Her Dominant SEAL(76)

“But he always arrives early.”

A horn honked, and Piper shot off the floor. “See, I told you. He’s here!”

“He’s here,” Karen said to an empty kitchen. She was just as happy, but that level of enthusiasm would be spent in Drake’s arms tonight. Thank God they would now be living together in San Diego. This time apart while she and Piper finished out the school year in Tennessee had been hell. Necessary, but hell.

Okay, so they hadn’t spent that much time apart. Between the trials for his parents, and her going out to California to apply for jobs and look for a house, they’d been together a great deal. Apparently enough to get the job done, she thought wryly as she touched her now currently flat abdomen.

As much as she’d liked living in Tennessee, she was happy this new part of her life would take place in California, away from where his parents would be incarcerated for the next twenty years. Even the land had been sold and put into a trust for Piper. She knew that if Drake and she had their way, all of the Avery sisters would be moving to California before all was said and done.

It had been good to meet all of the people in Drake’s life. They were wonderful. She was amazed to realize she actually liked every one of his teammate's significant others, what were the odds of that happening? But she had to admit, she had a soft spot for Rylie and her little brother Georgie. She’d taken some special training in school about autism, and she hoped she might be able to be of help to the little guy.

Sophia had been wonderful in helping her cope with the two times Drake had gone out on missions with the team. She had called and commiserated with Karen. The woman was a doll. Karen realized that those times he had been ‘out of pocket’ reminded her of the times spent waiting in the Chalet when he and his team had gone out to confront Huey, Harmon, and his dad. Knowing how capable Drake and his friends were...well, it made it easier.

“Where’s my soon-to-be-wife?” Drake roared as he came in through the front door. She heard Piper giggle.

“I’m in here.”

As soon as he saw her amid the boxes, she lifted her hands and said, “I haven’t been lifting, honest.”

He drew her up off the floor and into his arms.

“Piper, I think I hear Trenda calling you,” Drake said right before his lips touched Karen’s. She thought she heard the front screen door slam, but who knew? He was consuming her. His kiss was an onslaught of need, want, and love.

He carried her into the bedroom and shut the door and locked it.

“My smart fiancée left the bed still made.”

“I knew the movers wouldn’t be here until four, and you would be here at nine thirty. I made a command decision,” she said as he lowered her onto the sheets.

It had been six weeks since they’d seen each other, and it felt like six years, despite the phone calls and SKYPE sessions. Karen still couldn’t believe she’d had phone sex. The things this man made her do.

“What’s that smile for?” he asked as he started to unbutton her sundress.

“You’re the corruptor, you know that, don’t you?”

“Because I got you to talk dirty? Come on, you ended up liking it.” He grinned.

Oh, it was so sad. He was right, she had.

He finished unbuttoning her dress.

“This is a new bra. I like it,” he said as he reached around to unfasten it. It amazed her that he noticed things like that. Now that she was his, he seemed to have gotten a laser focus. Oh shit. She struggled to sit up.

“Karen, are you okay?” He was staring down at her breasts. She was so busted.

“There was this one little thing I meant to tell you.”

He stroked her tender breasts gently.

She tried to gather up the flaps of her dress, but he was having none of it.

“So, tell me what you were going to tell me,” he said softly, his eyes moving between her swollen breasts and her shimmering eyes.

“We might have put the cart before the horse,” she said tremulously. Then her chin firmed. “And you weren’t supposed to notice. I had a whole plan for how I was going to tell you.” She hit his chest.

“Honey, now that you’re mine, nothing about you is ever going to escape my notice. You’re my world.”

“Your world is expanding.”

He hurriedly unbuttoned the rest of her dress, looking for other signs of her pregnancy. He bent down and kissed her stomach, tears bathing her flesh.

“You kill me, Karen.”

“So, you’re happy? Are you in it with me? Or am I flying solo?”

He let out a huge laugh. “I’m going to be paying for that for the rest of my life, aren’t I?”