A SEAL for Christmas (All I want for Christmas is... 2)

“Of course.” He slumped down into his seat at the desk and scowled at the computer. “I’m surprised by you, that’s all. Figured you wouldn’t be the one-night-stand kind of gal.”

She bit her lip and he followed the movement with his gaze. What he wouldn’t give to be a set of teeth right about now. He shook off the crazy urge to stalk into the kitchen and pick her up. Set her on the breakfast bar and strip them both bare before taking her hard and fast and deep, fulfilling another one of the those forbidden fantasies of his where she was concerned.

He shifted to stare back at his computer screen while she washed and dried the breakfast dishes then put them away. In an effort to distract himself, he got back onto the US Congressional website and began searching the Senate members again and was able to narrow his search criteria to members of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he figured the members with the most interest in EnKor might be found. From there, he read each senator’s bio and service history and found only three who served on both the Energy subcommittee and were present at the oversight hearing on Fostering Innovation: Using New Technologies to Lower Costs and Fuel Environmental Reinvigoration. One senator was a woman, so he could disregard her, since the receptionist had told Shayma it was a man she’d met. That left two men, both in their fifties, white, wealthy, ex-attorneys.

He printed off their pictures, then stood and grabbed his coat from the hook on the wall.

“Where are you going?” Shayma asked, coming out of the kitchen to block his path.

“Back to EnKor. I want to find out which of these senators is the one who visited.” He held up the photos for her before tucking them into his pocket. “Be back later. Don’t forget to lock up when you leave.”

“Wait a minute.” She dogged his steps to the door. “You can’t just take off without me. We’re partners in this search for Aileen. And how far do you think you’d get showing up like that in the building? The guards won’t let you in.”

“I’m a Navy SEAL. I’d like to see them keep me out.” The fact she was right only annoyed him more. “I’ll get in, don’t worry.”

“How? By forcing your way in?” She crossed her arms. “I won’t bail you out of jail.”

“Wouldn’t expect you to.” He flashed her a cold smile. “You made your feelings toward me quite clear earlier. I’m great for a fuck, not so much afterward. Loud and clear, darling.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

“I don’t know anything when it comes to you.” They’d stepped closer to each other, now toe-to-toe. “Why don’t you just say it? I’m not good enough to bring home to mommy and daddy.”

“And why don’t you pull your head out of your butt for a second and stop being such a rebel for once? Rules aren’t always put there to confine you, you know. Sometimes they’re there for protection. And it isn’t you my parents would object to at this point. It’s any man they didn’t hand select for me. There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re funny and smart and kind and generous and loyal to a fault. You’d put your life on the line for those you love without any thought for your personal safety and sacrifice everything for a cause you considered just. Any woman would be lucky to have you in her life.”

A bit of the ice that had formed around his heart thawed at her words. That pretty pink color slowly crept up her cheeks again, letting him know she wasn’t as calm and collected as she pretended to be. And maybe, just maybe, she cared more about him than she was letting on. The thought had his blood running hot and his chest squeezing tight.

Murphy leaned closer to her, his gaze flickering to her parted lips before returning to her wary eyes, his slow grin widening. “I’m sorry too. Now how do you suggest we go about finding out which of these senators is the one

who your receptionist friend met?”

Her full lips twitched into a small smile. “You need a disguise. Maybe a delivery man. They go everywhere and no one thinks twice about it. A pair of plain overalls and a baseball hat should do it. We’ll get you a clipboard too and make some fake signing forms so it looks official. I’ll seal up an empty box and you can deliver it to the EnKor offices. While you’re there, you can casually lay your clipboard with the photos attached down on the receptionist’s desk and bring her attention to it. Then, hopefully, she’ll mention meeting one of them.”

“Huh.” Murphy leaned back and nodded. “Not bad. There might be hope for you yet.”

Shayma swatted his arm and walked over to the computer. “You too. Now let’s see about renting you a uniform to turn you into a delivery man.”

* * *

An hour later they were at a uniform rental company about a half a block from Aileen’s apartment. After signing the forms and paying the fees, they ducked into the back room so Murphy could change.

While he slid the khaki slacks and shirt they’d rented, Shayma went through the bags from the office supply store and set up the clipboard with the sign-up sheets they’d printed and the senators’ photos. Then she taped together an empty box and scrawled an illegible address on the packing label so he’d have something to deliver to EnKor.

Once he was set, they headed back out into the snowy, overcast New York day and headed toward the EnKor offices about two blocks away. The bags slung over her arms held his regular clothes and a few extra office supplies, in case problems arose.

They paused outside the glass doors of the skyscraper and Shayma looked up at him. Even dressed in bland brown and with the brim of his baseball hat covering his hair and half his face, he was still the best-looking man she’d ever seen. She took a deep, steadying breath and forced a smile. “Ready?”

He gave a curt nod and headed inside while she waited thirty seconds before following. The plan was for him to get upstairs while she wandered around down in the atrium as if waiting for a bus or something to arrive. Without being too obvious, she kept an eye on Murphy as he stopped at the security desk, signed in on the visitor list they handed him, then rode the escalators up to the second floor where the energy company offices were located.

She hugged her coat tighter around her and stared out at the bustling crowds. The sun from earlier had disappeared behind frothing gray clouds that threatened more snow. With only a few days left until Christmas now, most people tolerated it good-naturedly, but it was still a pain trying to commute in it. Back home in Al Dar Nasrani, per the weather app on her phone, it was a balmy seventy-five degrees, sunny with a light breeze. If she closed her eyes she could almost hear the gentle lap of the ocean waves against the white-sand shores and taste the sea-salt on her lips.

Shayma hadn’t been lying earlier when she’d told Murphy all those wonderful things about himself. Or about her parents flipping out. They were from a different time, a different generation, and they didn’t always see eye to eye on more modern ways of living. It was part of the reason she loved them so much. It was also part of the reason she wanted to find her own path, her own way in the world.

“Got it,” Murphy said, coming up behind her and taking her by the arm to lead her back outside.

“Already? That was quick.”

“She seemed in a talkative mood. Good idea folding that signing sheet in half. She spotted the senators’ photos right away. I wanted to get out of there before she opened that box and found out it was empty.”