Page 17 of Securing Jane

Conversation flowed easily, and not once did things feel awkward. She didn’t hesitate to help with the dishes and laughed when she’d seen his collection of funny mugs he’d acquired over the years.

After dinner had been cleared away, they’d settled on his couch to watch—what else—Shawshank Redemption, and she’d fallen asleep within minutes. Storm knew he should wake her up and take her home, but he was enjoying holding her as she slept. She’d put her head on his shoulder when they’d sat down and hadn’t protested when he’d wrapped an arm around her.

Storm had no idea what it was about Jane that felt so right. He’d been on a lot of first dates, and none had been as satisfying as this one. Maybe it was because the pressure of sex was off the table. She’d made her stance more than clear on that, and honestly, it was a relief. Storm craved a deeper connection with someone, and with Jane, he was getting just that.

On the television screen, the part in Shawshank where Andy Dufresne put on the Italian opera started, and the music was loud in the room around them. Jane stirred and opened her eyes.

“Crap, I fell asleep,” she muttered.

Storm couldn’t help but smile again. “You did,” he agreed.

“It’s rude. You should’ve nudged me.”

“No way in hell was that gonna happen. You’ve had a hard couple of days. Besides, it’s not a hardship holding you,” Storm told her.

He loved how she blushed.

“You want me to take you home?” he asked.

He was thrilled when she shook her head. “Not yet…if that’s okay. I’m really comfortable. And we haven’t gotten to the good part in the movie yet. I love the ending when Red narrates and wraps everything up.”

“It’s more than okay,” Storm reassured her.

“Can you tell me about your teams?” she asked.

“Wow, that was out of the blue,” he teased.

Jane chuckled. “Yeah, my mind works in weird ways. Earlier, you said something about your men managing to have loving relationships while being on a SEAL team. That got me to thinking about what happened recently in the parking lot of our building, with that crazy woman trying to shoot that SEAL, and how his girlfriend crawled under the cars to grab her ankles. And that got me thinking about how hard it must’ve been for you to have to punish Phantom for disobeying your order and going overseas to rescue his girlfriend, even though they weren’t dating at the time. And that got me thinking about how difficult it must be to balance being their boss and their friend.”

Storm chuckled. He loved getting an insight to the way her mind worked. He scooted down a bit on the couch and sighed in contentment when Jane snuggled deeper into him. “I’m not sure where to start,” he admitted.

“How many teams are you working with?”

“Three. And that might not sound like a lot, but it’s important to me to investigate everything about where they might be sent so they aren’t heading into a situation with incomplete information. It’s a lot of work. And when one team is deployed on a mission, I’m still researching other areas of the world where the other two might be sent. Not to mention assisting their families with anything that might come up, as well as the government red tape. It keeps me busy.”

Jane snorted. “Understatement of the year,” she said under her breath. “Tell me about the team who was involved in the parking lot incident.”

“You already know Phantom was the one who was targeted. A woman he dated became obsessed with him and decided if she couldn’t have him, no one could. As you know, it was handled quickly, and luckily without anyone getting hurt.”

“I heard you basically gave him a slap on the wrist for disobeying your orders…was that a hard decision?”

“Not at all,” Storm told her. “What he did was stupid, simply because he could’ve gotten hurt. He went in to get Kalee without any backup, which could’ve ended very badly. But here’s the thing…it’s exactly the kind of action I would’ve taken when I was his age. The thought of that young woman being stranded overseas was horrifying, but without the approval of the Timor-Leste government to go back in, our hands were tied.”

“She’s okay though?” Jane asked.

Storm nodded. “She is. She’s amazing. And I’m proud as hell of Phantom. I’m glad things are working out between him and Kalee. He deserves to have someone as strong as she is by his side. They all do. Rocco, Gumby, Ace, Bubba, and Rex…they’re good men who do whatever is asked of them without complaint. I’m glad they each have someone to come home to.”

“Was anyone there for you when you came home from missions?” she asked.

Storm sighed. “Not really. There were women here and there, but none could handle the secrecy that came along with my job. They didn’t like not knowing where I was or when I would be home. And they really didn’t like that I couldn’t tell them anything about the missions when I returned. Some assumed I was cheating on them because of all the secrecy, and others just got fed up with me not being around.”

“That wasn’t fair,” Jane said softly.

“It was what it was,” Storm said matter-of-factly. “Honestly, most of the time it was a relief when they called it off. I can’t say I was the best boyfriend, and like I mentioned, I didn’t think it was fair to put someone through the heartache and worry that comes with being the partner of a SEAL. I’m proud as hell of my men. It’s not easy to be a SEAL and have a family.”

Storm looked down to find Jane studying him intently. “What?” he asked.

“I just…you sound like you’re resigned to being single.”