To Dare a SEAL (Sin City SEALs) (16 page)

“Natalie, the silk ties aren’t the fantasy.” He picked them up and set the ties aside as he moved to the edge of the bed. He sat with his feet planted on the floor. He reached forward and grabbed ahold of her hands. “You are.”

“Jack, from the beginning you’ve talked about tying me up.”

“Because I wanted to turn you on. Because I wanted you,” he said firmly. “Natalie, you’re the fantasy. I’m not here, asking for a chance to be a part of your life, to love you and be loved in return because I’m looking for kinky sex. If that is what you want, and you trust me enough to enjoy it, then hell yeah, I’m in. But if you just want to hear that story over and over while those ties gather dust bunnies under the bed, that works for me, too.”

She pulled his hands and stepped back. He stood and allowed her to press her body up against his. Closing her eyes, still holding his hands, she rested her head against his chest.

“What if you don’t come back?” she whispered. “What if your fantasy collects dust bunnies because you never returned to claim it?”

He released her hands and his arms banded around her. She felt one hand running down her back, a gentle, reassuring caress. She wanted to believe in him, in their future.

“You can be scared,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s how our story ends, Natalie. I’m not leaving behind the woman I love without a fight. And you know, I’m looking forward to the day when you say, ‘Tie me up in the back room of the bar, Jack.’ That’s a pretty damn good incentive to stay alive.”

Even the best training wouldn’t guarantee protection against an IED. And she knew the bad guys carried powerful weapons. What if he was sent into an ISIS stronghold to rescue a hostage?

She lived with these fears every time Cade deployed. But thinking about Jack out there? Not knowing if he’d have a tomorrow?

Except he lived with that same fear but faced it every time he went on a mission. She’d honor him, then, and lift him up with her love. Let him fight for what mattered and know that he had the strength of her love waiting for him back home.

“I dare you to come back.” She wrapped her arms around him, holding tight to her charming SEAL. “Because one day, I’m going to dare you to use those black silk ties. And so much more, Jack. So much more.”

Epilogue

Iraq, Three Months Later

Dear Natalie,

I might not have a chance to write over the next couple of days. I can’t say more than that, but I promise to stay safe. Cade, Dante, Ronan, and the rest of the team have my back. I’m coming home to you, darlin’. And we’re taking that vacation you keep talking about and going down to Texas. I want you to meet my mom. And yeah, I’m looking forward to watching you take on Colton again.

But until I’m back, I wanted to leave you with another story to read late at night when you’re alone. And shit, the thought of you in your bed, your fingers between your legs… I’m hard right now just thinking about you.

So here it goes, fantasy number—hell, I forget. Twenty? Thirty? I can’t remember how many I’ve mailed out since I left Coronado. But you can thank me when I get back. No pen and paper needed.

How to Fuck a Princess: Part Twenty or Maybe Thirty in a Never-ending Series

Once upon a time, at the end of a long bartending shift, the princess locked up and headed for her car. As she walked through the parking lot, she could feel someone watching her. She moved to the trunk of her car, unlocked it, and reached inside.

Her silent spectator abandoned the shadows. She recognized him. She’d been waiting for this man.

“Spread your legs,” he ordered. “And keep your hands on the floor of the trunk.”

She obeyed. And he moved behind her, reaching for the hem of her short, tight skirt. (You do own one of those, don’t you darlin’?)

“Don’t move,” he said as he stepped back to admire the view under the full moon. He’d looked up at that moon, thinking about her and dreaming about this moment for so long. Now, her white thong caught the light, begging to be pulled down her perfect legs.

And while he was down there, he would steal a taste—

“Jack?”

He looked up from the legal pad as Ronan walked into the team’s makeshift base. Dante followed at his heels, heading straight for Jack’s folding table.

Jack carefully rested his forearms over his words.

“What the hell man?” Ronan demanded. “Working on your novel again?”

“A letter to Natalie,” he said. As his teammates damn well knew. He wrote to her every chance he got, sometimes two or three letters at a time to cover the days he couldn’t sit down with a pen and paper.

“You know,” Dante said. “There’s this thing called email. Saves the cost of postage and she can read it right away on her phone.”

But she couldn’t hold it in her hands. Not that she needed a physical letter to get off—which he hoped like hell she did once in a while, picturing the scenes he’d spelled out. But a letter offered tangible proof that he was still alive and fantasizing about her.

“You’re going to have to finish another time,” Ronan said, his tone packing an overdose of grim. “We just received a go order. Time to get those hostages out of there and take them home.”

N
atalie stood behind the bar and sifted through the mail. In a few minutes, she’d unlock the front door and start her shift. But first, she had to find it, the envelope from someplace far, far away. Somewhere, buried between the bills and junk mail, was another letter. One arrived almost every day. Some days, she got two.

Her phone vibrated beside the pile of useless mail. She picked it up and scanned the name on the screen.

Prince Charming.

“Jack?” she said, answering the call and pressing the phone to her ear.

“Hi, Natalie.”

Her knees gave out and she sank to the floor behind her bar, blocking out everything but the sound of his voice.

“Jack, where are you?” Stupid question. He couldn’t answer that. And she might lose their connection any second. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “And I’m home. In fact, I’m—”

“Home? In Coronado?” she demanded, pushing herself off the barroom floor.

“I’m right outside your door.”

She heard a knock on the locked door to the bar. Tossing her phone aside, she rushed to open it.

“Jack,” she cried, flinging herself into his arms. She held tight, pressing her body up against him, unwilling to pull back far enough to kiss him. Right now, she just needed to hear his heart beating in his chest.

“You did it,” she whispered against his T-shirt. “You stayed alive.”

And he’d come back to her. He’d kept his promise.

“We did a helluva lot better than that,” he said, running one hand through her hair while the other pressed against her back as if he needed to keep her close. “We pulled out three American hostages. Aid workers kidnapped in Iraq.”

“Wait.” She looked up at him. “You’re not allowed to tell me.”

“You’ll hear about it on the news tonight.” He lowered his lips to hers and stole a quick kiss. “Maybe tomorrow. They won’t identify my team by name. But the reports will mention SEALs. They’ll probably talk about how one of the team—Dante—got hurt during the rescue. He’ll be all right. Just sidelined while he heals.”

And just like that it was over. He was here, in her arms. Three hostages had a chance at a future because of him. And Jack was here. In her bar…

“Don’t move,” she ordered, pulling free from his arms.

He laughed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He followed her to the bar, waiting on the customers’ side as she slipped behind it and retrieved her bag. She opened it and riffled through the file folder she carried with her everywhere until she found the piece of paper she was looking for. She scanned the words, confirming that this was the correct fantasy.

Black silk ties…the stainless steel table…her arms bound…

She stood, reached across the bar, and handed him the very first letter he’d sent her—a written account of their first bedtime story from the motel on the way to her sister’s wedding.

“I’m ready, Jack. Take me into the back room and tie me up.”

“Natalie,” he said as heat and desire eclipsed all other emotions in his blue eyes.

“Take me. I’m ready. I trust you. Completely, I swear. With my body and with my heart, I trust you.” She took a step back toward the swinging door to the back room. But she kept her gaze locked with his. “The silk ties I bought in Vegas? They’re waiting for us.”

She took another step back and then another.

He glanced down at the letter in his hand. “You keep this with you?”

“I carry your fantasies with me everywhere I go.” Her back pressed up against the door. “And now, I’m ready to make this one a reality.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. Now, come with me, Prince Charming.” She offered him her best hand-over-your-boxers smile. “I dare you.”

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Acknowledgments

First, I owe my readers a huge thank you and probably a Facebook party. And at this party, everyone leaves with a prize! (You are all following me on Facebook right? It’s my favorite place to chat with readers.) I’ve dreamed about writing a Navy SEAL series for years. Thank you for making the publication of this series a dream come true!

Second, thank you to my wonderful agent, Jill Marsal for her endless support and brilliant feedback. I also owe the entire Entangled team, including my editor Heather Howland, a debt of gratitude. I know you work tirelessly behind the scenes to make each book a success. Thank you for everything you do!

I wrote Jack and Natalie’s story in long bursts of creative energy. And it was so much fun! While I was writing, my supportive husband took the kids. He allowed me to write for twenty-four hours straight (or more sometimes!) Thank you my love!

About the Author

Sara Jane Stone
lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her very supportive real-life hero, two lively young children, and a lazy Burmese cat. When she is not finger painting with the kids, she loves writing sexy stories, staying up past her bedtime reading red-hot romance, and chatting with her readers on Facebook.

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