by Julie Miller
“Welcome home, I guess,” Tess murmured in admiration and maybe a touch of jealousy. That man and woman were in love.
“They’re something, huh?” Travis’s arm settled with possessive familiarity around her waist. “Come on. I want you to meet an old friend.”
He took her over to the passionate giant and his beaming wife. “Hey, Clarksie!”
“Action Man!”
“Welcome home, buddy.” The two men traded handshakes and hugs before introductions were made. “Tess, this is Zachariah Clark. He and I were in Special Ops together for a lot of years.”
“This is my wife, Becky.”
There were more handshakes and kisses on cheeks, and Clarksie picked Tess right up off the ground before slapping Travis on the back and commenting on his uniform with a grim expression. “I see you’re not in Charlie uniform. Does that mean the top brass denied your request to return to S.O. 6?”
What? Travis hadn’t said a word. He must be crushed. That explained why he’d wanted the extra company on the trip from Ashton to Quantico.
“Trav, I…” She didn’t know what to say.
“I didn’t give them the chance.” Travis spoke to his big friend, but his blue eyes were glued on Tess. And that grin didn’t belong to a man who’d been denied everything he’d always wanted. “I asked to be transferred to the training division. General Craddock approved it yesterday.” He glanced at his friend. “I’m going to be teaching the yahoos who are going to take your place one day.”
Clarksie shook his head in disbelief and then smiled. “Congratulations, man. What changed your mind?”
“I realized I couldn’t give the hundred and ten percent S.O. teams need anymore. But I figure I can eke out about a hundred and one percent to whip some of those new boys into shape.” His blue eyes darkened with a double meaning. “I learned I make a pretty good coach.”
“I’ll bet.”
“I get to choose most of my own staff.” Travis jabbed Clarksie in the arm. “I could use a big hard-ass like you on the team.”
“I’ll think about it.” Clarksie’s gaze—and hands—went back to his wife. The idea of taking an assignment closer to home probably sounded pretty appealing right now.
“Well, you’ve got a homecoming I’m not going to keep you from. Take care, buddy.”
“You, too.”
The crowd had pretty much thinned out by the time Tess and Travis got back to his truck. The parking lot was nearly deserted as the returning Marines hurried to get back to their homes and lives for whatever leave they had coming.
When Travis opened the passenger door and lifted her to the seat, Tess held on to his shoulders before he could move away. “Why didn’t you tell me about your new assignment?”
His hands settled atop her thighs. “I think I wanted you to see me in my element, so you could understand that this is something I really want. That I’m not settling for anything.”
“Are you really happy with a stateside training assignment?” She smoothed her palms across the crisp, pressed cotton that covered his beautiful chest.
He removed his cover and laid it on the dashboard of the truck. Then he nudged her knees apart and moved in between. His blue eyes never left hers. “Do I look happy?”
She traced her thumb across his smile. “Yes. Congratulations. I’m proud of you.”
He slipped his hands beneath her skirt and worked his thumbs along the inside of her thighs. “I’ve seen my father change from a worried old man to a younger man who’s dating again. I saw Morty Camden step it up. And I realized I was trying too hard to keep things from changing, when I really needed to evolve into a better, richer, wiser man.”
She tugged on his collar and pulled him in to give him a kiss. “I love the new you.”
He took her sweet kiss and deepened it into something spicy. “I love you, too.”
For several minutes, they clung to each other, kissing and tonguing and thoroughly exploring each other’s mouths. Tess scooted as close as she could to the edge of the seat without falling. Not that he’d let her. She wound her arms around his shoulders and rubbed her perky breasts against his hard, unforgiving body. His thumbs had slid inside her panties to torment her into a panting, babbling wanton.
“Trav…public…see…?” He slipped his thumb between her slick, swelling folds to rub her throbbing nub. She gasped at the shimmers of delicious pleasure arcing to that hidden spot. Her thighs convulsed around his hand, aching to relieve the pressure building inside her.
She’d just about given up trying to talk.
Travis knew his power over her, too. He laughed against her mouth. “Kyle Black got one thing right.”
The name nearly broke the spell Travis’s hands were weaving beneath her skirt.
“What’s that?”
“He knew that you were the way to get to me. Losing you is what could hurt me the most. More than any damn bomb or gimp leg or stupid desk job. If I don’t have you to make me laugh and make me hot and make me feel like more of a man than I ever hoped to be, then none of it matters.”
“You’re everything to me too, Travis.”
He pulled one hand free to slide the strap of her sundress off her shoulder and then traced the same path with his lips.” I know you’re pretty attached to Ashton, that you want to be close to your mom and you’ve got a good job there—but how would you feel about moving a few hours away, say, outside Quantico, Virginia?”
“Why?” He nipped at her collarbone and pressed his warm, moist lips to the swell of her breast above the dress’s neckline. “Am I…Corps…joining?”
“Probably not. But I’m hoping you’ll give some serious thought to sharing lots of time with one particular Marine.”
“What?” Tess pulled herself from the haze of passion to make sure she’d heard that right. She caught his jaw between her palms and lifted his face to meet her gaze. “What are you saying? Keep in mind that I’m fairly new to all this and that I don’t want to misunderstand.”
“New? Ha. You’re a ringer, you sex goddess.” That killer McCormick smile made his message very clear. “I think we can be friends and lovers. Have the best of both relationships.”
“Don’t they call people like that a couple?”
“Sometimes they call them a married couple.”
“Hmm.” Tess scooted to the middle of the truck’s wide bench seat, giving Travis room enough to climb inside with her. “Now that’s a role I haven’t tried yet.”
He closed the door behind him. “I have a feeling you’ll be very good at it.”
She unhooked his brass buckle and reached for his zipper. “I think we’ll be very good at it. Like a few other things we’ve tried. Can your knee handle this position?” she asked before untucking the hem of his shirt.
His knee was much better, thank you.
“I think you’re trying to wrinkle my uniform, T-bone.”
“That’s not all I’m trying to do.” She lay back on the seat behind the steering wheel and lifted her knees. “Travis?”
He was peeling away her panties and looking his fill of her needy, weeping center. “Tess?
He wasn’t getting it. Yet. She started unbuttoning the front of her dress, inviting the shameless hussy inside her to come out. “Travis.”
“Oh.” He kissed her breast before gathering her in his arms and sinking between her legs. “I want you, too, Tess. Forever.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-5311-1
BASIC TRAINING
Copyright © 2006 by Julie Miller.
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