Ultimate Courage (True Heroes Book 2) (20 page)

An approving sound, full of male arrogance. “You like me inside you.”

He rocked his hips against her, pressing his cock deeper inside her.

She whispered the word. “Yes.”

“Good.” He set his hands on her hips and withdrew almost all the way before he pressed deep inside her again, stretching her even further. He did it one more time before he picked up the pace.

He shifted his hands until one hand held her shoulder and the other pressed the base of her spine. The added pressure encouraged her to arch her back and bend into the bed while he drove into her over and over. She fisted the blankets under her as the pleasure built and she gave herself over to the sensation, to him. Every stroke inside her pressed a moan out of her until she was alternating between moans and hoarse whimpers as she asked him to go harder.

His hands tightened on her again, and he obliged. His hips pounded into hers as he drove inside her, hitting all the right spots on the way in and on the only slightly slower drawing out. Her stomach tightened as she approached the pinnacle of her pleasure, and she cried out as she fell over the edge and came.

His voice mingled with hers as he continued for a split second longer before shuddering into his own release.

Y
ou know, sleepovers are definitely more fun than I remember from childhood.” Elisa lay on her side with Alex pressed against the length of her back.

His chuckle rumbled up from his chest and over her back, sending delicious shivers through her entire body. “I hope so.”

“I’m glad you stayed.” She traced her finger down the inside of his arm, which she was currently using as a pillow.

“I’m glad you said yes to me.” He shifted his hips against hers.

She let out a happy sigh. “Do you feel better now, too?”

He stilled against her back.

Hurriedly she tried to clarify. “We were both on edge last night. I don’t mean…”

“It’s okay.” His other arm came across her in a brief hug before he set his free hand on her waist. “Last night definitely brought out some of the darker parts of me.”

And she was as attracted to those parts of him as the kinder parts he’d displayed when they’d first met. At no time had she felt threatened or coerced by him, and she wanted him to know that. But he might not believe her if she just said it. Instead, she snuggled closer to him and went for a different response. “I can listen, too, if you’d like. I want to get to know you better.”

“I’ve been a couple of different people over the years.”

“You’re still you,” she responded. “But I’d like to understand how you got to who you are now, if you’re willing to share.”

He ran his hand over her hip, gently kneading as he progressed. For a moment, she wondered if he was trying to distract himself, because it was going to work if she didn’t push the discussion. But he started talking. “It was rough overseas on active duty. Our SEAL unit tended to move out to forward positions to secure locations before there was a base established in the area. We were under constant strain. It wasn’t a situation where a person could head out on a mission and return to a safe place at night to shower and get some sleep before going out again. We’d be out for days, even weeks at a time. And sleep was something you got while your teammates had the watch, but you were ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice.”

She snuggled in closer, unsure what to say but wanting to listen and take in what he was sharing.

“Thing is, we saw a lot of awful things.” He fell silent for a moment, struggling for words. And then he dropped a kiss on her shoulder. “There isn’t just one story; there’s dozens. There isn’t just one nightmare. And Forte, Cruz, and me…we all deal in our own ways. For me, it was a state of hyperawareness, of being constantly on edge.”

“Did it get better when you came back?” She hoped it had.

He huffed out a negative. “Uh-uh. I rushed home after each short deployment. I was married, and there was Serena to come home to. But at one point, I came home between missions to find divorce papers waiting for me. After that, I was looking forward to each new training, each new mission, because it was the easiest way to get through the time in between visitation with Serena. Then the call came. My ex-wife had been admitted to the hospital, literally as I was getting on a plane to come back to the States. She’d passed away before I even landed on home soil.”

Elisa’s heart broke for Alex and for Serena. “I’m so sorry.”

He squeezed her hip. “Don’t be. You weren’t there and I try not to be. My ex-wife was a long-time drug user. Not street drugs or anything obvious. But she managed to get a hold of all the prescription meds she could ever want while she was cheating on me with some doctor. He made sure she had all the hydrocodone, oxycodone, diazepam, or alprazolam she could want, and she popped them like candy, depending on what new thing she didn’t want to deal with on a particular day. She’d been hooked for years. When she came down with a cold, it advanced so fast into pneumonia no one knew what was happening until it was too late, and all the drugs she was self-dosing, thinking she’d make herself feel better, only made her condition worse. By the time her parents came to check on her and Boom…they called an ambulance right away, but the hospital couldn’t save her.”

“Oh no.” Elisa didn’t think there was anything she could say. But she felt for him, for the awful situation.

“After that, I didn’t care about anything but Serena. My wife’s parents wanted custody, made an argument about them being able to provide a more stable home environment, but I asked Serena what she wanted and she said she wanted to stay with me.” His tone had turned fierce.

And she loved him for it, for how much he would fight the world for Serena.

“They threatened to take me to court, but their finances were already tied up in going after the doctor for providing my wife with all of those medications. I took advantage of their split attention and managed to keep custody of Serena.” Alex relaxed against her again, brushing his lips over her shoulder. “Forte invited me here. Said he’d set this place up to start over on home soil. Close enough to a couple major cities to get work if we didn’t want to get into training the dogs, but with enough privacy from the immediate community that we weren’t constantly fighting our old selves to blend into civilian life. It’s a steady income with health benefits for Serena and an actual house for her to grow up in.”

“Hope’s Crossing is a nice place.” Simple statement, maybe. But exactly what she’d thought when she’d first come up the drive to return Boom’s glove. “It’s peaceful and active at the same time. There’s plenty to do for all of you and it’s not so quiet it drives you crazy.”

“Exactly.” He squeezed her hip again before running his hand up and over her hip in lazy circles. “When each of us arrived, we were all sort of raw. But we started getting better at our own pace. I just—I had to pull myself together right away to talk to schools and teachers for Boom. I kept telling myself I could handle things, but crowded public places got worse for me, too frenetic. It was harder and harder to keep my temper under control.”

“Like at the ER.” She turned in his arms and started to run her hand over his chest.

He made a deep sound of appreciation in his chest and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Like at the ER. You coming in when you did actually helped me calm down. But my temper wasn’t the most dangerous part. That’s just hot air, and it doesn’t make friends. I try to keep it under control to make social life easier for Serena. I don’t particularly care if random strangers like me. The bigger issues come when I think I’m back overseas. The minute or two when I’m not sure where I am and I’m prepared to act as if I’m in a combat zone. I could come out of it amid a body count one of these days. And I can’t do that. I can’t.”

“Do they have counselors to help you?” Elisa was absolutely sure his sharing would make a difference. With her, but with a professional, too, who could offer more advice.

“Yeah. Cruz has a contact for a decent one over in Jersey at McGuire Air Force Base.” Alex sighed. “I didn’t want to go because it’d give my late wife’s parents leverage if they do decide to take me to court for custody of Serena. But I was avoiding public places more and more.”

“And avoiding those situations wasn’t helping you handle them.” She snuggled into the hollow of his shoulder. “What can I do?”

“Well, I realized the first weekend you were here that we have a mutual friend with unexpected talents.” He chuckled. “Seriously, if Souze hadn’t been there, things could’ve gone south fast.”

“Really?” She struggled to figure out when he was talking about, but there’d been a lot going on that first weekend, and he’d been out and around Revolution MMA with Souze on her behalf multiple times.

“Yeah. I was caught up in one of my…moments. He poked and nudged me until I came out of it.” He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. “It could’ve been bad, but Souze brought me out of it. Natural instinct. His behavior could be positively reinforced. He could be trained to recognize the signs earlier and respond. There’s a lot of other behaviors he could do to help me in public places. He could be trained to sit facing the opposite direction I’m facing when I stop so I don’t have to worry about what’s on my six. He’d be keeping watch over the rear approach for me. He could be trained to circle around me to make people in a high traffic area give me room and create a safe personal space. He’s smart enough to learn several other behaviors to help deal with situations as they come up.”

She lifted her head and nodded. “He’s a big, intimidating dog. Some people would give him space just because he is the dog he is.”

He smiled. “Exactly. I’ll need to work it out with Forte and probably coordinate with the psych over at McGuire, but Souze could become a PTSD service dog. And if he can help me function, I can be there for Boom whenever and wherever she needs me.”

Elisa couldn’t stop smiling. “I’m so glad for you all.”

“All?”

She stretched her neck and kissed his jaw. “Yes, all. Serena gets you. You get Serena and Souze. Souze gets to stay here with people he likes, doing interesting things that have nothing to do with chasing down awful people. I think it suits him.”

And she was attached to the black and tan fur monster, too.

Alex was silent for a moment. “Will you come out with Souze and me for our first outing to test this?”

“You and Souze have been going out in public.” Confused, she tipped her head to the side.

Laughter danced in Alex’s eyes. “Yes, but this time it’ll be with this purpose in mind and I can’t think of something I want to do more than take you out to dinner.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip and blinked back emotion. “I’d like that a lot.”

More than that. To be included, be a part of it. She’d love to.

“Good. After work, I’ll get Cruz or Forte to give you a ride with a two-hour head start over to Revolution to get freshened up. Then Souze and I’ll come pick you up for an early dinner. Sound good?”

She smiled. “Absolutely.”

He kissed her then, and his hands roamed over her.

Laughing, she came up for air. “We do have work today.”

He growled against her throat. “And it’ll still be there for us.”

“I refuse to be late!” She squirmed and gasped when he slid a finger inside her.

“We’ll be quick.”

She clutched at his shoulders and answered, breathless, “Okay. Quick. Quick is good.”

He was ready. It was hot. And oh wow, his idea of quick blew her mind.

“I’m home!” A ten-year-old whirlwind blew into the front reception area.

Elisa smiled. Or maybe she was still smiling from when Alex and she had made it back to Hope’s Crossing just a couple of hours earlier. “Welcome back. Your dad’s wrapping up the first morning agility class and then he’ll meet you up at the house for second breakfast. Mind if I join you two?”

She loved the idea of second breakfast on the weekends. Actually, the men of Hope’s Crossing did it all through the week because they ate like training athletes. Five to six small meals a day. But on weekends, they did it so Boom could snack with them and get in quality time with her father.

“Duh. Food is always better when you join us. Dad actually talks.” Boom stampeded past the front desk. “Heading up to the house now.”

Elisa actually glanced up from entering the data for the latest new client and did a double-take. “Whoa. Hold it.”

Boom froze, ducking her head and lifting her shoulders as if cringing would hide what Elisa had already seen.

“Let’s see.” Elisa stood up to see over the high counter of the reception desk better.

Slender shoulders slumped, and Boom turned to face her.

No laughing. Laughing would be bad. “I take it you ladies had a sort of makeup experiment last night?”

Boom heaved an exaggerated sigh. “This morning before breakfast.”

Oh, dear. So the raccoon-style eyeliner and mascara had been on purpose and not the result of a night sleeping with it on. “I see. And all of you have similar…looks?”

“Maybe?” Boom scrunched up her face. “Marlene brought her mom’s makeup kit, and we each did our own. Grace and Marlene have more practice.”

“Ah.” Elisa struggled for a light tone. “Even with someone teaching me, it takes me a couple of tries to get it the way I want it to look.”

A dam burst inside Boom. “I don’t get it. I don’t. You and Lyn and Sophie always look like yourselves. I don’t want to look like somebody else. What’s wrong with me?”

“You’re incredible,” Elisa said simply. “Nothing’s wrong with you.”

Boom stared at her for a moment. “Makeup is stupid.”

Elisa chewed her lip for a minute. Boom was young, really young, and more interested in sports and mixed martial arts, to boot. Most of her friends were boys. That’s why last night’s sleepover had been unusual, according to Gary and Greg. But Boom was still a girl and going to school with other girls.

“Here’s the thing. I don’t think liking any particular thing is stupid. I like what I like, and I try to respect what other people like.” Not the easiest perspective to maintain sometimes. “So if a person likes makeup, it’s their thing and that’s okay.”

Boom grabbed a pen from the container and flipped it over and over between her fingers, clearly still agitated. Elisa watched her and wondered if Alex did the same thing.

“Liking makeup doesn’t make you any less able because you can still go toe to toe with any of the boys at Revolution MMA.” Elisa tapped the counter in front of Boom, bringing the young girl’s gaze up to meet her own. “But being able to do anything the boys can do does make it kind of uncomfortable with some girls, doesn’t it?”

“They shouldn’t matter.” The stubborn tone was something Boom had inherited from her father.

Elisa smiled as she recognized it and admitted silently that she loved it in both of them. “They shouldn’t. But leaving yourself open to their kind of criticism isn’t fun, either. Besides, there’s a good reason to learn how to do your nails and experiment with makeup.”

Boom’s eyes widened. “There is?”

Elisa nodded. “Skills are always good to have and learning to do your own makeup is a skill. It lets you look the way you want, when you want, at will. You can go natural any day of the week with no cosmetics at all. And if you have the skill, on the one night in a million, you also can give yourself a Cinderella moment. All on your own. Minimum stress.”