SEAL Protected by Rosa Foxxe Page A

specials played out on the television on low volume, but neither of us was paying much attention to them. In the corner of my little living room was a Christmas tree, all done up in bright lights and shining ornaments. We’d put it up together a few days ago, though Tom had seem confused as to why I wanted him to help me with it.
     
    “Are you sure you do not wish to spend the evening with your father?” asked Tom for the second time that day. I rolled my eyes at his needlessly formal tone.
     
    “Yes, I am completely, one hundred percent sure that I don’t want my father to ruin my Christmas.” I cuddled closer to him. “Besides, I’ve got you, right? What more do I need to have a great Christmas?”
     
    He flushed. “You shouldn’t put so much pressure on one person,” he said. “And I still don’t understand why you wanted me here.”
     
    “Because you’re important to me and you make me happy. That’s all there is to it. Frankly, I’m amazed you said yes.” Tom shifted against me uncomfortably and I became suddenly aware that, while he knew a great deal about my family due to necessity, I knew nothing about his own. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled, hoping he would not feel obligated to tell me anything that would hurt him.
     
    For a few minutes, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing and the gentle music from the television. I worried I’d crossed a line. Then, just when I thought Tom would leave, he said, “My brother and I were both SEALs. We both were deployed on the same mission. I came back. He didn’t.” In a very quiet voice, he added. “They blame me.”
     
    I didn’t know what to say to that. What did you say to a man who told you he’d lost his brother in a mission? To a man who seemed to believe that his parents were right? I settled for cuddling closer to him and pressing my face into the crook of his neck.
     
    “I think you’re doing okay,” I mumbled, though I knew it wouldn’t help much. Tom’s arm around my waist tightened and he breathed deeply into my hair.
     
    “Thank you,” he said. For a long time, neither of us spoke. After a while I started to curl closer and closer into his lap, drawn by a hunger slowly building. I shouldn’t have. Tom was obviously enjoying the quiet night and he didn’t seem inclined to change the mood. In the midst of my wiggling, I remembered what had happened the first time we’d fallen into bed together, how Tom had asked me before he ever touched me. We were adults. I didn’t have to be sneaky around Tom, if I wanted something, I could ask.
     
    “Tom?” I asked. I bit my lower lip and toyed with it between my teeth.
     
    “Yes?” he asked into my hair. I looked up and saw that he was still enthralled with the television. I sighed and shook my head.
     
    “Never mind.”
     
    He looked at me. “No, what?” he asked, a smile playing at the edge of his lips. I leaned up and kissed him, starting slow but deepening the pressure as I went. He shifted his hold on my arms and tugged me into his lap. I grinned and pulled back from him, rolling my hips into his. Tom let out a low, guttural groan and tugged me closer to him.
     
    “Well, now this is interesting,” he said, nibbling at the shell of my ear. I hummed and wiggled closer, letting the heat of his body and the heat of my own mingle between us. He chuckled, a sound that was as familiar as it was enticing, and slipped a hand up my shirt. I was braless and he took advantage of that with a pinch to a nipple. A gasp escaped me in a shot of pleasure.
     
    “Bedroom,” I managed. He grinned and nibble at my ear again. His other hand caught the hem of my shirt and pulled it clean over my head. One hand encircled my breast, slowly massaging it as his fingers traced my nipples. I shivered with each brush. His mouth encircled the other, his lips sucking at the sensitive skin.
     
    “Tom, we need more space,” I said. Beneath me, I felt the hard bulge of his erection through