Remember Me (8 page)

She pulled back and stroked his cheek with her thumb. His arms were still tight around her, and he clearly didn’t want to let her go.

“Come to bed with me,” she said.

Uncertainty flickered in his eyes. “I don’t know if I...” His voice trailed off.

“I understand it’s a bit like riding a bike. You remember what to do when you climb back on.”

His lips curved. “I suppose. But...it won’t be the same.”

A memory arose of the first time they’d had sex, up against the wall, but she pushed it away. “It’s still you, love. Of course it will be the same.”

He frowned. “I’m just not sure of...the logistics of how it would work.”

Oh... He was worried about maneuvering himself in bed—maybe of making a fool of himself, of being clumsy or awkward.

“Don’t worry about that.” She got up and passed him his crutches. “I’m more than happy to be on top.”

Their eyes met, and he smiled then, the first real smile of pure happiness he’d given since he returned. Her heart swelled as he pushed himself up and followed her into the bedroom. She drew back the duvet. “Get in,” she told him, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. “I’m just going to visit Eamon’s room.”

“Why so?”

“You’ll find out in a minute.”

She found the condoms in Eamon’s bedside table and apologized to him mentally as she took one out of the box. As she walked back into Hamish’s room, he looked up and smiled at the object in her hands.

He sat on the bed looking nervous, unsure. Her heart went out to him, and suddenly it all became clear. How could she ever have thought she could exist without him? It didn’t matter what he wanted to do—stay in the Army, return to Afghanistan, or move to Mars. She didn’t want to let him go, and she’d take as much of him as he could offer. The decision surprised her, made her dizzy for a moment, but then he smiled, and she melted inside.

Her heart light now she’d made up her mind, she drew the duvet back then caught the bottom of his T-shirt, lifted it over his head, and let it drop to the floor. “Take off your pants,” she told him softly, “and lie down—on that side.” She pointed to the left of the bed and started to take her own clothes off as he stripped.

He did as she’d said, and she climbed on the bed, snuggled up to him, and drew the duvet over them. He put his arms around her, and she ran her hand down his side. Hooking her hand behind his knee, she pulled his good left leg over hers. The movement brought their hips together. “There,” she said. “Seems like we still fit together pretty well after all.”

***

Emotion overwhelmed Hamish. He was sure that when he’d been in Afghanistan, dressed in combat gear and surrounded by bad-ass guys carrying ridiculously big guns, the last thing he would ever have felt was emotional. But lying there with Rose in his arms, her smile gentle as she placed soft kisses along the line of his jaw, he relished the warmth in his heart, not wanting ever to get up again.

Maybe part of him remembered the bomb—that small piece of his brain that dreamed of the blinding light and the noise—and it understood how lucky he was to be alive, even though he was no longer whole.

Still he hesitated, however.

“What is it?” She stroked his face.

He was
not
going to cry, dammit. “You deserve better, sweetheart.”

She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him. “I want to be with you, Hamish. You’re still the same man I fell in love with, even though you’ve been wounded. You’re smart and sweet and funny. And it’s just me and you here. I want to fool around with you, kiss you, touch you, and if you don’t want to do anything else, that’s fine. I know you don’t remember our
first
first time, but I got my bracelet caught in your T-shirt, and I ruined your zipper.” He laughed, and she kissed his cheek. “It really doesn’t matter. It’s about being together.” She slipped a hand into his hair and brought his lips down to hers.

Hamish closed his eyes and gave himself up to the kiss. She tasted sweet, and the heavenly brush of her tongue against his made him groan. He ran his fingers over her smooth skin, and she gave a delightful shiver as he cupped her breast. He stroked the swollen nipple with his thumb. It tightened, and she sighed.

His body responded to the touch and smell and taste of her, and she obviously noticed because she pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. “It still works then?”

“So far, so good.”

She giggled, and at that moment all his worries, all his inhibitions fled. What did it matter if he was awkward or clumsy, if he wasn’t “complete”? If that turned her off, she wouldn’t have gone to bed with him in the first place. Desire surged through him, and all he could think about was being inside her, loving her, making her cheeks flush with ecstasy.

He kissed her again, more passionately this time, enjoying the feel of her soft body against him. Stroking her slowly, languidly, he began to arouse her in the places he knew instinctively she liked to be touched. He kissed her ears, her neck, then down to her breasts, and teased her nipples with his tongue until she began to sigh and squirm. Murmuring his pleasure, he stroked her lower abdomen, enjoying the answering quiver of her stomach muscles. He slid his fingers into the heart of her and found her warm and wet, more than ready for him. He aroused her until her sighs turned to moans, and then he rolled onto his back. Bringing her with him, he pushed her up so she sat astride him.

She reached over, retrieved the condom, and rolled it on him slowly. Then she lifted herself up and let the tip of him part her soft flesh before she lowered her hips and welcomed him deep inside.

Words deserted him as she encased him in her wet heat, and he could only watch, speechless with wonder, as she began to move, her eyes half-lidded with desire as she rocked her hips. He cupped her breasts in his palms and sighed as she arched her spine and dropped her head back, her brown hair tumbling almost to his thighs. Love for her surged through him, for her patience, her gentleness, and her sexy body, the strength of the emotion surprising him.

He must have made a noise because she looked at him and said, “Okay, honey?”

In reply, he just nodded and pulled her down to kiss her. He thrust up hard with his hips, burying himself repeatedly inside her, and when she exclaimed, he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He wanted to overwhelm and be overwhelmed with all senses.

It wasn’t long before she pushed herself up so she could look at him, her ragged breathing announcing the arrival of her orgasm. “Yes,” he demanded, holding her hips as warmth built in his belly. “Let it go, love.”

Her muscles tightened around him, and he groaned loudly as heat rushed through him into her. His fingers dug into her skin, and he enjoyed her pleasure almost as much as his own as their gasps mingled in the hot summer night.

When they were done, she lay on top of him, her face buried in his neck. Their skin stuck together in the humid air. He should get up and put the fan on, but for the moment he just wanted to lie there and enjoy having her so close. He never wanted to let her go.

And that made up his mind.

He opened his mouth to tell her, but she raised her head and her cheeks glistened with tears. “Hey, what’s the matter?” He brushed them away, fear stabbing cold needles into him in case she was about to tell him she couldn’t do this again.

She wiped her face. “I love you.”

His heart pounded. But her words didn’t mean she’d stay with him. “I love you too.”

She nodded. “I know. That’s why I’ve decided—I’ll go with you. Wherever you want to go. If you want to stay in the Army, even if you want to go back to Afghanistan, I’ll come with you. I just want to be with you, Hamish, even if it’s not every day—I want to marry you, have babies with you, grow old with you. If you want me.”

How difficult it must have been for her to say that. For a moment, he couldn’t believe his ears.

Panic lit her eyes. She thought he was going to turn her down.

He smiled. “I’ve got something to show you.” He patted the other side of the bed, and she lifted herself off him. He disposed of the condom and then opened his bedside cabinet and pulled out a sheet of paper. Ripped in places, it even had a couple of burn marks on it. Heart still pounding, he rolled onto his side and showed it to her.

She blinked, clearly not understanding. “What is it?”

“My release form. I was going to send it tomorrow. Usually it takes three months from the time you put it in, but they’ve told me they’ll let me go immediately. Special conditions.”

She stared at it. Then she stared at him. “You’re leaving the Army?” He nodded. “But what will you do?”

“I’ve been thinking about writing. I’ve always read a lot of military historical novels. I might try that, or even write text books for schools.” He shrugged. “I’ll think of something.”

“But what if you get your memory back?” Her voice was small. “If you remember being in the Army, you’ll miss it.”

“Rose,” he told her gently, “I had two things on me when I got blown up. They found them in my combat jacket and gave them to me when I came around.” He smiled at her blank stare. “I’d already filled the form in. I was going to leave anyway. I think I was coming home to you.”

A tear ran down her cheek. “How...how did you know it was because of me?”

“Because of the other thing they found on me.”

He rolled back to the cabinet and retrieved another item. Turning back to her, he held it out on his palm. A velvet jewelry box.

She took it from him, flipped it open, and gasped. “It’s the ring!”

“I know.”

“The one you gave me before.”

“Yes. Apparently, I kept it on me at all times. I couldn’t remember who I’d bought it for. I didn’t know if I’d planned to propose to someone, or if I had and she’d turned me down.” He smiled wryly. “Turns out it was the latter.”

Wonder filled her eyes. “You were going to leave the Army for me?”

“Looks that way.” He sighed as she covered her mouth with a hand. “Don’t cry. This is supposed to be a happy moment.”

“I
am
happy,” she squeaked.

“Come here.” He took her in his arms and kissed her hair. “I think I may struggle to get down on one knee, so I hope you don’t mind if I ask you here. Rose Nicholls, will you marry me?”

She nodded, struggling to keep in her emotion. “Yes. I love you!”

“I love you too, honey. And no matter what happens in the future, whether my memory comes back or not, I will always love you.”

She dissolved into a flood of happy tears. Hamish lay back and held her tightly. A huge wave of relief swept over him. When he’d first awoken in the hospital and found out he’d lost his leg, he’d contemplated ending it all, convinced his life was over and that nobody—personally or professionally—would be interested in him again. But then a nurse had given him the form and the ring, and he’d realized maybe he had a reason to carry on.

His lack of memory was irrelevant, he understood at last. The here and now were what mattered, along with the decisions they made together in the future.

And now he had Rose, the future shone bright as the summer sun.

About the Author

Serenity Woods lives in the sub-tropical Northland of New Zealand with her wonderful husband and gorgeous teenage son. She writes fun, emotional, and sexy romances in a variety of romantic sub-genres. She’s won several writing competitions and is a member of the Romance Writers of New Zealand. She would much rather immerse herself in reading or writing romance than do the dusting and ironing, which is why it’s not a great idea to pop round if you have any allergies. You can check out all her books at
http://www.serenitywoodsromance.com
.

Enjoy this excerpt from
An Uncommon Sense,
Book 1 in the Sensual Healing series by Serenity Woods, from Samhain Publishing.

Chapter One

“You are going to have wild, passionate, swear-out-loud sex with the next man who walks through the door.” Mia read the prediction aloud from the astrology section of her magazine.

“Even if I did believe the position of the stars could tell my future, I’d know you made that up.” Grace continued to study the latest batch of science exams. “And anyway, that doesn’t sound remotely like something I’d do.”

“Have sex?”

Grace put a big red cross against the answer she’d just read. “Very funny. I meant swear. I would never swear during sex. Very unladylike.” She read the next question.
What happens to your body as you age?
And then the answer.
You get intercontinental.
Massaging her forehead, she drew another red cross. Jodi Rutherford barely appeared to have retained enough information from her biology lessons over the past ten weeks to fill a postage stamp.

“That explains a lot.”

Grace shot the teacher sitting next to her an exasperated look. “What’s that supposed to mean? And will you please stop trying to distract me? I want to get these finished before I go home.”

Mia grinned. It was nearly seven o’clock on a typically cool New Zealand October evening, and moths had started to flit around the strip lighting. Even though the parents’ evening had been the busiest of the year, the stream of visitors to the auditorium was starting to wane, and the teachers sitting at the rows of tables were beginning to pack up their laptops and books. Neither she nor Grace had seen a parent for fifteen minutes, and she was quite clearly bored. “I meant that your reaction to my prophecy accounts for why you’re still a spinster at the ripe old age of twenty-nine. If you’ve never been with a guy who could make you swear out loud during sex, it would explain why you haven’t come close to settling down.”

“Don’t call me a spinster,” Grace grumbled, turning over the page. “And anyway, I’m only a year older than you. You make me sound like I’m eighty-five.”

“You dress like you’re eighty-five,” Mia said impatiently.

“What’s wrong with the way I dress?” Grace frowned as she looked at her clothes. Her neat pencil skirt and white shirt were hardly retirement-age clothing. Okay, maybe the flat, sensible shoes, hair in a bun and glasses were a bit more “traditional schoolmistress meets university librarian”, but she hardly looked as if she should be vacationing with the over-fifties.