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November 5, 2013; Forever Yours/E-Novella; $0.99; 978-1-4555-5424-9
Book Summary
There's nothing in
the world Army Sergeant Vic Carponti loves more than his wife and his
country. Smart-mouthed and easy tempered, he takes everything as a joke . . .
except his promise to come home to his wife, Nicole, for Christmas. As he
prepares to leave for his latest deployment into Iraq, Vic will do everything
he can to shield his beautiful, supportive wife from the realities of war . .
. and from his own darkest fears.
As a career army
wife, Nicole Carponti knows just what to expect from her husband's tour of
duty: loneliness, relentless worry, and a seemingly endless countdown until
the moment Vic walks through the door again. But when the unthinkable
happens, Nicole and Vic's bond is tested like never before and changes
everything they believe to be true about the power of love and the simple
beauty of being home for the holidays.
Excerpt
“You’re not
serious.”
Carponti turned
around, his shoulders covered in flecks of red hair. “What?”
Nicole grinned as
she leaned against the door. “Garrison is going to kill you.”
“Garrison is going
to love my new hair cut. It looks just like his.”
Nicole arched one
blond eyebrow. “Except for the bright red fuzzy patch in the center of your
head.”
Carponti shrugged
and rubbed his hands over his freshly shorn scalp. “I can’t wait to see what
the sergeant major says.”
“Isn’t he going to
be mad?”
Carponti brushed the
hair off his neck. “We’re going to war. My hair isn’t on the list of things
he’s going to worry about.”
Nicole looked down
at the pile of hair on the floor and sighed. “Then why do it?”
Carponti smirked.
“Because it’ll get a rise out of him and I live to make his blood pressure go
up.”
She laughed. “You
need a hobby. Other than blowing things up.”
He sidled across the
room and hooked his thumb into the waist of her jeans and tugged her close
until their hips met. “I have a hobby. Keeping you well satisfied.”
She sniffed but her
lips curled at the edges. “You’re going to be derelict in your duties for a
while.”
“But I’ll be home
soon enough and then I’ll make up for it.”
“I think I’m going
to need a deployment boyfriend.”
He grinned wickedly.
“Did you already get one?” He backed her up against the wall, his body hard
against hers. God but she loved this man. “Can I see it?”
A slow flush crept
over her face and she tried to look away. He threaded his fingers with hers
and lifted her arms over her head. Her back arched with the movement.
“Please?” he
whispered against her lips. “That would be an awesome memory to take with me
downrange. Just think of me, alone in the middle of the desert. One visual of
you with your deployment boyfriend and it could make a lonely night go by so
much faster.”
Nicole giggled until
the laugh overwhelmed her and she was gasping for air. He released her hands
and she threaded them around his neck. She buried her face against his throat
and laughed.
“There’s something
really wrong with you,” she said when she could breathe again. “I’ll send you
a video.”
He brightened
instantly. “Really?”
“Yes. And dirty
letters.”
“Promise?” He
nibbled along the edge of her jaw, guiding her slowly backward toward their
bed, stacked high with his two duffle bags and all the crap he still hadn’t
packed.
But he didn’t care.
“I promise. And
you’re going to be late.” Her voice caught in her throat.
“Screw it,” he
whispered. “This is the last chance to make love to my beautiful wife before
I have to go traipsing across the desert like Lawrence of Arabia.” He nibbled
at her earlobe while his hand slipped down her belly to the moist head
between her thighs. “Tell you what. You send me a picture of yours and I’ll
send you a picture of mine. Maybe I can get him a little horse and saddle and
send you a picture. Maybe a Barbie camel. I can put him in a little man
dress.”
She laughed and
Carponti’s heart swelled in his chest at the sound of it.
“I’m going to hold
you to that.” She traced her fingers over his scalp, her body soft and warm
against his erection. “I want a picture of him in a man dress in exchange for
a video of the deployment boyfriend.”
Her legs bumped into
the back of the bed and he followed her down. Tangled between the duffle bags
and his uniforms, he made love to her one last time before he got on a plane
and headed to war.
Author Bio
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.
Author Social Media links
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Posted 11/4/13 @9:01 PM PST/ 11/5/13 @ 12:01 AM EST
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