Sometime late in the night, after they’d made love several more times, Bobbi was resting against Ron’s chest when she heard his stomach rumble loudly. She snickered in the darkness, running a hand over his rock-hard abdomen.

“Hungry?” she asked softly.

“We missed dinner,” he replied, running his fingers along the curve of her spine. “So, a little.”

“I can make us something.”

“I don’t want you to cook,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “We can sleep and maybe go out to breakfast before we pick up the kids.”

“Mmm.” She nestled deeper into his arms. “That sounds nice… You sure you don’t want me to make something? I can fry up a few eggs, maybe a frittata?”

“You shouldn’t tease me with food,” he rumbled, his chest shaking a little as he laughed quietly. “I eat a lot. All the time.”

“I like to cook,” she said, lifting her head to look at him. “Come on, let’s go eat something.”

“You sure?” He shifted too, sitting up.

She reached under the pillow and pulled out an oversized T-shirt. After putting it on, she got to her feet and padded into the bathroom. He followed her, leaning over to kiss the hollow of her throat before they cleaned up. Then he followed her into the kitchen.

Bobbi hummed as she got out the ingredients and chopped up some tomatoes. Ron sat on a stool at the island, watching as she worked.

“Why are you staring at me?” she laughed, glancing over her shoulder.

“’Cause you look sexy as hell in the kitchen with a big shirt and beard burn on your thighs from my stubble.”

She flushed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I would never do such a thing with a man.”

He laughed. “I’m sorry. No, of course you wouldn’t. You’re still a virgin, aren’t you?”

She nodded primly. “Absolutely. I have no interest in seeing a naked, sweaty man doing such carnal things to me.”

“What if you closed your eyes?” he suggested mildly. “Then you wouldn’t see me doing them.”

She paused, glancing over her shoulder again. “I could do that. But I’m cooking. I’m told men require all kinds of care…like middle-of-the-night meals.”

“Honey, we can skip the cooking and get right back to those naughty carnal pleasures.” He got to his feet and slid his arms around her from behind. “I could eat you instead.”

Her face was red but she smiled, nudging him lightly with her elbow. “I’ve already whisked the eggs and chopped the tomatoes. Grab the mozzarella out of the fridge, would you?”

“Fine.” He got the cheese and put it on the counter next to her.

The food was ready less than ten minutes later and they sat at the island together, sharing the large frittata and a chunk of Italian bread. They ate in silence until Bobbi pushed her plate away and Ron finished her leftovers as well.

“More?” she asked, teasing him.

“Nah. I’m good.” He carried the plates to the sink and began rinsing them.

“I can do that,” she protested, moving against his side, pressing herself closer than necessary, and looking up with an impish smile.

“You cooked,” he said mildly, though he met her eyes with interest. “Seems it’s only fair I do the cleaning up.”

“Or we could clean up later,” she murmured, one hand traveling to his crotch and giving it a light squeeze, right through his boxer shorts.

“We could do that too,” he agreed, turning off the water and wiping his hands on the towel. He lowered his head to hers and their lips met with a familiarity that made her entire body hum with desire.

“I’m so glad the kids aren’t here,” she whispered against his mouth.

“Why?”

“Because I’ve been without sex for two years and I plan on spending all night making up for it.”

“What if I’m too tired?” he protested, a teasing smile on his face.

“Aren’t you special forces guys supposed to have plenty of stamina?”

He grinned and scooped her up in his arms. “That’s what I hear.”

They’d made love again and were contemplating getting up to shower when his pager went off. They groaned simultaneously and he sighed as he glanced at the screen.

“All right, I have a couple hours this time,” he said. “Wanna shower with me?”

“Sure.” She followed him into the bathroom and slipped into his arms as they waited for the water to get warm.

“You okay?” he asked, lifting her chin with two fingers so he could look into her eyes.

“I think so.” She met his eyes. “I’m doing my best to get used to this.”

“It won’t always be this way,” he whispered. “Because of Sam I can’t do this forever, but I’ve got two years before I have to reenlist and I haven’t made any decisions yet. Can you hang on that long?”

“You have to make those decisions for you and Sam,” she said softly. “Not for me, or any other woman you might be dating.”

“You want me to date other women?” he asked, stepping under the warm spray and pulling her with him.

“No, silly, but chances are we aren’t going to be together forever so—”

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you say we’re not going to be together forever?”

She paused, frowning. “Well, we just met and—”

“We’ve known each other since we were 14. That’s 18 years. Yeah, we’ve only been getting to know each other again for a few weeks, but it seems obvious we’ve always had something special.”

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous about where we’re going with this.”

“Where do you think?” he asked, resting his hands on her shoulders. “I want you. I’ve always wanted you. It was a lot more innocent in high school, but the moment I saw you underneath that table last month, I knew.”

“What did you know?” she whispered softly.

“That you’re for me and I’m for you.”

She smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to; they fit so well together, both physically and emotionally. It was going to be a lot harder to leave her this time, he thought.

“What if I kept Sam?” she asked softly.

“What?” He stared down at her in surprise.

“She goes to work with me, for all intents and purposes, and then I’ll feed her and Julian and she’ll go to bed. If you’re not back by the weekend, we’ll go to the beach, maybe the park… It seems silly for her to go elsewhere. Especially if we’re going to try being a couple.”

“I’d love for you to keep her,” he said carefully, “but it’s a lot of work and you already have a kid.”

“What else do I have to do?” she asked mildly.

“If we do this, you absolutely have to take money,” he said firmly. “To feed her, entertainment… Anything could come up.”

“I’m not too proud to take money I’ll need for food,” she said.

“And…” He hesitated.

“What?” She met his eyes worriedly.

“If something happens to me—”

“Nothing’s going to—” She interrupted him but he put a finger on her lips.

“It could and this is important. If something happens to me, bring her to Sandy, okay? She has the paperwork, all the legalities.”

“Who gets her if something…happens?” she asked after a moment.

“My parents have the option of taking her, but if they won’t—and I know they won’t—my friend Erin said she and her husband, Drake, would adopt her. Erin wouldn’t let her go to foster care.”

“Okay.”

They showered in silence and when they stepped out, he pulled her close again. “Are you okay?”

“I am. I promise. It just bothers me to think about something happening to you.”

“It bothers me too, to be honest. But we have to think about Sam.”

“I know. I understand.”

“Sandy has copies of insurance cards, everything you might need in case of an emergency. I’ll also call June on my way to the base to let her know I’m going away and that you’re going to pick up Sam.”

“Will she be mad?”

“That you’re taking Sam? No, of course not. She doesn’t mind watching her and the money helps, but she has her hands full with her husband deployed.”

“Okay.”

He got dressed, watching as Bobbi pulled on clean panties and her big T-shirt. She sat on the edge of the bed and listened as he told her where things were in his townhouse and the PIN to his bank account. He was leaving her his house key and debit card since he didn’t have time to get cash. He took her keys and ran downstairs to take Sam’s car seat out of his truck and put it in her car. When everything was done and he was ready to go, she moved into his arms, tipping up her face expectantly. He kissed her thoroughly, hoping she understood how much he didn’t want to leave her. The longer he had Sam, the more settled he got and the harder it was to go on these missions for unknown lengths of time. Now that Bobbi was in his life, it was even worse. He loved his job, but things had changed. He didn’t have time to tell her, though, and settled for kissing her until they were both breathless.

“Be safe,” she whispered against his lips as he reluctantly pulled away.

“I will.” He kissed her one last time. “I’ll call you the minute I get back.”

She kissed her pointer and middle fingers before pressing them against his lips.

“See you soon, beautiful.” He looked back one last time before heading down the hall and out the front door.