SEAL Under Covers (SEAL Brotherhood Series Book 3) (21 page)

He didn’t like any of her comment.

“Not on my watch, Mia,” Armando answered, working to keep from getting angry. “I’m a one-girl guy, but then you know that, don’t you?”

“Mia,” Gina began, “Your brother and I are just good friends. He’s helping me with the insurance case I’m working on. Nothing to worry about.”

Armando wasn’t sure whether he disliked the lie or the easy way Gina was able to deliver it. Flawlessly.

“There you go, Mia.
Just friends
,” he repeated.

“Shows you don’t know women very well,” Mia answered.

She had a point.

“Enough!” Gina interrupted. “Would you both just leave it alone?”

Armando could see Mia wanted to spit out something angry, but was at a complete loss for words. Her legendary Latin temper was sputtering in her chest. He noted her irritation, followed by her self-control. And he liked this change in his sister.

He began to understand what Mia’s issue was. She wanted to be in charge, and things were spinning out of control, and she didn’t like it.

Could you be sprouting some natural instinct to be decent, Mia?
God, he hoped so.

He could see she was weighing her options. She rolled her shoulder, fisted and un-fisted her fingers, shifting her weight from side to side. She was searching for something to say to Gina. In the end, she gave up and addressed him.

“Be careful, Armando. Things aren’t what they seem,” Mia continued.

“I hardly need protection, Mia.”

“That makes two of us, brother,” she returned. Staring into Gina’s eyes, Mia still addressed him, “You’re a son-of-a-bitch sometimes, Armani, but I don’t want to see you get hurt. That wouldn’t be right. Besides, if I wanted that, all I’d have to do is mention it to Sam. He has a major hard-on for you. Now I can see why.”

Mia left, slipping into the crowd that closed behind her.

So if the ex was really the ex, then why was he so over-the-top obsessed with Gina? And what was making his sister jealous of her best friend?

“More secrets, Gina?” he asked.

That was such a dumb question.

Chapter 21

Gina was worried this would be the last time they could be together. Armando was quiet, pensive. Once they were back in the car, he headed for her home.

It served her right. Things were all messed up. Sam was a loose cannon. She was running out of lies to tell everyone. If she wasn’t careful, something would get leaked that would blow the lid off the whole operation.

Maybe it’s best we just end this.

It wasn’t what she wanted. In a perfect world, he’d be just the right guy for her: handsome, self-assured, attentive to her needs while being private and secretive. She knew she would always be able to count on him if things got really bad. He’d be her safe haven, not that she needed one. He knew about honor, doing the right thing. Maybe she should do the right thing too, and let him go.

But this wasn’t a perfect world, either. It was time to make a decision. Would it be a career or her heart? One of them was going to take the hit.

They had driven down her street. Armando slowed the Hummer and carefully studied both sides for parked cars.

“Everything looks okay. No black motorcycles lurking about. I’ll walk you to the door,” he said. The words felt like a hot spear lodged in her chest.

Her impulsive side was screaming to be heard. She made the mistake of giving it a little too much attention. “Armando,” she heard herself say. He’d grabbed the door handle and was ready to get out. “Can we just go somewhere and talk? Someplace where there isn’t a bed?”

The leather seats groaned as he swiveled in her direction. She didn’t dare take her gaze off the parked car straight ahead of her. She could feel the warmth of his eyes melting her all the way down to her knees. Her breathing became slightly ragged and she encouraged ice-cold thoughts and cold-water nerves to regulate her. She needed calm. But her insides wanted to burst into tears or say something she knew she’d regret.

“So you want ice cream or a drink?” he asked.

She could smell his lime aftershave. His gentle words sent a vibration down her spine.

Damn. Walk away, Gina. You know that’s what you’re supposed to do.

“I think I’d like one of those strawberry margaritas with tons of whipped cream.” She still didn’t look at him, but could see from the corner of her eye he broke out in a huge smile.

“Very well. She chooses wisely. Again.”

Why did he have to say that? Was she lost already?

You can do this, Gina.

Several swift minutes later they were seated in a booth at Cajun Joe’s. The pink flamingo napkins had been placed on the dark tabletop by deft fingers decorated in hot pink nail polish. Gina didn’t have to look at the waitress to see if she was pretty. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the feel of the warm thigh that pressed slightly against hers in the booth. He didn’t force himself on her, but damn, he was so freaking hard to ignore.

“Penny for your thoughts, Gina. You want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

So she looked at him for the first time since they’d left the party. It was the wrong thing to do.

“I think we both know there is no future in this relationship,” she began. “I’m not saying I don’t enjoy your company, but you and I both know neither one of us really want a serious relationship.”

He was following the movements of her mouth.

Damn.

“I agree. Timing’s all wrong. We’re deploying in four months, anyway.”

Something inside her screamed, and that was ridiculous.

“You might have misunderstood things, Gina. A little harmless sex and some fun evenings don’t a long-lasting relationship make. I never said I was out for commitment, or did you misunderstand me?”

Why was it so freaking awful to her that he was saying the exact things she was going to say? Did he possess the ability to read minds?

“Right. I was just thinking the same thing. Wanting to clear the air…”

Their drinks arrived just in time. Hers was ridiculously large, with a huge dollop of whipped cream on the top. Armando’s beer was in a long-necked bottle, local artisan brew. He held his up, and she did the same with her drink, spilling some of it on her hand as they clinked.

“To a future that isn’t.” His smirk was sexy, except it was honest and very, very sad.

The sweet strawberry drink gave her a brain freeze.

“I hate those,” he said. He handed her a glass of water. “Here, drink this.”

She grabbed it, sliding her fingers across his thumb as she did so. “Thanks.”

“So you were telling me about our lack of a future. Why am I here, then, Gina?”

“I just wanted to explain things…”

He reached over, grabbing the back of her head with his powerful right hand and kissed her, demanding she shut up.

Of course she should shut up. What was the point of coming here in the first place?
A million scenarios drifted through her mind as she felt herself open to him, as his tongue slipped along her lower lip and found hers. His warm breath on her cheek made her nipples knot in pain. Instantly, she felt vacant, needy, and desperate to find a way to be with him.

When they parted, he studied her carefully, toying with her earlobe between two fingers. He clearly wanted an answer.

“What is this?” she asked.

“I think you know,” he said.

“I’m not sure if coming here was a really good or a bad decision,” she mumbled.

“Most decisions in life are that way. Hard to tell until the end of the story.” He rubbed his thumb across her lips. “There are a lot of things about you and I that don’t add up. I’m not sure you’re telling me the truth half the time.” He grinned that little stupid lopsided grin that brought out the dimple at the side of his mouth. “But for some strange reason, I don’t seem to care as much as I think I should.”

Her heart was thudding in her chest. Surely he could hear it.

“I don’t think I want to hear another story,” he whispered.

His fingers slid down her arm, giving her the chills. She closed her eyes as she felt him take hold of her hand and kiss her knuckles.

“Drink up, sweet Gina. Then, I’m going to take you to my place. Unless you say no. But you’ve got to decide tonight which way it’s going to be. I don’t like all these indecisions and stories. I’m not interested if Sam is even slightly in the picture. I don’t share, honey.”

“Thought you didn’t want commitment,” she whispered. It was dangerous to say, but she had to know.

His dark eyes scanned her face. The lines were getting blurred between who she was as a cop and who she was as a woman.

“All good things start with trust. At some point the stories and the lies have to stop, and we’re left alone with the truth. When I’m seeing someone, I expect that she isn’t seeing anyone else on the side. I think that’s just trust and respect, Gina. Not commitment.” He sighed and stared down at his beer glass. “I need to know where you stand on this.”

She saw why he was so good at his job. He had the ability to know the difference between what he was feeling and what he needed to do. He’d had the training. She did not. He was able to make those tough choices she was struggling with.

“If you can’t decide, then I wait until you do. But I don’t sleep around and I won’t let you either.”

She heard the lyrics and music to an oldies song she’d heard growing up.

He slid away from her, leaving the space between them cold and empty

The pink drink with the topknot looked ridiculous. She grabbed it with both hands and gulped away, dipping her nose in the whipped cream.

Before she got to the bottom of the drink she could feel the effects of the alcohol. He was still staring at her.

“What’s it going to be, Gina?”

“There isn’t any Sam. There really never was.”

“So, make a clean break of it. Get your work done, and get away from him. You won’t be happy until you confront the way he haunts you, and why.”

“Does anything haunt you, Armando?”

“Lots of things, baby. But you have to decide which dog you’re going to feed. You let the dog of fear starve. You feed the dog that brings you joy.”

“I’m ready to face some of my fears. Can you help me with that? Do you
want
to help me with that?”

He didn’t touch her, but she knew he wanted to.

“Absolutely.”

“No more lies,” she said.

“No more lies. Just the truth,” he answered.

She wanted to believe those words, but there were still a few secrets she needed to keep. For now. Just for a few more days. Then she’d explain everything and he’d understand.

“I’m ready, Armando.”

“I like to watch how you just throw yourself into things,” he said. “It’s sexy as hell.”

Yup. That’s me. I just jump right in where I don’t belong. Get myself all tangled up with the men in my life. Can’t say yes. Can’t stop trying.

Sexy? Did he say sexy?

She exhaled and set the nearly finished drink down on the table. Her hands were shaking and covered in the syrupy sweetness. He picked up her fingers again and began to suckle each one. Then he concentrated on wiping them down with a napkin he pressed between his warm palms.

“All better.” He tipped her chin in his direction. “Shall we go, honey?”

She hoped she didn’t have a lapdog look to her face, but his brown curly hair and warm brown eyes made her melt. She felt like she was thirteen with that first crush on the minister’s son in junior high.

Her adult voice surprised her. “Yes. Let’s go.”

She didn’t remember the slow ride to his place, over the tall bridge that used to take her breath away when she traveled over it early on. She loved the feeling growing inside her stomach with the knowledge that she would be making love with him tonight, in his bed, in the place he went to for solace, where he repaired himself after missions, where he looked at himself in the mirror in the morning, where he shaved, where he tied his shoes and foraged for granola. She wanted all the regular, ordinary things about this man to be part of her routine, part of what she got to witness. There had never been this kind of connection in her life before.

So satisfying was the thought that they were both circling the wagons, chasing each other, like she used to do as a child. She was trying not to get caught, and desperately wanting to be caught at the same time.

She knew that with the CD she had provided Kozinski, if there was enough there, perhaps this mission would all be over with by Monday. They’d have the evidence they would need on Carlos. Sam would be out of her life forever, just as Armando had requested.

Was this what they talked about when they talked of love? That full feeling at the pit of her stomach, full of promise, sparked with erotic fantasies that came over her all the time now. She wanted to stretch the length of the bed and feel as much of his flesh against hers as was possible. This was the way you felt when you were really, madly, deeply in love.

And to think not more than an hour ago she was considering giving all this up.

Where was my head?

Storm clouds started to rush in, and she bid them leave. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to think about anything but what was going to happen tonight in his bedroom.

An hour later, Gina woke up in Armando’s bed, startled at first. His tanned, sleek, dangerous body was covering hers, his hips pinning her down, just as they had when he’d made love to her. He’d been extra gentle. He let her show him how fast to go and what to do. He asked her what she wanted.

Asked me.

She adjusted her right hip and moved her thigh down the back of his. He awakened with a quick inhale. Those brown bedroom eyes of his immediately honed in on her lying underneath him and he smiled. She traced the creases at the right of his mouth, twisting her head and looking at the growth of stubble already forming on his chin as well as underneath it. Time was suspended in the hush between their two hearts beating, pressed flesh against flesh.