American Heroes: The Complete American Heroes Collection (A Contemporary Romance Box Set)

by Teagan Kade

  “I simply call it the ‘stamp of approval.’”

  “More like tramp stamp…

  I take her around the waist, grinding myself against her ass. “So I can’t be your tramp-stamped action man? You’d rather a, what do they call it, metrosexual?”

  “I’ll settle just for the ‘sexual.’” A short pause follows. “You know, if you need a life of adventure, you can go and do that. I don’t mind.”

  “I’ve had all the adventure I need. Now, I just want you.” I place one hand on her shoulder, watching her in the mirror. “How did I get so lucky?”

  She shrugs. “Beats me.”

  I notice she’s stiffer than normal. “You okay?”

  “I’m just nervous about meeting more of your family.”

  “Distant cousins and uncles hardly make for family, but even so, there’s no need to worry. They’re going to love you, and if they don’t…”

  “How are we going to say we met? People are going to ask.”

  “We tell them the truth. We met at a bar called The Swinging Dick, I walked you home like a perfect gentleman, and then we got engaged.”

  Shannon places the hairbrush down and laughs. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  I see her hunt around the vanity, looking down at the small bowl she normally places her ring into before she gets into the shower. “You haven’t seen your mother’s ring, have you?”

  My chest tightens.

  I turn her around to face me, my hand palm up.

  She looks down and freezes.

  Her mouth drops.

  I open the small, white box there and take out a new ring with a princess cut diamond bigger than is probably sensible. “You deserve a proper engagement ring,” I tell her.

  “But your mother’s—”

  “…Ring will work perfectly as a wedding ring.

  “I, ah…” she stammers. The poor thing can’t get a word out.

  “Breathe,” I tell her.

  “I… I don’t know what to say.”

  I turn the ring between my fingers, let it catch the light. “She wanted me to do this. It was in her will. She left money for it and everything.”

  With shaking fingers, Shannon takes hold of the ring. “Does this mean…”

  “Yes,” I tell her. “It means I want to spend my life with you, Shannon. ‘Home’ is the sweetest word there is to a SEAL, but until now I never felt I like I had one to come back to. Now I do. Now I have you. I have purpose, and life, and it’s all your doing.”

  She starts to cry, wiping away tears and looking so heart-breakingly beautiful I want nothing more than to sweep her up in my arms and never her let go.

  “Shannon Bailey, will you marry me?”

  She kneels down to the floor in front of me and stammers, “Yes,” throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me in full as her tears pass between us. I drop the box and pick her up, carrying us towards the bed.

  I place her down and brush tears from her cheeks.

  “We’ve got a funeral to go to, remember,” she smiles.

  I run my hand down her side, the delicate sweep of her hip making me hard. “My mother didn’t want a funeral. She only wanted me to be happy.”

  “And, are you?”

  “More than you can know.”

  EPILOGUE

  SHANNON

  As far as weddings go, we weren’t going to win any competitions. I wore a simple, flared A-line dress, Gabe a dark, navy suit. He had joked at first he was going to show up in camo. “Not. Going. To. Happen,” I replied.

  Matt was Best Man. I went without a maid of honor, though I had the kids all involved in various ways—even if Percy refused to play ball when it came to handing over the ring.

  Did I mention we had the ceremony at the city zoo? Well, not the zoo proper, but on the premises looking out over the harbor, giraffe heads in the background, curious peacocks parading around us. I needed special permission to get my animal friends access, but they were generally well behaved. You should have seen the Swoonfest 2017 when Gabe took Buffy out of his suit pocket and perched her on his shoulder.

  There he was, the man of my dreams. Well, not exactly. I never imagined I’d end up with a guy like Gabe, the very definition of a man’s man, a patriot and hero. I didn’t think I’d be with him let alone married to him—for real, this time.

  When I mentioned how proud his mother would be in my vows, I saw that tough exterior start to crack, but he managed to hold it together for his SEAL buddies taking up the front row.

  He wanted me to have a dream wedding, no expenses spared, but that’s not me. It never has been. I’m a simple girl at heart. Give me a book, a quiet corner, and I’m happy—doubly so when Gabe is around.

  Sometimes he’ll wake restless, tossing and turning in his sleep fighting off foes unseen. I calm him down as best I can. I was surprised when he opened up about Triss, but I’m finding we’re still learning to trust each other, Gabe working out precisely how much to share with me lest he weigh me down with his own demons.

  Often I’ll catch him staring into the distance, thoughts adrift. I know he still thinks about Triss. I don’t mind. I think it’s important for him to know that even though she’s institutionalized, she’s okay. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if anything happened to her again, or me. That’s Gabe for you, always the perennial protector.

  I suggested he look for a job when we get back from our honeymoon. He doesn’t need the money, but I think it would help him adjust back to normal life, or as normal as it can be for an ex-SEAL. My god, the acronyms I’ve learnt off his SEAL buddies… I’m a walking, talking tome of military jargon these days.

  Dad would have loved him, loved having a son-in-law in the Special Forces. I remember Dad telling me once that SEALs are another breed, forged from a different material. “The stuff they make a man go through to get in,” he told me, “you wouldn’t wish upon any man. They strip you down, like an onion, layer by layer until there’s barely anything left. Then they build you up, working their way to perfection.”

  I don’t know about perfection, but Gabe’s pretty damn close. And the sex… Where have you been all my life? I’ve come so hard at times I was seriously concerned for my life, like the little beast that my heart was just going to give up beating. Two, three, four times in one day—Gabe and his ‘weapon’ never seem short on stamina.

  Lately I’ve been thinking about my own future, where to go to from here. The answer? I have absolutely no idea. PETA? A vet? I ticked off potential options one by one, even considered becoming a marine biologist until I realized it would be another four years of study. No, those college days are done. I’ve got no idea what’s around the corner, but with Gabe I really don’t mind. We have each other and for now that is enough.

  It’s the last night of our honeymoon on Lord Howe Island. Gabe promised somewhere exotic. He didn’t disappoint. He took my love of wildlife into account, and my distaste for crowds. This is a little-known island to the rest of the world, but thanks to its isolation and varied landscapes, it’s rich in animal habitats. It’s home to over two-hundreds species of birds alone. Thirty-two species breed on the island… and maybe thirty-three now given the use our hotel bed’s been seeing over the last few days.

  I run my finger over Gabe’s lips as we lie in bed, an ocean breeze fanning the curtains out by the balcony. “This is paradise.”

  “You don’t miss the kids?”

  I smile. “Sure, I miss them. You think Matt’s survived?”

  Gabe laughs and takes hold of me, pulling me on top of him. His cock’s hot and hard trapped between his chest and my sex.

  He moans in delight, taking hold of my ass and squeezing. “I really can’t be thinking about my brother right now.”

  “No?” I tease, grinding on him.

  He takes charge, flipping me over. “You have to do what I say, I’m afraid. I outrank you, remember?”

  I run my nails down his back. “What
if I’m the enemy?”

  He smiles, pressing my hair behind my ear on the pillow. “Then watch out. I’m coming in hot.”

  EPILOGUE II

  FIVE YEARS LATER

  GABE

  I press the receiver. “Blackbeard, what’s your position?”

  Squawk. “On your six, taking heavy fire.”

  I spin around and cop it right in the chest.

  Josh comes bounding out of the bushes near the fence, a radio in one hand, another water balloon in the other.

  I hold my chest and go rolling along across the grass. “I’m down. I’m down!”

  “Serg,” our four-year-old shelter rescue lab comes bounding over to join in the fun. Josh and him give up on me and go squealing into the sandpit where a motley collection of half-chewed action figures awaits.

  “Chow time!” calls Jason from the grill. He’s got Shannon’s ‘World’s Okayest Chef’ apron on (thankfully, not naked) and a paper hat Joshua made him earlier teetering on his head.

  I stand. Hands slide around my waist.

  I give a mock gasp and spin to take Shannon in my arms. “I thought you were Jason there for a second.”

  She checks no one is watching before squeezing my cock through my pants. “I should hope Jason doesn’t do that.”

  “All those cold, lonely nights down range…” I start.

  She slaps my chest. “Can you go attend to our son before he suffocates Serg over there?”

  I look over. Josh is practically sitting on Serg, who, funnily enough, doesn’t seem to mind.

  I run across the yard and pick Josh up, spinning him in the air before placing him on my shoulders and walking him over to the grill.

  Percy’s hobbling behind us.

  Jason closes the grill lid and smiles up at Josh with tongs in his hand. He clicks his boots together and salutes. “Master Chief.”

  “Peddy officer,” Josh salutes back, still struggling to pronounce his ‘T’s properly.

  He is only four.

  Shannon comes up beside me. “Mmm, something smells good.”

  Josh rubs his tummy. “Sausages, Momma! Yay!”

  She stands on her tippy toes and kisses him on the side of his head. “Not too many this time, hey, kiddo. Too many and you’ll turn into a sausage.”

  “A sausage boy!” giggles Josh. “That’s silly.”

  There’s nothing sweeter than the sound of his little laugh. I could listen to it over and over and over again, but he’ll be five soon enough and that laugh will be gone. My once tiny man will be off to school.

  It’s hard to imagine how fast these last five years have gone by. Of course, Shannon and I weren’t exactly planning a honeymoon baby, and I suppose that was the best part of all.

  It’s been a blessing in so many ways. Shannon has taken to motherhood so well, not that I should have expected anything less given the other ‘children’ she’s raised, and the others who have joined our family since. I often joke we could start a zoo. “We could cage Jason,” she joked. “He could be our star attraction.”

  I was apprehensive coming into fatherhood, worried I’d pass down my more questionable qualities, but as soon as I saw Josh’s face, as soon as I held him in my arms—so, so small—I was completely and utterly smitten.

  Shannon says he has a bit of his grandfather’s cheekiness, and I don’t doubt it.

  I may have been a bit precious with him at first. “He’s not a grenade,” Shannon used to laugh. “He’s not going to go off.”

  His little bottom had tooted in reply. “You sure about that?” I laughed back.

  I’ve even considered taking him to see Triss. She’s still in care. I don’t think she’ll ever leave, and maybe that’s for the best. Her problems ran deeper than anyone could have thought, but the medication has helped and she seems to be getting back to some semblance of normal. The rage I saw the day she kidnapped Shannon is gone, the jealousy. She understands, even apologized.

  I thought Shannon may have wanted me to stay away at the start, but she’s been nothing but supportive, encouraging me to visit Triss once a week. She even baked her cookies. But that’s Shannon—generous, impossibly kind.

  When her former old boss got the boot for skimming company funds, Shannon was the first person the director called to replace him. She was a bit shocked at first, which is understandable, but five years in she has the place running like clockwork. The employees and studios love her, the clients too. Talk is she might be about to step up into the big league, maybe make a move to Hollywood, but I don’t think she’s fussed either way. She knows what’s important in her life right now.

  They say a lot of women lose their libido after child birth, but if anything, it’s supercharged Shannon’s sexual side. Experimentation abounds in the bedroom. We don’t have a red room per se, but there’s a box under our bed I sure as hell wouldn’t want anyone knowing about. I think she’s making up for all those years she went without, and who am I to stop her?

  Even now, standing here watching her, I’m getting hard thinking about her beneath me tonight, her fingers clawing at the sheets, my back, the way her toes curl and thighs clamp around me when she comes. I suppose I’m blessed in the bedroom then, too.

  Immediately after the incident with Triss, I was lost. Without an enemy to fight, a mission waiting, I felt like I didn’t have a purpose, that everything was so trivial. The sex helped, but not as much as having Shannon’s support.

  When I bumped into my one of my old commanders and he suggested Veterans Affairs, I almost laughed him right out of the room, but three years in I couldn’t be happier. It allows me to remain in the service, but not in service, so to speak. The real battle happens back here at home. Triss showed me that. PTSD is real and this country’s not doing enough about it. The small advice I can offer, a friendly face provided, makes a genuine difference in the lives of these heroes.

  I think Shannon was worried I was going to be chained to a desk shuffling papers and slowly going insane, but my workload is mostly made up of house calls, especially for the older veterans who don’t have family or someone to lean on. I sometimes take Buffy or Angel, Aragog from time to time if I’m really looking to make an entrance. It helps, having an animal there to break the ice, and our ‘kids’ are the cutest damn kids in the world.

  Even poor Matt got roped into a pooch by his fiancée. She’s a sailor, believe it or not. I guess that’s what he gets for spending so much time with us down at The Hole. She’s a fierce one, too, damn near demanded a ring, but she’s good for him. I know it. The wedding’s going to be in the Bahamas. I’m already dreaming about those balmy nights with Shannon… provided Little Man sleeps through.

  I open the grill, smoke wafting out. “You cooking sausages or charcoal tablets there, Petty Officer?”

  Jason starts to pluck the sausages out one by one. “It adds to the flavor, my friend.”

  I look over to the others gathered on the deck, the rest of our squad who’ve decided to come out for this Fourth of July celebration. Three of us are missing, but they’re here in spirit nonetheless.

  Josh, always my shadow, helps me take the food over to the table.

  I help Josh up and take my own seat. “Dig in, everyone.”

  I take the tongs and plate up for Josh, Shannon’s hand hot on my thigh under the table. “Sausage?” I offer.

  Her hand slides downwards. “Oh, I think I’ve got more sausage than I can handle, thank you very much.”

  *

  I’m hunched over Shannon’s back, driving into her hard from behind. She braces herself against the headboard.

  “Oh, god. I’m going to—”

  I place my hand over her mouth so she doesn’t wake Josh. She has become rather vocal of late.

  A finger slips inside her mouth. She lightly bites down, her pussy squeezing my cock in a quick flutter and tipping me over the edge.

  I run to the end of her slickness.

  We come together, breathless, one.


  I pull out and collapse onto the bed. She falls on top of me, her head cradled against my arm and shoulder, her hair matted and sticky.

  Outside, a sea breeze is blowing in from the balcony. A bottle of champagne sits empty in a bucket by the corner.

  “So,” I ask, still breathing hard, “are you enjoying the Bahamas?”

  She takes hold of my still-hard cock and lightly pumps it. “I am, and it would appear I’m not the only one.”

  “You know, if you keep doing that I’m just going to have to make you come again.”

  She rolls and comes up onto her knees, straddling me. “That sounds like a challenge.”

  “I do like a challenge.”

  “Hmm,” she pouts. “Now where have I heard that before?”

  She slips me back inside her pussy and begins to grind down on me. I hold her face in my hands still spellbound by her beauty, the way she glows in this emerald light.

  I always equated home with happiness, but it’s only recently I’ve come to understand what the true definition of home is.

  It’s family—crazy, wild, how-am-I-going-to-survive-this family. Our house is full, and it’s due to hear the sound of another set of pitter-patter feet in nine months’ time.

  Our house is full, and so is my heart, because the woman of my life, the woman I married, means more to me than anything. She has given me a son, deep and profound happiness, and true purpose. She might be a civilian, but she’s no less of a fighter. That shy girl I first met in The Swinging Dick is all but gone. In her place stands a strong and determined woman completely unfazed by the world.

  And sure, I know there are going to be trials, but I say bring them on. After all, a smooth sea never makes for a skillful sailor.

  With Shannon by my side, anything is possible.

  Our love may have started as a hustle, but what we have now is more than real.

  It’s passion—hot and wet and all-consuming.

  It’s a partnership—true and tested.

  It’s the best god-damn feeling in the world.