Authors: Aliyah Burke
Stop flirting with him, Aida. I don’t like
that.
Have you noticed how alike
you two are?
She poured the general some
coffee.
We are not alike.
Setting plates down before
each man, she almost chuckled at the surliness of his tone.
Oh yes, you are. And I’m not flirting with him.
It’s called being nice. I like him. Is he married? Does he have a
family?
“
Thank you, Aida,” Dane
said.
You need not concern yourself with
his marital status, mate. And he lost his son in the betrayal of my
unit.
She had a hard time
containing her gasp. Brad seemed unaware of anything other than the
food before him, which he devoured at an alarming speed.
His son was in your unit?
Yes.
Why am I not allowed to
ask if he’s married? Is his wife dead?
She
looked at Dane.
His eyes flashed
dangerously.
Mate, tease me about anything
but other men.
Aida shivered at his tone
even though she understood now. He was jealous. Extremely.
Possessive much?
“Would
you like some more, General Herbert?”
“
Perhaps a bit if you
don’t mind. However, I must insist if I am to call you Aida, you
call me Brad.”
Getting up to refill his plate, Aida smiled.
“Not at all. I like to see a man eat hardy. And Brad it is.”
“
That I can do. Can I
convince you to come home with me?”
Placing the newly loaded
plate before him, Aida chuckled. “Thank you, but no. I’m very happy
here.”
Breathe, tiger-mine. And stop
growling in my head.
I’ve warned you, Aida. Stop flirting.
She stared at him from
lowered lids. His jaw set in an unforgiving line. With a sigh, she
sat and used her foot to slide up and down his muscled leg.
Brad is harmless, tiger-mine. Just because I am
nice to a man doesn’t mean I am flirting with him, nor does it mean
I want to let him take me to bed.
I told you, mate, I’m jealous. Just the
thought of another man’s hands on your body makes me want to rip
him from limb to limb.
Aida almost jumped when he grabbed her ankle
and brought her foot up to rest on the chair. His fingertips
stroked the sensitive skin of her bare ankle. And, just like that,
she lost track of everything other than Dane’s feather-like touches
on her skin. Her body was still in a state of hyperawareness when
breakfast was over.
“
It has been a pleasure
meeting you, Aida Roberts. Thank you for feeding an old man,
twice.” Brad shook her hand and said, “I’ll be by the
chopper.”
The door closed, and Aida licked her lips.
Dane was across the room from her, and she itched to touch him. She
dug her fingers into her palm instead, welcoming the pain. A
whimper of desire slipped out when he prowled towards her.
He stood tall before her, all hardness and
masculinity. Swallowing her pain, Aida reached out and laid a hand
over his heart, her fingers stroking the fabric which stretched
across his torso.
“
You need to go. Shouldn’t
keep the general waiting.”
“
To hell with
him.”
“
Go, Dane. Before it gets
any harder.”
Aida hardly recognized her own voice. The
tears were on the verge of overflowing. She just had to hold on
until he left. Aida swore she wouldn’t cry in front of him.
“
It’s not supposed to be
like this,” he grated out.
“
Go. Please.” Her voice
trembled even more.
Dane cupped her cheeks as
the whirr of the helicopter rose up. He touched her face everywhere
as if memorizing every millimeter of it. His kiss was so light, she
wasn’t sure she hadn’t imagined it.
I love
you, Aida Roberts. You are now and forever will be my one and only.
You are my mate.
Aida whimpered softly when it ended. Her
heart hurt when he walked out without looking back. She ran to her
bed and cried as the sound of the helo faded. She eventually
ventured from the room and cleaned up from breakfast. Then she
showered and put on one of Dane’s shirts before crawling back into
bed and burying her face into the pillow which still carried his
scent.
* * * *
Her heart still hurt. It had been five weeks
since Dane left in the chopper. Aida sighed loudly and looked out
of the plane’s window. She swallowed as the Albuquerque skyline
came into view. Nerves were high, and she sought to calm
herself.
She waited patiently for
her turn to disembark and went through customs before arriving at
the car rental counter. Aida walked slowly to her car and snorted
when she saw it. A little subcompact.
God,
I miss home already. This isn’t even a car. It’s a flipping
bug.
Stowing her luggage, she climbed in
and immediately lowered the windows to battle her feeling of
claustrophobia. Fighting back the urge to call for Dane, Aida
headed out of Albuquerque to her parents’ home.
Dane’s scowl cleared the room with one
exception. And that worked, being it was the person he wanted to
talk to.
“
Damn you, Crypt. I just
lost the pool. I thought for sure you’d hold out for six weeks,”
General Brad Herbert said, tossing down his napkin.
“
You bet on me?” he
snapped, barely containing his explosive anger.
“
We always bet on people.”
The older man leaned back and slid his lunch tray to the side.
“Who’s your recommendation for leader?”
Dane grabbed a chair, turned, and straddled
it. “They’re all good. Tally has the most experience and is the
most levelheaded. But a close second is Kori.”
“
Kori?”
“
Cormac MacLochlainne. He
goes by Kori.”
Dane knew Kori very well. He was a shifter.
Not tiger, but wolf. A very intense and quiet man. He possessed
amazing skills as a fighter. Dane knew for he had trained him
personally.
Brad nodded. “I’ll take it into
consideration.” He toyed with his fork before dropping it back onto
the tray. “What about you?”
Dane arched a brow. “What about me?”
“
You can’t give it up,
Dane. It flows in your veins.”
You have no clue what
flows in my veins.
He shifted on the seat.
The man was right, though. He loved ops.
“
I’ll put you down as on
leave. Let me know where you end up, or rather,
when
you get settled in South
Africa. We could always use more contacts scattered throughout the
world.”
Dane stood and stuck out
his hand. “Will do.”
Who said I was going
to South Africa?
“
I like her, Crypt. I’m
still shocked over the fact you know how to smile.” Brad shook his
head and walked away, tray in hand.
Dane grinned as he left the building. His
destination. South Africa.
Three days later, he jumped from the plane
and hollered his thanks. Then, he walked to the door to Aida’s
house only to frown. She wasn’t there. A roar grew within him.
Where was she? He debated breaking in, but the sound of an
approaching vehicle stopped him. Dane recognized Kees even before
he stopped the truck.
The cowboy got out and shut the door. “Why
am I not surprised to see you?” he commented.
“
Where is she?” Dane
demanded.
Kees shrugged. “Not here.”
The warning rumble slipped out. Dane had to
give Kees credit, for despite the fear the man had, he didn’t back
down or cower. “I’m seriously running out of patience, Kees Van
Canne. Where is my woman!?”
Kees crossed his arms and lifted his chin,
gray eyes wary. “Why should I tell you?”
Dane stalked toward him, the tiger extremely
near the surface. “Because if you tell me. I won’t have to extract
the information from you.” His words were delivered on a deadly
promise. He could feel his claws extending.
“
And how would you explain
my death to Aida?” Kees stepped forward, refusing to back down. “I
don’t know what you are and I’ll admit you scare the hell out of
me, but Aida is family to me so I don’t care what you threaten me
with. I have to make sure you won’t hurt her anymore.”
Anymore?
“Explain.”
“
Two and a half weeks she
moped after you left. You stole some of her light, and I don’t like
that.”
Neither do I.
“I won’t explain myself to you, short of saying
this. Aida is my future without her, I am nothing. I never wanted
to hurt her.”
Moving past him, Kees walked to the house
and unlocked it. “She’s in her least favorite place in the
world.”
America.
“
Her parents’
anniversary,” Dane said, amazed he’d forgotten that was coming up.
“Thank you.”
“
I’ll drive you to the
airport,” Kees said from within.
The ride was long and silent. Kees looked at
him after he got out. “Something to say?”
“
You take care of her,
Dane Sidorov.”
“
I will.”
Once on the plane, he
reached out to her.
Aida?
Anger rippled back.
What do you want?
Why are you mad?
Can’t think of one fucking
reason!
The link slammed shut.
His beast roared in rage,
and Dane barely kept it contained. He couldn’t get into her.
Aida!
He noticed the
airline attendant backing away from him, and he forced himself to
rein in his emotions. The smile he gave her was more bared teeth
and probably frightened her even more. He looked out the window and
breathed deeply. Soon.
Once to his rental, Dane barely kept within
the speed limit. He entered the midsized town and got out at a gas
station. By the time the SUV was filled, he knew where he needed to
go. She’d told him the town her parents lived in and he asked for
directions at the gas station, they told him where the party was.
He pulled into the packed church parking lot and slipped from
behind the wheel slowly. Laughter and cheer reached him, and his
blood boiled when Aida’s husky alto was picked up.
Dane walked around to the back and saw a big
field on which people were playing soccer. His sharp gaze honed in
on Aida. She moved the ball swiftly from one end to the other. He
stared while walking closer, and leaning against the end of a row
of bleachers, he shoved his hands into his pants pockets.
Aida had her hair up in a
ponytail. Despite the cool weather, she wore no jacket, only a
three-quarter length sleeve shirt and baggy jeans.
At least she’s wearing shoes.
He knew how much she loved being barefoot.
His tiger rumbled when he picked up on her
scent. His heart pounded even harder, and he sniffed the air again.
Something was different. Protectiveness swarmed him and he had to
force his feet to stay put. Dane stared unabashedly at her,
uncaring of others watching. He knew the minute she saw him for she
froze on the field.
Aida.
Her gaze narrowed before she returned her
attention to the game.
“
Dane Sidorov, I presume,”
a male said from beside him.
Reluctantly, Dane pulled his gaze from Aida
and looked down at the man beside him. Aida’s father. Dane
recognized him from the photos she had of her family. “Yes. How did
you know who I was?”
“
You’re wearing the
necklace Len gave my daughter. She said she gave it to a man named
Dane Sidorov.”
He fought the urge to touch the necklace.
“She did give it to me.”
“
Name’s Joe
Roberts.”
“
Nice to meet you.” Dane
shook his hand and immediately found Aida again with his
eyes.
“
Not very talkative, are
you?”
“
Nope.”
“
Gonna treat my baby
right?”
“
She will never want for
anything.”
“
Not what I asked. I don’t
care one whit if you can buy her things. I want to know if you, as
a man, will treat her right.”
Dane looked at Joe with
more respect. The man seemed truly concerned for his daughter’s
happiness. “Mr. Roberts, I love your daughter more than anything. I
will protect her with my own life if need be. She is my whole
world. I will never,
could never,
hurt her. Your daughter saved my soul and brought
light into my life.”
“
So this is a gratitude
thing?” There was a bite to the question.
The tiger answered the challenge, and Dane
held him back, reminding him that humans didn’t always understand.
“No. She is my future.” Dane stared back at the field and watched
Aida walk toward them. He inhaled sharply, and again, that smell of
Aida reached him, winding around his soul.
She wiped the back of her hand across her
forehead. “Hi, Papa. Hello, Dane.”
“
Solnyshko
moyo
.” He reached out to touch her. In the
depths of her eyes, he could see the anger blazing. Dane stepped
flush to her and lowered his head so his lips hovered by her ear.
“I want to kiss you, Aida,” he whispered. “But you are mad at me,
and you blocked me out, so I’m also angry.”
“
What do you want?” she
bit off in a harsh murmur.
“
You. We need to
talk,
solnyshko moyo
. Open the link back.” Dane kissed the corner of her mouth
softly and straightened to full height. “I will wait for you right
here until you are finished.”