by Kaylea Cross
“Hi,” she said with a saucy grin that told him she was adorably tipsy, and popped one more round at him. It hit him dead center in his chest and bounced off, and she looked so pleased with herself he had to smother a laugh. “Welcome home, birthday boy.”
“Hi. Been busy, I see.”
“Oh, yeah.” Another cocky grin, and she pushed the helmet up. “Your present’s ready. Wanna see it?”
“I dunno, do I?” Since he’d come home to a bunch of pineapple jack o’ lanterns and a barrage of foam darts, he wasn’t sure what kind of present she’d got him.
“Yeah, I think you do.” She laid his specialized Nerf gun over her shoulder and sauntered out of view, those sexy hips swaying.
Kai shared a grin with his teammates. As far as birthdays went, this one was pretty memorable already.
“Okay, here it is.”
He looked over as Abby emerged from around the corner with someone behind her. Shorter than her, dressed all in black, face covered by one of his black balaclavas. As Abby stepped aside, the smaller figure pulled off the balaclava.
The air rushed from Kai’s lungs. “Tutu.”
His grandmother broke into a wide smile and held her arms out. “Surprise.”
Kai rushed over to scoop her up in a hug that lifted her from the ground. She was so damn small, but she hugged him so hard with her frail little arms. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the sweet, familiar scent of her plumeria perfume. “When did you get here?”
“About two hours ago. Abby picked me up at the airport.”
Still holding her off the ground, he swung his gaze to Abby. She was watching him with such love, her expression soft, and damned if he didn’t fall in love with her all over again right then and there. “You set this up?” He already knew the answer. No one else would have done this for him.
“Yep. Happy birthday.”
Kai set his tutu down and carefully set her aside, his gaze on Abby. He stood there staring at her until her smile slipped, and a flicker of doubt entered her eyes.
Hiding a smile, Kai rushed her.
Her blue eyes, twice as vivid with the dark camo paint surrounding them, widened. She let out a squeak of alarm and whirled to flee, but she had no chance. He was on her in a heartbeat, grabbing her around the hips to hoist her over his shoulder. She laughed and grabbed the back of his shirt to hold on as he ran straight around the corner of the brick wall and into the master bedroom, where he kicked the door shut with one foot.
“Kai, are you serious? Your tutu just flew for like, fourteen hours straight to get here. Put me down.”
“I’ll put you down when I’m good and ready to put you down,” he answered.
Without slowing, he went straight to the bed and tossed her onto it. She landed on her back with a little “oof” and scrambled up onto her elbows, pushing the helmet up so she could see him. Kai pounced, caging her beneath him.
Her delighted giggle made his heart turn over, and it turned into a soft shriek when he buried his face in her throat and blew a big raspberry against the sensitive skin there, grazing her with his stubble. “Kai!” she warned, weak with laughter, her hands pushing at his shoulders.
Raising his head, he peered down at her. “This is a new look for you.”
She waggled her camouflaged eyebrows. “Yeah. You like?”
“I do.” Grinning, he kissed her. “You missed a spot though,” he said, nibbling on first her lower lip, then her upper one. She tasted like her favorite red wine.
“I know. I didn’t want to spoil the taste of the wine with camo paint.”
He shook his head at her. She was so adorable. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”
She frowned, considering it. “No. Remind me.”
He glowered playfully and smacked her hip with his palm, earning a yelp of outrage. She knew damn good and well that she meant the whole world to him. “What the heck did you guys get up to while we were gone?”
“Training.”
“Training?” he echoed. She was a hell of a lot more than tipsy. If it wasn’t for his tutu being here, he would have told the others to go the hell away now so he could enjoy Abby’s current state to the fullest. “What kind of training?”
She traced his mouth with a fingertip, her teeth dug into her plump lower lip. “CQB.”
He laughed. Close quarters combat? “Really. And who was teaching you?”
“Charlie. She’s badass.”
Colebrook’s sister, who was also Rodriguez’s other half. “Yeah, she is.” Came from a whole family of Marines, and she could handle herself. “So…I’m confused. Why were you guys practicing CQB in my loft?”
“So we’d be ready to ambush you. And we totally did. You weren’t expecting it at all.”
So damn cute. “No, I wasn’t.” He rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. “What else did you do?”
“We practiced room clearing.”
His eyebrows went up. “Did you? With my Nerf guns?”
“Well, not at first. At first we used those.” She gestured lazily to the floor beside her.
He glanced over, smothered a snort at the objects strewn across the rug. “Those are coat hangers.”
She shrugged. “I can do a perfect buttonhook now. Wait ‘til I show you.”
A slow grin curved his mouth at the pride in her voice. “Can’t wait to see that later.”
She leaned up to nip at his lower lip, stroked her tongue across it. “I got some other moves you haven’t seen yet either.”
He swallowed a groan at her suggestive tone, the way she snaked one hand down the length of his back to grip his ass and squeeze. Damn, he still had to go out there and play host, because it was his damn birthday and everyone was here to spend time with him. If he didn’t love them all so much, he’d be damned annoyed right now. “You did this to torture me,” he accused.
“Mmmm. Would I do that?”
Yeah, she would. Because she loved pushing him until he reached his limit, then stripped her naked before pinning her to the nearest flat surface where he could have his way with her.
Her eyes sparkled naughtily up at him, her hips lifting to press against his erection. “So I guess the camo paint works for you then, huh?”
“On you it does.” He kissed her, pushing his tongue into her mouth to claim her in the only way he could for now. “I’ve got a surprise for you too,” he murmured.
She stilled, that seductive sparkle leaving her eyes, replaced by curiosity. “You do?”
“Mmhmm. In my pocket.” He nudged his hips into her, rubbing his erection against her.
She wedged a hand between them and turned it over to cup him through his jeans. He growled low in his throat. “That’s not my pocket.”
“No?” She squeezed him, adding to his torment, making him reconsider his decision to wait until later. “Just checking.” Her palm slid over him with firm pressure, dragging a groan out of him as her hand dipped into the front pocket of his jeans. She stopped when she grasped what he’d tucked in there, her eyes searching his in silent question.
“Pull it out,” he murmured.
She withdrew her hand, holding the blue satin ribbon tied to the Maui keychain he’d bought for her. It held a single key, decorated with palm trees. A knowing smile transformed her expression. “Are you asking me to move in with you, Agent Maka?”
“Yes, ma’am. As soon as fucking possible.” She stayed over a few times a week, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted her here permanently, so that he could always come home to her. And before he and the team deployed to Afghanistan in a couple months, he was putting a diamond ring on her finger.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, arching her sexy body beneath him. “Is tomorrow too soon?”
His heart turned to mush in his chest. “Tomorrow works perfectly for me. But you’re staying here tonight.”
“Only if you make it worth my while,” she teased.
“Oh, shortcake, you know I will.” Gri
pping her head in his hands, he kissed her with all the hunger burning inside him. Abby drove him out of his skull just by being near him. And the way she accepted and loved him made him feel like he could do anything.
“Hey!” A heavy fist pounded on the closed door just as things were escalating to the next level. “Maka, get your ass out here, brah. You promised us all food. It’s your birthday, for Chrissake. Get out here and do your hosting duties, asshole.”
Kai paused, his hands in the process of working Abby’s shirt up. “Get lost, Granger,” he called back. “There’s all kinds of food in there ready to be heated up. Figure it out.”
Muffled male laughter came from outside the door, and this time his tutu’s adorable voice spoke. “But I came all this way to see you. Abby promised me steak and a baked potato with all the fixings. And a pineapple cake. Pretty sure she mentioned my pineapple cake, too.”
Kai growled and lowered his forehead to Abby’s while she shook with silent laughter. “Damn, they stooped to using my own tutu against me.”
“Because everyone knows you can’t say no to her.”
He couldn’t say no to Abby either, but was smart enough not to tell her so.
Pushing up onto his knees, he grasped her hand and hauled her upright. “Come on, shortcake. The sooner we get out there and feed everybody, the sooner we can come back in here and finish this.”
“Oh, all right,” she grumbled, shooting a glare at him when he swatted her playfully on the butt as she climbed off the bed.
With his lady at his side, he walked out of the bedroom to spend the rest of the night with the people he loved the most, all of them gathered here to help him celebrate his birthday.
Because of Abby, his heart had never been so full.
—The End—
Thank you for reading FAST FURY. I hope you enjoyed it and that you’ll consider leaving a review at one of your favorite online retailers. It’s a great way to help other readers discover new books.
If you liked FAST FURY and would like to read more, turn the page for a list of my other books. And if you want to be informed about any future releases, please join my newsletter. Direct link: http://kayleacross.com/v2/newsletter/
Complete Booklist
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
DEA FAST Series
Falling Fast
Fast Kill
Stand Fast
Strike Fast
Fast Fury
Colebrook Siblings Trilogy
Brody’s Vow
Wyatt’s Stand
Easton’s Claim
Hostage Rescue Team Series
Marked
Targeted
Hunted
Disavowed
Avenged
Exposed
Seized
Wanted
Betrayed
Reclaimed
Shattered
Titanium Security Series
Ignited
Singed
Burned
Extinguished
Rekindled
Blindsided: A Titanium Christmas novella
Bagram Special Ops Series
Deadly Descent
Tactical Strike
Lethal Pursuit
Danger Close
Collateral Damage
Never Surrender (a MacKenzie Family novella)
Suspense Series
Out of Her League
Cover of Darkness
No Turning Back
Relentless
Absolution
PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Empowered Series
Darkest Caress
HISTORICAL ROMANCE
The Vacant Chair
EROTIC ROMANCE (writing as Callie Croix)
Deacon’s Touch
Dillon’s Claim
No Holds Barred
Touch Me
Let Me In
Covert Seduction
About the Author
NY Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards, including the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, and has been nominated multiple times for the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.
You can visit Kaylea at www.kayleacross.com. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please join her newsletter. Direct link: http://kayleacross.com/v2/newsletter/