Angelo: A Second Chance Navy SEAL Romance Read online

  “Warning you how? Is he threatening you?” His voice lowered with a dangerous edge, as if she’d woken up the warrior and set him on full alert.

  He wouldn’t relent until he knew all the answers, would he? “No. He is warning researchers who work on government contracts. He said they have messed with his memory. Most of what he writes doesn’t make sense. Words strung together without much meaning. He needs help.” She paused, gauging what else to reveal. “He addressed his letters to me as Miss Catherine Boudreaux in tiny, capitalized letters. Not doctor and not Ms., which is odd—like he knows I’m not married.” Once she started talking about this situation she’d tried to minimize, her worries spilled out.

  “That’s why I had that idea the night of the wedding,” she continued. “He contacted me on social media, and it was fresh in my mind. It rattled me—and when you didn’t recognize me—well, I guess I carried it over to make you uncomfortable as well.” She gave him a sheepish expression. “It wasn’t my best moment.”

  Angelo leaned back in the chair, keeping his posture straight. He eyed Cate for a long moment and then asked, “Have you reported this to anyone?”

  “Yes. I told the security team at the university.”

  “What have they done?” Suspicion rose in his tone.

  Her jaw twitched. “They said they’ll look into it.”

  Angelo grunted. “Have you asked them for updates?”

  She exhaled. “They’re not going to give me the details of an ongoing investigation, are they?”

  “It depends on the circumstances. You could ask.”

  “I can’t overreact.” She gestured with a wave. “It’s not like I’m the only person on my team who has been contacted. It sounds to me like a cry for help. When I mentioned to security how we should suggest options, they told me not to respond and they’d take care of it, and if I reached out, it would encourage him to continue the conversation.”

  Angelo’s expression revealed nothing. He gripped his mug like squeezing a fist. “What about the local police?”

  “What about them?”

  “You haven’t got them involved?”

  “Why would I?” She raised her hand to her temple. “The university is already involved. I’m working on a government-funded project—of course it’s going to be controversial on some level. You can’t even post a comment online anymore without people going rabid, making some sort of political statement, and then eight thousand people jumping in to attack with their opinions.”

  He snorted. “You’re absolutely right there.” He studied her and cocked his head. “Do you feel threatened?”

  She shifted in her chair. “It’s not like he’s singling me out or anything.” She rolled her shoulders back as if spiders had suddenly fallen onto them and were crawling toward her neck. “Except for social media. I’m the only one he’s contacted that way so far.”

  Angelo scrutinized her. “This guy sounds like a stalker.”

  Whoa, maybe she shouldn’t have told him. “Angelo, you’re blowing this out of proportion.”

  His mouth tightened with a grim line. “I don’t like it. You should go to the police.”

  “No.” She waved her hands to the sides. “If I want to be treated like a professional, I need to act like one. This is my first time as a project lead at the university.”

  He narrowed eyes. “I don’t follow.”

  “Being a woman in STEM is already difficult. If I run to the police when the security team is already taking care of the situation, I come off as terrified and weak. It undermines my team’s confidence in my abilities. It’s hard enough to establish a reputation in academia and I need to project myself as capable—not timid.”

  Angelo said nothing. He stabbed a bit of pancakes and appeared thoughtful as he chewed. After he swallowed, he said, “If you give people the benefit of the doubt, they’ll take advantage.”

  She raised her eyebrows at that. What was he saying? That she was naïve? “I’m not a SEAL, but that doesn’t mean I’m some clueless woman bumbling around in the world. I have managed to take care of myself for a long time.”

  He leaned forward. “I didn’t say you were clueless, Cate, but this situation could be dangerous. Don’t you see it? If you’re not going to get the police involved, then I want to.”

  She’d picked up a piece of pancake with her fork and paused, syrup dripping from the end. “What?”

  “I want to stay here make sure you’re okay.”

  She blinked a few times and lowered her fork. “You have been staying here.”

  “Yes. But this is different.” His expression turned hard, determined. “I’m not going to let some whack job get to you.”

  Catherine grunted and threw her hands up. “Would you stop? I’ve devoted my career to studying the brain. Part of that involves helping people with brain trauma and mental issues. Not labeling them with insults.”

  “You’re right.” He gritted his teeth. “I hate the idea of anyone bothering you. You’ve been trained one way, I have another. It’s hard to let down your guard when you’re trained to be alert for danger.”

  She nodded. “I can understand that. But you’re on leave.”

  They stared at each other for several seconds, tension looming between them. Angelo broke the tension with a lopsided grin. “My awareness doesn’t have an on/off switch.”

  She nodded. “Okay. But, still—you should be relaxing, not volunteering to be my bodyguard.”

  “What if I find guarding your body—and exploring it in many ways—the best way to spend my leave?” His tone lowered with decadent promise and his eyes twinkled with mischievousness.

  Unanticipated heat tingled on her skin. “Angelo…” Her voice came out as breathless as a sigh.

  He leaned back in his chair. “Are we getting somewhere? Understanding each other’s point of view?”

  A small grin broke through her frustration. “Perhaps.”

  With their different takes on the situation, formed by different experiences, what could they do to find some level ground?

  Compromise. That was the way her parents solved problems. Each of them had to give way a bit, so they’d meet somewhere in the middle. It was better for both people to feel they walked away with something, rather than a winner and loser. That was no way to have a healthy relationship.

  But this wasn’t a relationship. It was a fling.

  Then why did it feel like more?

  Time to put her parent’s way to the test. Instead of being stubborn and standing her ground, she posed, “Compromise?”

  “Sure.”

  “What would make you happy in this situation?”

  “Staying here. Making sure you’re safe so I don’t pace the floor, wondering if you’re okay.”

  Her heart beat more quickly. He wanted to protect her. How could she not respond to that? Still, she couldn’t be selfish. “What about spending time with your family?”

  “I do spend time with them while you’re at work.” He chuckled. “Too much time, sometimes. I live with a team of guys, and now I’m with my brothers. I prefer sleeping in a bed with you rather than sleeping in a house crowded with testosterone.”

  Her lips quirked. “I enjoy that, too.”

  “I want to come back here tonight.” He stood and walked over to her and then ran his index finger over her cheek and over her bottom lip. “Because I want to see you again.”

  She tried to stop it from trembling. Wherever he skimmed, his fingers left a trail of scorching heat.

  He took her hand and she stood before him. Then he trailed his fingers over the side of her neck and collarbone, running them down to her breast and stroking a nipple with his thumb. Her body simmered, responding to his touch. The atmosphere between them had shifted, from tense to sensual.

  “Is staying here still on the table?” he murmured with a brush of his lips against her ear.

  She cocked a brow. “On the table. On the sofa. On the counter. Or bed…”

&n
bsp; Angelo glanced at her with an irresistible grin. “I’m game for all of the above.”

  “Yes, stay.” As if she’d ever want him to leave. “But only if you agree to keep things as they are.”

  “Meaning?”

  “No bodyguard kind of stuff, like stalking through the bushes or peering out windows for danger, or any GI Joe stuff.”

  “SEAL stuff,” he corrected.

  “Fine, no crazy SEAL stunts.”

  “Okay, so what do you want?”

  For him to be there because he wanted to be, not because he felt some duty to protect her. “The way things have been. Dinner. Sex. Lots of sex.” She cocked her head and smiled. “And delicious breakfasts the morning after.”

  “I’m already getting hungry.” His voice dropped to a deliciously dark tone. He ran his finger over her bottom lip. “Are you getting hungry, Cate?”

  He stepped closer and bent down, brushing his lips against her throat.

  Heat coiled through her body. Her breath came quicker. “Yes.”

  “Looks like I received new orders,” he murmured.

  She blinked. “What?”

  “Relocate to your bed.”

  She laughed. “Yes. I have another hour or so before I have to leave.”

  They hurried upstairs and he lowered her onto the bed. The dark glint in his eyes made her pulse quicken. Damn, he was breathtaking. Why did their time together have to be so short?

  The answer came clear from a dark recess in her mind. Because if he stayed in town much longer, she might be in danger of falling in love with him.

  She was halfway there already.

  Angelo lowered himself onto her and silenced her thoughts with a deep kiss. Heat reignited deep inside her. She wrapped her arms around him, ruffling her fingers over the shorter hair at the base of his neck.

  “Oh, Angelo,” she murmured.

  “I’m right here.” He moved his mouth to her neck and then gave her a gentle bite on her shoulder. “And here.” Then he moved down to her breast and further down.

  She sucked in a breath, anticipating his next move.

  He kissed below her belly button. “And here…”

  Chapter Eleven

  Angelo

  After Angelo returned to Newport, he and his brothers headed to the football stadium. He tightened the laces of his sneakers at the foot of the bleachers. Once he stood, he scanned the route around the stands. They should have come earlier in the morning. The near noontime sun gleamed down on them. At least working out with his brothers would help him get out of his head for a while, and not fixate on those messages sent to Cate. She might have thought he was overreacting, but it was always better to be prepared.

  Matty pulled his Red Sox hat lower, blocking more of the sun. He wore his usual workout shorts. Today it was black and paired with a red compression shirt.

  “You look worried. You sure you can handle this, old man?” he teased.

  Angelo huffed. “You sure you have enough experience, little brother?”

  Vince chuckled and ran his hand over his stubble like it was a foreign object. He’d taken a break from the clean-cut shave demanded in the Marines but wore a Semper Fi T-shirt announcing his affiliation.

  “What are you laughing at, Devil Dog?” Matty turned to Vince. “I bet you don’t even make it to section five.”

  Vince put on aviator sunglasses and then alternated legs as he stretched in a lunging position up the bleachers. “So much talk, man, and such little action.”

  “Is that right?” Matty faced forward. “3-2-1-Go!” He bolted up the steps.

  Vince swore under his breath and followed. Angelo shook his head. Jackasses. They’d burn out in no time at that rate. He went through some dynamic stretches and then ran up the first stairs, using a slower pace to ease into the workout. In each section, he altered his pace and technique. He ran quicker up the stairs and took longer, slower lunging steps up the bleachers.

  He caught up with his brothers about a third of the way through the sections. Both sat and panted. They’d taken off their T-shirts and glistened with sweat.

  Angelo laughed. “You rocks. Would you start out a marathon with a sprint?”

  Matty wiped sweat from his forehead with his shirt. “It’s hot as fuck out here. That’s why.”

  “Please,” Angelo countered. “We’re not in the desert. It’s just that you’re competitive as fuck.”

  Vince turned to Matty, reflecting a miniature version of him in his mirrored sunglasses. “Trying to prove you’re as tough as your big brothers.”

  “Bullshit,” Matty barked under a fake cough. “I’m still in my peak, while you’re both pushing past your prime.”

  Vince shook his head and laughed. “I’m with you this time, man.” He raised his chin at Angelo. “Instead of shit-for-brains.” He pointed his thumb at Matty.

  “You’re not ditching me,” Matty said. “I’m coming.”

  “Drink more water so you don’t get dehydrated,” Angelo directed. “I don’t want to have to carry either of you back because you passed out.”

  “Yes, Doc,” Matty acknowledged with a sly grin.

  Angelo removed his T-shirt as well as it had started clinging to him. With the sun beating down and his body heating up, the fewer clothes, the better. After a few more minutes, Angelo led his brothers at his pace and technique. They caught the eyes of some college girls also working out in the stadium.

  “Looking good, ladies,” Matty acknowledged.

  He didn’t abandon the workout to go flirt but followed Angelo’s directions breaking up the workout with rounds of pushups and squat-thrusts. They finished the stairs, and then cooled down with a lap around the nearby track.

  Matty prodded Vince. “We should go talk to them when we’re done.”

  “Yeah, you smell great,” Vince replied in his wry tone.

  Matty sniffed. “I’ve smelled worse. And so have you.” He nodded. “They might find it manly.”

  “Oh yeah, irresistible,” Vince quipped.

  Angelo ignored them. He didn’t have any interest in the women. Only one was on his mind. The situation with Cate returned. What would his brothers think? They wouldn’t hold back if they thought Angelo was overreacting and acting like some possessive caveman.

  “I want to run something by you both.”

  “Shoot,” Vince said.

  “This guy has been contacting Cate,” he began, unable to keep the tension from his tone.

  “Is there an and or a but coming?” Matty asked.

  Angelo pulled at his beard. “Yes. And he’s been warning her and some co-workers about their work for the government. Some nut claiming the government has messed with his memories.”

  Vince’s expression turned grim. “Has he made threats?”

  “Not that I know. But I haven’t read the messages. It sounds like a rant about what happened to his memory.”

  Matty snapped his fingers. “Sounds like someone wrapped up in conspiracy theories.”

  That’s what Angelo thought and couldn’t stop thinking about. He didn’t mention it again until they’d finished the lap and headed onto the grass to cool down.

  He lunged forward to stretch out his legs. “Cate reported it at the university, and supposedly they’re looking into it. She hasn’t told the local police. I think she should, but she thinks I’m overreacting. Am I?”

  Vince rolled his shoulders back and pulled one arm across his chest. “It depends. If it’s just a mass mailing, it’s probably just spam. But, if it’s more targeted at Cate—with a specific threat—then I’d be concerned.”

  Angelo nodded and stretched out the other leg. Perhaps Vince was right. Still, he didn’t like anyone bothering Cate, in any way. If he could stop it, he would.

  “I told her if she wasn’t going to have the cops watch out for her, then I’d stay there.”

  “That’s one way to ensure the return invitation to her bed,” Matty quipped.

  Angelo shot Matty a
look. “It’s more than that. Something about this sets me on edge. I don’t like it.”

  Vince reached behind him to hold his ankle and stretch his quad. “If you’re there, you can watch for anything off, and note things she might have overlooked.”

  “But then what happens after you leave?” Matty cocked his head.

  Angelo scowled. That was something he didn’t want to think about. Sure, he was around to protect her now, but what happened next week when he was back with his team in Little Creek? And then sent to who knows where for who knew how long?

  “I don’t know.” He gritted his teeth.

  “I’m not just talking about this dude,” Matty clarified. “What happens with you and Cate?”

  Angelo exhaled. He took a swig of water from his stainless-steel bottle. That was another question. A big one. And one he didn’t have any idea of how to answer.

  “Hell, if I know.”

  “Doc, you seem to have your shit together,” Matty said. “But then you see a girl from high school and turn as mushy as grits? I don’t get it.”

  Ignoring Matty, Angelo sat on the grass, and stretched his legs wide. As he leaned forward, the scent of the grass filled his nose. Matty’s words echoed in Angelo’s head. He didn’t get it either. Things had morphed quickly with Cate. Although he’d been the one who had warned he wasn’t cut out for a relationship, he was also the one who had practically insisted he move in while on leave.

  Hell, Cate was the one who studied brains. What would she think about the questions in his head?

  Did he want to watch over her or was it something more?

  The next afternoon, Angelo tried a different tactic to head over to Cate’s. He wanted to make the best of the summer day without a cloud in the bluebird sky. He rented a bike in Newport and rode over to East Bay Bike Path to travel to Providence. One of his favorite routes, it offered him spectacular water views. He wanted to soak in as much as he could before returning to some dry desert or dense forest. It would take a couple of hours or so to reach Cate’s place, but it doubled as his workout.

  Last night, he’d struggled not to come off as a paranoid SEAL on watch for danger when he’d returned to Cate’s. She wanted things to remain normal and he didn’t blame her. She’d called him out on it last night.