Ride with the SEAL (Norse Security 1)

He needed to find out what Everly needed the money for, the sooner the better. If she was in trouble, then he’d deal with it. They might be complete opposites, working on different sides of this mess, but he’d known her back in high school—and yeah, maybe Loki hadn’t been entirely off the mark in the naughty fantasy department. Anyway, if Everly needed help, he was probably the only person at the moment who could give it.

With a sigh, he slumped back down into his chair at the table and lifted his bottle to take a good long swig. Just then the bathroom door opened and steam billowed out, followed by a half-naked Everly wrapped in a towel. She looked fresh and clean and…and…

Fuck it all to hell and back.

This was not good. Not good at all.

Cam clunked the bottle back down on the table, ma

naging to keep his mouth shut and not gape at her, but just barely. Based on the way his senses rioted every time she was around, he was in far more danger here than she would ever be.

“You finished in there?” he asked, not making eye contact as he sidled by her, eager for a cold shower to dampen his unwanted arousal. “My turn then.”

5

While Cam took his shower, Everly dressed in her same old clothes then wandered into the kitchen to have a bottled water and a powerbar. There was a TV in the living room, and Wi-Fi too, based on the strong signal she got when she checked her emails on her phone.

Feeling restless, Everly took her stuff into the living room and flopped down on the sofa, remote in hand. There was nothing on this early in the morning except farm reports and the local news. With reporters droning on in the background, Everly pulled up the text on her phone again.

Forty-eight hours. Shit.

What she should be doing was going outside and trying to rig up that device Cam had to steal the passcode for the Aeon and drive the hell out of here. She had no reason to stick around and every incentive to go—the money from this job would be more than enough to get her out from under her dad’s shop and the mafia’s thumb and get her established in a place of her own.

She’d dreamed of owning her own body and repair place since she’d rebuilt her first engine at the age of twelve. It was a dream come true. It was her calling, the only thing she’d ever been really good at. It was the sole thing keeping her going right now.

Maybe not the sole thing…

She bit her lips and caught a lingering trace of Cam still there—salty sweetness from the pizza they’d shared, a hint of spice too, and endless yearning desire. Truth be told, she’d always kind of found him cute in high school, in a hot nerd sort of way. He’d reminded her a bit of Clark Kent in his pre-superhero days, all awkward moves and buttoned-up perfectionism. Seeing him now, minus the glasses and pocket protector, all corded muscle and simmering strength—well, Camden Thursday had grown into a fine-looking stud. She was sure the military had helped, but there was something else about him. A quiet reserve, a steadfast commitment to doing what was right, that seemed to draw her in like a moth to a flame.

Honestly, she could take care of herself. A gal didn’t grow up in a garage full of men and not learn a few ball-busting self-defense moves. She could’ve escaped from Cam more times than she could count by now. Hell, she could walk out this very minute and never see him again.

Then the bathroom door opened and he stepped out into the hall—skin glistening with water and nothing but a damp towel slung around his hips to hide all his toned, tanned flesh—and Everly knew she wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. It wasn’t just the Aeon keeping her here, though that was part of it. The other part was Cam himself. He intrigued her, kept her guessing. And Everly couldn’t remember the last time she’d been with a man who challenged her like that. It was almost like a game of cat and mouse between them, and damn if she didn’t find it delectably fascinating.

He padded into the master bedroom to dress, and she swallowed half her bottle of water in one gulp, doing her best to dislodge the lump of need from her throat and stop herself from running after him and tackling him to the bed and doing all the wicked things to him that she’d only dreamed of until now. Things like licking every inch of his salty skin, hearing him moan her name, seeing him with his head thrown back, eyes closed, begging her to make him cum…

Everly cleared her constricted throat and focused on the TV, willing her feral libido back into submission. Now wasn’t the time, and this certainly wasn’t the place. Not to mention she was still working on a job. A job that held her future in the balance. She couldn’t mess this up, not for Cam, not for anyone. She couldn’t afford to lose her head or her heart over—

“Whatcha watching?” Cam asked, flopping down on the opposite end of the sofa. He’d put his faded jeans and olive-green T-shirt back on, but his feet were bare and his hair was damp, and damn if all she could think about now was making those bare toes curl in ecstasy.

Everly looked away fast and frowned. “Nothing. The news.”

“Right.” He stretched out and propped his bare feet up on the coffee table, twisting the cap off of a fresh bottle of ale. “So tell me again why you want the Aeon?”

She snorted. “Nice try. I never told you the first time. How about you tell me why you want it?”

He watched her over the rim of his bottle, those green eyes of his far too perceptive.

“Fine. Since you won’t tell me that, tell me how a nice geek like you turned into a robo-soldier.”

Cam swallowed a mouthful of his drink then sighed. “Do you remember what happened to Petey?”

“Pete Marshall, you mean?” Everly frowned. “Yeah, everyone in our neighborhood remembers. Those teens who killed him ended up getting tried as adults.”

“I was there that night. When he died.” Cam’s voice grew quiet, pensive. “He was my best friend. A nerd like me. We were walking home after the school’s science fair with our winning project—a copper clad volcano that erupted baking soda lava. Jesus, we were so proud of that damned thing.”

He gave a wistful laugh and laid his head back against the couch cushions, eyes closed. Everly felt the insane urge to hug him tight, to erase that sharp edge of pain etching his handsome features, but refrained as he continued. “Anyway, we were about three blocks from home when those punks cornered us. They wanted the prize money we’d gotten along with the blue ribbon. It was only fifty bucks, for Christ’s sake.” He rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “Without any kind of defensive training, we were sitting ducks. I tried to defend myself, tried to help Petey but those guys were so strong and we were way outnumbered. When I had a chance I managed to get away and run home to call the cops, but it was too late. Petey was dead.”

“Oh, God. Cam, I’m so sorry.” Everly reached over to take his hand, but he shied away. “I didn’t know you were involved in that. I just knew that Petey was dead and the guys responsible were prosecuted.”