Sadie took a deep breath.
Ren stayed silent, wondering what more little pearls of wisdom would fall from her lips.
At last, she shook her head, and that sad look was on her face again. “Don’t you get it? Life is short. Yeah, you could get hurt out there, but you can’t live your life afraid of that. You do your job and put that fear into a little compartment to look at another time. Living can be scary. Loving can be terrifying. Sometimes you just have to go for it. So yeah, life is short, Ren. Far too short. And don’t think for a minute I’m going to let you walk out that door without me saying that I love you. You can leave, but not before you know the truth.”
This little moment of reality was like a punch in the gut.
He stared. She stared. Tears started to pour from her eyes again, and Ren knew in that instant that if he only had a handful of tomorrows left, he wanted to spend them with her. Words were useless, senseless things so he reached for her, and when she wrapped her arms and legs around him, he felt at home, something he had never experienced before.
“Sadie. My sweet, sweet, Sadie.”
Ren gripped her bare ass and kissed her, all the savage intensity, all the love in his heart ripping through his system focused on her and this moment. She’d won, but then so had he. His lips took hers with punishing force, and he sent his tongue deep to taste the spicy flavor of her mouth. Cinnamon and sugar, a potent combination that made his cock go hard behind the fly of his jeans. Nipping at her lip, stroking her tongue with his own was simply not enough.
He carried her to the bed and laid her down in the midst of the covers. “You win, my darlin’. You win.”
“Oh, goody. I love to win,” she whispered, and suddenly Ren laughed. He laughed so hard his belly tightened. Sadie stared at him like he was a crazy man, but it didn’t matter. Joy climbed up from his gut and burst out like some goofy song, and soon she was giggling, rolling around in the messed-up bed like a little girl who’d just gotten the best, most bad assed surprise of her life.
Still grinning, Ren stripped off his clothes and looked down at her. She finally composed herself to beam a soft, watery smile at him. “I love you, Ren. I love you so much I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.”
All humor faded into something warm and cozy that curled tenderly around his heart. He’d always thought it was only women who craved that whole happy-ever-after thing, but Ren was fast learning that men wanted it, too.
Okay. He’d take it. He’d take her.
Naked, he crawled into the bed beside her, wrapped her up and pulled her in. “I’ve always loved you even when I was that confused kid back in Oklahoma. I’d thought those feeling would fade over time, but it never happened.” He kissed her softly then stared straight into her eyes. “I can’t tell you how many nights I spent tucked in some cave in the desert with you uppermost in my mind. Sometimes, I think it’s the only thing that kept me sane. There is no one on the planet who means more to me than you, Sadie Ballew. You had my heart then and you have it now.”
“Hooyah.”
Ren rolled over her, kissed her again, and his breath sped as need for her, the chance to show her his love not only in word but in deed roared through his body. His erection tightened against her soft belly, and hot to give in to the sensation, Ren rubbed his cock against her pussy, loving how damp she was, how ready. Lust crawled over his flesh as he broke the kiss to trail his tongue over her throat and lower to finally take a puckered nipple into his mouth to suck.
He had plenty of ideas as to sexual positions, but missionary suited him mighty fine right now. Sadie wouldn’t have it. She pushed at his shoulders, prodded him to slide off her, and before he could question her actions, she sat astride him. Her smile was brilliant, sexy, and she leaned down to brush biting little kisses over his cheeks, his forehead, his nose and chin.
“Let me,” she whispered against his lips. “You can go all take-charge-SEAL later. Okay?”
“You’re the boss.”
“No truer words, Ren. No truer words.” Sadie pressed her lush curves against his body, teasing him to the point of madness as she kissed her way over his chest and abs. “Strong. I love how strong you are.”
She filled her hand with his cock, and yes, yes. Hot damn, she knew how to touch him. Manipulating his dick, brushing her thumb over the head, Sadie moved lower to take him in her warm, wet mouth. The sucking action, the long licks with her tongue almost carried him over the edge. Playful fingers found his tightly-drawn balls.
“Sadie.”
She released his raging-hard cock with a soft pop of sound and gazed up the length of his body. “Condom. Now. Do your patriotic duty.”