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JACOB SCRUBBED A HAND across his jaw the next morning, pouring cereal into a bowl as his coffee brewed. The scent of his medium-roast coffee filled the kitchen and had him feeling more and more alert, but his mind drifted.
Last night had been...amazing.
He was a man of action, so usually he was meeting a woman at a bar, taking her out on a date, or bringing her home for the night. Hanging out with Jessica when sex clearly wasn’t on the table for the evening was a new one for him.
And hell if he wasn’t that much more intrigued by her.
They’d sat out on her deck for over an hour, drinking beers and just listening to the waves roll in. He’d flirted with her but for the most part kept his hands to himself. She was shy, and he could be patient. And when he had let his hand rest on her bare thigh, the feeling shooting through him had been electric.
Something told him that when he did finally kiss her—or hell, make love to her—it would be fucking spectacular. Discovering what made her moan, listening to her little gasps and whimpers as he pleasured her?
Hell.
He’d be hard for hours just imagining it.
He might as well wait to take her out on a proper date before any of that though. But it was clear that the chemistry between them was palpable. When was the last time he’d just clicked instantly with a woman? From the moment he’d spotted her on the beach in that green bikini, that was it. He wanted more.
And the image of her down by the water, her brown waves ruffling in the wind, was now burned into his brain.
She didn’t seem to even realize how damn beautiful she was—sure, her friends were attractive in a flashy sort of way. But Jessica’s tempting curves were a sight to behold. And that flush on her cheeks was intriguing as hell.
His phone buzzed on the counter after he’d poured milk into his bowl, and he answered, seeing his SEAL team leader Hunter’s name flash on the screen.
“Hook, is everything all right?” he asked.
“We’ve got orders to move out,” Hunter said in a clipped tone. “We’re going wheels up in three hours. Be on base at eleven hundred for a briefing.”
“Shit, are you serious?” Jacob asked.
Usually they knew when situations were unfolding and expected an imminent deployment. To be called up out of the blue was somewhat unusual. Not exactly unprecedented, but it was bad timing since he was planning to ask Jessica out. Hell, he’d told her he wanted to take her out this week. He couldn’t exactly ask her on a date now when he didn’t know when he’d be back.
He didn’t even know where they were going or why.
No wonder he’d never bothered with any sort of relationship before. Not that he and Jessica were in a relationship, but life as a Navy SEAL was complicated. Plenty of the men managed to have wives or girlfriends, but it sure the hell wasn’t easy.
“Fuck yeah, I’m serious,” Hunter said. “Are you still with that woman from last night?”
Irritation roiled through him. Not that it was any of Hunter’s damn business who he may or may not be with. Even if he had slept with her, he wouldn’t be bragging to his buddies. And having Jessica referred to as “that woman” didn’t sit right with him either.
“Jessica. And no, I waited with her for her friends to get back and then left her at her place like a perfect gentleman.”
Hunter chuffed out a laugh. “Right, Joker. Sure thing. Don’t worry if she shot you down—there are plenty of other fish in the sea.”
“Asshole,” he muttered.
“Is her friend all right? The one who was in the ER?”
“Affirmative. Ryker drove both the women home, and Jess and I were waiting for them. On the deck and fully clothed, I might add.”
“Well aren’t you a fucking white knight,” Hunter said.
“Gotta eat and grab my gear,” he said, ignoring the jab from Hunter. “See you on base.”
“Roger that,” Hunter said before ending the call.
Jacob muttered a curse as he set his phone down. He supposed he could text Jessica and say he’d be out of town. What the hell good would that do though? She’d probably want details and would just think he was blowing her off when he couldn’t provide any specifics.
He’d call her when he got back. Whenever the hell that was.
***
JESSICA PADDED DOWN the hall toward the kitchen that morning, her mind filled with memories of sitting with Jacob out on the deck last night. He’d flirted with her and let her know he was interested but had remained a perfect gentleman.
They’d each sat in an Adirondack chair, beer in hand, and chatted for over an hour.
She’d almost been sorry when Ryker had come through the door with her friends. Not that she wasn’t happy Amy was okay. It was just that the hour had flown by, and she hadn’t had nearly enough time with Jacob.
Heat coursed through her just thinking about him. He’d told her he wanted to take her out and kiss her goodnight—part of her was almost disappointed he hadn’t tried it last night.
But there’d be time for that, she supposed. And they’d been waiting for Amy to get back from the ER, not been out on an official date or something. She was here all summer long, and maybe they’d go out a few times. It was nothing more than that, obviously, but—
She shrieked as she turned the corner and nearly bumped into a tall, shirtless man standing there.
“Whoa,” Ryker said, holding up both hands. “Easy there.”
“Sorry, Jess,” Michelle giggled, walking out from the kitchen in a skimpy camisole and sleep shorts. Ryker’s eyes heated appreciatively as he glanced at her, and then they both looked over at Jessica.
Ryker was ripped, with lean muscles across his abdomen leading down toward his boxer shorts. He had stubble across his jaw, and though he looked intimidating as hell at the moment, she knew that he wasn’t any sort of threat to them.
“It’s fine,” she said, taking a step back. “I didn’t realize you’d stayed over.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t hear us,” Ryker said with a wink.
She blushed, gesturing frantically at Michelle as Ryker turned to grab his phone buzzing on the coffee table. “A little warning, perhaps?” she hissed at Michelle.
“Well, I didn’t know he’d stay the whole night. We started fooling around after you went to bed, and one thing led to another.” The women glanced over at Ryker as he spoke in a low voice on the phone, not at all fazed to be standing there in the middle of their beach house wearing nothing but boxers. “So, Jacob’s not here?” Michelle asked.
“No, he’s not. I sent him on his way last night.”
“He was into you,” Michelle said.
Jessica shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. That doesn’t mean I wanted to sleep with him a couple of hours after we met. We’re planning to go out later this week. I gave him my number.”
“A date, huh? Maybe we can double date!”
Jessica shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. “Is Ryker the dating type?”
“Only one way to find out. He was spectacular in bed though,” Michelle said, her eyes lighting up.
“Oh hush.”
“No worries. I’ll tell Amy about it later.” Jessica choked on her laughter as Ryker came back over, frowning. He glanced down at Michelle. “That was my commander—I’m needed on base ASAP.”
“You have to leave now?”
“Shortly,” he said, reaching out to briefly tousle her hair. “Something came up that’s urgent.”
“Well, I’ll let you two say your goodbyes,” Jessica said, excusing herself as she headed toward the kitchen. She heard Michelle shriek with laughter a moment later and resisted the urge to turn around and see what was going on.
Last night was good. Jacob was unexpected, but also...a good thing. He seemed like a nice guy, had a ton of friends, and had rushed off to rescue her friend at a moment’s notice. The fact that he was hot as hell didn’t hurt matters, either.
She started the coffee maker, glancing out the window while her coffee brewed. Ten minutes later, Michelle reappeared in the kitchen. Jessica looked up, her mug halfway to her mouth. “Why’s your hair all wet?”
“We showered together before Ryker headed out—and let me just say, that man can do amazing things with his tongue.”
Jessica nearly choked on her coffee.
“I hope you made the coffee extra strong this morning,” Michelle said with a wink. “We were up for hours.”
“Why’d he have to go into base today? I thought they had off on the weekends.”
“They do, I think. Ryker said they were getting sent off somewhere—some sort of mission I guess. He couldn’t really tell me any details.” She shrugged, moving toward the fridge to take out her creamer.
“So...that’s it? They’re just leaving?”
Worry churned through her stomach. She’d just met Jacob last night, but certainly he’d say if he was leaving...right? They’d made tentative plans for later in the week, so he’d at least tell her that he’d be gone. “I’ll be right back,” she said, jumping up.
Hurrying down the hall toward her bedroom, she saw that Amy’s door was still shut. She’d have to check on her if she wasn’t up in an hour or so, just to make sure she was okay after yesterday. Getting caught in a riptide like that would probably tire anyone out though.
Pulling the charger from her phone, she swiped the screen and frowned, not seeing any messages.
“Everything okay?” Michelle asked, poking her head in the room.
“Yeah, I just—just wanted to check and see if Jacob had texted,” she said lightly.
“He didn’t tell you he was leaving?” Michelle asked, raising her eyebrows.
“Nope. Not that he needed to. We hung out last night,” she said with a shrug. “We made tentative plans for later this week but didn’t set a date or time or anything. Maybe he’ll be back before then.”
“Yeah, probably. I’m not worried.”
Jessica resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she followed Michelle back to the kitchen. Of course, she wasn’t worried—she’d just slept with Ryker. And showered with him. No doubt he wanted to see Michelle again if the interest in his eyes was any indication. Plus he’d stayed all night, not snuck out after they’d had sex.
But Jacob?
What was he supposed to do—call and say he’d be gone?
A text or something would’ve been nice, but whatever. She’d see him when he got back. Maybe.
“So anyway,” Michelle continued, and Jessica realized she hadn’t been paying attention. “We’ll hit the beach later on and then check out that place for drinks that Bailey was telling us about.”
“Sure, sounds good. Is she even working tonight?”
“I’ll text her and find out,” Michelle said, pouring a ton of creamer into her coffee.
“You got her number, too?” Jessica asked in disbelief.
Michelle paused mid-sip. “Of course. How else can we make sure to go when she’s bartending? Her boyfriend is one of the SEALs. Maybe she can tell us when they’ll be back.”
“Yeah,” Jessica said dryly. “I’m sure they tell her all their Top Secret plans.”
Michelle shrugged. “So stay home then. I figured you’d appreciate some details if you wanted to go out with Jacob. I know I wouldn’t mind getting the dirt on Ryker.”
“Fine, we can go,” Jessica conceded.
“Awesome.”
Jessica glanced out the window at the picture-perfect blue sky and waves crashing on the shore. Funny how their peaceful little summer vacation had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.
