Storm (Special Forces: Operation Alpha): A Linear Tactical Series Novel

by Janie Crouch

  She’d known being with Noah would be different, more wonderful, but nothing had prepared her for that.

  And he still had his clothes on.

  He was smiling as he kissed his way back up her body. “You’re so gorgeous. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’ll take it.”

  “I know I said I would be honest, so I have to let you know I have a problem.”

  Immediately his head jerked up, ready to solve whatever it was she threw at him.

  She loved him. She truly did. If the mind-blowing orgasm hadn’t made that clear for her, the fact that he was willing to do whatever she needed did.

  She poked him in the chest. “You have on way too many clothes… I have a problem with that.”

  He laughed, already pulling his shirt over his head. He kicked off his shoes and socks, and she helped with his jeans, loving how powerful and beautiful she felt when he groaned as she cupped him through the fabric.

  She was the one almost groaning a few minutes later when she pushed him back onto the bed. He pulled a condom out of the bedside table and she watched in fascination as he rolled it over his length.

  She smiled down at him. “Can I be on top?”

  “Oh, honey, you would break my heart if you didn’t.”

  He reached back and pulled one of the thick pillows up behind his shoulders so it propped him up. He spread his arms along the plain wooden headboard and smiled at her in invitation.

  He looked like some sort of benevolent sex god, prepared to bestow all sorts of unknown pleasure.

  And he was all hers.

  She hitched a leg over his hips and balanced herself with her hands on his shoulders.

  “So damn sexy,” he said through gritted teeth.

  Slowly, she lowered herself onto him. She took her time, easing her way down a little bit at a time before coming all the way back up.

  This felt so good—the way he filled her, stretched her. It felt right, both of them whispering each other’s names as she drove them both crazy, inch by inch.

  “I love you, gorgeous.” His voice was so deep it was hardly recognizable as his, but one look at his face and she knew the words were heartfelt.

  “I love you, too.”

  She slid all the way down on him, both letting out groans as she worked her way up and down faster. His hands moved to her hips and she let him take over the speed and depth of her ride.

  She’d never known sex could be anywhere near this good. And they were just getting started, in every possible way. As her climax broke around her in waves, she fell against his chest, whispering that she loved him. His hands gripped her hips and he thrust into her over and over, saying her name like it was a prayer.

  Maybe it was.

  He was certainly the answer to all of hers.

  27

  “Hey, buddy.” Noah found Sam sitting on the wooden fence near the barn. He’d become a pretty standard fixture there over the last ten months since Bree and Tanner’s wedding. The boy loved to watch the horses and other animals from his perch on the top rung.

  And since Sam was here with his mom and sister almost every evening for dinner, Noah found the kid out here a lot. Joined him a lot, whenever he could. Pointed out things Sam could take pictures of with the camera he’d gotten for his birthday—the kid’s prized possession.

  “Hey, Noah.”

  Noah leaned his elbows against the rung of the fence Sam sat on. “You doing okay?”

  Noah and Marilyn were leaving for four days to travel to the Channel Islands off the coast of California tomorrow. Another wedding—Zac Mackay and Annie Griffin’s this time.

  The kids were staying at the ranch with Bree and Tanner and seemed quite excited about it. Noah prayed he wasn’t about to ruin that.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” Hazel eyes so much like Marilyn’s peeked over at him. “Mom said you wanted to talk to me.”

  Noah climbed up on the fence next to him. “I do. I needed to talk to you about something as man of the house. Because I know you always want to protect your mom.”

  Sam nodded solemnly and wiped his hands against his jeans. “Are you selling the ranch? Can we not come here anymore?”

  Aww, hell, kid.

  “No, not that. Never that.”

  There’d been way too many emotional swings at Sam in his short life. Noah tried to always be even-tempered and consistent with him and Eva, not that it was hard. He couldn’t imagine better behaved children than they were. Loud sometimes, especially Eva, but always good.

  “Is it something else bad?”

  Noah shook his head. “No, nothing bad. At least, I don’t think it’s bad.”

  “Will it make Mom cry?” Sam glanced over at him, so serious to be just eight years old. “She used to cry a lot before we moved to Risk Peak. Even after we left dad. She would try to hide it, but I would hear her. And sometimes, even at New Journeys, it was hard for her to get out of bed in the morning.”

  Noah nodded. “I know. I hate to think of your mom being that sad. But she’s strong and seems to be doing a lot better lately.”

  “Yeah. She’s happy. I like it when she’s happy.”

  “I like it when she’s happy too, buddy. She deserves to be happy. And I’m doing my damnedest to keep her that way.”

  They both half-smiled at each other; one, because of their common goal to keep Marilyn happy and two, because Noah had used a bad word, but they were men and could handle it.

  Noah couldn’t imagine loving this kid more if Sam was his own biological son.

  He and Marilyn had worked carefully to balance their relationship over the last few months. There was nothing Noah wanted more than to keep her confined to his bed making love to her constantly, especially since every time they did, it kept getting better.

  He should’ve known she’d be adventurous and creative once she was given a little encouragement. And he was one hell of a lucky man to be the one she chose to adventure with.

  But they also hadn’t wanted to throw the kids into anything new and frightening, especially after so much change had happened so fast in their lives. So, sleepovers between him and Marilyn had been few, although they’d nearly perfected the art of afternoon delights.

  But now Noah was ready to wake up with Marilyn every day for the rest of their lives. Hell, he’d been ready for that since she nearly took him out with her left hook almost a year ago. But he’d wanted to give her—and the kids—time to be ready.

  “Your mom and I are going on this trip tomorrow to see Mr. Zac and Miss Annie get married. You still okay with that?”

  “Yeah.” Sam nodded. “I’ll take care of the ranch while you’re gone. Show Tanner around if he has any questions.”

  Noah bit back a smile. “Awesome. Tanner will appreciate it.” Never mind that his brother had been helping out at the ranch for half a decade.

  They both looked out at the two horses meandering in the corral. The sun would be setting soon, and it would be time to bring them back to the barn. He knew Sam would help without being asked.

  Noah cleared his throat. Damn if this wasn’t a little more difficult than he had thought. “While your mom and I are away, I was going to ask her an important question, but I wanted to go over it with you first, man to man.”

  Sam glanced at him, tension growing in his small shoulders. “Okay.”

  “I love your mom very much and I want to ask her to marry me.”

  The sight of pure, unadulterated joy on Sam’s face eased whatever concerns he might have had. But then it fell away.

  “What about me and Eva?”

  Noah scooted closer to the boy and threw his arm around the kid’s narrow shoulders. “You guys are a package deal, I know that. Not only do I know it, I want it. I want you and Eva. I want you guys to live here at the ranch—your mom can work at New Journeys during the day, but this would be your home. I want you guys to be here forever. All of you.”

  “Like, you would be our dad?”

  Noah
stilled. He hadn’t really thought the talk would go this direction, but he should’ve figured it would.

  “Sam, I would be honored to be your father in every way that you will let me. If that means me being here as your mom’s husband and part of your life that way, I’m okay with that. If it means you’ll allow me to formally adopt you so you’re my son in the eyes of the law, I’ll start the paperwork as soon as possible.”

  “Really? You want Eva and me?”

  He yanked the kid harder to his side. “I want all of you. Every day. Forever.”

  They sat staring out at the horses again. Noah wasn’t sure if he should say something more or not. He still wasn’t great with the emotional conversations.

  “Noah?”

  “Yeah, buddy?”

  “Once you and Mom get married, can I call you dad?”

  He closed his eyes, thanking his maker for all the precious things he’d been given. “I’d like nothing better…son.”

  Eva came running towards them from behind, then climbed up on the fence and pushed between them with her head until they let her through. Her little hands held on to their shirts to keep her balanced. “Mommy sent me to ask if you want ice cream.” She spun her head around to look up at Sam then Noah. “What are you guys doing?”

  “Talking,” they both said at the same time.

  “About something fun?”

  “Can you keep a secret…?” Sam asked.

  This definitely grabbed Eva’s attention. She wiggled until they made room for her, then sat on the fence rail in between them. “Yes. I can. But not if it’s bad. Or scary. Or if it will hurt someone because Mommy says we can’t keep secrets that cause someone else to be hurt because—”

  “No, it’s not bad,” Sam interrupted, probably knowing that you had to interrupt Eva sometimes to get a word in edgewise. “But it is a secret and you can’t tell Mom, just for tonight.”

  Eva’s eyes got big. “Okay.”

  Sam gave Noah a nod indicating he had the floor. Noah bit back a laugh. These two. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with them almost as much as he did Marilyn.

  “I’m going to ask your mom to marry me while we’re at the beach this weekend.”

  He was prepared to field the same sort of questions as he had from Sam. The bigger questions—about inclusion, and family, and changes.

  He should’ve known better.

  “Do you have a ring? Can I see it? Is it pretty? Is it a diamond? How are you going to ask?” Eva fired off each question in rapid succession. “Are you going to get flowers? Ooh! You’ll be at the beach. What if you write ‘will you marry me’ in the sand? What if you—”

  He reached over and put a hand gently over the rugrat’s mouth. “How about if I promise to take lots of pictures so you can see them and give you all the details when we get back on Monday?”

  She pulled one finger away from her mouth, big eyes staring at him. “Does this mean you’ll finally be my daddy?”

  He kissed her tiny nose. “Yes. If that’s what you want.”

  “Can I be a flower girl in the wedding?”

  Noah laughed. “That you’ll have to wait and talk to your mother about. But not until after I ask her to marry me first. Remember, secret.”

  “Okay.”

  “Are you guys coming?” Marilyn yelled from the porch. “Since when don’t you move fast for ice cream?”

  Both kids jumped down from the fence and Noah swung Eva up onto his shoulders. Sam tentatively reached out his hand toward Noah, and Noah immediately grabbed it to hold.

  The kid would outgrow that soon, and Noah would take every second he could get.

  They walked back toward the house. Toward Marilyn. Toward ice cream. Together.

  28

  Marilyn stood at the base of the path that led up to the spa facility on San Amado, a private Channel Island. She could hear the women ahead of her—most of whom she’d met yesterday—laughing and joking with each other, ready for their afternoon of pampering. They’d been nothing but kind and inclusive toward her since she and Noah arrived a day and a half ago.

  But she didn’t want to go to the spa.

  For multiple reasons. For one, she wasn’t particularly interested in anyone but Noah putting their hands on her body. Nothing about that seemed relaxing.

  But more because she wanted to go back down to the beach again.

  She’d never been to the beach before this weekend.

  She didn’t want to be rude to the women who’d been so kind to her…but her heart yearned to be closer to that ocean for the limited time she had here.

  “Want to blow this joint and go for a walk instead?”

  Marilyn spun to find Annie behind her.

  “You’re the bride.” Marilyn smiled at her friend. “Isn’t your presence required at the pre-wedding pampering?”

  “No, I already told Charlie this morning that I was going to pass. She, always being willing to take one for the team, agreed to use my scheduled massage and hers.”

  Marilyn laughed. “Good friend.”

  “I want to walk and was going to go toward the cliff side of the island and check it out. I’d love for you to come with me.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt you if you want to be alone.”

  Annie linked her arm with Marilyn’s. “There’s nothing I’d like better than to spend time with you. I can see all of them in Oak Creek anytime, plus I can hardly understand how anyone would choose to stay inside while they’re here.”

  Exactly.

  They turned and walked toward the beach, then cut north along a well-marked path.

  “You’re getting married tomorrow, you know.”

  Annie’s face lit up in a wide grin. “I know. I’m so ready. I’ve been in love with Zac for so long—since we were kids. Even when I knew he couldn’t be mine.”

  “Yet, he’s yours now, no doubt about that.” Marilyn knew Zac and Annie’s history was rooted in some tragedy, but the love in Zac’s eyes when he looked at Annie was evident for anyone to see.

  “I know,” Annie responded. “Every single day, I’m secure in his love.”

  They walked farther away from the resort area. San Amado was small compared to the other Channel Islands. It was privately owned and used solely for destination weddings and other group getaways. The southern part of the island had sandy, traditional beaches, while rock formations and cliffs were just a couple of miles farther north.

  “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way.” Annie glanced over at her from the path a few minutes later. “But you look better than I ever thought you would. Especially given everything that happened last year.”

  Marilyn laughed. “Maybe I’m going to a lot of spas back in Colorado.”

  “I don’t think spas can give anyone that well-loved look like you’ve got.”

  Marilyn flushed. “Please. The teasing last night at dinner was bad enough. Don’t you start, too.”

  Marilyn and Noah had been late for the group dinner because she’d dragged him back to bed—and accidentally given him a tiny hickey when she’d been kissing his neck.

  Noah’s friends, his former Special Forces teammates, seemed to notice it right away. And they were never ever going to let him live that down.

  “Everyone loves seeing Noah the way he is with you. Teasing is their way of letting him know they approve.”

  Marilyn rolled her eyes. “Maybe if they could approve a little less, I would not die of embarrassment.” The path led to some stairs. “I do like seeing him around his friends. You guys are so obviously a family.”

  “We are. In every way that family matters. You’re part of that now too, you know. Your family just grew by about forty people.”

  They continued down the narrow path toward the water. “I guess so.”

  “You don’t like that?”

  “I do. I just…maybe it’s a little too soon for people to be thinking of me as part of the extended family.”

  An
nie reached out and grabbed Marilyn’s arm, stopping her. “You don’t see what’s between you and Noah as being permanent?”

  Marilyn shrugged. “I do. Just maybe it’s too much to expect a bachelor like Noah to take on as much baggage as I have. Not just my emotional stuff. I have two kids with emotional stuff, too. That’s a lot.”

  “Noah loves you.”

  “And I love him. But love doesn’t always equal marriage and forever. I know that. I don’t want him to think that’s his only option. But also…”

  “What?”

  Marilyn let out a sigh. “My contract is up for renewal at New Journeys. I need to let them know if I plan to live there and continue my job for the next few years or if I plan to…live somewhere else.”

  “Like on a certain horse ranch.”

  A certain horse ranch that she and her children loved. “I don’t want to put pressure on Noah about marriage, so I haven’t mentioned it to him. But honestly, I think we would’ve talked about it before now if he had it on his mind.”

  “Maybe he wants to do a surprise romantic proposal? Maybe that’s why he hasn’t talked about it.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  Noah wasn’t the romantic type, and honestly, she didn’t need romance. She loved him the way he was—honest, trustworthy, protective. He respected her. That meant more than all the pretty words and flowers in the world.

  They made it down to the rocky beach and sat looking out at the water. There was a snorkeler not far out with a tiny raft. That was something Marilyn would like to try. Noah would undoubtably be good at it. The kids would probably love it, too. She let out a sigh.

  Annie nudged her. “What?”

  “A year ago, I could barely stand to have anyone touch me. Noah was training me in self-defense because I feared for my life. I was happy just to survive to the next day, worrying too much about the future.”

  “And now you’ve come so far.”

  “Yes, but the progress hasn’t always been linear, believe me. There are still times when I jump at my own shadow. And times I’ve had to stop Noah in the middle of lovemaking because I got freaked out by something.”