Her Survivor: A Black Eagle Ops Novel (12 page)

The sight of him in a black suit took her breath away. He stepped inside and dropped his duffel bag. She couldn’t speak; her mouth had gone dry.

His dark brunette hair was gelled and mussed as if she’d just run her fingers through it. He’d made no attempt to hide his facial scars with a hat worn low, and she was proud of him for that measure of self-acceptance. Those cobalt eyes she adored were focused on her as if she were the first female he’d ever seen. The black suit did nothing to hide his muscles and broad shoulders narrowing to a trim waist, and the white shirt showed off the Texan tan he’d been accumulating the last couple weeks. His turquoise necktie was outlined in black diamond shapes.

“You…you look very handsome, big guy.”

He sauntered toward her. “I can’t find words to tell you how exquisite you look, Kelcee.” He trailed warm fingertips down her cheek and cupped her neck. “So damn beautiful,” he groaned. “The dress brings out the green of your eyes. They’re like jewels, your eyes. Precious jewels.” She swallowed at the sincerity of his compliment, hoping it didn’t echo in her living room the way it did in her head. “And that jasmine fragrance you wear drives me freaking wild. It’s getting harder and harder to keep my hands off of you.”

His fingertips continued their slow, sensual journey over her collarbone and the exposed tops of her breasts. He slowly circled her, his limp barely noticeable, as he drew his fingers across her back. Hot tremors shook her body as though he were branding her to his touch. Marking her as his. And, at this particular moment, she never wanted another man to touch her, but him—Dustin,
only
Dustin.

His slow journey of inspection or admiration finally completed, he stood in front of her, chest to chest, stomach to stomach, thigh to thigh, splayed his fingers into her hair, and covered her lips with his. The kiss was so powerful, so commanding, Kelcee’s knees buckled. His arm banded around her bottom and he eased away from her lips enough to whisper, “I got you, baby. You’re mine, and I’ve got you.” Then the potency of his kiss increased and she was lost in him.

Kelcee balked at the carved wooden hostess’s stand in Marcel V’s. String music played softly around whispered conversations. The scent of fresh roses wafted through air that flickered with candlelight. A champagne cork popped. “Dustin…I don’t know that I belong here. This looks very high class.”

His wide hand went to the small of her back and he inclined his head to her ear. “My lady is very high class. We both belong here. You taught me my scars don’t matter. We’ll enjoy our evening together. Warning: If it gets too bad for me, I’ll be out in the parking lot. But I need to face my demons. I need to make some progress with this PTSD thing, no matter how long it takes me.”

She nodded, and they followed the hostess to their table. Dustin was right. They did belong wherever they wanted to go. She had to step out of her safe zone of Warrior Falls from time to time. Whereas, he’d bled for his country and deserved respect of Americans here at home, regardless of his scars.

Just as the hostess went to pull out a chair for Kelcee, Dustin extended a hand. “No need, ma’am. I’ll take care of my woman.” He held the chair for her.

The hostess smiled at Kelcee. “Lucky lady.”

She reached back and covered Dustin’s hand with hers. “Yes, I am. Very.”

Over dinner and candlelight, they talked about their families. There were questions Dustin asked that she answered vaguely. In response, his eyebrows furrowed. “Are your parents still living?”

Were they? She had no way of knowing. No one she could safely call to find out. She’d been ordered not to contact anyone from her former life. Tears filled her eyes and she tried her best to blink them away. In the dark of night in her aloneness, she often thought of never seeing or speaking to her parents or younger sister ever again. The pain always crushed her chest and made her cry. She couldn’t experience the same depth of emotion here in public with Dustin.

He took her hand, his thumb stroking her fingers. “Kitten, what is it?”

She wanted to tell him, wanted to in the worst kind of way, but she was under orders not to reveal her past. She swiped falling tears from her cheeks and lifted her wineglass. After a few sips, she grasped his hand. “There’s no one I trust more than you. Keeping my secrets from you is becoming harder and harder, but—” She locked her gaze with his. “I’m under a form of legal restriction, just as SEALs don’t talk about most of their missions.”

A slow tune started and Dustin stood. “Let’s dance. You need to be held and I need to see if I can keep off your feet.” He took her hand, strong and sure, and led her to the small dance floor.

Her arms swept up to his shoulders and around to the back of his neck. He held her close and made small steps, swaying back and forth. “Look at us. Dancing. Kind of.”

“You’re doing fabulous. I wish I could tell you everything.”

He leaned and pressed a kiss to her temple. “I understand. I won’t pry. I trust you, too, Kitten. Everything between us is fine. More than fine.” His hold on her tightened. “I wasn’t looking for someone when I came to stay with ZQ.” His lips trailed down the side of her face. “Then I walked into your bookstore.”

In Dustin’s limited way, they danced for three slow songs within the sensual cocoon woven by their emotions. It was the most romantic evening she’d ever spent in her life.

Once they got back to her apartment, making their way along the walkway lit by low solar-powered lights, and up to the balcony, Dustin examined the lock on the sliding glass doors. Not that any lock would provide her much protection from whoever she was hiding from; he or they would just break the glass doors. Dustin would have to talk to her about an expandable wire gated door like many stores used. Not tonight, though. Tonight was for romance—for them.

He scooped his duffel bag from the living room floor and carried it into the bedroom. His gaze was focused on Kelcee’s teacup ass in that tight skirt. “Woman, you do realize you’re wearing the sexiest dress I’ve ever seen and you fill it out better than any other woman could.”

“You have Fran to thank for that. She shopped for me today while I worked here in the store. She gave Wanda a black eye. Clint threatened to beat Sugar Loaf’s ass.”

The bag dropped from Dustin’s hand onto the bed and he sat beside it. “Oh, I think I’m going to need more details on this story.”

Kelcee propped her hands on her hips. “And they say women like to gossip.” She gave him all the details while he laughed and damn near went into hysterics.

“So you think she went for the ass beating?”

“I know she did. Fran’s a sweetheart, but once you piss her off, she’s all about revenge. There’s no way she’ll call Wanda and apologize. No way in hell.”

“Clint has his hands full with Fran, doesn’t he?” He laughed, opened the zipper on his bag, and pulled out two boxes of condoms. “Where do you want these?” Her eyebrows rose to her bangs. He removed three foil packs and tossed them on the nightstand. “I brought enough to hold us for a while.”

She pulled open the drawer of her stand and moved some things to make room. Spreading his knees, he pointed to the empty space between his legs. “Now get that sexy, sweet body over here.”

The aroma of jasmine grew stronger as she approached. God, he loved how she smelled. He banded his arms around her hips and dipped his tongue between the ties of material that created the décolletage he’d tried hard not to stare at all through dinner. His one hand moved to sweep up the back of her thigh where it met a band of lace.

“Undress, Kitten, except for your thigh-highs and panties. I got sidetracked last night. Tonight, I’m tasting every inch of you. I’m going to devour you like an expensive dessert until the feel of my lips and tongue is embedded in every cell of your body. Until I wipe all the sadness from your mind and all that remains is me and how only I can make you feel.”

Once they were both naked and his prosthesis removed, kisses, whispers, and moans from sensual touches filled the room. He began kissing her forehead and worked his way down, paying a lot of attention to her breasts. She clasped her fingers in his hair and held his head where she wanted his mouth to stay.

“Work your magic, big guy,” she gasped on a ragged breath.

He lifted her legs over his shoulders to nip and kiss his way down her torso. Meanwhile his fingers plucked and caressed her nipples. The smell of her aroused sex filled his nostrils, exciting him. He ran his tongue over the crotch of her thong and she whimpered. “I’ll buy you new ones, baby.” The sound of lace being ripped filled the room. So did her screams when his tongue lapped at her clit. She bucked and he slid an arm under her to hold her in place. “I got you. Let go. Come for me again. You’re so beautiful when you come.”

He slipped a finger inside her and ran his tongue in circles around her clit, closer and closer. To increase her pleasure, he inserted a second finger and pumped them before sucking gently on her bud. Her second climax slammed into her and she wailed his name over and over. He laved his tongue up and down her slit, tasting her as she trembled and cried in his arms.

Slipping her legs from his shoulders, he fumbled for a foil packet on the nightstand and quickly sheathed himself. With one quick push of his hips, he entered her. Being inside this woman was like coming home. She raised her hips to meet his thrusts. Her fingernails scored his back.

His passion for her drove him wild and his hips pistoned into her. “Mine. Tell me you’re mine.” Shards of electrical shocks slipped down his spine.
Too soon
…
too soon.
His balls grew with the need to empty and the power and length of his climax jolted him.

He rolled off her and lay on his side, pulling her into his embrace. “Jesus, woman,” he exhaled on a winded breath, “the things you do to me. I wanted you to come again, Kitten.” He kissed her temple. “You know you never told me what I wanted to hear.”

Her lips smiled against his shoulder. “Yes, I’m yours for as long as you’re here. For as long as you want me.”

For some reason her response didn’t settle so well with him. Probably because he was giving so much thought to living in the moment and not focusing on the future. He’d learned the hard way the present was all he was guaranteed. The future was iffy, at best, especially in his profession. Still, he didn’t want to lose her—ever. What kind of craziness was taking root in his mind? His military service had caused his first marriage to fail. What made him think he could keep a long-distance relationship together?

After breakfast, Dustin and Kelcee went to some car dealerships. He’d learned some things about her over eggs Benedict—her birthday, favorite color, and bands, many of which he liked, too. They held hands as they walked around the lots. He wanted something low and sleek; his prosthesis preferred getting out of a car on a smaller angle.

“Looks like my leg and I are going to have to compromise. Dammit.”

She bumped him with her shoulder. “Life is full of compromises, big guy. There are sporty cars that don’t sit so low to the ground.”

His grunt was supposed to show what he thought of compromise. Instead, it got him a swat on the ass. “What?”

“Don’t you give me that macho grunt.” The corners of her lips teased into a grin.

He lay his arm across her shoulders. “Okay, I’ll look at some
ʼ
stangs.” A test drive, a couple tries at getting in and out of the car, and he was signing paperwork on a silver Mustang with matching leather interior and automatic transmission. And years of payments. He and JJ would come pick it up tomorrow afternoon after it had been serviced and black swirl decals applied.

Kelcee hooked her arm in his. “Where will you store it when you go back to base? Do you have an apartment there?”

“Yeah, a small one on base. NCO housing. Damn, I can’t stop looking at it.”

She laughed. “So I notice. Do you still want to go swimming or stand here for the afternoon? I bet they have chairs you could rent by the hour.”

He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the truck. “You, young lady, have a bit of smart-ass in you.”

She bit his earlobe, sending fuck-me signals to his brain. “More than a
bit,
big guy. Think you’re up for it?” Her one eyebrow arched in question.

“Woman, you’d be surprised what I’m up for.”

Two hours later, Dustin was enjoying the hell out of watching Kelcee’s exuberance over going swimming in the pond beneath the waterfalls. Personally, he’d be just as happy to lie where he was, basking in his after-sex glow.

“Wait until you walk under the force of the water. It’s a rush!” She pulled a T-shirt over her bikini. She glanced at his erection from watching her wiggle into that tight little black number. “There’s no way. There is no freaking way, you’re ready for sex again.”

“Can I help it if I find you damn sexy?” She slapped her hands on her hips, sending an unspoken message even a dumbass like him could interpret. He rolled out of bed, reaching for his swimming trunks and prosthesis designed for underwater. “I’ll be ready in a minute. Grab some towels, baby.”

Once they stood at the top of the path to the pond’s edge, he asked how deep it was in the center.

“There are smooth stones shaped like steps that go out for about five or six feet. Then it drops over my head.” She tugged off her shirt and tossed it on top of the towels.

He held her hand and together they descended the natural stairs, or had they been placed there centuries ago by Natives? The water was the temperature he expected: initially cool, but easy to warm up to since the sun had beat on it all day.

A few steps and they were under the surface. He looked around. The current created by the waterfalls felt like home.
Damn, I missed this.
The frogman swam around, investigating plants and rocks. Kelcee tapped his shoulder and pointed to the falls. She was eager to show him. He nodded and took her hand.

She led him toward the muffled roar of the waterfalls. They surfaced to walk under them, picked their way over the mound of rocks worn smooth over time, breached the force of the falls, and stepped into a cave. After the initial foot or two, the grotto was dry and about the size of a small bedroom.

He turned slowly, imagining Apache women treating their Native sons, fathers, and husbands who’d returned from battle injured. “If only these stone walls could talk.”

“Wait, there’s more to see.” She grabbed a flashlight from the top of a high boulder, took his hand, and led him back to an opening, so narrow they had to turn sideways to maneuver their way through to whatever it was she wanted to show him. At one point, she flashed the beam higher. “Look.”

There were crude, yet beautiful etchings of horses, men, deer, and buffalo. How old could these be? Centuries? If they had a more powerful light and the time to do it, Dustin bet they’d find these drawings were stories of battles of long ago. Important stories. His curiosity was definitely chugging into high gear.

A sharp turn illuminated by the flashlight’s beam veered toward the left and eventually they stepped into an opening. A bubbling pool of water about eight feet across centered the area with a six-foot flattened dirt perimeter.

“In here are the famed healing stones with magical healing properties. It’s kept secret. Only a handful of people know about it, otherwise it would become infested with tourists. Our town, these falls, this spot, we keep as pristine as we can in honor of the Apaches who once lived here.”

“Wow. I read both of the books and there was no mention of these boiling springs.” He dropped to his knees and dipped his hand into the water. On an impulse, he scooped a handful over his scarred cheek. What the hell? What could it hurt? The water burned his skin, made it tingle below the surface.

“If the book’s written by an outsider, we block off the narrow passage with boulders so the author or researcher has no idea there’s more than the initial grotto.”

“Good idea. I wonder how deep this pool is. Have you ever gotten in here?”

“No. I was afraid there might be bones of Apaches and other warriors down there and I didn’t want to disturb them.”