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Page 275
Bending, her face just inches from his, Abby made her voice a gentle sigh. ''What's that?"
He met her mouth with a kiss as soft as butterfly wings. She kept her eyes closed for a long moment after he withdrew his lips, placing her cheek against his. A nurse at the hospital had shaved him that morning, so his beard's growth, though scratchy, was normal for late afternoon.
"I was afraid," he said finally into her ear, "when I first regained consciousness after being shot, that I'd been hallucinating, that you were as unreal as I'd decided my vision of the shifting stars on the desert was. But when you were there, insisting on climbing into the ambulance with me, I felt whole again. No matter how serious my wound, I was determined to survive so we could be together."
With effort, Abby prevented her tears from falling, but the lump in her throat lent a huskiness to her voice. If only they could stay together.
She would come back. She had to.
"Whatever gave you the will to fight, I'm glad," she said. "Now get some sleep."
He turned, this time letting his mouth rove searchingly over hers. "That's just a sample of what's to come."
Straightening, she looked at him reprovingly. "Get your strength back."
He winked. "Give me a little incentive."
With a mischievous smile, she bent over him again, initiating a most torrid, yet exquisitely

 
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