Holding Out For A Hero: SEALs, Soldiers, Spies, Cops, FBI Agents and Rangers

by Piñeiro, Caridad

  “Griff, thank God you came,” Penny said in a soft, almost sweetly feminine voice.

  Griff marched up to Cassie, ignoring Penny. He reached for her arm, his eyes still filled with that snapping, crackling energy. He almost looked angry with her. “Are you hurt? I saw you fall down the stairs.”

  Cassie nodded and slipped from his grasp. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked, gaze assessing her as if she was lying.

  A shiver passed through her aching body. “Nothing’s broken.”

  Griff eyeballed Penny and Cassie. What he said next, though, took Cassie by surprise.

  “Christ almighty.” He almost hissed the words as he leaned down to pick up the automatic weapon. “Are you trying to get dead? I told you two to stay in the hotel and keep the doors locked.”

  “It was my fault.” Penny said. “I saw Jacky and Peterson and thought I’d head them off before they got any ideas. I figured they’d try to come inside.”

  “You should have stayed inside.” His voice was unforgiving.

  “How do you know those men?” Cassie asked Penny.

  “I grew up with them. They went to high school with me. They’re nut jobs.” Something disconcerting lit Penny’s eyes. She cleared her throat and peered over her shoulder as if she expected the men to return. “Jacky is my son’s father.” Penny threw an admiring look at Griff. “You handled those thugs like a pro.”

  Cassie’s surprise at what Penny had revealed was overtaken by another emotion. Several emotions, in fact. Penny’s gaze on Griff was more than admiring. It was calculating. Suddenly Cassie didn’t trust the woman for one second longer. An impression flew at her—this woman wanted Griff for her own. Shocked, Cassie didn’t speak. Then, to her shame, she felt trembling start in her limbs. She didn’t dare lose control. She wouldn’t lose it in front of anyone.

  “Excuse me,” Cassie said as she turned and made her way up the stairs.

  She walked as fast as her legs would carry her, half expecting for Griff to run after her. When he didn’t, she wasn’t sure how to feel. She hurried toward the stairs and took them quickly, trotting up them until she’d reached her room. She pushed open the door and that’s when she heard footsteps behind her. Griff had followed.

  “Cassie! Hold up.”

  She opened the door and went inside. He caught the door before it slammed, then shoved it closed behind him. He watched her for a second, uncertainty crossing his eyes for a few seconds.

  “Get out,” she said, shaking to the very core.

  He stood in her room with that automatic weapon slung over his shoulder, his tall body tense, his eyes hard and unforgiving. Alongside the anger seething within her were other emotions she dare not acknowledge or reveal. Heat sprung up along her skin and replaced the cold, and her aches and pains faded to the background under new physical sensations. The man in front of her had protected her, but she hated that he had to. That the world she lived in had cruel, ugly men like the one who’d assaulted her. That she’d done such a poor job of protecting herself.

  “Cassie—”

  “Go ahead and get it over with.”

  “What?”

  “The lecture. Clearly that’s what you had in mind when you followed me up here.”

  “You’re right. I did. You could have been killed. God only knows what would have happened if I hadn’t come back and seen what was happening.”

  He put the automatic weapon down on the table, then drew off his coat and holster and placed both on a chair next to the couch. He stalked toward her, and she stiffened. All those emotions steaming through her threatened to boil over. Tears stung her eyes. Tangled emotions battled for supremacy inside her. She wanted to yell at him for resembling those Neanderthals in any way.

  “From now on I need you to do what I tell you,” he said. “Things are getting dicey out there. There was damn near a riot at the sheriff’s department. People are looking for help and they’re starting to blame others. Look for scapegoats. They aren’t pulling together. At least not the ones who made a run on the cops, anyway.”

  She closed her eyes and drew a shuddering breath. “Why am I not surprised?”

  “And why didn’t you do what I told you and stay in the hotel?”

  Pissed, she took a step forward that practically put her in his face.

  She poked his chest with her index finger, frustration pouring forth. “God, you’re such a man. I tried to get Penny to stay inside the hotel, but she saw those two goons and went outside. I wasn’t going to lock her out. I didn’t know she knew those idiots.”

  “Still—”

  “Still what? Survival of the fittest? I wasn’t going to leave her alone out there.”

  He went silent, eyeballing her with unnerving intensity. If he’d been a stranger she’d have been very afraid of him. Instead she was pissed.

  “Your woman, eh?” she said. “What the hell was that all about?”

  “Creeps like that need to hear that kind of shit.”

  “They could have killed you.”

  “Hey.” His voice softened. “It’s all right.”

  “No it isn’t—” She choked on her own words. She drew in a harsh breath. “You can’t order me around like one of your military underlings.”

  “Yeah.” He said in a clipped tone. “But I’m more familiar with what can happen in situations like this. You’ve got to trust me.”

  Her breath came faster as he closed the gap between them. Something primal and raw entered his eyes.

  “Don’t order me around like that again,” she said in defense, unable to reason with him or herself why this was so important to say. “I’ve survived things you know nothing about.”

  “Oh?” His eyes softened the slightest bit, a hint of compassion. “Have you battled assholes like the one that just tried to hurt you? Who would have done a lot worse if he got a chance?”

  “Not exactly. But I won’t accept any man claiming he knows what is better for me than I know myself.”

  “If it’ll save your life, I’ll do it again.” His voice was edgy, commanding.

  “And Penny is up to something. Did you see how she acted with you?” Cassie’s voice went slightly higher. “Oh, Griff. My hero.”

  He grunted, and for a half a moment humor mixed with a hot look in his eyes. “You jealous?”

  A hot flush filled her face. She wouldn’t answer that question. “Anything could have happened. All you had was that pea shooter and that creep had an automatic weapon.”

  “I wasn’t lying to him. I could have got a shot off and killed him.”

  “Do you think I give a damn about that?” On impulse she grabbed the front of his shirt and twisted, half in anger and half in desperation. He must understand.

  “Were you worried about me?” His voice went liquid with heat, a husky sound that sent tendrils of arousal spiraling all through her.

  Shocked at the sensation, she couldn’t speak.

  “Cassie, you may be mad as hell at me.” Griff slipped his hand around the back of her neck. “You can hate my guts. But I’m honest with you. They planned on taking you with them. Do you know how scared shitless I was when I saw that guy lying on top of you?”

  Warmth coiled in her loins, the heat threatening to start a fire from the inside out. She was shaking with it. “Griff…”

  His mouth came down on hers for one tender, sweet kiss. He whispered against her mouth. “You gotta trust me.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Why don’t you?” His eyes were blazing now as he drew her against every inch of his incredibly hard body. “What’s eating you up inside? What your ex did to you? I’d die before I ever hurt you, Cassie. I’m not your ex. I’m not those assholes that tried to hurt you. I swear it.”

  He kissed her again, and all the emotions inside her exploded into action.

  They kissed repeatedly, their mouths passionate and the hunger inside her reaching a fever pitch instantly. Tears poured from her eyes,
and he kissed them away. One touch led to another. Desire eclipsed everything. With a frantic urgency, they tore at each other’s clothing. She needed him now, wanted the reassurance. He threw his shirt on the floor, tugged off his boots while she rapidly dispensed with her coat, sweater, boots and jeans. She stood in her underwear, the plain and utilitarian stuff she’d brought to Bowmount, never expecting a man would see them.

  Her gaze fixated on his torso and for the moment all the bad shit going down in the world disappeared.

  He must be sculpted from iron. With broad shoulders, ripped arms, a sprinkle of dark hair over a muscled chest and a washboard stomach, Griff defined hunk with a capital H. Mixed together with a ruggedly handsome face that definitely didn’t say pretty-boy, Griff made her libido stand up and take notice. Their gazes clashed, and the intensity in his eyes kept her pinned to the spot. Silky hot need coiled in her loins, and she recognized the feeling. Sexual attraction. With him the sensation proved more powerful and distracting than it did with any other man she’d met. She could blame it on their perilous circumstances, but that would be wrong. She’d felt this way about him from the moment they met, and the need grew fiercer the longer she knew him.

  One arm wrapped around her waist tightly, his hand cradling the back of her neck as he plunged into another the kiss with whole-hearted urgency. His tongue dipped inside and tangled with hers, a symphony of tasting and touching. He kissed her once. Twice. Again.

  Yes. Yes.

  No retreat and no looking back.

  His erection, steely hard against her belly, felt so good. She squirmed in his hold. God, she’d never felt this turned on so quickly in her life. He tore his mouth from hers and buried his face in her neck. With small kisses he traced his way to her left ear, and his hot breath teased and tickled. She wriggled again, the ache in her breasts and between her legs reaching a fever pitch. Beyond this, in the outside world, there was nothing. There was no chaos, no solar flare, no ocean racing to swallow her.

  “You make me crazy.” His voice was rough, deep and aching with need. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She clasped his head between her hands as his hands tightened on her hips. “You couldn’t. You won’t.”

  With a moan he shoved his jeans and briefs down his legs and kicked them aside. She drank in the sight of long muscular legs and the thick cock between his thighs, Cassie wanted to groan. Because she couldn’t form a word to describe how crazy he made her. His chest heaved up and down as he watched her, and then she took hesitation away. She palmed his pectorals, teasing his stiff nipples with her palms.

  He hissed in a breath, his teeth showing. Griff clasped her wrist and drew her forward. He kissed the sensitive skin there, and a wild thrill rippled up her arm. He drew her into his body and impressed upon her how big he was in every way. Powerful muscles, his height as he towered over her. Even the blatant strength turned her on. She moistened, growing hot between the legs with a need to move, to take him into her body. Shaking inside, she left his arms until she backed into the one wall with space. He followed and placed his palms on the wall on either side of her head. She was molten already, hot beyond anything she’d experienced before. It was crazy. Irrational. She didn’t care.

  His gaze held heat as he attention took in her breasts, down her body to the juncture of her thighs. “You’re beautiful.”

  She stayed against the wall, half afraid to take a step toward all that power and masculine force. He was so vital, so strong. What she didn’t know about him tantalized her now, and that shocked her. She loved it—never had forbidden needs ridden so hard and fierce. She wasn’t helpless, but his assertiveness drove her desires higher. Repeatedly he kissed her, and the slow thrust and retreat of his tongue against hers drove her needs higher. She traced his skin, testing his steel-hard muscles.

  She arched into him, and his thick cock pushed against her stomach. “Griff.”

  She went for bold, and reached between them to stroke his length, to cup his balls. He clasped her hand and brought it to his waist.

  “I’m so hot if you do that again, I’ll come in your hand,” he said.

  He leaned against her, and a rush of moisture made her soaking wet between the legs. She squirmed as he wedged his legs between hers and made room for his hips. Hot cock teased her, and she gasped. She was shivering, so hot for him she could barely speak. If he didn’t extinguish this crazy fire soon, she would lose her mind. She dared look into his eyes, and saw the dangerous man, a man with leashed animal inside.

  “Oh, God, Cassie. You’re so wet.”

  This time she kissed him, tugging his head down and devouring him. He complied, and the strength of desire made her wild. She arched, feeling every inch of his hair-roughened skin against her softness, his maleness undeniable and exciting. As his kisses drove her to the edge, he slipped his hands around and cupped her butt. He lifted her, and her legs went around his waist.

  Oh, yes. Yes.

  His thickness touched between her folds, and she groaned into his mouth.

  He stopped kissing her and buried his face in her neck. They held on the precipice for a second.

  He slid his cock straight into her core. Cassie gasped with the hot, sweet ecstasy as he spread her wide. Fear and anxiety that destroyed her when they’d stood on the steps outside the resort perished under the feeling of his hot masculinity deep inside her. She clutched at his shoulders as his muscles bunched and coiled. Holding her against the wall, he thrust hard. She lost her mind as he pumped her with sure strokes. She ate it up, the ecstasy inside her growing so fast it made her crazy. Moans left her throat, and she gasped as every inch of her came to life.

  One hot thrust after another turned her into a wild creature, thoughts dashed under a primal imperative without reason. He gasped against her throat as his thrusts grew harder, his cadence more determined. Hot bliss filled her center, spreading in waves through her core as he groaned, their bodies dancing against each other. Another hard thrust and another and Cassie fell apart, shaking as she whimpered. Pure pleasure spread in hot liquid through her loins. With a last plunge, Griff held deep and growled as he came inside her.

  He kissed her, and despite the coldness of the room, she’d never felt more warm. More safe. More loved.

  Loved? No. He didn’t love her, and she knew that. They hadn’t known each other long enough. Certainly they’d come together in mutual lust. It didn’t mean marriage or a picket fence. But God. She’d never experienced sex more electrifying.

  He gathered her close and walked across the room with her, his cock still buried deep in her softness and her legs around his waist. With a gentleness that belied his big body, he laid her on the bed and withdrew from her. He followed her down until he was beside her. Gathered in each other’s arms, they tumbled into a tangle of arms and legs.

  Sweating and still panting in the aftermath, she drifted on a cloud of pure sweetness where she forgot everything but how she felt in his arms. Until he drew back and levered up on one elbow beside her. The lust was still there in his eyes, but so was an equally powerful emotion. Fear.

  “Christ,” he said, his voice like gravel. “Shit.”

  Startled, she sat up, forcing him to do the same.

  “What?’ she asked.

  “Condom. I didn’t use a condom.” His voice held anger.

  Blackout: Chapter Eleven

  Something tightened up inside Cassie at the implication of what they’d just done. “Not smart, I know. But you don’t need to worry.”

  “Why?” He scrubbed one hand through his hair.

  She lifted one eyebrow. “I’m sterile. I was tested extensively when my ex and I couldn’t have kids. They tested him first and his swimmers were fine. My ovaries were junk.”

  He sighed, and the relief she saw in his eyes didn’t make her feel any better. Old baggage stirred inside her. Her ex had been furious when he found out they couldn’t have kids.

  Griff reached up and brushed her hair back. “I�
�m sorry. I mean, if you wanted to have children…”

  “I did. But at the end of the day I’m glad I didn’t have kids with that man. Very glad I didn’t.”

  He nodded, and he must have seen the regret in her face. “I’m healthy. You don’t need to worry about any disease.”

  “I’m clean, too.”

  One more time he nodded, and he added a smile. His arms went around her, and he drew her down on top of him. Her mind whirled with questions, with a confusion of emotions she couldn’t even identify. She wondered about their connection. Was it real? Fueled by desperation as they’d tackled a scary situation, they’d come together in a quick and furious lovemaking?

  “We’re safe tonight.” His voice was low and soft. “You need to rest.”

  “Are you crazy?” Her eyes, so intense and mesmerizing, dared him to tell her anything she didn’t want to hear. “How can I relax? The freakin’ sun just fried all the damned electronics in the world and two thugs tried to mess me up.” She gestured at the flashlights and the small battery-powered lamp on the desk which gave them moderate light. “We’ve been knocked back to the stone age.”

  “Not exactly.”

  She went on, a uncharacteristic nervousness biting her around the edges. “Thank you for watching out for me today. In the last ten years since my divorce, I’ve grown up a lot. I’ve become very independent. Depending on another person for anything is driving me nuts.”

  “You haven’t depended on me for anything yet.”

  “Right. I don’t know jack about surviving the dark ages.”

  “Maybe you don’t, but you would’ve figured it out without me. But I’m glad I’m here to help.”

  “Long day already and it’s not half over.” Her voice held weariness. “I suppose from this day forward it’s a one moment at a time thing.”

  “Yeah. Survival depends on flexibility. Learning to be tough if you aren’t already.”