A Little Harmless Military Romance Bundle (A Little Harmless Military Bundle) (16 page)

“The ex? The one you say drives you crazy? The one who you can’t keep your hands off of?” Zoe asked.

She nodded as she watched him walk toward her. As always, people moved out of his path without realizing it. It had always been that way ever since she’d met him years ago in California.

“Oh, mama,” Zoe said.

“You let that go?” Fiona asked. “I think you need some help.”

“It was do that or one of us was going to kill the other.”

She still couldn’t look away from him. He was in his mess dress, which meant he had gone to something formal. He could always fill out a uniform so well. The setting sun sparkled off the wealth of medals that crowded his chest.

God, the man never failed to turn her on when he was in his uniform. Of course, he could be wearing a lounge-lizard suit and she would be ready to jump his bones. Or nothing. Yeah, she would really like to see him wearing nothing at all.

She shook her head, trying to clear the image, but she knew it only too well. All those sculpted muscles and that little line of fair hair that bisected his abs. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Hell, her panties were damp already and she hadn’t even spoken to him.

Sam opened her eyes.

“Who is that tall drink of chocolate next to him?” Zoe asked.

It took her a second to realize that there was another man beside Deke. He was in mess dress also, but the rank on his arm told her he was an officer.

“I have no idea.”

He came to a halt in front of Sam. He hadn’t looked anywhere else as he had walked to her. Now, he was looking at her as if she might disappear. “Samantha, what are you doing here?”

It took her a second to gather her thoughts. “I live here now.”

She had picked it because she had thought never to see him. It wasn’t that there weren’t a ton of military on the island, but she knew that he never wanted to be assigned to the vehicle teams the Seals had here.

“Sam?” Zoe poked her in the back, and she shot her friend a nasty look before looking back to Deke. He hadn’t taken his gaze from her.

“Oh, right, this is Zoe Anderson and Fiona Farelli.”

He glanced at her friends and smiled. “Nice to meet you, ladies.”

Then he turned his attention right back to her. She could practically hear her friends sighing. She couldn’t blame them. Inwardly, she was sighing also. And melting.

When he didn’t introduce his friend, she nodded her head in the man’s direction. For a second, he didn’t react. Then Deke glanced over at his friend.

“Oh, sorry. This is Malachai Dupree.”

The other man gave her a smile that normally would have stopped traffic. The fact that Malachai was dressed in mess dress with a chest full of medals also made him impressive. Sam was pretty sure Zoe and Fiona melted beside her. But, as always, when Deacon Berg was in the vicinity, she didn’t notice other men.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Wedding. One of our friends got married to Mal’s sister, Shannon.”

“Ah.”

The silence strung out for a few moments while everyone else just stood by. She could hear the music from the wedding reception along with the low murmur of tourists milling around on a Saturday afternoon. She was about to make an excuse to leave, but his friend stopped her before she had a chance.

“Hey, why don’t you ladies crash the wedding?” Mal asked.

Before she could say no, Zoe stepped up next to Mal and took his offered arm. “I would love to do that. Come on, Fee.”

Fiona glanced at Sam, and she could tell her friend was making sure she was okay. Fiona smiled and took Mal’s free arm, and he escorted her two friends off. The traitors.

“I’m not sure your friend knows what he’s getting into,” she said.

He didn’t say anything for a moment, and she had a flashback to the first night she met Deke. He’d had the attention of every woman in the room, but when he’d walked up to her, he’d seemed to lose the ability to talk. It was a stunning thing to make a prime hunk of man tongue-tied. She would have been more impressed with it if she hadn’t had the same exact problem.

“Deke?”

He shook himself and seemed to gain his wits again.

“Mal’s a Seal. He can handle two women.”

She let one eyebrow rise. “Is that from experience?”

He chuckled. “Despite Mal’s efforts to boast about his escapades, I try my best to ignore them.”

"Let me guess, the man talks a little too much?"

He nodded. "Ready for some Scooby Snacks and cake?"

She tried not to be charmed that he remembered their code name for the horrible
hors d’oeuvres
they’d been forced to eat at official functions. It was hard, but she resisted. She knew there was no way out of it. Tearing her friends away from food and beverages—not to mention men in uniform—was going to be hard. And a glance over Deke’s shoulder told her there were plenty of both of those things here.

She brought her attention back to Deke. God, he was smiling at her, waiting. It was that smile that always made her heart do that little dance. Right before she threw all her good intentions out the window and gave in to the temptation of Deacon Berg.

But Zoe was her ride, and it was Hawaii. He was probably not going to be there very long, knowing him. She would just be good and she would resist him. It could be done.

“Samantha?”

She blinked and looked at him. "Sure," she said.

His smile widened, causing his dimples to appear and her blood temperature to rise. He was attractive, that’s it. This time would be different. She glanced over at him and saw the way the setting sun danced over his skin. Need swelled in her. Her blood heated to dangerous levels, and she felt her head start to spin.

Shit, she was in trouble.

Chapter Two

Deke took a sip of beer as he watched Cynthia Dupree talk to his ex-wife. There was a gaggle of women gathered around Cynthia as she had the newest Dupree to show off at the wedding. No one could resist a baby, especially one dolled up in pink bows for a wedding.

“Looks like your woman has a lot to say to my sister-in-law,” Mal remarked. Deke didn’t miss the humor in his voice.

“Well, seeing how she left me, there is always a chance Chris could lose his wife.”

“Did she tell you what she’s doing here now?” Mal asked.

“She’s teaching. She wanted a change, and her friends were moving over. She decided to follow them,” Deke said.

“She’s a teacher?” Mal asked.

He nodded, watching her laugh at something Cynthia said. Something tugged at his heart—not to mention other parts of his body. He couldn’t hear her laugh, but he could still hear it from earlier. It never failed to make him feel whole. He wanted to lie in bed and listen to her laugh, feel her body heat next to him. His fingers itched to slip his hands through her silky, blonde hair.

“She teaches middle school math.”

“Oh, man, you have got to be kidding me,” Mal said. “I don’t think I could have concentrated on anything with her teaching me math.”

He glanced at the younger man. “Just don’t even think about it.”

Mal flashed him a smile. “I know better. Besides, I don’t think she’s interested in me. She’s been watching you the whole time.”

“Jesus, you sound like a bunch of women over here,” Jocelyn, Mal and Shannon’s sister, said from behind them.

“Bite me, Joce. Why don’t you go bug our brother?”

“You mean Chris? No thanks. He hasn’t had sleep in a month, and he’s getting mean. And he said he heard me sniffle, so he won’t let me hold Jessica. Butthead.”

“I don’t blame him. Remember how many times you ripped a leg off one of your baby dolls when you were a kid? If I had a kid, I wouldn’t let you near him,” Mal said.

“So, Seal, what’s your plan while on the islands?” Jocelyn asked Deke.

“Why are you questioning my friends like they’re criminals?” Mal asked.

Jocelyn sighed. “I’m just asking them questions. The way the women are all making goo-goo eyes at Deke, I have a feeling he won’t be around that long.”

He laughed, enjoying her. He liked the way the Duprees interacted. They reminded him of his own family. “I’m just here for one more night. I have to get back.”

She glanced at her brother, and Deke saw the worry in her eyes.

“No, nothing like that. I have an assignment to decide on. It can’t wait. Either way, I am gone from the group within a month, so I have to get back and get that ready.”

“But, you’re on vacation,” she said.

The men shared a smile. Civilians always acted like they had so many choices. “I was asked to teach in California.”

“Holy crap, like for Seal training?” she asked. “Like they show in the movies?”

“Yeah, but he might be changing his mind now,” Mal said as he nodded in the direction of Samantha.

Jocelyn glanced over at Samantha. Deke followed her gaze just in time to see Nathaniel Dupree, firefighter and a man without morals, slip up to Cynthia and ask to be introduced to Samantha.

Deke frowned.

“I would suggest if you want her, you better go get her, Deke. You know Nat,” Jocelyn said.

He took a swig of his beer, shoved it at Mal, and started off in her direction.

* * * *

Sam felt her whole body flush with excitement as Deke crossed the floor to her again. Nathaniel kept talking, as did Cynthia, but their words seemed to dissolve into the background. It was an instant reaction she had almost every time. Even when she was so mad at him that she wanted to do him bodily damage, she couldn’t stop the overwhelming need he brought out in her. By now, she should know better. She should have some plan for when she ran into him this way. But she never did. He was the one thing she could always count on in her life. They might be divorced but they knew they would have someone to call on in a time of need. He had been the bane of her existence and the salvation she loved.

He stopped within a few inches of her.

“Wanna dance?” he asked.

She laughed. “Way to romance me, Seal.”

His face grew ruddy and she couldn’t help allowing her heart to soften just a little more. He was dangerous when he went alpha, but lord, he was irresistible when he was embarrassed.

He cleared his throat, and she was sure that he was as aware of the attention from people surrounding them as she was. “Would you like to dance?”

“Not really.”

She knew what was going to happen if he touched her. Heck, she knew what was going to happen even if they didn’t dance, but she had some pride. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of his friends and hers.

He looked surprised.

“Why don’t we go for a walk?” she asked.

He nodded in agreement and offered his arm. She could feel the stares as they walked out of the area. Once they were free of the attention, she relaxed.

“So, you’re teaching here?”

She nodded. “I needed a change. They were cutting our benefits left and right. Pay isn’t great here, but there were still as many benefits as in California. And, seriously, how can you not be happy living with this kind of scenery?”

He shook his head. “You make it sound like it’s paradise every day.”

She chuckled. “No. Just like everywhere else, we have the same issues. But I do like the slower pace here. And you know how I react to long winters.”

He nodded, and she knew he remembered her problem with long winters. “Your friends, do they teach, too?”

“No. Fiona is a message therapist and Zoe is a nurse.”

“Hmm, does Fiona do house calls?”

She laughed. “She does, but I don’t think she would be comfortable with you as a client.”

He frowned. “Why is that?”

“She knows a little bit too much about you.”

He made a face. “Women.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, feeling more comfortable now. The vibrations between them were still there, but it was easier to concentrate on catching up.

“You tell each other way too much about your sex life.”

She stopped and pulled her arm out of his. “Like you don’t brag about your conquests to the boys? You just said Mal talked about his women.”

“First of all, my friends aren’t boys. Mal doesn’t count. And second of all, I never brag. Especially when comparing any woman to you is useless.”

She sighed and started walking again, trying to keep some distance between them. He didn’t say things like that to seduce her. For Deke, it was the truth, and he didn’t hold it back. He never did with her. If he did, he might be easier to resist.

“My brother is also stationed here.”

He rolled his eyes. “Should have known. So, did he complain until you moved here?”

She smiled. Deke and her brother had a love/hate kind of relationship. “No, actually he’s gone a lot because he’s on the IG inspecting bases. So, for the Pacific, that means he has to go to Asia a lot.”