Page 105 of California Wild

And maybe she wanted him to.

Her body ached for him, slow and simmering, that heat curling low and tight in her belly. They didn’t need to speak. They never did, not when it felt like this.

Just when she thought nothing could pull her out of it—

Buzz.

Jesse stilled.

The sharp sound cut through the quiet like a blade.

His work phone.

The ringtone again. Short. Urgent. Final.

He let out a rough breath, head dropping against her shoulder as reality came crashing back into the room. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Hayley let out a breathy laugh, but the sound quickly faded as Jesse rolled over, reaching blindly for the phone on the nightstand. She watched his jaw tighten as he squinted at the screen, thumb scrolling, shoulders tensing.

She already knew.

“You just got back,” she said, voice thick with sleep. “Please tell me they don’t need you already.”

Jesse hesitated—just for a second—but she caught it.

His grip on the phone tightened. “Nothing set yet,” he muttered, still scrolling. “Just my LPO checking in, making sure I’m alive.”

She bit her lip, exhaling slowly.

It wasn’t a lie.

But it wasn’t the truth either.

Because the truth was—SEALs didn’t get to be home. Not really. Not for long.

Hayley turned onto her back, staring at the ceiling, blinking away the tightness in her throat. She should be used to this by now. It was the same pattern, the same cycle. He left. She waited. He came back. She pretended not to be counting the days until he left again.

And yet, every time, she still let herself believe it would be different.

Jesse set the phone down with a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face.

“How long do we have?” she asked quietly.

Jesse didn’t answer right away.

He ran a hand through his damp curls, looking at her like he didn’t want to say it out loud.

“Could be a week. Could be two,” he admitted finally. “Schedule’s fucked. I’m covering for the other demo guy—he broke his leg.”

She swallowed hard, nodding.

Jesse sighed, brushing his knuckles down her cheek, his voice softer. “I’m here now.”

Hayley turned into his touch, closing her eyes for a brief second. “Yeah,” she whispered. “For now.”

And they both knew it wasn’t enough.

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