Breaking Ties (Delta Force Strong Book 6)

by Elle James

  He moved gently in and out of her mouth, careful not to gag her.

  Heat coiled around her core, manifesting itself in moisture between her thighs. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait to have him inside her. Already, she was tingling at her center.

  When Dawg pulled out of her, he dropped to his knees in front of her, parting her legs. “Your turn,” he said, his voice deep and gravelly as if he were holding onto control by a thread.

  “You don’t have to,” she said and gasped as he parted her folds and flicked her clit with the tip of his tongue.

  “Oh, sweet heaven,” she moaned and fell back against the comforter, her fingers gripping the fabric, holding on to keep herself grounded while he sent her body to the moon.

  Again and again, he flicked her there and nibbled and licked until Beth could barely breathe.

  The tension in her body mounted. Every breath she took hitched. She wove her hands into his hair as she shot over the edge, sensations racing through her system with her release.

  For a long time, she pulsed, her hips rocking, her head thrown back.

  Dawg continued his attack, licking, flicking and stroking her until she fell back to earth, satiated, yet wanting more.

  Then he climbed to his feet, reached into the drawer beside the bed and grabbed a small packet.

  Beth took it from his fingers, tore it open and rolled the condom down over his shaft.

  Dawg bent to claim her lips, tasting of her. As he did, he touched his cock to her drenched entrance and eased into her.

  Beth wrapped her legs around his waist.

  As he stood beside the bed, Dawg moved in and out of her, picking up speed with every thrust until he rocked like a piston. His hands on her hips, he pounded into her until his body stiffened and he thrust one last time, burying himself deep inside of her.

  For a long moment, he held her there, his head back, his eyes closed and his jaw hard. When his cock quit throbbing against her channel, he drew in a long, slow breath and let it out. “Wow,” he said and pulled free of her. Then he helped her slide up on the bed and laid down beside her, gathering her into his arms. “Are you really leaving tomorrow?” he whispered against her neck, nuzzling her earlobe.

  She nodded. “I report in the morning for my briefing. I have to have my gear with me because we’re leaving soon after.”

  “I’d like to see you again,” he said.

  She smiled and touched his lips with the tips of her fingers. “I’d like that, too.”

  His brow furrowed. “Problem is…I don’t know when that will be.”

  She chuckled. “I’ll leave an opening on my calendar when I return.”

  “Seriously.” He smoothed a hand over her hair and brushed his thumb along her jawline. “I want to see you a lot more. I wish we had found each other well before being deployed. I feel like we’re out of time.”

  She turned and shot a glance at the clock on the nightstand. “Actually, we are out of time. I need to get back to my place. I still have a few things to pack and I have to be up before the crack of dawn.”

  “Right,” Dawg rolled up on his arm and stared down into her eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman, Beth Drennan. I’m glad we were both trying to escape the crowd at the Salty Dog last night.”

  She smiled up at him. “Me, too. Who knew the night would only get better? And I got to meet Chewy.”

  Dawg kissed her, hard, taking her in his arms and holding her close, skin to skin.

  When he raised his head, his lips pressed into a flat line. “I need to get you home.” He rolled out of the bed, grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. Then he snagged Beth’s dress and panties and handed them to her.

  She swung her legs out of the bed and stood, beautifully naked and unashamed or shy. She stepped into her dress and pulled it up her body, sliding her arms into the straps. Then she turned for him to zip the back.

  He did so, gladly, his knuckles brushing her skin, making him want to take her back to bed.

  When he finished, Beth leaned back against his chest. “I wish I didn’t have to leave right now.”

  Dawg swept his hands down her arms to her hips. He leaned close and pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck. “Do you have to?”

  “Mmm. Soon,” she said and turned in his arms.

  His lips curved. “Real soon?” He slid his hands under the hem of her dress and cupped her naked ass.

  Her irises flared, and she moved closer, pressing her hips to his. “Maybe not too soon?”

  He bent and hooked the backs of her thighs and lifted her.

  She wrapped her legs around his waist and pressed her center against the ridge beneath the fly of his jeans. “One for the road?”

  He nuzzled her neck. “As long as you can reach into the nightstand.”

  Beth leaned over, pulled open the drawer and fished out another special packet.

  “Good girl.” Dawg carried her into the dining room and sat her on the edge of the table where they’d had dinner. “We’ll call it dessert.” He unzipped his fly. When his cock sprang free, he leaned back and let her apply the condom to his engorged staff. Her hands on him made him even harder and more determined to have her again.

  Once she’d sheathed him, Beth guided him to her entrance and scooted to the edge of the table, giving him more access.

  He slid into her warmth. She felt so very good wrapped tightly around him, making him swell inside her.

  Then he moved. Slowly at first, then building up speed as he pumped in and out of her.

  With her dress hitched up around her waist, she leaned back on her hands, her head tipped back, her eyes closed.

  He reached between them and fondled her clit, stroking it with his fingers, flicking the little nubbin of flesh until her breathing grew ragged and her channel tightened around his cock.

  When she cried out her release, he slammed into her once more and held onto her hips as he rode his orgasm to the end.

  He kissed her again, pulled free and stripped the condom off, dropping it into the trash.

  Once he’d washed his hands, he retrieved Beth’s panties from the other room and found her shoes beside the couch.

  She still sat on the edge of the table. “I don’t think my legs will hold me,” she said with a grin.

  “Then allow me.” He slid her panties over her feet and ankles and up her long legs as far as he could while she remained seated. Then he slipped her shoes onto her feet and pulled her off the table, standing her in front of him. When she swayed, he slipped his arms around her and held her close. “I need to get you to your place so you can get some sleep.”

  “I can sleep on the flight to wherever the hell I’m going,” she said.

  “And you still don’t know where you’re headed?”

  Beth shook her head. “I won’t know until the briefing tomorrow. And then, maybe, only the continent.” She snorted. “It’s all hush-hush.”

  Once she was steady on her feet, he reached beneath her dress, pulled her panties in place then stepped back and offered his hand.

  She took it and let him lead her toward the door.

  Chewy was up and trotting beside them, eager to go wherever they went.

  “Sorry, buddy,” Dawg said. “You have to stay. I’ll be right back.”

  When Dawg looked up, he caught Beth smiling at him, the light dancing in her eyes.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked.

  “Nothing. I just think it’s cute that you talk to your dog.”

  He held up his other hand. “Doesn’t everyone who has a dog?”

  Beth frowned. “I can’t imagine my ex talking to a dog. He barely talks to his patients. He only spares enough conversation to diagnose.”

  “Not much of a bedside manner?”

  She shook her head. “Not much of one. But he’s amazing at diagnosing and treating people.”

  He led her out to his truck and helped her up into it. Once he climbed in beside her, he glanced across the console a
nd into her eyes. “I don’t want to take you home.”

  “I could call for a cab or Uber,” she suggested. “There’s no need for you to go out this late.”

  He shook his head, a smile teasing the corners of his lips. “No, it’s not that, it’s not wanting to end this evening. I know we won’t see each other for a long time.” He started the vehicle and pulled out onto the street in front of his house. “I’m just getting to know you. I’d like a little more time.”

  “But we go when we have to,” she whispered.

  The rest of the drive was made in silence.

  When Dawg pulled up to her apartment building, he shifted into park and started to get out.

  Beth laid a hand on his arm. “Stay here. I can see myself to my own door.”

  When he opened his mouth to argue, she shook her head. “Seriously. It’s hard enough parting like this.”

  He reached out and cupped her cheek. “If only we weren’t deploying in the next couple of days...”

  She covered his hand with hers and leaned her cheek into his palm. “It’s not goodbye. I refuse to let it be.”

  He brushed his thumb across her lips. “I hope you’ll consider going out on another date with me when we’re both back stateside.”

  She nodded. “I’d like that.” Beth leaned across the console and kissed him long and hard.

  He captured the back of her head and deepened the kiss.

  When he let go, she slipped out of the truck and ran across the parking lot to her door. Moments later, she was inside with the door closed between them.

  For the next few minutes, Dawg sat in his truck staring at Beth’s apartment door, wondering when he’d gone from liking the pretty nurse to falling in love with her.

  Now that they were being separated by their duties, he wondered if they’d ever get back together. Or had what they’d experienced that night only been a dream, never to happen again?

  Chapter 5

  Beth arrived in Nigeria thirty-six hours after she’d left Dawg sitting in his truck outside her apartment. She’d cried all the way into her house and throughout the process of completing her packing. She’d had exactly three hours sleep before she’d gotten up, loaded her car and driven to where her commander had arranged for her to view the country and mission assignment briefing.

  They hadn’t told her much about the mission or who she’d be working with. Apparently, the mission had begun months before, but they’d had to send one of the nurses back who’d contracted an infection and needed time for it to heal Stateside. She would take that nurse’s place for the duration of the mission.

  The team she’d be working with had a doctor, several medics and a helicopter crew that would fly their patients in and, sometimes, fly the team out to wherever they were needed. She didn’t know who she’d be working with and wouldn’t until she landed at the forward operating base.

  The area they were headed was hot with terrorists. The medical team would be there in support of a Special Forces detachment that was in the area to help the indigenous forces learn how to protect their population.

  She was given several inoculations, extra uniforms and a nine-millimeter pistol she was to carry at all times. Thankfully, she’d been to the firing range recently to familiarize with the weapon. The medical staff at the Fort Hood Army Hospital didn’t have much need for weapons in their hospital duties. Qualifying once a year or once every other year didn’t make her an expert, but at least she knew how to load, fire and set the handgun on safe when she wasn’t using it. And she could break it down, clean it and reassemble the weapon, when needed.

  A medic, Sergeant Graves, and his Private First Class driver had met her at the airport when she’d landed in Kanos. She’d been told to wear civilian clothing for the flight. Her medic and his driver also wore civilian clothing. The medic handed her a light blue hijab and told her she’d need to wear it whenever she was around the Nigerians. Then he led her to a rental car. They drove twenty miles beyond the city to a dry stretch of desert and stopped. Minutes later, a Black Hawk helicopter landed.

  Beth and her escorts climbed into the helicopter and flew the rest of the way to the location where she’d be working.

  Exhausted by the long flights and secrecy, Beth was ready to find her quarters, be it a tent or a hut, and sleep. She doubted that would happen. With the unit being one nurse down, she expected to have to hit the ground running if they had a heavy patient load.

  The helicopter landed near a small village of stick and mud huts and a small group of Army tents hidden beneath desert camouflage netting. The netting helped hide the tents from aircraft and drones and provided a small amount of shade for the people beneath.

  The medic led her through the maze to a single hospital tent. “The doc will want to brief you on the mission before you start,” the medic said. “If you need anything, let me know what it is, and I’ll see if we have it in supply.” He gave her a brief smile. “Welcome to Camp Iguana.” He started to leave.

  “Sergeant Graves,” she stopped him with her voice.

  He turned. “Yes, ma’am?”

  “The doctor? Where do I find him?”

  The sergeant tipped his head toward her, looking over her shoulder. “Behind you, ma’am.”

  Beth spun to face the doctor in charge of the medical staff, and her heart sank to her knees.

  “Jonathan,” she said, her head spinning. Her ex-fiancé was the last person she’d expected to see that day and the last one she wanted to see. “I mean, Colonel Parker, sir.” She stood at attention in front of the man she was supposed to have married six months before, her stomach queasy, her hands shaking.

  He gave her half a smile. “Beth. I’m glad you made it without incident.”

  She frowned. “You act as if you were expecting me. Did you know I would be the one coming?”

  He held out his hands. “I asked for you, specifically.”

  Beth stepped backward, out of his reach, her frown deepening. “Why would you do that?”

  His hands dropped to his sides. “I know you. You’re one of the best nurses I’ve ever worked with. Anyone else, I’d be taking a chance with. I know how steady and unflappable you are. This place can be dangerous. I needed someone who could handle it without coming apart.”

  Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Is that why they didn’t tell me anything about who I’d be working with?”

  “Partly. I didn’t think you’d come if you knew I was the one who’d be in charge.”

  “You’re damn right I wouldn’t have come,” she said.

  “I needed a good nurse.”

  But he didn’t need her. Her reasons for ending their engagement still stood. Jonathan’s focus, as always, was solely on his work. Which wasn’t a bad thing for the people he helped. But Beth wanted more than parttime affection from the man she would marry. She wanted a man who cared about how she felt and wanted her to care about him. He wasn’t that person. The man she thought she’d fallen in love with wasn’t the man for her. He was an excellent doctor who would remain married to his field.

  “Because it was me wasn’t the only reason I didn’t want them to tell you,” he continued. “I also couldn’t have them tell you who you’d be working with partly because this is a secret assignment. The less anyone knows about it, the better. We’re not supposed to be here. We’re calling this a humanitarian mission. We help a few of the locals, but we’re here for the Special Forces guys. They’re here to train the Nigerian military to protect their own people.”

  “Well,” Beth said. “I’m here now. How many beds do you have in this hospital?”

  “Four,” he answered. “But we have enough supplies to bring it up to six. Our task isn’t to keep our soldiers here, but to stabilize them and move them on to the next level of care.”

  Beth nodded. That was how they’d worked in Afghanistan. If injuries were severe, the medical staff were to stabilize the patient and move them on to places like Landstuhl, Germany, where th
e surgical staff had more resources to handle difficult cases. Ultimately, the patient was sent back to the States for the specialists and long-term recovery.

  “Anyone in your beds now?” she asked.

  Jonathan shook his head. “No. But we have a makeshift hospital for the locals in the village. “I’m headed there now if you want to join me.”

  Feeling a bit in a fog from lack of sleep, Beth would have preferred to find her quarters and grab a couple hours of sleep. It was still daylight, and it was hot. The lack of air conditioning would keep her from sleeping for a couple days until her body adjusted. She might as well do the rounds with the doctor, ignoring the fact he was her ex-fiancé. Beth was a professional. She could work with the man without dwelling on what should have or could have been between them.

  She drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Lead the way.” Beth followed Jonathan out of the Army encampment and into the little village nearby.

  A long, low building on the edge of the village had a line of Nigerians standing outside it. Men, women and children waited for medical care.

  “This building was a school for the children,” Jonathan said. “When Boko Haram threatened to burn it to the ground, they moved their school out of the building and into the open under the trees, making this a hospital. We’ve trained some of the locals to help with the people who come seeking medical help. Between the locals, our medics and myself, we see as many patients as possible in a couple of hours each day. The Red Cross has provided limited medical supplies, antibiotics and much-needed vaccinations.

  “Most of these people have no other medical services available to them. Some need stitches, some need teeth pulled. Others need antibiotics. We have to be careful distributing the antibiotics as there just isn’t enough to treat everyone.”

  “There never seems to be enough in places like this. Especially, when they’re under attack and the supplies are stolen by the terrorists,” Beth noted.