Out of the corner of his eye, he spied Isabella’s back straightening. Okay, he’d overstepped his mark, but if Eric wanted to play protective father, he was going to play concerned and caring boyfriend. Actually, it wasn’t playing at all, he was both and more when it came to Isabella. He would be her champion, no matter what the fallout.
Eric studied Ethan and he stood still, meeting the other man’s gaze head-on.
A slow smile stretched across Eric’s face. “Yes, yes I did. I suppose I should’ve called her instead of dropping in unannounced.”
“You don’t say,” Isabella muttered.
For an ex-soldier who’d worked in special forces, like Eric had, for him to admit he was wrong, was huge. Through a short conversation an understanding had been reached. Eric was now aware his daughter wasn’t alone anymore, and Ethan understood the gift he’d been given.
“But, Ethan, you do anything to hurt her, and it will be the last mistake you ever make.” There it was—the mercenary soldier who took no prisoners. Ethan respected Eric’s comment, and if roles were reversed and he had a daughter he’d do the same.
“Understood, sir.” He would do everything in his power not to hurt her, but with the subjects he needed to address, he couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be some hurt in the future—for both of them.
“Would anyone like to clue me on what the hell just happened? I feel like there was a lot of unspoken words and I’ve been auctioned off to the highest bidder,” Isabella asked, moving so she was in between him and Eric. “This is the twenty-first century, you know. I’m not a commodity for both of you to put on a shelf and say there, there when I’m upset. I didn’t take you to task when you arrived, Dad, because I didn’t want to appear rude. Maybe I should have. But you could’ve told me about Rhonda. I’m not a little girl anymore. I’m okay with you moving on with your life.” She paused. “And you, Ethan”—she poked his finger in his chest—“I don’t need you to go all airman on me with my father. I can do that myself. Yes, I may have answered the door upset, but I’m allowed to.”
She had her hands on her hips and her eyes blazed with annoyance and, perhaps, a hint of pride. She’d never looked sexier and he tempered his urge to scoop her up and take her against the hallway wall. Now that would be a good impression to make. He liked seeing this strong, confident Isabella. If only she believed in her inner strength.
“You’re right. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to apologize for protecting you. I know I’ve said it all before, and I’m sure your dad is the same—we’re trained to protect those we care about. It’s hard to shut off.”
“It’s true, Isabella, it is hard to turn off,” her dad added. “And I’m sorry for not being honest and upfront with you about Rhonda. You’re right, we’ve had enough conversations over the past month for me to bring it up.”
“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on dinner.” She swiveled and strode down the hallway.
As he watched her retreating back, he smiled. God, he loved her. The smile died as he let the thought take hold, dig its root into his heart, and, instead of scaring the shit out of him, peace settled over him.
He loved her.
There was no point in denying it any longer. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but he wasn’t sure Isabella was there with him. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her away by declaring his emotions, not to mention the fact he was about to leave for an overseas stint and he wanted to talk to her about his promotion.
Maybe it was best he kept that bit of news to himself. Get her prepared for the idea of him leaving and when she was comfortable with that, tell her about the promotion.
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Ethan.”
Lost in the realization that he loved Isabella, he’d forgotten her dad was still standing near him.
Like all good special forces personnel, Ethan had no doubt Eric studied his body language and the emotions flitting across his face. In normal circumstances Ethan would’ve ensured that he’d kept his thoughts and feelings hidden. Showing vulnerabilities could lead to death.
The last thing he needed to do, though, was to give Isabella’s father a reason to doubt his faith in Ethan that he would cherish and protect Isabella. “Yes, Eric, I do.”
*
Isabella closed the door on her dad and his girlfriend, glad the evening was over.
“After a shaky start, it ended up being a good evening, right?”
She swiveled and spied Ethan leaning against the doorway of the living room and hallway. God, he looked so sexy casually standing there, a glass of red wine in his hand. After the discussion between him and her father when he first arrived, Ethan had been the perfect boyfriend. Courteous, making jokes with Rhonda, and making the other woman feel comfortable.
She sighed and walked toward him, welcoming the embrace he offered. “I was pretty rude to Rhonda when she first arrived. It wasn’t my finest moment.”
“Come on, let’s go sit.” He led her into the living room and settled her on the couch. He placed his wineglass on the table and then came to sit beside her, arranging them so he was lying and his back rested against the cushions, she was tucked up with his hard chest to her back.
Another sigh rippled through her. This felt so right, the two of them lying on her couch, not saying anything but a million words seemed to fill the silence.
“Want to tell me all that happened before I arrived?” he prodded her gently.
“When the doorbell rang I thought it was you. I opened the door and was about to admonish you for losing your key when I saw Dad and Rhonda standing on my front porch. Shock is a poor word for the emotion that slammed into me. I felt betrayed.”
“Why, Izzy?”
“Because I could tell from the way they were standing that this wasn’t a new thing between the two of them. There was a comfortableness about them that can only come from when you spend a lot of time with the other person. Dad and I have been speaking on a regular basis. Heck, we’ve even gone out for dinner and I’ve been over to his place numerous times and he didn’t mention her even once. It brought back all the memories of when I kept things from him and he kept things from me. I thought our relationship had progressed and then he turns up with a woman he’s never uttered a word about. At least Dad admitted he was wrong about it all.”
“Well, you made it clear to him how you felt. I don’t think he’ll be making that mistake again.”
“Yep, another step forward in our relationship.”
“I know now that in some situations I can’t take over and need to let you take charge.”
“I’m sure there will be some situations where I’ll be okay with you taking charge.” If she was in physical danger, she’d be glad to have him by her side. But when it came to situations with her father, well, it was up to her to deal with them.
“I got the message loud and clear. I’m sorry I overstepped, but I did it because I care.”
Memories of the way he looked at her earlier in the evening came rushing back. The intense look of desire burning in the depths of dark brown eyes. Heat flared through her body.
Facing him, she framed his face with her hands. “I know. I’m beginning to understand that about you and know that sometimes you can’t help it. Doesn’t mean I’ll let you run roughshod over me all the time.”
Ethan laughed and placed his hands over hers. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
She was done talking. She wanted to lose herself in her man’s arms and spend the night in a passion-filled fog.
Leaning forward, she closed her lips over his, communicating her needs and desires in her kiss. Ethan answered her call and, in that moment, everything in her life was perfect.
Chapter Fifteen
Isabella lowered the paper she’d been grading when she heard Ethan pad into the kitchen. His hair was mussed and, in his boxers, he looked so sexy she wanted to jump him right there and then. Only she’d kept him busy the previou
s evening. It had been late when they’d finally fallen into a passion-soaked sleep.
When the alarm went off at five for him to get up to go for a run, he’d slammed his hand on her clock and rolled over and promptly fell back asleep. For her, on the other hand, sleep had been fitful and at seven she gave up trying to get any. Besides, she had some papers to grade. Summer was coming up fast and keeping the kids focused was as challenging as keeping herself focused.
“Hey, airman, how’d you sleep?”
“Not long enough,” he grumbled.
Now this was interesting. Even when he had little sleep, Ethan always seemed perky in the morning. Pushing back from the table, she walked over to where he stood by the fridge drinking the glass of water he’d just poured.
“Are you feeling okay?” She went to lay a hand on his forehead when it was captured in one of his hands. The action pulled her forward and she splayed her palms against his warm, naked, chest to stop from crashing fully into him.
“No, I’m not feeling okay. I woke up and you weren’t there. I didn’t like it.”
For a split second she stood stock still, not sure what to think then she started laughing. “Oh, you poor baby. I couldn’t sleep so I decided to not disturb you with my tossing and turning. Besides, I had some marking I wanted to finish up.”
“Well, if you have trouble sleeping, I’m sure I could’ve come up with a way to help you.” He ground his hips against hers and there was no way she could miss his erection.
A shiver of desire rippled through her. After the night they’d spent together worshiping each other’s bodies, their libidos should’ve been sated, but hers was as fired up as his was.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she went up on tiptoe and nipped at his lips. “I don’t have to be anywhere today and you told me you don’t either, so we could go back to bed if you like. I’m feeling a little tired now and could probably do with some more sleep.” She faked a yawn to get her point across.
Ethan lifted her, and she hooked her legs around his waist. “Is that right?” he asked as he steered them out of the kitchen and back in the direction of her bedroom.
“Yes, it is.”
“Well, let me help you sleep then,” he said as he lowered his head and kissed any rational thoughts out of her mind.
*
Isabella snuggled into Ethan’s embrace enjoying the post-coital lethargy that enveloped them both.
“I need to talk to you about something,” Ethan said as he feathered his fingers up and down her arm.
Muscles that were, only seconds ago, languid and relaxed tensed with the underlying timbre of his voice. Instinctively, Isabella knew exactly what he wanted to talk to her about. Over the last few weeks, he’d tried broaching the subject of his pending deployment, but she’d redirected the conversation every time. She’d handled the news of him having training exercises a little easier. He’d always called her when he could when he’d finished. Communication between them would be difficult while he was deployed.
They couldn’t avoid his deployment forever and it seemed that the time had come and avoiding it was no longer a viable option for her.
Pulling away from him was akin to cutting off a piece of her heart, but she needed to have some distance between them when they had this conversation. She sat up against the headboard and hugged her raised knees. A defensive and protective pose if there ever was one but she didn’t care. “What did you want to talk about?” she asked, pleased her voice sounded strong, even though inside she was a quivering mass of jelly.
“Izzy, this conversation isn’t easy for me either. I’ve never had to have one like this before, and I don’t know how to approach the subject. But every day we avoid it, the closer the deadline approaches, and it becomes bigger than it needs to be.”
Yep, he was talking about his pending deployment. There had been talk all those weeks ago at Anna’s place about the plans the girls were going to make when their partners and spouses left. She’d been an ostrich and had buried her head in the sand, tuning out the conversation because she didn’t think it would matter to her. Or more importantly, it was a topic she didn’t want to face.
“When do you leave?” Like ripping off a Band-Aid, ask the question she really didn’t want the answer to, but she needed to know.
“In four weeks.”
Four weeks!
School let out in three, at least if she had her job she’d be able to attempt to keep her focus on something, but going into an almost three-month summer break, it would be impossible not to constantly worry about him and his squadron.
“How long will you be gone?”
“It depends, it could be a minimum of three months or a maximum of six.”
When she’d been married to Travis, she’d never had to deal with him being deployed. He’d died before he ever got his first orders. When she’d been eighteen and young, she’d always believed she could cope with it. She’d been naïve about it all, living in a romantic bubble where nothing could touch her. Now that she was older, the realities of going to a war zone weren’t romantic at all.
The realities of being in a relationship with Ethan came crashing in on her.
Six months. A half a year.
But he said it could be as short as three months. Her whole summer. When he returned, she’d be going back to school. Part of her had hoped that something would change, and he wouldn’t have to go and they could spend time together over the summer, where she didn’t have to worry about lesson plans and maybe he could take a few days off and they could’ve gone away somewhere.
She’d been living in a fool’s paradise to think that was even possible.
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Izzy. Don’t shut me out now,” he pleaded with her but, at the moment, her vocal chords were paralyzed and speaking was impossible.
Making herself swallow a couple of times seemed to dislodge the lump but tears threatened and the last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him. “I don’t know what to say, Ethan. I knew it was coming, but as you know, I’m really good with hiding from things I don’t want to face. You going away is one of those things.”
The need for space, for some alone time to think overwhelmed her. She needed to get out of this room and this bed, being so close to Ethan was messing with her brain. She threw back the covers, grabbed her robe, and walked out the door, shoving her arms into the silky fabric as she went.
*
Ethan swore under his breath and reached down to grab the boxers he’d shucked not long ago.
Dammit, why is this so hard?
Because he’d never left the woman he loved behind before. He’d never deployed while in a relationship. Most of his liaisons had been casual and scratched the itch. None of the girls he’d slept with meant as much to him as Isabella did.
It wasn’t only his deployment they had to talk about. How could he dump so much information on her at once? After the conversations they’d had last night and the situation with her father, not telling her everything was the same as what her father had done. He couldn’t do that to her. It wouldn’t be fair.
Running a hand through his hair, he knew what he needed to do; just making his feet walk out the door to find her was proving difficult. Just like when he walked into an unknown situation while deployed, talking about all their issues was a risk he needed to take because maybe he’d be surprised and things would work out for them. Plus, if their relationship lasted this first deployment, there’d be a lot of things they’d have to discuss and not brush aside.
He made sure he was fully dressed this time when he set out to find her, not that he regretted what they’d shared the last hour.
The first room he checked was the kitchen, the papers she’d been working on when he’d previously walked in were still scattered on the table. Even his glass remained on the counter beside the refrigerator. He didn’t think she’d have gone for a walk seeing as she was only dressed in her robe, but he strode down the hallway, out th
e door, and down the path. When he reached the edge of her property, he looked in both directions but couldn’t see her. Her car was still in the driveway, not that she could’ve got out anyway as his car was parked behind hers.
Cursing under his breath, he headed back inside. As he passed the living room he noticed it was empty too.
“Where the hell are you, Izzy?” he murmured as he opened the doors to the spare rooms. She couldn’t have just disappeared.
Ethan stopped in his mad search and took a deep breath. He needed to approach this logically, like he would when he was approaching a building and it required him and Sam to search before the others on his team followed. He’d searched the most logical places. If it was him, where would he go where there was space and he wouldn’t get interrupted?
Well, he’d go for a walk and seeing as he’d already looked down the street and considering what she’d been wearing when she’d walked out of the bedroom, he could scratch that off his list.
“Of course,” he said as enlightenment hit. “The back patio.”
They’d spent so much time out there after they’d eaten. Isabella had told him her backyard was her sanctuary. It should’ve been the first place he looked, especially since the access to the area was through the kitchen, where he’d started his search.
When he reached the door, he stopped, the last thing he needed to do was burst through the doors and startle her.
Confident he had his emotions bottled up enough that they wouldn’t explode everywhere, he opened the door. His eyes went to the table where they’d shared so many conversations and there she was. Her shoulders hunched over, a look of defeat in her very posture.
It killed him to know he had done that to her, but their conversation couldn’t have been avoided any longer. He’d also known it was a risk embarking on a relationship with her since she’d told him of what happened to her husband, but he’d hoped the get-together at Anna and Zeke’s house, not to mention the fact Anna had taken Isabella under her wing, would’ve shown Isabella she could have what she once wished for, just with him instead.
Blind Date Bet Page 14
