Her Loving Hero

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  The pain still felt raw. Like bloody talons, it ripped at his heart. But seeing Benny today gave him hope that his boys had been okay without him.

  Her gentle hand cupped his cheek. An echo of that moment when he had cupped Ben’s. Her blue eyes glowed as she smiled down at him.

  “I understand.”

  “Can you forgive me for not sharing?”

  “I feel so bad Wyatt,” a tear slipped down her right cheek. “There are things I will never, ever tell you about that night. I should never have insisted you expose your deepest secrets, that’s not what this is about. You’ve shared you. You’ve let me see your kind heart. That should have been enough.”

  He latched onto that one word. “Should?”

  “Is. Your kind heart, your beautiful soul. Take some time with your brother, then let’s go home.”

  11

  Emily fell asleep in Gray’s SUV on the way home to San Diego.

  “Where are we going?” Gray asked quietly as they drove past the San Diego Zoo.

  “Head to Emily’s place, so take Fourth off the The Five. We’ll get more of her things so she can continue to stay at my place.”

  Gray raised his eyebrow in question.

  “Yes, I’m sure,” Wyatt answered.

  Gray shrugged. “I’m going to want your ass at my house first thing tomorrow morning, I don’t give a shit if it’s a Saturday. Make it six a.m., you can visit your brother afterwards. I don’t want to do this at the office, since you were off the books. I’ll call Max tonight, at midnight, so it’s three a.m. his time. Asshole deserves it, since he knew about this little operation and I didn’t.”

  Wyatt opened his mouth to say something, then wisely shut it again. That was so above his pay grade. What’s more, Gray and Lieutenant Max Hogan were friends. Or at least they were. He’d better give Kane a heads up. Wyatt peeked back at Emily, she was snoring delicately. She was so damned pretty.

  “She’s the only thing saving your ass, you know, that right?”

  “I’m man enough to hide behind my woman’s skirts,” Wyatt said solemnly.

  Gray snorted out a laugh.

  “Wait a minute! She’s not in any kind of trouble, is she?”

  “Hell no. And I checked, everything’s copacetic over in Oman. Sounds like Carly got in a fender bender and some good Samaritan named Scott Lyle took her to the hospital. Got a copy of the security footage. It might have been grainy, but he could have been your doppelganger. Anyway, Carly’s fine, and her parents are none the wiser.”

  Wyatt relaxed. “Parking’s a bitch around here,” he said as Gray came up to Emily’s neighborhood.

  “I’m noticing.”

  “Hang a right and go up a block. There will be street parking there.” A horn honked and Wyatt saw Emily stir.

  “Are we home?” she asked as she stretched.

  “Gray’s going to stay in the car, you and I are just going to pack a few more things so you can stay at my place a couple more days.”

  She gave him a considering look, then finally nodded. Wyatt hopped out and opened the back door. Gray was already on his phone by the time they were on the sidewalk.

  Wyatt couldn’t help himself, at this hour the neighborhood was hopping, so he put his arm around Emily’s shoulders to keep her close. She slid her arm around his waist and looked up at him.

  “You make me feel safe, Wyatt.”

  “You are safe with me,” he vowed.

  Soon they were up the elevator and in her little studio apartment.

  “I don’t have much to pack, but I do want my grandmother’s afghan. I should have brought that with me the first time.”

  He saw her lovingly pet the colorful blanket that was folded up neatly on the end of her bed. He went over to it and touched it with the tips of his fingers.

  “My mom used to crochet,” he remembered.

  “Did she make you anything?”

  “I don’t have anything.”

  She moved closer to him. The scent of vanilla and Emily stroked his senses. “That wasn’t what I asked. Did she make stuff for you?”

  “A baby blanket. I gave it to Kyle. She was too sick to make one for him.”

  She touched his chest then stroked them upwards until she touched his collarbone, her thumbs rubbing circles into them. “How old were you when you gave it to him?”

  He looked sideways at the blanket. Anywhere but into her eyes.

  “How old?”

  “I don’t know, maybe eleven.”

  She rose up on her toes and kissed his jaw. Then backed away and went to her dresser to get some clothes. He covered the spot where her lips had touched him. She was a miracle.

  Emily trembled as she thought about the kiss she had given Wyatt. Would he now be expecting things from her? Things she couldn’t deliver on? She squeezed her eyes tight and sank down on the bed in Wyatt’s spare bedroom.

  She felt her fingernails biting into her palms because she had her hands balled up into fists. Should she tell him that was the first time she’d ever kissed a man outside of the pecks on the cheek she’d given her father? How lame was that? She hadn’t even dated. She was pathetic. Ice slithered down her back and clammy heat bathed her forehead.

  She took a deep breath and concentrated on one thing. Just one thing. The most beautiful color in the world. Gold. No green. No brown. Ultimately it was a stunning shade of hazel.

  She took another deep breath and saw Wyatt’s stunned hazel eyes as he had looked down at her. Not just stunned, there had been joy. Please God, let there have been more. All she had ever wanted in her life was to be like her grandmother. She just wanted to live in a little house on a pretty street and have a husband who loved her. Then one day, a baby. Maybe more.

  Lilliana had looked down on her mother. Emily remembered the day that she’d heard her mother talk about the shabby home she’d lived in as a child. Emily had been appalled. Grandma and Grandpa’s home had been filled with love. There’d been a Live Oak tree in the backyard and cookies in the cookie jar and lots and lots of books, and they would talk to you for hours. What was shabby about that?

  There’d even been a swing in that oak tree. Emily thought back to when her grandmother had taught her how to crochet, and when Grandpop had taught her how to dip nets for crayfish in his little boat. She’d loved going to visit them at Lake Elsinore. That’s what she’d wanted. A small and bountiful life, but instead she got pushed into working for a Saudi prince. When she’d dreamt of meeting a prince one day, that wasn’t what she’d had in mind. She wanted someone like Grandpop, someone like Wyatt.

  “Can I come in?” Wyatt asked at the open door of the bedroom. She blushed. Did he realize how often she thought about him?

  “Sure.”

  “I see you changed the sheets and made my bed while I was gone, I wanted to thank you.”

  “You left in such a hurry, it was the least I could do,” Emily blushed. “I would have watered your plants too.” She stood up and gave him her best cheeky grin. “Oh yeah, you don’t have any.”

  “Well, Miss Hoag, I didn’t see any at your place either.”

  “I’m renting furniture, of course there aren’t any plants. When I move into a real place, I’ll have all of my own stuff.” She smelled something. “Wait a minute, are you cooking?”

  “Sure am. Well, I’m warming up stuff from the freezer. You didn’t dip into anything in there, why not?”

  He opened the door of the bedroom wider so she could go out into the hall. She hesitated. He noticed and went first. She hated that. Not that he noticed, but that she still felt more comfortable not being followed. She needed to get over that.

  “Em, I can feel you chewing on your lip,” Wyatt said teasingly as he went to stir the pot on the stove. He looked over his shoulder and caught her. “What’s wrong?”

  “I need to get over my phobias.”

  His gaze heated. “It seems to me you’re doing great,” he drawled slowly.

  Emily’s eyes
widened and whatever lingering ice that might have coated her spine melted. Wyatt was powerful.

  He held out his hand. “Seriously, tell me what’s wrong,” he said gently.

  “When am I going to get over this phobia about not having someone follow me?” Emily asked as she laced her fingers with his.

  “To tell you the truth, most SEALs don’t like being followed either. We don’t like having our backs to an entrance. If you notice, I’ll take the seat against the wall in a restaurant.”

  She’d never noticed that. “You do,” she grinned. “It makes me feel better to realize I’m not the only paranoid one in this relationship.”

  "No, you’re not Honey. We’re in this together. All the way, to the moon and back.” He took their clasped hands and brought them up to his mouth, then turned their hands over. She felt his warm lips on the inside of her wrist. She whimpered with pleasure.

  She heard the click of the gas being turned off, right before he pulled her into his arms. His big hands traced a delicate pattern down her back, and she arched toward him. Almost touching. She stared into her friend’s eyes, taking comfort from him, reveling in the safety of his arms. It felt good. It felt right.

  “Hold me tighter,” she requested shyly.

  “Are you sure?”

  She shifted closer, her breasts brushing against his chest. Even through the layers of clothing, she felt his heat and power. She wound her arms around his waist, not pulling him toward her, just resting her palms against his lower back, beginning to touch him with dainty strokes of her fingers. He closed his eyes and groaned.

  Oh, she could get used to that sound.

  She pressed her fingers in deeper. His muscles felt so good against her fingers. He felt strong. A strength that would only be used to protect her, never abuse her. She shifted even closer. Emily’s head drifted backwards, she parted her lips. “Please,” she begged.

  Now, she silently urged. She needed her first kiss now. In this moment, from this man. She needed. She knew it would be perfect.

  Wyatt needed this moment to be perfect for her. She was so astonishingly lovely in every possible way, and she’d chosen him. He traced his fingers through the fine gold strands of her hair, his thumb caressing the soft skin at her temple. He could see the rapid beat of her pulse, and he hugged her closer. Emily needed to know that she was his most cherished treasure.

  Then his tongue licked her plump bottom lip, and he groaned. He had to taste, he couldn’t wait, she was fucking gorgeous. Sliding his fingers deeper into her hair, he tilted her head and parted her lips with his. His head spun at the lush, erotic feel of her. She tasted like nothing else in the world and he was lost.

  Wyatt didn’t know who moaned, but the vibration of sound only added to the kaleidoscope of sound and symphony of texture. He pulled her in closer and felt her hands digging into his waist as her mouth opened wider and her tongue stroked shyly against his.

  Shyly.

  He opened his eyes and saw the flush of arousal on her high cheekbones, her eyes shut tight in concentration. But under his mouth he could feel her smile, and against his chest he felt the tight beading of her nipples. But still...

  He brought his hands up and stroked her cheeks, gentling her until finally he broke their kiss. He rested his forehead against hers, waiting for her beautiful eyes to open, and when they did? Joy. He saw joy in her eyes. But then they clouded.

  “What? What’s wrong, Em?”

  “Why did you stop?” she asked tentatively.

  “I could kiss you for hours.” He brushed his thumb against her soft, wet lower lip. She caught it in a tender kiss. He shuddered and her eyes cleared as she smiled.

  “Then let’s kiss for hours.”

  Wyatt had never been more turned on in his life as Emily clutched him closer. But he could feel the faint trembling in her body, and he was pretty sure that despite her brave words it wasn’t all just arousal that had her shivering.

  Wyatt cuddled her close, and after a taut moment Emily relaxed against his chest.

  “I’ve got a proposition for you, Miss Hoag.”

  “Hmmmm?” She snuggled closer.

  “Dinner.”

  He felt her nod. “And then?”

  “A tiny bit of couch time, and then bed for you young lady. According to Gray, you’ve been at my brother’s side for damn near two days.”

  Emily pushed away from his chest and looked up at him, her eyes sparkling. “How much couch time, and what do we get to do?”

  “If I had to guess, you’ll get your second, and maybe third kiss.”

  “Oh yes please.”

  Wyatt chuckled. Tonight, was going to be a good night.

  Gray looked tired as Riya put coffee mugs in front of both of them. Tired, but not pissed off, so that was a plus. Wyatt took a sip and almost moaned with pleasure, this was delicious.

  “Black Rifle Coffee,” Gray grinned.

  “Never heard of it.”

  “Buddy of mine sent me five pounds. It’s a veteran owned company and a portion of their profits go to veteran causes.”

  “It’s damn good shit,” Wyatt said as he took another sip. “So, either you’re giving me a last good cup of coffee before my execution, or you’re not as mad after talking to Lieutenant Hogan.”

  “Oh, I’m still pissed at you,” Gray said. “Why the fuck didn’t you talk to me?”

  Wyatt set down the mug, making sure the handle was parallel to the table’s edge. He nudged it just a little more.

  “You’ve got nothing.”

  He looked up at Gray and nodded. “You’re right, I’ve got nothing. Normally I’m into this shit with Dex, and he’s giving you a blow-by-blow. Dex was out of the loop because of Kenna and I was working with Kane. Kane was talking to his lieutenant.” Wyatt’s voice trailed off because he felt like the biggest loser in the world.

  Gray stared at him.

  “You’re damn lucky that you and Kane brought home the golden ticket, that’s all I’ve got to say.”

  Wyatt’s mouth went dry as he nodded.

  “Okay, here’s the official dressing down. Never be so stupid again. Got it?”

  It took a moment for Gray’s words to sink in. When they did, he grinned. He’d just skated.

  “Now I’ll tell you what Max told me at midnight. We were on the damn phone for two damn hours. That’s the reason for all the coffee.”

  Gray got up from the table and got his laptop and brought it back and opened it up. “They were able to download the video, want to see it?”

  Gray started to play it before Wyatt even nodded. Wyatt had done some studying up, Hamza al Libi had aged from his last siting six years ago, but it was him. And he could understand now why the reporter needed that one portion translated. If Wyatt hadn’t known that he was talking about a bombing of an orphanage, he wouldn’t have been able to make out the words either.

  “Max is walking on cloud nine that you guys plucked this video out of the sky. The suits in Washington are scraping through every bit of chatter that’s been going on in Oman and Yemen for the last two months with a fine-tooth comb. Things that they’ve put down as run-of-the mill talk they’re now tracking down to its source.”

  “Do we know what they’ve found? I think that this party that the Ambassador is having is an A-1 target,” Wyatt said vehemently.

  “Already cancelled,” Gray nodded.

  Wyatt couldn’t wait to share that bit of news with Emily, she’d be overjoyed.

  “The suits have their guys looking into it. They told Max that Kane could stand down.”

  Wyatt had only met Max Hogan once, but he was sure that didn’t go over well. He slowly grinned at Gray. “So, let me guess, Dex and Kane are working on this.”

  Gray’s lip twitched. “Can’t say. What I can tell you, is that Dex took additional time off to be home with Kenna and their daughter Cora, so we won’t be seeing him on base.”

  “And Kane? Does he have a newborn he needs to stay home wit
h in Virginia?” Wyatt asked with a laugh.

  “No, he came down with a bad case of the flu, now that you ask.” Gray’s lip twitched.

  “Did I catch the same flu bug?” Wyatt asked hopefully.

  Now Gray actually grinned. “Don’t be stupid, if you had you couldn’t be near the newborn.”

  Wyatt laughed.

  “But seriously.” Gray set down his mug and leaned over the laptop to look Wyatt dead in the eye. “Wy, I want your eyes on this, know that. But only give what you can. Take care of your family first. Ben needs you.”

  “I can’t believe he’s here. I called the hospital this morning before coming over. He had a good night, he’s already awake and hungry and complaining about orange jello. He always was a picky eater.”

  “And your other brothers?”

  “I’m going to get this sorted out ASAP.”

  “That’s what I mean. You are definitely someone I want working on this mission, but family comes first. And your family is our family.”

  Gray held out his fist and Wyatt bumped it. Getting assigned to Black Dawn had been the best thing that had happened to him before Emily.

  12

  Rush hour into San Bernardino was at a crawl so Wyatt was relieved to see Dex’s number pop up.

  “Got some info,” Dex said without any sort of preamble.

  “Please don’t say the kids are getting involved with information gathering again,” Wyatt begged.

  “Are you talking about Oman?” Dex asked. “I’m talking about your brothers in South Bend. Luke filed a complaint about your stepdad last year a month after Ben left. I didn’t realize their old man was a corrections officer.”