Wet N Wild Navy SEALs

by Tawny Weber

  “This is who I am. A Navy SEAL who is gone more than he’s home. Who can’t talk about where he’s been or what he did there. I can’t promise you much, but I can promise you one thing.” He stopped and dropped down on one knee in front of her.

  Her heart galloped in her chest. This couldn’t be happening. No way was Jack down on a knee in front of her with a small black box in his hand. She hadn’t even seen him pull it out. He held the box out to her. “I can promise you that I will never stop loving you. I’m a simple man. I don’t need much but I do need you. It took me two months to work up the nerve to go to Boston and I couldn’t have done it if I wasn’t ready to share my life with you. It won’t be easy and I know I’m asking you to leave your home and come live here with me, but together I know we can make it. I love you, Darci O’Shea, and I want to spend my life with you.”

  With tears streaming down her cheeks, Darci opened the box and gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth. Nestled in a bed of velvet was a diamond in the shape of a shamrock. With shaking hands, she lifted it out.

  Jack took it from her trembling fingers and grasped her hand. “Will you marry me?”

  Marry a Navy SEAL? She hadn’t seen this one coming. But it was exactly what she hadn’t allowed herself to wish for. She had her songwriting career to keep her busy and she loved Jack’s house. She adored his family and friends and would have no trouble living in this charming little town.

  Her band had broken up, leaving her no commitments in Boston. It would be easy to pack up and move out here to start an adventure of a whole other color. Could she say yes to a man like Jack Taggart? Was she ready to embark on a new adventure?

  Looking deep into his eyes, she saw a reflection of herself and had her answer right then and there.

  “On one condition,” she said and saw the corners of his mouth tilt.

  “Anything.”

  She paused to wipe her tears away, suddenly realizing everyone in the restaurant waited for her answer. She saw the Demarcos in the back and Jack’s mom and Wally standing with them. She hadn’t been aware they’d come in. It seemed Jack had put plenty of care into his arrangements, including getting his mom to take her shopping so he could surprise her. Only a man who truly loved her would do that. When she spoke, everyone heard her, but the message was for Jack alone.

  “We go somewhere cold for our honeymoon.”

  Their audience frowned and whispered amongst themselves but Jack grinned.

  “Deal.”

  Darci smiled. “Then my answer is yes, I will marry you, Jack Taggart.”

  The crowd cheered as Jack slipped the ring on her finger. Then he pulled her out of her chair and into his arms for a kiss that sealed the deal. When he pulled away, tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I’m so glad you aren’t the weepy, emotional type.” Jack grinned as he brushed her tears away, remembering a time when she swore she never cried.

  Darci laughed and together they turned toward their audience for congratulations. While the Demarco brothers drew Jack away to slap him on the back, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see the handsome face of Win Bekett.

  “Win,” she said, smiling. The last time she’d seen him was in an abandoned warehouse in the Caribbean with a gun in each hand taking out the bad guys. He’d taken a bullet for Jack. A hero in her book. He’d called a couple times after the incident to see how she was doing, but she’d never gotten to thank him in person.

  He wore his signature white shirt, tie and slacks and his hair spiked as if he’d run his fingers through it a million times. She was beginning to think it always looked like that.

  Throwing her arms around him she hugged him close, hearing him chuckle in her ear. “Don’t let Jack see you doing that,” he teased when she pulled away. “He’ll string me up by my toes and use me for target practice. How are you?”

  “I’m good, better now.” She stared at the ring on her finger. “What about you? How’s the shoulder?”

  Win rolled his left shoulder. “No complaints.”

  “What are you doing here? How did you find us?”

  “Jack’s been keeping tabs on the Gruesome Twins case,” he said with a grin. She knew exactly who the ‘twins’ were. He’d kept her posted on the case too in his phone calls. She was happy to know Heath and Eva would be spending the rest of their lives in prison. “He invited me down if I could spare the time. My boss told me I could.”

  Win wasn’t the type to take a vacation and Darci knew he’d worked nonstop, bullet wound and all, to put his case together against the twins. He’d been working when he should have been recovering.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Will you be staying long?”

  “There’s this case I’ve been working on for a couple years now that has broken open that I really should…” He trailed off when Darci sent him an amused look. “I’m doing it again, aren’t I?”

  She nodded.

  “I know, I give workaholic a new meaning. My boss keeps telling me that.”

  “Your boss is a wise man.”

  “Yeah, he tells me that too.”

  Darci smiled and looped her arm through his. “I never got to properly thank you for saving Jack’s life.”

  Pink tinged Win’s high cheekbones as he tried to brush off the compliment. “Nah, I was just…”

  “Doing your job, I know. Thank you for being so good at it,” she said and kissed his cheek, causing his skin to darken even more.

  “Hey, hands off, Bekett.”

  Win stepped away from her and shook Jack’s hand, both men grinning.

  “Glad you could make it, man,” Jack said.

  “Wouldn’t miss a chance to see you all dressed up. Jesus, Navy, you glow.”

  Darci laughed and slipped her arms around Jack. He looked strong and regal in his white uniform but he did glow, the white so bright. Her life had changed dramatically and she was so happy about it that she couldn’t imagine it any other way. Being married to a SEAL was going to be an adventure of another kind. She definitely looked forward to the challenge.

  As friends and family moved in to meet the man who’d saved Jack’s life, she knew everything was just as it should be. The bad guys were in prison, her life in Boston had ended, but she had a new beginning here with Jack and she couldn’t be happier. This is where she wanted to be, at his side with the future ahead of them. Life was good.

  Feeling the need to be close to him, Darci leaned over and whispered in Jack’s ear, unwilling to share him any longer.

  “Take me home, sailor.”

  Smart man that he was, Jack grinned, took her hand and got their Braciole and cannolis to go…

  About the Author

  Jennifer Lowery grew up reading romance novels in the back of her math book and on the bus to school, and never wanted to be anything but a writer. Her summers were spent sitting at the kitchen table with her sisters spinning tales of romance and intrigue and always with a tall glass of ice tea at their side.

  Today, Jennifer is living that dream and she couldn’t be happier to share her passion with her readers. She loves everything there is about romance. Her stories feature alpha heroes who meet their match with strong, independent heroines. She believes that happily ever after is only the beginning of her stories. And the road to that happy ending is paved with action, adventure, and romance. As her characters find out when they face danger, overcome fears, and are forced to look deep within themselves to discover love.

  Jennifer lives in Michigan with her husband and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys reading and spending time with her family.

  Connect with Jennifer:

  Read more about her books on her website: http://jenniferloweryauthor.com/

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  A SEAL’S VIGILANT HEART by Caitlyn O’Leary

  Hanging on by a Thread

  Sophia Anderson takes care of everyone but herself. She will stop at nothing to keep her family safe. When she goes searching for her runaway little brother in a bad part of town, she becomes the one in need of rescue.

  A White Knight

  Navy SEAL, Mason Gault, faced many dangers while in the line of duty. No matter how bad a mission has gone, he finds solace in three things: His family, friends and the waves of the Pacific. When he hears a woman’s screams for help, he charges in to save her without a second thought.

  A Dangerous Love

  Sophia is burdened with scars from her past. Mason understands that empowering her spirit is just as important as protecting her well-being. As their love and passion soars, so do threats against her. Can Mason continue to be the compassionate white knight that she needs, while ensuring her safety?

  Dedication

  To all of our men

  and women who have served.

  Chapter 1

  Frannie’s head peeked out of the dressing room stall.

  “Psst. Sophia. Margie. Get in here.” The two women looked at one another in confusion. Frannie was supposed to come out of the dressing room and model her bridesmaid dress on the raised dais in front of all the ladies, just like she had with the last two. Why wasn’t she following protocol?

  “Just come on out,” Lydia Hidalgo encouraged. “We all want to see. The saleslady was sure this one would be perfect.”

  Frannie’s head popped out again. This time, Sophia noted her face was apple red. “Fine, you come in too. Make it quick, before she comes back.” The three of them looked at the remaining women and one girl seated on the couch, shrugged, and then went over to the dressing room with Sophia leading the way. After all, she was the bride-to-be.

  Frannie opened the door enough for the three to come in. It was a very tight fit, and that wasn’t the only thing fitting tightly. It took all of Sophia’s will power not to burst out laughing. Margie wasn’t made of such stern stuff. She let out a belly laugh at her best friend’s expense.

  “Laugh it up, she’s out there scoping out dresses with ruffles for you,” Frannie said with a glare.

  “How in the hell did she get you into that thing? Crisco?” Margie asked, still laughing.

  “Just look at my boobs?” Frannie wailed.

  “How can I look at anything else?” Lydia asked in awe.

  Sophia giggled, then Lydia, and then, so did Frannie. With the corset style dress, her mammoth cleavage started to shake and jiggle and Sophia feared they were going to be seeing a lot more of their older friend than she would want. Frannie must have realized the potential because she crossed her arms over her bosom.

  “Girls, what do I do? She thinks this is the perfect dress for my figure. I don’t want to hurt her feelings? What’s worse, I don’t think I can get out of this dress. I’m going to be stuck wearing it for the next six weeks until the wedding. For God’s sake, I’m sixty-five. I knew we should have gone for matching bridesmaid dresses,” Frannie wailed.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Sophia saw her friend Lydia shudder at the thought.

  “Frannie, we couldn’t very well have Rebecca wearing the same thing you all would be wearing. She’s only fourteen.”

  “She sure as hell couldn’t be wearing whatever this sales woman picks out, she’d end up looking like a streetwalker,” Margie warned.

  “Not entirely true, you’re getting ruffles,” Frannie reminded her. “I haven’t even shown you girls the worst part.”

  “It gets worse? How can it get worse?” Margie asked.

  Frannie turned around. Margie let out another whoop of laughter. Right across the center of Frannie’s ass was a big satin bow.

  “Never mind the fact they managed to put a bow on my fattest attribute, how in the hell are you supposed to sit down?”

  “You can sit down in this thing? Considering how you’re trussed in, it’s a wonder you’re able to walk.”

  There was a loud knock.

  “Warning. Saleslady coming this way,” Ashley Richmond’s voice sounded through the opening.

  Sophia opened the door, and preceded the others out of the room, just as the sales lady returned with four navy dresses covered in ruffles. Margie was the last one to exit.

  “Ms. Daniels, perfect. I can start a room for you. I have some dresses picked out.” Frannie choked back a laugh in her dressing room. Ashley grabbed Lydia’s arm, and pulled Lydia’s sister Beth off the couch.

  “Ladies, I used to work at a bridal shop,” she lied effortlessly to the sales lady, Evelyn. “I have some ideas of what would look great on you for bridesmaid dresses. Let’s go hit the racks.” She turned to Rebecca, who was the only one still sitting on the couch. “You too, sweetheart.”

  “Sophia, they’re ready for you downstairs for your last wedding gown fitting.” Sophia was suffused with a sense of panic.

  The saleslady looked over at Ashley. “Do you want me to help?”

  “Oh no, you stick with Margie and Frannie, we have this covered,” Ashley assured her.

  “Hold up.” Lydia broke away. “Take Beth and Rebecca, I’m sticking with Sophia,” Lydia said. Ashley gave Sophia a once over and nodded at Lydia.

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll take Beth and Rebecca, you go with Sophia to her fitting.” Before anyone could even blink, Ashley had Beth and young Rebecca Barnes rushed out of the dressing area. Lydia turned to Sophia.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know,” Sophia answered honestly. “I should be excited, but now I’m scared.”

  “Of getting married?” Lydia asked gently.

  “God no,” Sophia said vehemently. “I’d marry Mason tomorrow if possible. No, but what happens if I still don’t like the dress? What happens if it doesn’t fit right? I can’t find a new one now.”

  “Honey, it’s fine. Every woman worries about these things.”

  “It can’t be worse than ruffles,” Margie yelled over the top of her dressing room door.

  “Or my boobalicious dress,” Frannie called out. “Someone rescue me for God’s sake, I’m going to need CPR soon.”

  Everyone, including Evelyn, started to laugh. “Sophia, how about I go down to the fitting area with you,” Lydia suggested.

  “That would be great.” Sophia breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Do you know the way?” Evelyn asked.

  “Yes.” Sophia walked with Lydia.

  “Margie and Frannie are crazy, you know that, don’t you?” Lydia teased. “I thought I might wet my pants when I saw Frannie in the dress. I’ve never been around older women who were so much fun. It’s great.”

  “You know, most of the time I don’t even think about them being senior citizens,” Sophia responded. “They’re just my friends. Of course, then they’ll refer to my laptop as a typewriter and I do a double take…” Lydia laughed.

  “So tell me more about Ashley,” Lydia requested.

  “You mean my stepmother?” Sophia said tongue in cheek.

  “I wasn’t going to go there.”

  “Then allow me. Ashley is so much better off now she dumped my father. But I worry about her,” Sophia said as they reached the bottom of the stairs and turned towards the fitting rooms.

  “What do you mean? Why do you worry about her?”

  “She’s acting out a lot.”

  “You mean pretending to have sold wedding dresses?”

  “Oh no, that’s minor. She’s been serial dating and almost reverting to teenager behavior. It’s like she wants to do everything she can to erase the time she was subjugated by my father.”

  “How is it impacting your little sister?”


  “When she’s with her, she’s a great mom. But Louisa is spending a lot of time with her grandparents. Dad was such an asshole. He ruined a lot of people’s lives.”

  “There’s no way Louisa will end up with your father, will she?”

  “God no! Mr. Richmond, Ashley’s dad, has Louisa protected every which way. He’s amazing. I’m thankful dad won’t have anything to do with raising her.”

  “From everything you’ve told me about your father, I agree. I think even though he’s Louisa’s daddy, she’s better off without him.”

  “Billy and I would have been better off without him, that’s for sure,” Sophia said. She suddenly smiled. “Lydia, it’s the first time I said it without being bitter. I think I’ve finally put the past in the past. God, I love Mason.”

  “What does Mason have to do with it?” Lydia was confused with the abrupt change of topic.

  “He’s helped me so much to get past my bitterness. He’s helped me, in so many ways.”

  “Boy, do I hear that. Those SEAL boys are amazing. Don’t tell Clint, because I don’t want him to get a swelled head, but he’s been my rock.” Lydia’s expression was dreamy as she thought about her fiancé, Clint Archer.

  “We are pretty lucky, aren’t we?”

  “We are.” Lydia gave Sophia a hug.

  “Hello? Are you Sophia Anderson?” A woman with a thick German accent asked.

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “I’m Betta, and I have your dress ready to try on.”

  The woman held open the curtain to the dressing room and Sophia went inside. Lydia gave her a wink and a thumbs-up.

  Betta helped Sophia into the dress, but it wasn’t until she was totally cinched in that she was allowed to turn around and look in the mirror. She gasped. The lace and beaded corset bared her shoulders and flowed into a silk skirt.