by Zoe York
He crashed his mouth onto hers, kissing her like he was claiming her, and he damn well was.
Mine.
And then he followed her into that place outside of consciousness, where there was no shame and only bliss, where he could shudder his release into her body and it felt so right, so good, it shifted another piece of his heart permanently.
Chapter Twelve
Astrid went through the motions the next morning. They'd said goodbye at the resort because she had the rental car, so she could—and really should—drive herself back to the regional airport. Dylan was flying home the next day out of Tampa.
It was totally ridiculous how much she missed him, and would continue to miss him for the next couple of days until they were both settled back home and could connect for a date.
They would, that much had been made abundantly clear by her very attentive…boyfriend.
She grinned to herself at the memory of how Dylan had taken her suitcase from her hand before she could leave her barely-used room at the resort. He'd pressed her against the wall and kissed her until she was breathless. "The countdown begins now," he'd whispered softly against her cheek, the warmth of his breath making her melt inside. "Until I show up on your doorstep, hat in hand."
"You're going to come courting?"
"You better believe it." He nipped at her earlobe.
Okay, it was a pretty dirty version of taking things slow, but it worked for her.
Well, it had when he'd had her pressed against that wall.
Now…she rubbed her chest.
Then she took a deep breath. She was going to have to get used to missing him. Dating a SEAL meant long stretches of being apart.
And she knew that. Totally accepted that…later. Right now, she wanted every last second of giggles and teasing and lingering looks that had come to mean so much to her over the week.
She wanted Dylan.
"Anyone sitting here?"
Her heart leapt before she even looked up. That voice, that teasing, goofy grin she knew he was wearing. She took her time, trying to compose herself before she found his gaze, but it was hopeless. She was thrilled beyond measure to see him standing next to her seat and she didn't care if he or anyone else knew it. "You," she breathed.
"Me," he said with a wink.
"What are you doing? What about your flight tomorrow?"
"I've been thinking," he said as he stowed his bag under the seat in front of him and took his time sitting down. His legs bumped into the tray and against the armrest. He was going to be so uncomfortable for this flight.
"That you'd rather be in business class?"
He laughed. "Only if you're next to me."
"Oh."
He took her hand, interlacing their fingers before lifting her knuckles to his lips. "About that plan to go slow."
Her heart leapt. "Yes?"
"That's not going to work for me."
"Ah." She licked her lips. "Okay."
"Because life is short and—wait. Did you just say okay?" He started laughing against her hand. "Is it just that simple?"
She shook her head. "I don't think anything about it is going to be simple. I'm philosophically opposed to falling in love overnight. That's crazy talk. But…"
"I like the sound of but."
"Mmm." She sighed and leaned her head against the chair back, giving him a happy smile. "But then you taught me a few things about what love is."
"I did? Excellent. Tell me more."
The flight attendant stopped beside them. "You are sitting in the emergency row." She pointed to the window. "Are you able and willing to help your fellow passengers in the case of the emergency?"
They nodded.
She shook her head. "I need to hear a verbal confirmation."
And Astrid needed to finish her conversation with Dylan. "Yes," she said quickly, and Dylan echoed that.
But before they could get back to professions of love, there was the general safety briefing, and then they were taxiing down the runway. Once they were in the air, though, Dylan turned right back to face her. "Where were we?"
She shrugged. It was really quite simple, actually. "I was about to tell you that I love you."
"Oh, thank God." He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. "I was worried I was going to need to convince you on that front…"
"How would you do that?" she whispered.
"I'll tell you when we land. It's a long flight to be…frustrated."
"Tease."
"Always."
* * *
Their first date back home was for coffee.
"Wouldn't want to rush," Dylan deadpanned as he rubbed her foot. He'd reached under the table and pulled it into his lap as she sipped her latte.
"Of course not." She winked at him. "How was your day?"
"It was fine. My brother's heading overseas without me, which is…weird."
She tipped her head to side, watching him, but she didn't say anything else, just let him sit there for a minute as he figured out how much he wanted to spill.
Everything, really, but there was a time and a place and Starbucks wasn't it.
"Do you want to come back to my place after our date?" she asked, licking a bit of foam off her lip.
Easiest answer ever. "Yes."
He didn't leave until four the next morning, and only then because he had to go back to his place to get changed before work.
Date number two was better planned, because slow was a total lie with them. He brought an overnight bag, and a key to his place in Coronado so she could just let herself in the next day.
"I'll probably wait until you get off work," she whispered against his chest after he'd hauled her there post-sex.
"Up to you." He was already figuring out how to suggest she could move in with him if she wanted to.
Maybe that could wait until date number three.
Epilogue
“I don’t want to go.”
Dylan squeezed Astrid’s shoulders as he looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror in their bedroom.
She'd moved in a week ago. Now he was standing behind her and she was leaning back against him, and it would be perfect if she didn't have to go to the her family reunion the next day and she didn't have anything to wear.
“Yes you do.” He kissed the side of her head. “You've got that new illustration deal to brag about.”
But her family wouldn't care about that.
“Hey,” he whispered, rubbing the tip of his nose against her ear. “You’re a beautiful dork who cares a lot about your family and living up to their expectations. That's a good thing, you know that? If they don't see how amazing you are, it's their loss. I see you, and I love you.”
“Point taken,” she muttered back.
“And?”
"I love you, too?"
He laughed. "I know you do. But I was thinking more along the lines of, and let's go show them who rocks."
"Ah."
"Speaking of rocks…" He stroked her cheek. "Have I ever told you I know magic?"
She laughed. "No."
He touched her hair, tucking a loose lock behind her ear, then pulled back, holding a silver dollar up. "You keep money in the strangest of places."
She giggled. Okay, that was pretty good. "Magic, huh?"
He nodded. "And on the other side, it looks like you've got…" He touched her other ear lightly, but what he found there wasn't a silver dollar. "Rocks."
Three of them, all extra sparkly. Did diamonds actually count as rocks? Probably not, but when they were set in a platinum band…
"Personally, I think the new job is amazing, but you could also tell your family about your engagement." He looked at her earnestly. "Because I want you to marry me, Astrid Hughes. I want you to marry me, and see me, and hold my hand for the rest of our lives."
"That's quite the trick," she whispered. That was the wrong answer, of course. The answer was yes, yes, a million times yes, but her brain wasn't as fast as her
heart. It got there, though. "Yes. Oh, Dylan. Yes, I'll marry you."
"Good," he said, pulling her into his arms. He did something else magic, too, because music started playing in the background, and he turned her in a circle, slowly spinning her around as Frank Sinatra crooned.
His body led, and hers followed eagerly, the steps effortless as they danced. He pressed one large, strong hand into the small of her back and dipped her so he could kiss her neck, then her mouth, and finally they stopped dancing because he'd lifted her onto the dresser.
"Knees up," he ordered as he worked his way down her sundress, undoing all the pearl buttons until she was laid bare for him.
He trailed his knuckles down her torso, blazing a path he followed with his mouth, and all she could do was lace her fingers into his hair and tip her head back as he buried his face between her legs.
Oh, yes, she had the best story to tell at her family reunion after all. How she'd been seduced by the best man, and discovered her best friend.
And he was funny, and dirty, and oh so kind.
* * *
Don't miss Garrett Van Doren's story, Operation: Romeo, by Kat Cantrell, also available in the Barefoot Bay Kindle World.
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Want more hot SEALs at the beach? Explore Zoe's other Navy SEAL romances in the ASSIGNMENT: Caribbean Nights series, and the SEALs Undone series. Visit www.zoeyork.com to find more hot military romances, and sign up for Zoe's newsletter to get three free romances!
Discover More Books By Zoe York
It is always my goal that any new-to-me reader gets a chance to try a new series with a free book. To that end, you'll find that most of series, once they get to a certain length, have a book available for free. So the only question left really is…what kind of book boyfriend do you want to read tonight?
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Small Town Romances: I have two sexy small town romance series, Wardham and Pine Harbour.
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Military Romances: Explore Pine Harbour and the SEALs Undone series, as well as the ASSIGNMENT: Caribbean Nights shared world I write in, if you love a man in uniform.
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