by Cat Johnson
“I remember some other things too.”
“Really? Tell me.”
“I have two kids. Jason and Juliette.” He watched her react to that.
Her surprise was apparent before she hid it. “Two kids. That’s great.”
“Mmm, hmm. I’m divorced from their mother.”
“Oh.” That one syllable seemed ripe with so much. “Do you, uh, have a girlfriend you need to call?”
He might be rusty and a little bruised around the edges from the divorce, but he knew when a woman was fishing for information and Ginny was.
“Nope. No girlfriend.”
“Oh. Okay. I just wanted to check. You know, didn’t want anyone to worry.”
He smiled. “Thank you for worrying about me.”
“Sure. Anytime. I’m just glad you’re feeling better.” She bit her lip as she raised big brown eyes to look at him.
That did nothing to help the situation in his boxer shorts. The way he was positioned, so close, touching her, there was no way she’d missed feeling it.
He swallowed. “Yeah. Definitely feeling better.”
“Good.” Her eyes narrowed as her gaze dropped to his lips for the briefest of moments.
His SEAL training had taught him to read people. Informants. Terrorists. He could detect lies and threats, but that skill transferred beyond the counterterrorism world.
If he wasn’t completely off base, Ginny wanted him as much as he wanted her.
“Ginny?”
“Yeah?”
He couldn’t seem to get the words out at first. He lifted one hand to cup her face, running a thumb across her bottom lip as he leaned in. “Tell me if I’m out of line here.”
Her throat worked as she swallowed. “You’re not out of line.”
Thank God. He let out a breath and closed the distance between them.
Her lips were soft and warm. His heart clenched at the feel of sinking into them and with the desire to sink into her.
He needed this. Needed her.
Twice in a month’s time he’d faced death and come out the other side alive. Now, he wanted to feel alive.
Being with Ginny was the best way he could think of to do that.
He kissed her more deeply. She let out the softest whimper as he breached her lips with his tongue.
The sound cut straight to his core and he wanted her more than ever. He slid one leg in between hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tighter.
Just kissing wasn’t going to satisfy the need she caused within him. He opened the buttons of her pajama top, craving her skin against his.
He broke the kiss and gazed down at her, exposed to him. “Ginny.”
“Thom.” The sound of his name on her lips—such a simple thing—made him ridiculously happy and made him want her even more.
He ran his hand down her body and felt the worn flannel covering her soft curves. He watched her face as he slid his fingers beneath the elastic waistband. She drew in a breath as he laid his palm on the bare skin of her stomach.
He moved his hand lower and watched her lids drift closed as her mouth opened with the intake of a breath.
She widened her legs, enough to encourage him to move lower still until he encountered her wet heat.
The motion of her hips moved in time with his hand.
Before he knew what he was doing he’d pulled her bottoms off and had his mouth on her. She gasped when he speared her with his fingers, filling her.
As her cries filled the room, he felt her body tense, tightening before it released and the orgasm broke.
Her muscles were still pulsing when he pushed his boxer shorts down and positioned himself between her legs.
There was no taking things slow, even with as much as he’d intended to. Not when she looked like that—gasping, her cheeks flushed and her eyes heavily-lidded with desire.
Her spine bowed as he plunged inside. She threw her head back, pressing into the pillow and giving him full access to her throat.
He scraped his teeth along the delicate skin of her neck, before running his tongue along the same path. The action sent a tremor through her.
The feel of being inside her stole what little control he had. He latched onto her throat and caught himself too late in the midst of marking her like they were teenagers.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated on every nuance of loving this woman.
Everything he’d been missing, all he’d gone without for so long, seemed two-fold with Ginny. She responded to every stroke with a catch in her breath accompanied by a tiny sound he was coming to love.
That made him want to make her do it again, and again, for as long as he could.
“Thom?” The urgency in her voice dragged him out of his own head.
“Yeah?”
“I’m not on any birth control.”
“I had a vasectomy.” That he remembered very well.
“Oh, thank God.” She gripped his ass with both hands and held him deep inside her.
He laughed at her reaction before he groaned as her body gripped his. He hissed in a breath and felt her spasm around him.
This was going to end too fast. He didn’t want to come yet but he feared he wasn’t going to have a choice.
Fuck it. They had hours more together and he intended to take advantage of every one of them.
Gripping her head in his hands, he watched the pleasure on her face as he pounded them both to completion.
Ginny was still beneath him, both of them trying to catch their breath, when the lights and television blared to life.
“What the hell?” He lifted his head and glanced around the now bright room.
“The power’s back on.”
He rolled to the side and swept both his hands and his gaze over her. “Mmm, good. Now I can see you better.”
An adorable little wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows. “You really should let me look at that head wound now that there’s light so I’ll be able to see how bad it is. And who knows if you’re hurt anywhere else.”
She ran her hands over the muscles of his back, then around to the ridges of his stomach.
That made it impossible for him to focus on his head wound or anything else except for her. “To be perfectly honest, my injury is the last thing I’m thinking about right now.”
Time to make her think less about it too. He pressed his mouth to hers and ran his palms over the warmth of her soft skin.
“You can’t see your parents with dried blood in your hair. And you shouldn’t wash your hair until I see how bad the cut is.” She somehow managed to hold on to the subject, in spite of his efforts.
“Mmm, that’s an idea. You can shower with me.”
Ginny shook her head at his one-track mind, but she couldn’t help but smile.
Encouraged and determined, he leaned low and drew her nipple between his lips. As a tremor ran through her, he knew she wouldn’t be thinking about much of anything at all if he kept that up.
They had some time to kill anyway. They’d have to wait for the hot water to heat up for the shower.
There was no doubt in Thom’s mind that he could fill that time, plus some.
That thought had him getting hard again from a long banked desire he hadn’t felt burn inside him in too long.
CHAPTER 9
Ginny woke in her bed alone.
If she didn’t have the sore muscles as proof it had been very real, it would be easy to believe the whole night had been a dream.
But Thom had really been there. They’d been together . . . In front of the fire. In the shower. In her bed. From the dark of night straight through to sunrise when they’d finally fallen asleep.
The question was, where was he now?
As comfortable as she was naked between the flannel sheets and snuggled beneath the down comforter, the thought of Thom was enough to have her flipping back the covers.
At least the house was warm now that the heat was back on. And she could make t
ea, or coffee if he preferred, since the power was back.
It felt good to be back in the land of electric lights and appliances. She’d had quite enough of pioneer living. However, she hadn’t had nearly enough of Thom.
Pulling on her pajamas and slippers, she prepared for her trek to the kitchen at the other end of the house. Vain that she was, she stopped in the bathroom first to check her hair, brush her teeth and sweep on a little blush and lip gloss.
The house was quiet as she made her way through the living room. She noticed Thom’s clothes were no longer by the fireplace. They must have dried so he put them back on. She seriously hoped that he’d be taking them off again.
It was still early. Only a little past nine. He said his parents didn’t expect him until dinner. Hopefully that meant he didn’t need to leave too soon.
One glance out the window told her the day had dawned bright and sunny. It must have warmed up a little bit too. The trees dripped with melting snow. It would be very nice if the snow on the driveway melted and she didn’t have to deal with shoveling it.
Looking across the yard toward the barn, she had to admit the snow was pretty. All white and pristine, untouched by plows or humans unlike the streets at home would have been.
She’d been a Scrooge yesterday, but today, she felt differently. There was something to be said for a white Christmas.
Ginny tore herself away from the view and continued across the living room. By the time she reached the kitchen, she was frowning. Thom was nowhere.
Maybe he’d gone to the barn looking for the shovel so he could clean up for her. If that was the case she should have something hot for him to drink when he got in.
She turned toward the stove and spotted the single piece of paper on the counter.
He’d written on the back of her grocery list. She smiled at his perfect block letters. Leave it to a military man to even write straight and orderly.
Ginny, Walking to find my car and see how bad it is. Be back ASAP. Thom
If he’d waited, she could have driven him. Then again, she had no idea if the roads had been cleared.
His car must be close by. He couldn’t have walked too far with that head injury in the worst of the storm last night.
But he’d surely be cold when he got back since he hadn’t been in the right clothes to begin with.
She grabbed the kettle and filled it with water. Hot cocoa. That would be perfect for a snowy Christmas morning. They could drink it together, in front of the fireplace while gazing out at the sparkling snow.
Just yesterday she would have rolled her eyes and had to swallow the envy if Molly had called to say she and Marco were doing something like that. Not today.
What a difference a day made . . . or a night. Not to mention about half a dozen orgasms and some of the most amazing sex of her life with one of the most perfect men on earth.
He’d been pretty insatiable and that had been fine with her. It had been way too long since she’d had a man whose sole goal was to be naked with her.
Sad but true, she’d missed that.
Hell, finding Thom in the snow at midnight on Christmas might just have her believing in all sorts of things she’d given up on. Life. Love.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus . . . and he brought grown up girls some pretty incredible gifts.
Ginny smiled. Merry Christmas to her.
Her cell phone rang from the living room and she ran for it. She saw it was her mother.
Without thinking twice she lifted it and hit to answer. “Merry Christmas!”
CHAPTER 10
The sunlight reflecting off the snow was blinding enough to make Thom wish he had the sunglasses he knew were sitting in the center console of his SUV . . . his likely totaled SUV if the tree he recalled spinning toward him before his memory went blank was any indication.
This morning he’d stepped out of the house into a completely different new world compared to last night. The day was clear and warm . . . for December in Massachusetts. The wind had passed with the storm, leaving the air still and calm around him.
The sun was rapidly melting the snow on the unplowed driveway and side road. And the main road had been plowed and was clear and dry making his walk to find his car—and his cell phone—an easy one.
Though he didn’t remember actually walking to get to Ginny’s house, he knew the route he’d driven last night after he’d been diverted off the highway. He had a pretty good idea of where he’d been when he’d crashed.
After he’d woken this morning, while Ginny had been sleeping too peacefully to wake, Thom had checked the GPS on her cell phone. It told him where he was in comparison to where he hoped his vehicle would be.
If he was correct, it wouldn’t be all that far. The short distance was one reason he’d decided to head out on foot, rather than wait for Ginny to wake and drive him.
The other reason he hadn’t waited was he really needed his cell phone. He was on leave, but he still had to be reachable by the command.
He felt naked without his phone. The fact he’d walked away and left it in the car was testament to how hard he’d hit his head.
Then there was the fear nagging in the back of his mind that maybe he’d taken it out of the car with him, and had lost it along the way somewhere.
Either way, his brain wouldn’t let the subject go. He’d feel better once he knew.
The first thing he noticed was a white SUV parked along the edge of the road in the distance. The second thing was a man coming out of the woods.
Suspecting he’d found the site of his accident, Thom broke into a jog.
The man crossed his arms and leaned against the bumper of the SUV, watching Thom’s approach through mirrored sunglasses.
As he closed the distance he recognized who was waiting for him. There was no mistaking Chris. All six-foot and two hundred pounds of him.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Thom asked when he was close enough.
Chris grinned. “Checking up on you. I thought you Yankees knew how to drive in the snow. But there seems to be a car that looks an awful lot like yours wrapped around that there tree.”
“I know.” Thom didn’t need the reminder.
“You a’ight?”
“Yup. Healthy as a horse.” Thom thought it was safest to lie.
If he admitted to Chris he had some pretty gaping holes in his memory, that he’d been so disoriented he’d thought he was on a mission in the barn last night, he’d be screwed. Chris would tell his brother Brody, and then Brody would be obligated to tell command.
Then Thom would be right back where he was last month, trying to prove to Medical he was fit for duty.
No, thank you. He was fine—now, anyway. That’s all anyone needed to know.
“Seriously, what are you doing up here?”
“Brody’s been calling you since last night. When you didn’t answer, he got worried. He got called in.” There was more Chris wasn’t saying.
Thom heard the unspoken words between the spoken ones. Something was up. Brody getting called in on Christmas Eve. Him trying to get in touch with Thom. They had to be assembling the team for a mission.
Technically, Chris being retired from the teams meant he couldn’t know details about Brody’s assignments. Realistically, the two brothers lived together and Chris was no dummy after being in the Navy for twenty years.
Brody’s cover story would probably be that he was called in, in the middle of the night on a holiday, for a training mission. Chris would know better. Hell, anyone would.
“I need to find my phone.” Tom turned toward the broken trees just off the road.
“Got it.” Chris held out the phone in one hand.
“Thank God.” Thom took it, and found the battery dead. “Shit. Battery’s dead.”
No surprise. It hadn’t been fully charged to begin with, and it had sat all night in freezing weather.
“Get in. You can plug into my car charger.”
As he moved around to the passenger side, Thom was still confused. “Did you drive here from Virginia? And where’s your truck? Whose SUV is this?”
“I flew my plane here. This is a rental.” Chris spoke before he climbed into the driver’s seat.
Thom slid into his own seat and turned to Chris. “You flew all the way from Virginia? Just to find me? What the hell’s going on?”
Chris glanced sideways as he shoved the key into the ignition. “Just call Brody.”
Thom plugged in his phone to the wire sticking out of the dash, but it was so dead, it wouldn’t even power on. He looked at Chris. “Come on. I know you know something. Tell me what’s happening.”
“You didn’t see the news?”
“No. The electric was out from the storm.” And he’d been a little busy getting to know Ginny better.
Ginny. The note he’d left said he’d be right back. He needed to tell her that he had to leave.
He should have thought to write down her number while he was using the GPS on her cell this morning. He hadn’t even considered that he’d need it.
“ISIS released another video last night.”
Thom let out a curse beneath his breath at Chris’s revelation. “Same as the last ones?”
“Yes and no.” Chris wobbled his head. “I don’t know if they got careless or if it was intentional, but on this one there were landmarks clearly visible in the distance.”
Thom’s eyes widened. “You think they’ve got a bead on where they’re holed up?”
“That’d be my guess. If Brody getting the call is any indication, I’d reckon they’ve got a location and they’re fixin’ to go in and get him.”
Him being Jihadi John, the mission Thom had been on when they’d been hit with the RPG.
He pushed the power button once more, and this time the phone sprang to life. Adrenaline had his hand shaking as he hit to call Brody.
“Bro, where the fuck you been?” Brody dispensed with the usual greeting and got right to the point.
Thom didn’t blame him. Possibly the biggest mission since Abbottabad was about to go down and Thom was thousands of miles away and not answering his phone.
“I know. Sorry. I had car problems.”
“So answer your damn phone!”