She fought to keep her voice even. "You know I can't. I built a business here, Mack. I work for Sergeant Major, but he leaves me alone. If I went back . . ." She trailed off, her voice trembling.
Mack dropped his head in his hands and stayed there for a long moment, bracing himself. He knew, in the end, it would come to this. This was going to hurt bad--very bad. He just hadn't expected such a wrench. She'd sacrificed for him once and he'd thrown it away. He could see her point. He straightened, his eyes meeting hers. "Then I'll quit."
She blinked. Shock registered. She actually took a step backward. "Mack. Don't be crazy. You can't quit." Comprehension dawned. Her trembling mouth firmed. "They won't let you quit. You know that, but I appreciate the gesture."
"It's no gesture, Jaimie. From the moment I woke up on Whitney's table and realized all of us had not only been psychically enhanced, but genetically altered as well, I knew we had to plan for a future. I've been doing that and the boys have all joined with me. It's a little earlier than I'd planned for, but we can disappear if we need to."
"How?" she demanded. "I thought I was out, and look what happened. They manipulated me from the moment I left our house. Every contract, every person I came into contact with. I'm still working for them. And they sent Joe. It was an elaborate babysitting operation. I'm not even certain what's going to happen now. I doubt they'll leave me completely alone ever, not as long as I'm useful to them."
"They won't," Mack agreed. "But if you're certain that's what you want, we have a plan, and the money to do it."
Shivering, she picked up her robe and wrapped herself in it. "How would you get the money, Mack? It would take a lot of money. And we'd always be on the run."
"Not necessarily. We're privy to information others might not have. Javier can invest and play the stock market for us when we know we're about to hit something that will affect the market. It's not exactly kosher, but we've pooled our money. Team Two, the SEAL team, has a fortress in the mountains. They've banded together and have a training center right there. We can do something similar. The boys have been researching places if we want to settle and stay in, but also possible retirement areas we can defend."
Jaimie shook her head. "Mack, you would never be happy in retirement. You know you wouldn't."
"What do I have without you, Jaimie?" He looked up at her. "I'm serious. How many times can I go out and come back to nothing? After a while you lose your incentive."
She turned away from him and looked down at her hands. She was trembling. With fear. She wanted Mack, but did she want him to give up everything he was for her? Was that the price she wanted him to pay because he'd hurt her? She detested that she'd put him in this position. "Mack." Her voice was gentle. Aching. "You'd grow to hate me. You live for this."
"I live for you. I love being in Force Recon in the GhostWalker unit. That word you always want me to say to you. I love what I do. The missions. The action. The ability to make a difference in the world. I love that, Jaimie. But you're my other half. You're everything. I don't know how else to say it to you. There are no words for the way I feel about you. I hurt you, I know I did. I wanted to be your everything, more than love. I didn't want to believe you could walk away from me and I let pride get in the way. I wanted you to come back to me on your own."
His throat closed and he cleared it, pressing his fingers to his stinging eyes. "I could never have walked away from you. I still can't. The thought never once entered my mind. We were supposed to be together always. Always. Through everything, no matter how bad it got. It was always going to be us."
"You said there was no future."
"That's what you heard, Jaimie; that's not what I said. You were so upset over the mission. Three of my men--our brothers--men depending on me were hurt. We'd walked into an ambush. It really hit home where I'd led everyone. Most of the boys wouldn't have joined the GhostWalker program if I hadn't encouraged them. I probably could have stopped them all. I was wallowing in self-pity, not throwing you away. I needed you right then. More than anything, I needed you."
He held up his hand before she could reply. "I realize you needed me right then too. In any case, Jaimie, all that matters now is what we decide to do about this. You have to make up your mind how important I am to you. If you decide you're going to be with me, it's forever. You can't have one foot out the door because I'm an idiot and say or do the wrong thing. You've got to hit me over the head and tell me to straighten up." He looked up at her, his dark eyes twin pools of emotion. "Say it, Jaimie. Say you choose me no matter what happens."
He held his breath. Every cell in his body went on alert, much the same way it did on a mission. He was aware of the breath moving in and out of her body, of the way shadows chased across her face and the moonlight bathed the room in silver. Her lips parted.
His heart pounded. Say it. A whisper in her mind. A plea when he never pleaded.
"There will never be anyone else, Mack," she said, her eyes going liquid.
He didn't dare move. He didn't know whether thunder cracked outside or whether it was his heart. Say it. He was rigid. His jaw set, every muscle locked, his gut coiled tight.
"I choose you forever, Mack. Forever."
He wrapped his arms around her waist, under her silk robe, and dragged her to him, pressing his face against her soft belly. A shudder went through his body. His hands trembled. "That's your word, Jaimie. You're giving me your word."
She cradled his head to her, just holding him, her fingers brushing small caresses through his hair. "Yes. And just so you know, we're not going to run away from them. You just stopped a war before it even got started, Mack. I'm not so selfish that I'm going to try to keep you to myself. We can save our money and keep investing. Maybe I can help with that end. If we find a good place, we can all settle there and put in a first-class training facility like Team Two, but in the meantime, I'm going to be taking a big hit on my business."
"Not necessarily." He pressed kisses along the line from her belly button to the top of the tiny black curls, feeling the bunching of her muscles in response. "The government's been giving you contracts because they know the caliber of the work you do and you have a high security clearance. Just indicate to Sergeant Major that you're willing to come back full-time for analyzing and programming, but only part-time on fieldwork. You'll have to train with us all the time, but we'll only use you when we need your particular skill."
"I don't know, Mack," she hesitated. It was so hard to think when he touched her so possessively, when his breathing changed to that harsh rasp, almost as if he was desperate to taste her. His hands were strong, moving over her body as if she belonged to him and no one else, as if every inch of her was his alone.
She bit her lip, trying to puzzle things out when her brain was slowly turning cloudy. She couldn't say she hadn't been exhilarated rescuing the two children, but not a shot had been fired. Things might have been a lot different if they'd had to use live rounds. As it was, she, like the others--particularly Kane--had spent a couple of days recouping from using psychic talent. "I'd be afraid of endangering all of you."
She tried to ignore the way her nipples beaded beneath the thin silk, the way his hands shoved her robe aside, bunching the material out of the way. She heard his low growl, a sound that rocked her. She looked down at him and saw his face, the stark, raw hunger as he focused completely on her. She realized the intensity of his hunger was the way he
showed her what she meant to him. Every touch, every claim and demand he made, he was telling her how much he loved her.
His tongue swirled around her belly button, chased her goose bumps down to the junction between her legs. She shuddered against him, clinging as her legs went weak. His hands shaped her bottom, slid to her hips, and gripped her hard.
"Then we'll practice together until we're so strong nothing can get through the shield I build around you before you ever go out on another mission. You're not ever going to endanger us. Unless it's spontaneous combustion, because right now, Jaimie, I think I might go up in flames." His tongue dipped into her heat, lingered for a moment, and then found her inner thigh.
She jumped when his teeth nipped her. He laughed softly out of sheer joy. "I want to get married immediately." He plunged his tongue into her wet heat.
"What?" The word came out a strangled gasp. She closed her eyes and held on to him for her sanity. He licked at her, long savoring licks as if he could feed from her forever. The sounds he was making vibrated through her body, adding to the waves of pleasure his mouth created.
Mack never stopped devouring her, his mouth clamped over her wet, slick entrance as he turned his body slightly, enough to give him leverage so he could force her back down on the bed. She spilled onto the comforter, her legs splayed, so he could slide down onto the floor, dragging her hips nearly off the bed, assaulting her with his hungry mouth.
She cried out and he reveled in the sound of her voice, the way he could take her up so fast, the way she always responded to his touch. He lifted his head, his tongue licking at the flavor of her on his lips. "I love the way you taste, Jaimie. I swear I could eat you for breakfast every damn morning."
"Inside me. Right now, Mack. I can't wait." She tugged at his hair to try to force him to blanket her.
"I love to torture you," he whispered, his fingers moving inside her, stretching her, finding that secret erotic button that had her writhing on the bed, her hips bucking, and her feminine muscles squeezing tightly. He watched her eyes widen and glaze, the flush spread over her body. Her stomach rippled and her breasts lifted.