Casualties of Love Read Online Free PDF

low voice. Jessica shook her head in the negative. “How have you been, Jess?”
    The question was so simple, yet Jessica struggled to respond. First off, his fingers continued to play along the sensitive skin of her inner elbow. It was really distracting and extremely pleasant.  It started ripples of need within her. A latent need that she hadn’t expected to manifest so quickly. Secondly, what should she say? I thought I was doing great until I saw you again. Not going to say that. So, she settled on something noncommittal and nondescript.
                  “Ok. I’ve been Ok.” Weak Jess , her mind intoned. Yeah, well, she was helpless to come up with anything else in that moment.
                  “That it? Just OK?” He closed his hand to grip her arm. Gently but firmly, he urged her closer. Jessica thought of resisting, but instead took the steps that brought her nearer to him. “It has been almost six years since you left me, Jess. Since you stopped talking to me.” Tyson’s voice was low and controlled. His tone wasn’t exactly hard, but it wasn’t easy either. His grip on her arm increased in pressure. “Six years and all I get is ‘Ok’. Nothing else you want to say to me?”
                  Jessica contemplated his words. What to say? She could tell him the truth. Or, at least, part of the truth.
    “There is something,” she replied.
                  “What?” he asked not taking his eyes from hers.
                  “I’ve missed you,” she said.
    Her voice was low but she knew he’d heard her, because his eyes narrowed. She didn’t know why she’d said it, except that it was part of the truth. She brushed her hand along his forearm in much the same manner that he’d done to her.  His grip on her tightened and a muscle in his jaw jumped with what she suspected was the clenching of his teeth. His eyes expressed a myriad of emotions including surprise, a hint of desire, and what looked to Jessica like anger. She was saved from actually hearing any verbal reaction to her statement when someone entered the room.
                  Jessica smoothly and discretely stepped away from Tyson’s hold as one of her superiors walked in.
                  “Sergeant.”
                  “Sir,” she replied, making eye contact with the man.
                  “It, ah, seems you came down on Private Ellis a little hard,” he stated.
                  “Yes, sir,” she acknowledged, never breaking eye contact. She continued, “Cpt. Kidd has been drifting in and out of consciousness for days, sir. He needed the meds to rest, and I didn’t want him to be in pain when he woke up. As such, I set up a schedule for his meds with the PA. Ellis didn’t follow the schedule as directed. Cpt. Kidd was in unnecessary pain until I was… summoned by Lt. Jones.” Jessica looked over to find a smirking Jones, who had made a tone of noise in getting her attention, and nearly rolled her eyes at the man. Of course he was an officer so she refrained. “Ellis needs to pay attention,” she said, her focus back on the senior leader.
                  “Agreed. But you usually don’t tear into the scrubs like that, J.C. I think you scared the boy,” he said with a chuckle that indicated he wasn’t concerned about it, merely wanted to tease Jessica. He approached Tyson’s bed and picked up his chart.
                  He was right; she usually didn’t break the new kids in so roughly. But, when Tyson had said he was hurting, it had pissed her off. She’d have to watch herself. Jessica didn’t want anybody reading anything into how she treated Tyson. He was just another Soldier that needed patching up before being recycled to the warzone. He had to be. Right? What else could there be for man she hadn’t seen in years?
    Jessica pondered the question while she remembered the feel of