Chapter Thirteen
Elise’s palms were sweating. This had never happened to her before, and that must mean she was making the right choice, right? Sean made her heart beat faster and her knees quivery.
Not to mention her panties were constantly damp when he was around.
She slipped a dress over her head and eyed her shoe selection. Strappy sandals or little leather booties. Which would Bo choose?
She went for the sandals and was just buckling the small straps when the doorbell rang.
“I really need to get Sean a key,” she muttered and hurried out of her room.
When she opened the door, she sucked in a sharp breath.
Holy shit, the man cleaned up well. Like GQ’s sexiest man alive well. When she’d asked him to dress nice and come pick her up, she never would have imagined he had such great style. In a navy suit tailored to fit the man’s hard body to perfection, a crisp white shirt and navy tie with dark red polka dots, he looked like he’d just stepped off the glossy pages. Even his white pocket square smacked of sexy.
She wet her lips, raising a groan from him. “Damn, baby.” She sidled up to him and gripped his lapels, leaning in to inhale his cologne. “You look good.”
“I don’t think we’ll be leaving the apartment tonight.” He skimmed his hands over her breasts and down to her hips. Tugging her against him, he kissed her softly. In seconds, it exploded into passion and she drew back, panting.
“I… I really do have a surprise for you.”
He gave her a crooked smile. “I have a couple for you too. The El Camino awaits. Do you have a handbag or something to put over your shoulders?”
“Nah, it’s a warm night and I have everything I need strapped to my thigh.”
His eyes bulged, and he reached for her hem. “Tell me you’re packing heat, cher. That is so fucking hot.”
“I guess you’ll find out later. I’ll just lock up.” He stepped outside as she pulled the door shut. Then he took her elbow and led her to his car.
She’d never seen this side of Sean before. The fact that he could be that bayou boy and a suave guy dressed to the nines as well as a brilliant operative while acting as her personal bodyguard gave her a warmth that she’d never shake as long as she lived. She was so in love with him, she didn’t know which way was up.
She didn’t care either. She planned to love hard and never slow down.
After he opened her door and she slid into the leather seat, she watched him strut around the vehicle to get behind the wheel. He cocked a brow at her as he started the engine. “Where are we going?”
She took out her phone, which she’d already programmed with the destination. She pressed a button and the electronic female voice came on.
He gave her that crooked grin. “Aren’t you clever? Okay, I’ll follow your directions.”
As they navigated the streets of New Orleans, he took her hand, his rough fingers stroking over the backs of her knuckles and sending images of him touching her all over into her brain.
By the time they reached the street where the inn was located, she felt breathless and so needy. He stopped at the end of the street and looked over at her. “Are you serious?”
She nodded.
“God, I don’t deserve you.” He rolled down the street and up to the inn. Silhouetted by the fading sun, sand and surf, it was the perfect place for her to try to prove how much she loved him. All. Night. Long.
“We’re staying here?” he asked when he’d parked.
“Yes, for two nights. If you don’t get called out.”
“Or you don’t.”
She squeezed his hand. “I wanted to bring you back to where we started. It wasn’t very long ago, but I feel like we should remember.” Her throat clogged on the words.
“Oh cher.” He unfastened his seatbelt to lean across the car and hold her. She wrapped her arms around him tight, holding on. After a long second, he said, “Let’s go inside. I’d like to get this dress off you.”
A laugh bubbled up her throat. “You just want out of that constricting jacket.”
“I’m comfortable. This is like PJs to me. I can fuck in this suit if you want me to.”
“Hmm.” She traced the sharp lines of his shoulders and found her gaze lingering on the bit of tanned throat where the white shirt was buttoned. “I might take you up on that.”
“Hmm.” His eyes glowed with desire.
After they’d checked in and made it to their room—which happened to be the same room where they’d made love that first time, Sean closed the door with a predatory smile.
Trembling, she waited. What she was about to do wasn’t something they taught women. Men, yes. But women were left out of this loop, and she was making it up on the fly.
She was jittery, her nerves snapping.
He approached her slowly, his muscular thighs stretching the fabric of his suit pants. Damn, she was nervous but just looking at him told her she was making the right decision.
“Sean.” She took his hands and looked up into his eyes, mouth suddenly dry. “I wanted to bring you here because…”
He waited, searching her eyes. At this moment, she realized just how patient he truly was. It struck her that he’d make a wonderful father.
Heart overflowing, she struggled for words that she hadn’t been able to rehearse because they hadn’t come to her. But she had to find a way—she wanted this so bad.
“Sean, I love you.”
“I love you too, cher.”
“I mean I love you so much.”
He nodded. “Same.” His voice was gritty.
“I wanted to bring you here because it was where we started, and it hasn’t been very long that we’ve been together, but in our business… Well, there’s no hesitation, is there? We have to take chances when they present themselves.”
“Sweetheart, is this an operation?” he asked gently, ducking his head to hold her gaze.
Why was she so nervous? She needed to just blurt it out.
“I want to marry you. I mean, I want you to marry me.”
He went still. After a deafening five heartbeats, he blinked. Her gaze locked on that spot on his throat only to see his Adam’s apple bob hard up and down, looking about to cut through the skin.
“We never know what will happen tomorrow, and why shouldn’t we grab onto what we’ve got and enjoy it every second we can?” Now she didn’t know if she sounded persuasive or desperate. Maybe both. Her palms grew slick again, and Sean released them to wrap her in his arms.
When he pulled her against his chest, she felt his heart slamming hard. “Please tell me what you’re thinking. I’ve never proposed to anybody before,” she whispered.
A noise broke from him that made her pull back to look into his eyes. “Oh my God, Sean, you’re going to cry!”
“Marines don’t cry. But we do come prepared.” He reached into his pocket and drew out a ring box.
She stumbled back, both hands clasped over her mouth. Butterflies hatched in her stomach and she didn’t know how long she could remain standing. Shock took over.
“You… were going to propose to me tonight too?”
“You beat me to it, and I’ve forgotten all the pretty words I meant to say to you. But…” He dropped to one knee, the box cracked open to reveal a stunning diamond solitaire in platinum. He stared into her eyes. “Elise, will you be my wife? I love you. I’ll never stop loving you. And I promise to work hard for you and do everything in my power to come home to you.”
“Oh my God, Sean. I love you so much. Yes!” She stepped forward and hit her knees in front of him. He yanked her into his arms and kissed her, a deep, heartfelt kiss that warmed her entire body and started a thrum between her thighs.
As he slanted his mouth over hers, he caught her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. She broke away to gaze down at it.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you, but I couldn’t find anything that matched as well.”
“I love it.” They shared a grin.
“Now about this dress.”
“We have dinner reservations downstairs, but I think we can miss it for this important meeting.”
“Uh-huh.” He eyed her breasts, making her nipples pucker.
She slid his tie through her fingers, cocking her head to the side as she considered how to go about unwrapping this extraordinary present. First thing she was going for was that yummy spot on his neck. She leaned in and opened her mouth over it.
He groaned and she felt him getting hard against her. Need sprang up, and she couldn’t go slow. She ripped at his clothes. Working his shirt buttons and tearing off his tie. His suit lay crumpled on the floor and her dress topped the stack as he lifted her and walked to the bed, controlling her mouth like the master he was.
When he laid her down, she surged up to grip his cock. The velvet steel in her hand along with the shiny new engagement ring made her pause.
“All right, cher?”
“Yes.” She went her lips. “I want to suck you.” Without waiting for his response, she shimmied down his body and swallowed him whole. Feeling the big man lose control under her tongue gave her a heady feeling. And when she lapped at his balls, he grunted and yanked her up the bed.
“Enough. I need to slide into your slick pussy.”
His dirty talk fueled her fires. She parted her thighs in invitation and he didn’t think twice before pressing his swollen head to her wet heat. He paused, holding her gaze. “I love you, Elise.”
“Love you, Sean.” She pushed her hips upward as he slammed into her, joining them, stretching her to the point of no return. Her mind shattered and she only felt. Sensation took hold and she bucked her hips, driving them to an end that had the walls vibrating just like the last time they’d shared this bed in this inn.
* * * * *
Sean couldn’t quit looking at his fiancée. His bride-to-be. With her skin gleaming in the moonlight and stray grains of sand clinging to her shoulders, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. And her wearing his ring only compounded that feeling.
She brought her knees up to her chest, her hair caught by the Gulf breezes. They’d just made love on the sand and he was still hard. He couldn’t get enough of her.
She turned her head, the long arch of her neck begging for his lips. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just thinking you’re beautiful.” His Cajun drawl was more prominent, and she smiled. “And there’s something else I wanted to tell you tonight.”
She held out her hand and examined her engagement ring. “More than this?”
He nodded. Suddenly, he didn’t know how she’d take hearing him say that he’d walked out on Team Rou—or that Colonel Jackson had been disappointed but gung-ho to have Hawk take his place.
“Sean, what is it? This is the start of our lives together, and I want you to always be honest with me.”
He drew in a deep breath, scented with salt and Elise. “It’s about Team Rou.”
Her lips parted, and an expression of sheer worry crossed her beautiful features. “What about it?”
“I know you told me to take the position, but I’ve been thinking. It just isn’t for me, and it’s not only about McMahon, though God knows that was a hard loss.” His voice broke and he took a second to collect himself.
She scooted closer on the sand and put her arms around him, offering comfort.
“But I guess it was that moment that started me thinking harder about my place. I always wanted a leadership role, but once I had it, I realized that being second in command is just as important.”
She gaped at him. “Of course it is, Sean. Did you ever believe it wasn’t?”
He shrugged. “I know I’m a crucial part of the team. Each of us is. But I’ve made some decisions and it affects you too.”
“Okay…” She sounded worried now, and he smoothed a hand over her spine.
“I gave up Rou, Elise. And Hawkeye’s taking over.” He watched her.
She blinked and then a smile came over her face. “Damn, I bet he’s thrilled about that. He was jealous as hell when they gave the team to someone else and then to you. It’s where his heart is.”
He stared at her. Did that mean his heart wasn’t with Elise anymore, as her handler? That presented more worries for Sean about who was going to take over that role for her, but she was a strong woman and would be all right no matter who fed her the information necessary to do her job.
“You’re okay with it, then? With Hawk being leader?”
“Of course. He’s a friend, Sean, but nothing more. You know that. So, does that mean you’re back on Knight Ops again?”
He nodded, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. When he’d made a group call to his brothers and Rocko, they’d raised a deafening cheer at the news. That had made him feel pretty damn good about his decision.
He flexed his arms around Elise, the only woman in the world for him and the center of his universe. “Thank you for being so damn supportive of me. I know it’s not easy loving a man like me.”
“Or a woman like me.”
She was right—he’d go crazy each time she got an operation of her own.
He raised her chin with his knuckles to look into her eyes. “We’ll handle it together. And we can always come back to this inn to reconnect.”
She leaned in to brush her lips across his, the tenderness drawing all his love and need to the surface. He had to put his hands on her, bury his cock in her.
“I was thinking we could have our wedding reception here. Keep it small, just family. I’ll invite my mother and her man.”
“That sounds perfect, cher.”
“More than perfect.” She threaded her fingers around his nape and brought his head down for a lingering kiss that sealed the deal on their plans for the rest of their lives.
THE END
If you’ve enjoyed HEAT OF THE KNIGHT, I would love if you’d take a moment to leave a review. —Em Petrova
Next up—book 3 of the Knight Ops series—