Read Online Embattled Minds (Military Romance) (Lost And Found Series) by J.M. Madden - Free Book Online

her fully. “Do you n-not have any family around here?”
    She shook her head. “No, my dad has a brother out west somewhere but they haven’t talked for a long time. Not sure why. I have several cousins I talk to once a year. My mom was an only child. It’s always just been my dad and I. Then later Drew came along.” She smiled as she looked at him stretched out on the floor, pillow beneath his head.
    “And what-what about his dad?”
    “Well,” she sighed, “he didn’t want to be bothered with a kid. He was just getting through college. He signed over all his rights and I’ve never heard from him again.”
    Zeke leaned back into the couch as he looked at her son on the floor. “He helped m-make him. He should have stepped up.”
    Ember appreciated the sentiment, but she was just as responsible. “We were both really young, and didn’t plan on doing anything in the first place. It just kind of happened. Thinking back, though, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It gave me my son, so how could I?”
    Quiet descended between them and she felt her eyes getting tired.
    “Well, I should go.”
    Pushing to his feet, Zeke waded through the boxes to the front door. Ember followed along behind, reluctant for him to leave. The silence had been easy and comfortable.
    He paused by the door long enough to pull his heavy canvas coat on.
    “Thank you, Zeke. For everything.”
    Ember stepped in front of him and wrapped him in a hug. His heavy arms came around her head, carefully cocooning her. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head, but it wasn’t what she wanted. She pulled back enough to stare up into his eyes. His squeezed shut and he turned his head away, trying to let her go.
    “Would you kiss me, Zeke?”
    He exhaled harshly. “Not a g-g-good idea, Ember.”
    “Why? Do you have a girlfriend I don’t know about?”
    “You know I don’t,” he snapped.
    She pulled back, alarmed at his response. “No, I don’t know that. You’re a good looking guy—” she got no further as he ripped out of her arms and jerked the door open. “Hey, wait a minute!”
    She grabbed his jacket before he stepped through the doorway and jumped in front of him, blocking his way. Fury darkened his blue eyes to navy, surprising her with its intensity. “Why are you pissed? Because I said you were good looking?”
    He snarled and shook his head. “Are you fucking blind? Or just cruel? Because either way I’m d-done. I need to go.”
    Her mouth dropped open, furious that he could be so incredibly wrong. “Now wait a minute. You’ve been with me all day. I’m not blind and I’m definitely not cruel. You know that. I actually do think you’re good-looking. Hell, you’re built like a damn underwear model and have the prettiest ice-blue eyes I’ve ever seen. Yes, you have scars, but they certainly don’t bother me, or turn me off. If anything, they turn me on, because they tell me exactly the kind of man you are.” She poked his hard chest for good measure and stepped into his space. “Now, are you going to kiss me, or not?”
    “No.” He looked out the door, over her head, his eyes jumping.
    “Why not?”
    His jaw clamped shut.
    “Why not, damn it?”
    He shook his head, mute, and his shoulders slumped, as if he couldn’t hold out any more.
    “Because if I do I’ll never be able to stop.”
    His gaze landed on hers and for the first time, Ember started to reconsider her approach. There was a vulnerability in his expression that made her question whether she was woman enough to fulfill his needs. But the attraction she felt for him was beyond anything she’d ever experienced before. She took a breath.
    “Maybe I won’t want you to stop.”
    She’d barely gotten the words out before his mouth crushed hers, forcing her head back. But it didn’t matter, because Zeke’s mouth was finally on hers, moving back and forth as if they’d talked about the moves beforehand. Ember staggered under the desperate wave of