One Man's War

by Lindsay McKenna

  The instant his flesh met her heat and moistness, Pete groaned, his lips pulling back from his clenched teeth. Perspiration stood out on his taut face as he slid into her. Her cry wasn’t of pain, but of utter pleasure. Pete couldn’t stop his thrust forward, her hips meeting, melding and drawing him deeply into her confines. There was such hunger between them, a starvation so long unfulfilled, that he lost all thought of entering her slowly. Placing his full weight down upon her, he captured her, taking her, falling into a frantic, savage rhythm.

  He tasted the saltiness of her perspiration, the living sweetness of her mouth as he captured it beneath his own. Their ragged breathing increased, moist flames against each other’s faces. His fingers tangled in the thick, red strands of her hair as he held her captive and thrust again and again into her, taking and giving as she matched his starving immediacy.

  Tess’s world narrowed to breathing and the trembling power of Pete’s body against her own. Their needs combined in an inferno raging out of control. She capitulated to her own animal instincts as a woman, and to him as a strong, potent male. All she was aware of was them, coupled, straining and reaching for the dizzying heights of pleasure together. The building storm broke within her, and she arched, tense in his arms. He held her tightly, giving her all the beauty and pleasure she’d ever experienced. Wave after wave tremored through her, and she surrendered to it and to him.

  Moments later, Tess felt Pete tense against her. His growl was low, like an animal, and she met each of his strokes with equal fervor. Night and day melded together as they fell into each other’s arms, damp and spent in the aftermath. Tess closed her eyes, loving Pete’s weight against her, a sense of security blanketing her. Savoring each second, she absorbed the feel of Pete’s fingers as they gently tried to untangle wet strands against her temple.

  Easing to one side, Pete gazed down on Tess’s flushed features. As she opened her eyes, he saw the sparkle and luster in them, and he felt humbled as never before. He knew he’d given Tess enjoyment, and it made him feel damn good. For once, he’d shared the act of love, not run like a thief, stealing for his own selfish gratification. He smiled tenderly as he picked up a thick strand of her hair.

  “You’re as hot as your hair,” he told her thickly, and leaned down to capture once more her sinner mouth beneath his own. Pete wasn’t disappointed. Her returning kiss was as responsive and hungry as his own. Gradually, he eased from her wet lips and smiled into her eyes.

  “You’re moonlight, you know that?”

  Tess felt weak but good. She languished in his arms, content as never before. “Moonlight?” She laughed softly.

  “Mmm, moonlight.” Pete held up the lock of hair and studied it. “Red rubies for hair, and pearls of moonlight dancing off the strands.”

  She stared up at his relaxed features in awe. “There’s a poet inside of you.”

  Flushing, Pete laid the strand on her white shoulder, glistening damply in the room’s low light. “Sometimes. You inspire me, Tess.” And she did. “Your eyes,” he whispered, kissing them in turn, “are like dark pools of wonder. I can see rainbows in them.” Sparkles of joy interspersed with satisfaction. He liked what he’d given to Tess. It made him feel strong and potent and protective of her.

  “I’m happy,” she whispered, and slid her hand up across his arm and broad, powerful shoulder. “You made me happy.”

  “We’re good at this,” Pete teased. He’d never in his life felt as good as he did now. When Tess’s mouth pulled into a tender smile, he felt himself go hard with longing all over again. There was such simplicity to Tess, no games or coyness about her. And then, Pete sobered.

  “I heard you scream, honey. It scared the hell out of me. I must have risen two feet off my bed.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “Oh, the nightmare…”

  “Yeah. Do you get them often?” Pete stroked her brow until it smoothed again. He saw the terror banked in her eyes now and mentally chastised himself for bringing up the topic. He wanted to see the joy and fulfillment back in her lovely eyes.

  “Sometimes,” Tess hedged softly. She felt she never wanted to leave Pete’s arms. She saw the undisguised caring in his gaze, felt it in the stroke of his hand along her arm. There was a wonderful sense of protection in his embrace, something she’d never experienced before.

  “Sometimes,” Pete mimicked, then grinned. He captured her lips, stroked her lower lip and then the corners with his tongue. “Sometimes,” he whispered against her lush mouth that blossomed beneath his. “Woman of mine, it don’t pay to hedge your bet with me. Now tell me the truth.”

  Giggling, Tess threw her arms around his neck. “I like you so much. You’re so different when you come out from behind those walls.”

  He growled and pinned her gently beneath him. “Don’t try and evade my question by giving me a string of compliments, either.”

  Breathy laughter escaped Tess as she closed her eyes and absorbed his weight, the power of him against her. “Umm, you feel so good….”

  She was right, just the act of pressing their bodies together created another fire from the coals of their desire. Pete fought the need to love Tess once more. He eased off her and brought her into his arms. Her hair fell across his shoulder and chest like living fire.

  “I want the truth, Tess,” he told her, serious now.

  Lost in the intensity of his narrowed gaze, feeling safe at last, Tess admitted in a low voice, “I’ve been getting them more and more the last couple of months.”

  “Because things are heating up out there.”

  She nodded and ran her fingers across his furrowed brow. “Now you’re scowling.”

  “That’s because,” Pete whispered, framing her face, “I care about you, honey. I worry about you out there alone in those villages at night.”

  With a shrug, Tess closed her eyes, feeling satiated and suddenly very tired. Resting her head against his shoulder, her hand on his darkly haired chest, she murmured, “I feel safe now. Here. With you…”

  Pete knew he should leave, but he didn’t have the strength to do it. Overwhelmed by his sensitivity to Tess and what she needed, he maneuvered her around on the bed and brought the covers up around them.

  “You are safe with me.”

  She laughed softly. “Sure, the fox is in the henhouse.”

  A grin edged his mouth as he lay down, Tess’s weight feeling like utter heaven to him. He closed his eyes, happy beyond belief. “I’m the hen and you’re the fox.”

  Tess sighed, contentment flowing through her. She closed her eyes, her arm across his flat, hard belly. “I’m too tired to argue with you, Pete….”

  “Go to sleep, honey,” he coaxed thickly. “You’ve got a year’s worth of tiredness to sleep off.” And before the last of the words were out of his mouth, Pete dropped off to sleep, too—the woman he had wanted forever peacefully in his arms.

  *

  Pete jerked awake. Sunlight was spilling like a golden waterfall into Tess’s room. His awakening senses shifted quickly to her. She was sleeping deeply in his arms, her head nestled beneath his jaw, her arm across his torso and her legs tangled between his. Releasing a sigh, he dropped his head back on the pillow. He hadn’t been dreaming after all….

  Savoring the moment, Pete felt her firm skin against him, and heat began to throb through his lower body. The silky strands of her hair were a pillow against his chest, and lazily he stroked her head, utterly contented. This was heaven. Pure, unadulterated heaven. How could he be so damned lucky? What had he done to deserve a woman like Tess?

  Pete didn’t want to look at any possible answers to that question too closely. He knew he didn’t deserve Tess. With other women, he’d wake early, climb into his wrinkled clothes and steal out of the room, leaving without so much as a goodbye. But the last thing he wanted to do this morning was get out of bed, much less leave Tess here alone in the room. As he gently ran his fingers idly up and down her smooth arm, Pete closed his eyes. He wasn’t tired anym
ore—he just wanted to absorb the moment, the fragrance of Tess, the sound of her soft, shallow breathing—to luxuriate with her against him.

  Worry intruded on his bliss. He’d made love to Tess, and he realized with a sinking feeling that she might take his coming into her room last night the wrong way. Would she accuse him of just waiting for the right opportunity to steal in and take her? Or would she see the honesty in his actions? He’d come into her room out of care and concern, not with any design to make love to her.

  His hand stilled against Tess’s shoulder. Pete envisioned waking up every morning like this with her in his arms, sleeping soundly, deeply, against him. Sweet heaven, what would that be like? Opening his eyes, he stared intently up at the plastered ceiling where the fan moved lazily around and around. What did he really want? Tess was redefining his options, what he thought he wanted out of life. Dammit, she was his life!

  Shaken by that discovery, Pete lay a long time feeling his way through that thought. There were so many fine lines to tread with Tess. Would she believe him if he told her that making love with her had been completely unplanned? Would she see their coming together as an act of commitment and not fulfillment of some plan he’d been working on for a month or more? In that moment, Pete cursed himself for his old habits and ways. Tess was honest about her feelings and emotions, and he hadn’t been—until last night, until he’d come in to offer solace against her pain. She’d helped him discover something beautiful and good in sharing another’s pain—that it was freeing and uplifting, not necessarily the uncomfortable or messy situation he’d feared.

  Pete didn’t want Tess to awaken just yet. He felt like a thief, wanting to steal a few more moments with her before the real world, the ugliness of the war and what it did to people, intruded upon them once more. Somehow, he had to make Tess believe he had reformed. Vulnerable feelings he’d never experienced shimmered through him, fragile and new. Having no experience with these delicate, budding emotions, Pete was scared.

  One day at a time, buddy, he warned himself grimly. Take things one day at a time with Tess. Then maybe she’ll come around and believe you’ve changed. He formed a fist with his right hand, symbolizing his determination. First things first, though—he had to get the generator for Tess’s village and prove he was good at his word. Maybe that would inspire her further belief in the new Pete Mallory and make the old one fade a little bit more from her mind.

  *

  Tess clapped her hands in triumph and laughed as she watched the chugging generator supply the electricity to the village pump. The children, half-naked and barefoot, screeched with delight as water began burbling out of the pipe set up on several blocks of wood. They dashed in and out of the stream of pure water and threw up their hands, scattering droplets over everyone. The villagers had crowded around and watched in silence for several hours while Pete and his helicopter crew rigged up the entire unit.

  “Look at them!” Tess said, pleasure in her voice as she stood next to Pete. He wore his flight suit, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, his hands greasy and muddy.

  Pete grinned and wiped a film of sweat off his brow. At least thirty children, aged two to twelve, played in the water. His heart burst with joy as he looked down at Tess, who stood at his shoulder. Making love to her had worked a major miracle of sorts between them. He’d begged Gib for the day off with his crew so they could come to the village and set up the equipment for the pump. Gib had smiled and said nothing, approving the orders.

  As Tess looked around at the faces of the adults, all of them awed by what was occurring, she took a deep, shaky breath. Looking up at Pete, she said, “Do you realize what this means for them? No more typhoid, dysentery or so many other killing germs.” Tess turned and threw her arms around Pete and kissed him—something she’d been longing to do since their return.

  Stunned and pleased, Pete had no time to capitalize on Tess’s spontaneous gesture. Her mouth had been warm and lush against his, but just as he tried to capture her in his embrace to kiss her back, she stepped away. Her green eyes shimmered with gratitude.

  “You’re a very special man, Pete Mallory,” Tess whispered unsteadily. “And you’ve saved a lot of lives. I hope you know that.”

  He smiled self-consciously as his crew grinned proudly over at him. “I’ll settle for being special to you. Okay?”

  Tess gripped his hand and squeezed it, not caring how dirty it was. “Okay.” Her heart swelled with fierce emotion. Since their intimate moments, first in her hut, then in Saigon, there had been a subtle but powerful change between them. Tess savored the growing feeling in her heart for him. Each day was becoming precious to her as never before—because of Pete.

  “Don’t you think you ought to come back to the base tonight? Gib’s had to carry through with selling Dany Villard’s plantation. He was mentioning the VC are getting pretty bold. Intelligence said there’s a massing of enemy near the place, and that’s not far from here, Tess.”

  She didn’t want to spoil the moment. “I’ll think about it, Pete.”

  “Dinner at the O club tonight? Maybe not as fancy as the Caravelle, but your favorite guy will be there waiting for you.”

  Her hand tightened around his. “No promises. If I can make it, we’ll have dinner together.”

  Worried, but knowing Tess’s stubbornness, Pete nodded. “Okay, honey, I’ll look forward to seeing your pretty face.”

  *

  That night, Tess shared her meal of rice and meat with the family of the village chieftain instead of going back to Da Nang. The old man spoke in low tones after the meal.

  “Binh Duc, the local VC leader, is angry at all Americans,” he warned Tess. “He plans to attack the Villard plantation. You, Missy Tess, must go to Da Nang, where it is safe. Even though we now have the marine pacification program here, Duc hates all Americans. You are special and we don’t want to see you harmed. You must go.”

  Uneasy, Tess nodded. “Does Dany Villard know about this?”

  The old man shook his head. “No…one of my informants, a young boy, brought this information to me just a little while ago.” He waved his finger toward the north. “Go to Da Nang for the nights, if just for a little while, until Binh Duc finds something that interests him more.”

  Tess thanked him for the warning and got up after saying her goodbyes. She walked thoughtfully back to her hut. First thing tomorrow morning, she would catch a marine convoy heading north to Da Nang and talk to Gib about the chieftain’s warning. She knew Gib loved Dany and wouldn’t want to see anything happen to her.

  *

  Pete was with Gib Ramsey when Tess told her brother of Binh Duc’s plans.

  “Dammit, Tess, you need to stay at Da Nang each night!” Pete jammed his finger down at the plywood floor of the tent. “No more staying in the village.”

  “Pete—” Tess protested wearily.

  “He’s right,” Gib said as he rubbed his furrowed brow. “Look, Tess, can you drive down to Dany’s plantation? I can’t do it because of work responsibilities. And if Duc sees a marine vehicle there, he’ll lose it and possibly attack her place. You can use that Citroën I borrow from my Vietnamese officer friend. Tell Dany to start packing. I’m going to call her, but I need you to go down and convince her. Maybe you could help her pack in the next couple of days?”

  “Sure, I’d be glad to.”

  Pete stood aside, angry and concerned. “That’s dangerous, too,” he growled.

  Gib nodded. “There’s nothing about this country that isn’t dangerous.”

  Holding on to his worries, Pete waited until Tess was done working out the details with her brother. When she turned to leave, he gripped her by the elbow.

  “Come on, you and I have some talking to do,” he stated bluntly.

  Outside the tent, Pete rounded on her. “Now look, you’ve got to quit staying in Le My at night, Tess. It’s getting too damned hot out there!”

  “You’re overreacting, Pete.”

  “Like
hell I am!” He gripped her by the shoulders. “What does it take to convince you? I like you. One hell of a lot! I don’t want my woman out traipsing around where she can get her stubborn head shot off! You’re close to breaking, anyway. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve got battle fatigue. Does that get to you, Tess? Is that what you wanted to hear from me?”

  She stared up at his taut, angry features. His fingers bit deeply into her shoulders without hurting her. Pete’s voice was off-key and filled with undisguised emotion, fear mingled with concern in his eyes. For the first time, Tess understood just how much she did mean to him. Shaken, she took a deep, unsteady breath.

  “Listen, I’ll come in at night, okay? And I don’t have battle fatigue. I’ve just been wrung out lately, that’s all. I may be bullheaded, but I’m not stupid. I’ll work with Dany over the next three days and help her get moved out of the mansion and over to the base.”

  He gave her a little shake. “And you’ll come in every night? To Da Nang to sleep?”

  “Yes.”

  Relief shattered through Pete. “Good,” he said gruffly. “Tess, you mean a lot to me.”

  “I know…”

  “Be careful at Dany’s place. I’ve heard of this Binh Duc. He’s a cobra.”

  “He’s sneaky,” Tess agreed. She forced a smile. “Everything will be fine.”

  Pete didn’t want to release her. His eyes bore into hers. “Tess, we’ve got a lot to talk about…and dammit, time’s not on our side. I…well, you’re important to me, okay?”

  “Okay.” She reached out and touched his recently shaved face. “You be careful, too, Pete.”

  Leaning down, he captured her parted lips. The instant his mouth met hers, he felt Tess tremble. It was a good kind of tremble that told him how much he affected her. As he slid his mouth along hers, testing and tasting her, Pete felt his entire body consumed in a raging fire of need. As Tess leaned against him, her body supple against the harder planes of his own, he groaned.

  “I want you all over again,” he rasped thickly against her wet lips, “I want you so damn much, Tess, I ache. We’re right for each other. I know we are….” As he drowned in her heated offering, the thought of the war lurked in the back of Pete’s mind. No matter how tightly he held Tess, how deeply he kissed her, he couldn’t escape the fact that the war was beginning to impinge on them in the most highly personal way possible—he feared losing Tess in a firefight. Whatever wall was left around his guarded heart shattered. For the first time in his life, Pete Mallory felt nakedly vulnerable.