Page 33 of Fight for You
She always curled like she was made for this spot—her cheek resting against my heart. I shifted enough to brush freshly washed hair from her face. Every movement intentional. Not to lead her on. Not to tease. Just to honor her. Respect her body. The thought of taking advantage of her before she was ready twisted something inside me.
In no time, the action flick that I paid no attention to sent flashes of light along Jordyn—her luscious thighs and the prettiest bare feet I’d ever seen planted away from me. “We gotta hang those lights we couldn’t agree on. Maybe tomorrow?” I’d keep them up forever to watch the light spark over her skin. “We have less than three weeks till Christmas.”
“Hey, you haven’t even tried the popcorn.” Lifting her head from my chest, she idly twirled the wineglass stem between her fingers.
After all these years, I never expected my body to come alive at all. Now, I reacted because of the way her fingers stroked the glass. Nervous, I redirected my focus and complied with her request, grabbing a handful and taking a wolfish bite. “Oh. Nutter butters?”
“They’re your favorite.”
The popcorn tasted good. Compared to her lips on mine? No match.
Jordyn sat up, as if the extended opening action sequence in the movie didn’t appeal to her. “Tell me something real.”
What? My blood had already stopped flowing in the right direction.
“About you as a SEAL.”
This Navy SEAL mess again? “I’m gonna—” I rounded on her, tugging her beneath me and kissed her cheek. My fingers brushed softly beneath her ribcage like a soft chord. Teasing. Gentle. Careful.
“Hey!” she squealed. “Stop tickling me or I’m out.”
“Out? You threaten to leave me every day.”
“Stick to my rules.”
“Ultimatums.” I nodded slowly. “Copy that.” I softened my touch, fingertips skimming over her ribs, in slow, thoughtful patterns. It wasn’t about arousal. I wasn’t wired that way. But I knew touch could still mean something. It could heal her. “I’m not worried about my ability to follow rules, however.”
Jordyn’s eyes sparkled in that way they did when she wanted more but didn’t know how to ask. Her lips parted.
And I felt it—the tension between us.
With her beneath me, I struggled to move a single muscle. Couldn’t get up. I sure as heck couldn’t think. She’d asked for something real.Oh yeah. I cleared my throat. “You want to know about the Marine Raiders?”
Although I didn’t get up, my abdominals contracted as I leaned away from her, and I could practically see the torture in her eyes. That pretty brown gaze exploded in fireworks. I just wanted her to know I’d always be here for her, but I wouldn’t cross the line. A line she might not be ready to erase in hindsight. But who was I to tell Jordyn how much time she needed?
Another clearing of my throat. “Nawa, Syria. Four years ago. A crappy IED plant. Stands for Improvised Explosive Device, by the way.”
“Oh, so a bomb factory. Hey, are you making this up becausethe movie that doesn’t have our attention sure has a lot of explosions?” She flicked a glance at the television.
What movie? How did anyone think this way? Bodies acting like they had a mind of their own. With my eyes glued to her, all I knew about the film was that a flash of lights surrounded us. Probably was a similar IED scene. “ISIS abducted an explosives engineer. Had him designing new tech. I cleared a stairwell solo. Five stories high, comms went out. Hostages in the basement.”
Jordy’s voice was barely a whisper. “By yourself?”
I nodded once. “Sometimes there’s no backup—or they’ve died. You just move. You don’t hesitate. You move. Or you die too.”
“I’m glad you’re here with me.” Jordyn reached up and kissed me. A soft, lingering kiss that didn’t ask for anything more. And I let her kiss me. Kissed her back. My hands found her hair, thick and scented with mango. I threaded my fingers through it gently. Not for me. For her.
“I love you.”
She blinked up at me.
“You said it earlier when I gave you the hair stuff. I’m not sure if it was because of that. Or whatever. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is how much I love you. Maybe not in a way that you’re used to?—”
“I’m not used to love,” she murmured. “For me, if a guy said ‘I love you’ with his arms wrapped around me, moving slow and tender … hell, thatwaslove. And I’d take it, especially compared to my usual treatment.”
“I’m sorry.” I ran my knuckles at her ribcage now and smiled. “But, good, in a way? So, you won’t have anything by which to compare me, and this love I have to offer you.” It was a joke. At least I hoped. “But know this, I will never hold your body hostage to prove anything to you. You don’t have to give me anything. I already have everything I want.You.”
She was quiet for a moment. Then a breath left her like a weight.
