Protecting Delilah - Kat Mizera

by Special Forces - Operation Alpha

  “No.” He turned his head so he was looking right into her eyes. “This was—and still is—amazing. Nothing will change tomorrow or any other day unless we decide the relationship isn’t working out. One day at a time, beautiful. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She found his cock with her hand and he instantly hardened again.

  “In the meantime…what were you saying about making sure it wasn’t a fluke?”

  She murmured something sexy as she pressed her lips to his.

  Chapter 11

  Delilah was fast asleep when Eric woke up again an hour later and he placed a light kiss on her temple before getting out of bed and taking a quick shower. He got dressed and padded out to the kitchen, grateful Elias was still asleep so he had a few minutes to gather his thoughts. Sex in and of itself didn’t freak him out at all, but the intimacy he and Delilah had shared was as terrifying as it was incredible. He liked her a lot, but he’d gone from completely single to married and emotionally involved in the course of a few weeks, most of which he’d been on a mission. It was way too fast, way too intense, and they hadn’t even truly made love yet.

  Impulsively, he picked up his phone and dialed his friend Louie Faulk. He’d always looked up to him and they’d gotten even closer after Maria died and the rest of their unit scattered. Even though Louie was NSA now, he and Eric had spent a lot of time together in the early days when Eric had been deep in mourning. They knew each other as well as brothers and Eric’s only regret since meeting Delilah was that he hadn’t had a chance to introduce her to him.

  “Hey, man.” Louie’s deep baritone always made him smile.

  “What’s goin’ on?” Eric asked him.

  “You tell me. You send me this cryptic email saying you got married but then you disappear on a mission and leave me hangin’.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. It’s a hell of a story.”

  “Well, tell me.”

  Keeping an eye out for both Delilah and Elias, Eric told him everything, from his grandmother’s machinations to how much he’d come to care for his new wife in a very short time.

  “We’ve all been there,” Louie said, always the voice of reason. “I mean, if you’re already married, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”

  “She could be some kind of scheming con artist who breaks my heart, takes what little money I have, and worse, hurts Elias.”

  “You want me to check her out?”

  Eric sighed. “Mostly, I want you to see what you can dig up on her ex. Is he still a cop, does he have a history of abuse on the force, whatever you can find. I want to know everything about her before I fall in love with her.”

  “Sounds like it’s already too late.”

  “Maybe, but it’s mostly physical, lusty love right now. I need to know what I’m getting into before it gets serious.”

  “You sure, bro? Sometimes it’s best to let the past stay there.”

  “But it’s not the past. If she’s telling the truth, and I have no reason to doubt her other than I work in intelligence so I’m suspicious by nature, that prick is still after her.”

  “All right, I’m on it. I’ll see what I can dig up.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Assuming she’s not psycho or something, when do I get to meet her?”

  “You plannin’ a trip west?”

  “I might.”

  “Any time, my friend. We have a couch with your name on it.”

  Louie laughed. “Talk to you soon, man.”

  “Later.” Eric disconnected and looked up just as Elias came out of his room. “Hey, buddy. What do you want for breakfast?”

  Now that he was back from the mission and settled with his new unit, Eric was up and out of the house early most days, meeting Ron and the other guys at six in the morning for PT. They usually ran three miles together and today it was just Eric, Ron, and a guy named Steve Lang—whose nickname was Cheeto due to the color of his hair.

  “How’s the baby?” Cheeto asked Ron.

  “He’s great.” Ron grinned broadly. “Already sleeping five hours at a time at night, so we’re actually getting some rest.”

  “Lucky,” Cheeto laughed. “My kid’s eighteen months and still gets up at least once a night.”

  “That sucks,” Eric laughed. “Elias slept well after the first six weeks and he’s a great sleeper now. Thank god. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to get up at all hours of the night. Of course, he’s five, so that helps too.”

  “You and the new wife going to have more?” Cheeto asked.

  “We haven’t really talked about it,” Eric hedged. “I mean, we want more in theory, but everything kind of happened fast, you know? We’ll figure it out, but in the meantime, I’m happy the way things are.”

  “We’ll have to hang out. I’m sure Leslie would love to have a new friend. Most of her girlfriends work, so she’s alone all day with a toddler. It’s even worse when I’m deployed.”

  “Yeah, I felt bad leaving Delilah the day after we got here, but she was cool with it. I’m sure she’d love to have another friend.”

  “Bobbi’s on summer vacation,” Ron said, “so the ladies should be able to spend some time together. Maybe we’ll have everyone over to the house so they can meet.”

  “We’ll host,” Cheeto said. “You have a new baby so we’ll handle entertaining. You guys can just come enjoy yourselves.”

  “We’re open,” Ron said. “Bobbi’s not doing much but dealing with the kids all day while I work. We haven’t made any plans at all this summer.”

  Eric listened as they talked, somewhat envious of their easygoing demeanors when it came to their wives. Not that Delilah was difficult, he was just struggling with too many emotions and he didn’t have anyone to talk to. In a pinch, he could talk to Ron, of course, but they didn’t usually have those types of conversations. He also didn’t want to admit he was second-guessing himself because of a morning of mind-blowing foreplay.

  “You all right, Eric?” Ron was watching him intently.

  “He’s a newlywed,” Cheeto laughed. “His head is back in bed with his wife, not out here gettin’ sweaty with us.”

  Ron chuckled. “Hell, I have a newborn and my head’s back in bed with my wife too.”

  “I’m good,” Eric replied. “Just a lot on my mind. There’s a ton to do at the house, the AC isn’t working right, and I worry about Delilah’s ex finding her.”

  “What’s that about?” Cheeto asked, his face suddenly serious. “He’s stalking her?”

  “More like looking for her.” Eric gave him an abbreviated version of Delilah’s situation without mentioning he had Louie looking into it.

  “You should have Louie do some digging,” Ron said.

  Eric chuckled. “Great minds…”

  “You need to find this guy and set him straight,” Cheeto rumbled. “I mean, your head is going to be a mess every time you’re out of the country and she’s home alone. I’d have a talk with him.”

  Eric had considered it but that would ultimately alert the guy to where Delilah was and who she was with, something they were both hoping to avoid. “I don’t know,” he responded slowly. “He doesn’t know where she is and she was going to the social security office to legally change her name, so we’re hoping he can’t find her at all.”

  “I get it,” Cheeto said, slowing to a stop as they finished the run. “But it would make me uncomfortable as fuck when I was away.”

  “Yeah.” Eric had already thought about that. He didn’t know what to do about it, though.

  “You buy a security system yet?”

  Eric nodded. “I ordered it online. It’ll be here in a few days and I’ll get it set up immediately. Louie said he’ll talk me through it. He picked it out.”

  “Good job.”

  Talk eventually turned to work and random topics, so Eric was distracted from thoughts of how sexy his wife was. Damn, he needed to stop and get condoms too. Once the paperwork went through, she would be covere
d by his health insurance so maybe they could talk about birth control pills. Unless she wanted a baby. But not now, right? Shaking his head, as if that would help clear the cluster his thoughts had become, he stopped at the drug store and then headed home.

  As soon as he walked in, something that smelled wonderful wafted out to greet him and he headed to the kitchen to see what it was.

  “Hi.” Delilah looked good enough to eat—again—as she stood at the counter cutting bread while Elias stood on a chair next to her, helping. She was barefoot, with short shorts on her tan legs and a cropped white tank top that showed off her sexy midriff. Her hair was pulled up in a loose, messy ponytail and the smile she gave him made him want to throw her over his shoulder and ravage her right then and there.

  “Hi, Daddy!” Elias looked up with a grin. “We’re making bread with garlic and seashells stuffed with cheese.”

  “Stuffed shells,” Delilah corrected, laughing.

  “You cook Italian food?” Eric groaned, leaning over to lightly press his lips to hers.

  Her eyes met his questioningly. “Don’t you like it?”

  “I love it but…if it tastes half as good as it smells, you’re gonna kill me.”

  She looked down at his torso and then back up again. “Seriously?”

  “Hey, this body took a lot of work and sacrifice when it comes to food. You saw the old pictures—I was fat and out of shape.”

  “You weren’t cut like you are now, but you were still gorgeous.”

  He made a face. “You don’t mean that.”

  “Yes, I do. Your eyes, your mouth…those dimples? I mean, what girl doesn’t love dimples?” She leaned over and kissed him again.

  “Ew, why do you keep kissing each other?” Eric asked.

  “Because we’re married and we…” Delilah’s voice trailed off and she looked at Eric frantically.

  “We like each other a lot so we kiss,” Eric concluded quickly. “Now why don’t you go play for a few minutes so I can talk to Delilah?”

  “Okay.” Elias took off and Eric waited until he was out of sight before reaching for Delilah and pulling her close.

  “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and slid her body close to his, returning his kiss with interest.

  “Did you stop at the store?” she asked softly.

  “I sure did.”

  They grinned at each other.

  “What time does Elias go to bed again?” she teased.

  “Right after dinner?”

  Chapter 12

  Elias requested Eric read him his bedtime story, so Delilah was able to sneak away to the bedroom to freshen up. She’d been thinking about Eric all day and she was both excited and reluctant to take this next step. As much as she wanted him physically, the emotional part of it was terrifying. The morning they’d spent in bed had been incredibly sexy but also a way for them to bond. Learning about each other physically had led them to a new level of intimacy that went beyond sex, so if they actually made love tonight, she had a feeling it would change things even more.

  The problem was that they still barely knew each other. They were getting there, and living together certainly moved things along, but she knew so little about him. What if they fell in love but then discovered they truly weren’t compatible? Could that happen? She was jumping the gun but it was so hard not to allow herself to believe she could have it all again. She’d been wrong before, though, so she didn’t necessarily trust her gut. Not when it came to love anyway.

  She’d thought Derek was her soulmate, her Prince Charming, her protector, her everything. Instead, he turned out to be the bane of her very existence, a man who still terrified her. She’d finally stopped having nightmares about the night he’d beaten her, but the memory itself never dimmed. She thought about it, and him, every time she met a new man. Except Eric. It had never crossed her mind that he would hit her, or hurt her in any way. Maybe it was because she’d become so close to Antonia, but whatever it was, she wasn’t afraid of him.

  “Hey, beautiful.” His voice washed over her as he came into the room and she shuddered slightly, myriad emotions gripping her.

  “I’m scared,” she blurted out.

  “Of me?” he asked in surprise.

  “No, I mean, yes, but not like that. I’m scared of what’s going on between us. The other morning was so…”

  “Intense?”

  “Yeah.” She met his gaze almost guiltily. “We barely know each other. Why are we so caught up in each other already?”

  “Well, part of it is proximity. What else can we be? We live together.”

  “I guess so.”

  “And the other part is sex. I hate to reduce it to something so basic, but we’re both human and attracted to each other and when you look at it based on those two things, who doesn’t like sex?”

  “I know, but…this isn’t some one-night stand. We’re married, we share a house and a kid and… We didn’t think this through when we did this.”

  “We did. When I told you sex wasn’t mandatory, that still holds true.” He sat beside her on the bed and gently took her hand in his. “Babe, say that word and I’m on the couch.”

  “No. That’s not what I want either. I just want us to slow down. What we did the other morning freaked me out because it was really, really good.”

  “As opposed to…?”

  “Mediocre? A nice, calm little orgasm followed by a good night’s sleep?”

  “Honey, if calm little orgasms are what you’re used to, you’ve been doing it wrong.” His eyes twinkled and she let out a laugh.

  “Honestly, I can’t remember what sex was like with Derek when we first got married. I don’t remember mind-blowing orgasms. I remember comfortable, sweet, romantic, but not super-hot.”

  “We can wait,” he said softly. “I want you, but only if it’s mutual.”

  “It’s definitely mutual. I just… A few more days, maybe? Give me time to get used to how fast everything is happening and how much is changing for both of us.”

  “Sure.”

  He kissed her cheek, a slow, lingering touch that left her yearning for more.

  “Can we just cuddle tonight?”

  “Absolutely.” He pulled off his shirt and shorts and climbed under the sheets, pulling her against him.

  “I feel like a terrible tease. The other day I was all over you and tonight I’m like, hey, let’s slow down, I’m scared.”

  He snorted out a laugh. “We have my grandmother to thank for this insanity. You should call her tomorrow and tell her that.”

  “You should call her. She’s your grandmother.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  With the pressure off, she curled against him and fell asleep almost instantly.

  Delilah moped the following day, worried that Eric was upset with her even though he’d said he wasn’t, and confused by her own feelings. She liked him, she was attracted to him, and the foreplay the other morning had been incredible. So what the hell was wrong with her?

  Impulsively, she called Antonia.

  “Buenos dias, mi niña.” Good morning, my girl.

  “Hi.” Delilah made sure the volume on the TV was turned up some for Elias before retreating into the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Everything.”

  “What has Eric done?”

  “Nothing. Really. He’s wonderful.”

  “Then? What is problem?”

  “The problem is that we’ve known each other like, five minutes, and I’m already starting to feel things that I shouldn’t feel this soon.”

  “Feel things? Like what? Love? Sex? What?”

  “All of it! And we haven’t done that.”

  “No sex?”

  “Not real sex, just touching and kissing.” Kind of. She wasn’t going to tell Eric’s grandmother those kinds of details.

  Antonia muttered a stri
ng of curses that Delilah only caught part of, but she had a good idea what she was saying.

  “We almost did, but we’re trying to go slow and now I’m all confused.”

  “Why? You are married. This is what married people do.”

  “Married but not in love. What happens if I fall in love and then he decides he doesn’t love me?”

  “Why would he decide this? You are beautiful, smart, and you love his son. What else is there?”

  “You know it’s not that easy, Antonia. If we pretend it’s real, what happens when—”

  “Pretend?” she interrupted. “What is to pretend? You are married. You are family now. Maybe not in love, not yet, but this will happen.”

  “How do you know?” she whispered.

  “Do you like my Eric?”

  “You know I do.”

  “Do you love Elias?”

  “You know that too.”

  “Then there is nothing to worry about. If Eric truly was not ready to move on, to find love again, he would never agree to marry you. Trust me, mi niña, it will be okay. Be yourself, give yourself to him, and the reward will come.”

  “I wish it was that easy.”

  “It is. You tell me you trust me more than anyone—so now you must test this trust.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “You will see, everything will be okay. Now, I must speak to my bisnieto.” Great-grandson.

  Delilah and Elias were in their bathing suits when Eric got home and he smiled indulgently as he looked from one to the other. “What are we doing?” he asked.

  “Surfing!” Elias grinned at him. “Lilah’s gonna teach me and you too!”

  “Oh really?” Eric met her eyes playfully. “You’re gonna teach me something new, huh?”

  “Well, on a surfboard anyway.” She was smiling but her cheeks turned pink.

  “We don’t own any surfboards.”

  “We can rent them. I called and reserved two, one for us and one for Elias.”

  “Okay. Let me change then.” He had no idea what his bride was up to but he was game. He’d been thinking about her all day again and wanted to continue their conversation from last night, but apparently, she had other plans. Surfing was good, though. He’d been anxious to see her on a board, and picking it up again would be fun, even if he sucked at it.