Their Sin City Showgirl (The American Soldier Collection 7)

“Conway, it has to be like this.”

“No. It doesn’t. What will get you to trust us, and accept that we have deep feelings for you? What?” Lincoln asked, raising his voice.

She looked at them and shook her head.

“I don’t know. I just can’t let my guard down.”

“It’s the training. You’ve worked undercover for years. You have to rely on your gut instinct and your own experiences to survive. You’re stuck in survival mode,” Conway said, and her eyes widened in surprise.

“How do you—”

“The war, being Special Forces, and all the shit we experienced. You think it was easy to become civilians again?” Conway asked her.

“Why do you think we take on special requests, like watching over people with bull’s-eyes on their heads?” Calder asked as he caressed her forehead with his thumb. She shook her head and smirked.

“I don’t know. Maybe you like whisking the unknowing scared females off their feet and into your lair? You know, seduce them with your muscles and charms,” she teased.

“You’re not an unknowing female,” Conway sated.

“Nor some damsel in distress,” Brook added.

“No other woman has ever been in this room, and we’ve never shared one woman together like we did with you,” Calder stated very seriously.

She held Calder’s gaze and nibbled her bottom lip again.

She seemed to be thinking about what they were saying. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead lightly against Conway’s chin as she rubbed her hands toward the back of his neck to hold him tight.

“If I’m going to explain what happened, I’d like to be dressed.”

“Why is that? I kind of thought we would keep you just like this,” Conway teased and then cupped her breast making the towel fall away from her body further.

She pushed at his chest. “Like that would happen.”

“You disobey an order, ma’am, and a spanking or two may be in order,” Lincoln teased, and Conway chuckled as J.J.’s cheeks turned a nice shade of red.

“Here. This is all you’re getting. No excuses. We want to know what went down so we can help you,” Brook said as he handed over one of Conway’s T-shirts.

She looked at Brook.

“Panties?” she asked.

“I don’t think you’ll ever see any again around here,” Calder stated, and she shook her head as she began to pull the T-shirt on, and Conway, Lincoln, and Brook chuckled, but Calder kept a very serious expression on his face.

* * * *

They each sat around the room. Calder and Lincoln were sitting on the bed, Brook in a chair he pulled over closer to the bed, and Conway held J.J. on his lap in another chair next to the bed.

Conway was caressing her thigh, under the shirt she wore, and she kept pushing his hand down.

“How am I supposed to concentrate with you doing that?” she asked.

“I can’t help it. I enjoy touching you,” he said, and she rolled her eyes and gave him one of her annoyed expressions he was getting to know so well. She wasn’t all girly and dainty. She was strong and sexy, independent and capable. So why was his heart pounding as he waited with the others for her to tell her story? He feared what she would reveal. He knew whatever it was, it would make him and his team even more protective.

“So, was it your undercover job that landed you in the middle of this situation?” Brook asked.

“Yes. Uhm, just to give you a little background information, the local police department had investigated the disappearance of a young woman from one of the local casinos. A witness saw the woman leave with a male. Two days later her body was found.”

“Damn,” Conway stated. She looked at him and then continued.