Rescued by the SEAL (Black Ops)

“Probably about as fucking happy as I am to have found you relatively unharmed.” He freed the rest of my hair from the tape and tilted my head back to press his forehead against mine. “If I’d been even just a few minutes later, that bastard might’ve lost it and—”

I closed the gap between our mouths to stop whatever he’d been about to say. I only meant for it to be a quick brush of our lips, but Huntley took control and deepened the kiss. His tongue demanded entry to tangle with mine, stealing my breath until I forgot where we were. But when I tried to lift my hands to grip his shoulders, I let out a little disgruntled whimper because they were still tied and taped. “Fuck, sorry, gingersnap. You have the unique ability to make me lose my head.”

I was grinning like a loon while he went to work at releasing my ankles and wrists. If anyone had seen me, they probably would’ve wondered if being taken hostage and seeing three men die had made me lose touch with reality, but I couldn't help smiling at the realization of how much of an impact I had on Huntley. When I was finally free from all the tape, I heaved a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, gingersnap.” He stood and helped me to my feet since my legs were a bit wobbly. “I’ll always come for you because you’re mine. Nobody will ever take you away from me.”

Although I understood how the robbery could’ve changed his mind about the reasons he’d been trying to stay away from me, I was worried about how quick he’d moved from telling me we couldn’t date to calling me his. “That’s not just the adrenaline talking, right?”

“Not even close.” His lips curved into a rueful grin as he shook his head. “I’ve been in combat situations with bullets flying all around me, and I’ve never once felt the need to claim a woman as my own when it was all over. Only you, Cora. You make me feel things I’ve never experienced before.”

I flashed him a watery grin, overwhelmed in the very best way over how he was finally opening up. “It’s the same for me.”

“I’m sorry it took nearly losing you for me to pull my head out of my ass.” He pulled me against his chest, burying his face into the crook of my shoulder. “I was so fucking worried about what could go wrong when I was deployed and what that would do to you, I didn’t stop to think about the fact that danger can be close to home, too. That it could be me struggling with the idea of something happening to you. When I realized my only regret today was the time we lost because I didn’t make you mine sooner, that put it all into perspective for me.”

His heartfelt confession erased my doubts over the speed of his change of heart. “I had similar thoughts when I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it out of this warehouse alive.”

“Fuck,” he groaned as he held me tighter.

“Ahem.” Huntley moved so quickly that I was completely blocked from sight, and he had his rifle back in his hands before my brain registered that the police had arrived. It took hours—and a trip to the station in the back of five squad cars since they wanted to keep all of us separated—to answer all of their questions about the robbery, my time as a hostage, Jack killing his partner, and Jack’s death. They were ready to let me go much sooner than Huntley, but I refused to leave without him. Not when I was the reason he was being interrogated in the first place. If the cops had decided to arrest him, I wanted to be there. Luckily, it hadn’t come down to that because the prosecutor agreed with the detectives about it being a clear-cut case of self-defense since my statement made it obvious that Jack was getting ready to attack.

When we walked out of the police station, Huntley’s SUV was parked at the front curb. The guys who’d come with him to rescue me were leaning against the side of the vehicle, and a big black pickup truck idled behind them with a man I didn’t recognize at the wheel. Huntley lifted his chin in greeting toward him before leading me toward the group by his SUV. He shook each guy’s hand before tucking me against his side. “Things went FUBAR before there was a chance for introductions. Cora, these are a few of my buddies, Cash, Stirling, and Deacon.”

“Nice to meet you all.” I flashed the men a watery smile before pressing my hand over my heart. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me tonight.”