Page 26 of The Hero’s Bride (Unbreakable SEALs #2)

He closed the space between them, his bare feet on the sun-warmed pool deck.

When he reached her, he dipped his chin to kiss her hard before taking her hand and turning toward the water.

He moved onto the first step, dipping his feet into the cool swimming pool, and heard her gasp.

Red was caught off guard, then instantly knew she spotted the scars where three bullets had torn into his skin on a mission.

The warmth of her soft palm landed against his back, and she traced the space around the scars. “What happened?” she whispered, her breath tickling his skin.

He stared out at the pool in front of him, not really seeing as he turned his mind back to the mission that nearly took his life.

“I was on a counterterrorism mission to the U.S. embassy in Sudan. I was ambushed and shot in the back three times. I was damn lucky. One bullet barely missed my heart. The next two also missed vital organs. A hair to the right and I would have been paralyzed. That’s how I met Iron.

We were in the ICU at the same time and then roommates on the recovery floor.

He had his leg amputated, and because of the psychological trauma he’d experienced while on the mission, he moved on from the teams. Once I healed, I was able to return to active duty.

” He felt a feather-light kiss over each scar, and when he turned to reassure her that he was okay her gilded green eyes were glazed with tears.

There was a pain in his chest, and he had to remind himself to breathe.

Although he didn’t want her to feel sorry for him, he couldn’t recall ever being cried for before.

His parents hadn’t even bothered to pause their tour to visit him in the hospital.

They’d been notified of his injuries from his commander at the time, but whatever they’d been doing was too important to stop for their own son.

“Did your parents care for you?” Thalia asked as though reading his thoughts.

“No. They were in Europe in the middle of a tour.”

Her face went hard, and he could have sworn she bared her teeth.

“They don’t deserve you,” she bit out. A flush worked its way up from her chest to her neck before hitting her cheeks.

“I thought of you often after we first met. Before I went to bed at night, I’d imagine the boy with hair the color of chili peppers.

I wondered why your parents allowed you to leave the safety of the resort to walk into one of the most dangerous places in the country.

Sometimes I would dream about you walking along the streets of Colima with a giant lizard at your side. ”

Her words soothed the broken heart of the boy he’d once been.

One who simply wanted a place to belong.

Wide-open arms to run into and the affection he’d witnessed from other parents who picked up their children from school, as he walked home to a big, empty house.

He ran his hands up and down her arms, as much for her comfort as his own.

“I also thought of you when I was abducted and taken across the border,” she continued.

His pulse ticked up at the look of sincerity on her face.

“A police officer took me from the trunk of the original vehicle and placed me into the cab of his truck. I was asking too many questions, and he punched me in the head. I lost consciousness, but you were there with me and I remember thinking of your eyes. Eyes the color of a dark blue sky, just after the sun vanishes below the horizon. At the time, I thought it was simply a way to connect me to a good memory of my past, but then you came when I needed you most. Saved my life.”

“You saved my life, too, Thalia. I have no doubt of that. I often wondered what had become of the little spitfire with the most unusual, captivating eyes I’d ever seen.

When I opened the text Jude sent to me with your picture, it felt like I’d been struck by lightning, and I knew I had to find you. ”

Thalia wrapped her arms around his neck, just as he lifted her into his arms. He continued down the steps into the pool.

He felt her thighs tighten around his hips as she crossed her ankles at the base of his spine.

He leaned in, and their lips met in a frantic dance as he waded deeper into the water.

This was no soft, exploring kiss. It was an explosive display of wants and needs.

Hopes and dreams. Some dashed. Some just beginning to come to fruition.

She groaned into his mouth, making his already hard length swell.

Holy shit. Her hips rocked against him, and he longed to push the material of her bikini to the side and bury himself in her tight heat.

Too much, too soon. His mind whirled back to earlier that morning and how much pleasure he’d derived from watching her shatter as he stroked and kissed her.

He wanted to give her more. The water rippled softly around them as he dipped his head, latching onto one of the hard nipples straining against her top.

He sucked the tight bud into his mouth over the wet material while rolling the other between his thumb and forefinger.

Her short nails dug into his shoulders. He hoped like hell when he turned his back toward the mirror the next day, he’d have those tiny crescents marking his skin.

She continued to move her hips against him until he was sure he was going to explode.

“Mason. I want you. I need more.”

Even if she was willing and ready, he wanted her to be sure, and he had no problem waiting.

“Stairs,” he commanded, walking her to the entrance of the pool.

He laid her on the top step and yanked the bathing suit bottoms over her hips before positioning her legs over his shoulders.

“So fucking stunning,” he murmured, breathing in her sex.

When he ran his tongue up and down the outer edges of her folds, she dragged in a ragged breath.

He reveled in her taste as he laved his tongue over her core and up to her clit, flicking and teasing with his tongue. Her whole body was taut.

“Breathe, baby.” With a gentle touch, he slowly eased one finger inside her. She was impossibly tight, and he immediately stilled. “Am I hurting you?”

“No. Please don’t stop.” He continued to lap and suck while curling his finger just inside her inner wall.

He knew he found the right spot when his name broke from her lips.

Her whole body shook, thighs quaking around his neck.

He didn’t stop, drawing out her release until she slumped against the step.

Her breath was still ragged when he gently lowered her body into the water.

Positioning his hands on the step above her, he leaned in to kiss her lips.

When her hand dipped below the hem of his shorts and encircled his length, he had to grit his teeth.

“Fuck, Thalia.” He allowed her to stroke him for a few moments, tenderly gripping her wrist when it felt as though his eyes were going to roll back in his head.

“Please, Mason. Let me.”

He touched his mouth to her forehead. “When we’re inside if that’s what you want, you can explore all you’d like, but I promised you a swim and that’s what you’re going to get.”

“You’re going to spoil me.”

“That’s the plan, sweetheart.” He cradled her in his arms, slowly moving through the water whispering endearments and stealing kisses.

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed in the pool—talking, laughing, and flirting—but he knew it would go down as one of the most memorable nights of his life.

Having Thalia wrapped in his embrace as they enjoyed the refreshing outdoor hideaway felt like paradise.

He was already so gone for this woman, he knew down in his soul he’d never get over her.

Later that evening, he made good on his promise to let her explore.

When her hand wrapped around him, gliding over him, white spots crowded in the corners of his vision as he gritted his teeth and growled his release.

He’d never had an orgasm so strong that stars marred his vision.

What he felt for Thalia ran deep. Attraction blazed between them.

He wanted her friendship, and someday, he wanted everything.

It was dangerous to entertain the feelings coursing through him, but he couldn’t seem to control his mind where she was concerned.

He fell asleep with his heart full and his arms around the woman he was quickly falling in love with.