Chapter 2

CHAPTERTWO

“Anyone up for another fishing trip this weekend?” Aleck asked after PT a few days later.

“When were you thinking?” Jag asked.

“Saturday.”

“Sure,” Midas said.

“I’m in,” Mustang agreed.

“Can’t,” Slate said.

Everyone turned to him with identical expressions of disbelief.

“Why not?” Aleck asked. “You’re always free.”

He shrugged. “Goin’ out with Ashlyn on Friday, and I’m thinking I’m not going to be able to get up early on Saturday to go with you guys.”

Now his five teammates’ mouths were all hanging open.

“Wait, what? You and Ashlyn?” Pid asked “When did that happen?”

“Took her home from the barbeque last weekend. Asked her out. She said yes,” Slate said evenly.

“Wait, wait, wait. You and Ashlyn are dating?” Midas asked. “Do you guys even like each other?”

“Of course we like each other,” Slate said.

“Could’a fooled me. You’re always at each other’s throats,” Mustang said. “The other day, when Ash was leaving to deliver some meals, you once again growled at her and mumbled something about her job not being safe. She lost her shit and tore you a new asshole, then stomped out.”

“Yup,” Slate said. He couldn’t help but grin at remembering the look of irritation on Ashlyn’s face. He knew he was being an ass by constantly harping on the fact that he wasn’t happy she was gallivanting around the island, delivering food to people’s houses. But he couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that could happen to her…including if someone decided they wanted more than just the meals she delivered.

“What gives?” Jag asked.

“We’re dating casually,” Slate told his friends. “We aren’t gonna get married. We aren’t having kids. We aren’t moving in together. Unlike you guys, we’re just interested in some fun.”

“So you’re using her for sex?” Mustang asked.

Slate didn’t take offense. His team leader’s question wasn’t said in a disrespectful tone, he genuinely sounded curious. Besides…how could he be offended when that was essentially what he and Ashlyn were doing? “Believe it or not, I enjoy spending time with her. And shocker, she seems to like hanging out with me too. Yes, there’s sex involved…you all have eyes; you know how pretty she is. Why wouldn’t I want to go there? But it’s a mutual thing. We agreed we weren’t looking for anything serious. That we’d be friends with benefits.”

“Slippery slope, man,” Midas warned.

“We’re good. When the chemistry wears off, we’ll go back to being friends. It’ll be fine,” Slate said.

“Famous last words,” Aleck drawled.

“No, seriously, we’re just hanging out. Believe it or not, two people can have a relationship that doesn’t go from zero to four hundred and sixty-seven in a week,” Slate told his teammates. “We aren’t going into this blindly. We both know the score.”

“But things could get weird if it doesn’t end well,” Pid warned.

Slate started to get irritated. “They aren’t going to get weird. We talked about it.”

The other guys chuckled.

“Right, you talked about it, so that’s that, huh?” Midas asked.

“Yes,” Slate said. “And I think I’m done with this conversation. I know you guys don’t believe me, but we’re both cool being casual. We’re not keeping it a secret, and if Ashlyn hasn’t already told your women, I’m sure she will soon. Nothing changes with the group dynamics.”

“Except you aren’t free to go fishing on Saturday,” Aleck said dryly.

Slate rolled his eyes at his friend.

Mustang clapped Slate on the shoulder. “Well, I hope it works out the way you both want it to,” he said. “Ashlyn is great. Elodie loves her, and the others are all just as close to her. For the record, I think you guys make a great couple. You’re serious and she’s more laid-back. It works.”

Slate nodded. “Yeah, it does.”

“Fine. We can put fishing off until another weekend,” Aleck said.

“I probably wouldn’t have been able to go anyway,” Jag told them. “Carly and I are working on wedding plans.”

“How’s that coming along?” Midas asked.

“Good. We’re trying to nail down a date that will work to rent out Duke’s. It’s not as easy as you’d think to take over a restaurant. Especially one as popular as Duke’s,” Jag said with a small shake of his head.

Talk turned to Jag and Carly’s upcoming wedding, and Slate couldn’t help but let his mind wander. There was a time not so long ago when none of the guys on the team would be caught dead talking about wedding shit, but now that the others were all madly in love, things had changed.

His thoughts turned to Ashlyn, as they had frequently over the last few days. He’d never been so preoccupied with a woman. Honestly, she’d shocked the shit out of him when she’d suggested a friends-with-benefits relationship, but he was all over that. He definitely wasn’t ready to settle down like his teammates. He was only thirty-three. He had plenty of time to get married and start a family after he was out of the Navy.

Still, he was impressed that his friends were making it work, because being in a long-term relationship when you were a SEAL was hard as hell. He’d seen it firsthand with other SEALs and Navy sailors. Spouses who couldn’t handle being by themselves on long, or even short, deployments. Who cheated the second their spouses left for another six-month tour.

Slate didn’t want that for himself. He wanted to find a woman he could trust implicitly not to cheat on him, but until he was out of the Navy, he didn’t see a relationship happening.

So a casual thing with Ashlyn worked out just fine. They hadn’t talked about being exclusive, but he was fairly sure she wasn’t interested in anyone else right now. And he wasn’t either. They could cross that bridge when they came to it.

“How’s Monica doing with the pregnancy?” Jag asked Pid.

Slate turned his attention back to the conversation.

“She’s good. She’s got the weirdest cravings right now, but from everything we’ve read, that’s normal,” Pid said. “Six more months to go, and I can’t fucking wait.”

“Elodie’s already bought what seems like a hundred dresses for your kid,” Mustang said. Pid and Monica had found out recently they were having a girl, and both were over-the-moon excited.

“And Kenna’s picked up a bunch of jeans and T-shirts, saying that girls shouldn’t always be forced to wear frilly shit all the time,” Aleck added.

Everyone laughed.

“She’s gonna be so damn spoiled,” Pid said.

“Right, like you aren’t going to be the king of spoiling her,” Jag said with a shake of his head.

“True,” he agreed.

“You guys think of a name yet?” Midas asked.

“We’re still discussing it,” Pid said.

“Which means they’re fighting about it and, in the end, Monica will name her whatever she wants,” Mustang surmised with a chuckle.

“Honestly, her name doesn’t matter to me. I already love her so much it’s almost scary,” Pid said.

Slate listened as his friends bantered back and forth. He was happy for Pid, and for the rest of his teammates, but he was definitely glad he didn’t have to worry about things like baby names and wedding plans.

Yet again, his thoughts returned to last weekend. To the fun he’d had with Ashlyn. The woman who burned so hot, so quickly. She was ready for him in a heartbeat. He was looking forward to seeing her on Friday night and exploring their chemistry some more.

“All right, enough chitchat,” Mustang said, cutting through Slate’s musings. “I’ll see you guys at nine sharp. We’re going over the intel about the nuke North Korea said they’d tested. Things are getting tense over there, especially with China announcing their support of North Korea’s nuclear program.”

“You think we’ll be sent over?” Jag asked.

“Not sure. It’s a possibility. Right now, we just have to wait and see. You guys know as well as I do that we could be researching North Korea one day and the next, we’re on a plane headed to Bulgaria.”

Slate nodded. That was true. It was one of the things he liked best about being a SEAL. The excitement and having to stay on his toes at all times.

The group said their goodbyes and headed to their vehicles. Slate got into his Trailblazer and drove toward his small house near the beach. It wasn’t right on the beach, there was no way he could afford something like that, but close enough. When he’d moved into the place, it needed a lot of work, and the owner cut him a huge break on the rent when he agreed to fix what needed updating in his spare time.

Now the house was as good as it was going to get for a rental. There were still improvements Slate could make, but he wasn’t going to put any more energy and work into a place that didn’t belong to him. When he got out of the Navy, he’d buy a place of his own and put as much blood, sweat, and tears into it as necessary until it was his dream home.

He got home, showered, changed into his uniform and, after glancing at his watch, saw he had some time to kill before he needed to head out to the base. On a whim, he picked up his phone and clicked on Ashlyn’s name. It was early, but she was a morning person and would likely be up.

“Good morning,” she said as she answered the phone.

“Hey,” Slate said. “I thought I’d call and see how you were this morning.”

“I’m good. Is anything wrong?”

“Does something have to be wrong for me to call?” Slate asked.

“Well, no, but since it’s not something you’ve done this early in the morning before, I thought I’d check.”

“We weren’t dating before. Now we are,” Slate said simply.

Ashlyn let out a small laugh, and Slate couldn’t help but smile hearing it. No matter what his mood, after he talked to her—even when they argued—he always felt better.

“True,” she said. “How was PT?”

The question wasn’t unexpected; they’d known each other long enough for her to understand his schedule. She knew he got up early most days to work out with his team, and she knew the time he usually got home each day. She also knew about his tendency to be impatient and stubborn, that he drove a bit too fast, and that he loved Hawaiian food.

In turn, he knew that she had a passion for her job, a tendency to trust people a little too much, that she didn’t care much for most Hawaiian food, and that when she was upset, she got quiet and introspective, rather than crying or ranting and raving.

There was definitely a plus side to being friends with a woman before dating. And Slate could honestly say he’d liked Ashlyn as a person from the moment they met. He didn’t always like some of the decisions she made, as he felt she was taking needless risks with her safety, but he’d still enjoyed their friendship over the last year.

“Slate?” she asked. “You there?”

“Sorry. I’m here,” he said, jolted out of his introspection. “PT was good. Mustang went kind of easy on us today and only made us swim three miles before running a 5K in the sand.”

“Jeez, you’re such a slacker.”

Slate could picture her rolling her eyes, and it made him smile again.

“I thought I was doing good getting my twenty-minute intermediate step workout finished before snarfing down the cinnamon rolls I made in my air fryer.”

Slate chuckled. “You need to eat more vegetables.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she bitched. “Let me guess, you’re having a protein shake for breakfast.”

“Nope.” He paused a moment, then said, “A protein bar.”

Ashlyn burst out laughing, and Slate closed his eyes. He could hear her laugh every day for the rest of his life and it wouldn’t be enough.

An instant niggling of worry hit him at that thought. This might be a friends-with-benefits kind of arrangement, and neither of them planned on anything more…but less than a week in and he knew he felt more for this woman than simple lust. Probably always had. He wasn’t in love. But he cared about Ashlyn.

Her next question pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind.

“Right, of course. I should’ve known. Got anything interesting planned for today?”

“Nope,” Slate said. “Just meetings. You?”

“Not really. I’m meeting a new client though.”

“Be careful,” Slate said, the words coming out without him even thinking first.

“Slate,” Ashlyn warned.

“I know, I know. You’ve told me time and time again that you’re a grown-ass woman. That people deliver packages and food and even groceries every damn day without any issues. But I’m not dating them, I’m dating you. And I know you—you aren’t just dropping off the meals at people’s doors, ringing the bell and leaving. You’re going into people’s houses. You’re staying to chat. The thought of anyone getting their hands on you makes me kind of crazy. So wanting you to be careful isn’t me just being an asshole. It’s me knowing firsthand how much evil there is in the world, and not wanting that evil to touch one hair on your beautiful head.”

Slate took a deep breath after his tirade. Ashlyn hated when he gave her shit about what she did for Food For All. Yes, there were more dangerous jobs she could have, but he definitely didn’t like her going into strangers’ houses.

“Okay,” she said after a brief silence.

“Okay?” he asked, confused by her simple response. Ashlyn fought him on everything.

“Yes. I’m well aware that you aren’t thrilled with what I do. And believe it or not, I am careful. Lexie always knows my route and who I’m going to be visiting. I always have my phone with me, and she has a tracker app so she can look me up and see where I am at all times. When I go to a new client’s home, I text her when I arrive and when I leave. All things considered, I’m as careful as I can be, Slate.”

He hadn’t realized she and Lexie had such a logical system, but he should have. It made him feel a little better. “What app?” he asked.

Surprisingly, Ashlyn laughed. “That’s what you got out of all that?”

“What I got is that you’re doing what you can to mitigate any danger you might be in, which I appreciate more than you know. I didn’t know you had a tracker app, and I’m fucking thrilled you and Lexie have a system in place when you go out to meet a new client for Food For All. I also figure it wouldn’t hurt for someone else to track you, just in case Lexie isn’t around to have your back. And I wouldn’t mind being that person. I won’t abuse your trust if you give me access, Ash. But it would give me peace of mind.”

She sighed. “Do I get to track you too?” she asked sarcastically.

“Yes.” A few months ago, there would be no way in hell Slate would give that kind of access to anyone other than his teammates. But he’d gotten to know Ashlyn, and knew she also wouldn’t abuse the privilege of knowing his location at all hours of the day and night. He had no problem with reciprocating with the tracking app.

“Wow, you didn’t even hesitate,” she said.

“Just because we aren’t out shopping for engagement rings doesn’t mean I don’t respect you and want this relationship to be as real as it can be for the time we’re together,” Slate told her.

“True. Okay. I’ll send you the deets on the app,” Ashlyn said.

“Thank you. And there’s something else you should know.”

“Oh, shit, what?” she asked.

Slate chuckled. “Nothing bad. I just wanted to give you a head’s up that I told the guys about us this morning.”

“So I should expect the third degree from Lexie and Elodie at work this morning,” she surmised.

“I don’t know about that. I mean, we do know how to keep shit to ourselves,” Slate said dryly. “You know, national security and all that.”

As expected, Ashlyn laughed. Slate loved how easy it was to amuse her. And he much preferred her laughing than scowling at him. When they’d first met, they’d definitely rubbed each other the wrong way, and he could admit that he’d said shit on purpose fairly regularly just to rile her up. But he was finding it was much nicer to see her laughing than pissed off at him.

“Yeah, right. You guys are the worst when it comes to gossip,” she said when she had herself under control.

Slate didn’t disagree. The guys were very into each other’s lives, no doubt. His teammates were quick to talk about their relationships and what was going on with everyone. He’d always kind of felt as if he was on the outside looking in during those conversations, so it felt surprisingly good that morning to tell them something they didn’t already know. He just didn’t want his friends getting the wrong idea about him and Ashlyn.

He obviously took too long to respond, because yet again, she said, “Slate?”

“Yeah, babe?”

“You aren’t mad about the gossip comment, are you? I mean, I know you guys can keep secrets, obviously. I’m guessing there’s a lot of shit swirling around in your head that you’d love to talk to someone about, but you can’t.”

“I’m not mad,” Slate said in a gentle tone. “And the guys and I made a vow a long time ago that if shit got too deep, we’d talk to each other.”

“Good.”

“I just wanted to give you a head’s up, just in case.”

“I appreciate it. And just so you know, I haven’t said anything to the girls yet because, well…they know how long I’ve liked you, and they’re most definitely going to jump to the wrong conclusion. Especially with all the baby and wedding stuff happening recently.”

“You’ve liked me a long time?” Slate asked, knowing he had a goofy smile on his face but not giving a damn.

“Maaaaybe,” she drawled.

“So when you were calling me names and rolling your eyes at me for being overbearing and annoying, secretly you really wanted to jump my bones?”

“I wouldn’t say that I liked you all that much every time you overstepped your boundaries and told me I was stupid for risking my life by delivering a few containers of food. But when you weren’t busy being overbearing, I thought about what it would be like to have you in my bed.”

Slate felt his dick twitch in his pants. “You ever masturbate to the thought of what I could do to you?”

“Yes,” she said, without hesitation or shame. Her openness was one of the hundred reasons why he’d asked her out.

“What about you? You ever get off thinking about me?” she asked.

“Every fucking time,” Slate practically growled.

“Well, shit,” she said.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Now I’m gonna be late to work because I’m so turned on, I just might need to take care of myself before I leave.”

“Shit, woman, you’re killin’ me,” Slate groaned.

“Hey, I’m all for phone sex if you are.”

“No.”

“No?” she echoed, sounding surprised.

“We don’t live even ten minutes apart. You get horny, just text or call and I’ll come over. We aren’t in a long-distance relationship, babe.”

“You don’t think phone sex is hot?” she asked.

“It can be,” Slate said. “But it’s also frustrating as hell. Especially now that I’ve been inside you and know how good you feel wrapped around my cock. I much prefer you to my hand.”

“Wow, um…okay. Right.”

She sounded flustered, and Slate loved that. “I know we made plans already for Friday night, but do you mind if I stop by tonight after work?” he asked.

“Not at all.”

“Good. I’ll text you to let you know when I’m on my way.”

“You want me to make something for dinner?”

“Nope. I’ll be hungry for something other than food.” Slate knew he was coming on strong, but after the turn in their conversation, he couldn’t help it. The thought of her lying in bed with a hand between her legs, getting herself off, was stuck in his head. If he thought Ashlyn touching herself while he was deep inside her was intense, the thought of her fantasizing about him while masturbating was just as hot.

“Right. Then I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Yup. Ash?”

“Yeah?”

“I like this.”

“Like what?”

“Us. Saying what we think. Not being ashamed to admit that we want each other.”

“Me too,” she agreed.

“Good. Tell your girls about us. Text me the name of that tracker app. And be careful today.”

“Bossy,” she said with a snort.

“You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to go out with me.”

“True again. Okay, Slate. Have a good day yourself. I hope the terrorists don’t pick today to lose their shit, because I’m gonna be pissed if anything keeps you from coming over later.”

“Nothing’s gonna keep me from you,” Slate told her. “You really gonna be late this morning?”

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.”

“Shit,” Slate said again with a shake of his head. He shouldn’t have asked. He’d never get the vision out of his head of Ashlyn taking care of herself before leaving for work.

“Later,” she said with a giggle.

“Later,” Slate said.

He clicked off his phone and closed his eyes. It took a moment for him to get control of his body. But once he could walk without his hard-on trying to bust through his pants, he grabbed the protein bar he’d planned on eating for breakfast and headed for the door.