by Dale Mayer
“Well, hopefully, when the men return, they’ll have learned something new to show you where to go next. I know this is important to you. But it might not happen overnight. We all need to rest and recuperate before you go raring off again. And you should be thankful you did manage to complete this mission and find just that little bit more than you knew beforehand—plus, you rescued a damsel in distress.” She smiled. “When I’m rested, maybe tomorrow, I want to head over to Kat’s place. Catch up with her.”
“I’ve lost track of time, but Badger was due for surgery. I need to check in with him on that.”
“I want to say later,” she murmured against his lips. “I’m not ready to have real life intrude. It’s like we finally have safety in our cozy nest, and I don’t really want to leave it.”
He understood how she felt; he felt the same way. This interlude with her in his arms was what they’d been trying to get to and had finally managed to do. Now that they were here, neither of them wanted to leave.
His stomach growled just then. She burbled with laughter. “I guess breakfast first?”
He shook his head. “There’s definitely more than hunger for food involved here. I have two appetites. I was hoping we could deal with one and then the other.” He watched laughter fill her chocolate-colored eyes.
“You know? That’s not a bad idea,” she said, sliding her hand down his heavily muscled back. Her fingers slipped over the scar tissue and the indents from all the surgeries, her smile falling away. “You were badly hurt, weren’t you?”
He nodded. “I was. I don’t even know if you realize I don’t have a leg.”
She smiled. “You have a leg. You don’t have the lower portion, the ankle or foot,” she corrected.
He shrugged. “Sometimes it feels like the same thing. But I can walk without the prosthetic if I have to. It’s just seriously ugly.”
Her fingers stroked up and around his back again. “Your back and chest are heavily scarred.”
He nodded. “True enough. I lost a lot of muscle. I have pins in multiple places on my body. A plate in my right leg, but the lower right leg, ankle and foot were blown off. Of course, it’s always the feet… and hands.” He waggled his fingers showing the two missing ones.
“But you’re alive, you’re healthy, and you have a whole future ahead of you,” she said in a positive tone of voice. “And I’m so damn grateful you didn’t die in that accident.”
He stared down at her, seeing the truth in her gaze and the tears in her eyes. “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t cry.”
She smiled mistily up at him. “It’s hard not to. Seeing what your body has been through, understanding the surgeries you had to have. You need to know I do understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. I’m just so scared you won’t come home one day.”
He leaned forward and kissed her hard. But what was meant to be a reassuring kiss ended up sparking passion as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back hungrily. Her response overwhelmed him, and for a while he couldn’t even think. When he finally pulled back, his lips trailed down her cheek and jawbone into the curve of her neck, hearing her gasp of delight as his hands slid down her body and back up to cup her breasts. He couldn’t get enough of her. She was still wearing a bra. He took care of that in no time. But everything he did brought a response he’d never seen before. She shivered in his arms; sighs and moans of joy escaped at his every stroke. Such a response sent his own blood thrumming through his body. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately, her tongue dueling with his. He pulled back and said, “Slow down.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to.”
He gave her a mock look, pinned her arms above her head and proceeded to slide down her body, his tongue wet and hot as he licked and tasted, finally latching onto one plump breast. She twisted underneath him, her cry sending his blood pressure higher. Finally he moved to the second one. Using one hand to hold her arms up, he stroked down to cup her hip and slide along the outside of her thigh. Slowly he came back up the inside of her thigh, finally sliding a finger through the curls to find her hot, wet and ready for him. She cried out and twisted beneath his ministrations. But she tasted so damn good he didn’t want to leave her. She tried to get her hands free, but he wouldn’t let her. He kissed her belly button, then licked her ribs, trailing a path of wet kisses to her breasts again. She arched, wrapping her legs around his waist, trying to tug him over and above her.
When he rose above her, he lowered his head and kissed her. She had her legs wrapped around his hips now, whispering, “Come to me.”
He let go of her hands, repositioned her and plunged deep. She gasped and arched, her body coming apart in his arms.
“Are you okay?”
She groaned. “I’m fine. But I’ll be a hell of a lot better in a few minutes.”
He barked with laughter. With her urging him on, he started to move. He wanted to slow down, but she wasn’t having anything to do with it. Anytime he tried to go slower, she arched and kicked, grasping him tighter and tighter against her. Finally his control broke, and he slammed into her again and again and again. When his body shattered with his own climax, he felt her come apart in his arms again. She cried out, collapsing on the bed. He stayed in that position for a long moment, then fell to her side, pulling her over with him.
He groaned. “I wasn’t sure I’d have the energy to complete that.”
She chuckled. “You did great.” She reached up and kissed him deeply. “And I’m so glad we’re here right now.”
He held her close and thought about all they’d been through. “I am too,” he whispered. “It would be so nice to stay like this.”
“We can, for at least a few hours,” she promised.
He stared down at her, lowering his head again. “In that case let’s make the most of the next few hours.”
And they did. Loving each other slowly, taking the time to get to know each other physically, emotionally. Only to have passion break over them at surprising moments, to have her riding him with wild abandon.
When they ended up in the shower, their passion still wasn’t done as they played mermaid and merman under the water. Finally, exhausted, she crashed on the bed.
Yet again he wrapped her up close and held her against his heart. “I don’t know what miracle you are,” he whispered, “but I’m so damn glad you’re with me.”
She reached up and kissed him once more. “Now just hold on to me forever.”
“That I can do.”
“Promise?”
Smiling at her as her misty, sleepy voice drifted away, he whispered, “I promise.”
Epilogue
Cade Terence lifted his bag and threw it over his shoulder as they walked out of the airport. He glanced at Talon. “You didn’t have to come back with me.”
Talon shrugged. “I want to see Badger anyway. Laszlo is coming in on the next flight, so I think we should have a meeting. If Badger is up to it.”
“We might have to meet in his hospital room. But you know how he’ll feel if he’s kept out of the loop.”
Talon nodded. “I think it’s time the others knew too.”
“Erick’s ahead of you. He already brought Geir in on this. I don’t know what the hell’s going on, but I swear to God it isn’t any of us.”
“I’m of the same opinion,” Talon said. “But we must find out who it is.”
Just then some of the airline crew walked out to a cab pulling up for them.
Cade looked over at Talon. “You have wheels?”
Talon shook his head. “No. Do you?”
Cade shook his head. “We can grab a cab if you want.”
The cab pulled away with the airline crew members just as another uniformed woman walked out. “Oh, drat.”
Cade looked at her. “Did you miss your taxi?” She was dressed in the same airline attire as the crew members who had just left.
“Yeah. It figures. It seems like I’m always late these days.” She smiled
Another taxi pulled up just then. Cade motioned to her. “Go ahead.”
She laughed and flashed him a smile. “I’m not sure where you guys are going, but I’m heading downtown, if you want to share a ride.”
“Sure, sounds good.” They waited for her to get in the front of the taxi, and then they got in the back. As she gave instructions to the driver, Cade realized they lived within a few blocks of each other.
“We’re heading close to the same area anyway,” Cade said.
She turned to look at them. “Have you two been traveling long?”
They smiled. Cade said, “Just a few days. But I’m happy to be going home.”
She nodded. “I feel the same way. I have been with the company for a long time now. With all the traveling I do, sometimes it’s just nice to come home and to stay home.”
“Home is Santa Fe?”
“It is. What about you guys?”
“I’m Santa Fe. Talon’s been all over the world. Not sure he has a home anymore,” Cade said in a teasing voice.
Talon laughed. “Bought a house. Fixing it up is my day job.”
“At least you have that. I live alone. I don’t have any family here at all,” she said. She reached out a hand over the front seat. “I’m Faith, by the way.”
The men introduced themselves. Cade looked at her for a long moment. “You look familiar.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Well, you did just get off a flight. It was probably one I was on.”
He shook his head. “No, I would have seen you moving up and down the aisles.”
She laughed, a sound of pure joy and amusement. “No, you wouldn’t have.”
He glared at her suspiciously. “Why not?”
“Because,” she said gently, “I’m the pilot.”
This concludes Book 2 of SEALs of Steel: Erick.
Read about Cade: SEALs of Steel, Book 3
SEALs of Steel: Cade (Book #3)
When an eight-man unit hit a landmine, all were injured but one died. The remaining seven aim to see his death avenged.
A hit-and-run investigation leads Cade to a connection to the landmine explosion.
While at the bedside of her best friend in a coma, Faith meets Cade, who asks about the accident. She learns her relationship with her friend has put her in a killer’s sights. Suddenly, Cade’s nightmare becomes her own…
Book 3 is available now!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Erick: SEALs of Steel, Book 2! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
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Cheers,
Dale Mayer
Your Free Book Awaits!
KILL OR BE KILLED
Part of an elite SEAL team, Mason takes on the dangerous jobs no one else wants to do – or can do. When he’s on a mission, he’s focused and dedicated. When he’s not, he plays as hard as he fights.
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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 gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
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ERICK: SEALS OF STEEL, BOOK 2
Dale Mayer
Valley Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2018
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-773360-75-1
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This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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