Aidan glanced at Matt again, who simply shrugged and said, “It has been a while since we sparred…”
With another laugh, Aidan got to his feet and stripped out of his V-neck tee. “All righty. Let’s do this shit.”
* * *
“Wow. When you commit to something, you really commit,” Annabelle Holmes remarked, amusement dancing in her eyes.
Claire laughed. “I know, right?” She waved a hand when the brunette made a move to refill Claire’s wine glass. “No more for me. I’m already tipsy as hell.”
Jane Becker wagged her finger in disapproval. “Tipsy is not an unacceptable state to leave girls’ night in. Our goal is to get rip-roaring drunk and then go home to have our way with our men.”
From their various positions around Savannah’s living room, all the other women were nodding and grinning. Claire had to laugh again. She was suddenly so glad she’d taken Jen up on her offer to come here tonight. She hadn’t been thrilled the gathering was taking place at Savannah’s, but the blonde had been on her best behavior since Claire’s arrival, and all the other women were so damn friendly.
For the past two hours, she’d chatted easily with everyone. Holly, Jen, Miranda and Savannah, she already knew. But this was her first time meeting Annabelle, who was engaged to Ryan Evans, and Jane, who was married to the team’s Lieutenant Commander. She liked both women immensely, especially Jane, who was as a blunt as Savannah but far more humorous about it.
“So is it a three-way every night then?” Annabelle pressed, looking more than a little curious about Claire’s current living arrangement.
She felt her cheeks heat up. “Pretty much. But sometimes it’s one-on-one if one of the guys goes out.”
Or if she wasn’t around, but Claire kept that tidbit to herself because she knew Dylan and Aidan didn’t want to announce to everyone that they were sexually involved. Dylan had told her Jen was in the loop, though, and from the secretive smile the blue-eyed blonde shot her, Claire knew Jen was thinking the same thing she was.
“What about dates?” Jane asked. “Do the three of you go out?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but we don’t go overboard on the PDA or anything. Usually just hand-holding.”
Annabelle giggled. “Does everyone’s jaw just drop when they see the three of you holding hands?”
“Sometimes.” She smiled impishly. “I get a lot of envious looks from other women.”
“Well, duh,” Savannah said, grinning widely. “You’re walking around with two of the sexiest men on the planet. Chicks are probably jealous as hell when they see you.” The grin dissolved into a guilty look. “I was jealous too, if I’m being honest.”
“Ooooh,” Jane teased. “Look at that, Claire, you brought out Savannah’s green-eyed monster by stealing Aidan away from her.”
Discomfort rose up her spine, but it faded when she saw the sincerity shining on Savannah’s face. “I’m not jealous anymore, I promise,” the woman assured her. “It just caught me off-guard seeing Aidan kissing you that night. Matt and I have always thought of Aidan as ours, know what I mean?”
“I get that,” Claire said. “He’s pretty damn special. I don’t blame you for feeling possessive over him.”
“But it’s nice to see him looking so happy,” Savannah admitted. “He’s not the kind of man who wears his emotions on his sleeve, but lately he’s always smiling and laughing, and it’s all because of you.”
Claire was genuinely touched. And she knew exactly what Savannah meant. Aidan had been opening up more and more to both her and Dylan. The other night, he’d even told them about how guilty he’d felt after his mom’s death, how living with the knowledge that she’d died to save him had eaten him up inside. Afterwards, Dylan had pulled her aside and thanked her for being there. He claimed that her presence was good for Aidan, and now Savannah was saying the same thing, which only cemented Claire’s decision to stay.
Her parents were still avoiding her calls, and she was still unemployed, but when it came to her love life, she’d never been happier. She was holding on to the hope that all the other parts of her life would fall in line too. Preferably sooner rather than later.
The conversation was interrupted by Savannah’s phone, which vibrated with an incoming text. She glanced at the screen and laughed. “Matt is requesting we all put our clothes on because he’s on his way up. He doesn’t want his buddies beating him up for seeing their women naked.”
Annabelle looked mystified. “What on earth does he think we do on girls’ night?”
“According to his fantasies, we all get naked and have a pillow fight.”
Everyone laughed.
“We should do that one time just to fuck with him,” Jen suggested.
A few minutes later, the front door of Savannah’s loft swung open and Matt strode in.
Sporting a very swollen, very black eye.
His fiancée immediately bolted to her feet. “What the hell, baby? What happened?”
A second later, a very sheepish-looking Aidan entered on Matt’s heels, prompting Claire to gasp. His gorgeous eyes were just fine, but his bottom lip was split and caked with dried blood.
She was at his side in a heartbeat, touching the side of his mouth in concern. “What the hell?” she echoed.
“Ah, darlin’, it’s just a little shiner,” Matt told Savannah.
“And just a busted lip,” Aidan assured Claire.
The two women glanced at each other, then turned to glare at their men.
“You two got into a fight?” Savannah demanded. “Please tell me the other guys got it worse.”
“Um…” Aidan shifted on his feet. “There were no other guys. We, uh…”
“Fought each other,” Matt supplied.
A loud snicker came from the living area.
Matt glanced past his fiancée’s shoulders and offered a careless wave. “Evening, ladies. Thanks for getting dressed so fast.”
“No problem,” Jane said with a snort. “You know we don’t like anyone walking in on our nude pillow fights.”
Claire narrowed her eyes at Aidan. “Why were you fighting each other?”
“Just for fun.”
“For fun?” Disbelief fluttered through her as she stared at his swollen lip. “How is beating each other up fun?”
Behind them, the other women began gathering up their purses and jackets, chuckling amongst themselves. Miranda was the first to approach, pausing in front of the guys with a suspicious cloud in her hazel eyes.
“Why do I get the feeling my husband played a part in this?”
Aidan’s lips twitched. “It may or may not have been his idea.”
“Of course.” She sighed. “How much money did he lose?”
“None,” Matt grumbled in response. “Your asshole husband bet against me, and then he and your asshole boyfriend—” he glanced at a grinning Jen, “—decided that Rhodes was the winner because black eye trumps split lip.”
“They have a point,” Savannah told him.
Disbelief filled his expression. “You’re saying I lost?”
“Sorry, babe, but I think you did.” Her lips curved seductively. “Don’t worry, you’ll still be a winner tonight. Just wait until everyone leaves and then you’ll be winning all over the place.”
“I’d better be,” he muttered.
Another male voice boomed from behind as a man with a dark buzz cut and the body of an action hero strode inside. “Where’s Jane?” he demanded. “I’ve been waiting downstairs for twenty min—oh you’ve got to be kidding me.”
The newcomer stared at Matt’s and Aidan’s faces and swore. “For the love of Jesus, do you guys require twenty-four-hour supervision? Every time I turn around, one of you gets into a brawl!”
Jane pushed her way through the group and threw her arms around the man’s neck. “Oh, relax, Beck. They were doing it for fun tonight. Now say hi to Claire. Claire, this is my husband, Thomas Becker.”
Claire eyed the imposin
g man for a moment, wondering how someone as easygoing and boisterous as Jane had wound up with someone so intense. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, extending a hand.
“Claire is Aidan’s girlfriend,” Jane told her husband.
“Nice to meet you.” Becker shook her hand before turning to his wife. “I’ve been waiting downstairs for a while. I tried to call to let you know I was picking you up early, but you weren’t answering your phone.”
“Oh, shoot, it must have been on silent. Sorry.” Jane leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his square jaw. “How much longer do we have the sitter for?”
Becker’s eyes flickered with heat. “An hour and a half.”
The next thing Claire knew, the couple was practically sprinting out the door with the quickest of goodbyes, which made everyone laugh.
The other women stuck around to hug Savannah and thank her for having them over, and a few minutes later the group descended the narrow steps leading to the ground floor of Savannah’s building. Outside, the night air was brisk, making Claire wish she’d brought a coat. Goose bumps rose on her bare arms, and she shivered as she followed Aidan to his SUV.
“Call me,” Jen told her when they reached the curb. “We’ll have lunch this week.”
“Sounds good,” Claire answered.
She hugged the blonde goodbye, then did the same with Miranda, Holly and Annabelle, who all piled into the Jeep waiting at the curb. Claire didn’t recognize the dark-haired man behind the wheel, but from the big kiss Annabelle gave him as she slid into the passenger side, Claire deduced it was Ryan Evans, Annabelle’s fiancé.
“I can’t believe you and Matt got into a fist fight tonight,” Claire grumbled once she and Aidan were alone in the car.
“Well, technically it was more of boxing match.”
She glared in the face of his dimpled smile. “I told you you’re not allowed to use those dimples to distract me.”
“What about my mouth? Can I use that to distract you?”
Before she could blink, he leaned over the center console and kissed her. His tongue slipped through her parted lips, teasing and exploring and successfully making her forget all about his brawling—at least until she tasted blood in her mouth.
She broke the kiss and sighed. “Why are boys so dumb? How is kicking the shit out of each other an enjoyable pastime?”
“Sometimes it feels good to release some aggression,” he said with a shrug.
“Well, I’d prefer you release it in a way where there’s no possibility of you actually getting hurt.”
“I didn’t get hurt.” He smiled. “But it’s nice to know you care.”
“Of course I care.”
Aidan started the engine and steered away from the curb. “You think Dylan and Jackson are still wrapped up in their video game?”
“God, I hope not.” Her hand covered his over the gearshift, and she seductively stroked his knuckles. “But if they are, then it’s his loss, because the second we get home, you and I are locking the bedroom door and fucking each other senseless.”
He gave a husky laugh. “Sounds like a plan.”
“And we should be extra loud so Dylan knows exactly what he’s missing.”
They came to a stop at a red light, and suddenly the mood in the car shifted from lighthearted to serious as Aidan turned to her with imploring dark eyes. “Are you happy, Claire?”
She wrinkled her brow. “Of course.”
“Really, truly happy?” he pressed.
“Really, truly happy,” she said softly.
His gaze continued to probe her face, and then a sweet smile tugged on his lips. “So am I.”
“Good.” She smiled back. “Now let’s go home.”
19
Three months later
“Did Natasha make her flight?”
Claire slid under the covers and nestled next to Aidan, who slung his arm around her and began stroking her hair. The only light in the bedroom came from the red numerals on the alarm clock, which showed that it was nearly one a.m.
“Yeah, I managed to get her to the airport on time,” she replied. “Barely.”
“I told you going to that late movie was a mistake. You cut it way too close.” He grinned. “I was totally expecting to have a hot lesbian in our guest room for another night.”
Claire laughed. “Nat wouldn’t have minded that at all. She absolutely loved you guys. I really wish she’d gotten to spend more time with Dylan, though.”
“Next time,” Aidan said lightly. “She already promised she’d be back in June.”
“Yeah, but June is so far away.”
She was so bummed to see her friend go. Natasha’s return flight from Sierra Leone had barely landed before she’d gotten on another plane to visit Claire. They’d spent every possible minute together this past week, and Claire had loved every second of it. She’d missed Natasha’s wacky personality and outrageous sense of humor, not to mention her unconditional love and support.
And Claire hadn’t lied just now—Natasha had adored Aidan and Dylan. She loved them so much, in fact, she’d even joked about “converting” to straight just so she could steal them away from Claire. Natasha’s blessing had meant the world to her, especially since her parents continued to deny her their approval.
But in spite of that, Claire didn’t regret her decision to stay in San Diego with Aidan and Dylan. Living with them was better than she’d ever dreamed it would be. They took turns cooking and doing chores. They never ran out of things to say. They went out to dinner, watched movies, hung out at the beach. And at least once a week, they were surrounded by friends—swimming at Cash and Matt’s place, Super Bowl party at Jen’s apartment, dinner at Seth and Miranda’s.
She no longer thought of everyone as Dylan’s friend, or Aidan’s buddy. They were her friends too now, even Savannah, whose good-humored sarcasm and carpe diem attitude had eventually won Claire over—though the blonde’s grudging confession that Claire was good for Aidan hadn’t hurt, either.
She still couldn’t believe how easily everyone had welcomed her into the fold. She was involved in a committed ménage a trois, for Pete’s sake. Yet they were all taking it in stride, as if a relationship between three people was a normal, commonplace occurrence. Even Dylan’s mother accepted the arrangement, which was the most surprising thing of all. When Shanna had visited last month, she hadn’t batted an eye when she’d witnessed the easy affection that existed between the three of them.
Now, Claire rested her head on Aidan’s bare chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart, suddenly overcome with a feeling of tranquility. The only thing missing was Dylan’s hard body pressed up behind her, and his absence was a constant source of worry for her.
The SEAL team had been called to action three days ago, and although Aidan assured her the lack of contact was normal, she still hated not knowing where Dylan was or whether he was okay. She had no idea how Jen or Miranda or Savannah handled their men’s abrupt departures and subsequent radio silence without falling to pieces. At least Claire had Aidan to distract her—the other wives and girlfriends didn’t have a second man they adored holding their hand through such a stressful time.
She wished Dylan would come home already. She knew Aidan longed for the same thing, even though he put on that strong, stoic front of his. Truth was, it just didn’t seem right when the three of them weren’t together.
“Do you think he’s all right?” Her soft question hung in the bedroom.
Aidan squeezed her shoulder. “I’m sure he’s fine. Dylan’s hardcore, baby. You tend to forget that because he’s so relaxed and cheerful all the time, but trust me, our boy can take care of himself and then some.”
She smiled. Our boy. She loved it when Aidan said stuff like that.
“I just hate not knowing. It’s so frustrating.” She sighed. “When Nat and I visited Savannah at her shop yesterday, she said the waiting and worrying isn’t so bad after a while, but I can’t imagine not freakin
g out whenever he gets called off on some dangerous mission.”
“I know. It sucks,” Aidan said simply. “But Savannah’s right, you do get used to it. Now, the thing that’s really going to suck? Is when he gets deployed.”
That hadn’t even occurred to her. “When does that happen?”
“I’m not sure which stage of the deployment cycle the team’s in, but I imagine it’ll happen at the end of the year sometime, and then they’ll be gone for six months.”
“You’re right, that will suck,” she said unhappily.
“Yeah, but you’ll still have me.” He slid down the mattress and rolled onto his side so they were lying face-to-face, but the second he leaned in to kiss her, the phone on the bedside table rang.
Groaning, Aidan grabbed the cordless. One glance at the caller ID, and a frown marred his lips.
“Who is it?” Claire asked.
“I don’t recognize the number, but it’s a Chicago area code.” He sat up and answered with a brusque hello, then went quiet as he listened. “No, Veronica, of course I remember you. What’s going on?”
Claire felt a flicker of distress as she studied Aidan’s expression. His dark eyes had filled with concern, and it wasn’t long before his face turned paler than the sheet beneath them.
“I’ll be on the first flight out,” he blurted into the receiver, and then he was no longer on the bed.
Claire was momentarily stunned as she watched him run around the bedroom like a madman, in search of some clothes. Then she snapped out of it and flew off the mattress. She rushed over to him, stilling his frantic movements by clutching his shoulders. “What’s going on? What happened?”
“I have to go.” He ducked out of her grip and snatched a pair of sweatpants from the easy chair under the window.
“Aidan. Damn it, tell me what’s going on.”
“My father had a heart attack.”
She gasped. “Oh my gosh. Is he okay?”
“No.”
Out of Uniform Box Set: Books 4-6 plus 2 Bonus Novellas Page 52
