Strike Fast

by Kaylea Cross

  The familiar scent of it had once spiked his heart rate and libido. Now it almost made him cringe.

  She opened the door and stopped, her back rigid. Nailing him with a hard look over her shoulder, she paused there. “You’d better think long and hard about what you want, Kai. Because you’re this close to losing me for good,” she said, holding her index finger and thumb an inch apart.

  With that parting shot she flounced out and slammed the door shut behind her.

  Kai sighed into the sudden quiet, struck by the stark sense of relief washing over him. Things had been great between them for the first few months, but the constant bickering over stupid shit had taken its toll. Nothing he did seemed to make her happy for very long. Seemed to him that she was pissed-off and hurt more often than not these days.

  Damn, maybe he was the one who needed the space and not her.

  A knock at the door had him biting back a frustrated growl. He didn’t have the patience to deal with this bullshit any more tonight, but if he didn’t she’d just use her key and barge in again.

  He yanked it open, ready to tell her to leave him alone, but stopped when he saw his food goddess neighbor standing there instead. “Abby. Hey.”

  “Hey,” she said, twisting her head to look down the hallway, her pale blond pixie cut gleaming in the lights. She had on black yoga pants and a snug athletic jacket that hugged her fit, but curvy body. “I thought I heard Shelley’s dulcet tones a minute ago.” She faced him, the top of her head coming to the center of his chest, her vivid blue eyes lit with a trace of wry amusement. “But the door slam confirmed it.”

  His face heated and he barely resisted the urge to rub the back of his neck. This was so damn embarrassing. Half the people living on this floor were probably aware of the drama. “Sorry about that,” he muttered.

  “Hey, not my deal.” She shrugged and held up the container in her hand. “I’m just off to the gym but I thought I’d drop this off. It’s beef stroganoff over egg noodles.”

  He didn’t have to ask whether it was homemade, and his mouth was already watering. “Thanks, you’re an angel,” he said, taking it from her. It was still warm, too. Homemade comfort food like this would so hit the spot right now, and Abby’s cooking was always awesome. It reminded him of his grandma, who had raised him. “Smells amazing.”

  Abby leaned a shoulder against the doorjamb, her head tipped back so she could meet his eyes. “Your text said you wanted to talk to me about your schedule?”

  “Oh, right.” He’d sent it last night. He gestured over his shoulder. “You wanna come in for a sec?”

  “Sure.” She stepped inside and followed him to the kitchen, smelling of the light, clean scent of shampoo and soap instead of perfume. “You going out of town again?”

  “Next week for about ten days.” He reached into a drawer for a fork, glanced at her. “You want some?”

  “No thanks, already had some and I’ll be eating it for the next week anyway. So, you want me to look after Goliath and grab your mail while you’re gone?”

  “That’d be great, if you could.” They helped each other out like that whenever one of them was away.

  Although he was gone a whole lot more than she was, so the arrangement was pretty lopsided. Kai tried to help her out whenever he could to make up for it, fixing things around her apartment, dropping off a bag of her favorite coffee or whatever. Actually, she did way more for him than Shelley ever had, and that was a hell of a sad statement about his so-called girlfriend.

  “Sure, no problem.”

  Abby was always like that, always willing to help without making it a big deal. No guilt trips, never made him feel like he owed her or anything. No drama. God, she was such a breath of fresh air compared to Shelley now that he thought about it. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

  Another shrug. “Just text me when you’re on your way home so I don’t accidentally barge in on you.”

  He wouldn’t mind if she did. He liked talking with her, because she was so easy to be around. “I will.”

  She gestured to the fork in his hand. “I’m waiting for you to take a bite,” she said with a grin.

  He was happy to oblige. Sliding a mouthful of tangy sauce-smothered beef, mushrooms and noodles into his mouth, he let out a deep groan of appreciation and gave her an adoring look.

  One side of her mouth tipped upward. “Good, right?”

  “It’s awesome. I can taste the love.”

  “That’s my secret ingredient for every dish.”

  “I know it.” He forked up another bite.

  Abby glanced around the kitchen/living room to where Goliath swam in the special tank Kai had outfitted over in the corner, then focused on him once more. “So you and Shelley are back together again?”

  His hand froze around the fork. “Ah…no, we’re…taking a break.” Actually, he wasn’t sure what the hell they were doing anymore, aside from being miserable most of the time.

  She frowned and shook her head a little, concern etched into her face. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m good. And Shelley’s great,” he said, not even sure why he felt the need to defend her. When things were good, they were awesome. They just weren’t good all that often anymore. “She’s just…tired of me being gone so much.”

  Among other things. He didn’t exactly blame her for being upset. Very few women were okay with the frequent and sometimes long-term absences his job demanded. And since they were only dating, there was a lot he didn’t—couldn’t—tell her.

  Abby’s shrewd expression told him she wasn’t buying it, then her face softened. “You know, I don’t talk about this much, but I got out of a toxic relationship a while back. We were together three years and I was sucked in so deep I didn’t see how bad it really was. And, if I’m honest I guess deep down I just really didn’t want to be alone, so being in a bad relationship was somehow better than being by myself.

  “But then one day I realized how dysfunctional and codependent it was. I finally understood that I deserved better. That I’d been enabling it.” She took a deep breath. “Once I figured that out, there was no going back. I left him. It wasn’t easy, but my life is a thousand percent better now. Looking back, I can’t believe I wasted three years of my life on someone who was never going to treat me the way I deserved.”

  Kai stared at her in stunned silence. Was that what he was doing? Enabling a toxic relationship? He floundered for something to say, squirming inside. So much of what she said rang true for him, too. It was like she saw right through him.

  Abby took pity on him by shrugging and giving him a quick smile. “Anyway, don’t worry about your place, I’ve got it covered. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  “Thanks. I’ll give your container back after I wash it.”

  “Okay. See you.” She let herself out and left him standing there in the kitchen with a container of delicious food in his hand and a strange, hollow sensation filling his chest as a light bulb went off in his brain.

  Jesus Christ, she was right about everything. He’d been enabling a toxic relationship for months now, and it wasn’t the first time. All four of his serious relationships had followed a similar pattern, and every single one of them had dragged on way too long in the same hellish cycle. Why did he pick women that were no good for him?

  Kai frowned, suddenly angry with himself. Shit, he did deserve better. He knew damn well that Shelley was never going to change, never become secure in her own skin and in his loyalty to her.

  It was time to get real, stop hoping things would get better, man up and do something about it.

  Chapter Six

  Tess smoothed a hand down the front of her coral-colored, knee-length dress and took a breath before pushing the doorbell. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had butterflies before a date—maybe a few in the beginning of her one and only relationship since her husband died—but they were fluttering like crazy in the pit of her stomach right now. Reid had promised to pick h
er up, but things had gone late with her last meeting so she’d texted and told him she would take a cab over.

  Reid pulled the door open a moment later, wearing jeans and a deep blue shirt that matched his eyes, and gave her a slow smile that made her heart do a slow somersault. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” She thrust the bottle of wine at him, mentally muting the whisper of uncertainty in her brain that wouldn’t shut up. What are you doing? Do you even know what you’re doing? You think getting involved with another man whose job puts his life in danger all the time is a good idea?

  Okay, no to that last part. But what was she doing? She was living for a change, rather than just existing. That kiss had left her body aching and restless. Reid had woken something inside her, made her feel alive and attractive in a way she hadn’t in a damn long time, and she refused to spoil this by overthinking it.

  While staring at the ceiling last night, yearning for the weight and heat of that strong body atop hers, she’d made up her mind to simply go with this and see what happened. It wasn’t like they were going to get serious—she was only here for another day, and she was based over a thousand miles from him.

  “I brought you this instead of flowers. But I confess it was for partially selfish reasons, since it’s my favorite kind.” A glass or two would shut that damn whisper up completely.

  “Come on in and I’ll pour you a glass,” he said, stepping out of the way.

  She slipped off her heels inside the door and followed him into the kitchen, breathing in the scent of something spicy and rich. “Do I smell Mexican?”

  “You do,” he said, looking up from uncorking the wine. “Is that okay?”

  “It’s great. What did you make?”

  “Chicken enchiladas with roasted tomatillo sauce, and a black bean and vegetable salad.”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “Wow. I was expecting steaks. Or maybe Hungry Man dinners.”

  His boyish grin made her heart trip. “I looked up a recipe online. Hope it doesn’t suck.”

  So cute, that he’d picked it out for her. “Anything that smells that good can’t suck.”

  He handed her the glass of wine. “For the lady.”

  “Thank you,” she murmured, warmth spreading into her cheeks from the way he looked at her. Like he was already thinking about what would happen after dinner, and she’d bet it involved more than just kissing. It was a lot different being alone with him, without Autumn to act as a buffer.

  With a kitchen towel draped over one broad shoulder, he turned back to the ingredients he’d laid out on the counter.

  “You’re not having any wine?” she asked. She knew she should have bought beer instead.

  “No, I’m good with water,” he said, and she watched in amazement as he picked up a husked corn of cob with a pair of barbecue tongs and began roasting them on a grill pan on the stove.

  “This feels so fancy,” she said, smiling as she sipped at her wine. And decadent. Other than her husband, who hadn’t liked being in the kitchen all that much, no man had ever cooked for her before.

  “Like I said, it won’t be gourmet.” He looked back at her over his shoulder, those stunning, deep blue eyes locking on hers. “But I hope it’ll make an impression.”

  Mission already accomplished. Her bare toes curled around the rung of the stool she sat on. Mouth dry, she took another sip of wine. “Can I help with anything?” she asked when he went back to roasting the corn.

  “Nope. Almost done here. Tell me about your day.”

  “Just some meetings with my bosses, and I met my new flight crew. They seem great. One of them’s former air force, and the rest are former army. What about you?”

  “We had the day off, but I hit the gym with my buddy Kai this afternoon.”

  Since his back was mostly to her she allowed herself to enjoy the view, drinking in his broad shoulders and the muscles stretching the fabric of the shirt, the way his jeans hugged his trim hips and hard butt. Yes, she could appreciate all the time and effort Reid must put into keeping his body in that kind of condition. “He’s the big one, right?”

  One side of Reid’s mouth turned up. “Yeah. He tried to invite himself over for dinner tonight, but he would have eaten everything I had and still been looking for more so I told him forget it.”

  “Then I’m glad he’s not here, because I’m starving.”

  She hadn’t meant to make it into an innuendo, but when he looked over at her again, there was such heat smoldering in his eyes that it damn near made her stop breathing for a second. “Yeah? Good. I’m hungry too,” he said, his voice dropping an octave.

  Oh my God. Could she even handle it if they wound up in bed together tonight? She wasn’t sure she’d survive it.

  She sat there on her perch, greedily drinking in the sight of him moving so comfortably around his kitchen while he sliced the grilled corn kernels off the cob and mixed them with halved red grape tomatoes, diced avocado, black beans and whatever else he had in the salad bowl. Once he’d tossed it all together with the dressing he had mixed together in a glass measuring cup, he pulled a casserole dish out of the oven and sat it on the counter.

  Tess leaned closer, inhaling deeply. “It smells delicious.” She couldn’t wait to eat it.

  Wielding a spatula, he eyed her from next to the counter. “Just how hungry are you?”

  Fifty-fifty chance he was talking about food. “I haven’t eaten since eleven this morning, so, pretty damn hungry.”

  With a nod, he scooped out two steaming, golden brown enchiladas onto a plate and added a mound of the salad. “Let’s eat at the table,” he said, carrying her plate into the eating nook where he’d set the table and lit candles.

  It felt romantic and intimate, and she couldn’t help but smile as she sat down. “This looks beautiful.”

  “You’re the only woman besides Autumn to have ever eaten here, so I wanted it to be special.”

  What did it signify, that she was the only woman he’d allowed into his inner sanctum, other than his daughter? She wasn’t likely to forget this anytime soon.

  Once he was seated with his own plate, she raised her glass. “To surviving our recent deployment to Afghanistan.”

  He smiled at her dark humor and tapped his water glass to her wineglass. “Cheers.”

  “Mmmm, this is so good,” she said in between bites. How sexy was it, that a man as professionally accomplished as him could cook, too?

  After dinner, she started to help him clear the table but he refused and refilled her wineglass before banishing her from the kitchen while he cleaned up. She sat on the leather couch opposite the TV and talked to him while looking around at the clean, uncluttered space as the anticipation about what might happen in a few minutes built inside her.

  A few framed photos graced the mantel and side table. Mostly of him and Autumn at various stages of her life, including a recent one of them on their trip to Universal Studios. Autumn was atop Reid’s shoulders wearing a black robe and holding a wand proudly overhead, while Reid grinned up at her, hands securely locked around the front of her shins, his eyes hidden by a pair of dark sunglasses. It made Tess smile.

  A few others of Reid and his teammates were scattered around as well. Then she spotted another photo on the mantel, and her heart squeezed. It had to be from his army days because Reid was wearing desert-pattern BDUs and clean-shaven, his arm around the shoulders of another soldier around his age.

  Reid joined her a few minutes later with another glass of water. He sank down beside her, close but not touching her, and draped a casual arm along the back of the couch. “You could have turned on the TV,” he said.

  “No, I’ve been looking at your photos. This one’s my favorite,” she said, pointing to the one of him and Autumn at Universal.

  He grinned. “That was a great day. Worth every penny to see her face when we got to Hogwart’s Castle.”

  “I’ll bet.” She paused to sip her wine, debating her next words, but finally decided just to sa
y it. “Is that Jason?” she asked, nodding to the picture of him and the other soldier.

  His smile slipped and he tensed a little. “Yeah. On our last tour in Afghanistan together.”

  “Were you there when he died?” she asked gently.

  His jaw clenched and he lowered his gaze to the water glass he held in his lap. “No. He didn’t die in combat.”

  “In training?”

  He shook his head. “Hanged himself a few months after we got home.”

  “Oh, Reid…” She put a hand on his shoulder, feeling awful, the muscles rock hard beneath her palm. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

  “No, it’s okay.” He fidgeted with the water glass. “I knew he was in a bad place and tried to do what I could to pull him out of it. He promised me he’d get help.” He pulled in a deep breath. “I knew something was wrong that night. He wouldn’t answer his phone so I went over there. And I found him hanging in the shower.”

  Oh, Jesus. “That’s terrible.”

  He nodded. “I think the worst part was telling his wife. They’d been having problems and she was out of town staying with her mom when it happened. I drove all night to get there, and when she saw me at the door she started screaming.”

  Tess couldn’t stand not being able to comfort him. She set her wine down and wrapped both arms around him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. Relief and warmth spread through her when he curled an arm around her and tucked her into his side. “I’m so sorry that happened.”

  “It was hard, not gonna lie.” He ran his fingers through the ends of her hair, the motion tender yet arousing, too. “I told you last night that I didn’t handle it well.”

  She tipped her head back to look at him, sensing he was about to say something important.

  He nodded at the glass in his hand. “You probably noticed I’ve been drinking water this whole time. And that’s because I had a drinking problem.”

  The bluntness of the admission took her aback, but she also found it incredibly brave. “You did?”