later, I was practically sprawled out on top of Beckham, and both of us were breathing hard.
I had enough brain cells to pull out and roll us so that she was no longer pinned between me and the unforgiving ground.
When she landed against me, her hand went to my chest and stayed there over my pounding heart.
“That was the best thing that I’ve ever felt in my life,” she whispered sometime later.
I closed my eyes. “Me, too.”
“I don’t want you to leave, but I know that you can’t stay.”
I closed my eyes. “I don’t want to leave, either. But I have to do this. Not just for myself, but for you, too. I have to make something of myself, Beck.”
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders tightly.
“Promise that you’ll come back for me,” she pleaded.
“I’ll come back.” I pressed my forehead against hers. “Promise that you’ll come back for me, too.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry, silly. I’ll wait. I’ll be here when you finally get back. No matter how long it takes.”
• • •
I opened my eyes to the first signs of dawn peaking over the sky.
When I looked over at the girl sleeping next to me—on my bicep, actually—I felt alone for the first time in a long time.
“What are you worrying about?” she asked softly.
I trailed my eyes up to her face.
“I don’t want to leave you here,” I admitted.
Her eyes went soft as she pushed up onto her elbows.
Her naked breasts were pressing against my side, but neither one of us made a move to do anything—even though we wanted to.
“I’m not going anywhere, Troup. Anytime you want me, I’m here. I’m going to wait for you,” she whispered.
I felt emotion roll through me of which I’d never, ever felt before.
“What?” I asked.
“I’ll wait for you,” she repeated. “I know that you think I’m not yours, that I’m telling you what you want to hear, because for some reason you can’t admit it, but I’m always going to be yours.”
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, felt emotion burning in my throat.
“I can’t stay,” I croaked.
I felt her straddle my hips, and my cock that I’d been ignoring really well practically laughed at me.
My eyes popped open, and it was just in time to see her leaning into me, her face only inches from mine.
“I don’t want to take you from your dream, Troup,” she whispered.
“You are my dream now,” I admitted.
She was my goal.
Five years. Ten. I didn’t know how long I would be in the Air Force. But what I did know was, at the end of it, I wanted her at my side.
I knew that she was my end game.
“I want to go to college,” she said. “I want to do and be what I’ve always dreamed of.”
My eyes went hot.
“Why the FBI, though? What’s so special about that? That’s…” Dangerous.
I knew that she would be okay. I knew that she would flourish.
I just didn’t like the idea that she would be in harm’s way.
“Because women out there need me,” she said. “They need what I’ll one day become. Just like the US Military needs you.”
She was so fuckin’ confident in what she wanted to do. She had no doubt in her mind that this was her path.
The thing was, I wasn’t sure that I could handle her path.
The idea of her being hurt felt like a hot boil in my gut.
That had to be why we avoided talking about it.
“You scare the hell out of me,” I admitted quietly.
Her eyes went soft as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine.
I couldn’t stop myself from catching either side of her face with my hands and holding her more solidly against me.
When she pulled back, her eyes were hot.
“Your parents are probably freaking way the fuck out right now,” I sighed.
I would be, had I known that my daughter was out with me.
She grinned a secret smile. “I have friends that are covering for me. I’m going to go with you to your ceremony.”
I swallowed hard. “I’d like that.”
She leaned forward, her breasts trailing along my chest.
“I know,” she said. “Because I know you about as well as I know myself.”
I allowed my hands to drop from her face but trailed them down the length of her arms.
When I got to her hands, I folded them into mine and said, “How does this work? Between us?”
She sat up, and I couldn’t stop myself from trailing my eyes down the length of her body.
Her breasts were