CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PEYTON LAY BACK with a contented sigh, smiling as the sea breeze played with her hair. She’d finished her book and sent it off to Gwen that morning. To celebrate, she and Noah had invited some friends over for an impromptu party so they could all hang out on the beach and enjoy the ocean view.

Well, she supposed that everyone else was focused on the water. Peyton was more interested in how good Noah looked in those tight Navy-issue swim trunks as he walked out of the ocean to join her and the others in the chairs they’d sat up on the sand. It was damn near impossible not to stare at him. He could put a Roman statue to shame.

What? It wasn’t her fault she couldn’t stop looking at him.

“How did your medical exam go this morning?” Wes asked as Noah sat down in the chair closest to Peyton, groaning as the mid-day sun began to warm him up.

“Doc says my knee is responding well to physical therapy,” Noah said with a grin. “And the MRI shows the tear that was there is well on its way to healing. If I don’t do anything stupid for the rest of my medical leave, I should be back to a hundred percent in another three or four weeks.”

Peyton wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed by Noah’s announcement. While she obviously wanted his knee to get better, they’d talked enough to know once it was, he’d be going back to active status with his Team. That meant deployments and missions.

She took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. She was ready for this. With Noah’s patience and understanding, trust in him and his Teammates, and the support of their friends, she’d be able to handle this. For a life with Noah, she could put up with anything.

“What about your career? Is that still intact, too?” Lane asked from where he sat nearby. “Has Chasen forgiven you for lying to him about everything?”

To say that Chasen was upset when he’d shown up at the airport and found Noah, Sam, Lane, and Wes being detained by the police was an understatement. The list of charges Noah and his friends had been facing was terrifying, not the least of which were assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, and bringing a firearm into an airport. In the end, an agent from the Treasury Department had shown up and made all the charges go away. But that still hadn’t made Chasen happy. He’d been more pissed about Noah and the other guys not coming to him with the truth than he was about breaking the law. Peyton was pretty sure Noah was more hurt by his chief’s disappointment than he’d ever been by the prison term the cops had threatened him with.

“We’ve talked about why I kept the truth from him,” Noah said, grabbing a bottle of beer from the cooler that was within arm’s reach. “I think he understands that I was just trying to protect him. He hasn’t forgiven me completely yet, but we’re getting there.”

While Sam and Wes suggested ways Noah might get back in their boss’s good graces, Lane chatted with Laurissa as Tabitha shyly flirted with another member of Noah’s Team named Cade. Peyton had only met him today, but he seemed very intrigued by Tabitha.

“Man, this is the life,” Lane murmured, leaning back in his chair and staring out at the rolling ocean. “I would love to be able to walk out the back door of my apartment to a view like this every morning. I mean, your apartment is nice, Noah, but I can’t imagine how you can go back there after spending time at a place like this.”

Noah looked at Peyton. “Should we tell them?”

“Tell us what?” Lane asked.

Noah grinned and reached for her hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. “Peyton has asked me to move in with her and I agreed. I’m over here every night as it is. Like you said, it’s a few steps up from my apartment. And the company is definitely a plus.”

Peyton laughed, her heart doing a little dance in her chest. She remembered that conversation as if they’d had it five minutes ago. Not so much because she’d suggested him moving in, but because it was the first time Noah said he loved her.

It had come out casually while they were in her workout room during the middle of one of her yoga routines and his physical therapy sessions. She’d glanced over to see Noah gazing at her with this kind of dazed expression on his face, not doing anything but watching her. When she asked if everything was okay, he’d walked over and kissed her.

“I think I’ve known this from the moment I realized you’d been kidnapped,” he whispered against her lips. “But for some reason, it really hit me right this second.”

“What did?” she murmured, not sure where he was going.

“That I love you and can’t imagine trying to live my life without you.”

Her heart had done that same happy dance it was doing now, and it was all she could do to whisper that she loved him, too, and had since he’d found her in the trunk of that car. Exercise forgotten, they’d made love for the next two hours right there on the yoga mats.

“Have you told the rental office about dropping the lease on your apartment yet?” Sam asked, pulling Peyton out of her thoughts and back to the present.

“Not yet,” Noah said. “I wanted to wait until I moved my stuff out first. Why do you ask?”

Sam shrugged. “I was thinking maybe I could go with you and see if they’d let me sign a lease for your apartment right on the spot.”

Peyton smiled, knowing how excited Sam was to finally be moving out of the barracks. He’d mentioned how much he hated living there at least a dozen times.

It was well after dark by the time the party wound down, and while Peyton loved hanging out with everyone, she was finally glad to have Noah all to herself.

“You know, I think my next book is going to be about a Navy SEAL,” she said as they walked hand-in-hand down the moonlit beach, the warm water coming up to cover their bare toes.

“Seriously?” Noah glanced at her. “You think women would honestly want to read about a bunch of guys who do a crazy job for a living?”

She smiled. “I know they would. Navy SEALs are very popular right now.”

“Huh,” was all he said. “Who’d have thunk it?”

“You and your Teammates are heroes, Noah. And women love reading about heroes. Me especially.” Peyton squeezed his hand. “Speaking of being my hero, I still can’t believe you found me in that car at the airport that day.”

It had been more than three weeks since Scott and Daris had kidnapped her and she still had nightmares about being in small spaces.

Stopping, Noah lifted her hand, pressing a kiss to the palm. “I would have done whatever it took to find you. I was so terrified I’d lose you, I would have done anything to get you back.”

The words made her catch her breath and she felt warm all over. Going up on tiptoe, she kissed him long and slow on the mouth. “You’re never going to lose me. That’s a promise.”

He arched a brow. “Oh, really?”

“Yep.” She smiled. “I’m requesting you for my lifelong bodyguard.”

Noah chuckled and kissed her again. “I think that’s one assignment I’m going to enjoy.”

* * * * *

I hope you enjoyed Noah and Peyton’s story!

Sam Travers is the next SEAL to fall in love when he meets the girl next door, who’s more than she appears to be!

Look for their book soon!

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Want more hunky Navy SEALs?

Check out the other books in the SEALs of Coronado Series!

SEAL for Her Protection

Strong Silent SEAL

Texas SEAL

Undercover SEAL

SEAL with a Past

SEAL to the Rescue

SEAL on a Mission

Bodyguard SEAL

http://paigetylertheauthor.com/books/#coronado

For more Military Heroes check out my SWAT, STAT, and X-OPS Series!

SWAT: Special Wolf Alpha Team

Hungry Like the Wolf

Wolf Trouble

In the Company of Wolves

To Love a Wolf

Wolf Unleashed

Wolf Hunt

Wolf Hunger

Wolf Rising

Wolf Rebel

Wolf Untamed

Rogue Wolf

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STAT: Special Threat Assessment Team

Wolf Under Fire

Undercover Wolf

https://paigetylertheauthor.com/books/#stat

X-OPS

Her Perfect Mate

Her Lone Wolf

Her Wild Hero

Her Fierce Warrior

Her Rogue Alpha

Her True Match

Her Dark Half

Exposed

http://paigetylertheauthor.com/books/#ops

ABOUT PAIGE

Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog). Paige graduated with a degree in education, but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines who fall in love with them.

She is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan.

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