In the Raw
Page 26
I nodded and kissed him again, wanting my kiss to tell him everything would be okay. It’d be a lonely, sometimes rough six months but we would be fine. We had already had six months together and in another six months I’d be back. When Ethan finally broke the kiss, I bumped my forehead to his. “I love you. I’ll be home before you know it.”
He gently rubbed the pad of his thumb under my eye and nodded slowly. “I love you too. It’s only six months. I know you don’t have a Yoda phone set up yet, but try to find some way to let me know you got there safely, okay?”
I chuckled softly. “It’s Vodafone.”
He wrapped his arms tighter around me and sighed. “Whatever. Call me however you can. Even if it’s only for a few minutes.”
Not trusting my voice, I nodded. Six months without his arms around me. Six months without his smirk to make me laugh. Six months without the smell of him lingering on my skin. Six months without him pissing me off and making it up to me later.
“Jamie, you’re going to be late.”
I pushed away from warmth of Ethan’s body and looked at Claire. She wasn’t even trying to hide her tears anymore. Ethan growled, but I smiled at Claire. Without her, I would have missed my flight.
I gave Ethan a smile one last time before turning around and willing my feet to drag me to the security checkpoint. As I presented my passport to the TSA official, I stole a glance over at Ethan and Claire off to the side. My stomach cramped when I heard the official tell me everything was in order and I could go on through.
Claire had her arm looped around her much taller and larger brother as they stood there watching me walk away. Six months and I’d be back home. In six months it would be my arm around his waist instead of Claire’s.
I lifted my hand one last time to wave goodbye and walked away before I completely lost what was left of my composure. It wasn’t goodbye. I refused to believe it was goodbye.
* * * * *
Dear Reader,
There are many children and adults out there like Ethan’s family: People who don’t have enough to eat from one day to the next. For some children, the only meal they can count on is the one they get at school and millions of kids go hungry each year. No one should go hungry. Please consider giving your time, money or food donations to your local food bank. That small contribution could make a huge difference in someone’s life. Thank you.
Check out Feeding America’s website to search for your local food bank so we can all help end hunger in our communities: http://feedingamerica.org.
About the Authors
Nikka Michaels is a multi-published author who lives in the often rainy Pacific Northwest where she spends her time cooking, laughing and crafting romantic tales to satisfy her craving for HEAs with heat. A voracious reader, novice knitter and music lover, she’s been known to multitask without breaking a sweat. She loves to read and write M/M romance but believes everyone deserves a love story.
She currently has several releases out including best-selling Chasing Matt, co-authored with Eileen Griffin, Christmas with Caden from Cobblestone Press, “Waking up Wolf,” in Evernight Publishing’s best-selling Alpha’s Claim: Manlove Edition anthology, “His Assistant” from Evernight Publishing’s Executive Assistant: Manlove Edition anthology, and short stories “Room Service” and “Lip Service” from Cobblestone Press’s Blue line.
* * *
Eileen Griffin lives in Texas, but loves to travel and has spent many summers crossing Europe with nothing but a backpack on her back. She enjoys TexMex and lives for good wine. Her past published works include: Chasing Matt, a M/M novella co-authored with Nikka Michaels; Dinner for Two, a M/F romance novella; and “Claiming Ayden,” a M/M shifter romance that is part of Evernight’s Alpha’s Claim Anthology: Manlove Edition.
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ISBN-13: 9781426899119
In the Raw
Copyright © 2014 by Nikka Michaels and Eileen Griffin
Edited by Alissa Davis
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