Saving Sam (The Wounded Warriors Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

desperately needed to have. A conversation that was probably meant for another time and place, but was so over-due, it had become unavoidable.
    “I was still lying beside you and you pretended not to remember how I had gotten there,” Amy reminded him. “There was blood on your sheets, and you didn't remember?”
    He gave her a brief, sheepish look, but it appeared desire was still controlling him. His voice caressed her with an intimacy beyond the touch of hands. “I remembered, Amy, but I didn't know what to do about it.”
    Sam looked at her, his eyes pleading with her, asking for so much more than just her understanding. He moved his hand from between her legs and began to run his fingers up and down the length of her arm. The movement tickled with sensations that touched Amy in places too deep for such an innocent caress. Again, she closed her eyes, but this time it was in an effort to contain her desires and not merely bask in his touch.
    “I was leaving for the Air Force,” he explained. “It wouldn't have been fair… to have slept with you the right way, asked you to be my girlfriend… and then just left.” His fingers stroked her arm one last time. They trailed along until they reached her hand and he could lace his fingers through hers.
    “I would have waited.” She squeezed his hand.
    “I didn't want you to.”
    The words stabbed like a knife in her belly. She bit her lip and forced painful words between her lips “I did anyway.”
    “Why?”
    She dropped his hand and cupped his face between her fingers. “Because there's never been anyone else, Sam. When you were a careless, lazy boy, I loved you. When you were an adorable, sloppy-haired mess of a teen, I loved you. When you were a selfish, thoughtless youth on the verge of manhood, I loved you.”
    “And now?” His eyes pleaded, for what, she wasn't sure.
    “Now I don't know you.” Amy sighed as she traced her finger over his eyebrows and added, “You're a hard-eyed soldier. You're gorgeous, I'll give you that - built, and beautiful, but different.”
    “And?” Again, that pleading tone, but this time she knew what he wanted.
    “And,” she complied, “I still love you.”
    He pulled her close again. “Sweet Amy,” he rumbled, the evidence of his need straining against her leg, “say yes.”
    The best she could offer was, “I won't say no.”
    He lifted her easily, hardly needing to flex his muscles. She wrapped her legs around his waist, curling her arms around his neck, pressing her mouth down on his. Her living area was so little that he crossed it in two long-legged strides, to her bedroom door, and through, to the bed with its pink and blue flowered sheets, crumpled and unmade. It looked like someone had already made love on it.
    “Sam?”
    “Yes Amy?”
    “Will you remember in the morning?”
    “I'll remember,” he promised. “I remembered the last time too. I've never forgotten.”
    His words thrilled her.
And it's that hope that has kept me going all this time.
    He laid her carefully on the bed, and climbed on top of her, sliding his arms underneath her. She remembered that other time. It had been fast, hot and wild. It had been the quenching of a primal thirst. This time, he was cherishing her, luxuriating in their closeness and taking his time. This time it wasn't about carnal cravings, but something deeper.
    It felt wonderful and satisfying. It had felt amazing the other time too, and she couldn't deny it. There just couldn't be anything unpleasant about sleeping with Sam Wallace, except perhaps the aftermath. But she wasn't going to think about that. And once his hands slid under her dress, lifting it over her head, she didn't think about anything anymore. She simply gave herself over to her body and to his.
    Sam's eyes glowed as he looked down at her. A corresponding glow seemed to ignite in her core. He kissed her throat and just like that, her shyness melted. It was hard to feel insecure when Sam was looking at her