Текст книги "Collateral Damage"

Автор книги: Kaylea Cross

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 19 страниц)

Chapter Two

Kandahar

Twenty-three months earlier

Six days in-country and finally her internal clock was getting with the program. Honor stepped out of the hot, dry morning air and into the relative cool of the shaded hangar. By noon it would be stifling even in here, far hotter than it ever got back at her home base in Washington State. This was the new norm, however, and with a long summer stretching ahead of her, she’d better get used to it.

Her crew was hard at work on a UH-60L Black Hawk they’d brought in to have its rotor blades replaced. Last night the pilot had hit some sort of debris while flying and made an emergency landing fifteen miles away. Honor’s crew had been tapped to retrieve it. They’d gone out in a convoy of armored vehicles in a flatbed to load the helo up and bring it back to base. Far more exciting than the average day as a maintenance tech.

“Brought you guys some water,” she said as she approached the Black Hawk’s belly. Two guys were perched on top of the machine, taking the blade pins out of the rotor grips that attached the blades to the rotor hub assembly. Three others stood on the ground nearby, ready with straps and pulleys in a trapeze configuration to take the load off the end of the rotors so they would release once the bases were freed from the main grips.

She hopped onto its deck and stretched up on her toes to hand two bottles to the private and corporal up top. She’d be checking the engines next, to ensure nothing had been damaged during or after the debris strike. As she was settling back onto her feet on the deck, someone called out behind her.

“Sarn’t Girard.”

She turned around to find an unfamiliar corporal standing in the hangar doorway. “Yes?”

“Some guy’s looking for you, ma’am.”

Frowning, she bent to set the other two bottles of water on the deck and stepped down to walk toward him. “Who and where?” A reporter maybe? One of her commanders had mentioned someone being interested in interviewing her for an article about female soldiers serving here at Kandahar.

The corporal shrugged. “Didn’t tell me his name but he asked me to find you and said he’d wait for you by Green Beans. Big guy, dressed in civvies.”

“Okay, thanks.” She had no idea who it could be, but if he’d asked for her by name then he must know her. She swung her head around and located her staff sergeant over by one of the equipment lockers. “Sarn’t, there’s—”

“Yeah, go ahead,” he said, waving her away with one hand without looking up from the wrenches he was gathering, intent on his task.

Glancing back at the helo, she called out to the rest of her crew. “Be back in a few.” When they nodded and resumed their work she slid on her shades and pulled the brim of her soft cap lower on her forehead to keep the sun off her face.

Her boots crunched over the dusty gravel as she headed to the Boardwalk, a covered, wooden-constructed walkway lined with shops and restaurants. As she approached the coffee shop she glanced around, looking for a man in civvies.

She spotted a man in khakis and a polo shirt coming toward her with another soldier but the guy didn’t so much as glance her way when she stopped just ahead of him. Scanning the area, she didn’t see anything but people in multi-cams, PT gear and flight suits. People were playing soccer on the field in the center of the yard and the Canadians had started up a game of ball hockey on the outdoor rink. They’d no doubt be lined up at the Tim Horton’s afterward, to sip on their coveted Ice Caps and eat donuts.

She kept going, had just passed Green Beans coffee when a familiar deep voice sounded behind her.

“Hey, Sarn’t.”

Honor gasped and whirled around, part of her convinced she was imagining that voice. But nope, Liam stood there grinning at her wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans, his Oakleys dangling from one hand.

“Oh my God!” Without thinking she rushed over and threw her arms around him.

His soft chuckle ruffled the hair at her temple as his heavy arms engulfed her and squeezed tight, pressing her against that long, hard body she’d been fantasizing about for months. And the way he held her, so close, like she was precious to him, made her melt.

Honor closed her eyes and clung for a long moment while her heart tried to pound its way out of her chest. She couldn’t believe he was actually here, holding her this way, definitely more than friends. He smelled like soap and warm, spicy male.

Though she could have stayed in his embrace forever, they likely had an audience. After a long moment she forced herself to ease her grip long enough to pull away and look into his gorgeous face. His bright green eyes were full of amusement. “What are you doing here?” she asked breathlessly.

He shrugged those broad shoulders, the muscles bunching deliciously beneath her hands. She knew he’d be like that all over, couldn’t wait to explore his body once she finally got him naked. She’d been dreaming about it for so long. “Got a few unexpected hours off and decided to catch a transport down to see you.” His teeth flashed in the midst of his five o’clock shadow as he grinned. “Surprise.”

He’d hopped a transport from Bagram just to see her for a few hours? Best surprise ever. Part of her was still convinced she was dreaming though. He’d already been deployed when she’d received her orders to come here, so it had been weeks since they’d last seen each other. “It’s great to see you.” He looked amazing as always. Strong enough to take on the world, and capable enough to do it.

Smiling, she released his shoulders then started to step back to put a little space between them and tried not to melt when he didn’t release her right away. Instead he kept his hands at her waist, his fingers stroking over the small of her back. The deliberate touch was a discreet caress, and charged with the same possessiveness she read in his eyes. Before now, Liam had only ever looked at her like that in her wildest imaginings.

Her mouth went dry as tingles erupted across her skin and her nipples tightened against her bra. Was he finally going to kiss her?

Don’t be stupid; you’re in uniform standing in the middle of base.

After a moment he let his hands slip away, his palms brushing against the sides of her hips in a way that made her insides flutter as he lowered his arms. So many times she’d imagined his hands gripping her hips while his weight pinned her to the bed and he pumped into her. “You settling in okay?”

She was barely aware of the people walking past them on the boardwalk, her eyes only for him. “Yeah, everything’s great. Weather and climate reminds me a lot of Iraq.” Same shit, different sandbox.

He nodded, amusement still bright in his gaze. “Yeah but soon you’ll be out of the Chair Force, all coddled and soft, and be one of us.”

She grinned at the teasing jab. In a couple months she’d be finished her blue-to-green program that allowed her to officially transfer from the Air Force into the Army. “Yep, but look at me now in the meantime, living it up here in Kandahar.” She was grateful for the privacy her shades afforded her because she couldn’t help staring at him. He had a ridiculously square jaw and sharp features that gave him an intensely masculine look.

“Pretty cushy down here, all right.”

“I’d offer to show you around but you probably know the lay of the land here better than I do,” she said.

One side of his sexy mouth curved upward. “Pretty sure I do, yeah.” The muscles in his arms flexed as he slid his shades back on, completing the sexy picture before her.

Liam radiated power and authority, traits innate to him and his fellow SOF brothers. He’d been promoted to major a couple months ago, after only three years with SOAR. He’d tried to downplay it in his e-mail to her when it happened but she knew how much the promotion meant to him. She couldn’t be prouder of him.

“Why the civvies?” she asked, drinking in the sight of his powerful frame in those jeans and snug shirt.

Another shrug. “Figured it would make things easier for us without rank being in the way. Because there’s no way you’d have hugged me like that if I was in uniform.”

“True,” she said with a grin. Honor also knew part of the reason for the casual dress was because he didn’t like drawing attention to himself, or that he was with SOAR. Being out of uniform would help him fly under the radar a little easier, so to speak.

He put his hands on his hips. “So, what did I steal you away from in your day?”

“We were just changing the blades on a sixty. My staff sergeant gave me permission to leave for a bit.”

“Yeah?” He raised one dark eyebrow. “So how long do we have?”

The sensual undertone to the question filled her with butterflies. She wanted to feel that beautiful mouth on hers, experience what it was like for those strong hands to roam over her body. “I don’t know. Not long enough.” She wouldn’t shirk her duties, not even for him. “But you knew that before coming down and still made the trip anyhow,” she said with a smile, shaking her head in wonder. “That’s a lot of hassle to go through just to see me.”

He reached out a long finger and trailed it down the length of her nose, the gesture tender and intimate. “Any amount of hassle would be worth it for the chance to see you.”

Her heart turned over at his words and she shook herself, remembering they were out in the open. “Have you eaten? I can grab a quick bite with you.” It wasn’t like they’d have much privacy anywhere on base, so here on the Boardwalk was as good a place as any, and at least that way they’d have a good excuse to sit and talk for a while.

“Sure, sounds good.” He fell in step with her on the way back to the coffee shop.

Honor was still amazed that he’d gone to all this trouble just to see her. They’d been building toward something more than friendship for months now and though she’d never come out and said the words, he must know how strong her feelings were for him. She’d love to know exactly where she stood with him.

“So how are things going up at Bagram?” she asked to spur conversation after she placed their orders. He’d insisted on paying and she’d let him. Not the first official date she’d envisioned for them, but this had a special magic she’d never forget. Every cell in her body was attuned to him, how close he was.

He gave her a secret smile that made her belly flip. “Good. We’ve been busy.”

“I can imagine.” She’d love to know exactly what he’d been up to on his recent missions but wouldn’t ask because he couldn’t tell her even if he wanted to. A sappy smile stretched across her face. “Still can’t believe you’re really here.”

He reached past her to grab their drinks from the window. “Yeah, and that’s partly why I came down too.”

Frowning, she followed him over to a picnic table set up off to the side of the boardwalk in the shade. “What do you mean?” She set their muffins down.

He swung a long leg over the bench and put the drinks down. “I’m well aware that actions speak louder than words to you. So here I am.”

She sat down. Had he realized she was unsure of his intentions before now? He’d been paying closer attention to her all this time than she’d realized. And damn, she wanted to touch him so badly, put her hand on the side of his face to feel that shadow of stubble against her palm and glide her thumb across his full lower lip.

But she couldn’t. That hug earlier had been risky enough but displaying affection out here where anyone could see them…no. That kind of fraternization was a punishable offense and she wouldn’t risk getting either of them in trouble. Liam had far more to lose on that count than she did though. It made his coming down here even more special.

For a moment she didn’t know what to say. “I guess I wasn’t sure what you…wanted,” she finished, not knowing how else to phrase it without blurting out all her feelings and leaving herself vulnerable.

His grin flashed again, dissolving the sudden tension inside her. “Well now you do.”

There was no mistaking he meant her.

Honor’s heart thudded as a wave of arousal washed over her. She sucked in a deep breath and kept up the chatter as they ate across from each other, doing her best to focus on the conversation while her entire body burned with anticipation. The man had hopped a transport just to come sneak in a short visit with her. She didn’t know how their relationship would progress from here; all she knew was today marked the definitive turning point from friends to much more.

The intent way he watched her, his full attention focused on her, sent a delicious thrill up her spine. It was a subtle form of torture to sit across from him and imagine being able to run her hands over his powerful male body and map those sculpted muscles with her fingertips. To imagine the feel of his skin against hers and his weight atop her someday soon. She gripped the bottle of water and drank half of it to ease the sudden dryness in her throat, nodding in response to something he’d just said.

Liam set his own water down, took off his shades and leaned back a little on the bench seat. “How’re your sister and parents doing?”

The question startled her. This was a touchy, almost taboo subject for them and she was surprised he’d asked. “Fine. Same old same old.”

He nodded, his expression even. “You gonna tell them about me?”

“What about you?”

He gave her a long, pointed look. “That I came to see you, for starters.”

Best if she didn’t, to avoid stirring up that hornet’s nest, because they’d know what it signified. “If it comes up,” she said easily, trying to make light of it. She’d been so careful to keep her growing feelings for him a secret from Charity and her parents.

Liam watched her for a long moment, those keen eyes studying her, male hunger glowing in their depths. “They’re gonna find out about us sooner or later.”

Charity would freak if she knew they were together. Her parents, too.

Honor hid a wince but quickly focused on the heart of the matter. “Us,” she repeated, wanting to be clear on what that meant exactly. She held her breath as she awaited his answer.

“Yeah, us,” he said, leaning forward to rest his thick forearms on the scarred wooden surface of the table. He lowered his voice to an intimate murmur. “Unless I’ve been reading you completely wrong for the past five months and you don’t want there to be an us.”

She couldn’t deny it so she shook her head. She wanted him more than anything, even with the impending shit-storm their being together would cause in her family. “I’ll tell them.” Eventually, if things really did progress from here. “But how’s this going to work, anyway?” She glanced around to make sure no one was listening and immediately felt stupid because Liam would never talk about this with an audience. “I mean, you and me? We’ll both be over here for months yet.”

His expression softened, his lips twitching in a little smile. “Where there’s a will there’s a way, sweet pea.”

The endearment made her heart flutter and sent a rush of warmth through her. She adored this man and she wanted him all to herself. As in exclusive, every other woman on the planet off limits to him. If she was being honest, someday she wanted a ring, a home, the vows and a family with him. He couldn’t know all that though, because she’d never told him. Did he have any idea how hard she’d been falling for him this whole time?

She glanced away. “It’s gonna be hard.” Especially if he had different ideas about where their relationship was headed.

“Yeah,” he acknowledged. “You’re worth it though.”

At that she looked back up at him, got lost in his eyes as he gazed across the table at her. Liam smiled and picked up his water, his throat working as he swallowed the rest of it. Then he stood, still watching her. “Guess I’d better let you get back to work.”

Oh, work. Right.

Honor scrambled to her feet and adjusted her cap before rounding the end of the table and following beside him back up the boardwalk. What she wouldn’t give to be able to reach out and link their hands together right now.

She walked slowly, hating for her time with him to end. There was so much left unsaid, so many things to be nailed down between them and she was afraid to ask, afraid that what she wanted was too much to demand of him.

“When will I see you again?” she asked finally. They e-mailed each other all the time and talked over the phone when they could but even then they had to be careful with what they said. Man, Honor would have given an entire year’s salary to be alone with him in total privacy for a few minutes right now.

“I’ll come down whenever I can. When your deployment’s done I’ll likely still be stateside, so we’ll be together then for sure.”

She almost groaned aloud, tortured at the prospect of having to wait that long. Months more before she could act on her feelings? Months more before she’d finally feel his naked body against her, inside her? A man like Liam wouldn’t be hard pressed for female attention, no matter where he was. Who was to say he’d still want her when she got back home?

Seeing her deflated expression, he gave an exaggerated sigh. “Such a doubter.” He reached out and caught her wrist, winding his long fingers around it, sending sparks dancing up her arm. “Come here.”

Before she could protest or ask what he was doing he’d tugged her off the boardwalk and around the corner into a small alcove made by some pallets of water and other supplies set against the back of a storage shed.

“Liam, what—” The breath halted in her throat when he suddenly backed her up against the wooden wall, their bodies only inches apart. They were hidden from view of anyone walking past, the shadows giving them extra concealment. He was so close she could feel his body heat and the intent, hungry look on his face set her heart careening in her chest.

Holding her gaze, Liam took her face in his hands and eased his thumbs across her cheeks. The caring, protective gesture made her tingle all over and set off a delicious curling sensation in the pit of her belly.

He stared directly into her eyes as he spoke. “Would I have flown down here today to see you for half an hour, on three hours’ rest, if you didn’t mean the world to me?”

Speechless with building desire, Honor shook her head.

“No,” he confirmed. He shifted the brim of her hat upward to better see her face and leaned in even closer, until his scent filled her nose. Warm, clean male, a hint of salt she wanted to lick from his skin. “Whatever we have to do to make this work, we do it. Because goddammit, Honor, I can’t hold back a day longer.” Sliding his hands around to cradle the back of her skull, he bent his head and brought his mouth down on hers.

Her entire body lit up. She barely withheld a moan and grabbed hold of his shoulders, her fingers digging into his muscles as his tongue sank into her mouth. Her body arched automatically, desperate for the feel of his weight and hard frame against her. Her nipples to the point of pain, the thick length of his erection pressed to her belly igniting an explosive throb between her legs.

She kissed him back with all the longing and desperation she’d kept locked inside her these past five months. The consequences didn’t matter, military or family, she didn’t give a damn. All that mattered was him, this, him finally claiming her as she’d always wanted.

Liam made a low sound of approval at her reaction and changed the kiss, softening it from demanding into something far more destructive as he began seducing her with his lips and tongue. No longer taking, he gave.

His tongue stroked the roof of her mouth, caressed hers with silky glides that made her head spin. Honor widened her stance, needing him closer and he immediately settled his hips between her thighs, pressing and rubbing that tantalizing bulge against her aching center.

She was reeling from the feel and scent and taste of him. She’d known it would be like this between them when they finally crossed the line from friends to lovers. Hot and explosive and so damn sweet she wanted to cry from the rightness of it.

Gentling the kiss, Liam cradled her face between his hands once more and dropped little nuzzling kisses across her cheeks, the bridge of her nose. “We’ll find a way,” he whispered. “We belong together.”

They did; she’d known it from the start. She was elated that he knew it too.

Dizzy with longing, she nodded and tried to catch her breath while her heart hammered against her ribs. Her legs were unsteady from that potent kiss, her fingers still digging into his shoulders. When he lifted his head she gazed up into his eyes. The desire and the fierce determination written there gave her the courage to tell him the truth.

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” she whispered back. She’d been pining for him for months, falling more and more for him, and couldn’t keep it all inside anymore.

“I know. Me too.” Searching her eyes for a heartbeat, a sexy smile curved his lips. “I promise I’ll make sure I’m worth the wait.”

“I’m tired of waiting,” she muttered. This time she grabbed him by the back of the head and kissed him, sliding her tongue in to taste and tease until he gently set her away from him. He was breathing fast, his eyes alight with raw male hunger. She loved knowing that she affected him just as much as he did her.

“So we’re both all in,” he murmured.

The finality in his tone made her shiver. He wanted this to work as much as she did. “Yes,” she said, her answer immediate.

Liam straightened and started to pull away but drew his thumb along her jawline for a moment, as if he couldn’t bear to stop touching her. “I’ll come see you as often as I can.”

“You’d better.”

Grinning, he stepped away then gave them both a moment to compose themselves before stepping out of their hiding spot. Together they walked back toward the hangar.

“This is me,” she said with a sigh when they reached it, suddenly hating the sight of the place.

He lifted a hand as though he wanted to touch her face again, then dropped it. A muscle flexed in his jaw. “I’ll talk to you tonight if I can. You take care of yourself.”

“I will. You too.” It scared her that his job was so dangerous, but it was part of who he was and she accepted that because it was also part of the reason she loved him. She still worried like crazy about him though.

His eyes swept over her face in an almost physical caress, as though he was drinking in the sight of her, trying to memorize it. “Bye, sweet pea.”

Oh God, she loved the way he said that, so intimate and filled with adoration. Liam was finally hers and it was the most thrilling feeling in the world. “Bye.”

Watching his retreating figure until he turned the corner and out of sight, Honor ran her tongue across her lips, still tasting him. A bittersweet ache filled her chest but she went back to work with a smile on her face, her feet barely touching the ground for the rest of the day.