As soon as Colt’s condo door clicks behind me, he starts pulling the top down on my strapless dress, exposing my diamond nipples. We haven’t been able to keep our hands off each other the entire way home, making out in the back of the cab like a couple of teenagers while the driver pretended not to notice.

Colt’s breath is hot against my skin as he drags his lips from my mouth, across my jaw to my ear. “I can’t wait another second,” he breathes as he pulls my dress up, revealing pink lace panties. “I need you right now.”

He pulls my underwear down my thighs and lifts me up, resting my exposed ass on the table in the entryway. In less than a few seconds, he tugs them off and unzips his pants, pulling his rigid cock out. I open my legs wide in anticipation of his girth, and he slides into my wet pussy, hitting my head back against his wall with his assertive entry. Colt’s mouth surrounds my nipple, his tongue flickering over it wildly as he fucks me hard. My senses are on overload as the pleasure from his tongue thrashing against my nipple and the intensity of his cock relentlessly thrusting into my eager pussy collide in an explosion of white light.

My body tenses and twitches, gripping his cock from inside as my moans grow uncontrollable. Colt holds me in place on the table and quickly pumps into me before gripping my skin tight. His muscles flex under his shirt as his cock throbs inside me, releasing his seed. I wrap my legs around him, pulling him in tighter to my body as he fills me.

Still holding me steady, Colt kisses my swollen lips and slowly pulls out of me. I immediately feel empty without him inside me as he gently lifts me from the table and rests my feet back on the ground.

“Won’t you come in?” he teases, quickly buttoning his pants back up. Clasping my hand, he doesn’t wait for my response, instead leading me down the hall to his bedroom.

* * *

I love the unhurried circles Colt traces on my thigh as I smile at the evidence of our sex marathon around his room. I didn’t think I could ever meet my match in the bedroom, but I’m utterly exhausted, lying naked in his arms.

“Do you ever picture how your life is going to be in the future?” he murmurs, interrupting my lazy thoughts.

“How do you mean?” I wiggle my toes against his, enjoying the tangled knot our legs are in.

“I don’t know. Some things are meant to be, I guess. Like, I’m finally in a place in my life where I want to get serious about dating and who knows… maybe even settle down in a bit. Then you end up in my life, like an answer to my dreams.”

He kisses my shoulder, and I smile. “Well, in fairness, you sorta tracked me down, though. It’s not like we bumped into each other at a grocery store or something.”

“True. True.” He chuckles good-naturedly. “But I didn’t know if you would be married or seeing someone by now. I couldn’t plan for any of that. I just had to go on blind faith.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” I admit, pulling his arms around me tighter.

“So am I,” he murmurs. “But you didn’t answer my question. I want to know what you see in your future. Is it a career? Children? Both?”

“I don’t know.” I sigh heavily. “I thought I had it all worked out, but life is throwing me a few curve balls.”

“How so?”

“Well, I applied for school because I really want to get my teaching degree. And I got accepted.”

“Congratulations!”

“Yeah, well, thanks, but it doesn't really matter now. I didn’t get enough funding for my tuition, so that dream is on hold for the time being.”

“No! You can’t just give up. If it’s a dream, you have to pursue it. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

I roll over, facing him, and give him a quick kiss. “I’m not giving up. It’s just on hold. There’s nothing more I can do right now.”

Colt bites his lip as his eyebrows push together. “That’s not entirely true,” he says slowly.

“How do you figure? What am I supposed to do? Go rob a bank?”

“No.” He laughs, giving me a little kiss on the tip of my nose. “I’d be happy to give you the money.”

“What? No way. I’m not taking your money. I’ll figure it out on my own. No offense, I do appreciate the offer, but no. No. There’s just no way I’m taking money from you.”

“Listen, don’t shut it down so quickly. Let me tell you something.” Colt trails his fingers down the side of my face and tilts my chin until our eyes meet. “You know, if I hadn’t pushed my ego to the side years ago and taken help when it was offered, I would’ve never gotten my first company off the ground. Then who knows where I’d be today. Not here.”

“What do you mean? Who helped you out?”

“When I retired from the SEALs, I didn’t exactly have stacks of cash to help me with my dream of building an app. Banks laughed in my face. But it was important to me.”

“What was the app?” I like Colt as the business man I’ve gotten to know, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit thinking about him when he was a SEAL is a huge turn on. To think the man I’m lying next to was once a part of such an elite team almost makes me want to hop on top of him again.

“It was to help military vets with PTSD. A lot of people come back from combat with wounds we can’t see. I lost a close buddy of mine from the SEALs to suicide because of PTSD.” His voice chokes on emotion.

“I’m so sorry.” I look up at him. There’s a dark toll that is paid by our men and women in uniform. We often forget that.

Colt clears his throat loudly and steadies himself. “So, after that, I was determined to do something to help,” he continues. “I made an app that made it a lot easier for vets who were clogged up in the system to get in with a doctor for mental health. It cut down the wait time drastically,” he explains.

“Wow,” I breathe. “That’s an amazing idea.” I love that Colt didn’t just retire from the SEALs and never look back. It’s clear his whole life has been dedicated to his brothers-in-arms. From the app to his job now as the head of an organization that’s dedicated to helping families who lost a mother or father to war. His loyalty to the heroes who have kept us safe is clear.

“Well, thank you. I like to think it’s helped.” He looks into my eyes. “But guess what?”

“What?”

“The banks didn’t care if it was a good idea or not. They just saw a man with no money and a dream, and they passed. Who knows how many vets might not still be with us today if my brother hadn’t stepped in and loaned me the start-up money.” He hammers his point home.

Pride goeth before the fall is how my father would word it.

He smiles, his eyes fogging over a little. “Anyway, his help changed my life. Let me do the same for you.”

I chew on my lip like it’s made of bubble gum. My mind keeps flipping back and forth over his offer. “Well, I need to think about it,” I finally spit out. “But I’ll tell you one thing. If I do accept, I will be paying you back. In full. I won’t take your money unless you agree to that.” I look straight in his eyes.

“That’s fair. I can live with those terms.” He smiles broadly, and I snuggle into his hard chest. I know I said I have to think about it, but I’d be a fool to turn down this opportunity.

“How about you sleep on it?” Colt yawns, making me yawn back in response.

“I will.”

Colt is already lightly snoring against my shoulder. My mind is racing, and my throat is dry, so I slip my limbs out from his and make my way down the hall to the kitchen to quench my thirst. Halfway down the hall, I notice the door to his office is open a crack, and the eerie blue light from his computer has painted the room. Pausing for a moment, I look around from the doorway, but the next thing I know I’ve stepped inside the room. I know I shouldn’t be in here. I’m not even sure what’s possessing me to look around his bookshelves and tables.

My eyes sweep the office and everything looks as you’d expect. Why am I being so nosy? Get the hell out of here! Making my way to the door, my hand is on the knob when something catches my eye. It’s out of place and out of context amongst the stacks of papers and books. I lift the fuzzy, brown stuffed bear from the corner of the large chair. With its big red bow and “I love NYC” sweater on, it’s really adorable. The tag dangling from its foot is swaying slightly in the night air, tempting me to read it. I take a quick look over my shoulder, like a criminal making sure the coast is clear, and pluck the tag between my fingers. “I love you so much, sweetheart.”

Who’s ‘sweetheart’? Colt? A woman? I put the bear back where I found it and quickly slip out of the room. My mind spins as I down another glass of water. I want to wake Colt up and ask him about the bear, but I don’t want to admit I was sneaking around his condo while he was sleeping. Is it something he kept out of sentimentality? It seemed brand-new, so I doubt it.

As I creep back down the hall and climb into bed with Colt, I watch him sleep as the moonlight splashes over his face. He might be the first guy you’ve bothered to get to know, but that doesn’t mean you know him. Don’t fool yourself. As I lie next to him and drift off to sleep, I wonder about the parts of Colt’s life I’m not a part of. How can I feel so close to someone who is still such a mystery? And how long will it take until I really know Colt Grant?