Page 66 of The SEALs' Single Mom Baby Surprise

My thoughts don’t wind on much further. By the time we return to my house, I’m wired and desperately want to hold onto Sloane.

This feeling is scarier than I remember. But I was young then, kissing thirty when I lost Mari and Hannah.

And here I am, pining after someone barely into her twenties. My gut says not to be stubborn about the age difference, says not to keep my distance. It’ll be my own downfall if I ignore my gut.

I’ve lived with the knowledge that I can’t go through it again.

I open the door and step in, and Sloane rushes in, launching herself at me. I wrap myself around her, getting my wish to hold on to her for as long as I can manage. She doesn’t try to push me away one inch, and I soak it in. The soft heat of her, the honeysuckle scent, the way her fingers dig into my back.

I find myself hoping that she’s missed me, too. That’s what this feels like.

When she finally stirs and pulls back to look me over, the worry in her features has my heart taking that leap again.

“You’re okay? Both of you? What happened? We haven’t heard from you all day.” Sloane grips my arms and peers around me to see Shepard is in one piece, too, before she looks into my eyes, reiterating her questions with a few blinks.

“We’re fine,” I tell her, trying to wrangle myself as she steps to Shep and hugs him with nearly the same ferocity. He lifts her off her feet, comes in, and closes the door with her toes dangling above the hardwood floors.

She grunts but says, “I need more than that.”

I bite back a smile. “We confirmed it’s one of the big arms dealers this country has been tracking for years.”

“So you know who they are?”

“No. Not exactly. We’ve just narrowed it down from every possibility to a handful of them.”

Sloane finds her feet again, ushering us both inside the home. “What else?”

I shake my head. “Not much else, unfortunately.”

Hastings meets my gaze as I glance away. He knows already. I don’t want to tell her that we were under fire. She’ll blame herself when none of this is her fault.

That critical gaze of hers narrows at me. One of the few people in the world who doesn’t buckle under mine, and it’s this young woman who’s too smart for her own good. She has gone through too much in her young life.

I can’t resist reaching out to touch her again, brushing my knuckles across her cheek and cupping the side of her head.

“How can I help?” Clever girl. She’s learning how to read me too well, adapting to us.

I sweep her against me again, and she holds on, rocking me in a hug that’s meant purely for comfort. “You’re already doing it.”

Her hands stroke over my back and sides, and it’s enough to make me want to curl around her in bed, do dirty things to her, and fall asleep without ever letting her out of my arms.

It’s not realistic, but I can have most of it.

“Did you want me to do what I do upstairs? Where there’s a bed?” Sloane’s words are muffled by my shoulder.

I softly laugh into her hair. “Yes. I do.”

She laughs, too, pulling back enough to tip her head and give me access to her mouth. I will never turn down the offer of a kiss.

Even though my body is tired and sore from the day’s work, I lift her in my arms, her legs going around my waist before I climb the stairs with her.

No need to check whether the guys are following. They’d be stupid not to.

In my bedroom, I slowly lower her to the edge of the bed, unwilling to release her kiss until I’ve properly shown her how much I want her. Need her. Need this. Need every big or little thing she’s willing to give me.

Sloane is panting for breath when I finally release her. Her eyes are glazed over with desire. Her touch smooths over my cheek, back down to my chin, across my bottom lip.

I reach for the bottom of her oversized sweatshirt. Does she wear this thing to tease me? It’s the same one she had on when she climbed into my lap and seduced me. One of the sexiest moments of my adult life.

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