“All three of them. So are my three brothers. I’m the only unmarried one left.”
Daisy stopped on the top stair. “How many nieces and nephews do you have?”
“Fourteen and two more on the way.”
“Holy smokes! No wonder you did so well with the kids in Aden.”
“Come on, move your tush, we can talk inside.”
Daisy stepped up onto the porch. Leo punched in the security code and unlocked the door and had her go in first. He closed the door, then reset the alarm. He saw Daisy peer curiously at his alarm system. He gave an inward sigh. He’d bet his bottom dollar that she didn’t have an alarm system. Another thing he needed to put on his to-do list.
“So why was the big-bad SEAL doing paperwork?” Daisy asked.
“Come in and get settled on the couch and I’ll bring you something to drink. What would you like?”
“Just water. But tell me why you’re doing paperwork,” she called after him as he walked over to the refrigerator in the kitchen.
Leo pulled two bottles of water out of the fridge and gave one to Daisy. “This week, no training for me until the leg heals up a little more, so in the meantime, I’m going to be handling a lot of my lieutenant’s paperwork. He might have been mad to begin with, but after this, I’ll have totally scored points with the man.”
“He’s mad about how you spent your vacation?” She opened up the bottle and took a sip, then looked up at him. “But why would he be angry? You were helping at the camp, how could he object to that?”
“It wasn’t the camp, it was more about you,” Leo explained as he sat down next to her on the couch.
“Why me?”
“He realizes just how special you had become to me in Afghanistan and he wasn’t really happy about it. Max isn’t thrilled with us getting involved with civilians during missions. As a matter of fact, it’s been pissing him off.”
“Wait a moment. That means that this has happened before, maybe more than once.”
Leo grinned. “Yep. This would be the fourth time. Well, fifth time if we count Zed, and he might be Night Storm, but he was working for another lieutenant when he found Marcia, so that doesn’t count.”
“Huh?”
“Long story. Suffice it to say that yeah, we go on missions but there are some lucky times where we find special women and work damn hard at making sure they stay with us.”
“You’re losing me, Handsome. But right now I could use a welcome to Virginia Beach kiss.”
He set down her cases by the hall table, then picked her up. “I think I can do a little better than that, Baby. Wanna see my bedroom?”
“Be careful of your leg!”
Leo laughed. It was the best he’d felt since the last time he’d seen her. “My leg is fine, Daisy.” He walked down the hallway to his bedroom and placed her on his mint green and gray duvet cover.
“You really do make your bed,” she said as she sat in the middle of it.
“I wouldn’t lie. I’m not going to lie about this either; you look beautiful in my bed.”
Her smile was incandescent. He flipped on the light on his nightstand so he could admire her even more. “Do you think we know how to do this in a real bedroom, or are we only good at this in a hotel?”
“That’s a good question, Ms. Squires. It deserves a good deal of research. Do you know what else needs to be investigated?”
She shook her head, which only made her glossy brown hair shimmer all the more. “What?” Her voice was hoarse.
“This strap keeps falling down your shoulder. I think it’s time to get you out of this dress.”
“The zipper is in the back,” she whispered.
He bent low for a kiss. As soon as their lips met, it was electric. He gathered her into his arms, spearing his fingers into her silky chestnut locks while his other hand had the pleasure of unzipping her dress. All he felt was the satiny softness of her back. Good God, she wasn’t wearing a bra. He pressed her back down onto the bed, his lips never leaving hers.
She pushed at him. “Get this dress off me,” she complained.
He huffed out a laugh. “I’m trying to.”
“Try harder.”
Leo pulled the front of her dress off her chest and arms and let it pool to her waist. Daisy was still talking, but he couldn’t understand her. She was breathtaking. Then he remembered.
“How’s your hip?”
She didn’t immediately answer, so he pulled the dress all the way off her and threw it to the floor. He hissed out a breath when he saw the purple-and-green bruise as big as his hand that covered her left hip. “God, Baby, that has to hurt.”
“Not as much as a gunshot wound,” she scoffed. “What hurts more is that you’re not naked yet.”
“I don’t think making love is such a good idea right now.”
Did I just say that?
“I can’t believe you just said that. Damn right we’re going to make love. You’re in the military. Do your duty. I flew in from Washington D.C. for you. I order you to make love to me.”
Leo laughed. “You’re a nut.”
“A very needy nut. Seriously, get out of your clothes and come closer. I need you.”
He took another look at her hip. They were going to have to go about this very carefully. There was no way in hell he was going to cause her any pain.
“Leo?” her voice was soft. “Please?”
Aw, shit.
He sat down on the bed and traced a finger along her jaw,
