Author: Nicolette Day

She grabbed his wrists. “Nate!” She cast a nervous glance around. “Someone might see!”

He inhaled a deep breath, fighting for control, then lifted her up. Her legs locked around his waist and he walked them back down the path to his truck. He opened the door, set her down on the back bench, and grabbed the small dog crate from the front.

After loading the puppy into it, he set it back in the bed of the truck. “Sorry, little guy,” he said. “Grown-up business.”

He climbed in and pulled Lilly onto his lap, his chest warming at the welcoming smile on her face. Thank fuck for tinted windows.

Her hair fell forward as she twined her arms around his neck, framing her face in soft honey curls. He twirled a shorter piece around his finger and smiled at the memory.

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. “You don’t have to say these things—”

Nate silenced her by pressing his finger to her lips. “I love you, Lilly Grayson. And I intend to spend the rest of my life making you believe it.”

He would, too. He’d live to make her happy. Giving her what she needed. And that promise started here. Now.

Her eyes misted over, and she kissed him, rubbing her core over his erection, needy moans slipping past her sultry lips. He grabbed her hips with a growl, and reached beneath her skirt to grab the lace panties blocking him from what he wanted.

He wanted her on his cock.

He tore the material in two and tossed it onto the floorboard.

She gasped, her hands working the button to his jeans. Then his zipper. Once she had his cock free, she wrapped her fingers around it.

He groaned. “I want you to ride me,” he grated out. “Now.”

He lifted her hips, and in one swift thrust, pulled her down onto his cock. They both groaned at the contact, and his head fell back against the seat.

She began to move, and he reached for the buttons of her blouse. Fuck it. He ripped open the blouse, buttons scattering across the seat. Her eyes widened on a sharp inhale.

Even better the second time.

He grinned. “I’ll buy you a new one.”

He pulled her bra down and drew her breast into his mouth, tongue swirling around her nipple until she bucked against him, riding him so hard the truck rocked.

“Fuck, baby,” he groaned, and buried his face into her neck. He breathed her in. Ginger and vanilla. Home. He’d never let her go. Not ever. “You’re mine,” he growled. “I want to hear you say it.”

“Oh, God. I’m yours, Nate. All yours.”

He thrust hard up into her, and that was all it took. She came apart in his arms, her inner muscles clamping around his cock, demanding everything he had to give.

“I love you, Nate,” she cried. “Oh, God. I love—”

He smothered her words with a searing kiss, and exploded inside her.

“Lilly!” He stilled her hips, pouring himself into her.

Heart. Body. And soul.

…

Lilly lay across Nate’s chest and twined her legs through his, her heart soaring with happiness. They’d been lying in the cab of his truck in comfortable, sated silence for the last half hour.

He loved her.

She burrowed her face into his neck, unable to keep the sappy smile from her lips. She could feel his warm breath in her hair.

She laced their fingers together, the perfect moment marred by a spike of sadness. “You’re still leaving.”

He shifted under her. “Baby, I signed the papers. There aren’t really a lot of options left.” He let out a sigh. “But even if I could get out of it, I need to do this. For me. To be able to come back a better man for you. I survived something that logic says I shouldn’t have walked away from. I was given a second chance. I want to do something with that. I want to save lives again. I can’t leave it the way I did. It can’t end like that for me.”

“What if something terrible happens to you?”

He gripped her chin. “That won’t happen. I won’t let it. I have too much to come home to.”

“What about Jace, and the bar?”

“The bar has always been Jace’s thing. Not mine. I’ll keep my shares, be a silent partner as always, but that’s it.”

She leaned up on her elbow and kissed him. “And that’s what you want?”

He brushed the hair from her eyes. “What I want is you. I want a reason to live, not an excuse to die.”

“You love me,” she whispered, kissing him again. “I can’t believe it.”

He grinned against her mouth, and caressed her hip. “Like I said. I have a weakness for smart-mouthed blondes who like to push my buttons.”

She smiled, and trailed her fingers playfully down his chest. “And what buttons am I pushing now?” she whispered, wrapping her fingers around his growing hard-on. She stroked it up and down, and he growled, flipping her onto her back.

“Princess, you just pushed the best one.”

Epilogue

“You have got to stop pacing,” Hayden groaned. “You’re making me dizzy.”

“So video something else,” Lilly said, refusing to take her eyes off the escalator leading to the airport baggage claim area where they stood. “You just happen to have the cutest baby in all of God’s creation right over there. Tape him.”

Lilly pulled her bottom lip between her teeth watching people and suitcases trickle off the moving stairs. Nate should be coming down them any minute.

He had been gone seven months. Seven long months of short letters and even shorter phone calls with crappy reception. Seven agonizing months of worrying every night if he was going to come home safe. And now he was in the same building with her. Somewhere.

In a few minutes there wouldn’t even be that space separating them. She’d be able to kiss him and touch him, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was alive and well.

Her heart felt like it was going to explode. She’d had enough of waiting. She was ready for the man she loved more than life itself to appear so she could shackle him to their bed and never let him go again.

Behind her, Jace chuckled. “Hayden’s right. You have got to chill out, Lil. You’re even making Ben nervous.”

Lilly turned and smiled down at the one-month-old baby Jace was cradling in his arms. He and Hayden looked exhausted. Blissfully happy, but exhausted. Ben blinked up at her and she grabbed his little hand.

“You get to meet your uncle today,” she cooed. “I think you’re going to like him. I know I do.”

She looked up and caught Jace exchanging a worried look with his wife. He’d probably spent just as many nights awake as she had, hoping and praying that his brother would come home safe.

Hayden lowered her camera and smiled. “It won’t be like last time,” she reassured him, and looked to Lilly. “Right? Tell him.”

Lilly nodded, and stroked Ben’s tiny hand with a fingertip. “Right.”

Jace kissed the top of Ben’s head, tension still evident in the stiff set of his shoulders. “I hope to hell you’re right.”

She knew his fears. The last time Nate had come home, he’d been utterly broken after having narrowly escaped death. This time had to be different. Nate had told her this was what he’d needed to do in order to heal, and she’d believed him. She’d trusted he would do everything in his power to come home safely and give their relationship a real shot.

“Lilly! I think that’s him.” Hayden tapped her arm and Lilly darted her gaze to the escalator where a pair of camo pants and black boots started to descend.

Her heart stopped, then sped into overdrive when the rest of him appeared. A black T-shirt stretched over a chest that looked even more chiseled and toned than the last time she’d seen him. Dog tags dangled around his neck, and his hair was buzzed even shorter than usual.

His lips split into a huge smile at the sight of her. He dropped his duffel at the bottom of the stairs and took off at a sprint toward her.

She squealed in happiness as he plowed into her, scooping her up into his arms and crushing her against his chest. She couldn’t stop the sob of relief that escaped her, but in a heartbeat it was muffled by Nate’s mouth crushing against hers.

She vaguely realized he was walking them away from the crowd as he parted her lips with his tongue. His two strong arms banded around her so tightly she had trouble breathing, but she didn’t want him to let go. Not even for a second.

She kissed him back and fisted his T-shirt, hugging, tugging, hating the barrier between them. “God, I missed you.”

He pulled away, breathing hard and laughing all at the same time. “I missed you, too, Princess,” he said, wiping the tears from her face with the pads of his thumbs. “You have no idea how much.”

Behind them, a throat cleared. “You guys might want to keep this reunion PG-rated. We have a kid now, you know?”

Nate smiled at Jace over her shoulder, and let her slip down his body at a slow, torturous speed. When her feet hit the floor, he leaned down to nip her earlobe and his fingers curled around the hem of her dress.

“I’m going to go make nice and meet my nephew,” he whispered. “But then I need to get you alone. We have a lot of time to make up for.”

Heat flooded her body and she stifled a groan of need. He kissed her cheek and pulled away with a satisfied smile, knowing exactly what he’d just done to her.

Jace handed the baby off to Hayden and pulled Nate into a back-slapping hug. “You look good, bro.” Jace’s voice sounded muffled against Nate’s shoulder. “You look…better.”

“I am better.” He pulled back and punched Jace on the shoulder with a grin. “You, on the other hand, look like shit, Pops. When was the last time you slept?”

Jace made a face. “We’ll see how well you sleep when you have one of these waking you up every two hours.”

Nate’s gaze shifted to Hayden and the baby. “Aw, Hayden, he’s beautiful.” He gave her a hug and took the baby.

Lilly’s heart melted at the look of pure awe on his face as he peered down into those little blue eyes.

“Hey, little man,” he murmured softly. “You know…I thought I’d have all these words of wisdom to give you, but somehow, I don’t think you’ll need any of them. You’ve got an awesome mom and dad. They’ll steer you in the right direction. And it just so happens you also have an amazing uncle—who’ll teach you how to give them hell. You don’t want to take it too easy on your old man. We don’t want him going soft on us.”

Hayden laughed as he kissed Ben’s tiny hand, then passed the baby back to her. “You did good, Half Pint.”

He turned back to Lilly, and a swarm of butterflies took flight in her stomach. The desire and unbelievable love shining back at her from his eyes were enough to make her lose her breath. Before she had time to comprehend what was happening, he took something Jace gave him, then dropped to one knee in front of her.

Her hands flew to her mouth. What was he doing? He couldn’t possibly be—

Could he?

Nate looked up at her, his heart shining through his tender gaze. His lips curved up, and her eyes flooded with tears for the second time that day. She let out a sob of happiness.

“Lilly, when I met you, I didn’t even know who I was anymore,” he said softly. “But you made me realize who I wanted to be. You made me want to be the kind of man who deserves to wake up next to someone like you every morning for the rest of his life.”

“Oh my God, Nate…”

“Being away from you the past seven months has only made me more sure of what I already knew. I love you. I love that you know every one of my buttons and just how to push them. I love that you challenge me and never let me get away with screwing up. I love how strong you are. How brave you are. How beautiful you are, inside and out. And I love that when I look at you, I see the woman who’ll be the mother of my kids someday. The only woman I’ll ever want, for the rest of my life.”