“Damn Laney you look…stunning.” She looked more than stunning, she took my fucking breath away.

She blushed prettily and it only made my cock harden. As intelligent as she was, Laney had no idea she was also beautiful. “You said that already Bennett.”

“And I’ll keep saying it if you keep blowing me away whenever I look at you.” She wore a short black lace dress that should have been modest with its long lacy sleeves, but her curves combined with the low V-neck that showed off her cleavage, and the damn thing was sinful as fuck. “Now what do I have to do to get you on that dance floor?”

Her smile was sexy and flirtatious but I don’t think any of that was on purpose. “You could start with asking.”

Damn a feisty Delaney Watson was irresistible. “Nah, I think you’d prefer it if I just grabbed your hand like this,” I clasped her hand so our palms pressed together, “and just pulled you out onto the dance floor.” I did just that as a fast, pounding beat started up and Laney settled that firm round ass against right where I wanted her.

She was having a good time and torturing me in the process as that ass pressed up against me, bumping and grinding like it was her fucking job. I kept my hands on her hips but every switch of her hips brought my hand to her ass, daring me to squeeze it. “You’re a good dancer,” she told me as the third song started, leaning back and tempting me to squeeze her plump breasts.

“I’m just standing here, you’re doing all the work.” And lord help me but I would gladly be her scratching post all night. Laney might be innocent, and she might be shy sexually, but she was fucking sexy. More than any of the girls that hung out at the bars around 32nd Street down in San Diego with the sole goal of fucking a SEAL. Laney beat them by a mile, and she didn’t even have to try. The dress made her uncomfortable but she’d worn it anyway because I asked her to, and that was sexy as hell. “You feel damn good though,” I whispered, so turned on at the shiver that went through her as she turned to face me.

“You make me feel good,” she confessed with a blush that disappeared into her dress.  Then she stunned even me, tossing her head back, laughing long and loud and so hard her tits shook against my chest. Fuck her laugh made her the sexiest thing I’d seen in a long damn time. Red spilling over her shoulders, brushing against my forearm like a sensual goddess and I just wanted to taste her. Every inch of her. “Thank you for taking me out to celebrate, I can’t remember ever having this much fun. Certainly not with someone like you.”

“Well now sweetheart you’re just trying to make me blush.” Pulling her close, I dipped her low and brushed a kiss to that spot just behind her jaw. “Come on, let’s go get a drink.”

We settled at the far end of the bar and I ordered a beer for myself and another Mai Tai for her. “These things are so fruity you can hardly taste the alcohol.” She sighed and looked at me closely, maybe a little too closely. “You really are entirely too attractive Bennett.”

I laughed because some women would say that as a line, but I could tell by her dilated pupils she meant it. “That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

She sighed heavily and wrapped her lips around the straw. “I really shouldn’t be attracted to you Bennett. I can’t dip my toe in with a guy like you.”

“Like me?” I didn’t know whether to be offended or flattered, but I knew I would be entertained.

She nodded. “Sexy. Muscular. Masculine. You make me have…thoughts.” She shook her head to herself and grinned. “I think these drinks are making me say things I shouldn’t.”

“Let’s get you some water then.”

“No, I’m fine. One more cocktail and I’m done for the night. I’m not drunk Bennett, I just wouldn’t tell you the truth if my inhibitions weren’t lowered.” Her head lowered to my chest and I inhaled the fruity floral scent of her hair. She looked up. “I think I would like to kiss you again.”

My grin spread because this woman amused me. Made me laugh. “You think?”

She nodded, her posture and expression surer this time. “I would like to kiss you again. That kiss earlier was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

Hell it had been as incredible as it was unexpectedly hot. She was responsive and sweet. A combination I knew I couldn’t resist. “You’re drunk.” It was the only explanation for her candidness.

Her grin was sly. “I am not drunk. I have calculated the amount of alcohol based on my bodyweight and one more will allow me to maintain a feeling of euphoria one might call tipsy, without impairing my judgment. I believe the colloquial term is liquid courage.”

How could I argue when her logic was sound, giving me permission to do exactly what I wanted? “Well Laney where do you want me to kiss you then?”

“Where would you like to kiss me,” she countered.

“Well I would start with this spot on your neck, it seems to be a good spot for you.” I brushed my lips against that part of her neck, gripping her hips when she gasped. “Then I’d move down your neck to your nipples.” She sucked in a breath and licked her lips while the pulse in the base of her neck fluttered. “I would kiss every inch of you until you were writhing, moaning for me, and only then would stick my tongue deep inside your pussy and let you come all over me.”

“Wow.” She swallowed with some effort and took the final sip before setting her glass on the bar. “That doesn’t sound like something I would like, but my body says otherwise.”

Damn and I could not resist her candor, not at all. She was straightforward, almost to a fault. “So, you want to get out of here?”

She nodded and stepped out of my embrace. “I’m going to stop in the restroom before we head out.”

I watched Delaney saunter off, my cock throbbing behind my zipper looking at the round ass of a runner and those shapely legs that would be wrapped around my neck inside of an hour. Delaney was a surprise I didn’t foresee, but damn I’m glad the Commander chose me for this assignment. I shouldn’t do what I was thinking about doing. But I also knew I couldn’t help it.

Even if I wanted to stop it, I wasn’t sure I could.

I glanced at my watch. Ten minutes had gone by since I watched her saunter off.  I walked towards the bathrooms to find her, not caring if I looked like the creepy stalker boyfriend. Down the dark corridor, I spotted her mane of wild red hair and frowned. Some asshole in a Versace shirt from the eighties was manhandling her. I picked up my pace but kept my steps quiet. I approached stealthily.

“Remember what I said bitch. Anyone sees that research before I do and I’ll set your house on fire. With you and your little fuck boy in it.”

All I saw was a red flash of anger when his arm tightened and she cried out. The fear shining in her eyes pushed me into action and I wrapped a hand around his throat, pushing him against the wall.

“Hey asshole want to pick on someone your own size?”

“I have no problem with you fuck boy. My problem is with the bitch,” he said in a thick accent, shooting an angry glare at Delaney.

“Don’t you fucking look at her!” I leaned in close, adding pressure until he choked and gasped for air. “Who sent you here?”

“Fuck. You.”

I applied even more pressure and grinned. “Who told you about it?”

Now it was his turn to smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Yeah I would, but he didn’t need to know how badly. “If I see you again I promise you’ll wish I killed you tonight. Next time I’ll make sure you suffer. Got it?” He nodded but that wasn’t fucking good enough. “I can’t hear you.”

“Okay, okay. But you should know it’s not just me. Do what you want, but she’s not safe.”

I pulled my arm back and let it loose like a trigger, connecting with his face in a sickening crunch followed by another as his head smacked against the wall. I let him fall to the ground, grabbed Laney’s hand and pulled her along until we were out of the loud club and at my truck.

“You okay sweetheart?” I cupped her face and tilted it up to meet my eyes because I had to see for myself that she was all right, that the fucker didn’t touch her. Didn’t hurt her.

Big blue eyes were filled with terror and unshed tears. “I th-think I am. Thank you Bennett.”

“My pleasure. How could I resist playing hero to such a pretty lady?”

She gave a shaky laugh, squealing when I lifted her off the ground and sat her in the passenger seat. “Well you are the professional hero,” she told me, desire pulsing between us as I slid the seatbelt across her and fastened it.

I jogged around the front of the vehicle and jumped in behind the wheel. The drive home was mostly silent, both of us lost in our own thoughts about what had happened. Both before and after the run in with the Versace asshole.

“Let’s go inside Laney.”

She let out a deep breath and turned to me. “I guess it’s safe to say this is about my research.”

“Seems likely.” I helped her out of my SUV and held her hand as we walked up the porch and inside the house.

“I guess it’s a really good thing my new roomie is a Navy SEAL.” Her attempt at humor failed and I knew she was too shaken up to follow through on what we talked about earlier.

“Grab a hot shower Laney, you’ll feel better.”

I knew I made the right choice when she nodded absently and walked into the master bathroom.

“Bennett?”

“Yeah?”

“If someone is trying to kill me, then I want to have tonight with you. I promise I won’t ask for more, or expect wedding bells and picket fences. But tonight, just tonight, I want you.”

“Laney you’re killing me. I want to be with you, but after the night you’ve had, maybe you should sleep on it.” Damn being the good guy was hard, but if anyone deserved it Laney did. When she nodded sadly and closed the bathroom door, I knew I’d done the right thing.

I wanted Laney, badly. But this shit was serious. After hearing a more detailed description of her research, I knew things would get worse if I didn’t hurry up and find the source of the leak. Not that it mattered so much who it was anymore. The fact that at least one foreign government knew what she was working on meant others did as well. I fell back on my own bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about how I could keep her safe. And her research.

This sexy little woman would change the world, and it was up to me to keep her alive so she could do it. No pressure.

“Bennett.”

I looked up and choked. “Shit, Laney.” She stood in my doorway wrapped in a big green towel that highlighted her curves.

“I’ve thought about it,” she stepped inside the room, and I swallowed hard. “And I know my own mind. I want you like I haven’t ever wanted a man.” She untucked the towel at her cleavage and let it fall to the floor. “So I want this. I want you. Tonight.”

“Be sure Laney. Be sure, because if I touch you, I’m not going to stop.” Oh hell, I knew I wouldn’t be able to, not after taking in those plump pale tits. “Raspberries,” I moaned, looking at her nipples. And fuck me that strip of red just above plump pink lips made my mouth water.

“I know it’s very anti-feminist of me to say this, but when you talk all rough and dirty like that, I get damp between my thighs.”

I groaned at her words, gripping her waist and pulling her down onto me. “So you’re saying dirty talk makes you wet? Let me see.” I slid one finger between her pussy lips, pulling a groan from her. “Yeah, nice and wet. Swollen too.” She cried out when I pinched her clit. “Tell me you want this Laney.”

“I want this Bennett. I want you.” Her gaze was steady, lips slightly parted as she looked down at me. “I want it all.”

My mouth slammed against hers and the kiss went on and on for endless minutes as she ground against me, her body seeking out pleasure she couldn’t voice. Couldn’t contain. Her hands roamed my body in hungry, eager strokes. “Laney.” Flipping our positions so I was on top, I took off my shirt, feeling a swell of masculine pride at the way her eyes flared when they landed on my body. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“So are you,” she said, fingertips grazing my chest, my abs with reverence.

“You about ready for that kiss I promised you in the bar?” I didn’t wait for an answer, I put my lips where I told her I would start and kissed down her neck, suckled her tits until she groaned. Back and forth until the sounds she made were little more than noises. When I got to one ankle, I switched legs and she laughed.

“Who would have thought there were so many erogenous zones?”

Her wonder told me she had even less experience than I thought, so I slowed down, kissing her thighs, barely licking over her folds. Her hips bucked off the bed and when my tongue slid between her pussy lips and touched her clit, she cried long and loud. My attention focused on her sweet, molten core as I licked and sucked and nibbled. “Tell me how it feels Laney.” Her body told me enough, but I wanted her present for every fucking moment.

“It feels like the best thing in the world. Your tongue is cooler than my body, wet and scratchy but in a good way!”

That’s what I wanted to hear as I sank one finger inside her body, swirling my tongue around her clit as her body climbed higher and higher towards her climax.

“Oh my goodness Bennett. Yes, oh yes!” Her hips moved faster and faster, my tongue and mouth working in tandem until she froze, squeezing my finger as her juices flooded out of her. “Damn that was…wow.”

“You’re beautiful when you come.” I licked my lips and heat flared in her gaze. “Sweet too.”

“Really? I think, no, I know I would love to do that to you.”

“Are you offering me a blow job?” This was the strangest conversation I’d ever had with a woman I just made come.

She nodded. “Yes but from what I’ve seen it’s more of a sucking and licking job, right?”

I groaned at her words and my cock twitched in my pants. “Get me naked Laney.”

Without a word she unfastened my pants and shoved them to the floor, taking off my shoes and socks until I was completely naked. “Oh yes, you are a sight to behold.”

“Laney,” I groaned, hissing when she gripped me in one of her small capable hands.