To Dare a SEAL (Sin City SEALs) (14 page)

“Just what I need, another bet,” Natalie murmured.

“Even if he breaks your heart,” Lucia continued, clearly pretending she hadn’t heard her. “You’ve got us. I’ll be there to help you pick up the pieces. I promise. And so will Cade. This time, if it all goes to hell, you won’t be alone.”

“You’ll have your hands full with your family.” Natalie nodded to her sister’s stomach.

“You are my family,” Lucia said firmly. “If he hurts you, I’ll be there. And Cade will kick his ass.”

She closed her eyes. If she took the risk and the cloud of doom that seemingly hung over her life let loose a hailstorm, she wouldn’t be alone. That was something. But was it enough to say
I trust you
to the Prince Charming of Navy SEALs?

Chapter Twenty-One

J
ack routinely operated on very little sleep knowing that someone would be waiting to kick his ass at sunrise. But today was different. He planned to let his opponent win. And he’d come bearing gifts for the man who’d likely throw a punch or two first, and then ask about the bakery box.

He stepped off the elevator and found Cade staring out the lobby window with his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts. “Hey man, about last night,” he said when he reached his teammate. “I messed up. I should have insisted on a real, honest conversation with Natalie before the clothes came off and—”

“You should stop right there and open the box,” Cade said.

Jack flipped the white lid off and revealed a dozen doughnuts. Boston cream. Powdered sugar. Glazed. Chocolate. He’d listened to his teammate bitch about the lack of doughnuts when visiting the world’s terrorist hot spots and knew this was his best chance at placating Cade before he started throwing punches on his wedding day.

Cade selected a chocolate glazed. “You do realize that you’d have a better shot at talking to Natalie if you showed up at
her
door with doughnuts.”

Jack shook his head. “I won’t be showing up at her door again. You have my word on that. Natalie made it clear that she’s done.”

“You’re giving up?” Cade headed for the front doors to the hotel.

“I’m not going to stalk your girl. The bet was bad enough.”

“Yeah.”

Jack followed his teammate out to the valet area where Cade’s Jeep stood. He glanced at his teammate. “Having second thoughts?”

Forget his problems. Shit, this was serious. If Cade was having cold feet, rethinking his trip to the altar…

“No, but the waiting is driving me insane. So Red Rock Canyon, here we come. Time for a little physical training.” Cade climbed into the driver’s side, set the doughnut on the dash, and turned the key.

“PT before your wedding night?” Jack watched the hotel disappear from sight as they drove down the famous Strip.

“I’ll have time for a nap. Who the hell thought a four o’clock ceremony was a good idea? We’ve been in Vegas for days now. I should have taken her to the nearest chapel the minute we hit the Strip on Thursday. We could have spent the weekend celebrating as husband and wife.”

“I thought Lucia wanted the real deal,” Jack said, still stumbling through relief. Cade wasn’t looking to hightail it back to Coronado. Thank you, Jesus.

“She does,” the groom confirmed. “Flowers. The dress. A hairstyle that will take three damn hours. And I want her to have it all.”

Jack nodded. He opened the bakery box resting on his lap and selected a glazed doughnut. They drove in silence as Cade merged onto the highway out of town.

“You can’t give up on Natalie because she got scared and ran,” Cade said.

Jack groaned and closed his eyes. “You’re taking me to the desert to fucking lecture me?”

“Natalie’s not going to hand over her trust after a night or two,” Cade continued. “And it has nothing to do with the bet. She doesn’t let people in because she’s afraid the sky will fucking fall if she does. She expects the worst. Natalie sees a future with you as impossible for her.”

“Impossible,” Jack said. He wanted to tackle the challenge and win. But this wasn’t a war. He couldn’t win simply by digging his heels in and refusing to give up. “Yeah, well, that sums it up, doesn’t it? Yet you think I should show up with doughnuts and set myself up to take a second hit when Natalie has made it clear she always planned to go back to ignoring me. I don’t think so.”

“She’s had a lot of people ripped from her life,” Cade said quietly. “She’s learned to save herself the pain by not letting anyone in.”

“I don’t want in,” Jack said firmly.

“Bullshit.” He took his eyes off the road for a second and glared at him.

“Let it go, Cade. I can’t make her love me.”

His teammate nodded and they drove in silence. Jack glanced out the window at the wide-open desert. “Where is Red Rock Canyon?”

“About twenty miles from the Strip. We’re getting close.”

To the middle of nowhere.

“I have the wedding rings hidden in my room,” Jack said. “Might be hard to find them if you leave me out here.”

“Thought about it last night,” Cade admitted as he turned and steered the Jeep into a parking area. A handful of cars were lined by the trailhead, including a pickup that looked exactly like Dante’s truck. Jack scanned the area. There it was—visual confirmation. The truck belonged to their recently divorced SEAL. And it looked like he’d abandoned his role as fake orgasm spectator in favor of audience participation in the real deal.

“What the…?” Cade said, turning the key. “Was that…?”

Yeah, Jack wasn’t the only one who’d caught an eyeful of their shirtless teammate following a topless woman with bright pink hair behind a large rock.

“I don’t think Dante came out here to watch another fake climax,” Jack said.

“We should have eloped.” Cade shook his head. “Bringing a bunch of SEALS on leave to Sin City—what the hell was I thinking?”

“Let’s get this over with so you can marry Lucia and we can all go home,” Jack said, climbing down from the truck.

Cade reached behind his seat and pulled out two water bottles. He tossed one to Jack. “One more question.”

“I don’t think so.” Jack headed for the trailhead.

Cade followed him. “I know you care about her, Jack. But do you love her?”

Yes.

But Jack sure as shit wasn’t going to pour his heart out on the man’s wedding day. He wasn’t going to stand here in the desert and admit he’d lost when it came to the thing that mattered most—the woman he loved.

“Let’s fucking hike.” Jack picked up his pace, his jaw tight and every muscle in his body tense. “First one to that canyon wins.” He nodded to a peak in the distance.

“You’re on.” Cade stepped off the path and moved around his teammate. “And Jack, I know you think it’s over, but you should tell her.”

Jack shook his head and started to run for the canyon. “First one to the canyon and back wins. I don’t want to walk back listening to you go on and on above love.”

T
wo months after her first shift at Bottom’s Up, Natalie had stepped in front of a drunken sailor, a young man who had just flunked the SEAL’s rigorous training camp and hated the world, including the not so intoxicated soon-to-be SEAL who’d succeeded. For a second, she’d thought the drunken sailor would hit her instead. While he’d failed BUD/S training, the man was built like a tank.

But he’d lowered his fist and allowed her to call him a cab. And in the process, he’d cemented her reputation as the bartender who could take on anyone and anything.

Including an early morning trip to a Sin City sex toy store.

“When you said we needed to take a detour on the way to the hair salon, I thought you meant coffee,” Lucia said. “Or maybe a grocery store for champagne and sparkling cider, something to drink while we get ready for my walk down the aisle.”

“This won’t take long.” Natalie stared up at the Sizzling Secrets sign and waited for the lights to blink on. She could see a salesperson moving around inside. It wouldn’t be long now. “But if I’m going to try to fix things with Jack, I need to do this. I ran away from him in the middle of wild, crazy bathroom sex.”

“If you’re sure sex toys will fix your relationship—”

“It’s not a relationship,” Natalie insisted. “Not yet.”

And please don’t jinx it
.

That was the last thing she needed.

Lucia took her hand and stood by her side, staring up at the unlit sign. “I hope you know what you’re getting.”

“I do.”

“Good, because we need to get to hair and makeup soon. We’re both walking down the aisle in a few hours.”

“While I wear one very terrible tutu,” Natalie said with a sigh. “Jack might take one look at me and run away. I’ll never get a chance to show him my toys.”

“You’re not wearing the pink dress.” Her sister squeezed her hand. “I was planning to tell you later, do a big reveal in the bridal suite. I found an elegant and sexy maid-of-honor gown for you. In charcoal, not pink. The skirt is floor length and it has these long bands of fabric that cover your chest, tie at the back of your neck and then twist together to form a long rope down your back before wrapping around your waist. And if you don’t like the twisted fabric down your back, there are half a dozen other ways to wear it.”

Natalie stared at her sister. No Terrible Tutu. An elegant gown. “So you’re saying I don’t need to be here, waiting for the sex store to open? I could let Jack tie me up in my dress?”

“I’m saying that I love you. We both did what we needed to do to survive after the crash. But it’s behind us. And I’m getting
married
today. In a few hours. If we make it to the salon.”

Natalie glanced at the storefront. The lights in the Sizzling Secrets sign flicked on. Could she put the past behind her and have a relationship with a man who just might battle her for control every step of the way?

“Thank you for the dress. After your honeymoon, I’ll invite you over and we can burn the Terrible Tutu together.” Natalie drew her sister through the open door. “And in five minutes, I promise to take you to the salon. But right now, I need to find out if Sizzling Secrets carries black silk bondage ties. Because I’m going for it. I’m trying for a second chance with Jack. Something real, not based on a bet.”

Lucia laughed as they bypassed vibrators. “I never would have guessed that bondage was the way to Jack’s heart.”

This was only one piece of the puzzle. But she was determined to show Jack that he’d been right—they fit together. And even if it frightened her, she wasn’t going to walk away this time.
If
he let her back into his life and his bed.

Chapter Twenty-Two

N
atalie walked through the empty courtyard that separated the hotel’s main building from the Roman-style outdoor wedding venue. She cursed her shoes with each step. It was impossible to run in heels. And Lucia was waiting for her on the other side of the decorative columns along with the wedding guests. Her sister was ready to walk down the aisle and meet her groom. Or she would be ready once Natalie returned with her sister’s bridal bouquet.

“She’s probably the only bride to leave her flowers in the bathroom before the wedding ceremony,” she muttered, pausing to shift her grip on the cascade of roses. With a firm grip on the bouquet she stepped forward—then stopped when she heard Jack’s voice.

“Colton, it’s over.”

Jack’s voice had the power to tease, to command, and right now, to stop her dead in her tracks. She moved behind one of the pillars dividing the empty courtyard from where the guests had gathered and pressed her virtually bare back—minus one twisted length of charcoal fabric—against a fake column.

She held her breath. Five minutes, probably less, until Lucia walked down the aisle and the best man was on a call with Mr. Belt Buckle?

“Listen to the message I left for you,” Jack snapped. “The bet is over. And fuck you, I’m not giving you any details.”

He was giving in, pretending he’d lost to the family who’d bullied him. He’d broken free from the past that had held on too tight. And if he could do it, there was hope for her—bright, beautiful hope for one more night with the charming SEAL. And one night might lead to another and another.

She glanced around the column. Chief Jack Barnes in a black tie tuxedo…wow. One look and dragging the bride into a sex toy store on her wedding day seemed like the best decision Natalie had ever made. He could stop traffic while wearing cargo pants and his signature smile. But dressed in formal wear? He’d cause a riot.

Jack could have his pick of the beautiful women who waltzed into her bar looking for a SEAL. But last night, he’d told her that he wanted her.

She drew back and pressed against the column. It still felt too good to be true—like disaster and heartache lay just around the corner. But she’d never know if she didn’t try. And this time, if she stumbled into hurt and rejection, Lucia would be there to catch her. She was done living with the guilt from the past holding her back.

“Colton, I’m done,” Jack said, his tone deathly serious. “I failed. Are you happy?”

There was a pause, and Natalie didn’t make a sound.

“I’ll send you the money,” Jack snapped.

Natalie closed her eyes but stopped short of resting her head against the mock pillar. The hair stylist had gone to a lot of trouble to twist Natalie’s straight black hair into a fancy updo.

She stepped forward and let Jack see her. He looked her up and down, and the glimpse of pain in his eyes made her regret every second she’d hesitated to let him know how much she wanted him.

“Enjoy that?” he said. His tone had transitioned from ‘fuck you Colton,’ but there was still a hard edge.

“You didn’t lose, Jack.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Didn’t I?”

You still have me.

If he wanted her.

The string quartet sprang to life. They were literally minutes away from the ceremony. She needed to find Lucia and hand over the flowers. She couldn’t ruin her sister’s day. But this wasn’t how she wanted to tell him, in rushed words before the wedding.

“Jack—”

“You need space. I get it, Natalie. When we get back to Coronado, I promise to stay on my side of the bar.”

He turned and walked away. He moved quickly, and then he disappeared around a column. And he didn’t look back. Not once.

Oh God, what if I’m too late?

He’d admitted his loss to his brothers, opening himself to endless teasing. Even though he’d won the bet. A man who would do that for her…he was worth the risk. But what if black silk ties weren’t enough to convince him to give her a second chance?

T
he things he could do to her in that dress.

Jack kept his eyes fixed on the rope-like fabric running down Natalie’s bare back. Her shoulders down to her waist offered a valley of smooth skin. And the floor-length skirt pressed up against her legs as the groom swung her out of view.

He should be focused on Cade’s advice. He should tell her that he’d fallen for her so long ago that it had hurt so damn much when she’d pushed him away as if a night or two was enough. Because even if he spent 365 days a year by her side, he would never get enough of her.

“Cade won’t mind if you cut in.” The bride stopped by his side.

“Thank you,” he said, his gaze fixed on where Cade’s hand touched Natalie’s lower back. “But I’m not much of a dancer.”

Lucia nodded. “That dress is perfect for her, don’t you think?”

“Yes.” He looked away and spotted Ronan by the bar. “I should—”

“So functional,” Lucia continued, ignoring his words. “With those long lengths of fabric.”

And this time he stole a quick glance at the bride. Lucia wore a curve-hugging gown that proved his teammate was a damn lucky man. His teammate should be thanking his lucky stars that he waited for the real deal versus a quickie Vegas wedding. Jack looked at her long enough to see amusement sparkling in her eyes.

“Functional.” He glanced back at Natalie as a mental picture formed in his mind. Her wrists bound by the gray length currently wrapped around her waist. The long skirt pushed to her hips. His teeth drawing aside her panties…

“Excuse me,” he said and turned away from Cade’s gorgeous bride. He needed to get out of here before his imagination drove him crazy with crystal-clear fantasies featuring the woman he couldn’t have, the one who’d run away from him, from happiness, from any hope of a future.

He stopped by the bar. He held up his empty beer and signaled for another. Ronan was deep in conversation with Cade’s father, so Jack stood to the side. Alone. And drank.

“Jack.”

He turned and spotted Natalie heading straight for him wearing the expression she generally reserved for unruly sailors at Bottom’s Up. The dress flowed around her and her eyes shone with determination.

So damn beautiful.

She stopped in front of him with her chin held high. “We have one more night on the same side of the bar.”

“One more night,” he repeated. He allowed his gaze to drift to the bands of fabric covering her breasts and disappearing behind her neck. “It’s not enough,” he added. He refused to be her one-night escape. Not after she’d pushed him away, sending a loud and clear signal that he wasn’t enough for her.

“But it’s a start,” she said, her dark eyes locked with his, her gaze so bold and unwavering that his body responded and sent blood rushing south. “I dare you to join me in my room.”

He set his beer on the bar. The woman he’d dreamed about for years, wrapped in a dress designed to torture him, had invited him to her bed. They might not make it beyond the entryway, but still, he couldn’t walk away from her offer.

Except she’d walked out on him once and it had hurt like hell. He didn’t want to retrace his steps down that path.

“How do you see this ending, Natalie?” he asked softly.

“Happy. I hope.” She ran her palms down her sides, smoothing the dress over her thighs. One glance and he saw her hands tremble from nerves. She could take on a room full of brawling sailors and soldiers, but fighting for her own happiness scared the shit out of her.

Cade’s words had been running through his head like a neon leaderboard since their hike.

She doesn’t let people in because she’s afraid the sky will fucking fall if she does. She expects the worst. Natalie sees a future with you as impossible for her.

And now she was here, asking him to take a chance on her. To take a chance on them. There was a chance it would end the same way as before. A moment of pleasure, and then she’d walk away from him again. But he’d seen soldiers in the field claim victory because they found courage when it mattered most, and he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t give Natalie that same opportunity.

“You’re on.” He reached out and took her shaking hand, ready to follow her down a path labeled happily ever after. God help him if the signs were mislabeled and they were headed for a clusterfuck. “Darlin’, I accept your dare.”