SEAL’s Command by Makenna Jameison
Chapter 15
Slate smiled, taking Ashleigh’s hand firmly in his own as they walked up the driveway toward Ace’s house. His gaze scanned the area out of habit, but he didn’t see anything amiss. The leader of the younger SEAL team had rented a house with a decent-sized yard. He knew Ace’s parents were well-off, as most guys his age wouldn’t necessarily be able to afford to rent a place this size. Although Ace had confided that his family hadn’t been thrilled when he’d initially joined the military, they were proud now at his service to his country.
Ashleigh clung tightly to Slate’s hand, her sexy floral dress swishing around her legs. It wasn’t meant to be anything overtly sexy or revealing, but damn. The fabric hugged her breasts and hips perfectly. She’d insisted on dressing in private and surprising him when she was ready, but he had to admit he was looking forward to taking it off her later. With the strappy sandals and delicate necklace she had on, she looked feminine and gorgeous.
Although she didn’t need his assistance anymore now that her ankle was healing, they still enjoyed showering together. He’d even convinced Ashleigh to let him shave her legs this morning. He’d helped her when she was hurt, but something about running his hands over all her smooth skin was appealing as hell. Of course, she was capable of taking care of herself, but that didn’t mean he didn’t love touching her. He’d always considered shaving a mundane task, but spreading the shaving cream all over her bare skin in the shower? He’d been instantly hard. After he’d gotten her situated, he’d buried his head between her legs, making her come twice under the steamy spray while she cried out his name.
“Commander,” a voice said from behind him. He glanced back to see Logan and his pregnant fiancée, Harper, walking behind them, both with smiles on their faces.
“Hi!” Harper said, her eyes twinkling in amusement. “This must be Ashleigh. I’ve heard so much about you!”
Introductions were made, and Slate could see Harper looking between the two of them, grinning. It was amusing to see the younger woman so happy he was with someone. Of course, he knew Harper better than the other women his men were with given that he’d both rescued her and then helped her for a brief time in the hospital.
“Hi, nice to meet you both. You own the bakery, right?” Ashleigh asked.
“Yes. And I owe the commander my life. He came to my rescue when my delivery driver turned out to be the man stalking me.”
“That sounds terrifying,” Ashleigh said with a shudder. Involuntarily, Slate pulled her closer. “And congratulations,” she added, noticing Harper’s baby bump. Harper was tall and willowy but noticeably pregnant at this point. Slate had to admit to himself that he preferred Ashleigh’s curves to Harper’s tall frame. Ashleigh might’ve been average height and size, but she had feminine curves in all the right places. Plus, he loved her long, blonde hair. Harper was her total opposite, with dark hair and even a nose piercing. She was tattooed, as well, from what Logan had said.
“We don’t usually see you at these events, sir,” Logan said, nodding at him.
“I wanted to make sure Ashleigh knows everyone,” he said in a low voice.
“Understood.” His gaze landed on Ashleigh. “Although we haven’t met before tonight, we’ve heard updates about how you could potentially be in danger. Know that the men on the commander’s teams will all do what we can to ensure your safety.”
She looked surprised at his statement but nodded and thanked him.
Slate moved his hand to the small of her back and guided her forward into the house. Several of his men were already there, talking and drinking beers. More introductions were made, and Slate left Ashleigh with some of the women while he convened with the men in the kitchen as they grabbed drinks.
“You look happy, sir,” Raptor said with a smile. Slate watched him take a pull of his beer, his wedding ring gleaming in the light. Although a few of the guys were now married, they typically removed their rings for training and operations. He’d have to get used to seeing their wedding rings when off duty.
Slate nodded at Jackson from across the room, watching as he helped his girlfriend Taryn get a drink and then cross toward them. He glanced back over at Raptor. “I am happy. Now I just need to convince Ashleigh to make this more permanent,” he said with a wry smile. “I can’t exactly command the teams from New York.”
Raptor chuckled. “I don’t know. So many things have gone virtual these days. Clarissa teaches her colleges courses one hundred percent online. We can just set up a permanent secure feed for you.”
Jackson smirked as he caught the end of the conversation. “I’m sure if anyone could manage that, it’s Commander Hutchinson.”
Slate took a pull of his own beer. “I don’t know what will happen in the future with Ashleigh, but while she’s here, I’m hoping she can get to know some of the women.”
“Absolutely,” Raptor said. “I think Clarissa and Harper are already hoping to plan a ladies’ night. They’re definitely inviting Ashleigh to join everyone.”
“Maybe she’ll want to babysit,” Ace quipped as he walked over. “Ghost just texted me,” he said, referring to Grayson “Ghost” Douglass. “He and Hailey won’t make it tonight because her water just broke. They’re on the way to the hospital to have a baby.”
The other men began whooping and hollering, and then Ace headed into the living room to share the news with the women. Slate heard their squeals of excitement and smirked. Hell. It was hard to imagine one of his SEALs becoming a father, but damn. His own brother had a third kid on the way. Things certainly had changed over the years.
“So what do you think?” Jackson asked, crossing his arms as he looked over at Blake. “Are you and Clarissa next?”
Raptor laughed. “No, not for a few years. We might be married now, but we want to enjoy the honeymoon period.”
Tyler and another SEAL on Ace’s team, Rob “Slinger” McPherson crossed toward them with drinks in hand, chuckling. “Damn,” Tyler said. “I can’t even imagine settling down. Your entire team now has a woman, Raptor. We’re still hitting the bars on weekends and buying drinks for pretty girls.”
“I’m good with being single,” Rob confirmed. “Although Ace has been chatting with that woman online, right? He seems pretty into her.”
“No shit,” Raptor said with a chuckle. “I haven’t heard a damn thing about that.”
“That’s because you’re an old, married guy now,” Tyler quipped. “He fills us single guys in—not that I plan to meet a woman that way.”
Slate looked between the men, confused. “Who’s he talking to online?”
“Some woman he met gaming. You know how he’s into all that computer shit—er, stuff. We all know he can access the dark web for information,” Rob said. “This was a legit gaming site though.”
“So he hasn’t met her in person?” Raptor asked.
“Nope. Maybe someday,” Rob said with a chuckle. “I’m not even sure if she knows he’s in the Navy. She probably thinks he’s a big computer nerd or something.”
“I must be getting old,” Slate said, taking another pull of his beer. “I can’t imagine meeting someone from gaming.”
“Clarissa said it’s popular with college students,” Raptor said. “They’re into all sorts of social media as well.”
“And I’m forty-three,” Slate said dryly.
“While we’re in here alone, do you have any updates on the missing men?” Raptor asked in a low voice. “I happened to see the admiral when I was leaving base yesterday, and he looked furious that the FBI hadn’t brought them in yet.”
“They’ve been lying low since the shooting,” Slate confirmed. He glanced to the door. “Ace is still talking with the women, but he was trying to track some of their communications on the dark web. We’re trying to find where they’re meeting in person. If the Bureau won’t move in, we’ll take matters into our own hands.”
“There are others in the domestic terror cell outside of San Diego though,” Jackson said.
Slate nodded. “There’s another group on the East Coast. It’s believed only four are remaining in the San Diego area.”
“And those are the assholes looking for you and Havoc,” Rob said with a frown. “Where is he anyway?”
“He’s got a date,” Tyler said.
Rob chuckled. “Is that what he’s calling his one-night-stands?”
“Havoc can take care of himself,” Slate said. “So can I for that matter. It’s urgent that we locate the missing four men soon. I’m worried about Ashleigh. I hope like hell they never got her name off the rental car information, but when Ace was digging around, he thought someone had hacked into the database.”
“How’s he figure that?” Jackson asked.
“The hell if I know. He can hack into anything and was digging around the dark web at that,” Raptor said.
“Given that her name is potentially out there, she’s not as cautious as I’d like for her to be.”
Raptor smirked. “I don’t think you can wrap her up in bubble wrap and protect her from the world.”
Slate side-eyed him. “No, but I would’ve liked to escort her out shopping earlier. She wanted to buy a dress and some clothes for the warm weather. She’s a grown woman though, so it’s not like I can stop her from living her life. I’ve already convinced her to stay in San Diego.”
“You think she would’ve been safer going home?” Jackson asked.
“It’s a concern of mine. The extremists clearly know my address. But at least if she’s here, I can protect her. If she flew home to New York and someone tracked her to her condo, I’d never forgive myself.”
“It’s almost unreal that this is all in retaliation for killing Abdul Sayed,” Jackson muttered.
Raptor scrubbed a hand over the stubble on his jaw. “That op feels like it was a million years ago.”
“The repercussions of it are still very real,” Slate said tightly.
“Understood, sir. We’ll find them and make sure your woman is safe.”
A shriek from the other room had the men looking up, and then Clarissa came rushing in just as Raptor’s phone buzzed. “She had the baby! Hailey just had her baby!”
Raptor glanced down at his cell and grinned. “Yep. Ghost just texted me. Damn that was fast.”
“I think it was a surprise the baby came so quickly,” Clarissa said. “I’m going to head over there later. They don’t want other visitors until tomorrow though.”
The group walked into the living room of Ace’s house, talking excitedly about the first baby to be born on one of the teams. “They’re not even here, but to Ghost and Hailey!” Raptor quipped, raising his beer bottle. The men clinked their bottles together as the women held up their wine glasses. Slate caught Ashleigh’s eye from across the room and smiled, happy that she seemed as excited as the other women even though she hadn’t even met Hailey yet.
Harper began talking to her, and he smiled. It almost hurt how right it was looking at his woman from across the room. And she was his. Somehow Ashleigh was the missing puzzle piece to his life. With her here, everything seemed to fall into place. And he wasn’t about to let any harm come to her—or to let her go without letting her know how much she meant to him.