in her?
She was nobody. Just an Army Reservist who’d been doing her job. Who’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She worked at the Pentagon and went home to her apartment every night. He was a larger than life hero who could probably have any woman he wanted.
“My mom still wants to have you over for dinner,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
“Just say when,” he quipped.
“And you’ll just—fly across the country?” She was curious as to what his answer would be. Obviously, he couldn’t just go AWOL to come visit her. But would he visit? He’d invited her out here to stay, but she’d also been invited by Hailey. It wasn’t exactly the same thing since she’d planned to come anyway.
Ethan flying out to see her would be…bigger. It would mean something.
“Sure. I’d have to request leave of course, but I’m old enough to realize I don’t just instantly connect with every woman I meet. I’d love to fly out and see you.”
She took a deep breath.
“Would you be okay with that?” he asked, his voice gruff. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable by saying that.”
She looked into his dark eyes, her heart pounding. “I’m scared,” she admitted.
“Of us? Or of being found again by your kidnappers?”
“Yes. Both,” she said immediately.
“I wouldn’t hurt you,” he said gently. “Maybe it was an unusual way for us to meet, but I’ve rescued plenty of people over the years. I’ve never felt this way about any of them. I’ve never gone to visit them in the hospital, and I sure the hell never brought them to my house.”
“Ethan, God. I just feel really overwhelmed and out of my element right now. My world was upturned when I was kidnapped. I haven’t even returned to my normal life yet.”
“I know. I’m not trying to put you on the spot. I know you have to reacclimate to living back here in the States, going to work every day, and just being free. It kills me that you had to endure any of that, but I want you to relax while you’re here. Let’s finish eating,” he said. “We don’t have to decide anything right now. We’re just getting to know each other better this week, remember?” He winked. “Tomorrow we’ll have Hailey and Ghost over. We’ll go to the beach one day and do whatever you want to relax and get your mind off things. I’ll touch base with Raptor, too, so you can meet Clarissa.”
“Yeah. Okay. I’d like to meet her.”
Kimberly’s phone buzzed on the table, and she glanced down. “Hailey just wanted to make sure I was okay,” she said after reading the text.
“She’s a good friend,” Ethan said.
“The best,” Kim agreed. “You probably know she used to work at the Pentagon. That’s how we met. And we both lived in Arlington. Well, I still do, obviously.” She started talking more about her life as she ate, telling him some of her crazy work stories as he shared some sanitized versions of his missions.
Over an hour later, they’d finally finished their early dinner. Ethan put the rest of the food in the fridge, and then they went back out to his patio to hang out and relax. Ethan had two lounge chairs off to the side of the table, facing the palm trees that lined the back of his yard. He sank down into one and held out his hand to her. “Come sit with me,” he said.
She went to him without thought, sitting between his legs and leaning back against his chest as his arms wrapped around her. He was nothing but solid muscle and warmth. She shivered slightly in the cooler air as the sun began to set. “Are you cold?”
“You can keep me warm,” she said, snuggling further back into his embrace.
“My pleasure,” he joked.
“It’s so gorgeous out here. Do you sit out back and watch the sunsets all the time?”
“Never,” he admitted with a chuckle. “It’s nicer with you in my arms. Usually on weekends the guys and I hit some of the bars or just hang out. Jackson and Taryn were having a barbeque the night before we left to rescue you.”
“Wow. That must be a little weird—to just get called up with no notice like that. Usually if the reserves are activated, it’s because of some emergency that everyone knows about.”
She felt Ethan shrug behind her. “I’m used to it. When I was younger, I liked the rush of it all—deploying