EPILOGUE
Melinda closed her eyes, leaned her head back on the head rest, and sighed. She and Buck had left her first counseling appointment, and headed back to her house—now their house.
She’d spent the week since they’d been back trying not to think about the trip to the Amazon, but the new counselor said she couldn’t heal from it—or anything else—if she didn’t examine it.
So she let those thoughts loose in her head. The fire had burned a huge swath of the forest, including the village. But the villagers had fled to another tribal location deep in the jungle. Hopefully they could live there in peace for a long time.
Their escape had been harrowing. They ran the entire distance back to the village, the fire chasing them the whole way, and found April, Cody, and Pedro waiting at the truck. Pedro drove that hair-raising trip back to civilization like a madman. But they made it. That was the important thing.
It irked her, though, that the farming consortium had got what they wanted after all. It was a hollow victory that the logging company made no profit, and had, in fact, taken a huge loss in equipment, profit and life. She didn’t mourn Blitz. He’d planned to kill her in front of Buck as a twisted revenge for the perceived loss of his glorious SEAL career. But she felt bad for Buck. He had to come to terms with having killed the man he used to revere, and reconcile the fact that he wasn’t the great man Buck thought he was. He might need some help dealing with all that baggage.
At least she’d got a salamander out of the whole debacle. Time would tell what that yielded.
“You were quiet all the way home,” Buck said, parking the car at the curb in front of the house.
“Yeah. I wanted to process.”
“So?”
“I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said, turning to look at him.
She meant it, too. Like coming out of a fog, she saw Buck again. His sweet, caring, patient face in the big strong SEAL body. He looked badass on the outside, but she knew the truth now. The man had an amazing heart.
“Good. You liked her, then?”
“I did. I thought I’d be scared to talk to a stranger. Embarrassed. But she was easy to talk to, and it felt good. Like I’d been holding my breath for months and finally got permission to breathe.”
He grinned one of his high-wattage grins that always lit her up inside.
It did this time, too. Her body came to life for him, heat prickling her skin and slithering from her belly down to her lady bits. She wanted him, and the power of it startled her.
“Excellent,” he said. “I think we should celebrate.”
She held his gaze and let the moment extend for a bit. For the first time in a while she had hope, and it gave her energy. Made her feel her oats.
“Oh, I completely agree.”
Her voice came out on a sexy purr, more than she’d intended. As if she’d accidentally poured too much cream in her coffee, but knew it would still taste fabulous anyway.
Buck responded with a quirked brow and a smirk that set her insides to swirling.
“Is that how it’s going to be?” he asked.
“Yes, please.”
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to ask me twice.”
He leaned toward her and she met him in the middle. His fingers wrapped around the back of her neck, and his lips slid across hers like coming home. God, she’d missed him.
She could stay there all day just kissing him, but kissing him made her want a whole lot more and she didn’t want to do that in the car in view of the entire neighborhood.
Breaking the kiss, she leaned her forehead on his. “Let’s go inside.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They both fumbled with seatbelts and car doors, and outside they hurried to the door and fumbled some more with keys until she got the door open and they piled inside and slammed the door, then leaned against it, reaching for and finding each other again.
The kisses were hungry and growling and laughing, as they tore at each other’s clothes. They shed shoes and shirts and pants and everything like trees shed leaves in the fall—the clothes fluttering down into a pile until the two of them were as naked as leafless trees.
Their incoherent sounds filled her ears, and her heart. The sounds of need and love and reconciliation. Sounds that said more than words. Their bodies didn’t lie about how they felt, and it was more than just sex. So much more. It was the nucleus around which the rest of everything revolved—the two of them at the center of it.
Her heart pounded and her breath came in needy little pants as his lips and hands worshipped her body.
“Jesus, Mindy. I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.”
He scooped her up and threw her over his shoulder. She squealed and kicked, and he slapped her bare ass. They both laughed.
“Mrow?”
Melinda tipped her head up and from her perspective flung halfway down Buck’s back, she shoved her hair out of her face to see her cat, Mr. Wiggles staring at them like they’d lost their minds.
“Not now, Wiggles,” Buck said. “I’m about to fuck your mama right proper.”
She reached down, grabbed a handful of his ass, and squeezed. “Then get to it, big man.”
He chuckled and headed for the bedroom where he flung her onto her back on the bed. She giggled, brushing the hair out of her face again, then caught a glimpse of him standing there looking at her.
From his short dirty-blond hair and twinkling blue eyes, to his square jaw and square shoulders, to his breathtakingly broad chest and washboard abs, to his cock standing tall and firm and twitching with eagerness, to his firm thighs, he was the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on. And he was all hers.
“Dayum,” she said, grinning in appreciation. He made her mouth go dry and her heart trip away with glee. Everything south of her navel clenched in approval. And anticipation. She reached out and made grabby hands. “Gimme.”
He snorted, but climbed on top of her. Her legs fell open for him, like instinct, and she reached for his face to pull him into another kiss. She couldn’t get enough of him or get close enough to him. She needed him to fill all of her senses—to surround herself with his smell and hers mixed together, the feel of his skin on hers, the delicious sound he made as he settled the tip of his cock at her opening then slid inside, the glorious sight of his Greek-god body, and the salty-sweet taste of him.
Hilt-deep inside her, he leaned his forehead on hers and made an incoherent rumbling, moaning sound that vibrated between them more than anything.
“Don’t be gentle, Buck. We’ve had too much considerate sex. I want to know how you really feel.”
He opened his eyes and his blue gaze pierced her soul. “I…” he thrust once slowly, seating himself back between her legs. “Love…” he thrust again, this time harder. “You…”
He knew she wanted something that would make her feel alive again, exactly because he loved her well enough to understand her. So, he gave it to her. It was hard, and rough, and she yelled and grabbed fists full of sheets, and he growled and thrust, and they sweat, and when her climax finally came, it curled like a lurking thing inside her before exploding like a…something that explodes. She’d let go of rational thought, allowing sensation to rule her as wave after wave of throbbing pleasure washed over her.
Then he came with a final thrust and a window-rattling groan.
Coming down felt like both an excellent high and a lingering sadness that it was over.
Buck rolled off her onto his back, but gathered her to his side.
She linked her leg with his and draped an arm over his chest, snuggling her face into his chest on a satisfied sigh.
“That was fabulous,” she said. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” He sounded pretty damn self-satisfied as his fingers traced a lazy line up and down her back.
“I need to apologize,” she said. “I’ve treated you badly since Siberia.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” he said.
“For me to treat you badly?”
“Very funny. No, for you to lean on. To be strong for you when you can’t be. And when I need it, you’ll be there for me,” he said.
“Darn right I will be.”
“You know, the next time I have some leave we should take a relaxing vacation. No work for you, no missions, just some tropical resort with white sandy beaches and fruity drinks.”
Her eyelids drifted shut, too heavy to hold open, and satisfied sleep tugged at her. “That sounds amazing. Can’t wait.”
Acknowledgements
To Wren: Thank you for your sharp eyes and spot-on suggestions and attention to detail. You helped polish the story and whip it into shape!
To LeTeisha: Thank you for the fabulous cover. You’re amazing!
To my family: As always, thank you for being there for me. I love you.
To my readers: Thank you for your support and for your enthusiasm for my books. I’d be nowhere without you!
Other Books by Margaret
If you enjoyed JUNGLE BUCK don’t forget to read , and , the first two book in the Sealed With A Kiss series.
For more sexy alphas, you’ll love the Caine Brothers series. After all, Buck McCormick started as a member of the same SEAL team as Damian Caine. Find the Caine Brothers here:
Nevada Bounty Series
Forever Faerie Series
Tales from Beyond the End
About Margaret
I write historical romance for Entangled Publishing and paranormal romance for Evernight Publishing. I write contemporary romance, historical romance, and science fiction through M&M Publishing. I'm an Oregon Ducks fan. I'm a donut and pastry addict (pretty much any carbs, really). I like cats. I'm terrified of balloons. When I'm not writing you'll find me in a college classroom teaching English, or working as a literary agent for an amazing agency...and of course, wrangling my family.
Margaret on the Web
Want more Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World Books?
Get them !
For the Readers
Thanks for purchasing and reading this ebook. Authors love it when readers review their work on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, blogs, or wherever else they think of. When you talk about something you’ve read, not only does it make authors ridiculously happy, it also lets other readers know it's a great read and they should run out and buy it. So if you enjoy something you’ve read (like this book), please review it! Authors will love you forever if you do.