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She cupped his jaw, whispered his name, and he begged, “Give yourself to me, O.”
She crushed her mouth into his as her body erupted in wildfire. She held tight, the rush of passion spreading through him into her, the slide of their bodies breaking something inside her. She couldn’t control the little gasps that slipped from her lips with each pump of his hips, and the sounds seemed to fuel his frantic pace until finally, with one last thrust, his body went rigid. He whispered her name, and she dug her fingers into his hips as he erupted, grinding against him, drawing every last bit of pleasure from their exhausted bodies. With it came the rush of knowledge that he was hers, and she had always been his. He thrust once more, and they collapsed in a tangle of arms and legs on the sheets.
CHAPTERTWELVE
He cuddledO to him as they drifted. He loved her. Whether in this quiet moment or in the chaotic one at Logan’s building, he knew it. They were embroiled in so much that was finally out in the open—except for one thing he hadn’t told her. Something he wasn’t sure how she was going to handle because he hardly knew how to handle it himself.
The money under the floorboards at his parents’ house. He couldn’t explain it. He wouldn’t use it until he knew where it came from. Was it dirty? It had to be. His father and mother were no angels.
So why didn’t he just go to the Feds with it?
He propped himself up on his elbow. “O, I need to talk to you about something.”
“Uh-huhmm,” she said sleepily. He debated waiting because she wasn’t exactly awake, and he didn’t want to have a conversation with her when she was half-asleep.
He also didn’t want to put up roadblocks to their relationship, one that was extremely important to him. If he couldn’t be honest with her about everything, then what was he doing here?
It was his nature to keep things concealed. The less people knew about him, the better. He only just now realized that it was because of his family situation. It naturally transferred over to the SEALs where clandestine operations were commonplace. Once in DEVGRU, it was even more secretive. But the Navy had only reinforced an existing behavior—it wasn’t the reason for it, like he’d let himself and others believe for so long.
But his situation with O was special, different, and life-changing.
Love had a way of making everything just that much harder. It carried so many connotations—commitment, trust, openness, self-worth, and honesty. He had to tell her about the money.
She turned over and snuggled down, slipping her arm across his chest, her palm against his collarbone. Her breath was warm against his neck, and he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, the sensation setting off something so deep and elemental. He kept his eyes closed as he tightened his arms around her. She filled something inside him that had been hollow for as long as he could remember.
Regardless of his love for his brothers and the SEAL brotherhood, he’d always felt like there was something missing until he laid eyes on O—both the very first time as teens and recently when he’d come home to make a new life from the ashes of his old.
Was General Mike Harkness going to become his new boss, allowing him to serve Uncle Sam again in a more autonomous way? He’d be in charge, have his own team, solve serious problems like the one they were working on now. He’d already connected to Jessica and Gage, though Logan was still somewhat of a wildcard. There were always life and death stakes in keeping the world safe. He could have a hand in that again, and he was truly and deeply interested. But he was never going to let a job – especially the government – stand between him and O. She would be his priority. Harkness would have to understand, she came first. Always.
O was a huge consideration. They had opened up to each other about not only their shared past, but about everything that was important. Their relationship was spectacular. It was easy to want to get close to O physically and emotionally. She was a beautiful woman.
Even after getting blown up and enjoying a bout of vigorous sex, Dean couldn’t seem to fall asleep. He was the king of combat naps on the Teams, but try as he may, the clock kept changing until he decided enough was enough and got out of bed. After a quick shower, he found himself standing at the kitchen counter clad only in his jeans, unshaven, half-awake and cranky as hell. The darkness outside the window infused the loft with a nighttime silence, and the soft hum of the fridge was the only sound.
Thinking about the many times he’d been up around the clock with his team on a crucial op, Dean set his Keurig for ‘strong.’ He was going to need a whole transfusion of caffeine.
He set his cup on the base beneath the dispenser and pressed the brew button on the coffeemaker. The potent aroma off coffee filled the air immediately. The jangle of the phone echoed shrilly in the silent house, and Dean answered before the second ring. What idiot would get on the phone at six o’clock in the morning?
The call was from San Diego, and the idiot was his brother.
“Neo. Everything all right?”
“Yeah, we’re spinning up.” He was silent and Dean’s chest tightened, frustration already climbing in him because there was no more spinning up for him. “I wish I could say more.”
“I get it.” He was no longer in Neo’s world. No longer part of the need-to-know guys. “Neo—”
“I know, I know,” Neo said with affection in his voice. “I’ll be careful.”
“You damn well better be, Neo. Don’t make me come after your ass again.”
Neo chuckled, sounding rough in the morning.
Eighteen months ago, his brother Neo “2-Stroke” Teller and CIA liaison Chrysanthe Steele had been held captive by Darko Stjepanic, a powerful Balkans crime lord, and Zasha Vasiliev, the treasonous bitch who’d assumed the identity of Kelly Sparks, CIA liaison to Neo’s SEAL team. Darko and Zasha had kidnapped Neo and Chry and held them somewhere in Bosnia. His decision to go after him and Chry had resulted in his expulsion by the Navy.
“I’ll call you with updates when I can. Be safe.”
“You, too, little brother.”
Neo disconnected the call just as another one came in on his cell. This time it was a Washington number.
