Authors: Zoe York

Tags: #Military Romance, #SEAL, #romance series

Fall for a SEAL (35 page)

“But you want to run it past me because you’re worried I might not like it?” Trick appeared in the doorway, an amused look on his face.

She
rolled her eyes as her cheeks turned pink. “Yes, maybe.”

“I’ll like it.”

“I don’t know exactly how to do it.”

Cocking one eyebrow, he leaned in with a leer. “Naked is always a good bet.”

“This is in public.”

“Keep the good bits covered up, then.”

“Definitely.” She took a deep breath. “Do you want me to get Comic Con tickets for you? And me? Would that be fun?”

A look of pure joy spread
across his face. “For real? That wouldn’t be too geeky for you?”

“I like geeky stuff.”

“Babe, you like to geek out on shit. Like books. But the full-on fandom stuff?”

She shrugged. “I can handle full-on for a day.”

“Awesome.” He bounced on his heels. “You don’t need to wear a sexy costume.”

“Oh, yeah. No, I wasn’t offering to wear anything other than regular clothes.”

“I mean, if you wanted
to…”

“I don’t.” She might see if she could find Wonder Woman lingerie to wear under a Bat Girl t-shirt. It would almost be like a girly three-way in her shirt. That would have to be good enough.

“We can work on that step for next year.”

She laughed. “Won’t you be overseas this time next year?”

And the happiness disappeared. She watched as his lips thinned and his gaze shuttered. “Maybe. I
might stay on this team, now. But we could go anywhere at any time.”

“I know.”

He looked away from her, first at the floor, then at the food she was cooking. “That looks good.”

“It should be. Chicken’s in the oven, spinach salad’s over there if you want to toss it.”

She gave him a minute to do that and take it to the table, while she pulled the chicken out and poured the honey-lemon sauce
over it. But as they started to eat, she nudged his foot with hers.

“Hey, do you worry that I’m not going to be able to handle your next mission, or a long tour?”

He sliced another piece of chicken before responding. “Maybe. It happens.”

“But I love you.”

He looked up and smiled, but it didn’t go all the way to his eyes. “I know. And I love you. Really. But if you can’t handle it, I’ll understand.”

“Poppycock.”

He laughed. “What?”

“I’m sorry, let me translate into SEAL. That’s fucking bullshit. If you ever break up with me, I won’t
understand
. And I really don’t think you’d understand if the situation was reversed. If you can so easily handle me just wafting out of your life—”

“Whoa, what?”

“Isn’t that what you just said?”

He glowered at her. It did warm fuzzy things to her insides.
“I was lying, silly girl. If you can’t handle me being a SEAL, I’d probably stop being a SEAL. And if you left me for someone else—some teacher or banker or landscaper—I’d tear him apart limb from limb.”

“That’s better,” she said softly. “But I never want you to worry about me, even when I tell you I hate your job. I probably will at some point, when you come back with another broken bone. But
I love
you
and all that you are. I’m not afraid of what that means. When you jump out of a plane or take off to parts unknown in a submarine, yeah, that scares me. But I’m also
proud
of you. How brave and fearless you are and how you put others before yourself. I’m willing to be here, waiting for you, always. You come home with nightmares or a broken arm, I can deal with that.”

He got up and
stalked around the table, dropping to his knees beside her and hauling her in for a long, bruising kiss.

She thought that was the end of it, but he brought it up again at bedtime.

“There might be shit you can’t deal with.”

She set aside her hand lotion and flicked off the light. “Might be. Not likely.”

He tugged her close, sliding his hand under her shirt to hold her boob. “Lots of SEALs
get divorced.”

She nodded. “I bet.”

“What if that’s just another side effect of my job?”

“Nightmares and broken bones aren’t side effects, they’re injuries. And they can be repaired. Even if you had a permanent disability, I’d still love you, because there are work-arounds. I don’t know why those other relationships fail, but you’re not allowed to break up with me.”

“Breaking up with you is
the last thing on my mind, Gaby.”

“Then what
is
on your mind?” She turned slowly in the circle of his arms, kissing his neck, then his jaw, before bringing her lips to his ear. “Do you doubt that you’re my superhero?”

He shook his head.

“Do you know that I love you and want you and nothing will change that?”

He nodded.

“Then shouldn’t we be having crazy-hot sex instead of all this maudlin
talk?”

He fisted his hand in her hair and held her still as he kissed her. “Take your shirt off, then.”

They got naked in a flurry of limbs and flying t-shirts, then she settled herself on top of him, stroking his erection with one hand while she cupped his balls in her other. “Tell me again.”

“I love you,” he groaned, his head twisting back against the pillow as she squeezed just the way he
liked it.

Rising up on her knees, she rocked her sex up the length of his cock before sliding him just inside.

“Stop teasing,” he growled, eyes jerking back to her face.

“Tell me again.” She was turned on like crazy, and her voice showed him how much he affected her.

He settled his hands on her hips, pressing her down. She sighed as he filled her.

“I love you, Gaby.”

Now it was her turn
to tip her head back and groan. “I love you, too.”

He slapped her hip. “Now ride me.”

“Need a minute. You’re so big,” she sighed. Which of course only made him bigger. Men.

When she’d fully stretched around his girth, she leaned forward, bracing herself on his shoulders as she worked herself quickly toward her first orgasm. He stroked her hips and breasts, finally settling one hand low on her
pelvis as she got close, lightly rubbing around her clit as she bounced faster and faster. As soon as she exploded, he flipped her over, driving hard into her from behind.

She groaned as he pounded his hips against her bottom. When his roommate came back from overseas, she wouldn’t be able to make this much noise. Such a shame.

It turned out, Gaby really liked making a lot of noise.

“I love
your ass, pretty girl.” She grinned into the pillow. Trick got so dirty when he was close to coming. “Almost jiggles as sweet as your breasts.”

She pressed her eyes shut and tried hard not to laugh.
What?
Well, whatever worked for him. She arched her back, pressing said jiggly bottom into his hand. He rubbed a lazy circle over her skin, then slapped her lightly. Which felt good, so she arched
even more, which made Trick sink even deeper on the next thrust…

“Ahhhh,” she cried out as he slapped her again. He was totally going to make her come again. By slapping her jiggling ass! The nerve.

“You like that?”

“So much,” she gasped. “Do it again.”

He did, a few times, until they both climaxed in spectacular fashion.

“That was really good,” she said after he brought her a washcloth.
She was lying flat on her back and he was tracing small circles all over her torso. “Although it’s a good thing I love you, because it’s generally bad form to tell a girl she jiggles.”

“But I like the soft parts of you.”

She grabbed his hand and kissed his fingers. “Okay.”

“Next time I’ll say bounce.”

“I can’t wait.”

— EPILOGUE —

Gaby knew that Hawaii was beautiful. Everyone knew that.

But to actually experience it was something totally different.

“This is paradise!” she exclaimed, twirling across the foyer of their rented condo to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked a distant view of the beach and a lot of green in between. Trick had come here for work two weeks ago, and when he finished whatever
he was doing, he’d called her and asked if she wanted to jump on a plane and join him for her last week of summer vacation.

“There’s a pool on the other side of the lanai. It’s got a great view.” Trick came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “We could go skinny dipping. Totally private.”

“Yeah?” She stroked the bulge of his bicep where he was holding her so securely against
his body. She’d missed this, him just holding her. And all the other stuff, but while sex and talking were fun, hugs were the food of life for her. “I missed you, Trick.”

“Missed you too, pretty girl.” He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. “I’ve got something to tell you.”

“Yeah?”

“I probably won’t be home for Christmas. It looks like we’re going to do something in the late fall…and we
might be gone for a while. A few months.”

Wow. That put their two weeks apart in brutal context. She tried to take a deep breath, tried to be brave and cool like he was, but her chest was too tight and her lungs didn’t seem to work.

Trick didn’t say anything. He didn’t try to make it okay. He just hugged her, a solid wall of warmth and love behind her.

“Okay,” she said after a minute. As she
did, the tightness eased a bit. Just a bit. She still wanted to cry. But she probably wouldn’t, not now. When he left…absolutely. But right now they were in paradise. Tears could wait.

“It might be less time than that. But I won’t know—”

“Trick, it’s really okay.” She twisted in his arms so he could see her face. “God, I’m going to miss you, but maybe I’ll take up scrapbooking or some other
hobby. Maybe read most of the unread books on my Kindle.”

“That’s not why I asked you to fly out,” he said, his gaze burning deep into her eyes.

“I know.” She smiled. “I love you. You save the world. Try not to break anything, okay?”

“Okay.” He cleared his throat. “The condo isn’t the only part of the vacation I planned before I found out. I want you to know that, too.”

“Sure.” She wrinkled
her brow in confusion. “You’re being so serious.”

“Yeah.” His lips quirked, and she took a minute to really look at him. The day of scruff on his strong jaw. His defined cheekbones and piercing eyes. Her boyfriend was so much prettier than her, and she was totally fine with that.

“So…skinny dipping?”

“Definitely. But I don’t want you to be completely naked.” He stepped back and slowly dropped
to one knee.

Gaby’s heart bounced against her chest. They hadn’t talked about this, but
oh my God
, that was a diamond ring in his hand, and
yes,
she already knew her answer.

“I’m so serious about this, Gaby. I want to marry you. I want to come home to you, and only you, for the rest of my life. I want to be there for you when you’re sad and celebrate with you when you’re happy. I want to read
my comic books while you watch Outlander and then take you not to my bed or your bed, but our bed, in our house. I want a
house
with you. And when you’re ready, maybe a baby or two. You could put them in your pocket.”

She nodded, her eyes wet and her smile huge. “I want all of that. Except babies go in baby-carrier things, not pockets.”

“Ours will go in pockets. They’ll be extra small. Extra
cute.”

“Yes.”

“Yes?” He stood and slid the solitaire onto her left ring finger.

She pressed her fingers against his chest. “Wow. Yes. To the marriage. Babies don’t go in pockets.”

“Let’s agree to disagree on that point.”

She laughed, and once she started, she couldn’t stop. “Come here, superhero,” she whispered, still giggling as she looped her other hand around his neck and pulled him close
for a kiss.

He hoisted her into his arms as they kissed, two weeks of hunger lighting a fire deep in her core that she should have expected.

“Trick?”

He grunted in response.

“Is there a bed nearby? We can go swimming in a little bit, yes?”

Ten seconds later, she was flat on her back on a gorgeous king-sized bed in a probably gorgeous room. She didn’t know for sure. She only had eyes for her
fiancé. And it was hours before they went swimming, but when they did, all she wore was a sparkling ring.

THE END

If you enjoyed
Fall Away
, you’ll love
Fall Deep
!

Navy SEAL Miles Dumbrowski is on his way back to war. He isn’t supposed to fall in love.

Piper Harrington left San Diego behind, looking for adventure in Europe. The no-strings, easy-breezy kind of adventure.

Now
her heart is headed to the Middle East with a man she won’t see for months. But Miles seems intent on proving he's worth the wait for that second date.