Page 102 of Steel & Jenna
He rocked into her several times as if testing to ensure she was able to take his girth before picking up speed. Jenna’s free hand gripped the muscles of his back, needing him even closer. His pace, so fast and hard, felt so good. He slid in and out of her wet heat, but still he was not close enough.
“Kiss me,” she demanded.
Jack lifted their clasped hands over their heads. He took her mouth with a possession that matched the snapping of his hips. Her breasts pressed against the firmness of his chest muscles. Her legs wrapped around his hips, locking his body to hers. His pelvis ground againsther sensitive clit, giving her the pressure she needed without either of them using their hands.
“Jack! Fuck!” Her mouth tore away from his as her next orgasm, smaller than her others but still powerful, claimed her.
A few more strokes and he came inside her. They were both a gasping, sweaty mess. Her hair was pulling in various places, trying to get free but the pins held strong. He was heavy on top of her. Yet when he tried to pull away, she tightened her hold on him. Instead, he rolled them so he wasn’t smothering her.
Jack pressed a kiss to her cheek, his breathing just as ragged as hers. “So long as we both shall live, Jenna Duncan. I am yours for eternity.”
“And I’m yours,” she vowed back.
EPILOGUE
When Jack graduated at the top of his class from boot camp, he received his orders to report to Camp Pendleton in California on the first of September. Jenna, Lilly, Mr. Zarin, Chief Cunningham, and Mrs. Cunningham were all in attendance to watch him receive his ribbon. It was amazing to see them after thirteen weeks of only phone calls.
Jenna and he lasted barely five minutes in each other’s presence before he had her pressed up against the wall of a supply closet and was inside of her within six. No doubteveryoneknew what they were up to, but they were all decent enough to give the newlyweds their moment without drawing attention to it.
Now that he had his orders and had submitted the paperwork to show that he was married, they were in line to get military housing in Camp Pendleton. Jack was not at risk of being deployed right away, however. He’d been selected as one of sixteen recruits out of hundreds to start Advanced Sniper Course, or sniper school. It was a ten week course and would advance him to rank of E-3.
To his surprise, Mr. Zarin mentioned also moving to the Camp Pendleton area. But it seemed Jack had missed more than just time with his family, because no one else was shocked by this news. Whilemilitary housing was only for spouses and dependents, exceptions could be made. However, Mr. Zarin wanted only to move to the area so that Lilly was not separated from Jack and Jenna overlong. Since it was the start of a new year, Lilly would not be missing out on any schooling.
While Jack was still getting his bearings in California and his new post, Jenna was helping Mr. Zarin and Lilly pack up and sell their home in Port Townsend. She even lived with them for a few weeks in their new apartment before a house opened up on base. Other than the Cunninghams, there was no reason to stay in Port Townsend.
And everyone could understand why Mr. Zarin was having trouble staying in that house.
On his first day of sniper training, Jack was sitting in a classroom with his fellow soldiers when their instructor walked in. Everyone snapped to attention as they were trained to do.
The man nodded his approval. “At ease, Recruits. My name is Sergeant Taylor. Welcome to Sniper School.”
Jenna did not endup transferring to a four-year college. After she received her associate’s in arts and science, she decided to put her efforts in elsewhere. Between helping Mr. Zarin with Lilly, she used a portion of the money her father had tried to bribe Jack with to start up a charity for underprivileged kids. She would never forget the day she stood in the shadows of a bookstore as a teenage boy had to explain to his little sister that he couldn’t afford to buy her the books she so desperately wanted.
The charity kept her busy and her mind off the fact that her husband was overseas. He’d been gone for nearly six months to the Persian Gulf.
She also used a portion of the money to hire a private investigator to find Carolyn. Unfortunately, he was not able to locate her within a reasonable time and Jenna had to terminate the contract due to the continued expense.
Lilly was getting so big. Mr. Zarin had called Jenna in a panic when she’d gotten her first period and he didn’t have any supplies. For some reason, that was a milestone Jack was upset he’d missed during their next communication. That was when Jenna learned about young pre-teen Jack reading about women’s anatomy so he could know how to better take care of his little sister.
Eventually things calmed down and Jack returned home. Jenna could see differences in him, but it was like he was different around others. Lilly and Jenna seemed to be the exception. The first time she heard a fellow soldier call him ‘Steel’, Jenna had been confused. She thought at first it was because of his eye color but later learned that it was because he was ‘hard as steel’ under fire. Jenna wasn’t sure she liked that, though she was incredibly grateful that her husband was so well-trained.
It was difficult when he was away. She saw other military spouses having affairs to kill time or because they were lonely and it made her sick. She could not stomach the idea. She tried not to judge what others did, but it was incredibly difficult to make friends with some of the women who were clearly only with their husbands for the military benefits.
No matter where they moved over the years, Lilly and Mr. Zarin followed them to their post. The only exception was when Jack was posted in Tokyo for nearly six months in the mid-nineties. It wasn’t worth any of them relocating, especially being Lilly’s senior year of high school, even though Jenna could have gone with him if she wanted.
In June 1995, Jack was able to get leave to attend Lilly’s high school graduation. The little girl from Port Townsend, Washington, had gotten into Harvard with the intention of attending their medical program in three years. Jack was beyond proud and had walked into the auditorium just in time to see his little sister cross the stage to get her diploma.
Shortly after Jack returned to his post and Lilly started college, Jenna entered Mr. Zarin’s apartment one evening to start cooking dinner and found Mr. Zarin had not woken up that morning. Thedoctors later determined that there was nothing wrong with him and had offered up the possible explanation of ‘broken heart syndrome’.
His heart had just…stopped working.
Jack flew home on bereavement and to bury his father. It was the only time since any of them had left Port Townsend that they’d returned, but it was only right to bury Mr. Zarin next to the love of his life.
The diamond necklace he’d given Mrs. Zarin as a promise to always return home to her was in his hand when Jenna had found him and was still in his hand when his casket was closed.
Military life was notfor everyone, but Steel thrived in it. He loved the order, the command. With each promotion, he knew he had made the right decision all those years ago to enlist. He was going for his twenty years and even took a command position following 9-11. There were many new recruits after the 2001 Attacks. Most of them were nameless, faceless men and women who were doing their patriotic duty. There were a few who stood out among the rest, like a pair of best friends from Mount Grove, Pennsylvania. Both eighteen and fresh faced, but they showed grit and a need to stand up for the little guy that Steel admired.
Shortly after Mr. Zarin’s funeral, Jenna announced her pregnancy. She gave birth to Steel’s first son, Carter Arnold. Just before the new millennia, their second son was born, Jordan Timothy. Steel adored his sons and spent every moment he was home with them.
