Hot SEAL, Undercover Groom (SEALs in Paradise)

by Maryann Jordan

  He wanted to lean in and capture her smile with a kiss, but she clicked his champagne glass before taking a sip. Following her lead, he drank as well. Once their glasses were drained, she sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “You’re not going to get drunk and take advantage of me, are you?” he asked.

  She turned her wide-eyed gaze up to him and huffed. “I’m not big enough to take advantage of you.”

  He laughed and tightened his arm around her shoulders. “Come on, let’s take that walk.” He slid from the booth and, with linked fingers, gently drew her to his side. They walked out of the restaurant and past several exclusive shops as they made their way into the cavernous lobby. Continuing down the hall toward the swimming pools, they exited near the back through wide glass doors. Walking paths were illuminated with lamps and fairy lights hung from the trees. The sun had just slid beyond the mountain, the vision in the distance capturing their attention.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Their fingers were still linked, but she wobbled slightly as her shoulder rubbed against his arm.

  Wanting to keep her steady, he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders and smiled as she reciprocated, sliding her arm about his waist. Now, with her tucked tight to his side, they wandered along the path amongst the tall trees and decorative flowers and bushes planted along the way.

  Guiding her over to a bench, they sat, snuggled closely together. He turned toward her, the vanilla scent of her shampoo teasing his nostrils, and he inhaled appreciatively. Placing his lips on her forehead, he was surprised when she lifted her chin slightly and his kiss drifted to her lips.

  Just like before, her kiss was intoxicating. Sweeping his tongue inside her warmth, she tasted of sweet wine and cake. Her body melted toward him, and he circled her with his arms. The twinge in his abdomen gave warning that he would not be able to maneuver her onto his lap the way he wanted.

  As though she understood his slight grunt, she shifted her body, straddling his lap. Not wanting the kiss to end, he reveled in the feel of her lips against his, her breasts now crushing against his chest, her hot core nestled against his aching cock. The desire to lay her on a bed of moss underneath the twinkling lights in the trees and strip her naked filled his mind. If the sounds of her little moans were anything to go by, her thoughts were traveling in the same direction as his.

  Lost in the kiss, they jolted at the sound of children laughing nearby. Lynn leaped off his lap, brushing her hands over her skirt before sitting down next to him again. His eyes were pinned on the swell of her breasts as her chest heaved. His erection was obvious as it pressed against his zipper, and he adjusted his jacket just as a family walking along the path came into their sight. After smiling and nodding his silent greeting as they passed, he felt Lynn heave a deep sigh.

  “I guess we’d better go inside,” she said, her voice soft.

  Uncertain if she wanted them to continue their kiss once they got inside or if she was calling a halt to the activity, he simply nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” Following her lead, they stood, and he was glad when her arm snaked around his waist again. Tucked tightly together, they made their way back into the casino.

  Reentering the lobby, Lynn blinked at the bright lights. Her lips still tingled, and she could swear she still felt the effects of their kiss. Kissing Nolan Bell! She had no idea if he felt anything for her or if she was simply a convenient female. Strangely, she had decided to go with the flow that evening, tossing possible recriminations to the side. Regrets might hit her tomorrow, but for now, she just wanted to feel his arms around her and savor the moments.

  He was guiding them once again toward the elevators when she glanced over and watched as Errol entered the casino. Her fingers clenched Nolan’s side and she hissed, “Look! Errol’s going in there! We should follow him!” Without waiting, she changed their walking trajectory, heading directly into the casino.

  Passing the guard, they slowed their pace and wandered around, her gaze searching for Errol while taking in the massive room filled with lights and sounds and people. “Oh, my God, this is crazy!” She looked up in time to catch Nolan’s grin as he smiled down at her.

  “Never been in a casino?”

  “No. I’ve never seen anything like this.” She hated to shout, but the noise was almost deafening. She scanned the area but didn’t see Errol. Jerking on Nolan’s sleeve, she captured his attention again, and he bent low to place his ear near her mouth. “Do you see him? I’m so short I can’t see over anything.”

  He twisted his head and now, with his lips near her ear, he replied, “I think you’re the perfect height. See?” He had just pulled her flush against him when a group of people pushed by and his arms tightened.

  She loved the feel of his warm breath against her ear and now equally loved the feel of being protected in his arms. She beamed her smile up toward him, hoping he would kiss her again. As though reading her mind, he bent and brushed his lips against hers. The kiss was much too short, but she treasured it nonetheless.

  He straightened and cast his gaze about the room. “Let’s keep walking around. We can get an idea of what’s here while looking for him.”

  Staying tucked against his side, they passed by the video gaming, but she was disappointed to see that the slot machines did not have the pull levers that she has always seen in movies. “They just have to press a button.” Seeing Nolan nod, she added, “It seems sort of anticlimactic.”

  They weaved in and out of the tables surrounded by people playing blackjack, roulette, poker, and other games she’d never seen before. Jerking on his sleeve again, she said, “I don’t see anyone with money!”

  “They buy a casino card.”

  She scrunched her nose again as she continued to stare, waiting for his explanation to continue.

  “They buy a card and that’s what they use for all of their gambling transactions. It keeps track of all winnings and they can keep adding money to it. Plus, that sign over there says that by purchasing a card, you get a meal at the all-you-can-eat buffet.”

  As full as she was from dinner, the idea of the buffet sounded intriguing. Nolan started laughing, and she punched him in the arm. “Are you laughing at me?”

  “You should’ve seen your face when I mentioned the all-you-can-eat buffet.”

  “Hmph,” she groused.

  “Come on.”

  With his arm wrapped around her, she had little choice but to tag along as he walked to a long line of people waiting to purchase their casino cards.

  “There he is,” he said, and she tried to stand on her toes to see what he was looking at. “He’s just made it to the front of the line.”

  “What’s he doing?”

  “He’s getting his card. He’s handed a thick envelope to the attendant. That’s weird. The attendant didn’t even count what was inside.”

  “If that envelope is full of money, then maybe they’re used to him.”

  “You’re probably right. That may be something they do for some of their regular high-rollers.”

  Still standing on her toes, all she managed to do was see a line full of heads and shoulders. “What’s he doing now?”

  “He’s got his casino card and she’s handing him a receipt just like everyone else.”

  As they made their way closer to the window, she looked up and, cocking her head to the side, asked, “Shouldn’t we keep an eye on Errol?”

  “If I had to guess, he’s probably in one of the exclusive rooms.”

  Jerking her head around, she looked as though she expected a room to magically appear with a large sign that declared it ‘exclusive’. Hearing him laugh again, she swung her attention back up to him.

  They finally made it to the front of the line and pulled out their driver’s licenses, and he bought their cards. Turning, he tapped her card on her nose as he handed it to her and said, “Now you’ve got fifty dollars you can gamble with.”

  Eyes wide, she shook her head. “I hav
e no idea what to do! Anyway, I don’t like the idea of gambling.”

  Throwing his head back, he laughed. “Well, if nothing else, you can sit at one of the video games and press the button to see if you win more money.”

  As boring as it sounded, it was probably the only activity she could do without embarrassing herself.

  “Come on, let’s have some fun. I have no doubt that Errol’s off in one of the private rooms gambling away—”

  His words halted as his gaze moved over her head to the far side of the room. Twisting, she stood on her toes but was unable to see what he was looking at.

  He bent, and with his mouth next to her ear again, he said, “I see him. There’s a guard by the far door and Errol’s just gone inside that room.” He squeezed her waist. “There’s no way we can get in that room, so we might as well just have some fun.”

  Agreeing, she allowed him to lead her over to a section of video games near a corner that didn’t have as many people around. They sat next to each other and began playing, although she had no idea what she was doing. Nolan had several buttons he was pressing, and he explained it allowed him to change how much he was betting. Looking at her machine, it seemed that she was only betting a small amount at a time. Continuing to press the button, the lights blinked and the bells jangled, and she finally concluded that her original assessment was true. This is boring.

  But with Nolan sitting next to her, his hand drifting over to rub her shoulder or settle on her thigh, the idea of boring was quickly replaced by the idea of what she would like his hands to be doing. Servers in little skirts walked around with trays, offering drinks. Starting to go for her wallet, Nolan stopped her.

  “It’s included, babe.”

  Eyes wide, she was sure she misunderstood him, but he turned to the server and ordered a whiskey. Glancing toward her, he grinned and ordered a fruity cocktail.

  “Yes, Sir, Ma’am. I’ll be right back.”

  As the server retreated, she lifted her brows and bugged her eyes. “Included? Like free?”

  Laughing, he said, “That’s one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it is the casino is not losing money. They’re making so much money on these games that everyone’s losing on, they can afford to offer free drinks. And then the more people drink, the more they’re going to stay and gamble.” He pointed to a coffee bar nearby offering complimentary coffee drinks. “Believe me, their coffee will be great, and it’s also free.”

  Unable to follow that logic, she continued to stare, waiting for him to explain, but they were interrupted when the server returned. She handed the whiskey to Nolan and turned with a pleasant smile and handed the fruity cocktail with pineapple and cherries on top to Lynn. Turning back to Nolan, the server accepted her tip, thanking him before wandering to the next group of people.

  Wrapping her lips around the straw, she sucked, surprised that she could taste the alcohol. “I figured this would be mostly fruit juice, but this is fabulous!”

  He laughed and took a sip of his whiskey. “This is all part of their plan. People drink and gamble more. And then they have coffee and sober up to start the process all over again.”

  “How long do most people stay here?”

  “Some of these people will be here all night. They’ll keep drinking and gambling until all their money is gone.” At that, he shook his head slightly. “I guess that’s on them, but it’s sad when you know some of these people are gambling their paychecks away.”

  Still slurping, she looked down at her gaming machine. “Do we have to keep staying at this one machine until all our money is gone?”

  “Nah. Pull your card out and we can use it again tomorrow if you want. Keep in mind that it’s what will get us into the all-you-can-eat buffet.”

  Her face brightened at that thought, and he laughed again. Glancing down at her drink, he said, “Drink up and we can head to the room. At this rate, you’ll be too tipsy to look at the records.”

  At his words, she remembered that she had a job to do. As another server passed by, she placed her now-empty cocktail glass onto the tray. “You’re right. We should get up to the room.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished they meant something besides just looking at pages of financial records. As he wrapped his arm around her again, she released a little sigh. Yeah, just my luck. I finally have a night with Nolan Bell, and all I’ll be doing is working.

  12

  Stepping back inside their suite, Nolan tried to still his nerves. It’s just Lynn. It’s not like anything is going to happen. Desperate to get out of his suit, he jerked on his tie. “Do you want to take a shower before you start looking over the records? I’m anxious to get into something more comfortable.”

  “No, that’s fine. You go ahead. I just want to get out of these shoes.”

  As he glanced into the mirror, he watched as she held on to the edge of the dresser and bent forward to pull her strappy sandals off. Her dress rode up in the back, giving another view of her perfectly-toned legs. He jerked his gaze back up to her face as she turned around. Without her shoes giving her the added few inches, she appeared even more petite. Taking in her lacy dress embroidered in butterflies, it struck him that was what she reminded him of. Beautiful, but oh, so delicate.

  He turned quickly and stalked into the bathroom with his bag in hand. After shutting the door and starting the water, he pulled off his suit coat and dress shirt. Staring into the mirror, his thoughts tangled. The day had not turned out at all as he expected… or planned. Being forced to go through with the sham ceremony had certainly not been what he thought would happen, but he was impressed with how easily Lynn adapted to their ever-changing situation. And, once they snuck inside Errol’s office, she’d impressed him further with her quick thinking in searching the room and finding the extra files.

  Dismissing her as delicate might not be right. Somehow, she managed to be both delicate and tough. Glancing back into the mirror, he held his gaze and whispered aloud, “But not for you.” He sighed heavily. His constant mantra of not looking for a relationship was beginning to sound old even to his own ears.

  Stepping under the stream of water, he quickly washed away the nervous sweat from the day. If I was this nervous at a pretend wedding, what would I be like at my real wedding? Washing his hair, he tried to imagine what his real wedding might look like, but he could only come up with Lynn’s beautiful face staring up at him as he slid a ring on her finger.

  His cock twitched at the thought, and he considered using his hand to relieve the sexual tension that had been building for hours. Giving in to the battle, he stroked himself as he continued to see her face in front of him. The idea of her gloss-slicked lips around his cock before he pulled her up and slid into her warm sex had him coming quicker and harder than he ever had. With his hand pressed against the tile, he emptied himself, the still-warm water washing away the evidence of his arousal.

  Resting his forehead against his hand, he dragged raspy breaths into his lungs. Reality slowly crept back into his consciousness, and he jerked his head up and looked toward the door, ascertaining it was still closed. Jesus, was I quiet? He had come so hard he could not remember if he groaned aloud or if it was all in his mind. Shit! I hope she couldn’t hear anything!

  Rinsing off, he flipped the faucet and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing a thick towel, he quickly dried his body before pulling on a comfortable pair of boxers and Navy sweatpants. He brushed his teeth and ran his fingers through his wet hair. His scar had healed nicely, and he was pleased that he had only felt a few minor twinges during the day. With another look in the mirror, he dug through his bag and pulled out a clean T-shirt. This is Lynn I’m with… not some girl in a beach bar looking for a SEAL to bang.

  With his hand on the doorknob, he sucked in a deep breath, hoping she was buried under papers and had not heard his shower activities. Refusing to cower inside the bathroom, he threw open the door and stepped out into the bedroom. Glad to see it empty, he moved into t
he living area of the suite.

  His gaze was automatically drawn to her. Instead of sitting at the desk, she had placed her laptop on the coffee table and was kneeling on the floor in front of it. With her thighs slightly raised, her ass was on delectable display underneath the soft material of her dress. Biting back a groan, he padded into the room. Moving first to the kitchenette, he grabbed a bottle of water. Glancing to the side to see that she did not have anything, he reached back into the refrigerator and grabbed another one and set it on the coffee table near her. “I know we drank a lot this evening, so make sure you stay hydrated.”

  She looked at the bottle and smiled, murmuring, “Thanks.”

  Her eyes did not quite meet his, and he gritted his teeth, almost certain that she’d heard him in the shower and was now probably embarrassed. Trying to think of something to say, he blurted, “Did you get everything you wanted?”

  Her gaze jumped to his face, her eyes wide. “Um… what I wanted?”

  He could have sworn her gaze dropped to his crotch before a blush flamed across her face. “The computer records… from the chapel.”

  “Yes!” she squeaked. She looked back down at her computer and cleared her throat. “Yes, yes. There’s not a lot that I’m going to be able to discern tonight, but I wanted to have a chance to make sure I had backup copies, and I’m also sending the pictures I took from the files in his drawer to my computer as well.”

  “Good, good. Yeah… um… good.” Glad that she was still looking at her computer screen and not him as he rolled his eyes at his babbling, he leaned forward and snagged the remote. Turning on the TV, he lowered the sound. “Does this bother you? If it does, I can go to the bed—”

  Her gaze shot up to his.

  Fuckin’ hell! “Bedroom… um… I can go into the bedroom.”

  Her lips twitched just before they began curving into a smile. “No, you’re fine. The TV doesn’t bother me and, well, I like your company.”