Rescuing Macie

by Susan Stoker

  Macie snorted and closed her eyes. She put her head on his shoulder and sighed. “I’m too tired and my head hurts too much to argue with you right now.”

  She heard rustling, and she heard Truck and Lefty say their goodbyes to Colt. Then the room was silent, and still Macie didn’t open her eyes.

  “If you truly don’t want to move in, I’m willing to compromise,” Colt told her softly.

  Finally feeling mellow because of the pill she’d taken, Macie said, “There’s nothing I want more than to move in with you, Colt. I just can’t help but wonder what everyone else will think. We haven’t known each other that long.”

  “I don’t care,” Colt said after a moment. “And I don’t care what anyone else thinks. I only care about what you think. If you honestly think it’s too fast, then I’ll back off and we can have sleepovers at each other’s places. I want you to be comfortable with our relationship. But I’ll tell you where I stand—I’ve already been looking at rings. I’ve asked your brother for permission to ask you to marry me. I’ve warned my superior officer that I might need some time off in the near future so I can go on my honeymoon…and I’ve been asking around to learn who’s the best OBGYN in the area. I’m in this for the long haul, hon. I can’t replace the daughter you lost, but I can do whatever it takes to give you more children.”

  “You want kids?” she asked incredulously.

  “Honestly? I didn’t before I met you. But now I can’t stop thinking about what an amazing mother you’ll be. I can almost picture your beautiful eyes and features on our children. If you don’t mind me being an old fart by the time they get into high school, then I’m willing to give you as many children as you want.”

  Macie could feel her heart beating fast in her chest, but for once today it wasn’t because of her anxiety. Oh, she was still nervous as hell about moving in with Colt, but she couldn’t help but be excited about the prospect of spending the rest of her life with him.

  “If you get thrown in prison will I get conjugal visits?” she teased.

  Colt rolled his eyes. “Thanks to Lucky, I’m not going to prison. Are you… I didn’t mean to kill him,” Colt said, and Macie could hear the uneasiness in his tone. She hated that he was unsure about her reaction to what he’d done.

  Forcing her eyes open, she sat up and straddled the man she loved. She stared him in the eyes and said clearly, “I know you didn’t. And you did what you had to do. I feel safer with every day that passes because of you. I know that you’ll be the most protective dad any kid could ever have, and that eases my mind.”

  He sighed in relief.

  “But I’m always going to be a nervous wreck,” Macie warned him. “And if we have kids, it’ll probably get worse. I’m going to need you to balance that out with our children. The last thing I want is for them to learn to be afraid of the world like I am.”

  “You’re not afraid of the world,” Colt countered. “And I love you exactly the way you are. You make me feel needed. Sure, I could go out and find a woman who was sure of herself one hundred percent of the time and who could take care of herself and all fourteen of her kids, but that’s not what I want. That’s not who I want. I want you. Every gorgeous, beautiful inch of you. You’re not flawed in my eyes, Macie. You’re perfect, and I’ll remind you every day of our lives if you let me.”

  “I’d love to move in with you,” Macie told him quietly.

  “Good. I’ll call my men in the morning, and your stuff will be here by noon, and you can fix your author’s website, and we can be back in bed trying to make a baby by dinner time.”

  Macie rolled her eyes and chuckled. He was pushing his luck, but she didn’t call him on it. “I’m ready for a nap,” she said instead.

  Without a word, Colt stood, taking Macie with him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and felt his hands under her ass, holding her to him as he walked toward the stairs. He took her to the guest room and laid her on the queen-size bed.

  When she started to ask, he put his finger over her lips. “Just for tonight. Tomorrow is soon enough to face any lingering demons in that room. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she said. Then, as an afterthought, she asked, “Is there a way out of this room…just in case?”

  He smiled down at her and brushed her hair off her forehead and nodded toward the window. “I went out and bought rope ladders after you jumped out of your apartment window. There’s one in every room on this floor.”

  “I love you,” Macie said as she shut her eyes.

  She felt Colt’s lips on her forehead and heard him say, “I love you, too.”

  Epilogue

  “Can I ask you something?” Macie said.

  Colt chuckled and tightened his arm around his wife’s waist. They were lying naked and replete in each others’ arms. They were on their honeymoon in a fancy resort in the Caribbean. It had cost an arm and a leg to rent the room right on the water, but it had been worth every penny when he’d seen how relieved Macie had been.

  At six months pregnant, he thought she was the most beautiful woman alive, but she wasn’t quite ready to parade around the public beaches with her baby belly.

  “I keep telling you that you don’t ever have to ask me if it’s okay to ask me anything. You can just ask,” Colt told her, grinning.

  She twirled her finger around one of his nipples, and Colt forced himself to pay attention to what she was saying instead of throwing her on her back and fucking her again.

  Macie had gotten pregnant almost as soon as they’d begun trying. She’d been knocked up so quickly, he hadn’t even officially asked her to marry him. He’d rectified that immediately, and the same night she’d said yes, he’d called Truck and told him to clear his schedule because as soon as they could get an appointment, they were getting married by a justice of the peace.

  Colt knew without asking that Macie would hate a big wedding. She’d hate to have all those people staring at her and she’d worry herself to death over every little detail. So the small ceremony at the courthouse suited him just fine.

  That didn’t prevent the wives of the men under his command from throwing them a big-ass party. Colt had been relieved that Macie didn’t seem to mind, and in fact had the time of her life that night.

  “Mary told me about that one mission you went on, and you explained what happened…but I heard her talking with Casey later and she said something else about you.”

  Colt didn’t even tense at the reminder of that day so long ago. Macie didn’t love him any less as a result, and he’d finally come to terms with it himself. Gris and his family had shown up at their wedding party as a surprise. Truck had found out about the man and had called to invite him. It was so good to see his friend so happy and settled, it helped with any remaining guilt Colt felt about what had happened all those years ago.

  “What’d she say, hon?” Colt asked.

  “She was asking Casey if she should tell me about a time when you refused to allow one of the soldiers in your unit to leave when his baby was born.”

  Colt knew exactly what she was talking about. “Mary’s right. I did do that.”

  “Why?”

  Colt smiled. He loved that Macie didn’t get huffy with him or tell him he was coldhearted. She always gave people the benefit of the doubt. It was one of the million and two things he loved about her.

  “The soldier in question was married at the time, and the woman having his baby wasn’t his wife. He had been cheating on his wife for months. My hands were tied. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, adultery is unacceptable conduct and a soldier can be demoted as a result. This guy wasn’t legally separated, and he didn’t give a shit who knew about this other woman. Not only that, but the other woman knew he was married, and apparently she didn’t care either.

  “I refused to let the soldier take leave because I knew he was going to lie to his wife about where he was going and why. Not only did I not let him go, I did my best to push for a court-martial as well.”


  “Wow. Did he get kicked out of the Army?” Macie asked, coming up on an elbow so she could look at his face.

  Colt shook his head. “No. He was demoted to private, but he was allowed to stay. Those are the kinds of soldier I hate. They aren’t in the armed forces to serve their country. I don’t mind the men and women who join for college money, or because they need to support their family, or even because they have no idea what to do with their lives. But I hate the ones who’re trying to milk every penny they can out of the government. They’re often cowards or bullies, and are part of the reason why I jumped at the chance to command the Delta Force units here in Texas.”

  Macie put her head back down on his shoulder.

  “Any more questions?”

  She shook her head. “No. And for the record, I knew you had to have a good reason. It’s just not in you to be an ass for the sake of being an ass.”

  Colt chuckled. “I can definitely be an ass,” he told her. “Just ask your brother.”

  Macie shook her head. “No. That’s different. You were doing so to help them become better soldiers.”

  “He told you stories then, huh?” Colt asked.

  He felt Macie smile against him.

  “Yeah. I heard some stuff,” she agreed.

  “You and Truck are good, right?”

  Macie nodded. “Yeah. It was tough to talk to him, but I told him all about my baby and what our parents did. He was pissed, like you were, but he didn’t judge me like I thought he would. It’s good to have him back in my life,” she admitted.

  “I know he feels the same way,” Colt reassured her.

  They didn’t say anything for a while, just listened to the sound of the waves on the beach outside the screen door of their room.

  “I’m worried about Trigger and the others,” she eventually said.

  “Why?”

  “Because they’re lonely.”

  “What? Why do you think that?”

  “I can just tell,” Macie said.

  “I’m sure when the time is right, the right woman will come along for each of them,” Colt reassured his wife.

  “But what if they’re not looking for her? She could be right under their noses and they wouldn’t even know it. They’d overlook her, then possibly be lonely for the rest of their lives.”

  Colt held back the chuckle that threatened. The hormones coursing through Macie’s body were making her extra emotional about everything lately. He loved that she was worried about his men, but knew they’d laugh their asses off if they heard her assessment of their love lives. “They’ll know her when they see her,” he told her.

  “Hmmm,” she mumbled, obviously not convinced.

  Making a mental note to warn Trigger that his wife was on a mission to see him and the rest of the men on his team happily settled down, Colt decided to get her attention off of them and back on him.

  He shifted until he was braced over Macie and kissed his way down her body. He spent a lot of time kissing and caressing her beautiful baby belly, and muttering words of love to their daughter nestled within, then continued until he was between her legs.

  “Again?” she mock complained.

  “Again,” Colt confirmed as he lowered his head. He knew Macie loved this, almost more than any other way he made love to her, and he was determined to make sure she loved every second of their honeymoon.

  He’d do anything for his wife. Move heaven and Earth to make her happy and content. He might’ve saved her from her ex, but she’d more than paid that back to him tenfold. He was happier than he’d ever been in his life and had never looked forward to the future more than he did now.

  Life was good. He held the proof in his hands.

  * * * *

  Trigger and the rest of his team will get their happy-ever-afters starting next year. Stay tuned for a new Delta Force Heroes series featuring the same kind of protective alpha men and strong women you’ve come to know and love.

  In the meantime, if you haven’t read about Truck and his team, you can start the series right now for free with Rescuing Rayne!

  * * * *

  Hopefully after reading Colt and Macie's story you’ll want to read more about Truck, the commander, and the rest of the Delta Force team mentioned in the book. Be sure to download Rescuing Rayne. It's the first book in the Delta Force Heroes Series and is FREE on all platforms!

  As a flight attendant, Rayne Jackson is used to cancellations, but she never dreamed her latest would lead to a whirlwind tour of London with a handsome stranger…or a life-altering night in his bed. One evening is all the enigmatic man can give her, and Rayne greedily takes it, despite suspecting it will never be enough.

  Heading home after another extreme mission, Keane "Ghost" Bryson hadn't planned to seduce someone during his layover, but Rayne is too sweet to resist. Being a Delta Force member means lying to protect his identity, which is unfortunate, considering Rayne seems made for Ghost, right down to the tattoo on her back. For the first time in his life, regret fills him as he slips away the following morning.

  Both are shocked when, months later, they meet again—under the worst possible circumstances. Seems fate has given them a second chance…if they can survive the terrorist situation they're in. If Rayne can forgive Ghost his lies. And if Ghost can trust Rayne to be strong enough to endure the secrets and uncertainty that come with loving a Delta Force soldier.

  Click here to purchase.

  * * * *

  And if you enjoyed Rescuing Macie, you'll like all my books because I write much the same way in each of my series. Check out the first book in my new SEAL of Protection: Legacy Series, Securing Caite.

  Caite McCallan is a Department of Defense admin working in Bahrain when a glitchy elevator, of all things, leads to an unexpected invitation to dinner by a gorgeous Navy SEAL. When he later stands her up, Caite’s understandably upset…until she overhears a plot that confirms Rocco didn’t blow her off. Instead, he and two fellow SEALs are in danger—and Caite is forced to put her career and her life on the line to save them.

  Blake “Rocco” Wise never expected his routine mission to go sideways, but he was even more surprised to find himself and his teammates rescued by the adorably shy woman he met in a stalled elevator. Caite’s selfless act saved his life, but when attempts on her own make it clear someone wants her gone, it’s Rocco’s turn to protect the brave, sweet, sexy woman. The longer he knows her, the more he wants her…but keeping Caite close could bring her nearer to the enemy than ever before.

  Click here to purchase.

  * * * *

  Also from 1001 Dark Nights and Susan Stoker, discover Rescuing Sadie.

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