“I stand corrected,” he says.
“You like it?” I can’t help but ask. I don’t know why it’s important; I just know I want him to like me—not for who my family is or what I do, but I want Kyle Garrett to like me for me, MacKenzie Black.
“I more than like it,” he answers, and it feels like he’s talking about more than mustard on his fries. It feels like he’s talking about me.
“Me too.”
“So how long have you been stationed here?” he asks.
“This is my second year with this squadron, but Cinco, Hooter, and I have been together since flight school,” I tell him.
“Is that common?”
“Yes and no,” I answer. “We’re a small-ish community, so usually we come and go, but the three of us have been together for a long time. How long have you been here?”
“A little bit longer than that,” he says cryptically.
“If you tell me, will you have to kill me?” I ask and then instantly regret it. I don’t want him to think I’m making fun of him.
“Something like that,” he says with a wink.
We take turns asking questions back and forth for the rest of lunch. Finally, I toss my napkin on my plate, and Kyle settles the check before asking me, “Ready to go?”
“Yeah.”
He leads me back out of the restaurant, and he takes my hand in his. Silently, we walk up the hill to the best lookout point to watch the sea lions. I love it up here, but it’s crowded with tourists. The number of bodies pressed together in one place seems to make Kyle a little edgy, so I lead him back down the hill and toward the jetty.
We walk out to the end of the jetty where not many have ventured this afternoon. It’s still a little cool today, and the tide is in. Waves lick up the bottom of the walkway and spill over. I shiver when the sea spray and cool breeze hit me, and he wraps his arms around me from behind.
I happily sink into him and watch the gulls fly over and fish swim just under the water. I take snapshots of this moment in my mind. I want to hold onto these memories when I’m overseas. It’s moments like this I’ll treasure when I’m all alone in my cot. When Kyle and I part ways later, I wonder if he’ll know just how much this weekend meant to me.
After a while, he leads me back up the walkway and to his truck. We don’t speak as he drives me back to the bar that we met at. Our time together is over. I thought it was nothing more than a night, and it happened to stretch into a weekend. I should be happy. But why do I feel sad?
He pulls into the spot two over from my car and kills the engine before turning to me.
“Thank you,” I say softly. “I had a good time.”
“I had more than a good time,” he says as he picks up my hand and plays with my fingers.
“Me too.”
“What if…” he trails off.
“What if, what?”
“What if this wasn’t goodbye?” he asks. “What if I said I want to see you again?”
“You do know we can get into trouble for seeing each other, right?” I ask. I hadn’t thought much of it when we were going to have one night together, but there are still pretty strong rules about officers and enlisted fraternizing together, and by fraternizing, they mean banging.
“So we keep it quiet for a little while, just until we’re sure,” he suggests.
“So you’re not sure?” I squeak.
“I’m sure,” he says, smiling gently at me. “But I need time to woo you.”
“Have you ever wooed anyone before?” I ask, eyeing him.
“Not really.” He laughs. “But there’s a first time for everything.”
“I’m getting ready to deploy,” I remind him. “It’s almost a guarantee that relationships fail during those times.”
“You don’t know that,” he replies softly.
“Have you ever had a girlfriend for long before?” I ask and I feel bad for it when he grimaces but that just goes to prove my point. Neither one of us know what we’re doing here or with anyone in general. We’re a recipe for disaster.
“It’ll be different this time,” he says, not making me feel any better. There’s no way he could possibly know that. “I’ve never been the one left behind before. Maybe I just needed a change of scenery.”
“You’re crazy,” I laugh. I mean, he has to be, right? Who else would consider being the one not deployed a change of scenery?
“Are you saying you’re not into me?” he asks. “Because by my count, you’ve had about eleven orgasms that say otherwise.”
“You counted orgasms?” I shout, shocked.
“Trust me, baby, when it comes to the way you come, I take notice.”
“Kill me now,” I mutter, rolling my eyes to the ceiling. If ever there was a time for the Earth to open up a sinkhole and swallow me up, it would be now.
“No can do, sweetness,” he says. “I need to watch the show at least a hundred more times before I die.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “Stop talking.”
“I will when you say you’ll see me again,” he challenges.
“Ugh, fine, but we both know it’s a wasted effort,” I capitulate.
“You’re saying those eleven orgasms and all the ones to come are a wasted effort?” he asks, grabbing at his chest. “Ma’am, you wound me.”
“I’m not sure there’s a weapon strong enough to pierce that massive ego of yours,” I mutter.
“But you have to admit it.” He winks. “You like my ego.”
“Against my better judgement,” I say just under my breath.
“Good enough. Now kiss me.”
I don’t know why, but I do as he demands and lean into him. The second his mouth presses to mine, I’m lost to him again.
“I’ll call you,” he says when he pulls back.
I climb out of his truck and turn to him. Just before I shut the door behind me, I say, “We’ll see.” And then I climb in my car and drive back home, to my life alone. It was fun, amazing even, but when Kyle gets back to his apartment, he’ll realize it was just that—fun—and tomorrow we’ll go back to the real world, where we live our normal lives.
Chapter Seven
Kyle
In her bed
She’s on my mind constantly. Her scent is lodged in my nostrils and I swear, I can still smell her on my skin. And the husky tones of her melodic voice are etched on my brain.
I can’t stop thinking about her. MacKenzie is everywhere I go. I see her in every woman that I pass on the street. My hunger for her has not lessened one iota even though I’m with her every night that I can be.
It’s been two weeks since I met MacKenzie in a bar near her base. If she was anything like everyone else, I would be over it—bored—and back to my everyday life. But MacKenzie is anything but boring.
She’s bright, she’s beautiful, and she’s dynamite in bed. But more than that, I just like being around her. So as I pull into the parking lot by the beach, she’s still on my mind. So much so that I almost miss Jackson Cole standing against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest.
MacKenzie Black has me so tied up in knots that I’m distracted, and in my line of work, distracted could mean dead more often than not. Maybe it’s the long drives between us, or the late nights in her bed that we spend not sleeping, or maybe it’s just her. I’m so wound up in her.
I shut off my truck and pull the keys from the ignition before stepping out onto the blacktop of the parking lot. I slam the door closed and stuff my keys in my pocket before making my way over to Jackson. He pushes away from the railing and heads toward me.
“So that old heap is still running?” he asks good-naturedly as he holds his hand out for me to shake.
“That she is,” I answer, taking his hand. I haven’t seen Jackson since he was on the team, before he got married and took over the business world. Sure, our missions have overlapped some with those of his company, Cole Security, and his operatives, but I haven’t seen the actual man in years.
Word on the street is he’s running a cosmetics company in Los Angeles and the day to day running of Cole Security has been taken over by his right-hand man as they expand the business.
“Good to see you.”
“Good to see you too,” I reply. “I was surprised to hear from you.”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve run into one another,” he says cryptically. Jackson Cole is not one to give it all away, but still, I can’t help but wonder why he looked me up out of the blue.
“So you wanted to speak to me?” I ask. I can’t help it, my curiosity is getting the better of me and we all know what happened to the cat so I shouldn’t push it, but still. My brain is all over the place today and I’m jumpy. I don’t like it.
He looks me over for a minute before answering my question with another question. “Take a walk with me?”
I’m eighty-eight percent sure he’s not here to kill me and they only do that shit in the movies, right? I, unfortunately, know that that’s not entirely true. Although I doubt he’s here to do any wet work and I haven’t given anyone a reason to kill me lately so what do I have to lose? My mom always said I was a curious cat, I just hope the rest doesn’t ring true.
“Sure,” I agree easily and motion for him to lead the way.
I follow him down the narrow concrete path in silence before the walkway ends at the sand. He turns to the right, away from the few people on the beach this afternoon. I can’t help but wonder if maybe he is going to kill me after all?
The sun is low in the sky and clouds cast a deceptive shadow along the shore, but the sand is warm on the soles of my feet. A cool breeze skitters along my skin and I take a deep breath letting it out before turning toward my old friend.
“You asked why I wanted to meet with you,” he begins.
“That is the million-dollar question,” I reply with a smirk.
“Your enlistment is coming up for renewal,” he says, and I can’t help but wonder where this is going or why he would be looking into me in the first place. I eye him warily.
I know my time with the team is coming to an end; I just haven’t wrapped my mind around it yet. Could he be here to offer me the solution to my problems? Probably not. I really think he’s here to kill me.
“I’m not here to kill you, dumbass. I’m here to offer you a job,” he says, rolling his eyes. About ten years my senior, he’s always been someone I admired, but the expression on his face right now, is eerily similar to the one my dad gave me all throughout my teen years. Or the one I give Sean when he wants to pregame with a bottle of Jägermeister.
“What?” I ask, a little startled that he read my mind.
“You said that out loud,” he answers with a smirk on his face. The knowing fucker. “Well, it was really more of a mumble.”
“Sorry,” I reply. “A job? Makeup isn’t really my thing.”
“With Cole Security,” he says, rolling his eyes again. “Although now I’m rethinking it. God, I forgot how annoying you can be.”
“I really appreciate the offer, but I’m not getting any younger,” I tell him honestly. It’s only a matter of time before my body gives up the ghost. Knees and shoulders aren’t things that can be replaced easily and mine are starting to creak and groan more than they used to. He should know what he’s getting with me up front and that’s not my only concern either.
“I know that, which is why switching to stateside jobs and a slightly slower pace with more paperwork can keep you in the game longer,” he explains.
That’s a damn good offer. Not to mention if I get out of the military, the fraternization rule will no longer apply to my relationship with MacKenzie. And why am I even considering that anyway? It’s been two weeks. Fuck me, I’m being a ridiculous girl. The guys would have a field day if they could hear my thoughts right now. I run my hand over my cropped hair and let out a sigh.
“It’s tempting,” I admit hesitantly.
“But…?” he finishes my unspoken thoughts.
There’s more than just MacKenzie at play here. There’s more than one person that I need to consider in any decision that I might make.
“But I can’t leave Tube behind. If he’s staying with the team, then so am I,” I reply.
“I like that loyalty,” he says. “I have to admit that’s been part of the appeal of hiring you. Which is why I made him an offer yesterday, and he said the same thing. He comes only if you do.”
Jackson’s words take a huge weight off of my chest and I breathed a little easier for the first time since he called me the other day wanting to meet with me on my way home from work.
“Then I’m in,” I say, letting the smile spread across my face.
“Welcome aboard,” Jackson says, holding out his hand to shake mine again, this time not in hello, but in a gentleman’s agreement.
“Thanks,” I reply, shaking his hand.
“I just have to ask you one thing,” he says hesitantly. “Or maybe I shouldn’t but my curiosity has got the better of me.”
“What’s that?” I ask. Other than the secretive nature of our missions, not much with me is a secret. I’m an open book and always have been so the detour in this conversation has my spidey senses tingling.
“How tight are you with the president’s aide-de-camp?” he asks, and I bark out a laugh. Why in the hell would he think I know someone that high powered. Not to mention he’s like twelve years older than me and is a marine, we’ve never even come close to swimming in the same circles.
“I’m not close with him at all,” I answer, still smiling. “I don’t even know the guy. Why would you ask?”
“Because I have it on good authority that you’ve been warming his baby sister’s bed for going on two weeks now, and I have to know how serious it is upon hiring you,” he replies.
I’m frozen in place. Mack? She can’t be related to the president’s right-hand man, right? And then it dawns on me, how private she is—she said she never picks guys up. The weird way that she clams up every time I ask about her family or she accidentally mentions something about her siblings. Her squeaky-clean life. Holy fuck. MacKenzie Black is not only related to Ryan Black; she’s his kid sister. And I’m royally fucked.
“I see you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t,” I admit, and I hate how hoarse my voice sounds right now. “She didn’t tell me.”
“Can you trust her?” he asks me, and I wonder if I can. But as moments with MacKenzie flit through my head, I know the answer without a single doubt in my mind.
Her smile in the bar and the way she rolled her eyes at me when I lied to her about what I do for a living. Her reactions to me are one hundred percent genuine.
Her sassy attitude as she led me to her home.
The way her body fits mine perfectly, like she was made for me, and the way she lets me take her hard and fast one minute, and slow and sweet the next. The way her pussy grips my cock like a vice when she comes for me.
Sitting on the beach when she told me that she had only ever wanted to be a pilot and the way she’s been flying with her grandfather since she was a baby.
Laughing over burgers in a dive bar and that disgusting way that she mixes condiments on her plate like a toddler.
Lying in bed with her talking about her dreams. The way that she feels free only when she’s flying.
Yes. I trust her. And if I’m being honest with myself, I’m falling for her too. It might have only been two weeks since she crashed into my life—or more accurately, I crashed into hers—but I know with all that I am that I not only trust her with my life, but also my heart. After years of bouncing from one warm bed to the next, I fell for a sexy fighter pilot I never saw coming in the blink of an eye and I couldn’t be happier about it.
And when I think back on it, she told me about her family, not outright, but enough I could have guessed. She said she had an older brother and sister who were both marines. She didn’t tell me her brother was the current president’s right-hand man, but t
heir last name also isn’t a secret. She mentioned he had kids too, but I know from the news that Ryan Black lives a very private personal life, or at least he did until he married the press secretary amidst a sex tape scandal. Before then, it was rare to see pictures in the media of his kids or his ex-wife. I also know that both her father and grandfather are war heroes serving in Desert Storm and Vietnam respectively. And her older sister is also a pilot but not F-35s like her kid sister, and she’s on the short list for the next NASA candidates.
Can I fault them for wanting privacy? For whatever reason? No. The truth is MacKenzie and I have only known each other a couple short weeks. And in that time, I’ve learned she’s shy and skittish in her personal life, but bold and daring in the air. She’s honest and honorable, trustworthy and kind.
“Yes,” I answer honestly, letting the veracity of my answer show on my face.
“That’s good enough for me,” Cole says. “I can see you’ve got some things on your mind. I’ll let you get to them.”
“Thanks,” I reply absentmindedly. Now that I’ve realized my feelings for the wary marine, I have to get her onboard. Too bad that’s going to be just as hard as it sounds like it will be. I don’t get the feeling that someone burned her along the way, but I do know that she’s worried about being in a committed relationship when she leaves. If anyone can handle a job as tough as that one, it’s a SEAL, right?
“I hear she’s preparing to deploy,” Cole says casually, and I snap my head back around to look him over again.
“Is there anything you don’t know?” I ask instead of answer.
“No,” he says with a smile. “You’re learning though.”
“Yeah, she leaves in a few weeks.”
“Bring her around for dinner before she leaves,” he tells me, and then he turns on his heel and goes back the way we came.
I stand there staring at the ocean and wonder how I should proceed with MacKenzie. I know she’s scared. I also know I’m not done with her, that I might never have my fill of her—I need her scent on my skin, her taste on my tongue, and her in my life for as long as it lasts—and I’m totally okay with it.
Trap: A Salvation Society Novel Page 6
