Off Limits by Lindsay McKenna

each other, their noses touching, he felt Alex tremble. So did he. This time, it wasn’t out of fear, it was out of such an overwhelming desire for her that it robbed him of all thought except the feel of her in his arms. Of their own accord, his hands moved from her hair, to her face, slender neck and shoulders.
    â€œYou’re so beautiful, so good and kind,” he rasped against her wet lips.
    With a sob, Alex lifted her chin. Jim’s eyes were narrowed with intensity, with desire. “I—I love you,” she cried out softly.

CHAPTER SIX
    J im’s breath snagged. His arms tightened around Alex for just a moment. And then, he released her. They sat beneath the lattice-work of roots, with barely enough headroom for Jim. He closed his eyes.
    â€œGal, you can’t love me. It’s impossible.”
    Alex gulped but remained in the safety of his arms. How could she have fallen in love in a week’s time? How? A portion of her was mystified by her blurted admission. As she felt through the morass of emotions bubbling within her, Alex knew it wasn’t the wrong thing to say to Jim.
    â€œI said it,” she rasped, her voice cracking. “I meant it.” Her fingers tightened on his shirt and she could feel his chest rising and falling quickly beneath her hand. Soon, it would be dawn. Jim didn’t want to travel during the daylight hours, afraid of detection by roving bands of VC.
    Groaning softly, Jim pulled Alex away just enough to look down and frantically search her gray eyes. What he saw in them was a luster, a wonderful trusting glow. He could never have imagined any woman looking at him like that—and meaning it. “You’re feverish, Alex. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    â€œI’ve only got a grade fever, Jim McKenzie, and I’m not hallucinating! I know what I said.”
    Gripping her arm, he blurted in panic, “It’s this crazy war, the situation, then.” Such a huge part of him wanted her admission to be true. Hadn’t he been dreaming of Alex in place of his normal fare of nightmares? Hadn’t that small seed of hope that had flared to life deep within him entertained that very need—wishing Alex would love the likes of him, terrible faults and all?
    Now, as he stared into her unwavering gaze, his mouth grew dry. He saw Alex’s stubbornness, only this time it was in connection with her feelings—for him. “No,” he rasped, “you can’t mean it, Alex...you can’t.”
    â€œI do!” Anger flared through Alex, despite her disheveled condition, the constant fever and the physical hardships she’d endured thus far. “You’re worth loving, Jim. Don’t you see that?”
    Muttering a curse under his breath, Jim tucked Alex against him, losing the argument. Joy sheared through him, followed by utter hopelessness. “You love a loser, then,” he told her harshly. “Don’t hurt yourself because of me, Alex. As soon as I get you to that firebase, I’m disappearin’ back into the jungle. I don’t dare get caught, or they’ll shove me in the brig. I can’t stand the thought of goin’ to prison. I’d die in those four walls. Just let whatever you feel for me go. You hear?”
    Alex shook her head. She was trembling from exertion, her legs aching from their forced march. “How can I push something away that’s grown so deep within me? I can’t, Jim. Please, give yourself up. The marines don’t know you decided what you did. You could go back and—”
    â€œNo!” The word was ground out between his teeth. Jim placed his fingers beneath her chin and forced her to look up at him. “Alex, if I went back, I’d go to prison for a long time. You can’t go out in the bush with a marine squad and not carry your share of the load. I’m not going to lie to the corps about how I