Marrying Caroline (SEAL of Protection)

by Stoker, Susan

  Cookie reached up with both hands and brought Caroline’s head down close to his. “I’m more than okay with it. I’m fucking honored you’d do this today here with me.”

  When Caroline sniffed with emotion, Wolf commented dryly, “If you two don’t stop sniffling over each other, the doctors will discharge Cookie and all your plans for an emotional bedside wedding will be for naught, Ice.”

  Caroline laughed and looked up at Matthew. “Keep your pants on, Matthew.”

  They all laughed and Caroline stood up. “Okay, I’ll send the rest of the group in. Matthew, you stay. I’ll see you in a bit.” She reached up and kissed her soon-to-be husband. She wasn’t quick about it, and Matthew took advantage of her emotional state to deepen the kiss. Finally Caroline pulled away, kissed her fingertips, held them to Matthew’s lips and backed out of the room.

  “Is she wearing flip-flops?” Cookie joked to his friend.

  “Yup.”

  “That’s not what I bought for her.”

  “Nope.”

  “You okay with this, Wolf?” Cookie asked seriously.

  “Fuck yeah.”

  “All right then.”

  The two men smiled at each other, both lost in their thoughts of the amazing woman that had come into their lives.

  * * *

  Caroline stood in the hallway of the hospital wringing her hands nervously. The men were all inside the small hospital room where Hunter was lying on the bed. The pastor was also inside the room. Everyone was waiting for her to get in there, but Caroline wanted to have a moment with Fiona and Alabama first.

  “You guys are the best friends a girl could ever have. I never had a sister, or even a close friend, but I thank God every day you came into Christopher’s and Hunter’s lives.”

  “Really? You’re going to do this now?” Fiona mock-complained, wiping away her tears.

  Caroline laughed and nodded. “No time like the present.”

  “Okay, then right back at ‘cha. When I was locked inside that hut in Mexico, I didn’t think I’ve ever get out of there. You don’t see me as broken, even when I literally descended into crazy-town right in front of your eyes.”

  Alabama chimed in as well, her words all the more meaningful because of her history. “I learned never to trust anyone, but you guys have shown me that people can be unselfish and genuine and I don’t know what I’d have done without you, Caroline, when I was homeless.”

  The three women surged together as if they’d planned it. They hugged each other and sniffled. Finally Caroline pulled away and wiped at her eyes. “Okay, I know I started it, but I want to get married. Can we please put this mushy stuff away until later?”

  Alabama followed Caroline’s lead and wiped her face and Fiona did the same.

  “Okay, Alabama, you go in first, then Fiona. It’ll be just like we planned for the procession into the church, but only a much smaller aisle.” They giggled, and Alabama got ready to open the door and walk in. She turned around at the last minute.

  “Love you, girl. I’m so happy for you.” And she was gone.

  Fiona turned to Caroline.

  “Oh, God, no more, I can’t take any more.”

  Fiona laughed at Caroline. “All I want to say is thank you for grounding me back at the church. For a second my world was over, but then you were there, hauling me back to the real world and helping me get through minute by minute. Just like you did that day in the mall when I had that flashback. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Fiona. I know you’d do the same for me.”

  “Hell yeah I would.”

  “Okay, I’m going in.” Fiona leaned over, kissed Caroline on the cheek, and she too was gone.

  Caroline took a deep breath, she was ready. Without waiting for another moment, not even for dramatic effect, she opened the door to Hunter’s room and squeezed in. It was a tight fit. The room wasn’t big to begin with, but with all the SEALs, the pastor and her two friends, it was crazy crowded.

  Matthew stood at side of Hunter’s bed. The pastor stood by the door, ready to move into place once Caroline got to Matthew’s side.

  Caroline walked to Matthew and reached for his hands. Because she didn’t have a bouquet, it felt awkward to just stand there, but Matthew didn’t hesitate and engulfed her hands with his. The smile he bestowed down on her made her breath hitch. Matthew really was a handsome man, and in just a moment, he’d be all hers.

  “We are gathered here today…” The pastor’s voice droned on, but all Caroline could see was Matthew’s eyes. They were locked on hers and she could see the passion lying within them. She figured Matthew could see the same in her own eyes. Caroline tried to stay in the present, but the promise in Matthew’s eyes was almost too much. All she could think of was the remembered feel of Matthew’s hard length sliding inside her and the feel of his hands roaming her body.

  Caroline started when Matthew reached into his pocket and pulled out two rings. She’d forgotten all about their wedding bands. Thank God Matthew hadn’t.

  When it was time, Wolf brought Caroline’s hand up to his mouth and kissed her engagement ring. He slid it off, then pressed his wedding band down her finger until it nestled against the base. He replaced his diamond and once again brought Caroline’s hand up to his mouth and kissed her finger again. Wolf lingered this time, savoring the feel and look of his mark on her hand.

  Then it was Caroline’s turn. It wasn’t planned, but she couldn’t stop the words that came out of her mouth. As she pushed the wide platinum band down Matthew’s finger, she told him earnestly and honestly, “I know you probably can’t always wear this when you’re on your missions, and that’s okay. I know you belong to me, you know I belong to you.”

  Caroline then followed Matthew’s example and brought his hand to her mouth and kissed the wedding band that lay against his skin.

  Caroline watched as Matthew mouthed the words, “I love you.” She gazed into his eyes and once again tuned out the beautiful words being said by the pastor.

  “I do.”

  The strength and certainty behind Matthew’s words snapped Caroline back to reality. He bought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it.

  Caroline listened to the pastor ask if she would take Matthew as her lawfully wedded husband. When it was her turn, she answered, “I do.”

  Knowing it was coming, Caroline could only smile stupidly at Matthew and wait for the words they both longed for. Finally the pastor put them out of their misery.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  Matthew put both hands on Caroline’s neck, a position Caroline loved. Feeling his hands surrounding her, holding her still for his kiss, never failed to make her body ready itself for her man.

  “I love you, Ice.” Wolf’s words were spoken against her lips.

  “I love you too, Matthew.” Each word out of her mouth brushed her lips against his. Before the last syllable was out of her mouth, Wolf completed the connection between them. He held her head still and tilted his mouth even more until he had Caroline right where he wanted her. Their tongues dueled with each other, tasting and teasing each other. It wasn’t their first kiss by any stretch of the imagination.

  But it was their first kiss as husband and wife. Somehow that made it completely different from any other kiss they’d ever shared before. It took the pastor clearing her throat for the third time to make Wolf pull away from his wife. He smiled down at Caroline and ran his fingertip down her reddened cheek. “Mine.”

  Caroline smiled up at him. “Yours,” she whispered back.

  “Lean down here so I can kiss the bride,” Cookie demanded, interrupting their moment.

  Caroline laughed and turned to the bed and leaned over. Instead of the chaste kiss on the cheek Caroline expected, Hunter kissed her hard on the lips.

  “Hey!” Wolf snapped.

  Caroline laughed and playfully smacked Hunter on the shoulder. “You shouldn’t mess with him like that.”

/>   “But he makes it so easy,” was Cookie’s response.

  “My turn,” Dude stated, and turned Caroline to him. He too kissed her on the lips. “Welcome to the family.”

  And so it went. Each man on the team took his turn, and said how glad they were that Caroline was now officially a part of their family.

  When Caroline got back around to Matthew, she could see he was holding on to his temper by his fingernails. She tried to soothe him. “Hey, husband.” Her words did the trick.

  “Hey, wife.” Wolf gathered Caroline into his arms and relaxed when she melted into him.

  “Smile!” Fiona ordered, snapping a picture with her cell phone before either Caroline or Wolf could move.

  “That’s a good one!” she exclaimed after checking it out on her phone. “I’ve been taking pictures throughout the ceremony, but I think that’s my favorite.”

  Alabama unexpectedly thrust her cell phone into Fiona’s line of vision without a word.

  “Okay, I lied. That is my favorite.” Fiona took Alabama’s phone out of her hand and turned the screen to Caroline and Wolf.

  Alabama had snapped the photo as Wolf was kissing his bride. The passion he had for Caroline was clear. Caroline’s head was bent backward at what should have been an awkward angle, but Wolf’s hands at her neck prevented it from bending too far back. Both Caroline and Wolf had their eyes shut and Caroline’s hand was cupped on the back of Wolf’s head.

  “Wow,” was all Caroline could say at seeing the picture. “I definitely need a copy of that.”

  Wolf just leaned down and kissed Caroline’s temple gently.

  Fiona gave the phone back to Alabama, and sat on the bed next to Hunter. She put her hand over his and Caroline watched as Hunter turned his hand over immediately to grasp Fiona’s hand tightly.

  “So, is it time for the first dance yet?” Hunter asked with a tone just short of being snarky.

  Caroline knew he was still irritated with her. It didn’t matter how many times she reassured him that she had the song all picked out and had consulted with the DJ. The fact that Caroline refused to tell Hunter what song she’d chosen, really irritated him. He’d asked and demanded, then tried to guilt her into telling him, but Caroline had held firm. She’d wanted one thing to be a surprise.

  “As a matter of fact, I think it is,” Caroline told Hunter agreeably. She turned to Faulkner and held out her hand. “Thanks for holding my phone.”

  Dude pulled Caroline’s phone out of his pocket and handed it over.

  While Caroline was searching for the correct song on her music app, Cookie turned to Fiona. “Did you know what song she was gonna choose?”

  “Don’t bring me into this, Hunter,” Fiona told him sternly, brushing her thumb over the back of his hand lovingly. It was obvious that she couldn’t muster up any strength to be truly irritated with him. “She didn’t tell any of us.”

  Caroline handed the phone back to Faulkner. “Okay, I’m ready. Hit play in just a second.”

  Caroline turned back to Matthew and walked straight into his arms. She looked up at him. “It’s not a conventional song.”

  Wolf interrupted her, “I’d expect nothing different from you, Ice.”

  Caroline smiled up at him and started again. “I mean, it’s not a conventional wedding song. Hell, it’s not really even a good song to dance to, but the first time I heard it, I thought of us. I looked up the lyrics and knew it’d be perfect. It reminds me of you and me every time I hear it now.”

  The music started behind them and Caroline smiled as the Goo Goo Dolls song, Come to Me played tinnily out of her little phone’s speaker.

  They swayed back and forth listening to the lyrics of a love that started with friendship. Caroline didn’t look away from Matthew’s eyes as they swayed back and forth, but she knew everyone was watching them with smiles on their faces.

  Caroline was floored when the song came to its crescendo, and Matthew sang the words to her, but changed them to fit their own current circumstances.

  “Today’s the day I made you mine, I didn’t get to the church on time. Take my hand in this hospital room, you’re my wife and I’m your groom. Come to me my dearest love, this is where we’ll start again.”

  “Oh my God.”

  Caroline heard the exclamation, didn’t recognize the voice, but ignored it anyway. She had eyes only for her husband. “You know this song?”

  “Yeah, Ice, I know this song.”

  He didn’t expound.

  “How?” Caroline demanded.

  “Honestly? You left your phone out one night and I saw you’d been listening to it. I looked it up and downloaded it. I figured if you liked it, I should listen to it. It’s a good fucking song. And now it’s our song.” He continued to surprise Caroline and semi-quoted the song again. “This is now our favorite song.”

  “Wow.” The words had come from the nurse standing in the doorway. It was her voice that Caroline had heard after Matthew had sung to her.

  “I think that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  Caroline smiled. She couldn’t disagree with the woman.

  When the song was over, Caroline turned to Hunter. “So? How’d I do?”

  Cookie smiled at Caroline. “Good, Ice. You did good. I couldn’t have picked a better song for the two of you.”

  Caroline grinned at the compliment and turned back to her husband.

  “I love you, Matthew.”

  “I love you, Caroline.”

  Chapter Ten

  Wolf settled back against the headboard and smiled down at his wife. He’d kept their honeymoon destination a secret from everyone, and so far it’d been perfect. Caroline thought they were headed to a beach somewhere. As much as he wanted to see her in a bikini, Wolf had a different destination in mind. Caroline had dropped enough hints about hoping he was taking her to Maui that he vowed to take her there on vacation before too much longer.

  His teammates had also tried to guess, and had thrown out ideas from Paris, France to San Francisco. Wolf had kept mum about where he was taking Caroline and he couldn’t be more pleased with the results of his sneakery.

  The only person he’d told was Fiona. Wolf needed Fiona to pack Caroline’s bags with appropriate clothing and girly stuff. Wolf didn’t expect Caroline would need many clothes. But he knew Caroline would want some of her own fripperies with her, so he’d told Fiona, and Fiona had sworn that she wouldn’t tell anyone, even Cookie.

  They actually hadn’t gone far from home. Wolf had taken them to Sedona, Arizona and checked them into a cabin high in the mountains. Wolf had researched it online and booked the most isolated room he could. He had plans to keep Caroline naked and in his bed for the entire week. The resort had room service, and that was all he needed. A bed, food, and his wife.

  Wolf smiled. His wife. Jesus he loved the way that sounded. He stroked the hair back from Caroline’s face and smiled as she snuggled further into him. She was exhausted, and Wolf knew it was all his fault. He’d apologize, but he wasn’t sorry in the least.

  Wolf thought back to that morning when Caroline had checked her email. He didn’t want her to do it, but knew she worried about her friends. Fiona and Alabama had compiled all the pictures they’d taken of their wedding and emailed the link to the online album to Caroline. The pictures would certainly never make someone looking at them think it was a very good wedding, but Wolf fucking loved them.

  Caroline’s hair was mussed in every picture. Her dress had some random black stains around the bottom of it. It drug on the ground because she was wearing flip-flops instead of heels. Her shoes were now a part of their history, because in one of the pictures he had her draped over his arm backwards and her leg had come up and hooked around his waist. Her unconventional shoes were clearly visible.

  Caroline’s dress was also wrinkled and had some random red stains on it. Wolf knew he’d warned her, but thanked God she hadn’t cared. Her makeup was nonexistent, but again,
it was how Wolf saw her most of the time, and he loved that she looked like “her” in their wedding photos.

  Fiona and Alabama looked just as disheveled as Caroline did, but they were also beautiful in their rumpledness. There was one picture of Fiona lying on the bed next to Cookie, with her left hand, wedding ring prominently displayed, lying on Cookie’s chest. Her eyes were closed, but Cookie had been looking down at her as if she was the most precious thing in the world to him, which she was.

  Alabama had also included a picture of her and Abe. Abe was standing behind her with one arm slung around her chest diagonally, and the other was around her waist pulling her back into him. Alabama was looking up at him and laughing at whatever he’d just said to her. Even with her lilac dress mussed and with a pair of sneakers on her feet, she was beautiful in her man’s arms.

  Caroline’s friends had done a wonderful job in catching every moment of their impromptu wedding. From the guys kissing her, to them signing their marriage license. Hell, Alabama had even snuck a picture of Wolf handing the pastor a wad of cash to thank her for the inconvenience of having to spend all afternoon in the hospital. Of course the pastor had said it was no big deal and brushed off his thanks, but Wolf smiled, remembering how she’d pocketed the check mumbling about how it would go toward expanding the playground at the church for the children.

  After they’d gotten married, Wolf had called his parents and explained what had gone on that afternoon. Caroline had been worried they’d be upset over missing their son’s wedding, but Wolf knew they’d be okay with it. And they were. They were pleased as hell their son was happy, and it was more than obvious he was happy. They wrung a promise out of Wolf to bring Caroline over for dinner as soon as they could after they got back from their honeymoon.

  Wolf’s thoughts came back to Caroline. As much as he loved the pictures, he’d soon tired of looking at them and had shoved the computer out of the way and introduced Caroline to honeymoon-kitchen-table sex. She’d taken to it enthusiastically.