LITMIR.BIZ

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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.

      And darn if he hadn’t, she thought, stepping out of the bedroom into the darkened living room. Her knees went weak just recalling the mind-numbing climaxes she’d experienced in his arms. And the memories alone were enough to thicken her blood and get it coursing hot and heavy through her veins.

      “For pity’s sake,” she muttered, astonished at her own eagerness. Until Jeff had come into her life, she hadn’t been very impressed with sex. Frankly, she’d always much preferred sleeping.

      Her one or two encounters in college really had not prepared her for the reality that was Jeff Hunter.

      She’d had no idea she could have such an … appetite. Her craving for him seemed endless, bottomless. It was as though the more he touched her, the more she needed. And that realization shook her, hard.

      Because Jeff wasn’t satisfied being her lover. He’d made up his mind to be her husband.

      Seven

      A warning bell went off in the back of her mind, and Kelly knew that sooner or later she and Jeff were going to have to settle this marriage business once and for all. But now, she told herself, wasn’t the time. Now she only wanted to find him. Hold him. Feel his arms go around her and pretend that this was all just a repeat of their first two weeks together.

      Her gaze swept the dark room and noted instantly the billowing curtains fluttering at the open sliding glass doors. Moonlight was dim now, as morning looked to be just an hour or so away. She moved closer to the tiny balcony and noticed the stars fading in a slowly lightening sky. Then her gaze locked on Jeff’s broad, bare back.

      Worn, faded blue jeans were his one concession to clothing and they clung to his rear and long legs so closely that he looked even sexier than he would have naked. He stood, one hip cocked, hands on the rail, staring out at the smooth-as-glass ocean. The scent of the sea wafted through the doors at her, and she lifted her chin into the soft breeze, feeling damp, cool fingers draw her hair back from her face.

      Taking a deep, fortifying breath, she stepped out onto the balcony and took up a spot beside him.

      He wasn’t startled by her presence, and Kelly had the eerie feeling that he’d known all along that she’d been there behind him. Must be some sort of sixth sense a man acquired after spending years fighting for his life. That thought flitted through her mind, and she quailed from it. She didn’t want to think about Jeff in danger. Jeff, hiding in jungles, dodging bullets from an unseen enemy. She’d managed to avoid imagining such scenarios during the year and a half they were apart and she sure as heck didn’t want to think about them now.

      “You’re up early,” she said, keeping her gaze fixed on the horizon and the sweep of pale pink color just beginning to reach across the sky from the east.

      “Used to it, I guess,” he said, keeping his voice as soft as the morning. He glanced at her briefly, then looked back at the ever changing ocean. “My T-shirt looks good on you.”

      “Thanks. I, uh, couldn’t find my clothes,” she said on a chuckle.

      He smiled and Kelly’s gaze locked on his profile. High cheekbones, a strong jaw and a nose that looked as if it had been broken more than once, all combined to make a face so ruggedly chiseled, Jeff was a poster boy for God’s best work. He turned to look at her, and the look in his eyes sent a pang of emotion shooting straight into her heart.

      “What?” she asked, reaching over to cover one of his hands with hers. “What is it?”

      “I’ve been thinking,” he admitted. “It’s a good time for it. Quiet. Just before the day’s born.”

      “And?” she asked hesitantly, hoping to heaven he wasn’t going to start on the whole marriage thing again so soon.

      “And,” he repeated on a sigh, “I was wondering. What did you look like pregnant?”

      The question was so not what she was expecting, Kelly only stared at him for a long minute. Then when it fully registered, she gave a short, rueful laugh and shook her head. “Like a beach ball,” she said. “Short and round.”

      In fact, through most of her pregnancy, she’d been seriously grateful that Jeff couldn’t see her. Short women and pregnancy were not a good match, she thought and remembered how she used to stare at the taller moms-to-be at her doctor’s office with such envy. Even at their biggest, those women had somehow managed to look … aglow. While Kelly, on the other hand, had looked like a barrel with legs.

      She’d often wondered if Jeff would have been appalled or entranced by the changes in her body, but the coward in her was simply pleased she’d never have to find out.

      “I bet you looked beautiful.” She laughed then, a loud, short burst of sound that had her clapping one hand over her mouth. After all, it was a little early to be waking everyone else at the hotel.

      “Not even close,” she said. “My brothers insisted that if there was just some way to rig the lights, they’d hire me out as a blimp.”

      He scowled at that, and Kelly was instantly sorry she’d mentioned her brothers. “They were just teasing me,” she said quickly.

      “Yeah, right,” he muttered, more to himself than to her, and added, “at least they were here for you,” so softly she almost missed it. “Jeff …”

      “Did you hate me?” he asked bluntly, and this time kept his gaze fixed on the water below them. “For leaving you pregnant and alone?”

      “No,” she said, pulling him around until he was forced to look at her. She had to convince him of this, if nothing else. “Of course not. First,” she reminded him, “I wasn’t alone. My family was here.”

      “Yeah, and they were thrilled with me.” “This isn’t about them.” “You’re right,” he said. “This is about you and me, and I need to know. Did you hate me?”

      She looked directly into his eyes, willing him to read the truth in hers. Then she said very slowly, “No. I never hated you for making me pregnant.” Some of the tension seeped out of his body, and she went on quickly, hoping to ease away the rest. “It’s not as if I had nothing to do with it, you know.”

      A small, too brief smile quirked his mouth and was gone again.

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