Page 90 of Damned
All he got for an answer was a big, shitty grin. “You know I can’t tell you that, sir. I’d have to kill you if I—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Been on some of those deployments myself. Be safe out there. Where’s home?”
“No place in particular. Been working out of Little Creek-Fort Story a while now. Heading East this afternoon.”
Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story was the East Coast home for Navy SEALs, which meant Jared was attached to whichever SEAL team was heading to the Middle East. Kruze didn’t envy him. He knew the odds. Pararescue specialists were some of the most respected fighters in the Air Force, make that the entire military. Their two-year training, the infamous pipeline, boasted one of DoD’s highest attrition rates.
Because of the pipeline, PJs were the quintessential jacks of all trades. Not only were they paramedic certified, they were fully capable combat warriors, mountaineers, deep-sea rescue divers, arctic survivalists, swimmers, skydivers. Hell, they were anything a rescue mission might demand. They were some of the most athletic, physically fit men Kruze had ever had the pleasure to serve with. But they paid for it. Well-trained or not, a man didn’t parachute straight into raging combat and always come out unscathed.
“You do know your brother used a tourniquet to slow the bleed on your neck,” Jared drawled. “Didn’t stop it, but he was able to contain it. Damnedest thing I ever saw.”
“Yeah, the son of a bitch was always trying to kill me when we were kids, too.”
“He only did that because you were running a hundred four temp. Not sure if anyone’s told you yet, but that carotid was the lesser of your problems. You were damned near septic by the time we got you to Loring, then airlifted you here. Do me a favor. Stay away from screwdrivers.”
“He will,” Bree said, her hand still possessively on Kruze’s chest.
He ran his free hand over his head. His hair was still wet from his shower, but damn. He had to be the luckiest man in the world. “Sounds like a plan. Keep in touch.”
“You bet.” Jared ducked back into the hall and the door shut soundly behind him.
“Now where were we? I love you, woman. I need you. Now. Lose those jeans.”
She shimmied out of them. “Are you sure about this?”
“Never been more sure,” he breathed, before he covered her lips with his whole mouth, needing the taste of her like a man needed air to breathe. The sweetness of her gentle touch on his body flooded his senses. Kruze knew what it meant to truly live and love, after he’d honestly believed he was going to die. Even that had been bittersweet, because he would’ve gladly given his life to save Robin and Bree. But holding Bree now was a miracle come true.
His hands skated under her panties and over her smooth, lush rump. To the pit of her knee. He tugged that knee up and, with one possessive jerk, her panties were gone and she was straddling his belly. Her knees locked carefully against his sides. The warmth of her core settling over him was all he needed. Kruze looked up at the truest angel on Earth. She was smiling down at him. Bree Banks was part of him, the best part. She was his heart.
She leaned forward, her light-green, button-up blouse still covering her top and the blanket covering her backside. Her fingers danced over his chest, and her hair fell softly on his shoulders and into his face. She eased her body down, then reached between them and aimed him to where he very much wanted to go.
Thankfully, she had something stiff enough to aim. He’d been worried the catheter had had its evil way with his cock. But no, he was back in business. His eyes rolled back at the sheer joy of their union. This coming together was more than just warm, slick pleasure. It was the quintessential joining of two lost souls who recognized each other, treasured each other, and were desperate enough to take a chance on each other. Kruze could almost hear the fans going wild in the stadium of his life. At long last, he was where he belonged. He might not be able to get exactly where he wanted, not here in a hospital bed, but he’d finally hit that ball out of the park. Home run. He was home safe.
Tipping forward, he buried his nose in the front of Bree’s shirt, breathing in the sultry feminine scent of her breasts, so damned thankful she’d acquiesced as quickly as she had. That she’d taken a chance on loving him again. That she trusted him.
“We shouldn’t be doing this. No condom, sugar, and if we keep doing what we’re—”
“We’re already pregnant,” she said slyly.
“Fuck, really?” he blurted, pulling back far enough to look into her eyes. “I mean, sorry. Didn’t mean that, not the way it sounded. But are we? We really made Baby Bean?”
“I know what you meant.” Bree grinned back at him, her smile made of all the things men went to war for. Devotion. The love of a good woman. The joy in that radiant smile. “I just had a feeling you were right about Baby Bean, so I bought a pregnancy test kit as soon as you were out of surgery, and I knew you were okay. Then I double-checked with Jared, just to be sure. He took some blood and gave me the good news late last night. But I’d rather not tell anyone else until we get through our first trimester, okay?”
We. Our first trimester.Best words ever!Kee-rist!Kruze could hardly see through his tears. “So we’re what, barely pregnant?”
Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “There’s no such thing as barely pregnant, sweetheart. We did it, we made another baby.”
“And it’s a boy?”
That made her laugh. “It’s too early to tell. We’ll both have to wait thirty-nine more weeks, because I’m not going to ask. I want to be surprised.” She took firm hold of his hard head, licked his lips, and ordered, “Now kiss me, damn it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Cupping her jaw, Kruze melded their mouths together in a fervent kiss of passion and love. His entire world zeroed down on the woman with her fingers in his hair and his baby in her belly. There was nothing better to fight or live for. He finally understood the lesson he’d been bumping his heart and soul against all his life. For so long he’d kicked against the pricks, never learning, never willing to learn, and thinking he knew it all. Yet all along, what he’d been searching for was this right here, this woman. This brand-new family.
While his body automatically set a gentle pace, thrusting up into her luscious heat, then withdrawing slowly, Kruze poured everything he had to give into their kiss. Kee-rist, he ached to ask Bree to marry him now that they knew they were pregnant. That would make waking up today perfect.
But she’d already turned him down once, and Kruze didn’t know if his heart could take another hit. He ran his hands over her back down to her bare ass and held her half-naked body tightly to him, sealing them for all time. With her in his arms, he could breathe. He would live and set up house with her. Somehow, some day, he’d find a way to convince her to marry him. SEALs didn’t quit, but sometimes, they were smart enough to know when to wait and when to charge. At last, he just might be smart enough.
He flexed his fingers possessively over that sweet ass, feeling better with every little mewl breathing out of Bree. The scent of their lovemaking lifted up between their bodies.
