Page 42 of Stranded with a SEAL

“A couple of miles?” Bailey asked in surprise. “How’d we get so far?”

“The ocean current,” Noah said. “It was strong in the storm and carried us away from the boat. We were lucky as hell to end up near one of the islands.”

“And you found your gear?” Mason asked, nodding at his backpack.

“It must’ve gotten swept right along with us,” Noah said. “Bailey spotted it in the water.”

“We’ve been so worried about you,” Taylor said, her eyes watering. “The Coast Guard has been searching all day. Mason even went out there with them earlier. They wouldn’t let him join the helicopter search though.”

The Coast Guard Lieutenant walked over, greeting them. “We spotted the smoke from the bonfire from a couple of miles away. As soon as we went to investigate it, we hoped it would be you.”

“We tried lighting one yesterday, but the rain started up again. Then this morning we had to wait for everything to dry out before we could relight it,” Noah said.

“Can we go home?” Bailey asked, looking up at Noah.

“There’s an ambulance waiting over there,” the Coast Guard Lieutenant said. “They can check your vitals, and if you don’t want to be treated at the hospital, you’ll have to sign a waiver for your release.”

Noah wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulders, and they headed over to the ambulance together. Thirty minutes later, she was nestled beside him in the back of the convertible as they headed to the condo.

“Do you want me to change our flight?” Mason asked, glancing at them in the rearview mirror. “I don’t know if anything is going out tonight. We were worried we’d have to push our flight back from tomorrow if we couldn’t find you.”

“We can fly home tomorrow,” Bailey said. “I just want to sleep in a bed with a roof over my head tonight.”

Noah chuckled beside her. “It wasn’t that bad, sunshine. You had me to keep you safe.”

Taylor turned around from the front passenger seat. “I was so scared. Mason kept telling me Noah would save you, Bailey, but that storm was awful. Even if he got to you, I wasn’t sure how you’d both survive when we couldn’t find you in the water.”

“It was bad,” Noah agreed. “Bailey did everything right though. And finding my backpack was a real stroke of luck. I had some supplies, food, even an inflatable life vest.”

“I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Noah,” Bailey said.

She yawned beside him, and he ducked down, brushing his lips against her hair. “Close your eyes, sunshine. You’re safe now.”

Chapter 16

Noah took a pull of his beer later that night, glancing across the table at Mason. “You gave us a scare, Viper,” Mason said, scrubbing a hand through his cropped blond hair. “When we couldn’t find you in that horrible storm, I was worried as hell.”

“I have the same training you do,” Noah said with a low chuckle.

“Taylor was practically hysterical when we couldn’t find you and Bailey. If the rain hadn’t been so damn bad, we could’ve searched for you. All we could do was hunker down and ride it out.”

“You did what you could,” Noah assured him. “And you had to keep Taylor safe. I wouldn’t have wanted you risking her life and doing something stupid just to find me.”

Mason blew out a sigh, stretching his arms above his head. “Hell of a fishing trip,” he said, taking a swig of his own beer. “I doubt I’ll be able to convince Taylor to go on one again with me—ever.”

“Me either,” Noah said, crossing his arms as he leaned back in the chair. “I think Bailey’s had enough fishing for a few lifetimes.”

“You and Bailey looked pretty cozy earlier,” Mason commented, raising his eyebrows.

“Affirmative,” Noah said. He glanced toward her closed bedroom door. She’d been in the bath for over an hour and had told him she just wanted a little alone time. He’d give her that—for now. But he fully planned to hold her in his arms all night long.

“Did you get that text from Hunter earlier?” Mason asked, eyeing his friend.

“Yep. And he only sent me a brief text before it saying he was glad that I’d been found,” Noah said with a smirk.

“He’s one to cut right to the chase,” Mason said. “It was a touch cryptic, but I’m assuming we’re going wheels up within a few days of getting back home.”

“Sure sounds that way,” Noah said with a frown. His team was used to deploying on a moment’s notice, but he hadn’t thought far enough ahead to the real world to consider what life would be like back in Virginia Beach with Bailey. He knew he wanted her, bad, and wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers just because she was frightened.

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