Finding Ashlyn, page 1
Finding Ashlyn
SEAL Team Hawaii, Book 6
Susan Stoker
Contents
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Also by Susan Stoker
About the Author
They think they're in a no-strings-attached relationship...until danger reveals the truth.
* * *
Friends with benefits. That’s all Ashlyn wanted with Slate. They were certainly combustible in the bedroom, and that was sufficient…wasn’t it? Yes, definitely. He was too bossy. Too protective. She didn’t want someone hovering, wanting to know her every move and telling her she was too reckless. But then again, knowing someone cared enough to worry about her felt kind of nice. Not to mention the more she was around Slate, and the more she learned about him, the harder it was to ignore her feelings.
* * *
Duncan “Slate” Stone had never been with a woman like Ashlyn. She was impulsive, spontaneous, argumentative, and way too nonchalant about her safety. She drove him completely crazy…and he couldn’t stay away from her. The sex was out-of-this-world amazing, but just being near her, even if they did nothing but talk, made him just as happy. Clearly their laid-back arrangement worked. No need to rock the boat…right?
* * *
When she unexpectedly finds herself in the middle of a deadly situation, Ashlyn realizes that having an overprotective boyfriend isn’t such a bad thing. And Slate discovers his feelings for Ashlyn are anything but casual. But both those discoveries could be too little, too late.
* * *
** Finding Ashlyn is the 6th book in the SEAL Team Hawaii Series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliffhanger endings.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Susan Stoker
No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Edited by Kelli Collins
Cover Design by AURA Design Group
Manufactured in the United States
Chapter One
“I like your apartment,” Slate said after Ashlyn had shown him around. She was giddy with nerves. He’d never been to her place before, even though they’d known each other for over a year.
“Thanks. It’s not super fancy, but I like it,” Ashlyn said.
She’d met Slate when Lexie had started dating Midas. At first, she hadn’t liked him all that much, but the more time she spent hanging out with him and his team, the more he grew on her. He had a tendency to think bad guys were waiting around every corner to pop out and attack not only her, but all of her friends as well…which she couldn’t blame him for, since a lot of bad shit had gone down with Monica, Lexie, Kenna, Carly, and Elodie.
But unlike those ladies, Ashlyn’s current boss or her ex-boyfriend weren’t going to be an issue. She’d moved to Hawaii because of a guy, yes, but Franklin had turned out to be a lazy mooch. She couldn’t see him summoning the energy to bother her for any reason. As for work, Food For All was a dream job. She met a ton of interesting people and wasn’t tied to an office from eight to five every day. And she loved the people she worked with. Lexie was amazing, of course, and Elodie was a genius when it came to creating dishes from the donated food.
While Ashlyn might’ve developed a small crush on Slate over the last year or so, she also never really expected anything to happen between them. She wasn’t the kind of woman that tall, gorgeous, badass Navy SEALs looked twice at. She wasn’t hideous, but she also wasn’t anything special, in her opinion. Her best feature was her long, straight, sleek brown hair. Her eyes were a more boring shade of brown…her face didn’t really boast any standout features.
She was tall at five-ten, but continually struggled to take off the extra fifteen to twenty pounds she carried on her frame. Long, curvy legs, not much ass, a little too much extra padding around her waist…
In short, she wasn’t hideous, but she also wasn’t the kind of woman people turned around to watch as she walked by.
And beyond her ordinary looks, Slate frequently seemed to be annoyed by her.
Despite that, a short while ago, when he’d brought her home from one of the many barbeques his SEAL team had thrown, he’d shocked the shit out of Ashlyn by asking her out. She’d immediately said yes, of course, but with the caveat that she didn’t want anything serious. Slate had agreed…so she’d invited him up to her place to test out their new friends-with-benefits arrangement.
Ashlyn hadn’t been nervous when she’d invited him up, but now, standing in her small apartment with Slate, she suddenly wasn’t so sure. She’d just given him the two-cent tour, which included showing him the extra bedroom she used for doing step aerobics, and which held a hodge-podge of stuff that didn’t fit anywhere else in the apartment; the master bedroom; the small half bath in the hallway; the functional kitchen; the laundry room, which was more like a closet; and now they were standing in her surprisingly spacious living room, which included a tiny balcony she never used, overlooking the parking lot. The living room was what sold her on the apartment. She liked how open it was to the kitchen, and that she didn’t feel hemmed in.
Now, as she stood in that room feeling awkward, Slate walked toward her. Ashlyn couldn’t read the look on his face. He looked…determined. But then again, he always looked that way. He was taller than her by about four inches, his black hair was cut fairly close to his head and, since it was late in the day, he had a five o’clock shadow. His dark brown eyes were pinned on her, and Ashlyn couldn’t look away as he approached.
He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. “You change your mind?” he asked quietly.
Ashlyn immediately shook her head. “No.”
“Then what’s wrong? You look like you want to bolt.”
She should be used to Slate’s bluntness by now, but somehow he could still surprise her. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything. Us. How we went from two people who never really got along to…this.”
Without a word, Slate wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to the couch. He sat, taking her with him and pulling her against his side. Then he grabbed the remote from the table next to the couch, pulled the square ottoman closer—she didn’t have a coffee table, preferring the big cushioned ottoman—and clicked on the television.
“Um, Slate?”
“Yeah?” he asked, seemingly unconcerned.
“Aren’t we going to…um…you know?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah, we’re gonna, um, you know, but not while you’re freaking out about it.”
“I’m not freaking out,” Ashlyn protested.
He turned and looked at her while raising one eyebrow.
Ashlyn couldn’t help but chuckle. “Okay, I’m a tad bit nervous, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”
Slate grinned. “That’s good, Ash, because I want you too. But there’s no rush.”
Ashlyn burst out laughing at that.
“What?” Slate asked when she had herself under control.
“I can’t believe the Duncan Stone just said there’s no rush,” Ashlyn teased. “You’re the king of impatience.”
The grin that crossed his face now made Ashlyn’s belly clench. The man was way too damn gorgeous for his own good.
“For stupid shit, I don’t like waiting,” he agreed. “I don’t like to be late anywhere. If there’s a plan, I’d rather just execute it and get it done. But when it comes to intimacy…I’m absolutely not in any hurry. Anticipation is half the fun. And I have to say, babe, I’ve waited for over a year to taste you, to get between those long legs of yours…so I can wait a bit longer.”
Ashlyn shifted in his grasp. Damn, this man was lethal. “I wasn’t sure you even liked me.”
“I liked you. Like you,” he said simply.
And just like that, Ashlyn’s nervousness disappeared. She was horny as hell, and the thought of Slate between her legs like he’d just described made her nipples harden. “You really want to watch TV?” she asked.
Slate didn’t take his attention from her face. “I want to do what you want to do.”
“I don’t want to watch TV.”
“Spell it out, Ash,” he demanded.
She could feel his muscles tensing. Gaze locked with his, s
“Lead the way,” Slate replied in a low, rumbly voice that made Ashlyn’s girl parts tingle.
She smiled and stood up, Slate at her heels, and headed for the hallway that led to her room. She supposed she should still be nervous, but she knew without a doubt that Slate was about to rock her world…in all the ways that counted.
She walked to her bed and turned to face him.
He lifted a hand and ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek. Goose bumps broke out on Ashlyn’s arms. “Nothing serious,” she reminded him. “If we do this, you can’t go all uber protective on me. Well…any more than you already are. We’re just having fun.”
Slate nodded. “I’m perfectly all right with that. I’m not ready to settle down.”
“Do you have a condom?” Ashlyn asked.
“Yes.”
That was good, because she didn’t. It had been a while since she’d been with a man, and she definitely wasn’t prepared for Slate to be standing in her bedroom tonight.
“Last chance to change your mind,” he warned in a deep voice.
“I could say the same to you,” Ashlyn said.
“No fucking way.”
“Then strip,” she challenged. She had to admit, she liked this. Liked the freedom of their arrangement. They were two people attracted to each other, who were about to have sex. No declarations or promises of any kind and no pressure.
Without another word, Slate reached for the hem of his T-shirt. He had it up and over his head before Ashlyn blinked.
She stared, awestruck by all the muscles. There was a smattering of hair covering his chest and she wanted to taste the small nipples on his pecs. Her hands moved without her brain telling them to. She flattened her palms on his skin, and he inhaled sharply at her first touch.
Oh, yeah, this was gonna be good.
His hands went to the hem of her own shirt, and she raised her arms, helping him. Her hair cascaded around her shoulders as soon as the material cleared her head. The strands tickled her skin, but she forgot about anything but Slate’s hands as he reached behind her and deftly unhooked the clasp of her bra.
“Beautiful,” he murmured as he bent his head.
Ashlyn groaned and her head fell back when he suckled on one of her nipples. Hard.
When he finally lifted his head, their eyes met—then the race was on to see who could get their clothes off the fastest.
Before Ashlyn knew it, they were on her bed completely naked, and Slate was kissing her as if he’d never get enough.
She scratched her fingernails down his back and tried to pull him closer, which was impossible, as they were already touching from chest to knees. Ashlyn could feel his hard erection against her stomach and lust blossomed inside her. She needed him. Deep. Fucking her hard.
She tore her mouth from his and ordered, “Inside me. Now.”
“Need to make sure you’re ready for me,” he retorted, even as his hips bucked against her.
“I’m ready.”
But Slate didn’t take her word for it. One of his hands snaked between them, and Ashlyn jerked as his fingertip brushed her clit. She knew what he’d find. She’d never been this turned on in her life.
“Soaked,” Slate whispered with a small, somewhat conceited smile.
Ashlyn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I told you I was ready.”
He didn’t say anything else, just moved his fingers lower. He ever so slowly pushed one inside her, and Ashlyn closed her eyes and groaned. It felt amazing, but she needed more.
Her eyes opened when she felt him moving off her. His finger slid out of her wet folds as he reached for the condom he’d thrown onto the bed when he took off his pants.
“Hurry,” she said as she ran her hands up and down his biceps.
“Now who’s impatient?” he joked.
“Oh my God, you’re seriously gonna be a pain in the ass right now?” she huffed.
Slate chuckled as he rolled the condom over his cock, and Ashlyn realized at that moment that she’d never laughed while having sex before. In the past, she and her partners had been all business. Sex had never been about fun, just satisfaction…which was kind of sad.
But then all thoughts of laughter and fun flew from her mind as Slate notched the head of his cock between her legs.
Ashlyn understood for the first time just how big he was. He wasn’t much longer than most, but he was thicker than anyone she’d ever been with. Looking down, she held her breath as he inched his way into her body. Her muscles tightened at one point as pain began to overtake the pleasure she’d been feeling only moments earlier.
Slate seemed to realize it. His jaw flexed as he held himself halfway inside her body.
“Give me a second,” Ashlyn whispered as she willed her body to relax and accept him.
The hand that wasn’t holding the base of his cock moved, and he used his thumb to manipulate her clit. Ashlyn bucked, inadvertently taking more of him inside her.
“That’s it, babe. You can take me. You’re so fucking gorgeous. Laid out for me, taking my cock. It’s so goddamn hot.”
She barely registered his words as pleasure swamped through her when he strummed her clit faster. Her fingers tightened on his biceps as he played with her body.
“You ready for more?” he asked.
Ashlyn couldn’t speak if her life depended on it. She was overwhelmed with sensation.
“You’re ready,” Slate decided, the satisfaction easy to hear in his tone. He didn’t stop caressing her clit as he slid all the way inside her.
They both moaned when his balls pressed up against her ass. He grabbed her hips and pulled her in tight, gaining another fraction of an inch inside her body.
“Holy shit, Slate. I…you…damn,” Ashlyn stuttered.
He chuckled, and she felt the reverberations rumble through her from where they were connected.
“I know you aren’t laughing at me,” she said, frowning at him.
“Nope. No way,” Slate said, clearly still amused.
In retaliation, Ashlyn tightened her inner muscles, feeling vindicated when the smile dropped from his face and he gasped.
“If you’re done laughing at me, maybe we can fuck?” she said a little snarkily.
Slate’s gaze met hers, and he rested his elbows on either side of her body. They were plastered together now as he stayed planted inside her as far as he could get.
“You want me to move, Ash?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed.
“You feel amazing,” he told her as he rocked his hips, pulling back, then sinking back inside her.
“So do you,” she told him.
“I’m not going to last long,” he warned. “You’re too tight. Too fucking hot. And it’s been too long for me.”
Ashlyn was surprised at that. She didn’t think Slate was a manwhore, but she figured he had to be getting some fairly regularly.
“Need you to get there too,” he begged.
Ashlyn panted, “I will.”
“No, babe. I mean before me. Wanna feel you squeeze my dick.”
His words were raw, and they turned her way the hell on. She nodded.
“Touch yourself,” he ordered.
“Bossy,” she murmured, even as she let go of one of his arms and slid a hand between their bodies.
“You haven’t even seen bossy yet,” he told her.
Ashlyn couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Please.” She began to stroke her clit. “Your middle name might as well be bossy. You love to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.”
“Right now, you should be getting yourself off,” he shot back.
Ashlyn couldn’t help but grin at him.
