Saved by the SEAL (14 page)

And stop short when I see Greta standing there, just outside the door.

She smiles. “There you are. I stopped by the table on my way back from the bathroom, but they said you were already outside waiting for me. Ready to go?”

My heart still slamming a rapid beat against the wall of my chest, I grip her shoulders. “You're okay?”

Her eyes widen. “Yeah…why?”

My breathing is too fast and I can't shake the fear. The fear that something bad is going to happen to someone I care about on my watch. My vision is blurry; I can't straighten the jagged line of my thoughts. Not knowing where she was, worrying that something had gone horribly wrong while she was so close…just the very thought tears me open inside.

Soft, warm hands cup my face. Greta's voice breaks through the darkness I never want her to see. I blink, focusing on her angel face.

“Breathe, Grisham. Just breathe.” Her voice is nothing but a soft brush across my face. “I'm right here. I'm okay.”

Blue, blue eyes. Long, raven hair. Small, perky nose.

Sunshine.

Sunshine.

Sunshine.

Letting out a pent-up sigh, I lean my forehead against hers and take a deep, shaky breath.

We stand for a moment like that, her standing in the shadow of my darkness and me standing on the edge of her light. Finally, her hands begin to stroke my face gently. “Everything okay now? Do you want to go?”

I wrap her in my arms. God, I don't want her to see this side of me. Wanted to keep her away from it at all costs. But damn if she doesn't have the ability to take it away with everything in her that's sunny and light. “Yeah, Grits. I'm more than ready to get out of here.”

She shivers, and I pull her in tighter, thinking she must be chilly. The air is a little cooler than normal for Carolina in September. “Let's go.”

Y
ou still haven't slept with him?” Mea and Berkeley stare at me in open shock.

The beginning of October has come and gone, and Grisham and I are following our plan to get to know each other and take things slow.

“But that night a few weeks ago when we all went out for drinks…you two were so hot and heavy at the table. I was sure he was taking you home to…” Berkeley trails off, tact making her end her sentence there.

The same tact hasn't yet gotten ahold of Mea, though.

“Bang your back out,” she finishes matter-of-factly.

“Mea!” I scold her, choking on my Sprite. “Bad form.”

She shakes her head, her dark brown curls bouncing everywhere. “I disagree. I tell it like it is, and I'll never apologize, my friend.”

“We know,” Berkeley and I say, our voices merging into a simultaneous chorus before bursting into laughter.

My friends and I have decided to take a girls-only spa day. We're sitting on the rooftop deck of an upscale spa in Wrightsville Beach, under the bright October sun, hot towels wrapped around our necks and clothed in white, fluffy spa robes. Our toes are bare, and each of us holds a glass of champagne.

I can't afford to take days like this with my girlfriends on a regular basis. Actually, I can't remember the last time I had an actual spa day. But Mea convinced us to splurge, claiming YOLO as her lifelong motto.

“No, we haven't. It's not like we didn't want to, especially that night. He's coming from a really messed-up place, and so am I. Especially now that he's working for my dad. I can't stop thinking that at some point, the other shoe is going to drop and he's going to choose the job over me. Like my dad always did.”

“But you get to work with your dad now,” Berkeley pointed out. “And Grisham is showing you how much he wants to be with you. I mean, I've known him for a long time, and there've been girls. But it's never been like this.”

Her words send glowing pleasure radiating through me, but something still holds me back from giving myself over completely to Grisham. Whenever we're together, I can sense him holding back from me as well, and I'm not sure what he doesn't want me to see.

“I can't believe that the entire time our families have known each other, his father was such a monster behind closed doors.” A shudder goes through Berkeley. “My heart goes out to his mom. How is she, by the way?”

“She's coping. She's going through therapy, and Grisham goes to Jacksonville so he can go with her sometimes. I think it's helping them both.”

Berkeley nods, sympathy written all over her face. “Good.”

Mea stretches out, her perfectly bronzed body not needing an ounce of color from the sun. Berkeley and I stare at her with envy.

“I hate you, Mea,” I scowl, holding out one alabaster leg. “I really, really hate you.”

“How's the training going, Greta?” asks Mea with interest. Mea has been asking me repeatedly to teach her some of what I'm learning, but whenever I try, her peaceful yoga-loving approach gets in the way of her learning how to kick serious ass.

“It's kind of awesome,” I admit. “I didn't expect for it to be so…normal for me, you know? Grisham says I'm a natural.” I can't help boasting about Grisham's praise.

Every time we get together for a sparring session, I get better and better at the MMA style. I have more than a handful of moves under my belt now that I can execute flawlessly, and the time I spend training is making me more toned and limber than I've ever been.

“I'm jealous,” mutters Berkeley. “I want to look as lithe and muscly as you. But every time Dare points out that he's willing to teach me, too, I just end up eating a doughnut.”

We all burst out laughing. Berkeley's figure is lush and curvy. There are no complaints from men in that department. If it weren't for Dare, she'd be beating them off with a stick.

My phone buzzes with a text, and when I pick it up I gasp at the time. “Shit! I have to go, you guys. Today is the day Grisham gets back on his board. He wants me to be there.”

Mea snorts. “So you basically just did all this spa work for nothing, because you're about to get all sandy in the ocean.”

Berkeley smiles. “Tell Grish I'm cheering for him!”

I call over my shoulder as I leave my chair and head for the exit to get changed. “I will. Love you girls!”

Then I haul ass to get myself to Grisham's favorite surfing spot.

It's one of my favorite times of the year to surf, because by October all of the tourists are gone. Not that many of them find our spot anyway, but a few trickle in during the summers. Our spot is mostly reserved for surfers who live for it, just like Grisham and I both do.

He's sitting on the beach, knees drawn up to his chest and his bright blue surfboard lying beside him. My steps stutter at the sight of him, and for a moment I just stand and take him in.

He hasn't yet pulled up his wet suit, so his broad, muscled back is exposed and tanned in the autumn sun. His back is riddled with scars, similar to his chest and abdomen, but it's clear of ink. When he moves, I can see the wiry muscles bend and shift under his skin, and the sight is amazing.

He's amazing.

His dark blond hair is messy as usual, and the sunlight glints off of him like a Greek god here on earth. I take a deep breath and continue walking until I'm standing right beside him.

“Where are the guys?” I ask, bending down to kiss his cheek and hitting the sand beside him.

He glances at me, his face warm and inviting as he leans in to press his lips against mine. He tastes minty and fresh. “It's just me and you today, Grits.”

I pull back in surprise. “Really? You don't want Lawson and Ben here, too?”

He shakes his head slowly, holding my gaze hostage in his own. “Just you. That okay?”

I nod, feeling my heart pick up speed as I stare right back. I thought this would be an event he'd want to share with his friends, but he only wants it to be him and me. It dawns on me that this will be one of the defining moments of Grisham's life, and I'm the one he wants to share it with. It feels big for us.

Monumental.

I tug on his wet suit and indicate his board. “I'm ready when you are.”

He kisses me one more time, his lips hard and warm and sweet, before pulling back and standing up. I watch as he pulls his black wet suit into place on his torso, and I stand and gather my board in my hands.

With a wordless signal between us, we jog toward the ocean.

The spray is shockingly cool as we enter the water and splash in until we're waist deep. Then we're on our bellies on our boards and paddling out into deep water.

“You okay?” I raise my voice so he can hear me over the sound of the ocean. He looks at me and smiles, letting me know he's just fine.

When we're deep enough so that the waves are just swells rising and falling beneath us and the sound of them crashing against the shore is distant, we stop paddling and straddle our boards.

Waiting.

“How does this feel?” I ask Grisham, curious about how he's handling his first time on a surfboard in months.

“It feels…right,” he admits. His expression is relaxed, calmer than I've seen it when he's not in the water. He truly loves the ocean and being on his board; it's written all over his face. He's completely lit up. “I'm glad I waited…to do this with you.”

I beam at him, reaching out to grab his hand. He squeezes mine tightly before letting go. “Me, too.”

We both spot it at the same time. It's the perfect A-Frame wave, rolling toward us at a clip. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Grisham's biceps flexing as he readies himself to paddle.

The wave approaches, and just before it's upon us, we begin paddling as fast as we can toward shore. Just as my board begins to rise beneath me, I brace my hands against it and hop to my feet, gathering my balance. I can see Grisham doing the same a few feet away, and then we're both up and standing as we ride the center of the wave toward the shore.

I can hear his roar of triumph, and as I glance at him, he's pumping a fist into the air. He's so breathtaking that I almost lose my concentration, turning back quickly to focus on the impending shoreline.

The wave breaks perfectly and we both hop off our boards onto the sand. Tears are streaming down my face because not only did Grisham surf again, he rode the
hell
out of that wave.

He collides into me, grabbing me in his arms and thrusting me into the air above him. The happiness on his face is complete, and it steals my breath.

“You did it!” I shout, happiness rolling off of me in forceful waves.

“Yeah.” He's breathless as he lowers me back down to stand in front of him, and then his lips are on mine. He kiss me hard and long, and I'm nearly dizzy when he finally pulls away.

“Thank you,” he murmurs against my lips. “Thank you for being here with me for this.”

“You're back, baby. Like, all the way back.”

He leans his forehead against mine. “Say that again.”

I wrinkle my nose in confusion. “You're back?”

Shaking his head slowly, his eyes lock on mine and his lips curl into a sexy smile. “You called me baby. I liked it. I want to hear it again.”

I gasp as his hands slide up my sides, grazing my breasts lightly. “Okay, baby. Do you want to go again?”

He jerks me to him. “Maybe one more time.”

Planting a hard kiss on his lips, I pull away and grab my board. “Head start!”

Then I take off, giggling and running into the sea with Grisham chasing right behind me.

The stinging hot needles of Grisham's shower feel heavenly as they wash the sand and salt off of my body. I smile to myself as I run my hands through my wet hair, remembering how amazing the day was. I'm also remembering how hot Grisham is on a surfboard. He's such a natural out there, dipping low on his board when he needs to and riding each wave in effortlessly. He never once lost a wave.

It was an incredible day.

And now that same hot, sexy guy is waiting for me somewhere in his house while I shower. I can't keep the smile off my face.

Suddenly, a warm hand slides around my waist until it rests on my stomach. I gasp as Grisham yanks me back against the hard planes of his wet body, and one of my arms immediately goes up to wrap around the back of his neck.

“You're fucking beautiful,” he groans into my ear. I can feel it; he's hard and ready for me, and I turn in his arms to face him.

I'm
so
not prepared for the sight of Grisham fully naked in the shower with me.

My eyes roam greedily from his broad, tattooed shoulders to the muscled wall of his chest. Then they drift down to the rack of abdominal muscles that could and should definitely be in a magazine. A trail of dark hair leads down to the impressive length of his cock, and a whimper escapes me. I pull my eyes away to travel down his thick thighs and cantaloupe-size calf, before my gaze meanders lazily up his body once more. He's wearing his prosthesis, which makes me wonder idly if he always showers with it on.

And when I meet his gaze, I'm instantly wet and ready for him, more so than I've ever been before. Because the sight of a man that looks like Grisham devouring every inch of me in return is beyond hot.

“I'm done waiting,” he grinds out, just before his lips collide with mine.

S
tinging nettles of hot water hit my back as I spin Greta around and press her against the shower wall. But the water is ice-cold compared to the raw heat of her kiss. A million thoughts run through my head as my hands blaze a trail down her bare sides, but short of the bathroom falling down around us or her pushing me away, nothing is going to stop me from seeing this through.

Surfing with her today just created too many feelings for me to contain inside me any longer. She's been through so much with me in a short time, I feel like every time I'm with her I'm going to explode. She's pulled me with her over hot coals to the other side of the darkness; she's opened me up from the inside out, and she's quickly becoming an addiction I don't want to quit.

I want her so bad I can't think about anything else.

I tease her lips with my tongue and she opens up for me. Placing my hands under her thighs, I hoist her up and she doesn't waste time wrapping her legs around my waist. She's exactly where I want her and her mouth is warm and wet where our tongues play together.

My hips pinned against hers hold her up against the wall while one of my hands delves into her hair and the other slides up her flat belly to cup her breast. She's a handful, the perfect size, and I squeeze gently while she breaks away from my mouth and cries out.

I watch her face, fascinated, because this is a side of Greta I haven't seen since the night in my kitchen when I stopped things before they went too far.

Tonight, there's no stopping this.

My thumb flicks the hardening tip of her breast, and her eyes close.

I can't wait anymore to have some part of her in my mouth, so I drop my head and lick a circle around her nipple before closing my teeth on the pebbled flesh.

“God, Grisham,” she moans. “Yes.”

“Yes?” I repeat, glancing up at her. “You're telling me yes tonight?”

“I'm telling you yes every night,” she hisses as my mouth closes around her nipple and sucks. “Every single night.”

I hum against her skin, and her hands tighten painfully in my hair. But the pain is pure pleasure.

I know I don't have long before the shower water runs cold, so I gently place her back onto her feet and pull away slightly. I allow both hands to cup her full breasts as I stare down into her eyes, playing, teasing.

“You're so fucking sweet,” I tell her. “I've wanted to taste you since that night in my kitchen.”

She catches one side of her bottom lip between her teeth as I drop to my knees in front of her. I take a few seconds to just take in the sight of her. Water from the shower drips over her stomach, down past a thin line of hair leading to the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. She shifts her weight, and I glance up at her and grin.

Impatient, Grits?

Then I use my hands to part her legs as I plant a kiss to each inner thigh. Still just needing to watch, my finger slides into her folds and finds her hot little clit, drawing a slow circle around her. Her entire body shivers, and I tighten my grip on her thigh to steady her.

“Please, Grisham,” she whimpers.

I can barely hear her voice over the trickle of water around us, but I know what she wants. Slowly, I dip my tongue into the very center of her and take a lick.

She moans, her hips thrusting forward to meet my tongue, and oh
fuck
, it's sexy as hell to watch. Hearing her and seeing her receive pleasure, there's nothing in this world like it. It's like when she's just going about her day, she's this sweet and innocent thing. But when she's here with me like this, she's responsive and sexy and I'm the only one who gets to see it.

It's going to become my goddamn drug.

I ease one finger inside her and groan when I realize how wet she is, how free flowing she is, all because of me, my touch. It sends a painful jolt of pleasure through my already throbbing cock, and I tighten my muscles in order to remain on my knees at her feet.

“That's it, angel,” I murmur as she shudders. “Let it go.”

I swipe at her with my tongue again and again, pumping my finger inside her while she moans and writhes, and I think I'm literally getting high off of everything that is Greta right now. I can't get enough. She's sweeter than my imagination gave her credit for.

She tugs my hair extra hard as she cries out, and I suck her clit into my mouth and give it one last, hard suck. I raise both of my hands to grip her legs hard, holding her in place as she falls apart above me. When my name falls from her lips again I can't take it anymore.

I thrust open the shower door and pull a wobbly Greta out behind me. I wrap her in a towel and sweep her into my arms, carrying her from the steamy bathroom into the much cooler bedroom. As I set her down on the bed, her eyes are half-closed and there's a sated smile on her face. Her wet hair spreads across the pillows, and her skin is flushed pink. Whether it's from what just happened in the bathroom or from the steam, I'm not sure. I only know the effect is absolutely beautiful.

I wonder if she thinks I'm done with her yet.

Because this night is just getting started.