Chapter 5

SEE PROLOGUE FOR DISCLAIMERS, ETC.

Harm heard Mac's voice as he approached the door, but he couldn't make out any words. He wasn't surprised to see Mac putting her cell phone away when he opened the door to their room.

She looked so incredibly sexy, standing there in her bare feet, and that red dress that might as well have been pure testosterone injected right into his carotid for the way it made him want her, right then and there. "You said half an hour, Harm. It was thirty six minutes."

He could tell by her tone that she wasn't annoyed, just amused as she usually was at his inability to get anywhere on time. "That's the six minutes it took for me to get myself cooled off enough to focus on Mattie after I got off the phone with you."

"Flatterer." She smiled at him the way he always saw her smiling in his dreams. Saucy, sexy, and impudent, with just a touch of vulnerability that begged to be scorched away by kisses and caresses. But the wince that followed reminded him far too much of the agony he had seen on her face last spring, and of the pain she sometimes endured during her period despite the best efforts of her doctor to control the endometriosis.

He dropped his bags inside the door and kicked it closed before he went to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Sore?"

Mac nodded. "Cramps and bleeding. Worse than in a while." She sucked in a breath and doubled over his arms before she let out a sob.

All thoughts of making love to her went temporarily dormant at that heart wrenching sound. "Hey, sweetheart, it's okay. Whatever it is, we'll deal. Together."

She turned in his arms and laid her head against his chest. "Oh, Harm. I want this so much tonight, but I just can't."

He knew from his reading that symptoms could appear at any time, and he knew from observation that Mac was particularly susceptible to pain when her stress level went up. As disappointed as he felt at not being able to consummate their relationship after more than eight tortured years, he wasn't surprised that the stress had finally gotten to her. "I know. I can see it in your posture. Is that what took you so long back at McMurphy's?"

She sighed and snuggled into his chest a little more. "Yeah. I didn't want to put a damper on the evening."

He chuckled. "The only damper would have been you not being there, Mac. How about a bubble bath in that Jacuzzi in there and then a good backrub to help you relax?"

"Sounds heavenly." She looked up at him. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"Not in person, but you did say something to that effect over the phone a little while ago." He gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "I love you. More than I ever thought it possible to love another person."

He felt her relax a little more. It would take time and patience, but he would prove to her that nothing in the world was worth more to him than her.

As a start, he laid her on the king-sized bed and went in to draw a bath for her. He wanted to join her in the tub. Hell, he wanted to join with her so badly he ached, but he knew his pain would pass while hers would be with her for most of her life, in one form or another, so with another stern warning to his libido, he flipped the switch on the jets and adjusted the water temperature.

She surprised him when she leaned over to kiss the top of his head. The gesture seemed so domestic, so normal, that he couldn't help but grin up at her from the edge of the sunken tub.

"I decided to save the lingerie for another night," she said, her lips twisted into a pained grin.

He took in her whole body, from messily upswept hair to shockingly red toenails. Her long, lithe legs looked even longer under the FLY NAVY t-shirt she wore, which hung off her chest and shoulders in a casual, comfortable droop.

"You're still exquisite." He had seen Mac bloodied and filthy and known her to be beautiful even then. He had yet to find the word that captured her fully and doubted he ever would.

She blushed. "Thank you."

He stood up and took her into his arms, gathering her to his shoulder. He nuzzled her hair with his chin, marveling in the safety of her arms. "I love you." And he loved how she melted against him. He could stand like this forever.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For finally telling me. For loving me. For being here." She giggled. "For drawing my bath, which is getting cold."

He chuckled. "Right. Your masseur will await your pleasure at the conclusion of your soak." He didn't move.

"Harm?"

"Yes?"

"In order for me to get into the tub, you have to let go."

He heard laughter in her voice. "I know. Give me a minute. I'm absorbing this pore by pore."

He chuckled as he hung up his uniform in his garment bag. It might very well be their wedding night before they actually made love, since he didn't think they were going to have the chance to visit each other before the day. Which they needed to set before he left.

Good thing his training as a fighter pilot equipped him to handle high speed maneuvers!