Page 8 of Lacey's Fight

Hands tugged at the hem of her black long-sleeve t-shirt, pulling the sodden material up.

“Usually m-make a guy b-buy me a d-drink b-before I let h-him undress m-me,” she said, her voice slurred like she was drunk, only she never got drunk. One drink was her limit and most of the time she didn’t even have that, just a soda or sparkling water as she waited for a guy to catch her eye.

Those hands froze. “Are you making a joke?”

Through the pelting rain, she could see confused dark eyes looking down at her. It was more than obvious that this man had zero idea what to make of her. Shooting him the best grin she could while her teeth were chattering, she said, “Yep.”

The you’re crazy was implied, but he didn’t say anything as he carefully pulled off her soaked clothes, including the wetsuit, then covered her in the blanket someone else handed him.

Warmth was still a long way off, but she was alive and that was really all that mattered.

“The girl? Carmela? Is she okay? She stopped fighting me. I was worried that was because she’d swallowed too much water.”

Although the words fell from her lips in a chattering mess, her savior seemed to have no trouble understanding them. “She’s okay. Receiving medical treatment now and will be taken with the others to the hospital when we get back to shore.”

The journey back would take them a couple of hours. They were in international waters. The stupid young men who had bought these three poor girls had thought they’d found a foolproof way to get away with their illegal activities.

They were wrong.

And she would make sure they paid for it with lengthy prison sentences.

“Good,” she murmured, letting her eyes fall closed. “Good.”

So she’d saved the girl. Well partly saved. If it wasn’t for her tall, dark, and dangerous SEAL savior then it was possible she couldn’t have gotten herself and the teenager back to the yacht in time. By herself, she probably could have managed it, but with the added weight of Carmela and the huge storm, she might not have been physically big enough to perform the task.

Never one to pretend she didn’t have weaknesses, Lacey determined that she was going to have to get herself into the ocean every day to work on her skills until she could handle anything the sea had to throw at her. It might be a daunting and formidable opponent, but she wasn’t one to back down from a fight. Especially not when she might have to perform another ocean rescue in a storm, and there wouldn’t always be a sexy SEAL to come to her rescue.

“What are you doing?” Lacey squawked as she was suddenly lifted off the ground, cradled in a pair of strong arms.

“You’re hypothermic, I’m taking you inside,” he replied like it was obvious.

“You could ask,” she told him, amused. Alpha males didn’t faze her. In fact, she loved the fun of conquering them and getting them to lose control in the bedroom. This one would be a particularly fiery encounter, she knew that just by looking at him. He was all raw power and dominance, her body stirred just thinking about it.

Maybe they could even be friends after. Since she was always upfront about only being interested in one night of passion and fun, she often remained friends with the guys she slept with. It certainly made life interesting, and she was all for as much fun as she could squeeze in between missions.

All she got in response was a huff, which made her laugh.

Toughy gruffies, that was what she always called the grumpy, growly alphas who thought emotions were for girls only. Even if all she had to offer them was one night where they got to relax and enjoy themselves, show them the brighter side of life, how nice it was to talk and laugh and let go, she thought it was worth it.

Even if it did mean she lost another portion of her soul.

As soon as they were inside, out of the wind and rain, Lacey moaned in relief and rested her head against the SEAL’s shoulder.

For one microsecond he paused, almost stumbled. An emotion she couldn’t get a read on flashed across his face.

Before she had a chance to ask what that was all about, they were entering the yacht’s living space, and her sisters came rushing over, asking if she was okay and what she had been thinking jumping in on her own without alerting anyone to what she was going to do.

Later, she’d answer all their questions and ask more of her own about the girls and the men, but right now, there was something she needed to know.

The SEAL set her down on the couch and paused almost absentmindedly to make sure the blanket was tucked around her leaving only her face free and her hands so she could take the mug of steaming tea her sister Opal pushed into them.

When he turned to leave, she reached out and snagged his hand. “Wait. What’s your name?” How could she track him down later if she didn’t even know who he was?

Looking down at their joined hands a frown furrowed his forehead. “Ben. My name is Ben.”

Abruptly he pulled free of her grasp and turned to stalk away.

There was something intriguing about Ben, and she hoped that when everyone was safe and the men had been taken into police custody, the two of them could burn up the sheets for one night of fun.

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