by Amy Brent
Because it had all happened so fast, Deacon hadn't even reacted in time and I'd been unable to focus on where I was shooting. I didn't have the time to aim as Tony lunged for me. His body collided with mine, knocking me to the ground, and driving the air from my lungs. I screamed as his body pinned mine to the ground. It took me a moment to realize Tony wasn't moving. And until Deacon reached down and pulled the old man off of me, I hadn't even realized where the bullet I'd fired had hit.
Right smack dab in the middle of his chest. His blood was pouring all over me and when he looked into my eyes, I saw pain blended with hate radiating within them. If he'd had the strength, he would have strangled me right then and there.
Tony, while not dead, was going to be soon. If he didn't get help, anyway. But I got the feeling that nobody at my father's house was going to go out of their way for him. I didn't think that anybody would be calling an ambulance – at least, not for a little while.
Deacon hauled me to my feet and I looked down at myself – grimacing at the sight of Tony's blood covering me. I looked up and saw that of the three who'd been standing with Tony, only one of the Irishmen remained. I didn't know why he was still alive, but he was just standing there, looking back at us. He wasn't holding a weapon and he didn't look threatening.
I didn't understand what was happening, but Deacon kept his gun trained on him. The other man though, held his hands up and didn't make any overtly threatening gestures. Simply judging by his body language, I didn't think he was going to be a problem for us – the look on his face told me that he respected Deacon. Liked him.
“Neil, let us past,” Deacon said. “Please. I don't want to hurt you. That's the last thing I want, brother.”
“Your truck is gone, man,” the man named Neil replied. “How are you going to get out of here?”
“We'll find a way,” Deacon replied. “Don't make me shoot you too. You know I don't want to do it, but I will if I have to.”
“You wouldn't – ” But Neil must have seen the look in Deacon's eyes because he stopped talking and looked down at the ground. “I'm sorry it's come to this, brother. I never wanted this. I really didn't.”
“I didn't want it to come to this either, man,” Deacon said. “Trust me on that, Neil. I didn't want this either. I just wanted something – different.”
“Here!” Neil said, tossing something over to him.
Deacon stared down at what was in his hand for a moment before looking back at his friend, a questioning look upon his face. He held up the keyring to me and dropped it into my hand.
“It's one of your cars anyway,” Neil said and smiled. “Figured you might like it back. Should help you get where you're going.”
Deacon thanked Neil and we rushed from the back of the house and toward a car parked out front. Climbing inside quickly, we drove off as fast as humanly possible, leaving my father and my former life behind. For good.
Reaching out, I took Deacon's hand in mine. Things might not be easy from here on out. We were alone and we would struggle. But we had each other, and soon enough, we'd have a child. Maybe several more. Life was already beginning to look up.
“Buenos Aires, here we come, baby,” Deacon said, winking at me.
I smiled as I looked back at him. I was free. For the first time in my life, I was free.
THE END
…..
A BABY FOR MY SEAL
Chapter 1
Shareena Hues spent most of her time in nature. As a photographer, which was her passion and hobby, nature always had her in awe. Sure, she had to pay the bills by doing portfolio work, but her love was nature. Birds and wildlife, the way the plants, trees, and streams would look. She never felt more at peace as she did when she was deep in the woods snapping pictures, and capturing pieces that very few people took the time to appreciate.
She had been published in numerous magazines, and had written articles to go with them. Writing wasn’t nearly as fun for her, but she was getting good at writing descriptive articles that allowed visuals in words to go with the pictures.
What she stumbled upon today surprised her. Out in the middle of nowhere, there was a body, laying in a field face down. Carefully making her way over to it, she poked it with her toe. The body shuddered and she realized he was alive. Bending down she helped him turn over and saw a very attractive man, in a navy uniform. It was a good two hours from the nearest naval port or coast, so he was a long way from home.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” She asked him as he woke up and looked at her with one eye.
“Bachelor party… gone wild.” He muttered and sat up, holding his head.
“You had a party all the way out here?” She asked him, shocked.
“No, it was in town a few minutes from her. The stripper was giving me a ride home. She dropped me off here, took my wallet, and left me to rot. She took my cell phone too.” He muttered. “I know, I know, but I don’t hit ladies. So don’t give me that look.”
“You let a stripper take advantage of you?” Shareena stared at him and then started to laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“You remind me of hot chocolate and smell like vanilla and cinnamon. Unless you want me to eat you, please help me up and let me borrow your cell phone so I can call a buddy to come rescue me,” realizing he didn’t give her his name, he paused and felt slightly embarrassed. “Charles, sorry. My name is Charles Danlies. You can call me Charlie though.”
“Okay Charlie, I’m Shareena. I have my cell phone back in my car, if you think you can walk that far without falling over.” She helped him up and realized that he towered over her. She could feel his muscles through his uniform and while she wasn’t a small girl, he made her feel delicate and tiny compared to him. The man was a giant.
“Did you know you have skin the color of mocha? And your eyes remind me of whisky.” He told her, as he looked down at her, “I totally am not hitting on you. However, you are beautiful. Thank you for your help.”
Shareena didn’t know whether to laugh or feel embarrassed. The man was clearly still intoxicated, despite his night spent in the grass.
“So, is anyone missing you?” She asked him quietly, changing the subject.
“No, I work for Navy intelligence. I’m an investigator. I’m on vacation right now. I spent a few years as a regular navy guy. I also spent some time as a navy seal, but I found my interest was investigations and undercover work. I’m also talking too much, so tell me what a beautiful woman like yourself is doing out here.” Charlie asked her, and wondered how to get her number without coming off like a creep.
“I’m a photographer. I was out here trying to get some work done. Actually, hold on, don’t move, the lighting is perfect.” She told him, and then stood back and took a few pictures of him with the sun high in the sky with him looking bewildered as she snapped a few pictures. “Perfect!”
“If you say so,” Charlie muttered.
“I have a consent form in my ca. I will just need a signature to use and sell these photos, if you don’t mind?” Shareena asked him and smiled in his direction, her teeth flashing between her lips.
“Only if you agree to go on a date with me,” Charlie told her and raised a brow as they reached his car.
She hesitated slightly. She barely knew him, but it was clear he was a bit of a trouble maker despite being navy intelligence with a background that she admitted had her fascinated. She’d never gone out with a military man before, of any sort. Normally she dated bankers, and intellectual types. This man had brute strength and reminded her of Hercules. Maybe a change of the type of man would be a good thing. She could at least use a little fun.
Handing him a release form and a pen, she nodded. “Deal, but I get to pick when and where.”
“As long as it’s within the next week, or I get to decide,” he told her as he filled out the paper and handed it back to her. “Can I use your phone now?”
“Sure, or I could give you a ride?” Shareena of
fered before she could stop herself. For some reason, she felt the urge to help him. Something about him had her drawn to him. Despite his size and his obvious military training, she wasn’t scared of him. His bad boy nature seemed to extend to acts of stupid, rather than scary.
“I’d offer to pay for your gas, but I’m missing my wallet.” He gave her a quirky grin and she laughed.
“I think I can afford the gas to help you out, as long as you pay for dinner.” She told him and got into her car, and started it. When he slid into the seat next to her, his blue eyes twinkled.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. A gentleman always pays for a pretty lady’s meal,” he told her and winked.
“Somehow, you don’t strike me as much of a gentleman,” Shareena told him, then started to back out of the park’s parking lot to take him where he needed to go.
Chapter 2
Shareena hadn’t intended to get overly involved in her wayward navy man, but the dinner date went so well and she had such a good time, she found herself agreeing to another outing. A picnic.
“You love nature so much, a picnic is the perfect place for us to have our next date,” he told her and cupped her cheek outside of the restaurant. He didn’t do more than kiss her cheek, which left her stomach in flutters. She had taken him for a more aggressive type of man, yet he was holding back with her.
She wasn’t sure if she was flattered, or slightly offended. Amused either way, she smiled at him. And agreed to a time and date.
“I will see you then Charlie,” blowing him a kiss as she walked away from him and back to her car. She could feel his eyes on her back and knew he was watching her. When she got home, she fed her cat. She smiled at Frosty, her white kitty with blue eyes, and told him all about her date with Charlie.
The cat paused when eating to look up and tilt its head, as if he understood what she was saying, before going back to eating his food. Shareena stopped to pet him for a moment, then went about her business.
They’d be meeting again in three days. It was his next day off, and he wanted to take her back to the park where they’d met. He had joked about re-meeting under better circumstances there, and where she could get the pictures she’d missed since she’d stopped to help him.
She wondered what it would be like to kiss him, he had such soft, pink lips. He was hard in all the places that mattered, she’d describe him as stocky. He was solid, and looked like he could hold his own if he ever got in a fight. She liked his body type. She wasn’t exactly a tiny girl, but next to him, he made her feel downright feminine. His hands were huge compared to her. It made her wonder what else about him was huge. Smiling to herself, she fell asleep that night with images of them making love in the sunshine on a picnic blanket.
When the time came for him to pick her up a few days later for the picnic, Shareena took extra care primping in front of her mirror. She knew that he probably didn’t care nearly as much as she did, but she plucked and massaged until her face shined and there wasn’t a single stray hair out of place anywhere.
She picked a summer dress with a light over-coat in case it got cold and strappy sandals she could walk in. Normally she was a jeans and a t-shirt kind of girl, but for Charlie she felt the urge to dress up. The dress hugged her curves like it was glued on, her abundant cleavage left nothing to the imagination as it was impossible to hide in most shirts in general. Might as well show it off.
He opened the door for her, and she smiled at him. She had her backpack with her, which had her first aid kit, portable camera equipment, wallet, cellphone, and keys. She never went anywhere without it, even on a picnic date. You never know when you’d need something, or want to stop to take a picture.
They drove to the field where she’d first met him, he spread out a blue and white blanket and got a picnic basket out of the trunk. Setting it down in the middle, he sat down and pulled out two wine glasses and a bottle of red wine.
“This okay?” Charlie asked her and she nodded at him.
Sitting down next to him on the blanket, she could feel the sun shining down on her back as he unpacked the basket. He had meats and cheeses, breads and butter, and the red wine. He had dark chocolate candies for dessert. Most of it was snack style foods, and she appreciated the variety.
Eating quietly, they talked about their jobs and their families. He was an only child, and he admitted that when his parents died, they’d left him an inheritance. She didn’t ask him if he was rich, or how much. But the impression he gave her when he clammed up when talking about money, he was pretty well off.
It made him more attractive that despite the money, he still chose to work. She told him so too. He laughed then leaned over and wiped off some chocolate off her lips. Their eyes met and he leaned forward and kissed her. Shareena kissed him back, closing her eyelids, she let her mouth and lips do the feeling.
Charlie was gentle at first, then grew more demanding as his tongue teased her lips for entrance. She parted her mouth and their tongues met in an erotic melding that had her moaning softly into his mouth. She reached out and wrapped an arm around his neck. When his hand came and rested on her thigh, she shivered but didn’t push him away. Instead she deepened the kiss.
This was completely out of character for her, yet with him, she wanted to be wild, do something dangerous and daring. He was like nature. Unpredictable, exciting, and beautiful to watch. She wanted to see him in action. Running her hands through his hair, she touched the side of his neck and shoulder softly. He brought his hand up and cupped one of her large breasts through her dress gently. Squeezing, he stroked the lobe with care as her nipples puckered against the fabric. It was aching to be released and touched.
She moaned softly as he worked her out of her sundress. He took his time and she could feel the sun touch each inch of her skin as he slowly pulled it down exposing her. His lips were against her skin, leaving soft kisses until her breasts were exposed. He sucked one large tender nipple into his mouth and lapped at it until it puckered into a rock hard nub. He switched to the other side after a few moments and paid equal attention to the other side as he slid the dress down further until it hit her hips.
Charlie slipped the dress down her long legs and set it on the blanket next to them. Reaching between her legs, he touched her with his fingers through the fabric of her panties. Stroking her, he massaged her until the fabric was wet with her arousal before pushing them aside and touched her skin with his fingers. He worked a finger inside of her warm hole and used his thumb on her clit. He leaned up over her and lowered her body to the blanket as kissed her. His fingers never stopped moving inside and against her flesh.
Shareena moaned, opening her legs wider and met his tongue with hers as he kissed her. He stroked her until her hips were grinding against his hands, his tongue and lips working their magic against her own as she moaned into his mouth.
Eventually, when her juices had coated his hands and her thighs, he settled himself between her legs, and kissing down her neck to her chest. With the sunshine warming their skin, he pulled his pants down. He rubbed himself against her thigh, and when she reached up behind him to grab his butt cheeks, he positioned himself against her opening after moving his hand out of the way. He thrust deep inside of her, in one hard movement of his hips.
Rocking her body with his own, he bent his head down and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth as his cock filled her, one stroke after another. She wrapped one of her long legs around his hips to pull him deeper inside of her, and let her head fall back against the blanket. The sun shone on her face, warming her skin. It was erotic, and the slight breeze in the air and smell of the grass and flowers made the situation just feel right to her.
Shareena wasn’t normally the type of woman to jump into bed with a man on a second date, but it felt right. He felt right, and he was pushing on just the right spot. A moment later, she let out a loud howl as her orgasm curled her toes and made her entire body shake from the knees up. Quivering, she could feel h
er body clench tight around him, and she dug her nails into his back and held on to him as the stars exploded behind her eyes. By the time she could breathe and had stopped shaking, he’d had his own climax, and was breathing hard, looking down into her face with a lopsided grin.
He rolled over and lay next to her on the blanket. Taking his hand in hers, the two of them just relaxed under the sunshine for a while together. Eventually, his stomach growled, and he sat up.
“I think I’m ready to eat.” He told her, “actual food this time.”
Shareena laughed, and nodded at him. She put her clothes back on, and it never occurred to her that they were careless under the sunshine, on the blanket, in a field full of daisies. Had she realized what they’d done, instead of getting caught up in the moment, she wouldn’t have ended up in the situation that was coming next.
Chapter 3
Shareena had been so tired and sick feeling the last few days. She missed Charlie, but he’d been on an assignment for the Navy department that he worked for as a detective. They’d had some money go missing from a weapons funds he was investing and he tended to be overly focused when he was working on a case. She knew how that could be. When she was working on her photography, she could get lost for hours and forget to come up for air.
Right now, she was hugging the toilet, and wondering if she’d picked up a flu. She had just done a high school senior photo project that had paid fairly well, and allowed her to do her art because it paid the bills. Maybe one of the teenagers had gotten her sick. Putting her head against the cold glass, she decided to call her doctor and go in. She had the urge to text Charlie, but decided not to bother him over something silly like a flu or stomach bug. But she did miss him, and wished he was here to hold her hand.