by Dale Mayer
“Absolutely.” Delightedly, she headed to the elevator. “I guess I have papers to sign?” she asked.
“Yes, but everything is ready and waiting for you.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get you home.”
*
The drive home was fast and uneventful – until Mason took a right turn and led them away from the house. She turned to look at him. “Where are we going?”
“I thought you might like to see that Christmas tree in the city square.”
“Oh, I really would.” She peered through the windshield. “It’s a perfect time to see it.”
The huge Christmas tree was shining bright in the dusky light as there was just enough darkness to make the lights twinkle. She gasped in delight when Mason parked off to the side.
“Do you want to walk around for a few minutes?” he asked.
“Yes,” she cried.
He walked around to help her out of the truck, then together they strolled over to see the beautiful light display.
“You know there may not be winter here, but you guys do Christmas up special,” she murmured, staring at the bright vision. “It’s truly beautiful.”
Mason studied the huge tree. It was decorated with millions of lights twinkling brightly. A large group of people wandered off to the side and others sat on benches, coffee in their hands, enjoying the evening. Even more stood, hands clasped together in silence. Music poured softly from somewhere close by. It was so different than any other time of the year.
There really was magic in the air. Christmas magic.
Looking at her face, seeing her joy, Mason realized he’d done the right thing in bringing her here.
“Let’s go home,” she said, turning her face toward him finally. “It’s definitely past time to decorate our place.”
He winced inwardly then helped her back to the truck. She was better, but still weak, and although her heart was willing, he figured there wasn’t much she’d be able to do on her own.
Good thing he had that covered.
Chapter 14
Tesla hated that fatigue had slipped into her bones by the time Mason pulled into their driveway. She really wanted their place to be beautiful for their first Christmas together, and she felt like such a failure for letting that opportunity slip by her. She’d been so busy with her problems, she’d just pushed it off. It was no excuse though. Now she wished she’d made a bigger effort.
He turned off the engine and hopped around to her side. She opened the door. When he walked her to the house, a huge set of lights came on in front of them.
“Oh,” she cried. “They are beautiful. How did you manage to get those up?”
He laughed. “Honey, there’s not much I can’t do. Especially with a little help from my friends.”
She stood stunned as the lights rippled along the front and changed colors. “I’d hoped to manage a single strand but never thought this would be possible in time.”
He grinned. She reached up and kissed him. “Thank you,” she said beaming.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Let’s get you inside where you can sit down again. I saw you almost nod off in the truck.”
“I’m actually more hungry than tired at the moment,” she murmured, her gaze still on the house enchanted with lights.
He opened the front door and stepped back so she could enter first.
She smiled her thanks and stepped into what had been Mason’s house and she now considered her own. Their own.
And froze. A gasp escaping… Tears coming to her eyes… Her heart expanding in joy… “Oh my God.” She couldn’t say anything else. It was just too damn beautiful. The few decorations she’d bought herself, those that they’d bought together and so many more had been placed in all the right places. She’d never decorated a house in her life so had no idea what or how or where anything should go. But Mason had.
He’d done this. For her.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tugged her back against his chest. “Are you happy?” he asked worriedly. “Or did I break some unwritten rule about decorating our house without you?”
Laughter gurgled free. She turned in his arms, reached up and kissed the worried look off his face. “If there is I wouldn’t know about it.” She smiled. “Did you realize that part of the reason I hadn’t found time to decorate was because I didn’t know how and figured I’d do it wrong?”
He stared at her. “How could you do it wrong?”
“My father never decorated. There was a single sad string of lights outside the front of the house until he got mad one year and ripped it down. Other than that there was nothing,” she confessed. “And I wanted our house to be perfect.”
He grinned. “It’s perfect without the decorations because I have you.”
“You say the nicest things to me,” she said mistily.
“And I mean them all.” He turned her around gently. “Now let’s take a look at the house. Everyone has been very busy this afternoon.” There were candles lit, lights on, soft music playing, and in every room more decorations than she could’ve imagined. When he led her to the stairs and the garland that twisted all the way up she laughed and clapped her hands. “They did a wonderful job,” she cried.
“They did, didn’t they?” She watched him as he turned around inside his own home in bemusement.
“You are very lucky to have your friends.”
He nodded. “So are you, as they are your friends now too.”
She smiled. And with a wink, said, “Race you to the bedroom.” And she darted up the stairs ahead of him.
“Hey,” he protested. “You shouldn’t be moving so fast.”
“Then you’d better catch up and stop me.” She laughed as she hit the landing and raced up the second set. “What’s the matter, can a poor injured woman beat out a big bad SEAL in a – whoops!”
He scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way to their room, laughing and giggling. He lay her down and fell on top of her, gently of course.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged him down for her kiss. When he lifted his head she said, “I know it’s not Christmas yet but this is one of the nicest gifts I’ve ever been given.”
“I’m delighted to hear that. I was a little worried about overstepping my bounds.”
She shook her head. “Never.” She wiggled beneath him. “I don’t know if you have dinner plans or not,” she said, “but I sure hope they can wait for a bit.” And she pulled that precious face toward her and kissed the strong jaw, his cheekbones, and his nose before laying a kiss on him that he wouldn’t soon forget. He’d done such a special thing for her when she hadn’t been able to do it herself. She loved him so much.
He deepened the kiss, the passion quickly overtaking them as it always did. Yet this time was different. It was a renewal. A rejoicing. A loving from the heart as they reveled in each other. She’d survived, and was once again, blessed to be in his arms. Already knowing each other’s likes and dislikes, with their movements slow, tender, emotional, it was all new again.
Finally when she couldn’t stand it anymore, she took him inside her body and held him close. Safe.
“This is beyond anything,” she whispered. “I can’t imagine anyone else experiencing what we have. Surely it’s unique.”
“Maybe,” he whispered, his lips slowly stroking back and forth across hers. “I’m just so damn grateful we have what we have.” He lowered his head and proceeded to take the rise of passion to a shuddering climax.
“Lord, I love you,” she whispered when she could catch her breath. “So damn much.”
“Do you?” he asked, a note of vulnerability entering his voice.
She rolled her head to the side so she could see him. “Yes, I do.” She half propped herself up on her elbow. “Why would you question that?” she murmured softly. “I’ve never loved anyone like I do you, you are so worth keeping.”
He stared at her then after a long moment ro
lled off the bed and searched for his pants.
“What’s the matter?” she asked in confusion. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No.” Climbing back onto the bed, he rushed to reassure her. He kissed her hard. “I love you. Sometimes I love you so much I’m afraid what we have won’t last.”
She scrambled to her knees and placed a finger on his lips. “Nothing is forever, remember? But we have until death do us part,” she said, the words tripping easily off her lips.
He smiled a slow deep smile that made her heart melt all that much more. “Do you really believe that?”
“With all my heart,” she whispered, mesmerized by the blaze in his eyes. She didn’t understand what it meant until she saw what he was holding up in front of them.
A small velvet box.
Her breath caught in the back of her throat. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. She reached for the box and slowly, ever so slowly, she opened it.
And started to cry.
“Is it the wrong stone?” he cried. “We can take it back and get you something else. Something you’d like better.”
The massive solitaire diamond twinkled at her in the half light and she couldn’t stop bawling. “No, it’s perfect,” she whispered through her tears. “Absolutely perfect.”
He grinned. “So…is that a yes?”
She pulled the ring free of the box and held it out to him then splayed her fingers wide. With a beaming tear-kissed smile, she said, “Maybe…what is the question?”
With a solemnness to his voice that made both their hearts quake, he said, “Will you marry me? Be the other half of my heart? Will you be my lawfully wedded wife until death do us part?”
He held her fingers, the ring in his hand ready to slide on as he waited, his fingers shaking.
Tears still rolling down her cheeks, she whispered in a voice overwhelmed with love, “Yes, forever and ever.”
He paused, then that wonderful grin flashed and he whispered, “No, how about for keeps, instead.”
And he slid the ring home.
This concludes Book 8 of SEALs of Honor: Mason’s Wish.
Book 9 is available here.
Evan: SEALs of Honor, Book 9
Buy this book at Amazon.
SEALs of Honor Series
Mason: SEALs of Honor, Book 1
Hawk: SEALs of Honor, Book 2
Dane: SEALs of Honor, Book 3
Swede: SEALs of Honor, Book 4
Shadow: SEALs of Honor, Book 5
Cooper: SEALs of Honor, Book 6
Markus: SEALs of Honor, Book 7
Mason’s Wish: SEALs of Honor, Book 8
Evan: SEALs of Honor, Book 9
SEALs of Honor, Books 1–3
SEALs of Honor, Books 4–6
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Mason’s Wish: SEALs of Honor, Book 8! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
I love to hear from readers, and you can contact me at my website: www.dalemayer.com or at my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter. And if you are interested in joining Dale Mayer’s Fan Club, here is the Facebook sign up page.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
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Touched by Death
Adult RS/thriller
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Death had touched anthropologist Jade Hansen in Haiti once before, costing her an unborn child and perhaps her very sanity.
A year later, determined to face her own issues, she returns to Haiti with a mortuary team to recover the bodies of an American family from a mass grave. Visiting his brother after the quake, independent contractor Dane Carter puts his life on hold to help the sleepy town of Jacmel rebuild. But he finds it hard to like his brother’s pregnant wife or her family. He wants to go home, until he meets Jade – and realizes what’s missing in his own life. When the mortuary team begins work, it’s as if malevolence has been released from the earth. Instead of laying her ghosts to rest, Jade finds herself confronting death and terror again.
And the man who unexpectedly awakens her heart – is right in the middle of it all.
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 – FREE
Touched by Death – Part 2
Touched by Death – Parts 1&2
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death
By Death Books 1–3
Vampire in Denial
This is book 1 of the Family Blood Ties Saga
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Blood doesn’t just make her who she is…it also makes her what she is.
Like being a sixteen-year-old vampire isn’t hard enough, Tessa’s throwback human genes make her an outcast among her relatives. But try as she might, she can’t get a handle on the vampire lifestyle and all the…blood.
Turning her back on the vamp world, she embraces the human teenage lifestyle—high school, peer pressure and finding a boyfriend. Jared manages to stir something in her blood. He’s smart and fun and oh, so cute. But Tessa’s dream of a having the perfect boyfriend turns into a nightmare when vampires attack the movie theatre and kidnap her date.
Once again, Tessa finds herself torn between the human world and the vampire one. Will blood own out? Can she make peace with who she is as well as what?
Warning: This book ends with a cliffhanger! Book 2 picks up where this book ends.
Family Blood Ties Series
Vampire in Denial – FREE
Vampire in Distress
Vampire in Design
Vampire in Deceit
Vampire in Defiance
Vampire in Conflict
Vampire in Chaos
Vampire in Crisis
Vampire in Control
Vampire in Charge
Family Blood Ties Set 1–3
Family Blood Ties Set 1–5
Family Blood Ties Set 4–6
Family Blood Ties Set 7–9
Sian’s Solution – A Family Blood Ties Short Story
Broken Protocols
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Dani’s been through a year of hell…
Just as it’s getting better, she’s tossed forward through time with her orange Persian cat, Charmin Marvin, clutched in her arms. They’re dropped into a few centuries into the future. There’s nothing she can do to stop it, and it’s impossible to go back.
And then it gets worse…
A year of government regulation is easing, and Levi Blackburn is feeling back in control. If he can keep his reckless brother in check, everything will be perfect. But while he’s been protecting Milo from the government, Milo’s been busy working on a present for him…
The present is Dani, only she comes with a snarky cat who suddenly starts talking…and doesn’t know when to shut up.
In an age where breaking protocols have severe consequences, things go wrong, putting them all in danger…
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series
Broken Protocols
Broken Protocols 2
Broken Protocols 3
Broken Protocols 3.5
Broken Protocols 1-3
About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardenin
g and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
Connect with Dale Mayer Online
Dale’s Website – www.dalemayer.com
Twitter – @DaleMayer
Facebook – facebook.com/DaleMayer.author
Also by Dale Mayer
Published Adult Books:
Psychic Vision Series
Tuesday’s Child – FREE
Hide’n Go Seek
Maddy’s Floor
Garden of Sorrow
Knock, Knock…
Rare Find
Eyes to the Soul
Now You See Her
Shattered
Into the Abyss
Psychic Visions Books 1–3
Psychic Visions Books 4–6
Psychic Visions Books 7–9
By Death Series
Touched by Death – Part 1 – FREE
Touched by Death – Part 2
Touched by Death – Parts 1&2
Haunted by Death
Chilled by Death
By Death Books 1–3
Second Chances…at Love Series
Second Chances – Part 1 – FREE
Second Chances – Part 2
Second Chances – complete book (Parts 1 & 2)
Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy Series
Broken Protocols
Broken Protocols 2
Broken Protocols 3
Broken Protocols 3.5
Broken Protocols 1-3
Broken and… Mending