Faithful to a Fault Read Online Free PDF Page A

stranger? She was a woman with a pulse, so of course she recognized a good-looking guy. But never before had she wanted someone so quickly.
    Of course, that might have something to do with her sexual drought. She hadn’t had sex since… Well, it’d been awhile. Did four years count as “awhile”? Or had she moved past “awhile” and straight to “forever”? So maybe her lady parts were just reacting to the excess testosterone in the air and jumbling things up.
    Which wasn’t the case. She liked the guy. That much was obvious. But she could put that on the back burner for now. What she really wanted to do was to give her lady parts something to think about for the long months to come. A little sexual snack to tide her over.
    But what was up with him playing the emotional Hulky Hero? She was twenty-five, not fifteen, and more than well aware he wasn’t a keeper. But he seemed to think she needed another chance to think things through. To remind herself that he was leaving soon, because he was a Marine and that’s what Marines do.
    Ha. If only he knew how aware she was on that front.
    God, she was thinking about Trav more and more. There were times she wanted to talk to him so badly she ached. But she wasn’t even sure where he was. He might be in Japan. Or deployed. Or… No, he couldn’t be dead, could he? They’d have notified her, whoever “they” were. Right? But her name was different now. And she never left a forwarding address with anyone.
    The thought was more than a little concerning. Maybe she could ask Pete or Tony if there was a way to find out. Just for reassurance. It was a thought she would keep in the back of her mind.
    A mind that was currently full to the brim on figuring out how to convince Pete she was mature and worldly enough to understand that a fling was just a fling, not a prison sentence. For God knows what reason, he seemed to think she was designing wedding bands from one kiss. That she wouldn’t get it.
    Well, she’d just show him. It didn’t take a genius to see how this would play out. They’d have a steamy affair, her itch would be scratched, and he’d head home. No awkward around-town meet-ups. And thanks to his own practical outlook, he wouldn’t turn into a sobbing mess when he left. Clean, easy break.
    She would just make her willingness known and let him make the next move.
    Starting to feel flushed, she unwrapped her scarf. Nope, still warm. She reached over and turned the dial on the heater down a notch. But the change in temp did nothing to help her hot skin or increased heart rate.
    Well, hell. Of course turning down the heater didn’t help. The giggles took over and she couldn’t stop them. Rolling on her stomach, she laughed into her pillow until she couldn’t breathe any longer.
    Who wouldn’t feel slightly flushed at the possibility of a hot week with a sexy Marine?
    * * * * *
     
    It was the toughest forty-eight hours of his life.
    All right, not the toughest. He couldn’t quite compare waiting two days for Sarah’s answer with the perils of war.
    But staying away from Sarah, when he was almost positive the next time he saw her he’d be dragging her off to have his way with her, had been a serious test of restraint.
    What was it about this one woman that made him want to try so hard? Not just try to win her in his bed. But try to win her respect and admiration too. Definitely new territory he was trekking through, and it felt about as stable as an IED-riddled convoy line.
    So he dragged Tony along to the bar for backup. Which in itself was pathetic, since he hadn’t needed a wingman for years. But he figured this way, if she said no, he wouldn’t be the jackass sitting alone at the bar mooning over some girl who turned him down. Not that Tony had any idea he was being used for anything other than company.
    Self-preservation was a golden rule.
    Buffalo’s was relatively deserted when they walked in. Of course it was already past typical dinnertime,