One Special Night (2 page)

She should never have come
, she thought, dreading the moment when the men from her unit would come over and ask her how she was.
 
Ask her when she was coming back.

Only she wasn’t returning to Afghanistan.
 
She was done with it all.

It was time to put this part of her life behind her by finishing out her last few months on shore duty at a local base.
 
Once she was done, she could tackle the assorted tests that would let her work as a nurse at one of the area hospitals.

Even though she'd done her time and paid a heavy price for her service, she still felt guilty at leaving her men just when she'd earned their respect and become “Doc” to them.
 
It wasn't a title easily earned and she understood the faith they'd put in her to take care of them.
 
But she had risked her life for them and now it was time to get on with her own life.

Deciding that it was best to avoid the men from her unit, she stood and was about to leave when the bride came out of the back of her house, her hand tucked around her father’s arm.

Like the best man, she was more beautiful in real life than in the photos she had seen, but it was the sheer joy on the bride's features that froze Jasmine in place.
 
She'd never seen such limitless love on anyone's face.
 
As she turned to glance back in the groom's direction, it was obvious he felt the same way.
 
That he wanted everyone there to witness their love and celebrate it.

Because of that she held her ground and stayed for the ceremony.
 
It seemed to fly by, driven by the impatient happiness of the couple as they answered the priest's inquiries, and exchanged rings and vows.

Finally the priest's voice boomed over the couple and the guests.
 
“By the power vested in me by the State of New Jersey, I now pronounce you man and wife.
 
You may kiss your bride.”

As the newlyweds came together and sealed their promises with a kiss, a softly voiced command had the military ushers taking up spots on either side of the aisle.
 
Jase's
second-in-command issued the order, “Center face.”
 
The groomsmen pivoted to face each other.

 
“Officers, draw swords,” Trevor said and their sabers sliced through the air to form the arch for the newlyweds.

Hand-in-hand with beaming smiles, the bride and groom paused to kiss before they ducked down and walked beneath the swords.
 
As they reached the end, the last two men blocked their way and another of the officers swatted
Nickie
on the butt.

“Welcome to the Marines,” he said and the rest of the men shouted a healthy, “
Oohrah
!”

The guests gathered burst into applause and cheers as the soldiers moved aside and the newlyweds hurried away toward the boardwalk stairs.
 
At another soft cue from the lieutenant's second-in-command, the military men lowered their swords and resumed their bridal duties, joining up with the bridesmaids to form a receiving line by the foot of the stairs.

Nickie's
brother and the maid of honor went last and after them, the guests emptied from their rows to greet the newlyweds, their families, and the bridal party.

As the people in her row filed out, she held her place, torn between offering her congratulations and running.
 
But she had come a long way to get here and it wasn't just about the nearly three hour trip on the subway and train.

She'd been through bad and
badder
with
Jase
and his men.
 
The least she could do was share in some of the good for a change.

Drawing in a deep breath, she took a step toward the newlyweds and toward the start of her new life.

Chapter 2

Tommy waited patiently in the receiving line, greeting the assorted guests who had joined them to celebrate.
 
As the best man, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with
Jase
, who shook hands and hugged each of the guests, accepting their well wishes on the marriage as well as various comments on his military service.

It was impossible not to sense his friend's unease, especially when someone mentioned that he'd been injured or said that he was a hero.
 
Jase
didn't think of himself that way, he knew.
 
His friend did it because it was the right thing to do.
 
Which in Tommy's
mind,
did make him a hero, not that his friend sought that recognition.

As he continued greeting the guests, he once again noticed the woman hanging toward the back of the line.

He'd first seen her as she'd rushed in just before the start of the ceremony, looking a little flustered and hesitant.
 
He'd noticed her again as she'd taken a spot at the far end of a line of chairs, clearly ready to make a run for it.

She was beautiful
, he thought now that he had the leisure to really examine her.
 
Caramel-colored hair hung in soft waves to her shoulders and framed a heart-shaped face.
 
Her features weren't classically pretty, but somehow all the parts came together very nicely.
 
Her full lips bore the faintest hint of pink gloss and he pictured himself licking it off like frosting on a cake.
 
 
H
azel-colored eyes were shot through with warm cinnamon tones.
 
They were expressive eyes that gave away a lot of what she was feeling.

Happiness.
 
Doubt.
 
Definitely some interest on her part as their gazes connected.

Definitely some interest on my part
, he thought as his gaze dipped down to a body with womanly curves meant to be explored and appreciated.
 
Not like
fashionista
Valerie who had let
herself
become thin as a hanger for the designer clothes she insisted on wearing.

The dress this woman wore was nothing fancy or elaborate, just a simple black dress that hugged those tempting curves and reached only to mid-thigh, revealing long, leanly muscled legs.
 
His gut tightened at the thought of those legs wrapped around him, urging him on.
 
His attention was only half-on the guests as he pictured what all those curves would look like without the sedate dress.

Would she have something sexier beneath?
 
Something black and lacy or would she be bold and go with bright-colored little nothings against her smooth creamy skin?
he
wondered as his cock jumped to life. He grew harder with each passing the second and broke out in a sweat in the late afternoon sun.

As she reached the parents, he leaned toward them to hear her introduce herself, but at that moment a distant cousin from their large Italian family blocked his way as he congratulated the newlyweds and then headed over to him.

“How
ya'doing
?” his cousin said in a thick Brooklyn accent.

“Great, Dominic,” he replied, trying to peer past the mountain of a man to the mystery woman.

“Good to hear.
 
That Valerie was no good for you,
ya
' know.
 
You deserve someone better,” Dominic said and poked him in the chest.

“Yeah, I hear
ya
, Dom,” he admitted and grabbed hold of his cousin's hand to shake it and gently draw him over to greet the maid of honor.

His mystery woman had reached the bride and groom.
 
His friend embraced the woman as if she were made of egg shells.

“Doc, I'm so glad you came,”
Jase
said, obvious relief in his tones.
 
As he released her, she shot a nervous glance at him before facing his sister
Nickie
.

“I'm glad to be here,” she said, but his friend continued to keep her near, casually tossing his arm over her shoulders.

“This is Doc Reyes,
Nickie
.
 
You remember I told you about her.
 
She's the Navy Corpsman who is responsible for our unit,” he said.

“'Was' responsible, Second Lieutenant,” the woman called “Doc” corrected, but then quickly added, “And please call me Jasmine.”

Jasmine like the flower
, he thought, only there was nothing delicate about her.
 
Brittle, maybe
, he thought as she shot him a nervous look from the corner of her eye.
 
The worry was hidden in the depths of her gaze.
 
It only made him more curious about the incredibly sexy woman who was also a kick-ass Navy Corpsman according to his new brother-in-law.
 
She'd risked life and limb to help save
Jase
, his team members, and the patients at the medical station they had been protecting when the Taliban had attacked.

“So it's true then?
 
You're staying stateside?” his friend asked and released her.

She stepped back from
Jase
and turned to
Nickie
, obviously wanting to deflect attention from
herself
.
 
“Congratulations on your marriage,
Nickie
.
 
Don't let this jarhead make your life too crazy,” she said with a warm smile, although her gaze shimmered with unshed tears.

Fuck, did she have the
hots
for my friend?
he
wondered, which made him worry whether
Jase
and she had . . .

No, not
Jase
,
he thought.
 
He was as straight arrow as they came.
 
If there had been anything going on, he was sure it had been one-sided.
 
He didn't know why it bothered him that she might have had a thing for his now brother-in-law.
 
But when their gazes connected again briefly, he recognized that they were tears of happiness that things had worked out for the newlyweds.

Relief swept through him with that realization.

With a quick hug for the bride and groom, she sidestepped to stand before him.
 
They were almost the same height.
 
She wore flat-heeled sandals so she was tall for a woman.
 
The sandals were summery and barely there, showing off toes with a sexy red polish.
 
The shoes and polish said “Fuck me” and had blood running south to his already alert privates.

It had been way too long since he'd had sex
, he decided.
 
That was the only explanation for the way he was responding to this woman.

She stuck out her hand with military precision and said, “I'm Jasmine Reyes.
 
Your brother-in-law and I served together.”

He took hold of her hand and a blast of desire rushed up his arm from that point of contact.
 
She must have felt it as well since she shivered, but didn't pull her hand from his grasp as he said, “As in 'Doc' Reyes?”

* * *

It was hard not to notice his disbelief.
 
Even harder to ignore the strong way his hand held hers and caused all kinds of weirdness to happen deep in her core.
 
The palm of his hand was rough, surprising her.
 
She hadn't expected that from a man who looked like a model from a high end men's magazine.
 
But it was rough and warm and she imagined how those palms might feel against her skin.
 
How those strong hands would cup and hold her.
 
Tease her nipples into tight little points that he'd suck on with that amazing mouth.

She should have moved her hand away, only it had been way too long since she'd actually felt anything inside.
 
Although she was a little annoyed that it was this too sexy, too rich, and possibly too chauvinistic man that was awakening long lost need.

“I am 'Doc', although for tonight I'd prefer to be just Jasmine.
 
Do you find it hard to believe that I'm a sailor?” she said with an arch of her brow as she allowed herself time to study the rest of him.

He was tall, at least 6”2' of nicely shaped man.
 
His expensive designer tuxedo hugged broad shoulders that narrowed into slim hips and a flat waist.
 
It made her wonder what he'd look like beneath the clothing, until he drew her attention back to his face with a chuckle.

“I don't doubt it.
 
I've heard a lot of good things about you, just Jasmine,” he teased with the kind of sexy grin that probably had women swooning all over him.

But not me
, she thought, although her traitorous libido kicked up the pulse between her legs when he settled his dark gaze on her and she once again pictured him touching her.
 
Tasting her.

“I've heard a lot about you as well, Tommy the Terror,” she said, using the childhood nickname that
Jase
had told her during one of his stories.

Tommy smiled and chuckled.
 
“Yeah, we were the Terrible Twosome.
 
I couldn't ask for a better friend.”

“Me, either,” she said and met his gaze.

Could his eyes really be that beautifully brown?
she
thought and as a guest bumped her on their way to the next person in line, her footing faltered in the sand.
 
She stumbled toward
him
 
and
he grabbed her by the waist to steady her and let his hands linger there, creating yet another naughty zing of awareness.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his tones all full of concern and not the kind that you faked.

“I'm fine.
 
I should get going,” she said and would have moved away, but he kept his hold on her, his touch both gentle and possessive.
 
Her traitorous mind once again pictured those hands on her body, holding her tight as he drove into her.

“I hope you don't mean 'going' as in 'leaving.'
 
You only just got here and it's going to be a really special night.”

Damn but if she didn't experience another little thrill to know that he had actually paid attention to her arrival.
 
Not to mention that he was right that it was going to be one special night.
 
She had hesitated about coming to the wedding because she had expected to run into at least one or two of the men from the unit and she hadn't been prepared to handle their questions about her decision to do shore duty.
 
But she had also wanted to experience the joy apparent on the faces of everyone present.
 
It had been way too long since she'd been surrounded by such happiness and it was infectious.

That was the reason she was feeling a little breathless as he smiled at her and said, “Come on, Jasmine.
 
You know you want to stay.”

God,
that smile
.
 
It was a killer smile that made her want to rise up on her tiptoes and
feel
it against her lips.
 
Lick all around the edges of it until
he
. . .

Whoa, girl, down.
 
That's not why you came today
, she reminded herself.

“I'm just headed up there,” she said and gestured with a shaky hand to the lawn and terrace, where guests were starting to mingle as uniformed wait staff walked around with drinks and finger foods.

He grinned again, leaned forward, and whispered by the shell of her ear, “I'll be sure to look for you.”

The low tones of his voice vibrated against the sensitive skin there and his cheek brushed against the side of her face.
 
Another frisson of desire, stronger than before, spread through her at his nearness and his smell, something clean and crisp and potently male.

As he stepped back, he danced his fingers down her cheek, igniting even more heat throughout her body and across her cheeks.
 
Turning her nipples into tight points that ached to be touched by those strong hands.
 
Tasted by his tempting lips with that damn delicious grin.

She rushed down the rest of the receiving line, lingering only slightly longer at those members of
Jase's
team.

Slipping into the crowd, she strolled past the tables set for dinner and to the flagstone terrace where friends and family were gathered.

She didn't recognize any of the guests.
 
As a waiter passed by, she snared a glass of champagne to keep herself occupied as she stood there, feeling out-of-place. Finishing the last sip of champagne, she exchanged it for a fresh glass, telling herself she could wait just a little longer for him.
 
Just a little longer to see if he'd keep his promise.