SEAL the Deal (21 page)

“You play Scrabble with your friends?”

Lacey met her sister’s disbelieving stare.
“Yeah. So what?”

Vi tossed her shoulders up casually. “I
just didn’t know people really did that.” She stared into the night sky, as
though picturing it. “So you do this at parties or something?”

“No. Just every week. Our friends Mick and
Jack come over and we just hang out on the back porch or have a fire in the
fireplace and play games. Scrabble mostly. But sometimes Monopoly.”

Apparently bewildered, Vi cocked her head,
gazing at Lacey. “Sounds like something people do on TV, you know? Like in a
sitcom. Kind of—I don’t know—quaint.”

“Now you’re being insulting.”

“No, I’m not. It’s cute.”

Lacey heaved a sigh. “So. What do you do
with your friends?”

Silent, Vi frowned, swirling the cooling wine
in her mug. For a moment, Lacey didn’t think her sister would answer. Vi finally
took a sip and shrugged. “Work.”

“I should get you and what’s-his-name a
Scrabble game for Christmas.”

That made Vi laugh, almost too much. “There’s
something I can’t imagine. Josh playing Scrabble.”

“Josh.” Lacey repeated. “Josh. Trying to
remember that name, but seeing as today’s the first time you ever mentioned
him, it might take a while. I can’t believe you never told me about him till
now. And here you are. Engaged.”

Vi grinned. “You know me. I don’t even
talk about a stock till I’m ready to buy.”

“How romantic.” Lacey tossed back the rest
of her drink, hoping the alcohol would fortify her. “So what happened to the
whole ‘work before love’ mantra?”

“What do you mean?

“You used to say that relationships took
too much energy and time. Too much conflict with a career.”

“When did I say that?”

Lacey stared at her in disbelief. “
Always
,
Vi.”

“I guess I just met the right man.”

“The right man,” Lacey repeated, an image
of Mick flashing in her mind—hard, rippling muscles beneath his too-sexy
uniform. How more “right” could he be? Despite the cold, Lacey felt a hot,
tingling sensation tiptoe across her skin as though she had just stepped into a
steamy hot tub. She glanced at her watch. How many more hours till the first
morning flight out of here?

“Late for something?” Vi’s voice hinted of
sarcasm as she looked at Lacey, eyeing the time.

You have no idea how late
. “Just wondering when the guests will start leaving.”
Peeking into the window, Lacey was disappointed to not see any guests
gravitating toward the coat closet. “So do I have to wait till the wedding to
meet this Josh guy?”

Vi’s lips formed a thin line, and she
tucked her free hand into her coat pocket. “You might. He works a lot. Working
this weekend, actually, or he’d be here.”

“Well, at least he has his priorities in
line.”

Vi glared. “Don’t be a bitch. Not everyone
gets to take the holidays off.”

Lacey shook head, hating herself. “You’re
right. I’m sorry. I was just joking,” she offered, even though she knew she
hadn’t been. What was it about her sister that made her feel twelve years old
again?

Vi narrowed her eyes. “I thought you’d be
happy for me.”

Of course Vi had thought that. It had been
Lacey who decorated the kitchen in balloons when Vi was accepted to Columbia
University… popped the champagne cork when Vi got an internship at the most
prestigious brokerage in New York… gathered her friends to watch Vi’s first
appearance on TV.

Did she have any happiness left to offer
her sister?

Angling her head, Lacey looked at Vi. Behind
her sister’s department store mascara, Vi’s eyes were uneasy, as though
desperate for Lacey’s approval, though God only knew why.

Lacey painted a smile on her face. “I
am
happy for you.”

Vi took Lacey’s hand and squeezed. “I’m
glad,” she said, and Lacey could have sworn she heard her sister’s voice catch.

Goody-two-shoes Lacey had never had a
speeding ticket in her life.

Today, she was willing to risk it.

Tightening her grip on the steering wheel,
she sped down the empty highway heading into Annapolis, knowing that her
destination was not Maeve’s house.

It was Mick’s.

She wanted him, damn it. And whether or
not the distraction of having him in her life would derail her career didn’t
matter anymore.

As for the broken heart that likely
awaited her in the future, she couldn’t care less.

For once, now was what mattered to her. No
eye on the future. Just grabbing today, as enthusiastically as she had grabbed
that box of condoms at the drugstore en route.

She only hoped that he was still
interested in her. Even a little.

And if he wasn’t, she had worn the sexiest
bra and panties she could buy beneath her sensible traveling clothes in case he
needed some enticement. Who would have known there would be a Victoria’s Secret
right at the airport? That had to be a sign, right?

Slamming her car door behind her, she darted
toward the Naval Academy security gates, barely stopping to show her ID as she walked
briskly toward his home.

All smiles and slightly breathless, she
rapped on his door.

When a woman answered it, Lacey could have
sworn she heard the earsplitting sound of her own heart shattering to bits on
his front door step.

Of course
a gorgeous guy like Mick wouldn’t wait around for
her.

Lacey struggled to regain her voice. After
all, Mick was nothing more than a friend. She had no claim on him. “I’m sorry. I
was looking for Mick. I should have called first.”

“No, please come in. He’s just in the
kitchen,” the woman said with a comfortable smile.

Lacey was already backing down the stairs.
“No, thanks. Really. Just tell him Lacey stopped by and to have a great
weekend.”

Turning on her heel, she headed down the
street, her walk somehow transforming into a full-blown sprint. She was almost
at the security gate when she heard a voice behind her.

“Lacey!”

She groaned knowing the dampness on her
cheeks was likely accompanied by streaks of dripping mascara and smudged
eyeliner. Oh God, how humiliating all this was. She didn’t break stride and
prayed he would give up the chase.

Damn that SEAL physical training; Mick was
a lot faster. His hand touched her arm and he whipped her around to face him. “Lacey,
what’s wrong? What happened?”

“Nothing, Mick. Really. I’ll talk to you
later about it.”

“Did something happen at your parents? You
weren’t coming home until Sunday, I thought.” He wiped her tears with the
bottom of his sleeve. Even in the brisk autumn wind, she noticed he smelled
like onions and chili powder.

“No. It’s nothing important. I’m so sorry
I interrupted your date. Please go back to her.”

“My date?” Mick looked baffled. “Oh, you
mean, Kristine? She’s Rob’s wife. My friend from Norfolk, remember? We were
watching the game and making chili.”

Lacey stood there, confused and mortified.
This wasn’t what she had pictured. She had envisioned him opening up his door,
her planting a sensual kiss on him as she proceeded to rip his clothes off of
him. Then he would carry her upstairs and they would make mad, passionate love
for at least the next three or four hours.

She wasn’t sure how to improvise her
planned seduction, drenched in tears, standing in the middle of a street with
armed Marine guards only a few feet away.

“I—” she began, searching for a way
to begin. “Vi is engaged. I guess it was a shock, that’s all. It upset me.”

“Engaged. Really? Who to?”

“Some producer. Probably get her own show
out of the deal, too, knowing her.”

“Her own show. I’m even jealous of her,”
Mick said, trying to get Lacey to smile.

Only more tears came. “It’s not that,
Mick. It’s that she’s engaged. All this time I thought the key to a successful
career was putting everything else on hold. I thought that’s what she did. But
now, just look at her. She has it all.”

Mick gently stroked her quivering bottom
lip with his thumb.

Lacey melted at his tenderness. “I’ve been
such an idiot—depriving myself of what I really want. Thinking that it
might help me focus on some stupid career that probably isn’t even right for me
anyway.”

He brushed his fingers across her cheek. “What
do
you want?”

 A cold breeze blew over them,
sending the last of fall’s leaves floating to the ground. Lacey slid her hands
into her pockets. She couldn’t look him in the eye.

“You,” she answered quietly.

Mick’s mouth curved into a smile as he
framed her face in his hands. Her lashes low, she looked up at him. Uncertainty
clung to her, and her heart felt exposed, vulnerable—till he angled his
face toward her, lifting her chin gently with his hand.

Lowering his lips near to hers, he paused
only a moment, and she felt his breath caressing her lips before they finally touched.
Then, at the sweet pressure of his kiss, warmth turned to fire as her lips
explored him tentatively, then desperately, seizing the passion that burned
red-hot in her veins.

The feel of his lips on hers was so
satisfying and yet not nearly enough. She urged him on, pressing her body
against him, sliding her palms up his arms and across his shoulders, then raking
his cool hair with her fingertips. Her lips parted, and she tasted him. Timid at
first, then hungry with desire. He moaned in response, a thoroughly masculine
sound. There was no turning back.

Mick glanced up and saw they were
attracting a few toothy grins from the nearby Marine guards. Firing them a
deadly look, he pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed his own number. “Rob,
I’m three blocks away. You and Kristine have exactly forty-five seconds to
evacuate the premises.”

Lacey heard a laugh on the other end of
the phone. “WILCO,” she heard the voice reply.

“Wilco?” she asked as Mick snapped his
phone shut.

“Will comply.” He knitted his arm with
hers and hurried her up the street.

Darting up the stairs and stepping into
his home, the click of the lock behind them sent a thrill down Lacey’s spine. Mick
checked the kitchen to make sure they were alone. He returned to her, grabbing
a fistful of her hair and eagerly planting his lips on hers again.

“So what happens now, Lacey?” he whispered,
making a searing path of kisses down her neck. His warm breath set the tiny
hairs on her back on end and the gentle trail of his tongue ignited her senses.
“Do I take you out on an official date or two before I try to seduce you?” Unfastening
her buttons as he spoke, his mouth reached the skin between her breasts causing
her breath to quicken. “Or would you prefer to have the seduction first? It’s
up to you.”

Breathless, Lacey thrust into his hands
the convenience store bag she had been holding tightly in her clutch. “Um, this
might give you a clue.”

He looked inside and grinned. “I see you
bought in bulk. We better get started.”

Smothered in a kiss so thorough she could
feel its impact down to her toes, Lacey went slack in his firm embrace. “Just
take me right now. I’m dying here.”

He scooped her into his arms and carried
her up the stairs. “Oh, I’m planning on torturing you quite a bit first. Payback
for what you’ve put me through the last few months.”

Lacey felt the air sizzle with
anticipation as they entered his room. Her body dissolved into the soft, cool
sheets when he lowered her onto his unmade bed. “You’ve really wanted me?” she
asked, watching him pull his shirt over his head revealing his exquisitely
sculpted chest and pecs. His jeans hung low on his hips and a light trail of
chest hair led her eyes down his tight abs to his zipper. “All this time?”

As he pulled off his jeans, the full
length of him all but sprung from his boxers. “Uh, yeah, Lacey. I think there’s
your answer.”

She splayed her hands across his well-defined
chest, and traced the rippling of his abs on a journey downward. She had longed
to touch him like this for so long that she savored the experience. “I was
afraid it was just me.” She touched him timidly first through the thin cotton
of his boxers, then grabbed him more forcefully, gaining confidence at the feel
of him fully erect in her hand.

He practically whimpered. “You’re killing
me, lady,” he said in a strained voice as he ripped off his boxers.

Lacey found herself intimidated by the
sight of him now, the perfect naked male form. A man who looked like Mick must
be used to supermodel partners in bed. Certainly not barely-B cup real estate
agents who go to the gym once every third full moon.

He must have detected her wariness as he
undid the final button on her shirt and moved his attention to the red lace bra
she had worn just for the occasion. His fingertips traced the outline of her
nipples through the tantalizing lace. “So beautiful,” he said, their eyes
meeting as he pulled away the lace and took her in his mouth.