Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Us (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Magan Vernon

Because it’s you. You showed me that I can be me, all of me, around you. That I don’t need to hide or be worried. I want you to know the same thing. You’re mine, Maya. And I’m yours.”
    She splashed her tail against the water. “I just wish I could control it, like Luz talked about. Maybe I could swim again if I could control it.”
    I ran my fingers down the smooth surface of her tail. “Well, we have that map, we could always meet your siblings and talk to the other people in your rook. I’m sure they could help you out.”
    Raising an eyebrow, Maya looked from her tail to me. “We?”
    I kissed her cheek. “Yes, we. May. I’m not going anywhere. I’m falling in love with you too and when I said you were mine, I meant it. I’m yours and you’re mine.”
    She kissed me fiercely and pressed herself against me. I wished she didn’t have the tail between us because I wanted to take her again right there in the pool.
    But I loved this woman. Tail or no tail. I knew we were in it together, forever.

Chapter 13
     
    Maya
     
    I woke up exhausted yet refreshed at the same time.
    Not long after our swim in the pool Calder and I ended up in bed and there wasn’t much sleep going on.
    It had been a very long time, but Calder was better than any man I could imagine.
    I was nervous at first, I’ll admit, to be with a man who was missing his legs, but he showed me that there was more than just being an amputee. The fact that he still wanted me after seeing me shift made me love him even more
    Love. I still couldn’t believe I said the words to him and when he said it back my heart swelled. There was no turning back now. Like he said, he was mine and I was his.
    We had another day in the villa and as much as I wanted to spend all day in bed with him, I thought it might be nice to see some of the island.
    Calder was curled up on his side, his broad shoulders and muscled back to me.
    I leaned over and kissed the area between his neck and shoulders. “Maya?”
    He turned over, looking up at me with sleepy eyes. “If you’re wanting to go another round, you’re going to have to give me a minute. You gave me quite a workout last night, and a few hours ago.”
    I smiled, shaking my head. “I’ll let you rest while I go to the main lobby and check out some of the excursions. Maybe we could rent some snorkeling equipment and find a secluded place? I mean if you’re comfortable with that and all. If you don’t want to, we don’t have to.”
    He raised his eyebrows. “I think I’m willing to try, but are you sure you’re comfortable with that?”
    Leaning in, I pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. “With you, I’d do anything.”
    He turned over. I could feel his morning wood pressing against me. “When you talk like that you’re making me want you to never leave this bed.”
    I playfully wiggled my hips against him. “So does that mean yes to snorkeling?”
    He smiled. “Now you’re just teasing me. Go get the snorkeling stuff and hurry back. I guess if we’re going to stay here we should see something other than this bedroom.”
    I gave him one last kiss before I shimmied into a pair of shorts and a tank top. We’d both slept naked in bed and it was the most free I’d felt in a long time. I could be myself with him and he could be himself with me.
    I knew we were still in the honeymoon stage and it wouldn’t always be like this, but for now, I was enjoying the afterglow.
    It was a short, brisk walk up the hill to the main building, but I took my time. I wanted to enjoy every moment of every thing.
    The flowers smelled sweeter. The air was warmer. The sky more beautiful. Maybe it had always looked this way, but to me it was as if the world had changed overnight.
    The lobby was cool and smelled like tropical flowers. There were a few tourists milling about in Hawaiian shirts, but it wasn’t overly crowded.
    The TV was on in a lounge area and, of course, Jay Morningstar’s face was plastered on some