Loe raamatut: «An Honourable Seduction»
This navy SEAL is on a top-secret mission of seduction…
David Holloway is used to hard assignments. Now he faces his most difficult yet: cozying up to the soft curves of Swan Jamison. He wants to know the island beauty…in every way. But romancing Swan as part of his SEAL team’s mission tests his honor, even as his feelings become increasingly real. Soon he must make a choice: duty…or desire?
A Westmoreland Legacy Novel
About the Author
BRENDA JACKSON is a New York Times bestselling author of more than one hundred romance titles. Brenda lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and divides her time between family, writing and travelling. Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net
An Honourable Seduction
Brenda Jackson
ISBN: 978-1-474-07641-8
AN HONOURABLE SEDUCTION
© 2018 Brenda Jackson
Published in Great Britain 2020
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
About the Author
Title Page
Copyright
Note to Readers
Dedication
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Epilogue
About the Publisher
To the man who will forever be the love of my life,
Gerald Jackson, Sr.
To all of my readers who asked for Flipper’s story.
This one is for you!
To the Brenda Jackson Book Club/Facebook fans.
Over 4,000 strong and after fourteen years, you guys still rock!
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.
—Song of Solomon 8:7
Prologue
The Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, San Diego, California
“What kind of trouble have you gotten into?”
David Holloway, known to his Navy SEAL teammates as Flipper, glanced at the four men surrounding him. They were like brothers to him. More than once they’d risked their lives for each other and they would continue to have each other’s backs, on duty or off. That bond was what accounted for the concerned looks on their faces. He wondered how they’d known he’d been summoned to the admiral’s office.
“Let’s hope I’m not in any trouble, Mac,” Flipper said, rubbing a hand down his face.
He had to admit he was wondering what was going on, just like they were. Usually, you were only summoned to a meeting with the admiral when you were getting reprimanded for some reason, and he never got into trouble. At least he rarely did. As the son of a retired SEALs commanding officer and the youngest of five brothers—all Navy SEALs—he knew better.
“Maybe there’s an event on the base and he wants you to escort his daughter now that you’re the single one among us,” Coop said, grinning.
Flipper didn’t grin back. They’d seen Georgianna Martin, the admiral’s twenty-three-year-old daughter. She was beautiful, but they’d heard the horror stories from other teammates who’d been ordered to take her out on dates. According to them, those evenings had been the dates from hell. The young woman was spoiled rotten, selfish as sin and had an attitude that sucked. That’s why Flipper didn’t find Coop’s comment at all amusing. He hoped that wasn’t why the admiral wanted to see him.
It didn’t surprise Flipper that it was Mac who’d asked if Flipper had gotten into trouble. Thurston McRoy—code name Mac—was older than the other four men on the team, who had all started their careers as SEALs around the same time. Mac had been a SEAL five years before the rest of them. Mac seemed to like to think he was the big brother looking out for them, almost like he figured they couldn’t take care of themselves. He was forever giving them advice—even when they didn’t ask for it.
In addition to Mac and Flipper, their SEAL team included Brisbane Westmoreland, code name Bane; Gavin Blake, whose code name was Viper; and Laramie Cooper, whose code name was Coop.
Flipper checked his watch. “Since I have a couple of hours to spare before meeting with the admiral, let’s grab something to eat,” he suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” Bane said.
Less than an hour later, Flipper and his four teammates shared burgers, fries and milkshakes at one of the most popular eating places on base. They decided to sit outside at one of the café tables in the front instead of inside where it was crowded since it was such a beautiful May day.
No one brought up his meeting with the admiral again or the notion of him taking the admiral’s daughter on a date. He was glad. Instead, the guys had more important things to talk about, namely their families.
Bane’s wife, Crystal, had given birth to triplets last year and he had new photos to share, so they passed Bane’s cell phone around.
Viper’s wife, Layla, was expecting with only a few months to go before Gavin Blake IV would be born. Viper was excited about becoming a father, of course.
Like Bane, Mac had plenty of photos to share; he was married and the father of four.
And Coop had a two-year-old son he hadn’t known about until he’d run into his old girlfriend about six months ago. They’d reconnected, gotten married and were now a happy family.
Earlier in the week, the teammates had gotten word from their commanding officer that next week was the start of a four-month leave. For Flipper, that meant heading home to Dallas and he couldn’t wait. His mother had a birthday coming up and he was glad he would be home to celebrate.
“I don’t care what plans you all are making for your leave, just as long as you remember my mom’s birthday celebration. I understand you not showing up, Viper, with a baby on the way. The rest of you guys, no excuses.”
“We hear you,” Bane said, grinning. “And we will be there.”
When Viper ordered another hamburger, everyone teased him about being the one to eat for two instead of his wife. And then everyone talked about what they planned to do with their four months off.
It was two hours later when Flipper walked into the admiral’s office. He was surprised to find Commanding Officer Shields there as well. Flipper saluted both men.
“At ease. Please have a seat, Lieutenant Holloway.”
“Thank you, sir,” he said, sitting down. He was used to being under his commanding officer’s intense scrutiny, but there was something in the sharp green eyes of Admiral Norris Martin that was making him feel uncomfortable.
“You come highly recommended by your commanding officer here, Lieutenant Holloway. And the reason I asked to meet with you is that we need you. Your country needs you.”
Flipper was happy to step up. He was a Navy SEAL, and the reason he’d enlisted, like his father and brothers, was to protect his country. “And what am I needed to do, sir?” he asked.
“Our investigators have provided intelligence and a preliminary report that says acts of espionage are happening in Key West. Someone is trading valuable government secrets to China.”
Flipper didn’t respond immediately.
The one thing he hated was a traitor, but he’d discovered that for the right price, a number of American citizens would perform acts of treason. He understood that. However, what he didn’t understand was why he’d been singled out for this meeting. He was part of a SEAL team. He didn’t work in naval intelligence.
Confusion must have shown on his face because Admiral Martin continued, “The report was given to me, but I don’t believe it.”
Flipper raised a brow. “You don’t believe a report that classified documents are being traded in Key West, sir?”
“Oh, I believe all that, but what I refuse to believe is that this suspect is guilty of anything.”
“Is there a reason why, sir?”
“Here is the information,” said Commanding Officer Shields, speaking for the first time as he handed Flipper a folder.
Flipper opened it to find a picture of a very beautiful woman. She looked to be around twenty-four, with dark, sultry eyes and full, shapely lips. Then there was her mass of copper-brown spiral curls that flowed to her shoulders, crowning a cocoa-colored face. A pair of dangling gold earrings hung from her ears and a golden pendant necklace hung around her neck.
He knew he was spending too much time studying her features, but it couldn’t be helped. The woman was strikingly beautiful.
Reluctantly he moved his gaze away from her face to check out the background of the photo. From the tropical vegetation captured by the photographer, she seemed to be on an island somewhere. She stood near a body of water that showed in the corner of the eight-by-ten photo. Scribbled across the bottom were the words:
Miss you, Godpop 1
Love, Swan
Swan? It was an unusual name, but it fit.
He moved to the next document in the file. Attached to it was a small family photo that showed a tall Caucasian man with sandy-brown hair and brown eyes standing beside a beautiful woman who closely resembled Swan. Her mother. In front of the couple was a beautiful little girl who looked to be around eight.
Flipper studied the child’s face and knew that child had grown up to be the gorgeous woman in the first photo. The shape of her face was the same, as were her eyes. Even as a child, she’d had long curly hair.
The family photo was clipped to a profile of the young woman. As he’d guessed, she was twenty-four. Her name was Swan Jamison. She was an American, born in Key West. Presently, she owned a jewelry store on the island. That was all the information the document provided.
Flipper lifted his gaze to find his commanding officer and the admiral staring at him. “I assume this is the person naval intelligence believes is the traitor.”
“Yes,” Admiral Martin said. “She’s my goddaughter. I am Godpop 1.”
“She’s my goddaughter as well,” added Commanding Officer Shields. “I am Godpop 2.”
Flipper’s gaze moved from one man to the other. “I see, sirs.”
Admiral Martin nodded. “Her father was part of our SEAL team and our best friend. His name was Andrew Jamison.”
Flipper had heard that Commanding Officer Shields and Admiral Martin were part of the same SEAL team a number of years ago.
“Andrew was the best. He lost his life saving ours,” said Commanding Officer Shields. “He didn’t die immediately, and before he died, he made us promise to look after his wife, Leigh, and his daughter, Swan.” The man paused and then said, “Over twenty-eight years ago, when we were taking some R & R in Jamaica, Andrew met Leigh, who was a Jamaican model. They married a year later, and he moved her to Key West, where our team was stationed. After Andrew was killed, Leigh returned to Jamaica. When Swan graduated from high school, she returned to the Keys and moved into her parents’ home.”
“How old was she when her father was killed?” Flipper asked.
“She was fifteen,” Admiral Martin said. “Swan was close to her dad. Leigh was so broken up over Andrew’s death that she didn’t want to live in the States without him, which was why she returned to Jamaica. She passed away two years ago.”
Flipper’s commanding officer then took up the tale. “Leigh sent for us before she died of stomach cancer, asking us to look out for Swan after she was gone. We would have done that anyway, since we always kept in touch with both Leigh and Swan. In fact, Swan rotated summers with us and our families even after Leigh returned to Jamaica. We took our roles as godfathers seriously. We were even there when Swan graduated from high school and college.”
“Did Swan have any American grandparents?” Flipper asked.
He saw both men’s lips tighten into frowns. “Yes. However, her paternal grandparents didn’t approve of their son’s marriage to Leigh,” said Commanding Officer Shields.
“So they never accepted their granddaughter.” It was more of a statement than a question.
“No, they never did,” Admiral Martin confirmed. As if it was a topic he’d rather change, the man added, “We’ve been given some time to find out the truth, but not much. Luckily, Swan’s Godpop 3 has a high-level position at naval intelligence. Otherwise, we wouldn’t know about the investigation. We have thirty days to prove Swan is not a traitor and identify the person who is. That’s where we need your help. Instead of releasing you to go home as we’re doing for the other members of your team, we are assigning you to a special mission, Lieutenant Holloway. You are being sent to Key West.”
One
Key West, Florida
Swan Jamison was beside herself with excitement as she opened the huge box on her desk. Although it contained only her jewelry-making supplies, the package served as affirmation that while rebuilding was still taking place in certain areas, the majority of the island had recovered from the hurricane that had hit eight months ago.
“Anything for me?” Rafe asked, sticking his head through the office door.
Her shop was in a very trendy area so she could capitalize on the tourists visiting the island. To help with high operating costs, she leased out one of the large rooms in the back. Rafe was her tenant, who’d converted the back room into a tattoo shop. On some days, he got more customers than she did.
“Nothing for you, Rafe, just supplies for me.” She checked her watch. “You’re early today.” Usually he didn’t open up until noon.
“I have a special appointment at ten thirty and I need to ready my ink.” And then he was gone. Rafe didn’t say a whole lot except to his customers.
The door chime alerted her that she had a customer. Jamila, who worked part-time and usually only in the mornings, had taken time off for a day of beauty—hair, nails, pedicure, bikini wax, the works. Her boyfriend worked on a cruise ship that was due in port tomorrow. Swan was happy for Jamila and happy for herself as well. The cruise ships always brought in tourists who wanted to purchase authentic handmade jewelry.
She walked out of her office as a man perused her jewelry display case near the door. That was good. While he checked out her jewelry, she would check him out.
He had a nice profile. Tall, broad shoulders that looked good in a T-shirt and a pair of muscular thighs that fit well in his jeans. He had diamond-blond hair that was neatly trimmed and his hands were the right size for his body.
There was something about the way he stood, straight and tall, that all but spelled out military man. And the way his legs were braced apart, as if he had to maintain his balance even on land, spelled out navy.
Too bad. She didn’t do military men. In all honesty, lately she hadn’t done men at all. Too busy.
And then there was the issue of Candy’s divorce. Swan knew she shouldn’t let what had happened to her best friend darken her own view, but Swan was known to claim whatever excuse suited her and that one did at the moment.
And speaking of the moment, she had looked her fill. She needed to make her first sale of the day. “May I help you?”
He turned and looked at her, and every cell in her body jolted to attention.
Wow! She’d seen blue eyes before, but his were a shade she’d never seen. They were laser blue; the intense sharpness of the pupils captured her within their scope. And his features… Lordy! The man had such gorgeous bone structure! There was no way a woman had ever passed by him and not taken a second look. Even a third, while wiping away drool.
“Yes, you can help me.”
And why did he have to sound so good, too? The sound of his voice—a deep, husky tone—made her throat go dry.
“All right,” she said, walking over to him. She knew she had to get a grip. Her store had been closed for two months due to the hurricane, and now that the tourists were returning, she needed to catch up on sales.
“And how can I help you?” She didn’t miss the way he was looking at her. She saw interest in his eyes. There was nothing wrong with that. She took pride in her appearance because she had been raised to do so. Leigh Rutledge Jamison, who’d been a Jamaican model, had taught her daughter that your appearance was everything.
Pain settled in Swan’s heart. She missed her mom so much.
“I’m looking for a gift for someone.”
Swan nodded as she came to stand beside him. Not only did he look good and sound good, but he smelled good as well. She glanced down at his hand and didn’t see a wedding ring. He was probably buying a gift for his girlfriend or soon-to-be fiancée.
“What do you have in mind?”
“What do you suggest?” he asked her.
“Well, it depends,” she said, looking into those gorgeous eyes.
“On what?”
“What the person likes. I make jewelry from stones, but as you can see, there are a number of them, in various shades, colors and styles.”
He smiled and Swan felt a tingling in the pit of her stomach when a dimple appeared in one of his cheeks. “I honestly don’t know what she likes. Her tastes change from year to year. It’s hard to keep up.”
Swan nodded. “Oh. Sounds like the two of you have known each other for a while.”
His smile widened even more. “We have. I would have to say I’ve known Mom all my life.”
“Your mom?”
“Yes. Her birthday is next month. I was passing by your shop and thought I would drop in to see what you had.”
A racing heart for starters, Swan thought. So the woman he was thinking about buying jewelry for was his mother. “Well, I’m glad you came in. Let me show you what I have.”
“All right. There looks to be a lot of nice pieces.”
She appreciated the compliment. “Thanks. I made most of them myself.”
“Really? Which ones?”
She led him to the area set aside for Swan Exclusives. “These. Most of the stones come from India, Argentina and Africa.”
He leaned in to look. “You did an excellent job.”
Whoever said flattery, especially coming from a good-looking man, would get you anywhere knew just what they were talking about. “Thank you.”
“I’m David, by the way. David Holloway.” He offered her his hand.
She took it and tried to ignore the sensations that suddenly flowed through her from the contact. “Nice to meet you, David.” She quickly released his hand. “And I’m Swan.”
“The name of the shop.”
“Yes.”
“It’s a unique name.”
“Yes, my parents thought so. On their first date, my father flew Mom from Jamaica to New York to see Swan Lake.”
“Some date.”
“Yes, he was trying to impress her.”
“I take it he did.”
Swan chuckled. “Yes, because he actually flew them there. He had his pilot’s license.”
“Now I’m impressed.”
She didn’t like bragging about her father but there were times when she just couldn’t help it. “He served in the air force—that’s where he learned to fly. And then he went into the navy after deciding he wanted to be a SEAL. That’s when he met Mom, while he was a SEAL. She hadn’t known about his stint in the air force until the night he rented a plane to fly them to New York.”
Why was she telling him all this? Usually she wasn’t chatty. “What about this one?” she asked as they moved to another glass case. “I call this piece Enchantment.”
“Why?”
“Look at it,” she suggested, leaning closer to the glass. He followed suit. “This is one of my favorite pieces because the teardrop gemstone necklace is pretty similar to my very first piece.” No need to tell him that she’d made that one for her own mother.
“It is beautiful.”
Something in his tone made her glance over at him, and she found him staring at her and not at the jewelry in the case. His eyes held her captive and their gazes met for a minute too long before she broke eye contact with him.
She swallowed. “So are you interested…in this piece?” She wanted to ignore the way her stomach seemed to be filled with all kinds of sensations, but she could not.
“I’m interested in a lot of pieces, Swan, but I’ll start with this one.”
Swan Jamison was even more beautiful than the photograph he’d seen last week.
The photographer hadn’t fully captured the rich creaminess of her skin. And the shade of red lipstick she wore today seemed to make her lips plumper, more well-defined. Luscious.
He had read the dossier on her. He knew his commanding officer and Admiral Martin were operating based on a personal connection with her. He was not. If Miss Jamison was guilty of any wrongdoing, he would find out. And if she wasn’t the one handing out classified data to China, then he would discover who was.
“So you want to buy this particular piece?”
Her question brought his thoughts back to the present. “Yes.”
“Wonderful. I think your mother will like it.”
“I’m sure she will. What about earrings?”
She lifted a brow. “Earrings?”
“Yes. Do earrings come with the necklace?”
“No, but I can make you some.”
He’d been hoping she’d say that. “When?”
“It will take me a couple of days. The cruise ship docks tomorrow, so the shop will be busy. Two days from now will work for me, unless you need them sooner.”
“No, I can wait. My mother’s birthday is next month.”
He would have an excuse to return to her shop.
Flipper watched her open the case and pull out the necklace. He knew his mother was going to love it.
“If you don’t mind, please complete this ticket,” she said. “And I will need full payment for the earrings before I make them.”
“That’s no problem,” he said, taking the document from her.
After he completed the form, he handed it back to her. She glanced at it. “So you’re from Texas?”
“Yes. Dallas. Ever been there?”
“Yes, once. I thought it was a nice city.”
“It is. I was born and raised there.”
“And what brought you to Key West?” she asked him.
“Work, at least for the next thirty days.” That wasn’t a total lie.
“Hurricane relief?”
“Something like that.”
“You’re military?”
“At one point but not now.” He would let her think he was no longer military.
“I knew immediately.”
He lifted a brow. “How?”
She shrugged. “Military men are easily recognized, at least by me.”
“Because your dad is military?”
“He was military. Dad died years ago in the line of duty.”
“I’m sorry.” Flipper was always sorry whenever a fellow soldier lost their life.
“Thank you. Your package will be ready in two days, David. Your mobile number is on the form you completed. If I get to it sooner, I will call you.”
“Two days is fine. I’ll be back.”
“’Bye, David.”
“’Bye, Swan.” He then turned and walked out of the shop.
As much as he wanted to invite her out to lunch today, he knew he couldn’t rush things. He needed to earn her trust, even though he had less than thirty days to prove her innocence and determine who had no qualms about making her look guilty.
Swan was cheerful that night as she let herself into her home. Sales today had been better than normal. A tour group from New York had converged on the island and they’d come to spend money. She’d been happy to oblige.
Opening a jewelry shop had been a risky business move, but one that had paid off. She’d earned a degree in business management from the University of Miami and returned to the island after college to work as a manager at one of the elite hotels on the island. She’d enjoyed her job but had felt something was missing in her life. She hadn’t been using her jewelry-making talent.
She’d promised her mother on her deathbed that she would find a way to use that talent.
Even after taking care of all her mother’s funeral expenses, there had been more than enough money left to buy a little storefront. It had been a good investment because of its location. Some days were busier than others. This had been one of those busy days.
Now she was ready to wind down for the evening. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and eased her feet into her favorite flats before heading to the kitchen for a glass of wine. As she did so, she couldn’t help but think about her first customer of the day.
David Holloway.
He was a cutie, she had to give him that. And the memory of those eyes had stayed with her most of the day.
David Holloway had come into her shop to buy a birthday gift for his mother. How sweet. His mother was lucky. A lot of men didn’t even remember their mothers’ birthdays. She’d dated quite a few of those men and never developed lasting relationships with any of them. She figured if a man didn’t treat his mother right, then there was no hope for a girlfriend.
As she opened the French doors to step out on the patio, she again remembered those blue eyes and how she’d felt whenever she’d looked into them. No man’s eyes had ever made her feel that way before.
The effect was unsettling.
Okay, so what was wrong with her? Cutie or no cutie, she normally didn’t get caught up over a man. She dated when it suited her, but she would admit that no one had suited her lately. At least not since her best friend, Candy, had left Key West to go live in Boston. Candy had refused to live on the island with her ex and his new wife—the one he’d married before the ink had even dried on the divorce papers.
Refusing to dwell on how shabbily Donald Knoll had treated Candy, Swan looked out at the water. It was calm tonight. When she had evacuated due to the hurricane, she hadn’t known what to expect when she returned. Between her home and her shop, there had been some damage, but not as much as she’d feared.
The thought of losing her home had been devastating. This was where her father had brought her mom after they’d married. This home held so many childhood memories—of her father leaving on his missions as a Navy SEAL, of how happy she and her mother would be whenever he returned.
But then he hadn’t returned.
Swan felt a knot in her throat as she recalled that day. She’d never seen that sparkle in her mother’s eyes again. Swan recalled her mother telling her once that when you met a man who could put that sparkle in your eyes, then you knew he was a keeper.
Swan often wondered if she would ever find her keeper.
She had plenty of time. Besides, she needed to rethink her opinion about men first. If what Don had done to Candy wasn’t enough to keep her single, all Swan had to do was remember William Connors, the businessman she had met while working at the hotel.
At the time, he had convinced her he was a bachelor without a care in the world but claimed that he wanted to make her Mrs. William Connors one day.
For some reason, Candy hadn’t trusted him. She had a friend who worked for a private investigator check him out. Swan had been devastated when the investigation revealed there was already a Mrs. William Connors, along with three Connors children.
William had been playing her. He had been a lesson well learned. Her only regret was that she’d shared her body with him. She’d been young, naive and impressionable. He had been her first and he should not have been.
She was not naive now and she went into relationships with caution and even a little mistrust. Her mother once told her that being mistrustful wasn’t a good thing. Swan knew she would have to learn how to trust again.
Tasuta katkend on lõppenud.
