by Karen Foley
As he’d gotten to know her better, he’d realized the sweet, southern belle image that she presented to the world was just a façade. Beneath the seemingly delicate exterior was a fiercely independent woman. Shane found the combination irresistible. She was also smart and supremely athletic. Shane had once watched her swim across the lake and back again on a dare from her brother. Nobody could tell Holly that she was incapable of doing something; she had a competitive nature and simply couldn’t resist picking up the gauntlet once it had been thrown down.
Sometimes, Shane wondered if that wasn’t the reason she wanted him. She liked the challenge; the thrill of the hunt. But what would she do once she finally caught him? If he gave her any indication that he felt more than just a physical attraction for her? At first she’d be thrilled, thinking she’d won. But once the novelty had worn off, he suspected that she would run as fast as possible in the opposite direction.
Sliding her to one side, he discreetly disposed of the condom and then gathered her back against him, taking care not to disturb her injured arm.
She shifted and propped her chin on her fist as she looked at him. “Hey,” she said softly. “You okay?”
Afraid she would see how he felt, Shane didn’t meet her eyes. Instead, he kissed her mouth and drew her back down to nestle against his chest. “Yeah. I’m perfect.”
She gave a soft laugh. “Yes, you are.”
Her hair tickled his jaw and he breathed in the clean scent, relishing the feel of her body pressing him into the mattress. He had a sudden moment of utter panic that this might be the only time they would have together, and he tightened his arm reflexively around her, holding her firmly against his heart.
Was this what he had felt the day of the attack, when Holly’s life had been in danger? As hard as he tried, he couldn’t remember anything about that day, but he suspected that what he felt now didn’t come close to the sheer horror he’d experienced then. There was a part of him that couldn’t even contemplate a world without Holly Durant in it.
Shane didn’t know how long Holly intended to stay at the lake house, or if her parents might follow her. For all he knew, they could arrive at any time. Nor did he want to risk Holly finding out how he really felt about her. Either way, he couldn’t stay. He had to leave. There was no other option. They could both be court-martialed for what they had just done. The only certainty that Shane had in his life right now was the military, and he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.
“Holly—”
She raised her head and laid a finger across his lips. Looking into her eyes, Shane saw that she had already anticipated his words.
“Shh,” she whispered. “Don’t say it. You’ll ruin it.”
Shane looked mutely at her. The words had to be said. Right now, she probably thought she’d won; that she’d finally caught him. But he couldn’t deceive her into believing that they had any kind of a future together. They absolutely didn’t.
“I know what you’re going to say,” she continued, “and I understand all the reasons why you think this can’t work.” She studied him somberly. “I won’t argue with you or try to dissuade you, but I want to ask you for a favor. Will you listen?”
Shane sighed inwardly, but couldn’t prevent one corner of his mouth from lifting into a reluctant smile. He didn’t think there was a man alive who could say no to Holly when she had her heart set on something. So without knowing what she might ask of him, he nodded.
“I’ve been crazy about you for almost ten years,” she finally said, as if choosing her words with careful deliberation. “You know that, right?” She gave a rueful laugh. “Forget I asked that. How could you not know? I’ve thrown myself at you every chance I’ve had. Like now.”
Shane blew out a hard breath. He had known Holly had a crush on him, but hearing her say she was crazy about him was like receiving a hard blow to the solar plexus, since he couldn’t give her what she wanted. If she even knew what she wanted. Even if his suspicions were wrong and she really did care for him, eventually, he’d hurt her.
“You think you’re crazy about me,” he said quietly, threading his fingers through the silken strands of her hair. “But the truth is you don’t even know me. You’re infatuated with some romantic image that you’ve carried around in your head since you were a teenager, but that’s not me, Holly. I’m a realist. I don’t have a romantic bone in my body.”
He thought she would become defensive, or act hurt. Instead, she smiled ruefully and ran the pad of her thumb over his lower lip, dragging softly at it before leaning forward to press a moist kiss on his mouth.
“Maybe you’re right,” she finally answered. “But that’s what makes my proposition so perfect.”
Shane’s body tightened in wary anticipation. “Proposition?” he repeated warily. “You said you wanted to ask a favor.”
She shrugged and warm color bloomed in her chest and neck. “A favor. A proposition. Call it what you want.”
“I’m listening.”
Holly ventured a glance at him, and Shane saw the cautious hope in her coffee-dark eyes. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment as she considered him. “Okay,” she finally said, “but first you have to promise that you won’t say no without at least giving this some thought. You can’t deny that we have chemistry, right?”
Shane thought of what they’d just shared and gave a small huff of laughter. The periodic table didn’t contain enough elements to adequately describe what happened when he and Holly came together. Pure combustion.
He rubbed a short tendril of her hair reflexively between his thumb and forefinger, admiring the texture. “I don’t deny it,” he replied.
“And you just said that I don’t know the real you.”
“Right.”
“But I think I know you well enough to guess that after today, you’ll insist on leaving the lake house.”
Shane was silent. She did know him, it seemed.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Holly continued after a moment. “In fact, I’m going to propose that we both stay here and explore this…this thing between us, whatever it is.”
Shane’s gaze sharpened on her, certain she was joking, but her expression was somber. “Holly…”
“I won’t ask you for anything you’re not ready to give. I just want—I just want—” She gathered her courage. “I just want you. For however long you’re willing to stay.”
Shane studied her earnest features. “So let me make sure I understand what you’re saying. You want the two of us to stay here at the lake house together, and you won’t have any expectations of something permanent.”
Her lips quirked into a sad sort of smile. “Right.”
“And what if you want more, but I decide it’s just great sex?” Shane didn’t think that would ever be the case with him and Holly, but he had to ask the question. He already knew that what he felt went beyond mere physical attraction, but he had to be certain that when the time came, she would let him go. He couldn’t give her the happily ever after that she wanted, but he didn’t want to hurt her.
Holly drew in a careful breath and Shane could see her struggling to find the right words. “I’ve thought about this more often than you could imagine. I promise that I won’t ask for more than you’re willing to give, and I won’t make a scene if you decide you have to leave.”
“Can you do that?” Shane asked quietly.
“I’ve been doing it for the past few years, haven’t I?” She swirled a finger over the small nub of his nipple. “After my graduation party, when we spent the night together in the boathouse, I woke up and you were gone. You didn’t even say goodbye.”
Her tone was light, but Shane heard the soft, underlying accusation and knew he’d hurt her. But what she didn’t understand was that he’d had to get out of there while he could. He’d known that if he stayed long enough for her to wake up, he’d take one look at those soulful dark eyes and he’d have been lost.
He’d have never lef
t her if he thought there was any other way. But she’d just received her commission and her family was so damned proud of her, and she deserved more than a kid who’d opted for a GED rather than finish high school, and lived with his alcoholic father in a crappy apartment over the drugstore.
But to spend the next few weeks at the lake house with Holly, pretending they didn’t have other responsibilities or demands? To spend all day, every day, in her exclusive company? To make love to her again? It was like every fantasy he’d ever had was finally coming true. He’d be a complete idiot not to take full advantage of what she was offering. Except that in the end, he would still leave her. He hesitated.
“Your family. What if your parents come out here?”
“They won’t,” she assured him, sliding sensuously against him. “I told them I needed some time alone and they’ll respect that.” She drew one hand down the side of his body, tracing her cool fingers over the small muscles of his ribcage. When she reached his stomach and began playing with the whorl of hair beneath his navel, he couldn’t prevent his body from reacting to her. “But even if they did come out here, they’d probably be thrilled to find us together. My mother always had a soft spot for you, and my dad once said he thought you had what it took to be a fine officer. He respects you.”
“If anyone were to find out, they could report us. We could both be kicked out of the service for this. For myself, I could handle it, but you’d be throwing away your entire career.”
Holly gave him a tolerant look. “Nobody even knows you’re out here except Mitch, and I don’t think he’s about to call the Navy investigators and report us. Besides, we’re on leave. But nobody is going to find out, Shane.”
Still, he hesitated. “How long do we have?”
“Two weeks, more likely three.” She paused. “I don’t go before the medical board for another three weeks.”
Shane grunted. “My cast comes off in three more weeks and then I return to Camp Lejeune. They’ll put me on light duty for another couple of weeks but then it’ll be business as usual.”
For the first time since he’d enlisted, Shane found himself less than enthusiastic about the prospect of returning to active duty. But then, he’d never had a reason to stay home. The Marines were his family and his home, where he belonged. So why did the thought of returning to his unit suddenly hold no appeal to him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to explore the reasons why.
In three weeks, they would both return to active duty and any intimate relationship they had would end. Holly was an officer and he wouldn’t let her risk her career, although a part of him suspected that after three weeks, she’d be more than ready to say good-bye to him. It wouldn’t take her that long to realize he wasn’t the man she believed him to be.
Holly gave a soft laugh. “We’re a pair, aren’t we? You with your leg and me with my arm. But I’ve heard that sex releases endorphins and endorphins aid in the healing process. So what we’re doing will actually enable you to return to duty more quickly.”
Shane didn’t miss how she said you, not us. As in, she had no intention of returning to active duty? He wanted to press her further, but now wasn’t the time. He arched an eyebrow at her. “So we’re doing this for God and country, is that it?”
“Exactly.” Dipping her head, Holly traced her tongue over one flat nipple, lapping at the small bud and causing goose bumps of sensation to chase themselves down his spine. “Consider this your patriotic duty.”
With a soft groan of surrender, Shane speared his hands through Holly’s short hair, cupping her scalp and angling her head for a deep kiss. She gave a soft purr of approval and slid her tongue along his, even as she skated her hand downward, over his stomach and lower to where he strained beneath her touch.
Before she could torment him further, Shane rolled her beneath him and raised his head just long enough to search her eyes. They were hazy with pleasure.
“Three weeks,” he said, his voice rough with growing passion. “No matter what happens, this ends in three weeks. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” she murmured against his mouth. “But for the next three weeks, soldier, you’re all mine.”
She arched her hips against him in invitation, and before his brain completely shut down, Shane silently vowed that in three weeks, he would walk away. He’d agreed to stay because he was a selfish bastard. But he’d leave because regardless of how he felt, it would be the right thing to do.
5
HOLLY WOKE UP ALONE the following morning to the sound of birdsong in the trees outside and the fragrance of freshly brewed coffee wafting up from the kitchen. She hadn’t heard Shane leave and had no idea how long she’d slept. She lay in bed for several long moments and stretched luxuriously. Her body felt deliciously tender in places, and the skin around her breasts and neck was gently abraded from Shane’s whiskers.
Except for when they’d gone downstairs, briefly, for something to eat, they hadn’t left her bedroom. As a lover, Shane had exceeded both her memories and her expectations and Holly suspected that three weeks wouldn’t be nearly enough time to get the man out of her system. Even three years wouldn’t be enough. Three lifetimes, maybe.After a hot shower, she slipped into a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top and combed her fingers through her short hair, smoothing it into place. Studying her reflection in the bathroom mirror, she thought she could detect subtle differences in her appearance. Her eyes seemed darker, filled with secret memories of their night together. Her lips were fuller, gently bruised from the force of Shane’s kisses. Her skin was alabaster pale except for her cheeks, which were stained a faint pink. A tiny red mark stood out vividly at the base of her throat, just above her collarbone, where he’d sucked on her flesh. She put her fingers to it.
Shane’s mark. On her skin.
She’d dreamed of possessing him for so long; of having his mouth and hands on her body, of joining herself with him. But now she knew it wasn’t enough. Sex with Shane Rafferty was amazing. He drew responses from her that she hadn’t known she was capable of giving, but she wanted more.
She wanted the man’s heart.
A distant ringing distracted her and returning to the bedroom, she dug through her pocketbook until she found her cell phone. Seeing her parents’ phone number on the display, she sighed and flipped it open.
“Hi, Mom.”
Her father’s deep voice filled her ear. “Are you okay?”
“Dad, I’m fine.”
“But you couldn’t tell us to our faces that you were going to the lake house,” he said. As always, his voice was calm and controlled. His tone lacked any accusation; he was merely stating fact. Holly had never seen her dad lose his composure, not even when he’d come to see her in the hospital right after the attack. It was just one of the traits that made him a great military officer.
“I didn’t think you and Mom would understand,” she hedged. “I just need to be alone right now. I have some things I need to work through and Mom is always hovering. I appreciate that she just wants to help, but—”
“But she’s driving you crazy. I understand.”
“You do?”
“Did I ever tell you about the injury I received in Vietnam?”
Holly had heard the story, but not from her father. He never discussed that particular war and she sensed that the memories were too painful for him to even recall, never mind talk about.
“Mum told me what happened,” she said quietly, “but you’ve never mentioned it.”
“I was a young lieutenant, fresh out of officer candidate school, and we were losing young men over there faster than we could count. My father was a Marine colonel and he could have pulled some strings to keep me stateside during the war, but that’s not the way the Durants operate.”
Holly had heard this spiel before. The Durants never shirked their duty. They did what they needed to do, regardless of the risk or the cost.
“So you went over to Vietnam.”
“That’s right. I was in charge of
a patrol boat that crisscrossed the Mekong Delta region. We’d been making our way upriver toward a village where Viet Cong snipers had taken out an entire company of our men just ten days earlier. We came under attack just outside of the village and we began losing men fast. I took my best sharpshooters and circled around to where we thought the snipers were hidden, and we found them.” He paused. “They were just kids, Holly. Little more than babies.”
“Dad…”
“I couldn’t shoot, not even when one of those boys drew down on me. I couldn’t do it.”
Holly’s chest constricted in sympathy for what her father had gone through. “So you were shot, instead.”
“I was. They medivaced me back to the States and I spent eight weeks at Walter Reed hospital recovering from that injury.”
Holly recalled the mass of twisted scar tissue on one side of his stomach. “But you survived.”
“I did. But even after the wound healed, I wasn’t fit to return to duty. Not right away.”
“What did you do?”
“I went home. I thought that was where I should be, but my mother—your grandmother—almost drove me nuts. She fussed over me incessantly until finally, I had no choice but to leave.”
“Where did you go?”
He chuckled. “Where else? To the lake house. Of course, in those days it wasn’t much more than a two-room cottage with no electricity and no running water. But I needed to get away. I knew I wouldn’t be good for much until I’d gotten my head around what had happened that day. And I couldn’t return to duty until I could be certain that it would never happen again.”
Holly knew he referred to his own inability to shoot the sniper. “But you did go back.”
“Eventually. I couldn’t let my boys down. They needed me.” He was quiet for a moment. “Your troops need you, too, Holly. But not before you’re ready. So you take whatever time you need. Get your head in the right place. You owe your troops that much, and you owe that to yourself.”
