Strong Silent SEAL (SEALs of Coronado Book 2) (6 page)

“Hey,” she said, giving him a smile.

“I’m not too underdressed, am I?” he asked as he took in her sleeveless dress. “We did say we’d keep in casual, right?”

She laughed and motioned him inside. “We did. You’re perfectly dressed for dinner.”

He looked her up and down again as he entered, his eyes lingering on her legs before traveling back up her body. Felicia swore she could feel the heat she saw there warming up her bare skin.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

She blushed, momentarily at a loss for words. She pushed her long, dark hair over her shoulder to cover how flustered she suddenly was. “Thanks.”

Felicia didn’t know how long she and Logan stood there in the entryway gazing at each other, but it must have been longer than she thought because her sister cleared her throat.

“You remember my sister Stefanie,” she said.

Logan smiled. “Yeah, of course. How’re you doing?”

“It’ll be a while before I stop keeping Mace at the ready when I’m walking through a parking lot, but other than that, I’m doing good,” Stef said. “Thanks again for what you did.”

She grabbed her purse from the couch then gave Chewy a pat on the head, her dark ponytail flipping over her shoulder as she turned back around. “I’m going to leave you two lovebirds alone. Have fun!”

When was out the door before Felicia could even give her the stink-eye or tell her to be careful. “Text me to let me know you got to the dorm, okay?” she called as the door closed behind Stef.

Sighing, Felicia turned to Logan. “Ignore my sister.”

Logan chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad to see she’s doing okay after what happened.”

Felicia smiled. “Yeah, me, too.”

She’d been worried about Stef the first few days after the kidnapping, afraid her sister might have post-traumatic stress, but by Sunday she was the same bubbly twenty-year-old she’d always been. Which was astounding to Felicia. Then again, how exactly did someone behave after they’d been kidnapped and held hostage? It wasn’t like there was a handbook.

Logan crouched down to give Chewy a pet. “Who’s this guy?”

Felicia smiled. “This is Chewbacca, but I call him Chewy for short.”

Logan flashed her a grin. “Big
Star Wars
fan, huh?”

“Huge,” she admitted then added, “I know. I’m a nerd.”

He chuckled as he got to his feet. “Then it makes me one, too. I’ve got the original movies on Blu-Ray.”

“I don’t feel so bad then,” she said. “Can I get you a beer?”

Logan nodded. “Thanks.”

He followed her over to the island separating the kitchen from the living room. “How the heck did you get a condo this close to the beach, and in Pacific Beach no less? This area is always in demand.”

She glanced at him over her shoulder as she reached into the fridge to grab a beer for him and a wine cooler for her. “My parents owned it, and I kept it after they passed away. It’s the only way I could ever afford to live here.”

Regret crossed his face. “I had no idea your mom and dad were gone. I’m sorry.”

She set the bottle of beer on the counter in front of him. “Thanks.”

“How old were you and your sister when they passed away?”

“I was twenty-two and Stef was sixteen.”

He shook his head. “Damn. That must have been tough.”

“It was.” She gave him a small smile. “But now I don’t have anything except happy memories of them.”

“I’m glad.” He opened the bottle and took a swig of beer then looked around. “Do you need any help with dinner?”

She grinned. “I’m making you dinner, remember? Besides, everything is already in the oven.”

Picking up a chip, she dipped it into the fresh salsa then popped it into her mouth. On the other side of the island, Logan did the same.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think these were homemade,” he said.

“They are. I made them. The salsa, too.”

“You made chips and salsa?” He regarded her in awe. “Okay, consider me impressed.”

“They’re actually very easy to make.”

“For you, maybe. I’m the guy who can burn things in a microwave, remember?” He helped himself to another chip. “How’d you get so good at it?”

Felicia laughed. “I’m a wedding planner, and when my partner and I first started our business, we had to do all our own catering, including making wedding cakes. We both honed our skills in the kitchen really fast.”

He glanced at her as he scooped up some salsa on his chip. “How’d you end up as a wedding planner? Did you go to college, or was it an on-the-job thing?”

His question surprised her. The guys she usually dated freaked when they found out she was a wedding planner. It was like they were afraid she was sizing them up for tuxedos the moment they met.

“I have a BA in hospitality management, but learned most of what I know after I got my first job,” she told him. “The biggest thing you have to be able to do is multi-task. Cooking, baking, sewing, counseling, money management—you have to do it all. My partner Heather and I have seen everything from the mothers of the bride and groom throwing cake at each other to the best man texting during the ceremony. Right now, we’re helping a crazy bride who insists on having a sunrise wedding on the beach even though she never gets out of bed before noon.”

Logan chuckled. “That seems fraught with problems.”

“No kidding. She’s driving Heather and me insane.” Felicia sipped her wine cooler. “You ready to eat dinner?”

If they didn’t, she’d end up helping him devour the whole bowl of tortilla chips.

“I didn’t know what you’d prefer, so I made chicken, beef, and veggie burritos,” she said as she carried the casserole dish over to the table. “Which would you like?”

“You pick first,” he said. “I’ll take whatever’s left.”

Felicia did a double take. A guy who let her have first choice? She didn’t think men like him existed anymore.

“I appreciate it, but it’s not an either or thing.” She sat down across from him. “I made several of each.”

The look of wonderment was back on Logan’s face. “If I’d known all I had to do to get a homemade meal like this was to save a woman from Russian kidnappers, I would have done it a long time ago.”

She put both a chicken burrito and a beef one on his plate. “It would have been a lot easier if you’d seen me around town and asked me out. I would have gladly made dinner for you—no Russian kidnappers required.”

He regarded her with interest. “You really would have said yes if I’d walked up to you in the grocery store and asked you out?”

Felicia almost laughed. He honestly didn’t know how insanely hot he was, did he?

“I really would have said yes,” she told him matter-of-factly.

Hell, as good looking as he was, she might have asked him out.

Across from her, Logan used his fork to cut into the beef burrito. “You impressed me with how you handled yourself the other day, you know.”

She grimaced. “I was scared out of my mind.”

He looked at her. “But you did what you thought necessary to save your sister. That’s all that matters.”

Felicia blushed at the blatant admiration she saw in his eyes. “I didn’t get around to asking the other day. What kind of work do you do in the Navy?”

“I’m a SEAL.”

She blinked. A SEAL?
Um, wow!
Despite living in San Diego all her life, she knew jack about the Navy, but even she knew about SEALs. They were like superheroes or something. She wasn’t surprised to hear Logan was one. In her mind, he was standard-issued hero material.

“Are you from San Diego originally?” she asked.

He shook his head. “North Carolina. These burritos are really good, by the way.”

She cut into her chicken burrito. “You don’t have much of a Southern accent.”

“I used to,” he admitted. “I lost most of it after I joined the Navy and traveled around.”

“Did you always want to be a SEAL?”

His mouth edged up. “Not really. My father is retired Army, and figured I’d follow in his footsteps like my two older brothers did, but instead I shocked the hell out of everyone and enlisted in the Navy. I’ve always been a rebel. Plus, I really love the water.”

Felicia cringed. “I don’t know much about the military, but I can’t imagine it went over too well with your dad.”

Logan chuckled as he pushed away his empty plate. “Not at first. But he’s okay with it, now.”

As she finished eating, he made her laugh, regaling her with stories about being the only sailor in a family of soldiers.

“My dad and brothers still crow like roosters every time Army beats Navy in football,” he added. “My mom usually ends up playing referee.”

Even though she insisted he sit, Logan helped her clear the table after dinner. They worked surprisingly well together, not getting in each other’s way even once. She and Stef couldn’t even do it.

“I have cake for dessert,” she said as she transferred the leftover burritos to a plastic container. “Want some?”

Logan flashed her a grin. “I never say no to dessert.”

In the living room, Chewy lifted his head from the couch at the mention of dessert, but then put it back down on his paws again after figuring out he wouldn’t get any of it.

When she took one small cake out of the fridge then three others—each a different flavor—his eyes widened.

“Tell me you didn’t make all these cakes for me.”

She laughed. “No. These are samples different caterers give my partner and me in the hope we’ll hire them to make wedding cakes. Perks of the business.”

They sat at the kitchen table for the next two hours tasting the different cakes and talking about everything from what kind of movies they liked to whether the Chargers would make the Super Bowl. It was refreshing to be with a guy who didn’t think sports were strictly a male domain.

She’d opened her mouth to suggest they go into the living room when Logan asked if she wanted to go for a walk on the beach.

“It seems a shame to live this close to the ocean and not make use of it,” he added.

Felicia couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out for a romantic stroll on the sand, and she couldn’t think of a better guy to do it with.

She smiled. “I’d love to.”

It was a short two-block walk to the beach. When they got there, they kicked off their shoes and left them behind some rocks so they could walk across the wet sand barefoot. The moonlight reflected off the gentle surf, making the already perfect evening seem more magical, and before long, they held hands.

They were talking about which sampler cake was their favorite when Logan suddenly stopped and turned her to face him. Even in the dark, she couldn’t mistake the hunger in his eyes.

He was going to kiss her.

Pulse skipping a beat, she went up on tiptoe, meeting him halfway.

When his mouth came down on hers, she moaned, loving the way the salty sea spray on his lips mixed with the hint of chocolate still left on his tongue from the cakes they’d sampled. But the delicious, masculine taste uniquely Logan’s was even more powerful than either of those. She ran her hands up the front of his T-shirt, exploring the muscles beneath as she savored every little bit of him.

One hand slid into her long hair while the other glided down her back to cup her ass through the thin material of her dress and sending tingles chasing all over her body. That was when she noticed the solid and very sizable bulge in the front of his cargo shorts. Knowing he was as turned on as she was made her whimper out loud.

She’d never done anything as crazy as make out on the beach before, even one that was deserted at this time of night. But as Logan trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck, she decided that maybe she should be open to new experiences.

Logan lifted his head and slowly spun her around until she faced the ocean, her back pressed tightly against him. His arms came around her, wrapping around her middle and tugging her closer until her ass was firmly against the hard-on in his shorts.

She let her head fall back on his muscular chest, rotating her hips ever so slightly. Logan pressed his lips to the curve of her neck with a groan, one hand cupping her breast. It would be so easy to do it right here on the beach in the dark. She could lift the back of her dress while he unzipped his shorts. They could stand like this and no one would have a clue. Until she cried out in pleasure, of course.

The idea of doing something so crazy shocked her. She liked playing it safe, especially when it came to men. But being with a man as gorgeous, sexy, and perfect as Logan made her want to do all kinds of insane stuff she’d never tried before.

She was trying to decide whether to reach back and undo his zipper herself or simply resort to begging him to take her right there on the beach when Logan leaned over and whispered in her ear.

“You’re starting to shiver. We should go back to your apartment.”

Felicia wanted to tell him her shivering had nothing to do with the cold breeze coming off the waves and everything to do with him, but she could only nod. Was it too much to hope he’d suggest they go somewhere more private?

But when they got to her apartment and she asked if he wanted to come in, he shook his head.

“I want to, I really do,” he murmured, his voice low and sexy. “More than you could possibly imagine.”

Felicia doubted it. Her imagination was working overtime right about then.

“But if I go inside with you, we’re going to pick up where we left off at the beach,” he added.

“Is that so bad?” she countered.

He chuckled softly. “Not at all. But I think maybe we should take our time. Call me crazy, but I’m getting the feeling we have a spark. It might be nice to see where it goes if we let it.”

The part of her that wanted to rip his clothes off on the beach was bummed, but the part that liked to take her time when it came to relationships was thrilled she might finally have found a guy who felt the same way she did about these things.

She smiled. “I’m good with that. I don’t mind taking our time.”

Logan kissed her long and slow, and the touch of his lips was almost enough to make her change her mind.

He pulled away to grin down at her. “One of the guys on the Team is having a promotion party and cookout on Sunday at his place. Would you’d like to go with me? If it isn’t too soon to go out again, I mean.”