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“Pretty much all of it.” He’d picked my favorite subject, and the drive to the restaurant flew by as I shared some of my favorite stories.
When we arrived at a cute diner I’d never been to before, he slid into the same side of the booth as me. Then he waited until the waitress—who looked old enough to be my grandmother—had taken our drink order to ask, “Is it what you’ve always wanted to do? Or did you dream of something else when you were a little girl?”
“Nope, as soon as I was old enough to understand what nurses did, it was my only dream.” Up until now, I’d done most of the talking, and I really wanted to learn more about Deacon. “How about you? Did you always want to be a SEAL?”
“Yeah, much to my parents’ chagrin.” He chuckled and shook his head. “When I was in seventh grade and announced that I was going to join the Navy as soon as I graduated high school, they thought it was a phase I’d grow out of. They weren’t too happy with me when I met with a recruiter the day I turned eighteen. I still had another three months to go before graduation, but I wanted to make sure I was as prepared as I could be for boot camp.”
Before I could ask anything else, the waitress came back with a pot of coffee. After filling our mugs and taking our orders—cinnamon pancakes with cream cheese frosting with a side of crispy bacon for me and an egg white omelet with a side of fruit for Deacon—the waitress wagged her brows at me and headed back toward the counter. Startled laughter bubbled up my chest, and I fell against his side while I laughed. Deacon had been looking at me, so he hadn’t seen what the waitress did, which only made the whole thing more hilarious. When I finally pulled myself together, I explained what happened. Then when the waitress returned with our meals, I had to stifle a giggle at the way he side-eyed her.
Looking between the plates she set in front of us, I shook my head at the difference in what we ordered. “Do you always eat so healthy?”
A glint of mischief in his gorgeous eyes was my only warning before he lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal his six-pack abs. “A body like this requires the right fuel.”
“Uh-huh.” I squirmed in my seat, trying to relieve the ache between my legs as my gaze darted back to the meal I’d ordered. “Unfortunately, my sweet tooth gets in the way whenever I try to diet.”
“Hell no. The last thing you need is to go on a diet. You’re hot as fuck just as you are.” He dropped his shirt, any hint of humor draining from his eyes. His hand went to the back of my neck, gripping it a moment to punctuate the point he was making before he slid his palm down my spine to squeeze my butt. “And it’d be a damn shame if you lost this perfect ass. Anytime you walked away from me at the hospital, I couldn’t keep my eyes off it.”
“Well then.” My cheeks heated, but from desire instead of embarrassment. “I guess I won’t worry about my weight when I’m around you.”
He nudged my plate closer to me. “That’s right. Eat up so you can keep those killer curves, baby.”
Since I had only had a salad during my break, I was starving. So that was what I did, barely stopping myself from licking the plate when it was empty because of how delicious my pancakes were. “Great job picking the restaurant. That was amazing.”
“I’m glad you liked it.” He dropped a couple of twenties on the table and then slid out of the booth, tugging on my hand to help me out. “But I better get you home before the food coma hits, and you fall asleep.”
As tired as I was, I still didn’t want our date to end. I hadn't thought much of it when Audrey had told me how lucky they’d been that Deacon was visiting since he’d been available to drive them to the hospital. But now I was worried about falling for a guy who didn’t even live here. The nearest naval base was about a two-hour drive away, and I’d been afraid to ask if that was where he was stationed because if not, then the odds of me ever seeing him again would go way down. After our amazing date, it was time for me to pull up my big girl panties—and my figurative ones were just as thoroughly drenched as my literal panties—and voice the questions I’d avoided until now. “How long will you be in LA?”
Deacon waited until he reversed out of the parking spot and was holding my hand again before he answered, “I was only planning to stay until tomorrow, but my leave doesn’t end for another week. And since you’ve got all that time off too, I’d like to stay until I have to hit the road to make it back to base in time for PT my first day back.”
I squeezed his hand. “That sounds perfect to me. I didn’t have any plans for my staycation, and I’d love to spend it with you.”
“Good, then that’s what we’ll do.”
We were quiet for the rest of the drive to my place, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. Nothing needed to be said since just being near Deacon felt good. Right. But what felt even better was when he undid my seat belt after parking in front of my place and pulled me onto his lap to claim my mouth in a deep kiss. By the time he was done, the windows of his truck were fogged, and my body yearned for more. I could barely see straight when he lifted me out of the truck and walked me to my door. And even though I’d never slept with anyone before, I definitely wasn’t ready for the night to end when he nudged me through my doorway. Turning around, I twined my arms around his neck. “Don’t I get a goodbye kiss?”
“Fuck, baby. You’re going to be the death of me.” His palms cupped my cheeks as he whispered, “I’m trying to be a good guy here.”
“I didn’t ask you to be good.” I inched up to my toes so our lips were closer. “I asked for another kiss.”
His thumbs trailed down my jaw, sending shivers down my spine. Desire burned in his blue eyes as he lowered his head to give me what I wanted. His tongue trailed over the seam of my lips, teasing me before it finally swept inside to tangle with mine. One of his hands dropped down to grip my butt while the other held my face in place for his deep, wet kiss.
When he finally ripped his mouth from mine, his chest heaving as he dragged air into his lungs, some of the sensual fog cleared from my brain. I started to worry about what he’d think of me. “I need you to know that I don’t do this. I can’t even remember the last time I went on a date.”
The jealous gleam in his eyes sent a thrill down my spine, but it accomplished what I wanted—snapping the remainder of his control.
4
Deacon
Something primal inside me roared to life.
I loved knowing she hadn’t been with anyone for a long time. I still wanted to hunt down everyone who ever thought they had a chance with her and beat them to a bloody pulp.
However, there was also an innocence about her that had a theory forming in my mind. And fuck, if I was right, I’d never be able to walk away right now.
“Are you a virgin, baby?”
Her cheeks bloomed crimson, but she didn’t shy away. I loved how confident she was. “Yes. Does it change your mind about staying?”
