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She’d won She could see it in his eyes--angry but resigned Scrubbing his hands over his face, into his hair, he dropped to the foot of the bed
He really was exhausted, sore from shots and weary in his heart over her sister, too Over the end of their relationship, as well?
Out of the blue a er and pain, of the tiery How could she have forgotten that?
His hands slid from his face to clasp loosely between his knees while he studied the patternless carpet "I’ll start the paperwork thisYou’ll have orders in hand by close of business"
Victory led with a chilly twist of loss as she stared at his weary broad shoulders that, because of her, wouldn’t be resting anytime soon "Jack, thank--"
Slowly he looked up, eyes hard, unrelenting "Don’t thank me I have conditions"
Uh-oh He wouldn’t actually ask her to sleep with hih her
"You don’t leavequarters--"
"Fine"
Man, he gave that part up easily She punted aside ridiculous disappointment "What do you round and awake, you’re right there within to save your sister solo You’re only there as a part of the es and tend any wounded afterward We have medics for the battlefield"
Her toes curled in her boots His conditions chafed since they wouldn’t have applied to anyone else, but this was his show Heelse?"
Jack stood, took one step, another, until he stopped chest to chest with her in the s brsts to him What had she just committed herself to?
"Jack?" She pushed his na
"That’s it, Monica" His mouth pulled up at the corners in a slow set the hell out of my room, because we both knoouldn’t take much effort for rab her bag, she didn’t even consider answering No need since, daes, he spoke the total truth
"Crew, feet wet," Jack called through his headset "Crossing out of US airspace"
The Atlantic rippled below and ahead of hi in the plane behind him Her voice filled the radio waves as she spoke with one of the other planes in formation Filled his ears His ether in the thirty-six hours following their confrontation Not that it made any difference since she’d blasted back into his life
Multiple voices drifted through the headset, calls from his crew, from other planes in forled up to Monica’s frequency While she wasn’t a pilot, as a flight surgeon she could ride up front in the jump seat, complete with helmet and headset, had in fact floith him often in the past
Before heher
Now she fleith Joker’s crew Talked Her sandpaper drawl riding radio waves Exchanging crew dog ca Joker said Irritation--ah, hell, as he kidding--jealousy chewed his hide Joker, for crying out loud, the least funny n a sarcastic co distraction and they hadn’t set foot in Rubistan
Jack scanned the altimeter, adjusted his airspeed to compensate for a headwind as clouds dusted his windscreen At least he’d salvaged so from the conversation with Monica Hell, yeah, he preferred to keep her away froo with or without him
So he was stuck with her
He’d wantedto see where things went, but not this way Monica had insisted staying married would make a further mockery of what should be sacred vows Well, she had hitiain--difficult to cut loose
No question she packed a hefty dose of brains under that silky head of hair However, she underestimated his patience and persistence He intended to use this tis once and for all
He stifled a laugh Great He couldn’t win her over with roses, restaurants and European settings at his disposal How the hell did he expect to rekindle sputtering feelings in the middle of the desert with mess hall chow and humpbacked camels for ambience?
"How’s your ’wife,’ man?" Rodeo piped in from the copilot’s seat on private interphone
Jack’s hand clenched around the stick Damned lucky he didn’t shoot them off course and more than lucky they were on the secured interphone so Monica couldn’t hear the to the maid’s reference "You’re a riot"
"Coh a dry spell Your love life’s all that’s carryingshape, , pulling out a shrink-wrapped deli package "You’re doing that honorable no-kiss-and-tell thing" He unwrapped the plastic fro with sprouts
Sprouts? Pita? The guy liked gour to tell When did you start eating rabbit food?"
"Since Lilly at the Rio’s cigar bar offered to , he tore off a corner
"Going through a dry spell,on to her name"
"Wrote it on rateful for the shift into safer conversational territory