Password to Her Heart (23 page)

Shawna placed her hand against Keith’s cheek as he smiled. He was sitting up in the hospital bed. Shawna still had her arm in a sling, and her shoulder wrapped.

“I’m so glad the doctor said he’s going to release you in a few days.”

“Me, too, sis. I have a lot to do. I have to look for a place to live. I need a new civilian job.”

“Hey, you’re staying on the ranch with us,” she stated.

Mercury smiled then looked at Lee, Tex, Stitch, and Tiek.

“About that, I think it’s best if I’m not living on the same ranch as you six lovebirds. I don’t want to be in the way.”

“Be in the way? Are you kidding me? I couldn’t wait for you to wake up and move out there with us. There’s plenty of room, and you’ll have your own house, a cottage and all.”

“Shawna, come here,” Keith told her. She leaned closer and he pressed his hands against her cheeks and smiled. “This is how I imagined it would be. My team, my brothers would meet you, fall in love with you, and you in return would bring them everything they always wished for. You all deserve happiness and love, and now you have it. I’ll need to find love, too, one day, and living on a ranch with my little sister and her five huge-ass soldier boyfriends is not going to help me in that department. So, no worries. I’ll stay there for a little bit and until I find a place of my own. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Keith.”

* * * *

Shawna sat on the front porch swing with Tiek on one side of her and Mercury on the other side. They’d finally explained to her how they made certain Chavez and his men could never come after her or Keith again. They risked their lives for her, for Keith, Tex, Lee, and Stitch.

“What you did was extremely dangerous. You left the country to go on another military mission to break into an area that had missiles on it with terrorists and bad guys. All while I slept in a hospital and had surgery. Why did you do it? Why couldn’t you just let the other soldiers get them, and go on that mission?” she asked.

Mercury lifted her up and placed her on his lap. She straddled his waist and he stared up into her eyes then at his brothers, his team. He looked back at Shawna.

“I promised that I wasn’t going to ever let that man get his hands on you or hurt my family ever again. We’re a family now, Shawna. You’re all my responsibility to love and to protect, so we can live happily ever after,” he teased her.

She smiled and placed her hands against his cheeks as the tears filled her eyes.

“Well, the five of you are my happily ever after, and nothing else matters. But it was still a dangerous thing to do,” she whispered. Then she ran the palm of her hand down his shirt and over his chest. She lifted up slightly and then lowered onto him. “However, lucky for you, it totally turns me on.”

“Oh really? What exactly turns you on about this?” Tiek asked, caressing his hand up her thigh as Mercury cupped her breast.

“Having my very own older, experienced, muscular, and sexy American soldiers to have my way with whenever I want to.”

They all chuckled.

Mercury lifted her up and ran his hands along her ass cheeks.

“Well, you turn us on, and make us want everything we ever dreamed of having, including a family, and kids of our own.”

She smiled wide and ran her finger along the bridge of his nose.

“Well, as soon as I’m healed up, maybe we should start working on that, huh, gunnery sergeant?” she teased.

“Hell, baby, I’m ready to do what it takes to make that a reality.”

She laughed.

“They say it takes a lot of practice and making love all the time,” Tiek teased.

“There are some really different positions we can try that help seal the deal.” Stitch caressed a finger along her breast.

“Really? Different positions, huh?” she flirted.

“Oh yeah, and different locations are important, too. Inside the house, outside of the house,” Lee teased.

“In the truck,” Tex said.

“On top of the truck,” Mercury added.

She closed her eyes and moaned softly. “Or on the porch swing with the sun beginning to set, and the creaking sound of wood about to break as we make passionate love right here, right now.”

“Woman, you are full of surprises.”

She rose up in her knees and began to unzip Mercury’s pants. “Shawna, what are you doing?”

“I’m giving my gunnery sergeant an order. Make love to me here and now or else.”

“Or else what?” Tiek asked.

“You don’t want to find out.” She kissed Mercury and squeezed him tight, loving the safety and security she felt in his arms and being completely surrounded by her men. As Mercury let her have her way with him now, she knew ultimately that he was in charge, and she loved that about him, about all of her men. They would protect her always, and she would protect them, too. But most importantly they would love one another equally and with all their hearts so they never felt abandoned, alone, or empty ever again.

THE END

WWW.DIXIELYNNDWYER.COM

People seem to be more interested in my name than where I get my ideas for my stories from. So I might as well share the story behind my name with all my readers.

My momma was born and raised in New Orleans. At the age of twenty, she met and fell in love with an Irishman named Patrick Riley Dwyer. Needless to say, the family was a bit taken aback by this as they hoped she would marry a family friend. It was a modern day arranged marriage kind of thing and my momma downright refused.

Being that my momma’s families were descendents of the original English speaking Southerners, they wanted the family blood line to stay pure. They were wealthy and my father’s family was poor.

Despite attempts by my grandpapa to make Patrick leave and destroy the love between them, my parents married. They recently celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary.

I am one of six children born to Patrick and Lynn Dwyer. I am a combination of both Irish and a true Southern belle. With a name like Dixie Lynn Dwyer it’s no wonder why people are curious about my name.

Just as my parents had a love story of their own, I grew up intrigued by the lifestyles of others. My imagination as well as my need to stray from the straight and narrow made me into the woman I am today.

For all titles by Dixie Lynn Dwyer, please visit

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