by Em Petrova
What had he been about to say to her and why had she cut him off?
Because empty promises and meaningless words of love weren’t things she wanted to hear. She was in the present, enjoying this sexy Marine with every cell of her being, and that was enough.
Wasn’t it?
In her mind’s eye, the fantasy about the cabin had included some little Knight children running around on the dock, catching fish and exclaiming over the gators. But no, Dahlia wasn’t thinking on them. They’d never exist.
She clung to his neck as she slid up and down on his long cock, taking every inch of Ben. Need splintered through her, and she cried out for a second time.
Ben’s muscles strained, and the cords in his neck stood out sharply as he turned for the bed once more. Laying her down gently and standing at the side of the bed to thrust into her with hard jerks that reached deep into her body—and soul.
“Look at me, honey.” His gritty tone drew her gaze to his. Their eyes locked. Desire and another emotion pooled together, mingling into a bond that could only end in disaster.
She freakin’ loved him. Loved a walking ghost. How long before something happened and she was left a widow, possibly with those happy little kids on the dock?
“Don’t look away. Right here.” He fucked her with a slowness that was nothing but deliberate. With a shock, she realized he was trying to claim her in all ways—body, mind and soul.
“Ben.” Her voice shook.
“This is happening, honey. Don’t fight it.”
As soon as his words washed through her brain, her body seemed to surrender to him, and she was helpless to fight the pull of this man.
* * * * *
“If you put the needles at a bit more of an angle, you’ll get a tighter stitch.” Ben demonstrated with a couple stitches, the blue yarn sliding through his fingers.
She stared at him in amazement.
“What?” He suddenly felt a bit self-conscious, and that never happened.
“I never guessed this of you, Ben. That you have a softer side.”
“Well. Now I feel like doing something really manly like going to the shooting range or something. But yeah, it’s part of me.”
“What else don’t I know?” She stretched out on her side with her head propped on her hand.
He set aside the needles and did the same. “I don’t crochet.”
“Damn.” She grinned.
“Or sew, though any Marine worth his ass will know how to affix a button.”
“I’ll remember to come to you then. I’m hopeless with those things.”
He reached out and stroked her hair off her cheek. “What about your father? How will he feel about us?”
She groaned. “He’s resistant but he knows what you are and who you are. And in the end, it’s my choice. Why are you grinning like that?”
“Am I grinning?”
“Like a crazy man, yes.”
“I guess I love thinking of you choosing me. And telling your father where to stick it.”
“You mean telling the colonel where to stick it.”
“Something like that.”
She chuckled. “Tell me about your parents. Did I pass the test?”
“Honey, there was never a test. They loved you. My siblings too, especially Lexi. I think she’s excited to have someone new in her life.”
“I really enjoyed talking with her.”
“I keep asking my brothers what they did to that boyfriend of hers, but they refuse to tell me.” During their alone time in the cabin, Ben had filled her in about everything including why they were all so protective of their sister. She couldn’t blame them, though Lexi seemed very capable of handling herself in almost all ways.
“What about the team?” she asked him, studying the small frown that had appeared between his brows at the mention of his sister’s trouble.
His gaze cleared. “What about them?”
“I know a team is like a brotherhood.”
He laughed. “They are my brothers.”
“I know. But they’re more than that, and I just wondered if they like me.”
“What does it matter if they don’t?”
“Because I’m guessing I’ll see a lot more of them if I’m in your life.”
His eyes warmed as he slowly leaned in to brush a kiss across her lips. “They love you and will protect you like their own family, just as they protect me.”
She shook her head. “That’s not what I was expecting, and I hope I never need protecting. But I can’t deny that I like the perks of being with a Knight.”
“Mmm. I can think of a few more perks. Wanna learn about them?”
“Uh-huh.” She nibbled at his lower lip, raising a growl. Then he was flipping her, tumbling her to the mattress and showing her things she never imagined.
* * * * *
Ben knew the second Dahlia realized what he had hours earlier. He saw that glimmer of worry in her eyes, followed by joy and finally sweet surrender.
“I can’t get close enough.” He jerked his cock into her, bottoming out, and leaned over her to steal more long kisses. This wasn’t mindless fucking—it was deliberate lovemaking with a woman he planned to be with for the rest of his life.
He flipped his tongue against hers and bottomed out again. She gasped, and he repeated the move. Each clench of her tight channel around him had his balls tightening, about to explode. When he did, he’d be lucky to remain conscious—or keep from spouting his love for her and scaring her off.
He lifted her ass off the mattress as he slammed her. “Come on, honey. Feel my cock so deep, rubbing your pussy right… there.” He thrust again.
She threw her head back, eyes sealed shut with bliss.
The beauty of her expression, her plump lips, her breasts jiggling… all melded until he couldn’t hold back anymore.
Pumping into her body, aware of the tiny flutters dancing around his cock as her own release struck.
When his final spurt left him, his strength seemed to cave in and he collapsed atop her.
The apartment was silent all but for the tick of a clock in another room and the occasional bump on the ceiling from the neighbor above.
“Stay tonight,” she whispered.
He nodded. “I’m not going anywhere.” He crawled up the bed with her in tow, laying them on the pillows and within reach of the covers. Sweat dried on his body as his heartbeat slowed.
She pressed a soft kiss to his pec, followed by a flick of her tongue across his nipple.
He groaned. “Damn, woman. Already?”
“Well, you’ve got all this to tease a woman.” She skated her hand over his chest to his carved abs.
He gave her a crooked smile. “Let’s order takeout for dinner and make it an all-nighter.” Or until Jackson rallied the team for deployment—whichever came first. Ben was living for the moment, unwilling to think too far into the future, and he damn well wasn’t letting go of Dahlia until someone ordered him out of her bed.
The smile that spread over her beautiful features made his heart squeeze with so much love he couldn’t yet voice. He brushed her silky hair off her high cheekbone.
But he would—soon.
Chapter Nine
Dahlia scooped up a bowl of ice cream in each hand and walked into the living room. Her gaze fell on the empty sofa and her heart skipped a beat. A weak, boneless feeling washed through her, and she nearly dropped the ice cream.
He’d left again. After half a night of amazing sex and cuddling through a few episodes of a Netflix series, not to mention all those sweet words Ben had given her, the asshole had walked out again.
A sound made her turn to the window, and her heart launched into her throat the sight of the rugged man standing there staring out on the dark street below. Fully dressed.
When he pivoted, she shook her head, taking a step back, the ice cream in her hands forgotten.
“I have to go, honey. I’ve been summoned.” His lips were a tight sl
ash, but his eyes…
Oh God.
He stepped toward her. She shook her head again. “Not now,” she managed.
He crossed the space and took the bowls from her hands, setting them on the coffee table. “I’m sorry, honey. My team’s waiting for me outside already.”
If she was still holding the glassware, she would have rifled the bowls at the wall. Dammit, she and Ben were just finding a rhythm and once again he’d be torn from her, for how long this time? A week, a month, a year?
Her legs gave out and she dropped into a chair and dipped her head into her hands.
Ben sank to his knees before her and took her by the shoulders. “This isn’t ideal timing. It never is.” He gave a harsh laugh. “Just… know that I care about you so much. I—”
She searched his eyes.
“Oh fuck it. I love you, Dahlia. And I’m coming back and marrying you.”
Her jaw dropped.
He tugged her against his hard chest, smashing her cheek to his shirt. “I’m so sorry it has to be now, honey. But I’ll be back to make good on that promise with a ring and a personalized instruction on creating the best knitting stitches.”
A laugh-sob escaped her, but her mind was whirling. Marry her?
He crushed her to him and then released her and stood, dragging her to a stand with him. Knuckling her chin up, he lowered his head and dropped a kiss of goodbye across her lips. Then withdrawing, he looked into her eyes. “I’ll be back.”
She watched him walk to the door and open it before her mind caught up to what was happening—that he was leaving and she may never see him again. She ran across the room and threw herself at him.
He caught her and clutched her by the nape and if it wasn’t her imagination, she felt a shiver run through him. His phone buzzed, and he released her. With a crooked smile and a wink, he walked out.
She rushed to the window trying to see him as he climbed into the waiting vehicle, but she couldn’t see much more than the dim halo of light on the corner where the streetlight stood.
Spinning from the window, she dropped her head into her hands again. What the hell had just happened? On the coffee table, the ice cream melted in the bowls. Her body still tingled from Ben’s very hot, very thorough lovemaking, and she was doused in his delicious male scent.
But he was gone.
Dammit, this was exactly the thing she hadn’t wanted in her life. Growing up with a father who couldn’t disclose his whereabouts was bad enough, and now this? This was… unfathomable.
How was she supposed to even think knowing he was out there in danger?
He’d told her he loved her, was going to marry her. And she’d stood there like a statue and said nothing.
“I love him,” she whispered to the empty room.
She ran forward and snatched up her cell, punching his number he’d given her earlier. It rang once, twice, three times. Then it made an odd clicking noise that wasn’t the voicemail.
His phone was already shut down, out of service, maybe flung into the Gulf for all she knew. She had no way of reaching Ben and telling him that she loved him too and would wait for him.
No, not just wait. She wanted to tell him that when he returned, she’d be ready to say I do.
* * * * *
Dahlia let herself into her father’s house and closed the door behind her. The place was empty and that was exactly what she needed to break into her daddy’s office and rifle his computer for records of Knight Ops’ whereabouts.
She passed the sweeping staircase she’d walked down on her sweet sixteenth to a crowd of smiling friends. And she’d always envisioned herself coming down these stairs to her groom on her wedding day. But not now. After three weeks without word from her lover, she had no idea if she’d ever see him again.
Her father’s office was dark with wood walls and bookcases, his big mahogany desk as old as the house it resided in and rumored to have belonged to a Civil War general.
She strode across the Chinese carpet and slipped behind the desk and into her father’s leather seat. The masculine notes of the space made her heart beat out of time—if her father came home and found her trying to crack information from his system, there’d be hell to pay.
Cool air from the wall vent was useless in drying up her perspiration. Her neck felt clammy and her underarms would need a hosing down after this mission.
She signed into her father’s computer, and to her bone-melting relief, it took the password. She smiled to herself—her daddy wasn’t very good at keeping things from her.
Logging on to the central Homeland security system was more difficult, and after her first failed attempt, her stress hit the pinnacle. She knew there were only two attempts allowed before the government locked her out.
Dammit, what she needed was a hacker like Dylan. He’d hacked the Pentagon, for God’s sake. He could surely get her in. Then again, if she had Dylan on hand, she’d have Ben and wouldn’t need Dylan’s services at all.
“Shit,” she muttered, wracking her brain for the key code. Even if she got it right this time, there were more gates to walk through, and she wouldn’t be surprised if there was a retinal scan involved.
No, she just had to think clearly.
Drawing a deep breath, she poised her fingers over the keys. Tapping out a letter, then a number. Pulse hammering in her temples.
A step in the corridor made her leap but not quick enough.
Her father, Colonel Jackson of the United States Marines and the man with the record of most scowls directed his daughter’s direction, opened the office door and leveled his stare at her.
“Internet shopping, dear?”
She gulped. “There’s a sale at Nordstrom. I thought I’d get a new summer dress for the party I’m throwing you.”
He arched a brow and circled the desk. She didn’t have a second to even close out of the screens. Her father glared at her and then leaned over and tapped a key, shutting down the entire system. He folded his arms over his chest and stared down at her.
“Want to explain yourself?”
She released a harsh breath. She wasn’t afraid of him—only of what he’d say if he found out she was looking for Ben. Because she loved him.
But she was a grown woman, and she didn’t need anybody, let alone her daddy, dictating her love life.
She squared her shoulders and stood to face her father. “I was looking for Ben.”
His eyes flickered with something she didn’t understand. “You won’t find him there.”
“How can I find him then?” Desperation threatened to seep into her tone, but she wasn’t a child and was far from weak, so she bit back the emotion.
Her father straightened from the desk and rounded the front. He folded his hands behind his back and took off pacing.
Dahlia gripped the edge of the desk for support. As a child, she’d seen her father do this a lot when thinking. But she hadn’t seen it since that day he’d called her into his office to tell her that her mother wasn’t coming home from the hospital.
The blood drained from her, and she swayed. “Oh God.”
Her father stopped his mid-rotation and stared at her. “Dahlia, you look about to faint. Sit down.” He moved to help her into the seat again.
Tears prickled her eyes. “It’s Ben, isn’t it? Something happened, and this time he isn’t just injured.” She couldn’t force out the words on her tongue and stomping all over her heart.
“Dammit, I knew that dickhead was messing around with you. I didn’t know it was this far advanced, though.”
Her heart convulsed. He wouldn’t be calling a dead man names, especially one who’d lost his life in the name of freedom. Did that mean…?
Her father gentled his expression in a way only she and her mother had ever seen. “Dahlia, he’s not dead. Not even missing in action, though I might see what can be arranged—”
“Daddy!”
“No, I don’t mean that. I’m sorry. Ben’s a fine Marine,
the best actually. And he’s done much better than we anticipated.”
“What does that mean?” The blood was rapidly returning to her fingertips, leaving them tingling.
“You know I shouldn’t be telling you anything, but I can’t have you looking so distressed. You know, your mother had that same expression in her eyes when I’d go away every single time.”
“Just tell me what’s going on!”
Her father perched on the edge of the desk near her. “Ben led the team into some pretty heroic shit and even when things went bad, he pulled them out. As a result, OFFSUS is sending them out of the country again.”
She shook her head, unable to ingest this. “Again? Where?”
“I can’t say. But I can tell you where he’s being deployed from.”
She shot to her feet and grabbed her father by the shoulders, shaking him and leaning in to plant a kiss to his shaven cheek at the same time. “Thank you! Tell me please.”
* * * * *
Minutes later, Dahlia had a flight booked and a call in to the Knight household. Her hands were shaking so bad, she could barely hold the phone still to speak let alone drive, which was the purpose of her call.
She stood in her father’s drive, tapping her feet and pacing as she waited for Ben’s sisters to come to her aid.
When she spotted the blue compact car, she gave a cry and ran toward the vehicle. Tyler came to a stop and she jumped into the back seat. “Thank you guys so much for coming for me. I’m such a wreck—I’ve never been this wrecked even during the worst 911 calls. And there’s no way I could drive myself to the airport.”
Tyler twisted in the driver’s seat, flashing a grin that was so like Ben’s that Dahlia’s heart began to pound. “We got you, girl. Hang on. I’m backing out.”
When Tyler said backing out, she meant whipping the car in a half-donut in the driveway and stomping the pedal to the floor as they hit the road. In the passenger’s seat, Lexi squealed with delight.
Dahlia wondered how many of these adventures the pair of them went on for their brothers’ sakes. She sat back and strapped herself in, not totally trusting Tyler’s driving, though she seemed to have some damn good training in keeping it on four wheels when they should be on two.