zone, the Army makes you write a death letter. You’re supposed to have them ready to be mailed to a loved one in case, well, you know. When I wrote mine, that’s when I started thinking about becoming a lawyer.”
Cold trickled down her spine. Death letter. “And yours was going to . . . ?”
“I didn’t know my mother’s address. She moves around a lot. But my dad’s I knew—he’d been in the same prison since before I enlisted.”
“Oh.” Well. She didn’t know quite how to respond to that. “You decided you wanted to be a defense attorney? So you could help get your father out of prison?”
He looked over at her and laughed. “Hell, no. I wanted to be one of the guys who could put a man like my free-with-his-fists father away a lot sooner. So it was going to be either law or order—and frankly, after three years in the infantry I’d had it with guns. Police work was out.”
Free-with-his-fists father . “I don’t know what to say. It sounds like you had a rough childhood.”
“Yeah. You could call it that. You could call it—” But then he shrugged, his jaw tightening. “Never mind. I don’t want you to think about that. As a matter of fact, I’m damn sorry I mentioned it.”
As if somehow the knowledge soiled her. Juliet bristled. “Noah. Listen, I won’t faint if—”
The sound of the envelope ripping open swallowed the last of her words. He pulled out the papers inside and scanned the top one. “The board has a new scoring mechanism that enabled them to get the results back a month early—more in line with other states that generally return theirs in October. If the damn cable company hadn’t left us hanging, we’d already have Internet access and I would have known what was going on.”
Did he have ice in his veins? “Well, what is going on? Did you pass or didn’t you?”
He shuffled the sheets in his hands. Then his gaze met hers. “What do you know? It appears I did.”
His offhand tone didn’t match this kind of news. She had to replay the words in her head. Then ask again, just to be sure. “So you passed?”
“Yeah. I passed.”
Juliet stared. “You don’t seem all that thrilled,” she started, then light dawned. “I guess that means you’re not so surprised by the results.”
He shrugged, still Mr. Cool. “Not so much. It ends up that I’m pretty good at taking tests.”
“ ‘Not so much!’ ” She whacked the side of his arm with her hand. “ ‘Pretty good at taking tests.’ ” She whacked him again.
When he didn’t react, she grabbed his forearms and tried to shake him. “You could show some happiness here,” she said, smiling. “Excitement might even be in order. Noah, you did it!”
“You’re right. I did.”
But his slow-growing grin wasn’t good enough for her. “You really did it! Congratulations.” The moment called for a hug, and in keeping with her new habit, she went with impulse, throwing her arms around him.
And then it was just as she’d imagined. Her mouth at that smooth spot where chest met shoulder. His sunshine, soap, and sweat smell in her lungs, her tongue . . . her tongue she kept imprisoned behind her teeth, even as his arms came around her in a return embrace. The papers and the envelope fell around their feet.
She was so close she could hear the slam of his heart against his chest. The bubbles were dancing through her blood again, and the woozy was back, but there was nothing girlish inside of her now. Now it was a woman pressed against a strong, virile, healthy young man.
When was the last time she’d been held like this?
“Juliet.” Noah whispered the syllables against the top of her head and then let out a soft groan. “Oh, God. Juliet .”
Her head tipped back to look into his face, to see why he sounded so tortured. His blue eyes were fixed on hers, and the look in them wasn’t pained—it was a look that made her hot all over. Her nipples tightened and her thigh muscles clenched. Desire burned
Cold trickled down her spine. Death letter. “And yours was going to . . . ?”
“I didn’t know my mother’s address. She moves around a lot. But my dad’s I knew—he’d been in the same prison since before I enlisted.”
“Oh.” Well. She didn’t know quite how to respond to that. “You decided you wanted to be a defense attorney? So you could help get your father out of prison?”
He looked over at her and laughed. “Hell, no. I wanted to be one of the guys who could put a man like my free-with-his-fists father away a lot sooner. So it was going to be either law or order—and frankly, after three years in the infantry I’d had it with guns. Police work was out.”
Free-with-his-fists father . “I don’t know what to say. It sounds like you had a rough childhood.”
“Yeah. You could call it that. You could call it—” But then he shrugged, his jaw tightening. “Never mind. I don’t want you to think about that. As a matter of fact, I’m damn sorry I mentioned it.”
As if somehow the knowledge soiled her. Juliet bristled. “Noah. Listen, I won’t faint if—”
The sound of the envelope ripping open swallowed the last of her words. He pulled out the papers inside and scanned the top one. “The board has a new scoring mechanism that enabled them to get the results back a month early—more in line with other states that generally return theirs in October. If the damn cable company hadn’t left us hanging, we’d already have Internet access and I would have known what was going on.”
Did he have ice in his veins? “Well, what is going on? Did you pass or didn’t you?”
He shuffled the sheets in his hands. Then his gaze met hers. “What do you know? It appears I did.”
His offhand tone didn’t match this kind of news. She had to replay the words in her head. Then ask again, just to be sure. “So you passed?”
“Yeah. I passed.”
Juliet stared. “You don’t seem all that thrilled,” she started, then light dawned. “I guess that means you’re not so surprised by the results.”
He shrugged, still Mr. Cool. “Not so much. It ends up that I’m pretty good at taking tests.”
“ ‘Not so much!’ ” She whacked the side of his arm with her hand. “ ‘Pretty good at taking tests.’ ” She whacked him again.
When he didn’t react, she grabbed his forearms and tried to shake him. “You could show some happiness here,” she said, smiling. “Excitement might even be in order. Noah, you did it!”
“You’re right. I did.”
But his slow-growing grin wasn’t good enough for her. “You really did it! Congratulations.” The moment called for a hug, and in keeping with her new habit, she went with impulse, throwing her arms around him.
And then it was just as she’d imagined. Her mouth at that smooth spot where chest met shoulder. His sunshine, soap, and sweat smell in her lungs, her tongue . . . her tongue she kept imprisoned behind her teeth, even as his arms came around her in a return embrace. The papers and the envelope fell around their feet.
She was so close she could hear the slam of his heart against his chest. The bubbles were dancing through her blood again, and the woozy was back, but there was nothing girlish inside of her now. Now it was a woman pressed against a strong, virile, healthy young man.
When was the last time she’d been held like this?
“Juliet.” Noah whispered the syllables against the top of her head and then let out a soft groan. “Oh, God. Juliet .”
Her head tipped back to look into his face, to see why he sounded so tortured. His blue eyes were fixed on hers, and the look in them wasn’t pained—it was a look that made her hot all over. Her nipples tightened and her thigh muscles clenched. Desire burned
Similar Books
