Wild Ways (24 page)

Julian felt all that rage again. “We dubbed him Maverick then and there.”

Mollie was shaking her head slowly. “Listening to your stories, especially the casual way you refer to getting shot at, makes me admire the heck out of you. All of you,” she added because they were starting to do that eye-lock thing again.

He ran his finger down the length of her arm. “I was thinking the same thing when you told me everything you’ve done to find your sister. What you’re willing to do tonight. As much as I don’t like it, Chase is right. If it comes to Plan B, it’s the best way to infiltrate this operation. I respect you, Mollie, the same way I respect my brothers out there.” He pursed his mouth to indicate the guys over at the table. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever felt that way about.” And that wasn’t the only way this felt different. “If anyone can pull it off, you can.”

Her smile was tremulous, her eyes big. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

He led Mollie to the elevators, before he jerked her against his body and plastered his mouth over hers. He was trying hard not to make this connection between them all about sex. This was much more than that, he realized. It was about showing her that he was committed to family, both his SEAL brothers and his blood family. That he could commit to her, too.

Can you? Because once you put that out there, you can never take it back. You’re in for the long haul
.

They stepped into the elevator, and she leaned against the wall and released a long, soft sigh. He felt that sigh flowing through every cell in his body. Felt her the same
way. Could he? His chest expanded and opened in a way it never had before.

Locked and cocked, fucking A
.

His parents had married within a month of meeting. One of his aunts had married her husband two weeks after meeting him. Both were still together and going strong. It had never even occurred to Julian that it would happen to him. He was methodical, careful about making big decisions. Now he’d found a woman he could fall for completely, and she had baggage—a train full of it. He could still hear her heartbreak when Brick had admitted not doing everything he could to find Di.

Julian knew that making some promise or grand statement wasn’t going to work with Mollie. He was going to have to slide into her heart the same way he’d slithered into compounds and through the shadows of crumbled urban decay. And with the same amount of patience.

She unlocked the door and led the way inside their room. Her body was tight with tension, though he didn’t know if it was because of the night ahead or being alone in the room with him.

This is not about that kind of cocked and loaded
, he told his body.

“I was serious about you resting,” he said, trying to get the message across to her without being blatant. “We’ll meet up with Chase when he returns and figure out the plan.” He glanced at his watch as he sat on the bed. “Which will be in a couple of hours.” He patted the bed.

She didn’t look less tense, so maybe she was rethinking her plan. But she did sink down beside him.

“Look, if you want to change the backup plan—”

“No, I’m in,” she said. “I can’t wait to find my sister.”

Spoken like a SEAL. Then maybe her tension
was
about being alone with him. Julian decided to take the first step in his initiative. He pulled up the video chat feature on his phone and called his brother. At first he saw sky, then the camera jerked and wobbled before his brother’s face came into view. “JuJu? Hey, everybody, it’s JuJu! He still loves us.”

He was drunk. Or feeling good in any case. “Of course I still love all of you boneheads. You sitting out by the pool?”

“Yes. Beautiful day. Eldora doesn’t work until tonight.”

The camera wobbled again, and his sister waved from her lounge chair. “I just got a job at Disney!”

“You left the family business?” he asked.

“Papi said it was time to phase out. He and Mama are thinking of opening a restaurant.”

The news settled into his bones. Did she mean phasing out their illegal activities? Was that the new business Estefan was talking about in his text? He would explore that more later. “I love that idea. What are you doing at Disney?”

Eldora grinned wide. “I’m a princess.”

He chuckled. “Perfect.” He whispered, “One of my sisters,” to Mollie.

The camera kept panning, taking in the pool and several people waving. Two women and one man came over, all shoving in to talk at once in loud, excited voices. Nothing new for his family.

“Where are you?”

“When are you coming to visit?”

“I promise we won’t handcuff you.” Omar gave him a contrite smile.

Julian gave Mollie a
See?
look. “I’m working a case right now, but I’ll come when I’m finished.”

“Mama’s making
chuelas
,” Omar taunted, loudly sniffing the air. “Smells soooo good.”

Julian said to Mollie, “You can smell the pork from a block away.”

“Go get Mama,” Omar told someone nearby.

“I want you to meet my girl, Mollie.” Julian tilted the camera toward her. She probably would have moved away if she hadn’t been so surprised by the label. “Mollie, this is my
loco
family.” He started pointing to the screen and naming the grinning faces peering at her.

“Você é linda!”
an older woman crowed. She started speaking in Spanish, and Mollie scrunched her nose up the way his family did in a silent
What?

He leaned close to Mollie and whispered, “She says you’re beautiful.” Then to his mother, “Mama, Mollie doesn’t speak Spanish.”

“But you’ll teach her, yes?” She focused on Mollie and gave her the trademark Cuevas as-bright-as-the-sun smile. “JuJu will teach you, honey. He’s very patient. But me, no. When do we meet you? My son has not had a girlfriend in, what, ten years? Since you ran off to the Navy.” She frowned.

“I was a little busy. You know, shooting bad guys.” He pantomimed firing a gun.

Mama rolled her eyes. “And saving the world, yes, I know. How you two meet?”

He chuckled. “It’s a long story. We’ll fill you in—”

“When you bring her to meet us. Which will be?”

“Soon. We have to go. I just wanted you to get a pre-meet, let her know what she’s in for. I’ll talk to you all soon.”

The moment he disconnected, Mollie asked, “Why did you do that?” Her voice was rushed, breathy. He saw a thread of panic in her expression, but something hopeful, too.

He took her hands in his. “Because I’m going to take you to meet my family, so you’ll see what that’s like. Lots of people, all loud and noisy—I did warn you about that, right? People who aren’t Puerto Rican will ask us to stop screaming, and we’re like, ‘But this is our normal volume.’ ”

“But you told them I was your girl.”

“Don’t you think that was easier than explaining what we are?”

Relief suffused her face when she nodded. “Yes, you’re right.” The tension came right back though. “What … are we?”

“Exactly.” He rubbed his thumbs across her palms. “Let’s not worry about defining it. When we’re done here, you’re coming to Orlando with me for a visit.”

“But Di …”

“She can come, too. My parents have a big house. There’s plenty of room, that
big pool to sit around. She might like the noise and support, or she might want quiet. Either way, we can accommodate her.”

“I don’t speak Spanish.”

“That’s easy to teach.” Language wasn’t the obstacle that worried him. Her fear of abandonment loomed much bigger.

She searched his eyes. “Why are you doing this?”

He brushed the back of his hand against her soft cheek. “You made me realize how lucky I am to have my family, even with their faults. That I can accept them for who they are without feeling the tug to stay or get involved in their schemes. Which may be finally going away,” he added, feeling a huge sense of relief at that. “I’m bringing you because I want you to experience what having a big family is about.”

Their gazes locked again, and he released her other hand. “I’m going to leave this bed now, because I promised myself I would not make this about sex. Don’t get me wrong, I love having sex with you. But I don’t want you to think that’s all I’m about with you.” With a roll, he was standing safely a couple feet away from her. “I’m going to sit out on the balcony and give you some peace and quiet.”

“What
are
you about?”

“My brave Mollie, not afraid to ask the question. But the answer would scare the hell out of you.”

What did he mean by
that
? Like Mollie was going to rest now. Julian stepped out to the small balcony and braced his hands on the railing. He stared into the distance, his thoughts heavy if the way his muscles bunched up beneath his shirt was any indication. She couldn’t take her eyes off him … broad shoulders that tapered to his hips, biceps tensing as his hands flexed. Jeans that were loose enough to allow movement but snug enough to mold his tight behind.

He had been her angel from the moment she’d met him. And somehow he’d gone from being her hero to caring about her. She had definitely come to care about him, and that in itself scared her.

Mollie walked out to the balcony, pausing, weighing the wisdom of what she was about to do. She pushed all of her fear and caution behind her and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She rested her cheek against his hard back, squeezing her eyes shut. “What are you doing to me?”

His hands covered hers. “I just want to love you.”

Those simply stated words had the impact of a shock wave. He turned around, keeping her hands in his. “See, told you it would scare you. Your whole body went rigid. But you asked, and I won’t lie.”

The dam that held back the wave of all her feelings for him trembled. “That wasn’t fair, you know. Bringing in your family, knowing how much I want that.”

“It wasn’t a tactical maneuver. I do want to give you what you ache for so badly.” He brushed her hair back from her forehead with the tip of his finger. “But I’d never use that to get you where I want you. You have to come to me on your own.”

She took a deep breath, exhaled. “I’m here.” Fear swirled in her belly. “Right now, I’m here.”

He brought his other hand up to her face and drew his fingertips down her cheeks.
His thumbs caressed the corners of her mouth, then rubbed across her lower lip. He was looking at her with a mixture of emotions she couldn’t quite pinpoint. He cupped her face and lowered his mouth to hers.

She’d been hungry for that kiss, she realized, lifting to meet him. But he kept it slow and sensual. Tasting, gently tugging on her lip.

I want to love you, too
. The words throbbed through her being, held captive by her fear. She was trying to conquer it, to be worthy of what he was offering. Could she ever? She leaned into his body, pulling in his strength.

He scooped her up and carried her inside, then laid her down on the bed. She heard his shoes drop to the floor as he climbed onto the bed and stretched out beside her. He cupped her face with his hand and continued to kiss her in such an exquisitely tender way, she nearly cried out with the sweet ache of it.

He was not making this about sex, only about connecting. About loving her. He drew his hand over the curves of her face, taking her in as though he’d never seen her before. With wonder and appreciation. It amazed her that a man this beautiful, protective, this
good
, could look at her like this. That hands with lethal capabilities could be so gentle.

He drew his fingertips down the length of her neck, dipped them into the hollow of her collarbone and traced the ridges of bone. His fingers traveled between her breasts down to her stomach, flattening over it. Even through her clothing, a trail of heat followed in his wake.

“I want to feel you,” she said. “Your fingers on my skin. Mine on yours.” She didn’t wait for a response, sitting up, gripping the bottom of her shirt, and wrenching it up. Her bra went next, and then she pulled his shirt off. She put her hands on his face this time, meeting his heavy gaze. “I know it’s not just about sex. I appreciate that you’re trying to prove that. But I want—no, need—to feel you.”

“I get that,” he said, his voice husky.

She climbed onto his lap, her legs straddling his hips, and kissed him. Her arms went over his shoulders, pulling him flush against her. He skimmed his hands down her
back, up to her neck, where he massaged the muscles. Her breasts were crushed against his hard chest, and she relished the feel of her nipples scraping across his skin. She threaded her fingers into his soft, thick hair, and he let out a low, throaty sound that vibrated right through their kiss. He drew his hands down her sides, thumbs caressing the sides of her breasts, all the way to the top of her waistband.

More, more, need more of him
.

She leaned back enough to unbutton his jeans and push the zipper down. The tip of his penis thrust out the top of his dark blue briefs. As she did that, his mouth moved down the side of her neck, nipping where it connected to her shoulder. She wrapped her fingers around his erection and slid the pad of her thumb over the slick surface. With a soft groan, he lifted her hips, dumped her back on the bed, and unzipped her pants. He slid both them and her panties down her legs and off. He looked enticing, looming over her, his zipper open. Within seconds he’d shucked his jeans, briefs, and socks. And he was so much more magnificent totally naked. The sunlight coming in through the sliding door gilded his olive skin and reflected off the hard planes of his muscles. The eagle, coming in to snatch up its prey, only added to his allure.

He came down over her, pressing his mouth over her bare pubic area, making his way over her stomach, to her breasts, leisurely moving over their curves. Every suckle, every flick of his tongue on her nipple, drove heat straight to her core. She arched into him, offering all of herself and begging for more at the same time. His hand skimmed across her ribcage, splayed across her stomach. His thumb edged closer to her crease, where her clit throbbed for his touch. As though sensing her need, he dipped down into her folds and slid over her aching nub. She sucked in a gasp, her legs automatically parting.