Epilogue
“Can I ask you something?” Macie said.
Colt chuckled and tightened his arm around his wife’s waist. They were lying naked and replete in each others’ arms. They were on their honeymoon in a fancy resort in the Caribbean.
It had cost an arm and a leg to rent the room right on the water, but it had been worth every penny when he’d seen how relieved Macie had been.
At six months pregnant, he thought she was the most beautiful woman alive, but she wasn’t quite ready to parade around the public beaches with her baby belly.
“I keep telling you that you don’t ever have to ask me if it’s okay to ask me anything. You can just ask,” Colt told her, grinning.
She twirled her finger around one of his nipples, and Colt forced himself to pay attention to what she was saying instead of throwing her on her back and fucking her again.
Macie had gotten pregnant almost as soon as they’d begun trying.
She’d been knocked up so quickly, he hadn’t even officially asked her to marry him.
He’d rectified that immediately, and the same night she’d said yes, he’d called Truck and told him to clear his schedule because as soon as they could get an appointment, they were getting married by a justice of the peace.
Colt knew without asking that Macie would hate a big wedding. She’d hate to have all those people staring at her and she’d worry herself to death over every little detail. So the small ceremony at the courthouse suited him just fine.
That didn’t prevent the wives of the men under his command from throwing them a big-ass party. Colt had been relieved that Macie didn’t seem to mind, and in fact had the time of her life that night.
“Mary told me about that one mission you went on, and you explained what happened…but I heard her talking with Casey later and she said something else about you.”
Colt didn’t even tense at the reminder of that day so long ago.
Macie didn’t love him any less as a result, and he’d finally come to terms with it himself.
Gris and his family had shown up at their wedding party as a surprise.
Truck had found out about the man and had called to invite him.
It was so good to see his friend so happy and settled, it helped with any remaining guilt Colt felt about what had happened all those years ago.
“What’d she say, hon?” Colt asked.
“She was asking Casey if she should tell me about a time when you refused to allow one of the soldiers in your unit to leave when his baby was born.”
Colt knew exactly what she was talking about. “Mary’s right. I did do that.”
“Why?”
Colt smiled. He loved that Macie didn’t get huffy with him or tell him he was coldhearted. She always gave people the benefit of the doubt. It was one of the million and two things he loved about her.
“The soldier in question was married at the time, and the woman having his baby wasn’t his wife.
He had been cheating on his wife for months.
My hands were tied. Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, adultery is unacceptable conduct and a soldier can be demoted as a result.
This guy wasn’t legally separated, and he didn’t give a shit who knew about this other woman.
Not only that, but the other woman knew he was married, and apparently she didn’t care either.
“I refused to let the soldier take leave because I knew he was going to lie to his wife about where he was going and why. Not only did I not let him go, I did my best to push for a court-martial as well.”
“Wow. Did he get kicked out of the Army?” Macie asked, coming up on an elbow so she could look at his face.
Colt shook his head. “No. He was demoted to private, but he was allowed to stay. Those are the kinds of soldier I hate. They aren’t in the armed forces to serve their country.
I don’t mind the men and women who join for college money, or because they need to support their family, or even because they have no idea what to do with their lives.
But I hate the ones who’re trying to milk every penny they can out of the government.
They’re often cowards or bullies, and are part of the reason why I jumped at the chance to command the Delta Force units here in Texas. ”
Macie put her head back down on his shoulder.
“Any more questions?”
She shook her head. “No. And for the record, I knew you had to have a good reason. It’s just not in you to be an ass for the sake of being an ass.”
Colt chuckled. “I can definitely be an ass,” he told her. “Just ask your brother.”
Macie shook her head. “No. That’s different. You were doing so to help them become better soldiers.”
“He told you stories then, huh?” Colt asked.
He felt Macie smile against him.
“Yeah. I heard some stuff,” she agreed.
“You and Truck are good, right?”
Macie nodded. “Yeah. It was tough to talk to him, but I told him all about my baby and what our parents did. He was pissed, like you were, but he didn’t judge me like I thought he would. It’s good to have him back in my life,” she admitted.
“I know he feels the same way,” Colt reassured her.
They didn’t say anything for a while, just listened to the sound of the waves on the beach outside the screen door of their room.
“I’m worried about Trigger and the others,” she eventually said.
“Why?”
“Because they’re lonely.”
“What? Why do you think that?”
“I can just tell,” Macie said.
“I’m sure when the time is right, the right woman will come along for each of them,” Colt reassured his wife.
“But what if they’re not looking for her? She could be right under their noses and they wouldn’t even know it. They’d overlook her, then possibly be lonely for the rest of their lives.”
Colt held back the chuckle that threatened.
The hormones coursing through Macie’s body were making her extra emotional about everything lately.
He loved that she was worried about his men, but knew they’d laugh their asses off if they heard her assessment of their love lives.
“They’ll know her when they see her,” he told her.
“Hmmm,” she mumbled, obviously not convinced.
Making a mental note to warn Trigger that his wife was on a mission to see him and the rest of the men on his team happily settled down, Colt decided to get her attention off of them and back on him.
He shifted until he was braced over Macie and kissed his way down her body. He spent a lot of time kissing and caressing her beautiful baby belly, and muttering words of love to their daughter nestled within, then continued until he was between her legs.
“Again?” she mock complained.
“Again,” Colt confirmed as he lowered his head. He knew Macie loved this, almost more than any other way he made love to her, and he was determined to make sure she loved every second of their honeymoon.
He’d do anything for his wife. Move heaven and Earth to make her happy and content. He might’ve saved her from her ex, but she’d more than paid that back to him tenfold. He was happier than he’d ever been in his life and had never looked forward to the future more than he did now.
Life was good. He held the proof in his hands.
Trigger and the rest of his team get their happy-ever-afters for sure!
You can read The Delta Team Two series featuring the same kind of protective alpha men and strong women you’ve come to know and love, starting with Shielding Gillian .