Page 29 of The Hero's Bride
He nodded and took a step back, giving them some space.
It didn’t take long for the woman to gather several items and disappear into the dressing room to give them to Thalia. “Oh my God!” Red heard the woman say in a Southern drawl. “Look at that ring. Absolutely exquisite.”
He was happy only a curtain separated the area in case the woman turned out to be a pushy salesperson. He had no problem parting with his money, but he didn’t want Thalia to feel pressured into buying something she didn’t like. While he waited, he perused the men’s clothing, grabbing a shirt and some swim trunks without much thought.
“Your wife is just gorgeous,” the woman said bustling around to grab more items. “Everything she tries on fits like a glove.”
He offered a smile he was sure didn’t reach his eyes. “She sure is,” he murmured.
Another fifteen minutes passed, and Thalia finally came out of the dressing room. The sales associate brought a stack of clothing to the register, and he smiled at Thalia, giving her a kiss on the temple. Her hair was tangled around her shoulders, and she looked dazed. “I don’t need all of it. Just a few things from that pile.”
He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “If we get it now, it’ll save you another trip to the store when we get back to California.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “No more shopping, please.”
The woman laughed as she rang up the purchases and he passed her his card. With an overstuffed bag in his hands, they made their way back up to the suite.
Once inside, he shut and locked the door behind them and moved across the room to the couch, placing the large bag on a cushion. He grabbed his swim trunks off the top and passed her the rest. “Meet you at the pool?”
She smiled and nodded, taking the bag with her to the bedroom. “Thank you again for your generosity. I promise I will—”
He leaned down and pressed a fast kiss to her lips, cutting off the words. “It was my pleasure. See you in a few minutes.” With a grin over his shoulder, she took off down the hall.
After he shucked off his clothes and changed, he walked up the steps to the upper floor. Red opened the glass door and walked out into a man-made oasis. The infinity pool gave off the illusion of vanishing at one end, so it blended seamlessly with the lush tropical plants growing along the border of the patio. Several day beds were strategically placed around the water under wide-brimmed umbrellas. Off to the side there was a refrigerator for beverages, folded towels, and a telephone with a sign to call for room service for poolside dining. The click of the door had him turning just as Thalia stepped out. His gaze raked over her bikini-clad body and a jolt speared straight to his groin. The top was colorful, dipping off her shoulders with a feminine ruffle that showcased the soft curves and planes of her body. The bottoms were modest, but the way they settled on her hips had moisture filling his mouth as she walked toward the edge of the pool.
“This is beautiful,” she breathed.
“No.” He shook his head, still stunned by her presence. “This is just a pool. It’s you who’s beautiful.”
Her cheeks pinkened as her eyes dropped from his gaze and lit with appreciation as it traveled down his body. Working out was simply a necessity to stay in shape for missions but now, with Thalia looking her fill, he was glad for the hours he put in at the gym.
He closed the space between them, his bare feet on the sun-warmed pool deck. When he reached her, he dipped his chin to kiss her hard before taking her hand and turning toward the water. He moved onto the first step, dipping his feet into the cool swimming pool, and heard her gasp. Red was caught off guard, then instantly knew she spotted the scars where three bullets had torn into his skin on a mission.
The warmth of her soft palm landed against his back, and she traced the space around the scars. “What happened?” she whispered, her breath tickling his skin.
He stared out at the pool in front of him, not really seeing as he turned his mind back to the mission that nearly took his life. “I was on a counterterrorism mission to the U.S. embassy in Sudan. I was ambushed and shot in the back three times. I was damn lucky. One bullet barely missed my heart. The next two also missed vital organs. A hair to the right and I would have been paralyzed. That’s how I met Iron. We were in the ICU at the same time and then roommates on the recovery floor. He had his leg amputated, and because of the psychological trauma he’d experienced while on the mission, he moved on from the teams. Once I healed, I was able to return to active duty.” He felt a feather-light kiss over each scar, and when he turned to reassure her that he was okay her gilded green eyes were glazed with tears.
There was a pain in his chest, and he had to remind himself to breathe. Although he didn’t want her to feel sorry for him, he couldn’t recall ever being cried for before. His parents hadn’t even bothered to pause their tour to visit him in the hospital. They’d been notified of his injuries from his commander at the time, but whatever they’d been doing was too important to stop for their own son.
“Did your parents care for you?” Thalia asked as though reading his thoughts.
“No. They were in Europe in the middle of a tour.”
Her face went hard, and he could have sworn she bared her teeth. “They don’t deserve you,” she bit out. A flush worked its way up from her chest to her neck before hitting her cheeks. “I thought of you often after we first met. Before I went to bed at night, I’d imagine the boy with hair the color of chili peppers. I wondered why your parents allowed you to leave the safety of the resort to walk into one of the most dangerous places in the country. Sometimes I would dream about you walking along the streets of Colima with a giant lizard at your side.”
Her words soothed the broken heart of the boy he’d once been. One who simply wanted a place to belong. Wide-open arms to run into and the affection he’d witnessed from other parents who picked up their children from school, as he walked home to a big, empty house. He ran his hands up and down her arms, as much for her comfort as his own.
“I also thought of you when I was abducted and taken across the border,” she continued. His pulse ticked up at the look of sincerity on her face. “A police officer took me from the trunk of the original vehicle and placed me into the cab of his truck. I was asking too many questions, and he punched me in the head. I lost consciousness, but you were there with me and I remember thinking of your eyes. Eyes the color of a dark blue sky, just after the sun vanishes below the horizon. At the time, I thought it was simply a way to connect me to a good memory of my past, but then you came when I needed you most. Saved my life.”
“You saved my life, too, Thalia. I have no doubt of that. I often wondered what had become of the little spitfire with the most unusual, captivating eyes I’d ever seen. When I opened the text Jude sent to me with your picture, it felt like I’d been struck by lightning, and I knew I had to find you.”
Thalia wrapped her arms around his neck, just as he lifted her into his arms. He continued down the steps into the pool. He felt her thighs tighten around his hips as she crossed her ankles at the base of his spine. He leaned in, and their lips met in a frantic dance as he waded deeper into the water. This was no soft, exploring kiss. It was an explosive display of wants and needs. Hopes and dreams. Some dashed. Some just beginning to come to fruition.
She groaned into his mouth, making his already hard length swell.Holy shit.Her hips rocked against him, and he longed to push the material of her bikini to the side and bury himself in her tight heat. Too much, too soon. His mind whirled back to earlier that morning and how much pleasure he’d derived from watching her shatter as he stroked and kissed her. He wanted to give her more. The water rippled softly around them as he dipped his head, latching onto one of the hard nipples straining against her top. He sucked the tight bud into his mouth over the wet material while rolling the other between his thumb and forefinger. Her short nails dug into his shoulders. He hoped like hell when he turned his back toward the mirror the next day, he’d have those tiny crescents marking his skin. She continued to move her hips against him until he was sure he was going to explode.
“Mason. I want you. I need more.”
Even if she was willing and ready, he wanted her to be sure, and he had no problem waiting.
