Page 30 of Navy

The men were finally finished playing war and were sauntering towards us, helmets off and paintball guns over their shoulders.

“Oh, holy hotness,” I mumble into my wine. “Right,” Molly replies dreamily from beside me, holding up her hand for a high five, which I happily oblige.

“Jesus, that man just does it for me,” Abby sighs.

“Yeah, if I had ovaries, mine would stand up and clap an ovation for Marcus,” Julia agrees.

“Mine are clapping loud and proud,” Cally breathed. “Just saying,” she grinned when we laughed at her.

“I think Milo is hotter now than he was in his twenties,” Rea agrees in a husky voice.

“Hawk is lethal to my state of mind when he’s in any uniform. If I’m not careful, I’m going to end up with another set of twins,” Avy says in a hushed tone.

Hope clears her throat, “Ladies, just so you know the bedrooms are soundproofed, so if you feel like it, go wild. I know I certainly will.”

“Well, that makes me feel better after this morning,” I mutter with a blush.

Laughter rings out from the women, bringing the men’s attention to us.

“What are you ladies up to?” Reaper asks suspiciously.

“Nothing, just discussing tomorrow’s knife throwing and shooting activities,” Hope assures him.

“Mmh and that’s why Gia’s blushing,” Navy smirks.

“Oh, that,” Molly waves a dismissive hand with a cheeky grin at Navy, “that reaction is because Hope’s just told us that the bedrooms are soundproofed, and I’m guessing you know how to treat a lady right.”

I slap my hands over my face and sink into my chair as if I can hide my mortification. Laugher peals out around me. Julia squeezes my arm in sympathy, “Don’t worry you aren’t alone, I’ve been where you are several times when Molly loses her filter,” she assures me.

Smirking Navy saunters towards me and tugs me out of my chair so he can sit in my place before pulling me down and onto his lap, hugging me to him, his body shaking with laughter as he asks, amusement clear in his voice, “You been telling tales, sweets?”

Shaking my head, I hide my hot face in his neck, wondering if the ground can swallow me up.

“I can’t believe Molly outed me like that,” I laugh softly.

“You’ll get used to it,” Navy assures me. “There’s no secrets in this family.”

Tilting my head back on his shoulder so that I can see him, I meet his gaze with a smile, “I love both your families,” I assure him.

“That’s good, sweets, because you’re not going anywhere. Especially not after this morning,” he whispers to me, softly kissing my lips.

Snuggling deeper into his lap, I listen to the laughter and teasing being bandied around. Not long after, the fire is built and we’re piling sandwiches onto our plates. Blankets are brought out and children are corralled.

The older ones sit on logs and blankets around the fire, eating and chatting, and with the younger children, it doesn’t seem to matter who the child belongs to—if there’s an empty lap, they’ll climb on, happy to fall asleep with whoever.

It’s another late night when we finally douse the fire and call goodnight to everyone.

I’m still smiling in amusement at some of the conversations from this evening. But it’s been a long day and I’m asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

CHAPTER 18

NAVY

The ladies are up to something. I can sense it! As a group, I know them better than most, as I, along with Cairo, spend the most time with them when they are all together. Mostly because they know that we’ll let them do shit their Old Men won’t. I figure it’s better to let them do it under supervision than to let them go rogue. This morning, I have a feeling that it has to do with Gia. I’m silent as I watch Gia, Hope, Molly, and Cally slip away.

Catching Cairo’s eye, I tilt my head for him to follow them, giving them five minutes before I follow along behind. It’s not hard; they’re not being quiet. They enter the shooting range that Hope had built years ago. Now I’m curious. Cairo stops at the door, holding up his hand as he peers in. When he’s happy we’re not going to be seen, he waves me forward. Together we slip inside, keeping to the shadows. There’s much laughter from the four women as Hope unlocks her gun safe and starts laying out different guns.

‘What the hell are they up to?’ I wonder. Both Cally and Molly can shoot and shoot well. As do all our women, we’d made sure of it. Colm O’Shea insisted that they come to his range at least once a month to keep their skills sharp.

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