His Wicked Pleasure (Wicked #1) Read online

  ~*~*~*~

  As Declan stood on the tarmac, he noticed his commander stealthily making his way towards him and his unit. His brows furrowed, his neat, salt and pepper hair blowing in the wind as he neared.

  His body language immediately shifted from relaxed to tense. He stood at attention, gave a crisp salute and in a deep, masculine voice greeted, “Commander Thompson, Sir.”

  “At ease Lieutenant. I need you and two of your best men to pack up your belongings, you’ve been reassigned.”

  “Sir?” asked Declan in surprise. He wasn’t sure if he understood correctly. “Belongings, Sir?”

  “Yes. You and two of your best men are to be back here at 0500 hour.”

  Without hesitation, Declan nodded, “What about the rest of the team Commander? What are their orders?”

  “They will report to base at 0600 tomorrow for their next assignment.” He nodded at Declan and then walked far enough away for Declan to speak to his men. Commander Thompson waited while he chose two of his best men and gave the rest of his teams their orders for tomorrow.

  Standing at attention, the three men patiently waited to hear what their next assignment would be.

  “Gentlemen, at ease,” said the commander in a relaxed voice as he turned and made his way towards the waiting car. Noticing the men didn’t follow him, he affirmed, “Well come on, how do you expect to get back to base without a ride?”

  “The thought did cross my mind,” Paul replied with a smile and it earned him a low growl from Declan.

  “Ease up lad,” pointed the commander, “I did use the words at ease.”

  “Yes, you did, Sir,” remembered Declan with a forced smile. He always had a hard time being at ease and had learnt a long time ago that he needed to stay focused.

  “Great job rescuing the hostages. Major McKinnley is extremely grateful for a job well done.”

  “Thank you Sir,” answered Paul with an easy smile, “It appears the Lieutenant seems to have forgotten his manners.”

  Finally relaxing, Declan smiled at his commander and replied, “My

  apologies Sir. I’m happy we were able to return Major McKinnley’s men, just wish we got there sooner. A few of them are in pretty bad shape.”

  “But they’re alive son,” he glanced towards Declan before he glanced at the other men, “Thanks to your entire team.”

  “Yes Commander, they are alive,” assured Declan with a hint of sadness. Looking at his comrades then over to the Commander, he said with a smile, “Can’t say that about the enemy now, can we?”

  “No, we can’t,” replied Matt with excitement, “That place was lit up like the Fourth of July.”

  The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Pulling up to the base, they all went their separate ways, each lost in their own thoughts. Making his way into his small military like apartment, Declan showered before he packed his belongings so he was ready for his next assignment.

  ~*~*~*~

  As Kristie and Lorie made their way back to the office, they noticed their sister, Daniella, waiting for them. “Hey Daniella, what a pleasant surprise!” Kristie exclaimed as she walked over and hugged her sister.

  “Not to be a trouble maker,” said Lorie with a smirk. “But where have you been lately? It’s been rather difficult to keep our brothers off your scent. Just saying.”

  Looking around nervously, Daniella whispered, “I need to talk to you.”

  “Oh no, I don’t like the way that sounds,” said Kristie as she pulled her sisters into her office and closed the door.

  Without wasting a second, the girls sat down. Daniella smiled nervously as she played with her hair. She took in a deep breath as though she was steeling herself for a fight, “In all honesty, I’ve been staying at Marissa’s.”

  Folding her arms across her chest while she crossed her legs, Kristie growled, “We weren’t born yesterday Daniella, if this is the truth, why haven’t you called us?”

  Taking another deep breath, Daniella let it out slowly before she said in a huff, “I’m sort of hiding out.”

  “What?” Lorie and Kristie exclaimed in unison as they stared at their wayward sister. If that was the truth, their sister was in some crazy kind of trouble...maybe even pregnant.

  “Stop jumping to the wrong conclusions,” barked Daniella, “As if I would be so stupid to do something to tarnish our family name.”

  “Whew,” Kristie sighed as she pretended to wipe her brow. “I don’t know about you Lor, but I sure feel a lot better now, how about you?”

  Lorie shook her head, not realizing the sarcasm in Kristie’s tone, “I’m not there yet, I need to hear a little more.”

  “I’ve been doing some undercover work for my next magazine article,” Daniella said in a nonchalant tone.

  “Go on,” said Lorie, “I can’t wait to hear this one.”

  “I’m so tired of men and the games they play. I’ve decided to go undercover and watch them in action.”

  “Where? How?” asked Kristie with a smile. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with someone in particular? Would it?”

  Choosing to ignore her sister completely, Daniella responded, “Marissa and I have been to just about every bar in the neighborhood. Trust me, it’s a freaking jungle out there, tomorrow the three of us are going to a Single’s Mingle.”

  “Are you serious?” asked Kristie looking at Daniella as if she’s lost her mind. “How on earth will we pull this off without the media hounds following us? That will surely blow your cover.”

  “No, it won’t,” Lorie replied with a smile. “It’s pure genius.”

  Kristie grimaced as she rubbed the headache her sister was causing. “It’s asinine,” she whispered, “I can just see the headlines now, ‘Rossi Sisters Desperate to Find Love. Details page three.’”

  “Always so dramatic,” said Daniella with an edge to her voice. “My darling sisters, this is our ticket out for a night of fun without our brothers having to worry. We’ll all have some fun while I’m actually working. It’s a win-win situation for us all.”

  “Really?” asked Kristie as she pulled her mountain of paperwork in front of her and looked at it for a moment as she ignored Daniella waiting for her to say something more. She signed a few of the papers that needed to go out before she looked at her sisters. She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow and asked, “What happens if they show up?”

  Daniella smiled and Kristie could tell that she wouldn’t be easily dissuaded. “That’s why it’s so perfect.” Daniella practically beamed with excitement, “Here’s my assignment.” She rummaged through her extra, large purse and placed a manila folder onto Kristie’s desk.

  Kristie eyed the folder with a mixture of curiosity and dread as Lorie clapped her hands together, “Fantastic!” Lorie exclaimed, “I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Declan, Paul, and Matt stood beside the vehicles as they waited to get going on their next assignment. The commander had suggested that everyone on the team take their own vehicle for the six-hour drive. While it would be easier to drive together, once they were there, they needed their own vehicles for the mission. Declan agreed with him. However, before they left, he needed to go over the files that commander had just handed him.

  Declan glanced up from the paperwork and scratched his head, “Am I reading this right Commander? We’re going to New York?”

  “Yes, you and your men have five days to move into your apartments and get familiar with your surroundings. I’ll be in touch with more information as I deem necessary,” Commander Thompson said firmly. It was clear that he would not allow any arguing.

  “No problem Sir,” said Declan, “I’ve always wanted to go to New York and live amongst the insanity of the city dwellers.”

  “Coming from a fellow country boy, prepare for culture shock,” joked his commander.

  “I did hear they have the best tap water,” Declan laughed as he thought of the water from his hometown of Hilton Head,
South Carolina and cringed.

  “Actually, they do. New York is well known for how good their tap water is.” His commander nodded and said, “Drive safe and I’ll be in touch with you in five days,” before he walked away.

  Paul glanced at Declan as he scratched his head, “Since when are SEALs in New York?”

  “Since now,” said Declan as he handed both Matt and Paul the keys to their apartments and a sheet of paper with an address for each of them. Taking his own envelope and set of keys, he walked over to his truck, climbed in, and plugged the address into his GPS.

  Just as he put his truck in drive, Paul pulled up alongside him and rolled down his window.

  “I’ll follow you,” he said with a smile on his face, “Matt is going to pick up Sheena, who’s been impatiently waiting for him...or so I hear.”

  Around noon, Declan called Paul. ‘Hey, according to the GPS, we’re about four miles from our soon to be dwelling. Do you want to go get situated or would you rather stop here and grab something to eat?’

  ‘Let’s stop and get something to eat. I’m starving. That drive depleted almost all of my reserves.’

  ‘Fine. There’s a parking lot a few feet to our left and a bunch of places to choose from.’

  The area reminded them of a quaint town with the old architecture, beautiful plants and trees lining the street, and friendly faces happily going about their business.

  “Wow,” said Paul, who was a native California boy, “I wasn’t expecting this.”

  “Me either,” said Declan as he took in the clean, litter free streets, the smell of fresh cut grass, and the over all beauty of the area. “Pleasantville, New York seems impressive so far.”

  Chapter Three

  Kristie glanced over the reports again and sighed. She’d been through these a dozen times and still came up with the same errors. Even sending them back to her staff was getting her nowhere. Giving a final sigh, she opened up her laptop and attached the reports to a new email before she added her uncle’s email address to it.

  Dear Uncle Frank,

  I‘ve been going over all the financials for Rossi Co. and the numbers don’t add up. I want to take care of this as soon as possible because if you notice the numbers in red, that’s a lot of money to be missing. Any advice?

  Love you and miss you,

  Kristie <3

  “Miss Rossi,” called her assistant’s masculine voice through the intercom, “Daniella is on line one.”

  “Thank you Stefan,” she said with a smile and picked up the phone, pressing the flashing light indicating the line. ‘Hello.’ Kristie sang happily into the phone receiver.

  ‘Hey sis, I’m starving. Wanna meet for a late lunch?’

  Kristie smiled, that was her sister through and through. ‘Sure,’ she replied, ‘I’m a little hungry too. Why don’t you text me the details and we can meet in an hour.’

  ‘Okay. I’ll see you in a bit,’ her sister stated before she hung up. Kristie laughed...so like Daniella. She sighed, it would be nice to take a break but she needed to finish up all this paperwork before she did. Placing the phone into the cradle, she tuned everything else out around her and went right back to work.

  ****

  Pulling up to the restaurant, Kristie turned off the engine and looked into the mirror. She reapplied her lipstick and added a dab of her favorite perfume. Slipping out of the car, she fumbled with her keys as she dropped them and her phone into her purse. Her body bounced off of a very hard surface and she tumbled to the ground; her purse...and all its contents...flying through the air.

  Her eyes focused on black shoes and slid up the trim body of a very large man. As her eyes slowly rolled up his body, she noticed muscular thighs, a trim waist, and broad shoulders. The moment her eyes locked with his, her heart rate accelerated and her hands began to sweat as she stared into one of the most handsome faces she’s seen. His dark brown eyes seemed to devour her causing her to feel like a deer in headlights. He looked as surprised as her as he stood there with an odd look on his face

  “Kristie,” yelled Lorie as she and Daniella watched everything from the opposite side of the sidewalk. Helping Kristie up, Lorie asked, “Are you okay?”

  Standing there watching everything, Daniella whispered with excitement in her voice, “Um, don’t look now, but that man can’t seem to take his eyes off of you, Kristie.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Declan couldn’t believe his eyes as he stared at the vision on the ground. Surely that woman couldn’t be real. There was no way. He glanced again and swore he saw an angel before him as her golden blonde hair blew lightly in the spring breeze. Squeezing his eyes shut, he opened them again and felt his head spin as his racing heart caused momentary paralysis. Unable to move, he stood there with his mouth open as his brown eyes drank in the vision before him.

  “Dude,” Paul nudged him after he made his way over to where Declan stood. A look of disgust filled his face. “What the hell just happened?”

  Running his fingers through his hair, Declan turned and watched one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen walk away. Not able to say anything coherent, he stood there like a first class boob and just stared at her.

  Following Declan’s eyes, Paul groaned, “You knocked that woman down and just stood there. What the hell is wrong with you? You look like the worst kind of person.”

  Rubbing his eyes while he got his breathing under control, Declan attempted to find his voice and muttered, “I don’t know what happened to me, its like a pod person took over my body and rendered me motionless. I couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t speak; I just froze up.”

  “Froze up? How does one just freeze up like that? Is she hurt?” asked Paul with concern.

  “How should I know? I was the idiot that just stood there with my mouth hanging open.”

  Looking at his best friend, Paul shook his head and started laughing, “You can take down an entire enemy squad but one tiny woman has you frozen; she actually rooted you to the very spot you’re standing in.”

  “Dude, did you happen to get a look at that girl?” Declan asked, his voice a squeak, which made him cough to clear it.

  Folding his arms across his chest, Paul growled, “There were three of them, or did you miss that too? One girl had long brown hair with caramel highlights and hazel eyes. If I guessed her age, I’d say she would be around twenty-four years old and was approximately five feet, eight inches tall. The other girl had medium length, light brown hair and the most amazing blue eyes I’ve ever seen. I’d say she was either twenty-three or twenty-four and was approximately five feet, six inches with an amazing body.”

  “Three?” asked Declan cutting off his friend as he turned to see if he could find the little goddess. Regret and disappointment flooded through him when he realized she was gone.

  “Let’s go before you cause any more trouble,” barked Paul as he led his friend to the same restaurant that he’d watched the three girls walk into. “Please, do me a favor. If we ever run into that girl again, don’t act like a classless boob; you have manners, use them.”

  ~*~*~*~

  Keeping her face down to hide her blush, Kristie didn’t want to acknowledge the rude stranger. Instead, she sat there studying the entire menu and doing her best to keep her nerves in check. Her heart was beating so fast, she was afraid it just might beat right out of her chest and fly across the room. Taking a deep, calming breath, she closed her eyes for a moment in an attempt to regroup.

  “Well hello ladies,” the stranger’s friend said with a huge smile on his face. He looked extremely charming but it was Lurch that kept drawing Kristie’s eyes. “We just wanted to know if your friend is all right?”

  Lorie glanced up at both men and blushed as she took in the handsome strangers. They were both good looking and she glanced at Kristie, kicking her to get her attention. Kristie jumped, “Ow,” before she glared at her sister.

  Dragging her gaze towards the stranger’s friend, Kristie said
, “Thank you...”

  He smiled, “Paul,” as he extended his hand, “And that is Declan.” He pointed at Lurch beside him.

  Kristie nodded, “Thank you again, but I’m fine.”

  “Well okay ladies, enjoy your lunch,” answered Paul as his smile deepened. There was a definite air of tension around her table and it was clear that Paul could sense it. With a nod, the two men turned their attention back to the hostess and followed her to their table.

  Kristie watched them go and she noticed that Declan made sure to sit facing her. Lorie hissed at Kristie, breaking her concentration on the man, “You didn’t have to come across so rude. For God’s sake, did you even get a look at those men?”