SEAL Forever

by Anne Elizabeth

  “Flying high, as usual.”

  Maura watched the exchange with shock. “You know him?” She had argued for ages with this manager about getting an appointment tonight.

  Chad looked at her. “Are you with the Master Chief?”

  “No,” she said. “He’s with me.”

  “Well, I can’t give you carte blanche, but the Master Chief is a certified instructor. He can take you out if he likes. No charge.”

  Maura couldn’t believe her ears. If Declan only knew how much trouble the man had given her.

  “Just give me ten minutes. I have to take care of one thing first.” Chad patted Declan on the arm before disappearing into his office.

  Declan leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Don’t get angry. That’s how Chad is with most people. He’s different when you’re a friend.”

  “So, he’s a friend.”

  “Yeah. For the most part. His son is going through BUD/S right now, and he’s pretty stressed about it. I think it’s harder on parents than the kids—the waiting part, at least. And the training, well, that’s all up to the trainee. A tadpole has to be determined to become a frog, or in this case, a frogman/SEAL. Now let’s go suit up.”

  * * *

  Declan looked at Maura as they stood before the paraglider. “You look awfully cute in that outfit.”

  She had a steel grip on his arm. Half excited and half sick, she wanted to get this event over with. All of her brave resolutions had flown away already, and if she was going to die, she wanted it to be swift.

  He put his hands over hers. Gently, he released her fingers and showed her where to hold on. “Now,” he said, “I want you to take three deep breaths, and then we’re going over the side of the cliff. The minute you see we’re in the air, take in a slow, long breath. You’ll feel better. Okay?”

  She nodded, not trusting herself not to either cry or squeal like a three-year-old.

  “One, two, three.”

  Declan pushed them off, and the paraglider lifted into the air.

  Maura felt as though she were riding on a kite as they were lifted high over the cliff. Her eyes drank in the beauty of the water, the luxurious estates below, and the breathtaking view.

  “Breathe,” Declan told her.

  She gulped in air. She’d forgotten and was holding her breath.

  “Are you okay?”

  “It’s amazing,” she said. She knew he could hear the wonder in her voice. “How did you discover this?”

  His smile warmed her, as if he were heating her insides. “I never liked heights as a kid. So, after boot camp, I had a few weeks before I had to go to BUD/S—there was no pre-BUD/S training when I went through—so I came here and learned. Between paragliding, parachuting, and taking glider lessons, I got comfortable in the air, and it put me ahead of the learning curve when it came time for training.”

  “That’s very insightful of you.”

  “Well, most SEALs are self-starters; we’re pretty reliant on ourselves for anything we want or need to do.” Declan pointed toward the ocean. “Do you see the pod?”

  Maura craned her neck. “Are those dolphins?”

  “Yeah, about eight of them. Looks like they’re surfing.”

  The ocean sparkled with light as if someone had thrown a handful of diamonds onto the water.

  Maura pointed farther out. “What’s that?”

  Declan turned the paraglider. “Looks like a gray whale. Yeah, I heard something about a few grays coming through this area.”

  “No way!” She was delighted. She’d always wanted to see one in person. Now here she was, with a bird’s-eye view. “Can we go out any farther out or even lower?”

  “No. We need enough lift to get back to the gliderport. So we’ll just hover for a bit. Out there, the wind currents can get dicey.”

  “You sound like a man that’s landed in the drink before.”

  “I’ve done quite a few things that might shock you.”

  “I’ll bet!” Maura replied. Had she known paragliding was this much fun, she never would have had a case of nerves earlier. Talking with Declan was so easy too. Maybe her nerves were gone for good now.

  “Ready for some tricks?” Declan waggled his eyebrows.

  Maura was game, and used his word just so he would know. “Sure.”

  The paraglider did a loop. Then another. With two more in succession, she squealed with delight. “Do it again!” And he did.

  * * *

  Dinner was going to be anticlimactic after that incredible paraglider ride. As lights popped on below and the air horn sounded, Declan brought the paraglider back into the port. The landing was smooth, and Declan and Chad talked for about a half hour while they packed the glider and gear. She was glad they had time to “shoot the shit,” as Declan would say it. That gave her time to set up the picnic dinner.

  Getting the basket from her car, she laid out the blanket and all of the accoutrements. She was so hungry after that enormous adrenaline rush that she couldn’t help sneaking bites here and there. When Declan finally arrived, she’d already popped the cork on the wine and was almost done with her first glass.

  He sat down and handed her a bottle of water. “You might want to drink some H2O before you down any more wine. You don’t realize how much hydration you use up in the air.”

  She looked at him sideways. “I have California white. I think I’ll be fine.”

  “And you’ll have a California headache if you don’t drink some water.” Declan stared at her for a moment, then opened his own bottle and downed it in several gulps.

  She shrugged. Why not?

  As she put the bottle to her lips, she took a small swallow and then, realizing how great it tasted, drank three-quarters of it before pausing to breathe. Looking over the top of the bottle, she could see him smiling at her.

  “Thanks for believing me.”

  She finished the bottle and put it down next to his. “It’s not that I didn’t believe you, I just never thought of it before. I guess being in the air is like any other activity. It uses up energy.”

  “Yep.”

  “Why don’t you dive in?” she invited.

  He opened the container of chicken and plowed through it like a linebacker at a football game. It didn’t even look like he was stopping for air.

  “Hungry?” she asked.

  He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth before depositing it back on his lap. “Always.” After topping off her glass of wine, he filled his own. He raised the glass to her and then tasted it. “Nice.”

  “Yeah. It’s a bottle from a tour.”

  He looked at the label. “Ramona. Interesting.”

  “I like visiting vineyards and collecting their best bottles of wine. It’s fun.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” He lifted the half-empty container of chicken. “Would you like one, or is that container for you and this one for me?”

  She picked at her drumstick. “I think they’re both for you. I’ll only eat a piece or two.”

  He stopped eating. “You’re not one of those ladies who only eats two bites and wastes her meal, are you?”

  She laughed. “Oh, no! I’m definitely an eater.” She lifted her drumstick and took a giant, dramatic bite.

  His laughter tickled her, and she laughed more.

  “Good,” he said. “Because I have a long list of restaurants that I’d love to share with you.”

  She reached for her wineglass, took a sip, and smiled. Another date. Multiple dates, even. She knew she shouldn’t be so excited, but she was. Spending time with Declan was refreshing, enlightening, and flat-out exciting. She couldn’t remember a time she’d enjoyed herself so much. She just hoped that it would continue, because she knew she was already falling for him.

  Chapter 5

  “You’re
the only woman in history who can survive paragliding, only to trip over her own feet on the way to the car. Such an innocent-looking rock too. And to top it off, you dislocate your shoulder. What are you doing for an encore?” He was teasing her.

  “Ha, ha,” she said flatly. “We don’t know that it is truly dislocated.” She knew why he was being a pain in the ass. There were too many males in her family who played the same game, and oddly enough his taunting was helping. It was sort of comforting too. Humor had distracted her from the painful ride in the car and the walk into the hospital.

  “I do. I’ve seen hundreds of them. I don’t know why you won’t let me reset your shoulder. I’ve had plenty of experience in the field. I’ve even reset my own.” Declan wanted to help so much; it was endearing. But it wasn’t doing much to hide the fact that it was going to be ages before she got in to see a doctor. At the Torrey Pines Urgent Care Center, it was standing room only.

  “That explains a lot,” she quipped back. Maura wasn’t thrilled with the idea of anyone bumping into her shoulder. Thankfully, Declan was like a walking wall, and as long as she stayed in his proximity, no one seemed to jostle her.

  After two hours of waiting around, she was almost inclined to take him up on his offer. The waiting room was the pits.

  “Maxwell. Is there a Maura Maxwell?” asked a health care worker in heart-emblazoned scrubs with a name tag that had RN on it.

  Maura spoke up. “That’s me.”

  “The doctor will see you now.”

  Maura moved slowly to the door. Once through, she was amazed at the amount of activity; it rivaled that of a busy beehive.

  The nurse had held up a hand, denying entrance to Declan. “It’s a tight fit in here. If you wouldn’t mind waiting outside.”

  Maura had to endure getting her vitals—blood pressure, heart rate, etc.—before she was escorted back to a tiny corner with two chairs and a curtain. Again, her heart sank. This was going to be another waiting game.

  Gritting her teeth against the pain, Maura sat down slowly, but it didn’t help the jarring motion from setting off the nerve endings in her shoulder. A hand on her good arm made her eyes spring upward to take in a mountainous man. He could have been a twin to Declan.

  “I’m Dr. Singer. I’m going to examine you.” He examined her fingers and fingernails and checked her pulse points against the other arm. “It’s lucky I was in the building. Orthopedic docs are not usually here on weekends, but I had an emergency surgery and stayed to catch up on paperwork.”

  “Okay.” She let the one word out on a strained breath of air. Luckily, it was not the arm that she’d had all the surgeries on as a teen. She didn’t want to answer a million questions for this doctor about her scars and the injuries she’d sustained in the car accident almost a decade ago.

  “You look pretty good. The blood flow isn’t impeded, but there is no doubt you popped the shoulder out.” His fingers poked and prodded. The pain was excruciating! “How did you do it?”

  “Fell on a-a-a rock.” It took everything she had to get those words out. She wanted to pass out from the pain.

  Gently, he pried her fingers away from the death grip she had on her limb. “You need to let go. Give me control of your arm.”

  Dr. Singer bent her elbow, forcing her arm into a ninety-degree angle, then lifted up.

  “Owwwwwwww!” Maura couldn’t stop the scream of pain from leaving her lips as the shoulder slid back into place.

  A commotion from outside the curtain arose.

  “Hold still while I fit this sling around you,” ordered Dr. Singer.

  The curtain slid back and Declan was standing there. His eyes were burning with a bright fire, and he looked like he was going to take out half of the urgent care center. Three nurses surrounded him, and they were calling for security.

  “He’s with me,” said Maura.

  One of the nurses gestured for Declan to get inside.

  With two men of such large girth, Maura felt like a tiny flower. She’d never been the delicate type, and the idea made her grin.

  “You’ll need to keep this on for at least two weeks and follow up with your primary care doctor within that time. Just let him or her know that you’ve been to the urgent care and you will get in faster. Between us, it doesn’t appear that you’ve torn anything, but just to be sure, you should get an MRI to confirm it. I’ll list all of this in your file.” Dr. Singer finished securing the sling. “Let’s prescribe you an anti-inflammatory and get you on your way. I’ll be right back.”

  Maura looked up at Declan. “Next time, you have my permission to put my shoulder back in.”

  Declan smiled. “That bad?”

  “I’m sitting in a corner with two folding chairs, talking to a doctor who happened to be here by chance. Yep, I’d rather have saved the hours waiting out there and sitting in here.” Maura scratched her neck. “This sling itches.”

  “I’ll show you how to make it comfortable. I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” Declan pulled a bandana out of his back pocket and looped it around the back of sling where it touched her neck. Then he made a few minor adjustments to the sling itself.

  “I’ll bet.” Maura let out a sigh of relief. “Okay. You’ve got the position as my chief health care man. Consider yourself hired.” The pressure was off and she felt significantly better. Declan really was a man of many talents.

  A nurse opened the curtain and handed several pieces of paper and a prescription to Maura. “Follow the instructions. Heat and ice. Don’t use that arm for any reason, and wear the sling until further notice from your primary care. Understood?”

  Maura nodded her head.

  The nurse looked Declan up and down. “I assume that you have a ride home.”

  Smiling to herself, Maura replied, “Yes, thank you.”

  Declan put his hand under Maura’s uninjured elbow and helped her stand up. “She’s in good hands.”

  One of the other nurses walking by said under her breath, “I’ll bet.”

  Maura laughed softly as she worked her way out of the busy place, aided by her bodyguard. Declan didn’t seem to mind being her buffer, blocking anyone who might bump her or obstruct her path. Most people who saw him got out of the way automatically. If they didn’t, all he had to do was clear his throat.

  Yes, there were advantages to having this giant hunk of a man by her side. And she was enjoying it.

  * * *

  Walking through the doorway of her apartment had never felt so good. Maura was relieved to be home. The car ride had been painful, regardless of how carefully Declan drove, and she was still a little tense.

  She steered herself toward her bedroom. An arm blocked her way.

  “Hold up, Miss Maxwell.” Declan appeared adamant as he guided her toward his place. “We are going to my house.”

  “No offense, but I’m tired and sore, and all I want is to lie down.”

  He stopped pushing her toward the glass door and their shared balcony. Laying his forehead against hers, he said, “I know. Trust me. Okay?”

  She didn’t want to. They’d picked up the anti-inflammatory on the way home. The effects were already kicking in and she wanted to sleep.

  “Back at the urgent care, you said you’d trust me with your well-being. Do you still?”

  She wanted to deny it, but she did trust him. “Fine.”

  He winked at her. “Good. C’mon.” Taking her by the elbow, he gently guided her out her glass door, onto the balcony, and over to his place.

  “Earthy,” she said as she walked inside. His apartment smelled clean and a little salty, like the sea. She liked the warm colors—beiges, red clay, sage greens, and creams.

  “I find the colors soothing…as if I’m outside.” He whisked her through the rest of the place, not leaving her much time to take everything in. Soon enough they were in his ba
throom. It looked nothing like hers.

  “How did you get a Jacuzzi tub in here?” That thing could have fit five guys the size of Declan.

  “I own my apartment and when I remodeled, I put this beauty in. I wanted a hot tub outside, but the balcony would never have held the weight.” He turned on the taps full stream and then turned to her. “This is the place I wanted to bring you after your paddleboard accident. I didn’t know how you’d feel about it, though.”

  “You saved me that night.”

  “Maybe. If you’d held on through the storm, you’d have been able to save yourself. The storm blew itself out in a short time,” Declan reassured her. “Don’t give up your love of paddleboarding.”

  “I won’t.” She licked her lips. “You always seem to do that.”

  “What?” he asked.

  “Empower me. Make me feel better about myself, like I can get through any situation no matter what it is, if I just give myself a chance to work through it.” Maura smiled. “That’s a gift, Declan, that you’re like this.”

  “It’s the SEAL in me. We never quit.” He pointed at the top of the tub where the tiles made a shelf. “Why don’t you sit on the edge of the tub, and I’ll help you undress.”

  Maura’s eyebrows shot upward. “I…uh…”

  “Now you’re getting shy? I’ve seen you naked. Don’t lose that uninhibited side of yourself. I admire it.”

  “Ah, thanks.” Maura swallowed the lump in her throat. The truth was…she wanted to soak in a hot tub. Her body was sore from all of the tension and pain, and she could use the relief.

  When the tub was full of water, he turned off the taps, checked the temperature, and added something from a purple bottle of…yummm…lavender and eucalyptus.

  Declan reached for her. Maura didn’t pull away. He started with her shoes, and then removed her shorts and panties. Then he slowly reached under her shirt and unclipped her bra. From beneath her shirt, he maneuvered the bra off flawlessly before he picked up her—shirt and sling—and placed her into the tub.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You’ll see.” He stripped off his own clothes in record time and crawled in beside her. “I want you to lie on your back. I’m going to support you with one hand and use the other to finish undressing you.”