Even as she thought it, tears filled her eyes. Dammit, she didn't need this, didn't need to deal with the pain of his decision. She had left it up to him. And he had decided. She grabbed a lipstick and started to put it on as she listened to the low murmur of voices. She couldn't make out what was being said, but she could tell that Addy knew whoever it was. Then the door shut and silence followed.
"Amanda, get your ass out here."
Mal.
She couldn't move. First of all, her brain just would not cooperate. Fear, joy, excitement wound through her system. What was he doing here?
"Amanda, I am not in the mood for games. I ordered you out here, and I want you out her now."
Irritation chased away all the other feelings. Wasn't that just like a man? He goes days without communicating, then shows up and expects her to hop to it.
She stomped out into the living room and was stopped by the sight of Mal in his full dress whites. He had his hat under one arm, and he didn’t look happy. In fact, from the expression in his eyes, he was beyond pissed. Dammit, he looked good enough to eat.
No, Amanda, don't get sidetracked.
She crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "What are you doing here?"
"You said to come get you if I changed my mind. I decided to listen to the first half of the sentence and ignore the last part."
"I guess it’s a man’s prerogative to ignore what he wants.” She snorted. “Of course you do. All men are that way.”
"I’m pretty sure your brothers and your father would disagree with you. And do not compare me to the men you've been with in the past." He ground out every word, his temper lashing at her.
She couldn't say anything to that. He might look calm, but she could feel the barely suppressed anger simmering beneath the surface.
"I came here to take you. You're mine, so I choose to keep you."
She opened her mouth once, but no words came out. Really, she didn’t know what to say to that. She counted backwards from ten...twice.
"You choose? You choose?" she asked, nearly shouting.
"I believe I said that."
His calm voice had her own temper soaring. "Just what the hell do you think you get to decide?"
"I decide that I love you, and I am not going to stop trying to convince you to marry me."
Her heart did a little jig, but she ignored it. She couldn’t deal with this, with love thrown about like it was some kind of appeasement for her pride. Every man before him had done that to her, and she couldn't let him just be another man like that. He was too special in her heart.
"That will not work with me."
“What?"
"Telling me that you love me. I am not going to melt down into a gooey pool of lust for you."
“Really?” He let one eyebrow rise. “You think you're easy like that?"
"It's worked in the past."
"I don’t know what you were like, but you must have changed if you used to be an easy mark for men."
"What do you mean?"
"Any man these days who tries that shit on you should know better. You might have been a doormat in the past, but you aren’t one now. And woman, I swear to God, you compare me to those idiots one more time, I will take you over my knee and smack your ass red.”
She tried to ignore her response. Of course her body reacted to the threat. Knowing Mal the way she did, she knew he did it on purpose. He knew how much she liked it.
“I wasn’t comparing you to them.”
“No? Then maybe you’re just a coward.”
That had her temper flaring higher, and she itched to pick something up to throw at him. From the look on his face, it would be a mistake.
“I am not a coward.”
“I would have never thought so. But here you are, allowing a bastard who didn’t understand your worth hold you down.”
“That doesn’t make me a coward.”
“No? I think so. You’re too afraid to even give me a chance. I wish I had known Kyle had been a bastard when he’d been alive because I definitely would have done something about it, but letting him fuck with the rest of your life is stupid.”
“What is wrong with what we had?”
“Because I want more, and dammit, you deserve more.”
She was stunned by the vehemence in his voice, and she couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes.
“Oh God, don’t cry,” he said, panic threading his voice.
“I can’t help it.”
“I order you to quit crying.”
Her mouth hung open for a second then she snapped it shut. “You can’t order me to do that.”
“Well, stop it.”
That made her cry even more. “I can’t. If you keep yelling at me like that, I can’t stop crying.”
“I am not yelling,” he said in a shout.
“What do you expect me to do? You say something beyond sweet to me—the nicest thing a man has ever said to me—and then you yell at me. Of course I am going to cry.”
He hesitated for a second as if trying to make up his mind, then he stepped forward, grabbed ahold of her arms and pulled her against him.
“I’m sorry, chéri. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just…wait, you said the sweetest thing?”
She looked up at him, and she knew she was a mess. Her face was soaking wet from crying, and she was always an ugly crier.
“Yeah.”
“I told you the other day that I loved you.”
He didn’t understand that saying the words meant little to her. She had heard them so many times that she didn’t trust them. Three words didn’t hold water to what he thought of her.
“No, it’s that you said I deserved more. I don’t think I have ever met a man who thought that, and I know they never said it.”
He studied her, his gaze roaming over his face, then he laughed and pulled her back against him. “Well, darlin’, I would say that you’ve been hanging out with the wrong men.”
She chuckled.
“And I take back the coward remark.”
“No, it was true.” He opened his mouth to argue but she shook her head. “I was afraid. I love you so much, Mal, I just don’t think I could bear it if you turned out like a lot of the men I had dated, and hell, the one I married. None of them meant what you mean to me and if I drove you to it, I would have broken.”
“You didn’t drive anyone to it. They were weak men who couldn’t handle having a strong woman love them. I have no problem with that.” He pulled her back and studied her face. “You will marry me.”
He didn’t ask, and how like him to do just that. “On one condition.”
“What?”
“That we have a real wedding. I want it to be real this time. No running off to Vegas. No quickie ceremony. I want our families there as we say our vows.”
He seemed to let out a breath. “Agreed.” Then he kissed her, sweet with just a drop of heat in it.
“Where do you want to get married?”
“I don’t care. Anywhere as long as we have friends there for the ceremony, and I want my dad to give me away this time.”
“Yeah. I like that.” Then his smile dimmed. “You sure you want to be a military wife? I mean, I know losing Kyle was bad even with your problems. Moving around, dealing with the crap that comes with it…I know it isn’t easy.”
“I’m not marrying the military, I’m marrying you. I know the drill, the issues we are going to deal with. And I know better than you that your time in the field is going to dwindle. They don’t tap trained Seals to be over at the Pentagon for no reason. As long as we do it together, I can do it.”
One side of his mouth kicked up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah, although, I would like a real proposal, a ring, and I think our audience standing outside the door is irritated with waiting.”
He laughed, then surprised her by dropping to one knee. The breath clogged in her throat as she stared down at him. He pulled a box out of his pocket, opened it, an
d retrieved a ring. His smile faded, and he took one of her hands.
“I know you don’t like convention all the time, but…you deserve romance. All the hearts and flowers, and I want to spend the rest of my life giving them to you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes again. “Oh, Malachai.”
“I’m taking that as a yes,” he said, slipping the ring on her finger. Then he rose and kissed her, his tongue darting out to trace the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth and let him steal inside. By the time he pulled back, her heart was beating out of control and they were both breathing heavily.
She held out her hand and looked at the ring. It was a solid white gold band with a solitaire diamond.
“It’s simple, but it was my grandmother’s ring.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I thought you would like it because you have a soft heart.”
“Oh, I do. I really do.” The fact that he understood that meant more to her than almost anything else. No man had ever realized that she had a romantic streak, which was funny because she was a florist. Until Mal. She slipped her hand around to the back of his head and pulled him down for a kiss.
They probably wouldn’t have stopped except for the knock at the door.
“We are getting kind of sick of standing out here,” Kade said through the door.
Mal chuckled as he let her go and moved to the door. Before he opened it, she laid a hand on his arm.
“I love you, Malachai Dupree.”
He stepped back and gave her a quick, hard kiss. “And I love you, Amanda Forrester.”
Her heart full, she waited for him to open the door so they could share the news with their friends and family—not to mention the rest of their lives.
Epilogue
Mal stepped out of the bathroom to see his bride looking out over the ocean view from their room.
His bride. His wife. He couldn’t get used to hearing the thought in his head. For the first time in years everything seemed…right. She was still in her dress. It was simple, tight on top then flowing over her hips. The ivory color brought out the gold in her skin tone and deepened the green of her eyes. No ruffles, no flounces, and not much decoration, but it was…classic, just like the lady.
“Are you going to stand there all night and stare at me?”
She hadn’t turned around, but he could hear the amusement in her voice. He walked forward and slipped his hand around her waist to pull her back against him.
“If I wanted to, I would.”
She chuckled and leaned back against him.
“You’re still okay with being married in Hawaii?” he asked. She had nixed the idea of New Orleans because she had spent her honeymoon there and she had said Texas was never home to her. When he suggested Hawaii, she had jumped at the chance, but he had worried she might have had second thoughts.
She laughed and turned around to look up at him with those green eyes. “No, I’m furious my fiancé wanted me to come to Oahu and marry. What woman wants to be surrounded by all this beauty? And to say that my parents were thrilled is putting it mildly. I didn’t know they had spent their honeymoon at the Hale Koa.”
“Well, if I had known that, I would have had the reception there instead of at Turtle Bay.”
“Naw, they loved it. I love it here. I thought I would miss the cold weather the last few weeks, but I really don’t. Actually, I am starting to love the way the air feels on my skin at night.”
Now was the time for truths. He had been avoiding the issue for as long as possible. “I’m kind of glad to hear that.”
“Hmm? Why?”
“I’ve been offered a position here at Pearl Harbor. I know it sucks and that you and Addy are starting to just explode with bookings.” When she didn’t say anything, he started to panic. There was no expression on her face, and for once, he couldn’t really read her. “Never mind. I’ll turn it down.”
She gave him a small smile and shook her head. “You can’t turn it down.”
“I can and I will.”
She rolled her eyes. “No, you won’t. You will take the job. Addy and I already discussed this possibility. I knew it was going to happen, Mal.”
“Yeah?”
“I told you I knew that you were on the fast track. This happened sooner rather than later, and I hate leaving my best friend running the show, but we’ll work it out. I’ve already started to train someone to help her when I’m gone.”
He smiled. “You don’t mind?”
“Of course I do. I mind a lot. But…like my mother has told me before, it doesn’t bother me that much knowing I will have you. It isn’t about giving anything up. It’s about gaining a life. And I told you I knew this would happen.”
His heart expanded with more joy than he thought possible. “I love you, Mrs. Dupree.”
“I love you, Lieutenant Commander Dupree.”
“I rather like being called Mr. Dupree. My career isn’t all I am.”
She gave him a knowing smile. “I wouldn’t have married you otherwise, Mal,” she whispered against his lips as she kissed him.
The End
Coming this November 30th the first ever ménage for Harmless:
What starts out as simple fantasy among friends, becomes an overwhelming need that none of them can deny.
A Little Harmless Fantasy, Book 8
Maura Dillon has always been someone who lived life on her own terms. From the time she in college she knew she had different needs than most of her friends. But she never thought she would find herself torn between two very sexy men, or that they would want to add her to their relationship.
Zeke and Rory have known each other for years. Their casual relationship has spanned a decade, but now that they are living together things are on a whole other level. Add in their mutual attraction for Maura and things are just getting out of hand.
Rory understands their desires and suggests a week in Hawaii. No rules, no limits, no regrets. But as their nights are filled with unimaginable erotic pleasure, there is someone lurking in the shadows. Someone who wants revenge, and will stop at nothing to succeed.
Warning the book contains the following: Two sexy men who are hot for each other and the heroine, more Hawaiian scenery, a Dom who thinks he can control everything, two lovers who know he can’t, and scenes that push even Harmless Addicts over the edge.
Enjoy this unedited excerpt from A Little Harmless Fantasy:
Chapter One
For the fourth time in less than ten minutes, Maura Dillon found her mind wandering. She looked out over the late afternoon Miami traffic, her brother’s voice in her ear, and just spaced out. A second later, she realized that her brother had stopped talking.
“What did you just say?” she asked leaning back in her desk chair closing her eyes. Her head was pounding and she felt as if she hadn’t had any sleep. Probably because she hadn’t.
“You sound distracted,” Conner said. Her brother could always sniff out her mood, even five thousand miles away. It was one of his most irritating traits—and he had a lot of them.
“I’m not distracted. I’m just a little tired.”
There was a beat of silence. With most men, it didn’t mean anything. With Conner, it was a lethal situation. She turned her chair back so she faced her desk waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“No, this is distracted, not tired. When you’re tired, you’re bitchy.”
She ignored that comment, mostly because it was true. “I got the preliminary report on that group you want us to work with.”
“You’re going to ignore my question then?” her brother asked.
“Yes. When did you get all loving and want to talk feelings?”
“I didn’t say it was about feelings. You just did. So you are distracted.”
She was, but how did she tell her brother she was testy because she needed sex. She didn’t. She shared a lot with her brother, much to his irritation, but this, she could not. It was
hard enough dealing with the dream team of Zeke O’Brian and Rory McAllister.
“I’m distracted by this job, and the fact that I am now a blonde.” She shoved her hand through her now chin length hair. It had been a whim a few days ago and she had loved it. But, now she wasn’t so sure.
Another beat of silence. “You only mess with your hair color when you’re depressed.”
She held the phone out from her ear and looked at it, then put it back. “This is Conner Dillon, right? Or has Jillian been giving you inside information?”
“Jillian hasn’t and I know you better than you think I do.”
That was probably true. Conner was devious that way. He seemed like the ultimate Alpha in any group, but one thing that had made him an excellent FBI agent was his observation skills. It was the bane of her existence when she was growing up—especially when he was left to raise her on his own.
“How do you know about the hair color thing, then?” she asked.
Maura recognized the aggravated sigh. She had first heard it when she was fifteen and asked her brother about lubricant. “The first boyfriend breakup you dyed it that disturbing bright red shade.”
Of course he would bring up her breakup with Tommy Foster—otherwise known as the Scumbag from Boca Raton. “There was nothing disturbing about it.”
“It glowed in the dark.”
She remembered the look on Conner’s face when she stepped out of the bathroom and chuckled. “Okay, I will give you that. It was pretty bad.”
“If you aren’t going to tell me, talk to Jillian when you get over here.”
“I can talk to Jillian some other time, but there’s nothing to talk about.” Then she realized what he had just said. “Me? I wasn’t planning on coming over anytime soon. I was just there six weeks ago for your wedding.”
No matter how much she wanted to run away from the office and her personal infatuation with Rory and Zeke, she would not use a trip to Hawaii to get away. Which, even as she thought it, made her crazy. Insane. Bonkers.
A Little Harmless Military Romance Bundle (A Little Harmless Military Bundle) Page 29
