Page 91 of Thaddeus

“You know, if it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have passed third phase.”

“What?” I scrunched my nose at his statement. “That’s crazy talk. You were kicking ass,” I reminded him.

“No, I wasn’t. I was popping enough five-hundred milligram Motrin I was worried I’d need a kidney transplant. My knee was jacked from my high-altitude high-opening jump landing, I failed a run because of it, and my motivation was in the shitter. Every night when I came home from training you had a five-pound bag of ice you’d picked up on your way home from school ready for me to ice my knee.

“And every night you reminded me not to quit. I distinctly remember one night, I was in so much pain, pissed I had a jump the next day and you told me to “man up” and stop acting like a baby. Then you told me if I even thought of ringing out, you’d break up with me.”

I remembered that night. Thaddeus had been in a bad mood, actually, I’d never seen him so agitated. His knee was still swollen, he was taking an unhealthy amount of Ibuprofen, and his instructor had been riding his ass hard about the high-altitude low-altitude opening jump he needed to qualify. The parachute would be opened closer to ground, making the impact of the landing harder.

What Thad was forgetting was, his instructor had been hard on him because he’d seen something special in Thad and so had I. The instructor knew Thaddeus had what it took and needed to be pushed to finish strong.

I’d lost my mind that night and did tell Thad if he rang the bell, signifying he’s quit BUD/s, I would break up with him. I also told him I didn’t date quitters. The next day, Thaddeus passed his HALO test.

“I love that you think that, but you would’ve finished even if I hadn’t pushed,” I told him.

“No, agápi mou, I wouldn’t’ve. I’d never admit this to the guys and I may’ve even blocked it out because I’m ashamed to say, thinking on it now, I remember in that moment of extreme weakness thinking the regular Navy wouldn’t be that bad. I’d still be serving my country, we’d live on base housing somewhere, I’d be deployed less, and it would even be easier to be a husband to you if I wasn’t a SEAL.”

“That’s not something to be ashamed of, I think everyone going through the hell that is BUD/s has a moment of reflection and wonders if it’s worth it. If their bodies can handle it. If mentally they can push through. But I know you, I know your heart, your mind, and your body. A moment of doubt doesn’t mean you would’ve rung out. Quitting is not in your DNA. You’re mentally tough. Your body is strong and you have the heart of a warrior.”

“That right there is what got me through. You always encouraged me. You were always there supporting me. You pushed me when I needed and you tended to my heart when I was low. I love you, Emerson, and I’m eternally grateful.”

“I love you, too.”

I looked up at him, expecting him to lean down and kiss me, but he was looking over my shoulder at the NSW Command with a thoughtful expression. Then his gaze came to mine, and he knelt in front of me. Even on his knee his face was chest-height on me and he didn’t have far to look up to hold my eyes. He reached out, grabbed my hand, and kissed my knuckles.

“Emerson Pierce, will you do me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me?”

A question I’d never thought I’d hear. Sure, he’d told me he wanted to marry me. He’d even asked if we could go to the courthouse today and get married. But he’d never actually asked the question. And somehow, even though I’d already agreed to marry him, him asking was huge.

“Yes,” I whispered, not trusting my voice not to crack if I spoke any louder.

Luckily he heard me. His normally handsome smile was bigger, sexier, and it took my breath.

“I’ve carried this ring around for ten years,” he told me, sliding the gold solitaire onto my finger. “You were with me on every mission, every workup, every deployment. My ring should’ve been on your finger, but instead I carried it with me. A reminder of you and how much I loved you. My good luck charm.”

I didn’t bother inspecting the ring any further. It looked beautiful, but the man who’d placed it on my finger looked better.

“I love that,” I cried. “I love we both had something of the other person all these years.”

“We can upgrade that, babe. It was all I could afford at the time. I think we can do better now.”

I yanked my hand out of his and covered my left hand with my right, hiding my new treasure from him.

“We will not upgrade anything. This ring has travelled the world, it’s special, you’re not taking it back. Not for any reason.”

“Emmy, baby, you didn’t even look at it. It’s small. I want—”

“Thaddeus, you’re not taking my ring. You don’t get it. I don’t care what it looks like. You picked it. You carried it with you. You thought it brought you luck. And I believe it did, this ring brought you home to me. It is mine. You can’t take it back. Once a gift is given—”

Thaddeus surged to his feet, slammed his mouth onto mine. His hands went to my bottom, and he picked me up. The rest of my statement died on my tongue as he pushed his into my mouth.

Scorching.

Damn, he could kiss.

Thaddeus walked back to our room, with my legs wrapped around his waist. He managed to get the hotel door open, and made his way into the bedroom. Through all of this his mouth was on mine. Total superhero maneuvering. It was beyond hot.

In record time our clothes were on the floor and Thaddeus settled between my legs. I felt the head of his dick nudge my opening as he pitched forward and slid inside of me.