"What do you mean you're leaving for Afghanistan?" I got off Ayden's lap and put a little space between us. "I thought you were done. As far as I knew, you and Nate were officially out of the service."

"We are. This isn't for that."

When he got to his feet, he took a step towards me and I lifted my hand up. I needed to think clearly and rationally right now. If he touched me, I wouldn't be able to. I was always lost whenever he touched me.

"Just explain this to me," I said with a heavy sigh.

"When Nate and I were at Down the Rabbit Hole tonight, I got a call from my superior. He demanded that I fly out there to get some stuff taken care of."

"What stuff?"

He licked his lips and cleared his throat before he started to explain. "I'm not sure. Its probably because of what happened with Nate and me. We were rushed out of there and didn't file reports or anything."

I gasped softly and my heart dropped. "Does Nate have to go with you? Because I can't do that again, Ayden. I cannot have both of you going over there after--"

"Its just me. Nate is staying here with you."

"That doesn't make me feel better," I said with a shaky voice.

It didn't make me feel better at all. After what happened the last time they were over there, I don't think I could take the worrying again. They both nearly died. There was a brief time where I thought I would never see either one of them again.

I understood that he wasn't going to be an active soldier. I knew that meant he wouldn't be fighting. But it was still wartime over there. Stuff still happened. It wasn't completely risk-free, and I knew that Ayden knew that too.

But I also knew that there was nothing he or I could do about it. There was no amount of begging on my part. Just by looking at the pain in his eyes, I knew that he didn't want to go as much as I wanted him to stay. But that's how it worked in the Army. If your superior gave you an order, you followed it.

I crossed my arms over my chest as my eyes flicked to his. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow night."

So soon...I felt my eyes start to water and I tried to hide it by covering my face. I wanted to blame it on the hormones, but I was just...hurt. And scared. But we still had tonight.

I could feel his eyes on me as he curiously watched me walk to the bathroom. I grabbed a few tissues to clean up my face before I walked back to stand in front of him. I saw the confusion on his face when I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I felt his arms circle my waist before he said, "I'm so sorry, baby."

"You have nothing to apologize for. This wasn't your fault. I know if it was up to you, that you would stay here with me."

"In a heartbeat," he replied.

I looked into his eyes for a moment before I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him softly. If we only had tonight together, we wasn't going to spend it arguing.

I pulled back a little from the kiss; just enough so I could grab the bottom of his T-shirt and lift it over his head. When I went to reach for the waistband of his pants, he gently grabbed my wrists to stop me.

He chuckled when I raised a questioning brow. "Don't worry, Goddess. This is definitely happening. We will have our night together."

He inhaled a shaky breath. "Sit on the bed real quick."

It wasn't like Ayden to be nervous. But he seemed really nervous. I sat on the side of our bed while I waited to see what was going on. Did he have some more bad news that I didn't know about? Was something wrong with him or Nate? A million questions ran through my head.

His eyes met mine and he smiled at me. But it wasn't just a smile. It was that same smile he gave me when he met me in the bar. It was the smile he gave when he made love to me all night in that hotel room when we went to Rainbow Falls. And just like those other times, it lit a fire inside me that burned all the way to my core.

"I guess you can say our relationship has been a bit unorthodox," he said teasingly.

We both chuckled at that. Unorthodox was an understatement.

"When Nate asked me to come here on leave, I was just trying to get away from all the bad stuff in my life," he said softly. "I thought I new how my life was going to play out. Do another tour or two. Die in the line of duty. That's it."

He reached out and stroked my cheek before he continued. "Then I met you. You were something I never saw coming. Walking in that bar was one of the best choices I have ever made. The best choice was when I came back to your hotel room and spent hours making love to you."

Oh, God. Is he doing what I think he's doing? Even though my brain didn't seem to know the answer, it seemed like my heart did. It was thundering against my ribs. Our bedroom suddenly felt too small for the two of us.

He pulled out a small box from his pocket. "I got this a few days ago. Before I knew I was leaving again. I didn't want you to think it was because of that."

I felt the tears streaming down my face as he dropped to one knee.

"Lanie Jenkins, you are my best friend, my lover, my goddess. I can't believe I was lucky enough to find you." He opened the box and I gasped at the sight of the beautiful ring.

"I'm doing this now, because when I make love to you tonight, I want to make love to my wife-to-be. So, Lanie...will you marry me?"

The word was out of my mouth in less than a second. "Yes! Yes, yes, yes!"

He flashed me a sexy grin as he slid the ring on my finger. We both got to our feet and he crushed his lips to mine in a hungry kiss.

He didn't stop me this time when I reached for the waistband of his pants. I pulled away briefly and pushed his jeans down his body.

Once I got back to my feet, he scooped me up in his arms and laid my me carefully on the bed beneath him. I gripped his shoulders as he laid a trail of kisses from my mouth to my neck.

"You have no idea what you do to me," he growled into my ear.

"Oh, yeah?" I raised my hips and rubbed myself against his hard cock. His deep moan said it all. "I think I do."

He pulled his head back and gave me a devilish smile. "You're going to pay for that, Goddess."

Good, I thought to myself. I wanted him with an overwhelming need. Every touch and kiss he delivered to my body nearly had me exploding from the pleasure. Before I met Ayden, I never would have thought this feeling was possible.

The anticipation was almost too much as he kissed his way down my body. It used to bother me that a man has never gone down on me before. The fact that Ayden has been the only one, made me feel like he had a part of me no one else had.

"I want you," he breathed as he kissed my thigh.

"Please, Ayden..." I begged with a moan.

He didn't waste any time after that. I cried out when took me into his mouth. I buried my hand in his hair as he continued to plunge his tongue into my depths.

He knew just how I loved to be touched and tasted. No one knew me like he did. No one has ever loved me like he did. He knew every little thing about me-- and he loved me. Faults and all.

I felt myself getting closer and closer to the edge as he continued. He knew it too. He rubbed his thumb against my clit and that was the final push. I threw my head back as my orgasm rocked through me. All I could do was moan his name as he continued. He never let up. Before I knew it, he brought me to a second release and I felt like I was going to die from the pleasure.

After he rung every last tremor from my body, he lifted himself over me with a proud satisfied smile.

"Like that did you?"

Deciding to have a little fun with him, I shrugged a shoulder. "It was all right."

His smile got even bigger. "Oh really?" He ran his hand down my body and lifted my thigh. "How about this then?"

He thrusted into me with one fast, powerful stroke. The way I ran my nails down his back and nearly screamed his name was answer enough.

"God, you're amazing," he whispered against my lips.

I wrapped my legs around his waist as he withdrew and entered me at a slow and leisurely pace. The best sex with him was like this. When it was nice and slow. When he savored me.

I chuckled at his words and lifted my hips to meet his eager thrusts. "Just wait till you see my bad side," I teased.

"Nope, you're perfect," he said matter-of-factly as he kissed my neck. 

I cupped the back of his neck; already lost to the pleasure of him being inside me. I tightened my legs around his waist as I tried to take him even deeper.
I needed more of him. As much as he could give me.

"No one's perfect," I replied breathlessly.

He raised his head from my neck and met stare. There was so much love and adoration in his eyes, it nearly broke my heart. 

"Maybe. But you're perfect for me." He gave me a long deep kiss before he met my eyes again. "And Goddess, when I get back, I'm going to spend the rest of my life showing you just how perfect you are for me."

He quickened his strokes and, once again, had me close to an earth-shattering release.

"Truth or lie?" I asked as he made love to me.

He stroked my cheek and lowered his lips to mine. "Truth, my wife-to-be. Always truth."