“He was a teacher?” Nike found that inspiring for a man who lived in such a rugged, isolated area.
“Abbas was born here in this village. His father sent him to Kabul for higher schooling. He graduated with a degree in biology. When Abbas returned home, he helped the village breeding programs so that their sheep produced better wool. That helps to raise their economy because better wool demands a higher price at market. And he increased goat-milk output. He’s done a lot in the region and he’s respected by everyone because of this.”
“Wow, I’d never have guessed. No wonder he’s the head elder.”
“Looks are deceiving.” Gavin watched the high clouds across the valley turn a dark pink as the sun set more deeply below the western mountains. “He’s carrying a lot of loads on his shoulders, Nike. Abbas takes his responsibilities as leader seriously. He’s got a lot of problems and few ways to resolve them. When I asked him about medical and health help from the Afghan government, he got angry. Over the years, he’s made many trips to the capital to urge them to bring out a health team every three months to these border villages, but he could never get them to agree to it. And Afghan people are superindependent. They really have a tough time looking at a centralized government to rule over them.”
“That’s awful that the politicians in Kabul wouldn’t help these people. Can you imagine that happening in the USA or Greece? There would be a helluva uprising.”
“Abbas doesn’t accept his government’s lack of care,” Gavin said. “When you realize Afghanistan is cobbled together out of about four hundred different clans or tribes, you can see why they wouldn’t place trust in a Kabul government. Our job is to try and persuade Abbas that his own government does want to work with him.”
“How are you going to convince him Kabul’s listening and willing to pitch in some medical help out here in the border area?”
“I told Abbas that the report I write up regarding our visit will be given to the health minister of the government. This minister is trying hard to change old, outdated policies. I pointed out to Abbas other border villages south of him already have intervention, supplies and funds on a routine schedule from Kabul.”
“Does he believe you?”
“No, but over time he will.”
“And you and your team will stay here four weeks?”
“Yes. From the satellite photos, we know that the Taliban uses the north end of this valley twice a month. We’ve set up to be here when they try to cross it a week from now.”
“And then what?” Nike grew afraid for Gavin and his team.
He shrugged. “Do what we’re good at—stopping them cold in their tracks and denying them access across this valley.”
“What will Abbas do?”
“I don’t know. He knows if we stop the Taliban from crossing, they could take revenge on this village. This is what Abbas is worried about.”
“He’s right about that.” Nike leaned against Gavin a little more. The dusk air had a real bite to it. His arms came around and bracketed her. For a moment, she questioned her silent body language. Why had she done this? Something primal drove her like a magnet to this military man. Fighting herself, Nike finally surrendered to the moment. She had been too long without a man in her life, and she was starved for male contact. Yet, what message did this send to Gavin? Was he reading her correctly or assuming? Unsure, Nike remained tense in his embrace.
“Comfy?” he teased quietly. Surprised by Nike’s unexpected move, Gavin hungrily savored her nearness. He had wrapped his arms around her but resisted pressing her tightly against himself. Right now, just the fact she’d allowed this kind of intimate contact was enough of a gift. Even though they sparred like fighters in a ring, he’d seen something in her gold eyes that he could never quite accurately read. Maybe this was the result of that smoldering look he’d seen banked in her expression. Only time and patience would tell.
“Yes, thank you.”
Gavin wasn’t about to do anything stupid. She had given herself to him in a way that he’d never entertained. Maybe it was the pink beauty of the clouds across the valley that had inspired her in this wonderful moment.
“What are you going to do here?” Nike asked.
“We know from satellite reconnaissance that the Taliban uses the north end of this valley at the new moon, when it’s darkest. We’ll be intercepting them if they try it next week.”
“There’s only ten of you. There could be a hundred or more fighters crossing that border and coming down into this valley.”
“Are you worried?” Gavin ventured.
“Any sane person would be.”
Laughing quietly, Gavin closed his eyes for a moment and simply absorbed the curves of Nike’s womanly body against him. What an unexpected reward. It was precious in his world of ongoing war and violence. A sweet reminder of peace, of love and nurturance. Something he hadn’t experienced for a long time. “You’re right,” he admitted. “But we look at it this way—our base camp where you’re assigned isn’t that far away. We have BJS here with Apache helos to help us out if we’re attacked. We know you gals will hightail it in our direction and drop the goods on the Taliban so we’ll survive to fight them another day.”
“I have never met such an optimist,” Nike said.
“I don’t like the other possibility. Do you?” Gavin asked. He watched the clouds reflect pinkish light across the valley. In the background, he could hear the bleating of sheep and goats from their pens within the village. At dusk, boys tending the herds brought them into the village to protect them against wild animals and roving Taliban. Both two-and four-legged predators were always hungry for village meat.
Feeling uneasy and caring too much for Gavin even though she didn’t want to, Nike said, “No, I don’t like the alternative. This is a dangerous mission.”
“Yeah, it is. We’re out in the wilderness and the bad guys are right over that mountain to the east of us.” He lifted his gloved hand to point at the darkened peaks. Bringing his hand down, he wrapped his arms around her once more. “Don’t worry, we know our job, Nike. We’ve already survived a year here.”
“And you’re on your second tour.”
Hearing the flatness in her tone, Gavin nodded. “We’re slowly making a difference. I’d give my right arm to find bin Laden. All of us would. It would change the tempo of this war against the terrorists.”
Nike understood army hunter-killer teams were all about finding terrorists and Taliban. “So, how are you feeling about this more peaceful assignment of working in this village as an ambassador of good will?”
“I like it.”
“But it takes you off the front lines.”
“Not really.” Gavin looked to the north of the village. Kerosene lamps were lit and the mud and stone homes that had windows glowed golden. He liked dusk, even though from a wartime perspective, it was a killing time, when the enemy sneaked up and took lives. “With General Chapman coming here to Afghanistan, the priority has shifted to focus on these boundary villages. If we can get these people to trust us, they will let us know when Taliban are coming through. The villagers could be our eyes and ears. If we can stop the Taliban’s advancement into this country, that’s a good thing for everyone. In the end, it will save a lot of lives.”
“I like your general’s philosophy.”
“So do I. If I could, I’d have world peace. As it is, there’s world war.”
Nike shook her head. “I grew up in a peaceful Greece.”
“And yet, Greece has had its fair share of revolutions, too.”
“Granted.” Nike observed the pinkish sky, now fading. Darkness began to encroach across the narrow valley. “I wish for the day when there are no more wars anywhere. No more killing. I’ve seen enough of it. All people want to do is live in peace and get on with their lives.”
“It’s the same here,” Gavin acknowledged. “Abbas was saying that all he wanted for his people was to be left alone to eke out their survival i
n this valley. He’s grown old before his time because of the Russians and now the Taliban intrusion.”
“Afghanistan needs decades of peaceful downtime,” Nike agreed. But there had been none for them.
A wonderful sense of happiness bubbled up within her but it warred with sadness at her loss of Antonio. Suddenly bothered by her proximity to Gavin, she frowned. “I don’t know what’s going on between us,” she admitted quietly.
Gavin gazed down at Nike. Even in the semidarkness he could see the worry register in her face. “Why try to decipher it? Why not just let it be natural and flow?”
Her stomach was filled with those butterflies. The only other man to make her feel this way had been Antonio. “It’s not that simple,” she told him.
“When I first saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. Most of all, I liked your gold eyes,” Gavin confided softly. “You have the look of a lioness.”
Her heart beat a little harder. Gavin was sincere. Or at least, he sounded sincere. That meant she had to take his compliment seriously. Antonio had been so much like him: a gentle warrior, a man of philosophy, of much greater depth and breadth than most men. “Thank you. My grandmother had the same color eyes. They run in the women of our family.”
“You’re feeling tense. Why?”
Nike pulled out of his arms and faced him. Oh, she didn’t want to do that, but if she remained in the protection of Gavin’s arms, she would lose all reason. Did this man realize the mesmerizing power he had over her? She searched his hooded blue eyes. The shadows of the night made his face dark and fierce-looking. “Look, I’ve got a lot of past history, Gavin, and I don’t want you to think the wrong things about us.”
Hearing the desperation in her tone, he nodded. “What happened to make you feel this way?”
It was the right question. Again, Nike squirmed inwardly. She’d talked to no one about the loss of her beloved Antonio nearly two years ago. Only Dallas, who had been executive officer of BJS in Peru, knew the full story. She had been her confidante, her healer up to a point. A heaviness settled into Nike’s chest and once more she felt old grief discharging from her wound. Opening her gloved hands, Nike said, “I fell in love with a Peruvian army officer whose job it was to locate and capture drug-runners.” The next words were so hard to say, but Nike felt driven to give Gavin the truth. “Antonio was an incredible person. He had graduated from Lima’s university in archaeology, but the men in his family all had served in the army. So he went in and I met him when he was a captain. He loved his country and he saw what the drug-running was doing to it. Without fail, he would volunteer for the most dangerous missions to eradicate the dealers.”
“He sounds like a fine man,” Gavin said. “Courageous.”
“Yes, well, that courage got him killed,” Nike bit out. Looking down at the dark, muddy ground, she added, “I told him that he was going to get killed if he kept it up. But he wouldn’t listen. And then…it happened. Two years ago.”
Gavin measured the look in her wounded eyes and heard the hurt in her husky voice. Reaching out, he placed his hand gently upon her drooping shoulders and whispered, “I’m sorry. He must have been one hell of a man to get your attention.”
Tiny ripples of heat radiated from where his hand had momentarily rested on her shoulder. Looking up, Nike searched Gavin’s narrowed, intense blue eyes and shook her head. “Listen, I learned the hard way—in our business if you fall in love with a military person, you’re going to lose him.”
“That’s not always true.”
“Yes, it is.”
Gavin heard the stubbornness in her tone. Looking into Nike’s eyes for some hint that it wasn’t the truth she really believed, he felt a sinking sensation in his gut. Something hopeful and newly born shattered in his chest. After all, he had been burned but good by Laurie Braverman a year ago. Gavin had sworn off military women for another reason. He hadn’t lost someone he loved to death. He had lost her because they simply could not compromise with one another.
“Maybe you just need time,” Gavin counseled gently, removing his hand. He ached to kiss Nike. The set of her full lips, the way the corners of her mouth were drawn in, told him the pain she still carried over the death of the Peruvian captain.
“No,” Nike said grimly, “time isn’t going to change my mind.” She stared up at him, her voice firm. “You need to know the truth. I shouldn’t have led you on. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not sorry at all, Nike. Look, we all need someone at some time.”
His mouth was so beautifully sculpted. Good thing he couldn’t read her mind. He had the lips of Apollo, the sun god. And wasn’t Gavin a bit of sunshine in her life? Nike didn’t want to admit that at all. But he was. All day, she’d longed to have a few quiet, uninterrupted moments with him. She was hungry to find out who he was, his depth and what mattered to him. Far more curious than she should be, Nike said, “I can’t need any man who is in the military, Gavin. Never again.”
Looking toward the village that was barely outlined by the dying light, the windows gleaming with a golden glow, Nike sighed. “You deserve to know the truth.”
“And I’m glad you trusted me with it.” Gavin smiled down at her upturned face. Her lips parted and almost pleaded to be touched by his mouth. “It’s a good first step, don’t you think?”
Seeing that gleam in his eyes, Nike knew Gavin wanted to kiss her. Yet, he hadn’t made a move. The tension swirled between them and her heart screamed for his kiss. Her past resurfaced, frightening her. If she surrendered to her desire for Gavin, she would be right back where she was before—heartbroken. “There are no other steps,” she warned him.
“I don’t believe that,” Gavin said, his voice a low growl. Reaching out, he took that step forward, his arms coming around her shoulders. Surprise flared in her golden eyes, her need of him very readable and yet, as he closed the distance, Gavin could see her fear. As he gently brought Nike against him he wondered if she would resist. If she did, he’d instantly release her, of course. Gavin didn’t want that to happen and he sensed she wanted him, too. He leaned down, searching, finding her parted lips.
The world exploded within Nike as her arms swept across his shoulders, his mouth capturing hers. It was a powerful kiss, yet gentle and welcoming. His lips were tentative and asking her to participate fully in the joy of connection. The moisture of his ragged breath flowed across her face. The whiskers of his beard were soft. Gavin’s mouth guided her and slid wetly across her opening lips. He cajoled, passing his tongue delicately across her lower lip. Instantly, Nike inhaled sharply as the throbbing sensation dove deeply down between her thighs.
He smelled of sweat, of wool and the sharp, clean mountain air. She reveled in his weather-hardened flesh against her cheek. His arms were cherishing and Nike surrendered as he swept her hard against his body. Their breaths mingled as they explored one another like hungry, greedy beggars. Well, wasn’t she? It had been two long years since she’d kissed a man. And how different Gavin’s kiss was! Nike tried not to compare him to Antonio. Gavin’s mouth wreaked fire from within her as his lips molded hotly with hers. One hand moved sinuously down the back of her jacket, following the curve of her back. His other hand held her close. Her nipples hardened instantly as he deepened their kiss.
Nike was starved! Her entire body trembled just as he reluctantly withdrew his mouth from her wet lips. Nike saw the glint of a hungry predator in his eyes as surely as it was mirrored in hers. Knees like Jell-O, Nike felt weak. Inwardly, her body glowed brightly and she yearned to know his touch upon her aching breasts, and how he would feel entering her.
All of these crazy sensations exploded through her now that they stood, watching each other in wonder. The night air was cold and their breath was like white clouds between them. Nike noted the satisfaction glittering in Gavin’s narrowed eyes. He held her gently and didn’t try to kiss her again.
“Now,” Gavin rasped, “let’s start all over. I’m me a
nd you are you. I’m not the man from your past. I’m the one standing with you here in the present. Judging from the kiss, I think we have something to build upon. I’m a patient man, Nike. I wasn’t looking for a woman, but you walked into my life.” His hand against the small of her back tightened. “And I’m not about to let you walk out of my life.”
Chapter 5
Nike hadn’t slept well and was finishing up breakfast with Jameela and her three daughters. Chapatis, a thin pita bread, had been filled with vegetables and seasoned with curry. She had trouble focusing on food when she kept remembering Gavin’s kiss. It was completely unexpected—but welcome. Groaning inwardly, Nike remembered all her nightmares of Antonio’s death. He’d been shot to death in the jungles of Peru. She’d sworn never to fall in love with a military man again. Not ever.
So why had she kissed Gavin? Why did she still want him? Nike had seen the predatory look in his eyes. She could have easily brushed him off. Why didn’t she? First things first: stop thinking about it. Nike watched as the older daughters of the family cleared away the dishes and went to clean them in the kitchen.
Jameela was helping six-year-old Atefa wrap her leg, which had never had any surgical intervention. The little girl’s leg was missing below the knee. Jameela had her daughter lie on the rug as she carefully wrapped the red, angry-looking stump with soft cotton fabric. Once it was tied in place, Atefa sat up and took her handmade crutches.
“Have you sought help for your daughter’s missing leg?” Nike asked the mother.
“When it happened, we were shocked. My husband tried to get help from our government. He pleaded and begged a regional official to bring a doctor out here to help her,” Jameela responded.
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