by Susan Stoker
But Annie had come to the rescue. She’d collected quite the assortment of bugs from the yard, and she and Casey had spent hours discussing and learning about each one. By the time dinner was ready, Casey looked more at ease, although she still had dark circles under her eyes.
They were now sitting around the living room. Annie was watching television while the adults talked.
“After I talked to Fletch and he told me you were coming, I made sure the fridge was stocked in the apartment,” Emily told Casey. “But if you need anything that’s not out there, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but maybe I can make you guys dinner one night?”
Emily beamed. “I’d love that.”
“We’re going to see what we can do to get this cleared up for you sooner rather than later,” Fletch said quietly. “Ghost is reviewing the tapes again to see if there’s anything there, and if our commander gets any more information from the Costa Rican authorities, he’ll pass it on.”
Casey nodded. “Actually, I don’t mind staying here. My dean said I could take the rest of the summer off with no problems. But what happens if we don’t find any information about who the kidnapper was? I can’t stay here forever.”
“Why not?” Emily asked what Beatle was thinking.
“Uh…because I live in Florida. My job is there,” Casey told her.
“But what if you come to like it here so much, you don’t want to go back?” the other woman asked. “I know we just met, but I like you, Casey. I’m a pretty good judge of character, Annie’s father notwithstanding. I’d hate to see you leave.”
“Leave her alone,” Fletch ordered gently. “She’s been here for what, ten hours?”
Beatle tuned out the conversation between Fletch and his wife and kept his eyes on Casey. He wanted to plead with her to stay, just like Emily had done, but Fletch was right, it was too soon. She’d dealt with a lot of crap today. He needed to move slowly, let Casey feel comfortable here. Let her see what great friends Emily, Kassie, Harley, Rayne, and Mary could be. He was hoping that the longer she stayed, the higher the likelihood she would want to stay. He’d been thrilled to hear that her boss had given her the rest of the summer off.
Beatle was so busy trying to think about how to bring up the topic of her staying, he almost missed the way Casey flinched when the music in a dramatic scene in the cartoon Annie was watching suddenly rose in a cacophony of noise.
“Headache?” he asked softly.
“I’m okay,” Casey said immediately.
“Case, we aren’t in the middle of the jungle anymore. There’s no reason to be a tough girl here.”
She turned and glared at him. “I’m fine,” she said between clenched teeth. “It’s not like I’m covering up a gunshot wound or something. It’s just a headache.”
“Your head hurts?” Emily asked from across the way. “I’ve got some aspirin if you need it.”
“No, I’m—”
“Thanks, Emily,” Beatle interrupted. “I think, if it’s okay, we’re going to hit the sack.”
He could feel Casey’s eyes boring into the side of his head, and almost smiled. Almost. “I think I saw some pills in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom in the apartment, right?”
“Yup. It’s fully stocked with just about everything you’d need,” Fletch replied.
Beatle knew his friend was referring to the condoms he told him he’d stashed in the apartment earlier. If he had his way, they would come in extremely handy. But not tonight. Tonight, his girl had a headache and needed sleep.
He stood and held out a hand to Casey. She sighed, but did put her hand in his and let him help her up. He immediately wrapped an arm around her waist. He walked them over to Annie, who was still staring up at the television as if it held the meaning to life.
“See you tomorrow, squirt.”
“Bye,” she said distractedly, not looking away from the screen.
Beatle shook his head and turned to his friends. “Thanks for dinner. Fletch, the commander knows I won’t be at PT in the morning. But I’ll be in later.”
“I’ll remind him,” Fletch assured Beatle.
“Thanks for organizing with Kassie to get me clothes,” Casey told Emily. “I appreciate it. And I’ll pay her back as soon as I can.”
Emily waved her hand dismissively. “No need. And if you try, you’ll just irritate us. Consider it a welcome-to-the-club gift.”
“The club?” Casey asked, her brows drawing down in confusion.
“Yeah, the Delta—”
Fletch put his hand over his wife’s mouth, cutting off her words. “Good night, guys. See you tomorrow.”
Beatle gave his friend a chin lift in thanks. He was thrilled that Emily already thought of Casey as a Delta Force woman, but he knew he needed more time to convince Casey. He also knew she still thought he was with her because of some sort of psychological thing related to her rescue, but that wasn’t it at all. He’d rescued hundreds of people, and hadn’t ever had the kind of attraction to them that he did to Casey.
He steered her out of the main house and across the yard, pointing out the cameras as he went.
“Why so many?” Casey asked.
“Fletch has always had some, but after a misunderstanding with Emily that almost cost her life, and that of her daughter, he increased them. And after their wedding reception, when their presence paid off tenfold, he added a few more.”
By the time they’d climbed the steps to the apartment and he had the door open, Casey had learned all about the attempted robbery at the wedding reception, and how easily all the Special Forces soldiers in attendance had crushed it. Not only that, but Fletch had hired contractors to make a panic room inside his house. He’d taught Annie the code word—red, of course—and anytime he or her mom said that word, she was to go inside without complaint and head to the safe room. It was equipped with anything the family might need in order to stay safe until the authorities could arrive. Televisions connected to the cameras on the property, phone lines that couldn’t be tampered with from the outside, as well as food, water, and bedding.
“I guess I can’t blame him for all the security,” Casey commented as they entered the apartment.
Without another word, Beatle headed for the bathroom to get some aspirin. He came back and handed her two pills. She took them and washed them down with a swig of water without protest.
“You’re exhausted,” Beatle observed. “Why don’t you go on to bed?”
She nodded and turned to the bedroom. Then she stopped and faced him once more.
Beatle waited patiently as she first looked at him, then at her feet, then at the wall next to her.
“What, sweetheart?”
“Are you staying?” she asked quietly, then bit her bottom lip while still looking everywhere but at him.
Beatle walked over to her until he was all the way in her personal space. He waited until she looked up at him.
“Do you want me to?”
It probably wasn’t nice of him to push the issue. He could’ve just said that, yes, he was staying. That he had no intention of leaving her alone until she went back to Florida. But he needed to know the attraction he’d seen glimpses of in her eyes was still there. That the kisses they’d shared weren’t simply spur-of-the-moment things when she’d been in danger.
Casey licked her lips and Beatle smothered a groan that threatened to escape his throat at the unintentionally sensual action.
“Yes.”
“I can sleep out here,” Beatle told her, gesturing toward the couch behind them.
She didn’t take her gaze from his. “Will you…” She paused, then said quickly, her words strung together, “Sleepwithme?”
“Absolutely. There’s nowhere I’d rather be. Go ahead and use the bathroom. Do your thing. I’ll be in after a bit.”
“Okay.”
The relief in her eyes was almost painful to see, but B
eatle didn’t comment on it. Doing so felt as though it would be disrespectful, considering how well she was doing after her ordeal. He watched as she made her way to the bedroom, then when she came out a minute later with one of the pajama sets in her hand. She smiled shyly at him as she entered the bathroom and closed the door.
Only then did Beatle breathe normally again. He turned toward the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He gulped it down as he tried to control his raging libido. He’d never been such a horndog before. He’d had relationships, but none had felt as intense as this one…and he and Casey weren’t even having sex.
When he was away from her, he wanted to see her. When he was with her, he wanted to touch her. And when he was touching her, he wanted the right to slowly strip off all her clothes and taste every inch of her skin. It was a vicious circle, but one that made him feel more alive than he’d felt in a long time.
He loved his job with the team, but seeing his friends settle down one by one had been hard. Beatle went home to his small apartment by himself, and his friends all got to go home to women who loved them and were ecstatic to have them home.
He wasn’t an idiot. He knew he and Casey had some pretty darn big hurdles to overcome before he could safely say they were a couple, but he hoped they could scale them.
Beatle made a mental note to talk to the commander about Casey seeing a psychologist from the post soon. He knew she had a co-worker who would gladly talk to her about what had happened, but she was in Florida. Casey needed someone here.
She also needed more of her own things. It was great that Kassie had gotten her some clothes, but she needed more than a few outfits. He knew she’d feel better if she had some of her own belongings. It would make Texas feel more like home.
“I’m done.”
Casey’s soft voice interrupted his musings, and Beatle turned.
He knew his mouth was hanging open, but he couldn’t help it. She was absolutely beautiful. The light in the hall was off, but the light pink sleep shorts and spaghetti-strap top were easy to see. The top was loose on her frame, but Beatle could still see the swells of her breasts under the material. Her legs were long and lithe and his mind immediately went into the gutter. He could almost feel the soft skin of her inner thighs as they wrapped around his hips and squeezed him as he eased his cock inside her tight, hot body.
“I’ll be in bed,” she said, breaking into his fantasy.
Beatle had a feeling he was blushing, but he merely nodded at her, not quite ready to speak yet.
When she turned for the bedroom door, Beatle had to close his eyes, but it didn’t block out the image that was already burned in his brain. The shorts she wore were tight and outlined her perfect curvy ass. She was beautiful. Softly rounded in the right places, and all woman. And Beatle wanted her. Badly. He could feel the blood beating through his cock like a heartbeat. He knew without a doubt if he ever had the chance to make love with Casey Shea, he wouldn’t last longer than a minute, if the way he was feeling right now was any indication.
She wasn’t even trying to entice him, and she’d snared him faster than any woman ever had before.
He hunched over a bit, trying to ease the pain of his intense hard-on and think about anything other than walking into the bedroom and stripping off her new pajama set and sinking into her body.
It took a couple of minutes, but finally Beatle could walk without limping. He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. Then he headed for the bedroom.
Casey was lying under the comforter and waiting for him with wide eyes. He’d half hoped she’d be asleep, but since it had only been a few minutes, that hope was silly.
He turned his back to her and took off his shirt. Then he unbuttoned his jeans and ordered his dick to behave and he shoved the material off his legs, leaving him in nothing but his boxers.
Without a word, he sat on the bed and swung his legs up and under the covers. He gathered Casey in his arms and inhaled deeply. Mistake.
The scent of whatever lotion Kassie had brought her filled his nostrils, and as if he hadn’t already had a stern conversation with his dick, it filled with blood once more, readying itself to procreate.
“Thanks for leaving the door open,” Casey told him.
“Of course. Is there enough light?” Beatle asked.
“I think so.”
“I can turn on the hall light if you want me to.”
She shook her head against his shoulder. “No. Don’t go.”
Fuck. As if he could go anywhere after hearing those two words leave her lips. “Is your head feeling any better?”
“A little.”
“Good.”
A minute or two passed, then she said, “This is weird. Why is this weird?”
“It’s not weird,” Beatle said immediately. “Relax.”
“It seemed perfectly normal in Costa Rica, but now…it’s weird.”
Beatle rolled over until Casey was on her back and he hovered over her. His hands speared into her hair and he held her head still. He knew his erection was pressing into her hip, but he didn’t care. “Down there, you were scared, and I helped make you feel safe. In the hotel, you’d had a bad dream, and I held you and you calmed. Now that you don’t feel as if you’re in immediate danger, your other senses can kick in. I hope to Christ you honestly don’t feel as though this is weird, and it’s really your body telling you other things.”
“Like what?” she whispered.
“Like you’re attracted to me. That you enjoy being in my arms not because I make you safe, but because you like me. Because I’ll tell you right now, I’ll lay it out, not that it’s not obvious, I love holding you in my arms. Feeling you snuggle up into me. And, sweetheart, I’ve never been a snuggler. I’ve always preferred to have my space while sleeping. But since that first night with you in that hammock, plastered to your side, sweating with you in my arms, I’ve decided that there’s no place I’d rather be than right here. With you.”
He paused, staring down into Casey’s wide green eyes. “I’m not pressuring you for anything. If you truly feel too weird with this sleeping arrangement, I’ll spend the night on the couch. But know that I love sleeping with you. And I truly mean that. Sleeping. I’m not saying I don’t want more, eventually, but the when and if are completely up to you.”
“You’re truly not just saying that because you think I’m too weak to be able to sleep by myself?”
“Weak? Jesus, Casey. No. Weak is the last thing I think about when I think of you. I’m in awe of your strength.”
“I don’t feel very strong right now.”
“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t.”
“Hmmm. I am attracted to you. I think you know that.”
“I guessed, but wasn’t sure,” Beatle told her honestly.
“I think that’s part of it. I mean, friends just don’t sleep together like this.”
“We do,” Beatle told her fiercely.
“But you’re…you’re aroused, Beatle,” Casey said, her cheeks bright pink.
“I am. But that doesn’t mean anything will happen between us until you’re ready for it to happen.”
“Can you even sleep like that?” Casey asked with a grimace.
Beatle chuckled. “Yeah, sweetheart. I can sleep. I feel more relaxed here with you in my arms than if I were out on that lumpy couch. And don’t worry about him,” he lightly pressed his hips against her leg. “He’ll calm down in a bit.”
“It’s not fair to you,” Casey protested, still looking concerned.
Beatle smiled at her and turned back over until she was lying on her side next to him once more. They both shifted until they were comfortable, her palm pressed to his naked chest, his resting on the material of her sleep shorts at her hip. “It’s not a matter of fair or not fair,” he told her. “This is my normal state around you. Whether you’re covered in dirt from head to toe, or fresh and clean from a shower. It’s just you, Case.”
“You’re n
uts,” she told him.
“Probably,” Beatle retorted. “Now hush and go to sleep.”
Nothing felt as good as Casey relaxing fully against him.
Yeah, he was still hard, and he knew if she ever let him inside her, it would be an almost out-of-body experience for him, but still…having Casey trust him enough to let down her guard when she knew he wanted her was the most amazing feeling.
Beatle turned his head and kissed her forehead.
And smiled even wider when she unconsciously snuggled farther into his embrace.
Chapter Seventeen
The last week and a half had been full of highs and lows for Casey.
Some of the highs included meeting all of the Delta Force women. She loved each and every one of them. Rayne was sweet and generous, offering to hang out with Casey whenever she wanted. Harley was beautiful. Tall and slender, but more than that, she was hilarious. She was super smart, and had spent one afternoon playing video games with her when the men were busy on the Army post.
Annie was also something else. She’d shown up every morning, bright and early, wanting to play. Emily finally had to forbid her to leave the house before nine in the morning, giving Casey time to wake up and have her coffee before being inundated with little-girl cheerfulness and energy…and bug questions.
Beatle was another high. He’d been true to his word and hadn’t pressured her for anything more than she was ready to give him. Which so far had been only kisses and a little light petting when they went to bed. She wanted him, but her situation felt so up in the air, she didn’t feel it was fair to either of them to start any kind of sexual relationship until she was surer of what was going on in her life.
The lows included a few email conversations with Doctor Santos. Her friend and fellow professor had been meeting daily with Jaylyn and Kristina. Casey had been emailing them herself, and knew they’d given Doctor Santos permission to talk to her about their experiences and counseling sessions. Marie had emailed Casey to report that the girls weren’t doing well. Not sleeping, anxiety, night terrors, and no appetite.
She herself was seeing a doctor Beatle had recommended on post. It had been uncomfortable at first, but now that she felt more at ease with him, she was beginning to open up. She even admitted that there were some blanks in her memory, and he reassured her that once she felt safe enough, and more time had gone by, she’d most likely remember. He’d even offered to hypnotize her if she truly felt what she wasn’t remembering was that important.
