by Raina Wilde
He released a quiet curse and grabbed her hands to prevent their trek downward.
“I don’t do serious.” His words rushed out in a burst of air.
Natalie cocked her head to the side and stared up at him. “Good.” She smiled. “Neither do I.”
He released her hands and with a primal growl was upon her once more. This time there was no hesitation. No questions, no answers. Just two people reveling in the sensations that were exploding inside of them.
Natalie felt her bra removed from beneath her shirt as if by magic. Still, she remained covered, but now his hands roamed freely beneath the thin fabric.
His hands covered, he lifted the weight of her breasts. Natalie sighed with pleasure at the sensitive peaks met his roughened palms. There was nothing quite like the combination of silk and leather.
As his thumbs wreaked havoc on the hardened buds Natalie needed to ensure that he was suffering as she was. Her hand probed between their bodies and came to rest against the taught fabric of his jeans. He groaned against her mouth and she could feel the tension beneath her palm increase.
She flipped the snap of his jeans and pulled the fabric apart with both hands. One, returned to its previous position, except without the hindrance of clothing, and the other eased its way inside his waistband to cup his firm backside.
Natalie could not say if she had ever been more turned on. Perhaps it was because she could not remember ever having such a powerful effect on a man, as she was at this very moment. That knowledge in itself was intoxicating.
Whatever it was, she wanted more.
The length of him against her hand was… impressive, to say the least.
Natalie felt his own hands work at the waist of her jeans and she shimmied her hips to help him as he eased them towards the ground.
When his mouth returned to her this time, it was with renewed vigor. Their tongues met and battled for the dominance that neither of them was willing to relinquish.
Natalie gasped against him, the sharp bite of the tree bark against her skin a long forgotten inconvenience. When Chris lifted her to wrap her legs around his waist, she took no notice of chaffing at her back.
With slow precision, he entered her. Her cry of pleasure was swallowed by his kiss. A low laugh warned her to remain quiet, and she reverted to heavy sighs and shallow breaths that seemed to drive him even wilder.
Together, they moved as if they were longtime lovers. Instinctively, Chris seemed to know exactly what her body craved. Natalie clung to him and matched his movements with her own. She smiled to herself as a string of low curses passed between them.
Her orgasm crashed without warning and she felt Chris shudder in the completion of his own pleasure. Suddenly, it was as if the entire world around her had frozen in this one perfect moment and she wanted to stay there forever.
Slowly, their breathing regulated. The pair disentangled, yet remained as one as they recovered against the tree.
After a moment’s reprieve, Natalie slipped out of Chris’s shadow and hastily clothed herself.
Chris was standing there in shocked silence. The look on his face revealed everything that Natalie felt. What the hell had just happened? Her heart raced with exhilaration. She had never had such a glorious release, and with a complete stranger to top it off!
“I’ve got to go.” She moved toward their bikes, but Chris restrained her with an arm on her hand.
“How can I contact you?” He asked. His voice was still breathy from the exertion and Natalie was shocked to find herself wanting him again.
She shook her head.
“Come on…” She could tell that he did not like her answer. “Give me a number. Even a last name I can look up, anything.” He begged.
She shook her head again.
Stepping forward, she placed her hands against his chest, raised herself to the tips of her toes, and kissed him with a gentle finality.
Then, before he could recover, she slipped onto her motorcycle and peeled out of the parking lot.
Chapter 3:
Chris woke the next morning with a pounding in his head. For several minutes he laid in bed recalling a dream that he had had about a curvy brunette with a killer Harley.
He sat up in bed with a sudden start.
It had not been a dream. The memories washed over him creating conflicting emotions. Part of him wanted to revel in the one-night-stand. Another part was kicking himself for letting her get away without a full name or number.
Not, he reminded himself, that he was looking for a relationship. No, sir. He had enough on his plate without the drama that a female could bring to his life.
However, the sex had been phenomenal and he would not be opposed to a repeat performance.
Chris shook his head. He should be grateful that she had given him the perfect opportunity for a no-strings-attached fling. He needed to tell his brain to take it for what it was and stop wondering where Natalie was at this very moment.
When it came to military bases, female companionship meant slim pickings. With an 80% male population the men often found themselves driving a few towns over when looking for companionship.
In all his time, Chris had never met a woman quite like Natalie.
He forced all thoughts of the dynamic woman from his mind. The next thing he knew, he chastised himself, he would be convincing himself he had feelings for the girl. Chris laughed to himself. Those were dangerous thoughts. While Natalie had been great for one night, he was certain that he would have lost interest after any extended period.
It was best this way, and he appreciated that she understood that.
Most of the men on base were already tied down with families. Young wives and children who dominated their free time and caused additional stresses during a dangerous mission. For example, Chris ’ s best friend Tony Pomeretti had a wife and three children that were left to deal with the aftermath of Tony’s sudden death.
That was not something that Chris was interested in having. So then why could he not stop thinking about the woman from last night?
Two hours later he had almost put her from his mind when he pulled in to the VA outpatient clinic. The stress that he was feeling about the upcoming appointment was enough to distract him from just about anything else. This clinic was designed to help veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Chris did not think that he had any reason to be here. He knew perfectly well what had happened. Was there trauma that he might never wrap his head around? Yes. But it was not something that he ever wanted to talk about. Especially, not to a complete stranger.
He entered the clinic and his eyes roamed around its sterile halls. There was nothing comfortable about this place. Nothing soothing. Even the antiseptic smell made his stomach churn so that he had to suppress the urge to abandon the appointment completely.
Commander Barclay had made it very clear that these appointments were not optional. If he failed to pass the tests provided by the psychiatrist, he could kiss his career goodbye.
He signed the arrival sheet and began to pace the waiting room. The last time he was in a room like this was when the last man in his unit was dying in the other room. He hated hospitals. So maybe this was not exactly a hospital, but it still brought back memories that he did not want to confront.
Chris picked through the brochures that were spread along the edge of the table. They listed symptoms such as flashbacks, night terrors, amputations, and all sorts of things that did not apply to him. He scoffed. There was no reason for him to be here.
Sure, he was angry. There might be a lot of things that he would never understand. But he was not traumatized. He was still physically and mentally capable of carrying out any mission that was asked of him.
“ Mr. Ryker, Doctor Barnett will see you now. ” The receptionist ushered him down the hallway and toward a lone door that listed the psychiatrist ’ s name on a bold placard.
Chris took a deep breath and hardened his resolve. He would do what he had to to comple
te the requirements in order to return to active duty, but he had no intention of sharing any more information than was absolutely necessary.
He entered the room with a confident air that dissipated the moment that he crossed the threshold.
Sitting on the other side of a massive oaken desk, was none other than the woman from the night before.
Chapter 4:
Natalie Barnett felt a cold sweat break over her skin. She had just been scanning the notes for her first casefile when the patient entered. The door had clicked shut behind the receptionist, when she had looked up into the very last face that she had expected to see this morning.
She glanced again at the name on the folder and felt her heart sink.
Chris Ryker. Chris. It was such a common name that it never occurred to her that the man from the night before might be her patient. Let alone her very first patient as a psychiatrist at the Naval Outpatient Clinic.
She forced her facial features into an ambiguous mask. She was sure that he would have seen the moment of sheer panic on her face at his arrival, but she had no intention of letting him know that he could fluster her.
This was her job, and she was not going to ruin her career on her first case.
Natalie stood and rounded her enormous desk. She had hated the thing the moment that she first laid eyes on it. The imposing piece of furniture would create a distance between her and her clients that she did not want to encourage. Instead, she had been determined to encourage her patients to settle into the more casual corner of her office, where a comfortable circle of furniture sat waiting.
Now, however, her mind cried for her to remain behind the safety of the desk.
The last thing that she needed was a resurgence of the desire that she had felt the night before. Unfortunately, Chris was wearing his crisp uniform and looking all-too dashing for her taste.
“Mr. Ryker.” She began with a professional air as she gathered her folders and gestured toward the sofa. “Why don’t you choose a seat.”
“I’m pretty sure that we are well past the ‘Mr. Ryker’ phase.” Chris’s smile was like a beacon in her boring office. She had not yet had a chance to unpack her things and her office felt terribly empty and impersonal.
He continued to smile. He knew that she was uncomfortable and she had a terrible feeling that he was not going to let the topic slide.
Again she gestured at the sofa.
“Alright, Christopher. Please have a seat.”
His eyebrows raised as he waited for her to submit.
With an exaggerated huff she shortened his name and he sat with a satisfied grin.
“Natalie Barnett…” He mused.
She cut him off with a sharp glare. She refused to play this game with him. Sure, he was charming and sexy, but she would not be toyed with. She was supposed to be the one in control in the office. Why then, did she feel as if she were a mouse who had been surely caught by the cat?
“Where would you like to begin?” She began to flip through his file. This man had an extensive history.
“Well… Personally, I’d like to begin where we left off last night.” His voice all but dripped sex appeal.
Natalie had to suppress the urge to throw her notebook at him. The grin that crossed his face told her that he knew exactly what she had refrained from doing.
“Alright, if you don’t have a preference, why don’t we start with your recent trip to Afghanistan?”
That shut him up.
For a moment, his face turned steely. Then, with the precision of a true loner, he gave a false laugh and pretended to make light of the situation.
“Oh, you know… just another day in the field.” His response told Natalie a lot more than he realized. She stared at him as she waited for him to continue, but he did not.
Natalie narrowed her eyes. In the best of circumstances Chris Ryker would be a tough patient to handle. In light of recent events, however, she was fairly certain that he was never going to reveal a thing.
For a moment she considered submitting her evaluation to his commanding officers immediately. However, she knew that his refusal to open up would be detrimental to his career, and her failure on her very first case would be likewise damning for her own. At that moment she knew that, despite their sultry past, she needed to help him talk through what had happened.
Natalie gestured toward the doorway and pierced Chris with her most prim glare.
“I don’t think that we will be able to accomplish much today.” She spoke with a firm, detached tone. She could see his eyes narrow in response.
“Are you uncomfortable, Dr. Barnett?” He rose from his seated position. The immense height of this man seemed to swallow what little space was left in the office. In one step he was standing entirely too close.
“Not at all.” Her sharp reply revealed otherwise and she was forced to clear her throat. “I suggest that we postpone this meeting until later in the week. That way we can both participate without any shock or…”
“I think we both participate just fine.” He cut her off. The devilish smile that crossed her face told him exactly what sort of participation he was talking about.
Natalie felt her cheeks grow hot and she forced herself not to cover them with her hands. She never blushed! What gave this man the power to affect her on such a visceral level?
“Thursday.” She tried to brush past him but he blocked her way. The only thought in her mind was that she needed to put that immense desk between them. For both of their safety.
“It’s a date!” Chris made his way toward the door but Natalie spun on her heel and stopped him with and out-flung arm.
“It is a therapy session, Mr. Ryker. Nothing more.”
“You’re going to try to heal me?” His voice dripped with sarcasm.
“I can’t help you if you don’t want it.” Her frustration came off a little breathier than she would have liked.
Chris reach forward and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“Oh, I want it.” His tone was entirely too serious and Natalie felt her breath catch in her throat. Why did he have to look at her with such intensity? She forced herself to look away.
Before she could manage a response he had stepped past her and out into the hallway.
She had no idea whether or not he would show up for their Thursday session. She also had difficult time determined whether or not she wanted him to.
With a deep sigh, Natalie sunk into her plush leather chair. She leaned forward and placed her forehead against the cool desk.
What had she gotten herself into?
Chapter Five:
Two days later, Chris was still having trouble distracting himself from thoughts of the incredibly sexy Doctor Barnett. Holy smokes, but she made his blood churn. Never would he have expected that the laid back, witty, tomboy from the bar would be none other than his pristine therapist with her high heels and knee-length power skirt.
He had kept himself busy between the shooting range and exploring old haunts on his motorcycle. Though he was still the best shot on base, and had even run in to some old riding pals, there was not much that kept the spunky brunette from his mind.
He pulled the Harley into a gas station after a particularly long afternoon astride the beast.
He had almost finished pumping the gasoline when he heard a commotion on the far side of the station.
A young woman was battling three rowdy kids as she attempted to put air in a seriously deflated tire.
Annabelle Pomeretti.
Chris felt his stomach roll and twist. For a moment he thought that he might actually be sick. There, in her beat-up blazer was the wife, the widow, of Chris’s recently deceased best friend.
She looked like hell. No surprise there.
A young mother of three, newly widowed and left to fend for herself. It was no surprise that she looked as if she had been hung out to dry.
For a moment, he considered speaking with her, but then thought otherwise. She lo
oked frazzled enough without a confrontation with Chris. For he knew that it would be just that. He was supposed to visit the family after Tony’s funeral, but he had not. Tony had been an avid family man. His wife and children were the pride of his life. As the best friend, and as a member of the same unit, he should have been there to help the family in their time of need.
However, he simply could not bring himself to do it. Guilt washed over him for his actions. He kicked the bike into gear and rumbled away before she could recognize him. Maybe he was a coward, but he was not ready to speak with her.
Instead, he decided to go visit one of his old riding buddies. At least these guys, who had slowly eased away from the life of crime, were not known for asking questions.
Chapter Six:
Natalie sat at her desk, brooding. Chris was potentially coming in for his appointment this afternoon and she had no idea what to do.
All of her spare time in the past days had been spent going over the extensive notes of Chris’s case file.
He was a highly decorated Seal sniper with more medals of honor than she had even heard of. It was obvious that he was the best of the best. The elite. He was known for his ability to evaluate a situation with quick, precise determination.
He flawlessly executed his plans, led his unit with poise and precision, and never took unnecessary risks.
His team was both skilled and unnaturally successful on their missions.
How, then, had everything gone so terribly wrong?
The case report from his most recent mission was shocking enough to raise the hair on the back of Natalie’s neck.
The elite group of seals had somehow been ambushed while they had been separated. One by one, the team members were slaughtered. All except for Chris Ryker.
The incident was currently under investigation and Natalie now understood why Chris was so hesitant to talk.
There were conflicting testimonies in the case. Chris’s debriefing had raised some questions that were inconsistent with the investigator’s findings.
