Chapter One

Twenty-one years later…

“Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God!” The feminine voice filled the hotel room amid its owner writhing under the muscular body of her lover. Her back arched as she came with an intense rush and she screamed his name to the room. The man above her slid into her a few more times and grunted, then rolled off her and disposed of the condom he wore.

“That was amazing, wasn’t it, baby?” Her shrill tone rang just like nails on a chalkboard to his ears. “We are great together.”

He huffed noncommittally. At least one of us is happy. With a heave, he got his body off the bed and headed for the bathroom. He shut the door behind him, locking it before switching on the light.

Squinting in the glare, he looked at his reflection. The eyes were almost dead, no emotion in them whatsoever. His bronze skin and hairless chest taunted him. His black eyes traveled lower and found that his cock was resting against his thigh.

He had found no pleasure with the woman in the bedroom. The actions he used and the words he spoke had all been automatic. And when he had been thrusting between her legs, his mind was off going over a mission he’d just completed.

“Get a grip, Mav,” he admonished himself. “You love women; this is a momentary setback.”

James Chayton Lonetree, AKA Maverick, was a Navy SEAL who had seen things and done things that would send most people into therapy for life…if they didn’t have a total meltdown before they made it to the shrink’s soft couch.

Out of his team of eight, he was the only single man left. Even his devoted single friend Aidrian had gotten married. But Maverick liked Xaria and his friend had never seemed happier. For him personally, however, marriage just wasn’t in his cards.

Regardless, there were times when he didn’t want to be a playboy anymore. He would like someone to talk to, who was there waiting for him when he came back from missions. Everyone else in the team had moved and relocated their families to the Norfolk area.

“And I am here in a hotel room in South Dakota with a woman my parents think is a good match for me just because we’re from the same tribe.” What the hell is that woman’s name? Oh, yeah, Talli.

Maverick was Lakota and proud of it. But he didn’t want to marry the woman; hell, he really didn’t even want to sleep with her. She was, however, very persuasive at her craft and could still get him hard.

It would have been no hardship to leave her ass at the restaurant once dinner ended. But she’d insisted and so he’d brought her back and screwed her, allowing her to find pleasure, yet, denying himself the same opportunity.

After another moment, he hit the switch for the fan. Turning on the shower, he stepped inside and rinsed the sick musky smell of her perfume and their sweat from his body.

Once inside, he stood under the pulsating showerhead and closed his eyes, grabbing his thick erection and stroking it until it swelled in his calloused hand. His mind tried to conjure up an erotic scene but it fell short. So he just allowed his touch to bring him the release the woman in the bedroom hadn’t provided him.

After climaxing, Maverick washed himself then stepped out of the steaming shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out into the room where the woman was. She had turned on the lights and was lying on his bed, totally naked.

Her fingers trailed along her own bronzed skin, trying to tempt him. “I would have joined you in the shower. We could’ve had another round.”

Black eyes moved dispassionately over the sprawled body. “You need to leave.”

Her big eyes opened wide. “What? After what we just shared?” she asked as she climbed up on her hands and knees and crawled across the bed toward him.

“Yep.” The response was deadpan. “And you can tell your parents that it isn’t going to work. We aren’t getting married.”

She sat back on her haunches. “But we make a great couple. It would benefit both families and be good for the tribe.” Running her hands under her breasts, she lifted them up toward him. “I have things that you want. You sucked on these earlier; you know what they are like. You enjoyed them. Why would you want to throw all that away?”

Maverick scowled at her. Her hands trailed between her thighs as she fingered herself. “You know this is a nice pussy; come on, Maverick,” she purred. “Don’t throw it away. We would be a wonderful couple. Your parents like me and I am not coming at you claiming to be pregnant.”

That stopped him cold. He tugged a black shirt on over his still damp head. “What are you talking about?”

She shook her head quickly. “Nothing.”

“Talli.” His voice dropped to subzero. “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t have a kid.”

“But we could have some; think of how beautiful they would be.” She tried coaxing a positive reaction from him so he’d forget what she’d said.

“I am not father material,” he snapped, thinking back to how harsh and foreboding his own father had been, an emotionless wasteland. “And you need to leave.”

Talli opened her mouth to protest, but his glare made her mouth snap shut. She climbed off the bed and pulled her dress on over her head. Gathering her thick black hair into a ponytail, she gathered the rest of her underclothes and shoved them into her purse. As she slid her shoes on, she cast him a glance. “I don’t know what you’re trying to avoid. We are going to be married.”

Her hourglass-shaped body disappeared out the door before he could demand an explanation from her. After she left, he crammed his legs into a pair of skintight jeans and gathered his things. It was time to go somewhere else.

Something in his soul tugged at him. He didn’t know what it was or where he needed to go, but he wasn’t about to ignore the cry. Tying his bag to the chrome-finished backrest of his motorcycle; Maverick swung one muscled leg over and started up the powerful engine.

He had a brand new Honda VTX1800T that boasted 1795cc electric-cooled 52 degree V-Twin engine and a weather-cheater windshield. It was silver with a blue stripe down the middle. Black leather covered the seats and made up his top-loading, buckle and snap–closure saddlebags. There was also a setup for his iPod.

Pulling into his parents’ drive, he sat on the bike and let the engine idle. His black boots were planted firmly on the ground as he stared at his childhood home. It didn’t contain very pleasant memories for him, but he’d had a roof over his head and food in his belly.

When he’d told his parents he was joining the military instead of taking a more active position in the tribe, they’d been furious, but he hadn’t buckled under his parents’ screams. Even at eighteen, his folks had been intimidating to him. His father was a huge barrel of a man—not fat, but just big. His mother could freeze a 747 with her glare and knock it out of the sky with her screech.

Still, he’d left. Over the years, they’d softened a bit toward his decision. Not that they’d ever told him they were proud of what he was doing, but according to rumors around the reservation, they bragged about him.

And now at thirty-six, he was still nervous about telling them no. A damn near fearless SEAL, he had gone into situations that most wouldn’t make it out alive and had thrived. He loved his job and all that came with it, but the mere thought of telling his folks “no” had him hesitating.

The front door swung open and his father stepped out onto the porch, stopping on the edge of the top step and crossing his big, muscular arms. He opted to stare instead of coming down to greet him.

Swallowing one more time, Maverick shut off his bike and swung gracefully off it. His smooth movement took him to the bottom of the five steps where he stopped and looked up at the man who had raised him, a man who was still in excellent shape despite his age. “Aho, Ate,” he said automatically.

“Aho,” the man responded. “Your mother is inside waiting for you. Dinner is ready.”

Nodding, Maverick headed into the house. He was taller than his father now, but at well over six feet he’d been so for a while. The men settled for a stiff handshake as opposed to a hug. They silently walked into the home.

A meal sat on the table upon entering the kitchen. His mother had plumped up, her hair was streaked with silver now, but she was still beautiful to him. “Aho, Ina.” His words were gentle as he embraced his mother.

“Aho.” She placed a kiss on his face before looking at her husband of forty years. “Let’s eat.”

Silence reigned as they began to eat the meal. A while later, Maverick ate the last bite of his fry bread and cast a glance at his mother. “That was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. Thank you.”

“Well,” she said slyly. “Thank you. And don’t worry; when you marry Talli she will cook like this all the time for you.”

I knew the truce was too good to last. “I’m not marrying Talli.” His announcement went over like a ton of bricks.

His parents exchanged glances. “It is time for you to come home and do something more for the tribe. You are looked up to here; you could teach the children, be an officer, anything,” his mother insisted.

Maverick shook his head as he drank some water. “I am not resigning my commission. I love my job.”

Her harping continued as if he hadn’t said a word. “You need to get married and have a child. We want some grandchildren!”

“I like being single.” He set his cup down. “And even if I were ready to marry, Talli is not my type of girl.”

“Well, if you slept with her there must be something between you.” His mother’s words were cutting.

His own eyes narrowed in warning. “I only took what she offered. It’s not like she was a virgin or anything.”

His mother slapped her hand down on the table. “Don’t be vulgar! Talli has wanted to marry you since you were small children. We all knew it would be a wonderful match, much better than…” She trailed off as if realizing she shouldn’t have said that.

“Hiya! No! I am not marrying her. I went out with her because you asked me to. That’s the only reason.” Better than what? his mind wondered.

“Don’t yell at your mother!” his father ordered.

“Then quit trying to run my life. I am thirty-six, not six. I’m grown and I will not be dictated to by either of you. There is no chance for Talli and me to be married. Accept it.” He stood in a flawless motion, but his father did the same with an angry jerk.

“We are trying to think of your future and that of the tribe. You need to do your part.”

Barely managing to control his eye roll, Maverick shook his head. “The tribe is doing fine, and I can take care of my future. Now, I’m leaving. I have somewhere to go.” The fire raging in his mother’s eyes prompted him to add, “Unless you would care to explain what Talli meant when she said I had a child? I’m not accepting responsibility for someone knocking her up. We used protection.”

A blind man could have seen the panic on their faces as they fought to control their emotions. “She must have been mistaken,” his mother quickly assured him.

“Right. I better not get a call saying she’s pregnant and I’m the father.” He spun around and walked into the living room, furious over the fact they were trying to set him up. Well, it would explain why Talli said he didn’t need to use a condom.

“Wait,” he heard his father say.

At the door, Maverick turned back to face his father. “What?” he snapped, losing control of his temper.

“You need to think of marrying her.” Mr. Lonetree crossed his arms and tried to look commanding.

“That stance and that glare may have worked when I was younger, but you won’t scare me into doing anything I don’t want to do. And I don’t want to marry Talli. Forget it.”

“It is your duty,” the older man insisted.

“My duty is to my country, not to marry a girl of your choosing. This is a pointless conversation and so I am going to leave. Goodbye, Ate. Tell Ina I said farewell.” Maverick walked out of the house before he could be drawn into an impending long and heated argument.