Free Quatre by Em Petrova Page A

hardest thing I’ve done, next to fighting for my life and seeing my friends die.” His voice cracked too.
    She looked up into his face to see the tears standing in his eyes.
    A soft sob burst from her. “I’m sorry for the things you’ve endured.
    You’re a strong man.”
    He squeezed her hand, and then released it. “Not strong enough to stay away from Margot, though.”
    She straightened in surprise. “You mean you’ll go to her? Patch things up and make her happy again?” The corner of his lips twitched up in a smile, and it was like the sun breaking through the clouds. “I can’t hold back the feelings I have for her. She’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of. When I was in Iraq, fighting that goddamned war, seeing my men die and picking up their remains, one thought kept me going. Kept me fighting. It was the idea of coming home whole and finding a good woman to love.” He shifted his leg beneath the table. “I didn’t get the ‘whole’ part, but I found the woman.”
    Jane understood how much he did love Margot. It was spelled all over his handsome features.
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    Em Petrova
    “Besides, I understand better. I get that she loves more than one person. And how can I fault her for loving you and...even loving Ethan, when I’m guilty of the same?” With a start, she stared at him. Confusion battled with her senses.
    What did he mean?
    He took a gulp of his coffee and set the mug down again. Leaning back in his chair, he gazed at her solemnly. “I haven’t told anyone this, and can’t figure out why I’m spilling my guts to you—a complete stranger—”
    “I’m not a stranger. We love the same woman. Surely that binds us in some way, Danny.” Her words, once spoken, sounded breathless and full of emotion. Emotion that he picked up on too, if the bright light in his eyes was any indication.
    He leaned across the table and stroked the back of her hand. “That we do. Now let me make my confession before I turn tail and run.” She shook her head, biting off a smile. “I can’t believe you’ve ever run from anything in your life.”
    “Oh, I have. Many times. Margot is only one of the instances, but dammit, I’m going to remedy that as soon as this conversation is done.” He folded his arms across his chest and looked at her for a long minute. “No one knows this...has ever even suspected...but in my troop, there was a man. Samuel. Samuel from Ohio. Fresh out of the playpen and ready to storm the world. We were at basic together, and he became sort of my understudy—I covered him with my wing, if you know what I mean.”
    She nodded.
    “We ended up together on the first tour. Same platoon. Same friends. Soon we were sharing more.” A curl of sensation unraveled in her core. Was he talking about lovemaking?
    His eyes darkened as he spoke. “Stolen moments. Looks. Touches. Before long, we were kissing, then more and damn— you know what I’m trying to say here.”
    She nodded slowly, her pulse leaping. Images of him with Margot morphed into visions of him with her husband. Big bodies wrapped in one another’s embraces. The rough meeting of mouths.
    A shiver ran through her. “I do.”
    “Then you’ll understand when I say he meant a lot to me. More than anyone did at that time, or had before. Until Margot, I didn’t believe I could have that again. I’ve never been the kind of man who 49

    Quatre
    hides behind what he believes others want to see. If Sam had come home, I’d be with him now, here in this house, sharing a bed and making our lives together. But he died back there.” He looked toward the window and the golden square of sunlight seeping into the kitchen and breaking up the shadows of his story. “I couldn’t bring him home safe, but I made it. It took me a lot of years to overcome that guilt. I’ll always bear it right here.” He thumped his chest with a massive fist.
    “So you’re saying you love two people too. Though Samuel isn’t available to you anymore,