Corpsman and the Nerd (35 page)

Finally, the reason she awoke
reasserted itself and KC gave in to nature’s call. Her bladder felt
full, so the IV must have worked. Mother Nature was indomitable,
regardless.

Swinging her legs from the bed, she
noticed the clock read 1:30 am. No wonder it was dark and the house
quiet. Max and Ryan would be asleep. She saw she still wore the
t-shirt under her fatigues. But her pants were missing, as were her
boots and socks. Her dog-tags swung with her legs when she exited
the bed.

Max must have removed her outer wear
but left the under things. KC wondered how, and what he thought as
he removed her clothing. There was a water glass by her bed, and
she downed the contents. Next, she padded across the floor to the
door. While her bladder was insistent, she thought maybe she better
check on her males.

Peeking in at Ryan, she saw him and
Spuds curled up together, sleeping angelically. Smiling at the
picture they made, she entered the room to bend over and kiss her
son. He’d grown since she left. Max mentioned he had a growth
spurt. Looked like he had at least two.

After staring at him for a few more
moments, she crossed the way to Max’s room. He’d left his door
open, probably so he could hear either of them. She stared at his
sprawled figure, taking in the smooth, large arms and his bare
chest. And her temperature started to rise.

KC backpedaled, and made for the
bathroom. Max needed his sleep, not her lusting after him, and her
bladder was most persistent now. When Mother Nature had been
satisfied, KC wandered back into her room and thought about a
shower. As soon as she thought about it, the idea wouldn’t let her
alone. Traveling for nearly thirty-eight hours had left her feeling
grimy.

She rifled through her nightwear draw,
thankful to be able to select something civilian in nature. Tugging
pajama pants and a long sleeved t-shirt from the stash, she moved
on to underwear. Why she selected her most feminine pair, she
didn’t know, but figured she had been in the desert so long,
feeling like a woman would be wonderful.

Eagerly now, she paced down the hall,
and then bypassed the upstairs bathroom because of the males who
slept nearby. She didn’t want to waken them, but needed to be
clean. Hurrying down the stairs, KC carried weariness with her, but
also a huge relief to be home.

The first blast of the water made KC
groan. Hot, fresh, with perfect pressure. She stood boneless
beneath the spray for a few precious moments before selecting one
of her shampoos. Even cleaning her hair felt sinful and luxurious.
Conditioning would probably make the tresses fall out.

She exfoliated and then scrubbed
herself down, attempting to remove as much sand as her pores could
withstand. How long she remained in the shower, KC didn’t know, but
was thankful the time was so late. The water heater would need time
to work before the next person could shower, she figured. But oh,
how wonderful she felt. She shaved her legs and finally shut off
the water.

Tugging a towel from the rack, KC
savored the moment. This wonderful piece of terry cloth genius was
large enough to nearly wrap around herself twice.

By the time she dressed in fresh
clothing, KC was feeling the effects of not eating. Food was the
next necessity on her agenda. Everything sounded good too. Not
feeling picky as she dumped her clothes in the laundry basket, KC
folded her towel over the rack and yanked open the door.

And nearly screamed, until she
ascertained who stood there. Sleepy eyed, with his hair ruffled,
Max still managed a sweet smile. With an exclamation, KC launched
into his arms, and relished the moment more this time than the
last. This time she was alert and as she breathed him in, she
concentrated on the size and strength of the arms holding her so
tight. How KC enjoyed pressing against the warm width of his chest.
His scent rose up and engulfed her.

She couldn’t suppress her sigh and
felt him rumble. She squeezed closer and his arms tightened. “Never
again,” he grumbled emphatically.

KC gurgled with laughter. “I
agree.”

“
Once. You can leave
once
. And you did.
Not
ever
again.”
He used his I’m-not-budging-on-this-one voice. The voice that
usually skittered excitement down her spine, and definitely carried
that effect now. Max was normally the most laid back of men, but
that all-powerful male voice worked for her. He didn’t abuse the
power, which helped make the moment so sensual.

Her stomach growled, long and loud and
they both laughed. Max released her, and she thrilled at his
grudging reluctance to do so. Unable to bear being parted from him,
she took his hand to lead him into the kitchen.

When they reached the room, he helped
her select a meal. Since she’d been living on military fare for the
last eight months, she should have enjoyed the home cooked meal
they put together from the contents of the refrigerator. But it was
Max’s presence that made the meal for her. She was hungrier for his
company than the wonderful food she didn’t even taste.

As she ate, KC scanned his face,
drinking in every part of him. She wanted him so much and now she
was here in his house. He didn’t look any different to her, if a
bit sleepy. Guiltily she glanced at the clock. Two-oh-five a.m.
Whoops.

“
Max, I’m keeping you out of
bed.”

“
That’s okay. Ryan and I
took tomorrow off.” He grinned and her long asleep female hormones
awoke and stretched.

“
You took tomorrow off?” She
blinked at him, happy to hear that news.

He looked sheepish. “Actually, we took
the rest of the week off.”

KC stared, wide-eyed at him. She
didn’t even care that she probably more resembled bug than woman.
“You took the rest of the week off? It’s Tuesday.”

“
We wanted time with you.”
No apologies. Just fact.
We wanted time
with you
. Wow.

“
I’ll probably sleep a
lot.”

“
We expected that. But Ryan
and I have been planning meals for you. And a family welcome home
picnic.” He pointed to a calendar on the wall. Each block up until
May 1
^st
had a large, crudely made X in black marker. May
1
^st
and
2
^nd
both
were circled in bright blue crayon.

KC bit her lip.

“
You’ve been planning my
arrival home for a while.” She rather than fighting the emotions
welling in her heart KC embraced them. This man was intertwined in
her soul like DNA strands. He had been there all along, and she
never noticed. Not until she went to war.

“
Are you going to cry?”
Suspicion was uppermost in his voice.

KC smiled. “No.”

“
Oh, good.” He reached over
and scooped her out of her chair to hold her in his lap.

Home. That’s where she was. Savoring
Max’s warmth and strength and his masculine scent wasn’t hard. She
breathed him in, so thankful for him, but wanting more. Yet she
didn’t know how to ask for what she wanted.

Or maybe needed. What if he didn’t
want the same thing? Then she would lose everything. Except he
loved her son and was willing to shackle himself to them to help
raise Ryan. Could she use that toward her cause?

Her eyes grew heavy again and KC
wanted to protest. But she was so tired. “Stay with you?” she
mumbled when he stood up.

“
Definitely, baby, most
definitely.” If she had been more awake, she might have delved into
how emphatic his voice sounded. And luxuriated in the strength of
his arms when he easily swung her high against his
chest.

She clung, not wanting to be put back
in her own bed, because this was Max. They’d been apart for eight
months and she needed to cuddle just a little while. A yawn
interrupted her thoughts.

Max bypassed her room and padded
confidently on to his. He crawled into the bed without putting her
down. She smiled. What a man. Now if she could only convince him to
be hers, then life would be perfect.

Still, she wrapped her arms around
him, settled her head against his shoulder and hung on. For
tonight, he was hers. He wouldn’t be able to untangle himself from
her tonight. Then she let her mind blank as sleep arrived to whisk
her off to the land of dreams.

*****

Max closed his eyes when KC folded him
so close. Her arms were entwined so tightly he wouldn’t be able to
work free without waking her. He breathed her scent and a surge of
possessiveness undulated through him. Finally, she lay in his arms.
And he loved the sensation, just as he had suspected.

Their son slept in the room across the
hall. His family was whole again because his son’s mother was home
– and in his arms. He couldn’t imagine life without her now. One
eight month period of utter separation and he was down for the
count.

Would she be upset with him when he
informed her she couldn’t leave him? How would he tell her this
information? The million dollar question of the century. Or maybe
his life.

He tugged her closer, wondering if he
would sleep any more tonight? With KC so close, her woman’s body
and his man’s body were talking again. Well, his body was trying to
converse, but hers appeared to have shut down.

Max tamped the images of her
collapsing. That moment had scared and angered him. Because
somewhere in the back of his mind, he figured the reason was
exhaustion, but he hadn’t been sure. That thought hadn’t stopped
him from panicking, though.

While she came around fairly easy, the
moments before she roused had lasted for wrenchingly long
heartbeats. He gazed down at her in the darkness, thankful for her
speedy recovery. She would receive the care she needed, he and Ryan
would make certain. Right now she slept easily in his
arms.

Would he be able to convince her to
stay with him until death did them part? With a sigh, he closed his
eyes to better savor her curves melding into his body. It felt
right, like her pieces completed his. He wanted the right to be her
lover, and her husband. He did have an in, since Ryan was his son
and they were partners.

Max smiled as he thought of that
angle. How could he convince her they needed to be together, even
if simply as a united front for Ryan? But then she might think he,
Max Morrison, didn’t want her. And that would be false. He didn’t
want her anywhere else but with him.

He wanted it all. KC and her son. He
had Ryan’s love. But what about KC’s? Pondering that question was
enough to keep him awake for days, not just tonight.

Chapter 44

When she awoke the next morning, KC
realized something was wrong. But what? Blinking in the sunlit
stream, she peered around her. No Max, that’s what was wrong. She
heard Ryan giggling and a familiar masculine rumble and
smiled.

“
She’s awake,
get her
,” Max mock
bellowed and suddenly the bed erupted with males.

Spuds licked her face, Ryan wriggled
all over her, and Max somehow managed to work her into his arms.
She rested her head against his chest, while trying to avoid Spuds’
tongue, and tickle Ryan. Who squealed and squirmed over both her
and Max.

KC reveled in the family moment. How
badly she wanted their little group to be a family. Dad, Mom, and
son. Even the family dog romped with them. A poignant moment and
one she tried to memorize. Just in case.

“
We’re off all week, right?”
KC ventured.

“
Right.”

“
No school or office all
week, Mommy.” Ryan bounced all over them and then rolled with Spuds
across the bed. A nice wide bed, in fact.

“
This is a big bed,” KC
murmured as she watched the two wrestle.

“
Yeah. I like to stretch
out. And now that I’ve got a kid...”

KC laughed. “Right. He and Spuds
always fall off mine. This one works much better.”

“
Yours isn’t even a queen,
right?”

“
No, it’s a
double.”

“
This is a king, much more
family oriented.” Max sounded smug, and KC’s heart fluttered an
extra beat because he mentioned the word on her mind.
Family
. What if Max
wanted the same thing she needed? Could it be that easy?

“
True,” she said inanely.
How was she supposed to answer that question?
Was
she supposed to say
something?

“
Yo, Ryan, not so close to
the edge,” Max ordered, and Ryan scooted closer to the
middle.

“
He doesn’t listen to me
like that,” she said in disgust against Max’s chest.

He laughed. “I’m the Dad.” He pointed
a finger at his chest.

Max in brat mode,
lovely
. KC curled her
fingers and yelled, “Attack!” A word Ryan and Spuds both
recognized. With shrieks of delight, Ryan dove across Max and
helped her tickle him.