Chapter 6
6
Twister moved from his side onto his back. He couldn’t get comfortable, but this position was even worse. His dick was so hard that the covers against it were almost unbearable, not to mention how sensitive his skin was. He thrummed with more energy than he knew what to do with regardless of how tired he was.
He closed his eyes. The memory of her mouth was burned into his brain, the way she had soothed him with her voice, then her hands, then that delectable mouth… He was in a state of turmoil from not only the fact that she saw him, really saw him, panic attack and everything, and she still kissed him with the kind of passion that was now keeping him up in more ways than one.
Everything inside him, and everything outside, throbbed with an incessant need, and he recognized it as an aching kind of loneliness that he hadn’t ever acknowledged. Sure, he was surrounded by seven of the best men he had ever met, and they fulfilled every masculine need for companionship, camaraderie, and brotherhood he could ever want.
But a man needed more than just his brothers. They were hard, tough, incessantly sarcastic, but what he wanted, what he needed, was…her…in his space, taming this aching frustration, releasing all this pent-up energy, all this loudness. She could ramp it up, and she could quiet it, and he hungered to press his body against hers. He’d always been tactile, and he loved sex, but with Sadie, it was something else he couldn’t quite define. She was just more.
It was humbling to realize that he was just fucking human after all, and all of them needed that female connection. He felt so much more grounded with her than he ever did on his own, in his own skin. She had gotten under it, and he wasn’t sure he could ever get her out.
He turned again, sighing, and groaning softly as his dick rubbed against the material of his briefs.
“Goddammit, Twist, fucking go to sleep. We’ve been up more hours than I can count, and you’re usually mister-fall-asleep-at-the-drop-of-a-hat,” Dagger grumbled, his sleepy voice in a low whisper.
He closed his eyes, working at containing his thoughts and protecting his secrets, but if he couldn’t trust Dagger or the guys, then they weren’t as close as he knew they were. “She kissed me.”
The energy between them just ramped up. He could feel Dagger’s immediate interest. “She fucking what?”
“Kissed me,” Twister said, his body tightening at the memory of her weight against him, all those freaking curves, all that feminine energy.
“When?” Dagger asked, his tone puzzled at how he’d missed that.
“When we were trapped.” Twister smiled at his teammate’s confusion. Yeah, it was hard to wrap his head around the fact that he’d saved her life, then she’d saved his sanity.
“On the fucking mouth?”
“Yeah, on the mouth,” Twister scoffed. “Fuck where do you think she would have kissed me?”
“I don’t know,” Dagger responded in a fierce whisper. “On the cheek in gratitude.”
“Believe me, this wasn’t about gratitude. I’m not sure if she really wanted to kiss me or if the circumstances forced her into it.” He couldn’t help wondering if she was feeling grateful or sorry for him.
“What?” Dagger chuckled. “Are you kidding me? A woman, especially a woman like that, knows her own mind, and believe me. If she kissed you, she wanted to kiss you.” Twister was prepared for Dagger’s next question. He could almost hear the guy’s intelligent brain working overtime, the fatigue gone from his voice momentarily. “What circumstances?”
Twister might have thought he was getting one over on Dagger, Bondo, Tex, and the team, but they all knew when a guy wasn’t one hundred percent. If he chose to ignore his problem, he was choosing to fail. They had all proven to him that when he needed help, they would be there for him. They had carried him across a devastated city to reach the airport, fraught with aftershocks, hostile Haitians, and adversity while he was slowly bleeding to death.
He took a hard breath, suddenly overcome with the emotions from that situation—fear, gratitude, love, and respect. They had risked their lives for him, and if they hadn’t, he would already be underground in the big, permanent sleep. Something tightened in his chest, the same feeling he got when he’d been on the obstacle course, in that torpedo tube, and most recently, that enclosed space with Sadie.
He knew that whatever he was experiencing was directly tied to Haiti and his near-death experience. It was a matter of figuring out what it was that was fueling these episodes. “Panic attack. I’m getting them when I’m in enclosed spaces.”
“Obstacle course, torpedo tube.”
He gritted his teeth and growled, “Yes, but those were mild compared to the one I had with her. She saw me looking like a whipped dog.”
“Damn,” Dagger said. “Do you know why?”
“No, it started happening after I went back on active duty, but when I experience the attacks, it feels like I’m back under the rubble?—”
“In Haiti.”
“Yeah, it feels like that.”
“Do you think it’s a reaction to being trapped?”
“Yeah, something to do with it, all mental, but damned if I understand why.”
“So, Sadie?” he said with that wry inflection in his voice. “You’re punching above your weight there, buddy.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
“You both shut the fuck up and go to sleep, or you’ll be facing some extra PT tomorrow.”
“Bring it on, Bondo,” Dagger said defiantly.
Bondo chuckled. “Get some rest, knuckleheads.”
Twister smiled at Dagger’s response. God, he loved these guys. “We’ll figure it out,” he whispered fierce and low. “I’ve got your back, and it seems Miss Sadie has all the rest.”
Twister laughed softly, then closed his eyes, working at trying to settle enough to sleep. He focused his thoughts on the woman he’d left in her room, perfectly ready to give him some relief. She was so close, but so far away, and he had half a mind to go to the john and take care of this distracting erection, but he didn’t want that kind of release, even if it would ease him physically, this fire in him needed her touch, her body, her mouth, and every other part of him he wanted to devour. No, he wanted to be buried so deep inside her when he came that he’d get lost in the best way possible. He was going to be on the edge for some time. They did have a job to do here, and they should really talk about what happened. Until the briefing in the morning, he had no idea what kind of schedule they were going to be assigned to follow.
Just because he could, just because he wanted to, and because he needed to, he thought about her, nothing but her at this moment. He wanted to believe that the kiss that had wrecked him like no other was something that she wanted to do, because she was just as attracted to him as he was to her, not because of sympathy or, God help him, pity.
He drifted, and his breathing evened out. Her eyes had been so reassuring, so soft and caring. Had anyone ever looked at him like that…ever? Not in his memory. But they were willingly shackled. Yep, they both had signed their lives over to the Navy, and from what he could tell, she loved it as much as he did.
When he woke up in the morning, his erection was still semi-hard, but most of that was probably due to morning wood, a healthy reaction. He got out of bed, feeling refreshed. The long bout of sleep was all he needed, but it hadn’t doused his desire for her one bit. He immediately got dressed for PT, anticipating seeing her, then reported for the daily oh-seven-hundred muster.
Some of the guys chuckled, and Twister turned to see Flash walking up clad in a pair of navy blue shorts with red, white, and blue stars on them. Brawler shoved him, and that started a shoving match up and down the line until Bondo snapped, “Officer on deck.”
They lined up outside the room in the hallway, and Twister couldn’t help glancing at Sadie’s closed door. He shifted as Tex appeared. “Listen up. We’ve been cleared to interact in the city, but with caution, especially after what happened at the airport yesterday. The attack was directed toward tourists, as Seven Demands weren’t aware we were even there. Vigilance is the watchword.” There was a low murmur. “The Indonesian government has provided us with an excellent facility.”
“Do we know what’s happening with guard duty?” Shark asked.
“We’ll get all that information at the briefing after breakfast. No screwing around. You have two hours for PT, fifteen minutes for a shower, then fifteen for chow.” They started to move out, but Tex’s arm slashed out and stopped Flash in his tracks. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the breach in protocol, but I’ll let it pass since it’s the stars and stripes.”
“Yes, sir. Would be unpatriotic of you if you made me change.” Flash grinned slyly.
Tex chuckled. “Get out of here.”
They filed out of the building and fell into an easy cadence. This program they followed consisted of running a half-mile fast pace, squats for one minute, walking lunges for one minute, the fireman carry for fifty meters, followed by stretching for a minute. Then, running a mile fast, fifty meters slow. After that concluded, their legs burning, they reached the gym.
With sweat dripping off them, Twister entered the cavernous area. His gaze immediately went to the woman who was currently using her well-muscled arms to do pull-ups. He stopped as the guys bumped into him, some of them grousing for him to move as they filed around him, but he was transfixed on her compact body encased in nothing but a pair of tight black shorts and a black sports bra, her hair in a thick braid down her back.
Her skin glistened with moisture, accentuating her sleek lines as her arms, shoulders, and back flexed each time she did a rep. Everything about her was so sensual. He was knocked senseless by the way she moved with so much unconscious grace in such a tantalizing package. He could watch her all day.
“This isn’t a show,” Bondo growled, and Twister broke off his staring and headed for the area where the guys were lining up. Bondo led them, Tex right in the mix.
They were going to be performing a workout that wrecked them all, including Bondo. Twister was so aware of her, he had to make himself focus on Bondo. Working out, staying fit was all about functional muscle, strength, and endurance. That’s what they needed every day to remain fully operational. Tex wasn’t a proponent of a lot of lifting, and his LT was unconventional in many ways, but it always benefited the team.
Tex believed it wasn’t necessary for them to put on mass. They wanted to be lean, mean, operating machines. So, instead of the traditional three-set system, they went for a workout free of anything except their bodies, since there were many places where a fully equipped gym wasn’t available. All it took was a strong back core and a will to suffer. It was an interval workout—thirty seconds of work, thirty seconds of rest, clocking in five exercises in about twenty-eight minutes of PT.
Bondo started them off with frog hops. It was a simple jump with their hands locked together behind their heads for that thirty/thirty for four minutes, followed by a two-minute break. Twister took the time to grab some water and stretch.
Sadie looked like she’d finished. She gave him a soft look. “About time, slacker,” she said as he opened a bottle of water and chugged the whole thing.
He grinned, loving her sweet, teasing energy. “I’d say whatever candyass work out you divers do is tame to what we do.”
Her eyes flashed at his challenge. “Is that so, tough guy? We’ll have to see.”
Tex was also more interested in single-leg training to help with climbing mountains, rope ladders, rocks, all while carrying packs. So, the next exercise was split jumping, with the same thirty/thirty-second interval. As they started, he turned to find Sadie standing next to them, joining in.
Several of the guys behind him started to chuckle as she kept up. He smiled, knowing that after this was burpees, and he’d done thousands of them, each time a challenging workout. He could see that she was in amazing shape, knowing that all divers, regardless of whether they were combat, salvage, recreational, or pro, had to be fit to withstand the rigors of the ocean in all its watery glory. But out of all these exercises, these were the ones that took a lot out of them.
At the end of the split jumps, he said, “Make sure you use every second of these two minutes for rest.” She was breathing hard.
“Looks like we have a guest joining us. Let’s give her a proper welcome,” Bondo said with a grin.
“Hoo-yah!” they all shouted.
Sadie nodded and smiled, waving her hand.
“Okay, guys. Now we come to the most favorite of all the exercises we do. Burpees, and I don’t want to see any garbage burpees, or we’ll do another set. For it to count, I want your chest to the ground, at least a six-inch jump, and a clap overhead. It’s just a way to show our burpees they are the star of the show. Let’s move.”
“Hoo-yah!” they shouted, and Twister started moving. His legs were starting to burn, and he saw that Sadie was keeping up admirably. But when she fumbled the chest to the ground, Bondo called out with a sound like a buzzer.
Everyone groaned, and Sadie looked around with an apologetic look on her face. Bondo immediately went into another set, and this time, shaking with effort, she kept up.
“Take your two. Hydrate, people.”
“Damn,” Sadie said, folding down to the ground. “Those are freaking challenging. I like it.”
“Sure, you do,” Dagger said, shaking his head. “No one likes them, freak.”
She laughed. “I happen to think that anything that can kill you only makes you stronger.”
He shook his head, looking at Twister. “This woman is crazy. She fits right in.”
“Time’s up,” Bondo yelled. “It’s push-up time. Same drill, chest to ground, full extension, and a plank position I can set my beer on. No gut sags!”
Flash lifted his shirt and slapped his tight abs. “No gut here.”
Sadie studied him for a moment, and those pretty eyes came back to him. “How about you?”
Her eyes traveled down his torso, stopping at his midsection, those sunshot amber eyes so beautiful, her lashes so thick. His mouth quirked, and he pulled up his shirt. She stared at him for a long, quiet moment. Admiration settled over her features, awareness sparking in her golden gaze, as did a glimmer of heat, ramping as she devoured him with her eyes. Damn, he wanted her closer…much closer, until their bodies were touching intimately, but he had to settle for that sparking promise. She wanted him, and she was silently daring him to be bad, to throw every bit of caution to the wind and give in to some reckless, shameless acts. That look in her eyes drove him back to the brink of sexual frustration. Yeah, when the time was right, reckless and shameless…he would be both.
They pushed out each pushup and rested again. It was the first time he’d done that with a full, raging hard-on thanks to her expressive eyes.
“Last set. We’re doing squats. I want to see those parallel butts.”
Standing next to him, she got prepared, whispering to him in low tones. “I want to see the rest of what you got there. I’m cursing the Navy right now.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, Uncle Sam is a pain in my parallel ass right about now.” The words were uneven. His heart beat heavily in his chest. He was going to have to find an opportunity to kiss her. He couldn’t possibly get through this day, or even the next five minutes, without kissing her. His body was nearly electrified with the need to touch her, to somehow draw her close and bury his face in the curve of her neck and shoulder, to open his mouth on her skin and run his tongue all the way down her body from her throat to between her legs.
She laughed out loud, and Bondo gave her a narrow-eyed gaze. “No laughing.”
“Yeah, right, roar ,” Dagger said. “No fun!”
The exercise ended, and Twister walked around, working the burning sensation out of his thighs, butt, and calves.
“Petty Officer Sadie Tompkins,” a sarcastic male voice sounded behind him. He turned around to find a guy and his two buddies walking toward Sadie. She stiffened, her eyes widening in dismay, then she closed her whole expression down, taking a breath before she turned around. His whole being was set to defend innocents against any threat, but in this case, Sadie wasn’t one of those people. She could hold her own.
Didn’t mean he wouldn’t step in if it was necessary.
The man’s eyes flicked to him and his teammates.
“You already got yourself some watchdogs.” The man grinned, and it wasn’t meant to be at all pleasant. “You’re good at that,” he growled under his breath.
“Stop being a jerk,” a guy said next to the jerk. “Sadie doesn’t deserve that.” He was a milquetoast-looking guy with dark hair and blue eyes.
There was a trick to being invisible, and Twister was working it overtime, not moving, barely breathing, listening like hell, but looking off to the side, as if he weren’t completely focused on the conversation.
Dagger’s narrowed look went to the three men, then back to Sadie. “What’s up?” he said, his voice low.
“Not a clue,” Twister said, stretching some more but keeping all his attention focused on the three of them, then he fixated on the speaker.
“Hi, Sadie,” the milquetoast said.
She smiled at him. “Hi, Neil. It’s good to see you again.”
“David,” she said coolly, returning her attention back to him, telling Twister that she did have history with this guy. It was clear he was not her friend, but there was something about him that broadcast to Twister his more than menacing interest in Sadie. When guys wanted a woman and they didn’t get her, some of them went a little nuts—resentment, hostility, unrequited needs all balled up into a hard lump inside them, and they turned into complete and utter assholes.
This David had that vibe about him.
“I don’t need watchdogs. I can take care of myself.” She went to go by him, and the bastard had the nerve to grab her arm. He stiffened, and Dagger set his hand against Twister’s shoulder.
She reacted instantaneously, grabbing his hand, twisting his thumb until he cried out and stepped back. “Don’t you ever touch me,” she said.
He rubbed his thumb. “Dylan’s dead,” he said.
She blinked, and her jaw tightened. “I know that. What happened between us is none of your business, no matter how much you want to make it so. Just do your job, David, and leave me the hell alone.”
She turned and walked away, but David’s glowering gaze followed her. It was clear he had a problem with that statement, and every protective instinct in him rose up. He was here to guard her against terrorists. He didn’t think he’d have to watch her back against one of their own.
“We’ve got to go,” Dagger said, tugging on Twister. “We’re on a timetable, remember?”
Twister relented and followed him out. He was even more keen to talk to Sadie, but any type of in-depth discussion about them or her diver buddy would just have to wait. He took a quick, cool shower, his dick still aching. He dressed in a black polo shirt and a pair of khaki utility pants, lacing up his boots. He had been fast in the shower and had more than enough time for chow.
He stepped out of his room at the exact same time as Sadie did. He turned at the noise, and she stood there drinking him in. She was in a yellow T-shirt and a pair of brown shorts, sandals on her feet.
He was across the hall before she even gestured for him to come to her. She stepped back as he rushed into the room. The moment the door was closed, he had her back against the wall.
“I only have twenty minutes left before the briefing, and I still have to eat.”
“Food, right. Make it fast but good, then,” she said in a breathless voice. “You’re good with mission timelines, right?”
He grinned and brushed his mouth over hers, tempering his aggression for once when it came to this woman. He wanted to savor, not take—okay, that wasn’t right. He wanted to take, but he wanted her to offer it up. Dammit, her mouth. Softest lips ever with a taste that went right to his groin. She made a gorgeous, soft female sound that made waves of desire crash inside him, then she did it. She lifted her chin, offering her mouth to him, her eyes slamming into his.
“You are madness,” she whispered, her voice so hushed, as if her breath was caught somewhere between them.
“I am madness…smoke and trouble,” he said. “It’s you who set the fire.”
He took her breath and her lips, and he wanted so much more as she made another soft sound and turned into his kiss, but not all the way, holding a little back. She wasn’t submitting—and that’s what he wanted, what he needed. Submission. It would be so sweet, and he wanted it from her.
He wasn’t sure about her reticence. Did it have something to do with the dead diver or with the asshole who had confronted her?
Or was she making him work for it, not giving away too much, a tease and a sultry siren who knew exactly how to inflame him.
Slipping his hand around the back of her neck, he opened his mouth wider over hers, pushed his tongue deeper, and showed her how much he wanted her, pressing tighter against her. She was trembling ever so slightly, and that was all he needed to know.
He broke off the kiss, taking his time breathing her in and letting his mouth rest on hers before he finally pulled away.
“Ah, that was…uh, that was…damn.”
She was stumbling over her words, and he loved every minute of her flustered stammering. “Good?”
“Uh, that word is pale to what I was thinking.”
She closed her eyes, then opened them, catching him behind the neck. She pulled him to her, covering his mouth in a hot, deep kiss, and she opened to him, her mouth moving against his with an urgent hunger. Twister lifted her against him, and he caught her behind the knee. With one twisting motion, his hard heat was flush against her. Grasping her buttocks, he thrust against her again and again, a low groan wrenched from him as she moved with him, riding him, riding the hard, thick, ridge jammed against her. But that wasn’t enough either.
Making incoherent sounds against his mouth, Sadie twisted free, and a violent shudder coursed through him when he felt her hands fumble with the snap and zipper on his pants. The instant she touched his hard, throbbing dick, he groaned out her name and let go of her, desperate to rid them both of the barrier of clothes.
The sound of his cell chiming brought him out of the sensual madness. He jerked and groaned at the same time she did. She let him go, and he rearranged his clothes.
“Damn the Navy,” she whispered.
He couldn’t agree with her more.