Page 38 of SEAL by Fate

He nodded. “Remember I told you I was looking for someone? I found him. He knows I’m here—we’re here.”

“What do we do?” Her voice shook and there was something in the depths of her eyes that drew him in.

“First, there’s something I have to do.” After all that had just happened, he needed to feel her. He lowered his mouth to hers, planting several quick kisses on her lips, truly meaning to not allow things to go any farther, but when she pressed against him, he knew just a couple pecks wouldn’t be enough. He then went in for an all-consuming kiss.

She responded, standing on her tiptoes and slipping her tongue past his lips. Needing better access, he pressed her against the door, taking her wrists and lifting them high above her head until he could feel her firm breasts against his chest. Her body felt so pliant and warm under his cold skin. He drew in her warmth wanting to never let go, even if danger lurked outside of the four walls.

He’d allow himself just a moment’s worth of pleasure.

He’d stop soon…

Gray moved his palm to one breast, cupping the mound and her whimper sounded from deep within her chest. He took that as an invitation to continue his exploration. He squeezed the firm flesh under his palm, loving how the thick nipple erected. She gyrated her hips against his erection and it took all the control he could muster to keep from ripping her clothes off and taking her.

He lifted his chin, trying hard to regulate his pants. He needed to stop, but why couldn’t he seem to find the invisible brakes?

Hating that he wanted her so much, he was losing focus of her safety. Hated that he allowed a criminal to escape just so he could save her. He touched her jaw ever so gently and she looked at him, question building in the blue depths.

“I want to do this. I think you’re wanting to do this too, but I must think about your safety and neither of us are safe here. We need to get off the mountain.” His voice shook.

“How? We’re stuck here,” she said in a low voice.

“Not now. I.—” He was careful what he told her, “Came across a snowmobile that I borrowed. It has enough gas to get us down the mountain. I left it stashed down the incline just in case these people would show up.”

“People? There’s more than one?”

He hated to scare her. “Yes.”

“What do we do?”

“I want you to go put on layers, as many as you can. Tie something around your head if you don’t have a hat. Take the blankets off the bed and we’ll use those also. It’s below freezing out there and even colder on the snow mobile. I’ll extinguish the fire.”

“What about Lola? We can’t leave her.”

Gray scratched his jaw looking down at the dog who was staring up at him as if she understood exactly what was being said. “I’ll figure something out. Now go. We need to be out of here in five minutes.”

She wasted no time and was already across the room before he finished his words. He was glad she took this seriously.

Once he snuffed out the fire, he went through every closet looking for anything extra to help stay warm. He finally found a large tarp folded under the sink. It wasn’t a snow coat, but it would add a layer. By the time he’d finished, Stormy was back in the living room and, just as he’d requested, she was in layers. So many that she could barely move. He met her across the room, taking her hands into his.

“What about you? You’re not dressed for a ride at dark on a snowmobile.”

He smiled. He found it sweet that she worried about him, although he could handle himself. “It’ll be okay. I found a tarp that we can wrap around us.”

“Will we make it on the snowmobile somewhere safe?” The worry in her eyes made his heart skip a beat.

“We only have to make it to your car. I’ll take the shovel and dig it out. The battery was still charged.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? Won’t this person, or people, watch for us there?”

“We have no choice. The snowmobile doesn’t have the gas to get us far enough. I shot one of the assailants in the leg and he’ll need to treat the wound before he can move again. That buys us some time. We’ll abandon the snowmobile away from the crash site and with it being dark, it’ll give us some cover. Are you ready?”

He saw the hesitation, but she nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

*

“You need to go to the hospital.” Natasha pressed the towel against the wound on Phantom’s bare leg. The white terry cloth was quickly turning crimson.

He gave her a narrowed eye over the whiskey bottle he was sucking down like water. He swiped the back of his hand across his lips and groaned. “I can’t go to the hospital. They are mandated to call the authorities when someone has been shot.” He looked like hell. His normal neatly styled hair was messy and he was sweating profusely. “That fucking asshole. Twice. He’s fucking shot me twice!”

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