Page 4 of Married to a SEAL

Chapter 2

Patrick took a bottle of beer from the fridge in Rebecca’s kitchen and, popping the cap off, took a long pull. Hell if that didn’t feel good after a grueling day of drills out on the water. They’d spent hours jumping out of a helicopter into the ocean, practicing gearing up and readying to go in quickly. Then they’d conducted a rescue op simulation, retrieving injured sailors from the water and applying emergency medical aid, lifting them back into the hovering chopper.

They hadn’t conducted an actual water rescue in more than a year, but his SEAL team deployed in all kinds of situations and had to be prepared for damn near everything. Didn’t make days like today any less draining though.

He rolled his shoulders, easing the tight muscles, and moved quietly across the kitchen in his combat boots and fatigues, not wanting to wake the kids. Rebecca’s part-time nanny had seemed happy when he’d arrived home earlier than expected, he thought, glancing down at his watch. The LED digits read 20:08.

He chuckled to himself, thinking of how Rebecca still wasn’t used to military time. He’d told her he’d meet her at 15:00 just a couple of weeks ago, and she’d assumed he’d meant 5:00 p.m. When he’d called her after waiting twenty minutes, she hadn’t even left the house.

His single days felt like a million years ago now though. Before he and Rebecca had met, he’d been raising Logan on his own. It was somewhat ironic, because if Logan had to lose a parent, Patrick always had assumed it would’ve been him. His SEAL team was the best at what they did, but not everyone had such a high-risk career.

His ex-wife had died of cancer though, leaving him to raise Logan on his own. Until he’d spotted Rebecca dining with Alison one night, he hadn’t exactly considered having a serious relationship again. Hell, he’d been on his way to Anchors then to hang out with the guys on the team. Watch them chase after women. As fate would have it, he saw Rebecca down by the beach a couple of days after that.

And boom.

The rest was history.

His gaze flicked over to the front window as he heard a car door shut in the driveway. That was one added bonus of Fridays when he wasn’t deployed—he’d taken to spending the night at Rebecca’s house. Pretty soon they’d be having to explain to the kids why he was in Rebecca’s room at night while Logan slept in the guest bed. Maybe they hadn’t picked up on it quite yet, but kids eventually noticed every damn thing.

Too much, sometimes.

Their current living arrangements were a situation he hoped to remedy, soon.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he said, his voice gruff, as he opened the front door.

Rebecca smiled, her long brown waves tousling lightly in the breeze. Her floral scent filled the space between them, and his gaze raked over her gray skirt suit, down her shapely legs to the heels she was wearing. Although she might be a buttoned-up, no-nonsense attorney during the day, there was an entirely different side of her that he managed to bring out.

And hell if he didn’t love every minute of it.

“Hi. Are the kids asleep?” she asked quietly.

“For the last half an hour or so,” he said, ducking down to give her a kiss. Even in those sexy heels, she only came up to his shoulder. And hell if he didn’t love her much smaller, feminine size. There was nothing quite like undressing her slowly in the bedroom, then teasing and pleasuring her until she was crying out his name over and over again. “I thought you’d be in later.”

“Alison was exhausted, so we called it an early night. I told her she should shorten her shifts or rearrange her schedule somehow.”

“I won’t complain about having you all to myself earlier than expected,” he said, his voice husky.

She flushed slightly as she walked in, and he grinned. Hell, he’d never seen a woman blush as much as her, and even though they’d been together for a year now, he still loved seeing that reaction. Loved that he could do that to her with a few gruff words and his touch.

“I missed you,” she said, taking the beer from his hand and setting it on the front table.

He watched in amusement as her own briefcase fell to the floor, and then Patrick pulled her into his arms. He ducked down for a more thorough kiss, his fingers tangling in her long locks before sliding them down her back and coming to a rest on the curve of her bottom.

Hell, she was beautiful in the sleek suit she had on. It wasn’t necessarily intended to be sexy, but the way the skirt skimmed over her feminine curves and the tempting way her blouse hugged her breasts had his heartrate accelerating.

Not to mention his groin tightening.

“I wish you got off work earlier to come with us,” she said as she pulled back and he reluctantly released her. She peeled off her suit jacket as he retrieved his beer.

“What kind of girl’s night would that have been?” he joked, taking another long pull of the rich, hoppy brew.

“Evan could have come, too. It’d be like a double date.”

“I saw Evan all day long. You’re the one I’m ready to spend some quality alone time with. Preferably in bed.” His lips quirked up as she flushed again. “How was court?”

“Gave ‘em hell,” she said with a wink.

Patrick chuckled, his loud laughter filling the front foyer.

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