the
outburst.
Trav chuckled and chaffed her hands between his. “Because I
am.”
“But there’s no military base around here.”
“No, there’s not.” He shifted and sat beside her on the bed.
“My contract is up, and I’d been struggling with what to do, but I finally
figured it out. I’m done with the military. It was a great place for me to run
to, provided me with awesome life experience, and I loved being an MP. The
Marines…it was a good ten years. But I’m ready to move on. It was never a
career for me. It was a job that I respected and enjoyed. But no more running.
I want to move back to where I grew up. And I think this is as good as any
place to continue my search for Sarah.”
“I thought about this, and I want to help. Looking for
Sarah, I mean. I know how important this is for you. No matter what, wherever
you end up, I’ll help you keep looking. I was thinking that the next step was
to hire an investigator. I started looking up some names for you, if you want
them.”
He looked into her eyes for a moment. “You’re something
else, you know that?” Then he dropped a light kiss on her nose. “A private
investigator is an excellent idea. But I already told you. I’m ending up here.”
“This isn’t, I mean that’s not because…” Her face flushed.
How did she ask the question without sounding like a pompous jerk?
“It’s not because of you,” he said, reading her mind. He
gave her a shy glance. “But I’d consider it a serious bonus if you were
included in the package.”
“Package?” Her head was spinning.
“The next phase of Travis P. Donovan’s Life Package.” He
smiled a little, in an adorably self-deprecating way. “I’ve got plans and
they’ll be put into motion no matter what. I have to get back to Camp
Pendleton, finish up my post-deployment stuff there, sign papers and such. But
soon enough I’ll come back to the area. I already made contact with the PD
here, seeing about getting in. With my service record and added bonus of
military police experience, it looks good for me.”
“Good.” Why could she do nothing more than repeat after him
like a parrot?
“And,” he added slowly. “I’m hoping that when I get back
here, you and I will look good, too.”
“You and I?” More repeating. Just shove a cracker in her
mouth and call her Polly.
His hand came up and played with her hair. Fingers stroked
down the base of her skull, twirled around the strands, tangled in the weight
of it. “I thought you and I had something pretty nice going. So when I come
back and I’m a more permanent fixture in the area, maybe we can start fresh.
Not over, because there’s no way we can erase what we went through this week. I
wouldn’t want to if we could. So fresh. Two people who care about each other
and are dedicated to seeing where it goes.”
He was staying. He had a plan. And he wanted to keep seeing
her. Ariel’s heart was in her throat. She tried to speak but no words came out.
He smiled. “Do you want me to text the question?”
That forced a laugh around the lump in her throat. She gave
him a shove and he fell backward. She reached in her jeans pocket, still around
her knees, and grabbed her phone. While he watched her with a grin on his face,
she texted him an answer.
Yes.
About the Author
KJ Reed is an inconspicuous housewife by day, folding
laundry, changing diapers and washing dishes with pleasure. But late at night,
when the rest of the household is asleep and not making messes she has to pick
up, she writes erotic romance. She took up writing one day when she realized
the voices in her head weren’t multiple personalities, but characters begging
to come out and play.
A military wife, she’s fortunate enough to be surrounded by
manly, Alpha-tastic inspiration on a daily basis. Nothing stirs the blood quite
like a platoon of sweaty Marines running by in formation, does it ladies? Of
course, she’d tell you where she lives, except by the
outburst.
Trav chuckled and chaffed her hands between his. “Because I
am.”
“But there’s no military base around here.”
“No, there’s not.” He shifted and sat beside her on the bed.
“My contract is up, and I’d been struggling with what to do, but I finally
figured it out. I’m done with the military. It was a great place for me to run
to, provided me with awesome life experience, and I loved being an MP. The
Marines…it was a good ten years. But I’m ready to move on. It was never a
career for me. It was a job that I respected and enjoyed. But no more running.
I want to move back to where I grew up. And I think this is as good as any
place to continue my search for Sarah.”
“I thought about this, and I want to help. Looking for
Sarah, I mean. I know how important this is for you. No matter what, wherever
you end up, I’ll help you keep looking. I was thinking that the next step was
to hire an investigator. I started looking up some names for you, if you want
them.”
He looked into her eyes for a moment. “You’re something
else, you know that?” Then he dropped a light kiss on her nose. “A private
investigator is an excellent idea. But I already told you. I’m ending up here.”
“This isn’t, I mean that’s not because…” Her face flushed.
How did she ask the question without sounding like a pompous jerk?
“It’s not because of you,” he said, reading her mind. He
gave her a shy glance. “But I’d consider it a serious bonus if you were
included in the package.”
“Package?” Her head was spinning.
“The next phase of Travis P. Donovan’s Life Package.” He
smiled a little, in an adorably self-deprecating way. “I’ve got plans and
they’ll be put into motion no matter what. I have to get back to Camp
Pendleton, finish up my post-deployment stuff there, sign papers and such. But
soon enough I’ll come back to the area. I already made contact with the PD
here, seeing about getting in. With my service record and added bonus of
military police experience, it looks good for me.”
“Good.” Why could she do nothing more than repeat after him
like a parrot?
“And,” he added slowly. “I’m hoping that when I get back
here, you and I will look good, too.”
“You and I?” More repeating. Just shove a cracker in her
mouth and call her Polly.
His hand came up and played with her hair. Fingers stroked
down the base of her skull, twirled around the strands, tangled in the weight
of it. “I thought you and I had something pretty nice going. So when I come
back and I’m a more permanent fixture in the area, maybe we can start fresh.
Not over, because there’s no way we can erase what we went through this week. I
wouldn’t want to if we could. So fresh. Two people who care about each other
and are dedicated to seeing where it goes.”
He was staying. He had a plan. And he wanted to keep seeing
her. Ariel’s heart was in her throat. She tried to speak but no words came out.
He smiled. “Do you want me to text the question?”
That forced a laugh around the lump in her throat. She gave
him a shove and he fell backward. She reached in her jeans pocket, still around
her knees, and grabbed her phone. While he watched her with a grin on his face,
she texted him an answer.
Yes.
About the Author
KJ Reed is an inconspicuous housewife by day, folding
laundry, changing diapers and washing dishes with pleasure. But late at night,
when the rest of the household is asleep and not making messes she has to pick
up, she writes erotic romance. She took up writing one day when she realized
the voices in her head weren’t multiple personalities, but characters begging
to come out and play.
A military wife, she’s fortunate enough to be surrounded by
manly, Alpha-tastic inspiration on a daily basis. Nothing stirs the blood quite
like a platoon of sweaty Marines running by in formation, does it ladies? Of
course, she’d tell you where she lives, except by the
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