At Her Service

Of course, if Jeff didn’t make her feel a bit more welcome pretty soon, she could be home again in ten minutes.

As if he knew just what she was thinking, he stood back, held the door wider and said, “Come in.”

That’s a start, she thought and stepped past him into the shadowy interior of the hotel room. The curtains were open on the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony, and moonlight poured into the room. The sheer white drapes ruffled in the ocean breeze and almost looked like ghosts writhing in the darkness.

The door closed behind her, and she felt Jeff step up close, pause, then move past her, farther into the room. He flipped a switch on the wall, and a small pool of lamplight banished the shadows.

Kelly swung her shoulder purse off her arm and tossed it onto the closest chair. Now that she was here, she wasn’t at all sure where to start. She ran her damp hands down the legs of her jeans and told herself to say something. Heck, say anything.

“I know Emily was a big shock …” Well, duh.

“Yeah,” he said, taking a step toward her, then stopping again. “You could say that.”

“Jeff, I would have told you earlier if I’d had any way of getting in touch with you.”

“I know that.”

“And I’m sorry my brothers were there.”

“Can’t blame ‘em,” he said stiffly. “I figure my name hasn’t exactly been popular around here for the last year and a half.”

That was putting it mildly, she thought. Ever since she’d found out she was pregnant, her brothers had wanted nothing less than either a marriage—or Jeff’s head on a plate. And they really hadn’t cared which it came down to, either.

But that decision wasn’t up to them, as she’d spent the past eighteen months telling them. This was between she and Jeff. No one else got a vote here.

“Let’s leave them out of this for now, okay?” she asked, not really wanting to talk about her brothers at the moment.

He nodded and pinned her with a look that nearly set fire to her jeans. “Trust me. I’m not thinking about your brothers right now.”

Oh, man. Kelly swallowed hard and walked toward him, one slow step at a time. “What are you thinking about?” she asked, and was amazed that she’d managed to squeeze that many words past the knot of pure, soul-deep hunger lodged in her throat.

He shook his head. “You know damn well what I’m thinking about, Kel. The same thing I’ve been thinking about and dreaming about for the last eighteen months.”

“You, too?” she asked before she could stop herself. It probably wasn’t playing the game to admit to a man just how badly you wanted him. But then again, who was playing here?

She took another step and came within reaching distance. His gaze moved over her face, her hair, her body like the tenderest of lover’s touches, and her heartbeat quickened into double time.

“Every night,” he said, his voice a low scrape of sound in the stillness, “whenever I closed my eyes, you were there. Your scent. Your taste.”

Her knees wobbled dangerously.

“Your touch,” he whispered, and lifted one hand to smooth his fingertips along the line of her cheek and jaw.

She trembled and fought for breath.

“It’s been a long time,” she said softly, her gaze locking with his.

“Too damn long,” he agreed, and cupped the back of her neck with one hand, drawing her closer still.

She went willingly, laying her palms against his chest, feeling the hard, solid warmth of him. His heartbeat pounded quickly beneath one hand, and she knew her own heart was keeping time. Her blood felt hot and thick in her veins. Her head spun dizzily at his touch, and her breasts ached.

Kelly stared up into those blue eyes of his and read the hunger written there. Seeing his desire, so naked, so pure, touched a match to her insides and ignited an inferno within. Slowly, so slowly, the expectation was darn near painful, he lowered his head toward hers and she rose up to meet him.

This, she thought. This was why she’d come. This was why she hadn’t been able to wait until tomorrow. She’d needed to have his hands on her. Needed to kiss and be kissed. Needed to hold and be held. Needed to lie beneath him, feeling him fill the emptiness inside.

And then his mouth came down on hers, and she stopped thinking. Her brain clicked off and her body clicked on. Sensation rippled through her, and she slid her palms up his chest and around his neck. Holding on to him tightly, she felt his arms slide around her and lock like twin steel bands, pinning her to his body with an easy strength she remembered all too clearly.

He parted her lips with his tongue and claimed her anew. Breath mingling, sighs exchanged, their tongues met in a clashing dance of need and want. He shifted one hand to the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair and holding her for his kiss. A kiss that gave, as well as took. She clung to him, tasting him, teasing him, aligning her body along his. And it wasn’t nearly enough. There were too many clothes separating them. She needed to feel his skin against hers.

His hands swept around and up, cupping her breasts, thumbing her nipples through the soft angora sweater she wore. Kelly tore her mouth free of his and moaned gently at his touch. “Jeff …”

“I know, baby,” he muttered thickly. “Me, too. I need to feel you. All of you. Now.”

“Yes,” she murmured, opening her eyes briefly to look up at him. “Now. Please.”

Jeff’s hands dropped to the hem of her sweater, and in one swift move, he had it up and over her head. Tossing it to one side, he ran his hands up and down her back while his gaze locked on her lace-covered breasts. Fuller, he thought. Rounder than before. And still so damn perfect.

She trembled against him, and that gentle movement echoed inside him. Reverently, he lifted both hands to the front clasp between her breasts and deftly undid it. She sucked in a huge gulp of air as the bra came loose and stood perfectly still when he scooped it off her shoulders and down her arms.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, and cupped her breasts in his palms.

“Jeff …” she said on a sigh.

His thumbs and forefingers tweaked her already rigid nipples, tugging and pulling gently until her breath came short and fast. She reached out and held on to his forearms, curling her fingers into his skin until her trim nails dug into his flesh. Then he dipped his head and gave into the urge riding him. Taking first one nipple and then the other into his mouth, he tasted her, rolling the sensitive tips with his tongue, swirling across her skin, luxuriating in the feel of her beneath his mouth.

“Oh, my,” she whispered. “I missed you so much.” And she held on tighter even while she arched into him, offering herself to him, silently demanding he take more, give more.

So he did. He suckled her, drawing on those pink tips until she quivered in his grasp and only his hands at her waist were holding her upright. And when she groaned, deep and low, he straightened up and looked down into her eyes. Keeping their gazes locked, he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled the zipper down. She smiled at him. A soft, small, knowing smile and then returned the favor.

She slowly undid the buttons on his fly, and each time her knuckles brushed his skin, he sucked in another gulp of air and knew it would never be enough.

She freed him from his jeans and curled her fingers around his hard flesh. Jeff clenched his jaw and pulled air in through gritted teeth as he slid one hand down the front of her jeans and beneath her silk panties to cup her heat.

The smile on her face died instantly, but her fingers continued to work their magic on his flesh as he delved first one finger and then two into her hot center.

She rocked her hips against his hand, lifting up, moving so that he could touch her more fully, more completely.

“Jeff,” she whispered, “I can’t … I can’t breathe.”

“Then don’t,” he told her, his own voice tight. “Just feel.” He smoothed the tip of a finger across her most sensitive spot, and she groaned, adjusting her stance to give him more access. Again and again, he touched her, rousing her, pushing her higher and higher, all the while trying to control his own response to her hands on him.

Her breath came fast and furious. Her body trembled. And when she cried out his name and fell against him, shaking with the force of the climax pounding through her, he carefully eased her down onto the floor. There he whisked off her clothes, got rid of his own and paused to grab a condom from the pocket of his jeans. When he was protected, he pushed himself inside her warmth and relished the feel of her legs lifting and coming around his waist.

This, he thought, feeling her body surround him, hold him, this was what he’d waited for. What he’d missed. This one woman. This one place where everything else in the world fell away.

He’d lived through misery and combat and loneliness, but here with her, none of it mattered. She held on to him, her hands running up and down his back as she urged, “Again, Jeff. Take me there again. It’s been so long.”

“Again,” he repeated, lifting his head to look down into her eyes as his own climax hovered just out of reach. “And again. I’ll never stop,” he promised, meaning every word.

He’d thought about this for too long. Waited for it. Dreamed about it. And now that she was here, in his arms, her breath dusting against his face, he had to have her. He worked her body with his fingers, his hands. Touching, soothing, stroking, plunging. No rest. No stopping. He couldn’t get enough of her and felt in her response that she felt the same.

Plunging in and out of her warmth, he stoked the fires within them both until they were engulfed in the flames. Thought fled, only hunger remained and still they touched and kissed and stroked.

His body tightened, his control slipped and she held him close, lifting her hips, racing to meet the climax crashing down on her. And when he thought he would lose his mind with the want, she said on a sigh, “Oh now, Jeff. Hold me.”

He held her tightly, took her mouth with his and as her body quickened around his, he surrendered and rode the wave of his own completion, nestled safely in her arms.

Six

“Wow,” Kelly murmured when she found her voice again.

“That about says it,” Jeff agreed, and slowly, like a man afraid to move too quickly, rolled to one side of her. Keeping her close, he wrapped one arm around her and held her tightly to him.

She ran the flat of her hand across his chest and paused to feel the rapid beat of his heart. Smiling to herself, she cuddled in, nestling her head on his shoulder. Okay, maybe that hadn’t solved anything. Maybe they still had problems to resolve and questions to answer. But by heaven, it had been wonderful. Just to be with him again.

“Glad you dropped by,” Jeff said, and his voice rumbled through his chest like the echo of a passing train.

“Yeah,” she said, tipping her head back to look up at him. “Me, too. By the way, nice floor.”

One corner of his mouth lifted into a quirk of a smile. “Nothing but the best from me.”

It figured that with a perfectly good bedroom just steps away, she and Jeff would end up on the plushly carpeted floor. It had always been like that between them. From the moment they’d met.

Well, she corrected silently, from the moment she’d regained consciousness to discover this gorgeous Marine giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. She hardly recalled getting hit in the head by a stray surfboard. She certainly didn’t remember sinking beneath the waves and swallowing half the ocean. But everything else about that day was etched in living, brilliant color in her memory.

Stretched out on the sand, someone’s mouth on hers. She coughed, opened her eyes and looked up into a pair of blue eyes so pale, so clear it was as if she could see right through them into the hunk’s soul. Then, as coughing spasms wracked her, he held on to her, soothing, stroking, gently whispering words of encouragement that reached into her heart and eased away the fear.

He’d saved her life, everyone said. She heard the smattering of applause from their bathing-suit-clad audience. But all she focused on was him. There was something between them, even then. And when he took her to lunch and then dinner, that something grew, blossoming out of nothingness to envelop them both in a wild, rare burst of passion and need that Kelly had never known before.

And for two weeks, they’d reveled in it and each other. It was as if they’d known each other before. Some other time, some other place. Not that she believed in that sort of past-life thing. But what other explanation was there for the connection that only strengthened with each passing day?

The sex had been incredible, but safe. They’d both been careful. And yet … as the saying went, “Life found a way.” He hadn’t been gone more than two weeks when Kelly discovered she was pregnant. In a weird sort of way, she hadn’t even been surprised. It was as if what they’d experienced, what they’d found together was just too big to be contained.

“Kelly,” he said, bringing her wandering thoughts back to the present, “we still have to talk.”

“I know,” she said, skimming her hand down across his chest and back up again.

He sucked in a gulp of air and captured her hand, holding it tightly. “Keep doing that and we won’t get much talking done.”

Truth be told, she’d just as soon put off the talking. There was bound to be another argument. Because no matter what he said, she didn’t want to get married. Marriage had never been in her plans. Of course, growing up with four bossy older brothers probably had a lot to do with that. Still, it was probably best to get this settled between them.

“Okay,” she said, surrendering to the inevitable. Pushing up into a sitting position, she looked down at him and said, “Let’s talk.”

His gaze swept over her body, lingering on her breasts for a moment, before he sighed and raised up on both elbows. “You don’t make it easy on a man, do you?”

“Dressed or undressed, there’s nothing about this that’s going to be easy, Jeff.” “It could be.”

“If I do what you want.” Typical, she thought. Hadn’t she been dealing with four males all of her life? She’d learned early that if you wanted to have smooth sailing, all you had to do was agree with them. But smooth sailing wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She’d just as soon have waves as surrender her own opinions.

And heaven knows, she was plenty used to going up against a hardheaded male.

“It’s not just what I want,” Jeff said, meeting her gaze squarely. “It’s what’s best for Emily.”

“Really?” A brief, red-hot spurt of anger shot through her, chasing away any lingering warm fuzzies she might have been feeling. She pushed her hair back from her face and glared at him. “You’ve known your daughter for about five hours and you already know what’s best for her?” “I didn’t say that, exactly.” “Yes, you did.” “No, I didn’t.”

“And how do you come by this spectacular piece of insight?” she went on, warming to the attack. “By benefit of your far superior male brain?”

“Come on, Kelly,” he said, eyes narrowing. “No, really,” she said, and stood up, preferring to be on her feet for the argument that was headed her way at a fast clip. “That’s what you meant.” “Damn it, I did not.”

“Don’t curse at me,” she warned him. “And yeah, you did.”

“So now you know what I mean even when I don’t?”

She wagged one finger at him and shook her head, sending those curls of hers into a wild dance around her face. “You don’t think I know what you mean, but I do and I think you know I know.”

“Huh?” Jeff’s features twisted as he tried to follow that little piece of logic. But Kelly wasn’t listening. She was already on a tear. Damn, this evening had gone to hell in a hurry.

First the gift of her appearing at his door when he most needed her. Then a mind-numbing reunion. Now this. For pete’s sake, what did he do that was so damn terrible? Was a proposal from him so repellent?

“Don’t you play all innocent with me, Jeff Hunter,” she was saying as she marched—buck naked—back and forth in front of him.

Boy, it didn’t do much for a man’s concentration. How in the hell was he supposed to focus on an argument when he was watching those breasts of hers? Not to mention that finely curved behind?

Then she started talking again and spoiled the moment completely.

“You want us to get married because you have some old-world notion that it’s the honorable thing to do.”

“Well, it is,” he countered, silently objecting to the term old world. Hell, was it that out of date to be a decent guy? To stand up and take responsibility for your actions?

Standing up, he faced her on his own two feet. Folding his arms across his chest, he kept his gaze fixed on her while she continued to pace.

“Fine,” she said. “You did the honorable thing. You offered. But I don’t want to get married.” “Why the hell not?” That stopped her cold.

She planted both hands at her bare hips and tapped the toes of one foot soundlessly against the carpet. “Are you serious? For one thing, we hardly know each other!”

Eyebrows arched, he glanced at the floor, then back to her. “I think we know each other pretty damn well.”

“That’s sex, Jeff.”

“Yeah, I know what it is.” And if he was any judge, they were damn good at it.

“Good sex really isn’t considered a basis for a long-standing relationship.”

“God, I hate that word,” he muttered. “What word?”

“Relationship,” he snapped. “Everyone tosses that word around these days to cover everything from a parent and a child to married couples. Relationship problems. How to build a successful relationship.” He shook his head. “What we’re talking about here is getting married and providing our daughter with two parents.” “She has two parents.” “I mean two parents together.” “Oh, really?” she asked, tipping her head to one side and staring at him thoughtfully. “Together? So you’re saying if we got married, you’d leave the Corps. Leave Force Recon and be a regular nine-to-five husband and father?”

A cold chill crawled up his spine at the thought of spending the rest of his life tucked away behind a desk. He’d go out of his mind in nothing flat. He loved his job. Hell, he was good at it. And he wasn’t at all sure he could give it up. Not even for Kelly.

And what did that make him? “Uh-huh,” she said, obviously reading his thoughts by the expression on his face. “I thought not. So what is this ‘together’ stuff?”

He scrubbed one hand across his face. “By together, I mean married. A couple. A family. With one name. A mom and a dad and a kid.”

She sighed and shoved both hands through her hair, sculpting it back from her face, giving him a clear look at her high cheekbones, wide green eyes and lush mouth. Something inside him tightened. God, she was gorgeous. And Jeff wanted her again with a fierceness that shook him to his bones.

Her hands dropped to her sides, and she looked at him as if willing him to understand. Which he didn’t.

“Jeff,” she said in a weary voice, “I don’t want a husband. Any husband.”

Well, he thought, at least it wasn’t just him she was refusing. It wasn’t personal. This was something that went deeper for her. He didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, either. On the one hand, if it wasn’t him she had a problem with, he still had a chance to convince her. But if she simply had a problem with marriage, it was going to be hard to get past that.

And it wasn’t as if this was easy for him, either. Hell, if there was one thing in life he’d never been interested in, it was marriage. He just wasn’t the kind of man women looked at and thought, Ah, husband material.

He was more the type for one-night stands and the occasional spectacular weekend. Until Kelly, that is. Ever since those two weeks with her, Jeff had been haunted by thoughts of what-if. It wasn’t just the fact of Emily’s presence that had him wondering about a life with Kelly. It was her and how she made him feel when he was with her. Emily had simply speeded up the process. Marriage itself was still a terrifying prospect. But he’d never be able to look in a mirror again if he didn’t do everything possible to get her to agree. A man wasn’t worth much if he didn’t stand up and take responsibility for his actions.

“Hell, Kelly,” he said, folding his arms across his chest and giving her a half smile, “I’m not just any husband.”

One corner of her mouth quirked as she shook her head. “Good one.”

“Thanks,” he said, “I try.” As she blew out a breath, those curls danced above her forehead and Jeff smiled at the picture she made. Not many women could stand there stone naked and argue without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Yep. Kelly was one in a million.

“I don’t want to fight anymore, Jeff. That’s not why I came here tonight.”

“Why did you come?” he asked softly. She sighed, waved her hands to indicate her nudity and admitted, “To see you.” “I’m glad.”

“Are you?” she asked. “Even with the arguing?”

“Baby, I’ve missed that about you, too,” he admitted, walking across the room to stop directly in front of her. Reaching out, he rubbed his palms up and down her upper arms and smiled to himself when she sort of leaned in toward him. “There’s nobody I’d rather argue with.”

“Hmm …”

“Don’t believe me?” he asked, smiling. “Trust me, Travis, Deke and J.T. don’t look nearly as good as you do when their tempers are up.”

“You’re a real sweet talker, aren’t you?” she asked, that quirk tugging at her mouth again.

“When I have to be.”

Her smile faded at that.

“Jeff …” She lifted her gaze to his, and he found himself falling into the depths of her green eyes. At that moment, he would have promised her anything.

“Yeah?”

“Could we stop arguing—just for tonight?”

An easy enough thing to promise. Hell, he didn’t want to argue anymore, either. Not after waiting a year and a half just to get his hands on her again. Besides, there would be plenty enough time to go over his proposal in the next two weeks. He wasn’t a man to give up easy and he figured she knew that.

“Sure,” he said, and pulled her close, holding her up against him, reveling in the soft feel of her body aligned along his. When her arms went around his waist, he breathed deep, drawing her scent inside him where he would keep it, along with the memory of this moment, forever. “I think we can do that.”

She nestled in close, laying her head on his chest, and Jeff rested his chin atop her head. They stood locked together in the moonlit shadows and measured the passing seconds in heartbeats.

Hours later, Kelly woke up alone in the king-size bed. One arm stretched out, reaching for Jeff, but all she found was what felt like an acre of cool sheets. She blinked and sat up, trying to wake, wondering where he’d gone.

Grabbing up the closest piece of clothing, she slipped one of Jeff’s T-shirts over her head and smiled to herself when the hem came down to the middle of her thighs. A big man, she told herself and smiled again, remembering just how well she’d relearned that body of his during the past few hours.

Her muscles ached, but if a minor discomfort was the price to be paid for feeling as well loved as she did, then it was worth it. No wonder the military wives she’d come to know in the past year or two never seemed to mind their husbands being deployed. Oh, boy, when they came back home, they more than made up for their absence!

Sex with Jeff had always been intense, explosive. But tonight … She inhaled sharply and blew it out again, trying to steady herself. Tonight, he’d outdone himself. Tonight, they’d crossed the line from “pretty amazing” into “downright awesome.”

His scent still clung to her, and Kelly had the feeling that it might never wear off. It was as though he’d been trying to burn himself into her mind and body and soul.