Baby, It's You (Uncharted SEALs Book 5) (11 page)

“Yeah. I am.” Better than okay, but she’d already given him plenty to crow about. She blew out a narrow stream of air. “Maybe I should go…”

The arm slung low around her hip cinched. “Not until we talk. I told you something tonight. I think you owe me the courtesy of a response.”

She didn’t dare play stupid. He’d said he loved her. She knew how scary that was, putting it out there without any clue whether it would be returned. Still, she wasn’t quite ready to bare her soul. She noted a hint of bleakness in his gaze. A dark note she’d seen before. At the wedding. He was bracing for pain. “You’re taking the job.”

His jaw slowly ground shut, and he nodded.

She felt like weeping. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t be with him. Not and worry that every night he was away she’d be plagued by nightmares of blasts tearing him apart.

His eyes glistened. He smoothed her hair with a hand, then cupped her face in his palms and leaned toward her.

She wanted to pull away, but her eyes were filling, too. And she couldn’t bear the way he looked at her. Like he wanted to beg, but knew that wouldn’t be fair.
Well, it’s not fair. How can you tell me you love me, then prove that you don’t love me enough to stay?

He kissed her hard then let her go. Before she could move, he was backing away from her. He pushed up from the mattress and strode to where they’d dropped their clothes. As he pulled on his jeans, she wished she could think of something to say to make him stay, to take away that terrible look in his eyes.

The door opened just as Carter pulled up his zipper, and Melanie quickly drew up the covers to hide her naked chest. She and Carter both turned to stare at Emmy, dressed in a blue Elsa nightgown, as she stood in the doorway. “I couldn’t find you,” she said, looking from Melanie to Carter. “I go wake up Gampa.”

“No,” Melanie said, reaching out. “I’ll get up and tuck you in.”

“It’s okay. I happy. I got a mommy and a daddy.”

Carter cleared his throat. “Emmy, that’s not quite…” But he glanced at Melanie as though to say,
How do I explain this?

“Petey Whitehead said mommies and daddies get naked.”

“She’s not playing with that boy again,” Carter muttered.

“It’s how little sisters get made.”

“Oh, hell no,” Melanie said, feeling a little dizzy. “Emmy, go to your room. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“No need,” came a gruff voice in the hallway. Lee peeked around the edge of the doorway. “I’ll tuck her in. Couldn’t sleep anyway with all the bangin’.”

Melanie shrieked and fell back, pulling the covers over her head. Laughter rang out in the room. The door closed. Melanie remained still for a moment then inched down the sheet.

Carter was still there, his arms crossed as he leaned against the door.

“The whole house knows,” she whispered harshly.

“Bet they will. Lee’s as big a gossip as Tilda.”

“They’re going to expect something. What are we going to say?”

“That we’re working it out, and they can mind their own damn business.”

Melanie swallowed. “Are we?”

Carter dropped his arms. “I was set to walk out that door, but there was Emmy. And she wants a daddy. How the hell can I deny her?”

“You did for two years.”

“And I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life about that. But in all fairness, I’d never met her.”

“But we’re at an impasse. I can’t go through that again, losing someone I…” she closed her eyes before she whispered, “love.”

“I call bullshit.”

She opened her eyes to glare at him.

Carter strode toward her and knelt beside the bed. “You are the strongest woman I know. Hell, you shielded that baby girl from the blast. Daniel’s staff had to pry her out of your arms when you were unconscious. Despite your own injuries, you were there for her. You’ve been taking care of her and my dad.” He reached out and cupped her cheek. “I promise you now, I will never needlessly put myself in danger, but I’m taking that job. It’s what I do. Who I am. You fell in love with that guy. I’m not letting you get cold feet now.”

She continued to frown, but inside, she felt a shift. What he said was true. She had fallen in love with the SEAL. Had never really stopped. Was she holding onto this argument to punish him?

Carter held still, staring her down. His expression set. He’d wait her out. Wear her down. Eventually. Why fight it anymore? She loved him. She’d said it.
Out loud.
He’d never let her take it back.

And she didn’t want him to.

“Okay,” she whispered. Then she took a deeper breath and lifted her chin. “But we better have whatever this is settled by morning. Don’t be surprised if your dad shows up in his wheelchair with a shotgun on his lap.”

“We’re getting married. And not in a month or even a week. We’re heading to the courthouse in the morning to start the paperwork.”

“You going to even bother to ask me?”

He pinched her chin. “You gonna say no?”

She pouted her lips. “Would it do me any good to try?”

“Hell no.” He leaned toward her and kissed her. “No one will believe you. Only man for you is me.”

“Your dad tell you that?”

“He did.”

“Huh. You had one hell of a conversation.”

Carter smiled. “My old man’s smarter than I gave him credit for. He said there was only one woman for me. It’s how we Vances are made. Baby, it’s you. Always has been. Always will be.”

Melanie let go of her fear. Looking into his eyes, she couldn’t imagine loving anyone the way she loved him. Instantly. Completely. How quickly they’d arrived at this moment was a huge damn clue, but she’d been too scared to admit it. “So, tomorrow. What will we do until then?”

Carter’s mouth stretched. “I have an idea or two. But only if you don’t mind the fact we’re gonna get noisy.”

She winced. “Good Lord. We have to move the bed away from the wall.”

Carter laughed and crawled right over her. “Let’s worry about the furniture tomorrow.”

Delilah Devlin is a
New York Times
and
USA TODAY
bestselling author of erotica and sexy romance with a rapidly expanding reputation for writing deliciously edgy stories with complex characters. She has published over a hundred sixty erotic stories in multiple genres and lengths, and she is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Kindle Worlds, Montlake Romance, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.

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Watch Over Me

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Her Next Breath

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