Page 75 of Adoring Delaney

Delaney’s laugh grew louder until she had tears running down her cheeks and she was shaking. “Sorry, sorry,” she wheezed.

“It’s not that funny,” I grumbled.

“Yeah, it is,” she returned, trying to control her hilarity. “I wished I would’ve known about that when we were younger.”

“At least I didn’t have to go to the rub and tug and get my balls waxed.”

“Wha…what?” Laney stuttered in amusement.

“Oh, yeah. Logan there had to get his balls waxed. He bet us all he’d beat our run times by five minutes. He lost. That afternoon we took him to a local massage place that also did waxing. I’ll never forget the look on the woman’s face when we told her what we needed. Logan marched straight into the back room, dropped his pants, got up on the table, cupped his balls, and shouted, ‘Let her rip,’” I told Laney.

“That wasn’t the best part,” Trey added. “The woman was Asian and she didn’t look pleased, until she smeared the hot wax on his testicles and he flinched. Then she counted down, ‘Three…this is gonna hurt…two…you should be ready…one.’ She tore the paper away and I swear to God the tortured howl from Logan made her day.”

“No. Wait.” Matt snorted. “Remember when she started waving her hand fanning his balls saying, ‘Oh, no, look at the swelling. Not responsible for that. Men no wax sensitive parts. I think you missing skin. I have cream for that.’”

“The missing skin wasn’t the worst part,” Logan grouched. “A week later when the hair started to grow back. I’m sure I looked like I had crabs the way I was diggin’ at my crotch.”

Delaney lost it. Her head tipped back and she cracked up.

The rest of the world around me ceased to exist as I took her in.

So damn beautiful. Every part of her.

22

So meeting Carter’s friends wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

After the semi-rocky start with Luke, and I say semi only because I wasn’t sure if he was accusing me of something or simply stating facts. Carter had warned he was aloof and at first impression he was a little gruff but once our dinner had arrived, he talked quite a bit. All of the guys did.

They’d also done what Carter had said they would and had told me stories about Carter’s bravery. Some scared me. Some made me proud. And some had me reminding myself he was alive and sitting next to me.

I had a new respect for Carter and his team. I’d grown up with a father in the Army, and I’d been surrounded by military men all my life, but none of them talked to us kids about what they’d truly done. And Carter had certainly never told me about his missions. Hearing about them gave me a newfound admiration.

And also, some understanding.

Each of them had admitted there had been a time or two they hadn’t thought they’d make it home. Both terrifying and chilling to hear. They’d also talked about teammates who hadn’t made it back. None of them had ever been in a relationship and kept every encounter superficial. By the time dinner was over and we were saying our goodbyes I liked them all and was a little sad they lived so far away. But Carter said we’d come to see them again and they all promised to come down to Georgia to visit.

To which I gave an open invitation to stay at our house. I’d caught myself reverting back to old thinking and referring to my house as mine and Carter’s. I’d also told him I loved him and had pretty much jumped headfirst into moving forward. Though it hadn’t been talked about again, I think the multiple rounds of sex had communicated this fact more than words could’ve.

That did not mean I wasn’t scared as hell. I was. The thought of losing him again still fresh in my mind and I had doubts he’d really forgiven me. And I knew I hadn’t forgiven myself.

We’d already lost too much and I was afraid of losing more if I didn’t take this chance. So I was taking it. If in the end I was left in tatters, at least I’d know I tried.

“Babe?” Carter called. “You comin’?”

He was already in bed and I was standing staring out his windows looking at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel lit up. He lived on the top floor of a three-story house that had been divided into apartments. His apartment didn’t have a balcony, the floor below him did, and the one on the bottom had a deck that opened to the private beach behind the house.

During dinner I’d also learned that Matt owned the apartment house and he’d given Carter a serious break on rent. Now he was giving the same deal to Logan. I was surprised to hear Logan tell me he rented a fully furnished room and had for years. If I’d thought Carter had issues with making commitments, that was only because I hadn’t known Logan. He couldn’t even commit to furniture.

“You have a beautiful view,” I commented.

“I do.”

I looked over my shoulder to see Carter on his side, sheets resting at his hips, chest bare, and his eyes were on me.

“I was talking about the bridge at night.”

“I wasn’t. Come to bed.”

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