His erection brushed her inner thigh, and his hips jerked. He ached for the tight heat of her, but distracted himself by worshipping her body. His lips claimed her throat, and his teeth marked every inch of it as his with taunting, gentle bites that left her tossing her head, crying out in sharp little gasps. His fingers traced over her stomach through her shirt, and rose to cup her breasts again. His thumbs teased her nipples through the fabric, and she writhed.
“Jeremy,” she whimpered.
“Not yet, love,” he said, and kissed her again. Slower. Deeper. Loving her mouth with obsessive focus, exploring every inch of her while his fingers teased her clothing away. She arched her hips as he drew her shorts off and peeled her panties down. But when he went for her shirt, she froze.
“Wait,” she gasped, stiff beneath him. “Turn out the lights.”
“No.” He brushed his mouth to hers and tightened his grip on the shirt. He tasted her tears. He knew she had a hard time letting go, but if he didn’t show her now, she would never believe him. “Trust me. You’re beautiful.”
“No.” She shook her head. “No, I’m not.”
He met her eyes. “You are. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met.”
Her smile was watery through her tears. “When you say it, I almost believe it.”
His heart wrenched in his chest. He traced his thumb over her lower lip and kissed away her tears, then coaxed her hands away from their death grip on the shirt. “One day,” he said, “you won’t need me to say it for you to know it’s true. But until then, I’ll show you as many times as you need.” He slipped his hand beneath the shirt and rested it against the bare skin of her stomach; she sucked in a breath. “If you really don’t want me to do this, I’ll stop. But seeing your scars won’t change how I feel about you. It didn’t make me leave before, and it won’t make me leave now.”
Her eyes locked on his. Her shaking fingers touched his cheek. The combination of fear and adoration in her eyes nearly ripped him apart. “Okay,” she said.
More than fear and adoration…he realized there was trust there. Trust in him. Trust that he would never hurt her. Trust no one else had ever given him. He smiled.
He would give her everything he could in return.
He lifted the shirt inch by inch. His lips followed the fabric, trailing kisses up to her scarred stomach. He’d expected her to close her eyes, but she watched his face without flinching. Each kiss brought him closer to her breast, until he took the warm peak of her nipple into his mouth and caressed it with the tip of his tongue.
She cried out and buried her fingers in his hair. Tears streaked down her face, yet she arched and moaned in pleasure as he showed her just how much he loved her body. He loved her with his lips, with his tongue, with gentle nips and nibbles, leaving nothing untouched. There was no part of her he didn’t adore, and no part of her he didn’t taste.
It took the last of his shredded self-control to pull away, panting, long enough put on a condom. She grasped at his hips and dug her fingernails into his skin.
“Jeremy,” she pleaded, and tugged him closer. “Now.”
He took a steadying breath and kissed her. As her tongue caressed his mouth, he thrust fully into her. She enveloped him in lustrous, gliding heat, the wet fire of her stroking him until he groaned. She couldn’t have fit him more perfectly. She was amazing.
She was his.
“I—I can’t go slow,” he gritted out through his teeth. Need left his body taut, and so very ready. He’d planned on languid, unhurried lovemaking, but he didn’t think he could hold back any longer.
“Then don’t,” she panted. She arched against him, scratching her nails down his back.
His mind stopped working. His body, his desire, his consuming need for her took over. Only she could give him this pleasure. He drove into her. She rose to meet him, wanton and wild. He met her every demand, wildness for wildness, madness for madness, kiss for kiss, passion for passion.
Pleasure mounted in a cresting surge, and he matched the rhythm of her body until she tensed. With a sighing, shuddering cry, she peaked, tightening around him in convulsing waves, her body trembling, her skin glistening with sweat. Her slickness poured over him, and he filled her again and again until bliss spread through his body and melted him.
He collapsed atop her, heart racing, and held her close. It was long moments before he could speak, before he could even move. He pushed himself up on shaking arms.
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “You’re amazing.”
She blushed. A shy smile crept across her lips. “It’s my best kept secret.”
He burst into laughter. God, he couldn’t imagine no longer having her in his life. He’d never planned much for the future, but now he saw one with her. One that would give him a reason to fight, a reason to survive, so he could come home to her waiting arms.
“Brat,” he murmured, and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose—then finally kissed that dimple that had teased him for so long. “Keep it a secret. I don’t want anyone else stealing you away.”
The warmth in her eyes left him breathless. “You don’t have to worry about that. You weren’t the only one with a crush.”
“So you finally admit I was right?”
“This one time. One time. Don’t get used to it. It won’t happen again.” She trailed a fingertip over his arm. “Everyone knows I’m always right.”
That one light touch was enough to rouse him again. If he wasn’t careful, she’d kill him. He sank down against her and buried his face in her throat, breathing in the scent of her warm skin. The scent of her pleasure. The scent of both of them, together.
“Why did you run away?” he asked, brushing his lips over her neck. “When I told you, the first time.”
She laughed. “Because I thought you’d slept with my brother’s wife! What did you think I’d do? And you were drunk. And I was scared. I’d loved you for so long, and there you were, telling me you loved me too. I didn’t know whether to believe you or run screaming.”
“So you ran screaming.”
“I could have sworn ‘Captain Obvious’ was my job description.”
He could have kicked himself. He was such a fool. Of course she wouldn’t throw herself into his arms three minutes after he’d told her Tommy had beaten the shit out of him for sleeping with his wife. Maybe Tommy hadn’t hit his younger self hard enough, if he was that much of a dumbass.
Then the full meaning of her words struck him. “Wait. You loved me? That wasn’t just something Tommy said?”
“Can my brother not keep anything secret?” She slumped beneath him. “Yes. I did. I don’t think I’ve ever stopped. I couldn’t even bring myself to care when my fiancé left, because he wasn’t you. I thought I loved him, but…I couldn’t. Not like I loved you.”
She loved him. She really, honestly loved him. Jeremy pressed his cheek to her hair and crushed her close against him.
She groaned. “Can’t. Breathe.”
He relaxed his grip a fraction and kissed her temple. “If you can talk, you can breathe, love.”
She glowered at him. “Oh, shut up.” Then she colored. “No, don’t. Say it again.”
“If you can talk, you can breathe?”
“No. The other part. The part where you called me…”
“…love,” he finished, and smiled when she dropped her eyes, lashes sweeping down. She was so achingly, perfectly beautiful. Every scar. Every nervous little gesture. Everything about her, from the way she compressed her lips when she was angry to the way her nails bit into his back when she cried out his name in the heights of passion. “My love. Now, and always.”
She hid her face against his shoulder. “Now you’re just embarrassing me. Shut. Up.”
“I don’t think you’re embarrassed. I think you like it…love.”
With a growl, she shoved him off, then straddled him. Her eyes shone. Her hair framed her face in a lustrous tangle of chocolate. “I’ll make you
shut up, if you won’t do it on your own. And trust me, you won’t be able to handle my methods.”
“Try me,” he said, and rolled his hips against her.
She gasped, then slid down his body and kissed a path to his hips. Her lips were like silk on his skin. Her fingers caressed his erection, making him throb and stealing his breath.
“I will,” she said. “Trust me, I will.”
He bit back a moan. “Have I mentioned how much I love you?”
“Possibly. And it’s entirely possible I might love you, too.”
Then her lips closed around him, and he lost the ability to speak.
She was right. She knew just how to shut him up.
Chapter Seven
Erica stretched and smiled up at the ceiling. The past three days had been amazing. Jeremy hadn’t left her side for longer than it took to shower and eat. Every night, he’d held her in his arms. They’d talked for hours, about everything. What had happened when they’d been apart. Their families. The life they wanted to make together.
And every morning he told her how beautiful she was, and made love to her in the rising sunlight.
It was entirely unfair that soon he’d have to return to base, hours away—and not long after that, he’d be away on deployment again. It hurt to think she wouldn’t see him every day, or feel his skin against hers while she slept. Her smile faded. She ran her hand over the empty place in the bed. If only he could move here, and stay with her. But the military didn’t work that way. Jeremy still had three years on this tour, and no plans to leave the Marines.
He was a career soldier, and proud of it. She was proud of him, of everything he fought for. But what did it mean for them? She’d deploy with him in a heartbeat, follow him anywhere he meant to go. She loved him, had always loved him. But it was too soon. Too fast.
Jeremy sauntered into the bedroom carrying two cups of coffee. “In case you were wondering, yes, I also provide valet service.”
She forced a smile and sat up. She couldn’t let him know she was worried. Not when they had so little time left together. “Thank you,” she said, taking a mug.
His gaze roamed over her face. “What’s wrong? You look upset.”
She sighed. Damn the man for knowing her so well, right down to her false smiles. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just so…happy.”
He quirked a brow. “And that upsets you…?”
“You’re leaving.” She swallowed hard. “I’ll miss you here.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” He kissed her forehead and settled at her side. “We’ll make it work, though. My weekends are always open.”
She nodded. “I can make mine work.”
“Or…” He locked those scorching eyes on her. “When you’re ready, we could look into you coming out with me.”
“When I’m ready?” she replied with an uneasy laugh. “What about you? Don’t you have to be ready, too?”
“I’ve been ready to spend my life with you for years.” He set his coffee down, took hers, and set it on the nightstand. He slid his body over hers, pressing her down into the bed with his deliciously hot weight. His fingers laced with hers and held them pinned to either side of her shoulders. “I’ve just been waiting for you to feel the same. When you’re ready, so am I. I want to have it all. Marriage, kids, crappy base housing.” He grinned. “I want all of that, but only with you.”
The lawyer side of Erica’s brain said it was too much, too fast. Divorce rates were ridiculously high, especially among military spouses. But her heart wasn’t listening. Her heart had waited far too long to be this happy.
Had waited far too long to have him as her own.
She let her heart decide, for once. “I’m ready for all of that. I love you. Whether we live here or there…I’m yours.”
He captured her lips in a brief, dizzying kiss that bordered on savage. “You’ll never be able to get rid of me.”
He moved to kiss her again. She pressed her fingers to his mouth. “Hold on. I do have one request.”
“Anything.”
“When they ship you back overseas, don’t get shot.”
He laughed. “Love, I told you, I’m too ornery. I’m only vulnerable when it comes to you. There…I’m completely defenseless.”
She fingered the dog tags dangling between them. “I like the sound of that.”
“Planning to abuse me mercilessly?”
“Maybe not mercilessly.”
He laughed. She smiled and traced her fingers over his lips. He was so amazing. So right for her. The split in his lower lip was still healing; she touched it gently. One stupid night in Vegas, one fistfight he never should have gotten in, had thrown him out into the desert and brought him back into her life.
She couldn’t imagine how she’d managed without him.
“You and me,” she said. “I think we can handle anything.”
“Together?” he asked.
“Together.”
He pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around him. Things might be uncertain. They might be hard. But right now, she’d never been more certain of anything in her life.
Wherever he belonged, so did she.
Epilogue
Erica stood in the huge crowd of women and children, and peered anxiously over their shoulders. Any minute now, the bus would pull in and Jeremy would come striding out. He’d been overseas for seven painfully long months. Her body hummed with anticipation. She fidgeted and tightened her grip on her homemade WELCOME HOME sign until she felt the wood creak under her chokehold. She relaxed her fingers and stole a quick glance at her watch.
Still only seven thirty. Damn it.
“Relax,” Tommy soothed, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “He’ll be here soon. Any minute now, he’ll come strutting out.”
“I’ll relax when I can see him again,” she snapped, and instantly regretted it.
She couldn’t help herself. She was big as a house and cranky as a rattlesnake, with a bite twice as toxic. This morning’s fight with the dispatcher at Pendleton hadn’t helped, but someone needed to fix the plumbing in their shitty little base bungalow. She rubbed her swollen stomach and grimaced. The sun beat down on her head, boiling her alive. Was it always this damned hot in San Diego, or was it just her pregnant hormones trying to boil her alive?
The front of the crowd stirred. Voices rose. Erica stood up straight. Her heart tripped over itself. Tears prickled her eyes. Please, God, let it be him. This rollercoaster was killing her.
“I can’t see, Tommy. Are they here?”
Tommy stood a good foot above her, well above the crush of people. He’d flown out to help with her pregnancy during the last grueling months, but right now he wasn’t enough. People milled in front of her, behind her, next to her. Everyone was here except the one person she truly wanted.
“Tommy!” She jammed her elbow into his ribs. “Say something. Do you see them?”
“Ow! I’m looking, brat.” He craned to see. “Yeah, I think I see the bus. They’re coming out. Shit, they all look the same in their gear.”
She watched every face that moved through the crowd, each soldier rushing into the arms of mothers, wives, brothers, sons. Not one was Jeremy. Several of the women around her cried out names and fought through the crowds to reach their men, but Erica was silent. Searching. The emotion, so thick in the air, was nothing compared to the bubbling cauldron of frustration and lonely, choking need ready to boil over inside her.
As the crowd thinned with no sight of him, Erica practically screamed. “Where the hell is he?”
One last straggler stepped off the bus. Everyone else faded as Erica’s eyes locked on him. His gaze found her immediately, and the moment their eyes met, her smile nearly burst across her face and her eyes overflowed. He practically vaulted down the last step off the bus and took off running. She laughed and fought through the crowd to meet him, letting her house-sized belly lead the way. Her sign dropped to the ground. She didn’t care.
/> They nearly crashed into each other, and he swept her up into his arms and kissed her. She met his lips eagerly. She’d been denied for too long. A lightning bolt of pleasure and love struck through her. His hands roamed down her back, yanking her closer—until her belly got in the way. He released her with a sigh, but every promise in his eyes said he’d find a way once they were alone.
Her hands shook as she touched over his face with wonder. He looked so tan, so thin. Seven months in the desert would do that, but she was almost afraid to touch him, as if he was a mirage that would fade if she dared press too close.
“Jeremy,” she whispered.
He rested his brow to hers, his fingers tight on her hips. “Jesus, Erica. I missed you.”
She smiled and wiped away the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. “I missed you too. Dealing with pregnancy cravings solo? Really sucks.”
He let out a choked laugh. Tommy drew closer and pulled Jeremy into an affectionate hug.
“I’m thinking he did that on purpose. Left me alone with the brat at her crankiest—and her most demanding.” Tommy snorted. “She made me go out at three AM for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Three times. In one week.”
Erica blushed and hid her face in Jeremy’s fatigues. “…I was hungry.”
“I’m sure the baby appreciates it.” Jeremy grinned and rested his hands to her stomach. As if the baby sensed him, he kicked her. Right in the kidney. She flinched. Jeremy watched her belly, his face rapt, wondering. “Holy shit. I think I made it just in time.”
“The sooner the little monster stops kicking me, the better, but we are not having a baby tonight.” She frowned at him. “We have other plans.”
Tommy arched a brow. “We do?”
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