Page 61 of The Seal's Promise

“I think you’ll make a great dad one day.”

She gathered up the soap and began to wash him, exploring the fullness of his muscles and mounds of well-honed strength over his biceps, forearms, back, and down to his buttocks and thick thighs. He was a masterpiece, but there were more scars she hadn’t seen.

“Is this the one from your final mission?” she asked, stroking her hand over the twisted knot of flesh in his upper thigh.

“The bullet just missed my artery, but it took another fourteen hours for us to get to our pickup site. I packed the wound and had to treat several of my teammates’ injuries before we got out. It was the most painful and stressful day I’d ever experienced—after losing my parents.”

She traced the lines in his forehead before kissing him. Water washed down over them.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Thank you for asking.”

Dalton turned off the water and bundled her up in a huge fluffy towel before wrapping another one around his hips and walking her back into the bedroom.

“Did you bring your suit?”

“Yes, and luckily I brought a change of clothes.”

“Good.” He exited the room only to return with the bag she’d dropped at the front door. “I packed us sandwiches for dinner—I hope that’s okay.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Excitement and curiosity rolled through her along with something else that told her not to get too attached. Dalton was breaking down every wall she’d put up since Tyler betrayed her, but he’d said nothing about them being any more than what they were now. Easy and casual. She didn’t want to complicate her little life with Max, but at this point she hated the idea of not being able to claim Dalton as her own.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Dalton

The Fall

Once they weredressed, it took all his strength not to ditch his plans and just keep Brooke naked and in his bed the rest of the night. But they only had about an hour until sunset, and he really wanted to take her to his favorite spot. After just a thirty-minute drive inland he pulled down the dirt road toward Victory Falls, a hidden gem of a forty-foot waterfall that ended in a chain of cold springs mostly visited by hikers or nature enthusiasts. There were a few campsites with just the bare bones of amenities, firepits, and private clearings for tents. Once he parked at their designated campsite nestled in the tall trees, he hoped he hadn’t made the wrong choice for this outing. He was trying to date Brooke without risking them getting caught by people in Sandy Point, for Brooke’s sake. He, for one, wanted everyone to know Brooke was with him, but she wasn’t ready for that.

“Is that a waterfall?”

“Yes, have you ever been here?”

“No, I didn’t even know this existed.” She unbuckled her seat belt.

Dalton grabbed a simple pack and a few towels for the first phase of their date, to swim in the falls, then he’d set up their tent in the bed of his truck and start a fire if they needed it. They didn’t have to stay all night but he was hoping she’d like the idea of lying with him under the stars.

He reached for her hand. “Ready?”

The excitement in her eyes told him everything he needed to know. He gripped her hand and led her over to the side of the falls, where the thundering sound and scene of the white spray was impossible not to admire.

It was still hot and humid out, but as the sun continued to descend it would cool off even more where they were now nestled in the trees.

“Are we going swimming?” she asked.

Several other visitors were already here, but there were several pools of water where the falls crashed down, giving everyone enough room to enjoy the fresh water.

“Yes, are you a good swimmer?”

“You won’t have to rescue me if that’s what you’re worried about.”

He smiled, pulled off his shirt, and set their things on his pack with their towels. Then he watched as she pulled off her dress to reveal a red bikini on her curvy frame. It was just a basic swimsuit, but her curves were on display and he wanted to touch her. He guided her to the edge of the falls where there weren’t a lot of rocks. Pebbles and flat stones covered the edge before it dropped off into deeper water.

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