by Elle James
A gentle smile lifted the corner of his lips. “I’m more qualified to handle that risk.”
“You have a point.” Kylie ran her hand through her hair. “Okay. We’ll switch quarters.”
“Good,” he said.
“This one’s yours?” she asked, tilting her head to the room beside hers.
“Yes, it is,” he said. “Let me grab a few things, and I’ll take yours, you’ll take mine.”
“And I need to get my backpack,” she said.
“Will you be going to the shower facility?” he asked.
She nodded. “I’d like to, after all the dust from the mission.”
“Then we’ll go at the same time,” Mac said. “I’ll stand outside while you shower. You can wait for me while I shower, as long as you don’t go too far.”
“Deal,” she said with a grin. Kylie ducked into her room, grabbed her backpack and carried it over to his unit. Mac grabbed his toiletry kit and a change of clothes.
Kylie did the same.
Mac led her to the shower facility.
Inside, Kylie stripped down and stepped beneath the spray, soaping and rinsing quickly, then running shampoo and conditioner through her hair. It was a cold shower, but after the heat of the day, she just wanted to be clean and was thankful for the use of the facility.
She let the water run through her hair, rinsing the rest of the dust and conditioner out, remembering the times she’d shared the shower in her little apartment with Mac standing behind her, rubbing shampoo into her hair. He’d let the suds drip down over her body, and his hands would follow them over her shoulders, across her breasts and lower to the juncture of her thighs.
She was hot, even under the cool spray. Her desire for him hadn’t waned in the least. In fact, if anything, it was even stronger.
By the time she toweled dry, she was wet in other places. She wished they weren’t in Afghanistan but back in that little apartment. When she stepped out of the shower facility, she kept her head down and prayed he wouldn’t see the signs of her desire in her eyes.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said briefly.
He touched her arm. “Are you sure?” His brow dipped. “You didn’t get hurt in that explosion, did you?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m fine.”
Where his hand touched her arm, it burned a path through her all the way to her core.
“While I’m getting my shower, wait here in the shadows. Scream if you feel threatened.”
“I’ll wait right here,” she promised.
In less than five minutes, he was back out, smelling of soap, his hair dripping wet.
She chuckled. “You could have taken a minute to dry off.”
He shook his head. “Nope. I was worried about you standing out here alone. I was afraid someone would take a shot at you.”
“They’d have to take a shot from way past the fence line,” she pointed out.
“Some of our guys have made shots longer than from here to the fence and hit their targets.”
A shiver rippled down Kylie’s spine as they made their way back to their sleeping quarters. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Mac stood outside his own unit and waited until Kylie stepped through the door. “There’s a sleeping bag in the duffel bag. Just pull it out and spread it out on the cot.” He touched her cheek with his hand. “When you close the door, make sure you lock it,” he said and let his hand drop to his side.
Kylie said, “I will.” With one last glance at Mac, she entered, shut the door and turned the lock.
The light was on, and she noted the space was barren, except for the duffel bag in the corner.
She crossed the short space to Mac’s duffel bag, unbuckled it and pulled out the sleeping bag. As she did, a photograph slipped out. At some point in time, the picture had been laminated, but the edges were worn. She picked it up to put it back into the duffel bag.
When she turned it over, it wasn’t a picture of the other woman he’d found, but of her and Mac all those years ago when they’d been young and in love. It had been taken at the state fair. They’d been riding on the Ferris wheel. At the top, they’d taken this picture of themselves. She’d been smiling up into his eyes when he’d snapped the shot.
Why would he carry a picture of them when he had another woman? She laid the picture on the cot, and then spread out the sleeping bag. Still too warm to get between the folds of the sleeping bag, she lay on top of it, using it as a cushion against the tight canvas. The cot didn’t have much give.
Knowing the morning would come soon, she lay down and closed her eyes. Then she remembered the photo between the bag and the cot. She fished it out and held it close to her heart.
He’s been hurt when she’d broken it off with him back then.
The fact he hadn’t forgotten her made her heart swell. They had wanted different things back then. He’d wanted his Army career and for her to follow him, to be his wife and raise his children. She’d been in college, working on her journalism degree. He’d been about to ship out to Fort Bragg for his training in Special Forces.
When he’d asked her to marry him, she’d been two years short of finishing her degree. She hadn’t been willing to abandon her studies and her dreams. Nor had she been ready to settle down and have children.
And he’d needed the time to dedicate to his training. It had to have taken a lot of skill and dedication to become Special Forces and then be selected for Delta Force.
Back then, she’d known he was the right person for her, but the timing had been wrong. Now that she’d been thinking about settling down and starting that family she’d always wanted later in life, it was too late to have him. He was still the right person for her, but he’d found someone else.
Kylie hugged the photo to her chest.
Was it too late?
With her eyes closed, she tried to sleep. When sleep didn’t come, she let her memories flow back over all the time she’s spent with Mac, the picnics they’d gone on, the hikes they’d made through Palo Duro Canyon, horseback riding at a local stable. They’d spent lazy days in the sunshine, floating the Guadalupe River.
Still shaken by the day’s events and finding Mac again, Kylie lay wide awake. After thirty minutes of tossing and turning, she sat up, flung her legs over the side of the cot and stood. Crossing to the door, she listened for any sounds coming from outside.
Nothing.
She unlocked and tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. Something was blocking the door.
Suddenly, it opened, and Mac stood there. “What’s wrong?”
“Were you blocking my door?” Kylie asked.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair and gave her a weak smile. “I was sleeping there.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t go to bed?”
“No,” he said and yawned.
“Why not?”
“I didn’t feel comfortable leaving you alone,” he said. “Besides, I can sleep sitting up.”
She shook her head. “That’s ridiculous.”
“No, it’s not. It’s just not my preference on a long-term basis. Go back to sleep.”
“I never went to sleep,” she admitted.
His brow furrowed. “Are you worried there will be another rocket lobbed into this base?”
“I don’t know. It’s just that a lot happened. Between killing three Taliban terrorists, running into my old flame and being fired on with rockets, I’d say that’s a pretty eventful day.”
It might’ve been a mistake, considering Mac already had another woman he was interested in, but Kylie shook her head. “You might as well come in. We can sit up talking or staring at the wall until it’s time to leave in the morning.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’m sure,” she said.
He looked both ways. “I don’t know. I might get busted for fraternizing in a war zone.”
She snorted.
“I’m not one of your military people. Surely it doesn’t count.”
His lips twisted into a wry grin. “I think any fraternizing counts, but I can keep a better eye on you if I can actually see you.”
Kylie opened the door wider.
Mac stepped in, his broad shoulders filling the space. They were much broader than when she’d known him so long ago. Hell, he was as sexy, if not sexier than he’d been back then. Yeah, it might be a bad idea to bring him in, but she did it anyway.
Mac knew better, but he went in anyway. He’d kissed her earlier, spinning up a whole slew of emotions he wasn’t ready to deal with. Being alone with Kylie in confined quarters was a recipe for danger to his heart.
He squared his shoulders. All he had to do was keep his hands off her. She had someone else already.
Mac waited for Kylie to sit on the cot. Because there was nowhere else to sit, he sat beside her. That’s when he spotted what she had in her hand.
“That’s mine,” he said.
She glanced at the photo with a smile. “Yeah, it fell out when I pulled your sleeping bag out of the duffel bag. Why do you still carry it?”
He shrugged. “It’s been my good luck charm. It’s gone with me on every deployment. I’m afraid if I leave it behind, something bad will happen.”
She smiled. “Since when did you become superstitious?”
“As many missions and battles as I’ve been in, you tend to get that way. The one time I didn’t bring it, I got shot in the arm.” He raised the corner of his T-shirt to show her the scar.
“Maybe you were lucky you didn’t bring it. Because if you had brought it, the bullet might’ve hit you in a much more lethal area,” Kylie suggested.
“No, because every other time I brought it, I never got shot.” He tipped his chin toward the photograph. “Remember that day?”
She nodded. “I remember.”
“Do you remember when the Ferris wheel got stuck at the top?” he asked. “That’s when we took that picture.”
She chuckled. “I remember we were up there for thirty minutes.”
He smiled down at the picture. “We got quite a bit of necking in during that thirty minutes up there.”
“Yes, we did,” she said. “Those were good times.”
“They were,” he agreed. “And we were so young. I was barely out of bootcamp, and you were still in college.”
“And look at us now,” she said with a wistful smile.
“And look at us now,” he said. “Sitting on a cot in Afghanistan, after being shot at by bullets and rockets.” It felt good to sit close to her.
Kylie leaned her back against the metal wall and closed her eyes. “It’s been a long day.”
Mac pulled her over to lean against him. “Go to sleep. It will be too soon before we’re heading out of here. You need some rest.”
Kylie peeked through her eyelids. “You do too.”
“I’ll close my eyes,” he said, “if you’ll close yours.”
“Deal.” She yawned and kept her eyes closed. Soon, her breathing deepened.
For a long time, Mac sat with his arm around her, inhaling the scent of her hair. His heart squeezed tight in his chest. For so long, he’d dreamed of holding her again. Now she was with him…and yet…not. Mac had no right to be with Kylie. She had another man in her life. She’d given him up all those years ago. So, while he had the chance, he drank in every bit of her that he could. From the tips of her toes in her flip-flops, the well-defined muscles of her calves, her rounded kneecaps and the swell of her thighs, he absorbed her beauty.
At some point, he must have fallen asleep. The next thing he knew, there was a knock on the door.
“Mac,” Rucker’s muffled voice sounded outside his quarters. “Mac, are you in there?”
Mac slipped his arm from beneath Kylie, pushed off the cot and opened the door a crack. “I’m here.”
“I knocked on Kylie’s door,” Rucker said, “but she didn’t answer. Is she in there with you?”
“Yes, she is. It was the only way I could really keep an eye on her.”
“That’s good. We have a helicopter on standby. Can you two be ready in thirty minutes?”
Mac nodded. “We can.”
“Grab some chow and meet us out on the helicopter pad.”
“Roger,” Mac replied, then closed the door and turned to Kylie.
She was off the cot, standing, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “I’ll be dressed and ready to go in less than thirty minutes.”
“I’ll wait outside,” he said and headed for the door.
“Mac,” her voice called out.
He paused with his hand on the doorknob, and then turned to face her.
“I missed you, too.”
After stepping outside, Mac close the door.
What did she mean by telling him I missed you? Did she still miss him? Did she want him back? What did she mean by that? Maybe she’d only missed him for a short time after leaving him. His head spun with the possibilities.
When Kylie finally stepped out, dressed in trousers, a long-sleeve blouse and a scarf wrapped around her head, he nodded toward her. “You might as well stay inside while I change. I want to keep an eye on you.”
“Okay,” she said. “I can turn my back. Although it’s not like I haven’t seen everything you’ve got.” She winked.
His pulse ratcheted upward. He remembered seeing a lot more of her as well and was wishing he could again at that moment.
She reentered the room and stood to the side as he walked through the door.
While she stood with her back to him, he dressed in his desert camouflage uniform and boots. He strapped on his bulletproof vest. Although, the vest would do nothing toward protecting him from a broken heart. When he was done dressing, he gripped her arm, turned her and kissed her thoroughly. He set her at arm’s length and said, “For old time’s sake.” Then he opened the door and, with a nudge, sent her through, stepping out beside her.
They walked across the base to the mess hall and snagged a couple of fluffy biscuits and sausage patties to make breakfast sandwiches. They ate them quickly and hurried out to the helicopter pad where Rucker, Dash and Blade waited with Josh and Faaid.
“Where’s Tank, Bull and Lance?” Mac asked.
“The CO didn’t think we needed the entire team,” Rucker said. “Just you to escort Miss Adams and her cameraman, and the three of us to escort Faaid. We’re handing off Faaid to Intel in Kabul.”
They climbed into the Blackhawk helicopter. Within minutes, they were off the ground and headed toward Kabul.
Mac sat beside Kylie, his thigh pressed against hers. That kiss had awakened so much inside him. He wanted more.
The flight was loud and not conducive to talk. He and Kylie sat in silence. He wished they were alone so he could ask her how she really felt about her new man, and to ask her if there was a chance they could rekindle that flame that had burned so brightly between them when they were younger.
Soon, they arrived at Bagram Airfield in Kabul. Three vehicles were there to greet them upon arrival.
Rucker conversed with the drivers and came back to Mac and the others.
“We’re keeping Faaid on base until he’s transported out of the country. But we can’t keep civilians here,” Rucker said. “Miss Adams and Josh will be transported to a local hotel where me, Blade, Dash and Mac will provide security until you two are able to leave the country.”
Blade and Dash escorted Faaid to the first vehicle. A security team of two climbed out, helped Faaid into the car and got in on either side of him.
Dash and Blade got into the second vehicle.
Mac and Rucker flanked Kylie in the back of the third vehicle. The driver slipped behind the steering wheel and drove them off the airfield and into the sprawling city of Kabul. He deposited them at the doorstep of a hotel from a major chain.
After being in the field around small villages built of mud and stick, it seemed incongruous to b
e standing in the opulent lobby of a five-star hotel in the same country.
At the desk, Mac asked for three rooms close together.
“Just three rooms?” Dash asked.
Mac nodded. “Rucker and Josh in one, Dash and Blade in another, and Miss Adams and I in the other. I’m not letting her out of my sight for a moment. After the rocket attack on the forward operation base, I wouldn’t put it past them to attempt another attack here in Kabul.”
“Good point,” Dash said. “I’d gladly give you a break and take your spot,” he said with a grin.
Kylie raised an eyebrow. “I think not. I know Mac. I don’t know you, nor do I think I trust you.”
Mac laughed out loud. “Good call. He’s not known as Dash for nothing.”
They got their room keys and headed up to the second floor on the back of the building. Mac inspected all three rooms and chose the one with a balcony overlooking a garden. Two of the rooms were side by side. The third was across the hall. Close enough that if he needed his teammates, all he had to do was call out.
As they stood outside their doors, Rucker asked, “So, what do we do with the rest of the day?”
“I don’t know about you guys,” Mac said, “but I’m going to catch some Zs.”
“We didn’t get much sleep last night,” Dash agreed. “What do we want to do for dinner?”
“If any of you go anywhere, you should let us know,” Mac said. “You could pick up some food and bring it back here.”
“We can do that,” Rucker said. “It wouldn’t be a good idea for you two to venture out.”
Mac nodded. “We had no plans to. Walking around the city would leave Kylie exposed to anyone who wanted to take a shot at her.”
“Exactly.” Rucker turned to Dash. “See you at 18:00, outside our doors. You and I can go out, get food and bring it back, so Mac and Miss Adams don’t have to leave, and risk being shot.”
“I like that idea,” Mac said.
“So do I,” Kylie agreed.
“18:00,” Dash echoed.
Mac and Kylie entered one room. Rucker and Josh entered the one across the hall. Dash and Blade entered the room beside Mac’s.
Once the doors closed, Kylie drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Too much drama,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but I could stand another shower after being up in that helicopter, stirring up dust.”
