PRIVATE: A Military Romance Novel (Military Men Book 2) (17 page)

“I thought you’d be glad to get rid of me. You never wanted me in the warzone anyway,” I said, cringing at the memory of hearing those words for the first time.

“It wasn’t personal, you know that. All I’ve wanted to do was protect you.”

“And now?” I held my breath while I waited for his answer.

“Now I know you can look after yourself.” I smiled against his chest. “But I’m not going to lie and say it’s not a relief that you’re going home. At least I know you’ll be safer there.”

It was good enough to know he was just trying to protect me. I was proud that I had proven myself in his eyes. I’d only ever worried about his opinion, nobody else’s really mattered to me.

“I love you,” Matt whispered, kissing my forehead again. It sent a happy tingle down my spine every time he did that.

“I love you too.”

Our hands twined together over his chest, fitting perfectly. I wanted that moment to last forever. There wasn’t a guarantee that we’d be able to do it again.

Matt may have been happy that I was heading for safety but I couldn’t say the same thing about him. He was still going to be in Afghanistan until his deployment was over. Every day he would be putting his life on the line while I was a world away.

Chapter 18

Matt

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I’d waited for this moment for over six months. The flowers were fresh in my hand – pink daisies, her favorite – and the ring was pressing into my chest in my jacket pocket.

The nerves were making my palms sweaty. I don’t know why I was so nervous but Sasha had that effect on me. Come to think of it, there was only one other person that could do that to me – my daughter.

It was hard leaving Chloe after spending only a few days together. Her mother made the visit difficult by insisting the meeting be chaperoned. I went along with it so I could see my daughter but it wasn’t the same as having her all to myself.

I’d made a promise to Chloe that I was going to see her more often and I meant it. Only now I could imagine the whole picture in my head – the scene included a woman on my arm to complete our family.

The house was exactly how Sasha had described it. A white picket fence surrounded the wooden home, an American flag waving proudly from the porch.

I rang the doorbell, clinging to the flowers like they were my lifeline. They wouldn’t save me from what I was most afraid of but they might disguise my nerves for a little while longer.

The door swung open and an older man stood there. I could picture him as the gun-toting kind, his face was set in a permanent sneer. “State your business, young man.”

“I’m here to see Sasha, sir.”

He eyed me from head to foot, deciding whether I was good enough to be calling on his daughter. I knew what that kind of fervent protectiveness felt like, I felt it for my daughter too.

Finally, he stepped back from the door and yelled into the house. “Sasha, you’ve got a visitor.” He turned back to me. “Wait here, don’t step one foot over the threshold until she invites you in.”

“Yes, sir.” I had to stop my instincts to salute him. Sasha told me her father and brothers were all career soldiers, so I knew that there would be more than one gun in the house.

The soft padding of Sasha’s footsteps approached. I wiped my hands on my pants once more before she caught sight of me. “Matt!”

She rushed for me, a vision in a violet dress. I only had a moment to open my arms before she jumped into them. I swung her around as relief thundered through my body. I hadn’t seen her in over six months and everything I’d ever felt for her exploded within me.

She let go long enough to hold my cheeks in her hands and kiss me. It was tender and rough all at the same time, just a taste of what we really wanted to do to each other. If her two brothers and father weren’t lined up watching us, I would have ripped that pretty violet dress right off her.

“These are for you,” I said, offering her the bouquet of daisies. They were only slightly crumpled from her attack.

“They’re beautiful, thank you.”

It was now or never, I couldn’t wait a moment longer to ask her the question I needed to. I went down on one knee as our eyes locked on each other.

Sasha’s mouth dropped open to form an ‘O.’ She was the one clutching the daisies now, her knuckles white as she gripped them. The cast on her arm was gone, her bones all healed.

I took a deep breath before I launched into the speech that was either going to win me my girl or break my heart into a million pieces.

“Sasha, all I’ve ever wanted in life is to protect my country, be a good father, and marry the girl I love. From the minute we met, I knew there was something different about you. I didn’t want to believe it but I couldn’t ignore it. You stole my heart and you’ve kept it captive, even from halfway around the world. With your family’s permission here, would you please do me the absolute honor of becoming my wife?”

I pulled out the ring box with shaking hands, fumbling with my sweaty palms. She hadn’t said anything yet and I could already feel the scorn of rejection starting to settle in my gut.

Still, I opened the box for her to see the diamond ring and prayed she would agree to wear it on the finger she reserved for her fiancé.

I looked up at her, my heart in my throat. Every second felt like an hour as I felt the eyes of the four of them on me. I didn’t dare look toward her family for fear they wouldn’t give their blessings. I knew how important her family was to her and Sasha wouldn’t do anything they didn’t approve of first.

Finally, her face broke into a smile. “Of course I’ll be your wife, Matt! There’s nothing I’d love more.”

I was off that floor in a split second, shoving that ring on her finger and sweeping her up in a hug before she could change her mind.

“I love you so much,” I whispered in her ear. I never wanted to leave her again but we both knew that was impossible.

“I love you too,” she said.

We basked in the moments we shared and forgot about the moments we wouldn’t be able to. We were going to continue on the tradition of being a military family but I vowed we would always return to each other.

Sasha was going to make me the happiest man in the world and I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure she knew it.

I respected her need to serve our country and would never tell her again she didn’t belong in the military. Sasha was as strong as the strongest soldier I’d ever seen. We would love and fight together.

The military needed us, especially with a traitor on the loose. If we didn’t find him soon, he would have enough courage to do something big. And the two of us weren’t going to let that happen.

Never.

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Special Thanks

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First off, I’d like to thank you for reading! I truly hope you enjoyed this story and I look forward to hearing any feedback you have on it by way of review, email, or on my website.

Special thanks goes out to everyone who has been in contact with me about my previous stories. I wouldn’t have continued writing if it wasn’t for the awesome feedback/reviews from you! :)

About The Author

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If you’re interested in short erotica, check out Leila’s other pen name,
Kenzie Haven
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