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REBECCA PADDED INTO the kitchen the following weekend, freshly showered and wearing shorts and a tank top. She put her new tea kettle on the stove, smiling at Patrick’s thoughtfulness. Although she normally was a coffee girl through and through, usually having a cup in the morning and stopping by the local coffee shop on the way into the office, he’d bought a tea kettle for her after seeing her skip her usual dark roast day after day.
And since she was only five or six weeks along in her pregnancy, she had a feeling she’d be a tea drinker for the next couple of months. At least until her morning sickness subsided.
Feeling wistful, she smiled as she looked around her kitchen. They’d lived here Abby’s entire life, and it would feel a little strange leaving. She couldn’t wait to move in with Patrick and start the next chapter, but it was somewhat bittersweet at the moment.
Abby wasn’t a baby anymore, and she had a new little one on the way.
There’d be a whole new lifetime of memories to start together, as a family.
“Mommy, how come Patrick and Logan aren’t here?” Abby asked, walking into the kitchen still wearing her pajamas.
Rebecca turned, smiling at how big her little girl suddenly seemed. “Remember how we had dinner with everyone last night?”
“Yes,” she said with a huge smile. “Logan’s Aunt Sarah was so fun to play with.”
“That she was,” Rebecca agreed with a laugh. “But Logan was already asleep by the time the party was over. So they slept at their house, and we came back to our own house.”
“But we’ll see them today?”
“They should be on their way over right now,” Rebecca said, glancing at the clock. “Which means you need to get dressed.”
“Mommy, is Patrick your boyfriend?”
“Yes, sweetie, I already explained that to you.”
“Well, are you going to get married? Because my friend Kayla’s mom got married again. They had a wedding and everything. Kayla even got to be a flower girl!”
Rebecca knelt down in front of Abby, looking at her daughter in the eyes. “Maybe someday, honey. Would you like that? For now, we’re planning to move in together. You and I are going to live with Patrick and Logan.”
“If you got married someday, would that make Patrick my dad?”
“It would. And I know he’d love to be your daddy. Just like I’d love to be Logan’s mom.”
“Yeah,” Abby said with a shrug. “I guess I’d like that. Bye!” she called out, running out of the kitchen to go get dressed.
Rebecca stood up, removing the kettle from the stove as it began to whistle. It was amazing how simple life was for kids sometimes. Too simple. She got a box of tea from the pantry and after pouring hot water into a mug, dunked the tea bag in to steep. She heard Patrick’s SUV pull into her driveway as she was pouring two cups of milk for the kids. A moment later, Logan was rushing into the kitchen with Patrick a few steps behind, pocketing his set of keys.
“We brought bagels—I hope that’s okay for you.”
“Sounds great as long as you got me a plain one. I’m not sure I could stomach much else.”
“Affirmative. One plain bagel just for you.” He walked across the kitchen to her, smelling of soap and his aftershave, and ducked down for a brief kiss.
She couldn’t resist running her hands over his muscled forearms and tugging him closer, loving the warmth of his skin and the heat radiating off his large frame. He kissed her again, smiling. He was freshly shaved, but her eyes traced over the outline of his chiseled jaw. Admired his full lips. Met his searing gaze.
Although she wouldn’t mind making out with Patrick in the kitchen, Logan was standing right there. Reluctantly she pulled away.
“Sarah didn’t want to come over?” Rebecca asked.
“She’s staying with a friend. I think they’re hitting the beach today before she drives back to Norfolk,” he said, referring to the city an hour away from Virginia Beach.
“Well, she made a big impression on Abby last night,” Rebecca said, getting some plates from the cupboard.
“Not just Abby,” Patrick replied.
“Logan?”
“The CO,” he said, his eyes gleaming with mischief.
“Come again? No, let me guess, she laid into him for eating a couple of burgers and proclaimed that the entire SEAL team should convert to vegetarianism. Or maybe the entire Navy....”
“She did lay into him,” Patrick smirked. “As in, he walked out of the kitchen and startled her, so she threw a few punches his way in self-defense.”
Rebecca burst into laughter. “That happened last night? You’ve got to be kidding me. How did I miss it?”
“You were in the backyard,” Patrick said, his eyes alight with humor.
“Well that’s...different. Not exactly the type of treatment Ryan is used to getting, I’m sure. What did he say?”
“If she wasn’t my own sister—my only sister—I might have to kill her,” Patrick said with a chuckle. “The CO never comes to our barbeques, and the one night he does, my sister nearly decks him. Fortunately, he seemed more amused by it than anything.”
“He’s a Navy SEAL,” Rebecca reminded him. “I’m sure he can hold his own against Sarah.”
Patrick chuffed out a laugh. “Have you met my sister?”
“Good point.”
Abby came back into the kitchen a few minutes later after getting dressed, and they all sat down to have bagels. An hour later Patrick, Rebecca, and the kids were piled into Patrick’s SUV, driving down Atlantic Avenue to the realtor’s office.
“Are you sure we can’t go to the beach today?” Abby asked from the back seat. “We always do that on the weekends in the summer.”
Rebecca exchanged a look with Patrick. “Not today, sweetie. We have some errands to run. But maybe we can go to the playground and get some ice cream later on if we get everything done.”
“Oh, I hate errands,” Logan muttered.
Patrick eyed him in the rearview mirror. “But you like ice cream.”
“I know,” he said. “I’ll be good.”
“What’s a realtor anyway?” Abby asked.
“Remember how I told you we might be moving soon? A realtor helps you sell your house.”
“We’re selling our house?”
“Maybe. I don’t know yet for sure, sweetie. We might just rent it to someone else. It depends on a lot of different things. But you and I are planning to move in with Patrick and Logan, like we talked about.”
“Will I get my own room?”
“Absolutely,” Patrick said. “We can set it up just like your room now or even paint it a different color if you want.”
“Can I paint it?” she asked. “I’m so good at painting. My teacher even said so.”
“I could use some help,” Patrick said, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile.
“I want to help, too,” Logan said.
“You can both help,” Rebecca replied.
“Are we moving tomorrow?” Abby asked. “After you meet with the real person?”
“Realtor. And not tomorrow, honey. We still need to pack up our things and make room in Patrick’s house. We’ll move over the summer.”
“Is it summer now?”
“It is, but we have to get our things ready before we can move.”
“I don’t want to forget anything in my room.”
Rebecca smiled. “Me either, sweetie. And we’re not in a rush. We’ll do one thing at a time, and by the end of the summer, we’ll be all set.”
Patrick pulled into the parking lot, finding an empty space under a palm tree. He reached over and took her hand, his strong, sure fingers wrapping around hers. Her heart fluttered unexpectedly, and she beamed at him. This was really happening. They’d talked about putting her house on the market or potentially renting it out if that made the most sense, but she and Patrick were taking the next step. Meeting with a realtor. Moving in together. Having a baby.
They were going to be a family.
He raised her hand to his mouth and lightly brushed his lips across the back of it, the heat from his touch sending shivers racing down her spine.
She flushed as she smiled at him. “Ready?” she asked.
“Hoorah. This might be the best Sunday afternoon we’ve had in a while.”
***
REBECCA’S STOMACH ROILED as she turned on the news early the following morning—and for once it wasn’t due to her morning sickness. The newsfeed on CNN indicated a video had surfaced of the American woman being held hostage in Afghanistan. Although there’d been brief mention of the situation in the media over the past week, this was the first time the young woman’s image flashed across the screen.
Word from the Pentagon is that troops will be sent in on a secret rescue operation to obtain the missing American woman, the anchorman said.
She froze as she watched the news anchor begin to interview a former military intelligence officer. Of course the military would send in a team to rescue her—maybe even Patrick’s team. He’d mentioned they’d be deploying soon. Although after it hadn’t come up again in the past week, she’d allowed herself to momentarily relax and focus on their plans to move in together. To put whatever future deployments he had in the back of her mind.
Because that was just it, wasn’t it? He’d always be deploying somewhere with his team. He’d devoted his entire career to serving his country, and that wasn’t going to change just because their situation was.
This most recent incident felt different though—scarier. Like somehow everything was at stake. It was probably just because she was pregnant, she rationalized. Patrick had been gone plenty of times when they’d been together. Even when they’d first met, he’d vanished, sent off on a deployment to God knows where.
And this just in, the anchorman continued, the group claiming responsibility for the kidnapping are demanding $50 million for her release. No word on the condition of the hostage, although it is believed video footage will be released soon.
Her cell phone began buzzing, and her heart stopped.
No one would need to call her this early in the morning unless there was an emergency. But Patrick couldn’t have left yet. Wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. This was just coming on the news right now, and he hadn’t even made arrangements for her to watch Logan. Although the men could be wheels up within a few hours, they did need to pack their bags. Arrive on base. Meet with the CO and get whatever briefings were required.
Which meant it was probably Patrick calling to say he had to deploy.
She grabbed her phone from the kitchen counter and saw his name flash on her screen. “I’m on my way over,” Patrick’s deep voice said over the phone. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Okay. See you soon.”
So this was it. He was no doubt leaving. She retied the sash on her silk robe, thankful she’d already showered and dried her hair. Not that she cared about him seeing her first thing in the morning, but she wanted a few minutes to talk to him before Abby woke up and they had to leave for work and camp.
She needed some private time alone for them to say their goodbyes.
Her stomach lurched.
Would it always be this hard when he was leaving? Other spouses had deployments that were a year long. Some even more. His SEAL team usually got in and got out, bringing him back within a week or two if not days upon occasion. This was nothing compared to what other people endured.
The sound of his SUV pulling in the driveway a few minutes later drew her gaze toward the windows. Goodness. It had been only a week ago when he’d made love to her in front of the window in the evening sun, telling her he wanted her to think of it the next time he was gone.
To remember that moment every night when she fixed dinner.
Her heart always ached every time he left, but now?
He was literally leaving a piece of himself behind.
His baby.
And she knew it wouldn’t get any easier over the next year.
The sound of the front door opening had her turning in the kitchen, and then she was rushing toward him. Throwing herself into his arms.
Patrick was decked out in his fatigues, a grim expression on his face. But he hauled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair as he held her close. “I’m leaving.”
“I know; I just saw the news.”
“I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone. Hell, I hate leaving you.”
She sniffed, trying to fight back tears.
“Sweetheart,” he said, his voice gruff. “Don’t cry.”
“It’s silly, I know,” she said. “Crazy pregnancy hormones or something.”
He ducked down, giving her tender kisses. He smelled of aftershave and soap, and there was something undeniably sexy at having him standing there in the foyer in his fatigues and combat boots, looking like a hardened warrior, while she had on only her silk robe.
“Is Abby asleep?”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “She’s still in bed.”
He turned and abruptly carried her back toward the bedroom, Rebecca clinging to him. “Don’t you have to be on base?” she asked, looking up at him in surprise.
“Not for thirty more minutes.” He lowered her to the edge of the bed, and then he was fumbling with the sash of her robe, gently leaning her backwards. Her legs dangled over the side of the bed as he bared her to him, and he ducked lower, kissing and nuzzling her neck before he moved to her bare breasts.
His hot kisses on her sensitive flesh left her gasping for breath. Had warmth surging through her entire body. One large hand massaged a breast while he kissed the other one, moving around the areola before sucking her nipple into his mouth. She cried out and felt arousal dampen her folds. His fingers slid to her core, and she was already wet and ready for him. Desperate for them to be joined together as one.
He moved to her other breast, softly biting the underside, before he kissed his way to her nipple, flicking his tongue over the tender, sensitive bud. Electricity shot straight through her, and he slid two thick fingers inside her molten channel, causing her to gasp at the intimate invasion. He scissored his fingers, stretching and readying her for him, his thumb rubbing over her clit.
Standing before her, he freed his throbbing erection. He gripped both her legs behind the knees, spreading her wide for him, and then he was lining up with her core and pushing inside her. Consuming her. He held her in place at the edge of the bed as he slid in and out, and the slow, erotic pace that he set was pure torture. She was damp with arousal, desperate for release, and he pinned her with a heated gaze, knowing she was totally at his mercy.
She moaned, tossing her head to the side, and he pulled all the way out and then slammed back in, causing her to cry out in surprise. Her hand flew to her mouth so she didn’t wake Abby, and suddenly he was thrusting faster. Harder.
Rebecca gasped and closed her eyes as he held her legs open and took her. She surrendered to Patrick, to the pure pleasure, and cried out at the exquisite pressure of him filling her that was nearly too much to bear.
Two more deep thrusts and she was coming, calling out his name as he bent over and kissed her, swallowing her cries. He hardened impossibly more and was releasing inside her. Groaning as her inner walls clamped down around him.
She lay gasping, slowly coming back to reality after the Earth-shattering orgasm. With her legs spread apart in his firm grip and his cock buried deep inside her inner walls, she was utterly and truly his to command.
A few seconds later and he was regretfully pulling free. Pulling her up off the bed and into his arms. She collapsed against his chest, letting her tears fall as he stroked her hair. Promised he’d come home soon.
“Be careful when you’re gone,” she whispered.
“You know I’ll always be safe,” he assured her. “I’ll always come back to you and the kids.” He palmed her bare breast and ducked lower, kissing her once more. And then he was stepping back all too soon, pulling the sides of her silk robe together so she was covered. “I wish I could stay longer. I had to come see you before I left.”
“I know,” she sniffed, retying her robe as she gazed up at him with watery eyes. “I’ll miss you. Promise you’ll be careful.”
“I promise. I love you,” he said, his blue eyes full of emotion.
“I love you, too.”
Rebecca took his large hand in both of hers, and they walked back to the front door together. She trembled as they stood in the foyer, unable to shake the feeling of dread washing over her.
“I’ll see you soon,” Patrick said, his voice deep.
“See you soon,” she said, letting him brush his lips against hers one last time in a tender kiss.
And then, all too soon, he was gone.
