Code Name: Nina's Choice (Warrior's Challenge) (19 page)

“Here. Here.” Everyone
chimed in.

“I have a couple of
announcements I’d like to make.”

Everyone waited,
looking up
at the leader of their pack.

Ghost hooked his hands
in his jean pockets. “I’d like you men to join me on a mission tomorrow.” The
guys brows furrowed and they exchanged looks.
“You too, Mace.
Ed, you’re part of this team now. I
could use you too.” Ghost st
raightened his shoulders.
“I need you in your dress uniforms tomorrow morning.
Zero–nine-hundred hours at Kayla’s condo.”

What the hell was
Ghost up to? Nina wondered.

“What’s up, Captain?”
Fox asked.

He cleared his throat,
and gave a short chuckle,
passing a hand through his
sun-bleached hair. “Tomorrow morning I’m taking a last non-negotiable stand.
I’m going to ask that beautiful Canadian woman who’s driven me crazy from the
second I met her, to marry me.” He rushed the words out and exhaled. “I’m
not taking no for an answer. So if she doesn’t want to be
civilized about it, get ready for a quick trip to Vegas.”

“Hooyah, ’bout time,”
Fox shouted and raised his beer.

“I know we’re cutting
it close. My son is going to have my last name, and I want to s
pend the rest of my life with his mother.”

A huge smile split
Nina’s face. Kayla was done like dinner because the resolve in Ghost’s eyes was
of utmost determination.

He raised his hand.
“There’s one other thing.” He shot a look at Cobbs and Cobbs nodded a
t him. “I’ve been promoted.”

The cheering stopped
and the guys looked at each other, thunderstruck.

“Tomorrow afternoon I
will be handing over my command to Captain Harrington and assuming the position
in charge of the West Coast Chain.”

Nina saw the split
emotion on all their faces, joy for his success, but also
concern. Ghost would not be going into battle with them anymore. Nina knew
instantly he had done this for Kayla.

“There was another
vacancy, the secondary position supporting my new office.” He tur
ned his gaze toward Cobbs. “Lieutenant Cobbs has accepted
that position and will be promoted to Commander.” Marg slowly rose to her feet.
Stunned.
Her head jerked and it looked like
she’d crossed the finish line of a marathon race.

“What?” she whispered.

C
obbs drew her to his chest. “No more missions, sweetheart.
We’re moving to Hawaii with Ghost and Kayla, if the woman decides to marry the
hardass. I’ve got my doubts, but he seems to think she’s going to cave.”

Marg flung her arms
around her husband, tears
rolling down her cheeks in
relief.

Lieutenant Cobbs’
silver eyes set on his wife and he brushed her tears away. “Marg, you’ve held
the command post at home for too long. I wasn’t there for Rayanne and Cindy. I
don’t want to repeat that with Kelsey.” He le
aned
back. “What
d’ya think
? Can ya stand me coming home every
night?”

Marg pounced on his
lips, and he lifted her in the air, and then set her on her feet again.

“Wow,” Mace uttered
and rose, extending his hand.
“Captain,
congratulations.”

Ghost clapped M
ace on the shoulder as he shook his hand. The two men
didn’t say anything, but they shared a look. The look brothers share when they
know life is about to change course and you can’t stand in its way.

Mace walked into the
house after congratulating his lie
utenant, and Nina
followed warily. “Are you okay, Mace?” she asked, stepping up to him.

Mace nodded, staring
out the front window.

“You’re all going to
miss him, both of them.” Nina rested a hand on his shoulder. “He’s doing it for
Kayla, isn’t he?”

“I thi
nk so. He needs her just as much as she needs him.” He
shook his head. “I’m happy for him, but at the same time I feel like I’m losing
an older brother. He’s been there for me since I became a SEAL. Hard but fair,
he’s taught me a lot. He let me make mista
kes and
then made sure I never made them again.”

Mace’s jaw tensed and
Nina could tell this was really biting at Mace’s core. She felt the wind move
behind her, and she shot a look to see Ghost standing behind them. He lived up
to his name.

“I don’t think
I’ll ever know a man like Ghost again.”

“You’re right about
that,” Ghost said. When Mace turned, Ghost nodded and looked to the floor. “I
feel the same way about you, Mace. Of all the men who have served with me,
three men have impacted my life. Captain Re
dding
taught me how to be a warrior. Patrick Cobbs taught me never to give in. And
you, Mace, you never lost sight of being compassionate. You never let your
humanity stray. I know I lost mine for a while, but…your humanity has been
enough to carry the ent
ire squad. Your loyalty to me
and to your team members never faltered, and it has been my honor to serve with
you.”

Ghost and Mace gazed
at one another. Nina knew she was witnessing one of those moments in life that
would never be repeated again. These two
men had
molded a relationship cured by trial and fire. Warfare and loyalty cemented a
union that would never break. You could only earn that with a brother in arms,
layer by layer.

“You’re right, I do
need Kayla. I want to watch my son grow up.” He sighed
.
“I want that damn woman to be my wife.”

Nina covered a laugh.
“You’re sure you’re not going to end up killing each other?”

“My money’s on Kayla,”
Mace said, showing a grin.

Ghost’s blue eyes
sparked. “Think you’re right, Mace.” He paused. “Listen, I’m go
ing to be around for a little while longer, but then I’m
reporting to Hawaii. Kayla will be here until we can arrange the move, and I
would be thankful if you’d watch out for her.”

“You know I will,
sir.”

“Is this lovefest
gonna end soon so we can have
some dessert?” Tinman
asked, leaning against the kitchen counter.

Kelsey sprinted in the
door and tugged on Tinman’s shorts.

“What’s up,
shortstop?” he asked, looking down at her.

“Mom said you’d get me
some dessert, Uncle Tony.” Her big blue eyes gazed up
at him and she added a pearly smile that harkened to outdo her mother’s one
day.

“I’ll cut the cake and
you can stick your finger in your dad’s piece, okay?”

Kelsey giggled.
“’Kay.”

Nina growled. “Remind
me never to let Tony babysit.”

Mace gripped her
hips and leaned his chin on her shoulder. “Let’s feed these
people and get them the hell out of here,” he whispered in her ear. He kissed
her skin just below her hairline and she shivered. “Think we need to christen
the bedroom. If you’re not going to let
me move in,
at least let me make your first night memorable.”

Ghost’s jaw squared
off as he overheard Mace. He maneuvered around the boxes cluttering the floor
and joined Tony in the kitchen. With a quick sweep he scooped up Kelsey and
threw her over his s
houlder, tickling her. She
screeched, making Tony squint, and he hurriedly pulled the plates, carved the
cake, and hit the door with four servings balanced in his arms in record
extraction time.

* * * *

Nina woke with a
start. She sat up in bed and reach
ed for the phone.
“Hello?”

“She said yes,” Mace
crowed.

Nina laughed out loud.
“That’s great. I have to call her.”

“I’d give it an
hour,
we just left after having breakfast.
Think the Captain and Kayla are a little preoccupied.
You still in bed?”

“Affirmat
ive,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “Guess I
was tired.”

“Stay there, I’ll be
right over.”

“Mace, I have to get
up and start unloading these boxes.”

“Have a shower and
we’ll go out for breakfast.”

“You already had
breakfast,” she said, kicking
the sheets away and
rolling to a sitting position on the side of the bed.

“I need two
breakfasts, pancakes and my sweet Nina on top.”

She laughed. “Fine,
but we’ll make it quick.”

The day started off
with an optimistic ray of good things to come, and it e
nded with one new member added to the Alpha Squad family.

“Look at him,” Nina
said as Mace wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The whole squad stared
through the hospital nursery’s glass window.

“He’s already famous,”
Tadpole said.

“No kidding,” Stitch
ag
reed, standing next to his wife, Naomi.

“Adam Herbert Austen,”
Ditz muttered. “The kid is as big as his dad already.”

They all chuckled.
“Herbert,” Mace laughed. “I am so holding that against him.”

Ghost was in the
nursery and he picked up Adam and brought him to the glass.
“Holy shit, that’s one big baby,” Kate
said.

Nina had hoped Kayla
would ask her to be in the room when Adam came into the world, but like a true
SEAL pup, he came into it while Ca
ptain Austen was
handing over his command in front of three hundred or so onlookers.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
Nina tapped the glass. “I’m your Aunt
Nina.”

“How’s Kayla?” Marg
asked.

“She’s good,” Nina
said, seeing Kayla and Ghost’s little boy staring up at his f
ather. That didn’t happen often with a newborn.

“We need to plan a
shower,” Marg said, looking at the girls.

“Definitely,” Shelly,
Ditz’s wife, agreed.

“Pat, you need to get
Ghost out of here. He’s practically standing guard over his son,” Marg ordered.

Lieutenant Cobbs
chuckled, but didn’t take his eyes off of Adam. “I never thought I’d see this
day. We’re all home, and it’s been one helluva year so far, but if this is the
end note, then it’s a good one.”

“Hooyah,” Mace said,
and the other guys chimed in
.

Ghost watched them,
and he read their lips and grinned. “One helluva year,” he said and looked down
at his son, protected in his arms.

Nina felt tears sting
the back of her throat. Becoming a mother was the most incredible thing in the
world. Seeing Adam
brought those first moments back
to her and she smiled at Mace.

He released a slow
breath and gazed into her eyes. “I love you, Nina.” Mace’s arms swarmed around
her. “You—want another baby, don’t you?” he whispered. “I think we need to make
that happen.”
He kissed her hard and she melted in
his embrace.

Tony growled behind
them. “You have babies here, you don’t make ’em here.”

The guys laughed and
Ghost gave Mace a thumbs-up from the other side of the glass.

“We all need a drink,”
Lieutenant Cobbs said. “
Ghost, get your god damn ass
out here.” Cobbs tapped on the glass to attract his attention. “Now, SEAL.”

Chapter Twelve

“So the date’s
December seventh,” Mace confirmed over his shoulder sitting on the couch.
“Figures Ghost and Snow White would pick
the day the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Hope Hawaii can withstand a second attack with
both of them living there.”

Tony and Nina chuckled
at the thought.

Nina put the last
plate from dinner in the dishwasher. “You heroes better not be deployed on some
m
ission halfway around the world. Kayla would shit a
brick if you weren’t there for the wedding.”

Tony kicked back in
the leather chair with a smile only a man with a full belly can achieve. “No
promises, Ninja Girl. Duty calls.”

“Knowing Kayla, she’d
be
calling the President demanding your return.”

“We start workups
again in the beginning of December,” Tony announced.

Nina wandered in with
two beers and handed them each one. Her long red curls fell around her
shoulders when she leaned over. Mace’s eyes to
ok
their time wandering up her sleek legs ending at tiny shorts. She didn’t shy
away from his gaze. Nina had no hang-ups when it came to her body. She snuggled
into his side, and he palmed her soft skin, slowly trailing a hand down her
thigh.

Touching her
always made his passion simmer to life. They’d done
everything possible to stimulate him to a full erection. The doc said it was
all in his head, but the only thing in his head was how he wanted to be inside
the woman he loved. Gabbs would be arriving in a
couple days, and their lives would be focused on her.

He circled Nina’s knee
with the tip of his finger, lost in past memories. When he’d made love to her
on the beach for the first time it had blown his mind. She was wild, erotic and
submissive. Their bo
dies spoke to one another, and
his mind released its grip on sanity and abandoned itself to basic instinct.
The moment had imprinted itself in his soul. Each stroke had pulled him closer
to climax, and lured him into a depth of her he didn’t want to give u
p.

Nina’s fingers curled
around his, and pulled him from his reverie. His gaze slowly rose, but lingered
on her breasts seeing her nipples harden. He turned to look at his best friend.
Tony watched them. More so, he watched his hand touch Nina, and what it
did to her.

The windows were open
and the warm sultry night air wafted in with a flutter against the sheers he’d
helped Nina hang. Music played in the background, and they’d had a few drinks.
Life wasn’t perfect, but it was good.

Tony reached a hand
out t
o her. “Come here, Nina.”

Her gaze swayed to
Tony, and she took a deep breath before she obeyed and walked over to him. He
drew her onto his lap, adjusting her so she’d face him. His hands caressed her
shoulders with a light touch, following the curve of h
er
collar bone, sending a shiver through her.

Mace didn’t move a
muscle, still as marble with his eyes pinned to them. What the hell was Tony
doing? The bulge in his pants receded, while part of him began to seethe.

“I saw the look in
your eyes the other d
ay at the hospital, Nina.” He
coiled his finger through a strand of red hair. “You want another baby, don’t
you?” Tony landed a hard gaze on him. “How are you going to do that, man?”

Mace relaxed and shook
his head, realizing this was Tony being Tony. He w
as
being an idiot thinking his best friend was getting too close to Nina. “I don’t
know. There’s other ways, I guess.” A flash of heat ignited in his gut when
Tony’s finger trailed down Nina’s arm with a sensual sweep. He paused. Did he
just see that?

“I’d
think the natural way would be preferred.” Tinman’s head
swayed “You are one lucky son of a bitch,” he breathed.

He couldn’t explain
why, but the need in Tinman’s expression affected him, and not in a good way as
Tony’s finger circled her navel, brushing her skin with a gentle touch.

“Stand up, Nina.”
Tinman’s gaze rained down her body, and his lids shuttered when h
er sleek frame rose.

Tinman hadn’t had that
much to drink, but he was acting like it.
Stunned, Mace watched Tony rise out of the chair and press
his chest against Nina’s back. His hands slid across her hips and then under
her shirt. What the hell? “What th
e fuck are you
doing?”

Tony threw a lazy look
in his direction. “You’re still having problems south of the equator, aren’t
you?” Tony’s hands drew up Nina’s shirt, and pulled it over her head. “Maybe a
surrogate donor could help.”

“What?” he barked
back. “
Are you fucking crazy?”

“Maybe you need to
think outside the box, buddy.”

“You’re gonna end up—”
Too late. Tony’s palms caressed the underside of Nina’s breasts and then he
palmed them. “Dead,” he finished. Anger sliced like a red-hot blade through
him. He
launched himself from the couch and snagged
Nina’s arm, pulling her away. “What the hell is the matter with you?” Tony
stared blankly, only his Adam’s apple bounced with a hard swallow. His jaw
slackened with shock when Tony wound his arm around Nina’s mi
ddle and pulled her back against him.

“This woman needs to
be loved. I’ll admit I’ve thought about it a hundred times.” He bent his head
and brushed his lips against her ear. “I can’t help it, but my cock gets
rock-hard thinking about it. When I fuck other
women,
I only see you. I’ve kept it buried, but I don’t want to anymore.”

Nina shivered again in
Tony’s arms, but this time it looked as if she was actually turned on. Tony’s
hazel eyes drilled him with a serious fire burning in them. “Have you lost it,
m
an?”

“The three of us are
close. There’s nothing stopping us from getting closer. Maybe I’m a dick for
telling you what I want, but you shouldn’t knock it until you try it.”

An elevator bursting
with an overload of shock hit the basement in Mace’s guts. “Y
ou want me?”

Tony’s laugh echoed in
the room. “No man, I just want to make Nina come apart in my arms. I want us
both to make her feel good. I know you’re a straight shooter and so am I, but
— ”
Tony hooked his fingers on the band of
Nina’s shorts and twirl
ed his thumb around the button
,
releasing it without breaking eye contact.

Mace’s fists cramped
so tight the skin on his knuckles almost split. Nina didn’t object when Tony’s
hand slid down her taut, flat stomach and into her shorts. When Tony’s fingers
re
ached her sex, her breath came out in a long, slow
release. A man—correction, a SEAL—could contain any emotion, but when Tony
moaned feeling what could only be her moisture he lunged forward, tearing Nina
from Tony’s hold.
“Get.
The.
Fuck.
Out.”

Tony took
a step back and raised his hands. Mace cranked Nina around.
“Is this what you want too? Do you want him?”

Her eyes rounded. “I
only want my warrior.”

“Is that me or not?”
he shouted at her. Tony had worked his way to the door. He scooped up his coat,
then
stalled.
“Son-of-bitch, if I walk over there, I swear I’ll fucking kill you.”

A flicker of remorse
settled in Tony’s gaze. Without another word, he turned his back and the door
closed quietly behind him.

“Nina!”

“Is it wrong to want
that?” she whispered.

“Not for some people,
but I should be enough for you. I am enough for you,” he said, the anger inside
him flaring like an inferno.

“Maybe we need him.
Once.”

He gripped her chin
roughly. “I don’t need Tinman to show me how to love you. I can fuck you hard
enough to see stars, woman.”

She swatted his hand
away. “You can’t or you don’t want to,” her voice angry. “You’ve given up!”

“Bullshit,” he yelled
and grabbed her, dragged her down the hallway and threw her on the bed. His
entire body vibrated with adre
naline, just like
before a battle. He could lose his life in warfare, but he could not lose the
battle to his stubborn mind. It resisted like a prisoner of war. He would not
let this destroy their relationship nor allow someone else to walk in and take
wha
t was his. He wrenched her legs apart and leaned
over her, brushing the strap of her bra and exposing her breasts. With his
target in sight, he clamped his mouth onto her nipple and sucked deeply. Nina
yelped and arched at the same time. Mace moved off the
bed and tore off his clothes. Boots went flying without benefit of being
untied,
his shirt landed on the bedside
lampshade, his pants, shorts and socks a heap on the floor. Quick and efficient
as only a SEAL can be, he then attacked her remaining garments
. Her shorts were flung across the room and with a quick
pull he tore her panties from her hips. “You want to be fucked hard, babe?”
Nina clenched the sheets above her head, her siren eyes never leaving his. The
fire in his veins burned hot. His hand snake
d out and
wrapped around her waist, snapping her to his body. “You belong to me.”

Mace heaved her onto
his lap, pulling her back taut to his chest, draping one beautiful leg across
each of his thighs. Her hand pressed his shaft against her wetness,
stroking him. His heart thudded so hard he could barely
breathe.

He twined his biceps
around Nina’s upper arms and his hands roamed down her flat stomach to the
moisture between her thighs. The patient man of honor was set adrift, and he
pressed his mouth
against the skin of her shoulder
and bit her. Nina’s nipples grew hard and her ass ground against him as his
fingers brushed her bundle of nerves. He circled the tip of her nipple with the
pad of his thumb and then pinched it, eliciting another groan from
her.

With an easy swing he
had her on her back and planted a hard kiss on her mouth.
“It’s time for makeup sex, babe.”

His thumb slowly slid
from her throat down the center of Nina’s body, his palm resting for a second
against her flat stomach. With a wet
tongue he
circled her breast and sucked. His thumb moved down to her mons, and he
hesitated while he flicked the tip of her nipple.

Nina hissed out a
breath. “Don’t tease me.”

“I’ll do what I
fucking want with you,” he growled back.
With
a slow, seductive
arc, he thumbed her nub,
then
palmed her sex. “You are dripping wet,
Nina.”
She
rotated her hips, transferring her
moisture to his inflamed head on an erection as hard as granite. Lowering
himself, he kissed the tender skin of her inner thigh. Nina squirm
ed as his lips neared her needy nub. He paused, and
her
breath came in impatient pants. Her stomach muscles flexed
anticipating his mouth. With the lightest brush, the tip of his tongue twirled
around her firm bundle of nerves and she bucked hard. It was l
ike someone flicked a switch inside him, and he grabbed his
cock and pumped it.

Drawing a sensual line
along her slit,
then
flattening his tongue, he tracked back
and forth with a tempo that made her tense and shiver with every pass. Passion
took the reins
from his anger and his mouth sucked on
her sex like he was French kissing her.

Nina’s body went rigid
against him and he circled the entry to her channel, dipping the tip of his
tongue inside her. Nina moaned her pleasure. “Baby, do you wanna cum?”

She no
dded and let out a stuttered breath. “Oh God, that feels
good.” She trembled with restraint.

Mace tightened his
grip on her thighs, spreading them wide. “I want to be so god damn deep in you
I can’t find my way out.” He cracked the nightstand drawer and pu
lled out a couple condoms, tearing one open and rolling it
over his erection. Moonlight strayed in the window
,
illuminating the pure, honest desire in her eyes. His lips
crashed against Nina’s. With a thrust of his hips, his erection penetrated deep
into h
er channel. “Nina.” A low growl of pleasure
escaped his throat. His head rolled back, their only contact his thick shaft
surging into her as he tried to control his instincts, building the fire to
blistering levels.