Breaking Through (Book 2 of the SEAL TEAM Heartbreakers) (27 page)

They worked their way around the cove, careful not to step on the wildflowers blooming here and there.

When they paused on the south side of the cove, Clara exclaimed, “Look at the strata on the cliffs!”  She raised the camera to her eye.

Brett studied the rock formations she was fixated on. The cliff bowed out where the water had eaten away at it, leaving behind bands of color and a cluster of rocks at the bottom. “I looked at your other photos, Mom. They were amazing. The one of Greenback dancing with his baby girl cheek to cheek, I’m sure he’d like a copy of it.  I know you took pictures of us kids. But I don’t think it ever occurred to me that you had such a talent for it.”

She grinned, her features glowing with an excitement he’d rarely seen. “I’m really enjoying experimenting. I felt a little guilty about buying the camera equipment, but I’m about a third of the way to earning the money back so I think it was a good investment.”

“Why would you feel guilty for buying something you wanted?”

“I earmarked money for bills the whole time you kids were young. And even while you and Zoe were in college, though you both worked, I slipped a certain amount of money into your bank accounts because I knew you’d never ask though you needed it. I guess once you learn that behavior, it’s hard to throw caution to the wind and just spend money if you simply want something rather than needing it.”

“We’re all grown now, Mom. You don’t have to take responsibility for anyone but yourself at this point.”

“It doesn’t’ work that way, honey. Just because you’re all grown doesn’t mean I don’t feel responsible for you. It’s a mom thing.” The whole time she talked, she was pausing to take pictures.

“And dads are supposed to feel the same way?”

“Your father always did.”

Had Ian ever felt responsible for Tess?
Ever?
He rubbed his forehead where a dull tension headache had begun. Was Tess’s relationship with her father why she distanced herself from him?

“I’m sure you’ll feel the same way when you have your own children, Brett. And it’s not like I deprive myself of things. I’m just conservative. But not so conservative that I didn’t invest in a telephoto lens that weighs as much as a small lap dog. I’m going to use it today to take some pictures of you surfing.”

“What does any of this have to do with Captain Connelly?” Brett asked.

She lowered her camera to study his expression. “He doesn’t have anything to do with my taking pictures. He has been encouraging me, though.”

“You’ve shown him your stuff?”

“Yes, he’s the one who suggested I upload them and sell them.”

Brett remained silent for a moment. “You’re being careful with this guy, aren’t you Mom?”

She drew a deep breath and her eyes focused on the distant horizon. “You’re making it more complicated than it is. Russell enjoys my company, and I enjoy his. Why does it worry you that I’m dating someone?”

“Because you’ve never done it before. Not really.”

“I wasn’t ready before. It’s taken me twenty years to even look at another man since your father.”

Brett’s heart jogged double time. “Well, why this guy?”

“Because he looks at me like I’m still an attractive woman, not a fifty-five year old retired school teacher.”

Oh, shit.

They spent twenty minutes working their way back around the cove.  As they approached the car, Brett paused in surprise when Tess straightened from where she leaned against the front quarter panel.  Her dark red hair shone with copper highlights as she faced them.

His gaze raked the length of her, covered from neck to ankle in a full wetsuit. The white strips decorating the front followed the curves of her body, accentuating her lithe, slender shape. Though every inch of skin was covered but her face and hands, she might as well have been naked. Desire twisted and tumbled through him and he grew hard. As usual.

His turned to face his mother. “Did you tell her where we’d be?”

Clara frowned. “She called while you were dressing. I thought you’d be pleased to have her join us.”

He’d needed more time with his mom to talk to her out of this thing with Connelly. But time with Tess was—It had been hard as hell keeping his distance and not calling her. Who the fuck was he kidding? He wanted to be with her.

But the rules had to change. He couldn’t keep hanging himself out there and getting nothing in return.

***

Brett’s frown put Tess’s heart into free-fall. It was a mistake to have come here. He didn’t want to see her. It had been five days since the meeting at the hotel and she hadn’t heard a word from him. An ache settled just under her breastbone. She clenched her hands at her sides.  She had been so certain he’d wanted more from her. Wasn’t that what he’d said?

“Hey,” he said as he reached her.

“Your mom told me you were going surfing. I brought my gear,” she said.

He grinned. “I can see that. You didn’t tell me you surfed.”

Was that an accusation? If it was, she probably deserved it. “I’m a better listener than a talker.”

He studied her for a moment. “I noticed.”

“It’s a hazard of the job.” She bit her lip and looked over his shoulder to Clara. “Hello, Mrs. Weaver.”

“Please call me Clara.”

The knot of anxiety loosened a little more at Clara’s encouraging smile.

“Where are you parked?” Clara asked. “It might be easier to find parking for one car instead of two. If you don’t mind leaving yours here, we can transfer your gear to my rental.”

“I’m up the street. And I think that’s a good idea.”

“I thought we’d go further up the coast. It’s a little tricky reaching the surf here,” Brett said.

“I know. I’ve been here before.”

With towels cushioning the boards, they used soft straps to secure Tess’s board atop the car with Brett’s.

Brett opened the passenger door, but Clara opened the back door and took a seat there, leaving the front seat free for Tess.

“We’ll come back down to the point around sunset, Mom. It’s amazing here. People come here just to take pictures of it,” Brett said once they were in the car.

“Sounds good.”

He put the car in gear and drove down the coast to the long stairs that led down to the beach.

Brett parked the car in a roadside lot and Brett popped the trunk.

“I’m going to be busy taking photos of the area,” Clara said. “I thought I’d photograph you two surfing and work my way back toward the point. We can meet back here in, say … a couple of hours?”

“Then we’ll dump our gear, change, and find a place to eat. What do you think, Tess?”

“That sounds good. I have a sundress and sandals in my bag.”

“I’m going to wander over and take some pictures of the stairs that lead down to the beach,” Clara said.

An almost painful silence stretched between them. Tess sought something to say to break it. “I wasn’t certain about coming, but your mother seemed to think it was okay.”

“I’m glad you came,” Brett said, his tone abrupt. He propped his arms on the top of the car and leaned in

“After the way things—the other night—I hadn’t heard from you—” She wasn’t entirely able to suppress the hurt in her tone.

Brett remained silent for a beat then two. “I had some things I needed to work out without being distracted.” He drew a deep breath and focused on her. “I’m not completely comfortable with the way things were—are, Tess.”

She swallowed. “I understand.”

His gaze sharpened, the line of his jaw going taut. “I don’t think you do.”

“I understand you went way out on a limb with info that could come back to bite you if anyone finds out.” She bit her lip. “I know you’ve lost confidence in Ian because of how he behaved. But if he’s as desperate for a scoop as I think he is, he’ll find the truth and report it.”

“I hope you’re right. And I hope he doesn’t disappoint either of us.” The flat even tone of his voice held an accusation.

“You once told me that what was happening between us was separate from what you needed from Ian.”

He straightened from his leaning position on the car. “Right now, you haven’t allowed anything to happen between us, Tess. I can’t be the only one willing to—lower the barriers.” He drew a deep breath. “I can’t continue to guard every word I say for fear of seeing it in print one day either. I have to know I can trust you.”

She focused on him so he’d know she was sincere. “Everything you say to me from this moment on will be off the record, Brett. I turned in the last of my articles for the series yesterday.”

“I didn’t think you had enough information yet.”

“I called Master Chief O’Hara and got the remainder of the information I needed. You’re no longer an official source.”

“So?”

You’re no longer a source for any kind of story.” She raised her hand. “I swear it. Every word you said in that hotel room is locked away for eternity as far as I’m concerned. I never heard a thing.”

Brett nodded once, and though he continued to search her face for several moments, the tension in his shoulders relaxed a little. After a moment of silence, he shed his shirt and shorts to reveal a brief swimsuit that left little to the imagination.
Oh, my.
Tess nearly swallowed her tongue at the wealth of bare skin and lean muscle. The light brown hair that dusted his chest ran down the center of his taut stomach in a line that begged to be followed. He pulled a wetsuit from a bag in the trunk. He worked the legs of the suit over his calves, the muscles in his back flexing.

Her hand shook and her heart was thundering in her ears as she ran her palm over the curve of his body between his shoulder blade and spine.

He froze for a moment, acknowledging her touch with that alert stillness she’d found so unnerving the other night. He straightened and tugged the wetsuit up over his hips.

Tess caught her breath as she glimpsed how he’d responded to her touch. Since he’d left her standing in the hallway of the hotel, a tight knot had taken up residence in the pit of her stomach. The sensation of it unraveling brought a smile to her lips.

He glanced up. “Now who’s toying with whom, Tess?”

“I don’t look at you as a plaything either,” she said using his own words against the barrier he’d thrown up between them.

He straightened, his gaze meandering down her body as though she was an ice cream cone and he was deciding where to lick first. His hard-edged expression of raw desire barely held in check carried enough heat to fire the libidos of every woman within a hundred-yard radius. Having his unrelenting interest directed at her from point-blank range tightened her nipples and warmed intimate areas south. Her heart beat in her throat, and she felt stifled by the constricting layers of the neoprene wetsuit.

Damn. He was dangerous to her peace of mind, and her heart.

Brett wiggled into the top of his wetsuit, and, gripping the long zipper pull, tugged it up his back. Then he unhooked the pull, dropped it in the trunk, and strapped a knife to his calf.

“Is this suit anything like what you wear when you’re working?” she asked, more to distract them both than because she wanted to know.

The heat banked in his expression cooled.

“No. Most of the time we’re in dry suits. They’re bulkier, gray, and have pockets for gear at the calves and at the top of the arms, and aren’t nearly as fashionable.”  He started working at one of the straps holding the boards atop the car and she rushed to help with the other one.

“I took up surfing when I first came out here. It took me forever to be able to pop up on the board. I’m not a novice, but I’m not an expert either.”
Why was sharing the slightest thing so hard for her?

“How strong a swimmer are you?” he asked. “Sometimes the undercurrents can be strong here.”

Was that comment double edged?
  “I’ve noticed. I think I’ll be fine.”

He nodded and slid her bright pink board off the top of the car and handed it to her.

“This week—I’ve missed talking to you, Brett.”

“Good.” He braced the board against the car and rested his elbow on the top. “I’ve missed you, too.”

She studied his expression before stepping closer. “I believe in you. I have since the beginning. You’re no more a murderer than I am.”

His attention focused on her once again, intense, unblinking. His gaze shifted downward to her lips and settled there, yet he didn’t move to kiss her.

Why wasn’t he? She’d given him every reason to. His desire for her had nothing to do with Ian and everything to do with what she could give him. If she was brave enough.

“The other night, when you invited me over to watch the movie, we made a connection, didn’t we?” she asked.

Some of the tension in his shoulders relaxed. “I thought so.”

 She’d told him it was hard for her to step out from behind the professional façade, but she hadn’t delved into the depths of how truly difficult she found it. Before she could lose her nerve entirely, she rose on tiptoe and kissed him.

In an instant, his lips softened beneath hers, parting in response to the pressure. His hand cupped her hip and drew her in against him. The brushing movement she had initiated took on a clinging intensity that made her legs week. When his tongue touched hers, she leaned into him, wanting to be closer. The kiss went on and on, growing hungry, intense, until, breathless, she had to draw back.

He was just as out of breath as she was, and spots of color highlighted his cheekbones.

“Has anyone ever told you your timing sucks, Tess?” he asked, his lips touching her temple, her forehead.

“No. Why?” She leaned back to look up at him. She’d never experienced a more perfect kiss. Hadn’t it been the same for him?

“For one thing, you took your sweet time kissing me.” Brett studied her, laughed, then groaned. “And another—I dare you to kiss me like that when we’re not encased in body-sized condoms.”

CHAPTER 22

Clara glanced over her shoulder toward the car. The hot pink of Tess’s surfboard stood out, and she could see a sliver of it propped against the rental car A couple of joggers, a man and a woman, ran by. Two women walked down the path toward her, acknowledged her with a nod, and paused at the stairs to talk about the view.