That thought made her crack up. “Why do you say that?”
“You’re too beautiful, smart, clever, and have way too hot of a body for someone who spends all her time with computers.”
“I don’t spend all my time with computers,” she objected, blushing at the other compliments he’d given her.
“That’s obvious,” he said, rubbing her back and upper arms. The feeling was so wonderful that for a second she thought she’d spent all those hours at the gym over the years, just to be ready for this moment.
They swayed back and forth, kind of in rhythm with the beat of the music, but mostly oblivious to what was going on around them.
They kept their heads lined up mouth-to-ear since it was so loud. She asked him, “How’d you find me today?”
“How do you think?” he replied.
“I really have no idea. It couldn’t have been coincidence.”
“You’re probably right,” he agreed. “Could it have been fate, though?”
Oh how Nessa hoped that’s what it was. “Could have been, but I don’t think it was.”
“So what’s your gut telling you?” asked Baron, running one hand up and down her back.
“With you touching me like that, it’s not saying much, just sending out really nice tingles to every part of me.”
His hand came to a rest on her lower back. “I’ll get back to that later. Now what’s your heart saying?”
She listened for a minute, and could only hear her brain picking apart the data and trying to fit it into a theory that made sense. “I’m an information specialist. I don’t listen to my heart, I listen to my brain.”
Baron chuckled and she loved what it did to the muscles in his abs and shoulders. “And what’s your brain saying? I injected you with radioactive tracking isotopes? Or implanted GPS nanobots in your skin with a casual touch?”
“The fact that you are telling me those possibilities make them both unlikely.” She needed to come up with a possibility. “Satellite surveillance with facial recognition?”
Baron tensed for half a second, as if surprised. He pulled his face back and looked into her eyes for a moment before coming back to her ear. “That’s eerily close to one thing we did try, but even Logan couldn’t hack into every single camera in Tijuana to search for you.”
“Logan needs to up his game,” said Nessa.
“He did try to ping your phone—”
“But it’s dead,” she said with a grin. She hadn’t realized she’d been foiling location attempts with a dead battery.
“Okay, real answer,” said Baron, stopping their dance and leaning back to where he could look into her eyes. “I knew you’d come here,” he shouted.
“You knew I’d come here?” she shouted back. “I didn’t even know I would come here until half an hour ago. Even though I’m here I can’t believe I would come here.”
With the cute smirk, Baron said, “I know you better than you know yourself.”
She leaned back into him. “Isn’t this the last place you would expect me to come?” She knew that he was in her head; he’d been right about what she needed every step of the way since meeting her. Well, except for the tracker on her car.
“It did take a while to figure it out,” he said. “My buddies, one who knows Tijuana and the other who has this insanely accurate probability method, tried telling me I’d find you at the beach, at a museum, or sitting in your Escalade, refusing to drive it to keep me from knowing you were safe. I had to ignore them and follow my heart.”
He had really put a lot into finding her. It didn’t surprise her, but she sure loved hearing that he’d gone to the trouble of getting a bunch of his buddies involved. But more than anything, she loved seeing once again, his heart had led him to her.
“Okay, Mr. Navy SEAL intelligence man.” She locked eyes with him, their bodies still in contact, and the beat of the music like a common heartbeat between two souls who had finally found each other. She looked up at him defiantly. “If you know me so well, what am I thinking right now?”
His crooked smile deepened. “That’s easy.” Without another word he bent and kissed her.
As she let herself go in the euphoria of the kiss, she thought, Bless you, Baron. Right again.
14
Baron and Nessa drove up the long driveway to Sutton Smith’s mansion in his Escalade, holding hands on the console. She almost always let him drive, even though since she’d gotten a full-time gig with Sutton, she had an Escalade of her own.
Squeezing her hand, Baron said, “In the next version of these, I’m going request a bench seat. I’ll give up the machine guns and nitro boost if I can get you closer to me.”
“Don’t tempt me,” said Nessa. “I’m likely to come right over this console and just sit in your lap. See if your military driving skills are as epic as you claim.”
Baron smiled at her and said, “It’s a good thing we aren’t working right now because I just completely lost my focus.”
“It’s a good thing we aren’t working right now or I couldn’t do this.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Baron covered the brake with his foot and fought to keep his focus on the road. Luckily she went back to her seat and they didn’t crash. “Ah, the blessing and curse of a workplace relationship—getting to spend so much time with you, but not being able to kiss you whenever I want.”
“You’re just lucky we’re an official item, or knowing you, you’d be in hot water every day opening your mouth and telling me how much you love me.”
“I’d have to get another job,” he admitted.
In the four months since they’d broken the Thompson Produce case, things had been perfect. Perfect between them and perfect in pretty much every other aspect of life. Nessa had a full-time job split between Sutton’s SEAL Project and Liz’s microloan foundation. Baron worked about half-time for Sutton, and with what Sutton paid, it was enough to support himself and have a lot of free time to help out in the various causes his SEAL buddies were passionate about.
Baron pulled up and parked in a line of black Escalades. “Looks like we’re the last ones here,” he said.
“Late for our own party,” said Nessa.
“Better make a good entrance.” Baron climbed out then came around to Nessa’s side of the car where she let him help her from the car with a hand. She looked as beautiful as ever in the breezy summer dress, and of course, her cat-eye glasses. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.” He gave her a kiss, then paused to breathe her in, excited for where the night was heading. He took her hand and they walked inside.
A black suit nodded at them in the entryway. As soon as they made it into the living room, Blaine announced, “His Highness has finally arrived.”
All of Baron’s SEAL buddies were there. Most of them had been lucky like Baron and had found someone perfect for them. Jace was the lone bachelor, and Baron doubted he’d be single much longer. They all came out of their seats and there were hugs all around.
The women had been good for the group as a whole. The banter still existed, but it wasn’t as pointed and competitive as back in the SEAL days. And it didn’t need to be. Civilian life didn’t require helping each other stay sharp every day of their lives. Baron was happy with civilian life. He’d served his country, made his difference on the world, and now used the skills he’d learned in a different manner. And the best part—he didn’t have to run off to a foreign land. He got to stay close to Nessa and see her every day, even on days when he wasn’t working on a project for Sutton.
At the end of the line of hugs, Sutton greeted him with a firm handshake. “You made it just in time.” He raised the remote to turn up the volume on the giant TV.
The Governor of California and some big wig from the DEA were on the news at Thompson Produce to give Mr. Thompson an award. Based on the investigation Mr. Thompson had conducted, the Governor’s Taskforce against Drugs had made 32 arrests, including three of Mr. Thompson’s employe
es. It turned out the secretary-slash-dispatcher, Linda, had been covering up the GPS anomalies that allowed Brody to keep up his drug pickup schedule. The other arrest was one of the shipping managers.
The ceremony and news coverage was quick, maybe two and half a minutes. No mention was made of Sutton’s Warrior Project or Nessa and her skills that had cracked the case to begin with.
And that was just how everyone liked it.
As soon as Sutton muted the TV, Baron held his hand to the side, acknowledging his girlfriend. “Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Nessa Dimmick, making a difference in the world with that giant brain of hers.”
They all clapped as she blushed and made wide eyes at him for putting her on the spot.
Sutton said, “Although the public has no idea, you’ve made a difference in the world.”
She replied, “Baron says we’re Batman and Robin, working in the shadows.”
Jace called out, “Aw, you make such a cute sidekick, your Lordship.”
Agatha, Sutton’s housekeeper and dear friend, raised her voice in her lilting Irish accent. “As long as I get to be Alfred, you’ll not hear me complain.”
The group went to mingling and Baron took a second to look around. He was proud to be part of this group, and proud of all they’d accomplished. From busting drug rings, to fighting human traffickers, they’d accomplished as much as civilians as they did as SEALs. Mingling in this room was the finest group of people on the planet as far as Baron was concerned.
As his gaze came around to Nessa, he realized that went double for her. How had he ever ended up with someone as amazing as her?
“Let’s go see the sunset,” he suggested, and she eagerly followed him out to the patio.
The mansion had been built on a cliff overlooking San Diego Bay. The million-dollar view was incredible but he only had eyes for Nessa.
“I’m so proud of you,” said Baron. “And to think that’s just the start of it all. Samantha would be proud too.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” said Nessa, gazing up at him. She didn’t seem to notice the view either. “My hero.”
“We make a good team.”
“We make a great team,” she agreed.
Baron was a little nervous. In their four months together, he had been careful not to surprise her, even with little things, and he was about to drop the biggest surprise of all.
“I want to be on your team for the rest of my life, Nessa. I want to be by your side, be your hero and your biggest admirer all in one.”
Baron dropped to one knee, holding her hands in his. He placed a diamond ring in her hands. “Nessa Dimmick, I can’t imagine life without you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Nessa’s eyes were wide and she had frozen in place. Baron wondered if it was too much of a surprise and she had short-circuited.
“Nessa?”
One hand came free from his grasp and covered her mouth. A trembling laugh rose from her throat and grew louder. It was a pleased laugh, at least he thought it was. “You did it. I never thought …”
“What?” He was sure the surprise was too much for her. She had specifically warned him to never surprise her and he had chosen the biggest moment of their relationship to take a risk.
“A surprise,” she said. “You surprised me. And … I love it! Yes, Baron! Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Baron slid the ring on her finger. Then he rose and lifted her even as his lips met hers and they spun in a slow circle, their lips dancing and saying everything that needed to be said. They just spun and kissed and spun some more on their private, silent dance floor.
When he finally put her down, he said, “I’ll never surprise you again. I honestly couldn’t help myself today. I couldn’t wait one more day.”
Nessa was glowing, her eyes as bright as he’d ever seen. “No, I think it’s okay if you do. You really do know me better than I know myself, and …. If you think I’ll like a surprise, I’ll trust you.”
Baron wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
She poked him playfully in the chest. “I got you now, Lord Luzader! You’re not the only one who can pull a surprise.”
A voice came from the house. “None of us are surprised!”
They both turned toward the back door to see all five SEALs peering through the glass.
Maddox said, “Wrap it up and get in here so we can congratulate you.”
Baron turned back to Nessa. “Should we do it?”
He could read hesitation on her face. “Well, you know me better than I know myself, so you tell me.”
The guys were at the door. But the love of his life was in his arms. All Baron wanted was to take his fiancée in his arms and kiss her silly. He smiled his best mischievous smile at her. “It’s our night, not theirs.” Not looking back, Baron took her by the hand and together they went running across the lawn and away from the house.
The End
* * *
Pick up the other books in the Navy SEAL Romances 2.0!
The Lone Warriors — an Introductory Novelette by Daniel Banner - Out NOW!
The Found Warrior by Taylor Hart - Out NOW!
The Honest Warrior by Daniel Banner
The Rogue Warrior by Cindy Roland Anderson — September 27
The Stealth Warrior by Cami Checketts — October 4
The Diehard Warrior by Jennifer Youngblood — October 11
The Fearless Warrior by Kimberly Krey — October 18
*The Navy SEAL Romances 2.0 are loosely connected and do not follow a chronological timeline. They can be read in any order.
Navy SEAL Romance Series 1.0
Read the other Navy SEAL Romance books today!
* * *
The Resolved Warrior by Jennifer Youngblood
The Protective Warrior by Cami Checketts
The Peaceful Warrior by Daniel Banner
The Honorable Warrior by Kimberly Krey
The Broken Warrior by Taylor Hart
The Reckless Warrior by Jennifer Youngblood
The Captivating Warrior by Cami Checketts and Daniel Banner
Also by Daniel Banner
Navy SEAL Romance Series
The Peaceful Warrior
The Captivating Warrior
Navy SEAL Romance Series 2.0
The Lone Warriors
The Honest Warrior
Park City Firefighter Romance Series
Two Hearts Rescue
A Perfect Rescue
Rescue and Redemption
Park City Firefighter Romance Series: Station Two
Sparks Will Fly
Kisses and Commitment Series
How to Find a Keeper
My Heart Channel Romance Series
9 Reasons to Fall in Love
* * *
Daniel Banner writes Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy under the name Daniel Coleman.
Gifts and Consequences — A Contemporary Fiction novel
Knights of Wonderland Series
Jabberwocky
Hatter
Red Knight
The Falyn Sweeney Saga — An Irish Historical Fantasy short story series
About the Author
Daniel Banner, a 17-year fireman and paramedic, collects experiences by day and makes up stories by nights, and sometimes vice versa. For Daniel, writing is an escape from the traumatic days, and a celebration of the triumphant days.
The Honest Warrior: Navy SEALs Romances 2.0 Page 11
