Page 27 of My Forever Soldier

He didn’t wait to hear her excuse, but kept his thumb under her chin and somehow shuffled his body even tighter against hers. She was stuck between the edge of the counter and a huge male frame, six foot four inches of lean muscle and determination. She swallowed a lick of excitement. Most of her wanted to run, but the part of her she couldn’t defy was telling her to stay. To enjoy.

He brought his lips down to hers painstakingly slowly, until he was only a breath away.Then he closed the remaining distance fast.Kissed her so hard her fingers leaped to take hold of his arms, which snaked around her to keep her locked against his body.

Olivia consumed his kiss like an alcoholic searching for a sip of tequila, drowning in it like a junky floating in a drug-induced haze. It was as if she’d been sober for two long years, and she was finally fueling her addiction.

But her addiction wasn’t for a substance, it was for a man who’d sent her crazy from the moment she’d first set eyes upon him. From their very first kiss. Their very first date. The very first night she’d spent in his arms.

His lips moved more desperately against hers, and Olivia didn’t fight his embrace or his kisses. Luke scooped her up and placed her on the countertop, and she wrapped her legs right around his waist, forcing their bodies even closer.

“Mommy!”

Luke jumped a step back as a scream from down the hall pierced the silence around them.

Olivia blinked twice, still lost in the moment. Her hand fluttered to his mouth, still so close to hers.

“Mommy!”

“I’ll go to him.” Luke’s voice was calm, deep.

She couldn’t move. Olivia looked at Luke, at the flush of his cheeks, the ruffled mess of his hair, What had just happened? How had she let things get so out of control?

“Ollie?”

She snapped out of it. “Aah, he has nightmares. Are you sure…?”

“I’ll go.” Luke stepped closer to her again and kissed her cheek, his lips warm as they touched her skin.

Ollie watched him walk down the hall, then glanced at the bowl of unused icing.

So much for staying up late to finish the cake.

Instead, she’d let herself be seduced by her husband. And she’d more than enjoyed it.

She’d loved it.

9

OLIVIA FELT As if she’d blown all the air out of her lungs. Balloons filled the room, a burst of colors that enlivened the white walls. She was trying to fill her mind with the party, with thoughts of the little boys who would be arriving soon, but she couldn’t.

While Luke had been away, she’d thought about him a lot. When she was hating him, grieving for him, wishing for him—at every stage. But nothing beat the way she was thinking about him now. The way he moved, straight-backed and confident, like the soldier he was. The coil of his biceps when he reached for something, the breadth of his shoulders when he stood before her. Everything about him was making her think, making herwant, and it was starting to drive her crazy.

A soft thud made her look up. Speak of the devil. She spotted him from the corner of her eye, saw him move through the kitchen and tried not to watch him.It was an impossible task.

Luke looked up. Heat made her cheeks burn as their eyes met—like a flame ignited with the strength of hell’s fury. Olivia tried to look away, to break the stare, but she couldn’t. Wouldn’t. And neither did Luke.

“Hey.” His voice was a low rumble.

Olivia swallowed. “Hi.”

She tried to go back to blowing the balloons, but was out of breath. She’d blown up twenty-odd balloons in a row, but one word to Luke and she was suddenly incapable.

“The streamers are flying at the gate and the sign’s up on the porch,” he told her.

“Huh.” Where were the witty words when she needed them? “Thanks.”

“You okay?” Luke walked toward her. “Need a hand?”

She absorbed the snug fit of his white T-shirt, the tan of his bare feet, even the slight length of his hair. Mussed as if he’d just rolled out of bed.

---