Free Remember the Night: a Heroes of the Night military romance novel by Nicole Leiren Page B

happy. "This will just take a minute, please."
    "Go, brave knight. I'll guard the castle from any sand crabs or seaweed."
    Annie's approval helped his decision, and he started running toward her. "I'm coming, Mommy."
    Evelyn handed him the sunscreen and then lay on her stomach. "Would you mind rubbing some of this on my back? My arms aren't long enough to reach."
    He sighed heavily. Rescuing this damsel in distress wasn't nearly as much fun as playing. "Okay, but just 'cause you're my mom."
    She laughed. "I'll take that reasoning. Thanks."
    The lotion cooled her heated skin, and Jason's small hands started rubbing it into her back. She could only hope he applied it evenly enough to not make her back look like a discarded Picasso painting when the sun finished coloring her skin.
    Air became trapped in her lungs when larger hands replaced those of her son's. She didn't even need to look to know who those miraculous hands belonged to. Unsure if she could endure such an innocent caress from him, she tried to turn over. His assistance needed to end.
    Pressure from his hands returned her to the original position. "Just let me finish. This only becomes a big deal if you decide to make it one. Otherwise, this is a friend making sure another friend doesn't get burned."
    The emotions and responses Cody's touch engendered within her body would never be categorized as friendship. That might be the foundation, but the reactions he generated frightened her on more levels than she could name…or cared to admit.
    She didn't answer but remained still and let him work his magic. Closing her eyes, she focused on nothing but his touch. With broad strokes, he moved up and down the length of her back. Each time his fingers brushed the small indentation on her lower back, rivulets of sensation journeyed from his fingertips throughout her lower body, forcing her to stifle murmurs of pleasure. Breathe. Relax.
    "All finished."
    Evelyn didn't want him to be finished. Sweeping the hair that had escaped her ponytail aside to give him access, she decided to at least try to prolong the contact. "Would you mind making sure I did a good job here as well? My hair kept getting in the way."
    His warm breath ratcheted the heat infusing her body up another few degrees. "Of course. I wouldn't want one of my favorite spots to kiss to be burned or peeling later."
    At his words, fire spread through her body as she remembered him waking her up with soft kisses on the back of her neck. Every hormone begged her to roll over and pull his luscious lips into a searing kiss that would make the sun pale in comparison. His thumbs circled the tense knots just under the hairline, distracting her from the screaming hormones for a moment.
    "That feels so good."
    "Your knots have knots." The concern in his voice dragged her reluctantly from the fantasy starting to play out in her head and back into the harsh world of reality.
    "Stress has always been a part of my life, and I've managed just fine, thank you."
    He pushed hard on one particularly stubborn bundle of nerves.
    "Ouch!"
    Cody chuckled. "Maybe not managing quite as well as you thought?"
    And we're done. She moved away from his touch and sat up. "Thank you for your assistance. I'm fine now."
    "Curves and edges, sweetheart, that's what you are."
    Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, but Annie's shout saved Cody from the tongue lashing she intended to deliver. "Daddy! Come see what my knight and I built while you were gone."
    Everyone followed Annie's line of sight. Daniel and Melodie emerged through the palm trees lining the island. Daniel immediately went to inspect the sand castle while Melodie joined Evelyn.
    "You look like you could use some time in the water. You're drenched in sweat."
    Melodie laughed. "Traipsing through thick underbrush to look at historic and cultural artifacts tends to do that when the temperature gauge is hitting near a hundred." She reached into her bag and pulled out a necklace. "Here, this is for