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R hae clasped Navy to her chest. The familiar weight of her child mixed with the scent of baby shampoo and detergent made for sensitive skin, were things she was used to. Having Denver walking at her side wasn’t.

Every nerve in her body had come alive when he kissed her, and they tingled more with each step they took toward her quarters.

In true Denver style, he didn’t speak. Their encounters had taught her that he was a man of few words, but the ones he’d gritted out tonight eddied in her mind like smoke from the bonfire. They twisted around old memories and clawed into fresh ones.

Take a walk with me. Talk with me.

Is there a man in your life?

The expression in his eyes, like he was willing to burn down the world if she said the thing he didn’t want to hear, made her stomach drop over and over again.

And his murmured, You’re here, almost unhinged her.

Months of loneliness and the devastation of knowing Navy would grow up without ever knowing this man surged to the surface. Now they hovered there with the pain, hope and a million other things she couldn’t put a name on.

Their footsteps were quiet on the carpeted hallway leading to her room. When she stopped at the door, she started to shift Navy to reach for the handle, but Denver got it first.

He pushed the door inward. The lamp in the corner she had set on a timer wreathed the small space in tones of gold.

Wordlessly, she walked into the bedroom and straight to the crib. The baby’s blanket held a hint of woodsmoke from the fire, and she discarded it and her little cap before gently easing the baby onto the mattress.

Navy didn’t move, in that deep sleep only babies could achieve. For a heart-bending second, she stared at the curve of her plump cheeks, aware that Denver wasn’t standing beside her.

So far, he hadn’t acknowledged or interacted with Navy. Nothing had been discussed either.

Yet she turned away from the crib, seeking the man like her soul needed to meld with his or die.

He stood in the bedroom doorway, watching her. Shadows played in his eyes, but when they lit on her, some faded away.

She reached for him, planting her hands on his solid steel chest. Her heart’s pattering turned to a thunder that couldn’t be ignored.

She threw herself at him just as he reached for her. Those strong arms she’d craved all this time clamped around her, and he lifted her, turning for the sitting area rather than the bed.

It was just as well. What she wanted to do to this man would surely wake their daughter even if she was sleeping like a rock.

His mouth crashed down over hers, and she sucked in a sharp gasp, digging her fingers into his muscled shoulders and dragging him closer.

They collapsed to the sofa, but it was so small that they rolled to the floor almost instantly, tearing at buttons and zippers.

His hands on her felt so good, so right. How could this be wrong? She’d been in love with Denver. Still was.

Though he never indicated having feelings for her, she felt a throb in him now. A deep need that her body understood.

“Christ, you’re beautiful.” He bared her breasts to his questing lips, and she arched on a gasp as he closed his mouth around her tight bud.

Sucking in soft pulls wasn’t nearly enough for her. She mashed her hand over the back of his head, pushing him harder and harder until she was shaking with need and soaking wet.

When she got his shirt off, her hands went straight to exploring his body for new marks and scars. Her fingertips paused over a raised ridge of skin, but she never expected him to tell her how he got it or any of the others. They were just part of him.

He moved to her other breast, swirling his tongue with maddening, warm flips over her straining nipple. And she skidded a hand down his washboard abs, moving toward the thick erection she fantasized about when she was alone in the shower.

It was exactly as she remembered, stiff, long and the head slick with precum. She ran her thumb over it, tearing a growl from his lips.

“I need you,” she rasped.

“Not until I’ve had my fill of you.” His gray eyes were dark with the throb of promise. He tore away the rest of her clothes, leaving her bare naked on the thick area rug.

His gaze skimmed over her face, her breasts. When he reached her stomach, she knew he was seeing the scars of her own battle. The stretch marks on her belly were marks she was proud to wear, because they made her a mom before she ever held Navy in her arms.

The pad of his thumb swished over one mark, deeper and darker than the rest. Then his gaze flashed to hers.

She almost heard his unspoken words.

I know.

She didn’t respond. Now wasn’t the time, and he was moving down, down, down her body, spreading her thighs.

When he buried his tongue between her legs, she swallowed a cry and threw her head back, eyes squeezed shut in the throes of bliss.

Over a year had passed since she’d been touched by Denver or any other man, and she was primed and ready, on the verge of coming after the first long, thorough lick on her pussy.

She dug her fingers into his hair, longer than she’d ever seen it. A thought passed through her mind like a shooting star arcing through the night sky. How did he get here? How long would he stay?

Her heart squeezed, and her pussy flooded as he tongue-fucked her the way he knew would make her cling to the ceiling.

Slow flicks back up to her clit had her rocking her hips to meet his tongue. As soon as he sucked on her clit, she was coming apart, her orgasm slashing through her with so much force it stole her breath.

Biting back her screams, she bucked for more, and he gave it to her. Oh, god, did he.

He awakened her body in ways she never knew before, and now felt everything even sharper.

“I’m clean,” he roughed out.

“I’m on birth control,” she answered.

Then he was with her, plunging his cock deep into her core, seating himself in a way only Denver could fulfill her.

Their mouths crashed together with a slippery passion, and she raked her fingers over his spine to drag him deeper. His muscles churned under her hands. She hooked her thighs tight around him and met his every thrust.

Their bodies met, a collision of longing and time lost. For her, heartbreak. For him? She didn’t know, but it didn’t matter right now, because his hands cradled her ass, pulling her up into him, pulling her closer as if afraid she might slip away.

She swallowed another cry as his cock stroked that deepest spot inside her and she clung to him, grounding herself in the moment that she knew all too well could be gone tomorrow.

He took her mouth again, claiming her. The months apart melted away, leaving only them in their purest state, raw and unguarded.

Her inner walls flexed. Her orgasm was barely a gasp away.

“Denver!”

He stiffened, on the verge of release too. But his lips moved so tenderly over hers that longing bloomed inside her and flooded her eyes with tears.

Emotion coursed through her, a hard, fast storm that hit along with her release. When his cum flooded her pussy, her body shot higher.

His heart thundered against her breast as he came, his stare fixed on her face in a look that stole her damn heart all over again.

They collapsed on the rug, breathing hard. Her hearing automatically sought out any sounds coming from her child, but the place was silent, all but for the pounding of her own heart in her ears.

Denver’s rough knuckle grazed her chin, and he tilted her face up to meet his stare. In his face, she saw the echo of the long, brutal journey they’d both experienced—one without each other.

In his eyes she saw something that lit a flame of hope in her chest.

A promise of what could be.

A reclamation of everything they once were…and could become.

* * * * *

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, he and Rhae fell into bed in a tangle of limbs. She slept as hard as he remembered, turned on her side, a beam of watery sunlight streaming across her beautiful face.

Hell, he didn’t know how he got here, let alone her. He never planned to come home to the Black Heart. And to find Rhae here…and their child …

He looked into the little closet Rhae had pushed the crib into. The baby seemed to sleep just as heavily as her mother.

Something sweet and unfamiliar surged through him.

The sky outside the window was brushed with the very pale blue streaks of early dawn when Denver slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Rhae. His body was conditioned for early mornings—years of ranch life, followed by military life made sure of that—and old habits died hard.

On silent feet, he paced into the small living room no larger than some of the hotel rooms they’d shared during their meetups and began dressing. Finally, he tugged on his boots and quietly slipped out of Rhae’s quarters.

The hallways were silent at this time of day, but he heard the clatter of plates and silverware as he approached the cafeteria that served the veterans. Several men sat at tables, grouped in twos and threes, and a few solo diners too.

Nobody paid any attention to him as he headed straight to the coffee station.

He set out two paper cups and filled each with coffee. Black for him, cream for Rhae. With drinks in hand, he turned to go back to his sleeping lover.

One of the vets he’d worked with on various ranch chores, a guy they called Dutch, stood a few steps away, waiting to refill his coffee cup.

He recalled that his real name was Decker, and his brothers hadn’t filled him in on how he got his nickname, but military men tended to make up interesting nicknames for the brothers they fought with.

A newspaper was tucked under his arm, the Willowbrook News from the local town.

Denver grunted at the sight of it. “You’ve got some pretty light reading there.”

Dutch smirked. “Yeah, all five pages of it.”

“Don’t forget the obituaries mixed with advertisements on the back.”