His To Claim (The Westmoreland Legacy Book 4)

by Brenda Jackson

  “If you say so.”

  She glanced over at him to see what changes she could notice since he’d left eight months ago. There were always invisible changes she wouldn’t know about, so for now she would concentrate on the visible ones. He looked more built than ever. Even more alluring. She thought the same thing now that she’d thought when she’d first seen him that night at the rodeo: Thurston McRoy was a handsome man with rakish good looks.

  Ten and a half years of marriage hadn’t lessened her desire for him, not when he took such good care of himself. But then, he really didn’t have a choice. Being a SEAL, especially a member of Team Six, the most highly trained elite forces in the US military, meant being physically fit at all times, and he was certainly that.

  Facial hair used to annoy him, but because of the covert operations he’d been involved in lately, a beard had become the norm. However, as soon as he returned home, he would shave. Evidently, coming directly after her had robbed him of the time to do so.

  “Is something wrong, Teri? You’re staring at me.”

  She met his gaze. “No. I didn’t mean to stare. Just trying to see any changes.”

  He shrugged. “Why do you expect there will be any?”

  Now it was her time to shrug, although she could tell him of a few reasons. Like the time he’d gotten stabbed and hadn’t told her until she’d seen the wound for herself. Or that time a bullet had grazed his ear. However, she wouldn’t bring any of that up. “No reason.”

  Things got quiet between them as they ate and she was determined not to let him catch her staring again. But then she could feel him staring at her and she was tempted to glance over at him and ask why he was staring, just like he’d asked her.

  It was hard, nearly impossible, not to remember all those sexual fantasies she had about him whenever he was gone. Fantasies he was usually accommodating to play out when he returned and she told him about them. So why was she not telling him about those fantasies now when she’d definitely had a few? Actually, there had been more than a few.

  “What happened, Teri? How did you lose the baby? Please tell me what happened.”

  His words intruded into her thoughts. A part of her didn’t want to talk about it, especially not now. But then, she knew he deserved to know and that now was probably the best time to tell him. They had this time alone, where neither of them could walk out. They needed to use it to talk, and she meant really talk about issues that concerned them and their marriage.

  Teri wasn’t sure what to say. She could tell him just what the doctor said, or she could talk about what she suspected, which the doctor claimed was just guilt and not fact. She had not been restricted from flying. And she’d given birth to four kids with no problem. The only difference between those pregnancies and her recent fifth was that she’d gotten on a plane to travel somewhere during her first four months.

  She glanced over at Mac. “The doctor said it was just one of those things, that up to one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage before twenty weeks.”

  “And you didn’t do anything different?”

  Was that accusation she heard in his voice? She didn’t want to believe that it was and knew she was allowing her feelings of guilt to make her defensive. “I hadn’t done anything that Dr. Gleason felt would have had a bearing on the pregnancy. I told him everything I’d been doing, and according to him none of it mattered. Like I told you, he said it was just one of those things and nothing I did contributed to it.”

  What she’d told him was the truth. He didn’t have to know about the inner turmoil within her.

  “Did you see the girls while you were home?” she asked, hoping to change the subject.

  * * *

  Mac knew his wife well enough to know when she wasn’t being totally forthcoming about something. What was it that she wasn’t telling him? And why? He intended to find out in due time. He wouldn’t press her about it now.

  “Yes, I saw the girls. Everyone was asleep except for Tasha. I think her eyes opened the moment I walked into the room. It was as if she knew I was home.”

  Teri chuckled. “Figures. I think she has a built-in radar where you’re concerned.”

  “Just like her mama has a built-in radar whenever I’m home?”

  Teri didn’t say anything because that much was true. Whenever Mac was home it was as if her senses needed to know where he was every second. She tried not to worry about him while he was away on an assignment, instead depending on Bane, Viper, Coop and Flipper, the four SEAL teammates he was close to, to keep him safe. She wouldn’t even discount Nick Stover. Although Nick was no longer a SEAL and now worked for Homeland Security, Mac still spoke of him often and included him in the mix even now.

  As far as she was concerned, those five looked up to Mac and considered him an older brother since Mac had been a SEAL a few years before them. To hear Mac tell it, he looked out for them, but she was sure it worked the other way around, as well. She was counting on it because she knew her husband could be a hothead at times, although he claimed he wasn’t. But still, as much as she tried not to worry, as much as she assured herself she really didn’t have to, she always did anyway.

  “Yes, just like her mama has her radar,” she finally said.

  “So, tell me about your radar, Teri McRoy. Why are you so tuned in to me whenever I’m home?”

  Teri thought that in all the years of their marriage, he’d never asked her to explain her actions whenever it came to him. Now she could speak freely and share her inner feelings about this particular topic. “I worry about you when you’re home, Mac.”

  She knew it was silly because if anyone could take care of themselves, it was Mac. But because of her deep, unyielding need to protect him, she was very much tuned in to him. She could sense his movements. She knew it used to drive him crazy but now he’d gotten accustomed to it.

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Teri.”

  “Easier said than done. I worry about you not getting enough rest before you have to be gone again. As your wife I want to make your life better, less stressful when you come home, but it seems all I do is make it more taxing. You always concentrate on what you think I’ve done wrong while you were gone and not anything I might have done right.”

  * * *

  Did he?

  Mac didn’t say anything as he thought about what she had said. Were her feelings of being taken for granted justified? He rubbed his hands down his face. When was the last time he’d told her how proud he was of the way she was raising their kids? Or how he appreciated how she made their house into the home he looked forward to returning to? Or better yet, how much he loved her?

  Instead, he would come home and start finding fault in the changes or additions she’d made without his input, knowing there were some decisions she had no choice but to make without him.

  He looked over at her. “I see what you’ve done right every time I return home and walk into the house, Teri. The girls are beautiful, well behaved, respectful and doing great in school. My home is my castle and you make it so. I teased you about your radar but I love your attentiveness to me.”

  Mac paused a moment and then added, “Even with all we have, I worry a lot about our finances. It’s something I can’t help doing.”

  She lifted her chin. “I can understand that due to your background, but do you have to be so critical? So obsessive about my decisions, Mac? Do Bane, Viper, Coop and Flipper question every single penny their wives spend?”

  In a way her question irritated him because she knew the answer. “No, but then, they don’t have to. Bane and Coop were born to wealth and Viper’s and Flipper’s families aren’t exactly poor, Teri. My parents were still paying for student loans when me and my sister were born. There was no money for my parents to inherit or to pass on to their offspring. They worked hard, provided for me and my sister, but there was never any extra m
oney to invest in generational wealth. I’m not complaining, and I don’t resent my friends, trust me. They’ve helped me make more out of the little I started with. I have no problem making my own way.”

  As a SEAL he got bonuses, and for years he’d used a portion of those bonuses toward investments that were paying off. His daughters’ college funds looked pretty damn good and he was proud of that. In truth, they had more than they needed. But he couldn’t escape the feeling that it was never enough to feel secure. Though now he was feeling comfortable about getting that new house they wanted. He’d intended for that to be his surprise to her on his trip back home this time around.

  “Trust me, I know, Mac.” Then, as if she was ready to change the conversation to something else, she asked, “Are we ever going to get out of here? For all anyone knows we’re at that cabin and may not have been missed.”

  He could hear the worry in her voice. “When they find out we aren’t there, they’ll come looking for us.”

  “Yes, but will they know to look for us here?”

  If she meant the authorities, then no, they wouldn’t know. But he knew of four men, with the help of a fifth, who would. And he felt certain they would find them. He could arrest her fears about them being found but then he would have to explain why he was so certain of it, and he couldn’t do that. It was a pact the six of them had made after that time when they’d thought they had lost Coop, whose captors led everyone to believe they had killed him. Instead he’d been held as prisoner in the Syrian mountains for nearly a year. That had been the hardest year of their lives, believing Coop was dead. When they’d gotten word he was alive, their SEAL team had gone in and rescued him. Their enemies had tried breaking his body but they couldn’t break his spirit. Coop had said that what had kept him going was his belief that his teammates would eventually come and rescue him. And they had.

  After that, Mac and his teammates had decided they never wanted to experience again what they’d gone through with Coop. So, when Nick had told them of this microchip tracking device that was more technologically advanced than any on the consumer market, they’d signed up to be the first to try it. The microchip was inserted under the skin of their right hands and no one knew of the implant other than their commanding officer, who had to approve the procedure. With the microchip, if any of the six of them went missing, they could be tracked to their precise location by latitude, longitude and altitude. Not only that, their body movement could be detected and studied to determine pain level due to the possibilities of injuries. The chip could also sense any other life-threatening symptoms emitted through brain waves. He knew his teammates would be testing the tracker’s abilities for the first time with him.

  He and Teri were fine for now with enough food and water to last a couple of days. His biggest concern was oxygen—how long would they be able to breathe, shut up underground like this? He wouldn’t talk to Teri about it for fear she would worry.

  “Mac, will they know to look here?”

  His thoughts were pulled back to Teri when she repeated what she’d asked him earlier. A question he hadn’t answered. “Not sure, but it doesn’t matter.”

  She frowned. “Why doesn’t it matter?”

  “Because once Bane, Coop and the others get wind that I’m missing, they’ll come looking for us.”

  She nodded. “You’re certain of that?”

  “Yes.”

  “But will they be able to find us, or will they assume we’re somewhere in the vicinity of the cabin?”

  He smiled over at her. “They are SEALs, Teri. They will figure things out.”

  “But will they do it in time?”

  “They will find us in time.”

  He saw uncertainty in her eyes. Reaching out, he slid her hand into his and entwined their fingers. “Trust me, baby. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  She lifted her chin. “And I won’t let anything happen to you, either.”

  He wanted to laugh at that, knowing he could do a better job of protecting her than she could of him. However, if thinking that way made her feel better and worry less he would give her that moment.

  Smiling over at her, he said, “Okay, that’s a deal. We won’t let anything happen to each other. Now let’s get rid of this trash and then figure out how and where we need to bunker down for the night.”

  * * *

  “Mac’s alive and his brain waves aren’t showing any signs of distress,” Nick said, reading Mac’s tracking data off his computer. The tracking devices the six of them wore were manned by Nick since he was the most computer savvy of the group. Any of the others could step in to be Nick’s backup if it came to that, but Nick knew they were all hoping it never did.

  “That’s good to hear. I talked to Bane, Flipper and Viper earlier. We’re all heading to Wyoming,” Coop said.

  “And I’m joining all of you. I’ll be able to pinpoint his exact location once I get to the area and study maps of the surroundings.”

  “How soon do you think you’ll get there?” Coop asked.

  “Sometime tomorrow. I’ll let Natalie know I’ll be leaving and that she’ll be on her own with the triplets for a while. In the meantime, I’ll get periodic readings on Mac to relay to everyone.”

  “Thanks, Nick, and we’ll see you in Wyoming.”

  * * *

  Mac had taken her hand again and Teri didn’t mind.

  He did seem more capable of handling this sort of thing than she, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t protect him if it came to that. She’d meant what she’d said about not letting anything happen to him, just like she knew he had meant what he’d said regarding protecting her.

  “What if we don’t find anything, Mac?”

  He looked down at her. “There are blankets in the saddlebags.”

  She lifted a brow. “How do you know?”

  “I checked.”

  When had he done that? “If we have blankets, then what are we looking for?”

  “Something that could possibly serve as a cushion on the floor.”

  “Oh.” He stopped walking and she glanced around. “This place is kind of messy, isn’t it?”

  He chuckled. “It’s a mineshaft, Teri. Not a luxury condo.”

  “I know that but still you would think it could look better. A lot neater.”

  Mac checked the time on his watch. She’d noticed him doing that a lot. “What time is it now?” she asked him.

  “Eighteen o eight.”

  She knew that meant 6:08 p.m. You couldn’t be married to a military man without adjusting to their time, as well. Even the girls knew to convert to military time whenever he came home. It was dinnertime for most folks. She had a feeling dinner wouldn’t be the same for a lot of people tonight.

  “I was hoping to come across something like this sooner or later.”

  They had stumbled upon several horse troughs filled with hay. She was a cowgirl at heart so she understood the excitement that she heard in his voice. “Now I don’t have to worry about sleeping on the hard ground tonight.”

  He glanced over at her. The intensity in his gaze nearly made her knees buckle. “There was never a time you would have had to sleep on the ground tonight or any night.”

  She lifted a brow. “So where would I have slept?”

  He gave her that crooked smile she’d always thought was irresistible when he said, “I would have taken the floor and you would have slept on top of me. Granted we would have gotten little sleep.”

  The serious look on his face made her heart pound because she believed what he said to be true. If their bodies touched in that way, fire would consume them and they would end up making love all over the place. Finding this hay was a good thing because the thought of sleeping on top of him gave her body sensuous shivers. Had she been tempted to sleep on him, she would be pregnant by the time they woke up tomorrow
.

  In the back of her mind, and slowly coming to the front, were memories of past lovemaking sessions with him. They would start off mating like rabbits because of the length of time they’d been apart. Then, after getting an hour or two of exhausted sleep, they would start another bout of lovemaking, proving how obsessed they were with each other and just how much they had missed each other.

  It was during that second, slower time that they would try the positions their creative minds came up with. Just thinking of a few of those positions now actually brought color to her cheeks.

  * * *

  Mac thought it was rather cute that he could make his wife blush after ten years and four kids. No...five kids, he thought, feeling the loss of the one he hadn’t known. His son. She had carried him inside her for four months, which meant she had gotten to spend time with him, develop a bond. Mac regretted he hadn’t even been there to give her a tummy rub or to place his ear to her belly to hear his child moving inside her.

  He had missed out on all those things.

  “Well, now that won’t be necessary.”

  He glanced back over at her and forced a wry smile to his lips. “You can still lie on top of me, though.”

  She met his gaze. “Like I said, that won’t be necessary.”

  “Maybe not necessary but better.”

  Although the flashlight from his cell phone was holding its own, there wasn’t a lot of light. But it was enough to see her. He thought now what he’d thought the first time he’d seen Teri. His wife was a stunner.

  Not only that, she was a pretty damn intelligent woman to boot. And he couldn’t forget what a great body she had. Slim waist, luscious hips, mouthwatering breasts and one hell of an ass. Whether she knew it or not, thoughts of her kept him going. Made him appreciate being a man.

  A man who always returned home to her.

  Then why did they argue so much when he got there?

  He remembered what that marriage counselor had told him. He was a man who seemed programmed to sweat the small stuff. He knew that was true. He’d tried to change and for a little while he had. Just until his next assignment. When he’d returned home, he’d slowly slipped back into his old ways.