Oh, crikey. Mia trembled and was grateful he was holding her up. “I, um, I think that’s a twelve on the scale of one to ten.”
“Maybe a fourteen.” His gaze was deep and blindingly inspiring.
She trailed her fingertips gently over his forehead and his eyebrows. He shut his eyes and she went over his eyelids, his nose, and his cheeks, then she cupped his jawline with her left hand. With her right, she traced the line of his lips. Those perfect lips. His eyes opened and focused deeply on her. She yearned to kiss him. She made herself stop touching his lips and slowly moved her hands along the sides of his neck until she circled the back of her neck with her palms.
He looked more relaxed and yet more keyed up than she’d ever seen him.
“Rating?” she asked softly.
“What’s the rating for …” He licked his lips and swallowed hard, then said quickly, “I’m a transparent idiot to admit this, but I’ve fallen in love with you?”
Mia’s eyes widened, and she gasped. Had he really just …
His eyes turned more gray than blue, and she could see that he was scared. This brave, tough warrior was scared to be rejected by her, and he was putty in her hands.
“I think that’s a twenty,” she managed.
“Oh yeah?” He still held her tight to him, but Mia knew she was in charge right now. He’d laid it out there, and he was vulnerable and humble for her and her alone.
“So if the rating we achieve is a twenty, we Brits actually have a reward for that.”
“Do you now?” His lips turned up in a smile. “Can an American soldier qualify for such an award?”
“Oh, yes, sir, captain my captain.” She took a deep breath. “The reward is the best kiss of your life.”
“So it’s finally time for a kiss?” His smile turned into a grin. “But what if I had the best kiss of my life two hours ago and I’m not sure the touch researcher can match it?”
“Oh, she can match it. The researcher is a master and you, Captain, are ‘putty in her hands’.”
“That she is, and that I am.”
He grinned and before she could make her move, he lifted her off her feet and took her lips like the warrior he was.
Mia lost her head. Completely. She was in love and on the high of her life and she would never, ever come down.
Zeke kissed her and kissed her and kissed her. He kissed her holding her off the ground with a passion she’d never experienced. Then he set her on her feet, bent her low, and kissed her desperately and thoroughly. Then he swooped her into his arms, held her against his chest and kissed her slowly and with a drugging power that had her cloudy and ecstatically happy. Then he stepped back and sank into the settee behind them with her still in his arms and he captivated her with the most achingly tender kisses.
She held on and returned the kisses and prayed real life would never, ever intrude on this heaven they had in each other’s arms.
Who knew how much time had passed when Zeke gave her a soft kiss and then pulled back and murmured, “Exquisite Mia, we need to stop, or I need to go jump in that lake again.”
She laughed. She didn’t want to stop, but she knew it was smart.
“Okay, okay. I don’t want you jumping in the lake.” She looked up at him. “I’ll stop. If you promise to play the touching game again tomorrow.”
His eyebrows lifted, and he nodded. “And the next day and the next day.”
She laughed and hugged him tightly. “I’ll help you overcome your touching issues. If you promise to never leave my side.”
His arms stiffened around her. He tilted her chin up and said seriously, “Mia. You have no idea how incredible that sounds to me. But you know that isn’t our reality.”
She drew in a sharp breath. He’d told her he was falling in love with her. Now he was going to hit her with reality? To bunk with barmy reality. “Let’s not think about it right now. Tell me stories. Tell me about your men.”
“Okay.” He held her close, and they started talking. He told her about Chaos, Preach, and Wolf. He told her about their EOD Demo who often was with them and was the man marrying sweet Jessie at Christmas. He told her about some of his training. He’d been through quite a bit of advanced training sessions that lasted either weeks or months depending on what they were specializing in. He even told her about some missions, but he was a little more reluctant about sharing much about that.
He coaxed story after story out of her, about her time from being an ankle-biter up through high school, college, and building her career. He asked some about dating and boyfriends but steered off that subject pretty quick. Which was actually adorable. He wanted to know more about her parents and seemed reassured that her dad was truly a decent man, just absentee and arrogant. She had to admit that he wasn’t the gormless git he’d acted like earlier today.
As the night wore on, her eyes grew heavy, but she didn’t want this to end. She feared so deeply that in the light of day their touching session, their kissing session, their talking session, and the love they felt would burn away like the morning mist. That couldn’t happen. Right? This was real. This solid man holding her felt more real, more substantial than anyone she’d ever known.