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As the crowd thinned with no sight of him, Erica practically screamed. “Where the hell is he?”
One last straggler stepped off the bus. Everyone else faded as Erica’s eyes locked on him. His gaze found her immediately, and the moment their eyes met, her smile nearly burst across her face and her eyes overflowed. He practically vaulted down the last step off the bus and took off running. She laughed and fought through the crowd to meet him, letting her house-sized belly lead the way. Her sign dropped to the ground. She didn’t care.
/> They nearly crashed into each other, and he swept her up into his arms and kissed her. She met his lips eagerly. She’d been denied for too long. A lightning bolt of pleasure and love struck through her. His hands roamed down her back, yanking her closer—until her belly got in the way. He released her with a sigh, but every promise in his eyes said he’d find a way once they were alone.
Her hands shook as she touched over his face with wonder. He looked so tan, so thin. Seven months in the desert would do that, but she was almost afraid to touch him, as if he was a mirage that would fade if she dared press too close.
“Jeremy,” she whispered.
He rested his brow to hers, his fingers tight on her hips. “Jesus, Erica. I missed you.”
She smiled and wiped away the tears that wouldn’t stop falling. “I missed you too. Dealing with pregnancy cravings solo? Really sucks.”
He let out a choked laugh. Tommy drew closer and pulled Jeremy into an affectionate hug.
“I’m thinking he did that on purpose. Left me alone with the brat at her crankiest—and her most demanding.” Tommy snorted. “She made me go out at three AM for chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. Three times. In one week.”
Erica blushed and hid her face in Jeremy’s fatigues. “…I was hungry.”
“I’m sure the baby appreciates it.” Jeremy grinned and rested his hands to her stomach. As if the baby sensed him, he kicked her. Right in the kidney. She flinched. Jeremy watched her belly, his face rapt, wondering. “Holy shit. I think I made it just in time.”
“The sooner the little monster stops kicking me, the better, but we are not having a baby tonight.” She frowned at him. “We have other plans.”
Tommy arched a brow. “We do?”
Jeremy chuckled and punched Tommy’s shoulder. “Not you. Us.” He pulled Erica close to his side. “Just me and my wife.”
Tommy grimaced. “Gross. She’s pregnant. And my sister.”
“Pregnant or not, she’s still the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. And it’s been a long, long time since I saw her.”
Tommy groaned. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go. I’ll drop you guys off and make myself scarce.”
Erica kissed Jeremy, lingering on the taste of him like an addict craving a fix. Her fingers found the throat of his fatigues and toyed with his dog tags, and the ring dangling from the chain. She pulled them out of his shirt and raised a brow. “Now that you’re home, how about we put that ring back on? I think it’s safe from the wild, woolly desert now.”
He unfastened the clasp, slipped his ring off the chain, and slid it back onto his finger. “There. Safe and sound, as promised.”
“Then that’s two promises you’ve kept.”
She kissed him, sealing her mouth to his and taking everything she’d missed over seven long months. He groaned against her mouth. His hands tightened on her hips, and he nipped roughly at her lower lip. She shuddered.
“I need you,” she whispered.
Jeremy picked up his bags and took her hand, lacing their fingers together in an unbreakable grip. “Then I suggest we hurry.”
They nearly ran toward the car. Erica couldn’t believe that in two short years, her life had gone from bleak loneliness to such utter joy. Missing Jeremy had been hard, no doubt about that. So had the nightly terror as she tossed and turned in her bed, the TV stuck on CNN and her imagination running wild. Every casualty was cause for a panic attack. Every knock on the door was the military police coming to tell her that her husband was dead. She wasn’t sure how she’d survived intact, let alone sane.
But here, now? He was home. Safe. With her.
Right where he belonged.
