Back From Hell (Marine For You Book 2) (Contemporary Military Veteran Romance) by Marissa Dobson Page A

comfort she knew she’d find in his embrace.
    A few minutes later, she strolled from the bathroom wearing only a tank top and shorts. Her thoughts had become more jumbled than before. She wanted to ask him to hold her, even if just for another moment. To be back in his embrace and have him dispel all her fears would stop her heart from thumping against her chest like a jackrabbit.
    “Come here.” Stretched out on the bed, the covers already pulled down, he held his good arm out to her, beckoning her.
    She wanted to deny it, to tell him she was okay, but that would have been a lie. He knew what she needed and offered it freely. Without too much hesitation, she slipped onto the bed and curled up against him, so his arm wrapped around her back. “Thank you.” She blinked away the tears as she found that special place in the crook of his arm to rest her head on.
    “There’s no need.” He squeezed her tighter to him and placed a soft kiss on the crown of her head. “Try to rest.”
    Rest? How was she supposed to do that when her thoughts spun from the kiss? It wasn’t like a kiss on the lips but it rattled her nonetheless. Did he feel something for her besides friendship? Or was she reading into his support and comfort? Please don’t let me start imagining things that are not there…

7
    Chapter Seven
    T he phone call came a few hours before dawn, drawing Staci from Kyle’s warm embrace. It had taken her a few moments to realize where they were and what had happened but the minute she had, it all rushed back to her. The phone call had only brought worst news. Her mother had suffered a second heart attack and surgery would happen within the hour.
    Not bothering to go into the bathroom, she slipped off her shorts and into a pair of jeans. She had to get to the hospital to see her mother before they took her in for surgery. Grabbing a sweater and bra from the bag, she headed for the bathroom. While she might have felt comfortable enough to change her bottoms, since everything was hidden behind her bright pink bikini panties, she wasn’t going to pull off her tank top and show him her breasts. Not yet at least.
    She had just pulled up her hair into a ponytail when Kyle’s voice came from the other side of the bathroom door. “Fresh coffee is waiting.”
    She pulled her sweater over her head and pulled the door open to find him standing there enjoying his own cup of coffee. He was dressed in jeans and a blue button down shirt. “You didn’t have to get up.”
    “I’m not going to have you sitting around the hospital for hours by yourself.” He sat his mug aside and picked up a second one to hold out to her.
    “Colin will be there,” she reasoned, taking the coffee from him.
    “But he’s not me.” A smirk spread across his face before a trace of doubt crept into his eyes. “Unless you’d rather I didn’t…”
    “Don’t be silly.” She took a sip and it helped to wake her up the rest of the way. “I just meant you have to be tired. We barely got any sleep and I don’t know how long I’ll be there.”
    “Doesn’t matter. I’ve come here to be with you, not stay in some hotel room. I’d rather be sleep deprived and with you than here wondering what was happening.” He took another long drink of his brew, finishing it, before setting it on the kitchenette counter. “I’m ready if you are.”
    She took a few more quick gulps and sat hers aside as well. “Let me just grab my bag.”
    Fifteen minutes later, they were walking down the hospital corridors to her mother’s room. From her volunteer work, she had grown used to hospitals but this time was different. She was there not to visit someone she barely knew, but for her mother. That thought iced her veins and made her stomach want to revolt.
    “Staci…” Colin’s words died off as he noticed Kyle. “Who’s he?”
    “Colin, meet Kyle. Kyle, this is my mother’s friend, Colin.” She did the introductions quickly so she could get to the real