Page 5 of Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC 7)

After swallowing my gum, I reached down, lifted her chin slightly, and kissed her. The kiss wasn’t aggressive, extremely long, or close to what most Marine wives received upon their husband’s return to the states, but it was appropriate, respectful, and provided all the support she needed to understand where it was I had placed her.

On a pedestal above anything and everything on the earth.

Most men, upon returning home from the war, more than likely greeted their wives or girlfriends with the tip of their dick. I believed there was a time and a place for sex, and was actually quite fond of fucking the woman I loved, but for the next hour or so I needed to simply hold her in my arms, inhale her scent, and talk to her. She’d been through this routine enough times that she knew what to expect from me. Sitting down, eating a meal together, and talking allowed my mind to return back to civilization, and at least for the amount of time I was home, feel like things were different.

“God, I love kissing you,” she said as our lips parted.

She leaned back and shifted her eyes up and down my frame. “You look like you’ve lost weight. Come on, let me make you something to eat. Are you hungry?”

I reached for my pack, lifted it to my shoulder, and nodded my head. “I could eat.”

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s eat, and then we’ll curl up in a ball on the couch.”

She turned away, walked up the steps and held the door open.

I paused at the first step and glanced at the front of the house before allowing my eyes to openly gaze around the yard. Leaves had filled the gutters, and the yard was littered with the various colors of fall.

Most men would perceive a yard full of leaves as a pain in the ass. Work. Time that could be spent watching a football game.

Me?

I saw it as exactly what it was.

Beautiful.

I grinned, exhaled, and followed her into the house.

God, it feels good to be home.