Back to You is the latest book in the Coming Home series, a contemporary romance series that realistically deals with the issues of love and life when at least one party in the relationship is in the military. Army captain Trent Davila loves his wife, Laura, and their two beautiful children. But when he almost lost his life in combat, something inside him died. Now everything is on the line, and Trent has one chance to prove to his wife that he can be the man she needs. Laura is blindsided when Trent returns home. Time and again, he chose his men over his family. But when Trent faces a court martial on false charges, only Laura can save him. What begins as an act of kindness to protect his career inflames a desire she thought long buried-and a love that won't be denied. But can she trust that this time he's back to stay?
See my review (hint, I love this series) here.
About the author:
USA Today bestselling author Jessica Scott is a career army officer; mother of two daughters, three cats and three dogs; wife to a career NCO and wrangler of all things stuffed and fluffy. She is a terrible cook and even worse housekeeper, but she's a pretty good shot with her assigned weapon and someone liked some of the stuff she wrote. Somehow, her children are pretty well-adjusted and her husband still loves her, despite burned water and a messy house.
She's written for the New York Times At War Blog, PBS Point of View: Regarding War Blog, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. She deployed to Iraq in 2009 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom/New Dawn and has served as a company commander at Fort Hood, Texas.
She's pursuing a PhD in Sociology in her spare time and most recently, she's been featured as one of Esquire Magazine's Americans of the Year for 2012.
Excerpt:
His uniform scraped the edge of her
cheek. His body was a solid wall beneath her skin and for a brief moment, she
simply let him hold her. His strength wrapped around her, his scent pulled her
close, reminding her that somewhere inside this man was the man she’d married.
The man she’d loved.
She hadn’t meant to cry in front of
him. Not again. But the truth had simply slipped free of the chains she’d
attempted to bind it with, breaking her resolve until it
emptied out of her, tearing free and leaving her drained.
It was a long time until the tears
stopped. Her eyes felt swollen.
Now, she rested against Trent and
closed her eyes. She simply stopped. Stopped fighting. Stopped arguing. Stopped
resisting her stubborn heart that still loved this man no matter how many times
he hurt her or lashed out.
His leaving, his anger: He wasn’t
in control of those things. Not like she’d convinced herself he was in those
dark days when the rumors and innuendos had been breeding like a live thing in
the silence between them. But there was more at work here than her husband
simply walking out on her.
He’d made a huge step by talking to
the counselor. And he hadn’t needed to tell her about their conversation, but
he had. Laura leaned back, refusing to believe the insidious voice in her head
that said he was just telling her this out of sheer selfishness.
She lifted her gaze, looking deep
into his eyes. She started to shift and pull away but Trent moved first,
cradling her face with his palms. Gently, his thumbs caressed her cheeks,
wiping away the tears.
“I’m so tired of screwing
everything up, Laura,” he whispered. “I want to fix this. Not for the trial.
For us.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes, it is.” His voice was urgent
and harsh. “I can’t fix what I’ve done. And I damn sure don’t deserve your
forgiveness.” He lowered his forehead to hers, his palms warm and solid against
her skin. “But I’m asking you to help me. Help me reset my normal. Help me
learn how to be a dad again. A husband.” He blinked rapidly.
She pressed her lips together,
biting back fresh tears. “And what happens when you leave again?” she
whispered. “What do I do then?” She sniffed quietly. “You keep breaking my
heart.” Her voice cracked.
His fingers crooked around her jaw.
“I want to stop.”
They were tucked away in a quiet
corner of the coffee shop. The couch was blocked by a high booth. No one could
see them. Laura kept her eyes locked on his. Finally he’d laid his fears, his
hopes, his dreams in her lap.
She could crush him so easily. A
stronger woman might have walked away, doing to him what he’d done so many
times to her. But she was not that woman. She wanted to end the pain between
them, not prolong it.
She’d thought divorce was the right
answer. Ending the sham their marriage had become, protecting their children
from more pain. The kids were her life now and she would not apologize for
that. For all intents and purposes, she’d been a single parent for years and
that was okay because she knew how to do that. Now fear latched on to her
heart. Fear that he would leave her again. That he would once again shatter her
into a thousand pieces.
But he was here. At this moment, it
was all she had. Without giving herself time to think about the consequences,
she leaned closer and brushed her lips gently against his.
She pulled away before he could
deepen the kiss. Fear and awareness and arousal skittered through her veins,
making her off balance, like a needful, sensual thing. She’d grown accustomed
to the hugs of her children, their wet kisses and enthusiastic embraces.
What she craved now was something
darker. The faintest brush of lips against lips had sparked something primitive
inside her. Something deeper and richer. A long-forgotten need to be touched by
a man. But not just any man—by this man. His hands, roughened by combat,
sliding up her thighs. The coarse pads of his fingertips caressing her skin.
Memories bombarded her as she
attempted to lean away and salvage the remnants of her pride.
But Trent was not operating under
the get-some-space battle plan. He reached for her, his eyes rich with dark
emotion. His palms scraped against her cheeks, his fingers strong as his lips
claimed hers.
His breath was a gasp against her
tongue and for a moment, Laura was stunned into stillness, unable to move
beneath the assault on her senses. But then her body remembered his taste, her
tongue remembered his touch, and a warmth awakened inside her. She opened for
him, stroking his tongue with hers, her body folding into his like it was meant
for him.
Her every nerve came alive. A
cascade of long-denied arousal mixed with bittersweet memories of other
homecomings, other farewells. It crashed into them both, driving them under a
torrent of emotion.
This was the man she had married. A
man who could make her body purr just thinking about him inside her. A man who
knew exactly how to kiss her to drive her wild.
This was the man she’d been waiting
for. She wanted nothing more than to crawl into his lap and have that urgent,
passion-filled sex of first homecoming.
It was a long moment before the
arousal faded and she became aware of the tender, sucking kisses he placed on
her lips.
Another moment before he rested his
forehead against hers.
An eternity passed before the words
she’d never thought she’d ever say again slid past her lips. “I miss you,” she
whispered.
And for once, he did not pull away.
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