Page 68 of Welcome to Forever
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Two hours later, after dinner and dancing, Kat wobbled on her heels as Micah pulled her through the crowd. They’d been forced to make small talk with an unfathomable number of people, but now Micah seemed to be on a mission.
Yeah. Kat wanted to ditch this place and go back to his house, too. Wanted him to touch her with those hands that had hung heavy on her back all night. Wanted him to lay her down and do all those marvelous things he’d done the last time they’d been alone together.
“Any way you can drive faster?” she asked as he drove through the military base.
His gaze slid over as a smile curled on his lips. “There’s strict speed limit enforcement here. Trust me, if I speed and get caught, it’ll take us a hell of a lot longer to get home.”
She nodded. Right. She just needed to occupy her thoughts with something other than how good Micah looked in his dress blues. And how delicious the side of his neck had smelled when he’d held her close tonight. “So, isn’t your father going to blow a gasket when he finds out you’re not reenlisting?”
Micah laughed. “Are you trying to kill the mood?”
“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “Sorry.”
He nodded. “Yes, the good colonel is definitely going to have a tantrum worthy of a two-year-old.” His smile grew bigger. “And that’s my icing on the cake. The old man is going to learn that there are some things that can’t be controlled. That’s what he’s always hated about being a father, I think.”
“The lack of control?” she asked.
Micah nodded. “And I loved using that knowledge against him when I was growing up.”
Kat pushed her heels off and folded her legs under her in the seat. “I think it’s great that you’re molding your own path, not staying in the Marines because that’s what you’re expected to do.”
“Ben needs more stability. Maybe having a permanent home will alleviate his insistence that I need a wife.”
“Can’t you have both?” As soon as she said it, she knew it’d sounded like a proposition.
He cocked a brow in her direction. “I get what you mean. And yes, maybe one day. I don’t want anything to take away from caring for Ben right now, though. If his own mother couldn’t handle the responsibility, how can I expect someone else to?”
Kat started to answer. Ben was a great child. Any woman would be lucky to be his mother. She knew it’d only sound like she was nominating herself, though, and she wasn’t. As much as she loved the little guy, she wasn’t prepared to take on a ready-made family.
Instead, she touched Micah’s shoulder, the desire between their bodies reigniting immediately.
He glanced over and groaned. “Hold on,” he said as they drove off the base and into the cozy town of Seaside. The Jeep lurched forward as he pressed the gas. Ten minutes later, he pulled around the back of his house so that no one would know he and Kat were hiding inside. “I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten home from work.”
She laughed as nervous energy bubbled up through her body like carbonation in a bottle of champagne. “Let’s see how quickly we can get inside.”
“Have I told you how much I adore the way you think?” he asked.
She shook her head, stepping outside and pulling her heels off to hold as she ran toward his back door. The only place he was going to catch her tonight was in his bed.
He unlocked the door and their bodies meshed together as they peeled each other’s clothing off, leaving it on the floor as they continued toward the bedroom. Kat reached for his belt and started to unfasten it as he pressed her against the wall in the hallway. He kissed her until it was hard to breathe, but she didn’t care. She needed the kiss more than she needed oxygen right now.
“Mmm. You feel so good,” he said in a low growl that rumbled in her lower parts.
She clutched the fabric of his shirt, pulling him to her. Then she felt something else rumble. “You’re vibrating,” she said, looking up at him.
He planted kisses along the side of her jaw, pressing into her even harder. “I know,” he said, reaching her ear.
“No, I mean your phone is vibrating. In your pocket,” she said breathlessly.
He pulled back a little and reached for his phone, glancing at the screen. His hooded eyes immediately widened and he quickly pulled it to his ear. “Uncle Rick? What’s going on? Everything okay with Ben?” The rasp in his voice was suddenly gone, replaced with efficient military speech.
Kat watched his features tighten, making him look more like his stern father, as he listened.
“I’ll be right there,” he said, looking at Kat. He clicked a button on his phone and started collecting his clothing off the floor. “Ben’s on his way to the emergency room. He fell and hit his head. I can drop you off at home and—”
She shook her head, a loose curl bouncing on her shoulder. “No. I want to come. If that’s okay.”
