The Captivating Warrior (Navy SEAL Romance)

by Cami Checketts

  “Brilliant. Thank you.”

  “No, thank you. Because of you, my son is safe with the woman he loves, and I haven’t had this much fun in years.”

  Sutton chuckled and ended the call. He stared out the window at the wooded section of his property to the northeast. Everything was going to fall into place beautifully, and the duke would regret the day he’d crossed Sutton’s path. Yet Sutton wasn’t thinking of the fury on Gunthry’s face when his world fell apart. He was thinking of Liz’s sweet smile when Agatha had hugged her in the entryway. Why couldn’t he be the one hugging her?

  Chapter Five

  Liz felt like she had barely drifted off to sleep when Sutton’s delectable scent invaded her dreams. “Scrummy,” she murmured, “smells so tasty.”

  She opened her eyes and saw Sutton sitting on the edge of the bed, staring down at her with a huge smirk on his face. Her face heated up. Had she just said that? Could she claim she was completely out of it and couldn’t be held accountable for such a barmy comment?

  Sutton extended a cell phone. “Alexandria,” he said.

  Liz scrambled upright and grabbed the phone, ignoring Sutton’s deep chuckle. “Ally?”

  “Mum!”

  Liz held the phone tightly to her ear, unable to stop the tears that sprang to her eyes. Her girl. “Are you all right?”

  Ally giggled. “Never been better. I’m with River.”

  “Where?” She sounded so happy.

  Sutton shook his head at her.

  “River says not to say, but I promise I’m safe. I’m happy, and it’s completely brilliant that you’re with Sutton.”

  “Oh, love. I miss you.”

  “Me too, Mum.”

  “But don’t you worry about me. Go enjoy your honeymoon.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll have a jolly good time!” She giggled again.

  Liz smiled. Ally had always been a pleasant child, despite who her father was, but she’d never acted this silly and happy. “Tell River thank you. He didn’t need to rescue me as well.”

  “I wouldn’t have left without you being safe, Mum. Besides, it wasn’t all River. Sutton was very involved. He’s pretty hunky, eh, Mum?”

  Liz glanced quickly at Sutton who was grinning at her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Love you.”

  “Love you too! See you soon!”

  The call disconnected. Liz shifted on the bed and avoided looking at Sutton. The sun had set while she’d been sleeping. She picked at the pink fitted tunic she wore over patterned navy and white tights. Agatha’s taste in clothing did not reflect what Liz normally wore, but it was fun and comfortable.

  “We’re leaving soon?” She finally settled on asking.

  “Yes. Of course, Agatha has to feed everyone before they go their separate ways.”

  Liz let herself look at him. He looked so good. He’d taken off his suit coat and tie but was still wearing a white button-down shirt. Unfortunately, the top few buttons were undone, and she couldn’t help but notice the magnificent muscles in his chest. He was sitting so close to her on the bed she fantasized about reaching out and touching those muscles. Just a simple touch. Would that be out of line?

  “Are we going it alone?” she asked, instead of acting on her irrational impulses.

  He shook his head shortly. “Don’t worry. I won’t underestimate the duke or treat you like an ankle biter.” He gave her a brief smile. “You’ll be fully protected at all times.”

  He stood and offered his hand. Liz placed her palm in his, feeling the zing straight down to her toes. Sutton’s quick intake of breath told her he wasn’t unaffected by the connection either.

  She stood and quickly pulled her hand free. “Do you have a bag I can pack up the extra clothing and toiletries in?”

  Sutton gave a short laugh. “Don’t worry about those. Agatha has plenty of everything for you on the yacht. You’ll be very comfortable.”

  He turned and gestured for her to walk in front of him. Always the gentleman. Liz let out a sigh. If only she was comfortable with him like she used to be. If only she could tell him why she’d married the duke. But why couldn’t she? Sutton was here now, and if she dared believe him, she was far from James’ reach. Maybe she could finally admit the truth. It might be painful for him because he’d been discharged, but if not for her, he’d be serving prison time. Yet would he think she was bragging or even believe any of it after all these years?

  She walked stiffly down the stairs in front of him, vowing to herself she’d at least try to tell him truth. Who knew how much time they would have together? If it was possible for him to understand and grow to care for her again, she’d swallow all her pride and tell him anything.

  All of Sutton’s SEALs were in fine form during dinner. And why shouldn’t they be happy? The mission had been completely successful. River was off with the love of his life, and these men deserved a great meal and a chance to relax for a few minutes. Cannon had driven up to some big awards ceremony for his new girlfriend, but the rest of the core of the Warrior Project were here—Zane, Corbin, Blayze, and Steve. Steve hadn’t been part of Team 7 but he was a SEAL through and through, and Sutton trusted him. He noticed the rest of the team had moved past their issues with Corbin, and he seemed less defensive than he had been a year ago. Sutton cared for the boy deeply. Many of the other SEALs on Team 7 blamed Corbin for Doug’s death, but Sutton was long past those feelings. Doug had sacrificed himself for his friends, none of them should carry any guilt or grudges over it.

  “If you boys weren’t so handsome and gracious, I’d make you do dishes,” Agatha said as they finally slowed in their ravenous eating and thanked her profusely.

  “Since I’m the only handsome one, and you are the most fabulous and beautiful cook, I know, you wouldn’t make me do dishes.” Blayze winked at Agatha.

  Sutton had to smile as his long-time friend blushed so red her hair looked even whiter.

  “Oh, you, stop with the flattery.” Agatha pushed a hand at him. “Okay, never mind, I love it.” She turned to Liz who had eaten very little and had mostly studied the group throughout dinner. She didn’t appear to think they were nuts, which they sort of were, but she looked very out of place. “What do I do with this handsome crew?” Agatha asked.

  “Feeding them seems to work pretty well.” Liz smiled.

  The men laughed and cheered.

  “Noshing up is definitely their language,” Sutton said.

  Zane turned to Blayze and made a formal face. “Nosh, nosh, old chap.”

  “Cheerio, mate,” replied Blayze. “I believe you mean pish posh.”

  “Oh no” Sutton groaned, quickly realizing his mistake in using a British term. “We have company, men. Behave yourselves.”

  Steve said, “Codswallop, chums. Us lot are a bunch of cheeky bums, aren’t we now?” He was the only one who could pull off the accent, but Sutton could never stop any of them when they got like this.

  He glanced at Liz and saw her smiling widely at their ridiculous antics, so he bit his tongue and tried not to glare too sternly.

  “Er,” said Corbin, standing and pumping his arms like he was marching exaggeratedly in place. In a horrible British accent, he said, “Why don’t’cha come to my flat, mates. We can ride the lift. And eat chips and crisps and biscuits.”

  Liz started laughing out loud and holding her stomach. Sutton actually had to focus to keep a smile off his face. Agatha, or Agather as Cannon liked to call her, was standing in the kitchen eyeing them disapprovingly.

  It was back around to Zane. He stood and said, “Bob’s your uncle, mates. Look at me, I’m queuing.”

  Sutton shook his head, wondering how much time they spent researching British words on the internet for opportunities like this.

  The other three jumped out of their seats and queued behind him. Corbin said, “Er, what are we queuing for? Is the queen coming? Is there a football match?”

  “Fútbol!” they screamed in unison. “Olé! Ol�
�, olé, olé!”

  Zane started running around the room with his hands in the air, his ridiculous long hair trailing behind him shouting. “Gooooaaaaaaaal!”

  Sutton didn’t mention the fact that the act had somehow detoured to a Spanish-speaking country. He wanted to go hide until they stopped making fools of themselves and him. Liz, for some reason, was laughing so hard she was doubled over, holding her gut. Sutton couldn’t help himself and started laughing along.

  The rest of the SEALs were running after Zane, who had his shirt off by now. He veered into the great room, and did a knee-slide all the way across the carpet. The rest of the team piled on top of him in celebration.

  By the time they came back to the table, carrying Zane on their shoulders, Liz had herself mostly under control, but she was still wiping tears from her eyes.

  “Thanks for giving me a proper laugh, mates.”

  They put their champion down in front of her, and he made a little bow.

  “I haven’t laughed like that for ages.”

  Something in the way she said that ripped at Sutton. How miserable had she been with Gunthry? Sutton would’ve thought her being miserable without him was poetic justice, except he cared for her too much to want her unhappy.

  “We live to serve,” said Zane, finally tugging his shirt back on.

  Liz glanced over at Sutton, talking to him now as well as the guys. “I also need to thank all of you for risking your lives for Ally. I will be eternally grateful.”

  Suddenly, the robust group was studying their hands or the dark windows or the mahogany flooring.

  “Of course, ma’am,” Corbin said graciously.

  “Happy to serve,” Blayze said.

  Zane and Steve nodded, looking as uncomfortable as the others.

  Sutton chuckled, enjoying himself especially now. “They can take bullets and grenades thrown at them, but see how you disarm them with one simple compliment?”

  Zane cleared his throat. “Well, these dishes won’t do themselves.” He started stacking plates.

  “Oh, leave them,” Agatha said. “The cleaning service will come by in a few days and cuss us right good when they see the mess.” She laughed.

  Sutton smiled. Agatha had gotten better and better at leaving messes for the cleaning service to take care of. They only came in three times a week, but they did a nice job with the mansion, and he’d been happy they’d been there this morning before he arrived with Liz. It didn’t hurt for her to see how successful he was and how perfect his home was.

  Sutton had their undivided attention, so he addressed the group. “No one outside of this room knows our destination tonight. The Airbus is flying to Oregon and then on to British Columbia to throw off anyone watching closely. Everyone’s clear on their assignments?” he asked, slowly scanning each man.

  They each nodded in turn. River had a team of Sutton’s private security guys watching over him and Ally in Hawaii. Blayze and Steve would be accompanying Sutton, Liz, and Agatha. The local security he employed from Puerto Rico were already at his house on the small island of Vieques. Manuel, his head of security there, had cleared his home, and he was setting up additional security measures as well. Sutton was having Corbin and Zane work together with Kingsley and Barry to help with the plan to take down the duke. Besides Sutton himself, only those four knew about that phase of the plan. Zane would remain stateside while Corbin and a dozen of Sutton’s private security team flew directly to England to liaise with Kingsley. Sutton would join them in a few days for an audience with the House of Lords, but only after he got Liz and Agatha settled in Puerto Rico and everything was in place from his end.

  Zane asked, “Can Gunthry track you down through the property in Vieques?”

  “No,” said Sutton. “It’s owned by a shadow corporation. I guess my paranoia all those years ago will pay off.”

  Liz stood and said, “Excuse me. I’m going to get a bit of fresh air.”

  Sutton wondered if being around all the now-serious soldiers made her nervous.

  The guys weren’t done having fun. “Cheerio,” said Zane.

  “Ta,” said Steve.

  “Er, cheers.” Corbin added.

  Blayze looked around and said, “Hey, you guys used them all.”

  “Ta,” said Liz, clearly amused. Sutton loved seeing her lovely smile, but he didn’t like her being outside by herself, even with his security team, cameras, and dogs monitoring the property. Or maybe he just wanted to be alone with her.

  He didn’t second guess the situation. He just stood and murmured, “Cheers.” He ignored the speculative glances that Zane shot to Blayze as he followed Liz out the side door like a puppy on a chain.

  Chapter Six

  Liz strode away from the house toward the cliff that overlooked the ocean. The moon and the bright lights of Sutton’s great room behind her illuminated the view of the sharp drop to the ocean below. She could see large and small boats sailing in the open ocean beyond, beacons of freedom and the ability to see the world. She’d never had that ability before, but was on the verge of having it now.

  The breeze off the ocean was chilly, and she hugged herself for warmth. The rush of emotions had been surprisingly powerful back in that room with all the Navy SEALs and Sutton. The humor was such a welcome relief, but once the mood had settled, she just felt guilty.

  Those men were warriors—the elite, the brave, and they were risking everything for her. She was a battered woman without her own real identity besides the beauty of her face, and she had accepted her role as the martyr, but those SEALs had so much to live for. Had she ever in her life done anything good and brave like they seemed to do every day? She could blame James for her lack of opportunity to help others, but right now, it felt like her fault that she hadn’t escaped from him years ago and done something spectacular with her money and her fame. Yet after the first two escape attempts when he’d murdered everyone who tried to assist her, and threatened Ally, she had given up all hope.

  “You all right?” Sutton’s voice floated to her. His steps were silent on the lush grass.

  She whipped around to face him. “Fine. Is it time to go?”

  “Just a few minutes, and we’ll head down to my powerboat that will take us to the yacht.”

  “Okay.” She turned away, unable to hold his penetrating gaze. When they were young, he’d always known when she was upset, even though she’d been trained to hide those emotions from toddlerhood on up.

  He stepped closer and gently touched her arm. “They didn’t offend you, did they, Liz?”

  The tender way he said her name made her chin tremble. “Oh, heavens no. I haven’t laughed like that since …” Had it really been since she and Sutton were together? Twenty-five years without a proper chortle. That was so illuminating. No, Ally had made her laugh many times, at least when James wasn’t around. Even as a young child, Ally had learned to control her humor if her father was in their vicinity.

  Liz clenched her jaw and murmured, “I’m very grateful to all of you.”

  “I know you are, but something about that lot, including me, makes you uncomfortable.”

  She whirled to face him. “Can you blame me? You, those men, you’re impressive, amazing warriors. I’m a pretty face, a false identity that’s never done anything substantial with my life. You shouldn’t be risking so much.”

  Sutton studied her in the dim light. A muscle worked in his jaw. He finally said, “Oh, Liz. You’re so much more than your lovely face.”

  “Am I?” She jutted out her chin and glared at him. “How do you know? You don’t know me or care about me.”

  “That’s not true.” Sutton took a step closer, and his large form overshadowed her. Instead of the intimidation and fear she would’ve felt if James were this close, she felt protected and safe. “I’ve watched you for years. I know how kind you are, and if you’d been in a different circumstance, you’d have more stories than those boys in there about brave and heroic things you’d done. Lo
ok at how you’ve protected Ally all these years.”

  Liz bit at her cheek to keep her emotions in control. Ally was her weakness and Sutton seemed to know it. Yet he didn’t use it to exploit her like James did. He protected Ally as surely as he was protecting Liz. She didn’t want to talk about herself anymore. Sutton had no clue what a hollow shell she was, and she didn’t want him to know.

  “You’re the best man I know.” She stared into his blue eyes, shadowed by the night.

  Sutton arched an eyebrow. “You don’t get out much.”

  Liz couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Unfortunately, I circulate at all the wrong parties and around all the wrong men.”

  His brows drew together in a scowl. “I need you to see that that’s all behind you now.”

  Liz was entranced by his gaze, and she shouldn’t have said it, but she did. “Then what’s in front of me?”

  His hand tenderly cupped her hip, and Liz let a small gasp escape. Sutton bent down close. She couldn’t focus on anything but his delicious smell and the warm look in his blue eyes.

  “Me,” he whispered.

  He stopped the descent of his lips inches from hers and stared at her pleadingly. The next move was hers, and she had never wanted anything as badly as she wanted Sutton. Not just his kiss and his arms around her, but all of him. She wanted him in her present and her future.

  “I’d take 008,” she whispered back.

  Sutton grinned. It was his true, beautiful smile, and it was so bright her world lit up despite the dark night. He still loved her. He wanted to be with her, and he’d missed her as much as she’d missed him.

  He wrapped both hands around her lower back and pulled her close. Liz reveled in the feeling of his strength surrounding her, but all other thoughts were obliterated as his lips met hers. Every nerve ending in her lips sang in response, and the dark night around them disappeared. Liz arched up on her tiptoes, clinging to his broad shoulders and giving everything within her to the kiss. Sutton was the love of her life, and she was finally able to show him how much she had yearned for him over the years.