by Cat Johnson
The kid was right. He wouldn’t.
Sighing, Rick turned to Sierra. “I guess we’re in here for a little while.”
“Rick, you have to believe I had nothing to do with this.”
“I know.” Rick was sure she didn’t want to be in here with him any more than he wanted to be there with her. He tipped his head. “You look good too. I should have told you that when I saw you before on the street.”
He’d been too shocked, mostly by how much it hurt to see her again.
Sierra’s eyes drifted closed, before she opened them again. “I don’t feel good. I haven’t been able to move on. At least not as well as you have.”
“You think I’ve moved on?” He let out a bitter laugh. “Not even close, princess. Not even close.”
“I’m so, so sorry.” She shook her head as her eyes began to look glassy.
“So am I.” His fists clenched at his sides, it took all his will power not to reach for her.
The first tear cascaded down her cheek and his control broke.
With a curse, he closed the distance between them with a few steps, pulled her against him and held her close.
“I still love you. And I hurt so bad.” Her voice was muffled from his palm pressing her head against his chest.
He dropped his hand to her shoulder and pulled back so he could see her face when he said, “Me too.”
There was a glimmer of hope in her tear-filled eyes, even as her lip quivered.
Her tears always did have the power to break him. And damn it felt so good to have her in his arms again.
It might turn out to be the worst decision of his life but he couldn’t stop himself and he didn’t want to. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Softly. Gently.
She gasped and kissed him back.
That was all it took. The kiss went from zero-to-sixty in seconds.
Before he knew it he had her pinned against the wall.
He held her hands above her head as he shoved his thigh between hers.
She pressed against him, riding his leg and whimpering from the friction.
His tongue plunged against hers as he tried to calculate how far the bed behind them was. Too far, he decided as he shoved the tote bag off the dresser next to them, hoisted her up and planted her on top.
“I love you,” Rick said between kisses.
“I love you,” she replied.
“Want you. Need you.” Hand tangled in her hair, Rick moved down to bite her neck and felt the resulting tremor run through her. She always did have a sensitive throat.
“I hated being apart from you,” she said, sounding breathless.
“Me too. Every fucking second.”
She pulled away to look at him. “I was stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking. Can you forgive me?”
“Yes.” He drew in a breath and captured her face between his palms. “But don’t ever do anything like that again.”
“I won’t. I promise.” She shook her head.
He wiped the new tears from her eyes before moving in on her lips.
Rick bent over her, but couldn’t seem to get close enough. He raised one knee on top of the dresser, bending Sierra back beneath him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Something fell and hit the ground with a smash. He ignored the sound and kept kissing her.
He didn’t care about anything until he heard the click of the door.
Breaking the kiss, he tipped his head to glance at the doorway. He found Jamey standing there next to Glen.
Grinning, Jamey elbowed Glen. “Now that’s what a love scene is supposed to be like.”
Shaking his head at Jamey’s comment, Rick straightened up, pulling Sierra upright with him.
“He’s right, you know.” Sierra smiled.
“I know. Let’s not tell him. It’ll go to his head.”
She peeked at Jamey past Rick and said, “I think it already has.”
Rick found himself unable to control a smile that was almost as big as Jamey’s. “Eh, that’s okay. I guess we can let him have his victory this once.”
The kid deserved it. It was his trickery that had gotten them back together.
Who knew how long it would have taken them to straighten things out on their own, if it would have ever happened at all. That was too horrifying to consider.
Rick ignored the audience and leaned low to press another kiss to Sierra’s lips to remind himself of what he’d missed and what he’d never do without again. No matter what.
EPILOGUE
“Again? Really?” Sierra asked, glancing up from the cup of coffee she’d been longingly looking forward to. “I thought we nailed it that time.”
The assistant director lifted one shoulder. “Jim wants just one more take.”
Sierra sighed. “All right.”
She really shouldn’t complain. This shoot had gone smoothly so far. If an extra take was the biggest thing she had to deal with on this film she’d consider herself lucky.
It had been the right thing to do, taking this movie. The public had yet to weigh in with their box office dollars, but in her gut she felt it. It was good. They’d love it.
And if they didn’t?
Maybe that didn’t matter that much. She’d made this one for herself. If it bombed, at least she knew she’d done her best with a project she’d chosen.
Sierra moved back to her mark—standing in front of her dressing table and looking at herself in the mirror.
At this point in the story the character is starting to wonder if she’d lost her mind or if there really was someone or something following her.
In this shot, she hears something and startles, but it turns out to be just her friend coming to check on her.
The scene was fairly simple, which is why it didn’t make a whole lot of sense the director wanted another take. But whatever the director wanted, the director got.
“And action!”
Sierra cleared her expression and waited for her cue to react. Except the cue didn’t come.
Instead, motion behind her reflected in the mirror caught her attention.
In the reflection she saw Rick move closer.
“Rick?” She spun to face him. “What are you doing?”
She glanced around and saw the crew gathered around. Half were smiling. The other half looked shocked.
“What did you do?” she asked him, although it was becoming obvious as he dropped to one knee.
She pressed a hand to her mouth and sucked in a breath.
“Sierra . . . Carey, will you marry me?” he said as he held up the tiny box containing a ring.
She didn’t seem to have words so she nodded instead. Nodded hard and fast until the tears filled her eyes even as she smiled.
Rick stood to slip the ring on her finger as everyone on the set broke into applause.
“And cut!” Jim yelled and stood.
Rick turned as the director neared. “Thanks for this, Jim.”
“Are you kidding. I’m totally using that footage for the publicity tour. So thank you. The public will eat this up.”
Sierra laughed and looked at Rick. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“It’s kind of perfect, right?” he asked, smiling.
“Yes. And you’re kind of perfect too.”
Taking both her hands in his, Rick said, “We’re perfect together.”
“Yeah, we are.”
“This totally should be a movie. We could call it ‘The Bodyguard and the Star’,” one PA suggested.
“Or wait, how about this? ‘A SEAL in Hollywood’,” another said. “You know, because he just did that SEAL movie with Jamey Garret.”
Sierra listened to the chatter around them and caught Rick’s eye. “You okay with our life being like this? Public?”
He took a step closer and leaned low. “As long as I can live it with you, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
WHAT’S NEXT?
When he’s fallen so low there’s nowhere to go
but up, Lieutenant Commander Silas “Crash” Branson proves what it means to be SEAL Strong.
Get SEAL STRONG
SEAL Strong
Lieutenant Commander Silas “Crash” Branson thought he’d already lost everything that mattered. His son. His wife. Then his body betrayed him too and cost him his career in the SEALs, separating him from the only family he had left—his brothers-in-arms.
But when you’re at rock bottom the only direction to go is up and, medically retired or not, Silas is still SEAL strong.
Leaving the ruins of his old world behind him, he forges ahead, building a new life, finding new love . . . and with his new position in the Department of Homeland Security and his idea for Bravo Foxtrot, a new Secret Division, he might even help save the world along the way.
Don’t miss SEAL STRONG, the kick off to the new Silver SEALs series!
Get SEAL STRONG
Dear Reader,
I hope you love reading Rick and Sierra’s happily ever after as much as I enjoyed writing it. In case you missed it, you can read how Rick & Sierra first meet in Protected by a SEAL.
And if you want to see more of Sierra's co-star Jamey Garret, he's getting his own happy ever after in HERO FOR HIRE.
Thank you for reading!
Cat Johnson
MORE FROM CAT JOHNSON
SEALS IN PARADISE
Hot SEAL, Dirty Martini
FOR HIRE
a Hot SEALs series spin-off
Billionaire for Hire
Hot Chick for Hire
Spy for Hire
Hero for Hire
HOT SEALS
Night with a SEAL
Saved by a SEAL
SEALed at Midnight
Kissed by a SEAL
Protected by a SEAL
Loved by a SEAL
Tempted by a SEAL
Wed to a SEAL
Romanced by a SEAL
Rescued by a Hot SEAL
Betting on a Hot SEAL
Escape with a Hot SEAL
SEAL the DEAL
More Military Men!
RED HOT & BLUE
Red Blooded (Trey, Jack, Jimmy)
Smalltown Heat (Jared, Cole, Bobby)
A Few Good Men (John Blake)
BB Dalton
Model Soldier (Hawk)
A Prince Among Men (Ryan)
True Blue (Bull, Matt, The Commander)
MEN IN UNIFORM
Crossing the Line
Cinderella Liberty
Hot Cowboys!
STUDS IN SPURS
Unridden (Slade)
Bucked (Mustang)
Ride (Chase)
Hooked (Luke)
Flanked (Garret)
Thrown (Skeeter)
Champion (Cooper)
Spurred (Aaron)
Wrecked (Wade)
FIND MORE BY CAT AT
catjohnson.net/books
MULTI-AUTHOR SEALs SERIES
PARADISE AUTHORS
SEALS IN PARADISE
Hot SEAL, Salty Dog – Elle James
Hot SEAL, S*x on the Beach – Delilah Devlin
Hot SEAL, Dirty Martini – Cat Johnson
Hot SEAL, Bourbon Neat – Parker Kincade
Hot SEAL, Red Wine – Becca Jameson
Hot SEAL, Cold Beer – Cynthia D’Alba
Hot SEAL, Rusty Nail – Teresa Reasor
Hot SEAL, Black Coffee – Cynthia D’Alba
Hot SEAL, Single Malt – Kris Michaels
SUSPENSE SISTERS
SILVER SEALS
SEAL STRONG – Cat Johnson
SEAL Love’s Legacy – Sharon Hamilton
SEAL Together – Maryann Jordan
SEAL of Fortune – Becky McGraw
SEAL in Charge – Donna Michaels
SEAL in a Storm – KaLyn Cooper
SEAL Forever – Kris Michaels
SEAL Out of Water– Abbie Zanders
Sign, SEAL and Deliver – Geri Foster
SEAL Hard – J.M. Madden
SEAL Undercover – Desiree Holt
SEAL for Hire – Trish Loye
SEAL at Sunrise – Caitlyn O’Leary
Note: Each title in both series is a STANDALONE story set within a shared world, with a different hero and heroine and their HEA. NO CLIFFHANGERS! There is NO specific reading order. You do NOT need to read all the stories to enjoy just one in the series.
ABOUT CAT JOHNSON
A top 10 New York Times bestselling author, Cat Johnson writes the USA Today bestselling Hot SEALs series, as well as contemporary romance featuring sexy alpha heroes who often wear cowboy or combat boots. Known for her creative marketing, Cat has sponsored bull riding cowboys, used bologna to promote her romance novels, and owns a collection of camo and cowboy boots for book signings. She writes both full length and shorter works.
For more visit CatJohnson.net
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