A SEAL's Surrender (Alpha SEALs Book 3) (2 page)

Navy SEAL Christopher “Blade” Walters stared across the parking lot, dumbstruck, his hand frozen on the door of his black pick-up truck.  As his calloused fingertips stilled against the hot metal, he jumped back, cursing as the heat burned his skin.  The gorgeous woman walking across the lot on his base in Little Creek, VA had to be a mirage. A figment of his imagination.  His mind must be playing tricks on him—long black hair, a figure to make grown men weep, and a saunter to her step that was both unaffected and somehow also screamed
come fuck me
clouded his vision.

What in the hell?

It was like he’d seen a ghost.  An unwelcome, unwanted, yet sexy-as-hell reminder of the chick that haunted his dreams.  Of the woman—the future—he’d had and lost.

Gorgeous, full breasts pushed up against a skimpy top that she had no right wearing around a military base filled with testosterone-driven men.  They bounced as she walked, bringing to mind images of his ex riding him, night after night, her glorious full globes bouncing up and down as he fucked her into oblivion.  She’d been young, innocent, and it had made him harder than steel to pleasure her body.  To bring her to orgasm in
his
bed.  Repeatedly.  She’d be flushed and sated, gasping his name, and he’d flip her over and start again.  Fucking hell.

The skirt this woman had on clung to her ass like a second skin, and if the apparition in the parking lot really were the woman he wished for, dreamt about, still tasted, he’d hike it up over her curvy hips, press her against his truck, and sink his way into heaven.

Two FA-18 Hornets screamed across the sky, momentarily drawing his attention upward.  A lifetime ago, back in Coronado, he’d taken his girl to watch the military jets flying overheard nearly every weekend.  They’d been young, in love, and he’d sneak her to a secluded spot on the beach for their own private viewing session.  They’d picnic in the sand and then he’d make love to her at dusk in the back of his pick-up while the jets danced across the sky above.  Hell if he hadn’t thought of that shit in years.  A brief pang of regret pressed in his chest, but he shook it off and glanced back at the ghost of the woman.

She climbed into an SUV a few rows over, not even noticing him, and he swore he could smell the scent of lavender wafting across the lot toward him.  As if the scent of his ex had traveled thousands of miles across the US, strong and potent as a punch in the face, and found him here, in the parking lot on base of all damn places.  As if this woman would have the same intoxicating scent as
her
.

She tucked her killer legs into the SUV, making his chest constrict at her familiar, intriguing femininity, and slammed the door shut, shielding her from his sight.  The loss was painful, immediate.  Unexplainable.  He felt like a dick standing here, ogling that woman, but holy hell.  She was a sight to behold.  He blinked, visions of his past dancing across his eyelids.  She was like a trip right down goddamn memory lane.  Not one he cared to revisit, either.  That door was closed—best never to be opened or even thought of again.

He climbed into his truck, his heart hammering in his chest, and white-knuckled the steering wheel, trying to get a damn hold of himself.  Thank fuck the other guys weren’t here to see him acting like this.  Spooked over some woman of all things.

Like he needed this shit on top of everything else. His CO had pulled him aside after his SEAL team’s drills that afternoon, asking for his assistance on some computer fuck-up on base.  Apparently the secure systems had been repeatedly targeted by systematic attacks, source unknown.  The IT staff always handled that sort of thing, but some fancy pants security specialist had been sent down from the Pentagon to brief the higher-ups and assess the vulnerabilities of their systems.  Christopher had extensive background in computer forensics, so his CO asked him to sit in on the meetings tomorrow.

He grumbled as he turned the key in the ignition.  He didn’t have time to deal with other people’s messes.  Their SEAL team was finally all back together after the youngest man in their unit recovered from a serious injury sustained on their last mission.  One month at Walter Reed up in Bethesda, and Evan “Flip” Jenkins was back down in Little Creek with the rest of them. Right where he belonged.

Those guys were like his brothers.  Christopher and his SEAL team trained hard and fought harder.  They worked in perfect synchronicity as one unit, both on and off the battlefield.  Hours of PT and drills left them able to know one another’s movements, read each other’s thoughts.  That tight bond was critical in battle and when running ops.  He knew the other five guys inside and out and would give up his life for any of them.

Now that they were finally all back together, he didn’t need the added distraction of worrying about network security on base—something the Navy’s large IT and network security staff should be equipped to handle.  And he sure as hell didn’t need to be sitting here distracted over some damn mystery woman.  The raven-haired beauty in the SUV had already driven off, and he was still sitting in his truck pining over the past like some chick.  Hell.

Of the six men on his SEAL team, two were now officially taken.  Evan and Patrick “Ice” Foster each had a gorgeous woman of their own.  If Christopher hadn’t seen those two tough, alpha males fall for their women with his own eyes, he wouldn’t have believed it.  For dudes destined to be single, they sure the hell seemed happier than shit now.  Guess the saying was true, he thought with a smirk: the bigger they are, the harder they fall.

The rest of the men on his SEAL team were as single as him.  And preferred it that way.  Staying out of a relationship helped him stay out of trouble—both on missions with his teammates and here at home.  The fact that the memories of his haunted past were damn near tearing his heart out right now just proved how much a man like him was meant to be alone.  The woman that filled all his dreams wasn’t here.  The woman whose violet eyes he saw whenever he had meaningless sex with some anonymous woman wasn’t strolling around the parking lot on base.

That girl was back on the beaches of Coronado, long gone.  She wasn’t even a girl anymore because that shit was a damn lifetime ago.  Hell, she probably had a husband and three kids by now.  A family.  That’s what she wanted, right?  Not some fuck-up who’d busted his ass in the Navy, somehow gotten into the SEALs, and deployed around the world half the damn time.  Not a guy without a family, who barely had an idea what the word even meant.

Not the man who’d questioned her when she’d needed him most.  Who’d taken the one person in his life he’d actually cared for and thrown her away.  He’d been too much of a damned coward to even chase after her.  To track her down and drag her back to Coronado where she belonged—with him.  In his arms and in his bed.  For forever and all that shit.

Hell, if that mix-up had gone down today, when he was older and wiser and had seen the world, he’d have moved heaven and earth to find her.  To make things right between them.  But back then he was young, stubborn.  Foolish.  And who was he kidding?  Even if she was the best fucking part of his life, she was better off without him.

His father had walked out on him—it was damn near better that way since the only way he communicated was with his fists.  His single mother did what she could to raise him right—not that she’d been around much either, working two jobs just to make ends meet.  Joining the Navy right out of high school was the greatest thing he’d ever done.  The Navy was the only thing that had brought him something solid, regimented, and real in his life.  Something to fight for and believe in.  As a SEAL, he protected the defenseless, came to the aid of those who couldn’t help themselves.  Accomplished missions when there was no one else to do the job.  When failure was not an option.  Maybe no one had been around to defend him from his old man when he was a kid, but he sure the hell would stand up for what was right and protect others now.  His SEAL brothers were more like blood brothers—truer than any real family he’d ever known.

At thirty-three, Christopher had been in the military for fifteen years.  Nearly half of his life had been devoted to service.  He’d seen shit that other people would never even dream about. Fought with criminals, drug lords, and terrorists.  Gone on missions he could never even talk about because they were so highly classified.  Now he was spooked over some babe he’d spotted in the parking lot?  Unbelievable.

This woman just happened to be his ex’s sexier-than-sin lookalike. That shit didn’t mean anything.  No way in hell was he still pining over some lost love.  This woman was just something to taunt him, reminding him of what he could never have.  What he’d never deserved to begin with.

No way would Lexi Mattingly somehow end up here, clear on the other side of the country, waltzing around Little Creek like she owned the place.  No way would he be lucky enough to have a chance with that woman more than once in his lifetime.

***

Lexi cruised along Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, windows down, sea air blowing through her SUV.  She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the music on her stereo. 
Cruising
down the road was a pretty apt description of her drive to the hotel, and it sure beat sitting in traffic on the Beltway in DC.  She inhaled the salty scent of the breeze and smiled.  Fifteen minutes after leaving base, and she could already feel her head clearing and her body relaxing.  Amazing what a little distance could do.

She pulled to a stop at the entrance of her oceanfront hotel, lining up behind the other cars full of people checking in.  She felt bad for having to bail on her best friend tonight, but it wasn’t like she’d exactly had a choice in the matter.  Or like she could just pop back up to DC for the game.  Kenley would probably meet a guy at Nat’s Park, have a new boyfriend by the weekend, and be married and popping out cute babies by next year.  The exact opposite of the way Lexi’s own life would turn out, given the trajectory she’d been on so far.

A serious boyfriend who didn’t want to settle down, followed by a string of meaningless relationships and orgasm-less sex?  Check, check, and check.  Wasn’t her personal life fan-freaking-tastic at the moment?

She inched forward, admiring the gorgeous, sand-colored high-rise that loomed in front of her.  Palm trees dotted the landscaping in front of the building while the Atlantic served as the spectacular backdrop.  Every room had an oceanfront balcony, complete with a white railing.  She may not have the house, yard, and white picket fence, but an oceanfront suite would do.  She’d have to pay more than the government per diem allotted for her trip, but the view of the sparkling Atlantic was worth a few more dollars.  As an in-demand security specialist who’d risen through the ranks at the Pentagon and who’d still been able to obtain several lucrative contract jobs from time-to-time, she had the cash to splurge.

Funny, she never pictured herself at twenty-nine as raking in the big bucks, advising the government and large corporations on network security. She’d hack into their systems, show them where their vulnerabilities lie, and collect a fat paycheck for her efforts.  Lexi had always figured she’d end up as a wife and mom by the time she turned thirty, staying home for a few years while the kids were young before returning to the fast-paced workforce and lifestyle she was used to.  She’d have a husband, a house, and a yard—not a sterile condo in the city that she had little time to decorate and even less time to spend in. She’d join the PTA and bake cupcakes for the school bake sales.  Play with her kids. Be the picture of domestic bliss.  And in her dreams, her children always had brown eyes like Christopher—not that she’d ever risk having kids with that bastard now.

It still smarted a little that all these years later she couldn’t entirely get that man out of her mind.  That no other man had even come close to meeting the impossible standards he’d set.  With his ruggedly masculine features, intense personality, and larger-than-life career as a Navy SEAL, he’d come into her world and swept her away.  Literally and figuratively.  He’d been protective and caring.  Supportive.  A dominant alpha male who’d decided Lexi would be his—and she was.  His efforts in the bedroom had left her breathless.  He was the first man she’d ever been with and the absolute only man ever to make her come for him—to have her literally screaming his name in pleasure.

She blushed just thinking about her nights with him.  Even though she still hated him with all of her heart, a tiny part of her yearned for his touch.  His kiss.  His ability to pleasure and drive her wild.  The string of sexual encounters she’d had since then had been pointless.  Pitiful even.  Most guys didn’t seem to notice if she was faking it when they took her to bed, but with Christopher?  She’d been like putty in his hands.  He cared for her but was possessive and dominating in the bedroom—driving her higher and higher as he sought her pleasure.  He’d been her first—and he’d ruined her for other men.

She’d practically been a kid when she met him—just a foolish college girl with no idea what guys like him were like.  He’d already been a SEAL when they met, the type of man used to attracting women wherever he went.  She’d practically swooned when he’d noticed
her. 
The sparks had been immediate, unstoppable.  They’d clicked instantly, inexplicably.  He was a tough, assertive SEAL; she was just an inexperienced college student.

But when they were together?

Fireworks.  Explosions.  Earth-shattering moments.