Reminding The SEAL (Navy SEAL Military Romance) Read online

  Patiently, they waited for Demetri to come to them. He didn’t show up that day nor did he come the following day. Caroline was getting anxious. Her brother Jacob decided to go get him no matter what, but she stopped him, asking him to give Demetri time. That time never came. Four days later, she ran out of patience.

  “Okay, Jacob. Let’s go to him instead,” she anxiously declared.

  It was late afternoon when Dr. Mathias, her father, Jacob, and their mother all treaded the beach with her. This was in intervention and they hoped that he would realize he had a family who cared about him enough to allow the doctors to check him out.

  Caroline stopped in the clearing and looked around with confusion. She was sure this was the place. The hut was gone and so was Demetri. All that was left was the makeshift fire place he used to cook and keep warm. The thing he hung his clothes on was gone as well, along with the straw bed. There was no sign that anyone was living there.

  Her mother moved up behind her, “Are you sure this is the place, honey?”

  “I’m sure, Mom.”

  Like a zombie, she walked back to the hotel with her mother’s arm protectively around her shoulder. When they reached the resort, she asked to be left alone. They were on the strip of sand just a few meters from her suite.

  “Go on in Mom, I need some time,” her voice was flat.

  “Are you sure?” Madelyn asked.

  “Hmm.”

  She took a walk up the beach, away from where they came. It was where she and Demetri had their walk about a week ago. She’d taken his hand and led him up the sandy shore, telling him about their life together. She felt her grief surfacing all over again and she wished she hadn’t agreed to come on this trip.

  With no clue how she was going to survive this, she continued walking. Caroline wasn’t sure if she should be angry or not. There were too many emotions swirling around inside her that she had no idea what to feel or think. She’d always thought that their love was strong enough to overcome anything, but obviously, she was wrong. She lost him…twice.

  By the time she returned from her walk, the sun had disappeared below the horizon and a shadow was cast over the island. She heard chatter coming from her terrace but she didn’t stop. She continued down the beach. Some ways down, she found a secluded grassy area where she sat and watched the waves lap against the sand.

  For hours, Caroline watched the waves roll in, mesmerized by the sound of the ocean. When she stood and slowly walked to the edge of the water, it felt like the most natural thing for her to do. It was as if the ocean was calling to her. All she wanted was to be swallowed up by it and let it wash away all her grief. The ocean she’d feared for a month now became her greatest ally, and she made the steps toward what she termed as her destiny.

  The water was warm against her skin. That was a comfort. She was in almost waist deep when she felt someone grab her arm. She shrugged it off and continued moving, deeper and deeper into the water.

  “Caroline!” It was Demetri’s voice.

  Caroline thought she was hallucinating and moved another few steps before someone hugged her from behind. She wasn’t sure what was happening or who it was because all she wanted to do was disappear. Mentally, she’d left the world behind her.

  “Don’t do this?’ his deep gravelly tone penetrated her psyche.

  “Demetri?” she whispered.

  “Yes, please don’t go into the ocean.”

  “I have nothing…,” she sobbed.

  He swept her up under her knees with one arm around her back and carried her back to shore, laying her on the sand. Caroline stared blankly into his face, then closed her eyes and turned away. She felt him place his finger under her chin and brought her face around.

  “Caroline, you haven’t lost everything,” he said. “You’ve still got your family.”

  “I don’t have you,” she whispered.

  There was silence and then his lips were on hers, gently moving, asking for entry. Her eyes shot open at the shock of the contact. The kiss became more urgent and they were entwined together as Demetri pulled her close and engulfed her in his arms, all the while clinging to her mouth. He found her tongue and wrapped his around hers, stroking it lovingly.

  Shock waves that travelled through her body and ignited her brain brought Caroline back to reality, and she reluctantly broke the kiss.

  “Do you remember?” she smiled brightly.

  “No. But when I looked through the album, I felt my heart beat rapidly just looking at you. I tried to get away and felt my heart break for you, so here I am.”

  “Where were you? Were you trying to get away from me?”

  “I needed some space to sort through everything in my head,” he told her. “But the further I went, the more I felt like I was in pain. I couldn’t get you out of my mind and that’s when I knew I had to come back and try.”

  “Thanks for coming back,” she said, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

  Demetri cupped her face. “I don’t remember you but I know I don’t ever want to see you hurt. Don’t do that again, promise.”

  “Okay,’ she murmured.

  “And I hated seeing you with that guy. I didn’t understand it, but I really hated him.”

  Caroline chuckled, “Mike? You were jealous?”

  “Me, jealous. You’re crazy,” he pushed himself up and stood, helping her up in the process.

  “I think you were,” she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest. “Thanks for coming back,” she said, soberly.

  “I’ll let your doctors check me out and see what’s wrong. But,” he hesitated. “What if I can’t regain my memory? What then?”

  She raised her face to look at him, “We’ll start over. We also need to contact your Commanding Officers to let them know.”

  “Let’s get this out of the way first, huh, and then we deal with the Navy,” he replied.

  “Okay,” her spirits lifted while they walked back to the hotel.

  To Caroline’s surprise, Demetri took her hand while they walked. He told her of his time on the island and how he survived through fishing, and doing odd jobs for money. He found that he liked the simple life but always felt that something or someone was waiting for him. He knew he didn’t belong there.

  Back in her room, they stayed up most of the remaining hours of the night talking in the plush sofa bed in the living room. There, they fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning, just at the break of dawn.

  * * * *

  “Jacob come,” Madelyn whispered, beckoning to her son to come see what she was looking at.

  A broad smile broke out on his face when he saw his sister curled up in the arms of her fiancé, both of them fast asleep.

  “Let’s leave them, Mom,” Jacob said.

  He led away his reluctant mother, who wanted to stay and watch her daughter sleep. She looked so peaceful lying there. It was the first time in a month that Madelyn saw Caroline with that look of serenity on her face. She was glad that Demetri had returned but she was curious about a few things.

  “Mom, you think he remembers?”

  “I hope so, they looked pretty cozy. I was worried when Caroline hadn’t returned last night. I am glad she’s okay.”

  Shortly, Thomas Sutherland and Dr. Mathias joined them for breakfast on the lawn. There were clouds rolling in and it seemed like it was going to rain. There was a strong breeze coming off the ocean. After breakfast, they decided to hang out in the lounge while they waited for Caroline and Demetri. Thomas was beside himself that his daughter may have found the happiness she lost. It was apparent that his wife was anxious about the couple, so he tried to console her.

  “Calm down Maddie, they’re together, that’s a good sign,” Thomas told Madelyn.

  “You’re right, I needn’t worry. I’m just hope nothing major is wrong with him. He’s like a son to me. I couldn’t bear it if something else happened.”

  Her eyes flicked open. She was alone on the sof
a. Dread enveloped her and she sprang to her feet, running frantically to the terrace. He wasn’t there. She checked the bedroom and he wasn’t there either. She ran to the beach and he was not there. Caroline was frantic. Demetri had left her…again. She ran down the beach to where he used to live, but the place was empty.

  She ran back up the beach, but he was nowhere to be seen. Did he leave her again? Pain ripped through her chest at the thought of Demetri leaving her for good. How much more could she take? He said he would try, and now, he was gone. She dropped herself on the sand in front of her hotel and wept. Her tears wrenching from her core.

  She cried until there were no more tears left to cry, her sobs becoming hiccups. There, on the sand, Caroline lay until strong arms lifted her and took her back to her room. They laid her on her bed and tucked her in. She’s worked herself into a frazzle it seemed and was too spent. She knew when someone lifted her and she felt herself being carried, but exhausted, she could not open her eyes. As soon as they laid her down, she sank into oblivion.

  Chapter Nine

  When Caroline awoke, her mother’s jade green eyes were staring down at her. Worry lines were etched on her forehead.

  “Are you okay dear?” Madelyn asked.

  “Yes, I think so. Where’s Demetri?” she asked her mother.

  “I thought he was with you. You two looked so peaceful together.”

  “Who brought me back to the room?” she asked, not quite comprehending what happened. She knew someone had carried her in and tucked her in the bed, but she had no clue who it was.

  “I don’t know dear.”

  The rain had started to come in torrents now and a hotel attendant came and pulled down the shutter which separated the living room from the verandah. Madelyn stayed with her for a while, watching over her like a mother hen. There was no sign of Demetri and Caroline was beginning to feel like something was extremely wrong. Last night, he talked of trying to regain his memory or starting fresh with her, and today, he disappeared. That’s not normal, she thought. Maybe she pushed too hard. Maybe it was too much for him to handle.

  Bored with nothing better to do, Caroline went back to sleep against the will of her mother. She wasn’t depressed like she was before, just worried. Her concern was that Demetri had serious issues that were eating at him and needed professional help. If only he would allow Dr. Mathias to assess him, it would help a lot.

  Another day passed with continuous rains since the afternoon. At around ten, Madelyn said her goodnight. Her father and brother popped in to see her briefly. Thomas told her that he would be leaving in a couple of days along with Dr. Mathias.

  “Thanks for being here, Daddy,” she hugged her father and kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry you came all this way for nothing. Please give my apologies to Dr. Mathias.”

  “You don’t worry about a thing,” Thomas tucked her hair behind her ear. “Won’t you come back with us? Your mother will be returning as well.”

  “I think I should stay here for a while. I need to know he’s okay.”

  Her father pursed his lips, “You do what you think is best, my dear. We support you all the way.”

  After he left, she turned out the lights and lay back on the bed. She had started dozing off when she heard a pounding on the shutter between the terrace and living room. Quickly, Caroline switched the lights back on and rushed to the hall. There was a silhouette of a person outside. She was about to call the hotel security when the person called her name.

  She could hardly make it out through the pouring rain, “Caroline!”

  “Demetri?” she pulled the laches that bound the shutter and opened it. Demetri was soaking wet. She pulled him inside and closed the shutter to stop the rain from coming in. “Come let’s get you out of those wet clothes.”

  She helped him pull his t-shirt off and his jeans. He seemed out of it somehow, and she wondered if she should call the psychiatrist. She decided to watch and see what would happen first. With one of the plush white towels the hotel provided, she dried him off. He was stripped down to his boxers which were dripping wet as well.

  “You’ve got to take these off,’ she told him hoarsely, a frog suddenly caught in her throat.

  Silently, Demetri dropped the wet underpants to the ground. His manhood was erect and pointed precariously at Caroline. She tried to ignore it but her eyes kept straying to it. Finally dried, Caroline gave him the hotel supplied robe to put on. It was the only thing in her hotel room that could fit, unless she called Jacob to bring some of his clothes. She thought better of it.

  “You’re definitely going to catch a cold,” she mumbled, pulling the plush robe around him.

  “Goldie,” his voice was strained.

  Caroline stopped. Her hands trembled as her heart picked up speed. “You remember.”

  Demetri’s face was frozen as if he was in shock. He was staring into space. Caroline was worried that the memories of his time at sea might be too much. She picked up the phone and dialed her father’s room. She didn’t want to leave him alone but she had to get them there ASAP.

  Within minutes, both her father and Dr. Mathis were in the room. Caroline waited in the living area while they administered to him in the bedroom. Her mother and brother had also joined her and were anxiously waiting. Jacob was moving back and forth while Madelyn kept twisting her hands together.

  “Mom, stop wringing your hands like that. You’re making me nervous," she told Madelyn. It was nerve wracking enough without her adding to her tension. “Jacob, will you stop your pacing?”

  “Sorry honey, I’m just so nervous,” her mother said, all the while keeping her eyes on the bedroom door.

  Thomas was the first to come out of the room and he announced that Demetri had suffered a blunt force injury to his head some time ago. There was a scar to show for it, and he recommended a CT scan.

  “I can’t say for sure that this was the reason for his memory loss, but it’s a possibility,” Thomas concluded.

  “Daddy, can he travel?” she asked. She was thinking that Demetri should return to the US to get every medical checkup possible.

  “He should be able to travel.”

  “Honey,” her mother took her hand. “I think we should let the Navy know, so they can pick him up and fly him over.”

  “You’re right Mom. It’s going to be a hassle to fly him from here on a commercial flight and he perhaps was on mission that cannot be revealed.”

  Dr. Mathias came out of the room. He was a man of average height. A bit more rotund than her father, with brown hair that was balding on the crown and chocolate brown eyes.

  “He’s having flashes of memory. We should press him about what he remembers and we should keep an eye on him,” he told the family. “He might have a hard time with some memories, like what happened a month ago. Some of his memories might have been repressed from the stress and depression he’d gone through.”

  “You mean the injury didn’t cause the memory loss?” She asked, getting to her feet.

  “I can’t answer that. Without the scan, we can’t tell what level of brain damage he suffered, if any. His memory loss may be as a result of both the injury and extreme stress due to the experience he suffered.”

  Demetri was sleeping when she entered the room. Everyone left them alone upon the instruction of Dr. Mathias. Her father was the one with the task of contacting the Navy, so she was expecting them to drop in any minute and take Demetri.

  She snuggled beside him on the bed, facing him. That’s when she noticed he’d cut his hair. His hair was docked in the usual way for duty. She touched his cheek with her finger and smiled. As she withdrew her hand, he caught it and brought it to his lips.

  “My golden beauty,” he growled and her heart skipped a beat. “I missed you.”

  His eyes slowly opened and held hers. He was looking at her, really looking at her. He then reached over and covered her lips with his. She parted her lips to allow him to capture her tongue. He stroked it with precisio
n. A ripple of pleasure coursed through her and she moved closer to him.

  “I missed you,” he muttered against her lips.

  Caroline wrapped her arms around his neck and gripped the back of his head. Her entire body felt like it was on fire for the adrenaline rush that shook her. From the top of her head to the sole of her feet, she was flushed. Demetri ran his hand along her spine, then squeezed her, causing her to push her hips forward.

  He reached under her blouse. His hand coming into contact with her skin, while his lips trailed kisses along her neck. Gently, he pushed her shoulder back, allowing her to lie back instead of on her side. He cupped her breasts and brushed his thumb across the nipple.

  Caroline was impatient. She gripped the hem of her top and pulled the garment over her head. She then reached down and pushed her shorts down her slender legs, leaving only her panties on. Immediately, Demetri dipped his head and captured her nipple with his warm lips. A volt of electricity shook her body making her shudder with need.

  She pushed the robe from his shoulders and he wiggled out of it. The heat between them intensified as their bodies came into contact. Demetri ran his hand over her belly and down to the apex of her thighs. She opened to give him access and he massaged the flesh under panties, her moisture pushing through the fabric to wet his fingers.

  Impatiently, he wedged his hand under the waist of the flimsy garment and pulled it down. He then covered her body with his, wedged his knees between her legs, forcing them apart. She brought them up to wrap around him. He then pushed his hips forward expertly placing his cock at her entrance and sliding into her tight cunt.

  Caroline grunted as her fiancé entered her, for real this time. No more fantasizing and empty masturbation. She received him fully by pushing her hips forward. His started moving slowly, gliding in and out of her slippery flesh. Each thrust met with timely rhythm. His large bumpy cock, creating pleasurable sensations as it massaged her inner walls.

  Gradually, the tempo built along with the tension inside them. Caroline felt her head get lighter as her insides started to melt. A slice of current ran up and down her spine. As he thrust into her over and over again, something exploded inside her, shattering into tiny pieces, sending shards of fire to every corner, every limb of her body.