The Navy's Ghost (Bad Boys of Beta Squad) (12 page)

I got this. They’re mine now.

Chris settled back to earth when Todd pulled gently out of her pussy and peeled the condom from his dick. She released Jim’s softening cock and nuzzled his balls as she laid her head on his thigh. Jim dropped a hand on her head and stroked her hair.

“Sweet Jesus, Ghost. That was fucking amazing.”

Chris smiled, still reveling in the pleasure she’d received and the triumph of bringing both her men satisfaction. Todd tossed the condom in the trash and gathered her up from the couch armrest, pulling her against his body.

“C’mon, darlin’. Let’s get you snuggled up right.” Todd settled her between him and Jim on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. Chris draped her legs over one of Jim’s thick thighs and let the exhaustion of the day wash over her. She wanted this every day they weren’t deployed.

“I love you, Todd and Jim.” Chris closed her eyes and snuggled against Todd’s chest, content for the first time in months.

****

Jim heard Chris’s sleepy admission and something in his heart broke open. Combined with the contentment enveloping him from the sex they’d shared, he soaked it up like an adrenaline junkie after an aerial jump from a helo.
Holy shit, that was the best I’ve had in a long time.

But it added up to more than great sex.
The sensation in his chest was so alien he couldn’t even put a name to it. He’d experienced it once before, when Chris had said it in the medical center four months earlier. As strange as it felt, he found himself wanting more. More of her soft moans and her hot mouth on his cock. More of her sexy body under his hands. He wanted her smiles and to stand beside her when she beat the odds against all expectation.

Seeing
her snuggled up against Todd’s chest, Jim allowed a satisfied smile to curl his lips. He’d given her some of that, with Todd’s help.
With Todd’s help…

Ice water hit his chest and he stiffened as his mind served up an image of his father standing over him and a spread of porn mags.
God dammit, get away from me! This is mine to enjoy and I didn’t do anything wrong.
Jim closed his eyes and ground his teeth together, trying to recapture the contentment bleeding away in the face of his father’s appearance.
She wanted it and it’s only a one-night-stand anyway
. But the senior Waters shook his head and scowled.

Jim yanked his eyes open to dispel the image and stared at Chris’s beautifully relaxed face resting on Todd’s chest.
Damn, she looks so good there.
He wished she fit in his arms as well as she did in Todd’s, but the truth crashed in on his lovely little fantasy and exposed it to the harsh light of reality.
Todd’s the better man for her and it’s wrong to share beyond taking the edge off tonight.
Jim had to let her go and live in the real world.

I can’t give into the temptation. It’s better for all of us.

The bitter pill soured his stomach and made him shift in sudden discomfort.

“Hey, you okay?” Todd’s voice drowned out the sour thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Jim readjusted his balls sticking to his thighs as he glanced at Chris.
Damn, she’s beautiful
. “I think she’s out. You want some help getting her to the bed?”

“Nah, I got this. Why don’t you wash up while I get her to bed
?”

Jim nodded and gently shifted Ghost’s legs from his. Her skin slid like silk beneath his rougher hands and he tried to ignore how much he enjoyed the soft texture.
She isn’t yours to have. You have to protect her from yourself. Don’t let her into this sick world of yours.
He grimaced and reached for his jeans as he stood.

Todd raised an eyebrow, but Jim turned away before the blond SEAL could ask anything more. Todd sat up, resettling Chris in hi
s arms, and she nuzzled closer with a happy little moan. Jim’s gut clenched with what suspiciously felt like yearning. He scowled and jerked his jeans over his legs.
I don’t need anything. I’m good. This was good. I don’t need more.

Todd carried Chris into the back bedroom and returned a few moments later to pull on his
jeans. “You want some coffee?”

“Nah. I think I’m gonna take off and try to catch some shut-eye.” Jim shook his head as he gathered up his keys and shirt.

“I thought you’d say here on the couch.” Todd gave him a measuring look. “I mean, after what just happened I figured she’d wake up to both of us.”

“Y
eah, well, this was just a one-time deal, remember?” Jim shrugged into his shirt to avoid Todd’s gaze. “It was great, but it’s not gonna be an ongoing thing.” He clenched his jaw as the medal case caught his attention. “I don’t want to fuck up the friendship.” He headed for the front door.

“Don’t do this, Jim.” Todd didn’t grab his arm, but the censure in his voice stopped Jim just as cold. “Don’t treat her like another quick fuck. Stay and have breakfast with her. With us. She deserves it.”

“She deserves better than me in every respect.” Jim nodded as his resolve solidified and he met Todd’s gaze. “She fits in your arms perfectly, Todd. She needs someone who can give her everything and I’m not that guy.”

“Neither of us are ‘that guy’, Jim. She wants us both.”

Jim shook his head. “I’m sorry. I can’t. Tell her thanks and give her my best when she wakes up.”

“Stay and tell her yourself.” Todd crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’ll catch you later.”

Jim ignored the scream of
fury and despair echoing in his head as he strode out the front door. He’d never heard Todd make such a noise and he’d reached his truck by the time he figured out it came from inside him. He climbed in and started the truck, shaking his head.

“It’s better this way. For all of us.” But even saying the words out loud didn’t make them true.

****

Todd stood for a long moment after the door closed behind Jim’s stubborn ass, his jaw damn near stuck to the floor.
Holy shit, did he just walk out on Ghost?
He’d never taken Jim for a coward, but the bigger SEAL had just run with his tail tucked firmly between his legs.
What the hell is he runnin’ from?

Todd reviewed the last few minutes in his head. Jim had worn an expression of supreme contentment after Chris sucked him off, but when she said she loved them both, Jim’s face had disintegrated into stiff implacability and he’d damn near bolted for the door.
What the fuck?

Todd shook his head and
locked the front door before turning out the lights around the house. The medal case with Chris’s Purple Heart flashed in the light and he paused, staring at it. It represented a huge change in their lives as friends and teammates.
So does tonight.
He picked up the smooth case and flipped it open, studying the elegant medal in the blue satin.

Something had freaked Retro out and it wasn’t just Chris’s declaration of love. Todd had seen the pleasure and
satisfaction on Jim’s face when they shared her.
He enjoyed it, so what the fuck’s makin’ him run?
Shaking his head, Todd put the medal down and turned off the light before heading for the bedroom to curl up next to Chris. Hopefully Retro would figure his shit out and come around. Todd would give him time to pull his head out of his ass and find the clear water.
But he better apologize to Ghost.

Chapter Nine

“I’ve seen better moves in a statue gallery! You do not get this right, gentlemen, and I will cut your balls off and string them together over your shoulders so you can look more like me, ’cause it just might improve your abilities. Then you won’t have to worry about anything dangling between your legs! There is no ‘I’ in TEAM, gentlemen! Work together or ring out!”

Chris watched the struggling eight man teams try
to carry the big, heavy logs up and down the berm in the late summer heat. She kept her face forbidding, but she grinned inside. She’d experienced this torture and she enjoyed dishing it out to these young, arrogant green-horns. Thought they were all that and a bag of chips, but they were just as pathetic as she’d been in their places.

Tension radiated through her left leg and she shifted her we
ight onto her right. It’d been eight weeks since she’d returned to active duty, but her leg still let her know each time the weather changed. She’d followed Dr. Meecham’s strength training regimen and progressed from walking to running a few miles every day. It had helped to keep up with the new recruits she barked at all day.

“What was that?” she roared at the young recruits
. One of the men had tripped and fallen, taking down his team as the log rolled over him. “We do not leave one of ours to be trampled or crushed! You’re a team! Do you understand this concept? T. E. A. M.: Take Everyone And More. Get off your ass, boy! Don’t make them do your work for you.”

The unfortunate victim spat sand, gulped air, and dragged his ass to his feet to help his teammates
recover the log. No one complained. They needed their energy to keep up with the grueling training she and the other instructors forced on them. Only the third day of the new class, but they’d already lost four recruits to DOR: dropped on request. She sympathized with them. The awful and unrelenting training seemed to drag on forever, but what a triumph when graduation came.

The first day
Chris had been presented as an instructor, some of the youngsters catcalled and whistled like she represented a pin-up joke to ease them into training. She never had to raise her voice. She sent them straight into the water for a daisychain before making them hump fifty kilo packs at full speed in dry sand. The joking stopped when they ran out of breath.

A whistle blew and the other instructors hollered at the recruits to get their asses into the water for a
nother daisychain. Chris herded and harangued the tired men into the water, limping after them without too much pain. She had yet to show off her scars just in case the new recruits had any questions about what duty entailed, but no one had been stupid enough to ask why she limped.

Chris
watched the men lie on their backs in the water with their arms linked, kicking their feet as the waves shoved them in a unit toward shore. Her mind wandered to Magic and Retro and the times she’d spent arm-in-arm with them in the water.
Would be more fun now… If Retro would come around more
. She hadn’t heard from either of them for a several weeks. They’d gone on a training mission with no ETA offered, but she hoped they’d return soon. She had the next two days away from the training of these poor fools and she’d take every moment. She just hoped her two favorite SEALs would be there to join her in some R&R.

Including shared S
. E. X.

After the night she’d gotten her tattoo,
Retro had bowed out and kept an uneasy distance from her and Magic. He came by to hang out with them rarely, and always retreated home at the end of the night. Chris enjoyed her time with Todd, reveling in his tender and loving attention. He studied her with unnerving possession, unnerving because she liked it so much. His look said she belonged to him and she delighted in the comfort it brought.

I’ve gone soft and girly since retiring from the Teams.
Somehow, the change seemed right.

Todd had proven to be an inventive and thorough lover, but d
espite their closeness, something always seemed missing. Or rather, someone.
Dammit, Jim. I’m a SEAL, not a relationship doctor!
The joke failed to make her laugh. He’d never explained why he left while she slept and Todd kept insisting she ask him, but she hadn’t found the right moment. Or Retro refused to talk about it when the subject ever came up.

“Get those legs up outta the water!” she hollered at the flagging recruits.

Chris’s frustration helped her harangue the SEAL hopefuls, but being unable to move forward in something she knew could be fixed ate at her. She’d hoped Jim would come back to them, but so far, he’d stayed away, remaining friendly, but not intimate. Chris wanted him back in her life, back in the tight camaraderie they’d shared in Bravo Squad.
No, Beta Squad. They’ve renamed it.
She shook her head. She missed Jim’s fierce passion and strength.

A twinge of discomfort jolted her leg and she stumbled to a stop, glancing up at the sky. Black clouds rolled in from the west, heralding a late
August storm. Sympathy bubbled up as she coldly surveyed the recruits in the water. Life would suck for them real soon.

Chris lifted her chin and caught Master Chief Castle’s eye, jerking her head back toward base with a raised eyeb
row. The chief gave a sharp nod then bellowed something unrepeatable at one of the tiring men. The youngster tried to jerk his legs higher in the water, but he didn’t have much strength left. Chris turned and limped back up the beach, remembering her own stint in the daisychain. Fun times.

The storm broke just as she stepped out of the BUD/S administrative office. She’d left her car at home, but her trusty umbrella
whuffed
open before the golf-ball sized drops marred her uniform. Chris strode little faster than an amble with her bad leg, but she liked pushing her body in this minor way, and she’d long since retired the hiking stick.

The sound of the rain on her umbrella soothed her and she let her mind wander as she hobbled toward the house granted her as a base instructor.
Though not the biggest house or the best looking on base, it suited her needs and gave her a place to call home. The matching covered porches, fore and aft, gave her a place to relax and she’d planted geraniums and marigolds to liven the space. They didn’t require a lot of care, but still offered a spot of color in the drab Navy base paint.
There’s that girly side again.
She shuffled up the front steps, shaking out the umbrella as she pulled out her keys. Then she noticed a note taped to her door.

Lt
. Brickman

Chris gasped and snatched the paper off the door, unfolding it.

Welcome home, Chris. I’ve missed you. What do you say to a little party at my place tonight around 1900? I left a little something for you on the bed and I’d really like you to wear it for me tonight. Please? I promise it’ll be worth it. Give me a text when you get this note.

Love,
Todd

Magic and Retro a
re home!
Chris’s heart fluttered with excitement and she shoved her front door open to reveal her messy living room. At least more colors than base housing beige filled the space. She’d personalized the two bedroom duplex with white walls, bright southwestern print rugs and throws, and earth toned pottery décor. Nothing hung on the walls yet, but she’d only been in the place for little over two months.

Slamming the door behind her, she dropped the umbrella in the coat rack, flung her coat on a dining nook chair, and shambled to her bedroom. Her leg complained at her sudden need for movement after a day of stalking up and down in sand, but she ignored it to see what
lay on her bed.

A cei
ling fan rotated slowly over her geometric patterned duvet cover and a large white box with a big silver bow. She stopped short and eyed the box warily.
What would that hold?
She lifted the note and read it again, before she limped to the bed and sat down beside the white container.

What did you do, Magic?

Reaching out like it would bite her, Chris brushed her fingers over the bow. It shimmered in the dim light from the window and rasped roughly against her skin, rattling metallically as she dragged the box closer.

Come on, Brickman.
Man up or ring out.

She lifted the lid and set it aside, ignoring the industrial
clatter of the bow against the fabric of her bed. Wrapped in pale gray tissue paper with a silver sticker holding it closed, the contents of the box remained hidden from casual perusal. The initials on the sticker read CD, offset to each other. Frowning, Chris broke the seal and peeled the paper apart. Her stomach flipped and sank as she swallowed hard.

An exquisite coral colored halter dress made of some sort of light material n
estled between the gray paper.
Rayon, silk?
Too ignorant to know, she lifted the fabric. Matching low heeled pumps filled the lower corner of the box and she thanked her lucky stars Magic didn’t want her in stilettos.

Really, Magic
?

Her phone rang to the tune of
Magic Carpet Ride
and she fished it out of her pocket.

“
Brickman.”

“I knew you’d made it
home. Why didn’t you text me?” Magic’s voice sparkled through the dim evening light.

“I just got your note and got inside,” she retorted, staring at the coral dress. “It’s pouring. When did you get back?”

“Last night at 1700. Did you get the box?”

She heard the excitement in his voice. “Yeah, I got it, but
—”

“Don’t you like it?”

“Yes, it’s beautiful, but—”

“Come on, Ghost, do me this little favor and wear it tonight.”

“What’s going on, Magic? What’s up with the girl clothes?”

“It’s a surprise special occasion, darlin’, and we’re all gonna be in our best. Do it for the
squad, okay?”

Chris reached out and touched the shimmering dress. The silk slid over her hand like the cool wat
ers of the Pacific, reminding her of all the time she spent training with her team. She’d do anything for them, just as they’d do anything for her. Wearing a silky dress and low heels didn’t seem like too much to ask.

“It’s only for tonight, right? And no one will be taking pictures to post on Facebook?”

Magic laughed and it warmed her from the inside out. “Not without your permission, Ghost.”

“All right.
” She normally didn’t like dresses, but the cloth’s texture slid over her hands in a river of pleasure. It might not be a hardship to wear after all. “Do I have to do my hair, nails, and face?” She gasped in horror. “Oh God, do I have to shave my legs?”

“You don’t shave your legs?”

“I’m an instructor of the SEALs recruits, Magic. Wearing shorts wouldn’t do much for their concentration, would it?”

He laughed again. “Actually, I think it would be the perfect dist
raction for them to practice on.”

“I suppose the scars would show them what they can look forward to.”

Magic’s laughter disappeared like a playa lake in the summer. “They don’t look so bad, Chris. I promise. And the dress I got for you is long enough to cover them. Besides, those boys wouldn’t be looking at your legs for the scars. They’d be staring at your sexy muscles and ass.”

A
shaky laugh burst from her chest. “Right.”

“You’re beautiful, Chris, no matter the scars
.” Todd’s voice slid over her with sweet gentleness. “I’m so glad to be home and I can hardly wait to see you, darlin’. So, you’ll be here at 1900?”

She
touched the dress once more. “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“All dolled up?” He sounded hopeful.

“I can’t promise I’ll look like a doll, but I’ll try to look somewhat presentable even if I’m not in my whites.”

“Thanks, Ghost
. It really means a lot to me.”

“Okay, Magic. I’ll see you then.”

“I love you.”

Those three little words clogged her throat and filled her eyes with tears of
amazed joy. God, how had she managed to find and hold the love of such an amazing man? Not even her mother had managed such a feat. Chris still had no idea the identity of her father, but in the light of Todd Hunter’s love, it didn’t seem to matter too much.

“I love you, too.”

“See you soon.”

“Roger that
.”

Chris closed the phone and stared at the dress a few moments more, wondering what Magic had up his sleeve.

You aren’t going to find out just sitting here.

She levered herself to her feet and
limped to the shower to prepare for primping like one of those SEAL groupies. She tried not to throw up in her mouth.

****

Chris parked her car in Magic’s driveway, amazed more cars didn’t fill the street around his house.
He said this would be a party, right?
She pulled the parking brake and carefully set her left leg on the pavement outside. The night air shimmered heat from the sun and caressed her bare leg like a lover’s hands. She shivered, imagining Todd’s hands, and her pussy clenched with arousal.