Chapter Seven
Izzy stroked her hand over Capone's head, pulling at his ears like he liked. Groaning, he rolled even further over top of her.
"Damn it, dog, I'm not a pillow!"
But he was used to her griping and merely wagged his tail, smacking her in the leg, tongue lolling happily from his wrinkly face.
Izzy laughed at him, pushed him off her and rolled out of bed. Padding to the bathroom she did her business, slipped on a pair of sleep pants beneath her long t-shirt and urged Capone off the bed. "Come on, lazy bones. I know you have to pee too."
The one-eyed Bull Mastiff mix slid off the bed and headed for the back door of the house. Izzy let him out into the fenced yard, knowing it would take him a while to water all the weeds he liked. Then he'd have to warm up in the sun with an early morning nap to recover. Then he'd want to come in for breakfast.
Her spare time revolved around that damn dog and he loved it.
She wished it revolved around another big male.
It had been three weeks since she'd seen Drake, or talked to him. They’d texted a few times the first week, but she thought he’d gone out of the country because it had been radio silence since then.
Two weeks of watching the news more than she ever had for hot spots in the Middle East had also been two weeks of searching out every deep male voice to confirm it wasn't him. The last two weeks were filled with hoping beyond hope that she would hear from him. A phone call, a letter, a smoke signal, anything.
It had almost taken her that long to recover from the wedding from hell. No, she couldn't say that. The wedding had been fine. The reception had been hell for her personally, but Kiko had been oblivious to everything going on until the end.
Dylan and Kiko had gotten back from their honeymoon a week ago and were counting down the hours until Dylan’s leave was over. Izzy had called her and texted her a couple times, but she was letting the newlyweds fit in every spare moment of connection they could before he left. After Dylan was gone she and Ginny would steal Kiko away for a spa day or something. They all needed friend contact, so bad!
There was a knock at her door. Izzy glanced at the clock, wondering who could be there at nine oh-three in the morning. Padding through the silent house she peeked out the window beside the door. A young woman stood there, a flower delivery in her hand. The logo on the vase corresponded with the logo on the truck parked on the street. Izzy opened the door.
The woman grinned. "Are you Izzy?"
Nodding, she took the flowers and signed her name. "Oh, I don't have a tip. Hold on."
The young woman waved her hand. "Already taken care of. Enjoy!"
Izzy backed into the house, looking down at the huge bouquet of roses. They were a vivid wintergreen lozenge pink, and while she didn't normally like roses, these ones were spectacular.
She sat the vase down on a table and pulled the card from the plastic holder. Inside was a handwritten card in black. The color reminded me of that damn Pepto-Bismol dress... I miss you. I want to see you. Just so you’ll wear that dress and take it off again.
The signature was a heavy D across the bottom of the card. She laughed, holding it to her chest. She missed him too, terribly.
Then something occurred to her. He was in Virginia. How did he know what color these roses were, in Colorado? And the card! He didn’t…
Her heart stalling out she bolted for the door and flung it open.
Drake stood there in a tight gray t-shirt and jeans that seemed to be molded onto him. There was a bashful smile on his face and he'd propped a pair of wraparound sunglasses on his head. He held out his hands to her in supplication. "I know I didn't call and I hope you’re not mad Ginny gave me your address."
Izzy didn't give him a chance to say anything else, just wrapped her arms around him and brought his head down for a kiss. Drake didn't fight her, cupping her head in his hands to deepen the contact.
Izzy's body responded like they'd never been apart. Leaning into him, she let him know how happy she was to see him.
Drake pulled back from her enough to urge her into the house. He followed her in and swung the door shut behind them. "You're not mad?"
"No, of course not. I'm ecstatic to see you."
He grinned at her and her heart palpitated. Damn, was that joy in his expression? And relief. Had he actually expected her to turn him away? His face seemed very open.
"I thought I was going to come see you, though?” she asked, confused. “Did you get more time off or something?"
He made a face. "Kind of. I'm ..." he hesitated for a long moment before squaring up. "I don't want you to feel rushed or on the spot or anything, but I'm feeling out a couple of job prospects. One is in Denver. The other in Montana."
Izzy felt her mouth fall open. "You're leaving the team?"
Drake cringed, but made a waffling motion with his hands. "It was kind of depending upon your reception whether or not I followed through. I'm not expecting an instant relationship or anything, but if I'm closer maybe we could see where this thing between us goes."
Izzy was stunned all over again and tears filled her eyes. She was not a weepy person, but he was tugging all of her strings. "I think it's a fabulous idea. An hour and twenty minutes is much better than ten hours of travel. But are you sure? This is such a huge change."
Drake shook his head slightly. "You know, it's not really. I talked to Gabe at the wedding reception. The Lost and Found crew out here… well, I know a lot of them. I worked with Gabe and Max directly. So it's not like I'm walking into this blind. And the Brotherhood Protectors are further away, but seem to have a more dynamic operation. Remember Patterson from the reception? He's putting everything he has into his business."
"But, what about the SEALs?"
Drake shrugged his broad shoulders, but his gaze stayed solid and determined. "The team will always be important to me, and I'll always be there for anyone that needs anything, but that one night with you totally changed the way I looked at the world. I want more than to just go shoot things and clean up other people's messes. I want a home life. I want someone to look at me like they're happy to see me at the end of the day."
Izzy smiled softly, totally understanding that. It was lonely being alone all the time. "I would be happy to see you every day. I think you know that. Although Capone might have an issue with you being here. He's been the only man in my life for a long time."
Drake drew back, brow furrowed as he tried to remember who Capone was. "Oh, the dog. Where is the little guy? I'll make up with him. Dogs love me."
Izzy grinned at his response, her eyes going wide, and led him to the back door. "Capone," she called. "We have a visitor."
All hundred and fifty pounds of overgrown fawn-colored puppy burst out of the undergrowth beneath the back deck. Capone carried a smooshed basketball in his jaws, but he dropped it as soon as he saw Drake. Izzy grabbed the dog's collar as he rammed through the doorway, but it didn't slow him down much as he headed straight for Drake.
When the dog shoved his nose into Drake's crotch, he laughed. "This wasn't exactly the welcome home action I expected."
Izzy giggled and fought with the dog that weighed more than she did. Feeling desperate, she snatched a chew bone from the bag in the upper cupboard. As soon as she got his attention with the rustling bag and threw it into the back yard, Capone took off in his galumphing, lop-headed gate.
"He only has one eye," she explained. "Not sure how he lost it. Somebody found him on the streets all sickly and lost. I fostered him for a good while, then adopted him outright when I couldn't let him go. I'm a sucker."
Izzy shrugged, but Drake grinned at her. "I think it shows your heart."
Yeah, she supposed. "Let me show you around."
Her house wasn't large, and having his big body in it made it seem even smaller, but Izzy looked forward to the closeness.
Drake appreciated everything she'd done in her home, and the way she'd furnished it. The bedroom was the last stop, as she had planned. Drake's eyes popped wide at the sight of the dark purple color of the walls. She watched him expectantly as he looked around. She always made her bed in the mornings, and weekends were the same. The thick down comforter was folded down to the end of the bed and the pale lilac blanket beneath stretched the length of the bed. It was pretty and girly and Izzy loved this space with its white accents.
"I feel like a man has never dared cross this threshold."
Izzy laughed, shifting a little uncomfortably. "Well, no man has actually. I haven't been in this house very long and I've never had a man here."
When she glanced up at him, his expression had gone hard and cold. He stretched out his chin, as if to loosen the taut muscles in his neck. Then he stretched his hands out, shaking them. "I have to say, I'm very glad to hear that. I know I have no right to say that or even think it. We're not connected or committed in any way, but I worried that you would find someone else while I was back home arranging for time off."
He turned to her, standing there in the doorway. "Izzy, I think what we found is something special. I've never felt a connection like that to another human being, let alone a woman. I would like to ask you if there's any way you would consider dating me exclusively?"
Izzy looked up at him, standing there in her too girly room. He was nervous, she could see that. Though he stood strong, his eyes were narrowed as if he were getting ready for a punch or knockdown.
She dared to reach out to run a fingertip over the swell of his pectoral, then up to cup his neck. Looking into his eyes, she smiled. "I had already decided I was going to give you about a month before I was going to come stalking in Virginia."
A slow, sweet smile crept across his mouth. "Oh, really? Stalking, huh?"
She shrugged. "Well, only until I caught you. Then I was going to seduce you and make you promise to come see me. Then when you agreed I was going to ride you into one of the best orgasms you've ever had. Because, you know, I believe in positive reinforcement."
Drake laughed and pulled her into his strong arms. "So, I saved you a lot of trouble then by coming out here early? Maybe I still deserve a positive reward?"
Izzy grinned with him and nodded her head. "Yes, I believe you do."
Without another word he started backing her up toward the bed, tugging her clothes off as he did. Izzy helped when she could but she was too busy trying to get his clothes off. The sexy gray t-shirt went flying into a corner, then she was working on the button of his jeans. It was very tight, though, because of the hardness behind it. Drake had an easier time of it. Before she could even blink he had her naked in front of him. With a gentle shove he pushed her back onto the mattress. Then, with hard, uncompromising hands, he pushed her knees up and out.
Izzy felt the weight of his gaze on her pussy and arousal flooded her. She should have been embarrassed at the position, but instead she began to pant, her excitement building the longer he stared down at her. Goosebumps raised the hair on her skin and heat washed through her.
“I feel like the door to heaven cracked open and I got the merest glimpse of what was available three weeks ago,” he told her softly. “But I want more. I regretted not exploring you, tasting you, feeling you, and I vowed to myself that I would as soon as humanly possible. You have the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.”
Without another word, he leaned forward to run his tongue up her dampening cleft. Izzy cried out, shuddering, contracting, praying for more, but everything stilled. She glanced at Drake. He had closed his eyes, his mouth moving as if savoring a decadent candy. When his lids lifted and his gaze connected to hers, he nodded. “I knew you would taste like this. Like the plumpest, sweetest raspberries fresh from the vine. Sweet and tart. Beautiful. Incredible.”
Leaning forward, he pressed a broad, open-mouthed kiss to her pussy, hard tongue flicking out to dance around her clit.
Izzy felt her body change beneath his touch, first going loose with heat, then tightening and straining as he licked and played. She wanted to pretend that it didn’t affect her, but it was so obvious that it did. Excitement made her wet and she could feel moisture pooling and overflowing. She tried to pull away, but he merely pulled her hips tighter to his face.
His grip wasn’t loosening but his tongue was still working. She cried out as he settled into a long, languorous rhythm looping around her pleasure point then back down. Her hands clutched at the sheets beneath her in time to his movements. Occasionally he burrowed into her body with his talented tongue, but he knew what would put her over the edge, so he always returned high.
Izzy groaned and gasped as he took her places no one else ever had, and when her climax finally broke it was the sweetest, most encompassing orgasm she’d ever felt. From the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes, everything tingled. Her body clutched hard, but Drake stayed to her. And as she lost control, he was there with more little touches and strokes to keep her riding that pinnacle longer than she ever had before.
There were tears rolling down her cheeks by the time he finally pulled away, but they were tears of joy. Drake positioned himself above her, but merely let his weight rest upon her. His erection was sandwiched between them. “Are you okay, gorgeous?”
Izzy nodded, trying to find words. “I am. That was,” she paused, looking for words, something she didn’t have to do often. “That was earth-shattering. You blew me apart then pulled me back together, like a super-nova.”
He pressed kisses down the side of her face, leaving her lips for last. “I’m glad. You gave me pleasure like that a few weeks ago, the kind that wakes a guy up in the middle of the night coming in his sheets.” He grinned at her, nodding at her look of surprise. “Yeah, it was getting a little embarrassing. You make me feel,” he frowned, “I hate to say it, but giddy. You make me want to laugh and smile and see what we can get into.”
Izzy grinned at him, an overwhelming feeling of excitement and emotion flowing through her. “Well, I know what you can get into right now.”
She swiveled her hips beneath him, but he stayed still above her and shook his head.
“I want you to listen to me, Izzy. The sex was phenomenal, but my draw to you is more than that. Even if you said we couldn’t have sex today or this week or this month, I would still want to be with you. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Her smile faded and she nodded her head. “I do, actually, because it’s been the same for me. I want to talk to you again and learn more about you. I want to cook your favorite food, or order in. I want to be there for you to rub your back when you’re on edge around the crowds.”
Drake winced and she wondered if she should have skipped over that part. No, it was an issue. They needed to deal with it.
“I feel like we could be good together, Drake. I really do. Physically, you have no match. At all. Whatsoever,” she giggled. “But I think under all this hardness,” she poked his chest, “you have a heart of gold.”
Once again he gave her that bashful smile, the one that said he didn’t have to be the hardass right now so he was letting her actually see what he felt. “For you, I do. I will try my best to be the man you want and need. You try to make me go ‘Army Strong’ though, we may have an issue.”
Even as she laughed she kissed him. “It’s that kind of stuff that’s making me fall in love with you, Drake.”
The icy pale gaze that had struck fear into so many hearts softened for her. “I think it’s already a done deal for me. I’ve never been in love before, so I can’t say for sure, but you’ve really got me tangled up in knots.”
Izzy pulled him down into a kiss, emotion almost choking her. She had thought this was going to be another ho-hum Saturday morning, but instead it was turning out to be the best day of her life.
And as he made love to her, his warrior body surging strong beneath her hands and into her heart, she was so thankful she had wished upon a SEAL.
The End…
If you would like to read about the ‘combat modified’ veterans of the Lost and Found Investigative Service, check out these books:
Other books by J.M. Madden