by J. M. Madden
They beat the crowd and came in from the opposite side of the gathering. The laughing revelers were forming an aisle way down the shallow fieldstone steps leading to the limo that was going to take the newlyweds to the airport. Izzy had said that there was a private plane ready to fly them south.
Drake drew her to a rock formation that was part of the landscaping. If she stood here, she would be able to see them leave.
The newlyweds ran down the steps, holding hands. The attendees showered them with birdseed and good wishes. When they got to the limo, Dylan and Kiko turned, giving their families a final goodbye.
In the last light of the evening, something glinted in the light to the east of the gathering, on a landscaped slope similar to the one they were on. Drake looked that way and at first couldn't make anything out. Then the glint flashed again. He'd seen enough riflescopes in his life to know what he saw.
"No fucking way," he growled.
He pushed Izzy to the ground behind the landscaping rocks. "Stay right there. I think Brendon is being an ass again."
Her eyes widened in fear but he couldn't stay to comfort her. He took off running.
Praying that his men would see him, he started going through the hand signals all teams were trained with. Attention. Look in that direction. Assault and Eliminate. Over and over again, even as he plowed through the crowd. Dylan took Kiko to the ground just as a shot ricocheted through the air. Drake didn't even slow, though he knew he was probably the target. He just pounded on. Then there were men running beside him, other SEALs that trusted in him and his word, even if they weren't on the same team.
When they reached Brendon, they completely overwhelmed him. Within a fraction of a second, he was disarmed and flipped over onto his belly. Struggling, he tried to buck them off. Drake was forced to immobilize him with a strike to the ribs, then a second one. Brendon gasped for breath, his arms going lax. Someone produced a white flex-cuff zip tie and he almost laughed, wondering who’d come so prepared to a wedding reception, but he took it without comment. He cinched it around Brendon's wrists, till the man cried out with pain. Drake couldn't give a flying fuck if he was in pain though.
Three of the men around him took over for Drake as he stood. Fetch stood a few feet away with a beat up hunting rifle in hand. "Looks like he was hunting something, Zero. It's clear now."
Fetch had the sense to handle the weapon gingerly so as not to smudge prints. Another SEAL stood to the side recording everything on his phone. Yet another group was directing the rest of the crowd back down the hill. By the time the sheriff arrived a few minutes later, the scene and suspect were completely preserved.
Izzy cried and walked into his arms when he got to the bottom of the hill. Then she pushed him away and looked him up and down. "You're not hit?"
Drake looked down at himself. It wasn't unusual to find injuries after the adrenalin had worn off, but he didn't see anything. "I don't think so. Judging by the state of the rifle he had, I doubt he could hit anything."
She swiped her tears from her cheeks, dragging in huge gulps of air. Drake was a little shocked at Izzy's reaction, and she seemed to be too. She turned away a little to get control of her emotions. When she turned back, she’d wiped her face and clamped down on her reaction, but her skin was still flushed.
Giving in to the need to hold her in his arms, Drake pressed a kiss to her head, running his fingers through her hair. Tucking some behind her ear, he brushed a touch along the outside shell, over the dangling silver earring she wore, then down to her collarbone.
"That scared me, Drake. I'm not going to lie."
Moving his hand up and down her back, he sighed. "I know it did, Izzy, but you're handling it well. I appreciate that."
She leaned back in his arms enough to look up into his eyes. "You think you were his target. Don’t you?"
He winced, his gaze sliding away. "Not sure. We're hoping the resort has footage of the area up there, but we're not holding our breath. They do, however, have footage of him getting into his truck for the weapon. The security guards said they were parked outside his room the entire time, so he must have jumped out of a window or something." He dragged his gaze back to hers. "He's not going to do anything else though. I promise you."
Dylan and Kiko were talking to the sheriff when they wandered over, and Izzy gave her a wan smile. "You okay, Mrs. Cutler?"
Kiko grinned for a moment, before sobering. "Yes, I'm fine. Not exactly the splashy end to the wedding I wanted, but, you know… at least no deaths occurred."
Kiko gave a sardonic shrug and Izzy leaned forward to pull her into a hug. Ginny slipped from the crowd to join them, and they held each other for a couple of minutes, not even saying anything. Just reassuring each other.
"I'm still going on my damn honeymoon!" Kiko declared, pulling back.
Izzy squeezed her friend's hand. "Of course you are! Besides, you have a private plane. You can go anytime."
They laughed together and within a few minutes Kiko and Dylan took off for real this time, beer cans rattling from the end of the limousine.
Ginny declared that she was tired from all the drama and was heading up to the room. But she winked at Izzy. And grabbed the good-looking man from the dinner table she'd been with earlier to tow behind her as she left.
Izzy laughed, because though this had been a harrowing day, they would all move on. And they would all find pleasure where they could.
Drake stood a few feet away, arms crossed as he waited for her. Izzy gave him a playful smile. "So, Navy man, I think you need a physical, just to make sure we didn't miss something."
He gave her a funny look. "You know, maybe we should. I might have missed something important. Thank you for taking care of me, Ms. Greer."
"No problem, Mr. Hardwick."
Chapter Seven
Izzy stroked her hand over Capone's head, pulling at his ears like he liked. Groaning, he rolled even further over top of her.
"Damn it, dog, I'm not a pillow!"
But he was used to her griping and merely wagged his tail, smacking her in the leg, tongue lolling happily from his wrinkly face.
Izzy laughed at him, pushed him off her and rolled out of bed. Padding to the bathroom she did her business, slipped on a pair of sleep pants beneath her long t-shirt and urged Capone off the bed. "Come on, lazy bones. I know you have to pee too."
The one-eyed Bull Mastiff mix slid off the bed and headed for the back door of the house. Izzy let him out into the fenced yard, knowing it would take him a while to water all the weeds he liked. Then he'd have to warm up in the sun with an early morning nap to recover. Then he'd want to come in for breakfast.
Her spare time revolved around that damn dog and he loved it.
She wished it revolved around another big male.
It had been three weeks since she'd seen Drake, or talked to him. They’d texted a few times the first week, but she thought he’d gone out of the country because it had been radio silence since then.
Two weeks of watching the news more than she ever had for hot spots in the Middle East had also been two weeks of searching out every deep male voice to confirm it wasn't him. The last two weeks were filled with hoping beyond hope that she would hear from him. A phone call, a letter, a smoke signal, anything.
It had almost taken her that long to recover from the wedding from hell. No, she couldn't say that. The wedding had been fine. The reception had been hell for her personally, but Kiko had been oblivious to everything going on until the end.
Dylan and Kiko had gotten back from their honeymoon a week ago and were counting down the hours until Dylan’s leave was over. Izzy had called her and texted her a couple times, but she was letting the newlyweds fit in every spare moment of connection they could before he left. After Dylan was gone she and Ginny would steal Kiko away for a spa day or something. They all needed friend contact, so bad!
There was a knock at her door. Izzy glanced at the clock, wondering who could be there at nine
oh-three in the morning. Padding through the silent house she peeked out the window beside the door. A young woman stood there, a flower delivery in her hand. The logo on the vase corresponded with the logo on the truck parked on the street. Izzy opened the door.
The woman grinned. "Are you Izzy?"
Nodding, she took the flowers and signed her name. "Oh, I don't have a tip. Hold on."
The young woman waved her hand. "Already taken care of. Enjoy!"
Izzy backed into the house, looking down at the huge bouquet of roses. They were a vivid wintergreen lozenge pink, and while she didn't normally like roses, these ones were spectacular.
She sat the vase down on a table and pulled the card from the plastic holder. Inside was a handwritten card in black. The color reminded me of that damn Pepto-Bismol dress... I miss you. I want to see you. Just so you’ll wear that dress and take it off again.
The signature was a heavy D across the bottom of the card. She laughed, holding it to her chest. She missed him too, terribly.
Then something occurred to her. He was in Virginia. How did he know what color these roses were, in Colorado? And the card! He didn’t…
Her heart stalling out she bolted for the door and flung it open.
Drake stood there in a tight gray t-shirt and jeans that seemed to be molded onto him. There was a bashful smile on his face and he'd propped a pair of wraparound sunglasses on his head. He held out his hands to her in supplication. "I know I didn't call and I hope you’re not mad Ginny gave me your address."
Izzy didn't give him a chance to say anything else, just wrapped her arms around him and brought his head down for a kiss. Drake didn't fight her, cupping her head in his hands to deepen the contact.
Izzy's body responded like they'd never been apart. Leaning into him, she let him know how happy she was to see him.
Drake pulled back from her enough to urge her into the house. He followed her in and swung the door shut behind them. "You're not mad?"
"No, of course not. I'm ecstatic to see you."
He grinned at her and her heart palpitated. Damn, was that joy in his expression? And relief. Had he actually expected her to turn him away? His face seemed very open.
"I thought I was going to come see you, though?” she asked, confused. “Did you get more time off or something?"
He made a face. "Kind of. I'm ..." he hesitated for a long moment before squaring up. "I don't want you to feel rushed or on the spot or anything, but I'm feeling out a couple of job prospects. One is in Denver. The other in Montana."
Izzy felt her mouth fall open. "You're leaving the team?"
Drake cringed, but made a waffling motion with his hands. "It was kind of depending upon your reception whether or not I followed through. I'm not expecting an instant relationship or anything, but if I'm closer maybe we could see where this thing between us goes."
Izzy was stunned all over again and tears filled her eyes. She was not a weepy person, but he was tugging all of her strings. "I think it's a fabulous idea. An hour and twenty minutes is much better than ten hours of travel. But are you sure? This is such a huge change."
Drake shook his head slightly. "You know, it's not really. I talked to Gabe at the wedding reception. The Lost and Found crew out here… well, I know a lot of them. I worked with Gabe and Max directly. So it's not like I'm walking into this blind. And the Brotherhood Protectors are further away, but seem to have a more dynamic operation. Remember Patterson from the reception? He's putting everything he has into his business."
"But, what about the SEALs?"
Drake shrugged his broad shoulders, but his gaze stayed solid and determined. "The team will always be important to me, and I'll always be there for anyone that needs anything, but that one night with you totally changed the way I looked at the world. I want more than to just go shoot things and clean up other people's messes. I want a home life. I want someone to look at me like they're happy to see me at the end of the day."
Izzy smiled softly, totally understanding that. It was lonely being alone all the time. "I would be happy to see you every day. I think you know that. Although Capone might have an issue with you being here. He's been the only man in my life for a long time."
Drake drew back, brow furrowed as he tried to remember who Capone was. "Oh, the dog. Where is the little guy? I'll make up with him. Dogs love me."
Izzy grinned at his response, her eyes going wide, and led him to the back door. "Capone," she called. "We have a visitor."
All hundred and fifty pounds of overgrown fawn-colored puppy burst out of the undergrowth beneath the back deck. Capone carried a smooshed basketball in his jaws, but he dropped it as soon as he saw Drake. Izzy grabbed the dog's collar as he rammed through the doorway, but it didn't slow him down much as he headed straight for Drake.
When the dog shoved his nose into Drake's crotch, he laughed. "This wasn't exactly the welcome home action I expected."
Izzy giggled and fought with the dog that weighed more than she did. Feeling desperate, she snatched a chew bone from the bag in the upper cupboard. As soon as she got his attention with the rustling bag and threw it into the back yard, Capone took off in his galumphing, lop-headed gate.
"He only has one eye," she explained. "Not sure how he lost it. Somebody found him on the streets all sickly and lost. I fostered him for a good while, then adopted him outright when I couldn't let him go. I'm a sucker."
Izzy shrugged, but Drake grinned at her. "I think it shows your heart."
Yeah, she supposed. "Let me show you around."
Her house wasn't large, and having his big body in it made it seem even smaller, but Izzy looked forward to the closeness.
Drake appreciated everything she'd done in her home, and the way she'd furnished it. The bedroom was the last stop, as she had planned. Drake's eyes popped wide at the sight of the dark purple color of the walls. She watched him expectantly as he looked around. She always made her bed in the mornings, and weekends were the same. The thick down comforter was folded down to the end of the bed and the pale lilac blanket beneath stretched the length of the bed. It was pretty and girly and Izzy loved this space with its white accents.
"I feel like a man has never dared cross this threshold."
Izzy laughed, shifting a little uncomfortably. "Well, no man has actually. I haven't been in this house very long and I've never had a man here."
When she glanced up at him, his expression had gone hard and cold. He stretched out his chin, as if to loosen the taut muscles in his neck. Then he stretched his hands out, shaking them. "I have to say, I'm very glad to hear that. I know I have no right to say that or even think it. We're not connected or committed in any way, but I worried that you would find someone else while I was back home arranging for time off."
He turned to her, standing there in the doorway. "Izzy, I think what we found is something special. I've never felt a connection like that to another human being, let alone a woman. I would like to ask you if there's any way you would consider dating me exclusively?"
Izzy looked up at him, standing there in her too girly room. He was nervous, she could see that. Though he stood strong, his eyes were narrowed as if he were getting ready for a punch or knockdown.
She dared to reach out to run a fingertip over the swell of his pectoral, then up to cup his neck. Looking into his eyes, she smiled. "I had already decided I was going to give you about a month before I was going to come stalking in Virginia."
A slow, sweet smile crept across his mouth. "Oh, really? Stalking, huh?"
She shrugged. "Well, only until I caught you. Then I was going to seduce you and make you promise to come see me. Then when you agreed I was going to ride you into one of the best orgasms you've ever had. Because, you know, I believe in positive reinforcement."
Drake laughed and pulled her into his strong arms. "So, I saved you a lot of trouble then by coming out here early? Maybe I still deserve a positive reward?"
Izzy grinned with him and nodde
d her head. "Yes, I believe you do."
Without another word he started backing her up toward the bed, tugging her clothes off as he did. Izzy helped when she could but she was too busy trying to get his clothes off. The sexy gray t-shirt went flying into a corner, then she was working on the button of his jeans. It was very tight, though, because of the hardness behind it. Drake had an easier time of it. Before she could even blink he had her naked in front of him. With a gentle shove he pushed her back onto the mattress. Then, with hard, uncompromising hands, he pushed her knees up and out.
Izzy felt the weight of his gaze on her pussy and arousal flooded her. She should have been embarrassed at the position, but instead she began to pant, her excitement building the longer he stared down at her. Goosebumps raised the hair on her skin and heat washed through her.
“I feel like the door to heaven cracked open and I got the merest glimpse of what was available three weeks ago,” he told her softly. “But I want more. I regretted not exploring you, tasting you, feeling you, and I vowed to myself that I would as soon as humanly possible. You have the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.”
Without another word, he leaned forward to run his tongue up her dampening cleft. Izzy cried out, shuddering, contracting, praying for more, but everything stilled. She glanced at Drake. He had closed his eyes, his mouth moving as if savoring a decadent candy. When his lids lifted and his gaze connected to hers, he nodded. “I knew you would taste like this. Like the plumpest, sweetest raspberries fresh from the vine. Sweet and tart. Beautiful. Incredible.”
Leaning forward, he pressed a broad, open-mouthed kiss to her pussy, hard tongue flicking out to dance around her clit.
Izzy felt her body change beneath his touch, first going loose with heat, then tightening and straining as he licked and played. She wanted to pretend that it didn’t affect her, but it was so obvious that it did. Excitement made her wet and she could feel moisture pooling and overflowing. She tried to pull away, but he merely pulled her hips tighter to his face.
