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

by Kathryn Thomas

  Kristina knew that she was an attractive woman, but she had a moment of insecurity when she heard the water turn off. She knew Danny was stepping out of the shower and it would only be a minute before he emerged into the room.

  He’s gonna love it, calm down, she thought to herself.

  Kristina went to the edge of the bed and sat down. She leaned to the side, exposing her thigh and the roundness of her ass. Licking her lips, she tossed her hair and waited for him to exit the bathroom.

  A few minutes later, the door opened. Danny was drying his face and he hadn’t even looked at her, yet. “Tina, I was thinking maybe we should try to get some rest. We have an early day ahead of us,” he said, turning to her.

  The look on his face erased any of Kristina’s insecurities immediately. Hunger instantly flared in his eyes and his cock hardened under his towel. “You sure you want to sleep? I thought we could…play for a while,” Kristina said seductively.

  He just stared at her, as his eyes took in every inch of her body. The teddy enhanced all of her best features. The see-through lace dipped low in the front, framing her beasts and letting her nipples peek through the fabric. He licked his lips, as his gaze traveled the curve of her hips. Kristina stood and began to walk towards the bucket icing the wine, but she suddenly felt his hand stop her in her path. His eyes lowered to hers and he murmured, “You look beautiful.”

  Kristina couldn’t find the words to thank him before he lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was different, more heartfelt and sensual. Kristina wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely in return. His hands roamed her body, gripping her hips and ass. His arms tightened around her body, as he pulled her flat against him. She could feel his erection pressing into her belly. She couldn’t help but let a low moan escaped her lips.

  Breaking the kiss, he reached up and cupped her breast. His thumb flicked across her nipple, causing her to suck in a breath. Then, he brought his lips back to hers, as he sucked at them, and then, lightly nipped at them with his teeth.

  She reached her hand down and gripped his cock in her hand and felt him grow even harder. She began to lower herself and took him into her mouth. She sucked slowly, taking in the full length of him. The sharp hiss that escaped his lips when he released his breath let her know he liked what she was doing. His hands came to her hair and tangled in the tresses.

  She flicked her tongue across the tip of him, causing his hips to jerk in response. Then, she quickened her pace, never breaking contact with him. Danny’s breathing turned ragged and his moans became guttural. She brought her hand up to grip him, as she continued to suck. She loved the way he reacted to what she was doing to him. After a while, he pulled her up and scattered kisses on her mouth and across her neck.

  “You little vixen,” he told her, before he lifted her and carried her the short distance to the bed where he laid her softly. Then, his fingers found the straps to her thong and pulled the small scrap of lace off her body.

  He seemed to devour the sight of her. She was glistening wet and ready for him, but he had another thought in mind. He spread he legs as wide as they would go and dropped his head. Then, he placed a kiss on her womanhood. Slowly, he brought his tongue up her slit, as he circled it around her most sensitive part. She arched her back off the bed. She was lost in the feel of him and the pleasure he was giving her.

  Danny feasted on her, dipping and tasting her. Her hips moved in perfect sync with the rhythm he set. She felt the stirrings of her orgasm. As it built, her moans became louder and more primal. She shattered all at once. Danny gripped her hips tighter and he rode the waves of ecstasy.

  Her body felt weak and exhilarated at the same time. The bed dipped, as it took his weight. He positioned himself between her thighs, never taking his eyes off of hers and he slid within her.

  She would never tire of the feel of him. Her body stretched to accommodate his large size. He was still for a second, but then, he began to move when he heard her plea for him to make love to her.

  His pace was steady, but his lovemaking was unhurried. Raising her legs, she wrapped them around his hips and met him stroke for stroke. His body was slick with sweat and the muscles in his arms rippled as they supported his weight.

  Danny brought his lips to hers once more, allowing their tongues to duel. He slid his hands beneath her and lifted her, allowing him to go deeper. In return, Kristina gripped Danny’s back and dug her nails in. He felt so good, so right.

  As Danny tensed and his body went rigid, Kristina knew that he was starting to climax. Then, she felt him pulse within her, as he let out a low moan. Danny leaned down and kissed her on her forehead. “You were amazing, Tina. I could spend the rest of my life buried inside of you.”

  “I could get behind that idea,” Kristina said, adjusting herself to better support his weight.

  “Don’t tempt me woman,” he said, staring down at her.

  “I’m serious, Danny. It sounds like the perfect way to spend the rest of my life, not just the sex; but, with you, as well.”

  There, I finally said it, she thought to herself.

  Danny rolled to his side, facing Kristina. He was silent for a while, thinking about he would say.

  “Tina, I care about you a lot and that’s putting it extremely lightly,” he said, since the unknown outcome from his meeting in the morning held him back from saying anything more. He didn’t want to make her promises for the future that he couldn’t keep.

  Kristina mistook his comment as a sign that he didn’t feel the same way as she did. She rushed to put all her cards on the table, thinking that she had to justify her previous statement. “Danny, I understand you have been through a lot, more than any person should ever have to go through; but, for as long as I can remember, it’s been you. You helped me through my childhood. If it hadn’t have been for you, I don’t know how I would have made it through that. Now, when I look at you, it just seems right, Danny. Me and you, it’s just seems right.”

  Kristina paused, not knowing if she should tell him everything or just stop. You’ve come this far, she said to herself.

  “Danny, I fell in love with you when I was young and I never stopped loving you. Being with you now, these last couple of weeks, it has only reminded me why I loved you so much. Just…give us a chance.”

  Danny was quiet for a long time, just staring into Kristina’s eyes. In fact, he was silent for so long that Kristina didn’t know if he was going to answer her at all. After a while, he gave her the most handsome smile she had ever seen on his face.

  “What in the world are you smiling at?” she asked him.

  “Oh, nothing. You love me is all,” he started laughing, as she punched him in the chest.

  “I’m serious, Danny.”

  “I know you are, Tina. I love you, too. You have helped me through so much in the short time you’ve been here; but, even though that was awesome, that’s not why I love you.”

  “Then, why do you?” she said, not able to stop the smile from spreading across her face.

  “You’ve shown me your heart. You’ve shown me that, yeah, shit is going to get hard; but, you won’t run from it. I struggle with my experiences daily and it’s going to be a long road ahead of me, but you’ve shown me that, even as a friend, I can count on you to be there for me. That’s why I love you, Tina, and that, at least on my part, will never change.”

  “Same here. So what now?” she asked.

  “We’ll talk in the morning, love. For now, go to sleep,” he said, as he kissed her. Kristina, content for the moment, cuddled up to him and was asleep moments later.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Kristina waited outside the office building that Danny walked into only moments before. She stared out on the base. Military personnel walked here and there and she spoke to the few who said anything to her.

  She felt good about the conversation between her and Danny last night. He loved her. She had loved him for so long that she didn’t even know if it was pos
sible that he could love her, too. Finding out that Danny felt the same way made it a little easier to look into the future and see a life with him. She was still scared of what would happen when she returned to Philadelphia, especially since she had never been in a long distance relationship.

  She didn’t know if Danny would move to be with her. If she wanted to focus on her career, she didn’t have an option to move to Humble at the moment. She was at a loss as to where they would go from here, but she knew that whatever they chose they would do it together and make it work. It would be okay. That’s all she kept telling herself.

  Kristina clasped her hands together and leaned against a cement wall, as she waited for Danny to come out of the office. She had been sitting there for about fifteen minutes when her phone rang. Checking the caller ID, she saw it was her office back home. Cursing, she answered the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Kristina, it’s Mr. Cooley. I haven’t heard anything from you on your progress of the story. Fill me in.

  ***

  Danny stood in front of the base psychiatrist. The woman looked through his file, as if she didn’t already know why he was here. She made small talk at the beginning of the meeting; but then, she delved into the reason she was seeing him. Danny didn’t care about the small talk, he only wanted her to get to the part that required his presence. Finally, she put down the folder that she held in her hand and look him in his eyes and said, “How are you feeling these days, Danny?”

  Danny almost lost the battle not to roll his eyes at the woman. Just get on with it, he thought. Instead of speaking those words out loud, he said, “I’m fine, ma’am.”

  The woman nodded her head. “That’s good. That’s real good. Lance Corporal Knight, you have been evaluated and cleared for active duty. You are to report for duty at zero-eight-hundred hours in two days.”

  Danny almost buckled. His knees felt like jelly and he couldn’t breathe. His worst nightmare had come true. He was going to have to complete his enlistment. He prayed the woman had found something that would make him unable to fight, unable to go back into the war zone; but, the order had been issued. He was going back and there was nothing he could do about it. Danny began to sweat and his vision swirled. His breathing came in short bursts with the faces of those boys at the forefront of his mind. “You can’t send me back there,” he whispered.

  “Excuse me?” the woman said. She had already gone back to her paperwork, thinking Danny had left once he received his orders.

  “I can’t go back. I just can’t,” Danny said, as he turned and walked out of the office. When he got to the exit, he took some deep breaths and tried to calm down.

  “Get yourself together!” he nearly screamed at himself.

  He took a few more minutes to calm himself, not wanting Kristina to see him so shaken. He wanted to tell her on his own and not have her find out because he was having a nervous breakdown on the steps of the base psychiatrist’s office.

  Once he had a semblance of his control back, he walked, a little unsteadily at first, towards where he had left Kristina. His day had taken a turn for the worst. The craving for a drink was very strong and he almost shook from its call to him. If he could just see Kristina and her beautiful face, it would make it all more bearable.

  Finally, he saw her, as she sat on the steps. Danny quickened his steps, trying to get to her quickly so they could leave the base. He would return soon enough; so, he wanted to get some distance between himself and the base as soon as possible. As he approached her, he noticed she was on the phone; but, he couldn’t help but overhear her conversation. The hurt and anger that exploded from him surprised him.

  “It was all for a fucking story?”

  ****

  Kristina spun around. She saw Danny behind her and knew from the look on his face that he had heard her conversation with her boss. “Danny, please. Let me explain,” Kristina said, walking up to him, her phone call forgotten.

  She had been in the middle of telling her boss that she wasn’t going to use Danny for the story. She had found a replacement for him and would need a few weeks more on her timeline to finish it. She hadn’t realized Danny was finished with his meeting and that he already returned to her, overhearing what she said in the process.

  “I trusted you,” he said, the hurt in his voice made Kristina want to cry. She knew that based on what he overheard, it seemed like she was only with him to gather information.

  “Danny, please. Listen to me. This is not what it looks like,” she pleaded with him.

  “Then, what is it Kristina? It looks like you were playing me from where I stand. It was all for a fucking headline.”

  The use of her full name let her know exactly how mad he was. Danny never called her anything but Tina.

  “Yes, I am doing a story. Yes, at first, I was here to do one on you, but that changed once I got to know you. I decided not to use you, weeks ago. I was just telling my boss.”

  “I let you see the worst parts of myself. I opened up my heart to you and I was just a story to you. Well, add this to your story. They're sending me back. So, I guess this is goodbye anyway.”

  Kristina could tell that, right now, he was past trying to listen to her; so, she let that part go. What caught her attention was that he said they were sending him back.

  “They can’t do that,” Kristina said, as she looked in his eyes, even though he tried to avoid hers. “They can’t send you back there.”

  “Why? Because I’m crazy? Because you think I can’t handle myself?” His face was a twisted snarl. Kristina could see uniformed officers coming their way. “I am a United States Marine. Hoorah,” Danny said, and then, he turned and walked away.

  Kristina watched him leave. Every cell in her body urged her to follow him and explain that she was sorry. She wanted him to understand that she had no intention of putting him in her story. Unfortunately, she knew it would be no use. At least not right now. He was too angry and hurt; so, he wouldn’t hear a word she had to say.

  Two military police came up to her and asked her questions. She didn’t even hear the words they spoke. She just nodded, as she stared at Danny’s disappearing form. She knew it was a bad idea to keep the initial reason for her visit to Humble from him. Now, she didn’t know a way to fix it.

  A few hours later, Kristina sat at the airport, alone. She made it back to the hotel room that she shared with Danny, only to find all his belongings were gone. He left her the rental car, but that was all.

  She had tried calling him, but his phone went straight to voicemail. She was worried about him. She wanted to see him and see for herself that he was okay, but nothing she said on his voicemail made him return her calls.

  The next morning, Kristina packed her belongs back into her suitcase. She looked at the black lace lingerie and remembered her night with Danny. Things were going so well. He had told her he loved her and they were going to plan for their future. Now, she sat alone in an airport and she had no idea where he was.

  Her heart was breaking by the second. She wanted nothing more than spend this time in his arms, making love. She wanted to hear him tell her she was beautiful. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him.

  The flight back to Humble seemed longer than ever and the minutes ticked away slowly. Kristina had to stop herself from crying more than once. This is your own fault. You should have told him, she said to herself.

  She stopped at Danny’s apartment as soon as she got back to Humble. She banged on the door, but it was dark inside and completely silent. It was apparent that no one was home, but she kept knocking in the hope that he would miraculously appear and open the door.

  Giving up she went back to her hotel. She had already spoken to the airline and changed her ticket. The third person for her article was in Philly, so was heading back there. There was no reason to stay in Humble, if he wasn’t here. She thought she may go visit her parents one more time before she left, but quickly tossed it to the side. She would j
ust leave mad and disappointed at her mom and dad. Those two would never change. She felt sorry for them and was sad that was how they chose to live their lives.

  Walking into the lobby, Kristina checked out of the hotel and asked the woman at the front desk if she had any messages. She hoped that maybe Danny didn’t want to speak to her directly, but had left his whereabouts with the hotel. There was nothing there and her last hope of reconciling with him was dashed. She tried not to notice the pang of disappointment that stung her chest.

  Please let him be okay. Please, she prayed silently.

  It was time to head back to the airport to wait on her flight. Her nerves were all over the place, but she figured that once she got away from Humble she would be able to think clearly. Danny said they wanted him back. Those were direct orders and she knew Danny well enough to know he wouldn’t disobey a direct order. She just didn’t know when he had to report for duty.