THIRTY MINUTES LATER, with dirty breakfast dishes left by the sink and Draco stretched out on the kitchen floor, his belly distended with eggs and sausages, Maya offered Rusty the use of the bathroom upstairs, then disappeared into her bedroom. He noted that she left her door ajar as she shut herself into her en suite.
Once in Curtis’s bathroom, Rusty regarded the face in the mirror and marveled that he didn’t look like a man who’d been up all night. Yes, there was a trace of bristles on his jaw and his auburn hair stood up in places. But his face shone with a radiance he hadn’t seen—or felt—in years. Maya had practically agreed to marry him!
He grinned sheepishly as he stripped off his clothes to wash up. Whether they slept together that morning or not, he still smelled like the manhole that he had climbed out of carrying a grim-faced Curtis over his shoulder. That had been no easy feat for either one of them, but Rusty was used to dragging around wounded men almost twice his size. And Curtis had shown remarkable composure and bravery considering how much pain he was in.
Taking a quick hot shower, Rusty wondered as he soaped up whether his compact, muscle-corded physique would live up to Maya’s expectations. And then he dismissed his worry. He wasn’t Ian, but she already knew that and seemed to like who he was just fine.
When he descended the steps a short while later, Maya’s open bedroom door caused him to drift toward the soft scent emanating from within. Intent on the woman waiting for him, he barely registered the décor except to note its understated elegance. Given her decorating taste, she would like his bedroom, too. How long before she’d be willing to share it with him on a nightly basis and let him wake up next to her every morning?
Wondering whether to sit on her bed or tap on her bathroom door, Rusty was crossing the room when his gaze glanced off and then returned to an oil portrait that occupied a prime position. Halting in front of it, he tried to decide if it captured the true essence of Ian Schultz. Suddenly, the door to Maya’s en suite opened, and she emerged, wresting his attention to her petite figure adorned by a gold, satin teddy with possibly nothing underneath. His mouth went dry.
“Will that bother you?” she asked, having caught him looking at the portrait.
Her comment sent his blood pressure spiking. She was going to sleep with him for sure.
He couldn’t stop staring. Wearing no makeup, with her tumble of golden curls and her pale, soft-looking skin, she resembled an angel. He swallowed hard to find his voice.
“Doesn’t bother me. Ian already gave me his blessing.”
“Oh?” Her smile struck him as skeptical. “What did he say?”
Rusty had trouble remembering with the tips of Maya’s breasts visible through the sheer fabric of her teddy.
“Well, nothing, actually. I asked if he minded me asking you out. He shook his head. Then I asked if he thought I could win you over, and he smiled like he knew something I didn’t.”
Maya’s smile faded. “My God,” she said.
His stomach clenched. “What?” Had he said something wrong?
“That’s exactly how Ian communicated. He never talked if he could get his point across with a smile or a frown or a gesture.”
Rusty didn’t want to talk about Ian.
He took two steps in her direction. “I’d like to make a few points with body language,” he proposed. “Do you think I can get my message across that way?” he asked, trailing the tips of his fingers from her wrists to her shoulders.
“I’m sure you can,” she said, in a breathier voice. “But I don’t mind if you also want to use words.”
“Good,” he said cupping her face with his hands, “because I have something to tell you.” He brushed the pad of one thumb lightly over her lower lip, watching as her pupils dilated.
“What?”
“I love you,” he stated. He had thought the confession might be difficult but it flowed from him with the ease of water flowing downstream.
Her lovely green eyes grew brighter, and a tremulous smile curled the edges of her mouth.
“I think I fell in love with you last year when I came to your office. I’d never met a woman as strong and beautiful as you are. But you didn’t like me much,” he recalled.
“On the contrary.” Tears of joy now welled in her eyes. “I liked you too much, and it frightened me.”
“Are you still afraid?” Lowering one hand, he traced the slope of her shoulder to the swell of one breast and lightly outlined her nipple with his index finger, causing it to harden instantly.
“Not at all,” she told him.
“Do you think I’m crazy for seeing ghosts?”
Her tiny frown conveyed puzzlement, and his worries returned. But then she shook her head.
“There’s obviously something to that,” she said, measuring her words with care, “something I don’t understand. All I know is if Ian hadn’t talked to you last night, you and Draco would never have come back here, and Curtis would still be stuck down in that sewer hurt and freezing to death.” She shuddered at the memory of how helpless he’d looked.
“He’s safe,” Rusty reminded her, slipping his hands to her tiny waist and tugging her close.
She nodded, visibly shaking off the recollection. Then, with a look of lusty resolve, she slid her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his, bestowing on him a kiss—the sweetest and sexiest kiss of invitation imaginable.
“I love you, too,” she murmured against his lips. To his surprise, he felt her hands slide to the fly of his khaki pants, which he’d been loath to put back on after his shower, stained as they were from their trek through the storm drain. “Take these off,” she ordered.
He obeyed her eagerly, shucking off the dirty pants while leaving his boxer briefs on—not that they disguised his eagerness to be with her. Pausing only to close the door between them and his dog, he pulled her modest curves close once more, basking in the feel of her pliant softness pressed so trustingly against him.
They kissed until the room seemed to spin in a lazy circle. Then he lifted her off her feet, keeping their lips fused as he deposited her gently on the bed. Tearing his lips from hers, he stretched out alongside Maya, looking down at her lovely face with wonder.
What had he done to deserve this moment? He didn’t know, but this was undoubtedly one of the highlights of his arduous life.
She reached up and touched his cheek, and silently, he pledged to give her everything he had, to make her happy, to make up for the years of her loneliness, to be the only man she would want for the rest of her life.
Nuzzling the length of her neck, Rusty took his time as he kissed the soft slope of her shoulders, the fragrant plane between her breasts, and then grazed his teeth lightly over each erect peak jutting against the fabric of her satin lingerie.
Her breath hitched, and her spine arched at his ministrations. Glancing at her face, he intended this to be a highlight for her, too. He would make this momentous occasion last as long as possible.
Slowly drawing one spaghetti strap off her shoulder, then the other, he revealed, inch by inch, her full, pale breasts and the pink buds that crowned them. “You’re so beautiful.”
Her dubious smile melted him.
With his tongue, he proceeded to flick her pearled nipples, each in turn, before sucking gently, persistently, until her quick, indrawn breaths turned to whimpers.
Then he moved languorously down the length of her lithe body, performing a thorough reconnaissance of her perfect form by taking in every curve and hollow he came across.
By the time he’d nibbled his way from the backs of her knees to her inner thighs, Maya’s skin burned like hot silk beneath his lips. He lifted the hem of her teddy, following its ascension toward the warm mystery between her legs. She parted them while sending him a look of such carnal anticipation that he could not deny her.
He buried his face in her golden curls like a starving man who’d finally found a feast. Trying to ease her yearning without pushing her over the e
dge too soon, he parted her sensual, swollen lips, sought and found the heart of her pleasure, and lightly blew on it. She bucked under him, and he smiled, feeling the answering throb of his own need.
Neither of them was going to last long—at least, not the first time.
Deftly he circled her pink nubbin with the pad of his thumb, watching her response. Her eyes melted shut. The tip of her tongue appeared to wet her slightly parted lips.
Rusty lowered his head and replaced his thumb with his tongue.
Her moan of approval made him smile again. Inhaling her sweet woman’s musk, he devoted himself to finding out what pleased her most—flicking her lightly while stroking two fingers inside of her silky-slick opening.
Her thighs trembled as she strained toward his touch. He would have been content to pleasure her that way for as long as it took, when she suddenly sank her fingers into the hair on his head and issued a keening cry that brought the dog running toward their closed door. Her hips bucked and her inner muscles clenched his fingers.
“Oh, my God,” she breathed as the paroxysm faded. Her eyes drifted open and she regarded him in wonder as he lifted his head. “I totally forgot how amazing that could feel.”
Tamping down his ridiculous pride, he grinned as he clambered up and over her, holding himself there so she could absorb the full impact of her effect on him. “I’ll remind you any time you want,” he promised.
Her gaze touched him like a warm caress as she took in the breadth of his chest, following the line of tawny hair that arrowed toward the band of his boxer briefs and then the head of his sex peeking out of the slit at the front.
To his gratification, she slipped her hand through the opening to encircle him. A growl of anticipation rumbled in his chest and his jaw clenched as he moved within her hold.
“I want to feel you inside me,” she admitted. “Now.”
“My lady gets what she wants, whenever it’s within my power.” He hustled to remove his underwear, not sure where they landed when he tossed them behind him. Then, starting with a kiss, he penetrated her, slowly, carefully, joining their bodies with a sense of awe he doubted he would ever grow immune to.
As he’d predicted, their first joining was not a marathon, more like an incredibly satisfying sprint. Between the warm welcome of her silken passage and his galloping enthusiasm, he struggled to hang on, feeling as green as a teen having sex for the first time.
Maya pressed closer, her pillows tumbling to the floor. He surged into her, taking as much pleasure from her grasping inner muscles as from her small cries of satisfaction. Only when she seemed to melt around him did he let go, his release coming like an unstoppable train on the tracks.
At last, he came to rest with his face buried in her hair, his heart thudding against hers. Exhaustion broke over him without warning. It was all he could do to withdraw from her before he slipped into a warm tide of unconsciousness. He forced himself to roll out of bed and wash up.
By the time he returned from a quick visit to the bathroom and rejoined her in the bed, pulling her limp body into his embrace, she was sound asleep…with what looked to be a smile on her face.
Rusty closed his heavy eyes and sighed. Never in a million years could he have predicted the way his date would play out. Highs and lows included, he wouldn’t change one thing about the way it had all fallen into place.
Epilogue
‡
“YOU DON’T NEED to be nervous,” Maya reassured her son as she, Curtis, and Rusty sat outside the military judge’s chambers, waiting for Curtis to be called to provide his testimony.
The case against Goddard, Smith, and Lubber had proceeded beyond an Article 32 hearing to a full-blown court-martial. In deference to Curtis’s tender age, he had been summoned to testify before the judge and the JAG officers only. The judge would fill in the jury later, and the accused would never even lay eyes on him.
“I’m not nervous,” Curtis insisted, then promptly belied his statement by wiping his palms on his dress pants.
Maya and Rusty shared a look.
She tried again. “Will Goddard is looking at ten years in jail, at a minimum. Even if he managed to send someone in his place to get back at you, they would never find you.”
They had moved out to Never Forget Retreat on July Fourth, just in time to shoot off dozens of celebratory fireworks.
Curtis sat back with a laugh. “I hope he tries.” He looked over at Rusty and shook his head. “Good luck getting past Draco and my stepdad.”
Maya hid a smile. She and Rusty weren’t married yet—they’d planned a fall wedding—but Curtis had obviously taken to the idea of having a SEAL for a stepfather, although he’d made it clear he was going to be a Marine dog handler when he grew up.
“So, you’ll just go in there and tell the judge what happened, and that’s that,” she said.
“Mom, I’m okay. I’m just worried about leaving Draco by himself for so long.”
“Oh,” she said, nodding and meeting Rusty’s twinkling gaze again.
Suddenly, the door to the judge’s chambers opened and out stepped Santana, looking surprisingly clean-cut in a button-up shirt and slacks that had probably belonged to his father. He met Curtis’s expectant gaze and grimaced.
Curtis stood up suddenly and made his way over to him. Maya watched as they exchanged a hand-clasp and a few words. She had heard that Santana and his mother had taken Will Goddard’s threats seriously and, with the help of the U.S. Marshall Service Witness Security Program, they were moving out of state.
This was goodbye for the two friends. Maya still didn’t appreciate Santana for embroiling her son in his uncle’s criminal life, but she had thanked him personally for having the courage to do the right thing, to show them where Curtis had been imprisoned, and to testify against his uncle.
“Bye, Santana,” she called as he headed for his mother who at that moment stepped out of the ladies’ room.
The JAG waiting at the door cleared his throat. “The judge is waiting, Curtis.”
Maya resisted the urge to usher her son into the room while whispering last-minute advice in his ear. Instead, she threaded her fingers through Rusty’s, closed her eyes, and willed this ordeal to be over soon.
Thank God Rusty is in my life. As the thought rippled through her head, she realized it had replaced the mantra, If only Ian were still alive.
“Are you going to miss this?” he asked, shifting closer and putting an arm around her shoulders.
Two weeks ago, she had given NCIS notice she would be leaving her post as special investigator. After fifteen years of ferreting out criminals, the time had come to do something more uplifting with her time. Helping to run a non-profit that improved the lives of special operators was proving far more satisfying, and Rusty had even offered to pay her to offset the loss of her income. While she helped Rusty maintain the retreat, at the same time raising money and awareness, Curtis cut grass on the riding lawnmower and put up with Draco in his bed. Life was a dream.
“Not at all,” she answered truthfully. She sent him a smile. “I know you have a lot to do back home. Thanks for coming this morning.”
He squeezed her hand. “Family comes first.”
She searched his dear, rugged face. “We’re not married yet.”
He shrugged. “That’s a formality. Family is a feeling.”
Apparently those vows whispered in the aftermath of lovemaking were what really counted. They had sworn to love each other forever, to raise Curtis to be hardworking, honest, and patriotic. Maybe Rusty’s visions of ghosts were like feelings—you couldn’t see them or examine them, but they existed, nonetheless.
“You’re right,” she agreed, leaning closer to kiss him. “Family is a feeling.”
*
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am so privileged to be surrounded by loyal readers and talented friends. Without their helps my stories would fall far short of gratifying those who read them. My deepest thanks goes to my beta rea
ders, Joyce, Penny, Pam, and Elizabeth. Thank you to Wendie for brainstorming with me at the beginning and to Suzanne for your professional final edit. All of these ladies are amazing. As for my best friend and developmental editor, Sydney Jane Baily—there’s no one in the world who could take your place. As we say here in Virginia, y’all are the best!
OTHER BOOKS BY
MARLISS MELTON
Echo Platoon series
LOOK AGAIN (Novella #1)
DANGER CLOSE
HARD LANDING
FRIENDLY FIRE
HOT TARGET (coming 2017)
Taskforce series
THE PROTECTOR
THE GUARDIAN
THE ENFORCER
Navy SEAL Team 12 series
FORGET ME NOT
IN THE DARK
TIME TO RUN
NEXT TO DIE
CODE OF SILENCE, a novella
TOO FAR GONE
LONG GONE, a novella
SHOW NO FEAR
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Other Books by Marliss Melton
Never Forget: A Novella in the Echo Platoon Series Page 13