by Tawny Weber
He wanted to make her his future.
* * *
EDEN WAS SO GLAD she hadn’t stayed at the country club long enough to actually eat anything, because her stomach was doing all sorts of crazy backflips.
All her life, she’d wished for more. She’d blown out candles and watched for falling stars. She’d dreamed of what it’d be like to have her perfect life.
But today, she’d finally realized that all the wishing in the world didn’t matter. It was the doing that made the difference.
And she really, really loved doing Cade.
She took a deep breath, knowing she needed to confess everything before she lost her nerve. Or jumped his body. Her eyes ran over the sleek silken glow of his muscles again and her mouth started to water. The odds of both things happening were running pretty even at that moment.
“What you said the other night made me realize that I’ve spent years sitting idly by, waiting. Hoping that if I was good enough, nice enough, that everyone, someone, anyone would see that I was worthy.”
He looked like he wanted to argue as if the idea of her thinking that she was less than perfect simply pissed him off. Eden loved that about him. Loved how strongly he wanted to defend her.
“But you always saw me as worthy. Even when you hauled me out of trees or kept me from falling on my face, you made me feel like I was special. Even when all there was between us was a mutual street sign and a lot of rescues, you accepted me. So, now I’m through waiting,” she said, her heart pounding so loud she wouldn’t have been surprised if he could hear it. But it was beating with excitement, rather than fear. Because even if he turned her down, she’d have tried. She’d have given them her best shot.
“What’re you through waiting for?” he asked slowly. Clearly his training had clued him in that he might be in danger.
“I’m through waiting for all of my wishes to come true.” Eden took a deep breath, then walked over until she stood in front of him. Her fingers ached to touch, but she kept them at her sides.
“I realized today that I do make things happen. I made the right choices that led to opportunities, or the lack thereof. I might need to be rescued once in a while because I’m chasing the dream. But that’s okay, because I’m the one choosing to run after it,” she whispered.
His eyes gleamed, the smile starting to play at the corners of his mouth giving her a little encouragement.
“So what’re you planning to make happen next?”
“This,” she told him, launching herself into his waiting arms. Both hands cupping his cheeks, she ravaged his mouth. Cade, gentleman that he was, ravaged her right back.
“I love you,” she breathed against his mouth. For a split second, she wanted to grab the words back. To wait and see if he said them first. Then she lifted her chin and met his eyes. Nope. No waiting. Not any longer.
“I love you,” she repeated, her words strong and sure this time. “I want to give us a chance. I’ll spend time in San Diego, whether it’s once a year when you’re on leave or a few times a month if you’re doing training. Whatever you decide, for whatever reasons you see fit, I want to be there for you.”
For just a second, he looked shocked. Then a smile like she’d never seen—one filled with little-boy joy, delight and hope—split his face.
“I’d say we have one hell of a chance,” he decided, sweeping her into his arms and carrying her to the couch where he settled with her tight in his arms. “Because I love you, too.”
Eden was pretty sure her heart stopped.
She stared, wide-eyed, for two breaths until it started again. Elation surged as she met his lips, their kiss as raw and honest as their declarations of love.
“Looks like my birthday wish came true,” she said when they came up for air.
“Yeah? The one about us having a lot of sex?” He pulled her more firmly onto his lap, the hard length of his erection pressing against her thigh, letting her know he couldn’t wait to start.
“I do like that part,” she agreed with a laugh, wriggling just a little to tease him. “But the part I’ve always wished for, even before sex with you, was to have my very own hero.”
Cade’s smile softened, his eyes warming hers as he pressed a kiss of promise against her lips.
“I’ll always be your hero.”
Epilogue
CADE LAY ON THE BED, his hands crossed behind his head while he contemplated just how damned great his life was. It had been nine months since the infamous Spring Fling and he and Eden were as strong as ever together.
So strong, he actually believed in taking chances now instead of following the tried and true. In his jacket pocket was his mother’s engagement ring. His father had suggested he use it when he’d told Robert and Catherine that he was asking Eden to marry him.
Nerves danced for a second while he tried to decide how to ask. She’d say yes, wouldn’t she? Thanks to her partnership with Mia, she’d changed her veterinary schedule to spend a week or two each month with him in San Diego. He spent all of his breaks between training sessions here in Ocean Point with her. She’d even started working with pet-placement groups in Southern California. Those were good signs, right?
The nerves in his belly got a little more active.
“Blake and Alexia should be back from their honeymoon next week,” he said, grateful for the distraction when Eden stepped out of the bathroom, steam from her shower billowing around her. “You up for a week or two in San Diego? We’ll take them out to celebrate married life.”
“Maybe.”
He frowned in surprise at her response. Eden and Alexia had become pretty good friends. In fact, within a week of meeting her, Alexia had adjusted her wedding plans to include Eden as a bridesmaid.
So what was up?
Eden stopped at the foot of the bed, her worried frown driving everything from his mind.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, jackknifing into a sitting position. He knew her face, her every expression. She was scared. Anxious and happy all at the same time.
What the hell?
“Um, well, I think I— We broke something.”
Cade looked around. No damage.
He shifted to take in her body, from the top of her silky brown hair, over the tiny red nightie and down to the tips of her pale pink toes.
“What?”
Eden bit her lip, then, with the soft flesh still tight between her teeth, she held out a stick.
Cade looked at it, frowned and gave a shrug.
“What’s that?”
“It’s, um, a pregnancy test.”
What? Cade’s gaze flew from the stick to her face and back again. Then it landed on her stomach, flat as ever under her silky nightgown.
“A condom broke?” he confirmed in an awed tone.
Wincing, she gave a little shrug, then nodded.
He threw back his head and laughed.
God, could life get any better?
Loving it, loving her, he leaped from the bed and swept Eden into his arms to spin her in a wide circle. On his second time around, he grabbed his jacket in one hand then dropped to the bed with Eden in his lap.
“Talk about accident prone,” she muttered.
“Babe, this isn’t an accident. This is a blessing, pure and simple.”
To prove it to her, he scooped the little velvet box out of the pocket, letting the jacket fall to the floor as he flipped the lid and held out the diamond.
Eden’s eyes widened, then went soft with so much love that Cade had to blink.
“Will you marry me?”
“Did you already know I was pregnant?” she asked in shock, reaching out to touch the ring with one unsteady finger before pulling her hand back.
“Nope. I knew I loved you. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.” Cade caught her hand in his, brought it to his lips and brushed a kiss over her knuckles before twining his fingers with hers. “You being pregnant only adds to the perfection we’ve got together. It’s like a sign that I�
�m making all the right choices, that I’m living my life for my own dreams instead of trying to prove something to my father. Something to myself.”
Eden’s smile was a little shaky at the corners.
“I don’t expect you to give up being a SEAL. I know the BUDs training was just a temporary thing. I don’t want you to think you have to give up going back into Special Ops.”
Cade had to close his eyes for a second, he was so overcome by emotions. She was incredible.
“Babe, I love training. It’s like I was made for it. I love being stationary, able to come home to you every night. I love the idea of building a life together, of bringing a new life into the world with you.” He watched the worry fade from her dark gaze, then slid the ring on her finger before kissing her with all the love and passion he had in his heart. When she was breathless and limp, he pulled back to give her his most charming smile. “Bottom line, I love you.”
Eden’s laugh was so soft, it was more a puff of breath over his face than a sound. She cupped his face in both hands and kissed him again.
“My hero.”
* * * * *
A SEAL’s Salvation
Tawny Weber
1
Ten Years Before
“GENNA, YOU’RE CRAZY. You don’t have to do this.”
“Of course I do. You dared me.” Genna Reilly gave her best friend a wide-eyed look. The one she used whenever she wanted to appear extra sweet and innocent.
The sweet part was usually an act. The innocent part was pure truth, though. But fingers crossed, tonight was going to change that.
“I didn’t dare you. Dina did. You could just take the truth instead. C’mon, I’ll even ask a different question,” Macy said, her desperate tone matching the intense worry in her eyes. She grabbed both of Genna’s hands, hanging on tight as if her body weight could anchor her to this spot. Since Genna was a lean, mean five-ten and Macy topped out at five-two, as anchors went, the girl wasn’t very effective.
“That’s not how the game is played,” Genna said, carefully extricating her hands, not wanting to hurt Macy but desperately wanting to be gone already.
She’d had no idea tonight’s slumber party would turn wild. Oh, sure, the potential was there. That’s why they always had sleepovers at Dina’s, because her mom fell asleep by ten and didn’t do spot breathalyzer inspections like Genna’s dad. It was easy to sneak out and do fun things. Like play truth or dare.
She’d figured on a fun weekend with three of her best friends, one of the last leading up to graduation. But she’d had no idea it would be this fun.
She needed to do this. Now, while the anticipation was still zinging through her system, making her feel brave enough to take on the world. Or, in this case, to take down the sexiest bad boy of Bedford, California.
She wanted Brody Lane.
But he had practically made a career of ignoring her existence.
Time to end that.
Class vice president, squad cheer captain and the daughter of one of the most influential men in town, at seventeen Genna was no stranger to attention. Her exotic looks, long silky black hair and sky-blue eyes ensured that she got plenty of male attention, and not only in her high school classes. Nope, even though they were three years her senior, her brother’s friends were always staring and flirting with her, too.
But she wasn’t interested in any of them.
Not the boys in school.
Not the guys her brother ran with.
Not until he’d started hanging out with Brody last winter.
For the first time in her charmed life, Genna was smitten. Hooked. Hot....
Over a guy who was deemed off-limits. Not only by her parents, who were ridiculously overprotective. But by the town itself, all of whom considered the Lanes just this side of the devil’s minions, and Brody as a hell-raiser with an overdue ticket to prison. Heck, even her brother, Joe, had told her not to be stupid when he’d caught her checking out Brody’s butt.
And Brody? He looked right through her as if she were made of cellophane. It wasn’t as though she expected everyone in the world to adore her. But the guy could drool a little when he saw her in shorts, couldn’t he? Or at least stare when he showed up to give Joe a ride and found Genna in a bikini, strategically washing her car.
But did he?
Noooo.
The guy acted as though she wasn’t even there.
Genna wasn’t the contrary sort. She’d never had to be. But no matter who told her or how many times, she couldn’t get Brody Lane out of her head.
So tonight, thanks to Dina’s dare, she was going to do something about it.
“Genna,” Macy pleaded, as if she were peeking into her best friend’s thoughts. “Don’t do this.”
“And be known as the girl who doesn’t meet her dares?” She’d rather be known as an ax-murdering floozy who wore designer knockoffs and ugly shoes.
“Maybe Macy’s right,” Sylvie said quietly, always ready to jump in as the voice of reason. “This isn’t like daring you to stand up in Mrs. Bellevue’s class and sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ while shaking your tail feathers. If your dad finds out, he’ll kill you.”
“He’ll kill us,” Macy intoned wisely, knowing full well that Sheriff Reilly was just as likely to punish any possible accomplices as he was the actual perpetrator.
“My dad’s not going to find out,” Genna said dismissively, the negligent wave of her hand stirring a tiny breeze in the sultry night air. Her father was too busy keeping the peace and freaking out over Joe’s latest escapade to pay any attention to what his little angel did.
“I hear he’s wild. He likes kinky stuff.”
She assumed Dina was talking about Brody now and not her dad.
“What kind of kinky stuff?” Twisting her carefully streaked blond hair around one finger, Sylvie sounded somewhere between fascinated and terrified.
Genna wasn’t between anything. She was smack-dab solid in determination. And feeling hot, of course.
“I dunno. But I’ll bet Genna can tell us tomorrow.” When Dina’s loud giggle earned her three glares, she slapped both hands over her mouth. But she didn’t stop laughing.
It was just nerves over being on the rougher side of town combined with a little too much hard lemonade. Or maybe she really thought it was funny that Genna was going to put all her virginal skills to use and seduce one of the baddest of the town’s bad boys.
“I don’t kiss and tell,” Genna decided. That sounded mysterious, didn’t it? And kinda sexy. Besides, she figured any kissing she did deserved to be savored. Which meant kept to herself, where the gossips and tattletales couldn’t whisper it around.
“You mean you don’t kiss or do anything else,” Dina corrected, rolling her big blue eyes.
“Dina,” Macy moaned, wringing her hands in a way that proved Genna’s assertion that her friend took far too many drama classes. “Don’t encourage her. She’ll do something crazy.”
“Oh, c’mon. It’s not like she’s really going to jump the guy,” Dina retorted. As usual, she’d picked the scariest dare she could think of when they were playing. She’d had no idea it was also her friend’s secret dream. “This is Genna. She’s gonna go in there, because it’s a dare and she can’t resist those. She’ll try to flirt, Luscious Lane will do his brick wall impersonation and it’ll all be over.”
“The dare was to kiss Brody Lane,” Sylvie pointed out quietly, casting a nervous glance toward the golden glow emanating from the garage light twenty feet away. “Genna’s not going in there unless she’s gonna follow through. You know that.”
Genna stood a little straighter, her chin a smidge higher at that character evaluation. She liked being known as a girl who followed through.
She looked toward the garage, the silhouette of a man working on a motorcycle. Since Brody’s dad, Brian, was working behind the counter and probably three-quarters to drunk at the bar next door, that meant it could only be his son in there.
Time to put up or shut up.
“If I’m not back in ten minutes, head home,” she instructed, fluffing her hair and slicking a coat of Racy Red on her lips, then tucking the tube into the back pocket of her jeans. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
Before they could launch into warnings, cautions or any more stupid arguments, Genna hurried off. Her sandals made slapping sounds all the way to the garage like some kind of early-warning seduction device. She shot a quick glance back at her nervously huddled friends, then figuring that warning Brody wouldn’t serve her plans, she slipped off her shoes.
Barefoot, she tiptoed up the last few feet of sidewalk and carefully peeked around the open doorway.
And there he was. Brody Lane, in all his bare-chested glory. Black hair, as stick-straight as her own, fell across his eyes as he bent over the Harley. Facing away from her, she had the perfect view of his denim-clad butt. And oh, what a butt it was. She wanted to touch it. She wanted to run her hands down the hard planes of his back, glowing gold in the poor garage lighting. Then she wanted to curl her fingers over those biceps. Rock-hard arms were so sexy in a guy, she decided then and there.
Genna fanned herself. Because, oh, baby, he was sizzling.
She took a deep breath, hoping it did intriguing things to her form. When a girl wasn’t blessed with a whole lot on top, she learned these little tricks.
Then she stepped through the doorway.
She knew it was impossible given the distance, but she swore she heard a chorus of gasps from her friends. Not looking back, she stepped over the threshold, leaning her shoulder against the door frame; she rested one hand on her hip in a seductive pose she’d seen in a magazine.
And waited.
Nothing.
Genna rolled her eyes. Even when he didn’t know she was there, he ignored her. This definitely had to change.
“Hey, Brody,” she called out, relieved when her voice only shook a little. “How’re you doing?”
His body went still; his head turned. His eyes, golden-brown like a cat’s, narrowed.
Slowly, like a dream, he straightened away from the bike, the light glinting off that sleek golden skin. So, so much skin. Her gaze traveled from the broad stretch of his shoulders down his tapered waist to his jeans, slung low and loose on his hips.
