Hot Extraction: SEALs, Marines, and Infantry - A Military Romance Boxed Set

by Kathryn Thomas

  The house was dark inside when she pulled up. She checked the clock on her dash. It was only forty-seven minutes after eight, too soon for him to be in bed. She knew he was home because she saw his car.

  She got out of the car and walked quickly to his front steps. She knocked on the door a little harder than she intended. “Please, Lord, I hope he wasn’t drinking.”

  She immediately regretted her trip to Chicago. If she stayed, she could have helped him through whatever episode pushed him towards the liquor bottle. She knocked again.

  “Come in,” she heard faintly from the back of the apartment. Kristina turned the knob slowly, praying she didn’t find what she thought she would.

  The first thing she saw were small candles. Coming fully into the apartment, she saw the candles led to the back, where Danny’s room was located. The faint smell of bleach told her Danny had cleaned up the place. She wanted to flip the lights on and look around, but decided against it.

  “Danny?” he didn’t answer.

  Setting her bag down, Kristina decided to play along. She followed the trail of candles and it led her to the one person she wanted to see the most. He was sitting on the bed holding a rose. He looked up at her and smiled. “It’s about time you came. I’ve blown out and relit those candles more times than I can remember.”

  She couldn’t help but chuckle. “You could have called. I would have told you when I was coming.”

  “I knew that, but, hey, I needed the exercise anyway.” He stood and handed her the rose.

  “What’s this all about, Danny?”

  “This is all about you,” he said simply.

  He grabbed her hand and led her to the desk chair. She noticed the desk was clean, too. He had been busy. He went down on one knee in front of her.

  “What does that mean, all about me?” she asked.

  “This is my way of saying thank you, Tina. I know I have a long way to go, but you have made my first steps on the journey bearable. You make me forget, even if it’s just for a little while; but, I’ll take what I can get at this point. I appreciate everything that you’ve done for me.”

  Kristina knew it took a lot for him to say what was on his mind. He looked so cute, down on one knee his hair still damp from a shower. He looked up at her and his big eyes were so full of emotion she could swim in their depths. Before she knew it, she leaned down to kiss him. It was gentle and soft, her lips barely touching his.

  “Thank you, this was sweet.”

  His hand snaked up behind her and buried itself in her long locks, as he pulled her into him. Then, he kissed her with unbridled passion. When he pulled back from the kiss, his gaze was full of heated desire. Kristina melted on the spot. His lips met hers again, as she moaned low in her throat and small shivers travelled through her body.

  She leaned her head back, as he broke contact with her mouth and trailed kisses down her neck. He stopped at her collarbone, flicking his tongue across her flesh. She gripped his shoulders, holding on as tight as she could. Then, he continued to kiss her in the valley of her breast, through her blouse.

  She felt his hands sliding up the sides of her body. Then, his fingertips were on her breast. He gripped her blouse, but the fabric put up little resistance. In one movement, he ripped her blouse open. Her rosy peaks were immediately hard and poked through her lace bra.

  She sucked in a sharp breath, as she felt his tongue tease her nipple. He sucked the peak into his mouth through the fabric and she couldn’t help but cry out. Her fingers found the back of his head and gripped his hair. In that moment, she didn’t know whether to push him away or pull him closer.

  The pleasure was so intense she barely noticed his hands at the button of her tight jeans. His hand was inside her panties, rubbing across her most sensitive spot. Then, he buried one finger inside her moist heat. She cried out loudly and he silenced her with another kiss. She didn’t stop to think about anything beyond the exquisite sensation he was providing her, as he alternated between circling her clit and sliding his fingers inside of her.

  Kristina threw her head back and cried out, as she found release. Her muscles gripped his fingers in strong pulses. As she came back to earth, Danny never took his eyes off hers; yet, steadily, he freed her of her pants.

  She could feel his manhood pressing into her belly, as it strained against his sweats for freedom. Kristina let her hands travel his well-muscled body until she was at the waist band of his pants. Pulling slightly, his cock sprang free.

  She heard him suck in a hiss, as her hand wrapped around his member. He was big and his skin felt smooth in her hand. Even though he was already hard, she stroked him and he seemed to grow even harder.

  His breath came in sharp pants, but turned into a low moan when she took him into her mouth. She sucked hard, loving the taste of him. She set a quick pace, alternating between sucking and licking. His hands were tangled in her hair, guiding her. He roared out his pleasure, as he reached his climax within her mouth.

  Danny pulled her up to his eye level. “Little devil,” he said as he led her to the bed. Holding her tightly around her waist, he lifted her onto the mattress. They lay next to each other and Kristina briefly rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. After a few minutes, she let her hand wander down to his cock. She began to stroke him and it leaped to life, again. Even Danny seemed surprised at how quickly he recovered after his first climax.

  This time, he gently pulled her up, and then, he entered her in one smooth thrust from behind. Kristina’s head fell back against his shoulders and her back arched, as he slid in and out of her. He kissed her neck, as one of his hands reached around to cup her breast. He set a slow pace and his thrust was deep, as he built the passion of their love making.

  She moaned his name, the feeling almost too much for her. If not for his hand holding her up, she would have fallen to the floor.

  Danny quickened his pace, his thrusts becoming longer and deeper. Kristina turned slightly getting a glimpse of Danny’s face. The satisfaction written across it was so sexy. She bit her bottom lip, as she reached her peak once more. Danny moved within her faster, sending sparks of pleasure rushing through her body. She met him thrust for thrust, as she moved against him.

  He followed her into a climax of his own. She felt his cock pulse inside her and his body become rigid. He moaned her name, as the last of his seed spilled within her. They both collapsed on the bed spent.

  “That was amazing,” Kristina said.

  “You were amazing,” he countered.

  They lay in silence for a while, almost falling asleep, before he jumped up and ran into the hallway.

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “The fucking candles.” She laughed, as she heard him blowing over and over again.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  As the days passed, Kristina almost forgot she was there for an assignment. She spent almost every day with Danny, getting to know the man in a way she never knew was possible. She watched his inner struggle, as he battled his demons. The amazing thing was that he was slowly winning. He was learning, even if by baby steps, to deal with what happened. She admired him for his courage and for not giving up.

  Kristina left Danny’s house that morning and headed to her hotel. She had been at Danny’s for the past few nights and needed to come up for air. Danny made love to her every night since that first night. Despite everything he was going through, he was a passionate lover. He took his time with her and made her the focus of their love making. Just thinking about him sent shivers through her body.

  She didn’t know how she was going to leave him when the time came. Her feelings for him had awakened in her with a vengeance. She was hopelessly in love with him. Leaving him was going to be next to impossible.

  She felt the need to guard her heart as much as she could, maybe even pull back a little. She was scared to death that history would repeat itself and that when she returned home, they would let time and distance tear them apart once
more. Kristina didn’t know if she could handle that heartbreak twice, especially since she barely moved on from it the first time.

  Making her way to her room, Kristina sat down at her laptop. She logged on and sipped on a soda until it finished booting up. She went to her email and skimmed through the dozens of messages that had been sent to her. She was about to delete them all, when she noticed one from Mr. Cooley.

  He never sends emails, Kristina said to herself, as she opened the mail.

  Kristina,

  Just checking on you how things were going. You should check in more often. I’m interested in reading your story. Let me know your progress.

  Cooley.

  Great, Kristina thought. She hadn’t yet told her boss that she wasn’t going to use Danny on the story.

  Danny open up to her more than she could have dreamed. She could never betray him like that. Mr. Cooley was gonna be pissed, but she couldn’t do it. Kristina typed up her notes from the first interview she’d taken and closed her laptop.

  After texting Danny to see how he was doing, she showered and laid down for a nap. She was flying to North Carolina in the morning to interview an injured Army vet who had just returned from Iraq. Plus, she still had to find a third person for her assignment to replace Danny. Maybe if she told Mr. Cooley that she’d found a replacement, he wouldn’t blow his top. Kristina laughed in spite of herself, as she lay down. That was a big maybe.

  ****

  Danny put the finishing touches on the dinner he had prepared for Kristina. Yesterday, she said she was tired, so she spent the night at her hotel. He couldn’t help but miss her. He had gotten used to having her around. In fact, her presence alone soothed him and helped him through the day.

  For some reason, yesterday tested his strength. His demons came at him hard and his old habits called him. It was harder than anything he could remember to just sit and wait for the attack to pass. He was proud of himself. The deaths of those boys would forever be with him, he had no doubt about that; but, it was getting a little easier each day to deal with it.

  Danny was just setting the plates out on the table when his phone rang. Going over, he answered on the third ring. When he hung up, he cursed. The base psychiatrist wanted him to report to her office in the morning. He suspected what he would be told, but hoped for the best.

  He looked at the incomplete dinner he had been preparing and took a deep breath. Whatever news he got tomorrow, he would not let it stop him from enjoying his night with Kristina. He couldn’t help but fall for the woman. She was utterly beautiful. She had seen him at his worst, yet had not turned her back on him or passed judgment. Instead, she had been compassionate and opened her heart to him when he needed it the most.

  When he thought about it, he knew that he loved her; but, he didn’t know how to tell her. He knew that she cared for him as a friend, but he was unsure if she shared the same feelings. Deeply entrenched in thought, he finished setting the kitchen table. He decided he would tell her, but not until he came home from his meeting.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Sitting in his living room after dinner, Danny watched Kristina sip her wine. He thought about asking her

  if she was free to fly with him to Camp Pendleton. He was leaving tonight and he knew it was short notice, but he wanted her to go with him. He wanted her to be there, especially if he got the news that he dreaded to hear. After mulling it over, he decided he would definitely ask her if she was available for the trip.

  “Kristina, I wanted to ask you something,” he said, looking her in her eyes.

  She sat her wine glass down and looked towards him. “Sure, anything.”

  “I wanted to know if you will go somewhere with me tonight. I have to fly out to California and meet with somebody on the base. I…wanted you there, in case I got any bad news.”

  “Why would you be getting bad news?” she asked him.

  “There’s always the possibility. I just want the support, in case I needed it.”

  “Of course, Danny. What time is the flight?”

  ****

  They landed in Los Angeles at around one-thirty in the morning. Kristina noticed that Danny was unusually quiet. She didn’t know what was on his mind, but whatever it was it had him nervous.

  “Are you okay?” she asked him.

  Danny nodded to her and forced a smile. “Come on, let’s go pick up the rental. It should be waiting for us.”

  Kristina shook her head and followed him to baggage claim where they pick up their bags, and then, they retrieved their rental car. A short while later, they were driving toward Oceanside. The car ride was very quiet and, unfortunately, the silence was not a comfortable one.

  Kristina tried to start up conversation a few times, but failed to keep it going. Giving up, she turned to look out the passenger window and simply watched the roadside pass by.

  “Tina, wake up. We’re here,” Danny said softly.

  Kristina looked around and saw they were at a hotel. She didn’t even realized she fell asleep, but she must have been more tired than she thought. Opening the car door, she went to the trunk where Danny was grabbing their things from the car. When he had everything, he turned to her and smiled. This time he let his smile reach his eyes.

  “Sorry if I’ve been a little stand-offish. I’ve just been thinking about things and I hope I didn’t offend you.”

  Kristina smiled back at the man she loved. “Not at all,” she said, although she was not exactly telling the truth. “I’m just concerned about you, Danny. I hope everything goes well for you tomorrow.”

  “Me too,” he said, looking off into the distance. Pointing, he said, “You see that section of land off to the right?”

  She turned her head and looked in the direction where he was pointing. “Yes.”

  “That’s Camp Pendleton. That’s where I learned to be a soldier, where I learned to protect my country,” he said, although he had that old haunted look in his eyes again.

  “It’s going to be okay. Whatever it is, it’s going to be alright,” she said, unable to come up with anything else. She wanted to take that look away from his eyes and turn him back into the man he had been for the past couple of weeks. “Come on,” she said, as she grabbed his hand. “Let’s get checked in.”

  They walked hand in hand towards the hotel office where they checked in and grabbed their keys. They immediately headed to their room and, once inside, Kristina glanced around her. The room was small, but comfortable. It had a large bed and two overstuffed chairs in the corner.

  Telling Danny that she wanted to get the road off her, she undressed quickly and headed for the shower. As she climbed under the stream of water, she thought about Danny. She knew that whatever was bothering him wouldn’t just go away, but she intended to try to take his mind off it at least for a little while. After her shower, she towel-dried her hair, keeping one eye on Danny, as he sat by the window. He seemed so deep in thought.

  “Danny, you wanna jump in the shower?” she asked him.

  Turning, he glanced at her. “Yeah, actually, that sounds really good right now,” he told her as he got up from his seat. As he passed her, he kissed her on the top of her head.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay,” she said, watching his back as he disappeared into the bathroom. Kristina waited until she heard the water running before she rushed to her suitcase. She unzipped the luggage and rummaged around until she found the items that she was looking for. When she stopped at her house before leaving, she had an afterthought to pack some extra items, just in case she had the time to use them. It looked like her quick thinking paid off.

  She listened at the bathroom door, making sure Danny was still inside the shower. Then, she rushed outside with the ice bucket. Once back inside the room, she carefully unwrapped the two wine glasses and the bottle of wine she packed. Then, she stuck the wine in the bucket of ice, hoping it would chill enough by the time they got around to drinking it.

  Glan
cing at the bed, she peeled her robe off, exposing her bare skin. She let her hands roam across her body, lingering on her breasts and continuing down to her hips. Reaching toward the bed, she grabbed the black lace teddy and matching thong she bought when she went to Chicago. She sat down on the bed and slid the garter up her leg until it settled at her thigh. Next, she slipped her feet into a pair of black stilettos. She rarely wore the shoes, but this was for Danny.

  Standing, she went to the full length mirror that adorned the wall. She gazed at her body, appreciating the view. She had to admit that she looked sexy. She just hoped that Danny would like it. She had never worn lingerie for a man before. When she was with Trevor, he was always a straight-to-the-point kind of guy and her flings in college hadn’t been serious enough for her to care.