The Long Road Home (20 page)

Chapter 34

Sated and spent, Gwen lay panting, savoring the feel of Logan's body resting on her own. Yeah, he was heavy, but she didn't have the will to complain. Not when he felt simply too good.

"Are you okay?" He lifted enough to stare down at her.

"Oh, yeah." She grinned and wiggled, using her feminine muscles to clench at his slowly deflating erection. "More than okay. Wonderful."

A slow smile appeared on his face. "We make a good team."

Running her hands up and down his back, she lightly massaged the muscles, enjoying postcoital bliss with the man she loved. "You'll get no argument from me." She nuzzled his cheek and ran the tip of her tongue up the length of his throat. Intimacy proved addictive, and she couldn't seem to keep her hands off Logan's splendid, pleasure-inducing body.

He lifted his head, allowing her to lick all the way up to his chin before lowering to mesh their lips once more. "I love you."

She heard the words and sucked in a breath. Her heart filled with joy at his declaration. "That's good to know since I love you, too." Gwen's smile mirrored his.

"Will you marry me?"

Gwen blinked, her mouth fell open. While the first statement wasn't a shock, his offer of binding them for life was. She thought about pinching herself to make sure this wasn't a dream.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she read the sincerity and truth in his blue eyes. "Yes. A resounding yes."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugged him tight. His mouth found hers in a kiss born of promise and passion, love and intimacy. A kiss to mark the beginning of the rest of their lives together.

Epilogue

Eighteen months later

"I can't believe you're finally home!" Gwen grinned from ear to ear, snuggling up to him on the couch. She'd been unable to keep her hands off him since they walked in the door that morning.

He had hardly been able to contain his enthusiasm and excitement when he'd passed the fitness test a little over a year before and received papers reinstating him to active duty as an Army Ranger. He had smiled for days on end, eager to return to the front, to combat, to prove he didn't lose a single step despite only having one leg. His life had come full circle, and his self-confidence swelled to epic proportions when he'd received his orders to return to duty. Not many amputees were able to make such a recovery and stand on the war front again. He beat the odds and reveled in the unique situation, which proved a victory for him against the terrorists that set off the bomb and proved he could overcome just about anything, especially with Gwen at his side.

Once morose, he now felt like he'd sprouted eagle wings and could fly.

Logan pulled her close, meshing his lips with hers, glorifying in finally being with his wife once again after such a long deployment. He took her hand in his, noting the way their wedding bands glinted in the afternoon light streaming through the window. His first task had been to slip his wedding band back on. Afraid of losing it or garnering too much attention with the golden ring, he had opted to leave it at home for Gwen to guard while he was away. He'd hated to remove the symbol of their love, but preferred to ensure the treasured item's safety until he stepped foot in the house again.

"I'm home. For good."

She tilted her head in bewilderment. "You mean until your next deployment?"

"No. For good. I'm retiring." His gaze held hers as he searched her face.

"But I thought you wanted to stay on active duty for several more years?"

Pulling her on to his lap, he cradled her in his arms, staring down at her intently. "I did a lot of thinking over there. As much as I loved my job, I love you more. All I wanted to do the past few months was come home, settle down, and start a family."

Her mouth opened and shut with no words emerging.

"Gwen. I want to be a father. Come home every night to you and the children. To be there for everything."

"Can you be happy without the Army?" Her voice laced with concern.

"I'll still have the Army. After all, I've been accepted into the physical therapy program at our old alma mater. Walter Reed hired me to be a physical therapy aid, and I'll do my clinicals there."

A bright smile lit up her face. "Wow. You've been busy."

He nuzzled her cheek. "Once I knew I wanted to be home, beside you, then the rest fell into place."

"Won't you miss the action? The adrenaline rushes?"

Logan grinned wickedly. "Baby, the way you heat my blood into a burning inferno, I believe we'll have plenty of action right here."

"I love you, Logan. Heart and soul."

"I love you more, Gwen. So much more." He chuckled, pulled her close, and sealed his lips over hers in a kiss full of passion, deep feelings, and love for all time. A year and a half before, he'd thought his life had ended. Little had he known it had only begun.

Almost forgetting, he leaned back for a second and pulled the small gift from his pocket. "This is for you. Although it might be a little late."

She looked at the small red and white striped candy cane and laughed, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree. "It's perfect. I bet I can find a couple of condoms as a belated Christmas present for you as well."

He smiled. "I happen to like those flavored condoms. You can taste test all you want."

Her head tilted. "What about that family you mentioned?"

Joy washed over him. "Lick to your heart's content with or without the condom." He waggled his eyebrows. "Good thing I married an expert condom tester. I'm sure you can find a way to get down to some serious baby-making business."

"I'm sure I can figure out something." She purred and placed a kiss on his chin.

"I knew I could count on you." With a happy smile, he rubbed his nose against hers. Standing, he lifted her carefully in his arms and walked confidently to the bedroom, without a single limp, not stopping until he laid her in the middle of the bed. Climbing over her, he sealed their lips together and proceeded to show her exactly how much he loved her for now and all time.

About the Author

Growing up in the Midwest, I began reading romance novels in high school, immediately falling in love with the genre, to the point where I decided to write professionally for a career. However, that dream splattered against a brick wall, resulting in a quick death in my first writing class in college when my professor told me bluntly that I wasn't any good at it. I shifted gears quickly, and left my writing dreams behind, eventually settling on becoming a nurse.

A few years back, I stumbled across a fan-fiction writing site on a favorite author's webpage. I began to read stories others wrote, not only making some wonderful close friends from the experience, but also, really learning to write for the very first time. Here I was able to share short stories, practice my writing skills, and truly develop into a writer. More than that, the experience allowed me to revitalize my dream, as I rediscovered joy in writing. Now, I spend my days off with my alpha male characters, quick witted heroines, and see how much trouble everyone can get into.

When I'm not working or writing, I enjoy working in the garden, canning, and seeing my backyard as a living canvas for my whimsical landscaping, and, of course, reading romance novels.

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/cheyenne.meadows.10

Blog

http://cheyennemeadows.blogspot.com/

Email

[email protected]

Titles by Cheyenne Meadows

Available from
Silver Publishing

As Fate Would Have It

Christmas with Mesa

Broken Bridges

Triad

Turbulent Rain

The Long Road Home

WIND WARRIORS

Tiger's Lily

Loco

Summer's Night

Sky's Lark

Silver Spoon

Blue Blood's Trifecta

Ghost's Treasure

THE COIN TOSS

Heads: Vampire

Tails: Werewolf

HUMAN INTERACTION

Human Interaction

Species Interaction

Entangled Interaction

Reviews

5 Cups
for
Triad

This is the first book that I have read by Cheyenne Meadows and I can tell you right now it will not be the last. Yowsa! Talk about hotter than a firecracker! I really really LOVED this book. It is not often that I find a book that captures my attention as much as this one did, but I simply could not put it down until I had read the very last page. It has everything you could ever want in an m/m romance, suspense, scorching hot sex, love, romance, a murder mystery, and really awful bad guys. I just cannot say enough good things about this story, I ADORED it! If you never pick up another book this month, make sure you pick up
Triad
by Cheyenne Meadows, it is to die for!

—Coffee Time Romance & More

5 Stars
and a
Recommended Read
for
Species Interaction

Warning: you must read the first book in this series, or you will be lost. This book is not a stand alone. That being said, I read the first book (which was great) and came back and finished this one.

I loved this book. You will not be able to resist Shy's character. That girl has no filter—and she lets it all out! She kinda reminds me of Betsy Taylor (Mary Janice Davidson) meets Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich). She also seems to be a close personal friend of Mr. Murphy and his laws. Be ready to laugh out loud at the "good parts" of this book—and in complement, drool over hot characters and the yummy sex scenes—which are not overly explicit.

"Meat," the liger stripper PI alpha boyfriend is too much—hot, hot, hot. Of course, the only way to actually know in this world whether they are true mates is if Shy becomes pregnant. Due to the fact that her period is mentioned twice, makes me thing that we're in for a "surprise" in the future.

Five stars?!? You might be thinking… Cara hardly ever gives five stars. Well, it felt totally warranted in this case—are there issues? Yep. However, the rest of the story was so fascinating and funny; I didn't get hung up on things. I enjoyed this book for what it was, a funny sexy read.

So, here's the deal with this book: it is part of an ongoing series. Overall, there are no resolutions in this book, though lots of questions are raised: the perfect bridge for the book three! The characters are fleshed out, mysteries are spoken off, relationships are tested, and crimes committed. Don't let that deter you in any way, shape, or form. I actually got mad when I finished the book, going, "Wait, wait, wait! The End? No way! What the…? When does the next book come out?!!? How could Meadows do this to us!?!? Will Cannibal actually eat Shy's toes?" Please, please, please pick up this book—I promise you won't be disappointed, and I need more people chanting with me "MORE MEAT!"

—Smile Somebody Loves You

5 Kisses
for
Broken Bridges

This was an explosive story. Not only the hot sex but the men, struggling to find each other amid the madness of deaths around them. They weren't good together except in the sack. Dax, the wolf, is overprotective with a pack mentality while Adin, the bear, is a loner who doesn't like to be dominated anywhere else but in bed. I liked both men. Knowing they couldn't help their masculine saber rattling, I found they were in fact so much alike that it explained why things didn't work out between them. Naturally, it's only a matter of time before Adin ends up in the killer's crosshairs.