He could see her thinking about it, and his heart almost stopped then and there.
“Know that while I want to be with you, there are things bigger than us. I’m not going to do this forever, but…I have a duty. You understand that.”
She nodded. “And after. What would you do then?”
“I would come back to you. I always do, babe.”
“I liked what I was doing and there are plenty of things for someone like me to do. But know that the military is a duty. I swore an oath, and I have to follow through.”
He would. It was one of the things she admired about him.
“But I don’t live to work. That was never me. Or it wasn’t me after I met you. Everything I do, everything I am, I am because of you. I am a Seal, but in my heart, in my soul, I’m your husband.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. “Ex.”
He sighed. “About that…”
“What?”
“Answer me one question. Will you marry me?”
“Marry you?”
“Shit, I’m doing this wrong. I want us married again. I want to have ten more kids with you.”
“Ten kids?”
“Okay, not ten, but more than just one. What do you say?”
She didn’t say anything for a moment and he felt his heart sink just a little.
“Why?” she asked.
He looked at her, his gaze direct. “Because I love you. Without you, I don’t even want to be a Seal.”
“Oh, Deke.” Tears filled her eyes. “Yes.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But, I want a ceremony here, and I want a real dress. And we’ll have to do it really soon, before I get big.”
“Okay, but about that…”
“And we’ll have to apply here for a marriage certificate.”
“Sam.”
“What?”
“See, before I came to Hawaii, I sort of got some information I didn’t share with you.”
She frowned. “What?”
Now came the moment of truth. There was probably going to be a fight, but he had her acceptance of marriage, thank God. But she would fight him.
“Uh, apparently the office where we had our divorce finalized has been, well, uh...”
She rolled her eyes. “Good lord, spit it out.”
He swallowed. “We’re still married. That lawyer who handled the divorced messed up the papers, so they were never really filed correctly.”
For a second, she didn’t say anything. Her mouth turned down into a frown. “What?”
“We’re still married. The divorce didn’t go through.”
She shook her head. “What do you mean?”
“You are still Samantha Berg.”
“Married.” She pulled her hand from his and smacked him on the back of the head. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you tell me?”
The slap had his ears ringing and he had to shake his head to clear it. “Because I knew you would get mad and blame me.”
“I wouldn’t have. I blame you right now for not telling me. Deacon Berg, what the hell were you thinking?”
“That I needed to win you back before I told you.”
She paced away, that sassy walk of hers in full force. God, he loved her. She was pissed beyond belief, and for some reason, that turned him on. He was a sick, sick man.
“I should divorce you on principle. No, first, I should shoot you.”
She was muttering now, and he knew he had won. He walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. She didn’t resist. Instead, she leaned back against him and sighed. He kissed her neck. It felt good to hold her against him. He rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Tell you what. How about we have a big fancy Hawaiian wedding? Your brother can give you away, and we can do it all up right.”
She leaned back to look at him. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Mom would love it. They’d come over. AJ should be able to take some time off, and you can see that Jonah has a lot of time on his hands. Jacob should be able to get some time off the ship, maybe, but most of us will be here.”
“And your friends?”
“Mal and Kade? Should be able to, if they haven’t been called out.”
She turned to face him then. “Can I confess something?”
He nodded and waited. She stepped back then tugged the chain out from beneath her shirt. The two rings that dangled there were familiar.
“You still have them?” he asked, his heart tightening at the sight of them.
She waited for him to look at her. “Always. I couldn’t get rid of them.”
He grabbed her then and pulled her against him. He bent his head and kissed her. It was tender, but soon turned ravenous.
“Get a room, bro,” Jonah yelled.
She started laughing against his mouth. “I love you, Deacon Berg.”
“I love you too, Samantha Berg. And I promise to get you another ring. Bigger.”
“I’m fine with this one.”
“Well, how about I take it and incorporate it in a new ring?”
She smiled. “That sounds great.”
He tugged her back into his embrace. “Now, Mrs. Berg, how about we start planning that wedding ceremony.”
She nodded. “I love you, Deke.”
“I love you, too, Samantha.”
Epilogue
Almost six months later
Deke smiled down at his daughter in his arms and then looked over at his wife. Samantha was exhausted, but beautiful. Six hours of labor and she still had that radiant glow about her.
“What are you smiling at, you idiot?”
“The most beautiful woman in the world,” he responded.
She shook her head. “I think you’re delirious from lack of sleep, Seal.”
Deke chuckled. “No way. Scared shitless is more like it. I don’t think I ever had a man threaten to do bodily harm to my most favored appendages as many times as you did.”
One side of her mouth curved as her eyes closed. “I don’t remember a thing.”
Still cradling their daughter in his arms, Deke rose to lean over and kiss Samantha’s forehead.
“We agreed on the name? Anela Dawn?”
She opened her eyes. “It seems appropriate. Angel Dawn.”
He heard Mitchell and Zoe arguing in the hallway and knew they were about to be invaded. “Well, our quiet time is over.”
Her smile widened as she looked at Anela then up at him. “In more ways than one. I love you, Deacon. I’m so happy you were too hard-headed to give up.”
“I love you, too. And you only get until tomorrow to keep calling me names and disparaging my character.”
She laughed as he leaned down to give her a kiss. Right before he touched his lips to hers, she said, “Sure thing, Sir.”
The End
To claim the woman he loves, he will have to be the Dom she desires.
Surrender: A Little Harmless Military Romance
Navy Seal Malachai Dupree has everything a man could want. Well, not everything. The one woman he wants is too innocent for his Dominant needs, so he plays the role of supportive friend even if it kills him.
Amanda Forrester is tired of being treated as if she were fragile. She might have been through a rough patch losing her husband in the line of duty, but she is not a wimp. Her feelings for Mal have grown and she is more than ready to be the woman he needs in and out of the bedroom.
One night she pushes him too far and the result is more than either of them ever expected. Mal wants forever, but after losing one husband, commitment isn’t in Amanda’s vocabulary. What she doesn’t realize is that Mal is one Seal who isn’t backing down until he gets exactly what he wants: Amanda’s total submission.
WARNING, the following book contains: Sexy Navy Seals, a stubborn woman, and a little submission. This book has one of those hot Duprees, so you know that you will need a glass of water to cool off. Every Addict will tell you that reading a Ha
rmless book is anything BUT harmless—so read at your own risk.
Surrender
A Little Harmless Military Romance
Melissa Schroeder
Dedication
To my husband Les. After twenty years of marriage you still make my knees go weak with just a kiss. Thank you for loving me the way I am.
Acknowledgements
Again, seriously, you all know I could not do any of this without help. This marks the sixth new book from Melissa Schroeder Publishing and I am pleased that so many readers have continued on the journey with me. Thank you for your support and especially to the Harmless Addicts who continually make me laugh on a daily basis. Thanks to my personal assistant Brandy Walker who keeps me on the straight and narrow as much at possible. Thanks to Joy Harris who understands me as only another Capricorn can. And special thanks to my family. I finished off the last three Harmless books while in the middle of a move and a health crisis and without them, I am not sure I could have done it. Thanks to Kendra Egert for the wonderful cover, Jenn Leblanc for the kick ass photography, and to Chloe Vale for her hard work on editing and formatting.
Chapter One
Malachai Dupree shook his head as he turned down the aisle of freezer cases. He’d sunk so low that he was spending Friday night at Wegmans grocery store. A box of wings caught his eye, and he slowed down the cart. He should have just stopped by some fast food joint on the way back to the hotel, but he hadn’t been in the mood for another meal like that. Mal studied the selection in the freezer case. Okay, this might not be much better, but at least it was different than what he’d been doing. He was still pathetic but at least he wasn’t eating another burger. Friday night at Wegmans was no way for a single man to live.
After his third week at the Pentagon, he just wasn’t in the mood to give a damn. Early mornings and late nights had worn old. No. Monotonous. That was a better word for the crap he was dealing with while on special assignment. Why anyone would choose to do the job was beyond him. He missed being out in the field, training…damn, he missed blowing shit up.
“A man like you should eat better, Dupree,” the sultry southern voice said from behind Mal. He knew without turning around who it was. The voice was imprinted on his mind…and haunted his dreams.
He turned around to face Amanda Forrester smiling at him, looking just as gorgeous as the first day he’d met her. She was petite and a little more rounded on the bottom than on the top. The green, long-sleeved knit shirt matched her eyes, and she was wearing her regular faded blue jeans that hugged her full hips. The moment he heard her voice, his heart had started doing a tap dance, but seeing her had his body heating. Even the cold air from the freezer case wouldn’t help.
Friend.
If he repeated the word enough times, he might remember that she was just a friend. His brain knew it, but his body tended to ignore any sane thoughts when Amanda was around. He reminded himself that she’d been married to one of his best friends and only been a widow for eighteen months.
“Hey, Amanda.”
She glanced into his cart, making a tsking sound. He couldn’t fight the smile that curved his lips when he saw the amusement dancing in her eyes. Amanda had a wicked sense of humor, and with three older brothers, she knew just how to mess with him.
“Are you going to a frat party?”
When he looked down in the buggy, he realized that it did look like a party. Beer, hot wings, and chips. Boredom had driven him to shop for food, and it was a mistake to do that after skipping lunch.
But a man couldn’t admit it, especially to a woman.
“Look, woman, I live in a man house, and we eat the way we want to. And what are you doing here on a Friday night?”
She leaned her arm against the hand rest of her own shopping cart. The grin she gave him had his body heating more and his palms sweating.
“I have a morning wedding, so I figured I’d pick up something to eat.”
Amanda owned her own floral shop in the Woodbridge area, not too far from the grocery store. And, dammit, he realized he drove out there for a reason. It wasn’t until that moment he realized there was a Wegmans closer to the hotel he was bunking at.
“Ah. So what were you doing in this section if you think the choices are so bad?”
She let one eyebrow rise and damned if that didn’t turn him on more. “First, I wasn’t in this section. I was down there,” she motioned with her head, “looking for a good bottle of wine when I saw you. Oh, and secondly, I’m much younger and I can eat this stuff. Although I don’t. My mother would have a heart attack if she found out.”
“I thought your parents were living in Texas?”
She laughed. “Yes, but my mother always knows.”
He smiled. “Your mother and my mother have a lot in common.”
Then, silence. It had been happening a lot lately. They used to have such a comfortable relationship. It had been the reason he’d taken on the task of checking up on her. Most of the guys on his Seal team were married or involved with someone. He was one of the few left that was not in a committed relationship, so he had taken to looking in on her. She had been so young, widowed, and vulnerable. Their friendship had been natural…until the last couple of months. Now, they couldn’t seem to have a conversation without an awkward pause. It might have to do with the fact that he wanted nothing more than to strip her down and feast on her flesh.
Damn, he needed to escape. The more time he spent with her, the more those thoughts popped up in his head.
“Well…I guess—”
“Tell you what, Dupree. Why don’t we have dinner together?”
They had done it before. Since Kyle Forrester, her husband of less than a year, had been killed on a mission, he had been there for her, as had many of the guys on the team. But now…it seemed weird.
“I was looking forward to a quiet night at home.”
She laughed and patted his hand, which he tightened on the buggy to keep from reaching for her. His fingers were freaking itching to reach over and touch.
“Why not a light dinner, some good conversation, and then we can get to bed early.”
He knew what she meant, but it didn’t keep the image from popping into his head. Mal would like nothing better than to slip into her bed and pull her against him as they slept. She always smelled of roses. Until he met her, he had always hated flowery perfume, but hers was natural. He knew her scent came from the flowers she worked with all day long.
“Mal?” she asked.
He shook his head, trying to clear it. It was hard because the images of her wearing nothing but rose petals came into his head more often these days, and at the most inappropriate times. Like now.
“Is that a no?” she asked.
He gave his head one last hard shake and finally knocked enough brain cells loose to form words. “No, that’s a yes. I mean…” He drew in a deep breath, trying to get his brain to work. “I know what a good cook you are, so I would be an idiot to turn you down.”
She smiled. Not one of her little smiles, but one that lit up her whole face and brought out her dimples. He felt as if he had won the lottery. Damn, he was in trouble if that was all it took for him to get hot.
“I buy the food, you cook?” he offered.
She shook her head. “Why don’t you pay for the wine, and I’ll do the food?”
He cocked his head to one side. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
“You haven’t seen the price of the wine I wanted to get. It’s fair.”
He laughed. “Okay, but you better fix me something good.”
“You bet,” she said and turned her cart around. “Come on.”
He tried his best to ignore the way her hips swayed as she walked down the aisle, but it was more that a little difficult. Until he notice one or two men having the same reaction. He tossed them mean looks and hurried up to follow after her. The woman was completely oblivious, but it didn’t keep them from ogling her. Mal tossed a few of them death lo
oks and then caught up to her. If there was one thing he could do for Kyle Forrester, it was protect her from men like that.
Even himself.
* * * *
Amanda silently swore when she dropped the tongs for the third time in five minutes. Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep breath and tried to control her heartbeat. Malachai Dupree in her house. God, it was something she hadn’t really thought would happen.
Well, it had before but this was different. She was different. The past six weeks she had been having daydreams about him, night dreams about him, and the stray thought about him had her brain scrambling and her body overheating. She had been acting more like a sixteen-year-old with a crush than a twenty-three-year-old widow.
“Did you need some help there?” he asked.
She glanced at him, and she found herself at a loss for words. He was leaning against the counter drinking a glass of water. The red polo shirt he wore stretched over his massive chest. He was beyond gorgeous. Sculpted muscles, dark mocha skin…and all that control. Amanda knew without a doubt he would be amazing in bed
That little quiver in her stomach happened again. Dammit.
“Amanda?”
God, she loved his voice. The hint of New Orleans threaded his deep baritone. Worse, any time he talked, she would watch his mouth. It was impossible not to look at it and wonder how it would feel as he moved it over her skin.
“Amanda?” he asked, the worry in his voice finally getting through to her.
She shook her head when he stepped toward her. No good would come of him touching her. Right now, she was barely keeping herself in check. “No, I’ve been dropping things a lot. Just one of those days.”
He relaxed against the counter again and smiled. “Doesn’t bode well for your wedding tomorrow.”
“Well, there is that. But I have some helpers.” And Malachai Dupree wouldn’t be staring at her. Like he was now. She glanced at him as she rinsed off the asparagus. “If you want to earn your food tonight, you need to dry these off, then wrap the bacon around them.”
A Little Harmless Military Romance Bundle (A Little Harmless Military Bundle) Page 20
