embarrassed. But he didn’t seem to mind. Their tongues dueled, breaths coming out heavy, and then he pul ed back.
“I’l see you soon,” he murmured.
Her chest throbbed with pain. “Promise?”
“You fucking bet I do.”
Smiling through her tears, she watched him walk out the door.
Epilogue
“So…let’s not do that again,” Carson remarked dryly as the chopper set down on the helipad at the Coronado Naval Base.
Wil managed a shaky chuckle then glanced around the smal space, assessing the other men. Like him, they were covered in mud and reeked like the swamp they’d crawled through for ten hours. Garrett had soot on his face from the explosion. Ryan Evans’ right arm was bandaged from the bul et that had sliced through it. But other than that, they were al in good shape.
He experienced a flicker of pain as he thought about their pilot. Craig hadn’t survived the crash. God, Wil didn’t want to be there when they told the guy’s wife.
“I’m stil pissed off that you knew this would happen,” Matt O’Connor grumbled, shooting Wil a dirty look. “Some warning would’ve been nice, Lieutenant.”
“You can’t change the future, man. Tel ing you guys would’ve achieved nothing.”
Ryan cocked his head, looking intrigued. “So your girl real y saw it happen? She saw the crash?” Wil nodded.
“Think she knows who I’l be screwing tonight?” He rol ed his eyes. “You were shot in the arm. I doubt you’l be screwing anyone.”
Ryan glanced at Matt and grinned. “He underestimates my sexual prowess.”
As the pilot set the chopper down at the base, Wil noticed Carson glaring at him from the seat across.
“What now?”
“Just thinking about how you kissed my girlfriend, that’s al .”
He groaned. “How many times do I have to apologize for that?”
“At least, oh, about a thousand more.” Garrett jabbed Carson’s ribs. “Hey, you fucked my wife. The Lieutenant’s a choir boy in comparison.” The chatter died as the helicopter landed. The six men immediately jumped out, and Wil watched in amusement as his teammates took off. Carson and Garrett moved the fastest, obviously eager to wash the mud off and go home to their women.
Which is precisely what Wil planned on doing.
Striding into the building, he headed down the corridor and walked into the first empty office he saw.
He made a beeline for the phone and dialed so fast he feared he’d pressed the wrong numbers.
And then he heard her voice.
“Hey,” he said softly.
A stunned silence, and then, “Oh, thank God! Oh God. You’re okay! Oh Jesus.”
He fought a smile. “Is it inappropriate to say I told you so?”
“Very.” There was a soft sniffle. “I’ve been going crazy with worry, Wil . Your commander cal ed me when you lost radio contact, and he sounded freaked, and… Oh God. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yep. In perfect health too.” He wrinkled his nose as the aroma of mud and swamp drifted up to it. “I smel like shit, though. I should probably hop in the shower before I—”
“Don’t you dare,” Mackenzie cut in. “You’re to do nothing but get in your car and come home.”
“It’l take me an hour to get there. You’l have to exercise some patience, baby.”
“Don’t talk to me about patience. I’ve just spent the past three days waiting by the phone.”
“Wel , sit tight for just a while longer, baby. I’l be there soon.”
“Wil ?” Her voice shook. “I love you.”
“Wil ?” Her voice shook. “I love you.” His heart did a dumb little flip, but lord, how he loved hearing those three words come out of her mouth. “I love you too, Mac. Always have, always wil .”
“Good. So come home, Wil . Now.”
He grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
About the Author
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