Page 73 of Vaquero
Julio took two steps forward. Away from Meg. The ass!
“Wait a minute,” she ground out, once again feeling decrepit, forgotten, unwanted, and cast aside. And damned pissed that she’d given her heart and her body to this… this man who was leaving her! Were there any guys on earth worth the skin they were wrapped in? Sure didn’t seem like it, and now she was on the verge of tears! So angry, she wanted to stamp her feet.Damn, damn, damn!
Julio glanced over his shoulder and—finally—his gaze connected with hers. “Hold up,” he told Hotrod who was busy fastening Hazelton’s harness, the poor helpless thing! For a smart woman with a PhD, she sure acted stupid this morning.
Julio hurried back to Meg like a heat-seeking missile. About. Damned. Time! At least he wasn’t afraid to take hold of her forearms when he got to her, not like that was as good as a hug. But it was better than nothing.
Meg cast her gaze across the deck to the Pri-fly, short for the primary flight control tower where the ship’s Air Boss monitored incoming and outgoing aircraft, including this Blackhawk. She didn’t want Julio to see the betrayal she felt in her eyes, but yeah. There he was, about to go off with the first blonde he came across, leaving the hairless wonder behind. Meg ran a quick hand over her scalp. Of all the days to decide to brave the world and declare that hair did not make the woman. It sure as hell did. She wanted her stupid bandana back!
Julio tipped her chin up with two fingers and made her look at him “Hey,” he breathed. “You’re upset. I can tell.”
“You think?” snapped out of her. She pursed her lips, then froze her heart.Not going to cry, damn it! Not in front of that… that woman!
His face mellowed into… No. That was not love! It couldn’t be. He was going off with another woman and leaving her behind, and it just couldn’t be love shining in his beautiful, dark chocolate eyes! Not this time. Damn him for making her fall for him.
“Meg,” he said softly, pulling her forward and into his chest and—at last! His strong arms circled her like the lover she’d thought he was. Like the man he’d been for the last twenty-four hours. Like he cared! “I don’t want to leave, but I have to go. I can feel it. All is not as it seems. Stay strong. I will come back to you.”
Damned if her bottom lip didn’t quiver like the wimpy woman she wasn’t. “You’ve said that before, bucko,” she replied, meaning to sound tough, but whining instead. Damn these tears!
He cocked his head then closed the distance with purpose. There, in front of God and every sailor on deck, Special Agent Julio Juarez, Sullivan’s best man, planted a kiss on Meg’s mouth that boiled her blood in all the best ways. Okay, so she was crying by then and making a royal fool of herself, but she clung to him anyway. And he clung to her, one arm crooked around her neck, the other on the small of her back while he swallowed her insecurities, every last one of them.
“I love you, Meg Duncan. Surely you believe that after all the love we’ve made. As God is my witness, I love you so, so much.” he breathed into her mouth. “Only you. Wait for me?”
And there it was, the promise she’d made to never turn into a whining military wife, or one of those selfish women who operated on the‘love the one you’re with’concept. The cheaters. The liars. Yeah. Them.
Swallowing hard, Meg bucked up and nodded at the man who was her one true love. Her love for this incredible man was squeezing out of her eyes. Like their day in bed, she gave Julio what he asked for before he left.
“Of course, I’ll wait for you. What’d you think? That I’ll kiss someone else the second you turn your back? I’m no pansy-assed bimbo.”Like Hazelton. And Bianca!“But you’d better be careful out there, Juarez.” Meg stabbed her finger into that stone wall of a chest. “You’d better come back to me.” Blinking hard, she bit her bottom lip. Instead of coming across strong and fearless, she’d ended her rant in a voice so squeaky, she was ashamed of herself. But watching him walk away was harder this time. He was taking her heart with him. It hurt!
“Oh, Meg. Not Megan. Sure as heck not Nutmeg. Just my beautiful, beautiful Meg.” Julio shook his head softly, his already warm eyes lit with the tenderest glint. “Baby, you have no idea how I wish I’d met you a long, long time ago.”
That endearment and all that it meant, that his sweet Tomas might still be alive if they’d met each other sooner, was her undoing. Stifling the damned sob climbing up her throat, Meg curled back into Julio’s magnificent arms, and hid her face in his shirtsleeve.
“I can’t let you go,” she sobbed, “and I’m sorry I’m acting like an idiot, but I love you, Julio. I... I need you.” Yup. She’d officially morphed into a crybaby.
He kissed her once more, luxuriously slow this time. His lips were warm and soft. They caressed hers with deliberate tenderness, as if he were pouring all his heart into her mouth. Into her heart. He groaned when at last, he broke the kiss and rasped, “You can’t possibly understand how much hearing you say that means. After all these years…” He blew out a sigh. “I never thought I’d find anyone like you. I lost hope and my way. I gave up.”
“Well, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. You be careful, okay?” she asked earnestly, trailing her fingertips down the thick veins on his muscular bicep to lock fingers with him. “Don’t court death like you did in that gravel pit that night. Take cover when someone’s shooting at you. For God’s sake, Julio, you belong to me.”
Nodding somberly, he stepped back. “My heart beats only for you,” he murmured. “Watch the skies. This shouldn’t take long.”
Famous last words.
