Dream of Me (8 page)

Ash bent her knees and glided her heels up the bed, tilting her hips to receive another succulent kiss. “You’ll spoil me,” she said softly.

“You don’t think you deserve it?” He nipped her thigh.

At the tinge of pain, she jerked and let out a breathless laugh. “Maybe not, but I certainly won’t stop you.” She gave his hair a tug, and he settled down again, plying her with wicked flicks of his tongue until her body undulated, caught in the pleasure building in her core.

When his mouth latched around her clit and sucked, she keened. “Sam!” Pleasure exploded, but before she could fully embrace it, he moved up, sliding inside her then rolling to his back.

“My turn to watch.”

With his cock snug inside her, she bent and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. Then she quickly pushed up, her hands braced on his chest as she began to move, rising and falling, then circling her hips to drag his cock around her channel, stroking her inner walls, building heat and liquid delight.

He gripped her hips, his broad hands forcing her to move faster. He bent his knees and lifted his hips to meet her strokes, but she wasn’t as graceful, didn’t have his power to control the movements.

She halted, breathing hard as she hovered over him.

“Want me to take over?” he asked.

A sly note rang in his voice. She liked the way his gaze narrowed on her expression as he gave her a hard, almost feral, look. “Yes. Please.”

In an instant, he pushed her up and to the side. Then he moved in fluid, but quick motions, coming to his knees and rolling her belly to the mattress, lifting her hips. He plunged into her from behind, and she rose on her arms and countered his moves. They slammed together, their bodies smacking. Sam thrust his fingers through her hair and forced back her head. Her back sank, raising her ass, and he pounded harder.

He was so deep, his thrusts so hard, he forced air from her lungs in shattered gasps. She loved how wild and primal this joining felt. Swept along by the storm of actions, she reveled in the building explosion.

He let go of her hair and slid a hand around her belly. When his thumb rasped her clit, she came, her entire body tightening, a scream torn from deep inside her throat. Her body rocked with each of his thrusts.

Moments later, he shouted, his body going rigid. They collapsed to the mattress, still connected. Sam nuzzled the corner of her neck and kissed her slick skin. She reached behind his head to caress his neck.

Several seconds later, he began to lift away, but she pulled him closer. “No. Not yet.”

“Can you breathe?”

“Don’t need to,” she muttered.

His chuckle made her smile. They rested, pressed together, their bodies slowly cooling.

A hum sounded from the nightstand, and she peeked between her lashes at the lit screen of his phone.

Sam groaned and reached for it, punching at the screen.

She heard a man’s voice, speaking in short, urgent syllables.

Body tensed, Sam sighed. “Roger, that. Be there in twenty.”

Ash drew a deep breath, realizing he had to leave.

He set down the phone, and then moved away. A moment later, he pulled her into his arms, snuggling her against his chest. His palm rested against her cheek. “I have to go. A mission. I don’t know how long I’ll be. I might not make it back before your flight.”

His face was tense, a muscle ticked in his jaw. He wasn’t happy about going. She mustered a smile. “I’ll be okay, Sam. You have a job to do. I understand.”

His eyes closed briefly. When he opened them again, he said, “I have to get to my place and change, grab my go bag, but I’ll be back.” Then he kissed her hard, his hands clasping her head to hold her still. “I wish…”

Lips still tingling from the kiss, she gave him a watery smile. “I do, too. Now, go.”

“Stay here. Rest. I’ll be back.”

She lay on her side, watching as he quickly donned his trousers, then grabbed the rest of his clothing and his phone and walked through the door.

No rest would soothe her. She felt hollow. Alone. Only his scent on her skin and the moisture drying between her thighs were proof of what they’d shared. At last, she stirred, dressing quickly in a tee and shorts and headed to the kitchen. She prepared two cups of coffee, putting his into a travel mug she fished from the cabinet.

Just as she twisted on the lid, she heard the door open and close. She stepped out of the kitchen with the mug in her hand and sucked in a breath. She noted his all-black uniform—long-sleeved jacket, cargo pants, combat boots. Here was the ex-SEAL—ready for another dangerous op. “I made you coffee.”

He didn’t smile. His features were stark, pale.

Her stomach dropped, but she kept her expression neutral. Was this the kiss off?
Nice knowing you. Nice fucking you. Hope you have a happy life?
She held still as he strode closer and dug a hand into his pocket.

“I should have given this to you before. Something Marc sent to me, because he was afraid you’d find it in your apartment before he could surprise you.” He took a deep breath, and then pulled out a small jeweler’s box.

Blood pounded in her ears. Ash stared at the box, knowing what it held.

“He planned to propose, Ash. He loved you. Wanted you to be his wife.”

She heard Sam’s words and vaguely noted his roughened voice. Slowly, she reached out, and he placed the box in her palm. Her fingers closed around it, but she didn’t look up. Numbed, a chill shivered through her.

Sam drew another deep breath and stepped closer. “I spoke to Nicky. If I don’t get back in time, she’ll drive you to the airstrip. She knows how to contact the pilot.”

She nodded, but stood quietly, Marc’s ring feeling like a lead weight as her heart thudded slow and hard inside her chest.

He took another step closer. “I’m sorry I—”

The heat from his body warmed the space between them. “Don’t. Thank you,” she bit out.

“Dammit.” He reached out and gripped her upper arms, then pulled her against him. He pressed a kiss against her forehead. “This isn’t over, Ash.”

“You have to go,” she croaked, wishing he’d leave before she released the sob burning the back of her throat.

Sam moved his hands to cradle her face. His mouth thinned as his gaze bored into hers. “Baby, listen. I will see you again.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “
Dream of me
,” he whispered.

After a long exhale, he released her and took a backward step.

At last, she raised her gaze to his, tears blurring his dark outline.

Without another word, he turned and walked through the door, shutting it with a definite click.

‡

F
or Sam, the
weeks dragged. With his team activated to perform an extraction of a high-value hostage from ISIS-held territory, they’d been under blackout orders. No comms in or out other than via scrambled satphones with the mission commander.

The team had staged the rescue from a camp in Iraq. Rehearsing for every scenario, they’d used an abandoned, nearly crumbling compound in the desert. They’d kept at it, day in, day out, until at last, weather and the chaotic whims of the ISIS forces provided their break.

Only in the early morning hours during those grueling days, before his team stirred, did Sam allow himself to think about Ash and how he’d left her. He didn’t dare dwell on their single night together—not and keep his shit together.

She’d stood so still when he’d handed her that little black box. Shock and despair making her shake and lending an alarming pallor to her already pale skin. He’d wanted nothing more than to wrap her inside his embrace and settle them on the sofa to give her time to cry. To keep her company through her pain. Instead, he’d abandoned her.

Even now, he still felt the crushing weight of her grief.
Dream of me
, he’d said. But he was the one who’d done nothing but think of her in the quiet hours, in his dreams. Although he’d warned himself from that first moment he’d spotted her on the tarmac, he’d let her get under his skin. Now, he dreamed of a different future for himself—one where she stood at the center of his life. In just a few days, her quiet courage and haunting face had found a place deep in his heart.

He couldn’t imagine a future without her in it. But very likely, he would only be a painful reminder of everything she’d lost. If she was ready to move on with her life, wouldn’t she want a fresh start—one free of her past, one without an old buddy of the man she’d loved so much?

His abrupt departure ate a hole in his gut. If a chance existed for them at all, it was long gone now. Away from the island, she’d be settling back into her old life, learning ways to cope, reconnecting with her friends and moving on.

He’d be cruel to interrupt her again and dredge up the pain.

“Should have called her, man.”

Sam bit back a rude, “Fuck off.” Instead, he gave Jax his deadliest glare.

Jax backed away with both arms raised. “Whoa. Sure I’m the one you’re pissed at?”

His teammates all knew about Ash. At first, he’d railed at the mission, confiding in his friends about his blown chance, looking for any tips on how he could make things right. The longer he’d been stuck in the desert, frying in Kevlar and heavy equipment, the more sullen he’d become. By now, he no longer wanted their advice.

In the cover of darkness, their mission had gone off without a hitch. ISIS fighters gave them hell, but they’d had their newest secret weapon watching their back—their ace sharpshooter, Wolf Kincaid. He’d tagged the men guarding the perimeter, one by one. A well-placed small brick of C-4 had splintered the thick wooden door on the exterior gate, and his team had spilled into the compound. They’d plucked off the fighters, stumbling from their sleeping quarters, and rushed the crude dwelling where hostages had been imprisoned.

Thirteen ISIS bastards dead. Not a loss of life among the hostages—their high-value hostage returned to his family. All their team members came out relatively unscathed other than a through-and-through bullet to Deke Warrick’s upper arm. He’d already been sewn up and was awaiting transport with the rest of them in a hangar at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. At this moment, Sam was sitting in a lawn chair, wishing he was a few thousand miles closer to the source of his discontent.

“Who’s the grumpy bear?” Deke said from his pallet a few feet away. “You don’t have to face Nicky with this,” he said, raising his shoulder and wincing.

“She’s just gonna kiss it all better,” Jax said, his lips curving in a grin.

Deke grimaced. “I already called her. Didn’t tell her about the injury, though. I’m gonna catch hell.”

Wolf sauntered over and lowered himself into an empty chair. His cheeks were clean-shaven and white below tanned cheeks. They’d all taken advantage of real showers with clean water, and their uniforms had been laundered.

“At least Piper won’t fall over dead from a whiff of my funk.” Wolf proceeded to open a packaged MRE.

Sam eyed the meal with distaste, determined to starve before he ate another Meal, Ready-to-Eat. His belly growled in protest of the thought. He remembered his last dinner on the island. “Think Nicky can cook us up a batch of barjack?”

Shaking his head, Deke snorted. “You are not flying home. I’ve already told Charter’s pilot to make a stop at New Orleans.”

Sam dropped his gaze and drew a hand tight, bouncing it on his thigh. “Nothing for me there.”

“Didn’t take you for a coward, dude,” Jax said, his tone mournful.

His muscles tightened, and he shot Jax a dark look. “The last thing she’d want is me showing up on her doorstep.”

“Never know unless you try. She looked pretty into you, man.”

Sam leaned back in his lawn chair and gripped the aluminum arms. “She probably hates my guts now. I did something pretty fucking bleak.”

“You kill her cat?” Jax asked.

“She doesn’t have a cat.”

“You leave the toilet seat up?” Deke said, with a weak grin.

Sam rolled his eyes. “Just shut up.”

“What did you do that was so damn bad?” Wolf asked, his expression still, eyes narrowed.

“Thought you were the quiet man?”

Wolf shrugged. “Just tryin’ to help out a teammate.”

Sam’s quickly exhaled breath billowed his cheeks. “I didn’t give her Marc’s ring until I was standing in her door to stay goodbye.”

Jax’s jaw fell, and he skated his gaze around the group. “She didn’t know he was gonna propose?”

Sam pressed his lips together and shook his head.

Jax’s lips pursed around a whistle. “Yeah, she might think you waited so you could get into her pants first.”

His gut clenched hard. Sam reached out and kicked Jax, nearly toppling him to the floor.

Deke raised both brows. “Seriously? That’s when you gave it to her?”

Not able to deny anything they were saying, he felt lower than a beached skiff. Sam leaned forward and braced his elbows on his thighs. “The time was never right. And things…they were going good.”

Wolf cleared his throat and crumpled the MRE wrapping in a fist. “If she cares about you, she’s had plenty of time to get over bein’ mad.”