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She said the words with a sigh. Not of disappointment, or of protest, but of contented observation.

“Yes. For a while.”

Sammara rolled onto her stomach, leaving her perfectly rounded ass in full, deliberate view. She folded her slender arms across my chest.

“Will you be back soon?”

I paused, then cursed myself for pausing. “It shouldn’t be long.”

Damn. She knew me all too well. Better than I knew myself, it seemed.

“Are you telling the truth?”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

She raised an eyebrow and glanced up at the ceiling. It made her look mischievous.

“You’ve been more honest than anyone else,” she admitted. “Sometimes painfully honest.”

“See? There you go.”

She let out a long exhale. Now she did look disappointed.

“It’s… It’s just that I’ll miss you.”

My body tingled as she began planting another series of warm kisses across my stomach. I concentrated on the sensation of her lips against my skin. I wanted to remember those kisses. Store them away. Take them with me.

“Okay,” she said at last. Her wonderful blue eyes locked on mine. “But you’ll be careful.”

The way she said it wasn’t even a question. It was a statement. An understanding, between us. I smiled down at her, and could barely see her face through her thick mop of golden hair.

“Always.”

Eleven

SAMMARA

I spent as much time as I could with Jason before he left. We all did. It was one of those pre-deployment things we were all aware of, and did our best to enjoy the time we still had.

The moment the door closed behind him, I was already calling a meeting with the other three.

“Kitchen. Now.”

Kyle and Ryan looked a little confused. Dakota came down the hallway with a towel slung over his shoulder, having just finished his workout. He was scratching the back of his neck.

“Please,” I added sweetly.

A minute later we were all at the table, the coffee maker sputtering noisily as it brewed. I didn’t mean to alarm them, but I wanted us all on the same page. I’d learned, over time, that miscommunication could run rampant in a five-way relationship.

That is, if you didn’t take precautions.

“So what’s the deal?” I asked. “Where’s he going?”

I hadn’t asked Jason directly, even though I was sure he would’ve t

old me. I just didn’t want him worrying about what I knew.

Dakota shrugged. It wasn’t even a good shrug. He was a bad liar and a terrible actor, and I frowned at him.