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“What is it?” he asked, smiling.
God, he had the most amazing smile! It lit up his ruggedly handsome face in ways that made my stomach explode with butterflies.
“Nothing,” I shrugged sheepishly. “It’s just… I guess I’m just flattered.”
Aurelius stepped into me and reached out for my hand. He held it close, pinned between our bodies. Dangerously close to the veritable playground of his flat lower abdomen.
“This will be my last one, too,” he added wistfully. “We kept this thing to enlisted only. This time next year I’ll be in Colorado, with the guys.”
“Starting your security company?”
The three of them had told me something about their post-enlistment plans, but not much. Everything I’d heard so far was intriguing, though.
“Already the house is half built,” said Aurelius. His smile broadened. “Dakota you should really see it. It’s amazing!”
I want to see it!I wanted to say. Hell, I wanted to see everything.
“So the three of you are really close,” I murmured. It wasn’t a question.
“We’ve saved each other’s lives,” Aurelius said plainly. “We also shared a lot of tough missions together. The kind where you’re unsure if you’ll even make it back.”
He looked around the bar, at his friends. Maybe even at the eight sweating pint glasses huddled around a table nearby.
“That sort of thing tends to bond you,” he said. “You end up sharing things you never thought you would.”
With that he bent to kiss me, gently cradling my face in his hands. It was slow, deep, beautiful. And of course, enormously hot.
Somewhere in the middle of it I pulled back, nervously scanning around.
“What?” asked Aurelius. “You don’t want to kiss me?”
That hint of a Greek accent was making me melt again. Among other things.
“Oh Iwantto kiss you!” I assured him quickly. “Very badly, too. But I’m supposed to be Jace’swife.I just wanted to make sure there was no one around who could—”
“Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is a melting pot of different branches for sure,” Aurelius agreed. “But there’s no one here right now who would recognize you in that way.”
“You sure?”
The tall SEAL thought for a moment and shook his head. “You can never betotallysure about anything,” he admitted. “That’s one of the first things the military teaches you: managing risk.”
He took the hand that was between us and squeezed it.
“Would you like to manage this risk outside then?” he asked. “On the way home?”
His touch, his voice, his mocha brown eyes — they were a package deal, all driving me crazy. I could still feel the tingle of his lips on mine.
“Maybe after we hit one last bar,” I said. “One more drink.”
Pulling his body closer, I smiled up at him and winked.
“Right now I’m having too much fun.”
