SEAL's Embrace Read online

  SEAL’s Embrace

  Elle James

  New York Times Bestselling Author

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  SEAL’s Embrace

  Copyright © 2014 Elle James

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  From the Author

  Our Navy SEALs are highly trained fighting men who aren’t afraid to charge into any situation and would do anything for a fellow teammate. These are incredibly brave men whose skills, minds and bodies are honed and ready for any assignment.

  The Critical Air Transport Teams (CCAT) are crucial in the struggle to bring our wounded military personnel home alive. Working in a mobile Intensive Care Unit on board an aircraft is challenging and the doctors, nurses who rise to the challenge are amazing. Because of their work, many lives are saved and families are reunited.

  Next time you get a chance, thank our military personnel. They do so much to keep us free and safe from harm. I love them all!

  Escape with…

  Elle James

  aka Myla Jackson

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  From the Author

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Other Titles by Elle James

  Connect with Elle James

  Chapter One

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  “Chow will have to wait.” Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator Caesar Sanchez hurried out of the relocatable unit he shared with Declan “Irish” O’Shea at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. “I cut my finger and need to have it looked at before infection sets in.” He held up the finger. A minuscule cut oozed blood from the tip.

  “Isn’t that the same finger you cut two days ago?” Irish fell in beside Caesar.

  “Yeah. So? No need to go with me. I’ll meet you in the mess hall in fifteen.” Caesar didn’t slow in his hurry to reach the hospital. Air Force Lieutenant Erin McGee had volunteered again to assist at the outpatient clinic that morning and he wanted to see her. Her duties as one of the flight nurses that flew the Critical Care Air Transport missions meant catching her in the hospital was hit-and-miss. He’d gotten word from Fish, their Navy SEAL Corpsman who also volunteered in the clinic, she was there right now helping out.

  Irish snorted. “That pretty LT must be there, or you wouldn’t be in such a hurry. I’d better tag along to keep you out of trouble.”

  Caesar pressed his lips into a thin line. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “Look, Nacho, the woman isn’t that into you.”

  Stopping in midstride, Caesar slammed an arm across Irish’s chest. “What do you know about Lt. McGee?”

  Irish eased back a couple inches. “If she wanted to see you, she’d let you know.”

  “She doesn’t yet know that she wants to see me. That’s what I’m working on.” He resumed his march toward the Craig Joint Theater Field Hospital. “The more she sees me, the more she’ll miss me when I’m not there.”

  “Man, you have it bad.” Irish chuckled. “The more you see her, the more she’ll be convinced you’re a stalker.”

  “Hell, I just want to see her.” Caesar’s steps slowed. “I can’t get her out of my head.”

  “There you go thinking with your dick. You’re just mad because she’s the one woman you haven’t charmed out of her panties.”

  With a frown, Caesar turned a corner between buildings and crossed Disney Drive to the hospital. “That’s not the point. She’s special.”

  “How many times have I heard you say that?” Irish double-timed a couple steps to keep up.

  “This time is different,” Caesar insisted, his hand fisting at his side.

  “Yeah. Heard that one, too.” Irish whistled as he walked alongside Caesar.

  Why the hell doesn’t Irish give up? “Really, I don’t need your assistance.”

  “You’re just afraid she’ll fall for me instead.”

  Caesar stopped cold at the entrance to the clinic and narrowed his gaze. “On second thought, maybe you should wait out here for me.”

  “No way. There’s more than one pretty nurse inside that hospital. I came this far, I might as well check them out.” He shoved his sleeves up enough the Celtic tattoos on his biceps were clearly visible. The man, like all his teammates, was muscular, with thick arms and thighs from the strenuous training required of Navy SEALs. And like the rest of them, he had tattoos commemorating ops or events that had particular meaning to all team members.

  “Fine. Check out the other nurses, just stay out of my way with Lt. McGee.” Caesar pushed through the door and entered the clinic. The space teemed with at least a dozen men and women in duty uniforms or PT uniforms. He should have expected the crowd. If Erin was helping out, they needed the extra pair of hands.

  He signed in at the desk. The young woman taking his information batted her eyes and flirted with him the entire time. He barely saw her, his gaze busily searching for Lt. McGee.

  The receptionist pouted and asked him to take a seat.

  Caesar sat beside Irish and waited his turn, keeping an eye open for his LT. The auburn-haired nurse wouldn’t be hard to spot, as soon as she came out from the examination rooms.

  “How about that one?” Irish pointed at a blonde wearing an Air Force desert camouflage uniform and boots. Her hair was pulled back in a tight little bun, all strands neatly pinned flat.

  Caesar recognized her as the no-nonsense shift supervisor. Young, but tough enough to chew up grunts and spit them out for fun. A smile slipped across his face. “Nice. You should go for her.”

  “Thanks, man. I think I will.” Irish strolled to the desk, wearing his most charming smile.

  He was back in less than a minute, his smile forced. “You could have warned me.”

  Crossing his arms, Caesar gave him a twisted grin. “Why, when I could watch you suffer the wrath of Lt. Baumer. She’s as pretty as they come, but her words can cut like a fillet knife.”

  “I noticed. I think she took off half my ass.” Rubbing his buttocks, he turned and faced the woman who’d set him in his place, his eyes narrowing.

  Caesar frowned. “Oh, no you don’t.”

  “What?” Irish raised his hands, his expression all innocence.

  “I know that look.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Lt. Baumer glanced across the room at him, her brows dipping.

  Irish gave her a full-on, you-gotta-love-me grin and winked in her direction. “Challenge accepted. Game on.”

  Shaking his head, Caesar groaned. “Here we go again.”

  “What?”

  “I’m afraid you’ve met your match with this one.”

  “One hundred bucks says I’ll have her eating out of the palm of my hand by the end of this tour.”

  “You’re on.” Caesar stuck out his uninjured hand and the two shook.

  “Sanchez,” a firm voice called out.

  Caesar spun, his pulse ratcheting up as he faced the woman he couldn’t get out of his system.

  Irish backhanded him in the chest. “I think you’ve met your match in that one.”

  By the way Lt. McGee was shaking her pretty red head, Irish might have it right. What Irish didn’t realize was just how much Caesar had been working to break down the lady’s defenses. “Trust me, at this very moment, she’s on the brink of raising the white flag.”

  “And her skirt?” Iri
sh snorted. “I seriously doubt it. Wanna lay down another bet?”

  “Sorry, I have to go. My future awaits.” Caesar took off across the floor, his focus on the petite nurse with deep auburn hair and emerald green eyes.

  With her full, luscious lips pressed into a thin line, she led him deeper into the clinic to an examination room. All the way down the aisle, Caesar couldn’t help but notice the way her hips swayed beneath the flight suit that hugged her body like a tailored glove.

  His groin tightened along with his resolve to have this beauty.

  “Sit,” she ordered, pointing to the examination table.

  Caesar hopped up on the table and spread his knees wide. The only way she was getting to that cut finger was to step between them. Still wearing his PT shorts, he realized the mistake that was. With nothing much to hold him back, he tented the shorts in an instant when the door closed to the room and they were alone.

  “You really have to stop cutting yourself. This camp is full of all kinds of germs. Keep this up and you might lose that finger altogether.” She pulled a gauze pad out of a drawer, alcohol pads and a bandage before she turned and met his gaze, her own green eyes dancing with humor. “And the answer is no.” She pressed her lips together.

  “How did you know I was about to ask a question? I might really be here to seek aid for my cut finger.”

  “Uh huh.” She shook her head and stepped between his knees. “Two times in the same week is suspicious. Three times cutting the same finger, and that the injuries just happen to be on the same days as I’m volunteering at the clinic, is proof. You’re stalking me.” She bumped the inside of his thighs with her hips and sucked in a sharp breath, moving back quickly, her cheeks turning a rosy shade of pink.

  So, she wasn’t immune to his presence. She just needed a little persuasion.

  “Lt. McGee, mi amor, I’m crushed.” He pressed his uninjured hand to his chest. “Can I help the fact that I’m clumsy and deeply in love? Have coffee with me just once, and I won’t bother you again.”

  “What do you know about love?” She pushed a loose strand of red hair behind her ear, twin flags of pink flying high on her cheekbones. “And I only have two words for you: fraternization and sexual harassment.”

  Crooking an eyebrow, he grinned. “That’s four.”

  “Yeah, I know, but with you, they all go together.” She swiped the alcohol pad across his finger, careful not to sway sideways and touch his thighs.

  At the sting, Caesar bit down on his tongue to keep from hissing.

  Two seconds later, she had the wound cleaned, and a bandage plastered over it. “There. Your booboo is all better.”

  Before she could move away, Caesar hopped off the table and captured her wrist. “What do I have to do for you to look at me as other than a patient?” They stood so close, he could feel the heat of her body through the flight suit.

  Her free hand rose to his chest, her eyes widened and her breathing grew more ragged. “An act of God?” She wet her lips.

  That simple act sent Caesar over the edge of reason and he swooped in to steal a kiss. “Rules be damned.” He captured the back of her head, and bent to crush his lips against hers.

  For a moment her hand pressed against his chest, then her fingers curled into his T-shirt and her mouth opened on a gasp.

  Caesar thrust his tongue through, sliding it along hers in a long, wet caress. She tasted even sweeter than he’d imagined. When he lifted his head, he whispered against her mouth, “Muy precioso.”

  The lieutenant gazed up into his face, her eyes glazed, her lips parted. Then she blinked and the spell was broken. She glanced down at his hand on her wrist, and her gaze narrowed. “Do you know how wrong this is? Let go.”

  Immediately, he released her. “For now. I still want to have coffee with you.”

  “No. It’s a bad idea.” She eased back a step.

  “Are you afraid of me?”

  “No. I’m not afraid of you.” She turned back to the cabinet, fished something out of a drawer and a bottle out of the cabinet above. “Drop your drawers.”

  “What?” He frowned. Had he read her wrong? Surely she wasn’t going to…not here…anyone could walk in. His heartbeat quickened.

  “You heard me.” She turned toward him, syringe in hand and fire in her eyes. “Drop ’em.”

  He held up his hand. “Seriously? You’re giving me a shot for a little cut on my finger?”

  “No, for three little cuts on your finger.” She tilted her head, her brows rising in challenge. “Are you afraid of me?”

  He stared at the syringe she wielded like a weapon. “Frankly, yes.”

  “A little penicillin is good for warding off infection. And you, Special Warfare Operator Sanchez are an infection I can’t afford to catch. Turn around and bend over.”

  God, he loved it when she bossed him around. He could imagine her ordering him to strip in the bedroom. And he would, one slow item of clothing at a time.

  With a deep, calming breath, he performed an about face and dropped his shorts enough for her to jab the needle into his buttocks muscle. The pinprick sting was nothing compared to the swat on the ass she gave him next.

  “Now, don’t waste my time again unless you’re really hurt.” She held the door open for him and jerked her head to the side. “Go.”

  “All that for un besito?” He rubbed his butt as he exited the exam room and returned to the waiting room where Irish stood talking to one of the medical technicians.

  “All done?” Irish asked.

  “Yeah.” He rubbed his ass, tenderly.

  His friend smiled at the technician and fell in step with Caesar. “Well? How’d it go?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.” His ass still stung, but no more so than his ego. Lt. Erin McGee had put him firmly in his place, and more or less told him to bug off.

  “What’s the matter, Nacho? Did the big bad nurse turn you down?” Irish chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re giving up?”

  “No way.”

  Irish clapped a hand to his back. “That’s the spirit! Come on, let’s get some run time in. My mission meter is pinging. I predict we’ll be moving out before the night is over.”

  As soon as they exited the hospital, Caesar and Irish broke into a jog, heading for the perimeter to stretch their legs. They didn’t say a word, just ran.

  By the time he returned to their quarters, Caesar had come up with a plan to tempt the pretty LT into coffee and more. She’d responded to his kiss, of that he was certain. And where there was smoke, the passion was muy caliente.

  After the SEAL left, Erin retreated to the break room for a cup of cool water. Anything to reduce the heat burning inside.

  “Crap, crap, crap!” she muttered beneath her breath, tempted to throw the water over her head to reduce the flames Sanchez’s kiss had fanned.

  “What’s wrong?” Lt. Tracy Baumer reached around her for a cup of her own and filled it with water before she faced Erin.

  “Nothing.” Her cheeks flooded anew with heat and she cursed her inability to tell a lie.

  “Yeah. I can see that.” Tracy leaned her back against the counter and sipped from the cup, gaze narrowed over its rim. “Does your nothing have anything to do with the hunky SEAL that just left your examination room?”

  Erin tensed. Fraternizing with an enlisted man was strictly forbidden. Especially in theater. But damn it, she needed to vent, and Tracy was her closest friend and knew her secrets. “I don’t need this.”

  “Irritation? Flirtation? Frustration?” Tracy said. “Which one?”

  “All of the above.” With a sigh, she looked up into Tracy’s eyes. “I can’t lie. I’m attracted to the man.”

  “Because he’s a SEAL?”

  “No.” She flung her hands in the air. “Yes. Oh, I don’t know.” She paced to the end of the break room and back. “I know better than to fall for a guy I outrank and especially for an egotistical girl-in-every-port kind of man. Been there, don
e that, have the scars to prove it.”

  “You’re not in the same branch of service. He’s not in your chain of command.” Tracy tilted her head. “I don’t see your problem.”

  Was she kidding? “We’re deployed here in Afghanistan. You know the rules. No fraternization. Period. Even if I didn’t outrank him.”

  “It happens.” Tracy drank from her cup, her gaze following Erin over the rim.

  “Yeah, and people get reprimanded.” Erin rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a tension headache coming on. “Last month a woman was sent home for getting caught sleeping with her supervisor. Now she’s out of the Army. Poof!” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that.”

  Tracy’s lips twisted. “She was stupid to get caught.”

  Erin’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe you, of all people would condone such behavior.”

  Tracy grinned. “Women have needs, just like men.”

  Her chest tightening, Erin’s lips thinned. “That’s what Matt said.”

  “Not all men are like Matt.”

  The sad thing was that Erin wanted to believe her friend, but…“Sanchez is a player.”

  Tracy planted a fist on her hip. “How do you know?”

  “He’s too smooth. Too charming,” Erin responded, ticking the items off on her fingers. “And all that Spanish is…is…smarmy.” Her normal grasp of the English language escaped her when it came to the SEAL. The harder he tried, the weaker she grew.

  “I saw Corporal Bradley flirting with him at the front desk.” Trace gave her a narrowed glance. “If you don’t want him, I’m sure she would take him in a heartbeat.”

  “See?” Erin flung her hands in the air. “He’s a player.”

  “Ha!” Tracy grinned as if she’d caught Erin at a lie. “That’s where you’re wrong. He never once looked at her. The entire time he was at the desk, he was searching for you. He’s been in here three times and every time, he’s only had eyes for you. I know because I watched him.”

  Erin didn’t want to hear it. Everything Tracy was saying only made it that much harder for her to resist the man, and she was teetering on the brink as it was. “Why were you watching? Are you interested in the SEAL?”