Sweet Affliction [Sweet Awakenings 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) (18 page)

“Shh…I know. It’s okay.”

“I’m glad he wasn’t alone. Thank you for being here for him.”

Unbelievably, her sorrow found more tears. A lonely one spilled from one of her eyes as she blinked.

“Sweetheart, don’t cry.”

He kissed her cheek where her tear fell. His lips felt soft and warm on her skin. She thought he would pull away, but instead he left his lips there for several seconds. She was about to say something to break the intimacy of the moment, fearful of what she might do, but he didn’t allow her the opportunity. One of his strong hands slid up her back and held the back of her neck. Slowly and with apparent purpose he started to place small, soft, and gentle kisses across her cheek bone. First one, then two, and finally a third kiss until he was on the corner of her mouth. She sat there frozen. The combination of his hands, arms, lips, and his entire body’s warmth mixed with the sensual way in which he was touching her was warming her from the inside out.

“Nick.”

It surprised her when his name came across her lips in a whisper. Her subconscious had betrayed her by saying aloud what her mind was thinking.

He took her single word as an invitation. His lips slid across her mouth and pressed against hers. It was impossible and pointless to try and fight something she wanted and felt so good. He surprised her this time. He didn’t slide his tongue inside her mouth and explore her mouth with urgency. Instead he kissed her with a tender patience. It reminded her of the kind of kiss a girl would get on her first date when she was sixteen years old, sweet and full of emotion.

The kiss lasted for maybe a minute, but even when finished he didn’t pull away from her. He dropped his forehead to rest against hers. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see his closed. Seeing him like this, so gentle and compassionate, so considerate of her feelings, was such an incredible contradiction. Just yesterday he was bold and aggressive with his actions, yet now he seemed like he would do anything to make her feel at ease. It was like he actually cared for her.

She tried to erase the thought from her mind. The notion that Commander Nick Slater, US Navy SEAL could have feelings of that nature for her was ludicrous. Oh, but it would be so easy to lose herself in him, just for a day or two and forget about all the pain she was feeling. She recollected her thoughts, refusing to get caught up in the moment. Just losing her father was enough. She couldn’t allow herself to fall for him and get hurt when he walked away from her. Losing two men she loved was too much, way more than even she could handle.

Her eyes widened, and she pulled away from him.
Love him? What?

“AJ, what’s wrong?”

Why did he have to look so concerned about her? That wasn’t helping her rational train of thought.

“Nothing. I just…”
Think, AJ. Distract him and change the subject.
“Did you find the phone I bought?”

“Yes I did. You shouldn’t be worrying about that though. Let me fix you something to eat. Lie down while I…”

“No.” She scooted across the bed as fast as she could away from him, needing to break the feeling of safety he gave her.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ll make something to eat for us. You were on the computer before. Finish whatever it was you were doing, and I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”

She didn’t wait for his answer and all but ran from the room. A quick stop in the bathroom to freshen up was what she needed. She would wash up, brush her hair and teeth, and snap out of whatever she felt whenever he was too close to her.

She washed her face with first warm and then cold water, hoping to shock herself back to reality. Her hair was a tangled mess. After finally ridding it of the snarls, she wet the brush and smoothed out the bedhead look she was sporting. She ran her fingers under each eye. They were both puffy and red. If she had cried anymore she might’ve looked like a prize fighter. The dark rings only added to her haggard appearance. Once her teeth were brushed she felt a bit better. At least she was more awake and ready to face Nick without feeling completely helpless to his touch.

She opened the door from the bathroom, and every thought she just had about reality and snapping out of the warm feelings of comfort he gave her diminished in a second. He stood there in the doorway. His large frame loomed over her as each one of his hands was on either side of the door frame.

“Nick…I…is everything okay?”

He shook his head at her. “No, everything’s not okay.”

She tried to swallow the lump of nerves that was building in her throat but found it literally impossible.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer.

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Damn it, AJ. I care about you. Please stop running from me every chance you get.”

“I’m not…”

She started to deny it, but the stern look in his eyes told her it would be pointless. This would be an argument she would lose. That and she knew he was right. She had run from him three times in the past two days. It was foolish to even try and claim she had no idea what he was talking about.

She sighed. “I guess I am. I just don’t know what to do.”

“What do you want to do? Right now, what do you want?”

He asked her the easiest question in the world. She didn’t have to think about her answer. She knew what it was. What worried her was what that answer would bring. She struggled with the words, wanting to say them but for some reason afraid of saying them aloud and bringing them to life.

“AJ, please. I’m right here. What do you want?”

His eyes. They were the deepest shade of blue, like the ocean on a moonless night. She could swear she saw the surf in them, calling to her and urging her to give in. How much she wanted to look into those eyes when they didn’t know they were being watched. She wondered what emotions she would find lurking beneath the tough exterior he tries to put on.

“I’ll ask you again. What do you want?”

His patient voice with persistent questions was just another example of the contradiction that was Nick Slater. Maybe that was what drew her to him. He seemed to be one thing but then appeared to be the exact opposite entirely. She wondered why she was even trying to deny the comfort he offered her. Searching, she found no good answer.

“I want you to hold me.”

It was an incredibly honest yet simple answer and one that made her feel completely vulnerable.

“Come here then.”

He held his arms out to her, and she walked into them willingly. She wrapped herself into his embrace and reached around to his back. The feelings of his muscles under the T-shirt he wore flexed beneath her fingertips. The sensation made her wonder what they might feel like without fabric keeping her from touching his taut skin.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She couldn’t help but smile at his question. “No. Thank you, Nick.”

“Shh. I am not going anywhere. I’ll hold you as long as you want.”

If there was ever a statement she wished were true that would have been it. Her mind was screaming to tell him to never let her go, and she prayed her lips wouldn’t betray her a second time. It was crazy that she felt so safe and at peace with him. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she felt so cared for, like everything would be okay. When she was with Nick, and especially when his arms were holding her so firmly, she couldn’t help but think everything truly would be okay.

“What are you thinking about?”

“That I don’t want you to let me go.” She wanted to literally bite her tongue for admitting it to him.

“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”

She closed her eyes and allowed the words to sink in. Her mind told her that fatigue was playing tricks on her, there was no way he could have said that. The way he held her, though, told her an entirely different story, one that made her believe that was exactly what he was thinking.

They stood there in the doorway between the bathroom and the hallway. Their arms wrapped around one another, silence loomed except for the sound of their calming and steady breaths. She felt such incredible peace at that moment. Her mind went to her dad, and she was able to finally believe he was in a better place without the feel of tears stinging her eyes.

“Are you hungry?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m starved.”

The truth was she was famished. Fifteen minutes ago she wouldn’t have been able to eat a single bite. The few minutes she spent in his arms seemed to wash away her tension and make her entire body relaxed.

“Good, me too. Let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll even cook.”

She looked up at him. It was so sweet that he offered, but despite all she was going through, she knew his life was far from settled down.

“No, let me. Finish what you were doing on the computer. I know you have things to deal with that can’t be put off.”

“I would argue and insist you relax, but I do have to check to see if I’ve heard back from some former teammates. We have to figure out what our next move is going to be. Things aren’t over with yet, and I don’t want anyone else to die.”

His face changed then. The soft and compassionate expression was removed and replaced with a look of all business. She couldn’t forget that he, too, had been through a lot.

“Take care of that, Nick. That’s more important. I’ll make us something to eat.”

She pulled out of the hug and went to move past him, but his hands quickly grabbed the side of her face, and he brought his lips down to hers. His kiss was still soft and gentle like before, but this time he slid his tongue inside her mouth, stroking and exploring her as though it was the first time their tongues had touched.

The kiss either lasted too long or not long enough. She was filled with mixed emotions of wanting to continue but knew if they did they may not be able to stop. The look in his eyes told her he was thinking the same thing.

“I’ll be in the bedroom. Call me if you need me.” His husky voice sounded so soothing to her.

“I’ll be fine.”

He released her from his possessive hold, and she walked toward the kitchen.

“AJ?”

She turned and saw him standing in the same spot. His eyes were piercing and seemed to leave her frozen, completely unable to move.

“Yes.”

“It’s you and I now. I need you to understand that. I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

He didn’t wait for her response as he turned and walked down the hall to the bedroom. He wasn’t asking her, he was telling her. Somehow he had just claimed her, and even if she wanted to argue, there would be no point. She knew he was right. There was no denying that she would be with Nick wherever it took her and whatever that meant.

Rex hung up the phone and turned to Adam. “It’s been arranged. There’s an old airfield at the northeast corner of the island. He’ll have to find an old map. It was called
Coronado del Norte Aeropuerto
.”

Adam nodded. “I’ll get him the information. When are they being picked up?”

Rex looked at his watch. “About eight hours from now.”

Jack interjected. “And you’re sure we can trust this guy?”

“Positive. He’s being paid a ton of cash to ensure he doesn’t talk to anyone. Besides, he’s a small old guy with kids and grandkids. He’s not going to do anything to piss me off.”

“And passports? There won’t be a problem when they land in the states?” Jack persisted.

Rex gave him an annoyed glare. “It’s handled. The pilot is doing a ‘routine’ charter to Honolulu.”

“What?” Adam asked.

“For fuck’s sake. Do you guys think I’m stupid? I paid a lot of money out to get Nick and whoever this girl is back to the States without being detected. A failing charter group in Honolulu is on their last leg. My generous donation to their records-keeping department ensures they will stay afloat for at least another year. It’s all covered. A few people paid off, a few documents forged, and Nick will be home and we can sort out whatever the hell is going on.”

“Don’t get pissy, man. This is our friend’s life we’re talking about here,” Jack reminded him.

“You think I don’t fucking know that, Peyton?” Rex shouted at him.

Adam stood up and held his hands up. He was the hothead of the group, not these two. This whole situation had everyone’s nerves barely hanging on.

“Look, everyone calm down. I know we’re all worried about Nick, and while none of us are saying it, the ladies are clearly a big concern.”

“Tam is worried about JJ.” Jack sat down on one of the two chairs in the small, rundown hotel room. “Truth is, so am I.”

Rex sat in the other chair. “I’m sorry, man. You called Cullen and Andrew though, right? And the Bristow’s took him away, right?”

“Yeah, but to play it safe we don’t know where. It’s killing her she doesn’t know where her son is.”

Adam sympathized with the man. He was worried about Chelsea, too, but having to worry about your child was more than even he could imagine. He glanced at his watch. He didn’t want to worry them more, but the girls had left a couple of hours ago, and they should have been back by now.