“Yeah. But it’s the same as a family in other ways, too. You can build a relationship with some of the guys, and not with others. You may be able to work with another operator really well, but not get along with him in other situations.”
She didn’t want to go into the situation with her family. “We have some personality issues at work. But as a vet, Ryan is pretty good.” She deflected the situation away from her work. “I’ve been reading a little about what you do. Do you really deploy for six months at a time?”
“Yeah, sometimes longer, rarely less. And sometimes we spend weeks training out in the desert, or days training out there somewhere.” He nodded toward the water. “Or twenty-five thousand feet above, like on Monday. But then we’ll have spells where we’re working nine to five just like anyone else.”
“And you can’t talk about what you do.”
“Not where we’ve been, or what we do while we’re deployed, or even some of the training we do.”
Piper wiggled around to look up at him. She couldn’t imagine how anyone lived under such restrictions. “Doesn’t it get lonely?”
“Yeah, it does.” His green gaze shot past her out to the water. “You may want to try to keep your emotional distance and keep things light between us. Six months can be a long time.”
She experienced a dropping sensation in the pit of her stomach again. “Is that what you do, keep things light?”
“I’ve tried it the other way. A woman I was really serious about dumped me while I was deployed. She couldn’t take the separations. And she couldn’t wait to tell me when I got home, because she was already pregnant with some other guy’s baby and needed to move on.”
A knot lodged in her throat. “How could she have done such a thing?”
He focused on her, shaking his head. “I can give you quality instead of quantity, Piper. When I’m here with you, I’ll be here all the way. When I’m deployed, I have to be there, with no distractions. Otherwise I might put someone’s life in danger. My team’s, or mine.”
Hearing his dispassionate tone, the hard edge to it, made her ache for him. She’d seen the warmth of his smile, the amusement gleaming in his eyes when he told her funny stories, the generosity he was capable of. He’d saved Gracie’s life and was using his downtime to care for her. He’d offered to install better security hardware at the office. That hard edge didn’t fit in with the rest, but she understood how it had to be because of what he did for a living.
She rested back against him and felt the steady rise and fall of his chest. He was so alive. Had such energy, even injured. He made her feel alive again.
She cupped her hand over his, resting against the curve of her abdomen. She wanted to guide his hand lower and feel his touch between her thighs. The ache of need had her drawing a slow breath. She tried to concentrate on the movement of the water and think of anything else besides the need, but her legs trembled and she gritted her teeth so they wouldn’t chatter.
“Are you cold?” Zach’s voice, low and husky, sounded like a growl against her ear.
“No.” She was on fire and he hadn’t even touched her. Just the idea was almost enough to send her over the edge.
She turned to look up at him. The intensity of his bright green gaze pierced hers, his throat working when he swallowed, then cupped her cheek and lowered his mouth to hers. The corded muscles of his neck lay against her palm, and the rich feel and taste of his lips and tongue tangled with hers.
Piper’s bones turned to liquid, an exquisite lassitude taking possession of her muscles. His erection pressed against her hip. They were both breathing hard when he broke the kiss.
She smiled at his flushed cheeks and brushed her fingertips against his beard stubble.
His hand skimmed up her arm to her hand and he turned his lips against her palm.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way,” she said.
“Me too.”
She doubted it had been three years for him. The pathetic dates she’d been on. The two men she’d really tried with had been in too big a rush to get to the finish line to realize she needed their patience as much as anything else. The one she’d tried the hardest with dumped her after a month. She had too many hang-ups. She was too much work in bed.
She truly believed it could be different with Zach. She wanted it to be different.
Zach wasn’t a drug-hyped twenty-two-year-old. He had control. He made her feel safe.
She leaned back against him. “What were you doing seven years ago?”
“I’d finished two years of college before I came out here. After a six-month break, I started taking classes while I worked chartering fishing trips. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if I’d finished school back home, but when you’re a kid, you make all sorts of rash decisions, and I had the travel bug. Two years later, I’d almost finished my degree when I enlisted and they sent me to Michigan for basic training.
“Then I applied for the SEALs. You have to take tests to qualify, and I did okay with them, so they sent me back to Michigan again for more training.”
“And you’ve been training ever since?”
“Yeah. We do a lot of training. We get to use new tech stuff and weapons. Every time they come up with something new, we try it out.”
“Do you still have the travel bug?”
“Yeah. I didn’t tell you before, but I have been to Italy. My mom and dad went a couple of years ago, and I met them in Rome for a week.”
“I’ve never been. How was it?”
“Busy, noisy, and fantastic. The history of the place is unbelievable. We did the Colosseum, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and several other things. We rented a car and drove around some of the countryside, ate fantastic food, freshly made ice cream for dessert. Handmade rolls with butter and coffee con leche every morning for breakfast.”
“And pizza?”
“Yes, which isn’t as cluttered with toppings as it is here, but it was just as good. But it was supposed to be a second honeymoon for my parents, and I was a fifth wheel, so I took off for home and left them in Florence for the second week of their trip. It was starting to get embarrassing, watching my dad put moves on my mom.”
Piper laughed. “They wouldn’t have eight children if there wasn’t some passion in their relationship.”
His arms tightened around her. “Don’t put that image in my head, please.”
She laughed again. “My parents were the same way. Sometimes they’d slow dance on the back patio, like they could hear music, though none was playing. He would nuzzle her neck and mama would practically purr.” The bittersweet images had her eyes stinging, and she blinked to hold the tears at bay. “That’s the kind of relationship I want to have someday.”
“I’d say it’s what we all want someday.”
“Yes.” She glanced at the sliding glass door. “I think Gracie needs to go out.”
Chapter 18
‡
Zach dropped his leg over the side of the lounge and gave Piper a hand up. The only thing keeping him from getting up and urging her inside the apartment and straight to bed was his injury. She was going to take one look at his hip and the mood would die.
But she wanted him as much as he wanted her. She’d been trembling with it. There was no mistaking the way she kissed him, looked at him. He tracked the subtle shift of her hips beneath her beach cover-up while she strode into the apartment…and got hard all over again.
“Shit!”
Trouble’s head popped up, and he scanned the sand for Piper. “She’ll be back in a minute, pal.” Filled with a restlessness brought on by the sexual charge he and Piper generated, Zach shoved to his feet. Trouble leapt off the lounge.
The dog ran ahead, following Piper’s tracks, and they met her coming out of the apartment with Gracie. “Let’s go for a drive,” he suggested. “We’ll pick up some ice cream for desert.”
“Okay. I’ll change once Gracie finishes.”
; Zach slipped a knit shirt on over his T-shirt and shoved his feet into the deck shoes.
Piper came in and removed the leash from Gracie’s harness and slipped into the guest room to change.
When she came out of the bedroom in jeans and a T-shirt, he held up his keys. “Dogs or no dogs?” he asked.
“I’ll put Trouble in Gracie’s kennel to make sure he doesn’t get into something while we’re gone.”
Gracie didn’t seem to mind that Trouble was taking up housing in her crate, but she began to whine about being left behind, and when she tilted her head back with a mournful howl, Zach frowned. At Trouble’s answering yodel, Piper laughed.
“She’s used to going everywhere with the master chief,” Zach mused. “And she’s been locked up for days.”
“If we leave them and they howl the whole time, your neighbors will complain,” Piper warned.
A grin broke up Zach’s serious expression. “I guess the dogs are going.”
“I have a harness in my car we can put on Gracie to secure her in the seat so she’ll be stable.”
Ten minutes later, when they pulled out, each dog sat on their side of the car, secured by a harness and seat belt, the windows cracked so the outside air circulated around them. Both had their noses stuck out the window and their tongues lolling out.
After backing around Piper’s vehicle, Zach whipped out his phone and took a picture of the two. “My team has to see these two.” He keyed the group into the device and sent the picture.
When he swung the phone in Piper’s direction and took her picture, she threw up a hand too late. “I’m not camera-worthy, Zach.”
Her windblown hair and sun-flushed cheeks just added to her beauty. A fresh spike of desire raced south. “Yeah, you are, Piper.” He pulled out onto the street.
She remained silent for a moment. “I wouldn’t mind if you took your shirt off when we get back so I can take your picture.”
He grinned at her. “We can play show and tell if you like.”
She smiled, and the way she avoided looking at him triggered an answering smile.
She surprised him by saying, “Being a SEAL and all, I’d have thought you’d be more into hide and seek.”
He chuckled. “You’re already getting to know me.”
He’d suggested they keep things light between them. But damn if she hadn’t done a great job today of blowing that idea all to hell.
They came to a stop at the light, and he glanced up to find her studying him. When they reached for each other at the same time and shared a kiss, he knew he was in trouble.
They wandered down the I-5 for a time, just taking in the scenery and letting the dogs enjoy the fresh air. They got into a discussion about rock ’n’ roll or blues. They were split on that issue.
“Action-adventure, comedy, drama, or chick flick?” he asked.
“Action-adventure,” Piper said immediately and turned toward him. “Why do guys call them chick flicks?”
“To remind us there will probably be tears shed during the course of the movie, and we’ll have to brace ourselves for when they happen.” He turned the blinker on and swung off the interstate.
Piper raised a brow. “What makes men think women can’t deal with their emotions?”
“It doesn’t have a thing to do with women’s emotions, honey. It’s all about ours. You can’t have your date look over to see you bawling like a baby.”
Piper chuckled. “Have you ever cried in a movie?”
“Yeah. Dumbo. You know, the part where the mom’s locked up and she’s rocking him in her trunk and singing to him.”
Piper studied him, not sure whether he was serious or not. “How old were you?”
“I watch it with my brother Jason’s kids every time I go home for a visit. I guess it’s been six months. Gets me every time.”
Piper laughed.
He loved it when she laughed. There was something so self-contained, controlled about her, but when her laughter cut loose, those constraints disappeared.
She ran her fingertips down his arm. “I promise not to tell anyone if you tear up during a movie.”
The caress had every nerve firing with vivid fantasies about what it would be like for her to cup him in her hand. Jesus, he hoped he got some firsthand experience—pardon the pun—real soon.
“Thanks, my team would never let me live it down.”
*
“I need to run into the supermarket for some olive oil and the ice cream,” Zach said on the way back to his apartment. “If you think the dogs will be okay alone, you can come in with me. Otherwise, I’ll just be a few minutes.”
“Why don’t you let me go in instead and rest your hip?” she suggested.
“If you don’t mind.”
“I can handle it.”
He pulled into the parking lot of the store and parked.
Piper collected her purse and released her seat belt. “I’ll be back in just a few minutes.”
He dug for his wallet. “Let me give you some money first.”
She shook her head. “I’ll get it,” she said, sliding down out of the seat and closing the door.
She walked past the customer service desk just inside on the left, and stopped to read the aisle signs until she found the one for oils and spices. She perused the brands, picked one she usually bought herself, and swiveled to go to the end of the aisle and figure out where to find the ice cream.
A man stood at the end of the aisle reading the labels on a box. He was partially turned away, so she was unable to see his face, but the short neck and wide shoulders seemed familiar. She hesitated. Was he a client? He started to turn his head and she glimpsed more of his profile.
Her heart stuttered and her breathing hitched. The bottle of olive oil almost slipped from her grasp, and she fumbled but caught it against her stomach. Panicked, she darted around the end of the aisle and rushed past two coolers holding freshly cut meats. Two aisles down she sidestepped around an end shelf filled with detergent and into the cleaning supply aisle, where she bent to look over the tops of the bottles of dishwashing liquid to see if he had followed her.
Detective Samuel Lester rounded the shelving. His light brown hair, sprinkled with gray at the temples, seemed to have receded some, but she could see no other change in him. He still had the same determined set to his shoulders. The same harsh line to his mouth. His gaze traveled down the length of the store, as though he was searching for someone. Oh, God! Had he seen her?
Piper jerked back out of sight and rushed to the other end of the aisle, rounding the end of the shelving so she could peek down the next aisle. The moment she saw his pale blue shirt, she bobbed back out of sight and waited for him to pass. She still had to get the ice cream.
She walked down to the opposite end of the aisle and looked toward the end of the store. The freezers holding frozen foods were the next two aisles. Creeping past the end displays, she peeked down the aisle. No Detective Lester. What if he was doubling back and slipped up behind her? The signs above the clear glass doors designated frozen pies and deserts, then ice creams. She walked quickly to the ice cream display, jerked open the door and grabbed a container of Neapolitan, then peeked around the unit at the end of the aisle to scan the checkout lanes, racing for the shortest line. A man, taller and a great deal broader than she was, pushed his buggy up behind her.
Every moment she waited for the woman in front of her to punch in her pin number seemed to take an hour. Finally, the clerk handed the customer her receipt and turned her attention to Piper’s bottle of oil and the container of ice cream. Piper jerked a twenty-dollar bill out her purse just as she caught a flash of blue from the next checkout lane, she pretended to drop her purse and squatted to retrieve it.
Hidden behind the cart and the man behind her, Piper watched Lester stride by, scanning the front of the store. She bobbed up when the clerk extended her the change and the bag with the items in it.
When she exited the store, it took every
bit of her self-control not to break into a run. Her lungs felt oxygen-starved, as though she’d held her breath the whole time she was inside the building. She gulped in air and gripped the plastic bag, her hands shaking.
She paused two cars down and checked her appearance in the dusty back window of a van, and dragging her composure around her. Her legs felt spongy and weak as she maintained a more sedate pace to the passenger side of Zach’s SUV and slid into the vehicle.
“That was quick,” he commented.
“I lucked out and hit the checkout at just the right moment.”
“Good.”
She tossed her purse into the floor at her feet, set the bag between her feet, and concentrated on buckling her seat belt, though her hands continued to shake like they were palsied.
Zach’s cell phone rang and he pushed a button on the steering wheel to answer the call. It was his mother asking about his hip.
Grateful for the distraction, Piper concentrated on calming herself. But she couldn’t control her compulsive need to glance into the side view mirror to see if they were being followed, and turning in her seat to look behind them under the guise of checking the dogs.
It had to be a random encounter. Lester would have no reason to follow her now. But he had noticed her, and had been interested enough to search for her in the store.
What would he have said? She didn’t care. Nor did she ever want to know.
But what mattered was he now knew she was back in San Diego. Her stomach ached with tension, and she pressed a hand against it.
As soon as they were back at the apartment, Zach poured her a glass of wine. Piper settled at the picnic table outside on the patio and watched him cook. Between the delicious qualities of the wine and Zach’s company, she calmed.
The fish was grilled perfectly. The roasted potatoes rolled in oil and spices were done to a turn, as was the asparagus. It pleased her that Zach cold cook. But she he couldn’t do the meal justice with anxiety twisting her stomach into knots.
She wondered at herself for thinking in terms of a relationship when they had only been in each other’s company three times.
Breaking Out (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 6) Page 16
