A Little Harmless Military Romance Bundle (A Little Harmless Military Bundle) (27 page)

Deke heard something behind him, and he looked over to find his brother sauntering toward them. “Sure it is. As long as you introduce me to your friend,” Jonah said.

He wanted to beat his brother. He loved Jonah, but he had one thing on his mind when he was off duty.

“This is Fee..Fiona Farelli. This is Diablo.”

Fee smiled and nodded. “The Marine.”

Jonah smiled at her, and Deke waited for Fee to melt. When she just continued to stare at him, Deke could tell his brother was a little disconcerted.

“Yes, the Marine.”

She nodded. “Well, Diablo, is it? We need to leave these two alone. They have a lot to tell each other. Right, Deacon?”

“Yes, we do.”

He was smiling as he watched Fiona herd his brother out to the lanai.

“Your brother fared better than mine.”

“Looks can be deceiving. I think Jonah has some bruised ribs.”

“What were they fighting over?”

“Not what. Who.”

She studied him, her eyes clouded with confusion.

“Zoe. Your brother took objection to the idea that my brother was interested.”

She chuckled. “I bet he did.”

Then silence. It was odd that two people would run out of things to say when there was so much to be discussed.

“I wasn’t sure if you would be here.”

“Where would I be, Sam?”

“I told you to go out last night.”

He looked at her, wondering if she had actually thought he would leave her that way. When he saw the look in her eyes, he damned her parents all over again.

“I love you.”

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. “I know. I love you, too, but neither of us have been celibate.”

“That’s true. But can you tell me something?”

“Yes.”

“Did you go out right after we broke things off? Or did you go months thinking you had just lost the most precious thing in your life?”

Tears filled her eyes. “Oh, Deke.”

He stepped forward. “It was like that for me. I screwed up by walking out the door so many times. I wanted to take it back. But I figured I would let it go, and that if we were supposed to be together, we would be.”

“And then we would run into each other.”

He nodded, the lump in his throat making it hard to talk. He swallowed.

“You and I are meant to be together. I know that.”

“I want to believe that. I do. But look at last night. Look at what an idiot I was.”

“You were an idiot.”

She laughed. “I was. And you walked out.”

“You told me to leave. I did what you wanted.”

She looked away. “I’m always worried you won’t come back, but I can’t seem to help myself. Every time, I just push.”

“And I am going to start pushing right back. Just because we fight doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Now that I know better, I won’t walk. I don’t want to, and I refuse to do it anymore.”

“How can I know that this isn’t just you caring because we are together right now? The baby adds another layer to it, but what if this is just because of that, of the idea that we’re starting here together?”

“It was never like that. Never.” He walked over to her and took her hand. “Jesus, my whole life I wanted to be a Seal. I dreamed about it, prayed for it.”

“I know,” she said as she sniffed.

“Do you? Then know this. There is one thing I wanted more than that. It kept me tied up in fucking knots so tight that I couldn’t think straight.”

“What?”

He knew he had no way around it. He had to tell her what he had been feeling all the years he had known her. He had to or he might lose her.

“You. I was too much of an ass to admit it. Every minute I was gone, every second, you were there. Right here.” He pressed their joined hands to his chest. “I should have told you. I should have made you understand.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Fear.”

She shook her head.

“No, it was fear. What if I told you? What if I said, ‘hey honey, you’re the one I need forever’ and you walked away. You had walked before. It was too much for you, and I wasn’t sure if you would want it now, would want to take that chance again.”

“And you took a job you hate to be near me.”

“I thought I would, but I am actually starting to like it. But, I can’t say that, at least for the next few years, they won’t tap me to go out in the field in case of a national emergency. You know the military. My orders might say no deployment, but if something comes up, they can pull me out. I have the training. What I want to know is if you can do it? Can you handle that if I have to do it?”

He could see her thinking about it, and his heart almost stopped then and there.

“Know that while I want to be with you, there are things bigger than us. I’m not going to do this forever, but…I have a duty. You understand that.”

She nodded. “And after. What would you do then?”

“I would come back to you. I always do, babe.”

“I liked what I was doing and there are plenty of things for someone like me to do. But know that the military is a duty. I swore an oath, and I have to follow through.”

He would. It was one of the things she admired about him.

“But I don’t live to work. That was never me. Or it wasn’t me after I met you. Everything I do, everything I am, I am because of you. I am a Seal, but in my heart, in my soul, I’m your husband.”

Tears welled up in her eyes. “Ex.”

He sighed. “About that…”

“What?”

“Answer me one question. Will you marry me?”

“Marry you?”

“Shit, I’m doing this wrong. I want us married again. I want to have ten more kids with you.”

“Ten kids?”

“Okay, not ten, but more than just one. What do you say?”

She didn’t say anything for a moment and he felt his heart sink just a little.

“Why?” she asked.

He looked at her, his gaze direct. “Because I love you. Without you, I don’t even want to be a Seal.”

“Oh, Deke.” Tears filled her eyes. “Yes.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But, I want a ceremony here, and I want a real dress. And we’ll have to do it really soon, before I get big.”

“Okay, but about that…”

“And we’ll have to apply here for a marriage certificate.”

“Sam.”

“What?”

“See, before I came to Hawaii, I sort of got some information I didn’t share with you.”

She frowned. “What?”

Now came the moment of truth. There was probably going to be a fight, but he had her acceptance of marriage, thank God. But she would fight him.

“Uh, apparently the office where we had our divorce finalized has been, well, uh...”

She rolled her eyes. “Good lord, spit it out.”

He swallowed. “We’re still married. That lawyer who handled the divorced messed up the papers, so they were never really filed correctly.”

For a second, she didn’t say anything. Her mouth turned down into a frown. “What?”

“We’re still married. The divorce didn’t go through.”

She shook her head. “What do you mean?”

“You are still Samantha Berg.”

“Married.” She pulled her hand from his and smacked him on the back of the head. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you tell me?”

The slap had his ears ringing and he had to shake his head to clear it. “Because I knew you would get mad and blame me.”

“I wouldn’t have. I blame you right now for not telling me. Deacon Berg, what the hell were you thinking?”

“That I needed to win you back before I told you.”

She paced away, that sassy walk of hers in full force. God, he loved her. She was pissed beyond belief, and for some reason, that turned him on. He was a sick, sick man.

“I should divorce you on principle. No, first, I should shoot you.”

She was muttering now, and he knew he had won. He walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She didn’t resist. Instead, she leaned back against him and sighed. He kissed her neck. It felt good to hold her against him. He rested his chin on the top of her head.

“Tell you what. How about we have a big fancy Hawaiian wedding? Your brother can give you away, and we can do it all up right.”

She leaned back to look at him. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Mom would love it. They’d come over. AJ should be able to take some time off, and you can see that Jonah has a lot of time on his hands. Jacob should be able to get some time off the ship, maybe, but most of us will be here.”

“And your friends?”

“Mal and Kade? Should be able to, if they haven’t been called out.”

She turned to face him then. “Can I confess something?”

He nodded and waited. She stepped back then tugged the chain out from beneath her shirt. The two rings that dangled there were familiar.

“You still have them?” he asked, his heart tightening at the sight of them.

She waited for him to look at her. “Always. I couldn’t get rid of them.”

He grabbed her then and pulled her against him. He bent his head and kissed her. It was tender, but soon turned ravenous.

“Get a room, bro,” Jonah yelled.

She started laughing against his mouth. “I love you, Deacon Berg.”

“I love you too, Samantha Berg. And I promise to get you another ring. Bigger.”

“I’m fine with this one.”

“Well, how about I take it and incorporate it in a new ring?”

She smiled. “That sounds great.”

He tugged her back into his embrace. “Now, Mrs. Berg, how about we start planning that wedding ceremony.”

She nodded. “I love you, Deke.”

“I love you, too, Samantha.”

Epilogue

Almost six months later

Deke smiled down at his daughter in his arms and then looked over at his wife. Samantha was exhausted, but beautiful. Six hours of labor and she still had that radiant glow about her.

“What are you smiling at, you idiot?”

“The most beautiful woman in the world,” he responded.

She shook her head. “I think you’re delirious from lack of sleep, Seal.”

Deke chuckled. “No way. Scared shitless is more like it. I don’t think I ever had a man threaten to do bodily harm to my most favored appendages as many times as you did.”

One side of her mouth curved as her eyes closed. “I don’t remember a thing.”

Still cradling their daughter in his arms, Deke rose to lean over and kiss Samantha’s forehead.

“We agreed on the name? Anela Dawn?”

She opened her eyes. “It seems appropriate. Angel Dawn.”

He heard Mitchell and Zoe arguing in the hallway and knew they were about to be invaded. “Well, our quiet time is over.”

Her smile widened as she looked at Anela then up at him. “In more ways than one. I love you, Deacon. I’m so happy you were too hard-headed to give up.”

“I love you, too. And you only get until tomorrow to keep calling me names and disparaging my character.”

She laughed as he leaned down to give her a kiss. Right before he touched his lips to hers, she said, “Sure thing, Sir.”

The End

To claim the woman he loves, he will have to be the Dom she desires.

Surrender: A Little Harmless Military Romance

Navy Seal Malachai Dupree has everything a man could want. Well, not everything. The one woman he wants is too innocent for his Dominant needs, so he plays the role of supportive friend even if it kills him.

Amanda Forrester is tired of being treated as if she were fragile. She might have been through a rough patch losing her husband in the line of duty, but she is not a wimp. Her feelings for Mal have grown and she is more than ready to be the woman he needs in and out of the bedroom.

One night she pushes him too far and the result is more than either of them ever expected. Mal wants forever, but after losing one husband, commitment isn’t in Amanda’s vocabulary. What she doesn’t realize is that Mal is one Seal who isn’t backing down until he gets exactly what he wants: Amanda’s total submission.

WARNING,
the following book contains: Sexy Navy Seals, a stubborn woman, and a little submission. This book has one of those hot Duprees, so you know that you will need a glass of water to cool off. Every
Addict
will tell you that reading a Harmless book is anything BUT harmless—so read at your own risk.

Surrender

A Little Harmless Military Romance