HOT SEAL Devotion

by Lynn Raye Harris

  Bailey had never been so weak she took up with the first man to pay her any real attention, but Kayla had fallen for James Dunn’s solicitousness from the first. She’d been aching for someone to love her, and he’d exploited her weakness as soon as he found it.

  “How’s my little Ana-banana-boo?” Bailey said, dropping to her knees in front of where Ana sat in her playpen with her toys. Ana rewarded her with a yell and Bailey stood and scooped the baby up with all the ease of a natural. It made Kayla smile when she considered how clueless Bailey had been a few months ago.

  “She’s had a great day with us,” Kayla said. “Not a single tear.”

  Bailey bounced her. “Ana is a good baby. Aren’t you a good baby? Yes. You. Are.”

  Kayla had already packed up Ana’s diaper bag. Now she hurried to collapse the Pack ’n Play and stow the toys. “Thank you so much for coming to get her.”

  “Not a problem, Kay-Kay. Stay as long as you need to. I’m home for the evening.”

  Bailey knew that Kayla wanted the hours, and Kayla was grateful. Her sister was in nursing school and probably needed to study, but Bailey always worked it out somehow.

  Kayla said goodbye to her sister and kissed Ana, then went into the back to take a load of towels from the dryer and fold them up. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she answered it without looking at the screen. Nobody ever called her but the women in the salon and her sister. “What did you forget, Bailey?”

  “I know where you are,” a man said. “I know what you did.”

  Kayla’s heart dropped into her toes as fear crawled up her spine. “Who are you? What do you want?”

  The man laughed. “You’ll soon find out. Oh, and nice shoes you’re wearing today, Kayla. Not too good when you want to run though, are they?”

  Her heart was a mad thing in her chest. Fear chewed her from the inside out. “Y-you followed me. How do you know me?”

  “Your sister is still banging, too. Sweet tits on that babe. Too bad she got away. She’d have made a lot of money for us with that hot body. She’s too much trouble though.”

  Her blood ran cold. He was one of them. “I’m hanging up now.”

  “Better not,” he said casually. Menacingly.

  She gripped the phone in both hands and forced herself to breathe. “What do you want?”

  “What you owe the club, bitch.”

  “I don’t owe them anything.”

  “I think you do. And you’re gonna pay, one way or the other.”

  “I don’t have anything of value. Leave me alone.”

  He laughed. “You have the kid.”

  Ice cracked inside her. “No way. Never. I’ll call the police if you dare—”

  “Really? An unfit mother like you? You sure you want the police involved? They might take her into state custody.”

  Outrage and fear flooded her system at once. She fell into a chair and gripped the phone tight. “Come for me and I’ll kill you,” she growled.

  The line went dead. But not before he laughed again.

  Chapter Two

  Neo was nursing a beer when Kayla walked into Dirty and Chloe’s backyard pushing Ana in her stroller. His senses snapped into high alert. She wore a pair of cut-off jean shorts that clung to her perfect ass and a breezy white cotton tank top that showcased her luscious tits. Her blond hair was in a ponytail, and his gut twisted at the thought of wrapping all that hair around his fist and tugging her head back so he could plunder her mouth and throat before burying his cock deep inside her pussy.

  He shifted in his chair and turned away to get a handle on his reactions. He wanted to go to her, and he also knew he shouldn’t. She didn’t need the uncertainty of his life clouding hers. Kayla was a mother, and her baby was her first priority. God knew she’d been through enough with her ex and the motorcycle club he’d been a part of. James Dunn had manipulated her, imprisoned her, and tried to take her baby away. He’d put a haunted look in her eyes, and Neo wanted nothing more than to take that look away.

  But he couldn’t. He couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t put her through a different kind of hell if they got involved. It took a special kind of woman to put up with an operator’s life. He didn’t doubt that Kayla was special, but she’d been through enough.

  “She sure is pretty,” Corey “Shade” Vance said, and Neo’s hackles rose.

  “Yeah, but she’s got a baby to take care of and no time for the likes of you.”

  Shade made a noise of disbelief. Neo turned to meet his gaze.

  “I was talking about that one right there. The brunette.”

  Neo followed the jerk of Shade’s chin to Avery McCarthy, Chloe’s boss at the salon. She was also the woman who’d owned this house until Dirty and Chloe moved in together and made her an offer. She was a leggy brunette, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white button down tied at the waist. Polished compared to Kayla, with perfect makeup and hair.

  Neo liked Kayla’s messy blond locks, her simple clothing that often had spots from where Ana dropped food on her. Avery was an uptown girl. Kayla was the girl next door.

  “She’s pretty,” Neo said. “And recently single.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “So ask her out.”

  Shade took a sip of his beer. “Too soon.”

  Neo didn’t ask questions. He didn’t really want to know why Shade cared how long ago the breakup was.

  Ryan “Dirty Harry” Callahan and Alexei “Camel” Kamarov strolled over and flopped into chairs while the women gathered around Kayla and Ana, cooing over the baby and talking about whatever it was that women talked about at picnics.

  “Man, I’m starved,” Dirty said. “Chloe said ten more minutes. She’s almost done with the chicken.”

  Neo couldn’t wait to have Chloe’s fried chicken. And her dessert, whatever she’d made today. Living across the street from Dirty and Chloe, he was the lucky recipient of her cooking quite often. He wasn’t complaining.

  Soon, Chloe leaned out the back door and yelled at Dirty to come help her. He shot upright and disappeared into the house. A few more minutes and they were carrying out fried chicken, corn on the cob, green beans, biscuits, and that strawberry pretzel dessert that made Neo’s mouth water. He should have been faster to make a play for her back when she’d moved in. Instead, he’d let Dirty have her.

  Which was the right thing to do because Dirty was head over heels for Chloe. Neo loved her, but not like that. He loved her because his buddy did, and because she was sweeter than the cakes she baked. Platonic love, nothing more incendiary.

  Neo piled his plate high with chicken, knowing how good it was going to be when he bit into it. Fortunately, Chloe had made a shit ton of food. She knew who she was dealing with when it came to this crowd.

  Neo was perched at a table and biting back a moan over the buttery biscuits when Kayla appeared beside him. She held a plate and a drink and she looked uncertain of herself. Ana was asleep in her stroller at another table, watched over by Bailey.

  “How are you, Zach?”

  Neo swallowed a bite of biscuit and worked at keeping his dick under control. “Fine. How about you?”

  “I’m okay.”

  He’d found the only table in the yard that was small and had two chairs. He glanced at the empty one. “Did you want to sit?”

  “I, um….” Kayla nibbled the inside of her lip. His balls tightened. “For a second, I guess.”

  He stood and pulled the chair out and Kayla sank down on it, keeping her eyes from meeting his. She tore off a piece of chicken and popped it in her mouth.

  “Good, huh?” Neo asked.

  “Oh yes. Chloe knows how to cook.”

  “She sure does. Dirty is a lucky bastard.”

  Kayla swallowed and nodded. “He is. Nobody in our house cooks like this.”

  He knew she meant the house where she lived with Camel and Bailey. She was in the in-law apartment that was an addition the previous owner had built. It had a separate entr
ance from Camel and Bailey’s house, as well as its own kitchen, living, bed, and bath. They’d bought the house with Kayla in mind, but they also knew they could rent the apartment if she ever moved out.

  He’d been inside the apartment a couple of times. The night they’d spent together had been at his place though. He still thought of her every time he climbed into his bed. It was torture to remember the way she’d felt beneath him. Her silken heat gloving his dick, her perfect little tits in his hands and mouth, her tongue sucking his like she couldn’t get enough.

  Fuck. Stop, dude.

  He was going to embarrass himself right here in the middle of the damned party with a hard-on that wouldn’t go away if he didn’t rid his mind of those images.

  Kayla didn’t say anything. Neo didn’t either. He was too busy thinking unsexy thoughts. He ate in silence, wondering what she wanted and getting pissed that she didn’t speak. Maybe she didn’t want anything.

  Except to torture him.

  “How’s your sister?” Kayla finally asked.

  “She’s fine, thanks. The kids are doing well, and she’s got a new boyfriend.” Maybe this one would stick. He hoped so. He hoped this guy was a good one.

  “That’s good, right?”

  “I think so. I hope it is.”

  He’d told Kayla about Lesley and the husband who’d abandoned her and the kids. He wasn’t in a motorcycle gang or doing anything illegal, but he wasn’t a prince either. Neo had thought Kayla needed to hear about someone raising her kids alone when he’d told her about Lesley. His sister was doing the best she could. Neo sent gifts for the kids. He’d tried to send money, but Lesley wouldn’t take it. She was too proud, his little sis. She wanted to do everything herself. He had no choice but to let her, but he hated watching her struggle. If she’d ask for his help, he’d be there in an instant.

  He’d left home to join the military when she was still in high school, and that’s when everything went to hell. Their parents divorced, and Lesley got stuck with their narcissist of a mother. She’d gone a little wild, and then she’d gotten pregnant. She’d married the father, but teenage parents didn’t stand the best chance of making it work.

  “Zach, I…” Kayla set her fork down and clasped her hands in her lap. He waited. She shook her head and scrambled to her feet, grabbing the plate. “I’d better get back to Ana. It was nice to talk to you.”

  Neo watched her go, his gut hollowing out with disappointment as she reached her sister and dropped into a chair beside her. Dirty was at the next table over. He met Neo’s gaze, eyebrow lifted.

  Neo shrugged, though he felt anything but unaffected. Why did Kayla Jones twist his guts the way she did?

  “Join us, Neo,” Dirty called. “There’s room. Drag that chair over here.”

  He started to say no. But why? He’d have plenty of time to brood over Kayla and her hot and cold reactions to him tonight when he was alone. He joined the group at the picnic table and did his best not to think about Kayla’s perfect ass in his hands as he slammed into her hot little pussy and made her beg him for release.

  Kayla sat in her car outside of Zach’s house and gripped the wheel, thinking hard. The party had broken up a little while ago. Bailey and Alexei had taken Ana home earlier when Ana started to fuss. Kayla had insisted she could do it, but Bailey said, “It’s okay, honey. Stay with Avery and Chloe and have fun. Alexei and I will put Ana down in the guest room tonight, so take your time.”

  Kayla let them do it because she needed to talk to Zach. She’d told no one about the phone call she’d gotten two days ago. She’d blocked the number. It didn’t matter, though. The man knew where to find her which meant she’d been living in fear every moment since. He might have been the one in the car, though she didn’t know for certain. The one in the car had gotten angry fast. The one on the phone had been cooler. More calculating. That’s why she feared there was more than one of them.

  And they were watching her. She didn’t really think they wanted Ana as payment, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She couldn’t.

  Kayla stared at Zach’s place as if looking for a sign. An idea had begun to form itself in her head this afternoon at the party and she couldn’t shake it. It was an outrageous idea, and yet outrageous was what she needed right now.

  She didn’t know who the man on the phone was, but he was one of the Kings of Doom. He had to know that she was responsible for the raid on their operation. They’d been scattered and broken up, but clearly not all of them had gone to prison.

  What she didn’t understand was why he’d called her. Why not just kill her? It’s how the Kings had always operated. Revenge was sacrosanct in their world.

  Settling scores. Sending messages. Nobody betrayed the club and got away with it.

  So why let her know they knew where she was? Why not attack when she least expected it?

  Kayla bit the inside of her cheek. They didn’t come for her yet because someone wanted her to suffer. They wanted her scared. Or someone did anyway.

  James? He was in prison, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t find thugs to do his bidding. He would know how to contact her.

  Maybe she should tell Bailey and Alexei about the call. Just tell them and let them deal with it.

  But how could she do that? It’d been months since the SEALs had raided the Kings of Doom compound and rescued Bailey. Months in which Bailey had gotten over the trauma, gone back to school, and gotten engaged. She was planning a wedding next month, and she was happier than Kayla had ever seen her.

  Bailey had spent her life taking care of Kayla and her problems. Bailey was four years older, and she took her duty to protect her baby sister seriously. How could Kayla disrupt her life yet again? How could she take away the joy she saw in her sister’s eyes every single day?

  The man on the phone had seen Bailey. The threat was subtle, but it was there. Kayla wouldn’t let her mixed up life drag Bailey down ever again.

  And she damned sure wouldn’t let it drag Ana down. Not her precious baby.

  That’s why she had to do this. Why she had to try. It was either this or run again.

  She didn’t want to run. She loved her job, and she loved the people she’d formed attachments to over the past few months. She didn’t want to leave her daughter, either. Because she would have to. It wouldn’t be safe to take Ana with her. She’d considered all the options, and this one was best.

  Kayla wanted security. She wanted a bodyguard like her sister had. Like Chloe had. A big, bad, intimidating as hell bodyguard who would protect her and Ana. Someone who could make a grizzled biker think twice before he came gunning for her.

  A Navy SEAL.

  Crazy.

  She firmed her jaw. Not crazy. Necessary.

  Even if he was hung up on someone else.

  She couldn’t let that stop her. She shook her head, sucked in a fortifying breath, and opened her car door. Then she climbed out, locked the car, and strode toward Zach’s place. Her heart hammered, her skin grew moist with sweat, and her breath quickened.

  She stood on the threshold and gathered her courage. Would he laugh at her? Would he tell her to get out?

  Maybe. And maybe she deserved it.

  It was a chance she had to take. If he did, she’d think of something else.

  Maybe.

  Or maybe she’d get on her knees and beg.

  Determined, she pressed the doorbell. Zach had occupied the bottom floor while Ryan had the top, but now that Ryan was living with Chloe, Kayla didn’t know what Zach’s arrangements were. Still, she’d gone to the side door leading to the lower floor because that’s where she’d entered the house that night.

  Kayla swallowed. That night.

  Yes, the night they’d gone out to dinner together, just friends, and then ended up back here where they could talk without loud music or other people.

  And then, somehow, they’d wound up in bed. A little too much tequila on her part, too much Scotch on his.

  Didn’
t change the fact it had been hot and amazing. Or that she still dreamed about that night and the way she’d felt so utterly cherished. Zach knew his way around a woman’s body, and he’d made hers sing. They’d fucked hard, but never so hard that she’d been afraid. He’d drawn reactions from her body that she hadn’t known she was capable of. He’d made her so crazy with need that her inhibitions fell away as she did whatever it took to maximize her pleasure.

  Yet another reason she’d run away from him the next morning.

  The door jerked open and Zach stood there in all his hard muscled glory. Faded jeans that hugged his narrow hips, dark T-shirt clinging to muscles sculpted during hard combat, bare feet. He was tattooed, but it wasn’t overdone like the bikers she’d lived with. He had a tribal tattoo circling one arm, and she knew he had others on his back and chest. In the background, she could hear a car auction on the television.

  “Hi, Zach. Can I come in?”

  He hesitated. And then he stepped back, holding the door wider. “Yeah, sure.”

  She walked inside, twisting her hands together in front of her. Could she do this? She had to do this.

  He closed the door and leaned against it, watching her with hooded eyes that glittered like emeralds. What was he thinking? Probably that she wanted something.

  He wasn’t wrong.

  In the background the auction continued as someone bid an astronomical amount for a car. She didn’t know what kind of car. Wasn’t looking. Didn’t care.

  “What did you need, Kayla?”

  She should have expected that he’d cut straight to the chase. She pulled in a deep breath, let it out again. It was now or never. Her breath got tangled up in her chest, but she forced the words out anyway. He was a good man. She focused on that, not on the other stuff. The feelings and the raw sexual heat that still pulsed inside her. For him.

  This was either going to be a disaster, or it wouldn’t. She didn’t know until she forged ahead.

  “I need a favor, Zach. A big favor.”