Point Blank Seal. Carol Ericson

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СКАЧАТЬ she seemed to go boneless in his arms, melting against his chest.

      She pulled away from his kiss and whispered hoarsely in his ear, “Don’t ever leave me again, Miguel. I almost died when they told me you were dead.”

      He massaged a circle on her back and rested his chin on top of her head, the honey-blond strands of her hair clinging to his beard.

      She hooked one arm around his waist and slid the other hand up the front of his shirt, splaying her fingers across his bare chest. “Make it real. Let me know you’re back.”

      Throwing a quick glance at his son’s sleeping form, Miguel stepped back from Jennifer’s searching hands. If he needed an excuse for not being intimate with his fiancée, that excuse lay in a flushed tumble on the bed. “Is this a good idea?”

      Tugging at his shirt, she replied, “He’s not even two. He’s not going to know what’s going on over here even if he does wake up. And he won’t.”

      All his muscles tensed, but Miguel tried to put a smile on his face. “If you say so.”

      “I say so.” She bunched his shirt in her hands and yanked it up. “Help me out here.”

      Holding his breath, Miguel pulled his shirt over his head.

      Jennifer gasped.

      Miguel crumpled his T-shirt in one fist. “Yeah, maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all. I probably should’ve warned you.”

      Her fingertips traced the scars crisscrossing his chest. Then she nudged him with her hands to turn around.

      “Not much better back there.”

      She smoothed her hands across the various wounds on his back, exploring them as if committing them to memory. “H-how did you ever survive this?”

      “By thinking of this.” He turned to face her and wrapped his hands around her waist. He slanted his mouth across hers, slipping his tongue into her mouth, where it did a familiar tango with hers.

      He could do this if he just maintained a certain level of control. He wouldn’t allow himself to let go.

      Jennifer wedged her fingers in the waistband of his jeans and yanked at his zipper.

      “Mama.” A wail quickly followed the single word.

      Miguel jerked back from Jennifer. What had he been thinking? He could never maintain control with Jen.

      She kissed Miguel’s chest. “Let me settle him. I’ll be right back.”

      She sat on the edge of the bed and a few minutes later Miguel joined her, kneeling on the floor.

      Mikey rubbed his eyes and let out another wail. Jennifer pulled him into her lap. “It’s okay, Mikey. We’re in a hotel, but you’re with Mama...and your daddy.”

      A knot twisted in Miguel’s gut. He’d wanted to be a dad for so long, but the conditions couldn’t be worse. “Do you think he’s ready for that, Jen? Ready for me?”

      “The sooner the better. Might as well get him used to the idea.”

      “Doesn’t look as if he much likes the idea of a daddy.”

      Mikey’s face had crumpled, and fresh tears rolled down his cheeks as he stared at his newfound father.

      “He’s probably having a delayed reaction to that explosion in his room and the fire. He hardly had time to react before you swooped in there to save him. Now he’s waking up in a strange place.” She shrugged.

      “With a strange man.”

      “Not for long, Miguel. He’ll adapt quickly. Kids do.”

      “We’re not giving him much to adapt to—a motel room instead of his home, most of his clothes and toys ruined.” He touched Mikey’s little fist, curled around a lock of Jennifer’s hair. “Has he had many men in his life?”

      She sucked in a quick breath of air. “Dad and Mom have been to visit a few times, but Alicia’s husband, Troy, has probably been the most prominent male in Mikey’s life, since I see Alicia and Troy a few times a month.”

      Her words left a sour taste in his mouth. He didn’t even like Troy, the husband of Jen’s best friend, and that guy had a more important role in Mikey’s life than he did.

      Miguel met Mikey’s watery gaze and winked. He supposed he should be feeling grateful that Troy was there for Mikey...and Jen.

      Jennifer kissed the top of Mikey’s head. “I’m going to change his diaper and try to get him to go back to sleep.”

      “Can I watch? If I’m gonna be a dad, I’d better start learning the basics.”

      “Of course. Nothing to it.” She scooted off the bed with Mikey clutched to her chest. Pointing to the corner where he’d stashed her bags, she said, “Bring me that green diaper bag. We’ll do it here on the floor.”

      He strode to the corner and swept up the bag. He crouched beside her at the foot of the bed. “What do we need?”

      “Changing pad in the side pocket, fresh diaper, wipes, a little tube of cream in the zipper pouch inside and a plastic grocery bag.”

      He pulled out all the items she’d requested and lined them up on the floor, holding the diaper in his hand. “This looks like a complicated operation.”

      “Only when he’s squiggly.” She grabbed Mikey’s kicking feet and pressed a kiss on each sole. “I’m going to start potty training him in about six months. Alicia said boys are slower than girls, but Bella was potty trained at twenty-six months.”

      “If Bella can do it, Mikey can do it. Right, big guy?” Miguel poked Mikey’s belly with his finger, and his son rewarded him with a giggle.

      Jennifer made short work of the task, and let him secure the fresh diaper into place.

      He wrapped up the soiled diaper in the plastic bag and put it in the bathroom trash. Then he washed his hands and put everything back in its place in the diaper bag.

      Jennifer had returned to the bed with Mikey and curled up beside him. “He’s still a little restless, so I’m going to cuddle with him until he falls asleep. Then we can get back to what we were doing. You got me all hot changing that diaper. Nothing sexier than a man changing a diaper.”

      He shook his head. “That’s weird. Is the TV going to bother you?”

      “Just keep it low.”

      Miguel pulled his T-shirt back on and settled on the couch, clicking on the TV. He scanned through the channels until he found a news program and then glanced at Jennifer, her eyes closed.

      Bending forward, he retrieved his phone from the floor and texted Josh, asking if he had any more details about the mole.

      Josh responded quickly and Miguel read the text with growing dread. Josh had had some contact with Vlad’s people on Josh’s recent Stateside assignment, СКАЧАТЬ