could give in to temptation and say more.
Aiden stared, unseeing, out the windshield, row after row of grapevines a blur.
Was he burned out? Was he just overwhelmed by the emotional impact of losing Carter, of facing the very real possibility of losing Professor Taylor?
Or was his brain blood-starved after an exhausted night of horny overload?
Aiden considered all of those valid reasons for his current stress level, and none of them necessary reasons for him to head back early. He was a dedicated SEAL, his entire life revolving around serving his country.
A few people, especially here in Villa Rosa, thought he served for revenge. That he’d joined the navy with a laser focus on being a SEAL because of his parents’ death in the Twin Towers attack.
Those people were wrong.
And they were right.
He had joined with the goal of stopping terrorists. But not for revenge. Intellectually, revenge wasn’t strategic. But actively working to prevent that kind of thing from ever happening again? There was enough strategy in that for Aiden to be comfortable making it a career. A calling, even.
He sighed. Glanced at his phone.
Would he be heading back because it was his calling? Because he was necessary for the success of this mission?
Nope.
As good as he was, he was just another tool in the SEALs’ arsenal. A damned good one, but he wasn’t irreplaceable.
Bottom line, he wanted to escape.
He just wasn’t sure what he was trying to escape from.
He actually wanted to turn the car around, head straight for the airport and leave a message at the Taylors’ that he’d been called back on duty.
They’d both unquestionably accept his decision. While neither understood his career choice, they’d never questioned his devotion to it either.
It was the perfect excuse. Then he could lose himself in a mission that would demand one-hundred-and-ten percent of his focus. He could put all worries of the Professor’s health out of his mind. And he could avoid any and all physical contact with Sage. The more he was with her, the hotter the fantasies were getting. But this mission would mean he’d most likely be halfway around the world, being shot at. It was pretty damned difficult to entertain sexual fantasies while dodging bullets.
He rested his forehead on the steering wheel, hating the decision he knew he was about to make.
Hating the drama it was going to embroil him in and the slew of tangled, messy problems it was guaranteed to create.
But hating a situation had never stopped him from facing it before. So he reached for his phone.
“No can do,” he told Castillo when the other guy answered. “I’ve got my own life-or-death scenario here, complete with its own set of hazards and challenges.”
* * *
I T WAS ABOUT TIME .
Sage had been watching for Aiden all morning. Peeking through the front curtains like a nosy neighbor, or worse, a lovesick schoolgirl, for the past hour. Finally, he was here.
Her eyes narrowed as she peered through the window.
He looked terrible.
She wasn’t sure if it was worry over her father that had him looking so unhappy. Or if he was feeling the misery of their engagement. Preferably the latter, since she could charm him out of that. Hopefully.
“Good morning,” Sage greeted in a singsong tone, welcoming him with a bright smile as he mounted the front steps. Sunshine filled the porch, haloing around his head, adding intensity to his furrowed brow and grumpy look. All those years in the military didn’t seem to have made Aiden a morning person.
No matter. Sage loved mornings enough for both of them. So much so that she widened her smile and shifted to gesture him inside. As soon as he crossed the threshold, she stood on tiptoe to brush a kiss across his cheek. Then pressed her lips tight together to keep from grinning at his scowl.
Yep. He was still a morning grump.
A cute one, too, she noted, her smile dimming.
“You’re just in time,” she said, determined to ignore the
Aiden stared, unseeing, out the windshield, row after row of grapevines a blur.
Was he burned out? Was he just overwhelmed by the emotional impact of losing Carter, of facing the very real possibility of losing Professor Taylor?
Or was his brain blood-starved after an exhausted night of horny overload?
Aiden considered all of those valid reasons for his current stress level, and none of them necessary reasons for him to head back early. He was a dedicated SEAL, his entire life revolving around serving his country.
A few people, especially here in Villa Rosa, thought he served for revenge. That he’d joined the navy with a laser focus on being a SEAL because of his parents’ death in the Twin Towers attack.
Those people were wrong.
And they were right.
He had joined with the goal of stopping terrorists. But not for revenge. Intellectually, revenge wasn’t strategic. But actively working to prevent that kind of thing from ever happening again? There was enough strategy in that for Aiden to be comfortable making it a career. A calling, even.
He sighed. Glanced at his phone.
Would he be heading back because it was his calling? Because he was necessary for the success of this mission?
Nope.
As good as he was, he was just another tool in the SEALs’ arsenal. A damned good one, but he wasn’t irreplaceable.
Bottom line, he wanted to escape.
He just wasn’t sure what he was trying to escape from.
He actually wanted to turn the car around, head straight for the airport and leave a message at the Taylors’ that he’d been called back on duty.
They’d both unquestionably accept his decision. While neither understood his career choice, they’d never questioned his devotion to it either.
It was the perfect excuse. Then he could lose himself in a mission that would demand one-hundred-and-ten percent of his focus. He could put all worries of the Professor’s health out of his mind. And he could avoid any and all physical contact with Sage. The more he was with her, the hotter the fantasies were getting. But this mission would mean he’d most likely be halfway around the world, being shot at. It was pretty damned difficult to entertain sexual fantasies while dodging bullets.
He rested his forehead on the steering wheel, hating the decision he knew he was about to make.
Hating the drama it was going to embroil him in and the slew of tangled, messy problems it was guaranteed to create.
But hating a situation had never stopped him from facing it before. So he reached for his phone.
“No can do,” he told Castillo when the other guy answered. “I’ve got my own life-or-death scenario here, complete with its own set of hazards and challenges.”
* * *
I T WAS ABOUT TIME .
Sage had been watching for Aiden all morning. Peeking through the front curtains like a nosy neighbor, or worse, a lovesick schoolgirl, for the past hour. Finally, he was here.
Her eyes narrowed as she peered through the window.
He looked terrible.
She wasn’t sure if it was worry over her father that had him looking so unhappy. Or if he was feeling the misery of their engagement. Preferably the latter, since she could charm him out of that. Hopefully.
“Good morning,” Sage greeted in a singsong tone, welcoming him with a bright smile as he mounted the front steps. Sunshine filled the porch, haloing around his head, adding intensity to his furrowed brow and grumpy look. All those years in the military didn’t seem to have made Aiden a morning person.
No matter. Sage loved mornings enough for both of them. So much so that she widened her smile and shifted to gesture him inside. As soon as he crossed the threshold, she stood on tiptoe to brush a kiss across his cheek. Then pressed her lips tight together to keep from grinning at his scowl.
Yep. He was still a morning grump.
A cute one, too, she noted, her smile dimming.
“You’re just in time,” she said, determined to ignore the
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