At the reception, Riya was practically bouncing up and down in her chair. Her black eyes sparkled. Riya had teased Gray the entire short drive from the church to hotel where the reception was being held. Miranda and Griff’s two-year-old daughter had seen him as they were leaving the church and had yelled out for her Uncle Gay-Gay. She wanted to be held and cuddled. Gray loved his honorary niece, but he was sincerely looking forward to the day that she would start calling him Uncle Gray.

“Did you see it all, Gray? You were seated near the back, and over to the right, so I didn’t know if you could catch it all. I was dying. I laughed so hard, I was crying. I tried not to make any noise.”

“Admit it Dr. Patel, you were crying, and it wasn’t because you were laughing.”

She bit her lip. “Okay, to begin with I was laughing, but then I was crying, crying. How could you not? It was so touching.”

Gray had watched as every single bridesmaid had cried. He’d even choked up. “It was one for the record books, that’s for sure.”

“I adore Susan’s kids.”

Jeremy had been the ring bearer, and Hope had been the flower girl. When Susan had said, “I do,” Hope had walked right over to her brother, grabbed his arm and dragged him up to the dais where the couple stood in front of the minister.

Mike and Susan, full of joy at the moment, had done nothing but smile at the two small children.

“I do, too, Mike,” Hope had said in that high pitched voice of hers, still stuck between a baby and a little girl. “Are you my daddy now?” she’d asked.

Mike had swept the child up high into his arms, “I am definitely your Daddy if you want me to be.”

Gray knew that Susan’s first husband had died while serving overseas when Jeremy had been a toddler.

“Can I say ‘I do,’ too?” the six-year-old boy had asked.

Mike crouched down so he would be eye level with the child. “Absolutely, Champ.”

“Can I call you Dad?” the young boy asked with a slow gap-tooth grin.

Mike cleared his throat. “I would be honored.”

The ministered coughed. “Would this fine family like to turn around so we can finish the ceremony?” he’d asked kindly.

“Yay!” Hope cried. “We’s getting married.”

Gray shook his head, coming back to the present and looked around the ballroom. He spotted the little girl in question, then smiled back at Riya. “Yes, I saw the whole thing. It’s going to be tough for any wedding to top that one.”

“Look at Hope out on the dance floor. She is definitely in her element.” Riya’s smile was soft.

“Is she that much of a handful when you babysit her?”

“I usually have structured play time, so there isn’t a lot of wiggle room for her to do too much outside of the parameters.”

“Is that fun for her?”

Riya’s eyes got even brighter. “Since I never babysat before, I was really worried about what to do. So I researched it. The kids seemed to like it, and I conferred with Susan afterwards and she said that they wanted me to come over and play again, even if I wasn’t babysitting. So I’m thinking it was a success.”

He was curious what the little scientist would have found to play with the young children. The fact that she’d researched it, slayed him. “What did you do?” he asked.

“Well, I wanted to do something that would both entertain them and teach them. I was always happiest when I was learning something as a kid.”

“Is that true now?” Gray wasn’t surprised, but he wanted to hear more about her childhood.

“Oh yeah, I love new experiences,” she grinned. “For instance, this wedding has been fantastic. I’ve only ever been to one wedding before, and it was an Indian wedding. This was totally different.”

He watched her eyes jump to the dance floor again, but before he could ask her to dance, she was talking.

“I bought Jeremy and Hope sketch pads and a bucket so that we could do a nature walk along the bike trail near Susan’s house. I asked them to find different kinds of plants and flowers and put them into the bucket, and then sketch the different kinds of bugs, lizards and birds that they saw. I had planned to go back to the house so we could research everything they had found on the internet.”

Gray smothered a grin as he asked, “How’d that work out?”

Riya frowned a little bit. “Actually things didn’t go to plan.”

“Really?” Again, he tried to keep a straight face.

“I had talked to Susan about my plan initially and she was enthusiastic about it, and said I should definitely try it.”

“Hmmmm.”

“So we got close to a little stream, and Jeremy heard frogs. That’s when everything went to hell.”

“He wanted to catch frogs,” Gray guessed.

“I just thank God the stream was only five inches deep, but it was almost all mud.”

“I told them that frogs are impossible to catch, and he told me that his mother let him catch them all the time.”

“And you believed him?”

“How did you know he’d lied?” Her eyes were wide as she asked the question. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t. He swept in for a swift kiss.

“I was a little boy once, I would have done anything to play in a creek, even lie. So what happened next?”

“Oh, Gray.” She laughed and moaned at the same time. “That wasn’t a stream, it was a slow moving mud puddle. “Jeremy jumped in with both feet, and was covered from head to toe. He was in heaven. Then Hope was crouching down wanting to hunt for frogs.”

“How muddy did you get?”

“By the time we got home, I had to strip all three of us down and throw everything into the wash machine. I had to steal some of Susan’s clothes. Thank God her wash machine is close to the backdoor.”

“Did you catch any frogs?”

“Not a one. Hope came the closest, that’s why I had to shampoo her hair three times.”

“I bet the kids had a ball.”

Riya looked at Gray in amazement. “How did you know? I thought the day was an unmitigated disaster, and instead I’m now considered their favorite babysitter.”

“What’s on the agenda next time?”

“I want to teach them how to make homemade ice cream in a plastic bag. I just hope that we don’t make a mess.”

Gray couldn’t stop his bark of laughter. “I don’t know how you do that, but having a four- and six-year-old make ice cream in a plastic bag sounds like all kinds of a mess. Hell, having my SEAL team do it, sounds like a mess waiting to happen.”

“Nuh-uh. I’ve read up on you guys. Only the best and the brightest make it in. You have to adapt on the fly. You’re open to new situations, new stimuli, and like to compete. You succeed in what you set out to accomplish.”

Gray tilted his head. “You read up on us?”

“I bought six books, I’ve only had time to read three. Then there were two studies. One was fascinating, it was the Personality Profile of SEALs.”

Gray hadn’t found and read that particular study until he was a Lieutenant.

“You’re amazing.”

“No I’m not, remember me? Research is my life.”

She had a point. He needed to stay on top of his game with this woman. “So did you read anything that scared you off?”

“Everything I read made me happy for Miranda.” Her mouth twitched and her eyes sparkled.

The little minx.

Nope, he wasn’t going to ask. She finally started to laugh. “I kind of thought it was a good thing for me, too. That is if we go out on a second date.”

“You can take that to the bank.”

Gray stood up and held out his hand. Riya looked up at him confused.

“Can I have this dance?” he clarified.

She jumped up from her chair. “Absolutely.”

Once more he was charmed by her delighted response.

“Ooops,” she said. It was then he realized she was short again. Before she had a chance to crawl under the table and every man in the thirty yard radius had a chance to ogle her butt, he volunteered to fish out her shoes.

“You don’t have to,” Riya protested.

Gray crouched down and grabbed her shoes.

“Oh yes I do, trust me,” he grinned ruefully, as he held up the first shoe.

“Aren’t you going to hand them to me?”

“I’m going to help put them on.” Gray realized he was developing a foot fetish.

She put her hands on his shoulders for balance, then arched her foot and he slid it on the first shoe. Gray couldn’t resist smoothing his hand up her calf as he helped set her foot down onto the ground. Then he held up the next one.

“I think you’re enjoying this,” she said, clearly surprised.

“Ya think?”

She looked more closely at him.

“Yes, I do,” she said with an impish smile.

He took his time putting on the second shoe, again stroking her tantalizing silk-clad leg. Then Gray rose from his crouch and took both of her small hands in his. “Dating a genius comes in handy. They understand what’s going on.”

He kept her close to his side as he maneuvered them through the tables and out to the wooden floor. It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly if he’d orchestrated it himself, the DJ started to play an old standard from the forties.

“Who’s this? I’ve never heard him before.”

“At least one Frank Sinatra song is played at every wedding. It’s mandatory,” Gray told her. Riya swayed closer to him, in time to the music. The top of her head came up to his chin. It was only because of those killer shoes.

“I like him.”

So did he. Especially if it meant that Riya’s head was resting on his chest. Her hair smelled like raspberries and some kind of flower. Gray kept his hand resting lightly on her back, tracing the bottom of her tattoo with his thumb.

She shivered.

The song morphed into something from Ed Sheeran, and Riya melted even closer. When was the last time he felt like this?

Never. That was when.

“Loo? Oh, Lieutenant Tyler.”

What asshole teammate of mine is interrupting the good thing I’ve got going on?

Gray looked up and saw Dex grinning at him. That was when he took note of the fact that they were playing some blasted pop song. People were getting their groove on all around them, while he and Riya were lost in their own little bubble.

She looked up at him with a twinkle in her eye. “I think this is our cue to say good-bye to the happy couple and leave.” Riya said.

Gray peered over the crowd and laughed at what he saw.

“What?” Riya asked.

He walked them through a throng of dancers ensuring they passed by Mike and Susan. He loved the sound of Riya’s laughter as she saw Mike and Susan slow dancing. The newlyweds were lost in their own little bubble.

“Still want to say good-bye?” Gray asked.

“I think we can skip it,” Riya said, still smiling.

Her laugh was like warm honey.

Oh the things I want to do to this woman.

Gray followed her as she made her way back to the table. Nobody else was there. She picked up her purse and he put her coat over his arm and they headed out the hotel ballroom to the lobby.

Gray helped Riya into her coat, then held the door open for her as they went outside to wait for the valet to bring up his SUV. Even next to the heat lamp, he saw Riya shiver.

“I have heated seats,” he said.

“That’s nice.” She pressed next to him and snuck an arm around him. Gray hoped it was more than just for shared body heat. He looked down at her, but her head was bowed, so he couldn’t get a read on her.

The car pulled up and he helped her inside.

The seat warmers weren’t nearly as nice as snuggling up to Gray had been. Riya watched him as he concentrated on the road. The rain had turned into a heavy mist.

“I’m glad you’re driving.”

He kept his eyes on the road, but she saw his smile.

“Why do you say that?”

“This is not my favorite weather condition. I end up driving like an old lady, with my chin up on the steering wheel and people whizzing by me.”

Gray barked out a laugh. “You sound like Aunt Jeanine. She’s about your height. Please tell me you don’t drive a nineteen-eighty-five Buick Regal.”

“What color?”

This time Gray did turn his head in astonishment, before quickly turning back to the road.

“I’m kidding. I’m kidding. I drive a Prius.”

Riya saw his look of relief. “Do they even have parts for a Buick Regal anymore?” she asked.

“Oh yeah they do. I have to go over to the wrecking yard to get them, but Oz keeps them on hand for me so that I can do repairs when I get back to Springfield.”

“You work on your auntie’s car?” Riya asked.

She was going to melt into a puddle right here in the passenger seat, and it had nothing to do with the heated seats.

“I’ll have to tell Aunt Jeannine that you called her Auntie, she’ll love that. She and Aunt Kristie will also get a kick out of Hope’s antics at the wedding.”

“How often do you talk to them?” Riya asked.

“At least once a week.”

“And how often do you visit?”

“Not often enough. I try to get out there for at least a week a year, and then an odd weekend here and there. They’re both in their late sixties. Their health is great. Hell, they could run circles around most Marines. Not a SEAL, but a Marine, for sure.”

“Don’t let Mike or Susan hear you say that,” Riya warned.

“Haven’t you figured out that giving shit to the other branches of the military is standard operating procedure?”

“They didn’t say that in the books I read. But I learned a lot about BUD/S, Jump School and Sniper Training. I read up on a whole lot of the missions that SEALs have been on. I’m surprised so much information is out in the public domain.”

Gray’s hands tightened on the wheel. “No kidding,” he snarled.

“Gray?” she asked. When he didn’t answer, she continued to probe. She hated unanswered questions, especially if she thought she’d made someone mad by asking one. “What has you so upset?”

“I don’t have a problem with some of those books and articles, but some of them are out of line. They describe too many of our covert ops in detail, and end up giving away privileged techniques and tactics that have kept men safe and innocents alive.”

“So how did your teams end up combating this?” she asked curiously.

As he stopped at a light, Gray turned his head and gave her a slow smile. “I like you Dr. Patel. I like you a lot.”

She wondered just how high of a temperature those seats went up to, because he sure made her feel warm and good inside. “Well, at least you didn’t snarl when you said that. I’ll put that into the plus column,” she teased. “Tell me why you like me.” She couldn’t believe how daring she was being.

“I like how smart you are. You immediately understood that we would have a counter-strategy in place.”

“Of course you would. You’re highly trained special operatives. If you didn’t, you’d be stupid and foolish. Nothing about you, Dex or Griffin strike me as low on brain cells.”

“You have us figured out. Ergo, I like you.”

The light turned green and he continued inland where the fog had lifted. Gray took his right hand off the steering wheel and tangled his fingers with hers. His touch was as magical as his compliments. She stared up into the night sky, ensconced in warmth and peace. The sight of bougainvillea climbing across a long line of fencing roused her out of her reverie. Riya opened her mouth to tell him to turn onto the unlit side street, but Gray already had his blinker on. Yep, the man had it going on.

Gray rubbed his thumb over her pulse as he pulled up to the curb and turned off the car.

“You awake, Princess?”

She rolled her head against the leather seat so she was looking into Gray’s blue eyes. “Yes. Do you want to come in for some coffee?”

He hesitated. “I want to, but I have to go into the office tomorrow and clear out some paperwork.”

“Oh.” Was that her voice sounding so disappointed?

“Also, if I go into your home, we’ll be on your couch for hours.”

Riya’s body clenched at the thought, then her mind clicked in. “I was only offering coffee.”

“Riya, you fascinate me. We would end up talking for hours. Then there’s this.”

Gray turned in his seat and cupped her cheeks. She shivered at the feel of his big hands gently holding her. His thumb feathered against her bottom lip, teasing and tempting her to open. She parted her lips, and swiped her tongue against his flesh.

“Do that again,” Gray demanded hoarsely.

Riya’s eyes drifted shut and she sucked his thumb into her mouth, loving the warm, salty and exotic flavor that was Gray. When he groaned she looked up at him from beneath her lashes.

His expression could have been pain or pleasure, but the way one hand started pulling the pins from her hair so he could weave his fingers through it, she guessed it was pleasure.

“Enough,” he finally muttered. Just the sound of his deep voice had heat coiling low in her body and she was twisting in her seat. Riya yanked at her seatbelt. It wouldn’t come off.

“Easy,” he said.

He slowly trailed his fingers down from her temple to her chin, then tapped the end of her nose, making her smile. Gray undid her seatbelt and pulled her closer. For once her mind shut down. She didn’t care how he’d made so much room between the steering wheel and his body, she was just happy she could settle sideways onto his lap. He made quick work of the sash that was keeping her trench coat closed.

“I’ve been waiting over a week for this,” he said gruffly. His hand slid inside her jacket and touched the bare skin of her back, bringing her closer to him. She felt her nipples pebble against the silk of her dress and Gray slid his chest back and forth against her. She moaned at the sensation.

“Gray, why aren’t we going inside?” she whined.

“If we do, it’ll go too far. We’re still in the get-to-know-you stage.”

He wasn’t making any sense, but her foggy brain didn’t want to figure out the puzzle. She was too busy focusing all of her attention on the rasping sensation.

“I don’t care that you’re confusing. Just kiss me.” She gripped the short strands of his white-blond hair and pulled down his head so she could feel his lips on hers.

Soft.

Hard.

Demanding.

Coaxing.

Gray was everything. He plundered, and his tongue plunged into her mouth. Her fingers lost their grip, instead her arms twined around his neck and held on for dear life as she went liquid in his arms. So much sensation as Gray swirled his tongue against hers, lighting up nerves she never knew she possessed.

Vaguely she heard a whimper as her hair rippled down her back and he pulled at it, another riot of sensation in her scalp that added to the brilliant feelings that had her rocking her body against his. She was startled when she felt his bold erection pressed against her bottom, but then she felt a sense of pride to think that she evoked such a reaction from a man as strong as Gray.

He tugged on her hair and lifted his head. “Stop squirming, or we’re going to be arrested for indecent exposure.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it.” All sense of pride and pleasure fled.

“Hey, I’ve enjoyed every minute, don’t you doubt that. I love your reactions, they’re beautiful. I just need a minute to get myself under control. You pack quite the punch.”

Riya smiled and pressed her forehead against his chest. She took a deep breath. Then another.

“Come on, let’s get you inside,” he finally said.

“Thought that was too much of a temptation,” she whispered weakly into his shirtfront.

He smoothed his hand over the smooth black silk of her hair, then threaded his fingers through it and pulled softly so she would look up at him.

“Sassy. I like it.” He kissed her, his lips such a pleasure and provocation. The kiss ended far sooner than she wanted and somehow she found herself resting against the passenger seat. Riya looked at the fogged windows as Gray’s door slammed. In a blink she felt the rush of night air washing over her as Gray opened the passenger door. He caught one of her hands and plucked her purse from the floor at her feet and handed it to her.

Riya was thankful for his warmth as his arm wrapped around her shoulders as he led her up to her door. Gray withdrew her house keys at the same time her hormone-muddled brain remembered he had them.

He pushed open the door and stared into her eyes. “Dr. Patel, when can I see you again?”

Riya thought through her schedule. It was hellish for the next week, she planned to work twelve and fourteen hour days. “Anytime you want,” she answered.

“Riya, didn’t you say you had a presentation due at the end of the week?”

“Oh yeah, I did. So I was right, anytime this week is fine.”

Gray’s laughter rang out through the night. One big hand slid under her hair to caress the nape of her neck, his other arm wrapped around her waist and drew her close. She had just a moment to see his blue eyes gleam before his mouth covered hers. A tidal wave of pleasure swamped her. Riya closed her eyes and savored the long moments. When Gray finally lifted his head she couldn’t help the whimper of loss.

“Wednesday night then?”

She nodded her head.

“Now go inside and I’ll wait until I hear you lock the door and you tell me you’ve set your alarm.”

Riya shook her head to clear it. She stroked her fingers over his chest. “Wednesday,” she agreed with a small smile. She stepped over the threshold. “I promise to lock up.”

“And set your alarm,” he reminded her.

“I don’t have an alarm.”

Gray’s expression froze. “Riya, your townhome is the last one on the block and butts up against a small park. Nobody would notice if somebody climbed your back balcony, or jumped up to your bedroom.”

Riya leaned against the doorframe and frowned in confusion. “This is one of the safest neighborhoods in the nation. I’m fine.”

“And everyone in your life lets you get away with that bullshit thinking?”

“What are you talking about? My parents, sisters, and even Anika’s husband didn’t say anything about an alarm system, and he’s kind of controlling. They were just impressed that I could buy my own home at such a young age.” She didn’t mention that Anika’s husband had made disparaging comments about a single woman buying a home.

“I don’t care how safe your neighborhood is, you need an alarm system.”

“Hey, wait a minute. How do you know about the park and where my bedroom is?”

“Because I did a recon before knocking on your door today. I wanted to check out the safety of your place.”

She laughed. She finally got it. “It’s a SEAL thing. You’re trained to think about bad guys.” She stepped back out onto the porch, and wrapped her arms around him. He held her close. “Gray, the world isn’t always a bad place.”

He put his knuckle under her chin so she looked him in the eye. “It isn’t rainbows and unicorns either.”

“I know. It’s someplace in between. I really do know that,” she assured him.

“Good. I’m glad to hear it. So let’s talk about an alarm system.”

“But, Gray, there’s another part of me that believes if you think the worst scenario is going to happen, that you’re just attracting those bad events into your life.”

His eyes turned upwards. She knew he was looking to the heavens for strength and she stifled a giggle. If they really started dating she predicted some conflicts ahead. It sounded like fun.

When he looked down, she was caught in his blue gaze.

“I suppose you like Ralph Waldo Emerson, too?” he asked.

She pushed away from him and clapped her hands in glee. “You know the quote! ‘Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.’ See, if I were to believe in the bogeyman, the universe would send me a bogeyman.”

Gray grabbed her hands and pulled her back to him. “You got it wrong. Never believe in the bogeyman, believe in a hero. Just put systems in place to keep you safe. But always believe in the hero. They’re out there.”

Riya trembled. She was beginning to believe.