by Lindsay McKenna - Course of Action: The Rescue: Jaguar NightAmazon Gold
“Now I can see where you get all your patience and kindness.”
“The apple didn’t fall far from the tree,” he agreed, giving her warm look. “Well? Would you like to try staying with them? If you don’t like it, they won’t hold anything against you. You can leave at any time. You don’t owe them—or me—anything.” It hurt to say that because Josh loved her so damn much he could barely understand how it happened. So swift. He felt stunned by it.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’d like to try it.”
“Good.” He brought her over to the side of the bed, sitting next to him, his arm around her. “I don’t know about you, but I’m a starving cow brute. I want to call room service and order at least four hamburgers and as many fries. How about you?”
“One hamburger and fries.”
He stood and picked up her robe that had fallen to the floor. “Better put this on. And I’ll find a robe. I don’t think these poor guys from the dining room would like to roll the table in here with us naked as jaybirds.”
* * *
They lingered over the food, plates on the bed, on their bellies, munching far beyond being hungry. The salt of the fries really tasted good to Aly. And while Josh lay in his fleecy white robe, he looked like a cougar at rest. Never not dangerous.
Aly felt her lower body stir, drinking in his profile as he finished off a huge plate of fries and ketchup. There was something so incredibly confident about him. Josh never doubted himself for a moment. Unlike her...
She finally climbed off the bed, taking the empty plates to the linen-draped table.
Turning, she said, “Tell me about your deployment. You said it was three months long?” She caught the frown on Josh’s face as he slowly came off the bed and took her into his arms, nuzzling her cheek.
“I think,” he murmured, “you’re a natural-born worrywart, Ms. Landon.”
She giggled, his breath tickling her neck. She absorbed the warmth and strength of his arms around her chest. Leaning back against him, she said, “I’m certifiable. I’m a nurse. I always worry about my patients. Worry about their medication, their IV...a hundred things that need to be checked and rechecked so they’re okay and they aren’t suffering.”
“Hmm,” he murmured. Releasing her, he led her over to the antique couch. “Come sit with me.”
Josh sat in a corner and she curled up next to him, her feet beneath her, her head resting against his shoulder.
“Listen, there’s a lot I can’t tell you, Aly, because I’m on a black op. It will be in Afghanistan. I don’t want you to worry, though. Every once in a while I get choppered back to J-bad, get to be with my SEAL buddies in their world and they let me use their encrypted computer so I can write and answer emails. I might—” he kissed her hair “—beg them to have mercy on me and let me use their Skype connection to speak with you in person.”
“That would be wonderful,” she said. “But I’ll still worry, Josh. You know I will. I can’t help myself.”
“I know,” he growled good-naturedly. “My mother is the same way.” He caressed her cheek, absorbing her soft blue eyes. “You’re both RNs. Why should you be any different?” He laughed, shaking his head. “Now, I’ll have two worrywarts on my hands.”
“I won’t be a distraction, Josh. I’d never do that to you. I know enough because I’m a military brat. I won’t write you whining or upsetting letters.”
“You’ll never be a whiner, Angel. It’s not your nature to be one.” He felt her nod. “We’ve got three months ahead of us, but let’s make the best use of it. You’ll be with my parents who will love having you under their roof. They’ll probably spoil you rotten. And that’s okay, because you deserve to be spoiled for the rest of your life.”
Aly closed her eyes, reacting to the thrill of his low, deep voice, soaking up each of his touches along her neck and shoulder. “I’m feeling so spoiled right now,” she admitted.
“Wait until I get home,” he warned her with another growl. He felt her laugh, feeling her hand move across his chest. Hands of a healer.
“When you get home, what then, Josh?”
“I’m scheduled to become a Recon instructor at Camp Pendleton for the duration of my enlistment. That means I’ll be spending a year out there.”
“But you don’t have to go back to black ops? Be in dangerous situations?”
Josh heard the underlying worry in her voice. “No. I’ll be safe so that you and Mom can stop worrying.” He wanted to soothe her concern. His mind had been going a thousand miles an hour. There were so many things he wanted to share with Aly. To dream with her. But right now, she had to have time to shed the trauma and experience she’d just gone through. And in an oblique way, Josh thought this three-month separation might just be the best thing for Aly. It would give her quality, uninterrupted time to feel her way through her life, to look at it and to distill what she really wanted out of it for herself. All he could do was pray that he was included in her dreams of the future.
Chapter 8
Aly’s heart stopped for a second as the door to the Marriott suite where she was staying in San Diego opened. Three months without Josh in her life, a handful of emails and two precious Skype sessions was all she’d had with him. When he opened the door, dressed in Marine desert camo, his duffel bag across his broad shoulder, she smiled, rooted to the center of the room.
Josh had a two-day growth of beard and he looked thinner to her. He gave her a warm, welcoming smile even though he looked exhausted as he walked in, dropped the heavy duffel on the carpeted floor and opened his arms to her.
With a cry, Aly flew into his embrace. She threw her arms around his shoulders, leaning up, anxiously wanting to kiss him. She wasn’t disappointed. Never mind he smelled of sweat and dust, his mouth was hungry and curved against her smiling lips. He swept her into his arms and almost crushed her against him, the air pushed out of her lungs. But she didn’t care, dreaming of this moment for three long months. The stubble of his beard brushed against her cheek, his hand slipping beneath her hair, holding her close, holding her.
* * *
Josh allowed Aly to put her feet back on the carpet. He eased away from her mouth, looking down at her, cheeks flushed, blue eyes radiant, her soft mouth wet and smiling. He tunneled his long fingers through her loose, shining ginger hair, drinking her in, smelling the floral scent of her hair, the scent of her skin in his nostrils, the taste of her on his mouth.
“You look incredibly beautiful,” he rasped. And she did.
It was late March in San Diego, a time when the desert city sitting on the dark blue Pacific Ocean was in the seventies and everyone wore spring clothes. She’d chosen a pale yellow sleeveless dress with white buttons down the front, the silky fabric just above her knees, showing off her slender legs. She wore no makeup and he relished the sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks, and drowned in the joy he saw in her eyes.
Josh couldn’t get enough of her, running his hands down her bare, tanned arms, feeling the firmness of them. She had emailed him several times that she was learning how to be a wrangler, often going out with his father, learning how to repair a fence, set a post or managing other strength exercises. He stood back, his gaze moving appreciatively from her head down to her sandaled feet.
What a far cry from Brazil, the night he’d slipped into her bedroom to rescue her. He grinned.
“You look so different from before.” He flashed her a smile, leaned down and captured her lips. He moved his mouth slowly against hers, simply savoring her woman’s warmth and softness. As he eased his mouth from Aly’s, he noticed how she blushed, which added to her beauty.
“I’ve been doing a lot of outdoor work,” she breathed, sliding her hands across his shoulders, touching his jaw, absorbing the look in his gold-brown eyes. If Aly had any doubts he loved her, they were put to rest. Nothing had changed between them. Nothing. The yearning was the same, the excitement of being held in his arms, of kissing Josh, of feeling his raw
reaction to her mouth, her exploring hands. She frowned. “You look thinner.”
Groaning, he released her. “I am. Probably lost twenty or so pounds. It’s normal, Aly. Don’t worry.” He could see her worry. She looked so damned feminine. “Your hair is longer. You let it grow.” He touched a strand, running his fingers through the strong, silky mass that was below her shoulders now.
“I’ve always loved my hair long and your mom urged me to let it grow.” She pulled a strand across her shoulder, smiling. “You look so tired, Josh.”
He nodded. “I’ve been on Air Force transports the past three days getting home,” he said. Looking down at himself, he added, “And no shower or shave in three days, either.”
“Bathroom’s that way,” she said, pointing down the hall. “I’ve got towels, shampoo, a razor and anything else you might need to clean up.”
“Thanks,” he murmured. “What about food?”
She grinned. “I can call room service. Four hamburgers? French fries?”
A slow smile came to his chiseled mouth. “Perfect. Add a chocolate milkshake.”
Aly laughed. “Done. Go get cleaned up.”
* * *
Josh felt half human, pulling a black T-shirt and jeans from his duffel. He tugged on a pair of sneakers and joined Aly in the suite. By the time he’d cleaned up, let the hot water wash the sand and grit of Afghanistan off his skin, their lunch had arrived. He could smell the hamburgers and hot fries as he walked toward the couch. A coffee table sat in front.
Aly was waiting for him. She looked like dessert to him. He sat beside her and handed her a plate with a sandwich on it.
“You’re really going to eat all those hamburgers?” she teased, spreading the linen napkin across her lap.
“Yep,” he said, taking the first plate, opening up the hamburger and pouring ketchup all over it.
It almost felt surreal that he was here, with Aly. The three months had been a special hell for Josh. His worries had centered on Aly being at his parents’ ranch and feeling like an outsider. About two weeks into her stay, his mother had written him a long email allaying his concerns. They loved her like the daughter they’d always wanted but never had. It made Josh feel good because, finally, Aly was wanted and he knew his mother, who truly knew how to dote over a person, was exactly what Aly needed.
“Your mom and dad said to tell you hi,” Aly said.
He nodded. “As soon as I’m filled up, I’ll give them a call,” he promised. It had been his mother who had suggested Aly meet him in San Diego. He’d be coming in to Naval Air Station North Island, on Coronado, across the bay from the city. Aly had leaped at the chance.
Looking at her eating delicately, those slender fingers graceful even around a sandwich, he smiled.
“How long will you stay here?” Aly saw a gleam in his eyes. “Your parents are dying to see you, Josh. We can’t just stay out here a week. That would be selfish.” She watched him hungrily tuck away the first burger.
“I told Mom we’d stay out here three days and then fly home.” He saw her eyes go dark with worry. “Listen,” he told her, “this isn’t their first rodeo with me being gone six to nine months on deployment. They’ve been doing this since I was eighteen, Aly. They understand we love one another and would like some private time.”
“Your mom is planning a welcome-home party for you,” she said softly.
“She always does,” Josh said, reaching for burger number two. “She’ll gather the whole family.” He laughed. “Has Mom filled you in on my uncles, aunts and cousins that live in other areas of Texas? I’ve got a slew of ’em.”
Nodding, Aly said, “She’s been very informative about your family tree. And I’ve been helping her with the party. It’s been a lot of fun.”
“You two get along well,” he noted, relieved.
Aly’s eyes grew soft. “The truth is your mom is so much like my mother, Josh, that I felt like I was in a dream that first month with her. She’s a toucher, a hugger, and she was interested in me, what I needed to be happy.”
Nodding, Josh said, “Yep, that’s my mother.” He saw how relaxed Aly had become. “How are you feeling now? About the kidnapping?” Because Josh knew she’d been through a lot of compressed violence in six days’ time. It took most people years to come to terms with that kind of trauma. And given Aly was so sensitive, it could be longer. But this time, he’d be there to be a support, to hold her on the bad days when something happened to trigger a flashback, an incident or to bring on a nightmare.
“Better,” she murmured. “Your dad is also remarkable.”
“Why’s that?” He watched her expression closely because Harrison Landon had never, really, been a father to Aly. He knew his own father’s capacity to be tough but he was nothing like Landon, thank God.
She wiped her lips with the linen napkin and set her half-eaten sandwich on the coffee table. “Your dad is so different from my father, Josh.”
“That’s an understatement, Angel.”
She took off her sandals and set them aside, tucking her legs beneath her as she sat back in the corner of the sofa. “From the first day, he took me under his wing. I know I emailed you about some of our adventures.” She smiled fondly, hands clasped in her lap. “We’re like buddies. He doesn’t push me or order me around. We’ll be sitting at the table in the kitchen in the morning at sunrise and he’ll tell me what he’s going to be doing with his wranglers that day. Would I like to come along? He always leaves it up to me, Josh.”
“Mom was telling me in an email a while back that you were turning into a regular Texas cowgirl.” He saw her blush. Aly was endearing. He saw more confidence in her and that was a good thing. “You’re learning different ways to tie a knot. You helped Dad with vaccinating the calves. And you’re riding my paint gelding.”
She nodded. “It’s nice to have a home like yours, Josh. Your family’s been there since the Alamo. You have a long and proud history being Texans. It’s nice....”
Hearing the wistfulness in her voice, Josh said, “You needed to experience real family, Aly. Military brats get tossed around from one base to another or from one country to another. Not all parents were like your father, though. In your case, you never were able to have friends or to make connections like you wanted.”
“Right,” she murmured, opening her hands. “I saw that very clearly in the past three months. It’s been a real education for me, Josh. A good one.”
“So...” He hedged. “Are you ready to come and live with me in Oceanside for a year while I do my instructor work at Camp Pendleton?” He had worried that the three-month separation could shred what they’d discovered in the Amazon. Old enough, wise enough, Josh knew if Aly really loved him, their love wouldn’t die while he was on deployment in Afghanistan.
Her eyes sparkled. “More than ready. I’ve missed you so much.” She slipped her hand down his thick biceps, feeling the muscles respond beneath her fingertips.
“You’ve thought it over?” he persisted. “You’re not doing it because it’s expected of you, Aly? But because you love me? And I love you?” They had to have time to live together, to get to know one another before he could ask her to marry him. That was his ultimate goal and, given the expression on Aly’s face, he knew she was thinking the same thing.
She uncurled and slid her arm around his shoulder, resting her head against his back. “Did you worry I would fall out of love with you?”
“It could happen.”
She placed a kiss on his shoulder, sliding her fingers down his left arm, seeing the many scars along the way. “No, it only made me love you more.”
Josh’s father had filled her in on the type of dangerous, behind-the-lines work a Marine Force Recon did. Aly’d had two nightmares about it after Ted had told her.
She knew Josh worked behind enemy lines. He could work with his squad or he could work alone. And because he was a sniper, one of the best in the corps, he was always busy finding HVTs and eliminating the
m. Trying to make the world a safer place. It still scared the hell out of her.
But right now he was here, in the flesh, and she could lean against him, feel his strength, look into his gold-brown eyes and absorb that boyish smile of his. Her heart mushroomed with fierce love for him. He didn’t see himself as a hero, but she did. She always would.
“Phew, glad that’s out of the way,” he teased, picking up her fingers and kissing them and then releasing them. “We need to get an apartment in Oceanside. I’ve been stationed at Pendleton before and know the lay of the land up there.” He started on burger number three, cutting her a glance. “What do you want to do for that year?”
“I want to apply to a local college and get certified in pediatrics. Your mom encouraged me to take the time and get my skills in that area. I love children, Josh.”
“I know you do,” he said, smiling over at her. He liked her head on his shoulder, the intimacy strong between them. “Then, we’ll live in a nice apartment, you’ll go to school and I’ll teach at a school. There are some great beaches in the area and I’m looking forward to introducing you to the ocean. Boogie boarding...maybe surfing if you want.”
“I’m not much of a swimmer,” she warned him.
“We’ll see how you do. When I’ve been at Pendleton before, I’ve rented surfboards. On my days off, I’d pack a picnic lunch, put on my wetsuit and go surfing. I’m not the best at it, but I enjoy it.” His eyes gleamed. “You could always stay on the beach, take video of me washing out. My parents would love to see that.” He chuckled. He heard her laugh softly, absorbing her against him. Wanting to love her. Hold her. Cherish her.
“There’s a lot I have to do this afternoon,” Josh told her after he’d finished eating. He’d brought her into his arms, content to hold Aly and simply feel her softness against him. “I’ve got a SEAL buddy over at Coronado who’s on deployment and he’s letting me use his Jeep.” He kissed her hair. “Would you like to change into some jeans and a tank top and drive with me up to Pendleton? I have to check in, hand in my orders and get set for my teaching post.”