Building Ties (Military Romantic Suspense) (SEAL Team Heartbreakers Book 4) (34 page)

“Sure.”

His sister didn’t have to beat him over the head with the hint to make himself scarce. He sat in one of the wicker chairs on the porch and propped his feet on the railing.

A sweet fragrance wafted from the large pots of pink flowers Zoe had put out on small tables there. The parrot lilies, with their woodsy stems and deep green leaves, seemed to thrive in the seventy degree temperature and added some color to the front of the house. The porch provided a windbreak, but Brett zipped his jacket anyway.

Hawk’s house had been comfortable before, but Zoe had added her own special touches. Tess would want to do that to their house if they decided to rent. A little more space would definitely be nice. She could have her own office.

Would an office make up for not getting her dream job? Probably not. He rubbed the tension along the back of his neck. It wouldn’t make up to him for the stall of his promotion. He wanted his own team. He wanted the extra money it represented. But he didn’t want to have to deal with the political shit. He was still chewing on the problem when a green Chrysler minivan pulled into the drive.

A woman of about fifty-five with short brown hair and big earrings got out and waved. “Is this the Yazzie residence?” she asked.

Brett sauntered off the porch. “You have the right place. Are you Mrs. Todd?” Brett asked as he approached her car. The woman reminded him of his first grade teacher.

She grinned. “Yes.” She offered her hand and he shook it briefly.

“My sister said you’d need some help unloading.”

“Yes, I probably will.” She dragged open the van’s side door. “Are you the fiancé of the lady we’re having the party for?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll try and make certain she goes away with some of our best products.”

Products? What the hell was she talking about? “Thank you, ma’am. That would be nice.”

All three of the three-foot tall rolling cases were heavier to lift out of the van than they looked. Brett wheeled one down the sidewalk, then backed it up the two low steps onto the porch and into the house. He left Mrs. Todd rifling through the one he’d unloaded and setting out some kind of display cabinets.

He had the other two unloaded and inside by the time the limo pulled up and Bowie emerged, decked out in black chinos, T-shirt and sports coat. With his sunglasses on he looked like a hit man. Brett rushed up the sidewalk to meet him. Bowie scanned the street before he reached back in to help each of the ladies out of the low-slung car. The fragrances of perfume and the distinctive essence of women accompanied them.

Each woman took a turn hugging Bowie’s neck and kissing his cheek, while they thanked him for his endless entertainment at the spa. They greeted Brett in the same way. Then they wandered down the walk and into the house.

Tess stepped out of the car and Brett smiled. Her red hair gleamed with copper lights and her spaghetti strap top beneath her black jacket bared the smooth, creamy texture of her shoulders. She looked good enough to eat. He might just do that later.

She brushed Bowie’s cheek with a kiss and thanked him, then turned to Brett. “I’ve had a wonderful day. Not at all the bachelorette torture I was expecting.”

“Good. You look rested and revived.”

“The massage was—fantastic.”

He’d heard first-hand how good the massage was. Standing outside the room and hearing her moaning like she was in the throes of passion had been enough. He’d been rock-hard and walking funny by the time he left for his meeting at the base.

“We all enjoyed the entertainment you provided too, Bowie.”

He tucked Tess in close to his body, putting himself between her and any threat, and shifted his attention to Bowie. “Entertainment?”

“Some of the ladies working at the spa thought I was some television star named Daniel Sun something-or-other. They stuffed phone numbers in my pockets and offered me free massages, so I just went with it.”

Brett laughed and shook his head. “Your name will be mud if you run into any of them again.”

“No, bro,” his smile gleamed white. “Daniel Sun something-or-other’s will be. But I do have a date. Unless you need me.”

“No, Hawk—” He broke off as his brother-in-law turned into the drive and parked behind the minivan. “Hawk and I have this covered.”

“I’ll get the limo driver to drop me back at my car. What time do you need him back?”

Brett looked to Tess.

“Ten o’clock,” she said.

“You heard the lady. Thanks, Bowie. I owe you one.” The two gripped hands and shook.

Hawk joined them, a plastic bag of something dangling from one hand and a twenty-four pack of diet soda from the other. Eager to get Tess inside, Brett left Hawk talking to Bowie and escorted her down the walk and into the house.

The ladies were in the dining room putting out platters of finger foods and pouring drinks. Their banter and laughter filled the house.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Zoe, Tess, Trish, Selena, and Angela wandered into the living room with Mrs. Todd and took a seat.

“Looks like it’s time for us to make ourselves scarce,” Brett said.

“Want a beer?” Hawk asked.

“Yeah, I could use one.”

They settled at the kitchen table. Mrs. Todd’s voice carried from the living room. “Ladies, we’re all women, and we all have a clit, and what I’m about to show you will make you a very, very happy woman.”

The word “clit” seemed to vibrate down the hallway like the feedback from a bad PA system. Brett’s head snapped toward Hawk and the two eyed each other.

Hawk half stood, a frown on his face. Then he shook his head. “I don’t want to know.” He settled back in his chair, but beneath his breath said, “U-uh, don’t want to know.” He raised his beer and took a long swallow.

Five minutes later, Brett went to get another bottle and then sneaked over to the kitchen door. Margaret Todd’s voice carried down the hall. “This model can vibrate and rotate at the same time.”

Female laughter, high-pitched and musical, reached him.

He sensed Hawk behind him, and turned to say something. The look on Hawk’s face would have made him laugh if he hadn’t been certain he had the same expression. “Your sister…” Hawk growled.

“Your wife…” Brett said, pointing a finger.

“Now, ladies,” Margaret continued her pitch. “This model comes in several interesting colors.”

Overcome by curiosity, Brett stepped out into the hall. In full SEAL stealth mode he eased down the hallway, hugging the wall, his steps light, almost silent. The living room opened up before him. Margaret Todd, the woman he’d thought of as grandmotherly, gripped a bright red dildo the size of a club in her fist. Tess was gazing at it with rapt attention. And worse, Zoe, his beautiful, Madonna-like sister, held a blue one and actually caressed the head with her palm.

Brett pivoted and bumped into Hawk. He used urgent SEAL hand signals to direct him back the way they’d come. They double-timed it through the kitchen to the screened-in sunroom and shut the door.

“Oh, Jesus—Oh, Jesus.” The image of Zoe stroking the neon blue rubber cock played through Brett’s mind in a horrifying loop.

Overcome by laughter, Hawk collapsed into the cushion-lined glider.

“What the hell, Hawk? I’m scarred for life. I may never be able to look at my sister again.”

Hawk chuckled.

“Oh, shit!” Brett exploded and paced back and forth.

“What is it?”

“That Todd woman said she’d be sure Tess got some of their best products.”

Hawk threw his head back and the sound of his laughter rumbled through the room. Every time he wound down and almost stopped, he looked at Brett and started all over again. He rolled off the glider and lay curled on the floor, hugging his sides while tears streamed down his face.

Brett fought the urge to plant a swift kick up his brother-in-law’s ass. He plopped down on the glider and rested a foot on Hawk’s hip. “The only thing that would be worse would be if Mom was here.”

“Stop.” Hawk waved a hand. “Don’t make me laugh anymore. My stomach’s killing me.”

“You won’t be laughing when Zoe whips that thing out in the bedroom and wants a three-way with Big Blue.”

Hawk gripped his stomach once again overtaken by mirth. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and asked, “Are you having a moment of insecurity, Brett?”

Was he? “Uh—no. A piece of plastic doesn’t say ‘I love you’ after the show’s over. And women need that. It’s just…Zoe’s my sister.” Brett covered his eyes with the palms of his hands and rubbed. “Geez, I think that image is permanently burned onto my brain.”

Hawk chuckled. “Have you thought about how hungry for sex they must get when we’re not around for months on end?” His expression became contemplative. “At least as much as we do when we think about them, and we’re hundreds of miles from home. Wouldn’t you rather compete with Mr. Blue than some real-life asshole trying to take your place when you’re not here to put up a fight?”

Brett thought about that. How often had he worried about Tess getting fed up with his absence and moving on? Especially when, for days on end, he couldn’t even call and tell her he loved her. When he lay in his bunk at night and his deployment stretched before him, with one delay after another keeping him away from her, those doubts kept him awake more and more.

“Yeah. I think about it,” he told Hawk. It ate at his gut, his heart. He didn’t have to worry about some faceless man, but something he couldn’t compete against. She loved being a reporter, was good at it. Would she grow to resent him because she hadn’t followed her dream? He had to know why she’d turned the job down before he could be certain, and thus far she hadn’t told him what happened during the interview.

Forcing a smile, he got to his feet and offered Hawk a hand up off the floor. He had to believe in his lady. If she said the job wasn’t as important as what they had, he should believe her. Tess was true, honorable. And until she’d met him she’d been pretty untried sexually. The look of amazement on her face as she stared at that neon red cock popped back in his head, and he flinched. “Come on, let’s get in there.”

Regaining his feet, wariness crept over Hawk’s features. “What do you mean?”

“If Tess is going to have a Mr. Blue to keep her company while I’m gone, I’m at least going to pick it out myself.”

Hawk laughed. “What—you going to buy her one for a wedding gift?”

“Naw. I don’t want the competition until the honeymoon is over. I’ll give it to her before my next deployment.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Hawk breathed, holding his ribs again.

The porch door opened and Tess stuck her head into the room. “What are you two up to?” she asked.

Hawk straightened and smiled. “Nothing. Just talking and drinking a beer.”

She opened the door further and Brett spied the short robe she was wearing. What the hell? Were they getting naked now?

“Zoe wants your opinion about something, Hawk,” she said.

Hawk’s brows shot up.

Was that apprehension he saw in his brother-in-law’s face? Hell, he’d seen the man take on armed insurgents without hesitation. Hawk had gone into a building about to blow at any minute and dragged Brett’s own ass out within seconds of it going up. He’d saved his life. He wasn’t afraid of anything.

Brett shot him a thumbs-up. “Go, Big Blue.”

Hawk shook his head and, as he walked past Brett, he murmured, “
Asshole.”

*

Tess bit her
lip to keep from laughing at Brett’s expression. What thoughts had gone through his mind when he and Hawk had peeked into the living room? She’d known the two men wouldn’t be able to resist. How could they, with Vera Todd announcing each product as if she was in an auditorium instead of the small living room? The gang had gotten such a kick out of the men’s hasty retreat.

Tess took Brett’s hand and tugged him toward the living room.

“What’s going on?” he demanded.

“Zoe did something today to surprise Hawk when we were at the spa.”

His brows climbed. “My sister’s full of surprises today.”

Tess chuckled. They rounded the corner and paused just behind the couch.

Dressed in a floor-length robe, Zoe pulled Hawk toward the couch. “Have a seat, Adam,” she said and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder in a nervous gesture.

“What is it?” Hawk asked, a touch of wariness in his expression as he did what she asked.

She slid between his parted legs and sat on his thigh. “They had this special makeup at the spa today. It’s for covering tattoos and scars. I bought some, and Trish helped me put it on.” She reached for the belt of her robe.

Hawk caught her hands. “I love you, Zoe. Scars and all. You don’t have to hide anything with me.”

“I know. I just want to be pretty for you.”

“You already are, honey. The most beautiful thing I ever laid eyes on, from the moment we first met.”

Tess’s eyes glazed with tears at the sincerity in his expression, his voice. The comment earned him a kiss from Zoe.

“It’s just my legs.” She tugged at the belt and parted the robe. The T-shirt and shorts she wore were modest, but the latter bared her legs from high up on her thighs. She stood and tossed the robe over the ottoman.