Chapter 8

8

The next morning, Elena woke before her alarm went off. Carefully, she reached over and shut the alarm off before it could go off and wake JT. He needed his sleep, and they hadn’t gotten much during the night, she thought with a smile.

It was hard to force herself away from JT. It was so toasty and warm laying beside him. For just a second or two, she thought about calling in sick. Of course, the thought didn’t last that long. She had a duty and well, it was a flying day.

She slipped out of bed and headed to the shower. She had a few extra minutes this morning, but she still needed to be at work. Before she stepped into the bathroom, she looked back over her shoulder. She couldn’t fight the smile that curved her lips. Seeing him there in her bed made her so damned happy. She wanted to say to hell with work and stay home, but she had to go. They had a training mission her new commander insisted on and besides, a Santini never shirked their duty.

After she shut the door as quietly as possible, she started the shower. The bathroom water took forever to heat up. It was one of the few things she hated about her apartment. It wasn’t far from some good beaches, and it was close enough to work that she didn’t have to worry about a long commute.

As she waited for the water to heat up, she thought about what JT had said the night before. It sounded as if he was planning on sticking around. She had hoped for that, but she really didn’t know how he would act when he returned. Guys often said things they regretted later. Hell, not just guys. Both sexes did things like that. It was easy enough to see every day in the military. She didn’t think that every person who did it, did it on purpose. The kind of jobs they had, life was always precious. Knowing you had someone waiting on you when you returned made it easier to get through the mission. It wasn’t the right thing to do, but when faced with a dangerous assignment, people didn’t always make the best decisions.

For Elena, she might not always have a man at home, but she had an overbearing family she adored. She knew there were a lot of people like JT. Of course, her family was his family, and they would have to deal with that entanglement later. Right now, she just wanted him to herself. Elena knew it was important that they had this time alone to get to know each other.

She smiled. They knew each other in different ways, but now they needed to explore what was going on between them. She looked forward to getting to know every one of his irritating qualities.

The room started to fill up with steam, and she knew she needed to stop daydreaming about things. She stepped into the shower with a new mission. The sooner she got her work done, the sooner she had three days to spend alone with JT.

* * * *

JT rolled over and reached for Elena. Instead, he found her pillow and an empty bed. He frowned and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked. It was still pitch black in the room. He looked at the clock she had on the bedside table and noticed it was near four in the morning.

Damn, it was too early for him. Where was Elena?

He heard the shower going. He wanted to join her. The memories of that Saturday morning shower together had haunted his dreams and left him yearning for another experience like that for months. He couldn’t join her. He’d make her late. He knew she had work, and he hated that she was going to be gone today. It was selfish, but he wanted her all to himself at least for a few days. Or weeks.

He rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He knew she had a job. He also had to check in with his boss. They had a few things to discuss. He also had to call Anthony. For the last few years, Anthony had been the one person he always called once he was cleared. Now, he hadn’t thought about it until that precise moment. JT didn’t even have to think about it. He knew it was because someone else was more important now.

He grabbed another pillow, stacking them so he could be more comfortable. He knew his life had changed that Friday night when Elena had asked for a ride home. He had known it the moment he’d kissed her. It was as if something had clicked in his soul. Even he hadn’t felt that with his ex-fiancé.

Bethany had been a wonderful woman and, for a brief moment, he had thought she was the one for him. He sighed. That was a lie. He wanted her to be the one for him. She was stable and easy. And now, he realized how sad those were the two things he remembered most. She didn’t fight, not really, at least toward the end. He’d thought he could make it work, but both of them decided that it wasn’t going to. He heard she married a lawyer last year and was already expecting her first child.

That thought made him think of what Elena would look like pregnant. Funny, he never thought of Bethany that way while they were engaged. He never looked beyond what marriage was going to mean. A lifetime together, building a family, a happy life. It had all been about having a woman who didn’t really bother him. Damn, he was an asshole.

With a sigh, he stifled the need to tell Elena exactly how he felt. He couldn’t say anything just yet. She would freak out if he did. Elena might talk a good game, but he didn’t know exactly what she wanted out of the relationship. She was younger than he was, by a few years, and she was just getting her career off the ground. Not telling her family was one thing, but he wasn’t going to let that go for long. Sooner or later, Dante was going to open his big mouth and tell the others.

He noticed the light went out in the bathroom and the door opened. She was standing there wearing only a towel. She’d brushed her damp hair away from her face, and now that his eyes had adjusted to the light, he could see her. He loved her this way, all natural with no makeup.

Lust coiled tight in his stomach, as heat shifted through his veins. He couldn’t help it. Just looking at her like that had him ready to pull her back in bed. JT had a feeling it was always going to be like this—probably until the day he died.

“I’m sorry, I was trying to be quiet,” she said.

“No problem and you didn’t wake me. Woke up on my own.”

She nodded and headed to her closet. She opened the double doors, then stepped inside, shutting the door slightly. A shaft of light illuminated the room, but not directly in his eyes.

“Do you have anything planned today?” she asked.

“I have to head up to the office to talk to the boss. Afterwards, I have to go pick up my mail.”

“Sounds good.”

She stepped back out wearing a pair of boy short panties and a sports bra. She was holding her flight suit in one hand and her boots in another. She dropped the boots beside the bed, then stepped into her uniform. As she slipped her arms into the sleeves, then yanked it up over her shoulders, a delicious thrill layered over the simmering lust. He drew in a breath then released it quietly. Damn, watching her dress in her uniform was definitely a turn on.

“I shouldn’t be late since we are doing the runs this morning. I have a few reports to check on, but it’s just tying up some things before my days off.”

Damn, she was freaking sexy and she was his. It was something to know the woman beneath that uniform. It was like a special little secret they shared with just each other.

She smiled at him. “What?”

He shrugged. “It’s sexy to watch you get ready for work. That uniform is kind of hot.”

She laughed and joined him on the bed. “Yeah? Being a pilot does get me some attention. But, I bet you’ll enjoy it more when it comes off.”

She gave him a kiss, then slipped out of bed. Picking up her boots, she said, “I’ll leave an extra key on the counter in the kitchen. Make yourself at home.”

She walked out of the room and left him to his thoughts. He heard her leaving a few minutes later.

He continued to stare at the ceiling. Lord, the woman didn’t know what she was doing to him. There was no doubt she wouldn’t have taken a chance on him if she wasn’t serious, but work needed to be sorted out. He wanted to be here, be part of her life, but there were a few things he had to get set into motion before that would happen.

Deciding it was better to get up and get on with his day, he forced himself out of bed and into the bathroom.

* * * *

Elena was almost out of the door when her commanding officer caught her.

“Captain Santini,” Colonel Vent yelled out.

She was so close to getting out of there that she wanted to scream. Still, the day had been good, and the training had been challenging. She liked that and thrived on it. It was one of the aspects she really liked about Vent. He might be an ass, but he challenged them and that made her happy. It made her a better Marine.

So, just as all Santinis did, she gritted her teeth. She might not like him, but she respected him.

She turned to face him. “Yes, sir?”

“I understand you took the next few days off.”

She nodded. “You approved it a couple weeks ago.”

“Is there a particular reason?”

She wondered just how many times he had questioned the men she flew with. “No. I wanted a few days off, and I always have use-or-lose time at the end of the year.”

He nodded. “Make sure you make yourself available if need be.”

She blinked. “Is there something I don’t know about?”

“No. I had an issue with Lt. Marks. He didn’t have his cell nearby, and we couldn’t get a hold of him.”

Which made sense. This was his first assignment. “Yes, sir. I am actually just staying in town, so no worries.”

“You’re dismissed.”

He turned and walked away. Elena caught herself before she gritted her teeth. At this rate, she would have to be fitted with dentures by the end of the year. She didn’t always make friends with her commanders, but they rarely took a dislike to her like this one. He was always on her case about things. Since he’d arrived six months ago, he had made more than one comment about her taking time off. It was hard not to take some leave while her parents and the rest of the Santinis had descended on Southern California for Dante’s wedding. And she was the freaking maid of honor. She had things to do.

She brushed those thoughts away. She had a man to go see. Stepping out into the parking lot, something stirred on the back of her neck as if someone were watching her. She looked behind her, but noticed only a few folks in the parking lot. None of them were looking at her. Shrugging it off, she continued walking to her car, but she felt it again. Instead of looking around, she ignored it. She hadn’t had much sleep, and it had been a tough training mission. Add in her feelings towards the new commander, and it added up to weird feelings.

She slipped into her car and decided that the next few days would cure her of any issues. She was pretty sure JT would dispel any worries she had. With a smile, she strapped on her seatbelt and started the engine. She definitely had more than a few things they could do to forget worries for at least a few days.