Chapter 15 #2
“Can you Ladies recommend a good place to eat?” Clint asked primarily for his men. He walked over to Ashlin and whispered, “Have your plans changed for tonight?”
She looked up at him with a teasing smile. “Absolutely not.”
“Where are we going out to supper?” He smiled back at her as they ignored the recommendations bouncing around the room.
“Why don’t we all meet at Deb’s Place?” Kayla suggested. “I just texted her, and her back room is open tonight.”
“That’s a great idea,” Kira seconded.
“Does anybody mind if I invite Kenner?” Piper asked.
“Hell, no.” Liam, Dog, responded.
Clint looked down at Ashlin and raised his eyebrows.
“Sure,” she replied. “It’s a teambuilding event.
By the way, dress is casual. You could actually get away with blue jeans and a T-shirt.
We’ll be in her back room, which has a back entrance.
No one will see us coming or going. Deb used to be in the CIA.
Have the car service Katlin has arranged bring you and pick you up.
” She smiled at him. “We can take a separate car to your place.”
The look in her eyes as she glanced up at him made him want to back her into a corner and kiss her until she begged him to make her scream.
But he couldn’t do that. Not there. Not then.
It wasn’t hard to work with her on a professional basis, as he’d discovered that day when they were side-by-side in a dark room, working out the details of their mission.
Now that it was the end of the day, all he could think about was having her in his bed in a few hours and all through the night.
Time and place for supper decided, he needed to round his team up and head to the hotel.
They had about two hours before they were going to meet the women again.
The ride back would give him an opportunity to talk to his men, gauging their attitudes.
As he talked to each man on the ride to the hotel, Shawn sat next to him, a little nervous, but he hid it well enough.
“Clint, I know I’m new to this team, but before I was assigned to you, I had made arrangements to meet someone important to me for supper tonight. I’d change it, but he’s only going to be in D.C. through tomorrow morning. I’d really appreciate it if I could be excused from this big supper tonight.”
“I completely understand.” Clint certainly did. “Meals together on missions like this aren’t mandatory. I don’t give a flying fuck what you do once we’re back at the hotel. You’ll soon find that I’m not a micromanager, and I won’t tolerate anyone trying to control my personal life.”
“Thank you, sir.” Boomer moved to another seat and was replaced quickly by the next man.
Two hours later, they were back in another limousine with a different driver on the way to supper with Ashlin’s team.
He was excited to see her and worried a little about their public display of affection because he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her.
Everyone knew they were married. In the end, he decided to follow her lead.
He didn’t want to do anything to make her uncomfortable.
Alcohol and fantastic food had done their job.
By the end of the evening, the room looked like a meal shared with coworkers.
A few small groups had formed. Clint heard several opinions on various countries around the world.
Piper and Kenner had migrated to the seats across from Clint and Ashlin.
After a brief introduction, the Navy SEAL and Army Delta discovered they were on a few of the same joint operations.
Clint was surprised to hear that the Holt Company, which Kenner worked for, had been on a mission with Ashlin’s team in Alaska.
“That explains your comment about cold weather,” Clint said as he looked at Piper.
“I’m a born-and-raised Florida girl who survived winter conditions in the Alaskan wilderness.” Piper crossed her arms and nodded once as though to put an exclamation point on her achievement.
Kenner, whose arm was already on the back of Piper’s chair, pulled her in and kissed her temple. “You did great, babe.”
“So does that mean you’re moving back to Alaska after you quit this game?” Clint inquired.
“Hell, no,” Piper said as she shook her head side to side.
“Fuck, no,” Kenner said at the same time.
All four laughed.
“I grew up in North Pole, Alaska, and hated every fucking minute of it. I loved San Diego, though. That wouldn’t be a bad place to live. Florida might be better since the water is a hell of a lot warmer and better diving. What about you two?” Kenner asked.
Clint looked over his shoulder, where his arm was casually lying on the back of Ashlin’s chair.
She must’ve taken that as the ball was in her court. “We’ve spent so little time together we’re still trying to figure out how to be a couple, unlike you two, who have been together practically nonstop since you met.”
Ashlin turned her gaze to meet Clint’s eyes and explained, “After that mission, Kenner moved to the Holt Company’s D.C. office. They have an apartment not that far away from our team’s condo.”
“A very small apartment,” Piper added. She looked at Kenner and smiled lovingly. “We’re looking for a house.”
Kenner smiled back with love in his eyes. “We’ll need a bigger place for all the kids we plan on having after we get married.”
Clint felt as though a cartoon exclamation point appeared above his head.
“We’ll talk more about your dual offices.
” He wondered how his father would feel about him opening an office in Washington.
Most of their contracts came through the US government, so it made sense.
With a third team standing up soon, could he run his team out of the USA?
And open an office in the city to be with Ashlin?
“You’re getting married?” Mia all but screamed from across the room. All eyes turned to the end of the table.
Piper’s smile expanded. “Yes. Someday.”
Clint gazed at Ashlin. “Would you recommend marriage?”
“Hell, yes.” She leaned in close so only he could hear. “If it continues to involve the kind of sex we had last night, I’d highly recommend it.” She moved closer and kissed him, long and deep, with everyone in the room staring at them.
“Get a room,” several jeered.
Ashlin leaned back, smiling at all of them. “That sounds like an excellent idea.” She stood and grabbed his hand. “We have months of married life to catch up on.”