be home in Texas doing just that had he not been summoned to the admiral’s office.
So here he was, and although he was in Key West on official military business and he was supposed to be investigating Swan, he loved spending time with her.
Tonight, when she’d met Danica, it had been priceless. You would have thought Swan had met a Hollywood celebrity. He had sat there while the two women conversed, immediately as comfortable as old friends.
The sound of Swan’s voice had been maddeningly sexy with a tinge of sweetness that had stroked his senses. For the first time since returning to the States, he had allowed himself to uncoil, to loosen up and relax while appreciating the richness of her personality. Her persona was uniquely hers and the sensuality of her very being called to him in a primitive way.
And that wasn’t good.
Taking a huge swig of his beer, he switched his thoughts to what he should be focused on—what she’d told him about Jamila and Rafe. Remembering what she’d said, he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his shorts and with one click he connected to his friend Nick Stover.
“This better be good, Flipper. Natalie is taking an art class at the university tonight and I have babysitting duties.”
Flipper couldn’t help but smile. Like Bane, Nick had triplets and from the sound of the noise in the background, the triplets had him. “Stop whining. Taking care of a trio of three-year-olds can’t be too bad.”
“Then you come do it.”
“Sorry, I’m on assignment.”
“So I hear. In the Keys, right?”
He figured for Nick to know that much meant he’d either talked to Bane, Viper, Mac or Coop. “Yes, I’m in Key West.”
“While you’re there, be sure to stop by Danica’s. Give her a hug for me.”
“I did that already. Tonight, in fact.”
“Good.”
“I think she has more photos of the triplets than you do.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. So if you can’t be a backup babysitter, why are you calling?”
“When you arrive at your cushy job at Homeland Security tomorrow, there are two people I need you to check out for me. I’ve read naval intelligence reports on them, but something isn’t adding up. Call me a suspicious bastard, but after that situation with Bane, when those traitors within the agencies were exposed, I’m not taking any chances.”
He then told Nick about the discrepancies between what the reports said and what Swan had told him. “Somebody is lying. Either Jamila lied to Swan or someone falsified the report, and I want to know which it is.”
“He’s baaack,” Jamila said.
Swan pushed away from her desk. She didn’t have to ask who Jamila was talking about. “I was expecting him,” she said in what she hoped was a professional tone. “He needs to look at designs for earrings.”
“If you say so. I’ll send him in here.”
Swan was about to tell Jamila they could use the computer out front, but Jamila was gone after closing the door behind her.
Standing, Swan inhaled deeply. How she had finished the books last night, she wasn’t sure. Thoughts of David had been stronger than ever after their night out. When she’d gone to bed, she had dreamed about him. Okay, she’d dreamed about him before, but the dreams last night had been so hot it was a wonder they hadn’t burned her sheets. She had been tempted to do something she hadn’t done in a long time, reactivate her vibrator.
She drew in a deep breath when she heard the knock on her door. “Come in.”
And in walked David, looking sexier than he had the other times she’d seen him. Last night, to stay focused, she had come up with every reason she could think of for why she shouldn’t be attracted to him and why a relationship with him wouldn’t work.
She’d even thrown in the race card. But of course that was thrown out when she remembered her parents and how happy they had been together. Yet she also couldn’t forget how her father’s family had ostracized him for his choice in love. Would David’s family be the same way? There was no reason to think they wouldn’t. And wasn’t she getting ahead of herself for even throwing love in the mix?
“Hello, David.”
“Swan.” He glanced at her desk, taking in all the folders spread across it. “You’re busy.”
“That’s fine. Besides, I need to get those earrings ready for you.”
Now that he’d seen her desk, it would make perfect sense for her to suggest they use the computer out front to design the earrings. But now that she had him behind closed doors, she liked it.
Not that she planned on doing anything about having him here.
“Please have a seat while I clear off my desk.” Today he was wearing jeans and she couldn’t help but watch how fluidly his body eased into the chair. How the denim stretched across a pair of muscular thighs. She quickly switched her gaze before he caught her looking.
“Nice office.”
“Thanks.” She closed the folders and placed them in her inbox tray. She then glanced over at him and caught him looking at her. She followed his gaze and soon figured out why he was staring.
She was wearing a skirt with a V-neck blouse, and when she’d leaned over to place the folders in the tray, her shirt had shown a portion of her cleavage. Instead of calling him out for trying to cop a view of her breasts, the fact that he was interested sparked a distinct warmth between her legs.
She quickly sat down. “Now if you would roll that chair over here, I am ready.” Too late, she realized how that sounded and quickly added, “To look at designs.”
He smiled. “I know what you meant.”
He rolled his chair behind her desk to place it right next to hers. When he sat down, their legs touched. Moving away would be pretty obvious so she let the denim of his jeans rub against her bare legs.
“Now, then,” she said, trying not to notice how good he smelled. “What do you think of these?” she asked, bringing up a few designs on the computer screen.
When he didn’t answer, she glanced over at him and found him staring at her. Sitting so close to him, she could look directly into his laser-blue eyes. It was as if his gaze was deliberately doing something to her, causing a surge in her breath and arousal to coil in her core. She saw the dark heat in his eyes and desire clawed at her even more.
“May I make a suggestion?” he asked in a voice that seemed to wobble in a sexual way.
“It depends on what that suggestion is,” she heard herself say.
He leaned in a little closer
