Montana SEAL (Brotherhood Protectors #1)(26)

Still she hesitated. When a cowboy got up from a barstool and headed straight for her, Sadie grabbed Hank’s hand and pulled him toward the dance floor. “Show me what the navy taught you about dancing.”

“Go easy on me. I’m not fully recovered.” Though his injury gave him a recurring twinge of pain, and he couldn’t do a decent squat without tearing open the newly formed scar tissue, he could sway to a slow song and hold his girl in his arms.

His girl.

Profound yearning filled him as he pulled her into his arms.

Sadie slipped her arms around his neck and nuzzled her cheek against his shoulder. Her warmth pressed against him, made Hank long to be away from the crowd, in a room by themselves where they could peel away their layers of clothing and make love like they used to beneath a summer’s moon shining down from the big Montana sky.

No words were necessary—just touching, feeling, and breathing in the essence of Sadie. When the song came to a close, she lifted her face.

He took her offering, his lips closing over hers in a long, deep kiss that heated him from his toes to the tips of his ears, filling his heart until he was sure it would burst.

A lively song replaced the slow one, and several younger couples hurried onto the dance floor.

“What was the name of that song?” Sadie asked.

“I don’t know.” He took her hand and led her back to their table. “Why?”

“I want to remember it.” Rather than take her seat, she glanced around the barroom. “I’m going to find the restroom.” She stepped away from him.

“I’ll go with you,” he said.

Sadie raised her hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t go outside without you.”

Hank stood while Sadie weaved through the tables. When she disappeared down the hallway leading to the restrooms, a panicky feeling filled his chest.

“Sit.” Fin patted the chair beside him. “I ordered a beer for you. The waitress is coming.”

Reluctant to let Sadie out of his sight for even a moment, he lowered himself into the chair.

A waitress arrived with four longneck beers.

As she set the bottles in front of them, Hank leaned around her to keep an eye on the darkened hallway. He knew it took women longer to make use of the facilities than men, but the longer Sadie took, the more anxious Hank became. Finally, he pushed back from the table and stood. “I think I’ll hit the head.”

Fin ducked and grinned. “As long is it’s not mine you’re aiming at.”

Hank shook his head. “Navy-speak for latrine.”

“Oh. Gotcha.” Fin tipped his head in the direction Sadie had gone. “I’ll be on my second beer by the time you two get back.”

Hank hurried through the crowded tables and chairs and was blocked once by a waitress carrying a huge tray of drinks. The longer it took to get across the room, the faster his pulse beat. Where was Sadie?





8





Sadie wet a paper towel and blotted her face with the cool dampness, her insides still on fire from the dance with Hank. Desire raged through her, making her want to take him home to her bed and make love to him until night turned to day. And then they’d start all over again.

She’d never intended for her trip home to be a reconnection with her first love. It was about grounding herself and giving herself time to think about the next steps in her career. She was at the top of her game, but reaching the top wasn’t nearly as satisfying as she’d expected it to be. What was success without love?

Every night, she went home to the gorgeous, spacious mansion she’d purchased in the Hollywood Hills. She could buy anything she wanted, but she found she couldn’t buy love. For the past couple of grueling years, working on the sets of her latest movies, she’d dreamed of going home to Montana. Now that she was there, she didn’t want to leave.

And it all had to do with Hank.

She stared at herself in the mirror. “How the hell can I live without him?” she whispered to the anguished woman in the glass. Maybe if she let herself succumb to her desires, she might find that having what she thought she couldn’t have would diminish the heart-wrenching longing she’d lived with for over eleven years.

Butterflies fluttered in her belly. She glanced once more into the mirror, a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. Yes. She’d make love with Hank—assuming he still wanted to—and get him out of her system.

In the back of her mind, she knew it was like lying to herself, but her heart pushed her forward and out of the bathroom. She turned toward the bar, but was stopped when a dark cloth was flung over her head, a gloved hand twisted her arm up behind her, and cold hard metal pressed into her back.

“Scream and I’ll plug a hole through your back,” a gravelly voice said behind her.

Unable to see her assailant or where she was being taken, she danced on her toes to lessen the pain in her arm. A door opened, and she was shoved out into the cold night air. Fear and desperation spiked through her. If she didn’t put up a fight, her captor could take her anywhere, do anything, and perhaps even kill her.

Sadie refused to go down without a fight. As the door swung closed behind her, she planted her heels in loose gravel, backed up and twisted around, hoping that if the gun went off, it wouldn’t hit her square on.

The person holding her arm grunted and stumbled backward.