Page 23 of Cross & Crown

for Kelly to sleep. Nick tossed his head and murmured

something, and as he moved, his fingers grazed Kelly’s arm.

Kelly flinched, wincing in anticipation of Nick waking. The

last time Nick had rolled into him during a dream, he’d

startled awake and pinned Kelly to the mattress, his hand

around Kelly’s throat, before Kelly could say anything to

calm him.

Not that Kelly minded, because not only could he defend

himself with ease, but also the way Nick apologized was pretty

fantastically sweaty and naked.

That had been weeks ago, of course, in Kelly’s cabin

in Colorado where Nick wasn’t quite as familiar with his

surroundings. Nick usually slept easy, especially on his boat,

and the more time that passed since his last deployment,

the fewer issues he had. But on stormy nights, when the seas

tossed the boat beneath them, when thunder crashed above

them and the sounds of the sea infiltrated the hul , Nick was

restless and quick to strike out when his nightmares were

interrupted.

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Nick murmured something in his sleep again, and Kelly

finally gave up on trying to get to sleep himself and pushed

the blanket off. He slipped out of bed carefully, not wanting

to wake Nick as he headed for the salon upstairs.

Photos were scattered on the walls there, and the

occasional knickknack sat around, but other than that the

décor of the yacht was pretty sparse. It wasn’t Spartan or

empty, though.

Kelly had spent plenty of time aboard the yacht since

Nick had purchased it. He’d thought nothing on board was

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