SEAL the Deal (27 page)

Mick shrugged. “So, I’ll buy you one.”

“No way. I really wouldn’t feel
comfortable with that.” Grinning, she added, “Besides, you are way too
masculine to be playing fairy godmother.”

Mick feigned offense. “I have a feminine
side.”

Lacey laughed, tracing her full palm down
his sculpted chest, along his abs, and then grabbing the length of him, already
standing at attention. “Oh, yeah? I’d be interested to see where you keep it.”

Mick drew in his breath at the aggressive
touch. “Keep grabbing me like that and I’ll buy you a whole closet full of ball
gowns.”

Her laugh was low and seductive as she
reached for the condoms, grateful to find one left in the near-empty box. She
pushed him over onto his back and straddled him. “I’m not interested in buying
out the gown section at Nordstrom’s,” she said as she toyed with him. “I’ve got
what I’m interested in right here.” With him in her firm grasp, she lightly
touched the tip of him against her own moisture, without letting him enter her.
Stroking him, she teased him, dipping him slightly into her heat, and then pulling
her body away.

“You’re killing me, lady.”

She smiled at the control she had over him
now.

Or so she thought. Within a split-second
she found herself flipped over and pinned to the ground.

“All that Special Forces training finally comes
in handy,” he said, smiling at her whimper of surrender as he plunged into her.

Kissing her savagely, he wrapped her legs
completely around him, and brought himself to his full height, still joined
with her. Her eyes shone with surprise at being carried up the stairs with him
still pulsing deep inside of her.

She was on the bed now, she realized in a
dizzying confusion, feeling herself sink into the lush duvet. He kissed her
more gently now, as though being surrounded by the softness of the bed had somehow
softened him. But it wasn’t gentleness she craved now, grabbing his thick arms
and digging her fingernails into him. “Don’t hold back with me this time, Commander,”
she practically growled, capturing his lips with hers. Fiercely, she raked her
hands against his chest, her body almost sizzling as her fingers touched his
scars. Now that she had glimpsed into his world, she found herself desperate to
be taken by the warrior in him.

Mick’s hands seized her hips now, and his
teeth grazed along her delicate skin, urgently needing to finish what he began.

With Mick’s headboard ramming against the
wall in a desperate rhythm, their lithe bodies tumbled and twisted in
possession. At last, they gave themselves to each other completely, melting
into each other.

Lacey’s eyes were glazed over. “Wow,” she
said in a drawn-out breath, swearing she could see steam rising from their
melded bodies.

His chest still heaving from exertion, his
eyes met hers—mellow, half-opened, and filled with satisfaction. She
could feel the rawness of the skin around her lips from his kisses, and glanced
down to see pink marks on her arms revealing where he had gripped her too
tightly.

“Dammit, Lacey. I shouldn’t have been so
rough with you. You’ll be bruised tomorrow.”

“Mmmm. I hope so,” she purred. “Why are
you apologizing? This other side of you is sexy. Real primitive.”

“Yeah, that’s one word for it. Something
about the way you mounted me like that. Grabbed me. Teased me. Made me want to...”

“Give me a spanking?” Lacey laughed playfully.

Amusement crept into his eyes. “Okay, so
obviously my apology is unwarranted.”

“And unnecessary. Mick, it’s nice you have
all these different sides. Sometimes you’re so sweet and gentle like a big teddy
bear…”

Mick let out a laugh.

“… and other times you are so protective—very
alpha male. And this time, I could see the warrior in you. It’s like getting a
glimpse of the you who goes into battle. You never share that side of you with
me.” She bent over him and kissed him deeply. “I love all the different aspects
of you.”

Damn!
Her eyes suddenly widened. Did she really say that word out loud? It was
too early to use the “l” word lightly. 10. 9. 8… She could hear the countdown begin
till he ran screaming from the bed stammering some excuse about a place he
needed to be right away.

In desperation, she backtracked. “I mean,
I love all those aspects of you, in the enjoyment sense. You know, the way I
love ice cream, and Scrabble, and Maeve and Bess. Not anything…”

He pressed a finger to her lips, obviously
to save her from embarrassing herself further.

“You didn’t answer me about one thing,
Lacey.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, eager to
change the topic. “What didn’t I answer?”

“Whether you will be my date to the ball. I’m
buying you a gown and that’s the end of it. I needed to figure out something to
get you for Christmas, anyway.”

“That’s just too lavish a gift. I’ll never
be able to get you something that nice for Christmas.”

“Tell you what. I’ll get you the gown. And
you get me whatever you wear underneath,” He flashed a scheming smile. “I think
I’d come out ahead in that bargain.”

When she opened her mouth to refuse, he lifted
a finger. “Lacey, it’s just a dress. Besides, now that I’ve seen your wild
side, I might get the urge to rip the damn thing off you at the end of the
night. If I buy you the dress, I won’t feel as guilty for ruining it.”

“I wouldn’t even know how to act at ball. I
barely got through Edith’s fundraiser alive, remember?”

“You’ll love it.”

Lacey pursed her lips in thought. “Okay,
I’ll go. But promise me you won’t let me make a fool of myself.” Smiling, she
pressed a kiss to his lips. “And thank you.” She spotted his approving grin as she
rose naked from the bed to find one of his old t-shirts to wear.

“My pleasure. And Lacey?” He gave her a
playful smack on her bare bottom. “For the record, I love all your aspects
too.”

Georgetown was magical in the snow with
holiday decorations glimmering as they blew in the wind.

The traffic was a logjam with the streets
barely plowed. Determined shoppers bustled along the streets, trudging through
the snow in designer boots, their arms heavy with bags bearing the trendiest
names in fashion. Scores huddled into coffee shops to thaw themselves with
overpriced lattés while jabbering on their cell phones, their voices loud as
they dropped the names of Washington DC’s most prominent politicians.

Mick normally would have been annoyed by
such a crowd—people who thought themselves so worldly yet had lived such
sheltered lives. Something about war had hardened him, witnessing such
suffering and poverty. When he had first set foot in Annapolis for his new job,
he had no patience for people who did not value the lottery they had won simply
by being born in the United States.

Having Lacey on his arm softened him, he
realized as they walked along Wisconsin Avenue, already holding two shopping
bags filled with holiday gifts. There was something valuable about just living
in the moment and opening his heart to pleasure, rather than constantly planning
for the next mission. Maybe he had learned to finally enjoy the freedoms that he
worked so hard to protect.

She
gave him that, he thought as he looked over at Lacey’s rosy-cheeked
face. He couldn’t resist bending over for a taste of the tiny flakes of snow
that were stuck to her forehead as he kissed her. “You’re freezing,” he noticed.

“I’m loving it. It snowed all the time
where I was growing up. I don’t get nearly enough of it here.”

“Well, just the same, let’s make the next
stop that boutique Maeve recommended. I don’t want you so worn out from
Christmas shopping that you don’t have the energy to find a dress for the ball.”

They steered themselves off Wisconsin
Avenue and onto the side streets, where slick modern townhomes were sandwiched in
between picturesque brownstones that were nearly as old as the city itself.

Mick’s toes felt a chill as the wet snow
crept into his boots. “Your feet must be frozen,” he noted, glancing at Lacey’s
inadequate shoes and making a mental note to buy her some more practical boots
before the weekend was over.

“It’s not so…” she began, but was unable
to complete her sentence as Mick swooped her onto his back. “What are you
doing?”

“You’re riding piggyback the rest of the
way,” he said matter-of-factly. “And if you argue, I’ll have to throw you over
my shoulder which is actually easier on my back, but not nearly as civilized.”

Lacey laughed as she bounced the rest of
the way on his back, with her bags rattling in the wind. “I’ve never ridden
piggyback in my life.”

“Not even as a kid?”

Letting out a little snort, she scoffed. “You
really have to meet my dad. And
then
tell me if you can picture him
giving me a piggyback ride.”

The thought of meeting her parents should
have sent an uncomfortable chill down his spine. Yet it didn’t. He even found
himself intrigued by the idea.

Mick carried her down a narrow staircase
into the lower level of an historic building. “This must be it,” he said,
putting her down so that he could press the doorbell.

Maeve had clearly called in advance,
because the manager and an assistant greeted them at the door with two glasses
of champagne and a selection of gowns in Lacey’s size. Maeve was, apparently, a
woman whose shopping aptitude was respected in DC’s Georgetown.

Mick settled into a chair as Lacey was
swept into a sea of silks, satins, and chiffons. It certainly was nothing like
buying clothes at the PX on base or even at a civilian mall. The staff-to-shopper
ratio must have been about five to one here. But all the fuss was worth seeing Lacey’s
face shining as bright as the moon that was already rising in the winter sky
outside.

Twirling in front of him, she was showing
off another dress just as her eyes fell to the price tag.

“No looking at price tags,” he reminded. “That
was what we agreed.”

As the manager stepped away to find
matching shoes, Lacey made a beeline for Mick. “This is really expensive.”

“You don’t like the dresses?”

“Of course I like them. But I can find
something that costs a tenth of that at the mall,” she said, price tag in hand.

A quick glance down and he shrugged. “That’s
doable, Lacey.”

“Mick…”

“Stop,” he said, planting a kiss on her lips.
“You know all that hazardous duty I sign up for? There are certain pay bonuses
you get with that. And when you’re deployed as often as I was, there’s not much
opportunity to spend money. So this,” he said, pointing to the tag, “is
nothing. One minor indulgence that I think I’m allowed after all these years. You’re
not going to deprive me of that, are you?”

Lacey paused, her face softening. “You,”
she began, cupping his head in her hands, “are a very generous man.”

I’m a very lucky man, Mick thought as the
manager came back into the room carrying stacks of shoes in his arms.

***

Lacey felt slightly dizzy, and it wasn’t
just from spinning around in front of the mirror so many times, watching
expensive fabrics swirl at her feet. And it wasn’t the champagne that had
mysteriously been refilled twice when her flute was running low.

It was Mick. It was the way he looked at
her with such complete adoration. Lacey knew he wasn’t the type to settle down
with a family. But what she learned this day was that Mick was the type who
could truly cherish someone.

That should be enough for her, shouldn’t
it?

After the shopping spree was deemed a
success, Mick went to get the car so that Lacey would not have to walk any
longer in the snow.

 “It’s picking up out here, isn’t it?”
Lacey said, sliding in beside him, a hint of sadness in her voice at the
thought of the day coming to an end.

“They’re saying at least six more inches
tonight.”

“Wow. We better get home before it piles
up any more.”

“Actually, we’re not going home,” he said,
pulling up to the front door of an historic hotel just a few blocks from the
White House.

The doorman opened Mick’s door first. “Are
you staying with us, sir?”

“Yes, we are. Reservations are under the
name Riley,” Mick said, popping the trunk and handing the keys to the doorman.

Another doorman quickly opened Lacey’s
door. She looked at Mick, confused.

“Mick, we’re not staying here, are we?”

“Surprise,” he said, taking her hand and
leading her out of the car.

“But we can’t. I—I didn’t even pack
anything, Mick.”

“Bess and Maeve took care of that for
you,” he said as Lacey looked over her shoulder and recognized her own
overnight bag being pulled from the trunk by the bellman. “I thought you needed
a little spoiling.”