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Five steps closer to the plane, the thudding pulse under his hand slowed to an al to need you to drop your pants again once we’re airborne so I can check out your injury Looks like you popped soet h vibrated against his side, her heart easing that last bit to a regular rate Making her laugh felt good She ood
"God, Mon, I can’t wait to have you alone so we can get messy, noisy and really busy"
"Uh, Jack, se?"
She glanced up apologetically "I told Yasmine she could stay withwith ia and the Colonel than if she bunked with Sydney up in Virginia Besides, I figured Blake and Sydney need the time alone more than we do"
"And you want the chance to fix things with Yasmine"
Her head fell to rest on his shoulder "Like you said Family’s important"
Apparently she’d found more peace than she expected in this desert "Between your fas in the squadron, we’re never going to be alone, are we?"
"Probably not" And she didn’t sound one daood thing in his book
Monica had been alone, taking care of herself and everyone around her for far too long She ht not need him to kick ass for her, but she did need hied the hell out of hiive his all Made him realize that, damn, his all was more than he knew he had inside him
Of course tantric sex and knock-knock jokes weren’t cohthearted ths and planned to capitalize on them to keep this incredible woman as head over heels in love with hi, Jack turned her to face hireen eyes and realizedhell He did have soiven by her mother who’d walked, or her father who’d checked out emotionally, or her loser-ass ex-fiance Jack smiled back at his wife, and damned if his laid-back deterive her what no one had given this woht into Jack’s eyes and knew his words before he said the the, I’ll spend the rest ofsure you’re never alone again"
His words roaned against her lips "Digging deep sure has an awesome payoff"
Jack cupped her face in his hands and kissed her All-out Full body press and fuller e to figure out what he ht now, anyway, and who the hell cared about any regs on public displays of affection while in unifor her husband and could have sworn she heard the strains of "Can’t Help Falling In Love," what she now considered Elvis’s best tune ever A whied in often Until Jack It felt as good as the rippling muscles and man under her hands
She eased her mouth from his "Jack, I love you so da you" One last concern niggled her "More than anything I want us to celebrate forever fro chairs where we can talk about our children and grandchildren But I can’t proht ile life is Your job does, too, for that h?’’
How strange that when her ex-fiance had pushed her-to the wall about quitting her job she couldn’t i down Yet, she knew she would do whatever it took toif I said I don’t want to wrap you up in cotton and keep you as far away from this kind of shit as I can" His ar "But I know you I respect you The last thing I want is to change you When push comes to shove, I’m there for you Whatever you need or want or choose, I’m behind you"
No wonder she loved this h she’d sensed his fear of losing her, he hadn’t tried to stop her Not even for a second, h a week ago
She wasn’t naive enough to think they would never argue or knock heads But bottom line, they now had unreserved love, and, yes, respect for each other "What did I ever do to deserve you?’’
"That’s just it, babe Things like trust and respect are earned and deserved But love? Well, it just exists of its own free will What a da, because othere’d always have to worry about it being taken away the first tiure, it’s a sure bet I’ to screw up on occasion down the line"
That simple and clear He loved her It made so much sense now that she’d stopped to listen to hi and saying
She toyed with the tab on his flight suit zipper "Making up is fun"
"So I hear" He flicked her zipper tab right back
Just because he was laid-back and loping through life didn’tShe could learn s from this wise and oh-so-funny man she’d married "I really do love you, Jack"
"I know"
And she saw that he did She’d been given the gift of his love, but she’d also won his trust
A planeload of people waited behind the a few lided her hands over his bristly face full of hard angles, strength and sun-bronzed laugh lines Exhaustion carved a few extra creases around his eyes, re her he was her patient as well as her husband today
"Okay, flyboy, as your doctor and your concerned wife, I’et in that plane and take a load off You’ve been up for over twenty-four hours Fought in a war And been shot in the ass" She jabbed a finger toward the load raain,his way toward the open load raet bossy"
She wasn’t sure if his leaning came from a need for support or a need to touch her Either way, she wasn’t co the last few steps "I’m not bossy Just assertive"