Back To You (24 page)

“I love you,” I
whispered into his ear.

My words seem to
add fuel to his fire as he grasped me tighter and applied more force to his
movements. I felt the pressure building inside of me as I prepared to fall over
the edge of this sensation. I was speechless, drinking in the tingling feeling
wreaking havoc on my body. I met Spencer’s intense stare as I gave over to the
tightening of my core, and I watched his eyes grow opaque while he found his
own release.

I collapsed
against his chest, my breath coming out fast and shaky. My limbs felt like they
weighed a hundred pounds each and were made of jelly. I didn’t protest when he
lifted me off of him and laid us both down on the bed, facing one another. He
looked visibly shaken by what had just happened, and neither one of us spoke
for a long moment.

“I love you, too.”
He finally replied.

Acknowledgements

Firstly, I would
like to thank all of the wonderful ladies who are members of the Beta Readers
group on Facebook. I would have been lost without your unwavering support and constructive
criticism. You were so motivational throughout the whole process! I eagerly
awaited your opinions on new chapters just as much as you wanted the chapters
themselves. There are not enough words to thank you for the role you played in
this.

A huge thanks to
all of the Marine Corps S/O’s who submitted their photos for the book cover
image. It meant so much to me that you were willing to have your pictures
associated with my book.

Thank you to my
wonderful friends and family who read the unfinished product and offered your
advice! I appreciate all of your kind words and reality checks.

To my mother, also
known as my biggest fan and supporter: If it weren’t for you, the formatting of
this book would be horrendous and one of my characters wouldn’t even exist. You
have always been and will always be my go-to person for advice of any kind, and
I thank you so much for always supporting my dreams. Love you!

To A.
Wrighton
, my lovely editor: Thank you for your constant
support and witty commentary on my writing. I appreciate all of the tweaking
and changes we discussed along the way, especially the part where we banished
my annoying habit of passive wording! Or, at least, we tried. I’m looking
forward to working with you again on anything I write in the future. You are
indispensible.

My little Leo, who
at the time of this writing is days away from making his grand entrance to the
world: No one will ever know the scope of my love for you, for you are the only
one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside.

And lastly, to my
Nicholas: No matter where the Marine Corps
sends
you,
I will always be faithfully waiting for you to come back to me.