SEALed and Delivered

by Monroe, Jill

“Does she seem the same to you?” Rachel asked. “She seems more…subdued almost. I noticed it after the bridal party when we were loading her car with the gifts. I thought maybe she was tired, but today she seems even worse.”

  “Are those mojitos ready?” Amy asked as she pushed her way into the kitchen.

  “Were your ears burning? We were just talking about you,” Hailey said.

  “Better be good things,” Amy warned with a slight smile.

  “You seem…not yourself,” Rachel said.

  “Don’t worry. Rachel accuses everyone of that lately,” Hailey teased as she picked up a dishtowel.

  Amy shrugged. “No, everything’s fine.”

  The two sisters looked at each other. Okay, maybe Rachel was onto something. Women excited about getting married didn’t look mopey and tell everyone she was fine. Hailey should know, she had this engagement thing down pat. “You sure?” Hailey questioned.

  Amy plastered a tight smile across her face. “Absolutely.”

  “We didn’t mean to put you to work,” Rachel said. “But as long as you are, how are we on the finger foods?” she asked.

  “We’re good,” Amy said, laughing. “I’m heading out.”

  Once Amy had left the kitchen, Rachel blurted, “See what I’m talking about? Something seems off with her.”

  The doorbell rang. All this use, and still it sounded terrible. “I’ll get it,” her sister said, and headed toward the lobby.

  Hailey put the dishtowel to use and began to wipe up the water some of the crushed ice had left behind. She’d always hated The Sutherland growing up, rejected the idea that she’d ever take her place behind the counter, making beds, preparing food and welcoming people. Okay, hate was a strong word. She just hadn’t wanted this life, it hadn’t seemed exciting to a fifteen-year-old wanting to travel the world and see everything.

  But that fifteen-year-old hadn’t yet had her heart broken. Three times. Hadn’t realized the comfort of being surrounded by family, in a familiar place.

  With a not so discreet clearing of her throat, Rachel announced her return. And there was a guest in tow.

  Nate Peterson.

  Unlike last time, the man didn’t appear too happy about his visit to The Sutherland. However, his stern and tired expression only made him all the more appealing. She wanted to stroke the tension from him. Hailey’s stomach did a little flutter. Now that she’d acknowledged how much she desired him, she didn’t feel as bold as when they stood together on the beach. The idea of walking over to him and stealing a kiss filled her with shivers, not resolve.

  “I guess I’ll go check on the party, sounds like it’s winding down,” Rachel said as she exited.

  Good Lord, there was the tunnel vision Stop Picking the Wrong Men warned about. Hailey hadn’t even remembered her sister was in the room. Laughter drifted in from the other room.

  “Actually, your guests are what I wanted to discuss with you,” he said after dragging his gaze from her lips.

  Yes. He felt it, too.

  Except she had a suspicion this little discussion wasn’t going to be pleasant.

  Hailey had this handled. Would Nate like peanut butter cookies as much as chocolate chip? The man had definitely responded to the whole warm kitchen feeling of a few nights ago. Maybe she should work on writing a book on drawing a man’s attention away from a problem. Why did women always find it so difficult dealing with men? Food and sex, sometimes they camouflaged most anything. Now, to find that peanut butter…

  What was it her sister had said? That Hailey worked so hard to hide all the problems? That’s certainly what she was doing now. She swallowed. Hailey could follow the same pattern she’d used with every other man in her life, or she could try something new.

  She took a deep breath. Hailey met his gaze, instead of opening the cabinet for the peanut butter. She was done smoothing things over.

  Nate leaned forward, balancing on the center island separating them. The sturdy muscles of his arms flexed as he moved, and once again she was taken in by his amazing physical side. Everything about him seemed to suggest leashed danger.

  “So what happened on the beach this afternoon, that was a one-time occurrence, right?” he asked.

  Hailey folded her arms across her chest. “Not so sure about that,” she drawled, as if it was a standoff from the Old West.

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. “You’re done with these flyers, too.” Nate spread out the flyer they’d quickly put together at the local copy shop announcing Spot A SEAL day at The Sutherland.

  “We just made those yesterday. How did you find one so fast?”

  “The U.S. Navy has excellent intel.”

  A little mojito would be great right about now. She sighed, blowing the wisp of her bangs. “Okay, how bad is this?”

  “That depends,” he said, his glance straying once more to her mouth.

  “On what?”

  Then that gray gaze of his slammed right into hers. “On how bad do you want it to be?”

  5

  NATE WOULD HAVE LAUGHED at Hailey’s widened eyes if she didn’t look so cute. Or so damn sexy. A slight flush began to spread down her neck and across her collarbone. The exact same path he’d take with his mouth. His tongue.

  Hailey wanted him. She wanted him every bit as badly as he wanted her. His body tightened in response.

  With a rueful shake of her head, Hailey reached for the handle of one of the cabinets. Cookies? His mouth began to water. Then a dozen possibilities filled his vision. Eating that cookie off Hailey’s stomach was his favorite.

  To his disappointment, she reached for a pitcher. “We need some more mojitos.”

  “I thought the party was winding down.”

  She sucked in the corner of her full bottom lip. Sexy as hell. “This one’s for me,” she told him.

  He watched as she gathered fresh limes, sugar, rum and some sort of leafy thing that looked like raw spinach.

  “I love the smell of fresh mint,” she said.

  That explained the green leafy thing.

  She gently bent the leaf and held it to his nose. “Smell,” she urged.

  Nate reached for her wrist and drew her closer to him. He breathed in the scent, never taking his eyes off her face. Hailey’s skin was softer than anything he’d ever touched. Her breath hitched as he drew her closer still.

  Hailey’s other hand fluttered to his shoulder, her fingers curled into his shirt. He groaned and dropped her wrist and cupped her face. He didn’t need to draw her lips to his. She met him, her lips easily willing against his.

  The rush he felt when she traced his bottom lip with her tongue equaled that of fast lining out of a helicopter. He needed her. Now.

  Hailey used the hand draped around his shoulder to push herself away. She turned her back to him, her chest raising and lowering as she drew in deep gulps of air. He thought he may have heard her mumble stop, “picking the wrong men,” but his thinking must be muddled from that kiss she’d laid on him

  She spun on her heel. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Wh-what?”

  Hailey nervously wrung her hands. “I hope you don’t think I kissed you just now to try to make you forget why you were here.”

  Kissing Hailey was why he was here.

  She lowered her hands to her sides. “Nate, you look like the kind of man who appreciates a straight answer, so I’m going to give it to you. This was only our first beach party, and we brought in several hundred dollars. We recently rescued our family home from a management company determined to let it fail, and I busted my 401k on everything you see in the kitchen. You and the rest of the SEALs have already brought in money with a minimum of effort on our part and none on yours. Each one of those women paid a cover charge. The next time there will be room bookings.”

  “Those men are in training.” He gently traced her lower lip. “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how distracting a woman can be.”

&n
bsp; “How about if I put a stop to the signage and flashing?” she asked, and his stomach clenched at the hopeful tone in her voice.

  This was why relationships were hard. Hailey needed the money, he knew it, and still he was going to ask her to stop. “Those aren’t just games they’re playing out there. They’re learning how to protect themselves and to keep you safe.”

  “Maybe you could give me a schedule of your less dangerous exercises and we could work around that.”

  “They’re all dangerous.”

  She slumped against the counter. “The money is just so good,” she said, not even attempting to hide the disappointment in her voice.

  He wanted to help. This woman had nearly made him senseless with a kiss grounded firmly in PG on the movie rating scale, tempted him with cookies, and now she triggered all kinds of protective urges. Looking into her hazel eyes, Nate admitted, “We can’t make you stop, it’s a free beach…”

  She perked up immediately.

  “I’m just asking you to do the right thing here.”

  Her shoulders slumped. He could fight his newfound desire to comfort or he could roll with it. Nate drew her forward, and Hailey didn’t resist as she moved into his arms, warm and fitting perfectly against his side. Rolling with it…definitely the right way to go. “I know you will come up with something,” he whispered against her hair. “Maybe we can think of something together on our date.”

  Hailey pulled away, and blinked up into his eyes. “Together? As in we come up with ideas…” Her voice trailed off.

  Nate nodded. “Together.”

  Her jaw angled to the right. “You don’t want me to fix this problem all on my own?”

  “Why would I want you to do that?” As a SEAL Team, they repeatedly went over every detail of a dive together, ferreting out weaknesses, looking for ways to improve. It only made sense. What kind of man wouldn’t do the same with a woman he wanted to help?

  Her eyes softened, and Nate remembered his original intention in tugging Hailey close—to roll with it. He’d meant for the kiss to be gentle. Soothing. But as soon as his lips brushed hers, Hailey sunk her fingers into his hair and pressed herself against him. The tips of her breasts brushed his chest, and all he could think was heaven. And more.

  The woman knew how to kiss. And that was his last thought before hunger for this sexy woman took over. Her hands moved up and down his back, and she hooked a leg over his thigh creating the perfect cradle for his growing erection. Hailey was a small woman, but her breasts filled his hands as if they were meant to be there. He groaned as he felt her nipples harden through the material of her bra and blouse.

  She broke away from their kiss, and nibbled on his neck, then the lobe of his ear. Her soft sigh as his hand slipped under her shirt to stroke the bare skin of her stomach nearly did him in. Deployment and injury had kept him celibate long enough.

  Then his knee gave out.

  He groaned at the sharp pain attacking his joint.

  Hailey’s movements abruptly stopped. Her leg slid down to the floor. “That wasn’t a good kind of groan, was it?” she asked, concern lacing his voice.

  Nate squeezed his eyes tight, willing his thigh muscles to relax. But he wasn’t in so much agony that he didn’t miss her worried tone. The little massaging motions of her hands on his shoulders only confirmed her apprehension. Opening his eyes, he cupped her face and smiled. “Not a good kind of groan.”

  Now he could add one more label to the injury that took him off the Teams. Mood killer.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  He reached for her hand and she immediately twined her fingers through his. “It’s not the most romantic of stories.”

  Hailey made a scoffing sound. “Don’t worry, I’m not the romantic type.”

  “Not falling for it,” he told her, making his way through the kitchen toward the door that led to the lobby, Hailey’s soft hand still snug in his. “They may not want to admit it, but deep down, all women want romance.”

  “Believe me, that’s so not true,” she said, rolling her eyes.

  “That sounds a lot like a challenge.”

  She held both hands up in surrender. “No, no challenge, it’s a lost cause. I hate flowers, don’t even think about stuffed animals, and never, never mix me a CD of cheesy love songs.”

  “I never think about stuffed animals.”

  “I just prefer deeds over gestures,” she told him, and he got the feeling this woman had received plenty of talk but not a lot of substance.

  They passed the stairs together. Did those stairs lead up to her bedroom? Hell, it was a B&B, the place was filled with beds. If he asked, would she take him upstairs?

  Something hot burned between them, there was no denying it, but did he want to hound dog his way through life? He knew two minutes out the door, he’d regret not having her in his arms again. In ten minutes he’d want to kick his own ass. Being a SEAL had taught him patience; nearly getting killed had forced him to take life slower. Strange, he’d even missed the party tonight, and didn’t care.

  It wasn’t so long ago that if a woman told him she didn’t want a relationship he would have cheered. But with Hailey…she was the kind of woman to relish. To savor.

  Nate forced his eyes off the tempting stairs and reached for the doorknob instead.

  Hailey might not have realized it, but she revealed something to him tonight, something vulnerable. He sensed she wasn’t the kind of woman who did that often. She’d already told him she didn’t do relationships, now she was down on romance.

  Nate wanted to change that.

  “You didn’t show me your card,” she told him as he stepped into the cool night air.

  “That’s right,” he replied, then quietly closed the door behind him.

  AMY BRADFORD HAD A fire to start, and it was going to be a big one. Accidentally barging in on Hailey practically crawling on the SEAL in the kitchen had, well, sealed the deal so to speak.

  She wanted that.

  That passion, that hunger for another person so consuming neither even noticed that someone had walked in on you while in each other’s arms.

  Yearning for passion should probably not be on the wish list of a woman about to be married in a few days. She should already have the passion. Be looking forward to making that passion permanent.

  Which was why she needed the fire. A fire so big the shuttle would be able to spot it from space. Hmm, maybe the backyard wasn’t such a good idea. Neighbors tended to make phone calls. She quickly cleared the area around her sink, moving the dirty cups and spoons to a dishtowel. This cluttered area would just have to do, there was no time to get them clean and put away.

  Her skirt swished around her knees as she opened and slammed drawers looking for a lighter or some forgotten book of matches. There were none. Desperate, she glanced down at the ruffle of her sundress. Okay, cool spring cotton with pastel flowers that she’d worn to the Spot the Seal party didn’t seem appropriate for building an inferno.

  Calm down.

  She took a deep breath. Thought of the ocean. A bubble bath. Hot chocolate. Control the panic. Make it subside. Her heartbeat slowed, and now she could actually think.

  Be smart about this.

  Amy reached above her head and pulled down a glass to fill with tap water. After draining the contents, she placed it upside down on the dishtowel already filled with the dirty dishes from her sink. Her hand was shaking, but growing steadier. Good. Her cell phone rang, the special ringtone telling her it was Jake on the line.

  A tiny prickle of the panic returned.

  Jake Arkins, her fiancé, the love of her life, the man she had to avoid pronto. “Hello,” she answered.

  “Hey, I thought you were going to tell me what time to meet you back at our place,” he said. His voice was a deep baritone that never failed to send shivers down her back. “Our place, that has a nice ring to it.”

  It did until that card. Now “our place” sounded a lot like “lack
of privacy.” “Mmmm,” she managed as a response.

  “How’d the party go?” he asked.

  She nodded before she answered. “Good, good. We all had a good time,” she said, her gaze examining each closed cabinet, as she tried to remember if a box of matches could be behind the door. Earlier this week, she’d sorted through every drawer and every cabinet combining her stuff with his. Now her mind was a blank.

  “Thought maybe you could show off some of that naughty lingerie you got from the shower before dinner.”

  She’d need the fire extinguisher, too. She’d had the thing so long maybe it had expired. Did fire extinguishers go bad?

  “Amy?” Jake asked, his voice uncertain.

  Oh, hell, what had he asked? Dinner? “Yeah, I have it all in the crock-pot.”

  Jake chuckled. “Sounds sexy.”

  Under the kitchen sink. That’s where they’d stashed the extinguisher. She lowered to her knees and began to rustle through the cleaning supplies. Wait, a crock-pot sounded sexy?

  How could she forget? They’d made plans to hide out at their duplex and not worry about wedding details for the rest of the evening, and just be together.

  Except she didn’t have time for sexy right now. Although she yearned to have his strong arms around her. He always made her feel safe from the outside world.

  Amy gave herself a quick mental shake. Task at hand. “Jake, I’m sorry I didn’t call. With this party tonight and all the wedding details, I’m a little distracted.”

  “Ames, it’s okay. You sound pretty stressed. I’m on my way home now, and we’ll unplug the phones and I’ll take your mind off of fittings and flowers and whatever else it is your grandma says a wedding must have.”

  The heat of his words and the promise in his voice made her heart pound again. For all the wrong reasons. “If I don’t start cracking on these thank you notes, my grandmother will never forgive me. You know how she is about etiquette.” And she had a fire to start, to put out and hide all the evidence.

  “I love you,” he said.

  She closed her eyes, allowing herself to really feel the emotion. How had she been so lucky to find a man like Jake who loved her in return? Fate had really smiled—