Read Online Semper Fidelis by Morticia Knight Kendall McKenna Sara York LE Franks Devon Rhodes T.A. Chase S.A. McAuley - Free Book Online Page A

before burying his face against Dean’s chest.
    “I was thinking about my family,” he admitted.
    Dean turned his head to look at him. “Are they all right?”
    It was sweet of him to be concerned, considering Phil had never introduced Dean to them in the two years they’d been dating. Of course, he’d never met Dean’s parents either. Dean’s father had passed away right after Dean joined the Coast Guard, and his mother had remarried.
    As far as Phil knew, she’d never visited Dean, especially since he’d been stationed at Kodiak, but Phil wondered if it was because Dean was gay or if they just weren’t that close a family.
    “Everyone’s fine,” Phil said.
    “Then what’s upsetting you?” Dean pulled back a little more, and Phil saw the concern in his lover’s eyes. “You should be sleeping the sleep of the well-fucked at the moment.”
    Damn. Well, you started it by thinking about them. You might as well finish it.
    He cleared his throat, and glanced all around the room before meeting Dean’s gaze again. “Would you be interested in maybe coming to my dad’s birthday party in June?”
    Dean’s expression went slack for a moment, and Phil wondered how much of a surprise his request was to the man. When Dean sat all the way up, Phil sighed, then shifted so that he was leaning back against the headboard.
    “Are you serious?” Dean took Phil’s hand in his. “I know it’s the Captain’s fiftieth, and all your family is going to be there. Are you sure you want me to come?”
    He opened his mouth to answer him, but Dean didn’t give him a chance.
    “Because you know I don’t want to go if you’re going to act like we’re just friends, Phil. I’ve never hidden who I was from anyone, not even the guys in my team. I’m not sure I could go an entire day just being your friend.”
    Phil squeezed Dean’s hand, and smiled. “I know that, love, and I wouldn’t want you to pretend to be someone else. You’re the man I love, and if they can’t deal with it, then that’s their loss.”
    Dean studied him. “Are you sure that’s how you’re really feeling? They’re your blood, Phil, and you need to think about turning your back on them for me.”
    “Who said I’d turn my back on them?” Phil snorted. “Anyone who doesn’t like the fact that I’m gay and in love with a man, then they’ll just have to learn to deal with it. I’m not going to deny what you mean to me, but I’m also not going to walk away. Why make it easy for them to forget about me by hiding out? Hell no. I’m going to rub their face in it until they give up and just accept us as any other couple.”
    “What if they disown you, and never want to talk to you again? What if they don’t return your calls or acknowledge that you even exist anymore?”
    Dean’s question held a hint of what must have happened to him. Phil cupped Dean’s face, then pressed their mouths together. He sucked on Dean’s bottom lip, teasing and nibbling. Phil hoped Dean could tell just how much Phil cared, and also that Phil would never deny Dean.
    When they broke apart, Dean sank into Phil’s embrace. He was glad to know Dean was willing to allow him to comfort him.
    “I don’t think my parents will do that. At least I hope they won’t. You wouldn’t think it because Pop’s been a captain of a crab boat for twenty years. He’s gruff and crude, but you know what? I’ve never heard him say anything bigoted or racist in my life.”
    He grinned as he thought about his dad. Pop had been a crab fisherman almost since the day he’d been born. Phil’s grandfather had made his living on the sea, and he’d taught all of his sons to love the water as well. Phil remembered spending entire days with his grandfather while his father had been out on the boats, and listening to him tell stories about the old days when crab fishermen were the cowboys of the sea.
    “It’s different when it’s your kid though,” Dean pointed out. He inhaled then