Page 7 (1/2)

It took a full fiveitself, before he shook himself out of it, turned and went back to the club

For the next hour and one additional bottle of Macallan, he ed to convince himself he’d done what he should He responded autolances Sure, fate would bring theether That and electronics

She was in the military; he was in thetiht?

He recalled how she’d taken off the ht and easy only in appearance Her eyes had said so much more She’d pushed hiht into it, because he didn’t want to hurt or scare her But by doing so, he’d sent her the opposite e he’d wanted to send Who the fuck cared where they would both be in a week? It hat he wanted her to carry around with her for the next year that was ilass "I need your help" There werelots of money, and the ability to find infor one of Matt’s contacts, they’d found out she was flying back to Fort Bragg in theFrom there she would return to Iraq

She ith the 18th Theater Support Coeant

Peter’s heart had flipped at that news While he treated women soldiers with respect, at heart level, he preferred woainst his deepest instincts to put a wo theined what colorful things Dana would say to that He was sure she had a odforsaken heat, with sand in every crevice and crack, was co about herwhat he’d done with thosein the airport at the security check-in point He’d gotten there four hours ahead of schedule to be sure, and been scoping it ever since As intently as he was scanning very face, he was surprised airport security hadn’t questioned him

Though he hadn’t seen her face without the mask, he knew her the second he saw her

She had only one carry-on, one of those bags woirl stuff Probably a paperback book or soht He wondered what she read, what she liked She was in the jeans he’d seen last night, but now she wore a long-sleeved, snug knit shirt over it with a vee neck that showed the right a her high and firm A small silver cross nestled into her collarbone

The face he hadn’t deht was delicate and deternity on the sli the beauty of her skull shape, the sharp slope of cheekbones A straight nose and lush, soft lips The conditioning of her body raceful, confident Men and women alike couldn’t help a second look, because confidence turned a handsoant one With aes He wondered if she put platforive her the extra five inches she’d tried to use as one of her ht

Maybe he was lucky that he’d had soan ounce of the possessiveness he was, Dana ht not think so All the suber relationships he’d had, had taught him not to confuse hormones with his heart But he saw her and, God, it was exactly like last night Everything he’d learn about this particular woman would fascinate him; he was sure of it He’d want to learn more and more This was real But that lack of doubt couldn’t erase the panicked pressure in his chest, knowing he needed , even thirtylate So he’d have to treat the next tenthe shit out of her

She saw hiht with a htened off the colu

"Coh him like an oil fire

How had he found her? Had she conjured him? For the past twelve hours, she’d tried to shake it off Finally, she’d given up, basking in the freaking glow of the iven him her address, asked for his?

Because it was best to leave it at one ht, not spoil it The fact that it was theexperience she’d ever had sexually, on a deep, emotional level, didn’t s that were different about the two of theical trappings, perfect ti That wasn’t real In a real world, Cinderella had to go back to being Cinderella the next day

She was depressingly aware that such internal arguments said more about her than the experience Maybe the reason she hadn’t found the Doh for that risk She couldn’t bear to lose soain, whether it was fro far worse So one night and one night only That was the best thing

She’d almost convinced herself of it; then she saw him there That look, the way he called her to hi the command, and her mind went AWOL