The Heat is On (6 page)

“Huh?”

This time he had to laugh. Poor woman looked so dismayed he almost kissed her again. “You obviously don’t care about my past, so I shouldn’t care about yours. Which means there’s no need to play macho games with you.”

Savannah bit her bottom lip. “So you’re just going to…
go
?”

“Uh-huh.”

“But…” she sputtered.

“You said you had work to do,” he said innocently.

“I do…but…”

He hid a grin as he zipped up his pants. Heading to the wastebasket by the door, he dropped the almost-used condom into it and glanced at Savannah over his shoulder. “Cal me when you have time,” he said cheerful y.

He waltzed through the curtain and headed to the door, though walking was an impressive feat considering the enormous boner poking into his jeans. His cock throbbed so badly he almost turned around, marched back to Savannah and screwed her brains out. But he forced himself to keep walking.

Operation Wholesome was in ful gear, and if he gave in now, everything he’d accomplished today would have been a waste. She’d agreed to a lunch date. She’d displayed a real, non-casual reaction to his taunt about his past girlfriends. And he’d left her wanting more. Wanting
him
.

Al in al , a successful afternoon.

Matt’s arms burned as he hauled himself up the cargo net portion of the base’s obstacle course, one of the toughest in the country. He was nearly forty feet off the ground, clinging to a net that consisted of vertical and horizontal ropes strung along a frame, and he stil had to get to the other side. No big deal, though. He and the others had trained hours upon hours on this thing back when they were trainees. He could do this course in his sleep.

Ryan Evans, his best friend and former roommate, had already climbed the net and was nearly off the frame, prompting Matt to pick up speed. When his feet final y col ided with the hard ground, he let out a breath and grinned, knowing without being told that he and the guys had done the course in record speed.

Today’s exercise was meant to show the new trainees that finishing the course with a decent time wasn’t something that would happen overnight.

Apparently a cocky recruit had passed out from exhaustion yesterday trying to conquer the course, after being ordered to cal it a day. The commander had asked Matt and some of the other members of SEAL Team Fifteen to put on a little demo for the newbies this morning, show them what they could look forward to after they completed the training.

The smal group of young men broke out in polite applause when the demo ended, but Matt could see several faces gleaming with determination. Those were the ones who’d end up making it through the program. He’d worn that same expression on his face when he first joined up. The others…wel , most of them would burn out, or quit long before their training ended.

“You were slacking,” Ryan said as he tossed him a bottle of water.

Matt unscrewed the cap, took a couple of swigs, then poured water on his face and neck. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, man. I was a bit distracted.”

“Nice time,” another voice remarked.

Matt turned and greeted his buddy Aidan Rhodes with a grin. “Hey, man, didn’t realize you were al owed to leave the desk.”

“Hey, I might have a desk job now, but I can stil kick your ass on that course,” Aidan shot back. “I had the best time in my class.”

The two men shook hands as Aidan said, “Want to a hit a club this weekend?”

Matt hesitated. “Not sure yet. I might have plans.

But I’l shoot you a text and let you know at the end of the week.”

“Cool.” Aidan ran a hand through his close-cropped brown hair. “I should head in. Keep in touch, bro.” As Aidan strode off, Carson Scott and John Garrett approached, using towels to wipe the sweat from their faces. “Beers?” Carson suggested.

Matt grinned. “It’s eleven thirty in the morning.”

“Shit, you’re right. Better make that coffees then.” The four of them wound up leaving the base and driving over to Shelby Garrett’s bakery, which also doubled as a coffee shop. They planted their asses on the chairs out on Shelby’s smal patio, while the part-timer, Amy, brought over some coffees.

“Shel’s not working today?” Matt said, watching as the young employee headed back inside.

Garrett shook his head. “Penny’s colicky. Little bugger kept us up al night, so I encouraged Shel to stay home and relax.”

Matt smiled at the mention of Garrett’s six-month-old daughter. The squirt was pretty damn adorable, with her father’s dark hair and mother’s sparkling blue eyes. Al the guys on the team had instantly fal en in love with the kid, though Wil Charleston’s new baby, Lucas, was pretty freaking cute too. It seemed like everyone around him was popping out babies. Jane, the wife of their lieutenant Thomas Becker, was due to deliver next month, and he’d even overheard Carson’s wife, Hol y, mention to Annabel e that she wanted to try for a baby soon.

“Tel them the other news,” Carson spoke up, sounding edgy.

Matt and Ryan eyed Garrett uneasily. “What other news?” Ryan asked.

After taking a long sip of his coffee, Garrett set down the mug and said, “I’m going off active duty next month.”

Silence.

It took a few seconds for the words to register in Matt’s head, and when he realized he’d indeed heard them right, he shook his head in shock. “You’re off the team?”

Garrett nodded. “I took a position with a security firm in San Diego. I’l stil be in the reserves, but no more missions for me.”

Ryan looked flabbergasted. “Why the hel not?”

“Because I’ve got a wife and kid to worry about now. Look, boys, I’ve done a hel of a lot to serve my country. Now it’s time to focus on my family.” The second silence that fol owed dragged on for longer. Matt couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

He’d figured John Garrett would be career navy. Guy had enlisted at the age of eighteen, went to officer school, worked to make it to junior grade lieutenant.

And now he was getting out?

“It’s time,” Garrett repeated, his voice quiet.

Matt was the first to snap out of his surprised trance. “Are you sure about this, man?”

“Oh yeah. Trust me, when you get married, you’l understand. My two girls come first now.” Carson suddenly smirked. “Oh, I think Matt understands. Rumor has it he’s found the woman of his dreams.”

Matt’s eyebrows shot up. “Where the hel did you hear that?”

“Hol y and Annabel e were gossiping about it yesterday.” Carson wiggled his eyebrows. “According to Annabel e, you’re in love with a woman named Georgia who has real y nice tits.”

“First, her name is Savannah,” Matt said coldly,

“and second, her tits are none of your business.” Both Carson and Ryan hooted, while Garrett’s mouth lifted in a wry smile.

“Shit, it’s actual y true,” Ryan said gleeful y. “I figured Annie was exaggerating when she mentioned it, but that possessive look on your face…fuck, you real y are into this girl.”

“How big are her breasts exactly?” Carson asked with a curious tilt of the head.

Matt jabbed a finger in Carson’s direction. “Like I said, none of your business.” He glanced at Ryan.

“And Annabel e
is
exaggerating. I’m not in love with anyone. Savannah and I are just having a little fling.”

“If it’s just a fling, then you should have no problem sharing the juicy details,” Ryan pointed out, a wide smile on his face.

Matt faltered. His friend had a point. In the past he’d had no qualms discussing the measurements of the current female in his bed. For some reason, though, he felt guilty objectifying Savannah in that way. Sure, she was a knockout, but that wasn’t the only reason he liked her. She was smart, unbelievably funny, sarcastic…stubborn. Yeah, definitely stubborn. He’d left the bal in her court after their encounter in the shop two days ago, and she stil hadn’t cal ed him. A part of him feared his taunting had only annoyed her, and that she’d washed her hands of him and went after some other dude. Like Hank.

“Stil want to convince us it’s just a fling?” Carson said when Matt hadn’t answered for more than a minute.

“It is,” he final y replied. “She’s fun to be with. And she has no interest in anything serious, so it’s, you know, perfect for me.”

Had they heard the tremor in his voice during those last three words?

Shit, they had. Al three men were staring at him as if he’d slathered on lipstick or something.

“You want more,” Carson accused.

“No,” he said quickly. “No way.”

“Fuck, you total y do. I know the feeling, man,” Carson added with a sigh. “When Hol y and I first hooked up, she insisted she didn’t want a relationship. It took me weeks to convince her to give us a chance.”

“I don’t want to convince Savannah of anything,” he objected. “Like I said, it’s just a casual thing. I don’t plan on—” His cel phone, which he’d placed on the table, began to vibrate. Matt’s heart did an involuntary lurch when he noticed the cal er ID. “Hold on. I gotta take this.”

He was out of his seat and moving to the other end of the patio in nanoseconds, while Carson and Ryan burst out laughing from behind. “Say hi to Georgia!” Carson the five-year-old cal ed.

Matt clicked the talk button and lifted the phone to his ear. “Hel o?”

“You’re playing hard to get,” was the greeting he received. “I don’t know how I feel about that.” He grinned at the petulant note to her voice. “I’m doing no such thing.”

“I don’t like games, Superman.”

“Neither do I.” He paused. “Except Scrabble. I’m pretty good at that one.”

A heavy sigh echoed in his ear. “Are you waiting for me to beg, is that it? Because I don’t like begging.

I’ve always thought I’d be a terrible beggar, sitting there on the sidewalk, holding out a tin can. I think eventual y I’d get bored and go look for a job.” Laughter rol ed out of his chest. “I’m not sure, but that comment might have been political y incorrect.”

“I don’t like politics either,” she said breezily. “Now, what’l it take to get you to come over?”

“Who says I want to? Maybe I’ve grown bored of having sex with you.” He smiled to himself, proud that he was final y back on track. Al the charm he’d perfected over the years had dissolved during those first few encounters with Savannah, but he’d slowly begun regaining ground here, and the outrage in her voice confirmed it.

“You have not. I am unbelievably good at sex.”

“You’re okay.”

“Uh-uh, no way. I’m awesome. So level with me, what do I have to do to get you to see me again?”

“For sex?” he clarified.

“Wel , duh.”

He pretended to think it over, then said, “A date.” She balked. “I told you how I feel about that.”

“Those are my terms, take them or leave them. One date for every round of sex.”

“You’re an awful person.”

“Is that a no?”

There was a long pause, fol owed by a soft curse.

“No, it’s not a no.”

“Then it’s a yes?” he prompted with great amusement.

“Yes, it’s a yes.” Another pause. “Where are you now? The store’s pretty empty so I can leave Chad in charge for the rest of the day.”

“I’m in Coronado. We were doing a training demo at the base.” An idea entered his mind. “Why don’t we go to the beach? You mind driving over here?” He expected another protest, but to his surprise, she sounded enthused. “Sure, I’l head over to you.” They arranged to meet in an hour, and Matt was smiling again as he hung up the phone and wandered back to the table. Of course, his friends immediately honed in on the smile and proceeded to harass him.

“Was that Georgia?”

“Is her ass as nice as her boobs? Annabel e didn’t mention.”

“Wanna baby-sit Penny to prepare for the baby you’l have with your future bride?”

“Ha ha,” he said, rol ing his eyes as he reached for his coffee. It had grown cold, but he stil swal owed a mouthful of the lukewarm liquid so he wouldn’t have to dignify any of their juvenile questions with a response.

Savannah’s heart skipped a beat when she got out of her Toyota and found Matt sitting on the hood of his SUV. They’d arranged to meet in the gravel parking lot near the beach, and the entire drive over she’d tried convincing herself she was pissed off at Matt for sex-blackmailing her into a date. But the moment she laid eyes on him, she realized just how glad she was to see him, and how
un
-pissed she was.

He wore a pair of camo pants, a tight olive-green T-shirt and aviator sunglasses, looking like the hot military man he was. She’d been thinking about him non-stop since he’d strol ed out of her shop the other day. She wasn’t sure if there was an equivalent for blue bal s when it came to women, but after he’d teased her into oblivion and then left her in the lurch, her body had ached so badly she’d had to go upstairs to her apartment and make herself come to stop the throbbing pain.

“Where are your swim trunks?” she asked as she headed over to him.

He jumped off the hood. “Got some in the trunk.” Moving toward her, he planted a quick kiss on her lips then popped the trunk of his car and bent forward.

Savannah couldn’t help but check out his sinewy back and firm ass. Heat seeped into her cheeks when she heard him pul down his zipper. “You’re getting changed out here?” she said in surprise.