Her Seal Protector. Jillian Burns

risk lighting their way again. No choice now. “We’ll hunker down here for the night, and then make our way to the extraction point at first light.”

      That decided, he slid out his knife, slipped the goggles down over his eyes and cut several large, smooth palm fronds to build a makeshift cover. Chances were it’d be misting, if not outright raining before dawn.

      He whispered for Gabby to join him under the leafy umbrella, but she didn’t move. “You checked for snakes?”

      He smiled as he flipped the goggles onto the top of his head. “All clear.”

      With a brief flash of white teeth, she sat beside him and he retrieved his MRE from his pack and offered it to her. “Dinner is served, ma’am.”

      He could tell she was trying not to grab it from him and devour every bite. “Don’t you want some?”

      “Not really hungry.” He pushed the ready meal into her hand.

      Ignoring his growling stomach, he sipped the last of his water. They’d be at the river by oh-seven-hundred. And back at forward base by lunch. He’d gone way longer than this without eating. Even before he joined the military.

      After hesitating a moment, she shrugged and finished off the food in minutes along with most of her water, then borrowed his knife again, along with his night vision goggles, and disappeared a couple of yards away. When she needed to return he called softly so she could sound her way back.

      She dropped down next to him, returned his goggles and then scooted closer, leaning on his arm. “How far to the rescue site?”

      “Less than a mile, I’d say. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.” He slipped the strap of the goggles over his head and scanned the area.

      “Do you think they’ll come back?”

      “Doubtful. They won’t want to travel far in this jungle at night any more than we do.”

      “Still...”

      When she didn’t finish her thought, he asked, “What?”

      “Do you have an extra gun?”

      He did, but he wasn’t about to give it to her. “You had any training with a weapon?”

      “No, but—”

      “Tell you what. There are a few basic moves that’ll get you out of any hold.”

      “Oh, like self-defense stuff?”

      “Yeah, I could teach you a couple, all right?”

      “Okay. I should know how to defend myself. That was one of the things I thought of the last couple of da—ys.” A huge yawn interrupted the end of her sentence and her head landed on his shoulder.

      “You should get some rest.”

      “You promise you’ll teach me those moves?”

      Clay smiled. The last couple of words had been mumbled. He’d bet she was barely awake. “I promise.” If they had time, he would. “Now try to sleep.”

      There was silence for a moment before she raised her head. “Aren’t you sleeping, too?”

      “I’m going to keep watch for a while.”

      He heard her exhale a large sigh, and then lowered her head back onto his shoulder. “Okay, good night.”

      After less than a minute her head drooped forward, and he slipped his arm around her as she slumped into his lap.

      Clay tried to ignore her soft body pressing into him. He listened past the bird calls and chirping insects for any man-made sounds, and scanned the area continuously while his charge slept the sleep of the exhausted, mumbling, at times moaning, or sighing. She wasn’t a quiet sleeper either.

      After another moan she turned and nuzzled into his stomach. Great. His body had a will of its own when it came to a woman’s mouth being that close to his cock. His pants got uncomfortable and he tried to slowly shift their positions.

      “What?” She lifted her head, the whites of her eyes blinking up at him. She sat up, pushing off his thigh with her hand. Her palm cupped his rock-hard erection. But instead of moving her hand away, she stilled. Several beats passed, yet he allowed her hand to stay where it was. She slowly began to trace his cock up to its root and back down to the tip again.

      He bit off a strangled sound. Before he could stop her she cupped his face in her palms and fit her lips to his, at the same time she rose up and straddled his thigh. He pressed her close, all the while his brain was shouting for him to get control. When she rubbed her hot center against him, he got even harder. He hadn’t thought that could be possible. He felt her fingers run over the short hair at the back of his head and he gave in, returning her kiss, coaching her to open to him, deepening it.

      Her lips were as full and lush as her body. He cupped and squeezed her butt, and she hummed her approval. He lost himself so much that, when she would’ve pulled away, he followed and lingered, teasing her with his tongue. He wanted more.

      She was kissing him for all she was worth, and he was letting her. His mind was thinking any minute now he’d stop. He shouldn’t do this. But his mouth moved over hers with the hunger of a teenage boy.

      When she finally came up for air, she was still clinging to his face, stroking his temples. “Make love to me, Clay.”

       4

      EVEN IN THE PITCH-DARK, Gabby could tell she’d made a huge mistake.

      Clay froze for an instant, then set her off his lap and sprang to his feet. “I need to check the perimeter,” he said tonelessly. His shadow moved silently away.

      Her face flamed and she closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe she’d done that.

      But she refused to regret it. She shoved her thick, tangled hair away from her face. She’d been kidnapped, thrown into a hole in the ground, shot at and almost bitten by a deadly snake. And she wasn’t safe yet.

      What about all the things she’d never done? All the risks she’d never taken, the chances that might have been lost forever. All her life she’d let fear prevent her from truly living. And fear of what? Of making a fool of herself? She’d survive that. Clay had returned her kiss. And that hard length beneath her palm had not been his gun. Her thighs clenched in need just thinking about the feel of him beneath her hand. Remembering his mouth moving over hers, his tongue, his hands caressing down her hips...

      Was she going to worry about disappointing her parents? That, too, seemed so irrelevant now. What if she died without having really lived?

      She clasped her Mary medal. She was done worrying about what other people thought. Done being the good girl. From now on she was going to live life to the fullest. Take risks. Go for it.

      Resolve swept over her, winding its way through her psyche, obliterating her embarrassment.

      “You awake?” As quietly as he’d left, Clay returned, giving her a verbal warning in his soft Southern drawl before he crouched beside her.

      “Yes.” She definitely wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon.

      An awkward silence passed. One thing she did regret was that her actions had made him feel uncomfortable. “Look, I’m sorry, I—”

      “No. I get it. You’ve been through a lot. It’s the whole ‘Speed’ thing, right? Shared danger can produce intense feelings of intimacy. But that doesn’t mean they’re real feelings.”

      “No.” She fiddled with the collar of her blouse, pulling the ends together. “That’s not it.”

      “Believe me. Situations like this—it’s pretty normal.”

      “No, you don’t understand.” Through the dark she found the shadow where she thought