Page 36 of Building Courage

He laughed and sat down in one of the woven deck chairs he’d grouped close to the hammock. “Did you ever pull the girl card?”

“No. That would be cheating.”

He grinned and shook his head.

What if something happened to him while he was deployed? All the calm strength and vital masculinity he exuded made him seem more…just more. She was so drawn to him. But nothing more could happen if she didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth.

The idea settled like a lead weight just beneath her breastbone.

Not tonight. If she told him tonight, and he deployed…it would be the only thing on his mind the entire time he was gone. By the time he returned, it would have eaten away any interest he had in her.

“How many brothers do you have?” he asked.

“Three. Clay, is the oldest; he’s an airline pilot. Marcus works with my father. They remodel homes and build new ones. And Tanner, the baby, is working on his masters in mechanical engineering at Columbia on full scholarship.”

“And your mom cooks.”

“She’s a lawyer.”

“Are the whole family overachievers?”

“Yeah. You could say that. I was the black sheep and moved toward something artistic instead of math or law.” Because she’d moved in a different direction, her parents had pressured her to conform. She knew without Clay’s support she’d have never made it.

“You’re a master in your field. They have to be proud of that.”

It had taken her a long time to realize that no matter what kind of awards she got for her photographs, no matter how much she was paid for them, they still didn’t believe what she did was worthwhile.

When she didn’t reply, he said, “They sound competitive.”

“You have no idea.”

He chuckled. “During my SEAL training, I always knew we were competing against each other in some things, but the real challenge was competing against yourself. It’s all up here.” He tapped his temple. “The mental pressure affects how everything else goes, so you don’t allow yourself to doubt, and no matter how tough things get, you never give up. I imagine your family follows that same mantra.”

She’d broken and run, but she hadn’t given up. Not even when she’d thought she might not make it. Suddenly overwhelmed, she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the hammock. “I can get in pretty gracefully, but getting out is a whole different situation.”

“No problem,” Tucker said as he rose and offered his hands.

She gripped them and as she stood, and he gave her a tug. Brynn found herself standing only a breath away from him, and the heat of their bodies reached out to one another. Her heart beat hard at the base of her throat, and her legs went spongy. Her eyes fastened on the pulse at the base of his neck where it beat a fast, steady rhythm. She had the urge to place a kiss against that strong yet vulnerable spot.

She slowly raised her gaze. His sea-green eyes held a look in their depths that had her throat going dry, and she swallowed.

Tucker brushed the backs of his fingers down her cheek to her chin in a caress. He bent his head, and his mouth took hers with a breath-stealing intensity.

Long suppressed emotions rushed through her, and she hummed beneath the pressure. A tormenting ache of need flared. She reached for him. Her hands slid up the length of his back, and she shifted against him, aligning her body with his.

Tucker cupped the back of her head, holding her mouth to his as his tongue slipped between her lips to tangle with hers. His arm encircled, her and his hand settled low on the small of her back to mold her against him. And she felt the evidence of his desire. She wanted to open herself to that but…

When he drew back, her cheeks burned with her own runaway emotions and needs.

His voice was husky as he said, “I didn’t want to deploy without knowing what it was like to kiss you.”

“Tucker…”

“I’m not asking for anything more, Brynn. There’s no rush. I don’t want to start something, then go wheels up. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us.”

He understood… She rested against him a moment and breathed in the clean smell of soap and an underlying scent of him, manly and pleasant.

“How about that dessert?” he asked.