She felt her eyes widen as she stared into his hard face, a mere few inches above hers. His eyes glittered with lust, and his lips tempted her with the promise of another kiss she couldn't wait to taste. "Declan," she whispered. Without realizing what she was doing, she licked her lips.
"I haven't decided yet if I'm going to kiss you again," he whispered. "It wouldn't be a smart thing to do."
"Is that so?" She raised her arms, clasped her hands behind his head, and began stroking the back of his neck. "You said you would earlier."
He smiled. "You remember that?"
She pushed her fingers through his thick hair, then moved back to his warm neck, rubbing the muscles she knew must be sore from his heavy pack. Even though her goal was to get him to kiss her, she also felt a strange determination to try to make him feel a little better, to ease his aches and pains, in a purely physical, non-sexual way.
Of course it was hard to focus on the purity of her motives, when his hips continued that measured dance. Thrust. Pull down slowly. Pause. Thrust again.
Suddenly, without warning, he dropped his head and his mouth found hers. She opened immediately, welcoming him with everything she had. His tongue thrust inside her and she sucked on it, as her hands gripped the back of his head, holding him with all her strength. He angled his head, seeking to go deeper. She urged him on, lost to everything but the fierce beauty, the heady titillation of his kiss. He knew exactly where to stroke, what to do with his hands, how to use his body to drive her higher—
"Declan!" Zack's irritated voice broke over her. She allowed Declan to continue kissing her into delirium. It was the only thing that mattered.
"Fuck, Dec!" Zack's voice got louder. "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Abruptly, the warm lips, the hard tongue, and the scratchy beard were yanked off her. She opened her eyes to see Declan wildly glancing around. In the next instant, he pushed himself to his knees and stood up.
"Is there a problem, Zack?" Dec's normally cool tone had a rasp.
"Yeah." Zack jerked his head toward her. "Laila is our prisoner. You can't be messing with her."
Dec ran a hand through his hair, straightening what she'd rumpled. "Don't watch if it bothers you."
"Are you fucking kidding me? You're messing with your career here, Dec."
"Only if someone tells," Dec said belligerently.
Zack stomped over until he was nose to nose with Dec. "Number one, don't fuck with me. You know I'm not a goddamn tattletale. But these things are always discovered. Number two, we're in fucking Iraq. Muslim women are off limits. Totally. There's not a one of us that would escape a horrible death if you were discovered. And number three, we could easily be discovered because, instead of guarding this camp like I should be, I'm babysitting you and your goddamn pecker."
"No one asked you to butt in."
"We went through BUDs together, Dec. You spent years training for this job. And you're going to throw it all away for some pussy that we don't even know who it belongs to?"
Dec grabbed the front of Zack's shirt. "Don't talk about her like that."
"Fuuuuuuck!" Zack knocked Dec's hand off his shirt. "I don't know which is worse, Dec. That she's going to work in a brothel like she says she is, or that she's a liar and we don't have a fucking clue what she's doing out here. But we sure as hell know that we can't trust her either way. I'm not about to trust either a whore or a liar."
Laila pushed herself to her feet, horrified to see these two men, brothers-at-arms fighting over her. The thought that Dec might lose his job over a mere kiss with her was even more terrifying.
She cleared her throat, trying to get their attention.
The two men ignored her. Dec had his hand up against Zack's throat and was snarling in his face. "I told you. Don't you fucking talk about her like that."
"What, is she your soul mate or something," Zack jeered. "You'd jeopardize everything in your life for her?"
"Shut up!" Fury emanated from every part of Dec's body.
"Stop," Laila shouted. "It was my fault, Zack. Stop blaming Dec. He was just sleeping here, guarding me like he was supposed to. But I—I wanted to kiss him. So—"
"Yeah," Zack interrupted. "I could see you were pinning him down. And he's such a weakling he couldn't possibly have gotten away."
Dec was staring at her in amazement. She tried to signal him with her eyes to just accept the story. What difference did it make if they blamed her? She'd be leaving them within a day or so. They could think what they liked about her.
Yes, a pang went through her at the thought, but she was a realist.
She moved closer to Zack. "You're so honest and pure, Zack? Unlike the rest of us, I presume. Now what was that little story you told me? Hmmm, you guys are hikers, right? So what is this job training and career you're talking about?"
Shaking his head, Zack looked at Dec. "You see how women always cause trouble?"
Laila gasped.
"Save the innocent act," Zack snapped, casting an angry glance at her. "Your hypocrisy disgusts me. Traipsing around like the Grim Reaper in that ghoulish getup, like you never heard of sex. Then, every chance you get, you use your wiles to manipulate Dec to do whatever you want him to do. You don't give a damn what your shenanigans might do to his career, do you?"
Dec clenched his fists, but kept them restrained at his sides. "You're the one who came over here looking for trouble, Zack. You jealous?"
"Jesus Christ. It only needed that." Zack turned away and started up the little rise. "I'm trying to save you from your own damn foolishness, Dec. I liked being on your team. I'll hate to see you drummed out of the Navy."
Chapter Seventeen
The city of Sinjar lay in a valley far below them, low to the ground, like the wrecked town Dec had heard it was. In the distance, a long, low mountain range formed a natural boundary to the valley. Unworked fields surrounded the city.
Dec and his teammates all lay prone, careful not to provide a silhouette. Although Sinjar was in friendly hands now, even the Kurds had various factions operating in different parts of the city. The men had to be cautious at all times, which was second nature to them anyway.
They could have walked into town for dinner. If they'd been ordinary guys on, perhaps, a college break trip to Amsterdam. But they were SEALs on an undercover mission to a town ruled by violence and divided loyalties. There was no point in raising the interest of those who might not be favorably disposed to outsiders. They had to remain invisible, which meant they wouldn't walk around town without the cover of darkness. Even then, they'd be more like ghosts than flesh and blood men.
Declan wasn't worried about finding a place to set up a hide inside town. Many of the inhabitants had fled or been killed. There would be abandoned homes aplenty. The more difficult task would be to find the brothel that Behaid was supposed to be visiting. But even that, Dec figured, was doable. Men were always willing to talk about whorehouses, especially if money changed hands.
Of course, he would have to keep Laila from going to the brothel until the SEALs had accomplished their mission. There might be too many questions about how she'd arrived. He couldn't afford to have any loose ends, and she was definitely a loose end who needed to be kept under their control. So she was both his biggest threat, and his biggest asset. On the one hand, he figured she'd probably try to escape as soon as possible. On the other hand, if Behaid was at the brothel, she might be Dec's best chance at finding it.
He'd talked to Lieutenant West on the sat radio and his ear was still blistered. "No one knows where the fuck Behaid is," West had snapped. "Find him. We need to wrap up this job."
Dec crawled over to where Laila had situated herself several feet from where he and the guys had dropped their backpacks. He knew, instinctively, that she was separating herself from them in preparation for leaving them when they reached Sinjar.
He touched her arm. "We'll move into town under the cover of dark."
She lowered the water bottle
she'd just drunk from, swallowed and turned her head to look at him. "I think I'll go now."
"I think not," he said calmly.
"I don't want to get caught in whatever you guys are planning."
"You'll wait for our escort."
She twisted the cap on with an angry jerk. "That's just the kind of attitude I can't stand. I am not a helpless female."
"You're welcome," he said drily, "for the fact that we got you here safely. But right now I'm thinking of our safety. If you think we're sexist, you don't know Muslim men. As soon as you waltz into town they'll demand to know how you got there."
"I'll tell them I had an escort from the refugee camp and the men left me here at my destination."
If she ever ended up in Behaid's clutches, Behaid would know that story was a lie. He would certainly recognize Laila as the woman he'd had captured in his tent. He'd probably also know she was at the Kalkan Pass in a firefight with his men.
Her cover would be totally blown, and Behaid wouldn't take kindly to anyone who'd been on the wrong side of a firefight that killed some of his men. She'd be dead and/or tortured before she knew what happened. But Dec couldn't tell her all that without disclosing his own interest in Behaid.
So he merely raised his brows to express his skepticism of her plan. "If they question you, I don't like our chances."
"Question me? Why would they do that? They'll be grateful to have my help at the—the facility."
"Whorehouse."
Her brows drew together and she suddenly looked like she might cry. "Don't talk like that, Dec," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It can't be that bad."
"You're feeling sorry for these girls suddenly?"
"That's not how the—the situation was explained to me in London. I think you're wrong."
He sighed. "This is not a debate, Laila. You're staying with us until we complete our mission, or until we find a safe place for you. You wouldn't be safe roaming around a war-wracked city by yourself. Furthermore, the brothel is not likely to be where it was when the Kurds invaded. Most likely, it doesn't even exist anymore now that ISIS has been forced out."
Her eyes widened with horror. "The girls had to go somewhere."
"Why do you care where they went? If the brothel is disbanded, they won't need your help. What is your true interest in all of this, Laila?" He speared her with his gaze, trying to force her to confess the truth.
"I told you what I'm doing," she said stubbornly.
Dec sighed. "You know," he finally said, "I find it hard to believe you'd be involved in either prostitution or sex slavery." He captured her gaze again. "You don't seem like a bottom feeder."
She tightened her lips and a look of such desolation entered her eyes that he was almost sorry he'd pushed her. Clearly, whatever she was doing was important to her. But he couldn't have anyone blowing their cover. It was that simple. She had to stay with them.
"By the way, how are you planning to find this brothel?" he asked.
Her eyes immediately shifted away but she didn't speak. Dec knew suddenly that she had a way to contact whoever she was planning to meet. His stomach churned with a dismay he didn't want to recognize. How badly was she mixed up with ISIS? He didn't want to accept that she could have anything to do with terrorists. But he'd learned a long time ago that facts were facts. They didn't care what anyone wanted.
"Don't worry about that," she answered.
The idea hit him like a flashbang detonating. He knew exactly what they'd do in the morning.
Dec crawled back over to the guys who were shooting the breeze, insulting each other, their women, real and fantasized, and anything else they could think of that would keep their minds off the monotony of their overwatch. Dec spoke quietly, outlining the plan to move into town under cover of darkness, find a place to hole up overnight, and start their search for Behaid in the morning. He told them the rest of the platoon was on standby to fly in if they needed help.
"What about her?" Zack jerked his head at Laila, who was still several feet away, out of earshot.
"No loose cannons," Dec said succinctly. "She stays with us until we complete the mission."
Harp snorted. "Excess baggage."
Dec lowered his voice even further. "I have an idea."
Chapter Eighteen
Laila had just clicked off her cell phone when Dec appeared silently in the hallway of the single-story abandoned house they'd moved into once they reached Sinjar. Damn, how did he move so quietly? And how much had he heard?
"Did you get your marching orders?" Dec asked casually.
"What do you mean?" Could she brazen it out? She was determined to leave in the morning, regardless of what Dec wanted. They had no right to keep her as a prisoner.
Dec raised one eyebrow. "What do I mean? Aren't you planning to go to some brothel to help the guys abuse women?"
"What a nice way to put it." She clutched the clean clothes she was carrying.
"How would you put it nicely?"
She had to change the subject. "Now that we're in Sinjar, you have a mission yourself. Why aren't you working on that?"
"We're waiting for the rest of our team. Remember how you messed up our op back in that tent high on the mountains? Now we don't know where our target is. We need to wait for a higher level person to meet with the Kurds so we can figure it out."
"When will your teammates be here?"
"In the morning." He paused. "We have tonight to relax."
She had a feeling she was going to mess that up as well. Well, she couldn't leave until dawn, so maybe not.
"I need to take a shower," she said. "I'll see you later."
"Just one thing, Laila." Dec put a hand on her arm. He used just enough force to make her wonder if she could escape him if she tried. She didn't want to alert him to her plans, so she let it be. "Where is this brothel, anyway?" he asked.
"Why does it matter to you?"
His fingers tightened just enough so she knew he'd done it deliberately. "If you're smart, you'll let us escort you."
"I'll be fine. I won't leave until daylight."
He snorted. "The city still has plenty of hot spots. A woman alone won't be safe anywhere, even in daylight."
"I'll be fine," she repeated. She'd made it this far. She wouldn't fail now.
Dec frowned. "Or maybe they're sending someone here to pick you up, and you'll give away our location."
"I wouldn't do that!"
"The question isn't what you'd do, but what they'd do." He dropped his hand from her arm. "I'm afraid I don't have a lot of faith in the motives of anyone who's involved in running a brothel. If they decided to question you, you'd give us up in a heartbeat."
"So much faith you have in me," she said sarcastically.
"I have faith in pain."
She glared at him. "No one is coming here to pick me up. Nor are you escorting me there, and that's final."
He rocked a little on his feet, regarding her silently. Finally, he said. "Wrong."
She thought about finally explaining to him about her sister, and pleading with him to let her go to the brothel alone. But he would most likely still insist on taking her there. And she couldn't have that.
She didn't need any macho military guys thinking they were Rambo assaulting the brothel and killing everyone in sight. That kind of death and destruction was the last thing she would bring to her sister.
No, it was best to handle this on her own.
Which meant she couldn't let Dec become suspicious of anything she did. She would have to pretend to go along with his wishes.
"Fine," she said, putting just enough bite in her tone that he'd think she'd given in reluctantly. "I'm going to take a shower now. Where should I report to my lord and master afterward?"
He winked at her. "That's the right approach."
While Laila was in the bathroom, Dec called a quick meeting with the other men. It was getting dark, and Geek had to get outside for guard duty soon. Right now he sto
od inside the open doorway, watching the street unobtrusively. Harp and Zack were sitting on the cushions against a wall in the main room, cleaning their guns.
"I think Laila just got word where the brothel is located," Dec said, laying out his bore snake, oil and cotton balls. He needed to clean his gun as well. "I heard her wrapping up a phone conversation. Who the hell else would she be talking to?"
Geek shook his head. "I can't wrap my mind around this association she claims with a brothel. She doesn't seem like the type. D'you think she's lying to us?"
Dec shrugged. "Could be. But, either way, we've got to follow her. The plan I outlined last night to follow her will keep her within our control, and also, if she does go to the cathouse, that will be the easiest way for us to find it."
"Did you hear when she's taking off?" Geek asked.
"No. She told me she wouldn't leave until morning."
"Not that we can rely on that," Harp said.
"We can." Dec picked up his bore snake. "Because she'll be staying with me tonight." He'd answered too quickly, so he added, "We can't afford to let her slip away. We haven't found anyone on the street who can tell us what happened to the brothel, or the girls, after the peshmerga took over Sinjar. So Laila's our only link."
"Sure, and that's your motivation," Harp said with a guffaw.
"If she's with you," Zack pointed out. "she'll expect you to cuff her. So how would she leave?"
"I can work out a way to leave her uncuffed," Dec said. He didn't feel happy about the fact that he'd be deceiving her, but he did feel happy about the means he was going to use.
Harp snorted. "Be more in character if you were trying to cuff her to your bed."
Zack laughed. "Hell, Harp, she doesn't know that. She has stars in her eyes whenever she looks at ole Dec."
Dec shoved the bore snake through the barrel of his gun. "Only time I've been in one of those BDSM bars is when you dragged me in, you perv."
"Just trying to help you grow up, bro," Zack said.
Geek frowned at his teammates. "Remember your manners, Dec, if you do find yourself in bed with her. If you pop her cherry, there will be hell to pay."
Field Stripped: 15 Steamy Military Romances Page 120
