SEAL'd Perfection The Complete Collection: A Navy SEAL Romance

by Winters, KB

Jace had put his Chicago home up for rent, and planned to keep it as an investment property since there was no way Jax and I would be able to relocate to Chicago anytime soon, at least not without another custody war with Mitch. For the time being, everything was as it should be. The best part of the arrangement was having someone to come home to every night, even when Jax was with his dad. With my breakneck school and work routine, home with Jace and Jax was my safe haven.

  Especially on nights after a long day at work, and school. Like tonight.

  I let myself into the house, and smiled when I heard Jace call out, “Hey baby!” I shut the front door and went into the living room, after dropping my school bag by the front door, unable to find the energy to drag it to the couch. I knew I’d have to get up again to put it in the closet where I normally stashed it in order to keep Jax out of it—a lesson learned after he’d busted into my highlighters and “colored” the front of the fridge. Jace was sitting on the couch and his face fell after surveying my condition. “Damn, you look beat.”

  I nodded. “This final project is gonna be the death of me. Between the drive, the demanding clients, and hauling furniture around all day, I’m worn out. I’m an old lady, remember?” I winked at Jace and he laughed. It was a running joke between us that somewhere along the way, I’d become a cougar, preying upon young, impressionable men like Jace who fell into my trap.

  Jace gestured for me to join him on the couch, and I noted the way he was sitting up, ramrod straight, which was a sure sign that his back was bothering him. I snuggled up to him, careful not to put too much pressure on him as I leaned in. He wrapped an arm around me and stroked the ends of my hair between his fingers.

  “Where’s Jax?” I asked.

  “Bath time. Hilda came over a little while ago to check on us. I was having some trouble getting on my knees to scrub him down, so she took over.”

  I reached up and stroked the side of his face, silently reassuring him. He hated to admit when he needed help. “Do you need anything?”

  He shook his head. “Nah. I’m just waiting for the drugs to kick in. Should be any minute.”

  “Tell me about your day? What did you guys do?”

  “The usual,” Jace answered, smiling down at me. “Little man and I took Mickey out for a walk, stopped for a hot cocoa at that coffee shop on fifth, and came back to have dinner and do the bedtime bit.”

  “Sounds nice. I wish I could have been there.” I frowned, battling off a wave of mommy guilt. I hated that school had kicked into overtime and was sucking up every spare minute. I’d lost enough time with Jax during the custody war with Mitch. “Thanks for being there with him. He adores you, you know.”

  Jace smiled. “That feeling is pretty mutual, you know?”

  I nodded. I did know. Jace and Jax had made an impossibly adorable duo since the moment they had met. Those two spending so much time together had only turned the cute dial up, and the result was pretty hard to resist. Jace still slept at his own apartment, neither of us wanting to cause Jax confusion over our relationship until we figured out our next steps. But every morning, Jax shot out of bed, raced down the hall, and stood watch at the front window, Mickey by his side, to wait for Jace to come over for the day.

  “There is something I wanted to talk to you about,” Jace said. I sat up straighter, the tone of his voice setting me on edge. “You know how I’ve been getting emails and stuff from fans?”

  “Yeah?” After Jace’s series finale interview had aired, his fans had rallied around him, sending messages on social media, emails, and even some physical letters or gifts.

  “Well, I got one today from a Dr. Hannigan. He’s the lead surgeon at an institution in Texas. They’ve been doing a lot of research and trials with a new type of back surgery. Anyways, he contacted me because he is confident that his team could repair my disks and relieve me of my back pain. He’s willing to do the surgery for free, and said he is available at my earliest convenience to do a consultation.”

  “That’s great!” I turned to face him, to get a read on his expression. He looked pained and conflicted. “Isn’t it?”

  Jace sighed. “I’ve been going back and forth. The procedure itself sounds promising, but I mean it’s not without risks. There’s a chance, a small one, things could end up worse than they are now. I don’t know what I would do…”

  I took his hand and squeezed it. “I understand. But, I think it’s worth going to at least talk to the doctor. Right?”

  Jace nodded. “There’s one other thing,” he paused, and I knew that whatever he was thinking wasn’t going to be easy for him to say. My heart raced as he hesitated, an illogical grip of fear taking hold. “I’d need a lot of help, you know, for the recovery part. I don’t think I could live on my own, and I wouldn’t want to stay in Texas at their aftercare facility, at least, not long term. I know you have Jax and it wouldn’t be easy, but…maybe we need to revisit the idea of me moving in.”

  I nodded, the implications rolling around in my mind. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Jace to live with me. The idea of going to sleep with him every night and waking up to him every morning thrilled me to the point where I thought my heart might burst with joy. As it was, we had to sneak in times to make love, and only got to sleep together on the weekends when Jax was with Mitch and Hannah. “Honestly, having you here full time would be amazing. I think about it all the time, Jace. I only hesitated for so long because of Jax and not wanting to confuse him. When we first decided to do this, to be together, I knew we would have to slow down and ignore our impulse to dive in head first. But things have changed, I want you here, to be an official family.”

  Jace’s smile brightened twenty watts and his eyes softened. “Really?”

  I smiled back and nodded, tears pricking at my own eyes. “Yeah.”

  Jax raced into the room, butt naked, Hilda quickly following behind with his discarded bath towel in her hands. She was laughing, but kept her voice stern, “Mr. Jax, you get back here so I can dry you off!”

  Jace turned his face away but I heard the snicker of laughter as he ducked into my shoulder. I smiled but heaved off the couch. “Come on Jax, mama will get you into some PJs. Then Jace and I have something we want to talk to you about.” At this part, Hilda shot me a questioning look. “You too, Hilda.”

  When we returned minutes later, Jax wrangled into his jammies, Hilda was seated next to Jace on the couch. “Well!” She demanded, a smile on her face. “That was quite the cliffhanger dear!”

  Jace smiled at me and I looked down at Jax and then over at Hilda. “Jax, what would you think if Jace were to come and live with us?”

  “Yay! Yay! Yay!” He shouted, as he started hopping around the room. Mickey joined in and the two of them started their own parade up and down the hallway, leaving all three of us laughing in the living room.

  “That’s wonderful dear! Congratulations.” Hilda smiled and squeezed Jace’s hand. The two of them had become quite close in the past months, bonding over their mutual love of Jax. Truthfully, I knew that Hilda would love anyone who loved me.

  And Jace did. More than I could have ever imagined.

  While Jax continued his celebration, Jace explained the surgery in more detail to Hilda and me, and although I knew that nothing was guaranteed, a tiny spark of hope ignited in my chest. Jace wouldn’t be able to go back to tattoo art, not without his hand, but without the chronic back pain and fatigue from combating it, he might be able to relax enough to find his new passion.

  And while I kept it to myself, secretly I began to hope that maybe my dreams of expanding my family weren’t that unrealistic fantasies after all.

  Chapter Nine — Jace

  As Kat and I began to make plans for the future, things fell into place, everything going smoothly, until the time came to tell her asshole ex-husband, Mitch, about the new arrangement. We both went to drop off Jax for his weekend, and even before I got out of the car, I could feel his hatred radiating towards me from the front p
orch.

  “It’ll be fine,” Kat assured me, rubbing my arm before pushing her door open.

  “I know.” I nodded and flashed a smile at her. I knew she was more nervous about it than I was. She had enjoyed the relative peace between her and her ex and was afraid that telling him about our plans would unravel things and they’d go back to warring constantly, something that would only get more and more damaging as Jax aged. In my mind, it wasn’t something to stress about because as she’d told me, he’d been put in his place by the lawyer I’d hired for her and if he stepped out of line, Kirk Folger was only a phone call away. However, I understood that she didn’t want to keep putting Jax through that. I didn’t either. But as I told her, she couldn’t control what Mitch did, that his choices were on him.

  Kat got out of the car and I let her lead the way inside once she got Jax and Mickey out of the car. On the porch, I extended my hand to Mitch. “Nice to see you again.”

  Mitch took my hand but didn’t offer a smile or a greeting, releasing my hand almost as soon as he took it.

  “Mitch,” Kat hissed.

  He flicked a casual glance to her and then turned away. “See you on Sunday, Katherine, and Jack? Was it?”

  My muscles tensed, and a snarl formed on my lips. Kat placed a hand on my chest, backing me down without a word. I relaxed my shoulders back, but the anger pulsing through my veins was still red hot as I stared at her ex. He was so far the opposite of me in every way, clean cut, dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, and I’d have been willing to bet had never so much as stepped a toe in a tattoo shop, and he sure as hell hadn’t seen anything like the horrors of war or held a gun in defense of his life. He was a rich, fat cat, corporate drone that had a nice house, garage full of cars, and used his money to get what he wanted.

  As I studied him, I wondered what Kat had ever liked—loved—about him. Had he been different when they’d gotten together? Or, had she? Was there still a part of her that wanted all of this? The house, cars, money, prestige?

  I shook away the questions, they could be answered later, and focused my attention back to the moment, knowing Kat would need me to back her up. “Actually, it’s Jace.” I gave a tight lipped smile with the correction. The dickhead just shrugged.

  “Mitch,” Kat warned again. “We actually have something we need to discuss, with you and Hannah.”

  Mitch’s face remained masked with smarmy contempt, but there was a flicker of a question in his eyes and I got a thrill, hoping he was picturing Kirk Folger and remembering the thinly veiled threat the family court judge had given him about stirring up trouble. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, leaving his eyes frosty and hard again. “Fine, but it’s going to have to be quick. Hannah and I have a function to get ready for.” He turned without further explanation, going through the entryway and leading us to the living room, where Hannah was sitting with their six month old daughter, Emmaline in her lap. Jax was at her side, dangling a toy in front of his baby half-sister just like he would if he were trying to get Mickey to play with him. Kat smiled at the sight, and my heart ached, knowing that she was wishing it was her with a baby.

  Something I dreamed of giving her one day.

  “They need to talk to us,” Mitch informed Hannah. I noted that he barely looked at her and their daughter. Clearly, this guy is missing a chip.

  Hannah looked up, and registered that Kat and I were standing there. “Oh, hello Katherine, Jace.”

  I nodded and offered her a warmer smile than the one I’d given her husband. Kat had told me that she and Hannah had become friends during the months I was deployed. Although they didn’t go shopping or out to lunch together, they were on good terms, and I knew Kat was hoping that she would be an ally once we broke the news. “Nice to see you, Hannah. Your home is beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” She set her squirming daughter on the floor. “Come on in, sit anywhere that’s not buried in toys. Does anyone want coffee? Tea?”

  “No thanks, Hannah. We won’t be long,” Kat answered. She rounded the couch and sat down. I followed her lead and took her hand as soon as we settled together on the couch. Mitch joined Hannah, but remained standing. Jax and Emmaline were busy climbing on Mickey, and didn’t pay much attention to us.

  I cleared my throat. We’d decided ahead of time that I would be the spokesperson. “Kat and I wanted to come over and let you guys know that I’m going to be moving in with her and Jax later this month.”

  Hannah smiled brightly at Kat and then over at me. “That’s wonderful! Congratulations!”

  Mitch’s expression made it clear that he wasn’t on the same exuberant page as his wife. “Move in together? Are you getting married?”

  Kat shook her head. “No, not right now at least.”

  Mitch made a scoffing sound and rolled his eyes. “Of course not.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Kat demanded, her voice sharp.

  “Well, I don’t think that’s the best example to set for our son. Although, I suppose you’ve basically been shacked up for a while now, so really, what’s the difference, right?”

  Kat’s hand in mine began to shake, and I gripped it tighter, reassuring her that I was still there with her. “Actually, we haven’t been shacked up, Mitch. And, since when did you become the morality police? I hardly think you have much ground to stand on.” As soon as the spiteful words left her mouth, she shot an apologetic look at Hannah. “I’m sorry, I just mean—”

  “It’s all right.” Hannah held up her hand. “Mitch, don’t be rude. They came over to tell us there will be a change in Jax’s life—that was very considerate of them.”

  Kat nodded, and swallowed hard. “Thank you, Hannah. That’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re not here asking for permission, it’s already been decided, and Jax is very excited. We just didn’t want you to hear it from him and thought it would be best to come over and tell you ourselves before it happened. Jace has been watching Jax almost full time since I’ve been so busy with work and school, and it just makes sense to take that next step and be a family.”

  Mitch visibly riled at this, unable to hold his opinion back. “How quaint. The single mom, her biker trash boyfriend, and my son. A family.”

  Kat jolted up from the couch. “Wow, Mitch.”

  Hannah sighed loudly, and tugged on her husband’s arm, but he jerked it away. She stood, and scooped their baby off the floor. “Come on guys, let’s go to the playroom. Jax say bye-bye to mom and Jace before we go.”

  Jax waved at us and then chased off after Hannah down the hall.

  “We’re done here,” Kat growled at Mitch once they were gone. She stormed from the room, but I hung back for a second, still glaring at Mitch.

  “What? Is there something else you have to say?” He taunted.

  I crossed the room in three strides, ignoring the pain in my back at the force of each harsh step. When I reached him, I grabbed his collar with my good hand, dragged him to the nearest wall, and slammed him against it. He tried wrangling free, flinging expletives at me, and trying to punch me in the gut, but I slammed him back against the wall again. “Listen, ass wipe, you will not make trouble for Kat over this. You lost her. It’s done. I don’t know how you could have been so stupid to not keep your fucking dick in your pants in the first place, but whatever, that’s your deal. She’s mine now, and I won’t let you hurt her anymore. Make one more rudeass comment to her, or to me, and I will fuck you up. Trust me when I tell you Folger’s team will be so far up your lying ass, you won’t be able to breathe without them knowing about it. They’ll find those hidden assets and I will personally take you to court and drain every last drop to give Kat what is rightfully hers.”

  “You son of a bitch—”

  I slammed him back again. “I wasn’t done talking.” I moved in close enough that I could feel his frantic breath as I tightened my grip on his collar, winding the shirt up tight around his throat. “After that, I’ll have Kat press charges for fraud and se
nd your sorry ass to jail so long that your own daughter won’t know who you are. And by the way, you think I’m rough? You have no fuckin’ clue what you’ll run into on the inside. I guarantee you won’t make it out because you’re too fuckin’ stupid to know not to run your mouth off to the wrong people. You think just because you have money that makes you invincible, but I got news for you, dickwad, in there, your money ain’t shit. So, if I were you, I would get your ass out there, apologize to Kat, and vow to never speak to her that way again.”

  Mitch squirmed, trying to get out of my grip. “I’ll press charges! This is assault!”

  “Really? You’re going to press charges against a highly decorated, disabled, war hero? Yeah, good luck with that.” I laughed. “All right cupcake, you ready to go apologize?”

  Mitch spit in my face. I reared back and punched him in the gut before he even saw it coming. He doubled over, sputtering and gasping from the force of the blow. “Fuck. You.”

  I hit him again, and he dropped to the floor. “Tell you what, I’ll do it for you this time. But next time I see you, you better be on your best behavior or we’re gonna have some real problems.”

  I stepped over him, leaving him to writhe and hold his side where I’d struck him, and left the room without another word.

  When I got outside, Kat was already in the car. I slid into the passenger side, and she turned to me, her eyes ringed with red. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, shaking her head, as though still in disbelief over how Mitch had acted.

  “It’s all right.” I leaned over and kissed her cheek. “He’s not gonna bother us about it anymore.”

  Kat’s eyes widened. “Jace…what did you do?”

  “We had words, it’s fine now.”

  Kat studied me for a moment longer, and I knew she didn’t fully believe me, but after a little while, she turned on the car and backed out of the driveway. She didn’t ask about it again, and later that night, Mitch called and apologized to her and told her that she had his blessing.

  She thanks me for whatever I’d said, and we spent the night together, all talk of the past gone, and only thoughts and dreams for the future.