Code Name: Nina's Choice (Warrior's Challenge) (25 page)

“Thanks for the save.
I don’t need another tongue-lashing.”

“Kayla said to get
your ass back to Nina’s. Cayson is gone.”

He cocked a brow. “I
think I should just let things cool down.”

“As you know my future
wife is a patient woman,
but not particularly easy.
She said if you don’t get your ass over there now, she’s going to be tearing a
strip off it.” He jerked his head. “And this time I’ll stand and watch.”

“What the hell am I
supposed to do?”

Ghost leaned closer.
“What we men are the shits at, but stumble through anyway.
Talk.”
Ghost lifted his broad shoulders. “I’m the last man on
this fucking planet that could do that with a woman, until Kayla. She didn’t
want to, so I had to learn. Necessity
breeds
ability.”

Mace cupped the back
of his neck, and tried to rub the tension out of it. “What the hell am I going
to talk about?”

“What you planned to
talk about before this entire evening went sideways.”

“Are you crazy, sir?
She’d probably throw me ou
t.”

“Doubt that. We’ll
take Gabbs and Lexi. Kayla already cancelled dinner.”

* * * *

A short blurb of
“Stars and Stripes” made Kayla look down at her phone. “Come on Gabbs, grab
Lexi,
let’s
go.”

“What?” Nina stopped
pacing. “Where are you going?”

“Home.
Gabbs is
staying at our place tonight.”

Kayla had Adam in one
arm, Gabbs and the puppy in the other, and headed out the door before she could
open her mouth to argue. Nina stepped to the window and watched Ghost put them
all in the car. They were gone with
in a SEAL minute,
which is about thirty seconds. Nina stepped back then plunked down on the
leather ottoman. With two flicks, she turfed her high heels and bowed her head.
The quiet house made the clatter in her mind louder.

As hard as she tried,
she could
n’t fill the emptiness inside her where Mace
had taken up real estate. When he left, he left a “For Sale” sign draped across
her heart. Men confused a woman. She knew this, and that’s why she’d shunned
all the guys before him. She sniffed and a little gush
of tears wet her lashes. So what? Have a good cry and be done with it. Tomorrow
she’d head to Lowe’s and start loading up on renovation supplies. She and Gabbs
would start fixing this place up. Hard work and a little sweat could turn an
upside down world
right side up.

Slapping her knees
once, she pushed herself to her feet, and padded to the kitchen to make some
tea. With a push to her tiptoes, she grasped the box in her cupboard. Rather
than scream when a hand slid from hip to breast then trailed up her
arm to grab the box, her body instinctively knew the
muscled chest pushing against her back was Mace.

“I hope there’s enough
for two,” Mace whispered in her ear.

“Maybe,” she whispered
back. “I thought you’d abandoned ship.”

“Nina…” He turned her,
and pres
sed her against the counter.

Her finger covered his
mouth. “I was going to tell you tonight.” She swallowed heavily. Mace’s
beautiful eyes looked so sad. “I know why this hurts.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, you love my
daughter.” Tears rained down her cheeks because
if
anything could crack her tough scales it was Mace. “And now you have to share
her.”

He nodded. “You’re
right about that, but I don’t want to share you.”

She kissed him, and
the kiss lasted long enough for them to both end up naked. He grasped her
thighs
and slid her up his body; with a swing her
back was pressed against the fridge and she quivered for his fullness. She
wasn’t a petite woman, but Mace always made her feel that way. Strength and
confidence radiated from the tip of the man’s head to his toe
s.

“Look at me, babe.”

She opened her eyes
when Mace entered her wet channel, and her body swooned with passion. He
stretched her, and her body melted and accepted him into her core.

“I love you, Nina,” he
moaned. “Baby, I need to love you until you can’t
walk.”

“Do it,” she cried,
her head thumping against the fridge with Mace taking ownership of her body.
Her feet touched the cool tile and he flipped her around, guiding her hands to
the counter and re-entering her from behind. Her mind swirled in ecstasy
as Mace took charge, and it shot her passion through a red
zone. With every plunge she pushed to meet him, and drive him deeper. “Harder,”
she breathed. There was no time for kink or love. She just wanted to be
consumed by this man.

“God, you feel so
good.
” Mace’s hands slid around her hips and his
thumb twirled the needy nub. She exploded with a cry, and he powered into her,
a harsh shout of fulfillment filling the kitchen.

They both breathed
heavily. Mace drew her against him, his strong arms wrapped
around her, holding her tight against his warm skin. He
kissed her shoulder, and then tensed. “Shit.”

“What?”

“Nina, I didn’t use a
condom.”

She turned and looked
into his eyes. “Gabbs loves Adam, but she wants a little brother of her own.”

“And you want?”
Mace’s Hollywood good looks never failed to make her heart
gallop, especially when he looked at her with so much depth and warmth.

“I want a bigger
family, but a planned family. I started the pill about a month ago. You don’t
have to worry.”

Mace’s full l
ips descended on hers, and his tongue played a game of cat
and mouth exciting her all over again. When he pulled away he said, “Then it’s
au
naturel
from now on.” He brushed her cheek with his nose. “I love how good you feel
when I’m inside you. Everything
feels right with
you.”

“I’m getting all
worked up again, SEAL,” she purred when he kissed her jaw and nibbled on the
pulse in her neck.

“That’s the idea. Grab
those heels over there, baby, we’re going to bed.”

When she pivoted to
retrieve the shoes, Mace
slapped her ass, and a zip
of pleasure pulsed in her womb. She bent over to pick up the shoes, and he
grabbed her hips. She clutched the edge of the leather ottoman for balance and
Mace nudged her legs open.

“Holy God, you are
fantastic.”

Mace entered her,
and her channel opened to accept him. Another smack on her
ass made her tremble. With a delicious slow plunge, he buried himself in her
core and she whimpered with the tingling excitement. Mace was at full payload
capacity. He’d overcome his trauma and wa
s quick to
rejuvenate just like before the mission. Their bodies rolled in unison, his
hips powering him into her. Thank God the lights in the house were off. It was
dark outside and they would be quite the show for her elderly neighbors who
took an early
evening stroll each night.

Her muscles clamped
down on his shaft, and he groaned and pulled out. Mace yanked her into his
arms, and carried her down the hallway. “Don’t need to make the neighbors
jealous,” he said, grinning at her.

She slid her finger
alon
g the tie he’d draped around his neck. Carefully
,
he laid her on the bed and kissed her hard as he tied her
hands. He hovered above her, and they stared at each other. “You’re mine, Nina.
Cayson can go to hell, and Gabbs is mine too. I’ll make room for him
, but you’re both number one in my life.”

He finished off his
sentence with his erection entering her moist heat. Mace’s talented mouth
circled her nipple, sucking on it as he filled her with slow, penetrating
strokes. She was a mess, but a beautiful mess
and
within seconds they were both coming hard.

Nina rolled over to
answer the phone. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes, but it wasn’t
working so she just accepted the call without looking at who it was. “Hello,”
she croaked.

“Good morning, Nina.”

S
he sat up like someone released a spring in her back. Mace
hadn’t moved. They both exhausted themselves last night. “Wade
,
it’s, it’s…” She grabbed her alarm clock and blinked
again. “Eight o’clock.”

“I wanted to talk to
you before you made any plans today
. I thought I’d
drop by and pick up Gabbs and take her to the wildlife zoo.”

Mace rolled over, the
sheet slipping down his washboard chest, and he pinned an arm behind his head.
“Gabbs is at Kayla’s. She’s having a sleepover.”

“I can pick her up on
the way
.”

“Wade.” Mace tensed
and his gaze hardened. “I know you mean well, but I think we should take this
slower. Gabbs doesn’t know you—”

“Then come with us.”
He paused. “Listen, maybe I came on a little strong with the puppy. I just
wanted to make a good
impression. It’s my first crack
at being a father. I want to do this right. If you’re not comfortable with me
being alone with Gabbs I understand, I do. I just can’t stop thinking about
her.”

She let out a breath
and folded the sheet in her fist. Gabbs had
been
bugging her to go to the zoo since the second she’d arrived. Her daughter had
been so good dealing with all the changes. “Okay, I’ll go get Gabbs and see if
she wants to go.”

“Great,” he said, and
she could almost hear his smile. “I’ll pick you up in
an hour?”

“Sure.”

“And you’re coming,
right?”

“Yes, I think I
should.”

“Excellent, see you
soon, Nina.”

She hung up and
dropped the phone in the dip of the sheets. She hesitated, building up a little
courage before peering over her shoulder at Mace. He
said
he could make room for Wade. They both had to. A strong, rough hand gently
caressed her back, giving her confidence.

“Babe.”
Two hands gripped her, and pulled her
back, cradling her. “Don’t feel like you have to choose between us or hide
Cayson wantin
g time with Gabbs.”

She twisted to lie on
top of him, resting her chin on his chest. “I can’t let her go by herself.”

“I know.” He brushed a
curl from her cheek. “Did you get a chance to talk to her? She must be
confused.”

Nina concentrated on
running her
finger along the molded muscle of Mace’s
chest. “Last night when you left I explained it to her.”

“How did she react?”

Nina chuckled. “Like
an eight-year-old who just got a new puppy. Her attention was on Lexi, it
didn’t faze her. Right now he’s like any o
ther
stranger to her.” She placed a lingering kiss on Mace’s chest then raised her
eyes to look at him.

“You’re an amazing
mother, Nina.” A gentle hand gripped her hip and slid across her bum. “Go take
a shower, I’ll go get Gabbs.”

“Why don’t you come
with
us today?”

Mace’s resident smile
was nowhere to be found. He shook his head. “You and Cayson will have to make
your adjustments. He’ll be in your life forever now.”

* * * *

Ten minutes later he
tapped on the Admiral and Kayla’s front door and walked in.
He couldn’t believe the difference from only a couple
months ago. If joy was a beam of light there wouldn’t be a square inch of
darkness in the house. Gabbs and Kelsey played with Lexi on the living room
floor. Ghost had a friggin’ apron on, cooking break
fast,
and Kayla looked up at him with a smile while breastfeeding Adam.

He’d noticed she
didn’t like to do it in public, but she didn’t flinch when he walked up to her
and kissed her on the cheek. “You are so beautiful,” he said, and his heart
filled with
warmth for his friend.