Meant for Her by Amy Gamet Page A

on his arms and chest. His mind replayed their kisses outside the reception hall and his body responded to the memory.
    Was she really just pretending? Hadn’t she felt even a portion of what he felt?
    The rest of his body got the same punishing treatment with the soap before he turned off the water and hastily dried his body. He was a grown man, damn it, and these games were making him crazy. Hank pulled on a clean pair of black briefs and considered grabbing a T-shirt and shorts out of deference to Julie.
    She can close her damn eyes if she doesn’t like it.
    Throwing back the covers on the bed, he dropped onto the cold sheets and waited for her to come in. It was nearly an hour before she did—time that did nothing to improve Hank’s mood. He watched as she closed the door as quietly as possible and tiptoed into the room.
    “I was starting to think you were sleeping on the couch.”
    In the darkness he saw her straighten to her full height. “I was talking with your mom and Gwen.”
    “You were avoiding coming to bed with me.”
    She didn’t answer him.
    “Why, Julie?” His eyes were adjusted to the dim light of the room, and he saw her cross her arms over her chest as he waited for a response. When none came, he asked again, “Why are you avoiding me?”
    She snapped at him. “Because you don’t really like me anyway, and I don’t want to sleep with someone who…”
    “Whoa, wait a minute. I don’t really like you anyway? What are you talking about?” Hank swung his legs out of bed and walked toward her.
    She stepped backwards and bumped into a dresser. “This whole charade. You pretending to like me.”
    “I do like you, Julie.”
    “No, not like that. Like a man likes a woman.”
    “I do like you like a man likes a woman.”
    “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not being very clear.”
    Hank reached out and stroked his hand down her arm.
    “Please don’t touch me,” she said, recoiling. “I’m trying to make you understand.”
    “I understand. You think I don’t like you like a man likes a woman, but you’re wrong.”
    “I know you’re attracted to me, Hank, and I’m attracted to you, too. That’s not what I’m talking about.”
    Now he was confused. He furrowed his brow. “Go ahead.”
    “You want to have sex with me, but you don’t really care about me.”
    Silence filled the room.
    Julie let out a huff and moved to step around him.
    His hand on her arm stopped her. “Wait.” His fingers trailed slowly down her arm. “I do care about you.” He stepped closer, his scent invading her senses. “Enough to get involved when every rule the Navy has, and every rule I have for myself, tells me not to.”
    His words lulled her closer, tempting her with their promise. Her shaking fingers skimmed his chest, reaching higher until her hand curved around his broad shoulder. With the lightest pressure she pulled him to her, his mouth finding hers with unerring accuracy in the darkness.
    She tasted like berries and spicy mint, and Hank leaned into her.  He thought he could remain unaffected, aloof, enjoying her body and the pleasure she offered without involving his heart. She brought him to a place he had never been before, where bodies melded and feelings entwined, inseparable from one another. They met on a battlefield, a firestorm of emotional victory and defeat, where he fought for self preservation and was beaten down, rising stronger, more powerful, having opened his heart to love.
     ~~~
    Julie hummed to herself as she poured a cup of coffee. She had woken up in Hank’s arms, the sunlight streaming in from the window, feeling content and happy. Carefully lifting his arm, she slipped out of bed and lowered the blinds so Hank could continue to sleep, then dressed and headed downstairs to see what the day held in store.
    She had always been a morning person, enjoying the feeling of the entire day laid out before her. On the rare occasion she slept in, she usually felt