A Little Harmless Military Romance Bundle (A Little Harmless Military Bundle) (2 page)

“So, who do you have in mind?” Mal asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

“What?”

“Man, it’s a wedding. Women are always ripe for seduction at these things. You have to have someone in mind.”

His gaze traveled back to Shannon. She walked through the crowd, her hips swaying sensually as she moved from person to person. Her smile enticed everyone she spoke to. As the owner of a bar and grill in New Orleans, she knew how to work a room. And dammit, she had that perfect smile that drew every man to her. His hand started to hurt, and he looked down to find his fist clenched so tight around his bottle his knuckles were white. It took a couple of seconds to calm himself down. He didn’t have a right to be jealous. She wasn’t his to love, to protect. He’d learned a long time ago that being a Seal and being married just didn’t work out.

He noticed Mal looking at him, expecting an answer.

“Not sure, mate, but I have a feeling I’ll find someone to occupy my time.”

* * * *

Shannon shivered as she took a sip of champagne. She tried not to wince at the taste. What the holy hell was she doing drinking it? She hated the drink. What she needed was two fingers of whiskey. It would clear her head of the sexy Seal that had her pulse skipping.

“What are you doing drinking that?” her sister, Jocelyn, asked.

When Shannon turned, she couldn’t fight the smile. Seeing the transformation of her sister in the last year was amazing. Seeing her happily married with Kai added to the joy she felt for Jocelyn. Even if there was a little jolt of envy, Shannon couldn’t begrudge her the happiness. After the things she had overcome, Jocelyn deserved it more than anyone she knew.

“I thought it best. You know with the jet lag and all that, I need to keep my wits about me. Champagne should help, right?”

Her sister’s eyes danced with barely suppressed amusement. “It couldn’t be because of one hot Seal with a hint of an Aussie accent, could it?

Shannon closed her eyes and sighed. “That man gets my temperature up. All he has to do is smile, and I’m ready to strip naked and jump his bones.” She opened her eyes. “Is it that obvious?”

Jocelyn shook her head. “Just to someone who knows you like I do.”

And no two people knew each other better. As the two girls in a huge family of men, they had depended on each other. Only fifteen months apart in age, they were more like twins than just sisters.

“Are you talking about that hot Seal your brother brought with him?” May Aiona Chambers asked as she stepped up to the two women. After meeting her just months earlier at Jocelyn’s wedding, Shannon had instantly liked the sassy Hawaiian. Petite with the most amazing long hair and blue green eyes, she never seemed to have a problem voicing her opinion.

“Oh, May, please, could you join us in the conversation,” Jocelyn said with a laugh.

“As my sister-in-law, you should be used to it by now.” She dismissed Jocelyn and honed in on Shannon. "He’s been watching you.”

“What?” she asked, her voice squeaking. “No he hasn’t.”

“That Seal, he’s been watching you all day.”

Shannon snorted, trying to hide the way her heart rate jumped. "You’re insane. Does this run in the family? You might want to adopt children, Jocelyn.”

“No, really, he has. He does it when he thinks you aren’t looking.”

She turned around and found him easily on the other side of the dance floor. That erect posture made it easy. He always looked like he was standing at attention. Even in civvies, he looked like a Seal. The Hawaiian print polo shirt hugged his shoulders and was tucked neatly into his khaki dress slacks. He wasn’t the tallest man in the room, but he stood out. All that hard muscle, not to mention the blond hair and the to-die-for blue eyes, made him a gorgeous package. Everything in her yearned, wanted. Of course, he wasn’t looking at them. His attention was on the other side of the room. Probably on some damned stripper. Shannon turned back to her sister and May.

“Are you drunk?” Shannon asked.

May rolled her eyes. "No, really he has. You know what those Seals are like. He can do surveillance without you knowing. It’s his job. But you should see the way he looks at you.”

She couldn’t help herself. "Like how?”

May hummed. "Like he wants to take a big, long bite out of you.”

She couldn’t stop the shiver that slinked down her spine or the way her body heated at the thought. Since she had met him five years earlier, she had been interested in him. He was quiet, unlike her brothers, and the way he moved…God, she knew for sure he was good in bed. But it was more than that. Kade was sexy, that was for sure, but there was something more to him than just a good-looking man. There was an innate goodness in him, one that made a woman know he would take care of her no matter what.

“If I were you, I would make use of the event to get him in bed.”

Shannon snorted again, trying to keep herself from imagining it—and failing. "Please, May, tell me what you really think.”

“Believe me, I know about waiting, and it isn’t worth it. I waited years for some idiot to notice me. I think of all the time we wasted dancing around like that.”

“Did you just call your husband an idiot?” Jocelyn asked.

May rolled her eyes. "He overlooked me for years, then waited forever once he did notice me. Of course he’s an idiot. But in this situation, you have to be strategic. I saw Evan almost every day. This guy, he’s going to be gone again with that job of his. You have got to take advantage of the wedding and get him into bed. Get a little wedding booty.”

She should be mad, but it was hard to be. May looked so innocent with her sweet smile, and her voice sounded like something out of a movie. Shannon just couldn’t get irritated with her. Before May could say anything else, they announced the cutting of the cake. She turned to face the banquet table, and as she did, she caught Kade looking at her. It was the briefest moment, just a second, but even across all that space, she saw the heat, the longing, and felt it build inside of her. Her breath backed up in her lungs. In that next instant, he looked away.

It took all her power to turn her attention back to the event at hand, seeing her brother and her sister-in-law beaming at each other, she took another sip of champagne. May was right. She had to take a chance. If he said no, if he ignored her, then she could drink herself in a stupor and have months before she had to face him again.

But there was one thing Shannon Michele Dupree did right, and that was being bold. She chugged the rest of her champagne, set it on the table next to her, and headed off in Kade’s direction.

That man wouldn’t know what hit him.

Chapter Two

Kade’s heart jumped into his throat when he saw Shannon walking determinedly in his direction. She wore her hair up to show off her slender neck and the diamond earrings he knew Mal had bought her. God, she was gorgeous. He liked strong women, and that was definitely Shannon. All the feminine strength in that sexy package, he was having a hard time resisting her. Everything in his body, especially one particular body part, told him to go after her. But his brain wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t act on his attraction. Mal was his best friend, and one of the things he’d always believed in was you didn’t fuck around with your buddy’s sister. Since Kade knew he wasn’t cut out to be involved for the long haul, he had to ignore the lust that was circling his gut right now.

Damn, as she neared, he saw she was coming after him for something. What had he done? With Shannon, you never knew what would happen. The woman ran a tight ship at work, and no one, not even her trained-to-kill Navy Seal brother, got away with jack shit with her.

“Hey, Kade,” she said just as the band started up with a slow country song. Even with the music playing, he could hear her accent. "Do you think you could dance a little two-step with me? I know you have to be one of the only guys here who knows how to do it right.”

The way she said it made him think of sex. Who was he fooling? Everything she said made him think of sex. But now, she was smiling, those green eyes sparkling up at him, and he couldn’t think again.

“What?”

She laughed. The sound of it sunk into his blood and made his pulse do its own two-step. "Dance. You, me. Two-step. You haven’t forgotten how to do it, have you?”

The memory of her teaching him to two-step filtered through his mind. It had felt like purgatory, stuck between heaven and hell. Her body had moved against his, her soft breasts pressed against his chest…he’d almost lost it. The only thing that had saved him was that Mal was on that very same dance floor and probably would have beaten the hell out of him if he had known what Kade was thinking.

“Uh...yeah, I remember.”

She didn’t wait for a yes or no. She just grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her to the dance floor. She stopped then waited for him to step closer. Kade hesitated, trying to get his brain back into the game. Of course, his little brain wanted to do most of the thinking. His cock twitched as he drew her into his arms. They started to dance, and he tried to keep her further away. She slipped closer.

Oh, shit
. Just the little brush of her body against his had his cock hardening. He just hoped she didn’t notice.

“I thought you and Mal would be off having a good old time.”

He glanced down at her, wondering about the tone. There was a thread of irritation in it. She was smiling up at him as if there was nothing wrong, but he knew there was something she wasn’t telling him.

“Apparently your brother had a woman picked out already.”

She nodded. "He’s a slut.”

Kade couldn’t help it. He threw back his head and laughed. Shannon had a way of talking about her brothers, especially Mal, that Kade knew was to remind them they were still just her brothers.

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’m not a slut.”

She chuckled. “The jury’s still out on that one.”

“Your brother needs to learn how to be a little more picky.”

Her lips curved up at that comment, and he felt the moisture dry up in his mouth. God, he wanted to kiss that smile off her face—then move down her body, exploring every delicious inch of her. He knew her flesh would be sweet.

“I noticed you’re pretty picky.”

He nodded as he worked her around the dance floor. "I don’t fall for every pretty face that comes along.”

She said nothing. Instead she laid her head on his shoulder. The gesture was so natural it was as if she did it every day. He knew he should tell her not to. His brain said he should do it. But he couldn’t. It was too close to what he wanted, what he yearned for. For five long years he had wanted her, wanted to feel this way with her, her head on his shoulder, her soft, warm body in his arms. He had wanted that for so long, he just couldn’t bring himself to stop her.

It was bad enough he would probably have to take a five-hour cold shower when he got back to the room. Sweat slid down his back, and he had to fight the urge to lean down and brush his lips over her forehead.

He had talked himself into not doing more when she sighed and relaxed even more against him. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, and with every breath he drew in that sultry scent that was so unique to her. His head started to spin. His body started to duel with his mind. His brain was starting to lose when the music ended. The band swung into a fast-paced Hawaiian tune. His body protested when he had to pull back.

“Shannon?”

Even to his own ears, his voice sounded gruff. She raised her head and blinked as if coming out of some kind of daze. Her breathing hitched, and her breasts rose above the neckline of her dress. His gaze slipped down, he could see her hardened nipples through the delicate red fabric. He curled his fingers into his palms and counted backwards from ten. If he didn’t get away from her soon, he would definitely lose control. There would be nothing to stop him from tearing off her clothes and bending her over a banquet table.

The wind shifted, pulling a few strands of her hair loose from the complicated style.

He cleared his throat. "Well, that was...nice.”

Fuck
. How lame could he get? She studied him for a second, her expression serious, thoughtful. Then in the next moment, her lips curved.

“You know where my room is, doncha?”

Lust soared. His body reacted at the direct question. Any doubts he had about her interest in him vaporized. She apparently thought there was no reason to hide her attraction to him anymore.

He nodded, unable to form a word.

“Well, then you know where to find me later.”

With that, she walked away, and he couldn’t help watching her hips and that magnificent ass of hers. He could just imagine having her on all fours in front of him as he took her from behind.

Kade drew in a deep breath. He needed to get a drink. He needed to go away, far away. He could not breach the trust his friend put in him. If another man had thoughts about his sister like he had about Shannon, well, he would kill him. Of course, his sister was married with five kids, so there was a really good chance his brother-in-law had those thoughts.