by Aliyah Burke
She pushed to her feet, cast a final look at the still immobile woman, and walked toward the dying man, who’d slumped to the floor. Eyes wide with an expression akin to disbelief fill the face of the man she’d both loathed and thanked during her captivity.
Stopping before Sing, she ignored Caleb’s warning. She stepped on the limp wrist, bent down, and ripped her engagement ring off his finger.
“Burning in hell is too good for what you’ve done, you bastard.” She spat on him and stood upright, the ring dug into her tight fist. There was no reason to wait for a response. The man lingered upon death’s threshold.
Caleb stepped close and touched her cheek. She took her gaze from the dying letch who with one fell swoop changed her life forever and looked at the one who had saved her. His dark face, covered with a few days of growth, was streaked with sweat, dirt, and blood. Blue eyes, intense like usual, bore into her.
A light shifting of dirt, or pebbles, against the stone floor her only warning. Caleb reacted with the speed of lightning. His large, strong, callused hand covered hers—the one on the gun—lifted and pulled the trigger. The air filled with soft pops, her arm jerked with the recoil. Xiao-xing fell back in a heap, her own weapon falling useless to the ground.
Her body shook. She was a doctor, conditioned to save lives, not take them. It barely registered when Caleb made his way to Xiao-xing’s forever still body. He moved his hands dispassionately and yet purposefully over the limp figure before repositioning himself at her side.
Her gaze stayed fixated on her former captor and the growing pool of dark blood around her. It wasn’t that she was squeamish, no; medical school had killed any notion of that. It was the fact the gun was in her hand.
“Kam.”
The word sounded farther away than she knew he was. Suddenly her vision of the dead woman disappeared. Her line of sight filled with the hard as marble, powerful chest of one Caleb Moser. The shirt stretched tight over his muscular torso. For a blink in time, she allowed his size and presence to distract her. Both hands cupped her cheeks and tipped her head back so he could meet her gaze.
“We need to go.” She nodded and began to peer around him only to be stopped. He stared at her, eyes direct and oddly gentle despite the seriousness. “Need your game face on, Kam. They knew where we are. Expect more near.”
“I know,” she murmured. She took several breaths, hoping it would calm her nerves.
It didn’t.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“Good.”
She snapped her eyes to his, brows lifted in confusion.
“Feeling cocky is the fastest way to get killed.”
“Great, like I didn’t have enough to worry about.”
One corner of his mouth lifted, and his eyes sparkled with pride and humor. Just like that, she felt better. This man, this Marine, would do whatever it took to return her to the arms of her family.
“I need you to watch the door…so to speak.” He handed her an optical device, only to take it back and move toward the turn leading to the entrance. “Come over here,” he ordered.
She’d been staring at the dead bodies again. The morbid satisfaction more than she’d expected. Back against the natural wall, she took the fiber optic viewer.
“You see anyone come around the corner and you clear your throat. I have to do something.”
Her gaze drifted from the view screen to him and back again. One eye on it and one on Caleb she was intrigued by whatever it was he worked on. He did something by each body, each movement swift and effective. Then he was back beside her.
“Let’s go.”
He gathered up the viewer and preceded her toward the entrance. Caleb was amazing to watch. One second he was still then he exploded into action. The loud sound of gunfire ricocheted around her and she shook with fear. It seemed to be over before she could take two breaths. Caleb drug another dead man and dropped him by her, his feet remained exposed to people who would be approaching the cave.
“Come on,” he said as if they were taking a walk along a river.
Stepping over the man with the holes in his chest, she followed. Caleb moved them higher up. She did her best to not slow but she was far from healthy. Even had she been, she would have been hard-pressed to keep up with the way the Marine before her moved.
Damn man moves like a machine. Like he’s not even winded.
In the next second, he glanced at her and like usual, when this man did her body reacted in was none other could elicit such an acute response. Deep soul wrenching and raw.
His eyes flared with primal heat and she swallowed hard. This is so not the place to have thoughts like this, she chided herself.
The following minute two rapid explosions ripped through the air. She whipped around and saw smoke billow from below.
“Suck on that, bastards,” Caleb muttered.
She tilted her head up at him. There lingered this satisfactory glint in his eyes. “You did that?”
“Yes.” There was no further explanation. “Let’s go. Make up a bit more ground while they try and reorganize.”
Scrambling after him, she frowned. At the top they rested. Well, she did while he searched the area with his binoculars.
“I see a village.”
Those four words stopped and started her heart. There was no lingering wonderment over the number of people killed today. Her focus was all on Caleb. “Is it safe, do you think?”
“One way to find out.” he looked down at her, his expression softening. “Give me the TMP.”
“Huh?”
He plucked the automatic from her hand. His gaze thoughtful ran over her before he untucked her shirt and put the H&K in her waistband. Then he put his guns, expect for a handgun away as well.
“There’s a road, so hopefully they’ll have a vehicle. I don’t know how it will play out, but follow my lead.”
“Okay.”
Dutifully she followed him down toward the village. Caleb was vigilant, never letting up on ensuring they were safe. They reached the road when the mountain lay in shadows. She could see his indecision on approaching or not. She wobbled, exhaustion sweeping over her like an avalanche.
She rubbed her eyes and dug deep for more strength. His hand pressed briefly upon the small of her back. That short contact gave her what she sought.
They walked in silence along the narrow road. Fires and lanterns flickered through the increasing darkness. Right on the edge, he paused. She stopped immediately and waited to see what he’d do. When he moved out, she was right on his heels.
Dogs barked and began sniffing around. An elderly man stepped from a small hut, hollering at the dogs. His eyes widened and his mouth snapped shut when he spotted them.
Her belly clenched with uncertainty. Uncertainty that turned to surprise, no shock, when Caleb spoke in a language she didn’t know. But the elder gentleman did.
The man, even though he still seemed a bit suspicious to her assessment of the situation came closer. Caleb’s reaction was miniscule but she noticed. He put himself in front of her, enough so it made her feel safer. She kept her face bent toward the ground, not wanting to have to explain the bruises and cuts.
When the men stopped talking she waited with baited breath. Silent, she followed them into the small hut. About the size of the one she’d been kept in, her body filled with unstoppable fear. Seconds before it overwhelmed her, Caleb gave her a light touch on her arm and dispelled her fright with nary a word. It was amazing how well he could read her.
An older woman looked up from where she sat and immediately got to her feet. The next few moments blurred together as they were shoed off to a small room in the back and within a short time, there sat a tub of steaming water.
Caleb stood beside her, the cloth pulled over the doorway offered all the privacy it could. A lone candle shone in the room. She saw the pallet and sighed.
Hurt. Everything hurt.
“Come on, Kam, get in the
tub.”
The water looked so inviting. Her fingers were boneless as she tried to remove her shirt. Then his hands were there, brushing hers away. With care, Caleb removed her dirty clothing and the bindings. Part of her brain told her she should make him leave. Another said let him assist and another said nothing at all.
She stepped into the low makeshift bath, a groan of pleasure escaped as the heated water covered her. Once seated she rested her head against the towel Caleb rested along the rim.
The splash drug her lids up. Caleb sat beside her filling a smaller bucket. She felt a light flutter in the pit of her belly. Without asking, she was one hundred percent sure what he was about to engage in. Wordlessly she sat up, unconcerned with the fact that action exposed her breasts and waited for the intimate task to begin.
The act itself, simple. But performed by another made it so personal. So intimate.
“Close your eyes.” He whispered those three words.
She did and seconds later warm water cascaded down over her head. His strong hands rubbed and massaged her scalp. The air permeated by a soft clean scent. She remained immobile and let him continue on washing her hair. The only noise, that of their combined breathing and the muted sounds of the two who’d shared their home with them.
Caleb washed her hair three times, wrung it out, and wrapped it in a towel, gathered high on her head. In the back of her mind, she wondered what woman he’d learned that on. The thought was brief and vanished into nothingness when he began on her back.
His touch, exquisite and gentle robbed her of thought. The cloth and his skin teased her already taut nerves. Each draw up and each swipe down pushed her pain further and further to the back of her mind. Exchanging places with a much more prevalent emotion.
Desire.
Craving.
Lust.
Between them, the air thickened with awareness. She was, despite the soothing warm water, tense because of his proximity to her. With languid movements, he washed her. Arms, legs, and chest. His touch arousing and yet distant. Her body had begun to give in to the need for rest. She was so tired and so as he finished her last leg, her head lolled back and she allowed her eyes to close.
* * *
Caleb knew the moment she fell asleep. He expelled a sharp breath relaxing his clenched jaw. He’d actually wondered if he would make it through bathing her. It wasn’t easy maintaining a level of professionalism doing it. He was so hard it was a miracle he’d not come in his pants while bathing her. Even battered and bruised, Kami had this affect on him he couldn’t explain.
He sat crouched by the foot of the oblong tub and stared up at her. She looked almost peaceful. Her lashes graced clean cheeks as she slept. Her face gaunter than before, but he expected as much. The water barely covered her breasts and he had to tear his gaze from them more than once.
Hell, he’d had his hands on them twice now since he’d found her but neither in the way he’d like them to be. Shaking his head, he pushed to his feet, rung out the rag and draped it over the side. There was no place for these kinds of thoughts. He moved up to her side and bent down before lifting her wet body out. Ignoring how formidable of a cry his body cried out to touch and explore hers, he carried her to the small bed and lay her down upon it. Swallowing hard, he reached for the towel and dried her off as quick and gentle as he could, forcing his gaze to remain either on her face or her feet.
It did and it was okay. The problem came when he moved from head to feet. He could feel the sharp tang of blood in his mouth from where he bit the inside of his cheek to refrain from staring at her naked body. She deserved more respect than that, than him leering at her when she was in such a bad way.
As soon as she was mostly dry, he covered her with a blanket and turned his back on her. Then he cleaned up in the water she’d used, taking the opportunity to knock back his whiskers a bit more, so there was only a small amount of growth. When he finished and had dressed, he checked on Kami again, and dragged the tub out so he could dump the water.
The man, who’d identified himself as Qiang, assisted.
“What brings you here?” Qiang questioned in Mandarin as they stood outside the back of the small hut.
“We had a stroke of bad luck,” he replied in the same language. “We need to get back down the mountain but I don’t know if she can walk it. Is there a vehicle I can buy from you?”
Qiang hunkered down and lit a smoke. A few puffs later, he nodded. “I can get you one, if the price is right.” The torch kept them in partial shadows but he could make out the old man’s expressions. “Things are difficult here with the rebels moving through and taking what they will. Hard to feed the family and all that.”
“I’m sure we can come to an agreement beneficial to both parties.”
“I hope so. Dangerous stuff, going against Sing’s rebels.”
He didn’t mention that Sing wouldn’t be a threat anymore. “I would suppose so.”
“We eat and discuss it tomorrow. You look like you could use a good night’s rest.”
That was no lie. “Very well. And thank you again, for taking us in.”
He smiled, showing missing teeth. “I like having kids around. Ours are…” He paused to shake his head. “They are no more.”
“My condolences on your loss.”
“Thank you.” He got to his feet and led the way inside.
A table sat covered in steaming food. Fen, Qiang’s wife, looked at him and smiled. “Get your wife,” she said. “Then we eat.”
“Be right back,” Caleb said and slipped back into the room where Kami lay still under the lure of the sandman.
He approached her side softly and sank to his knees by her head. “Kam. Wake up.” She jerked and tried to bolt up. A hiss of pain escaped her and he placed a hand on her shoulder, pressing her back into the mattress. “Easy, take it easy,” he ordered.
Her eyes were wide and confused until she stared at him for a moment. Then she gave a shudder and closed her eyes. “Do we have to leave?”
“They have dinner for us. I want you to eat something, then we’ll crash here. I should be able to get a vehicle and we can head down in the morning.”
When she looked at him again, he could read the hope in her gaze. So thick, he almost choked on it. Then she blinked and it was gone. Almost like, she couldn’t allow herself to believe such a thing.
“Okay.” Slowly she sat up; the blanket dipped allowing him another clear view of her breasts before she yanked it back up. “Where are my clothes?”
Head bowed, he took a deep breath and got to his feet. He brought over his final clean shirt and set it beside her. “Sorry but you’ll have to wear your old shorts. Did you want me to…um…bind you again?”
A sparkle lit the darkness of her gaze. “Are you nervous about saying the word breast, Caleb?”
“No, I don’t have a problem saying the word.”
He knew she didn’t believe him for a second. That was validated when she dropped the blanket and said, “Must just be mine you have a problem with then. Please bind them.”
I’m in hell. Without a word, he spun toward his bag and withdrew bindings. It took a few fortifying breaths before he was ready to face her again. She wasn’t looking at him, instead she’d begun to poke at her side, as if determining how sore she still was. The bruising around her torso was still ugly purplish-green and it brought another wave of anger to him, imagining what had been done to her.
He remained silent as he wrapped her and assisted her into his shirt. Taking the towel off her head, he took it and gave her shorts in return. When she walked up beside him, he put out a hand to halt her.
“What?” she asked in a tiny voice.
“They think we’re married so don’t say anything to change that, okay?”
“Fine.”
They walked out and found the couple waiting for them. Kami moved slowly, he could see her stiffness, but like usual she was trooper and put a smile on her face. He closed the gap between th
em and began translating, noticing how the bruising on her face seemed much more faded.
The warm food was a welcome change from what he was used to. He did keep an eye on Kami to make sure she didn’t eat too much; he didn’t want her to become sick. By the end of the meal, he could see the exhaustion had returned full force on her and with thanks for the meal; he took her back into the room.
She trudged to the bed and after taking off the towel she’d lain on, pulled back the blanket and lay down. He checked his bag, gun, and sat before the bed, placing himself between her and the door. The only light in the room came through the thin privacy blanket hanging in the doorway.
“Caleb,” she murmured by his ear.
“What?” he asked without moving.
“Why are you on the floor?”
“Go to sleep, Kam.” He definitely didn’t need her distracting him. Moreover, it seemed when they talked his mind drifted to his groin and focused on what it wanted.
“You need to sleep to.”
“I will. Right here.”
The bedding rustled. “Don’t be silly. Get up here.”
He knew he should refuse but in moments, Caleb had climbed into the small bed with her. She smelled clean, the scent creating havoc on his control. He lay on his side and she pressed close to him, burrowing her face into his bare chest. Bolts of lightning shot throughout his body. His cock hard and heavy wanted nothing more than to be buried between her thighs. Or her lips.
The groan almost slipped out but he managed to contain it. He closed his eyes and did his best to fall asleep, his weapon within easy reach. His slumber was light and for that reason, he didn’t shoot Qiang when he stuck his head in the room.
“You must wake now.”
Immediately wide-awake, he carefully but swiftly removed himself from Kami and how she’d been pressed against him. “What’s going on?” he asked shoving the gun in the waistband of his pants and drawing his mostly dry shirt on over his head.
“Rebels. They come.”
Shit! “Thank you.” He stepped closer to the old man. “I need that vehicle, but I don’t want you to get in trouble for it. How much will it cost?” Qiang quoted him a price and he said, “I’ll take it. Give me two minutes to get her up.”
