Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Prue ran over to Piper and gave her a hug. “Thanks, Mom.”
She walked by me a little slower, and when I sighed and opened my arms, she flew into them. “Love you, Daddy.” I kissed her forehead and held her close, not happy about letting her go. “Time for me to grow up,” she whispered. I pressed my lips together but allowed her to walk back over to Kohen.
We escorted them to the door and waved as Kohen helped her into his Jeep. When they were gone, I shut the door a little harder than necessary and whipped around, catching Piper around the waist before she could make a run for it.
“You planned this whole thing, didn’t you, baby?” I growled in her ear.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she breathed.
I threw her over my shoulder and swatted her ass as I stalked back to our bedroom.
“I have ways of making you talk,” I growled again but smiled when she shivered since she couldn’t see my face.
I’d be putting a call into Merrick about that loophole, but first, I was going to drag an apology out of my wife by any means necessary.
It didn’t take long. After driving her to the brink three times and then backing off before she could come, she shouted her apology and begged me to fuck her. I happily obliged at least four times before the sun came up.
Extra Epilogue
Piper
I’d known for years that Sage wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, but that hadn’t prepared me for actually sitting in the Ceremonial drill hall waiting for his Pass-in-Review to begin. It had been ten long weeks since he’d started boot camp. If he’d enlisted only a month earlier, he would’ve been gone for two weeks less, but Deacon had known the change was coming down the line and convinced our son to wait so he’d get the new “Sailor for Life” module. Although Sage had grown up as a Navy junior, that extra training would still help him adjust more easily from civilian to sailor life. And it gave me a little more time before he started pre-BUD/S leading up to BUD/S—twenty-four weeks of intense training that would allow him to become a SEAL like his dad.
Deacon threaded his fingers through mine with a sigh. “Damn, this takes me back.”
“Oh-so many years ago.” I nudged his side with a wink. Now that we were empty nesters, teasing him about our age difference had become a surefire way to push his buttons…with very satisfying results when he inevitably proved to me how physically in shape he was.
Sliding his arm over the back of my chair, he pulled me against his side and warned, “If the hotel put anyone in the rooms next to us, you’re gonna have to scream into a pillow so we don’t get noise complaints tonight.”
A sensual shiver raced down my spine, and his deep chuckle let me know that Deacon had noticed. Not that my husband ever missed anything when it came to me. Ducking my head as my cheeks warmed, I whispered, “Don’t turn me on when we’re surrounded by thousands of people.”
“Anywhere, anytime.” He shifted in his seat, and my eyes dropped to the large bulge in his pants. “You’re always mine, baby.”
“I can’t exactly argue with that, now can I?” I muttered, stroking my finger down the sleeve of his dress blues. “Especially not when it’s been so long since I’ve seen you in uniform.”
The rules that covered when veterans could wear their uniforms were specific, and it was one of the things I’d missed most when Deacon retired from the Navy. As sexy as he was in a cowboy hat, jeans, and a sweaty shirt when he was working at the ranch, he was even more so in his dress uniform. Which he darn well knew. “You can take your time stripping me out of it later.”
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed, squeezing his hand as the divisions started to march onto the drill deck. I scanned the faces, searching for my son in the crowd. I’d brought a pair of binoculars but didn’t need to use them since Deacon had somehow secured us a front row seat even though we hadn’t been the first to arrive. Being a retired Navy SEAL had its perks.
He spotted Sage first. “There’s our boy, the first sailor in the middle row.”
“He looks so different in uniform. All grown up.” Tears welled in my eyes as I pressed trembling fingers to my lips.
Deacon gave me a squeeze before stroking his fingers down the back of my neck to help soothe me. “Looks like he’s even more toned than when he left. He must’ve taken my advice about squeezing in extra workouts to heart. His PST score is the first impression he’s gonna make in the pipeline.”