Chapter Ten
“Well Tyleri finally did it.” Chaz’s tone was as ominous as a massive coronary as he referred to their little sister by nickname.
Sean, Ben and the rest of them snapped their gazes to him. He clutched his cell in one hand, a vein pulsing in his neck that could only mean the worst had happened.
“Jesus, just tell us. What did Tyler do?” Ben shot out, looking about to go off the deep end.
Sean held his breath, and he felt his other brothers moving in to create a semi-circle around Chaz.
Chaz looked up, his face a mask. “She’s run away and joined the Marines.”
Silence shrouded them, and for a long minute, nobody spoke.
“Run away?” Ben echoed.
“Joined the Marines?” Sean asked. “Jesus Christ.”
Roades shook his head, backing up a step. Sean pierced him in his gaze. “You knew about this,” Sean said.
He shook his head.
“You’re closer to her in age. Did she confide in you she was doing this?” Ben demanded, more captain than brother at this moment.
Roades held up both palms. Sean looked closely at his youngest brother, wondering when the hell he’d grown into his cocky attitude. At the age of twenty-one, he seemed to have shot up two inches since Sean last looked at him. And was it even possible that his shoulders were as wide as his own? Roades was a damn puppy, so hell no, it wasn’t possible.
“I didn’t know anything about Tyler’s plans and if I had, she wouldn’t have gone. I would have used Sean’s zip-ties and she’d be in her bedroom at home right now.”
Dylan shoved his fingers through his hair. “Why the hell would she do such a thing? Knowing what we face daily?”
Sean raised his brows at Dylan. They’d always known Tyler was impulsive to the extreme, and she’d been a tomboy pretty much since sliding out of the womb. It didn’t help that she’d been saddled with a male name. None of this should shock any of them, and Sean opened his mouth to say so when Ben spoke up.
“There’s nothing to do now. She’ll have to work hard to follow our footsteps. And I hate to say it, but being a woman will be even tougher to overcome.”
Staring at his phone, Chaz’s face turned red and then purple.
Sean and Ben charged him at the same time, Sean pinning his arm behind his back while Ben snatched the phone from him. He stared at the screen and then his own face turned a bright hue.
“What the hell is it?” Sean demanded.
Ben held out the cell and they all gaped at a selfie of their little sister dressed as a male, her wavy hair clippered to a buzz cut and her breasts hidden under a loose T-shirt.
“Jesus, she’s trying to enlist as a male? Even without her usual makeup, she’s still obviously a woman. How far does she think she’ll go in that getup?” Sean asked, releasing Chaz.
Ben scowled. “Sooner or later she’ll have a physical and she won’t pass the cough test.”
They all chuckled.
“Damn crazy girl. Can you believe she shaved her head?” Ben asked.
“I can.” Sean peered at the photo again. “She knew damn well she wouldn’t get through as a male, but she had to try to pull one over. It’s total Tyler style.”
“Shit.” The quiet expression came from Dylan.
They all turned to him.
“That leaves Lexi unchaperoned, alone at home, and we all know she’ll outsmart Maman and Pére and land herself in big trouble without Tyler keeping an eye on her.”
They groaned. “You mean bigger trouble than usual. That just means we need to stick close to home as often as possible. Go in shifts if necessary,” Ben said.
“Why don’t you and Dahlia take the first shift? Good luck keeping your moans down so our parents don’t hear you.” Sean’s wry tone had them all laughing, but he was more than ready to end this family reunion and get to his own moaning.
Ben smirked. “Fine. I’ll take first shift. But you assholes better be ready to back me up.”
“Sean’s next, and he’s bringing Elise,” Dylan said.
They all looked to him. Sean nodded. “Just as soon as we get some alone time to moan. I’ll see you punks later.”
He started away from the group and toward the lot where his El Camino was parked.
“Hey, wait up,” Ben called.
He turned to see his brother jogging toward him. Sean stopped walking and waited. Ben stopped before him.
“I heard what Jackson offered you. I just wanted you to know that I talked to the guys and we all give you our blessings.”
His chest grew hot and tight at the thought of walking away from his brothers, his team. He shook his head. “I still haven’t given Jackson an answer.”
“You’ll say yes. It’s what you’ve been wanting. It’s what you deserve.” Respect shone in Ben’s eyes, and that tight feeling swelled up into Sean’s throat.
He couldn’t speak, only gave another nod.
Ben clapped him on the shoulder. “Get goin’. Women will only wait so long.”
“Take your own advice,” Sean shot back and hurried to his vehicle. His mind raced with what had happened back in that swamp, and with having his own team after all these years in active duty.
But right now, he had other important things to think about.
Like getting the old El Camino up to top speed so he could reach Elise sooner.
* * * * *
“Oh my God! Sean.” Elise yanked him through the door into her apartment and threw herself at him. He made an oomph sound but brought his arms around her, dragging her into the tightest hug she’d ever had.
He pushed the door closed and bowed his head against hers, drawing deep breaths. She did the same, so happy to have his scent filling her head once more.
“That was the longest thirty-six hours I’ve ever lived through.” Her words were muffled against his chest.
“I know, cher.” He sounded choked, and she drew back to look up into his eyes. They were troubled, the depths as dark as a storm on the horizon.
But she didn’t get a chance to ask, because he slammed his mouth over hers. The kiss bruising, demanding. His beard stubble scraped her sensitive skin as he probed her lips with his tongue, forcing entry.
She gave in to him with a gasp, need compounding. As he swept the interior of her mouth with his tongue once… twice… a slow burn exploded into a fiery need.
He felt it too, judging by the bulge in his jeans. Gripping her hips, he walked her back against the door, pinning her with his steely body and heady passes of his tongue. Passion didn’t just trickle through her—it gushed. She lifted her leg and wrapped her thigh around his hips.
When he dug his erection into her throbbing pussy, they shared a groan.
“I can’t wait to get you to a bed,” he growled each word.
“Who wants a bed?” She tore at his shirt, exposing all those swells and cuts. She pattered her fingers over his torso, feeling for new wounds, but found none. Relief hit, but he wiped that emotion off her mind when he whipped up her shirt, ducked his head and sucked her nipple through her bra.
Her eyes fluttered shut on a wave of pleasure. She dug her blunt nails into his shoulders, clinging as he wet through her bra and tendrils of heat struck her skin. Need burst inside her, and she couldn’t hold back anymore.
She went for his waistband, eagerness making her fingers clumsy, but she managed to open his jeans and slip her hand into his briefs.
“Ffffuck.” He scraped his teeth up the curve of her breast as she curled her fingers around his shaft. Steel wrapped in velvet, the head swollen and the tip slick with his arousal.
He plucked the clasp of her bra and it snapped open. She shimmied to let it drop to the floor and leaned in to swirl her tongue over the eagle wings stretching over his pec even as she pumped his cock through her fist.
“I can’t fool around with foreplay, cher. I need you—now.” The darkness lingering in his eyes was a complete and utter turn-on, practically scorching the rest of her clothes off her.
He dropped his jeans to his ankles and fisted a condom into place while kissing her into delirium. She drank in his taste and let her heart have full rein. Each moment she had with this man was a gift, a lesson she’d learned over the past couple days. She wasn’t going to take any of it for granted.
He lifted her thigh high on his hip, bent his knees and filled her with one surge. She cried out as he stretched her wet inner walls, burying the flared head of his cock against her deepest point.
At that second, the words she’d begged Bo to take her to Sean so she could tell him spilled out.
“I love you, Sean. I love you so damn much.”
He went dead still, not moving or breathing. Her pussy clenched around him once, bringing him back to life.
He stared down into her eyes, his jaw set and a muscle fluttering in the crease. “You love me?” His gritty tone was nothing but tender. Her heart flipped and broke open wider to accept him into it.
She nodded.
“Jesus, I don’t deserve you.” He plunged his cock into her again, and she was so excited by her admission and the heat of the moment, it was all she needed to start contracting around him in a haze of bliss.
He fucked her harder, pulling her screams from her and feeding moan after moan back to her. The assault on her pussy with his hard cock sent her higher and higher until a second orgasm struck.
“I’m coming, baby. Filling up your sweet pussy.” He threw his head back, neck tendons straining as his own release hit. The liquid warmth he spilled wasn’t enough for her—she wanted him with no barriers and would tell him in the next ten steps it took to reach her bedroom.
She barely came off her high with a shiver, and he lowered his mouth to her neck, her ear, sliding up and down between them. “You love me?” he asked again.
She squeezed his ass, causing him to rock into her deeper. She moaned and turned her lips against his forehead. “I do. Sean, I was going crazy that I couldn’t tell you. Knowing you were out in the field, your life on the line…” She swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat.
A shudder coursed through him, and he pressed a soft kiss to her jaw and then the corner of her mouth. He pulled back to look into her eyes. “I thought I’d lose my mind, Elise. Sending you off, not knowing if you’d be safe…” He choked off the words. “I guess it was a moment of reckoning for both of us.”
She searched his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I love you too, cher.” He lifted his gaze to her hair and zigzagged it over her features until he zeroed in on her mouth. “Everything about you from your tough exterior to your brilliant mind. God, Elise, I can’t believe you feel the same about me.” He closed his eyes and tipped his forehead against hers.
Love bloomed in her all over again, and she kissed his lean cheeks and nibbled at his lips.
“Take me to bed, special operator Knight,” she whispered.
She felt his smile. “Mmm. I’ll show you my skills.”
“You’d better after that short fuck against the door you just gave me.” She swatted his ass, delivering a loud crack that echoed in the space.
His chest rumbled with laughter. “Are you testin’ me already, woman? I thought we’d at least get past the honeymoon before you started with that.”
Honeymoon? Damn, this was going fast, and she couldn’t help but warm inside at the thought of what would come between them. He was in love with her too, and for now that was overwhelming enough.
She hooked her arms around his neck and used her core strength to shimmy up him, locking her heels around his broad back.
“Baby, the condom’s slipping. I—”
“Shhh,” she said against his lips. “I’ve got an implant. And the next round, I want your hot come shooting inside me.”
“Fucking hell,” he said as if on a prayer.
“Uh-huh. Now get me to the bedroom, Sean. I’m not waiting more than a minute for you to put your mouth on my pussy.”
“Oh God. You’re definitely going to kill me.” His grin gave her a wolfish flash of white teeth that only had her aching all over again.
* * * * *
Elise’s honey brown skin glowed in the waning light of the day. Sean gazed at her. Sleeping on her side, arm curled beneath her head and dark hair spread over her shoulders, she could be a goddess.
She loved him.
He’d found someone who gave a shit if he lived or died out there, but now that he had that person, terror filled him.
What if something did happen to him? He’d leave her broken. The thought only fed into his tension until he slipped from the bed and pulled on his jeans. Pacing would wake her—his maman always said he sounded like a herd of cattle walking through the house—so he sank to an upholstered bench on the side of the room. Frilly pillows spilled onto his lap and he squeezed one over and over as he stared at the woman in his life.
How did Ben do it? Give himself to Dahlia without these worries stealing all joy from their love? He had no idea how to deal with this shit—he was a Marine. Able to snap the neck of an enemy without pause if the situation called for it. Yet his hands had just roamed all over Elise’s body, loving her in ways he’d never imagined himself capable of.
When he looked down at the pillow in his hands, he found it crumpled and misshapen. He tried to fluff it, but the sound of him smacking it around woke Elise.
She sat up and cracked an eye at him. “What are you doing to my pillow?”
“Uh.” He set it aside. “Sorry. I’ll buy you a new one.”
Concern drew her brows downward. “What’s the matter? If you’re thinking of running out on me now, I’m here to tell you—”
He crossed to the bed in two steps and gathered her into his arms. “Not that. Never that. I guess I’m just letting my mind run away with me is all.”
She eyed him. “Meaning?”
He smoothed her hair back from her temple and pressed a light kiss between her brows. They unfurrowed but she still looked about to sock him in the nuts if he said something she didn’t like. He almost chuckled—the problems of loving a warrior woman. She wasn’t going to take any crap, and he liked that.
“Sean.” Her voice held a warning.
“I was just thinking how dangerous my position is. If something happened, I don’t like to think about how you’d feel.”
“Don’t even talk about it then. Marine code, right? We run in and do our jobs without thinking of anything but doing it well.”
He studied her beautiful face. “You’re right.”
“Besides, I could leave you in the same position.”
His heart sank. He knew it, but hearing it was another thing.
He drew her more fully against him. “There’s something I need to talk to you about, Elise.”
She pushed back. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
He shoved his fingers through his hair and wracked his brain for words. He’d spent a long time thinking about how to tell her about Team Rou and the leadership position, but he had nothing rehearsed. He was winging it.
Like so many other things in his life.
“Sean, just say it.” She spread her hands.
He gave a short nod. “Jackson offered me Team Rou.”
She stared at him blankly for a long heartbeat. Then she dropped her gaze to her fingers that were tangled in her lap. “Captain?”
“Yes.”
“I figured something like this was coming. Bo mentioned…”
“You talked to Bo about this?”
“He just told me how well you’d done in leading Rou on that operation.”
“Ah.” As much as he wanted to dislike Hawkeye’s permanent fixture status in her life, he couldn’t. The man had kept her safe, and Sean was grateful. Besides, now that Hawk knew he wasn’t a threat to their relationship, he didn’t mind him being around Elise, ex-husband or not.
“Sean, I think you should take the position.”
He looked up at her, surprised. “But you know what it means. I’d be more of a target. I’d put myself in more danger to keep the rest of the team safe.”
“I know,” she said softly. “It’s what we do. But do you want this?”
His chest swelled as he drew in a deep breath. Hell yeah, he’d wanted this for so long. Being second in command got old, especially when it was your big brother’s ass you were kissin’.
He nodded. “Dammit, I do want it.”
“Then take it.” Her words were short as she swung her legs off the bed and stood.
Uh-oh. He didn’t’ like that reaction. At all.
He moved to take her hands. She stood in all her glory of nudeness before him, and he wanted to dip his head and suck her dark nipple into his mouth until he felt it bud on his tongue. But he resisted. They needed to sort this out—it was their first foray into a relationship issue, and he wanted to start things off right. With her input.
“Elise, is that what you really think I should do? What about what you want?”
A soft smile tilted her lips as she shook her head. “Sean, if it were me, I’d jump at the opportunity. You should too. Each of us knows what the other faces as far as danger goes. We wouldn’t be the people we are if we didn’t do these things. Hell, would we even like each other if I was say, a teacher, and you a construction worker?”
“What if I was the teacher and you a construction worker?” He caught her eyes and smiled.
She laughed. “That’s just as likely. But you know what I mean. Sean, take the promotion. You’ve earned it. You deserve it.”
His eyes closed on her words as his heart expanded with more love for this woman. He had a feeling in their years to come, that organ would grow a hell of a lot just to fit all these things to love about her into it.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. His lips were on a level just beneath her breasts, and he tipped his head up to lap at the soft undercurve of one.
She sucked in a breath, and it was game on. He started kissing across one to the other, moving back and forth and then tracing the small ridges of her flat stomach down to the triangle of hair covering the sweet treasure he wanted—needed—to taste.
She gasped and sank her fingers into his hair. “Yes, Sean. God, yes.”