She knew the answer.They had an expiration date—the day he left to return to his team.He’d been clear on that.It wasn’t what she wanted, but she would respect his rules.Knowing she was falling for him, she was trying to protect her heart, holding that fragile organ back as much as she could.
“You’re thinking real hard there, Nichole.”
“I’m not sure what you want to hear.”Was this his attempt to make certain that even though he’d given them a label she didn’t get the wrong idea?
He nuzzled her neck.“How about if I go first?”
“Okay.”She braced herself for the reiteration of his rule.No matter how much it hurt, she wouldn’t cry.At least not in front of him.
“I really only have one question.Will you wait for me?”
She blinked.Had she heard him right?She leaned to the side so she could see his face.“You mean when you’re on deployment?”
“Yes.Will you be here when I get back?Write to me?Skype with me when I can manage it?”He glanced away, then focused back on her.“Be faithful?”
For a moment she bristled that he would imply she wouldn’t be true to him, but then she remembered that his one girlfriend had cheated on him while he’d been overseas serving his country.She’d probably be worried about the same thing if something like that had happened to her.
She slid her hand into his, lacing their fingers, then brought their hands to her chest, over her heart.“I have never and would never cheat on a man I was involved with.If the day ever came when I didn’t think our relationship was working, I’d talk to you about it.If you happened to be on deployment when that happened, I would still be true to you, and when you came back, we would talk.But, Jack, I don’t see myself ever wanting anyone but you.”
His mouth crashed down on hers.
Jack believed her, which was a miracle in itself considering how many years he’d been skeptical of a relationship working with a woman as long as he was in the military.It was her, though, the reason he trusted this thing between them was real.She was beautiful inside and out, honest, sweet, and kind.And, oh yeah, sexy as hell.
“I will be faithful.That is my promise to you,” she said when they came up for air.“But I expect the same from you.”
“Baby, you’re the only woman I want in my bed, the only one my heart has room for.”
She squeezed his hand.“Those are two of my favorite places to be.”
“Good.”He stood, bringing her up with him.“Let’s dance.”
“Now?”
“Why not?”Dancing was something he loved to do, and not just because he was good at it.
As a boy, he’d hated when his mother roped him into the dance lessons the times she was a boy short.He’d much rather have been working on cars with his dad or hanging out with his friends.As a grown man, he appreciated those lessons and his skill on the dance floor.He’d learned early that women loved a man who had the moves.
He brought up his phone’s playlist, choosing the one with songs perfect for dancing the tango, then he pulled Nichole close to him.“Remember what I said about the tango?”
“That you’d teach me?”
“That, too, but I also told you that it’s making love with your clothes on.Personally, I think it’s the most sensual dance there is.The steps can get complicated, but we’re going to keep it simple for now.”
“That’s good since I’m not such a great dancer.”
“You will be when I finish with you.”He winked, and her smile went straight to his heart and his lower regions.Hell, holding her in his arms and not taking her right down to the deck and having his way with her was going to be a test of his wills.
“The first thing you have to remember is that the tango is something you feel, not something you do.We’re just going to sway here for a few minutes while you close your eyes and feel the music.”He put his mouth next to her ear.“Let the music flow through you, Nichole.”
She was stiff at first, but as they swayed, her muscles relaxed, along with her breaths.“You’re feeling it,” he said after a while when her body finally sensually swayed as she moved with him.
“It’s...I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You don’t have to.I get it.”And he did.Most people didn’t try to feel the music when they danced, but when they did, their body would respond to the beat, move with it, embrace it.It was a beautifully sensual thing.
“Now we’ll start with the embrace.That’s where our hands go.We’ll be a mirror image of each other.”He took her left hand in his right one, holding them both out to the side.“For now, put your other hand on my shoulder.”He slid his right hand down her side, resting it on her lower back.
“Is it weird that I’m kind of turned on right now?”she said.
“If it is, then we’re both weird.”
Truth, kind of turned on was the understatement of the year.She was a natural, which pleased him.It also had him sporting an erection that threatened to rip its way right past the zipper of his pants.He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this much.He gritted his teeth, determined to teach her a little more of the dance steps before he showed her exactly what she did to him.
“The most important thing to remember is to trust your partner.Let your body feel my weight, to feel where I’m going, to feel me because I’ll always take you with me.”
She stilled, causing him to stumble.“Are we still talking about the tango or us?”
“Both,” he said, then scooped her up in his arms, ignoring the screaming protest from his damaged shoulder.Her tango lessons could wait for another day.He was done.This woman was either going to be his salvation or his hell.He hoped for the first but was willing to risk the latter.
She had the power to break him, to be the reason he never again trusted another woman.But he would trust her while praying that he would never let her down.As he carried her to his bedroom, he shut out the whispering voice saying that was a distinct possibility.
