“And I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was so damn good to see you again, but very, very dangerous for both of our families.” He grabbed a strand of her hair and slowly twisted it around his finger. “I high-tailed it below deck until your chopper took off, but it was so damn hard to do, Samantha. So damn hard.”
His gaze was dark and tortured, and she knew he was reliving that moment. She didn’t breath, didn’t move, just let the moment pass, trying to wrap her brain around the fact they’d barely sidestepped disaster that day.
She cleared her throat and changed the subject. “Jack.”
His brows went up. “What?”
“I’m going to call you Jack,” she stated, feeling confident having said her decision out loud. “I’ve known you as John and Mitch. Now you’re Jack, so I’m going to call you Jack…just bear with me when Mitch slips out.”
Cause it certainly might in the heat of the moment.
He tugged on her hair. “Sweetheart, I don’t care what you call me, as long as you’re happy.”
Sweetheart. He called her sweetheart. God, it felt so damn good to hear the endearment again.
“So…Jack,” she said, testing the name on her tongue. It felt right. So did his fingers in her hair. “How long have you had memories of your past lives?”
The stint on the carrier was three years ago. She watched as he released her to scratch the bridge of his nose with his thumb. Mitch used to do that all the time. Cripes, she’d missed it.
“They’ve always been with me, shadowing, teasing, but it wasn’t until I was flying in an Air Show at Nelles that it all hit me full force and things became very clear,” he said, a smile lighting his eyes. “I saw my first Corsair up close, sat in the cockpit, and bam, everything snapped into place.”
She could see how it would have a major impact. “When was that?”
He leaned his shoulder against the mantle and looked at her. “About four years ago.”
“Four years?” She drew in a sharp breath. Oh God, that long? “How did…I mean…did you…was there...” Cripes. Her brain couldn’t even form a coherent thought.
Long, strong fingers reached for her hair again, wrapping with gentle, yet tight precision. Bless him, he must need to feel her, yet knew if he touched her they’d both cave.
“No,” he said. “I haven’t had a relationship since.”
He read her mind. That was what she wanted to know, and most definitely what she wanted to hear. Stiffness eased from her shoulders. Really, she shouldn’t feel so relieved. But she did. Oh, hell ya, she did. As for celibacy, she knew better, would never ask or expect it, but boy she was quite happy to have the relationship corner.
He tugged her closer, warm breath fanning across her face. “You were worth the wait.”
She tried to swallow but her throat was too dry. “And you are gaining mega points Mi…Jack.”
“That’s good, but I’m not trying to gain points, Samantha. I’m being honest and trying to bring you up to speed. I’ve only been Jack for thirty-one years. You’ve known me for centuries. You know everything I am. You know everything that matters. You matter.”
Releasing her hair, he grabbed her hand and pressed her palm on his chest. The beat of his heart was strong and sure and steady. She could feel his strength, his reassuring heat and their strong connection seeping through her body, warming her from within.
“I love you, Samantha. I always have. I always will. It doesn’t matter what my outside looks like because it’s all in here. “
Her heart caught, then lurched forward as if reaching for his. She opened her mouth to draw in a small breath, trying to clear her throat to give passage to words she needed him to hear.
“I love you, too. Don’t you ever doubt that,” she said, caressing his chin, relishing the feel of stubble against her skin. “I just need to mesh Mitch with Jack. That’s all.”
He smiled under her fingers. “Then think of me as the new and improved Mitch. The updated version. Brought up to this century. Mitch 2.0.”
God, he was irresistible.
“Okay.” She chuckled, resting her forehead on his cheek. Mmm…she kind of liked how their bodies lined up a little snugger.
“Samantha?” he said softly near her ear.
A round of shivers shot straight down her side. She drew back to stare up at him. “Yeah?”
“Do you know why I waited until now to see you?”
Chapter 22
Sam had been wondering. It would’ve saved so much grief if he’d been there when she’d come back from base that horrible day. So much grief. “Why weren’t you there when I first came back? I really needed you.”
“I wanted to. God, I wanted to spare you the pain.” Agony hollowed his voice and dulled his gaze. “But I knew you too well.”
“I-I don’t understand.”
He gripped her shoulders, his gaze fierce and intense on hers. “Did you apply to NASA?”
“What?” Never in a million years had she expected that question. “N-no.”
She watched his eyes momentarily close and posture drop, along with his hands. How could she even think that far ahead? His gaze was on her once again. Intense. Searching.
“And if I would’ve been there when you first came back, would you have gone with Maria back to the base this past week?”
“I…” She blinked, looking deep inside for the answer. “No. I wouldn’t have.”
He nodded. “I thought so. That is why I waited until today.”
“But why? Now I’m committed to this damn project.” The truth of it hit her with an invisible slap to the face. She’d signed papers. She was stuck. “It’ll take me away from you weeks at a time, again. You’re okay with that?”
“Yes, because you’ll be doing what you love.”
She smacked his shoulder hard. “You are what I love, idiot.” Okay, she’d used the idiot name, but it fit.
He caught her hand and lifted it to kiss her fingers. “Samantha, don’t ever give up your dreams for anyone. Not anyone. Your dreams define you. Make you what you are…and what you are I love very, very much.”
God, that was so sweet. How could she stay mad at him? She closed her eyes and shook her head, then slowly opened them. “Things change, Mitch…Jack. You’re living proof. And priorities change, too. I didn’t change mine because you made me. I changed it because I wanted to. You are now my priority…and I am very okay with that.”
Pulling her close, he kissed her temple. “I love you,” he told her again, holding her tight a moment, then lifted his head, that intense, fierce gaze back in place. “When you go back in January, you’re going to take your completed NASA application and hand it to your C.O.”
“Are you kidding me?” Her heart lodged in her throat. “Jack? You do realize space travel is a hell of a lot longer than a few weeks, right?”
“Yep.” He nodded. “Sweetheart, I managed four years without you, remember? I’m not saying it won’t be hell, but your childhood dream has always been NASA, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand in the way of your dream.”
“You’re not in the way. My dream has changed,” she repeated.
Why didn’t he understand?
“No, Samantha.” He groaned. “You’re not listening to me. You can have both. You’ve got me; now go get NASA.”
Could she really? Did she dare to reach? And if she got accepted, could she stand to be away from him that long?
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “If the woman I love wants to go to the moon, then by God, she’s going to go to that moon.”
A grin twitched her lips as his words brought back memories. Hot ones “Once upon a time, you took me to the moon.”
He stilled, need darkening his eyes until the same emotion swirled deep inside her, making her shudder.
“I will again, I promise,” he said, “But we need to settle this, Samantha.”
She drew in a breath and nodded. “Okay. I’ll finish filling out the
application. There’s no guarantee I’ll even get in.”
“You will.” His voice held such swift conviction she smiled.
“And you’ll sling burgers if you have to.”
“Exactly.” He chuckled, reaching for her, holding her hips while their foreheads met.
They stood there for a long moment, her palms on his chest, soaking in each other’s warmth, happy in the knowledge they had a positive future with mutual goals. Then something happened and their lighthearted embrace began to change. His fingers, those wonderful, talented fingers slipped under her sweater to lightly stroke the skin above her jeans. And suddenly, the heat was back in his eyes, darkening those aqua depths until her body burned with a consuming ache.
He drew in a breath and released her to turn off the lights so only the soft glow of firelight and festive twinkling from the tree illuminated the room. Anticipation coursed through her, hiccupping her pulse with relentless vigor. Soon he was in front of her again, taking her hands, drawing her near the tree, until they stopped.
“Close your eyes,” he urged, placing her hands back on his chest.
Hesitating, she concentrated on the steady beat of his heart thudding under her palm, and she slowly closed her eyes. He stepped closer, the steady thud upping pace to match the heart pounding wildly in her chest.
Then he was touching her face, lightly caressing her jaw with his fingers, his breath…heaven help her…with his lips, sending delicious shivers down her spine. Inch by incredible inch they moved toward her mouth.
She stopped breathing. Oh how she missed this, missed him.
“Samantha?” he said lightly against her skin, moving along her jaw.
“Yeah?”
“Does this feel different?” he asked, grazing her neck with his teeth.
“No,” she breathed. “Well, yeah. S-stronger.”
Her nipples were perked and body humming a tune only he knew how to sing. And damn, he was good. Grammy award winning good.
“Samantha?”
“Yeah?”
“Open your eyes.”
With one of his hands lightly cupping her face, she managed to force them open, her crazy, erratic pulse dipping at the deep-seeded need blazing in his sea green eyes.
“Keep them open, Samantha,” he said, bringing his mouth closer. “I want you to see me when we kiss.”
And they did. His lips were on hers, gentle and sure, reaffirming their connection, then the spark bypassed flames and shot straight to explosion. The fierce longing in his gaze zapped the strength from her legs while the deep, soul-searching, ravishing kiss stole the last thought from her brain. By the time they broke apart for air, they were both breathing ragged and fast.
Dropping his forehead to hers, he chuckled between breaths. “Cripes, Samantha, that was incredible.”
She nodded. “I think I’m going to like being in the same century.”
His smile broadened. “Me, too,” he said before thrusting his fingers through her hair and capturing her lips for another long, wet, heart-stopping kiss.
She melted against him, this time closing her eyes, increasing the potency of their connection. And when his tongue touched hers, a wave of yearning rushed through her so strong she fisted his shirt to keep from dropping. God, how she missed his taste…hot and demanding and a whole lot of hot…so very, very hot.
His other hand snuck under her sweater to stroke her already heated skin, tempting, teasing just beneath her breasts. Moaning, she tugged the shirt from his pants and started on his buttons with unsteady fingers. Sure fingers covered hers, helping until every last one was undone. She drew back to watch as he shrugged out of his shirt.
It was still there. The light smattering of hair she loved so much was still there. Holy heaven…
No wonder he was broader. “You’ve been working out,” she said on an unsteady breath.
“What else was I going to do for the past four years?” he asked in a voice thick and hoarse with need.
Reaching out, her hand skimmed over muscles and dips and ridges, delighting in how his hot skin quivered under her touch as she slowly made her way down to his waistband.
“Samantha, you’re killing me,” he groaned.
Hit with a sudden, swift ache, she drew back. “Never again, Mitch,” she choked out. “Never again.”
Okay, she was supposed to start calling him Jack, but her brain was still fogged from pain and desire.
“Hey.” He caught her as she swayed. “Samantha, look at me.”
She shook her head, keeping her blurry gaze on his collar bone. It was a nice collar bone, all tan and smooth, leading to some wonderfully broad shoulders. He crooked a finger under her chin and forced her gaze upward.
“You did not kill me.”
Oh, God, hearing it out loud had her stomach clenching so tight she had to fight to keep from being sick. How the hell did she go from shaking with uncontrollable desire to shuddering with heart-wrenching pain in less than a minute?
He caught a tear on his thumb. “Samantha, listen to me. You didn’t. All you did was take me back where I belonged. History did the rest.”
Throat swollen and hot, she swallowed a few times, but talking was out of the question, so she nodded because she thought that was what he wanted.
Cupping her face with both hands, he stared at her through a gaze so dark and tortured it stole what little breath she managed to suck into her lungs. “God, Samantha, I can’t bear the thought of you thinking you killed me.”
A sob escaped her throat, making a path for the words she pushed out. “I’m the one who took you back to face certain death.”
“Certain death,” he repeated. “A death I faced even before we met.”
His voice was strong and deep with conviction. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing would ever take the weight of his death off her shoulders. Nothing.
“It was my choice…and I chose for my best friend to live. For his family to live and thrive.” His gaze narrowed, and his hold tightened on her jaw before he continued. “For the woman I love to live and wait for me. And I’d do it all over again if needed.”
A single tear rolled down her face. “I tried to go back.”
“Oh…Samantha…”
“I tried, I really did. As soon as we ended up back in the dessert, I hit the switch.” She’d toggled it nearly a hundred times until Maria’s hand had covered hers and made her stop. “But nothing happened. Nothing happened. I was going to fly back and take on your bullets like before. You know? Really save you this time. But…I…I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t save you…”
Her legs buckled, but he caught her.
“Yes, you did,” he said, crushing her close. “You did save me, Samantha. You rescued a lost soul. A soul that had wandered, became battle-scarred and damaged. No hope. No light, just death and destruction at every turn…with only strange memories of a woman called Anna to keep him going.”
Her heart wrenched and she held onto him, hating that he’d ever felt so bleak.
“Then this spitfire of a female Marine shows up and kidnaps my ass, takes me to her time and drops me off in some deserted cabin in the woods.” He stroked her hair as he spoke in a soft yet fervent voice. “It was in that wonderful cabin I thawed out, came back to life…all because of that incredible, spitfire of a female Marine. It was you I saw, you I clung to in those last moments before my plane hit the water. You all soft and loving on my wing and I knew I would be all right.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she held onto him so very tight, doing her best to take the good out of what he was saying and not think about Mitch’s final moments. If she let her mind go there, she’d shatter.
“I’m not sure why I was brought to this century from that war. If it was to save someone’s life on Harry’s plane or simply to just guarantee you and I met in this timeline.” He drew back until their gazes locked. “You need to understand, I love my life now, Samantha. Really love it. I’m glad I went back and fulfilled wh
atever it was I was supposed to because it freed me to come back now and love you the right way. And oh, hell yeah, I am definitely going to love you like you deserve to be loved.”
She trembled at his tone, at his words, at his meaning. They were going to be okay. Everything became clear and clicked into place that very moment.
Mitch had been a blessing. A sneak peak, but they were born several generations apart. He had to return to that century. He had to die in order to become the man he was now. The right man for her timeline. The updated version. Mitch 2.0, completely compatible with this century, able to understand this society and fit into Sam’s life like the last piece of a perfect puzzle.
Like John and Anna.
“Right back at ya, Jack,” she said, making sure to get the name correct, because from now on he was definitely Jack. The incredible combination of John and Mitch that touched her soul like never before.
And she needed to touch him.
With her pulse skipping a beat, she moved out of his arms, pulled her sweater up and over her head, then dropped it in front of the tree. His intake of breath cooled her skin while the heat in his gaze scorched in an afterburn that tingled her flesh.
She stepped to him, kissing his neck, loving the groan rumbling deep in his throat. “Jack?”
“Yeah?” His arms came around her, crushing her close.
Oh, heavens he felt so good. So damn good. His mouth on her neck, nipping behind her ear had her craving the connection only he could fulfill. Skin to skin, she trembled and fought to keep her focus. “Will you do something for me?” she murmured.
“Anything,” came his thick reply.
She swallowed and talked her knees out of buckling as liquid heat gathered between her legs. “Take me to the moon.”
He chuckled against her throat. “Oh, Samantha, I think we can go much further now,” he said, tongue tracing the curve of her shoulder, while he brushed the lace aside to run his thumb over her pert nipple. “Don’t you?”
Heat rushed through her veins with abnormal flare. Didn’t lessen, only increased until her breathing became shallow. Oh, heavens… This was stronger than before, like a veil had been lifted; a coating of film had been removed, leaving only raw, uninhibited feeling.
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