Page 121 of Peace Under Fire

“About what?” He went tense himself. This couldn’t be good.

“It’s just…” She took a deep breath and sat up. “I know how much you love being a SEAL and how much you enjoy spending time with your teammates like Grumpy and Lucky.”

“Yeah…” He waited.

She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s not fair to keep you here. I have to stay. This base might be the only place the cockroaches can’t get to me. But you… You don’t need to be here. You don’t need to protect me any longer. I’m safe here. You should go back to your team.”

He went still, his contentment turning to dust and grit. “You want me to leave?”

“No.” Her voice shook. “But I don’t want to trap you, either. What if you get into trouble with your superiors because you’re here? I don’t want you to regret staying with me.”

He forced himself to think past the clenching pain in his chest. She hadn’t said she wanted him to go. She’d said she didn’t want to trap him, and that she didn’t want him to get into trouble. That she didn’t want him to regret staying with her.

And her eyes, those beautiful brown eyes, were brimming with tears…with heartbreak.

His heart started beating again. Telling him to go was for his benefit, not hers. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “And if I don’t want to go?” He cupped her cheek and leaned down to brush her mouth with his lips. “Because there’s no place I’d rather be than with you.”

She frowned uncertainly. “But won’t you miss your life in Virginia Beach, your time on the SEAL teams, and all your teammates?”

“Yes. Yes. And yes.” He paused and held her gaze. “But I’d miss you even more. I—” He ground to a stop. Why was it so hard to admit this? He’d been skating around it for days, weeks even. He girded himself and forced the admission out. “I love you, Mandy.”

Her eyes widened, and her mouth formed a perfect O. “You do?”

“I do.” His voice was solemn. “The thought of losing you makes my heart ache. I missed you every day I was gone last week. I missed you so much I was barely functional. And when Tex called to tell me the cockroaches had attacked, and you were in hiding… Fuck, baby.” His voice dropped to a ragged whisper. “My life flashed before my eyes. All I could think about was what an idiot I’d been. I could have had you in my bed, by my side, for this whole past year.” He brushed her lips again. “I’m not making that mistake again. You’re mine and I’m keeping you.”

A smile spread across her face. “I love you too.”

“I know.” He fought a grin at the disgruntled look that flashed through her eyes.

“How could you know that? I’ve been hiding it.”

His grin broke free. “Not very well. Sweetheart, you wouldn’t have slept with me if you didn’t love me.”

The disgruntled look deepened. “I don’t know about that.”

He did.

But he knew better than to open his trap and put his foot in there.

“We can assess our living arrangements after we rescue your sisters.” He doubted she’d like living in a concrete military base. Not for long, anyway. Mandy was sunshine and flowers. She’d hate not having access to either. “I’ll have to make a trip down to Virginia Beach to talk to my CO. Tex has been keeping him updated, so he knows what’s been going on, and where I’ve been. My enlistment term is about to expire. I’m sure we can come to an agreement that keeps me with you until my term is up.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “You’re willing to give up being a SEAL for me?”

“For us.” He laid back down and dragged her across his chest, next to his heart, where she belonged. The decision to choose her had been remarkably easy. Maybe he should have expected that. She gave him far more than he was losing.

She might even be giving him peace from those headaches. They’d vanished again. As soon as they were together, poof, they were gone. That couldn’t be a coincidence, now, could it?

Besides, there were distinct advantages to living with her. Pleased with the new trajectory of his life, he slid his hand between her legs, wondering what the chances were that she could take him again. She’d been so tight, mind-blowingly tight. But that probably meant she was sore now.

Except…she sighed and opened her legs for him. And yeah—she was already wet down there. Christ, he was the luckiest man alive. He glanced at the condom sitting on the bedside table and smiled.

Peace and pleasure, that’s what she offered him.

What more could a man ask for?

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