AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sighing, he turned away from the window, stilling when he spied Astrid sitting on the edge of the bed. Lost in his thoughts, he hadn’t heard her exit the bathroom which was attached to their room.
“Hey,” he said softly, then padded over to where she sat, her expression pensive, her fingers clasped tightly together.
Immediately, he shook off his melancholy and squatted down in front of her. “What’s wrong? Did you get a call? Text message?” He fired off his questions, going totally into protect mode. A mode which was a constant with Astrid.
“No, nothing like that,” she said quietly, her gaze not quite meeting his.
What the hell had happened between her going to the bathroom and now?
They’d said their goodnights to Penni and Fort and headed upstairs together, arms around each other as if they’d been a couple for years. She’d even given him a quick kiss on the lips before disappearing into the bathroom.
“Talk to me, Comet. What’s going through your mind?” He brushed his fingers over her clasped ones. A sliver of electricity jolted through him, and he wanted to create more of it. Create it until it consumed both him and Astrid. But he couldn’t do any of that until he got to the bottom of what was troubling her.
“When I came back into the bedroom, I sat here and watched you as you gazed out the window. You looked so sad. As if you didn’t want to be here. Are you sad?”
Have I made you sad?
The question wasn’t said, but he could see it in her eyes. The uncertainty.
He moved to sit on the bed next to her, gathering her close. Tension kept her body stiff in his hold, and he wanted nothing more than to have her relax into him. Let him take the burden that she carried—a burden he’d unwillingly given her.
He wasn’t a sharing sort of guy, but he wanted to share everything with Astrid. Wanted to talk to her about the emotions being around his team again stirred up. Growler couldn’t deny that he wanted more with her. He wanted what his former teammates had with their partners. What he was feeling for Astrid wasn’t what he’d ever felt for a woman before. Before, he’d dated to relieve an itch. There was no itch with Astrid. There was only longing and dreaming for a future he hadn’t allowed himself to want or think about.
Until now. Until her.
“Coming here, being around my former teammates is hard. I haven’t been out of the service long. I thought it would be easy to adjust to civilian life. I was tired. A little disgruntled with things and made the decision that the best thing for me was to leave the Navy.” He stroked his finger along hers, and slowly she relaxed the grip she’d had around herself. “There were times when conversation stopped when I came up to a couple of them and knew they were talking about work and upcoming missions. Things that they would’ve shared with me but can’t now. There was no malice on their part. I don’t blame them for stopping talking. It just…” he trailed off, not wanting to say the word because he didn’t want to sound like he was a whiny teenager and was being shut out by a group of friends.
“Hurt. It hurt, didn’t it?”
Growler shouldn’t be surprised that Astrid had picked up on what was troubling him. Many times, in the last few days, he’d known what she was thinking. They were in tune with each other.
“It did. I won’t lie and say that before I saw you on the bed, I was wondering if I’d done the right thing. I don’t have the same relationship with the rest of the guys at Alliez. I miss that team vibe. The inside jokes. The way, no matter what time, I could call and one of them, or the whole team, would be there in a flash.”
Astrid smiled, a hint of understanding in her eyes. “I know it’s not the same as having a team, but I get it. I had that with my dad. Is it possible to build that sense of team over time with them? I mean Angel said he was a SEAL, so he would be used to working with a team, right?”
Growler nodded. “Yeah, but what we do is more a solitary job. Angel has his jobs. Irish his. I’m not sure if Ox does any security work or just runs things. But when I was on the team, Ox helped us out a few times. It’s why—” He broke off, not sure if he should say anything about what Ox was planning with the business. But this was Astrid, and if he hoped that they had a future together, she would find out anyway.
“Why?”
Growler made a decision. He trusted Astrid. Trusted that she wouldn’t gossip about what Ox had planned to anyone. “Ox is looking at expanding the business from personal security to doing other things.”
Astrid’s brow furrowed. “Other things?”
“Yeah. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but he’s establishing a relationship with an FBI Agent to take on covert jobs for them.”
“Like what you did as a SEAL? Would the FBI work with you or other special forces teams to get the jobs done?”
“There’s that possibility, and as I said, I don’t know all the details, but there are sometimes places and jobs that the military can’t do or be involved in and that’s where we’d come in.”
She leaned closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder, and Growler breathed out a breath of relief that she hadn’t put distance between them. “Is it dangerous?”
“No more dangerous than what I did before, I’m guessing. Or no more dangerous than getting chased on the interstate and being shot at.” He winked and nudged her shoulder.
“I guess,” she chuckled and then yawned.
“It’s late. Let’s get into bed. I don’t think Penni’s got anything planned for us tomorrow, so I thought we can take a trip to the beach and a drive past the base I used to be stationed at.”
“I’d like that. And Callum?” Her fingers trailed down his cheek and fire burned low in his belly, his cock stirring to life. “I’m not that tired.”
