Page 3 of Stealthy Seduction (SEAL Team Blackout Charlie #5)

Her inner walls clamped around his long, talented fingers. Each time he pulled them free, he would claim her moans with another kiss.

A spike of sensation struck, and she soaked his fingers again. Her hips rocked upward with a mind of their own, meeting his every thrust. When he pressed down on her clit and gave it a light rub with his callused thumb, she shattered.

Wave of bliss blanked her mind like no spiritual meditation ever had. She cried out, her fingers biting into his shoulders again as her orgasm struck with the force of a storm breaking.

Pleasure ripped through her, wave after wave, until she was writhing against him, clinging to the only anchor she had—Hudson Steele.

“Fuck, honey…” His voice was a guttural growl against her throat. He rolled away, tearing into the condom and rolling it over his throbbing, impressive cock with a jerk of his fist.

Then he was back, bringing her thighs around him, arrowing his erection toward her needy, still-pulsing center.

“Take me now!” Her voice broke on the demand.

He met her stare, and in one hard, slow shove, filled her.

They shared a deep moan, and she found his lips, kissing him as they fell into the eye of the storm created from their attraction and lust.

He drove deep and withdrew slowly, making her insides clench and her eyes roll back in her head.

She angled her hips upward, taking him deeper, and felt him tense.

Hudson ground his hips harder, chasing his own release. And she was already splintering for him.

Her body convulsed around him, milking him, driving him closer to the edge.

Every thrust was a claim, every groan a vow, and Izzy couldn’t get enough. She wanted more—wanted all of him. Her nails scraped down his back as he surged deep, the thick, relentless push of his body making her cry out again.

That was all it took. His jaw locked, his muscles tensed, and he buried himself deep with a savage thrust that stole her breath. His release tore from him in a hoarse, broken sound, his entire body shuddering as he emptied inside her, his warmth filling her in hot pulses.

For a long moment, they stayed locked together—her legs still wrapped tight around his waist, his chest pressed to hers, their hearts thundering in sync.

When his breathing finally eased, he kissed her slow and deep, nothing brutal now—just tenderness.

She hadn’t slept with anybody in ages. Since before her ordeal in Syria. She didn’t move, letting the moment between them linger.

Around them, the mansion was still. Suddenly, she realized that in his arms, she felt safe.

She hadn’t felt safe in many places for so long . But the few times she’d visited the base and was surrounded by the special ops team, it was impossible not to feel safer than ever before.

She’d spent a lot of time working on getting in touch with her feelings. So it didn’t take more than a minute to conclude that here she could relax. Be herself. Unmask, even.

Her friend Alyssa had been the negotiator that horrible day when men in terrifying masks took her and other Americans hostage. If not for Alyssa, Izzy would never have walked away from that alive.

Between the SEAL she was still tangled with, and the woman she shared a history—and now friendship with—Izzy didn’t really want to return to her solitary apartment.

But she had to.

She forced herself to roll away from Hudson.

In the faint light, she took in his long, muscled body…and his cock that was still half stiff.

She sucked in a deep breath. “I need to go home.”

“I’ll take you.”

They cleaned up and dressed, taking their time while tossing each other glances. When he led her through the quiet house to the front door, he told her to wait for him. A moment later he returned carrying the black hood.

“I need you to wear this.”

She stared up at him. “Seriously? I can’t be trusted after what we just did?”

He gave her a small shake of his head. “It’s the rules.”

“Fine.” She pulled in another deep breath, fortifying herself to draw the hood over her head.

He led her by the hand out of the house. She took in the grating sound of her shoes on stone, felt the edges of the pavers underfoot. The warm snap of late autumn wrapped around her.

When he guided her into a car, she gripped the edges of the leather seat while he strapped the seatbelt across her.

Though she couldn’t pick up smells through the hood, the scent of Hudson’s skin was still swirling through her head.

As soon as she heard the driver’s door close, Hudson spoke. “Give me your address. I’ll put it in my phone.”

“I can give you directions.”

“No you can’t. You don’t know where we are.”

She recited her address, and a moment later, the car was rolling. After a short spell, he said, “You can take off the hood.”

She ripped it off. Her hair was wild after their romp, but now it held static electricity too. She smoothed her hands over it and swept a look at the street and dark buildings around them.

Hudson sent her a look, the angles of his handsome face more chiseled in the blue lights of the dashboard. “Okay?”

“I’m fine.” Her insides were still tumbling from the two orgasms.

He held out his phone. “Enter your contact info.”

She looked at the device on his big palm. “If you wanted my digits, you could have just asked.”

He shot her another look but his lips twitched at the corner.

She took his phone and made a new contact for herself.

She hit save and handed his phone back, her fingers brushing his. Even that tiny contact sent another spark through her already overstimulated body, and she hated how much she wanted him to grab her again, to drag her back into that reckless, consuming heat.

Instead, Steele set the phone in the cup holder. The engine’s low rumble filled the silence, grounding them in a reality far less thrilling than the one they’d created together.

Her chest squeezed as she turned to the window. Neon signs glowed in the distance, casting fractured color over the street. Darkened shops, cracked sidewalks, and the echo of some drunk yelling in the night reminded her she wasn’t in the safe cocoon of Steele’s arms anymore.

She was back in her world—the one where life could change in a blink, where shadows lurked in every alley. And in her experience, shadows meant fear.

The high from Steele’s touch ebbed, leaving behind an ache she didn’t know how to name. She’d fought so hard to get her career back, to prove she wasn’t broken after Syria. But the truth hit her like a sucker punch—she would never feel safe in her own world again.

Her reflection in the glass looked hollow, eyes too wide, hair wild from his hands. Her skin still burned from his kiss, but beneath the warmth was a shiver that wouldn’t let go.

Hudson glanced over at her, his slow drawl softer now. “You’re quiet.”

“I’m fine,” she lied again, forcing a smile she couldn’t maintain.

Because no matter how good he made her feel, no matter how deep his touch sank into her bones, the night reminded her of one hard truth—safety was a fantasy. And once she stepped out of his SUV, she’d be on her own again.