The prospect was tempting. More than tempting, especially considering he was looking down the loaded gun barrel of enforced celibacy. Twelve long months of it. Even if the military lifted the ban on sex during deployments, he wouldn’t be doing the horizontal tango with anyone. Females in uniform were off-limits, end of discussion.
But this particular female was something altogether different. He’d stake his life on the fact that she wasn’t in the military, so technically he wasn’t prohibited from getting involved with her. Besides, he was more or less off duty until dawn, when he’d board an Apache helicopter and fly to the forward operating base that he’d call home for the next twelve months.
“Dance with me,” he commanded softly and caught her hand, pulling her toward him.
She came willingly into his arms, and he slid one hand to the small of her back, holding her just close enough that he could feel the heat emanating from her body and smell the fragrance of her hair. There was no dance floor, so he simply swayed with her where they stood, enjoying the sensation of just holding a woman in his arms. Of holding this woman. Her breath fanned his neck, and he had to resist the urge to pull her even closer. Her scent filled his head and made him want to bend her over his arm and bury his face against her skin.
“Well, this is nice,” she drawled, tipping her head back to smile at him, “but not quite what I had in mind.” Her voice was rich with suggestion. As if to emphasize her meaning, she sidled closer, so that her breasts pressed against his chest.
Chase’s body responded instantly to her nearness, tightening until he was uncomfortably aware of his own arousal pressing against the zipper of his jeans. He laughed. He couldn’t help himself. It was just too freaking unbelievable that he should meet this gorgeous woman in the middle of Kuwait, the night before he was due to deploy. Didn’t it figure?
“What’s so funny?” she asked. Her eyes were liquid dark pools in the dim light.
“Nothing,” he answered. “So tell me something, Elena de la Vega. What the hell are you doing here?”
She shrugged. “I heard there was a party, so I decided to check it out. Now I’m glad I did.” She swayed unevenly and did a quick shuffle to steady herself, leaning heavily into him. “Whoa,” she laughed. “I’m feeling a little dizzy.”
“That would be the absinthe,” he remarked drily, holding her secure. “It has a way of sneaking up on you, especially when you guzzle it by the glassful.”
“Mmm, but it feels so nice,” she said, sliding one hand over his chest, ostensibly to support herself.
Chase had to agree. Everything about her felt nice, but he hadn’t yet reached the point where he’d take advantage of an intoxicated woman, even as his lower body urged otherwise. He had three younger sisters, and he’d kill any guy who tried to do with them what he was contemplating doing with this woman. Even if he hadn’t been outnumbered by females growing up, his parents had raised him to treat them with respect. His father, a career military man, had drilled one adage into his young head: women were weak and it was a man’s job to protect them. Mostly, though, Chase just avoided them whenever possible. Women were a complication he didn’t need at this point in his life. Maybe one day, when his combat days were over, he’d allow himself to get serious about a woman. But not now.
He shouldn’t let this woman affect him, shouldn’t let himself feel such a primitive desire to possess her. He knew enough about the human psyche to realize it was perfectly normal to crave sex on the eve of battle, so to speak. It was a way to reaffirm life. But Chase had no intention of dying, and as much as his body desired release, he wasn’t interested in a one-night stand.
“How long are you staying here in Kuwait?” he asked. Except for the embassy personnel, the hotel usually served as a temporary staging area for Americans while they waited for transportation to their final destination. Most people only stayed for a night or two before they moved on.
“Hmm?” She was leaning against him, and now she tipped her face back to gaze dreamily at him. “Oh, I leave tomorrow.”
“Are you heading back to the States?”
She smiled. “I’m going to Shangri-la.”
Chase frowned. Shangri-la?
“Paradise on Earth,” she continued. “I can hardly wait.”
“Okay, you know what?” Chase tucked her against his side and steered her through the crowd toward the door. “I think you need to go to bed.”
“Ooh, I like that idea.” She giggled and would have tripped if he hadn’t been holding her. “Are you going to tuck me in?”
Chase gritted his teeth against the erotic images that swam through his head. “I meant that you need to get some sleep,” he clarified. “But yes, I’ll walk you back to your room.”
“So what do you do for a living, Mr. McCormick?” she asked, as he led her into the hallway. “You’re not an accountant by any chance, are you?”
He glanced down at her with an arched eyebrow, but couldn’t suppress a grin. “Sorry, no. Er, what floor are you on?”
She stopped, pulling him to a halt beside her. The lights were brighter in the corridor, allowing Chase to get a good look at her. Her Spanish heritage was evident in her fine bone structure and flawless skin, and he saw that her eyes weren’t dark as he’d originally thought, but a light shade of brown that reminded him of caramel, the irises thickly ringed in black. She was striking.
She pushed a hand into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a room key. “Aha, here it is,” she exclaimed in triumph, holding up the key. She pushed her hair back and peered at it. “Room number six.”
Chase took the key from her fingers and turned it upright. “That would be room number nine,” he corrected. “C’mon, the elevator’s this way.”
“So, you’re a soldier,” Elena mused when they reached the elevator, leaning against the wall as she considered him.
“How could you tell?”
“You have that look.” Her gaze drifted over him, lingering on his shoulders and chest before meeting his eyes. “Tough and serious. Your motto is probably something like Duty, Honor, Country.”
The elevator doors slid open and Chase indicated Elena should precede him into the small compartment. “Actually,” he said wryly, “my command motto is Always Faithful, Always Forward.”
“I like that motto,” Elena said with a smile, as the doors closed. “Especially the faithful part.” She shook her head in mock sadness. “So many men don’t understand the importance of that particular trait.”
The significance of her words wasn’t lost on Chase. So she’d had her heart broken. He shouldn’t care, but he found himself wondering what kind of guy would cheat on a woman like Elena de la Vega. He reminded himself that it was none of his business, but couldn’t help thinking that whoever the guy was, he was a complete ass.
“So where’re you from, soldier?” she asked, giving him a look that could only be described as
hot
. Chase’s body reacted immediately to the implicit promise in her eyes, and he struggled to think coherently, to remind himself that he was so not going there. No matter how much he might want to.
“I grew up all over the place,” he replied. “My dad was in the military, so we moved around a lot. But his last assignment was in North Carolina, and I did most of my high-school years there.”
“Ah. Fort Bragg or Camp Lejeune?”
He smiled. So she knew something about North Carolina’s military bases. Why did he find that so appealing? “Camp Lejeune, actually. You know it?”
“Only by reputation. Do you still live in North Carolina?”
“I’m based out of Camp Lejeune, and my folks still live in the area.”
“Like father, like son.”
“I hope so,” he said seriously. His dad had been a career marine who’d retired after nearly thirty-five years of distinguished service. He was a tough son of a bitch, but he’d always made sure his family knew how much he loved them. Nothing had made him prouder than the day Chase had been accepted into MARSOC, the elite Marine Corps Special Operations Command.
He’d redeployed back to Camp Lejeune six months ago after spending a year in Iraq, and had been glad for the opportunity to spend some time with his parents and sisters. But when his team had been called up to Afghanistan, he’d been happy to go. Too much time in the States made him feel as if he was going soft.
They reached her floor, and now Chase guided her out of the elevator with one hand at the small of her back. He could have simply let her find her own way, but told himself that he had an obligation to see her safely to her room. He also knew he was full of shit. He simply wasn’t ready to say goodbye to this woman.
They came to her room much too quickly.
“Here you go,” he said gruffly. He inserted her key into the door, pushing it open for her and then stepping back.
Away from temptation.
She didn’t go in. Instead, she leaned against the door frame and considered him. The silky fabric of her blouse stretched taut across her breasts, emphasizing the thrust of her nipples. Chase swallowed hard. He could easily spend hours exploring her lush curves, but it was the expression in her eyes that made it impossible for him to move away. She was looking at him as if he were the most desirable man she’d ever seen, and his own body pulsed hotly in response.
“I wish I wasn’t leaving tomorrow,” she finally said. “I’d have liked to get to know you better.”
Chase gave her a rueful smile, feeling her regret. “Just bad timing, I guess.”
She laughed softly. “You’re not kidding. I’m the queen of bad timing.” She glanced into the open room and then back at Chase, and he knew what was coming before she said the words. “We could get to know each other tonight…if you want to. It’s still early.”
Chase blew out a hard breath and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, hoping she didn’t see his body’s instant response to her words. Visions of her, lying across the sheets, her skin warm and smooth, filled his head. His cock swelled as he imagined himself filling his hands with her breasts, kissing her softness. Did he want to stay? Hell, yes. The problem was, he knew he wouldn’t want to leave, and he had an 0430 bird to catch.
“Forget it,” she said quickly, misinterpreting his gesture. She crossed her arms defensively around her middle and gave him an overly bright smile. “Not such a great idea, I get it.”
“No,” he said roughly, stepping toward her. “That’s not it at all.”
He had a thing about honesty, sometimes to his own detriment. The only time he lied was when he absolutely had to, like when he was on a mission. Then, he could lie so beautifully that his own mother wouldn’t doubt he’d told the truth. And he had no problem with small white lies if they were harmless, like telling a woman that no, those pants did not make her ass look big. But he had a sinking feeling that now was going to be one of those times when he’d look back and regret his own inability to completely dupe a woman. It was important to him that she understand his reasons for turning her down.
“You’re a beautiful woman,” he continued. “Being with you tonight would be…amazing, but it couldn’t be anything more than just one night. I leave at dawn for a twelve-month deployment, so anything more would be impossible. I wouldn’t want either of us to have regrets about it tomorrow. Especially when one of us has had too much to drink.”
She pushed herself away from the doorjamb, and Chase could see the resignation and regret in her luminous eyes.
“I understand, and I think you’re really sweet.” She smiled at him. “Leave it to me to find the one guy in the world with scruples.”
Scruples he’d rather do without, Chase thought grimly. He had to be the biggest idiot on the face of the planet to turn down what she was offering, but he knew from experience that casual sex never made him feel better, either about himself or the woman involved. Nope, better to let her go now and keep his fantasies about whatever might have been.
“Nobody has ever described me as sweet,” he said sardonically, to cover his own conflicting emotions. “If any of my men overheard you say that, you’d completely destroy my reputation as a hard-ass.”
“It will be our secret,” Elena promised, “so please don’t change.” Standing on tiptoe, she pressed a kiss against his cheek. At least, Chase suspected the kiss was meant for his cheek, but he instinctively turned his head to follow her movement, bringing his lips into direct contact with hers.
She stilled for a moment, and Chase realized his hands were resting loosely at her waist, while hers were pressed lightly against his chest for balance.
“I’m sorry,” she breathed, just before she pressed her mouth fully against his.