Page 2 of Valor

The shower door opens and I sense someone stepping in. “It’s me,” comes Ben’s deep voice. I shiver, despite the hot water pounding down on me. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been married, being close to him still does something to my body. His hands close around my breasts from behind and I nearly choke. “You don’t mind if I join you, do you?” he asks.

Soap glides down my chest, making my skin extra sensitive, especially when his fingers tweak my nipples. I clear my throat. “Of course not.” Knees weak, I lean against his hard body, feeling the light scrape of hair against my back.

“Turn around,” he says gruffly.

Eyes still closed, I let his hands guide me around, then I lean into him as he washes the rest of the soap out of my hair, then works in conditioner. The brush and sway of my body against his works me up until I’m practically panting. With two full-time jobs and two very active kids, the only times we have to be together are stolen moments like these, so having him this close to me makes me forget I should be getting ready for the wedding. Instead, all I can think about is having him inside me.

It’s that simple. I can’t remember a time in recent memory when I look at him and don’t want him. It’s a blessing and a curse.

“Ben,” I plead.

“Shh, I’ve got to get you all cleaned up. But first I’m going to get you a little dirty.”

Turning him down doesn’t even cross my mind. “You’ve got to hurry, the kids—”

Ben kisses me until I’m quiet and forget what I was saying.

He grows hard against my belly and I lift up on my tiptoes to feel him, but he’s too tall and too focused on driving me crazy to satiate the growing ache between my legs.

“Ben, please.”

He takes my mouth then, either to shut me up or because he’s also incredibly turned on. I’m not sure I care about the motivation. His taste is a familiar comfort, one I seek greedily.

We spin around until I’m pressed against the wall of the shower and he lifts me up into his arms. All I can think isOh God, Oh God,because even after all these years, no one knows my body like he does. He’s not even inside me and I’m already close to tipping over the edge.

Carefully, he brushes the water out of my eyes until I can open them and see his face for the first time. He’s got lines around his eyes that weren’t there a couple years ago and laugh lines fanning out from his lips. It’s a kind face, but it’s his gaze that tells the stories of the horrors he’s seen. Sometimes I can still see the shadows of the memories that haunt him, but right now, all I can see is the hunger for me.

Then a bang comes at the bathroom door. One that doesn’t sound like it comes from a six-year-old boy, but it’s his voice that follows. “Mom? Dad? Phoebe threw dirt in my eyes and it stings. Mom! Dad!”

We both groan in unison and I rest my head against his shoulders while he sets my feet back down. So close. We both smile a little in regret as we quickly finish our washing off.

“Go to your bathroom and start rinsing your face. Be very careful, I’m coming out and I’ll help you,” I shout back.

Ben halts me with a grip on my arm. “We’ll finish this later,” he says with a wicked grin.

I’m smiling as I dab myself dry with a towel, then dress in a robe.

“I’ll be looking forward to it,” I say.

Chapter Two

Ben

Crisis avertedby Livvie’s expert care, I wrangle Phoebe the firecracker, while Livvie stuffs Cole into his suit.

“Dad, what were you and Mom doing in the shower together?” Phoebe asks with wide-eyed childish innocence.

Livvie and I share a look over the tops of our children’s heads. “I was helping her wash her hair,” seemed like the best answer. Livvie chuckles under her breath.

This is my favorite part of the day. When both of the kids are home and Liv and I don’t have to work. When the only thing on my to-do list is to enjoy them. Life is never better than when I’m home with my family—something I never thought I’d say—considering how much I enjoyed the thrill of war.

Six years ago, my sole focus was the next mission.

There was a time when I didn’t know who I was without the military, that brotherhood. Losing my job, part of my hearing, and what I considered to be my life had almost killed me.

Then I learned I had a son, that he almost died coming into this world, and nothing else seemed to matter.

It was his existence that brought me back to Livvie. Something I’ll never be able to repay. Loving her gave me my life back. I can’t imagine it without her.