She recalled the conversation she’d had with Colonel Vinson in his office and cringed. Despite the fact that he’d been courteous and even kind, he’d made it clear that she had put both herself and his men in danger by leaving the safety of the MRAP. Worse, he’d suggested that the soldiers who’d made the decision to detour through the village of Jani, rather than return to the base, might receive a reprimand for their actions. Elena had tried to explain that she was to blame, not them; she’d been determined to visit the drilling site and prove that she could do her job.
She swiped angrily at her damp cheeks. She’d known that taking the detour was a foolish decision, but had she cared? No. She’d actually encouraged the soldiers to ignore protocol and do whatever it took to get her to the drilling site. And they had, because they’d been young and stupid and had wanted desperately to impress her. If she’d been a man, they probably would have held their ground and insisted on returning to the base. But because of her misguided priorities, she’d nearly gotten them all killed.
Colonel Vinson had explained to her, in excruciating detail, about the planned ambush. She’d been shocked, and then horrified by her own role in the morning’s events. No wonder Chase hadn’t wanted to see her. He must be as disgusted with her as she was with herself. But the colonel hadn’t seemed angry with her. In fact, if she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought he was actually amused. He’d told her that while she had disregarded protocol by leaving the MRAP, he credited her with actually averting a firefight as a result of her kindness to a little boy. He’d gone on to suggest that he was doing her a favor by sending her away. As if leaving Sharlana—and Chase—was some kind of reward.
No doubt Chase would be thrilled to hear that she was leaving. Her heart clenched painfully at the knowledge that she wouldn’t see him again. She would board a helicopter in the morning that would take her to Bagram Air Base, where she would work for the remainder of her six-month deployment. Bagram wasn’t that far from Sharlana, but it might as well have been on the other side of the world.
Colonel Vinson was right; she should be thrilled with the relocation. Two weeks ago, she would have been. Bagram Air Base was known for its amenities, including an indoor swimming pool and an ice-skating rink. As far as recreation and support services went, the base was second only to the Green Zone in Baghdad. She’d have her own small apartment and access to a state-of-the art fitness center. She should be delighted.
She wanted to cry.
Just the thought of leaving Chase, of never seeing him again, made her inexplicably depressed. She could care less where they assigned her because without Chase, none of it mattered.
She opened the door to her living quarters and dropped her vest and helmet unceremoniously onto the floor.
“I thought we agreed you would wear your protective gear whenever you left your quarters,” drawled a deep voice.
Elena spun around. Chase leaned negligently in the doorway to her bedroom. He had showered and shaved, and wore a black T-shirt and a pair of clean camo pants. His face was leaner than she remembered, and sunburned, but his hazel eyes glowed as he watched her. A tornado of emotions whirled through her.
“Chase.” His name came out on a croak. “What are you doing here? I got the distinct feeling you were avoiding me.”
“Damn straight I was avoiding you. Hell, I practically sprinted from the motor pool to avoid seeing you.” He grinned, his teeth startling white in his tanned face.
Elena stepped over her vest and approached him, drinking in the sight of him. Alive. Vital. She wanted to touch him and reassure herself that he was really there. But something was so not right with this picture.
“If you didn’t want to see me, then why are you here?” she asked carefully.
“Correction,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t want
you
to see
me
when I looked like an animal and smelled like a goat. Especially not when I couldn’t trust myself around you.”
A tiny bud of hope bloomed in Elena’s chest.
“Is that why you didn’t ride back with me in the MRAP?” she asked. “Because you couldn’t trust yourself?”
He gave a huff of laughter. “I couldn’t trust myself not to shake the living hell out of you.” He pulled his hands out of his pockets and straightened. “Jesus, Elena, what the hell were you thinking to do something so stupid?”
The bud of hope shriveled and curled in on itself, and Elena covered her face with her hands and turned away. “I don’t know!” she cried, not able to face his censure. “I didn’t think there would be any harm in taking the detour, and then I saw little Kadir by the side of the road, and I just wanted to make sure he was okay. I’m sorry. I screwed up!”
“Elena, don’t cry,” he groaned, and then she was in his arms. “Please don’t cry, babe.”
And then, amazingly, he was kissing her as if he couldn’t get enough of her, his hands roaming over her body and burying themselves in her hair, tilting her face so that he could deepen the kiss, sweeping his tongue past her teeth and devouring her. Elena clung to him, kissing him back with her entire heart and soul.
When he finally pulled away, they were both breathing hard. Chase tipped his forehead to hers.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” he said, and his voice cracked.
Elena smoothed her palms over his freshly shaven cheeks, cradling his face. “I’m leaving Sharlana. Tomorrow morning.”
Chase turned his face into her palm. “I know.”
“What?” Elena frowned, not understanding.
“Whose idea do you think it was to have you transferred?”
Elena gasped and snatched her hands away. She stared at him. “You? I’m losing my job because of you?”
“Elena—” He tried to catch her hands, but she held them up, warding him off.
“What right do you have, Chase?” Her voice was incredulous. “I know you think I can’t take care of myself, and that women have no place in your dangerous world, but this is my job, Chase. My job, and my choice. Not yours.”
God. She didn’t want to leave Chase, but she didn’t want him thinking that she was some kind of wimp who couldn’t handle life on a forward operating base.
“I’m going to Bagram, too,” he said quietly. “My team is being transferred, and I couldn’t leave you here, Elena. Please understand.”
She swallowed hard. “But you still think I need you to protect me, right?”
“I think you do just fine on your own,” Chase smiled. “If it weren’t for you—and your little guardian angel—those men might have been killed today.”
Elena grimaced. “You don’t have to be so nice to me, Chase. I was the reason those men took that detour.”
Chase made a sound of frustration. “If it wasn’t for you, that ambush would have killed the next bunch of guys who drove through that village. You prevented that, Elena. You did more to win the hearts and minds of the local people in just two weeks than the men on this base have been able to accomplish in two years. Do you get how huge that is?”
“Really?” Elena glanced at him. “So you don’t think I’m a distraction to the men, and that I have no business being on a forward operating base?”
He searched her eyes. “I think you’re a serious distraction, both to my heart and my peace of mind. Because of you, I’ve become exactly the kind of soldier I used to condemn.”
“What kind of soldier is that?” she asked, needing to hear him say it.
“The kind who puts the safety and well-being of the woman he loves above everything else.”
He loved her!
Elena felt her heart swell until she was certain it would explode out of her chest.
Chase drew her close. “You’ve changed me, Elena. And while I know you’d do fine here at Sharlana for the next six months, I won’t be fine at Bagram without you. Besides, I think the other guys are onto us.” He smoothed his thumb over her cheek. “I need you, Elena, and if that makes me weak, then so be it.”
Elena laughed, her fingers closing reflexively over his muscled arms. “
Weak
isn’t exactly the word that comes to mind when I think of you.”
He tipped his head down to look at her. “And it’s not the word I’d use to describe you, either. You’re one of the strongest, most passionate women I’ve ever known. Please say you’ll come to Bagram. My team and I will be based there for the next year. We’d have more opportunities to spend time together, and it’s a big enough base that we wouldn’t be under a microscope.”
“”Do I have a choice?”
“You always have a choice, Elena.”
“What happens when my six months are up and I have to return to the States? Will you stay at Bagram?”
“Yeah, but I’ll have two weeks of home leave that I can take, maybe more. I know you’ll want to spend time with your family, but I thought maybe we could take a week and—”
“Yes,” Elena interrupted.
“Yes?” Chase laughed. “You didn’t let me finish. I was going to say that we could take a week and check into a romantic, oceanfront hotel somewhere. Sort of load up on what we’ll need to make it through the last six months of my deployment. That is, if you’re interested.”
“Six months apart?” To Elena, it sounded like an eternity. How was she going to get through six months without Chase?
“I know it sounds like a long time, but it’ll go by quickly,” Chase assured her. “I’ll call you as often as I can, and I’ll have access to e-mail. I know we can make this work.”
“Or I could extend my own deployment.”
Chase leaned back to look at her, and Elena could see the flare of hope in his eyes that he quickly hid. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that, Elena. I’d consider myself lucky just to have you at Bagram for the next six months.”
Elena smiled, wreathing her arms around his neck. “I don’t know…six months at Bagram? My life was pretty boring before I came to Sharlana. I mean, where else can a girl experience giant spiders, sandstorms, mortar attacks, close encounters with Taliban insurgents and the most incredible, amazing sex of her life?” She arched an eyebrow and gave Chase a challenging look. “How can Bagram possibly compare to that?”
Chase grinned and drew her closer. “I can’t promise you that there won’t be any sandstorms, but I can assure you that you’ll be safe from spiders, mortar attacks and Taliban insurgents. As for the sex, keeping it incredible and amazing won’t be a problem, I promise.” He lowered his mouth to hers. “Let me show you.”
The security doors swung open, and suddenly there he was. Elena stopped breathing. He didn’t immediately see her, and she took the opportunity to drink in the sight of him. He wore his desert camo uniform, and he looked lean and dangerous and altogether delicious. Then he looked across the crowded terminal and saw her, and Elena was struck again by how gorgeous he was. He shouldered his way through the crowd, his eyes fastened on her, until finally she was in his arms and he was kissing her with all the pent-up passion and frustration of three long months apart. When he finally pulled back, they were both breathless.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded, his voice filled with amazement. His eyes devoured her as if he couldn’t believe she was really there, and his hands stroked up and down her arms. “I wasn’t expecting this. I was going to fly up to D.C. this weekend to surprise you.”
Elena grinned foolishly at him. “Now you don’t have to. I don’t live in D.C. anymore. I live here.”
His expression turned into one of astonishment. “You
what?
”
“I sold my condo and moved down here about a month ago. I rented a little apartment in Morehead City. I’ve been interviewing for a job at the contracting center at Fort Bragg, and it’s beginning to look like they might make me an offer.”
“You’re going to be working at Fort Bragg?” His tone was incredulous.
“It’s a lot closer to Camp Lejeune than D.C., and…well, let’s just say I really needed a change.”
Chase stared at her for a moment, and then he began to laugh. Elena studied him uncertainly.
“You don’t mind, do you?”
Chase hauled her against his chest and buried his face in her neck. “No,” he said roughly against her skin, “I don’t mind at all. I’ve been considering my options and trying to figure out how we could be together. You just solved that problem for me. How long is the lease on that apartment?”
Elena leaned back in his arms and searched his eyes. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I have a little house on the water near Camp Lejeune, and I think you’d really like it.”
“Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Lady,” he growled, “since you left Bagram, the only thing I’ve thought about is how much I was looking forward to getting you alone for a solid month.”
“Only a month?” she teased.
“That’ll do for starters,” he replied. “And four weeks is how much free time I have before I need to report back for duty.”
“You’re serious.”
“Absolutely. I said I’d do whatever it takes to make this thing work, and I meant it. But I never guessed that you’d leave your job…your family…” He looked a little dazed.
“I’ll do whatever it takes, too, Chase. We have something special, and I won’t risk losing that.” She cupped his face in her hands. “And if it means stepping out of my comfort zone and taking chances, then I’m willing to do that.”
Standing on tiptoe, she kissed him, a moist, sweet fusing of their mouths that left her trembling with need.
“Christ,” Chase said against her lips, “I’ve missed you so much. I’ve been thinking, too, that if we’re going to make this work then I can’t be disappearing from your life for months at a time.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I don’t intend to do any more deployments. I’m going to request a transfer to the Marine Special Operations School as an instructor. I was invited to do that when I returned from Iraq, and I declined. But things have changed.
I’ve
changed.”
Elena caught her breath. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Now let’s get out of here and go home. We have a lot of catching up to do, if you get my meaning.”
She did.
And nothing had ever sounded so perfect.