by fox, angie
He didn't bat an eyelash. "I'm still here, aren't I?"
"For the moment." Until I could figure out what to do about the dearly departed Dr. Freierrmuth.
We reached the plain red tent next to the VIP showers. Galen's new quarters were at least three times as big as my hutch. I always wondered why the bigwigs stayed in tents instead of hutches with doors.
No matter. My job was almost done.
"Here you are," I said. I flung open the flaps to the tent and gasped.
I didn't know what I'd expected. Probably something like Father McArio's private hutch—all business and no frills. This was like a scene out of Arabian Nights.
Plush pillows and low couches scattered across the main room. Ornate copper and glass lamps hung from the bright blue ceiling. And what was that gurgling I heard?
I strained my neck to the left and felt my mouth drop open. "You have a fountain."
He leaned in past me. "Look at that. Let's check it out."
"No." I didn't belong in there. Nobody did.
Besides, I was angry. Wasn't I? I swear this man could ruin a good rant before I even got started.
Galen stood close behind me. I could feel the heat of his body on my back, but I was rooted to the spot. This place was temptation on a platter. Good thing I wasn't used to getting what I wanted.
"Go," he said, nudging me onto the plush carpet floor. Oh sweet heaven. Carpet. I hadn't seen carpet since I left home.
And the fountain...the entire thing was done in mosaics. It was a riot of color. Mermaids spilled water from orange and yellow shells into the glistening pool. It was difficult to imagine such a thing could exist in the flat, red wastelands of limbo. I ran my fingers over the tiles. I dipped them into the pool, letting the water lap against my skin.
"Look at this kitchen," Galen said from the back of the room. He slid back a clouded glass door to reveal a mosaic countertop and modern, stainless-steel appliances.
My heart gave a flutter. "What's in the fridge?"
He opened it with a flourish to reveal food. Real food. Like milk and cheese and eggs and, "Blueberries," I whispered. I hadn't had a blueberry in seven years.
I'd never seen Galen so amused. "Come and get 'em."
He didn't have to ask me twice. "Maybe I should rethink this friendship of ours." There was a lot I could tolerate in the name of fresh fruit.
"You cook?" he asked, holding out a little wicker basket of blueberries.
"Used to." I popped one into my mouth and groaned at the burst of sweet flavor.
I grabbed a handful and sank down on the rich carpeted floor, enjoying them one at a time.
"We have an entire quart," he said, inspecting one.
I didn't bother answering. The blueberries deserved to be savored.
The carpet underneath me was plush, woven in an intricate pattern of golds and greens. Yellow paper lanterns hung above the counter.
That's when it hit me. There wasn't a trace of red in the place.
Galen groaned. My first thought was that he was injured, but then I saw him with one hand propped up against the counter. The other fisting a bunch of purple grapes.
"Long time, sailor?"
"You have no idea," he said, sinking down next to me.
"I should warn you that if you eat too much fruit after having no fruit, that could be bad."
"Spoken like a true medical professional."
We both ignored my advice and relished every minute of it.
"There's a note on the fridge," he said, when we'd worked our way through almost all of it. "Food deliveries come every day."
"Will you marry me?"
He snorted. "Demi-gods don't get married. We kill and destroy."
"You also hoard grapes," I said.
He had his eyes closed. I leaned my head back against the kitchen island. He'd been serious. I couldn't let it pass. Not this time. "I know you're not like that, Galen."
"Not always, no." He sat perfectly still. "My mom had a vineyard out back. She used to let me cut grapes with her. Well, she'd cut, I'd run and explore. I used to like to sneak up on her from between the trellises."
"Covert even back then."
"I hadn't thought of it that way." He grinned.
"Come on," I said, "let's go see if you have a bowling alley hidden somewhere in here."
I opened the flaps to the next room and found a step-down bath, big enough for several people. It was filled with warm, bubbling clay.
"Ohh...mud bath!" I'd seen these in spa magazines.
Galen didn't look so eager. "I think I'd prefer the bowling alley."
"Are you kidding?" I said, walking around the massive tub. "This is probably world-class mud."
He stopped a few feet short. "I've been fighting in the mud for hundreds of years."
"You'd enjoy this," I said, dipping a hand into the bath. The warm mud comforted me like a hug. "I'd like to sink down naked into this."
His lips quirked. "Now, there's an idea."
I looked at him from under lowered lashes. What would it be like to slather this man in mud?
More than I could handle, that's for sure. I cleaned off on one of the softest towels I'd ever felt. Dear lord, was there anything in this place that wasn't drop-dead amazing?
My eye caught a pair of deep gold curtains. "I wonder what's back there?"
I ripped open the curtain and found myself staring at the largest bed I'd ever seen.
His bed.
I wasn't so sure I wanted to be here anymore.
Sweet heaven, it was draped with sumptuous coverings. It was nothing like my single sleeper with the scratchy wool blanket.
This thing was massive, both luxurious and elegant. I licked my lips. This wasn't the bed of a soldier. It was the bed of a god.
I could feel him behind me. His fingers whispered along my scalp as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Want to try it out?"
"Not in a million years." This wasn't just any bed. This was Galen's.
There's nothing like being in a man's bedroom for the first time. It's always nerve racking. One part giddy anticipation, another part antsy at just how far it could go.
I knew better than to push Galen.
In the minefield, I could tell myself that sex stemmed from the moment or the danger or the insane attraction…or that things just happened. But alone in his bedroom? It became a choice.
"It's okay," he said against my ear. "Touch it."
He knew how bad I wanted to.
"Are we still talking about the bed?"
He chuckled behind me. "Yes."
"Okay, then," I said, leaving the doorway. Maybe just this once. Only to see what it felt like. I ran my hand over the sumptuous silk, fleece, and mohair wool coverings. I groaned despite myself.
Galen laughed, bracing his hands on either side of the doorway. "It's only a bed."
"You are so wrong." I said, enjoying his amusement, sinking down onto the bed, taking what I wanted before I could think about it too much.
My heart skipped a few beats as I lay on the softest mattress known to man. I'd never felt anything like it. Not even before I'd been dumped into limbo.
The bed shifted as Galen lay next to me. He exhaled slowly as he felt the bliss that was this mattress. "I thought the hospital beds were good."
"You're kidding." I'd lowered my voice without even thinking about it.
He stretched out next to me in those drool-worthy black combat fatigues. I wondered what he'd look like naked, sprawled out over this bed.
He found a lock of my hair on the pillow and wound it around his finger. "I usually sleep outside on the ground."
My heart thudded in my chest. We were so close. We both knew where this was going.
But was I okay with that? With him? With us?
I could get up and go.
His breath whispered over me.
I didn't. He lowered his mouth and kissed me once, twice. I didn't want to go. I kissed him back hard. Our tongue
s tangled as we ate each other. The fury took over and he climbed on top of me. Mouths and hands frantic, his big body on top of mine, I rubbed against him like a cat, wanting more, needing...
I gasped as he went to work on my neck, his hand sliding under my scrub top. He bared inch upon quivering inch as he worked his way up, layering kisses along the edge of my rib cage.
His hand cupped the underside of my breast and I about shot off the bed as his thumb grazed my nipple.
I tugged my shirt off, tossing it onto the bed next to us. Flushed and more than a little afraid, I sat back on my elbows, open to his gaze.
The look he gave me, one pure adulation, nearly brought tears to my eyes. If this was what it meant to be worshipped, I was all for it.
He braced himself on one arm, his hand caressing my chest, my rib cage, the curve of my waist.
He bent his head and took my breast into his mouth. I watched him. I couldn't take my eyes off him as he adored first one nipple, then the other with his tongue. He worked them until I was weak-limbed and wet with pleasure.
I closed my eyes and let the sensations take me.
He was so dangerous. If I got used to this, or to him, I'd never leave.
"Gods, I want this," he murmured against my throat. "I want you."
"I can't believe you're real," I said, my breath coming quickly. Couldn't believe I was in a sumptuous bed in the middle of the desert, with Galen the demi-god. "It's like a fantasy."
His fingers found my waistband and I lifted my hips. A thought flittered through my mind: I could have stopped him. I could have chosen to go slow. But I didn't want that. I wanted him.
He loosened the tie of my scrubs, his eyes catching the blue swirling Fleur-de-Z tattoo on my hip. He ran a thumb over it, then his tongue as he stripped the pants from me. He kissed my bent knee, my thigh, my clit right through my soaked underwear.
"You are so incredibly wet," he said, rising over me, his elbows on either side of my cheeks. "I want to know just how wet you are. I want to feel your juice sliding through my fingers."
I let my legs fall open as he slipped his hand under my pan ties.
He touched me where I was aching, slippery, and ready for him. He slid his fingers through my wet folds as I strained against him, growing even slicker for him.
Only for him.
"I can't believe how drenched you are," he murmured, his breath scorching my ear. "You are so God damned hot."
I swallowed. "I want your fingers inside me." I wanted to feel him penetrate me, stretch me. I wanted him to make room for his cock.
There was nothing stopping us and I didn't care anymore. This was so good, so right.
He lined himself up against me at the perfect angle to slip inside, if only he'd strip off his pants.
"You're teasing me." I imagined my juice soaking into his combat fatigues, wetting the tip of his cock.
His jaw was tight. "I'm about to go out of my fucking mind."
Hades, I was so ready for this. My orders required me to be on birth control. I even had forty-eight thousand condoms at my disposal.
Naturally, they were on full display outside my hutch.
Damn, this was really going to happen.
I let out a nervous laugh.
"It's fate," he said, kissing the curve of my ear. "Us finding a place like this. Us sliding wet and naked against each other," he said, kissing the tip of my nose. "This is the universe telling us we're on the right track."
What? "No," I said, barely finding my voice as his thumb caressed my cheek, his other hand closing over my hip bone, holding me as if he were already inside me. Sleeping with him meant I was lusting after a god. It did not make him right. "This is lust."
Our bodies were perfectly aligned, ready. Eyes slit with desire, he rocked his cock against the core of me. Did he know what that did to me?
"We're here because Colonel Kosta needed to put you somewhere. Nothing more."
The disappointment showed on his face. "You still don't believe we're part of something bigger here. That there's a plan behind this."
"Other than the one to turn me into a raging nymphomaniac? No."
"What is it with you?" he asked, braced over me. "Why don't you want peace?"
"Oh, all of a sudden I don't want peace?" Unbelievable.
He was the hardened killing machine. I sat up and so did he. I crossed my arms over my chest, chilly without him. "I want this war to end." I always would. "But not by forcing it. Not your way."
"Why?" he demanded.
"I could ask you the same thing. Why does it have to be your way? Your show? You may be a god, but you're certainly not perfect. I know this may come as a shock, but you don't have all the answers."
He was as surprised as if I'd smacked him. "And you do?"
"No one does," I said, my voice kicking up a notch.
This was such a mess.
He'd suffered. He'd lost. I wished I had a way out for him, or at least a way to make him understand. I tried to get a grip, calm down. "Look, I can't take the risk. Okay?"
"I don't even know what that means," he thundered.
Oh yeah. Way to get pissy. I reached for my shirt, my mouth twisted into a bitter smile. "Nothing."
"What aren't you telling me?" he demanded as I forced myself to get up off the bed. I found my pants on the floor. "I think I deserve to know why you're so adamant about this." I'd never gotten dressed so fast in my life. "Why the hell are you leaving?" he demanded as I walked away.
I turned. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I owed you my life story."
He got up to follow me. "Do you want to calm down and talk to me about this?"
His placating tone pissed me off. "So now you're the reasonable one?" I asked, fighting through the yellow curtains.
He made sound that was half snarl, half utter exasperation as he followed me through the living room. "I'm going to be on you until you tell me what's going on."
Yeah, right. "I'd like to see you try."
"Remember you said that," he called as I stalked out of the tent.
Chapter Twelve
Okay, so first I couldn't shut up and now he couldn't keep his opinions to himself. Only one thing was clear to me and that was that Galen and I had no idea what to do with this insane attraction.
We were in bed. In his bed and we couldn't even pull it off.
Argh. He was the most frustrating man I'd ever met. I wanted to kiss him one minute and bash him over the head the next. At this rate, I'd be a born-again virgin forever.
Not that there was anything wrong with that. I'd been doing fine for the last seven years. I didn't need a hot special ops officer, or his big, soft bed.
Fuck.
What I needed was chocolate. The Post Exchange was always out.
I had to get my head on straight, focus on something else. I cruised through post-op to see if they needed any help, but of course they had it handled. So I headed back to my hutch.
My bunk squeaked as I flopped down and reached for the shoe box on my nightstand. It was my snack box, and today it held Fruit Stripe gum and three packets of saltine crackers from the mess tent. Yum.
The soft bubbling from the tar swamp next door wasn't as comforting as it usually was. Today it just smelled. I un-wrapped a stick of grape and popped it in my mouth. It was stale and left my mouth feeling dry and dusty.
I hoped he had blue balls.
Not that I was thinking of Galen. Because I wasn't.
I unzipped the screened window over my roommates' cluttered shelf and tossed the nasty gum into the swamp.
Good riddance. I didn't need Galen or his massive bed. And once Rodger took down his laundry, I'd even be able to walk across our tiny hovel without getting hit in the head by surgical scrubs and Star Trek T-shirts. I mean, who really needs more than one?
My hutch might not be as plush as Galen's, but it was mine. I bunched a pillow behind me. It used to be lumpy. Now it was flat from overuse. Official new army regulations sai
d I had three more years to go before the next pillow reissue. Ten years, one pillow. That seemed reasonable.
I dug around on my nightstand and pulled on a pair of sunglasses. The suns were especially bright this afternoon. That's probably why there weren't too many people out walking, or stopping by.
Galen was probably lonely as hell in that big tent by himself. Well, it was his fault that we weren't sweaty and naked on his bed.
I had to think of something else.
Books! Yes, I could focus on the books I'd brought down here with me. Who cared if I'd read them a few times before?
I settled in to read Undead and Unwed, one of my all-time favorites. It amused me to no end that most people topside thought it was fiction.
But today Betsy the vampire had her work cut out for her. My mind was skittering all over the place.
My sunglasses slid down my nose as a lingering unease tugged at me. Where was everyone? It was never this quiet. Normally I couldn't get through a chapter without someone bothering me about something I couldn't fix.
I pushed my sunglasses back into place and glanced at Marius's footlocker. No doubt the vampire was snoozing inside. "It's just you and me, buddy."
The way it ought to be, really.
At last, I lost myself in the book, like I always did. I'd just made it to chapter 14 when Rodger banged in the door. If possible, his hair was scruffier, his cheeks pinker, and his expression even more wingding than usual.
"Best day ever." He paraded straight past me to get a good look at the suns setting over the tar swamp. He turned around, almost surprised to see me. "Chocolate-covered cherry?" Rodger asked, popping two into his mouth at once. He held out a half-eaten box.
Dread seeped over me. I knew VIP contraband when I saw it. "Where did you get those?"
He plopped down on Marius's footlocker to eat a few more. "Where do you think?"
Great. While I was alone all afternoon, Galen was yucking it up with my friend. I brought my book up between us and settled back onto my pillow "You can keep your ill-gotten chocolate."
"You can't be serious," Rodger said, through a mouthful of cherries.
"What? You think Galen is so wonderful?" It was just like a god to have to be the center of attention.
