Page 8

CHAPTER 8

March 3 rd

9:49 A.M.

“This feels like some kind of weird pass-the-parcel game,” Ava muttered as she was passed from Phantom’s arms into Nathaniel’s.

After they’d hooked up with the other SEAL team yesterday afternoon, they’d found a spot for them to settle in for the night, and now they were heading for the extraction point.

While Ava would love to be able to say that she was feeling a whole lot better, that she was able to pull her weight, it would be entirely untrue. She’d started the morning off walking on her own, but within about fifteen minutes, her energy supplies had dwindled and for the last few hours or so she’d been passed around between the guys.

It was weird being treated almost like an object, even though she knew the guys weren't doing it with any ill intent. They were taking care of her and ensuring they shared the burden so no one became drained from carrying her extra weight.

Maybe that was it.

The fact that it made her feel like a burden.

She was one, she got that, she just didn't like the feeling. She’d worked hard to make her own way in life, to prove herself of more value than just being married off in a business merger. Now it felt like all of that had been undone in just a matter of days.

Still, she couldn’t completely deny that she liked being in Nathaniel’s arms.

Something about his steady presence, quiet strength, and vulnerability he tried so hard to hide drew her to him. He was an attractive man, and if they’d met under any other circumstances, she definitely would have asked him if he wanted to see if there could be something more between them.

It had been a long time since she’d had a boyfriend. She’d been too busy with college, working, and then joining Prey. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't even sure when the last time she’d had sex was.

Nathaniel would be good in bed, she thought somewhat sleepily as the bouncing rhythm of his stride lulled her into a sort of semi-conscious state. Not quite asleep but not quite awake either.

Since he’d been wearing a wetsuit most of the time she’d known him, only changing when the other SEAL team arrived, she had a pretty good idea of what he looked like beneath his clothes. The wetsuit left little to the imagination. Plus, he’d carried her around a lot so she knew he was pure muscle beneath his clothing.

“Hmm, if anyone is going to unwrap me though, it’s definitely going to be you,” she murmured, unaware of the words that had just slipped out until she heard the guys laughing.

Oh no.

She’d said that out loud.

With an audience.

Mortification had her cheeks burning and she lifted her head from where she nuzzled Nathaniel’s neck to check how badly she’d messed up.

Darn her mouth that operated without her head’s consent half of the time.

It could be charming if she wasn't always putting her foot in her mouth. Like she had just now.

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “I’m so sorry. That was so inappropriate of me. I’d blame the painkillers you guys keep giving me, but unfortunately, I was cursed with the ability to speak without thinking from birth.” Her rambling only made her more self-conscious, and when Nathaniel didn't immediately fill the tiny gap of silence, she kept going. “I try, I swear I do, but sometimes it’s like I don’t even realize I've spoken aloud until I've already said something stupid. Like now. I swear, I didn't mean that I wanted you to undress me, that would be so inappropriate. I know this is your job, and that you potentially got yourself in trouble by sticking with me, I don’t mean to make it worse by being?—”

“So you don’t want me to undress you?” Nathaniel said, cutting her off. There was a slight hardness to his tone that she wasn't used to hearing, and Ava knew she’d messed things up with him.

Why couldn’t she control her mouth?

Of course, she wanted this man to undress her. Not only was he built like some sort of Greek God, but he had put his career and life on the line for her. He’d kept her safe, found her food to eat and water to drink, been gentle with both her body and her mind, and she was insanely attracted to both his body and his personality.

But that would be stupid to say out loud.

This wasn't a dating site, and she wasn't here to make friends. Neither was he. These men were here to get her back home where she could be debriefed and worked with to see if she could remember more details Nathaniel hadn't already gotten out of her.

It should be easy enough to answer Nathaniel’s question with a firm but polite of course she didn't want him to undress her.

Only that would be a lie, and she tried really hard to always tell the truth.

“Umm, well, I … it wouldn't really be … the best thing would be to …” she stammered, trying to figure out how to avoid saying that she would absolutely love to get to know him when they were home, and once she recovered, take the undressing step when they were both ready.

“It’s okay to say you didn't mean what you blurted out, Aves,” Nathaniel said. His voice sounded all nonchalant, and he was giving her an easy out, but something hidden beneath his tone hinted at the possibility that maybe a sexy warrior like him could be interested in a nerdy girl like her.

"Sounded real believable there, dude,” Bubba said, and she looked over at the man walking beside them, and caught him smiling and rolling his eyes.

Good.

If Bubba had picked up on the same thing she had, she couldn’t be imagining things.

“Since I've already embarrassed myself in front of these guys?—”

“Nah, no need to be embarrassed, Ava, we all love your openness,” Rex inserted.

“You just say that because I beat you up,” she sassed, shooting him a smirk, and was rewarded by a laugh from the man she had hit in the groin and then in the head with his own weapon. Something she was positive his team was never going to let him live down.

“I cannot wait to tell Avery this story,” Gumby said with a laugh.

“Anyway, as I was trying to say,” Ava continued, “since I don’t think it’s possible to embarrass myself any more than I already have in front of these guys, I don’t think it will hurt to say that I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of a little unwrapping in the future.”

Surprise widened Nathaniel’s warm chocolate brown eyes, but then they narrowed almost imperceptibly, and she couldn’t quite figure out where his mind was going. The question he’d asked implied that he did want to get undressed with her at some point in the future. At least, she thought it did, and it seemed like the guys thought it did, too.

Only now it felt like she’d said the wrong thing somehow.

There was something about Nathaniel she was missing, something that made him doubt himself even though from where she was standing, or being carried as the case may be, she could not figure out what it was.

Did he like her or didn't he?

It was okay if he didn't, he didn't owe her anything.

If anything, it was she who owed him .

Owed him everything.

Was that the problem? Did he think she only wanted undressing fun with him because he’d saved her life? Like it was some sort of payment for services rendered? The idea definitely offended her even though she had to remind herself that Nathaniel didn't really know her either, and she had been the one to blurt out something stupid.

When Nathaniel didn't say anything more, and an awkward silence grew between them and their little group, Ava pushed gently at his shoulders, indicating he should set her down.

“I think I’m up to walking for a while. It would be good for my legs to move around a bit after being stationary for two weeks,” she said softly.

It was almost a disappointment when Nathaniel immediately put her on her feet. Even more so when he took a step away and Ace stepped up beside her to take his place. Of course, she trusted these men to protect her and make sure she got home in one piece, but only Nathaniel made her feel safe.

Somehow, her stupid mouth had gone and gotten her in trouble again only she couldn’t figure out what it was exactly that had been the wrong words to say.

Oh well, it didn't really matter in the scheme of things. When she got home, she had a whole lot of feelings and emotions to unpack and then try to reassemble them into something that would allow her to move forward from her ordeal. Most likely, this attraction she felt toward Nathaniel would fade quickly when they were no longer in danger, it was probably nothing more than her crushing on the man who had saved her.

So why did it feel like so much more?

* * *

March 3 rd

2:47 P.M.

He was an idiot.

Nathaniel knew he’d messed up with Ava earlier.

It was just she’d caught him off-guard with her comments. Getting used to being around someone who seemed to be missing part of their filter took some time. Her comment about him unwrapping her had come as a complete shock.

What on earth would a woman like her see in a guy like him?

It had to be because he’d been the one to save her. That was his first thought, but when he’d tried to give her an out and allow her to backtrack she hadn't really taken him up on the offer.

In fact, she’d done the opposite.

She’d doubled down on her assertion.

And that had left him warring inside himself.

A big part of him preened under her attention. She was sweet, funny, and brave, so far out of his league they were living in different universes. Which meant he had to be realistic.

Ava was scared and in pain, she’d been through a horrific ordeal that she hadn't been given a chance to process yet. What she was doing was shoving down her feelings about being abducted and focusing on something else.

On him.

But once she was home, the magic would wear off and she would realize the truth, that he absolutely was not good enough for her and never would be.

Deep down she had to know it too. It was why she had—rightly—put a little distance between them these last few hours. Now that it wasn't just the two of them, he didn't need to hover right by her side or carry her over his shoulder. Six other guys could step in if needed.

Which they were doing, even if they all rolled their eyes at him each time one of them stepped in when Ava needed assistance. Every time, they paused first to see if he was going to do it, and then only when he didn't would they offer their assistance.

They were doing everything right and yet the stab of jealousy he felt each time one of them spoke to Ava, looked at her, or touched her should tell him enough about how he felt deep down inside in a place he’d believed he had already locked up tight. Didn't seem to matter to the caveman side of him that Rocco and his team were all happily married to the women they loved, some of them even with kids.

All he knew was that he wanted to be the one talking to and touching Ava. A thought that terrified him like nothing else ever could. Allowing himself to fall for her was setting himself up for the pain and rejection that would no doubt come when she woke up to the truth that she was better than him.

Sighing, annoyed with himself that he was even getting this distracted in the middle of a mission where he had an innocent civilian who was depending on him to get her home alive, Nathaniel refocused his attention on their surroundings.

They were closing in on the exfil position, and soon a helo would arrive to pick them up. His time with Ava was drawing to a close and he honestly didn't want it to end with neither of them speaking to the other and awkwardness hanging heavily in the air.

And just like that, his thoughts were right back to the pretty blonde currently cradled in Ace’s arms, laughing at something he was saying to her. Why did Ace have to be so good at putting people at ease? He’d married Piper in Timor-Leste right after meeting her when the orphanage she worked at had been attacked so they could bring home three little girls who had also survived. There was no way he could have charmed Ava into marrying him in such a short time, not even with the lives of three kids on the line.

He just didn't have it in him.

What he had in him were his father’s genes. A violent alcoholic who didn't care who he used as a punching bag. Was that really something he wanted to risk passing along to somebody else?

For a second, Ava’s face superimposed itself over his mother’s, his own face over his father’s, and he saw the pure, unadulterated terror on it as his fist came swinging right toward it, connecting with her nose in a sickening crunch that left blood pouring down her face.

No.

He couldn’t allow that to happen.

Not to someone as sweet as Ava. It didn't matter that he had never raised a hand to anyone who wasn't a threat on an op, or a sparring partner, there was always the possibility that it could happen which is why he knew it was safer to keep himself locked down tight. No one got inside his heart that wasn't a member of his team. The brotherhood was more than enough to stave off loneliness and it gave him the connections he needed.

Catching himself again as he spiraled into an Ava-shaped hole of despair, he was giving himself an internal pep talk when he felt it.

Nothing discernible, just a slight shift in the air.

One thing being a SEAL had taught him was to trust his instincts. It was a skill he’d started developing as a child, learning to read his father’s moods and act accordingly, and it had been honed in his career.

If his gut said something was wrong, then something was wrong.

When he stopped the others did too.

“Than?” Rocco asked.

Shrugging because he wasn't sure what exactly it was that had gotten his hackles up, he scanned the area. Something felt off, which meant more than likely, someone was out there somewhere. Maybe watching them, maybe tracking them, or maybe unaware of their presence.

At least for now.

Since Ava was with them, he had to ensure that whoever was out there didn't get close to her.

“You feel it?” he asked the others.

“We’re being followed,” Gumby said.

“Four of them I think,” Phantom added.

“Nine o’clock,” Rex said, making Ava’s nose do its little confused scrunch.

“Nine o’clock what? It’s not nine, it has to be early afternoon,” she said.

“Their position,” Nathaniel told her.

“Oh. Right. I should have known that.” She sounded frustrated with herself even though she had zero reason to be. She was still functioning, and after what she’d been through, that in and of itself was miracle enough.

Just like that, he couldn’t take the distance between them any longer.

“Give her here,” he said, stalking over to Rex and all but snatching Ava from his arms. Rex let him take her without argument, and Nathaniel would have sworn that the look on his face told him not to mess this up.

Mess what up exactly he wasn’t sure, didn't even want to know, but he did know he could protect her from the men hunting her. That was what he was good at.

“Than, you stay on Ava, the rest of us will take care of whoever is out there,” Rocco told him, and he didn't hesitate to shift into a position where they would be harder to spot, and he could better protect them.

“Is someone really out there?” Ava asked, her blue eyes wide in her pale face.

“Yes,” he answered, knowing that he and Rocco’s team couldn’t all be wrong. “But they won't get to you.” It was a vow he intended to keep no matter what he had to do.

“I’m scared, Nathaniel,” Ava admitted softly, her fingers curling into his shirt, clinging to him.

“I won't let them hurt you,” he promised.

“That only makes me more scared.”

“I'm good at my job, Ava.” While he might fail at most everything else, being a SEAL was the one thing he could do.

“Not what I meant.” Lifting one of her hands she cupped his cheek. “I meant I know that tone. It means you would put your life on the line for me, and while I know that’s your job, I don’t like the idea of you getting hurt.”

Oh.

Hell.

He didn't have a clue what to say to that.

Before he could figure it out, he heard the unmistakable sound of an approaching helo. Help was on the way, and he realized that the men following them had been tracking the helo. They were both coming from the same direction, and the trafficking ring had obviously spotted it and managed to get a team close to it, knowing it was likely here searching for him and Ava.

What they didn't know was that it was no longer just the two of them, they also had a six-man SEAL team to watch their backs.

“Get Ava to the exfil point, we’ll hold them off,” Rocco’s voice echoed in his ear, and he was eternally grateful that the team had brought an extra set of comms for him.

“Time to go home, Aves,” he told her as he grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. One hand kept hold of hers while his other gripped his weapon in a death hold.

No sooner had they started running than someone fired at them, bullets whizzing through the air like a swarm of angry hornets, and he and Ava were the targets.