Hemingway - Zoe Dawson Page 0,96
wanted her locked down. He knocked at her door and she opened it.
“Babe,” she said, giving him a kiss.
“You talk to Rebecca?”
“Yes,” she said, sitting down on the bed, then pulling him down with her. “I told Rebecca that I didn’t want to go undercover anymore. She gave me Kai Talbot’s job as she’s moving into a supervisory position at Pendleton. I have a meeting with her in about an hour.”
“That’s great. But you don’t have to do that for me.”
“I’m not. I know you’d make it work, but I don’t need it anymore. I was using it to escape my grief. I need to embrace and feel it.”
“Did you ask her about searching for Jason?”
“I did, and she agreed.” She bit her lip and he pulled her against him, her breath feathering his neck.
“You’ll find him.” He turned his head and kissed her temple. His tone gruff, he added, “I know it.”
She turned her head, so their mouths connected. “Thank you,” she said, her tone husky with emotion. He held her, playing with a lock of her silky hair. Hemingway closed his eyes and tightened his hold, a knot of raw emotion climbing up his throat. He waited for it to ease, then said, “You asked me to ask you again.” He slipped out of her embrace, and going to his knees in front of her, he pulled out the ring and opened the box. He tapped a button on his phone and Luke Evan’s sultry voice started singing, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” He took her hand. “I’ve been waiting for you all of my life. Marry me, Shea.”
She went stock-still, then she looked down at the ring, her expression transfixed by a host of emotions. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered. “Yes. The answer is yes. I’ll marry you.” She stared at him for a moment, then took the ring out of the box. He helped her slip it on her finger. Her eyes filled with tears, and she was down on her knees, hugging him like there was no tomorrow.
“When did you say your meeting was?”
She flashed him that sassy Shea smile. “Oh, sandman, you are a very bad boy.” She cupped his growing dick. “I like that about you.”
“Hoo-yah,” he whispered, dragging her onto the bed.
She looked up at him. “I love you, Atticus,” she whispered unevenly. “You are the most amazing man I have ever met.” With tears glistening in her long, dark lashes, she touched his face with infinite gentleness, then lifted her head and kissed him.
His throat thick and his chest chock-full of emotion, Hemingway caught her by the back of the head as he opened his mouth over hers, taking all that she offered. She gave him what he wanted. Then she pressed her hand against his face and there was no more time for talking.
An hour later, tangled up together, Shea said, “You’re not leaving?”
“No. I’m staying,” he murmured. “We have another mission.”
“Ah, the real one. The protection detail was just a smoke screen?”
“Something like that. I can’t tell—”
“I know. I don’t need to know. Just promise me you’ll be as safe as you can.”
“I promise.”
She propped herself on his chest, looking delectable, her black hair a wild tangle around her face. “So did you wear out my graduation gift?”
For a moment he drew a blank.
“Aw, you forgot. Daisy Duke still laments the loss.”
He chuckled. Right—the UDT shorts. How could he forget? “No, I’ve still got them.”
She watched him, a satisfied look on her face. “You’ve got to admit they are the shortest shorts ever to masquerade as part of a Navy uniform.”
“I warned you not to bad mouth my shorts. It’s like you’re denigrating the whole history of the SEALs and pooh poohing the brave UDT guys that went before us.”
“Pooh poohing?”
He watched her, liking the way she held his gaze, liking the intimacy in her eyes. “Yeah. It’s a capital offense. I’m calling NCIS right now.”
“Don’t bother. I’ll look up the charges for pooh poohing. I believe they’re quite stringent. Will you come to visit me in prison?”
“You are a piece of sassy work, you know that?”
She opened her mouth, and his cell chimed. He grabbed it and saw they were being spun up.
“I believe you’re out of uniform, mister,” she said with a giggle. He got out of bed and looked at the clock.
“I believe you’re going to be late for your meeting.”
She stopped laughing and said, “Oh, shit.” He wondered if she had any idea