Page 85 of Strike Fast

It warmed Tess inside and out to know that Autumn had enjoyed it so much. While she and the copilot went through shutdown procedures, she watched out her cockpit window as the crew chief led Autumn away from the helo, holding her hand. The moment they were clear of the rotors he released her, and Autumn went running to her father.

Tess’s heart squeezed so hard it hurt when Reid grinned and bent to catch her as she jumped into his waiting arms.

“That’s one adorable kid,” the copilot said.

“Don’t I know it,” Tess murmured. “And I’m even more partial to her dad.”

The copilot chuckled and clapped a hand on her shoulder before undoing his harness and climbing out of the cockpit. Tess followed, hopping onto the hot tarmac beneath a clear blue July Texas sky. Reid stood there with Autumn, watching her.

Tess couldn’t help but grin. “If I run and jump at you too, will you catch me?”

“Sweetheart, you know I will.” Reid opened up his arms and raised his eyebrows, waiting expectantly.

She laughed and ran at him, jumping just as she reached him and sure enough, those big, strong arms not only caught her, but crushed her to his hard body and held her off the ground. Autumn was giggling like mad at the show. Grinning, Tess wound her arms around his sturdy neck and leaned her head back to look down at him. “Nice catch.”

“Yeah, you’re a helluva catch,” he murmured, using one hand to pull her head down for a long, deep kiss that made every nerve ending in her body go haywire.

“Iiiick,” Autumn said next to her. “Mush.”

Tess laughed against Reid’s mouth and kept her arms around him as he lowered her to the ground, not missing the solid length of his erection pressing against her lower belly.

She shared a naughty grin with him, a silent promise to take care of that later on tonight, when her parents, sister and the girls took Autumn for a sleepover so she and Reid could have a night by themselves at the hotel. She loved Autumn, but she couldn’t wait to be alone with Reid. It had been over a month since they’d last seen each other and they were both impatient as hell to get naked again.

“So you loved it?” Reid asked Autumn, one arm locked around Tess’s waist. She loved how openly affectionate he was, even around his daughter.

Her little face brightened. “Yes! I’m gonna fly a Blackhawk someday, too. Tess’ll teach me. Right Tess?”

“Oh, wow, I really did create a monster,” Tess whispered to him.

“Could be worse,” he said. “You could’ve been a prima ballerina or something, and then I’d have to sit through recitals and whatever. At least flying a helo is badass.”

Tess pressed a quick, hard kiss to his mouth. “Okay, who’s starving for a chocolate milkshake?”

“Me! Me!” Autumn grabbed Tess’s hand and started towing her to where Reid had parked his rental vehicle.

“And after that, it’s sleepover time,” Reid added, waggling his eyebrows at Tess.

“Yep. Right after you run the gauntlet of meeting my parents, sister, and nieces.” They’d all flown in to stay the week at Tess’s place, and she’d had no idea Reid was planning to surprise her by showing up. But this way, they had awesome babysitters for the next two days.

“I can handle it. As long as it doesn’t cut into our night too much,” he added in a sexy tone that made her toes curl in her boots.

After milkshakes at a favorite diner, then a BBQ dinner at Tess’s place, they left an insanely excited Autumn to an evening of pedicures and movie sleepover with Tess’s family, and headed for the rental vehicle.

Rather than open her door for her and put her inside, Reid caged her in against the door in the shadows cast by the detached garage. Tess hummed in her throat and threaded her hands through his hair to kiss him, but he merely brushed his lips over hers and eased back. Staring at her.

“What?” she asked.

“Autumn and I brought you a present. I told her I’d give it to you now.”

She loved presents. “Where is it?”

“In my back pocket.”

When he made no move to get it, she laughed. “You want me to get it?”

His lips curved into the sexiest smile, his deep blue eyes almost black in the shadows. “Yup.”

With a light, teasing touch, Tess trailed her left hand down the hard ridge of his right pec, down his flat abs and dragged her palm over the bulge forming in the crotch of his jeans before sliding it over his hip to his ass. She squeezed for good measure, then stopped when the shape of something in his back pocket registered. Flat. Fairly small.

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