A SEAL's Consent (SEALs of Chance Creek Book 4) Read online

  A SEAL’s Consent

  By Cora Seton

  Copyright © 2017 Cora Seton

  Kindle Edition

  Published by One Acre Press

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Excerpt from Issued to the Bride One Navy SEAL

  About the Author

  Author’s Note

  A SEAL’s Consent is the fourth volume in the SEALs of Chance Creek series, set in the fictional town of Chance Creek, Montana. To find out more about Boone, Clay, Jericho and Walker, look for the rest of the books in the series, including:

  A SEAL’s Oath

  A SEAL’s Vow

  A SEAL’s Pledge

  A SEAL’s Purpose

  A SEAL’s Resolve

  A SEAL’s Devotion

  A SEAL’s Desire

  A SEAL’s Struggle

  A SEAL’s Triumph

  Also, don’t miss Cora Seton’s other Chance Creek series, the Cowboys of Chance Creek, the Heroes of Chance Creek, and the Brides of Chance Creek

  The Cowboys of Chance Creek Series:

  The Cowboy Inherits a Bride (Volume 0)

  The Cowboy’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)

  The Cowboy Wins a Bride (Volume 2)

  The Cowboy Imports a Bride (Volume 3)

  The Cowgirl Ropes a Billionaire (Volume 4)

  The Sheriff Catches a Bride (Volume 5)

  The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Volume 6)

  The Cowboy Rescues a Bride (Volume 7)

  The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Volume 8)

  The Cowboy’s Christmas Bride (Volume 9)

  The Heroes of Chance Creek Series:

  The Navy SEAL’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 1)

  The Soldier’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 2)

  The Marine’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 3)

  The Navy SEAL’s Christmas Bride (Volume 4)

  The Airman’s E-Mail Order Bride (Volume 5)

  The Brides of Chance Creek Series:

  Issued to the Bride One Navy SEAL

  Issued to the Bride One Airman

  Issued to the Bride One Marine

  Issued to the Bride One Sniper

  Issued to the Bride One Soldier

  Visit Cora’s website at www.coraseton.com

  Find Cora on Facebook at facebook.com/CoraSeton

  Sign up for my newsletter HERE.

  Prologue

  ‡

  Three Months Ago

  “I bet you’ll miss.”

  Navy SEAL Jericho Cook smiled at the beautiful woman bracing her hands on the table across from him, waiting to see if he could sink his quarter into the empty glass set halfway between them. Given the circumstances, he could have been at one of the dive bars he’d frequented throughout his military career, but he wasn’t. He’d left the Navy twenty-four hours earlier, and now found himself back home in the town where he’d grown up—hiding in the kitchen at a formal dinner party given by an older couple who were by far the oddest people he’d ever met.

  Barely twenty feet away in the Russells’ immaculate, antique-filled parlor, the other guests chatted and entertained each other by taking turns playing an impressive grand piano, as if they’d stepped back in time two hundred years. Their host and hostess were dressed in perfect Regency attire—as they always were. James and Maud had informed Jericho earlier they’d decided years ago to live a Jane Austen–style life, and their clothes, their house and the horse-drawn carriages they used to get around Chance Creek all fit the early 1800s time period.

  Many of the female guests were in Regency dress, too, including Savannah Edwards, the blonde egging him on from across the table. She had taken her turn at the piano just minutes ago, and had impressed him with her considerable talent before slipping away with him to the kitchen. She’d come to Montana with her friends Riley Eaton, Avery Lightfoot and Nora Ridgeway to spend six months at Westfield, the ranch that had been in Riley’s family for well over a century. They planned to concentrate on the artistic and musical pursuits they’d given up since their college days—donning Regency outfits to remind themselves daily of their pledge to forgo anything that distracted them from their goals. When they’d arrived, they hadn’t known Riley’s uncle had already sold the ranch to an eccentric billionaire named Martin Fulsom—or that Fulsom had given it to Jericho and his buddies as a place to build Base Camp, their sustainable community.

  They did now.

  What they didn’t realize was that Jericho and the others had to pass a series of difficult requirements, or lose Westfield to a developer. One of those requirements was that all four men had to marry.

  Jericho figured he’d just found his bride.

  Savannah leaned closer, and Jericho stopped thinking about pianos, the Russells or the sustainable community he was supposed to help build. He stopped thinking of Boone Rudman, Clay Pickett and Walker Norton—the three other Navy SEALs he’d joined to launch this endeavor. He stopped thinking about Fulsom and all his ridiculous demands—and the reality TV show they’d all soon be a part of, although the women didn’t know that, either.

  Instead, he focused solely on Savannah. The way she was trying to distract him.

  Framed by her deep blue gown, plumped up by some old-fashioned corset contraption, her breasts were something to behold. When she leaned against the table, it was hard to look anywhere else.

  “I won’t miss,” he assured her, even as his pulse beat a little faster. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman, and Savannah was stunning.

  Funny.

  Smart.

  Amazing.

  Perfect wife material—now that he had to have one.

  When they’d met, her lively conversation had drawn him in as she’d alternately enthused about Westfield, poked fun at her deadly dull job back in California and hinted about her aspirations to become a renowned concert pianist. Everything about her had intrigued him; especially her excitement about living in Chance Creek.

  Which is why he needed to make this shot. Savannah had promised him a kiss if he did.

  And he wanted that kiss.

  “Big talk, sailor. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  Her trash talk didn’t bother him. His prowess at quarters was legendary. His father had taught him to play the game—minus the alcohol—when he was nine, and Jericho had taken to it like a fish to water. He had a steady hand and good aim, and practice makes perfect, as they say. He rarely lost.

  Savannah bent a little lower. She was trying to distract him. Jericho bit back the grin attempting to spread across his face. He was enjoying himself. And so was she. Savannah had already tipped back two shots of tequila after he’d sunk his first two quarters. He had a feeling she was celebrating her new life at Westfield as much as he was. He needed to focus.

  She needed to stand up.

  Time to turn the tables on her. “What does your family think about your career choice?” No one could flirt wh
ile they answered that.

  Savannah made a face and straightened. “They don’t even know where I am.”

  Jericho bounced the quarter off the table as soon as she began to talk.

  Sunk it.

  “Drink up,” he told her. But her words stuck with him. “Why doesn’t your family know where you are?” Why would a woman so intelligent and determined hide from her parents? Everything he’d seen so far—except this drinking game, which was all his fault—had shown her to be a responsible, caring individual.

  Savannah knocked back the shot, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and pursed her lips when she’d swallowed the fiery liquid. “We’d probably better get back before the others notice we’re gone… and that we’ve raided the liquor cabinet.”

  “The Russells won’t mind.”

  “The help might.” She nodded toward the gleaming dishes piled high with food on the far end of the table, covered and ready to be carried out as soon as the party sat down to dinner. The Russells had hired a local woman to prepare and serve the meal. Mrs. Wood, who wore a Regency-inspired cook’s uniform, had bustled out of the kitchen to serve drinks a few minutes ago, but she’d be back any time.

  “First I want that kiss.” Jericho drank his own shot, placed it back on the table, screwed the cap on the tequila bottle and tucked it back into the cabinet where they’d found it. He threaded an arm around Savannah’s waist, tugged her out of the large kitchen and into a side hall where they wouldn’t be seen. He leaned her against the wall, prepared for her to push him away and escape back into the parlor, but Savannah smiled up at him as if she didn’t mind in the slightest.

  “Why are you hiding from your family?” He braced his feet to either side of her and placed his palms on the wall, caging her in. He couldn’t wait for that kiss much longer. Now that he’d let himself think about a woman, his body had unleashed all its pent-up desire for physical companionship.

  “Not just my family. From my ex-fiancé. I don’t love him. I never loved him. My parents do, though. They have this idea about me.” She smiled again but this time it didn’t reach her eyes. “That I can be the cement to hold our two families together. Just like in an old-fashioned novel.” She lifted the skirts of her gown and smoothed them back into place. “My family is new money. His family is old money. A match made in heaven.”

  Jericho swallowed and pulled back. He was unprepared for the jealousy that surged through him. She had a fiancé? Even an ex-fiancé was a complication he hadn’t looked for, and he found he didn’t like the idea of another man hanging around Savannah.

  Savannah leaned toward him. “I finally came to my senses and left that all behind. I’m free—for the first time in years.” She put her hands on his chest. Jericho’s libido ratcheted up a notch. The alcohol had warmed him—made him feel a little reckless. “I didn’t want any part of the life they were building for me,” she went on. “I can’t think why I didn’t act sooner. It was like I was under a spell. But now I’m here—in Chance Creek. Everything’s changed. I’m going to do it. By this time next year I’ll be a concert pianist. No one can stop me.” She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him.

  Jericho’s instincts took over. There was a soft, warm, lovely woman in his arms. A woman who was kissing him.

  A woman he intended to marry, ex-fiancé or no ex-fiancé.

  He kissed her back and tried to shut off the worries that had plagued him these past few months. In three short weeks a reality TV film crew would descend on them to capture every moment of the process of building this community. He couldn’t screw up.

  As his body responded to Savannah’s closeness, he suppressed a chuckle. He’d thought the need to marry would be the hardest goal to reach.

  But maybe it would be the easiest.

  Savannah shifted in his arms, and those wonderful breasts of hers pressed against his chest.

  Jericho savored the touch of her mouth on his. Her lips were soft, and when they parted to let him in, his body fired up with a quick, hot desire.

  He wanted her. Whatever the future might hold. And this hallway wasn’t nearly private enough. He spotted an open door, linked his arm around Savannah’s waist again and whisked her inside a large, spotless bathroom. The marble counter was impeccable. The throw rugs lush and soft. Savannah deserved better, but short of sweeping her off to a motel, where her old-fashioned clothing would garner a lot of interest, he had nowhere else to take her. Back at Westfield, he and his friends were camping in tents near the old bunkhouse. Savannah and her friends had claimed the old stone home at the top of the hill for their own. Would she invite him to the manor, as they called it?

  He didn’t know.

  And he wasn’t willing to wait and find out.

  He caught sight of himself in the mirror, the shine of desire in his eyes. This was reckless. Savannah did deserve more. He should stop now, bring her back out to the party and pursue this another time, when he could do it right.

  “That all you got in you, sailor? Just one little kiss?” Savannah taunted him. She ran her hands down his chest, around to his back and down again to rest on his ass, before giving him a hard squeeze.

  Hell. Jericho tossed his qualms away. He had a lot more than that. And if she was willing, so was he. Sometimes it was best not to question things too carefully. He had a hunch Savannah didn’t flirt with strange men all that often. She was too well bred. Too beautiful. Too confident. She was the kind of woman you got your ducks in a line to impress. The kind of woman you wined and dined and went to museums and art gallery openings with, even if you could care less about any of those things.

  He pushed Savannah up against the bathroom door and boxed her in with his body again, still continuing the kiss. She wanted to see what he had to give her? He’d play along. He braced his hands on her hips, covered her mouth with his own and went to town. Soon they were both breathing hard, as he let his tongue enjoy the depths of her mouth. She tasted so sweet he wanted more. Much more. But surely Savannah would stop him soon.

  When he pulled back, however, she laced her arms around his neck and came after him.

  She must really want to erase that engagement from her mind, he thought as he tightened his hold on her. Whoever had put his ring on her finger had nearly stifled the life out of her. Now she wanted to put him in the past. Just for a moment, jealousy burned again at the base of Jericho’s throat. He didn’t want to be a palate cleanser between other men as far as Savannah was concerned.

  He wanted her.

  And he wanted her to want him.

  So far, all he’d told her about himself was that he’d served in the Navy, he was interested in green energy sources and he was interested in her. Now she needed to know he was a man to reckon with.

  But before he could make a move, Savannah began to unbutton his shirt.

  It threw him off, but only for a second. Jericho chuckled. “You’re playing with fire, you know.”

  “Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  He forced himself to wait as she undid button after button, wanting nothing more than to rip off the shirt and toss it away. When she smoothed the fabric back and placed her palms on his chest, he sucked in a breath.

  Hell. If she wasn’t prepared to follow through, he was going to have a hard time heading back to that dinner party.

  “Jericho, we don’t have much time.” Savannah pressed her lips to the hollow at the base of his throat and he bit back a groan.

  “I know, sweetheart. But we can meet later—”

  “No. Not later. Now.” She looked up at him, her expression serious.

  Jericho pulled back. It was what he wanted, of course, but he hadn’t really thought she’d go through with it. “Now—?”

  “Right now.” She nodded at him. Bit her lip.

  Jericho fought for restraint. “Right now?”

  “I’ve never done anything like this. But I want to. I want—I want you. Because I just want you—for no other reason. I want to feel
an impulse and carry it through. Do you understand that?”

  Two years ago Jericho would have said, “Hell, yeah.” He wasn’t uptight about his body, or sex, or any of it. But after the disaster in Yemen he’d wanted something… more. And given that now he had to find a wife, it seemed like Fate wanted that for him, too.

  So how ironic to find himself with a beautiful, willing woman and actually consider saying no.

  “Honey, are you—”

  “Have you ever been so thoroughly misunderstood you nearly lost yourself?” she blurted.

  He swallowed hard. Oh, yeah. He knew that feeling.

  “Have you ever found yourself living a life and you couldn’t understand how you got there?”

  “Yeah,” he managed to say.

  “Then, please—please. Make love to me. Because I want you to. No strings attached. No future. No—nothing. Just… fun,” Savannah begged him. “Please. It’s important.”

  He was only a man, Jericho reminded himself as he gave in.

  A man half enthralled by the bewitching woman who’d lifted onto her tiptoes to kiss the underside of his chin. What if he wanted strings attached, he asked himself as Savannah tugged his shirt right off him.

  What if he wanted a future—with her?

  Then he’d better make her happy, he decided and spun her around to try to get her gown off her. Confronted with a complicated set of ties and fastenings, he wasn’t sure where to begin.

  “We don’t have time for that,” Savannah said. She fiddled with the neckline of her dress, still turned away from him, then pulled his arms around her and lifted his hands to cover her now-exposed breasts. Jericho groaned out loud as his palms covered them. They were heavy in his hands, her nipples hard. Jericho lifted and squeezed them gently and Savannah’s breathing hitched. She braced herself against the door. “Oh, that feels good.”

  Jericho edged up against her, no longer working to hide how much she’d turned him on. Pressing his body against hers, he knew she could feel his hardness through his jeans and her skirts. He decided not to question this gift Fate had given him. Savannah wanted to erase her past.