Final Target (SEAL Team Blackout), page 12
“You endured some shit too, Teigen. It didn’t break you, and it came nowhere near breaking me.”
When she lifted her gaze to his, he saw a new spark in the light brown depths—a determination to jump more hurdles and overcome more obstacles.
He reached for her hand. As their fingers clasped, the sound of men running resounded all over the house. Teigen jerked toward the door and Crew reached for his shirt.
He yanked it over his head and pocketed the pill pack. “Something’s happening. Let’s go.”
They rushed out. Team Charlie all seemed to be on the move, their leader barking orders.
Crew spotted Overstreet. “What’s going down?”
With his heavy pack slung over his shoulder, Overstreet paused to answer. “Abubakar’s twin died. The one with kidney disease.”
Crew processed this news in a blink. “That means now we’re only hunting one man. No more mistaking the twin.”
“Sounds like it, but there’s going to be a huge funeral and probably some unrest. They don’t want all of Blackout holed up together, so they’re shipping us out.”
Crew knew better than to ask where. Overstreet either couldn’t tell him or didn’t know. He held out a hand, and Overstreet gripped it.
“Watch your six, man.”
“You too.” Overstreet continued on at a fast clip. When he reached the end of the hall, he turned back. “Tell…everyone…I said goodbye. I didn’t have time to.”
Confused, Crew nodded. His own teammates congregated to toss out a few words of farewell. When they were all gone, the house felt empty and silent.
Teigen spun to him. “Crew, we need to leave too. Now.”
His brows shot up. “I can’t just leave, not without orders.”
“Not just us—everyone. If there’s a funeral, everything’s going to be shut down. There will be a mourning period.”
He stared at her, not understanding what she was getting at.
She cut a hand through the air, exasperated with him. “Don’t you understand? It means there will be less people guarding the borders.”
Her words clicked into place and he grabbed her arm. “We need to talk to Sparrow. You’re right—this could be our only chance.”
* * * * *
Sparrow and Bishop had phones locked to their ears, talking to Blackout commanders and anyone else who’d listen to get them in the air or on a ship. Gunnison, who seemed to be the tech guru of the team, sat tapping away on a tablet and never looked up from his screen.
Crew asked Teigen to stick close to him, so here she was, in the way and with nothing to offer. Unless one of them came across a code that needed broken, she was just as useful as an Easter hat in a blizzard.
The space set up as headquarters was loud and busy. Men walked in and out in random intervals. When Ramsey paused beside her to take a call, her instinct was to move away, but not before she caught a few snippets of his conversation.
“The little guy’s all right, though? Getting used to his arm being in a cast?” A long pause and then he said, “I’ll be in touch. I love you both.”
Teigen tried not to stare at Ramsey’s back as he walked out of the room again.
“You look stunned. Everything okay?” The female voice brought Teigen around.
Lena smiled. The woman had a radio in hand and looked to have come with the purpose of handing the device off to someone.
Teigen shook her head. “I thought I just heard…”
Lena looked at her harder.
“Does Ramsey have kids?”
She broke into a smile. “Yup. Little Kobe. Why?”
“I think he broke his arm. He said something to the person on the phone about his arm being in a cast and asked if he was all right.”
“Oh. He’s young, so I’m surprised he broke something, but it is Ramsey’s kid and they have that huge house with lots of stairs. Who knows what the kid got into.” She shrugged as if this was all commonplace in the Blackout world.
A world they weren’t even supposed to have wives in, let alone kids. Yet the universes weren’t only colliding—they were overlapping. Ramsey could check in on his son in the middle of them planning their escape.
She glanced around and found Crew. He was leaning over Gunnison, their conversation animated with lots of hand waving and pointing at screens.
Suddenly, hearing about a special operator having a son and looking at her own husband opened the floodgates of Teigen’s hormones.
Annnd now my ovaries are exploding.
The possibility of actually having that family someday—with Crew—was within reach, and boy did her body want to take action.
She tore her stare away from his chiseled chest and the hot way he sliced a hand through his hair when he was deep in thought to focus on Lena once more.
“We ran into Overstreet when he was leaving with his team,” she spoke up.
“Oh. Yeah, they had to scramble.” Lena’s response was too nonchalant, too careful.
“He said to tell everyone goodbye.” Teigen watched her face.
Lena blinked. “That was nice of him. I’d better give this radio to Gunny. It’s not working right and we’re gonna need it.”
“Sure.” She stepped away, allowing Lena to go on with her business.
She spent another moment standing there before she realized she really was in the way. She’d just return to the room where she and Crew were staying and rest while she had the chance. Who knew what would come next?
The funeral for the terrorist’s twin could block off several roads through the city. She didn’t know a lot about the family in question, but she was trained in several culture’s practices and customs and knew that sometimes funerals could last days.
When she passed a doorway, she cast a glance inside. Sophia sat in a chair, her head bowed as if she were asleep. Teigen automatically looked at her hands just to make sure she didn’t have another phone, but they were joined in her lap.
Satisfied that they were safe from more sabotage for the moment, she continued to her own room. A single blanket was spread out in the corner. A month ago, it might look like a sad comfort but after all she’d been through, a blanket in a corner looked better than the fluffiest cloud.
After stretching out on her side with her head pillowed on her arm, she stared at the space. Crew’s go-bag was zipped up and sitting near the door for the order to scramble. Teigen took in the silence here. She hadn’t been alone in several days, which was quite different from how she normally operated.
Her work was solitary. When she was in Virginia, she lived alone. It wasn’t that she disliked the chaos of the Blackout team, but it didn’t give her many chances to think about her current state of affairs.
There was the not-so-small matter that her handler would expect to hear from her soon. By now, he must have heard the news of what happened to the bunker where she was held. Maybe he even thought she was dead. For now, she’d leave it that way—she wasn’t ready to pick up her failed op. She didn’t want to travel into another dangerous territory to pick up confidential information.
Actually, what did she want?
She let her mind drift over the question. The picket fence with Crew? The dog and the kids? The idea appealed, especially after learning that Ramsey had those things. He proved it was possible.
The mother of his child must always be in a state of worry for her SEAL, though. Who wouldn’t be? And after seeing those wounds on Crew’s body, she should want to run for the border and hop the next flight home.
Yet she had no intention of doing that. In fact, she wanted him more than ever. Right decision or wrong one? This inability to make up her mind was getting old. She needed to pick a path and stick to it—at least until shit went sideways and she was forced onto another.
Question was…where did she want to end up when this was all over?
TWELVE
Early in his military career, Crew learned there weren’t extra seconds to waste. You ate when you had the food and the time. Same with sleep.
He just never thought he’d be searching for a few moments alone with his wife in the middle of an op.
Sparrow and the others were putting the finishing details of their plan into action. In a few hours, they’d have a way out of Egypt and be headed back to the States. That left Crew with a small window of opportunity when no one needed anything from him and he could spend time with Teigen.
Hopefully alone.
Since Charlie shipped out, they could really be alone, with a door that closed, and he already had half a dozen lurid fantasies running through his head.
Teigen with her long, shapely legs wrapped around him in the back of his muscle car. Teigen spread out on their bed back in Virginia, the sweet folds of her pussy juicy and wet with desire, just begging for him to plunge his tongue deep.
The last time they were together, she’d surprised him with a black slinky dress and nothing underneath. Oh yeah, he’d made her come so many times that night they’d both lost count. And when he woke up, she’d tied his wrists to the bedposts using a pair of her thong panties.
As he reached the room they were sharing, he had to stop and readjust his hard dick. Then he pressed a palm against the door.
It swung silently inward, and he saw his wife curled up on the blanket on the far side of the space. Her eyes were closed, her lips parted, her face even more delicate and angelic in sleep.
Seeing her this way was what prompted him to start calling her angel.
Quietly, he closed the door. Some guys would leave her to get her rest, but he had no intention of going another minute without her in his arms.
He bent to untie his boot laces, toed them off and stole across the room to his wife.
When he sank to the floor next to her, she rolled right into his arms. All soft and pure and good-hearted. She’d jumped into breaking codes in order to make the world a better place.
She let out a soft sigh and snuggled closer to his chest. His heart flexed with love for this woman who knew even in sleep that he was a safe haven.
He tucked her head beneath his chin. Just holding her like this brought up a lot of burning questions about their future…and that throb in his cock still hadn’t gone away.
She shimmied her breasts against his chest. He forced down a groan and fought to keep from waking her up by toying with the small but sumptuous pair. He pictured her nipples, straining and rosy, a perfect fit for his lips.
As if his fantasy was projected into her dream, she rubbed against him again, and this time rocked her hips too.
He bit back a curse. What he wouldn’t give for more than a thin military-issue blanket on the floor. The minute he got a chance, he’d take her to a hotel with a luxury king-sized bed and all the soft, fluffy pillows he could fill it with.
She pressed her hips into his, and this time he couldn’t swallow the low growl in time.
Her eyes popped open. The light brown depths blurred with sleep and quickly sparked with lust.
Wordlessly, he leaned in and claimed her lips. The soft pout compressed under his seeking kiss that quickly turned carnal.
She slipped her tongue across his. He returned the fervor and tongue-fucked her while gyrating his hips against hers.
Skating a hand under her top, he stroked her silky skin. She rolled against him. Letting his hand roam up to cup her breast, he tore his mouth free to watch the pleasure play over her beautiful face.
Her lips fell open on a silent gasp. When he swished his thumb over the crest, it sharpened at his touch. Unable to hold back from tasting her, he rolled her onto her back and lifted her top.
She wore one of the sports bras that Lena gave her. Black and tight and sexy as hell.
He thumbed it up her ribcage and dragged the callused pads of his thumbs over her peaked nipples. She tossed her head and moaned. What he wouldn’t give to take his time with her and drive her to the breaking point before he let her come, but they didn’t have that much time.
He worked the bra off and settled in sucking her nipples. They shrank into tighter buds with each pass of his tongue. Teigen threaded her fingers into his hair and yanked at the strands as she directed him where she wanted him.
As he grazed one tip with his teeth, she muffled a noise.
He lifted his head and gave her a slow, cocky grin. “That’s it, angel. Don’t make a sound. Understand?”
Her breath whooshed out and she nodded.
Slowly, he worked a path of kisses over her breasts and stomach, stripping off her pants and underwear as he went. When he had her bare, he slid his hands under her firm ass and lifted her pussy to his mouth.
Their gazes locked.
“Good girl. You remembered not to look away when I take the first lick.”
A shudder rolled through her, and his cock and balls were pounding, throbbing, aching for release. But he wanted her sweet taste on his tongue, and only after she bucked against his lips in orgasm would he take out his cock and drive into her tight heat.
Holding her gaze prisoner, he delivered a soft lick to her slick seam. Her eyes squeezed shut. She clamped her fingers on his head and parted her thighs to give him total access.
Crew lapped a line right to her clit. Trapping it beneath his tongue, he ground her core into her body just the way she loved. Her stomach dipped on her sharp intake of air and her thighs trembled as he tasted her over and over again.
Only when he sank his tongue into her sweet channel did she make a noise. The soft hum just about stole his last thread of control.
Somehow, he pinned her hips where he wanted them and fucked her with his tongue. On each withdrawal, she squeezed. Goosebumps broke out on her hipbones where he held them. And he was beginning to question who would blow first.
Her breathing changed its rhythm and then she rocked wildly with her first orgasm.
He released his hold on her hip and sank two fingers deep in her channel. She choked on a strangled noise and splintered on his tongue and hand. God, he loved having his angel like this again.
And he was never giving her up.
Ever.
Moving his weight onto one arm, he shifted to get at his fly. In a few tugs, he had his pants open, and Teigen helped him push them down and off.
Sliding a hand under her ass, he lifted her to meet the jerk of his hips. In one hard shove, he filled her.
She found his lips and kissed him with all the passion he’d missed.
He threw himself into the moment, drawing his cock through her tight, grasping walls over and over again. She tilted her hips to the rhythm. Need slammed through him, taking his mind to all the places she didn’t want to go when they were discussing their relationship.
But this time he’d make her see just how important she was to him.
He was not letting her break up their marriage.
* * * * *
Teigen sank her teeth hard into Crew’s lower lip just to hear that animalistic snarl she loved. The noise that got her engines revving and stole the last bit of her mind.
She grabbed his solid ass and bucked into him, taking his length deep into her core. Her nipples were tight and aching. Her pussy on fire. She needed to come again—this time on her husband’s cock.
His gray eyes blazed down into hers. “Your fucking pussy is so hot for me,” he gritted out between strokes.
“Deeper, Crew!” Her whisper was urgent.
“Oh, I’ll fuck you deeper, angel. While I suck on these perfect…fucking…nipples.” He captured one between his teeth. The rough graze shot her need higher.
Her mind blanked for long seconds while he swirled his tongue around her bud. He lifted his head and trapped her in his white-hot stare.
“You’re not fucking finished with me, angel. Not by a long shot.” To punctuate that promise, he slammed his cock into her hard.
“More!” she rasped.
He crushed his mouth over hers in another of those drugging kisses. When he tore away, his eyes glittered. “I don’t mean finished with my cock. You’re not finished with me.”
A shiver ripped through her. Emotion and fear all balled into one hurricane that shook her. She knew what he was asking of her.
He wanted her to recommit to their vows. To pick up the shreds of whatever this life they had together was and find a way to make it work.
Could she get through the wall of anxiety barricading her in from all sides? She couldn’t even scrape her fingernails down his back for fear of hurting him.
But could she go on without Crew in her life?
“Say it, angel. Say you’re mine.”
Panic struck. Suddenly, it was all too much.
She looked up at her husband’s handsome face and said something she never in a million years thought she’d say to him.
“Wasabi.”
THIRTEEN
Crew rolled off Teigen.
Of all the times for her to use their safe word, he never expected it to be in the middle of some hot—yet vanilla—sex.
His chest heaved and his cock stood stiff on his abs, waiting for him to finish.
But that wasn’t possible.
He reached for his clothes and got to his feet, working his pants up and over his still-hard—still wet—cock.
She sat up, looking beautiful but as if he’d just slapped her instead of the other way around. “Crew! I’m so sorry.”
He didn’t respond. Everything inside him itched for a fight right now. Not with his wife—he needed a weapon in his hand and a terrorist to hunt. Maybe even the bastards who’d done this to her in the first place.
He pulled his shirt over his torso, heedless of the bandages and sore spots.
Jumping to her feet, she drew the blanket over her naked body and faced him, hair wild, eyes wild. The look of fear on her face cut him like a well-honed blade.
“I’m sorry you didn’t have a chance to…”
He held her stare. “I’m not worried that I didn’t get off, Teigen. I went five months waiting for you. I think we have more to discuss than our sex life.” He looked her over and then walked to the door. With a hand on the knob, he said, “I’ll come back to talk when you’re dressed.”
