SEAL Hard (Silver SEALs Book 9)

by J. M. Madden

  Almost immediately, she found a section with Mustafa in it. He was sitting with an older woman and it looked like they were talking over a cup of tea. At one point the woman looked up almost directly at the camera. Andrea froze the video and snapped a screenshot, then saved it on a file on the desktop. She began scrolling again but didn’t see anything other than an illicit quickie two of her customers had in the men’s room and one of her former employees pocketing some cash. He hadn’t worked out and had already been let go, so that wasn’t a worth worrying about.

  For the next several hours, well into the evening, she scrolled through the security footage. Even at 4x speed, it would probably take her the rest of the night to get through it all. A couple of times she got up from the table and wandered the garden, sometimes playing with Goose. He was a good companion. At one point she went inside to use the bathroom, grab the salad she hadn’t eaten yet and the power cord for the PC. The laptop had been running for hours and the battery was low.

  She settled in to watch again. Then, a few ‘days’ later, Mustafa and two other men came in, dragging a couple of tables together in the far corner. All of them looked like students, wearing backpacks and casual clothes. They settled into what looked to be a serious brainstorming session. She snapped several screenshots of what they were doing and even tried to zoom in on what they were looking at on the table. The pictures were grainy but she could tell one was definitely a map of Norfolk. She’d seen the distinctive shape many, many times. There was another stack of papers with a couple of logos on them, but she couldn’t tell what they were of. Her cameras were good but apparently not good enough.

  The men stayed for a few hours. She didn’t remember the day and didn’t see herself moving around, so she must have been off doing something in town, maybe. The three of them came in another day, as well, so she screenshotted them there, too. Then something really interesting happened. On one of the most packed days, it must have been a Saturday, a man she thought she recognized walked into the shop. Not that she recognized him from the shop but perhaps from years ago, when they’d been active with Team Four. Was he a former member?

  Why the hell did he look so familiar?

  She watched herself weaving through the tables and talking to people but she hadn’t spoken to that man.

  He glanced up at the camera, then away, took his coffee from the barista and walked to the far side of the room, his back to a wall. She could be reaching here but the man reminded her of a SEAL in the way he moved and watched everyone, especially the kids behind the counter.

  Then she almost fell off her chair. ‘Mustafa’ walked into the shop. The two men made eye contact and the first man gave a slight nod. Once he got his tea or whatever, Mustafa walked over to the man’s table and seated himself on the opposite side of the table, dropping his bag down on the spare chair on that side.

  The men talked for a couple of minutes and she tried to zoom in on their mouths, but it wasn’t easy. She made note of the time and began pausing and capturing the screenshot. They only sat together a couple of minutes before the first man handed over a manila envelope. Mustafa looked inside, nodded, and got up. But when he took the bag from the chair next to him, a white envelope remained on the seat.

  Oh, dear god. Andrea rocked back in the chair, her mind whirling. Had she just seen what she thought she had? She rewound the footage and watched again straight through, without pausing.

  Yes, that was exactly what she thought she’d seen. If the man was what she thought he was… oh god. She needed to have Jack and Mike look at this right away.

  A chill rolled through her as she realized she’d been so close to a murderer. And probably a traitor to the Navy SEALs and the country.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jack knew that something had happened as soon as she walked into the office. Andrea’s face was ashen and there was a terrified look in her eyes.

  She tapped something on the computer and turned it around for him. “Do you know this man?”

  Jack looked at the grainy pic and felt a flash of recognition. “Yes, but not sure exactly from where.”

  She nodded. “Same. I think he’s a SEAL, Jack.”

  She punched a couple of buttons on the PC and set it on the desk for them to watch. His blood began to boil. “This is your shop,” he growled.

  Tears filled her eyes and she nodded, arms folded over her stomach. “This is a payoff, right? I mean, I never see the money. He tucks the envelope away, but isn’t that what’s going on? We know Mustafa is a terrorist. Why is he even talking to him?”

  Jack shook his head, watching as Mike rewound the footage and began watching it again.

  “He’s familiar to me, as well,” Mike murmured. “Something about the set of his shoulders or something.”

  He turned to his own computer, transferring the screenshots she’d taken to his desktop and going through them. “Let me see what I can find out. And I’ll call that new tech that Bone Frog just hired. She’s good with facial recognition software.”

  Jack was staring at the picture, his mouth moving like he was chewing on something. “I’m positive I know this guy.”

  Andrea looked dazed. It was obvious she’d been going through this footage the entire time she’d been outside. He’d peeked out at her a couple of times but she’d seemed content, so he’d left her alone. Now he wished he’d interrupted her. She was swaying-on-her-feet tired. “Go to bed, Andrea. This will still be here in the morning.”

  Without argument she nodded and turned toward the hallway to the bedroom, then she turned back, meeting his gaze. “Feel free to join me. Nothing would happen right now anyway.”

  A hard slam of heat hit him at her words and he snorted. That’s what she thought. He hadn’t recovered from what she’d done to him earlier. Yes, he did his work and was actively trying to derail terrorists, but in the back of his mind was the feel of her weight on his hips, and the look in her eyes as she stared down at him.

  It would take very little to sway him to her side. He wasn’t sure if she knew it or not, but Andrea Winters was his one weakness. She always had been.

  Jack forced himself to watch her go. Maybe later, after they’d worked to tamp down this newest fire for a while, he would join her in the bed, torturing himself for the chance just to be close to her for a little while. Because as soon as the current crisis was over, he would be out of her life again. It was too hard to be so close and yet not have her.

  For the first time, though, something in him balked at the thought of ceding the field to a dead man. Dorian had been a great friend and a fantastic partner, but maybe staying away from Andrea was not the best thing for them anymore. Maybe they’d served their penance long enough.

  More than once in his life he’d gotten hit with a stray thought about living a life with Andrea, but he’d quickly nipped it in the bud, feeling disloyal. Maybe Dorian wouldn’t mind, though. It had been years since he died.

  It was another problem for another day. Maybe once they got through this he wouldn’t bug out like he normally did.

  Mike ran the picture of the brown haired guy through one of Bone Frog’s databases and they got an odd message back, something about Alpha Squad Level Clearance only. Jack tried calling Silas but got his voicemail.

  “Not sure why he isn’t answering. The man is a machine. I don’t remember him ever taking vacation or anything,” he murmured.

  “Well, maybe it’s best if we all take a break,” Mike murmured, moving from the chair. “We haven’t heard anything from the kid. He’s probably trying to slide under the radar if he’s hiding a device he’s not supposed to have.”

  “True,” Jack murmured. “Okay, I’m going to catch a few hours. I’ll take the couch if you need anything.”

  But the couch was taken. He looked at Goose, sprawled directly in the center, then at the floor, dread rolling through him. His hip ached just thinking about laying there. He was too old for this shit. Snatching a blanket from the back of the cou
ch and a pillow, he spread everything out.

  “Are you seriously going to let the dog have the couch?” Mike asked, laughing as he walked by.

  “He’s worked hard today,” Jack grumbled, “chasing butterflies and shit.”

  They laughed together and Mike called Goose. The big dog didn’t even move, or blink an eye. “I think you’re stuck with him till he decides to move. I know for a fact the spare room has a perfectly good, nice, big bed.”

  Jack shook his head, wondering at the fool he was. Someone seemed to be encouraging the two of them to sleep together, and he was at the point where he didn’t want to fight it anymore. Tossing the blanket over the dog, he went to the bathroom and did his business, brushing his teeth before he left. Anticipation and anxiety warred within him and he wasn’t sure what he would do in here. Hopefully they would both just sleep. That was all they needed. And if he could skate by without doing anything epically bad, they would all be fine when they eventually parted. Because he had no doubt that they would go their separate ways soon.

  Jack opened the bedroom door quietly and slipped inside. From the light of the moon he could see Andrea curled up in the center of the bed. She wore a pair of dark panties and a sports bra, but that was it. No T-shirt or anything.

  He swallowed hard but he couldn’t force his gaze away from her shape. The moonlight highlighted her silhouette, curled on her side, her narrow back to him. He’d always loved her shape. Yes, she was tiny, but she had curvy hips. He couldn’t count over the years how many times he’d wanted to come up behind her and pull her tight to him.

  Moving carefully, he kicked off his boots, then his hands hovered at the button of his jeans. Should he or shouldn’t he? It seemed like a much heavier question than it should be, but he had a vision of peeling off armor if he took off his clothes. And it almost felt like there was a decision attached to his clothing, as ridiculous as it sounded.

  Andrea would tell him to strip off.

  He did. Then he crawled into the bed behind her, matching her spoon position. His bulk ensured that she rolled toward him, so he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. She murmured in her sleep but didn’t rouse.

  Just the slightest touch of her ass against him had him hard and aching, and it was a long time before his body cooled enough to settle into sleep.

  Andrea woke to the sound of a snore in her ear and an erection prodding into her ass, and she grinned. Jack was a large presence no matter what he did and she was glad that he had joined her in the bed again. It hinted that he wanted her too. And if his body’s reaction was anything to go by, he wanted her really bad. Or was she just a close female?

  No, she didn’t think so. Yes, men’s bodies would react to damn near anything female, but she didn’t feel like that was the case with Jack. She knew he wanted her. He just had to allow himself to have her.

  Andrea realized that her body must have been preparing and responding, even in sleep. She was slick between her legs. One of his big hands was fisted on the mattress in front of her chest. Very carefully, she opened his fingers and placed his palm against her breast. Even in his sleep the fingers contracted around her flesh and his hips pulsed against her. The snoring stopped and he drew in a heavy breath.

  “Andrea,” he murmured, voice gravelly with sleep. His hand contracted around her breast again and Andrea drew in a sharp breath. It was a little painful, his grip, but the desperation she could feel from him excited her.

  “Yes,” she breathed.

  There was little light in the room, just enough to see the barest outline of his fingers on her flesh. She wished she hadn’t worn anything to bed. She wanted to see his fingers on her skin. And she wanted to see him, all of him.

  Andrea had fantasized about Jack for a long time. When they’d kissed a few months after Dorian had died, she thought that maybe she could find love again. She and Dorian had been together for many years, but they hadn’t taken care of their relationship the way they were supposed to. The heart of them hadn’t flourished together.

  She always kind of thought that Dorian had been single for too long before they’d married. It had been a tremendous adjustment for him, maybe too big. He’d gotten used to making decisions without her, and it had always been hard to change him, or even cooperate with him in certain instances. In the latter part of their marriage they had been leading separate lives. Andrea had never broken her marriage vows, but she knew that Dorian had.

  She gave a mental shake. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about Dorian, the man who’d ceased to be a husband long before she’d become a widow. The dream hero who kept her up nights and her vibrator working overtime, was actually wrapped around her right now and she had every intention taking advantage of him, starting now.

  She shifted in his hands, rolling in place so that she could look up into his face. It looked even more damaged than normal, because of the shadows that prevailed and the length of his beard stubble. Reaching up she cupped his cheek, feeling the bristles. He maintained his hold on her waist, his thumb stroking back and forth over her skin. When he opened his hand, he brushed beneath her breast, making her shiver.

  Andrea leaned close, brushing her lips against his, teasing him, licking him, until he opened for her. As she slid her tongue into his mouth, desperate to taste him. He lifted his hand and cupped her breast, making her cry out. It had been so fucking long…

  As he kneaded her breast, she drank him down into her mouth, loving the taste of him and the freedom to be able to taste him. He’d never given her this much of himself before. Did she dare hope that he would give her all of himself?

  When he rolled her to her back, positioning himself very carefully over her, she thought she had her answer. Her body spasmed, somehow knowing that he would give her exactly what she needed. Her legs shifted, widening around his hips and she tilted her pelvis up toward him, letting him know that she was ready for his pleasure.

  Jack kissed her again, more delicately this time, nibbling like she had done seconds ago. “You know we shouldn’t do this,” he murmured.

  “I know nothing of the sort. I’ve craved you, your body inside mine, for years, Jack Arcadius Bishop. And I think you’ve craved me the same.”

  “I have,” he admitted, surprising her. She thought he would have denied it, but no, he was too honest to do that.

  He shifted and a hand went between her legs, stroking along her panties. Andrea shivered and her legs contracted, trying to pull him close. “You’re going to make me come doing that,” she whispered.

  A long shiver rolled down his body. “And if you keep whispering in my ear like that you’re going to find yourself fucked.”

  “Do you promise,” she asked breathily, deliberately nuzzling close to his ear.

  A broad finger stroked up the outside of her pussy lips, and she didn’t understand exactly why she was reacting to him the way she was. She touched herself all the time and nothing made the skin there react the way it did for him, as if he’d uncovered millions of brand-new nerve endings or something. He stroked her again, harder and deeper and she groaned, her hips shifting, trying to grab that ephemeral tendril that would bring her pleasure. Then he changed the game, slipping his finger under her panties. He never hesitated as he stroked through her wet folds looking for that one spot that would rock her world. And he found it. Leaning to his side, he took her mouth with his own even as his finger continued to work her body. It seemed like mere seconds and she was dancing on the edge.

  That was when he stopped, pulled his finger away completely. Andrea quivered, so close she could taste the orgasm. She almost reached down and took hold of it herself, but she somehow knew he wouldn’t let her.

  Jack began to tug on her and she helped him strip her panties off, then her bra. What she lay before him completely bare, he ran his hand from her shoulders all the way down her legs, as far as he could reach. “You’re right. I’ve dreamed of doing this, for a long time. Dorian was a lucky man and
I didn’t feel like he appreciated you the way he needed to.”

  Damn it. She didn’t want to cry. “Thank you for that. I felt the same way sometimes. A lot of times.” She laughed a little, trying to ease the weight of the emotions.

  Then he did something that totally disarmed her. He rested his head upon her breasts and wrapped his arms around her. Andrea fought the knot in her throat and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. Moving without thought, she pressed a kiss to the top of his head and stroked one hand down the back of his neck. “Oh, Jack,” she whispered tenderly.

  If this was what he needed, this big, gruff man, then she would absolutely give it to him. And she loved that he felt comfortable enough with her to be this vulnerable.

  Then his head moved and she felt a scalding heat around her nipple. “Oh,” she moaned as he moved from one breast to the other. Then he braced himself over top of her. Andrea raised her arms to welcome him into her but he disappeared. His weight shifted low, and before she could prepare herself he had spread her knees wide. He sat up on his own knees and began to kiss his way down her thigh toward her pubic area. But as soon as he got close to where she throbbed for him, he shifted, this time to press kisses down her other thigh. Andrea was about to scream when he finally ran his tongue up the outside line of her pubic area, then along her mons. She waxed, generally but it had been a few weeks since she’d paid attention. She wondered what he liked to see.

  All thought went out of her mind as his very hot tongue slipped between her folds to find her clit. She shuddered as he softly stroked her and she let her knees fall wide, all thoughts of vanity gone. What he was making her feel…oh, Jack.

  If she built back up and got close would he shut her down again? At this point it didn’t matter. He had wrapped his arms completely around her and was lifting her to his mouth for bold kisses. “Jack,” she breathed, her excitement ramping up. It had only been a minute, but he was going to make her come for him. Shaping his tongue into a narrower tip, he teased her hard and she gasped, her body falling into the most incredible pleasure she’d ever been given this way. Her body arched against him but he was too heavy to move. He continued to tongue her until she cried out again. She pushed at his head, afraid she was going to stroke out from the satisfaction.