Still Mine by Mary Wine Page A

every single man who attended will be transferred someplace undefined. Their families won’t talk to you either. Believe me, Jo, I can make it happen.”
    Jo fended off a tingle of fear. He wasn’t the first man who had tried to intimidate her into doing what he wanted. Or told her to toss in the towel because she wasn’t up to the challenge. She shook it off, refusing to buckle. Locke had taught her how to prove what everyone didn’t want exposed.
    Paul was used to dealing with military personal. He recognized that fact while he lashed through her arguments with a speed that didn’t account for any regard for her feelings. But she didn’t flinch, her lower lip never even quivered. He’d expected it to. Hell, maybe he was trying to piss her off to make his own actions easier to shoulder. Instead, her eyes narrowed.
    “When did you turn into such a jerk, Paul?”
    It was a good question. One he didn’t enjoy asking himself. Distrust surfaced on her face and it rubbed him raw. It collided with the memory of how she’d looked at him, and the love shimmering in her eyes had filled him with enough happiness to lift his boots off the pavement. Hearing the word “divorce” from her lips lit a fire that turned those memories to charcoal.
    “I may be a jerk but I’m also your husband. You married me, Jo.”
    “I’m not the one that threw that away.”
    He clamped his mouth closed, holding back whatever he wanted to say. Instead, he surveyed her from head to toe with glittering black eyes. A flush of heat spread across her face, stunning her. Blushing for him only made her madder.
    He reached out, touching the stain on her cheek. She stepped back, but not before their skin connected. A ripple of sensation washed over her, leaving goose bumps on her forearms.
    “You feel that, Jo?” His voice was husky, setting off another wave of awareness. This time, her nipples tingled. His gaze held hers as he took one step towards her, closing the distance again. “I sure did. That isn’t something we choose. We’re bound together by a lot more than a ceremony. You can’t escape that with a legal document. Thinking me dead didn’t cut the link. What makes you so sure a divorce will?”
    His words were whisper soft but sharp as a razor. While she was mesmerized by the heat flickering in his eyes, the wind shifted and his scent hit her. Paul snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her into hard contact with his frame. Jo brought her hands up, attempting to force the disturbing wall of flesh away. The only thing her resistance gained her was a fierce jolt of pain from her injured hand. But she shoved at him again because the hard chest beneath her fingertips was pure temptation. Little pulses of excitement raced through her bloodstream. It was too warm, far too male for her fragile emotions. Six years of abstinence and her body wasn’t interested in how much of a callous jerk he was, only the reality that they were married and he was hers for the taking.
    “Your hand is burned, Jonnie, stop using it.” His arm stayed in place as one hand smoothed up her neck and knocked her hat off her head. His chest rumbled with a deep sound of male enjoyment as he tugged the clip holding her hair free.
    “Turn me loose.” Her teeth were clenched against the tide of rising enjoyment sweeping through her. Control seemed nothing but a distant memory as her nipples drew into hard points.
    One of his arms slid down her body to press her hips into firm contact with his length. She’d managed to tilt her bottom away from his body, but now her belly was pressed to his as his fingers smoothed over her buttocks. The hard shape of his cock tossed more fuel onto the flames licking over her body.
    “You have one hell of a nerve, Paul. Get your paws off of me.”
    The heat from his body burned along every point of contact. Jolene wiggled but his body seemed to surround hers. His lips curled back to display an even row of teeth.
    “I’ve waited six