Protected by a SEAL (Alpha SEALs, Book 6) (12 page)

“That’s enough,” Patrick ground out. “Drills
are on the water at 0630. That’s in ten minutes. This ends now. Our
team is likely getting called up in a few days to rescue a civilian
aid worker nabbed by a terrorist group. More details will be
forthcoming. But as for now? This is over.”

Brent and the others grumbled in agreement
and finished grabbing their gear. What a fucking spectacular way to
start the day, Brent thought. Not only did he piss off Ella and
hurt her feelings, but now the other guys were giving him shit,
too. And he hadn’t even fucking scored.

Not that he’d considered her another one of
his conquests.

Maybe Ella leaving today was for the best.
She wouldn’t want to see him again after last night, even if he did
owe her some sort of apology. Or explanation. Or anything.

His stomach clenched at the idea of her
crying to Brianna this morning. Shit. Had she been crying after he
left last night?
Probably so, jackass.
He wanted to fucking
protect her from everyone else, but he couldn’t even save her from
himself.

Why would someone like Ella want to sleep
with him anyway? She’d turned ten different shades of red when he’d
asked what position she liked. Jesus. Had she even had sex before?
Or was she just suddenly feeling shy? Her body had sure responded
to his touch though, he recalled as his libido roared to life.
She’d been moaning beneath him as he hovered over her, kissed his
way down her beautiful body, and he hadn’t even reached the
promised land yet.

He’d been planning to hold her silky legs
apart, lick her arousal-dampened pussy, and bring her to orgasm a
couple of times. Before finally sinking his aching cock into her
tight sheath. Taking her however she liked. In as many positions as
she wanted. All fucking night.

But her response had made his blood run
cold. She was too good for a man like him. A guy who’d be gone
before the sun rose. Who’d been with so many women it would
probably make her head explode. Make her change her mind about him.
And as much as it had fucking hurt, he’d backed off. Walked away.
Done the right thing for the first time…ever.

Jesus Christ.

And she was jetting off back to Florida.
Today.

Even if he wanted to be with her, she was
leaving. And it just fucking figured that the woman he needed more
than one night with couldn’t give it to him. She was a damn college
student with a year of school left. He was Navy SEAL ready to
deploy anytime. Stationed in a different state. Even if he believed
in relationships, theirs would’ve never had a fucking chance to
begin with.

Besides that, she was hiding something that
had both Matthew and Brianna worried. Maybe he’d helped her once,
back down in Pensacola, but there wasn’t a hell of a lot he could
do when he was living in a different state. Flying off on a mission
in another damn country.

Maybe she was in some sort of trouble, but
he couldn’t help her. And she wouldn’t want his help anyway. Once
again, the woman he was worried about wasn’t anywhere near him, and
he couldn’t do a damn thing.

Ella tried not to roll her eyes as the third
guy of the night came onto her Friday evening. She shifted
restlessly in her high heels, balancing the large tray of drinks
she was holding, her arms straining beneath the weight. “Sorry
buddy. We only serve drinks here.”

His eyes slid to the low-cut dress she was
wearing, eyeing her cleavage. It wasn’t significant, but the tight
fitting bodice certainly worked to her advantage. If she was, say,
in bed with her boyfriend, not prancing around serving drinks with
strange men ogling her. The short dress barely covered her ass, and
with the amount of liquor the guys at this table were drinking, she
was worried one of them was going to try and slip a hand up her
dress. It was crowded in here and noisy. Par for the course for a
weekend night but easier for a drunk customer to try to take
advantage of the situation. Guys who couldn’t control their liquor
were known to get handsy.

“Cocktease,” the guy muttered.

Un-flippin-believable. Since when did
waitresses service their patrons? And on what planet did what a
woman was wearing indicate she was ready and available?

“I bet she’d spread her legs for me if I
asked nicely,” his drunk friend slurred. “What time do you get off
tonight, honey? I’ll show you a good time.”

Ella’s face flamed, and she dropped the
entire tray of shots down on the table with a loud crash, marching
away in a huff. The men protested as she heard the clatter of
glasses clanking together and drinks spilling behind her. Were they
pissed she was leaving or just mad about their ruined drinks? Did
it even matter? Her flight had been delayed for hours, but Frank
had demanded she come in right from the airport when two of the
other waitresses had called out sick. As if she didn’t deserve a
couple of hours to unpack, restock her fridge, and decompress after
her stressful flight. As if she had to come running the second he
called.

God, spring break felt like months ago, not
a mere day. One hour back on her old shift, and she was ready to
throw in the towel. Or just throw around a few beverages, she
thought with a smirk.

“Ella,” her manager hissed as she stormed
past the bar.

God. He’d been pissed that she hadn’t come
in early like he’d demanded, but now that she was back? He was on
her case more than ever. And what exactly did he expect? It’s not
like she worked in the airport control tower. She was at the mercy
of the airlines just like every other traveler out there.

“In a second!” Ella pointed to the ladies’
room and watched Frank’s eyes narrow.

Jesus Christ.

Certainly he couldn’t complain about that.
She swiped her cell phone from where she’d stashed it behind the
bar and ducked inside the bathroom. Two women stood at the counter
reapplying their lipstick, and Ella slipped into one of the empty
stalls.

Her phone light was blinking with two text
messages, and Brianna’s name popped up as Ella swiped her screen
and opened the first one:

Glad you made it home safely! Must be nice
having Friday nights back to yourself.

Guilt flooded through her. She hadn’t told
Brianna she was working here again. First of all, Brianna would
probably lose it and be on the next flight down dragging her away
from the cocktail lounge. And second, what was the point? Brianna
had a good job and already had her MBA. She didn’t need to worry
about making money right now. Although she’d taken a job here out
of desperation when she was laid off, she was already on to bigger
and better things. Plus Brianna was busy with Matthew and their
baby on the way. She didn’t need to waste time stressing about
Brianna’s situation.

Feeling deceitful for not telling her friend
what was going on, Ella simply replied:

Loved seeing you this week! Xoxo

That was the truth. And it’s not like
Brianna was going to just randomly pop by the cocktail lounge. Even
if she hadn’t moved away, Brianna hadn’t set foot in here since the
night that asshole attacked her.

She swiped to the second message and was
puzzled to see that the number was blocked. Her heart leapt into
her throat as she stared at it in surprise:

I’m sorry.

Unless her jackass of a manager had gotten
an unlisted number and was texting her an apology from the bar, the
only other person who owed her an apology was Brent. A strange
feeling of butterflies filled her stomach. Had he asked Brianna or
Matthew for her number? Somehow tracked her down? She stared at the
two words another moment before she quickly was flooded with anger
and embarrassment. So he was sorry. Big deal. It took him a day to
apologize. If it was even him texting her, what did it matter now?
She was here; he was there. He was still a jackass for stripping
off her clothes, kissing her entire body, and then abruptly up and
leaving without so much as an explanation.

Tears smarted her eyes, and she stalked back
out of the ladies room, the edge of her phone cutting into her hand
as she gripped it. The back hall was empty, and she headed toward
the locker room, fully intending to change and head home. She was
better than this—than letting someone boss her around, demanding
she come into work the second her plane landed. And she was also
above crying over a dumb man that she knew better than to get
involved with in the first place. If a few minutes of making out on
the sofa was “involved.” Hell, that was probably just another night
for Brent. Just the warm-up. She’d known the second she’d laid eyes
on him that she’d get hurt.

She should really be thanking him for
stopping before they’d slept together.

Right.

Like she’d ever thank him for anything.

“Ella!” Frank shouted behind her. “In my
office. Now.”

Angry footsteps stormed down the hall, and
she spun around and glared at him. His shirt was rumpled, tugging
across the paunch on his stomach, and he reeked of booze and
cigarettes. His beady eyes lasered in on her.

“I’ve been gone all week and haven’t even
been to my apartment yet,” Ella said, exasperated. “I told you I
could come in tomorrow. I need to go home.”

“You just spilled all those drinks,” he spat
out, eyes flaring. “That’s gonna come out of your paycheck.”

“Are you kidding? He just propositioned me!
I’m not putting up with that crap. Those guys deserved having
drinks dumped all over them.” She turned around, and Frank grabbed
her upper arm, causing her to wince in pain and surprise as his
fingers tightened around her bicep.

“Get the fuck in my office. Now!”

Ella froze. No one else was back here. No
one could hear her if she screamed. Frank had never touched her
before, and the idea of being alone with him right now didn’t bode
well. At all. Her eyes fell upon the exit sign at the end of the
hall, and his grip tightened even further. She knew it was going to
leave a bruise on her arm, but she was too scared to move.

“Don’t make me drag you back there,” he
hissed, his breath at her ear. “You’ve been playing games with me
all fucking week, ignoring my messages. We are having that
conversation. Now.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice shaking. “I’ll
come with you. Just calm down.”

His grip lessened ever-so-slightly, and he
was breathing heavily as he ushered her down the hall, his meaty
fingers remaining on her arm. “I don’t know where this attitude has
come from, Ella, but I’m not putting up with it,” he seethed as he
hustled her inside and slammed the door shut.

She backed up a few steps, trembling. “Just
calm down, Frank,” she said, holding her hands in front of her.

His gaze landed on her trembling hands.
“Fuck. You think I’d hurt you?”

“You just grabbed my arm and practically
dragged me down the hallway!”

“I asked you to come in early today. I told
you the conditions of my giving you your job back. I was
disappointed that you weren’t here as I expected.”

“And I told you my flight was delayed,” she
said, trying to keep her hands from shaking as she clutched them at
her sides. “What do you want me to do? Learn to fly an
airplane?”

He stepped toward her, fists clenching, and
she cowered back in fright.

“I already told you want I want. What I
expect now that I’ve given you a second chance. I needed you here
early today,” he repeated, stalking closer. “Alone.”

“I told you,” she said, her voice wavering.
“I want to keep things strictly business between us. I’m not coming
in early or staying after hours.”

“Not an option,” he seethed. “You and your
friend Brianna have caused all kinds of trouble for me. Police
investigations on the assault on Brianna, fire code violations that
were written up for the building when the cops and everyone else
showed up. Then you leave me in a lurch, up and quitting on me at
the same time. How am I supposed to handle the weekend crowds with
two waitresses running out on me one Saturday night? I lost money
because of you. I was nice enough to give you your final paycheck,
but I expect more now that I’ve given you your job back.”

“Then I quit! I already told you I’m not
doing anything with you. Ever!”

She stepped forward, but Frank blocked her,
holding up one hand. “And how will you pay your student loans? You
came in here crying weeks ago that you needed your paycheck. Said
that I paid you more than any student job you could find. Are you
just going to give up on that now? Be my guest. Walk out that door.
But don’t expect to step foot back in here again!”

Tears filled her eyes.

“We both know you need this job, Ella.
You’re not going to quit school, and this is the only way for you
to make enough money to support yourself. We’ll be helping each
other out,” he said, licking his lips.

She nodded, a lone tear streaking down her
cheek. She hastily swiped it away, hating that she was showing any
weakness around him.

“And you know what I need.”

“What?” she whispered.

He appraised her, his eyes flicking over her
cleavage. Down her stomach. Lingering on her bare thighs. He honed
in on her breasts again. “A kiss.”

Her heart beat wildly in her chest as her
breasts heaved up and down. She might as well have been wearing
nothing at all with the amount of skin she was showing. With the
way he leered at her. She didn’t miss the bulge in his pants, and
bile rose in the back of her throat.

“Just one kiss?” she asked, her voice
shaking.

“One kiss,” he promised. He stepped closer
as she backed against the wall. She felt exposed in the revealing
uniform, but a kiss wouldn’t be so bad. I mean, yes, he reeked of
cigarette smoke and she wasn’t remotely attracted to him, but it’s
not like she was sleeping with him or something. She’d let him kiss
her and then use an entire bottle of mouthwash to get rid of the
memory of it.