Page 42 of Securing Jane

“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning.

“You said you brought a woman you were casually dating. Is that what we’re doing?” She hated feeling insecure but couldn’t help it.

“No,” he said firmly. “We aren’t casually doing anything. If we were, you wouldn’t be waking up in my bed as much as you are. I can count on one hand the number of women who I’ve slept the whole night with.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Really?”

“Really,” he confirmed. “You ready to meet Wolf and the others now?”

She nodded, feeling chastised and special at the same time.

The meeting with the second SEAL team went similarly as it had with Rocco and the others. The men were polite, and their wives were extremely friendly and open. Their kids were well mannered, and everyone seemed happy to meet her.

Afterward, Jane relaxed for the first time, happy that the introductions were over and she could sit and enjoy the day with Storm by her side.

They stayed for three hours, laughing with each other, and Jane even joined some of the wives when they took the kids for a snow cone break.

All in all, it had been an amazing day. Jane shouldn’t have been surprised at how many people had known her, but she still was. She’d been working on the base a very long time, and apparently her hard work and attention to detail had made more of a difference than she’d realized.

They were on their way home, and Storm had her hand in his, as usual. He glanced at her. “You look…content.”

“I am,” she told him immediately.

“Everyone loved you. Not that I doubted they would.”

“I enjoyed meeting everyone you work with very much. I can see now why you work so hard to make sure you have as much information as possible before they go off on missions.”

Storm nodded seriously. “They’re good men. Very good men. And I’d never forgive myself if I sent them into a shit-storm and someone ended up permanently hurt or dead. You saw their wives and families today. I never want to deprive anyone of their husband or father.”

“There were other teams that weren’t here today, right?” she asked.

Storm nodded. “Yeah. Wolf and his guys no longer go on active missions. They stay here and help train the newer teams and help out during BUD/S. But I’ve got two other teams that I work with who couldn’t come today. One is training, and the other guys are on temporary duty in Hawaii.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Jane said with a smile.

“Oh, Hawaii is nice, but the team they’re working with takes great pleasure in flattening anyone who comes out to train with them. It’s way more humid in Hawaii than here in Southern California, and while my guys can adapt to just about anything, it takes a toll.” Storm chuckled.

“You’ve met them?” Jane asked, extremely curious about anyone Storm worked with.

“I’ve met their team leader, Mustang. He came to Phantom’s Admiral’s Mast. He was a witness and was one hundred percent supportive of him.”

“Wow, he knows Phantom?” Jane asked.

“The SEAL community is tight. And Phantom and Kalee spent some time with Mustang and his team while they were in Hawaii.”

Jane nodded. She’d heard the story about how Phantom had brought Kalee to Hawaii to try to reacclimate to life after being a captive of the rebels in Timor-Leste, where he’d rescued her.

“Mustang, Midas, Aleck, Pid, Jag, and Slate are good men.”

“I think you’d say that about all SEAL teams,” Jane teased.

“Actually, I wouldn’t,” Storm replied seriously. “I mean, they’re all technically proficient, but some teams just work better together than others. Some men click and work like a well-oiled machine.”

“Yeah, I’ve had some employees like that.”

Storm smiled over at her. “I’m glad you had a good time today. You seemed to get along well with the women.”

“I did. They were all very welcoming and open. I know that’s because I was with you, though.”