by Sandra Owens
“I’d much rather kiss you,” he said as they reached the top of the stairs. “Like this.”
When their lips met, she sighed. She had only kissed a handful of men, so she didn’t have much to compare him to, but she’d bet her beers that there wasn’t a man in the world who kissed as well.
“Ring the doorbell when you’re done.”
Riley jumped away—heat immediately flaming her cheeks—and turned to see Logan Kincaid standing in the doorway, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Ah . . . hi. We were just . . . we were . . .”
“We were kissing,” Cody said, giving her a wink.
“I noticed.” Logan stepped back. “Come in.”
Could she be more mortified? She pinched Cody’s arm in retaliation as she passed by him to step inside. His chuckle didn’t endear him to her, and she glared at him. That got her a big grin. Men!
Logan closed the door behind them. “Good to see you again, Riley. Everyone’s outside.”
As she followed Logan through the house, she did manage to keep her mouth closed, but it wasn’t easy. The place was freaking amazing. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the side facing the gulf provided a magnificent view of Pensacola’s famous sugary sand beach, and the water sparkled an emerald green. The interior colors were beachy—blues, turquoises, and greens—and the floors were bleached wood. The great room opened up to a state-of-the-art kitchen and dining area, and stairs led to a second story.
“Wow,” she whispered.
Cody put his mouth close to her ear. “Told you,” he whispered back.
She elbowed him in his stomach.
“Ooof.” He rubbed her bottom.
She sidestepped. “Stop it.”
“Make me.”
This playful side of him was new, and she liked it, but she wasn’t about to tell him. Nope. Not giving him that satisfaction.
“You have a beautiful home,” she said, increasing her pace to catch up with Logan, then was snatched back when Cody caught the waist of her jeans.
He tucked her against him. “You can’t get away from me, darlin’.”
Like she wanted to. “You’re being a bad boy. Behave or I’ll punish you.”
His eyes lit with interest. “Yeah?”
“Well, that threat didn’t have the desired effect.”
“When you two children finish playing, join us. Everyone else is here,” Logan said before opening one of the French doors and walking out.
“Does he have eyes in the back of his head?” She’d thought he was too far away to hear their whispering.
“Yep, and the best set of ears you’ll ever find.”
“That’s something you should have mentioned.”
“More fun letting you learn that on your own.”
She rolled her eyes. It was funny, though, that his messing around with her had relaxed her. Maybe that had been his plan all along. When she stepped out onto the back deck and everyone looked over at her and Cody, she froze. Well, relaxed was good while it lasted.
Cody put his hand on her lower back, flattening his palm and rubbing his thumb over her. “There’s not another woman in the world I’d be prouder to introduce my friends to than you, darlin’.”
She shot him a grateful smile, and he dropped his hand from her back, lacing their fingers together. Glancing at the couples, she was relieved to see that everyone was wearing jeans. The temperature was in the high sixties with only a slight breeze, the sun was bright in the sky, and the waves made a gentle splash against the shore. A beautiful day to spend on the beach. The deck stretched across the entire back of the house, and flames danced in the fire pit that everyone sat around. She squeezed Cody’s hand and got a return squeeze.
Cody didn’t know why Riley was nervous about meeting his friends, but he could see that she was. She was beautiful and had a great personality—sassy and funny. He guessed because of her upbringing and then dedicating herself to getting her clinic up and running, she hadn’t had much opportunity to socialize. But the death grip she had on his hand had him sending a warning glance at his friends. They better accept her. Because the team was so attuned to each other, they got his message, and the men gave an imperceptible nod. The women totally missed the communication happening between the team, but they all had warm smiles for Riley, so he relaxed.
He let go of Riley’s hand and put his arm around her shoulder. “Everyone, this is Dr. Riley Austin. She’s already met the team and is friends with Maria, so I’ll just introduce the rest of you gorgeous ladies.”
“My cat loves her,” Maria said.
“Then that’s good enough for me,” Dani Kincaid chimed in.
“Riley, meet Dani Kincaid. Sitting next to her is Sugar Turner, Jamie’s wife.”
Sugar waved. “I’m pregnant.” She patted her rounded stomach.
Riley laughed. “I can see that.”
“Well, I meant that if I go into labor, it’s good to have a doctor around.” She glanced at her husband. “I don’t think I’m fixin’ to, honey, so get that worried look off your face.”
Sugar was as southern as they came, and her accent with those drawn-out words was cute. “Ah, Riley’s a veterinarian.” Cody was positive Sugar already knew that because he was certain that everyone had been told about Riley by now. In her own way, though, she had put Riley at ease, and he liked Sugar for that.
“True,” Riley said, “but I’ve delivered scads of kittens and puppies, so I’m sure I could figure out how to deliver a baby if it comes to that.”
Jamie snorted. “She’s got two months to go. Let’s not even talk about delivering a baby today. Makes me want a drink.”
“And he doesn’t drink.” Sugar patted her husband’s knee. “You’ll live through it. Probably.”
Everyone laughed, and Cody thought the last of Riley’s tension had vanished. “On the other side of Jamie is Charlie Morgan, Ryan’s fiancée. Charlie’s a stunt plane pilot.”
Riley smiled at the petite woman. “That’s really cool. I heard you actually fly in air shows?”
“Sure do. Have one tomorrow afternoon, in fact. If you’re not doing anything, come out and watch.”
“I’d love to.”
As he and Riley took the two empty chairs, the whole group made plans to go to Charlie’s air show. Kincaid had asked Cody Friday afternoon what he and Riley liked to drink, and a few minutes later, a young man dressed in black pants and a white shirt brought them beers with limes stuck in the neck.
When Riley showed surprise, Dani said, “I didn’t want to be up and down taking care of drinks and food today, so we hired a caterer. Hope you like seafood. If not, you can opt for a steak.”
Riley pushed her lime into the bottle. “I love seafood. Your home is beautiful.”
Cody sat back, watching Riley get to know his friends. She was shy with them at first, but as the afternoon wore on, she seemed to be enjoying herself, and he was surprised at how much fun he was having.
Welcome back to the land of the living, Dog.
After a delicious dinner of fresh-off-the-boat cold boiled shrimp, grilled grouper that melted in his mouth, and raw oysters for anyone who wanted them—not him, but he learned that Riley liked them—everyone decided to take a stroll on the beach as the sun set. After the first ten minutes or so of walking as a group, Cody noticed that each couple began to wander off on their own. Holding hands with Riley, he slowed his steps.
Throughout the evening, he’d tried not to envy his teammates’ happiness. It was blatantly obvious that every damn one of them was in love, and even more incredible, not embarrassed to admit it. A few years ago, when they were still a SEAL team, except for Ryan, who was already married to his first wife, not a one of them saw this day coming. He certainly hadn’t. Yet, here he was, about to say something he thought would never come out of his mouth.
He tugged Riley to a stop. “Beautiful night. Beautiful woman. How did I get so lucky?”
She smiled up at him. “I could argue that I’m the lucky
one.”
Cradling her face with his hands, he angled his head and kissed her. She leaned into him, putting her hands on his waist. The breeze blew her hair around their faces, and he reached under her neck and gathered it up, wrapping it around his hand. He deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth, drowning in her sweet taste. When she rubbed her groin against his erection, he groaned.
“Careful, darlin’,” he said, pulling away. “Another minute of that, and I’ll be making love to you right here in the surf.”
“Might be fun.” She nestled her head against his neck. “When it’s warmer.”
“We’ll put it on our bucket list.”
“We have a bucket list?”
He wanted to make a list that would last them a lifetime. Wrapping his arms around her, he leaned his cheek on her forehead. “What would you say if I told you I think I’m falling for you?”
“I would say that I’m pretty sure I’m falling for you, too.” She nuzzled her face against his chest.
“Think they’d miss us if we disappeared?” Needing to kiss her, he lowered his mouth to hers.
Kincaid walked past with his wife tucked next to his side. “Hey, you two. Time to toast the happy couple.”
“Dammit, we weren’t fast enough.” He took Riley’s hand, and they followed the others back to sit around the fire pit. A slew of off-color toasts were made to Ryan and Charlie amid much laughter, some causing the bride-to-be to blush.
“Something came up today,” Kincaid said when the conversation trailed off. He turned those all-seeing eyes on Cody. “Something I need you for. Problem is, I need you back to the Dog that took no enemies. What can we do to get you there?”
Cody set his cup of coffee on the deck. He glanced around to see everyone’s attention was on him. His first reaction was anger that the boss would shine a light on him like that, but the men sitting around the fire pit were his brothers. They loved him. He knew that. Where it had once just been the team, now significant others were involved. These women loved their men, and they needed to know that if he were involved in an operation, he wouldn’t have a flashback, endangering whichever teammate was out with him.
Riley reached for his hand, tangling her fingers around his. She glared at the boss. “Do you have to do this in front of everyone?”
Damn, the woman was amazing. “Yeah, he does, darlin’.” He pulled her chair closer, needing her near for what he was about to say. “I don’t know what any of you can do to help, but before I met Riley, I’m not sure I would have talked to you about what’s going on with me. She’s incredible, my inspiration.”
“He swore he wasn’t going to drink the water,” Ryan said.
Riley furrowed her brows. “You’ve said that before. What does that mean?”
Since Ryan was next to him, Cody kicked him.
“Saw that,” Jake said.
At the smirks on his teammates’ faces, including Kincaid’s, Cody sent them all a glare. He wouldn’t trade a one of those jerks, though. They were his family, one that had grown to include the women sitting with them tonight. They had his six. Always had. Always would. For these people he would bare his soul.
After discussing his nightmare, everyone agreed that he was suppressing his memories, but other than continuing his appointments with Tom, no one had anything new to offer. They hadn’t been there that day, and he knew that bugged them, each believing he could have done something to protect their sniper.
Cody met Kincaid’s gaze. “I want to be a member of the team. One thing Tom told me was to have a safe word that would bring me back if I ever had another flashback.”
“Riley,” the boss said.
If there was one word that would get through to him, it was that one. Cody glanced at Riley to see her reaction, and smiled at the shock he saw on her face. “He’s right, darlin’. No matter how far gone I was, your name would get through to me.” He sat back in his chair. “Riley it is.” He turned back to the boss. “When is this operation?”
“Next month. If you don’t think you’ll be ready, you can refuse.”
He wasn’t about to. “I’ll be ready.” Come hell or high water, he was going to be the man they needed. Enough attention had been paid on him, though, so he said, “Where are your kids tonight?” Who knew the day would come when his SEAL team commander’s eyes would light up with pleasure at the mention of children?
“They’re upstairs with our housekeeper. Would you like to meet them, Riley?”
“I’d love to,” Riley said, standing and pulling Cody up with her. Everyone followed Kincaid and Dani into the house.
Cody privately chuckled. He had gone and drunk the damn Kool-Aid, and was already imagining a miniature Riley running around his feet. He wasn’t taking for granted that it would happen, though. He hadn’t asked her to marry him, but the question was now on his agenda for the near future. As soon as he cleaned up the mess in his head.
Cody jerked awake to the feel of soft fingers caressing his cheek. It was so familiar that a fuzzy picture hovered at the edge of his mind, one from his past. As he stared, somewhat disoriented, at Riley’s face as she leaned over him, he tried to recapture the memory. It seemed important that he did so, but it slipped away. They had come home, made love, and quickly fallen asleep, tired from a long day.
“You were calling out,” she said.
He smiled at her before drifting off again.
“Soldier.”
The muted voice stopped Cody. He motioned for his spotter to head on up to the roof of the building they’d scouted out a few days earlier. Cody was familiar with the occupants of the house across the alley. Covered in a burqa, Asra, the teenage girl who lived there with her parents and two brothers, beckoned him before disappearing inside.
He ran low to the other side of the street and ducked into the open door of her home, his Glock palmed in his hand. Taking off on his own was against regulations and foolhardy, but she’d given him good intel on the Taliban twice now. Her only condition had been that no one know about her. He understood. The Taliban would kill her and her family if they ever learned of her treachery.
Adjusting his eyes to the dusty shadows of the house, he zeroed in on Asra, doubled over and holding her stomach. She yanked away the material covering her face. Blood dripped from a cut on her neck. Every hair on his body stood on end. The situation was bad, but he wasn’t sure why. Had the Taliban somehow learned that she’d been passing their locations to him? He stepped toward her. It was quiet, too damn quiet.
The air behind him shifted, and he spun . . .
Soft fingers caressed his cheek, and he blinked his eyes open. Asra leaned over him, the blood on her neck now dried in crusty patches. “Wake up, soldier.”
“Where am I?”
“We have to go before they come back.”
“My head,” he said, reaching a hand up and finding a large lump on the back of his skull.
“They hit you there. They think you dead, soldier. We must go.” She pulled on his arm.
“Have to go.” He struggled to his knees, and then the blackness descended.
He groaned at the pounding ache in the back of his head. Forcing open eyelids that felt as if they had been stapled shut, he frowned at seeing dusty, sandal-clad feet in his line of vision. Why was he facedown on the floor? Lifting his gaze, he saw Asra being held against a bearded man wearing a balaclava head wrap, saw the knife in the man’s hands, saw the blood dripping down Asra’s neck. He tried to sit up. Had to save her.
He made it to his knees when something hit the back of his head again, the searing pain sending him into oblivion. When he came to, he was facedown on the dirt floor staring into the dead eyes of Asra. She was on her back, her head turned his way, her accusing eyes open. He pushed up onto his arms, then fell into a sitting position. The room swam, and he thought he was going to throw up.
“Asra?” He shook her. If he could get her to their medic . . . His gaze fell on her stomach, cut open, revealing a bloody me
ss of organs.
Cody leaned over and vomited. His fault. His fault.
Voices sounded in the next room, men arguing in Pashto, the primary language of the Taliban. Cody tried to focus on the open door, but there were two of them wavering in his vision. He fumbled around for his pack and sniper rifle, but they were gone.
“I’m sorry, Asra,” he whispered. “So fucking sorry.”
He crawled toward one of the doors, hoping it was the real one.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Noooo!”
Riley shot straight up in bed, heart pounding. Cody?
“I’m sorry. So fucking sorry.”
The agony she heard in his voice pierced her heart. She scooted onto her knees and turned the lamp on dim. Cody rolled from his stomach to his back, and his face was wet with tears. He was having his nightmare, and she wasn’t sure what to do. If she tried to wake him, would he lash out? She felt strongly that he wouldn’t hurt her, that somehow even asleep he’d know it was her. Then she remembered that her name was supposed to be a safe word.
It was something to try, at least. On the other side of the closed bedroom door, Sally, or maybe it was Pretty Girl, whined. Riley covered Cody’s clenched fist with her hand, hoping her touch would calm him. Also, if he tried to punch her, she’d maybe be able to push his hand away.
“My fault. My fault.”
He sounded so devastated, and whatever he was dreaming had to be something really bad, something he blamed himself for. She leaned her mouth close to his ear. “Riley.” She waited a few seconds, then said it again. “Riley.” He tried to shake off her hand, but she closed her fingers around his. “Riley.” Each time she spoke her name, she said it a little more loudly and forcefully. “Riley.”
His eyes blinked open, and he stared at her, but she knew he didn’t really see her. “I’m Riley. It’s Riley here with you.”
“Riley? You can’t stay here. It’s not safe. They’ll get you, too.”
At least he was talking to her. “Riley’s not there. You aren’t either. She’s here, in America, with you. Do you understand? You’re with me, baby.”
