Hers to Heal Read online

  “Are you hungry?” She glanced over her shoulder at him as she padded toward the kitchen. “I…what’s wrong?” He stood behind her, his hand over his heart. Oh dear God, he’s too young to have a heart attack! She rushed to him. “Sweetheart, what is it? Are you feeling pain? Describe it for me.”

  “I was watching your sweet ass sway in that skirt and my heart skipped a couple beats.” He took a deep breath. “Even when you’re walking and talking, you turn me on like the lights of the National Christmas Tree. As for describing the pain”—his eyes turned lecherous—“it feels like my zipper is digging into my cock. I gotta admit I’d sooner have your teeth marks on it than these metal ones.”

  She slapped his arm. “Look, Tool Belt, you had me scared! Now, are you hungry or not? I could eat some scrambled eggs and toast.” She whirled away from him, putting an exaggerated sway in her hips.

  A male groan reached her ears. “I thought I already explained you had me hungry.”

  “Uh-huh.” She reached to turn on the overhead light and her engagement ring sparkled, snagging her attention. Heck, the diamonds would probably shine in the fog.

  He smacked her ass as he walked by. “Sounds great. You scramble the eggs, I’ll nuke some bacon, if you have it, and make toast. Meanwhile, we’ll talk. I got a job offer today. Two, in fact.”

  “You did?” That’s why he looked so confident. He probably felt worthwhile with a couple of job offers. She tried reaching for the seldom-used ice bucket over the refrigerator. He stood behind her, one hand at her waist and the other on the handle of the bucket. She inhaled his sunshine-and-leather scent. “Where at? Doing what?” She opened the freezer and pulled out ice-cube trays.

  “You need a refrigerator with an ice maker, more cabinets, and a dishwasher.” He set the bottle in the bucket and emptied the ice trays around it. “Maybe Dust and I will redo your kitchen so it’s an easier work space for you. I think if we laid out the kitchen differently, you’d have space for an island, if you’d like one.”

  “A diamond and a dishwasher?” Her hands rubbed his chest before sliding around to cup his ass. “My, you are the catch.” She winked at him.

  “And don’t forget I can sing, too.” He gave her that smile that made her insides flutter. He tilted his head. “You know, I’m also thinking granite countertops for that beautiful ass of yours.”

  “Huh?”

  With sudden, sure movements he hiked up the back of her skirt and lifted her onto the old counter. The laminate was cold against the backs of her thighs and butt cheeks. The look of desire in his eyes warmed her. His calloused hand and the smooth artificial one were a hypnotic contrast as they skimmed the front of her thighs, spreading them so he could step closer to her heat.

  His head inclined, and lips warm and soft sipped at hers. “Baby,” he moaned and took the kiss deeper, his tongue leisurely making love to the inside of her mouth—touching, teasing, turning her on, making her desire for him blossom in the sensual heat of his embrace.

  His lips and teeth grazed her jaw and the column of her neck. Tremors of sexual response quaked through her system. Her nipples beaded, hoping for some attention. He cupped her bottom and jerked her against the bulge of his erection, lifting her up and down. Her head banged the cabinets as it dropped back in blind need. Sweet Lord, she was going to climax where she made mac and cheese and chopped veggies. Yay me!

  Fingers slipped under the elastic of her lacy thong. “Raise your luscious ass, baby. Help me get these off. I’m going to love you right here.” The command in his voice was like a three-alarm sound of heat. He kissed her thoroughly as only he could while he slipped off her white lacy barrier. Eyes locked on hers, inch by excruciatingly deliberate inch he brought them to his nose, inhaling both her essence and all the air in the kitchen. There was barely enough oxygen remaining for her to catch her breath.

  “I love everything about you, Gina.”

  “I love you, too.”

  He tucked the bit of lace into his back pocket and unbuckled his belt. She pushed his hands away to open his button and unzip his jeans. His swollen cock sprung free.

  Her gaze shot to his. “You went commando to the dance?”

  “The jeans were so damn tight there was no room. Besides, it kept me half-aroused all night thinking I was one zipper away from sinking between your love folds.” His finger stroked between her lower lips, circling her swollen clit. “You’re already wet for me. Fuck me senseless, woman, you make me want to lose my mind.” He pulled her toward him and positioned the tip of his cock at her entrance. “Stroke me before I sink into you.”

  She wrapped her hands around him, making a couple trips along his shaft of hot steel. He hissed, swore, grasped her hands, and held them over her head before slamming into her.

  “Fuck, Gina.” His forehead rested on her shoulder while his other arm wrapped around her hips to hold her in place. “If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never get enough of you. Sweet God,” he groaned and his hips delved again, faster, deeper.

  Her legs wrapped around her fiancé to pull him into her. “Don’t leave me. You made me fall in love with you. Don’t you ever leave me.” Her climax was building, sweet tension quivering into a tight coil of need. His holding her hands over her head was more of a turn-on than she’d ever imagined. “Don’t stop. I’m almost…almost…Re-e-e-eece!” Her heart was clawing its way up her throat, rapidly searching for air when starbursts exploded.

  His mouth opened over the juncture of her throat and shoulder. Three more heavy poundings and he expelled a long groan as he shuddered and filled her with his climax. His prosthesis released its hold on her wrists and her arms wrapped around his shoulders while their heavy breathing filled the kitchen for several minutes.

  “I want to move in.”

  Gina’s head rose from his shoulder and her gaze connected with his. “Like now? Tomorrow? When?” Macho male was exerting himself. She tensed, waiting for his response.

  “My preference would be now. But I’m willing to wait a week. Give Piper a chance to get used to the idea of my living here. This will be a short engagement, you do know that.” He pulled out and tucked himself away, buckling his belt.

  “I’m not even used to wearing the ring yet and you want me to set a date?”

  He turned on the faucet to wash his hands. “Fuckin’ A. I’m dead serious on this.” He depressed the top of the antiseptic soap and lathered his hands. “I want you to be my wife within sixty days.”

  “Sixty days I can do. I need to go freshen up. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “I’ll get stuff we need out of the fridge. I love you. In less than sixty days, you’ll be mine.” As if she wasn’t his already.

  Bacon was cooking in the microwave when she entered the kitchen, cleaner and wearing a tank top and sleep shorts. Reece’s slow perusal began at her red toenails, moving upward until it zeroed in on the gentle sway of her breasts. “There’s going to be more cooking in this kitchen than bacon.”

  She extended her hand in a stop gesture. “No more sex until we eat. I’m starved.” A carton of eggs sat next to a mixing bowl. In front of the toaster was a loaf of wheat bread and butter spray. “Tell me about the job offers, Tool Belt.”

  Funny, she’d accepted a man’s proposal never giving a thought to whether he would work or not, where he would hunt for a job, and doing what. Would they have to move? She glanced around her little house she loved so much. Gina liked a small-town environment for her daughter. The fenced-in backyard was perfect for Piper. Her best friend, Olivia, lived three doors up the street.

  The microwave dinged and Reece removed layers of paper towels wrinkled around the bacon. “Both jobs are interconnected in a way. The first one, the one you can tell everyone about, is my training horses for ZQ at Eagle Ridge Ranch.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief and cracked an egg into the bowl. “Oh, that would be perfect for you. You’re so good with horses, sweetheart. I’m a little confused.” She stilled, he
r fingers on another egg in the carton. “What do you mean, the job I can tell people about?”

  He leaned his hip against the counter and kissed her forehead, rubbing his hand up and down her back. “The other job is confidential.”

  “Confi—” Her eyebrows lowered in confusion.

  “This will be a husband-and-wife secret. My main job where I’ll make the most money is government confidential.”

  She removed the egg from the carton and cracked it on the side of the bowl. Government confidential. Both ZQ and Reece were former SEALs. “So-o-o, clandestine confidential?”

  “ZQ heads a covert ops team dealing in homeland antiterrorism and threats from other countries. Our missions will mainly be here in the States.”

  “Missions? Antiterrorism?” The cracked egg plopped to the floor.

  Reece ripped paper towels off the roll and bent to clean up the spilled egg. “There will eventually be eight of us on the team.” He tossed the messy towels away. “I don’t know how much of this I’m allowed to tell you, so I’m getting it all out now before I’m told what I can and can’t say.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist. “I don’t think starting a marriage with secrets is a good thing. So far, we’ve been very open with each other, building a lot of trust. I want that to continue.”

  She stepped back. He had a good point. “Well, yes, I agree. But who does this…this team report to?”

  He stared at her. Blinked once. “The CIA.”

  Her stomach rolled over and over into a tighter knot as she broke eight or nine eggs in silent quick succession. The CIA? Of all the damn things. “You’re going to be in danger.” The whisk moved in a blur of scared, angry motion. “I’ll be worried all the damn time. You said we’d have no secrets, but how many calls will I get where you’ll say you have to go to work and you won’t be able to tell me where or for how long? Meanwhile, I’ll be here waiting and hoping I’ll hear from you, my eyes and heart glued to the TV for a newscast about a terrorist bombing in some town in Nebraska or New York or Nantucket.”

  “Nantucket isn’t a fucking state.” Reece dropped bread into the toaster. He sprayed the frying pan and turned on the stove. Taking the bowl from her, he flung the whisk into the sink and poured the frothy eggs into the skillet.

  “Grab some plates, silverware, and sit the hell down.”

  Oh, he was pissed. He was pissed. Seriously? “I don’t take orders from a man. Not after the Marines and my dad.”

  He mumbled under his breath as he ran a spatula through the eggs, adding salt and pepper. The bread popped in the toaster. With efficient motions, he yanked off paper towels, placed the toast on them, and covered the bread with butter spray. He turned off the stove, threw the crisp bacon across the scrambled eggs, and set the pan on top of a dish towel on the bar’s counter. He opened and closed drawers until he found two forks. Yanking open the refrigerator, he jerked bottles of ketchup and hot sauce from the door. He sat on one of the barstools and began eating from the frying pan.

  “You can join me or stand there in a fuck-all huff. Either way, we’re going to iron this out.” He opened the hot sauce and sprinkled some over a portion of the eggs. “I’m a man, Gina.” His narrowed hazel eyes bore into hers. “A born warrior who has a deep need to protect his country, its citizens, and his loved ones. You can’t expect me to walk away from an offer like ZQ put in front of me. Hell, like the expression or not, I’m too macho for that. You think a man wired the way I am could turn his back on his country if it needed him? Dustin couldn’t. Neither could JJ. And dammit, neither will I.”

  He glared at her. No doubt the protector of the entire U.S. of A. was waiting for her to drop to her knees in gratitude. “My God, you’re just like my father! Duty first. His obligation to country always came before his family. Now you expect me to marry a man who feels the same way? I won’t have Piper and me placed on a responsibility list below country, other citizens, and whatever mission is so all-fired important at the moment.”

  “Is that what I said? Did you hear those exact words tumble from my mouth?” He glared at her, his lips forming a thin line of annoyance.

  She shoved her hair back from her forehead. “That’s what it sounded like to me. Reece, I have to come first. I need to.”

  “Not once did I say you wouldn’t.” Reece hung his head. “How could I have been so wrong? I thought you’d be pleased to have a man who could support you. You need your kitchen and bathroom remodeled. I was thinking maybe we’d build a sunroom off those sliding doors in the dining room.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “A place for friends to congregate when we have parties or Piper wants privacy with her friends.

  “I wasn’t thinking of saving the world. Hell, I was thinking of making your world better. I want to provide for my two blondes. Don’t you get it? This is how a man shows his love. Not with fancy words, but by providing you with a better life.”

  “How can my life be better if I’m worried sick about you?”

  “Hell, Gina, it’s not like I’ll be gone for months on end. A week, two tops.”

  “How long does it take for a bomb to explode? Or a bullet to rip through flesh? I can’t live that way. I won’t.” Her voice rose. “Tell ZQ you’ll train his horses, but you won’t be part of the team.”

  He stood. “Don’t try to take my manhood away from me. Don’t try to turn me into something less than what I am, what I’ve been trained to be. I don’t plan on ordering you around in this marriage. Don’t think you’ll be able to order me like some lapdog.” He did a quick pivot and stalked back the hallway.

  Two minutes later, he had his boots on and his bag in hand. “Looks like we both need some time to think about what’s more important.”

  She swiped tears from her face. “I won’t play second fiddle to this country. I did that all my life.” Maybe she was overreacting, but she couldn’t seem to get her emotions in check. All she could hear were her father’s comments about serving his country, dying for it if he had to—and what an honor that would be. What an honor it was losing his only son while he fought for his country. She’d felt the same way herself during the brief time she’d served. But…but she didn’t want the man she loved, the man who’d given enough already, to risk more. He’d done his duty. Now was their time to build a life.

  “Good night, baby. I love you. I love you more than my own life.” The door closed silently behind him.

  Gina had to make a conscious effort to close her mouth. Her lower jaw was agape in shock. He’d walked out on her! She’d voiced her opinions and he’d walked out. She snatched the rubber spatula from the stove, grabbed the frying pan, and stepped on the pedal of the wastepaper can to scrape the egg concoction into it. A few tears may have dripped in as well. What the hell was his problem? Couldn’t he handle a simple request? Couldn’t he take her feelings into consideration?

  She opened a cabinet and reached for a champagne flute. One bottle of bubbly ought to be enough to dry her tears and make her forget about that handsome, singing man. She unwrapped the foil from the bottle. Who the hell had invited him into her life anyway? The cork popped and champagne bubbled forth. She caught the pale amber liquid in her flute. The first glass she gulped down, ignoring the delightful fizz. The second she sipped as she filled the sink with water and dirty dishes.

  Her third goblet full of bubbly and the bottle were carried back to her bedroom so she could go to bed. Two steps inside her room and she stopped. On her bed was a large lavender rabbit with long, floppy ears. A smaller version was in a plastic bag with catnip and Whirlwind was rubbing and purring over the bag, his pupils wide on a catnip high. Reece must have let him out of Piper’s room.

  A box from Tillie’s Homemade Taffies and Chocolates had her name scrawled on it. On top of the pink candy container was a long jeweler’s box. She snapped it open to find a diamond tennis bracelet with a gold puffy heart between each diamond. She’d never seen anything like it. The little gift card tucked inside read, �
��My heart will always surround you with love. Tool Belt.”

  She emptied her flute and refilled it with more champagne. You tend to do your loving from afar, don’t you? Why didn’t you stay and work things out with me? All you have to do is what I ask. Tell ZQ you don’t want that dangerous job.

  Whirlwind was biting on the plastic bag. She took it from him and removed the stuffed purple bunny, a tiny version of Piper’s. Gina tossed the toy on the floor and a furry blur whizzed by to get it. He wrapped his paws around the rabbit and rolled across the floor, sniffing and licking.

  Only Reece would think to buy a cat an Easter gift and steep it in fresh catnip. That’s how he was; kind to animals, loving toward children, and generous with her. She sipped more bubbly. He was also too submerged in being a SEAL. The man would never be able to walk away from the adrenaline rush of secret operations and flushing out the enemy. And she wasn’t made to be the little woman sitting at home, waiting and worrying.

  She sat on the edge of the bed, hugging the large rabbit he’d bought for Piper. Her cheek lay between its floppy ears and her gaze settled on her engagement ring. A large round diamond flanked by two slightly smaller ones. It was more of a family ring than an engagement ring because that’s what he’d been offering her—a chance at family for both her and Piper.

  Had she allowed her bad memories of her overbearing father to taint her reaction to Reece’s job offer? As soon as he’d started talking about it, his words faded and her dad’s endless lectures about his duty to the Corps and the country screamed from her memory bank.

  Tears flowed and she lay the rabbit down to pick up the box from Tillie’s. If ever there was a moment for chocolate, by damn this was it.

  Chapter 21

  ZQ was damn worried about Reece. He’d heard his friend’s truck roll in not too long after he’d gotten home from the dance. ZQ was having a glass of warm milk to neutralize his heartburn when Reece lumbered into the kitchen, his shoulders hunched as if he carried the bullshit of the world on them, and set a box of candy and a card addressed to Junebug on the kitchen counter. Reece’s eyes refused to meet his. He nodded once in greeting, his prosthesis gripping the neck of an open whiskey bottle.