Package Deal (22 page)

The mention of grad school triggered a spontaneous flashback to
Felicity. He still remembered their last dinner
.
He
’d
had
the ring
in his pocket
and
was
preparing
to get down on
one
knee
to ask her
when
her old boyfriend appeared at their table, pulled her into his arms, and she had laughingly introduced
him
.

“Max, this is Marc.
Tell me what to do.
Should
I stay here and let
Marc
propose, or go back with you to
Texas?” Her hands
had
reached up and brushed the big Marine’s buzz cut
as her mouth sought his in a kiss that sizzled with desire
—for Max
, not him
.
Marcus
still
felt burned by it, burned that she’d never kissed him like that.

The ring never left his pocket that night
. Instead,
h
e
’d
walked for hours before going back to his apartment
,
certain his life was over
, certain he would never get over the hurt
of her cavalier dismissal of him and what he thought they had
. How could he have been so
wrong,
thinking
she loved him as much
as he loved her
?
He
had
vowed never to commit
to a woman
again. N
ot until he knew, for sure, that the woman he loved also loved him and wanted him as much as he want
ed
her.

Maybe that was what was wrong with
what he’d had with
Felicity. He had
told
h
er how
he felt,
what he wanted,
not caring that she
never reciprocated
.
He’d assumed she felt the same way
he did
.
Where had he gone wrong—by jumping into bed with her because she was so happy to do so?
He remembered telling Mike he didn’t think he’d ever find someone who would love him like their
mom
had loved their
dad
, or like
Evie
loved
Mike. His brother
had assured him it would happen, but he wasn’t so
sure
. The woman he’d met in D
.
C
.
certainly hadn’t, but then the
mutual
attraction wasn’t there, either. Not like now, not like
what he was feeling with
Amanda
, like what he’d felt when she sat with him at his house
and
they rode out the storm together
.

He looked around at the marina
. The boats rocking near the dock and the smell of the saltwater
brought him back to the present
.T
he evening breeze
was
fluttering
Amanda’s
hair off her face
.

He
stopp
e
d
walking
when they reached
th
e
lon
e
windblown
tr
ee
n
e
ar th
e
last pier
. H
e
l
e
an
e
d
against it and pull
e
d
h
e
r clos
e
r. “E
nough about m
e
. I’d lik
e
to talk about us.” H
e
kiss
e
d
h
e
r
and his pulse quickened
.

“What about us?”
she replied
, her voice breathier than before
.

Was she feeling something for him?
Time to take a chance, to test the waters.
“I’d lik
e
to s
ee
you again—and again
—h
e
ll, all th
e
tim
e
.What did
people
us
e
d
to
call it—going st
e
ady
, going together
? What do you think about that?”
H
op
e
in his
heart, he grinned at her
.
“
Say y
e
s, Amanda.
”

“Ar
e
w
e
allow
e
d
to do that? Faculty, I m
e
an? I don’t r
e
call
whether
th
e
Faculty Handbook m
e
ntions
that
among th
e
do
s and don’ts.”

“As
long as n
e
ith
e
r of us is marri
e
d
to som
e
on
e
e
ls
e
, w
e
can ‘frat
e
rniz
e
’ all w
e
want.” H
e
laugh
e
d
.
“T
hat’s what
w
e
call
e
d
it in th
e
Army
.
And
, w
e
hav
e
th
e
sam
e
rank,
so
w
e
’r
e
not br
e
aking any rul
e
s.” H
e
kiss
e
d
h
e
r again and did not l
e
t h
e
r go.
When she
kiss
e
d
him back, his pulse
raced
.
“W
hat do you say? Will you go st
e
ady with m
e
? It’s b
ee
n a long tim
e
sinc
e
I had a
regular
girlfri
e
nd. I’m kind of out of practic
e
, but I’d lik
e
to do that
if you’
r
e
willing
.”

“What about your plan to marry C
e
c
e
,
or
someone like her
?”
A
smil
e
played
across
h
e
r
face
, making
him want to cover
those luscious lips
with his
.
“
Maybe
you’r
e
just
marking tim
e
until sh
e
’s out of high school
,
b
e
caus
e
you lik
e
blond
e
s so much
.”

“Mayb
e
.” H
e
took h
e
r hand and start
e
d
walking back to th
e
car.
“
I lik
e
a certain
brun
e
tt
e
, too
.
”
He
waggl
e
d
his
e
y
e
brows at h
e
r until sh
e
laugh
e
d
.

H
e
drov
e
out of town to a lookout w
e
ll-known to th
e
stud
e
nts on campus.
After selecting
a spot with no oth
e
r cars,
he
park
e
d
so that th
e
y could watch th
e
moon
reflect
ing on th
e
wat
e
r, and
he
put his arm around h
e
r should
e
r
s
.

“Amanda, I
r
e
ally
want
—
to
g
e
t to know you.” H
e
want
e
d
to say mor
e
, but could not find th
e
right
words. Inst
e
ad, h
e
kiss
e
d
h
e
r d
ee
ply.

S
he moved closer to him.

She didn’t pull away.
G
ood. Now g
o slow
. Don’t scare her off.
The
quickening
pulse of
Amanda’s
heartbeat in the small of her neck
encouraged him
. Th
e
tiny
birthmark at th
e
curv
e
of h
e
r right br
e
ast p
e
ak
e
d
out at him from h
e
r décoll
e
té.Th
e
silv
e
r n
e
cklac
e
dr
e
w his
e
y
e
s to wh
e
r
e
th
e
h
e
art r
e
st
e
d
and his hands follow
e
d
.
He
slipp
e
d
them
und
e
r
h
e
r b
l
ou
s
e
and lift
e
d
it so that h
e
could cup
h
e
r br
e
asts.

“You ar
e
b
e
autiful b
e
yond d
e
scription, and I want you
so badly
.”
He let his lips tell her how he felt
, acutely aware of what his hands were feeling, how her body was responding, that tiny gasp as she sucked in her breath, then parted her lips to let his tongue tease and taste
.

When
sh
e
slid h
e
r hands und
e
r his shirt
,
his
e
xcit
e
m
e
nt
intensified
.
H
is muscl
e
s jump
e
d
wh
e
re
h
e
r hands
e
xplor
e
d
his ch
e
st
and back
.
His mouth mov
e
d
away from h
e
r n
e
ck a
s he
work
e
d
his
way downward.
Amanda
gasp
ed quietly
wh
e
n
h
e
cover
e
d
on
e
nippl
e
with
his mouth
.