SEALed and Delivered

by Monroe, Jill

  His hands were everywhere on her body, stroking her back, her bare legs, her arms. “You’re so soft,” he told her as his fingers trailed down her spine.

  Now she wanted that shirt off his back, those shorts off his body and whatever lay beneath. Hailey lost most of her finesse as she yanked at his clothing. At last she could touch and taste him until she got her fill. She loved the sound he made as she ran her tongue down his collarbone, and lower, to suck his nipple into her mouth.

  With her cami off, Nate cupped her breasts, teased her nipples with his fingertips. They tightened, and a wave of utter desire slammed straight to her core.

  “Pants off,” she said, sounding hoarse and very, very aroused.

  “Whose?” he asked. “Yours or mine?”

  “Both.”

  His fingers moved to the zipper of her shorts, sliding it downward until the material gaped open. She expected him to slide her clothes down her legs, but instead, he slipped a hand underneath the lace of her panties.

  Her breath hitched when he lightly grazed her clit. Then his finger sunk between her legs.

  “You’re so wet,” he said against her temple. “You turn me on so bad.”

  Good. She wanted to be bad with him. Hailey wanted to feel him, to know what she did to his body. After tugging at the button and the zipper, she pushed his shorts down his thighs.

  Nate sucked in a breath, and that wince told her it wasn’t from desire.

  She glanced up, feeling panicky. “Did I hurt you? That’s where you were shot, isn’t it?”

  He looked embarrassed. “I’m fine, I’m just not used to someone touching me there.”

  “Sort of like bracing yourself?”

  He nodded.

  “Then brace yourself.” With a push at his shoulders, Nate fell against the downy comfort of her sleeping bag. She tugged his shorts all the way off, then found the scar on his leg. The skin was red, and slightly puckered and she understood why the muscles of his leg tightened on him.

  She knew he wouldn’t want her to acknowledge his injury, or offer to kiss it and make it all better. Nate was the kind of man who’d want her to accept it and move on. And right now she wanted to move on to his underwear. The black cotton was her only barrier to getting him completely naked.

  Hailey could do something sexy, like tug it down with her teeth, but she was just in too much of a hurry. She’d never had a man undressed as quickly as she had Nate. Now he lay totally revealed to her, and she drank him in. She swallowed. Had she thanked the Navy yet? Nate didn’t have those big bulky muscles of a bodybuilder; instead he was fit and trim, and very powerful. He’d said he’d never let anything hurt her, and she believed him.

  He also wasn’t very passive, not content to allow her to gaze at his magnificent body. “Come here,” he said and tugged her down until she lay across his chest. In one quick move he had her rolled over onto her back, his mouth at her breasts.

  “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted you like this. Those strappy dresses you wear make me want to slide that strip of material down, and do this.” He circled her nipple with his tongue, and she felt another flood of warmth between her legs.

  “What else?” she asked. Hailey desperately wanted to hear all the ways she made him hot, so she could do them again and again.

  “Those flirty little skirts, I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to slide my hands up your legs.” Nate did exactly that until he reached the soft lace of her panties. His fingers hooked around the material and slowly removed it. “Sometimes this was all I could think of.”

  “What’s the best way to make love in a tent?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”

  “I have condoms in my backpack,” she told him, and crawled on all fours to reach it.

  Nate groaned behind her. “You are so damn beautiful.”

  She’d forgotten men typically liked this view.

  Seconds after she had the packet in her hand, Nate pulled her backward, her back to his chest, his hands on her breasts. He nuzzled her neck, his tongue making her crazy. She wiggled against him, feeling his hard cock press against her bottom.

  “How do you want me?” she asked.

  “Every way,” he told her, as he took the condom wrapper from her fingers. She turned and watched as he slid the latex in place, then crooked his finger.

  With a smile she straddled him, his mouth at her breasts. Gently, she lowered herself, loving how he stretched and filled her. He grabbed her ass, and drew her closer. When he was fully inside her, she wrapped her arms and legs around him.

  “Kiss me,” he said, and she met his lips forcefully. The connection she felt to him during the massage couldn’t compare. Never had she been this close, this intimate, emotionally, with a man.

  At Nate’s first push of his hips she moaned, harshly drawing his tongue into her mouth. She ground herself against him, careful to keep her weight off his injured thigh. He lay back, and now she had better leverage, and she planned to make full use of it.

  Hailey sank up and down his shaft, and he groaned. “This is better than I’d ever imagined.”

  She loved that he’d imagined what she’d thought about so often.

  “One more,” he said and rolled her to her back.

  She looped her feet together behind his back and jerked him to her. His thrusts were powerful and fierce, and Hailey couldn’t get enough. “Harder,” she urged. Nate gave her exactly what she asked for.

  Her every nerve ending felt on fire. The force of him against her finally drove her over the edge. She used her legs, her arms to urge him on. “Nate,” she cried out as she reached her peak.

  He grew rock hard inside her, his every muscle tightening and clenching. He groaned out her name as he came. Hailey smiled at the sound. She could listen to that all day.

  Nate collapsed to his side, tucking her against his chest.

  “I changed my mind. This beats your cookies hands down.”

  13

  WHY WAS IT ALWAYS easier to tell a man secrets in the middle of the night? It probably had something to do with resting her head in the crook of his shoulder after making love. The reassuring lull of his heartbeat. The quiet moments of sharing as she ran her finger along his skin all enveloped her in one big tempting urge.

  “You know that phase where you think members of the opposite sex are gross?” she asked.

  He dropped a kiss on her nose. “Yeah, in fourth grade I thought girls were yucky.” He even added a faux shudder.

  She gave his arm a playful push. “Well, I never went through that stage. I always liked boys.” She’d had at least six self-help books tell her she’d missed out on some elusive yet important socializing factor that helped women know the good men from the bad.

  She leaned on her arm, loving the way the light from the lantern played on his face, deepened the cleft in his chin. “That’s why you’re dangerous.”

  His lips turned up at the corners. “I’m irresistible, am I?”

  Pretty much, yes. Instead of telling him that, she shoved at his shoulder. “Be serious. You can’t charm your way around being harmful to women.”

  “I hate the word charm,” Nate said, his smile waning.

  She took a deep breath, was ready to admit why she needed to keep him at a distance. She remembered his dad. The tension between them. His dad was full of charm; now she understood why Nate hated the word applied to him. “You know how I said I didn’t do relationships?”

  “How could I have forgotten? You reminded me of it every time you kissed me.”

  “I kissed you?” she asked, incredulous.

  “All the time.” Then he leaned forward. “But I didn’t mind,” he whispered in her ear.

  Somehow his playful attitude made this late-night confession easier. “I like you. A lot. I want to spend time with you, get to know you better. And then I’ll really be in trouble.”

  He twined his fingers through hers. “You’re saying it li
ke that’s a bad thing.”

  Hailey nodded. “It is. You see, I follow a very predictable pattern. I’ll take your interests for mine, come to depend on you, and then where will I be when you leave?”

  “Where am I going?” he asked, placing a kiss on her cheek.

  “You told me yourself you couldn’t wait to rejoin your team…wherever.”

  “That doesn’t mean—”

  “Don’t say it.” Whatever pacifying thing that was about to come out of his mouth she didn’t want to hear it. It would make leaving him all the more difficult.

  His expression grew concerned. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that I’ll stick around?”

  Reaching around him she snagged her T-shirt, and slipped it over her head. There should be a warning about sharing secrets in the night; all the sloshy romantic feelings would be lost. “Because first, you’re a man, and second, take a good look at yourself, Nate. Look at your job, you’re itching to go overseas now. You’re practically designed not to stick around.”

  “The job moves around a lot, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to come back to you. A guy would be an idiot to want to leave you behind.”

  Her throat tightened, and Hailey closed her eyes. It would be so easy to believe. So easy to allow herself to get sucked in by his gray eyes, easy manner and gentle words. His charm. But she wouldn’t. Because Hailey couldn’t trust her feelings. Her feelings had gotten her into a lot of trouble in the past. Even now they were telling her that a long-distance relationship would work. Go ahead and let yourself move beyond just a fling.

  This was the lesson she was supposed to have learned. Feelings messed up her life.

  Usually, in a situation like this, with Nate half naked and making her beautiful promises, she’d be lobbing herself into his arms and telling him that she loved him. And maybe a Fate Delivery Card had delivered him into her arms, but it still didn’t change the fact that her instincts were off where men were concerned.

  So she wouldn’t be falling in love, but she would be falling in fling. Friends with benefits. Platonic sex.

  Nate was an unselfish lover who made her feel incredibly good in and out of bed. So, yeah, she’d enjoy him while he was around, be sad when he left, but his life wouldn’t become hers.

  Hailey cupped Nate’s face. “Make love to me, now.” STRIKING THE TENT Sunday morning and clearing camp wasn’t as easy as setting it up.

  “It never is,” Nate drawled, pouring the last of the water on the fire. This morning he’d made them something called scramblesmash, which was basically eggs, cheese, peppers and onions all cooked over an open fire. And it was delicious.

  They had an easy drive into the city, and Nate helped carry her backpack and sleeping bag into The Sutherland. And here was where the awkwardness started. Usually, she’d invite her man inside, offer to share her bed for the evening…but that was relationship territory, and as he liked to tease her, she’d told him she didn’t do relationships plenty of times.

  Nor was she going to hint around to find out when she’d see him again. From now on when she wanted to go out with him, she’d call. Not wait around for him to dial.

  The lobby couldn’t have looked any less welcoming, so she turned to her SEAL instead. “I had a great time, Nate.”

  A slow, sexy smile found his lips, and she couldn’t help responding to it.

  “Me, too,” he told her. Then his smile wavered. He scrubbed his hand down his face. “We’ll be out doing drills for the next three days, so I won’t be in touch.”

  “I understand.” See? It was already working out great. Already the intense intimacy they shared this weekend was cooling. Him going away fit perfectly into her comfort zone.

  Brave words. Stick with them.

  “I’ll call you when I get back.”

  He might…he might not. It was all good. She wasn’t even a proficient liar. But she had to do something to distance herself. Fling not feelings.

  With a lingering glance at her lips, Nate then turned and walked out. Her breath released in a large exhale. The clamoring footsteps down the stairwell let her know Rachel had been waiting to pounce.

  “So, how was it?” she asked before even taking the last step.

  “It was good.”

  Rachel crossed her arms against her chest. “Good?” she asked, with a lift of her eyebrow.

  Hailey felt the heat of a flush on her cheeks.

  “That’s what I thought,” Rachel said after spotting Hailey’s obvious reaction. “Just tell me one thing, am I going to have to buy a new box of condoms?”

  With a laugh Hailey nodded, and Rachel gave her a high five. “Amy called after you left. She’d like us to host the wedding as well as the reception afterwards. I couldn’t turn them down.”

  It probably would come to no surprise that a woman who’d been engaged three times loved weddings. Truthfully, she didn’t really need a lot of convincing. The prep work might keep her mind from straying to Nate. “We’ve never hosted anything that big.”

  “We have to start sometime. I’ve already made a to-do list. Why don’t you look it over while I call Amy back. She has to get the information to the printers for the invitations.”

  Yes, invitations were important. She’d recycled over four hundred of them. Luckily she’d ended it with Fiancé Failure Number Three before placing her order. Hailey quickly scanned the list, noting a lot of carpentry. Not her strong point. Her thoughts drifted to Nate. Was he good with a hammer?

  No. Not going there. That was relationship thinking, and she wasn’t having it.

  NATE WAS BACK AT BASE at 0500. He smiled, remembering Hailey’s remark about him still being single and attributing it to the way he told time. Thoughts of his single status never popped into his head. He’d dated women, but they’d never lasted through a deployment. The idea of a woman waiting for him back home sounded like a burden. What did he have to offer, but a string of lonely nights? Nate was born to be a SEAL, and his career came first.

  Only now he wondered if he had room to add one more thing.

  The dull ache in his thigh taunted him. What was after his time with the Teams? Still, he had years to go before his body couldn’t meet the physical demands, and he gave up his place to younger men, but that time would come eventually. Would he start looking for someone to share his life then? It sounded ridiculous. He guaranteed that no one like Hailey, who baked him cookies and looked at him as if she couldn’t wait to rip his shirt off, would be hanging around that long.

  “Nate.”

  He turned from where he was preparing his gear to see Riley, charging toward him. “Just wanted to give you a heads-up, a couple of the guys who couldn’t make that dating thing at The Sutherland are looking for you. They want to know when the next one is.”

  And here he’d thought he’d pulled every favor with his buddies to get them there. Apparently they wanted more. He couldn’t wait to tell Hailey and watch her eyes light up. Those three days loomed large now.

  “I’ll pass along the word,” he said.

  “I’ve got a date tonight, and another tomorrow.”

  “Doesn’t sound like it’s the same girl.”

  Riley shook his head. “When you’re in demand, you gotta give the women what they want.”

  “Sounds like dangerous living.”

  “Good thing I’m a SEAL.”

  Nate laughed as Riley walked away. Funny, there was a time when he felt much the same way as Riley. He kept things light with women, always after a good time.

  Hailey was a good time, but she was so much more. She made him laugh, she made him hot and she made him think. And it didn’t scare the hell out of him that he wanted to discover how much more she was to him.

  OF COURSE, TELLING HER thoughts to stay away from Nate was a lot easier in theory than it was in practice. Hailey swiped her lemon oil filled cloth across the wainscoting of lobby walls. “I think the ceiling color looks awful. Maybe we should repaint.”

&nbs
p; Rachel heaved a dramatic sigh. “I’ll be glad when Nate gets back. Maybe you won’t be so gripey.”

  “I’m not gripey,” she snapped at her sister.

  “Okay, you just keep believing that. Remember when I said I hated seeing you all mopey? I’m taking it back. I’d way rather deal with mopegirl than Ms. Nothingisright.”

  Hailey stopped wiping the wall. So far her fling idea wasn’t working out so well. She couldn’t stop thinking of Nate, and that made her mad. Really angry. With herself, at Nate—both of them.

  She turned and faced her sister. “Isn’t there some saying that as soon as you decide love sucks, it comes to bite you in the ass?”

  Rachel was clearly trying to hide a smile. That made Hailey even more irritated. “I don’t know if that’s the exact wording…”

  “Well, it should be.” She’d been resisting the idea of Nate for so long, she’d almost missed out on how good it felt to fall in love with someone.

  “I’m glad you’re finally admitting it. That whole fling thing sounded pretty desperate.”

  “But I don’t want this. I don’t want to care about him, and focus on him all the time. I’m finally getting things back to normal in my life.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but they weren’t that normal.”

  “How about more normal for me?” Hailey slumped on the stairs. “I should never have taken that card.”

  “Really?” Rachel asked. “I know you’re feeling rough, but would you rather have never met Nate at all?”

  Her mind flashed to him pulling that injured man onto the beach, racing down the beach with a kite blowing in the breeze behind them, teasing her about revealing his card, laying across from her at the day spa, making love to her in the tent. “No.”

  “I’m glad you said that because I think that’s Nate coming up the walk right now.”

  “Now?” Hailey surged to her feet. She looked terrible. Her hair was wrapped in a lavender bandana and she was covered in cleaning products. They’d left the doors and windows open for some air circulation so all she had to do was face the doorway and watch him walk through.