Just to prove her point, she leaned down and kissed him. He didn’t seem to mind, because he kissed her back. When eventually she lifted her head, both of them were breathing hard.
“I’d like to propose a new nickname,” he said.
He had a thing about putting names on things and people. She, on the other hand, just wanted to enjoy the moment. “Do you think that’s wise?”
He winced. “How much worse can I do?”
True. He’d kind of already hit rock bottom in the naming department. She slid her hands around his neck and drew him closer, getting ready to kiss him again. And then maybe again, just for good measure. Two inches was too much. “Give it a shot.”
“Sergeant Mine.”
“That’s not terribly catchy.”
“No.” He nuzzled her neck. “But I’m hoping it’s true.”
“You need a nickname.”
“You wouldn’t,” he said.
Oh, but she absolutely would. “Senior Petty Officer Naval Air Crewman Hottie of the Year doesn’t have quite the ring I was going for. Too many syllables.”
“Thank God for Navy job titles.” He grinned at her and slipped his hands beneath the edge of her T-shirt.
“I could just call you Mr. Brandt.”
“Is that a proposal?” His eyes crinkled at the corners with the smile he couldn’t hold back.
The man holding her so close was damned sexy, but the emotions flooding her were so much more. Happiness and hope. Love and lust. She had it all with this man.
“I do have a ring,” she pointed out. “And you went to all that trouble to bring it back to me. It would be a shame not to use it.”
“I’m always coming back,” he said huskily. “You can count on me.”
Nothing else mattered, because he was right. He’d be coming home to her and the rest of it they’d figure out as they went along.
“I love you,” she said, pulling him into her for that next kiss and the kiss after that.