Chapter 18
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T ucker tracked Brynn’s movements as she fixed them both a bowl of stew. She bent to take the muffins out of the oven, and the thin robe she wore clung to the round curve of her ass. His body responded with a rush of blood south. He could watch her for days and not get enough.
He wanted to spend days in bed with her, but the real world always had a way of interrupting.
NCIS would probably be there to interview him in the morning. He needed to gear up for that.
Ahmad popped back to the forefront of his mind again.
What the hell was the man doing in San Diego? And why did he want him to contact him? A Saudi national approaching him while this investigation was going on was another complication he didn’t need.
The stew was rich and well-seasoned. From the first taste, his appetite kicked in, and he cleaned the bowl. When she asked if he wanted more, he shook his head. He needed to take it easy the first few days until his system transitioned from MREs to real food.
Brynn spent a few moments putting the food away before coming back to him. She caught his hand in hers and tugged him to the couch. “Tell me, what’s upset you about Ahmad? He seemed a very polite guy. Because of his manners, he came across as Old World.”
Old World was a good way to put it. Tucker remained silent for a moment, debating how much he could tell her. “I met Ahmad during a mission. His father worked for a Saudi ambassador who was here in the States for a while, representing the government. When he went back home, Ahmad and his family had to return with him. Ahmad wanted to come back to the States to live. I suppose he found a way to do that. That was at least nine months ago.”
“What do you think he wants to talk to you about?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea.”
She frowned. “He seemed a little anxious.”
“In what way?”
“He and the other steward helped Jess and me load the car after the yacht shoot. The other guy was a player and gave me his card. I tossed it. But Ahmad said if he could ever be of assistance to call, gave me his card, and walked away. He came back a few minutes later with a necklace he’d found, but I think it was an excuse to ask me to have you call him.”
Tucker shook his head. It wasn’t a good idea for him to encourage the connection, but she’d definitely piqued his curiosity.
“Where’s the card?”
She retrieved it from her desk and brought it to him.
He had a bad feeling about this. “All right, I’ll call him, but not tonight.” Tonight was theirs…for as long as she wanted him to stay.
“Do you want something for that headache?” she asked.
He started to ask how she knew, then mentally shook his head. “Yeah.” Otherwise, he wouldn’t sleep. “It’ll be gone in the morning.” He threw back the pills and washed them down with the last of his tea.
She ran her hand down his arm, and he read concern in the way she focused on his face. “How long did you go without sleep?”
“Long as I needed to. I’m okay. Show me some of the photos you took while I was gone.”
She hesitated. “Okay.” She went to her desk and raised the lid of her computer. She turned on the television above it, and the desktop of her laptop appeared on the screen. She clicked on the file, and a photograph of a yacht came up on the screen.
“This is the Aurora. She berths twelve passengers and has a small crew of two stewards, one cook, and the captain.
“She’s large enough to host a small wedding or reception while docked, but only twelve passengers can sail on her.”
The slide show ran, showing the models in the hot tub, the dining hall, sunbathing on the deck in lounges, and a couple reclining in one of the berths sharing a glass of wine. A group of four watched television in the salon, where electronic amenities such as television, computer access, and a small snack bar were available. A photo of the awninged space outside the dining hall where a table was set up popped up. A bucket of ice cradled a champagne bottle, and a plate of sliced fruit that accompanied it looked cool and delicious.
“She’s a beautiful ship. I don’t think I missed taking pictures of a single inch of her. The owner fed everyone a meal and furnished drinks while we did our thing.”
“Drinks?”
“He opened a couple of bottles of wine for the models. Jess and I stuck with soft drinks and water.”
“You don’t drink at all, do you?”
“No. I have no tolerance for alcohol. One glass of wine makes me want to find someplace to curl up for a nap. And I don’t like the feeling of being out of control.”
He chuckled. “The guys and I share a beer now and then at McP’s, or we’ll sit around my pool, shoot the breeze, and drink one or two. In my earlier SEAL days, we partied harder, but that gets old when you have to haul ass and run five miles hung over the next morning. We’ve all left that behind.”
“So, you sewed some wild oats as a new SEAL.”
“A few, but even that wore thin. It’s a hard lesson when you get home to find someone moved on while you were gone and shuts you down like you were never in the picture.”
“I can’t imagine anyone forgetting you that easily, Tucker.”
He shrugged “It happened a couple of times.”
She fell silent for a moment. “I have a rule. If it doesn’t mean something, you shouldn’t do it.”
His heart rate surged into a quick step. “Good rule.”
“You gave your dad my number.”
“If something happened, I wanted you to know I wasn’t ghosting you, especially after everything we talked about that last night.”
She bit her lip and looked away for several seconds.
A crying woman was more terrifying to him than an armed terrorist. He at least knew how to deal with the latter. He changed the subject to distract her as she seemed to struggle with her composure. “Why is there a blue fishing vessel following the yacht?”
She looked back to the screen. “I don’t know. I first saw it at the pier when I did the photos for the charter company. I kept having to change angles or perspectives to exclude it from the shots. Then, when I did this shoot, it was always there again, and I had to do the same.
“I read somewhere that the propellers of a big ship can churn up algae in their wake.
I thought maybe they were hoping for a big catch of Tangs since they eat algae.”
He shook his head. “They’re not really following the ship. They’re running parallel to it. They could’ve been taking in the scenery on board,” he speculated. “Is there any way you can focus in on the boat for more detail?”
“Because I wasn’t using a long-range lens, the image won’t be clear.” She sat down at her desk and closed out the slide show. She brought up the folder from the desktop.
Tucker moved closer to stand just behind her as she shuffled through the pictures. There were so many. No one could ever say she wasn’t thorough. She ran a search and brought up another file and opened it as well. She pulled photos from both that had glimpses of the blue fishing boat and others of the boat itself.
“That’s a cabin cruiser at least forty feet long,” he spoke out loud. “Looks like they have fishing poles mounted on the center console.”
She homed in on the man at the helm inside the wheelhouse. The glare on the glass hid his features. The man on deck was easier to see, but he had his back turned. He had dark hair and was dressed in a white T-shirt and dark shorts. She shuffled through the images, but none of the others offered a clearer view.
“It just seems strange that both times I’ve had photo shoots on the water, this boat shows up and seems to follow whatever I’m shooting.”
“Maybe they’re checking you out, Brynn. You’re young, beautiful, and when you’re working, there’s an intensity that’s fascinating to watch.”
“They couldn’t see much while they were following the yacht. But then, they could’ve had binoculars. The models were all over the boat. It’s just a little creepy to me.”
“If they’re just stalking you on the water, they won’t know where you live, and there won’t be another chance for them to follow you unless you do another water shoot.” He laid a hand on her shoulder. “The next time you go out on the ocean will be when we do our next open-water dive, and I’ll be with you. How’s this Sunday for that? We’ll make sure that boat is nowhere in sight before we hit the water.”
“Okay. And this Sunday would be good. That’ll give me a few days to practice with the camera equipment.”
“You’re going to do great. You’re finning is spot on, and you assemble your gear like a pro. I’ll be right beside you the entire dive. You’ll just have a little more gear to deal with.”
She grasped his hand and rose. “I know you’ll watch out for me.”
He drew her close. “It’s hard for me to take my eyes off of you. And it’s been damn hard for me to keep my hands off of you. The first time you came out of the house dressed in your wet suit I had to keep my back turned so you wouldn’t see how much I appreciated the view.”
She laughed. “I never guessed that at all.”
“I didn’t want to rush you.” Or scare her off.
When she moved in to lean against him and her hands moved up his back, he drew in a breath.
“You’ve been beyond patient,” she said.
“Yeah, I have.” He kissed her with all the pent-up emotion and needs he’d suppressed. His hands were already under her robe as he urged her down the hallway. He tugged it free as they reached the bedroom.
She stretched out upon the bed and bowed her body in a way that had him catching his breath. At that moment, he’d never wanted anything as much as he wanted her. He stripped and joined her. The brush of her bare skin against his was as thrilling as it had been the first time.
His hand slid down her back, molding her close. Her hands were just as busy as his as they ran down his side to cup his ass. Her response to his kiss was avid. When she nibbled his ear lobe, his dick grew as hard as iron. He grabbed a condom from the nightstand and ripped the top open with his teeth.
“Let me,” she said and took it from him. That she was confident enough to take charge and actually touch him after having closed herself off for so long had him grinning. When she started rolling it down over his erection, he mentally recited the alphabet backward to maintain his control.
Had he ever been this aroused by a woman?
She straddled him and lowered herself, taking him in, then leaned down to kiss him. He ran his hands down her back, relishing the softness of her bare skin beneath his hands.
She began to move. The slow steady rise and fall of her body shoved him closer to the edge. As she quickened the pace, she stretched her long, lean body in such a way that he bit back a groan, afraid that the sound might distract her from her own pleasure.
She pressed down, taking him in as deep as she could. As he raised his hips to deepen the connection, her breathing grew shorter and choppier, and a soft moan escaped her. The way she tilted her head back and the tension in her body increased as the climax took them both was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen.