Right now, he was flat on his back, one arm flung over his eyes. His chest heaved as he caught his breath. She allowed her gaze to roam lower. His body was a thing of wonder, all that smooth brown skin and sharply defined muscles. Her eyes landed on the scars on his abdomen. She’d felt them that day in the forest, but seeing them still left her somewhat shaken.
Something major had happened to him; that much was for sure.
She bent her head and kissed the biggest scar, allowing her lips to linger against its puckered surface. He said nothing. She traced each scar with her fingers, kissing her way over every inch of his damaged skin. No,damagedwasn’t the right word because these scars seemed to make him stronger. He’d survived.
She pressed her lips against the small, round scar above his hip. “Mark”—she lifted her head to meet his eyes—“will you tell me?”
He looked down at her, his dark eyes blazing. “War injury.”
She fought not to roll her eyes. “I worked that much out for myself, thanks.”
“I was in the Special Forces. A lot of what we did was classified.”
“Then give me the unclassified version.” She splayed her hand over his scarred abdomen, noticing that his cock had already begun to harden again from her touch.
“Suicide bomber.” He stared up at the ceiling, his expression unreadable.
She was quiet, her hand still resting on his scars as she waited for him to continue.
“We were outside a market, never even saw him until it was too late.”
Her breath caught. “Your team?”
“Only minor injuries, apart from me. We were lucky.”
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.Lucky.Maybe, but she had a feeling skill had played a bigger role in his survival. She had nothing but the utmost respect for Mark and all the other men and women who risked their lives serving their country. Her father and uncle had both served in the military.
“There was a shoe,” Mark said, his body tensing beneath her, “on the ground beside me. A little girl’s shoe. I’ll never forget it.”
Jessica’s stomach lurched. “Just a shoe?”
He nodded, his expression hard. “War is an ugly thing.”
It sure as hell was. “And your injuries were too severe to return to duty?”
“I lost a kidney and two ligaments in my right knee, ended my time in the Special Forces.”
She looked down at the knee in question, also marred with a long, twisted scar. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I, but there’s nothing for it now. Off-the-Grid came along at the right time for me.”
“I’m glad.” She slid up to kiss him.
His arms came around her, drawing her close, and he kissed her back.This.This was what she’d wanted from him. Not just sex, but intimacy.
She lowered her head to rest against his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart. “You want to know something stupid? I almost wanted them to find something on the MRI this morning.”
He sucked in a breath. “Why?”
“Because something’s not right,” she whispered. “I know it, and now I’m no closer to figuring out what it is.”
“You’ll figure it out, Jess, but I’m so glad they didn’t find anything in your brain. Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it, okay?” His voice had gone low, gruff.
And it spread a warm, fuzzy sensation inside her. She really liked the sound of “we,” even if he didn’t mean it in the sense she might have wanted him to. “Okay.”
Then they were kissing again. Mark was deliciously hard beneath her, and an answering ache grew between her thighs. She wasn’t sure she could ever get enough of this man. They kissed and caressed for a long time, and when he finally sheathed himself in a condom and pushed inside her, she felt him fill her all the way up to her heart.
She was no fool. She knew they still had a long way to go before this thing between them had a chance of becoming something real, but after today, the Mark-sized crack in her heart had grown a little bit bigger. But as he took her over the edge with another soul-shattering orgasm, she really didn’t care.
For today, this was enough. So much more than enough.
Afterward, they lay together, arms and legs entwined, and she was feeling all kinds of mushy, romantic things for the man beside her. All. The. Feels.
Then he rolled toward her, his expression turned serious. “I need to go.”
