“If you’re saying you want us to get trapped behind enemy lines together in the Hindu Kush during the dead of winter so we can bond again, I’m gonna have to pass,” he said dryly.
She couldn’t help but laugh, beginning to feel stupid and insecure and wishing she hadn’t brought this up.“No, I wouldn’t ever want to go through that again either.My point was, I miss the strength of the link we had then.And I still really want to have a family.Sooner rather than later.I’m willing to be a single stay-at-home mom for a little while, but I don’t want to raise our kids all by myself while you’re overseas all the time.We need to plan for that together.”
He nodded.“That’s fair, I get it.And if we had kids, I wouldn’t want to not be there for them either.”
She tipped her head back.“When do you want to start a family?”
“In a couple more years maybe.Definitely before you hit thirty-five, otherwise your eggs might all be dried up.”
She poked him in the chest, smirking at his dry humor.“My eggs are just fine, thanks very much.You just worry about your swimmers.”
“You mean my fast-movers.”
“Sure, your fast-movers then,” she said, smiling at the reminder of what he’d said to Cam yesterday morning.Laying her head against his sturdy shoulder, she snuggled deeper into his embrace, already feeling closer to him than she had in a long time.“And what about my job?”
He stroked a hand over her hair.“If you really want to get out that badly, then you should get out.”
The words sent a wave of relief washing over her.“What if I can’t find anything I want to do once I get out?”
“Then we’ll handle it when the time comes.Clamp down a little tighter with the finances until you do find something.”
She wound her arms around him, tightened them, a sense of peace blanketing her.“Thank you.”
“Welcome.We good now?”
The hopeful note in his voice, along with the hot gleam in his eyes when she glanced up at him, made her smile.Sucha guy, wanting to get straight to the make-up sex portion of the evening.“Yes.We’re good.”
“Great.Now come here.”He scooped her up and turned her, the muscles in his shoulders and chest bunching as he reached up to take her face between his hands.So sexy.“I love you more than anything, and I missed you like hell while I was gone.”
She smiled.He wasn’t very romantic, or flowery with his words, so his saying that to her now meant the world to her.“I missed you more.”And for the first time in months, she felt like they were finally in sync again instead of teetering on the edge of disaster.The relief was huge.
Now she wanted the special intimacy that only their physical connection could bring.
Bracing her hands on his broad shoulders, she bent and covered his lips with hers.He nipped at her lower lip, ran his tongue across it then sucked gently, his hands framing her face, taking complete control.
She sighed and made a soft purring sound as she opened for him, hungry for more of the heat he’d ignited in her.Just as things were starting to get interesting, she jolted when the fire alarm blared to life.
Ryan stilled and lifted his head, instantly on alert.
Coming up on her knees, she looked up at the ceiling and inhaled deeply.There was no smoke and the air seemed clean.“Smell anything?”
“No.”He rolled out from under her and peeked out the window.“Don’t see anything.”
“Must be a false alarm.Come back here.”She grabbed his shoulder and turned him back toward her.
Grinning, he resumed his former position beneath her and cupped his hands around her breasts, his thumbs brushing over the hard, sensitive tips.“My sexy wife.”He kissed the side of her neck, the brush of his beard making her tingle all over despite the continued blare of the fire alarm.“Just ignore it and focus on me.”He turned her face back to his, slanted his mouth across hers before skimming his way over her jaw, to her throat.
“Mmm...”She tipped her head back to give him more room, running her hands over his bare back.The sheer power of him never failed to get her hot.
Ryan rolled her over onto her back and blanketed her with his weight, the hard ridge of his erection pressing against the aching spot between her legs.
She sighed and threaded her fingers into his hair, letting her eyes drift close, the sound of the fire alarm fading beneath the rush of desire.
Something flickered against her closed eyelids.
Her body went rigid as she opened her eyes and saw the yellow-orange glow flickering through the window.“Ryan.”She pushed at his shoulder.
At the urgency in her voice he sat up and reached for the blind covering the window, shoving it aside to look down.A second later, she smelled it.Faint, but unmistakable.
