Page 8 of SEAL's Tempest
This man was making her lose her mind. The next few days would be torture unless she kept him at arm’s length. It seemed like the best idea—the safest for sure. The missions had to take precedence. There was too much riding on their success for it to be otherwise, the most important being her sister’s life.
Tempest shook her head as they drove up to the gate. After showing their credentials to the guards, they were waved onto base. Stealing a furtive glance at Josh, she held back a sigh as she examined his strong profile. She loved the way his light-brown hair curled over the edge of his collar, and how it looked golden in the setting sun.
If she didn’t stop this, she’d be drooling all over the man soon. Disgusted at herself, she focused on staring at the sunset through the passenger’s side window. She had about nine hours to solidify her plan on how to sneak away from the team to carry out her mission. She had to get a grip on her libido before it ruined everything.
Josh pulled into the base parking lot and shut off the truck. Then he turned toward her and winked, setting loose a few butterflies in her stomach.
“Are you ready to spend some quality time with a bunch of burping and farting men who are willing to give their lives for their country?”
“Oooh. Sounds like a trip to the country club. I can’t wait.”
Tempest climbed out of the passenger seat and turned to reach into the bed for her go bag. Josh beat her to it and dropped their bags on the asphalt next to her. After locking the truck and checking the toolbox in the bed was secured, he picked up his bag.
“Let’s go,. We don’t want to be late, trust me. Quinn texted me about an hour ago to let me know that we’re all meeting in the hangar. It’s pretty standard, really. There’s a small room set aside for that purpose, and we usually get our final briefing package there before heading out.”
Tempest grabbed her bag and followed him across the base to the hangar. Josh’s reference to not being late reminded her of all the times she’d repeatedly caused him to be late over the last couple of months. Had he been disciplined because of her? Probably.Prakeiktas.Guilt, thick and vile, coated her throat and ignited in her stomach, lighting her insides on fire.
Shame at her actions kept her from trying to meet his eyes as she caught up to him. “I’m sorry for all the times you were late because of me.”
As he turned to look at her with a shocked expression, it stoked the fire higher in her tummy. She’d expected his anger. Not the stunned expression on his face. It made her feel even worse.
When she’d moved into housing just off base, she should have figured other sailors would live in the same area. Norfolk was the biggest port in the US. Still, everything she’d tried to escape by after leaving Coronado and her lying ex. And when she found out later that he was a Navy SEAL made it all worse and she let her hate run rampant. Keeping her emotions walled away was the best solution.
After a moment, Josh nodded and flashed her a half smile that triggered a totally different feeling in her stomach. Then the remorse raised the hairs on the back of her neck, and guilt quickly killed the butterflies of happiness.
“It’s all good.”
“I can explain to Quinn—”
“There’s no need. But it will be great to be on time from now on.” Josh winked and smiled again.
“I’m sure it will.” Tempest tried to smile back. but the self-reproach rode her hard as and the acid churned in her stomach. She needed water as soon as possible before she turned into a fire breather. Silently she prayed she’d find a bottle or twelve in the hangar as Josh held the side door open and she stepped inside the huge building.
ChapterFive
As Josh followed Tempest’s stiff form into the hangar. he wondered what had set her off this time. He’d thought they were making progress, but her walls were back up in full force. When she turned to look at him with her eyebrow cocked, it was if she was saying, “well, asshole, what now?”
For the life of him, he couldn’t get a read on the woman. One minute she seemed friendly and even apologetic for having tortured him for the last few months. Then with the blink of an eye she gave him that look of disdain that he called her resting bitchface. Just thinking about her reaction if she’d heard him call her that had his lips twitching. Fuck, she’d probably skewer him alive. Josh had his sister to thank for that expression. And he’d be damned if it didn’t fit Tempest to a “T.
The large bay doors stood wide open as the crew finished loading their transport—a C-130 Hercules. The thrill of the impending mission rode Josh hard as he glanced at the huge plane.
Pride filled his chest. He couldn’t think of anything better to devote his life to than serving his country and keeping it free. Tempest infuriated him because she fucked with his calling. If his guardian angel was looking out for him, maybe it would be different after this mission. If not, they’d need to have a come to Jesus chat.
The hangar briefing room consisted of a conference table, chairs, and a whiteboard—just a scaled down version of the briefing room at HQ. It looked like a portioned section of a shed with walls of corrugated metal. But it served their purpose and made it easy to get any necessary updates before boarding the transport.
Josh hesitated in the doorway when he saw Quinn and Knox were in a heated discussion, but Quinn dipped his chin, letting him know it was okay to approach. It wasn’t the first time they butted heads. If Josh had to guess, Quinn was arguing about the HALO jump.
As soon as Josh and Tempest were within earshot, their conversation ended, but the angry expression on Quinn’s face told Josh all he needed to know. From his experience, when Quinn was this pissed off, it could only mean one thing—they were walking into a clusterfuck.
Fuck. Now what?The team would find out soon enough, but Josh hated to wait.
Josh led Tempest over to the table. Fergus and Lucky showed up a moment later, followed by Ry and Whiskey. Ry always took the dog for an extra-long walk to let him burn off some energy before being cooped up on the transport for hours.
Once they were all seated, Knox handed out the mission package. As Quinn met Josh’s gaze, he shook his head. Josh didn’t need to open the folder to know what had pissed off Quinn. JSOC overruled their suggestion, deciding on the HALO jump and then the trek through the mountains.
He sure as hell hoped Tempest hadn’t lied about having trained for these jumps. The free fall from thirty thousand feet in freezing cold temps while tucked into a cannonball position with an oxygen mask was no one’s idea of fun. Adrenalin rush? Hell yeah. Especially when the chute didn’t deploy until a thousand feet from the ground.
“As you can see,” Knox said as he glanced around the table, “JSOC decided the HALO is the best option for success, especially since the latest satellite images show no change in Zdolnihiv. You’re less likely to be discovered entering Marikistan, and it lowers the risk of exposure.”
