low for the rest of the day. We don’t want to tip Rojas off. You’ve already had too many chance meetings the way it is.”
“Agreed,” she said, secretly thrilled at the thought of holing up in the suite the rest of the day and night with Sam.
Her father moved closer to the camera. “I want to congratulate you both for your control today.”
She hoped her father was talking about Rojas and Koslov, and not the way she and Sam had held back in the pool. It was still way too weird to think about Percy and her father watching her on a video monitor whenever she stepped outside of her room.
“Especially you, Excel.” Her father’s attention shifted to the man sitting quietly next to her. “Tomorrow, after we get what we need, you have my permission to...forego the restraint.”
She reeled back at the same time Sam leaned forward, a small smile twitching his lips.
“Yes, sir.”
Lisa bounced her gaze from one satisfied expression to another. “I thought Homeland didn’t want Rojas dead.”
Her father’s grin widened. “I wasn’t talking about Rojas.”
Before she could question him further, he nodded. “Get a good night sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.” Then the screen went dark.
She turned to stare at Sam, hoping he’d explain what the hell just happened.
He shut the laptop and stood. “I’m going for a run.”
“Where? You can’t.” She rose to her feet and watched him walk to the door. “I thought we were told to stay inside.”
His hand was on the doorknob when he stopped and muttered a curse. “Fine.” He pivoted around and strode straight for the bathroom, not once making eye contact. In fact, he appeared to purposely avert his gaze from her direction.
That’s when she got a clue.
Sam was trying to
run from her, to run from his attraction to her. The pretense of being in control was all it was, a pretense. Somehow, that knowledge eased a tension from her body she hadn’t realized was there.
She sank back onto her chair and blew out a breath.
If the highly trained SEAL was so bent out of shape that he was prepared to flee her company, then he must want her as badly as she wanted him.
After spending the whole dang morning brushing against the man and kissing him, she was so turned on her body practically hummed. Her gaze drifted to the Jacuzzi in the middle of the room.
She smiled.
Now that she knew he was having similar issues, a plan began to form. One she hoped no amount of SEAL training could help him resist. One she hoped had the SEAL delivering them both some much needed relief.
Chapter 8
Sam emerged from his twenty-minute shower a little chilled, because he’d used nothing but cold water, and it’d done the trick. He no longer had the erection that wouldn’t quit—after he’d lent a helping hand.
Swimming with Lisa today had proved too much. The feel of her soft, supple body brushing his, wrapping around his, pressing against his, was more than he could handle. No amount of Special Warfare training could stop his desire, his need for the woman. Any other? Hell yeah. Never been an issue.
But Lisa Knight?
She was the only women to ever get under his skin and stay there. Hell, he was beginning to wonder if she’d ever left. Seemed likely he’d been fooling himself into believing that for the past half-decade.
Even when she’d been across the patio from him this morning, a good hundred yards away, his body still throbbed. And it had pissed him off. He hated not being in control. Not being at his hundred and ten percent.
With her, he estimated his control was at a negative one hundred eleven.
That dumbass power play with Rojas proved it.
Cursing, he towel dried his body with brisk strokes. He’d almost blown the mission. He had been so damn close to throat punching the guy the instant he’d seen the man touch Lisa’s shoulder. Even now, his blood still boiled at the memory of that bastard’s dirty fingers touching her beautiful skin. Skin he used to spend blissful hours touching and caressing in between missions.
Admittedly, he was having trouble dealing with the thought of what that prick had put Nikki through…was probably still putting Nikki through. There was no way he could allow those thoughts to include Lisa.
The sound of his jaw cracking echoed through the spacious marbled bathroom. He wrapped the towel around his hips and glared at his reflection in the mirror. You’re an ass. His need to protect Lisa definitely clouded his judgment. So did his need to have her back in his bed. It was pathetic. He was pathetic. The only thing he seemed to accomplish around the boss’ daughter was getting hard.
And that made him dangerous. To everyone. Including the mission.
If he wasn’t careful, he was likely to add, getting someone killed to that list. There had to be a way for him to stop the insanity. He needed his mind back in the game, not thinking about licking Lisa from head to toe and back again.
Twice.
Shit.
He was screwed. He’d never been in a tighter situation. Ah, hell. He groaned at his word choice, and slammed his fist down onto the bathroom counter. Dumb ass.
First, he’d screwed up by shutting himself in the bathroom before he’d grabbed a change of clothes. The way he’d rushed past Lisa, you’d swear he was a horny teenager afraid to brush the girls in the halls at school. And after the way he’d just taken care of business in a cold shower, he had to conclude, she had indeed, reduced him to a teenager.
Damn. A teenager had no damn business trying to take down an arms dealer, Russian mobster, and known terrorist associate. It was unacceptable.
Turning around, Sam leaned against the counter and blew out a breath. He knew what he had to do.
Lisa was going to hate him.
He was going to have to go contact the commander and ask him to remove Lisa from the case. But, at least she’d be alive, and he could get back to doing his job to his full capacity. If anyone downstairs inquired about his wife, he’d just say she wasn’t feeling well and was up in their room. This half-ass shit he’d been doling out the past nineteen hours had to end.
Blowing out a long breath, he felt the tension leave his body. With her safe from harm, safe from both those bastards and their leering gazes, he’d be able to function. To rescue Nikki. Take down Rojas, and then remove Koslov as per the commander’s instructions.
Because, yes, Koslov definitely posed a threat to Lisa. He’d seen it in the Russian’s dark gaze. Possession. It was there plain as day. Sure, Rojas had leered at her, too, even touched her, but the Colombian’s gaze held none of the dark thoughts Sam had seen brewing in the other man’s eyes.
The fact his boss had seen it, too, even through security video, hadn’t surprised Sam. Nor was he surprised the commander had given him the take out order to keep his daughter safe. Didn’t matter what Homeland wanted. No way was the Russian going to be alive for questioning after the way he’d stared with impure intent at Jameson Knight’s daughter.
Running a hand through his wet hair, Sam straightened from the counter and walked toward the door. Time to get out, so Lisa could come in for her shower, and he could make that call to her father.
He hated to have to go behind her back, but he’d hate it more if something happened to her or Nikki on his watch. The commander entrusted him with Lisa’s safety, and dammit, he was going to keep her safe. So what if she could speak Russian, let her listen in on the video surveillance. Much safer behind the cameras than in front of them.
With his resolve set, he opened the door, noting the sound of a radio playing as he strode out of the bathroom, feeling stronger and more in control. Just the thought of Lisa out of harm’s way made it easier for him to breathe.
“Bathroom’s all yours, Lisa.” He moved passed the bed into the opened living room, then stopped dead.
“Oh, thanks, but there’s no need,” she said, smiling up at him from the Jacuzzi, her bikini tossed on the floor near his feet. “I got tired of waiting, so, I…took matters into my own hands.”
His heart rocked hard in his chest, then raced at the vision her words inspired. No matter how hard he tried to draw air into his lungs, he couldn’t seem to get any past the thick tongue he was doing his damndest not to swallow.
After clearing his throat, twice…then three more damn times, he was finally able to breathe. And talk. “Wh-what are you doing?” Okay, more like croak. But he got the damn words out, and that’s what mattered.
She laughed. “Do you need glasses, Sam? I’m taking a bath.”
What the hell was she laughing for? He hadn’t said anything funny. There was definitely nothing funny about tenting the towel around his hips, or her naked in the tub in the middle of their room. Less than two feet away.
All right, technically, only her head and shoulders were sticking out of the rippling water that masked her nakedness. But that did nothing to lessen his hard on. He needed to back the hell up, but his feet weren’t working. This wasn’t going to do. Not at all.
“You have to stop.”
“Why?”
He blinked at the questioning woman. “Because the tub is in the middle of our room.”
One slick, sexy shoulder lifted. “So?”
“So, you need to get the hell out of the tub, Lisa. Now.”
She sighed. “Jeez. You’re such a control freak. Fine,” she huffed, then stood.
Naked.
And dripping.
And naked.
One of Sam’s strongest qualities was his ability to observe and note details as quick as possible. In his line of work, lives depended on it. This time, however, he thought the details might kill him.
Water ran down her supple curves, dripping like rain into the tub. Some rivulets traveled over glorious breasts still bouncing from her s
udden movement, splashing off the tempting tips to the bubbling depths surrounding her just above the knees. Others streamed along her ribs, and belly, over the curve of her hips, to disappear between thighs his body ached to explore once more.
God, she was even more beautiful than he’d remembered.
He tried to clear his throat again. “Lisa, why are you doing this?”
A wrinkle appeared between her brows as confusion clouded her clear, blue gaze. “You told me to stand.”
Sam scrubbed a hand over his face and muttered a few curses into his palm, before addressing her again. “Please, for the sake of my sanity, sit down.”
Her chin lifted as, heaven help him, a defiant gleam entered her gaze. “No.”
“What the hell do you mean, no?”
“You know exactly what I mean. We’ve been sidestepping each other for two days. All your kissing and touching has my body humming a tune only you understand, Sam. And don’t even try to tell me it was part of the job, because the reactions I’ve felt…” Her gaze dropped to his throbbing groin. “And can clearly see, tell me otherwise.”
He glanced down at the erection pushing against the knot in the towel wrapped around his hips. The hard bulge was unmistakably visible. He returned his attention back to her, and his gut took an invisible blow as he gazed at her beauty again.
“Lisa, I’d love nothing more than to hear you cry out my name as I’m buried deep inside you, but that won’t change the fact of who your father is.”
“Or that you’re not staying once the job is done.”
He blew out a breath and nodded. “You’re right. I’m not. I can’t think clearly when I’m around you.”
She took a step toward him, stopping at the edge of the Jacuzzi, the only barrier separating them. “I understand all of this, Sam. I was simply hoping we could enjoy ourselves until tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then don’t deny us what we both want. What we both need.”
If her father had been anyone else but Commander Knight, Sam wouldn’t hesitate.
Her sigh gushed toward him in a small burst of heat. “While you ponder that, I’m going to return to my jet. If I close my eyes, maybe I can pretend it’s you.”
Hot SEALs: Knight's SEAL (Kindle Worlds) (Dangerous Curves Series Book 1) Page 7
