Touched By Midas (SEALs Going Hot Book 4) (9 page)

And he needed to see Angie again. One night and a morning wasn’t enough.

“So,” he said turning to her, wishing his pulse wasn’t thumping in his chest. He’d asked out dozens of women. Why was this moment so hard? “Can I plan on picking you up for dinner on Friday before the concert?”

“Midas—,” she started, her voice much more serious than he wanted. She shrugged and twirled a loose thread from the sweats he loaned her around her finger.

He considered telling her she didn’t have to go to dinner with him, just the show, but decided she’d had enough time to figure out her answer.

Why was this moment so hard for her?

“I won’t be able to have dinner with you. I already have plans.”

Her response struck him like a blow to the gut. She already had plans for Friday night? Why had she led him on and put him through the wringer the entire weekend?

“But,” she added, “I can be ready for you to pick me up for the concert at seven-thirty.”

Relief washed through him. She said yes. Yes! Now everything would work out perfectly. He was getting the girl and his guys were getting a bump in their protection. Not that getting the girl meant anything. And who was she going out with on Friday?

Christ. Not this again.

He walked Angie to her front door and noticed a penny on the walkway. The copper coin lay heads up, an omen of good luck. Midas picked it up and held it out to her.

“Lucky penny for a good week, as well as a surprise at the concert.”

She smiled and plucked the coin from his hand.

“You really believe in that stuff, don’t you?”

“It hasn’t let me down yet.”

Before she slipped inside her home, he dipped his head and covered her lips with his. When they finally broke the kiss, they were both breathing hard.

“Are you interested in coming over for dinner tomorrow?” she asked, her cheeks a soft pink. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to try a paella recipe.”

And he’d been wracking his brain for an excuse to see her again before the show.

“Sounds great. I’ll bring some wine.”

So began the week that flew by as though it had a jet engine. On Monday, after a day of training with sailors from the USS
Mount Whitney,
Midas had dinner at Angie’s house, followed by a stroll through the Rota’s “walking streets” to search for the best ice cream and then an amazing fuck in her bed. Tuesday ended with a nightcap on Angie’s patio and a romp on her living room sofa. Wednesday night they ate Italian food on base at the Pizza Villa near the golf course and caught a movie. When he told her his mother had invited them to dinner at his parents’ home, Angie lit up.

“Your mom wants to cook? For me?” she asked.

She seemed so genuinely surprised that A, his mother cooked, and B, the matron of his family wanted Angie to come over for a meal, he couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of a mother she had grown up with. Considering she didn’t talk much about her family, he could only imagine what they must be like. Was she abused or neglected as a child? Were her parents a source of embarrassment?

“Your mom doesn’t cook much, huh?”

She rolled her eyes. “Not on your life. Her version of cooking includes mixing protein powder with soy milk, which was probably for the best. I’m not sure she could even boil a hot dog if her life depended on it.”

“So you don’t mind spending more time with my family? They can be a little rowdy.”

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss spending time with them for the world. As you already know,” she playfully nudged him, “I had the best date of my life at the fair. Your family is so much fun and have made me feel so welcome.” She thought for a moment and then asked, “Will your sisters and their families be there, too?”

“When my mom makes her famous garlic chicken, everyone in the family comes over. It’s a food fest of gigantic proportions. Just watch your fingers. Once the food starts flying, I can’t be held responsible for bitten body parts or fights for seconds.”

Thursday evening, they walked the five miles from his house to his parents’ place along the beach. Carrying their shoes, they leisurely strolled barefoot through the warm sand and talked non-stop about anything and everything. When the raucous sounds of children playing and his sisters shouting for them to behave could be heard on the wind, Midas stopped.

“It’s not too late. We can turn around right now if you want. I can open a bottle of wine and a package of cheese back at my place. We could sit on the beach and eat like heathens until we can’t take another bite.”

Angie laughed her soft laugh while a breeze from the surf blew her hair all around her beautiful face. She transferred her sandals to one hand and grabbed his arm before yanking him along.

“Come on, you big wuss. I thought SEALs were supposed to be bad ass.”

He stumbled forward, making a show of his skepticism. “Okay, but don’t blame me if the kids at school start calling you Ms. Eight Fingers.”

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when four young boys ran down a path through some flowering oleander bushes onto the beach. When his nephews sighted Midas, they made a beeline straight to him. The wild pack tackled him to the sandy ground.

“Help! I’m outnumbered,” Midas pleaded before beginning an assault of tickles on the oldest of the boys. The other three piled on his back.

“Not on your life. I’m going to the food before the frenzy hits.”

Through the barrage of elbows, scuffed knees, and small bodies, he watched as his sisters met Angie and drew her into their mix. His heart lurched. She fit into his family, his life, so well.

Too well.

What the fuck was he doing?

More importantly, why wasn’t he stopping himself?

Chapter Eight

If the warm reception from Midas’ sisters hadn’t made her feel completely welcome, the engulfing embrace and kiss from his mother certainly had. The plump older woman then filled Angie’s hands with a large bowl of steaming vegetables and directed her toward one of the two long tables in the backyard.

And just like that, Angie was caught up in the flow of the SEAL’s family, laughing and joking with his sisters, their husbands, and his parents as they prepared to eat. When the tables were set and all the food was laid out, she sat in one of the many mismatched chairs, thankful for the opportunity to be with them once again.

A prayer was said, a bottle of wine was passed around, and then the entire bunch got down to the business of eating. Angie picked up a chicken thigh with her fingers. The smell of roasted meat caused her stomach to growl. She took a bite of the juicy bird and immediately needed to wipe her chin.

“You like?” Midas’ mother asked.

Angie grinned and nodded her head, her mouth too full of yumminess to speak. The group cheered and waved their wineglasses.

“Come by next week,” his mother said after taking a drink. “I’ll teach you how to make it.”

Her thoughtful invitation surprised Angie as much as it warmed her heart. Of course, she wanted to learn how to cook. Especially from this sweet woman who probably forgot more about being a homemaker than her own mother ever dreamed of knowing.

Angie took a quick glance at Midas as the reality of her situation came back into focus. He would be gone soon. Somehow, he had whittled his way into her life only to take off to ports unknown. He and his lovely family would be little more than a happy memory.

“Thank you, but I’m sure Michael will be out on some mission by then.” Hopefully, she hid her disappointment well. Just thinking of her lonely existence in her empty house was beginning to bring her down.

“You are Michael’s friend, no?”

The question was simple enough, yet Angie didn’t know how to reply. Were they friends? Yes, but they were more than friends, weren’t they? Maybe she was reading way too much into the situation. Why did her relationship with the SEAL have to be so difficult?

“Yes,” Midas replied for her. “And I’m sure she would love to learn how to cook your garlic chicken. Teach her how to make paella. She made some earlier this week, and I nearly ended up in the emergency room.”

He graced her with one of his breathtaking smiles. Beneath the table, Midas grabbed her hand and squeezed.

Everyone but the children sat around the table long after the meal had concluded and the dishes were cleared. While the adults chatted about summer plans, the impending birth of Mercedes’ baby and the good old days, the kids ran around playing soldiers and pirates. When night fell, as did the eyelids of the youngest of the children, they all said their good-byes and went their separate ways.

Midas’ mother tucked the handles of a plastic sack into Angie’s hand.

“What’s this?”

“Some leftovers for you to take home.” She pinched Angie’s cheek in between two pudgy but soft fingers. “We need to fatten you up.”

“Trust me. You’re well on your way.”

They hugged and then Midas stepped in, threading his arm through hers. “Ready to walk off your dinner?”

As they walked back to his house through the shallow surf of the beach, the sky above bright with stars, they spoke very little. The companionable silence allowed time to think about her past, the last week with the sexy SEAL, and her future. At one time, she thought Midas was a typical chest-thumping Navy man. The kind of guy who charmed his way into a women’s panties and then tore through their hearts as though they were little more than tissue paper.

But she had seen a side of him that would have remained hidden had she not gone out with him. Now that she had seen that side, she wanted to see more. Really get to know this man who was full of surprises. Perhaps, if she could get to the point where she really trusted him, she would reveal her identity. If that didn’t cause him to turn his colors, nothing would.

And if he passed that test?

“We’re here,” he said, breaking her thoughts. He took the leftovers from her grasp. “Stay here for a minute. Okay?”

“Sure.”

He trotted to his house and came back with a giant beach towel. After grabbing two of the corners, Midas held the towel high, letting the wind unfold it, and laid it on the sand.

“The breeze is too nice this evening to go inside. I thought we might lie down here for a while and pick out the constellations.”

“You know the constellations, hmm? I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be. I have an app for that.”

They stretched out side by side on the towel and gazed up at the brilliant night sky. Midas lifted his arm and pointed. “I do know that’s the Big Dipper.”

“Nice work, Copernicus.” Angie laughed. “And over there is Orion.”

“Where? I don’t know that one.”

She reached up and held his hand, directing his finger. “You see the three stars in a line over there?”

“Ah hum.”

“That’s Orion’s belt. And over there,” she moved his hand slightly to the right, “is his bow.”

Just below Orion, a star shot across the dark sky.

“Quick. Make a wish,” he said, turning to her. “It’s a falling star. A sign of good luck.”

She closed her eyes and put her wish out to the universe.

Please let me find my true love. A man I can trust. A man who loves me for me, not because my parents are famous.

Midas brushed light fingers over her cheek. “Did you make your wish?”

She nodded. “Did you?”

“Yep.”

“What did you wish for?”

“Wishes are secret,” he responded, his voice becoming low and husky. “If you value your wish and your luck, you follow their rules. If you don’t, they don’t work for you.”

“Is that how that all works?” Her once relaxed pulse now sped up. Desire for the sexy SEAL unfurled in her belly like a ship’s sails preparing for an erotic voyage.

Had she found the captain of her heart? Could her wish really come true? Midas, the man whose Caribbean blue eyes bore into hers, believed in such things. Could she be so lucky?

Midas cupped the back of her head and covered her lips with his. His kiss, his touch was beyond gentle, so unlike the other frenzied times when their unbridled passion for each other created an urgency they both chose not to control. And for that, she was grateful. Tonight she wanted to take her time with him. Enjoy their moment together for as long as she could make it last. Soon he would be leaving. Possibly for good. She might not get another opportunity like this one for a very long time.

His lips moved to her cheek for a light kiss, then her forehead and the tip of her nose.

“You’re so sweet. Just like honey. I can’t get my fill of you,” he breathed into her mouth as he reclaimed her lips.

His tongue delved inside, caressing her tongue with slow, lingering strokes, while he inched the length of his upper body over hers. Angie slipped her hands under his arms and wrapped her limbs around him, prepared to hold on to him forever. She would willingly give up food and drink to remain in their embrace. Her physical body might suffer, but her heart would never go hungry again.

She gripped a handful of his T-shirt and pulled, freeing the garment from the confines of his shorts. Her hands found their way under the stretchy fabric and met his heated skin. She leisurely traced up and down the broad slabs of his back muscles with the pads of her fingers. A moan escaped from deep within her as she flatted her palms at the curve of his lower back and slid them beneath the band of his shorts, discovering he wore no underwear.

“Like my butt, do you?” he asked, his warm breath fanning her face.

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She squeezed the rounded globes. No way her small hands covered all of his tight ass, but that didn’t stop her from trying.

“Let me help you.”

Midas lifted himself from her and peeled off the shirt that fit him like a second skin. After tossing it aside, he unzipped his shorts, which he let fall to a heap around his feet.

She gazed up at him, taking in his muscular legs, narrow hips and rows of chiseled abs. In the middle of all his perfection, his thick penis sprouted from a patch of dark curls. Beautifully made, he could have been a model for an ancient Roman statue. Her own Andalucían warrior.

Following his lead, she sat up and untied the straps of her halter dress from around her neck. She then found the hem. Pulling the lightweight dress over her head, she flung it to the bottom of the towel. She hadn’t worn a bra that evening, only a pair of black thong panties. Based on Midas’ quick intake of air as she removed the sundress, he liked what he saw.