Free Embattled SEAL by J. M. Madden Page B

I know I was gone a large part of our marriage and I worried about you getting bored.”
    She frowned. “I didn’t get bored, necessarily. I had the kids. But I needed something to fulfill the creative side of me.”
    Harper sat back in the chair and shifted his chest a little, looking like he was uncomfortable. “I always worried that you would find another man to take better care of you. You’re a good-looking woman and I wouldn’t have blamed you. The wife of a SEAL is not an easy job.”
    The quiet words held brutal honesty.
    “I wouldn’t have cheated on you. I had opportunities definitely, but that’s not the kind of person I am.”
    Harper smiled and looked down at his lap.
    “What?” she asked.
    His hard silver-grey eyes flicked up to her face, seeming to glow. “Is it wrong that I like knowing men wanted you?”
    Cat shook her head, laughing. “Really? I profess my commitment to our marriage and you get jacked knowing men were after me?”
    Harper made a face, looking sheepish. “What can I say? You’ve always turned me on but there’s something about having what another man wants that satisfies the competitive caveman in me.”
    By the pleasure curling in her stomach it apparently satisfied something in her as well. The desire she had banked all day returned.
    Cat played with her half empty water glass, swirling the base in the moisture on the table. “It always made me excited when I saw women looking at you as well,” she admitted. “But I worried when you weren’t around.”
    Harper narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, invading her personal space. “I never cheated. Ever. Were there opportunities? Of course. But I was never tempted. Most of the women that hit on me I couldn’t even stand to listen to.”
    Some knot of tangled emotion eased in her chest. Harper was a virile man. He had a healthy sex drive. When they’d been together they’d loved almost every day. But in the back of her mind had been the fear that he’d sated those drives with someone else. Tears smarted her eyes as the relief flowed through her. She looked down at her plate, unwilling to let him see.
    Hard fingers tilted her face up. Anger sparked in his silver eyes. “I would never cheat on you. I take my marriage vows seriously. I always have.”
    She nodded and a tear dripped down her cheek. “I know you have but a year and a half is a really long time. Longer than any of your deployments. I guess I kind of expected…well, I wouldn’t have blamed you if you had.”
    “But I would have blamed me and that’s not something I need on my conscience, not along with everything else,” he told her firmly. “Besides, I’ve never been drawn to anyone else since I met you. Did I tell you you look beautiful today? Because you do.”
    With that massive, easy strength of his he reached for the base of her chair and slid her around the table until she sat directly in front of him. Then, cupping her face, he kissed her.
    This time there was no awkwardness. Just calm, steady, sweet affection like they used to have. Cat wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand brushing the stubbly hair on the back of his head. With a little urging from his fingers she shifted into his lap, even as their lips stayed fused.
    Cat knew that sleeping with her husband right now could potentially muddy the situation they were in, but her body refused to listen. It had been so long since she’d been loved. So long since she’d been held. Her body ached with need for him.
    Harper stood with her in his arms, then set her on her feet. With one hand he tugged her along behind him to the bedroom she was using. Harper urged her down onto the bed but immediately covered her body with his own. There was a twinge on his face as he braced his body over top of hers until he shifted most of his weight to the right arm, smiling down at her. “You have about three seconds to tell me how bad of an idea this is, then I’m going to fuck you like I’ve been