Cowboy (SEAL Team Alpha Book 3)

by Zoe Dawson

  She reached out and ran her hand over the stubble on his jaw. She stepped closer and kissed him, lingered on his tantalizing mouth for just a few heartbeats.

  “Wes, I know these ten years have been so difficult for you. But I need to tell you something that I left to omission. After graduation, I was attacked by several boys, and it would have been bad for me if it wasn’t for a man who saved me from that fate with a shotgun and a disposition that brooked no argument.”

  Her heart was pounding and she wanted to blurt everything out, but she couldn’t not just yet, not until it was resolved. She wouldn’t give him false hope. She couldn’t do that to him. “He took me home, and he was kind to me, treated me like a beloved daughter. He allowed me access to his horses and taught me how to ride, exposed me to his wonderful brand of humor and stories. I spent two wonderful years enjoying that man just because he was so genuine and warm.” Her voice was thick, and she worked to keep the tears at bay. “That man was your father.”

  His eyes widened, then narrowed. “What? You had a relationship with my father?”

  “Yes.

  “When I was at school?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where were you in the summer when I was home?”

  “I stayed away.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of Lisa Palladino.”

  “I see.”

  “You should. I’ve had a crush on you ever since I clapped eyes on you. I couldn’t bear watching you and What’s Her Name make out, be all close and lovey dovey when I wanted that to be me.”

  “I felt the same,” he said. “I was a fool.”

  “Then it’s not just me, is it? It’s happening to you, too.” There was a flash of something in his eyes that resembled anguish, and it aroused such a fierce protectiveness in her she had to fight to keep her voice level.

  “You are such a treasure, Kia.”

  “But—”

  He pressed his thumb firmly against her mouth to silence her, gently rubbing over the lip ring. “We know this isn’t an easy thing here.”

  For once she didn’t argue. Not now, not while he was looking at her the way he was. She had a nearly uncontrollable urge to be with him here on this spot overlooking Sweetwater while he was busy trying to put distance between them, him slipping and sliding away.

  “No, it’s not easy, but it’s real, Wes. So very real.”

  “It is. The realest thing in my life, darlin’. I don’t know how to get my head around it, you being here, me being gone so much, and the memories. I’m still working on all of that.”

  “I get that. I’m not asking you for anything, Wes. I just wanted you to know that it was something more with you. I need that.” This would sustain her in what she had to do.

  “It’s more,” he growled. “So much more I’m a pretzel.”

  “Aw, my poor beautiful Cowboy. Does it still hurt?”

  “You make me hurt,” he said huskily. He buried his fingers in her hair and pressed her up against his solid body. God, he was built like a slab of granite, and she loved it. That hard, undeniably aroused body.

  With a low growl encompassing both frustration and urgent need, he slanted his mouth across hers and sank his tongue deep, kissing her just as recklessly as he had every time their mouths met. His mouth always delivered on that sin and pleasure he promised. She met him stroke for stroke, let him know that she was his.

  The long, hard length of him fit hard in the crux of her thighs, he flexed his hips when she grabbed his shirt and pulled it out of his jeans. With one whip-like move, she split his shirt open, the snaps popping free in one big clicking explosion.

  “Let me kiss it and make it all better.”

  She leaned forward and captured one of his rigid nipples between her lips. She laved the erect nub with her tongue, and grazed the tip with the edge of her teeth. A groan rumbled up from his chest as she navigated her way lower, spreading hot, moist kisses on his taut belly. She bit the edges of his abs and licked along each ridge while she undid his pants. Hooking her fingers in the waistband, she pulled both jeans and briefs off him.

  He sucked in a breath when she came to his thick, straining erection, and even that part of him was as gorgeous and magnificent as he was.

  She wrapped her fingers around the hard, velvet-textured length of him and felt him pulse in her tight grip. She took him into her mouth, his skin hot and salty against the stroke of her tongue. He shuddered and tangled his hands in her hair, and she sucked him, taking him in deep as she could. She pleasured him with her mouth, teased him with her tongue, and aroused him to a fever pitch of need that made his entire body shake with the restraint of trying to hold back.

  “Oh, Christ,” he breathed and frantically tried to tug her back up. “I’m going to come if you don’t stop.”

  She wanted more of him than this and with one more lick along his shaft, she kissed her way back up his body, working on the closure on her pants. He helped pull them down. She pressed him back into the heather. “Save a horse,” she whispered. “Fuck a Cowboy.”

  She straddled his hips with her knees and directed his erection upward. She was so ready for him. With deliberate slowness, she sank inch by inch on top of him, until he filled her completely and her sex stretched tight around him.

  His nostrils flared, and stark male desire heated his eyes. He clutched her waist and rocked her tighter against his straining body, setting a rhythm that would take him much too quick to climax.

  “Buck, baby, buck me hard,” he said, fiercely.

  She was in control and bucking him was exactly what she had on her mind.

  “I’m going to buck you so good.” His chest rose and fell heavily, his expression fierce and hungry as he sent his hands up her body and under her shirt, beneath her bra and fondled her nipple rings, pulling and tugging.

  “I’m begging you, Kia,” he whispered raggedly, “take me, now. I don’t care if this gets complicated. I don’t care that you’re scared. I want you.”

  “I am scared,” she whispered. So scared of losing him.

  “Take me.” He pulled her against his hard, aroused body.

  “Cowboy…” Her voice breathless, she could never catch it any time this man was close.

  “Take me, darlin’,” he demanded.

  “Oh, God, Wes…” she murmured, as he cupped the back of her neck and pulled her down to his face, her breasts against his chest, her heart beating as hard as his.

  “Take me hard. Take me soft. Take me all the way.”

  More than eager to give him anything he desired, she wrapped her arms around his neck, locked their bodies so they were meshed chest to thighs, and took him. Lowering her mouth to his, she pressed her lips against his velvet ones as her hips rolled and glided against his.

  He gripped her hips, but he allowed her to set the pace, and she moved on him, shamelessly in love. She felt his thighs tense beneath hers, felt his stomach muscles ripple, and knew he was nearing the end.

  Twining her fingers in his silky hair, she pulled his head back and dragged her damp, open mouth along his throat, then gently sank her teeth into the taut tendons where neck met shoulder and put her dark fairy mark on him.

  He bucked upward one last time, hard and strong, and his groan of surrender in her ear was the sexiest sound she’d ever heard.

  The fiery sunset reflected their heated embrace, sending streaks of flame across the sky.

  They clutched each other in the heather above Sweetwater and she was determined to be strong, tough, a SEAL at heart just as he’d named her. She might have to do this alone, but when she went into danger, into battle her way, she would have this man so deeply embedded in her heart, it would be like he was right beside her.

  14

  It was one of the hardest things Kia had ever had to do, to walk away without consulting with Wes, but to get him involved would compromise him and she couldn’t…wouldn’t do that. She smiled as he turned off the light and snuggled up to her, waiting
until his breathing went even and he dropped into sleep. Once she was sure he was out for the night, she rose and very gently kissed his slack mouth. “I love you,” she whispered brokenly.

  She slipped from the bed, grabbed her packed bag and laptop. She deliberately picked up her phone and stuffed it in her purse.

  Once downstairs, she rubbed Triton’s soft velvet ears and kissed him on the head, then knelt down and hugged him tight to her, her tears soaking into his fur. BFA came and rubbed up against her, as if he finally realized that she wasn’t the enemy. Tank had been spot on with his advice. Her heart heavy for betraying the men that she had come to care about, and with Wes, love with all her heart, she closed the front door quietly behind her. Once in the Jeep, her tears had flowed heavily down her cheeks as she’d driven to the airport, booked under a different name. It had been so easy for her to manipulate digital data, including a fake ID. She’d constructed, Raina Matthews on a whim when she’d been illegally hacking hardcore, worried that if she’d been caught, she’d have to run. Everything for that shadowy persona was still in place. The driver’s license, the bank account, the credit cards. The house in the Bahamas.

  She’d made up a whole story for Raina, how she was a ranch owner with a big family who loved her, including a mom and dad who were so proud of her. She had been so pathetic.

  Her hands had tightened on the wheel as she’d parked her car at the airport and with her bag, purse and laptop, started toward the terminal.

  She squeezed her eyes closed, her insides still quivery, a huge load of anxiety trying to wash over her like a tidal wave. Doing her best to surf it, she was determined to neutralize this threat against her. Not only against her life, but she could lose everything if she didn’t play this just right. When the officials arrived, and they would, she would be placed under arrest. She would go to jail for the part she played in the security breach.

  She’d hacked NCIS, knew that Bryant Anderson, the man who had seemed so damned official at the time, had duped her into shutting down security at Coronado. Unwittingly, she had put Wes and his team in danger, was an accessory to the murder of two military policemen…with families. She had to stop momentarily just at the entrance to the airport and lean against the wall to absorb what her actions had done, feeling heartbroken and sick all over again. Even though she had thought she was sanctioned in doing the job Anderson had hired her to do, they had played her. Now the weapons they had stolen, including warheads were on the open market to be used against innocent people and military personnel around the globe. What had she done?

  Would Wes ever look at her the same once he found out her involvement?

  She called Sally Jean and her sleepy voice answered. “Hi, sorry to wake you. I know it’s late, but could you take care of my horses and animals for a few days. I have to go out of town.”

  “Of course. You know I will. And the bar, too.”

  “You are the best friend I’ve ever had,” Kia said, her voice catching. Then she gave her specific instructions.

  Sally Jean’s voice sounded more awake. “Are you all right? Where are you going?”

  “To DC.”

  “DC? Why?”

  “I can’t explain, but thank you for always being there for me.”

  “Kia, wait!”

  She disconnected the call, turned off her phone, removed the battery and pocketed the SIM card. They could track her GPS and she was banking on that…later. She went to one of the stores in the airport and bought another phone. Then she caught her flight.

  She was going to DC to make sure the man she suspected of being the mastermind of all this would get nabbed for not only his role in this fiasco, but give NCIS any information he possessed to retrieve everything that had been stolen. If he got away she was in danger of being hunted by his hired killer or helpless behind bars. Afterward, she would turn herself in and accept the consequences of her actions.

  First, she had to get out from under the threat, then she could deal with the rest of the fallout. But she wanted more. Much more. She wanted time with Wes to explain her actions. She desperately needed a chance with him to talk, to sort things out. She had no idea what he was thinking in the long-term, but with this mess hanging over her, she couldn’t even begin to think of any future with him. Even if he wanted one with her. The investigation into his father’s death, Big Red’s involvement, the gun and hacking the ATF database were only a few loose ends that would have to be unraveled. Without opening up to him, without taking the risk and telling him everything, she knew deep down inside her that before they could go forward, they had to go back. And that was the most frightening thing of all.

  “I need to stop at the office on the way home to pick up my phone,” Paige said, rubbing her husband’s arm.

  “Can’t you just get it tomorrow? You’ll be going in.”

  “It’s been three days of wonderful white-water rafting, and I’ve been out of the loop. I don’t like it.”

  “Roger that. We’ll swing by, but you had a good time, right? Tell me you weren’t worrying about work while we were having fun in and out of bed.”

  She kissed him on the cheek and then nuzzled his neck. “No, Ashe. When I’m with you, you’re all consuming. I was focused on us the whole time. Mostly.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “It’s why you’re a good agent.”

  She grinned.

  She ran up, got it and then headed back to the car. It was close to being almost out of battery. She plugged it in and as soon as she saw the email, she clicked the notification and read the message. It was from a Sheriff Jerry Jones in the Reddick, Texas Sheriff’s Office.

  Agent Wilder, I discovered that you are looking for any information on a suspect who matches the description of a man who attacked one of our citizens, Ms. Kia Silverbrook. She was accosted in the alley behind her bar on the eleventh of the month at approximately twelve forty-six am. The weapon he used was a military issue combat knife.

  Subsequently, he then attacked her at the local high school football game. He was killed by one of our local boys. His picture is attached.

  Why did her name seem familiar? Paige clicked on the attachment and pulled up the picture of Paul Lambert aka Onekill, the man who had been identified by the signature assassin’s bullet that had taken out Bryant Anderson. It was him.

  A break-through in this case was what she needed. After the chilling information Ashe had given her at the beginning of the month regarding the warheads, she had renewed her investigation into the possible location of the weapons.

  “But why had Lambert tried to kill a hick bar owner?”

  “What bar owner?” Ashe said as he peered over her shoulder.

  “Kia Silverbrook.”

  “Fuck,” Kid said.

  Another email dinged and Paige said. “Oh my, God.”

  “Who’s it from,” Kid asked.

  “Kia Silverbrook.”

  “What? What did she say?”

  “That she’s Quicksilver.”

  “Fuck,” Kid said.

  Cowboy woke up and immediately, before he even opened his eyes, he knew something was wrong. A cold wash of dread snaked through him when he realized that Kia’s side of the bed hadn’t been slept in. Driven by a fearful kind of desperation, he yanked on his jeans, his heart pounding as he searched the room. Her laptop was gone.

  He grabbed his cell and called her, but it went straight to voicemail…just like it would if she’d turned her phone off.

  He rushed down the stairs, his heart pounding, frantically praying he’d find her in the kitchen making breakfast. She wasn’t. But the full force of his escalating fear didn’t hit until he opened the door and saw that her Jeep was gone. He leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, so worried he couldn’t move.

  “What the fuck is wrong?” Tank growled looking like a bear who had been roused from hibernation too soon with his dark beard and narrowed eyes.

  “She’s gone.”

  Immediate f
ear and concern rushed across his face. “What? She was taken under our noses! Fuck us.”

  “No, her car is gone.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything. Someone could have taken her.”

  “No, there‘s no forced entry and if someone had come in this house, Triton would have torn him apart. Triton lay by the fire, his head on his paws as if the life had been sucked out of him. BFA was curled up against his side as if they were consoling each other.

  “Where could she have gone?”

  “I haven’t got a damn clue, and I’ve got a feeling if she doesn’t want to be found, we won’t be able to track her down.”

  “What the hell? Why would she ditch us? She’s in danger. If anything happens to her, Cowboy, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to her,” he said more to console himself than to allay Tank’s fears.

  “I’m going to check the barn. He went back to his room and let Echo out. Got dressed and came back. The animals followed him outside and when they got to the barn and peered inside, it was clear that Kia was not there.

  “Fuck! Fuck! This is a major cluster fuck! Where the fuck is she!”

  Cowboy was just barely holding all his fucks in when Tank painted the air blue.

  Cowboy grabbed his shoulders, the panic sliding inside him like crates on a tossing ship. “Get ahold of yourself. This isn’t helping.”