A SEAL's Courage (Military Match #1)(51)

Her heart clenched for the grief he clearly hadn’t let go of yet. She stroked her fingers over his chest, offering him what she hoped was a pleasant smile. “Then we should go have a drink in his honor.”

His gaze returned to her, warmth and something that looked a lot like relief shining in his eyes. “Exactly. I’m hoping you being there will help.”

She brushed her mouth over his. “I shall do my best to keep you distracted, then.”

*



As it turned out, Lauren kept her promise. They ended up in a jazz club. The place hosted a local live band every night, and you could order food and drinks while you watched them play. Okay, so he preferred eighties hard rock, but while the place was full, the space didn’t give him the sensation of being closed in. The music wasn’t thundering through his head or setting off a flashback, but was mellow and soothing.

Seated in a booth at the back of the club, Trent was nursing a beer. Lauren had chosen some fruity, icy mix. Being here amazed him. He hadn’t been in a bar since before he’d come home. Or hell, a restaurant for that matter. Normally, he couldn’t handle crowded, noisy spaces. Tonight, though, Lauren’s presence beside him soothed whatever raw nerves he might have had.

She turned to smile at him, a soft, self-pleased light in her eyes. “You’re enjoying yourself.”

“I actually am.” So much so he couldn’t wait to get her home. When he’d agree to their new arrangement, he’d had all kinds of lofty plans. He’d make her wait until tomorrow night, and he’d do it right. Take his time. Seduce her with wine and dinner. Hell, she deserved it. And more.

Now? Now he ached to feel her supple skin against his. To bury himself inside of her and make her a part of him. She was right. If all they had was another two weeks, he wanted as much of her as he could get. He wanted to make love to her until they were exhausted and spent. Then fall asleep wrapped around her. Since their conversation earlier, he couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d said. He’d pondered continuing what they had only to come to the same conclusion. The thought of losing her still scared the crap out of him. Eventually he’d push her beyond her tolerance. He’d fail her, the way he had AJ and Cooper and, hell, even Wendy. And then she’d hate him.

He ought to be letting her go. Let her find someone else who could give her everything he couldn’t. Continuing even for the next two weeks was selfish and he damn well knew it. But he couldn’t make himself end it.

He wanted this time with her. Memories to take with him when it ended, to keep him warm in the dark loneliness of night. But he had no desire to wait until tomorrow to make love to her.

He blindly groped for her hand, threading their fingers once he found it, and leaned his mouth beside her ear so she’d hear him over the music, and because he meant the words only for her. He prayed she understood. “Tonight.”

She nodded, shivering against his side. Her eyes drooped to half-mast, burning through him. She shifted their combined hands, sliding hers over his thigh beneath the table and inching upward. In two seconds flat, he was hard, his cock swelling and thickening behind his zipper.

He halted the movement of her hand before she managed to reach her destination, and shook his head, then turned back to the band. She made him feel…human. Normal. She’d taken him places he didn’t think he could have gotten to on his own. And he wanted to hold on to it for just a while longer.

They spent the next hour sipping drinks and sharing a basket of fries. Needing the physical connection, he kept hold of one of her hands, idly stroking the delicate inner skin of her wrist. Her awareness of him prickled in the air between them, creating a delicious but relaxed tension.

When the band took a small break, Lauren leaned toward him, her warm breath whispering over his cheek. “Time to go home.”

The husky tone of her voice had his cock swelling to life all over again. He nodded, because he couldn’t have refused if he tried.

She stood, pulling him up with her, and he took a moment to drop a tip for the waitress on the table before letting Lauren pull him outside. They’d agreed before leaving to take a cab home. Waiting on the cool, darkened Seattle street, he stood behind her, arms wrapped around her. She leaned her head back on his shoulder, but her hands were restless, sliding up and down his thighs.

The cab ride itself had to be the most torturous drive he’d ever endured and seemed to take forever. They rode in unbearable silence, the tension prickling in the air between them. Antsy with anticipation, he couldn’t keep his knee from bouncing. His erection pressed painfully against his zipper, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it because they weren’t alone.

Lauren seemed to enjoy his torture. One glance at her had him swallowing a groan. Mischief and amusement danced in those gorgeous eyes, mixing with a heat that only added fuel to the blaze in his belly. “Restless?”

The minx.

He rolled his eyes, but damned if he could stop his smile all the same. “You’re enjoying my torture far too much, doll.”

She squeezed his thigh. “Going out was your idea.”

He shot her a sideways glare, resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to take that hand burning through his jeans and curl it around him just to ease the ache. “So it was.”

Twenty minutes later, the cab finally stopped in front of her house. Lauren released his knee and climbed from the car. Trent took a moment to pull his wallet from his back pocket. He got out two twenties and tossed them at the driver, but didn’t wait for change.