Chapter 13
Ellie was sitting quietly in her room reading a book when Suzi waltzed in, flushed and excited. Best guess—her roommate had spent the whole afternoon with Boomer.
"I really like him," Suzi confessed, eyes bright. "You know, he told me Phoenix hasn't been with anyone since he left the SEALs."
"Really?" She tried to act disinterested, but her ears pricked up.
"Yeah, Boomer said Phoenix took a real knock after what happened in Basra, and he hasn't been the same since."
"Basra?" Ellie frowned. "What happened in Basra?"
"I don't know," Suzi admitted. "Boomer wouldn't say, but I think something really bad went down. It must have been for Phoenix to check out of the Navy."
Her curiosity was piqued. Phoenix had never mentioned Iraq or given a reason why he'd left the Navy. When she'd asked, he simply said it was time. A very vague answer, by all accounts.
"Well, I'm sure he had his reasons," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Suzi gave her a sly smile. "How are you two getting on?"
"Fine. To be honest, I've been so busy with the test samples, I haven't seen him much today." Except for when he'd come to her lab and warned her that someone might be trying to harm her and it might have something to do with the oil reserves or lack thereof.
"I've just seen him," Suzi told her. "He and Boomer have gone on their shift. At least the storm has passed. It's much warmer topside now."
"Yeah, that's a relief." The last two days had been fraught with fear, anxiety, and frustration. She was glad things were getting back to normal.
Earlier that evening, after Phoenix had left her lab, she had contacted her friend, Ray, at Stanford. At first, he'd been reluctant to help, but when he'd heard why she needed the information, he'd said he'd look into it. There might be a way of accessing the satellite imaging data through the college's account.
She’d given him the relevant coordinates and asked him to call her back on her cell when he had something. Now it was just a waiting game.
Exhausted from the last few days, she fell asleep early, which is why she was wide awake at a quarter to five the next morning. Her first thought was to check her phone, but there were no messages from Ray.
Her second thought was to venture up on deck and stretch out the tension of the last few days. The added bonus was she'd get to see Phoenix. She could tell him she'd contacted Ray, and he was going to try to help her.
Careful not to wake Suzi, Ellie dressed in her yoga gear, grabbed her mat , hung her ID badge around her neck, and went up to the deck.
The sea was calm, the sky a deep indigo but lightening in the east, and there was not a cloud in sight. It promised to be a beautiful day. Ellie looked around but couldn't spot Phoenix or Boomer, so she laid her mat on the helipad, stretched, then broke into her routine.
She was halfway through a downward-facing dog when Phoenix appeared behind her. She straightened up, but not before she caught him checking out her ass. Hard not to, really, in that position.
"Morning." Somehow, he managed to keep his expression neutral, but Ellie could see a naughty sparkle in his gaze.
"Morning," she replied, willing her cheeks not to turn pink. At least the sun had only begun to rise, so there was still a misty predawn haze in the air. There were more important matters to discuss than her butt. "I managed to contact my friend."
"Oh, yeah?" He stood at the end of her mat, large hands holding his weapon, broad shoulders relaxed but straining against the dark long-sleeved shirt he wore under his tactical vest. Even in the dim light, the defined muscles of his arms, honed from years of intense training and combat were visible. "What did he say?"
"He's going to try to use the college link to access the feed."
"Good. Will that give you the information you need?"
"It will, yes. I can compare it with the survey report and make sure everything's above board."
"You didn't tell anyone what you were doing?"
"No, I called when Suzi was out, so nobody knows."
"Excellent. Good job. Keep me posted."
"I will."
He gestured to the yoga mat. "I'll let you get back to your routine."
Ellie hesitated. He hadn't moved away. Did that mean he was going to watch? His intense blue gaze roamed over her for a moment, and she felt the familiar swirling in her stomach.
As if catching himself, he muttered, "Sorry, I'm going now," and continued his patrol around the deck, disappearing behind a mesh of pylons.
Exhaling, she tried to focus her attention on the moves and not the lingering image of him checking her out. His appraisal had left her feeling self-conscious and exposed, but at the same time hot and bothered. Part of her wanted to cross her arms in front of her body and hide, while another, wilder part wanted to rip off her clothes and press his big, strong hands against her skin.
Her pulse raced again. Hardly the calm workout she'd envisioned.
Still, Ellie gritted her teeth and went through the motions, determined not to give in to the raw, unbridled desire that consumed her whenever Phoenix was nearby.
She had to exercise some control over her emotions. She was a scientist, for Pete’s sake. Logic ruled her head, not passion. She couldn't remember ever feeling this way about a guy before. Not even Jeremy Johnson, her first crush in high school.
That had been a hurried kiss behind the grandstands, followed by a disappointing prom night where they'd only gotten to first base. She'd had a couple of boyfriends in college, nobody memorable. Then came three dry years in Saudi, followed by Rafael. He’d been her first real boyfriend. And her last.
Ellie bit her lip. Now all she did was run away from men. From danger. From freaking everything. It was dismal. She was too scared to live in case something bad might happen.
A harsh laugh escaped her.
Phoenix was danger. He'd been a Navy SEAL, trained to be a lethal weapon, where his job was running headfirst into the most perilous situations imaginable. Now he was a private security contractor—not much better. Look what had happened the night Billy had fallen into the ocean. It was Phoenix and Boomer who'd gone after him without hesitation, risking their own lives in the process.
Holy hell. She needed her head read.
What was she doing lusting after a man like him? A man who embodied the very things that terrified her.
Surely he would only add more danger to her life. More risk. More fear.
Ellie exhaled, returning to the start position, her hands pressed together in front of her, but she felt anything but calm.
To still her beating heart, she remembered how Phoenix had held her during her panic attack. His strong arms enveloping her, making her feel safe and protected. How he'd soothed her with his hands, surprisingly gentle despite the calluses earned from years of handling weapons and engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat. How he'd whispered to her, his deep voice soft and reassuring, telling her everything was going to be all right.
And it had worked.
She'd believed him.
For some strange reason, this hardened warrior, this man who was never far from his semi-automatic rifle and had faced death countless times, had been able to stop her anxiety in its tracks with a simple touch and a few comforting words.
It defied logic. The irony was almost laughable.