Page 60 of The Seal's Promise

That evening after getting Max settled at May’s house, she drove out to the Hart estate and eagerly made her way back to Levi’s house, which now seemed to be Dalton’s own. She parked next to his truck in the driveway and took a deep breath. Before she could knock, the door opened, and Dalton stood in front of her, barefoot in jeans and no shirt.

“Hi, am I early?”

“You’re right on time,” he said, holding the door open for her. But his quiet demeanor and lack of a shirt made her hesitate and stop just inside to watch him close the door.

He closed the space between them and his hands landed on the wall over her head as he leaned in, and then his mouth was on her neck.

“Oh” was all she managed before his knee slid between her legs.

“I know it’s unfair, but I didn’t like seeing Miles Banks sitting with you under our tree,” he said, kissing down her throat and then moving back up the other side.

She snaked her hands up his bare chest and felt the power of his hard, smooth muscle under her fingers.

“We only talked about Max,” she stammered before his mouth was on hers in an all-consuming kiss. He was possessive and hungry for her, and it drove her into a frenzy of need. Her hips rocked over his thigh as he rubbed it back and forth against her wet heat. “And I don’t like how every woman in town talks like you’re a man they’re going to try to conquer,” she confessed.

“Too late, you already have.” His eyes met hers and one hand slid off the wall to frame her face. “There’s only you.” He paused to search her eyes before kissing her again as both of his hands roamed over her dress, stroking her body like a musician playing their favorite instrument.

They were in sync as he pulled up the hem of her dress, and she unbuttoned his jeans to then push them down his hips. Next, he pulled her panties to the side as she palmed his thick length, guiding him to her slick entrance.

“You’re mine,” he said, right before he slowly, inch by thick inch, pushed inside to take her.

She gasped and knew with complete certainty that he wasn’t wrong; she was his in every way now. Her arms stretched up to circle his neck as he kissed her in rhythm to every slow stroke. He couldn’t get completely seated at this angle, but he took his time with her, forcing them both to enjoy the buildup, to acknowledge how right they fit together. As much as it thrilled her it scared her too, but there was no way to stop it. She wanted all of him and could already feel the undertow of her orgasm pulling her in.

“Mine,” he breathed into her ear as the next stroke went deeper after he hoisted her up against the wall. Gravity pulled her down to take all of him in, and she was rewarded with a burst of bliss, surrounded by this man who made her want even more. His release followed hers quickly but they stayed linked, both gasping to catch their breath. Then he pulled her away from the wall and carried her to the huge master bathroom.

Setting her down on her wobbly legs, he held her while she found her footing, then lifted her dress up and over her head. He didn’t speak as he unhooked her bra and peeled down her wet panties, tossing them all away. He kicked off his own jeans and briefs to stand in all his naked, coiled, muscular glory for her. When he turned on the water for the large rain shower she spotted several scars that looked like serious injuries.

“I don’t even know what you did in the Navy,” she said, breaking the silence as the water sprayed down over his back, and he pulled her closer to stand in the warm water with him.

His smile was disarming. “Didn’t you hear Max? I was a SEAL ninja,” he said, pumping soap into his hand to lather up before spreading the bubbles over her chest. Her body was relaxed but hummed with excitement for his touch.

“I knew you were a SEAL, but what does that mean? Which countries did you go to, how many times did you get shot, and did you love it? And if so, why’d you get out?”

“So curious.” He moved his hands down her back to continue soaping the rest of her body and over her bottom.

“You’re trying to deflect with your sexiness.”

He laughed again. “I like that you think I’m sexy.”

She sighed as he gently rubbed between her legs with his soapy hand—earning a gasp from her—then pulled one of the other shower heads down to rinse her off.

“During my time at the Academy I was selected for SEAL training and I completed the BUDS program, then attended USU medical school in Maryland for the Navy. My residency was a combination of SEAL missions and being at the base medical unit in Virginia Beach. When I was badly injured during my last mission, I took the medical discharge the Navy offered me, and worked in Virginia as an ER doctor for a few years.”

“That seems like an awful lot of hard training back-to-back.”

Dalton sighed as he stroked the water running up and down her arms. “In retrospect I think I was trying to prove to my father that he was wrong about the Navy, that I belonged there because I was the best of the best.”

“But?” she said, unsure how he was feeling now that he was talking about his father. She remembered in high school how he’d said his dad didn’t want him to go to the Naval Academy even though it had been his dream.

“My father was right to be concerned; I lost friends on the battlefield; their lives just snuffed out. Every year good men and women die for our country and never get to live to old age. Or they get injured in a war and live with those wounds their entire lives.”

She hugged him, pressing the side of her face into his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, and his arms wrapped more tightly around her.

“Maybe you were right too, maybe you needed to experience those years in the Navy, as a SEAL, to be the best doctor and best man you can be.” His arms squeezed her even closer. “I’m sure your father was equally proud of you achieving your dream, even as he was terrified to lose you. Being a parent is all about spending eighteen years trying to keep your kids alive, while at the same time teaching them about the world and protecting them from it. Then you have to let them go one day and hope the world is kind to them. Pray that you prepared them. It’s amazing, but it also feels like your heart is teetering on a cliff at the same time.”

“I can see why my father didn’t want me to go now, and I’m sure you’re right. It’ll probably make even more sense when I have a child of my own.”

She looked up at his somber face, drops of water on his eyelashes, and wondered what lucky woman would get to have children with him.

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