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

by Kathryn Thomas

  As he pulled back he looked into her eyes. “Thank you again… for caring… and for being there.”

  She smiled at him and touched the side of his face before rising to her tip-toes to kiss him fleetingly on the lips. As she lowered herself she said nothing, but smiled at him again before turning away, pulling her hand away in a slow caress. As she swished back to her bedroom to bathe, she hoped he would follow. But if he didn’t, there was no way in hell he was getting out of here tonight without making love to her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “Where are we going?” Jamie yelled as Leo’s bike carved along the back road.

  “Wherever the road takes us!”

  She leaned in a little tighter, placing her chin on his shoulder. He hadn’t followed her to her shower, and she hadn’t joined him in his when they stopped at his house so he could bathe and change into clean clothes… even though he had pseudo-invited her by expressing regret she had already bathed.

  But that was okay. The anticipation was a delicious pleasure she had been enjoying for the past two hours. As the big Harley V-Twin passed a pleasant tingle through her, she snuggled in closer still. She found it humorous that she had known Leo for nearly three years, and only in the last couple of months had she noticed him. Before he was just a good-looking guy who happened to be her favorite customer, but now she was hoping he would become more. As they prepared for the day, they had both checked in and made their excuses for missing work. This was their time and she was enjoying the hell out of it.

  Leo felt Jamie squirm in a bit closer as her arms tightened down a little more. He had ridden a lot of women on his bike, but never had he enjoyed having one pressed against his back so much. He had always admired the way Jamie looked—and who wouldn’t—and then later her sharp wit, but the last few days, he had seen another side of her, a gentle, caring side. For reasons he couldn’t easily explain, when he was with her, even just enjoying a beer in her bar, the world didn’t seem so bleak, and the past so dark.

  ***

  “To friends and lovers… may they forever be the same,” Leo said as he held his wine glass to Jamie.

  Jamie felt a rush of heat but tamped it down again. Leo had engaged her in a slow seduction all afternoon and evening. And he was good at it, so very good at it.

  “To friends and lovers,” Jamie murmured and took a sip of her wine.

  By the time they had returned home, she was wet with desire and wanted to take him straight to her bed, but he seemed unaffected. She had said she would cook him dinner, but he had insisted on helping. They had stopped at the market on the way home where he had purchased four large salmon filets that he seared while she prepared the vegetables. As they moved about the kitchen, he always seemed to need to reach past her, leaning in close while putting a steadying hand on her as he did, then removed the hand with a slow stroke. In short, he had been driving her mad.

  “The salmon is superb,” she said after her first taste.

  “Mom knows how to prepare fish. This is her recipe.”

  “May I have it?”

  “Sure. There’s nothing to it. I’ll write it down for you.”

  They made small talk as they ate, and every time Jamie looked at Leo, he was looking at her, his gaze making her feel squirmy for all the right reasons.

  After dinner he helped her clean. He had washed and loaded the dishwasher as he cooked, something she normally didn’t do, but she had followed his lead, so it took only a few minutes before the kitchen was ready for morning. The moment the dishwasher began to hiss, filling with water, Leo pulled her into a soft embrace. “Thank you. Thank you for dinner, for letting me stay last night... and for listening.”

  “It was my pleasure, Leo.”

  He hadn’t kissed her since this morning, but he took her lips now. The kiss was just as slow and soft as this morning, but deeper and with more meaning.

  As their lips slowly parted, she looked into his eyes. “Would you like to stay tonight?”

  “Yes…”

  She smiled. That’s good. Now I won’t have to tie him up and lock him in my bedroom. “I’m glad.”

  They had reserved their wine glasses and he added a healthy splash to each glass, picked them up, and walked into the living room. She wanted him so bad, but he seemed content to wait forever. She followed him to the living room where he handed over her glass before sitting down. She sat down with him and snuggled in close. They sat in companionable silence for a moment before he began to speak softly.

  “We were on convoy escort duty… something we had done a hundred times before.”

  A chill passed through her when she realized what he was telling her, but she sat silent and unmoving, waiting for him to continue.

  “Kirkuk is only about four hours north of Baghdad, along well traveled roads. It should have been a milk run. But our number came up.”

  “What happened?” she asked softly when he paused.

  “We were a little north of Tuz Khumra when an IED, a bomb, took out the Lieutenant’s Humvee, causing it to block road The lead truck rammed it, trying to push it out of the way, but it was taken out with an RPG, a rocket propelled grenade. They also took out the last Humvee in the convoy, the one with First Sergeant Hitchens in it, to box us in. They were ripping us up with heavy machine gun fire. Those trucks weren’t armored and the drivers never stood a chance. Of the twenty drivers, only three managed to get out of their trucks before they were killed.”

  “My God,” Jamie whispered.

  “Yeah. Most of the rest of the platoon managed to get out of the transports before they were hit by RPGs, but now we were pinned down with nowhere, and no way, to run. We had called for help as soon as the attack started, but we had to hang on until it arrived. They had us rocked back on our heels and we couldn’t mount an effective defense. The Humvees were armored, and with the Lieutenant and First Sergeant out, I was senior NCO, so I ordered us to charge their lines to try and disrupt their offensive and give us time to set up some kind of coordinated defense. We didn’t make it. They took out three of the Hummers before we could disrupt their attack. Once we lost the ability to maneuver, it was just a matter of time.”

  Leo paused and took a sip of his wine. “My Humvee was damaged but it ran long enough to get us most of the way back to the convoy. We bailed out and ran like hell to the other side of the trucks. Only Miller and I made it all the way. We, the platoon, tried to dig in, but they encircled us and had us in a cross fire. Once they had that, they began cut us to pieces.”

  Leo paused, and took another sip of his wine. “I should have never ordered that attack. We could have used the Hummers to harry them until the Apaches arrived.”

  Jamie was quiet for a time. “How many were killed?”

  “Everyone,” he said with near infinite sorrow.

  “Everyone?”

  “Everyone but me. I should have died, too. I don’t know why, or how, I managed to survive. The screams of the men as they were cut apart… it was fucking awful, but there wasn’t anything I could do. I was pinned down, and there was nothing I could do!”

  Jamie could feel the tears in her eyes from Leo’s story and the sadness and pain in his voice.

  “Finally it was just Miller and me. We were under a truck, shooting at anything that moved. I thought we were going to make it, but then they sent in another RPG. The shrapnel… it almost cut Steve’s leg off. We were exposed and...” Leo stopped as he struggled to gather himself. “And then he pushed his rifle to me. For the ammo. He told me to find cover, and then he started firing his service pistol. I left him, Jamie! I left him behind!”

  “You couldn’t have stayed, Leo,” she said as she wiped at her eyes. “You would have been killed, too.”

  “I tried to get to the next truck, to provide covering fire… but…”

  “But you were shot. That’s why your lung is damaged.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “I managed to drag myself
under the truck, got behind the drive wheels, and then the Apaches and the Chinook showed up.”

  “How long were you under attack?”

  “Fifteen, twenty minutes they tell me. It felt like years.”

  Jamie pulled Leo into her embrace. “There is nothing else you could have done, Leo. Nothing.”

  “I couldn’t save them,” he gasped into her shoulder. “I tried, but I couldn’t save any of them.”

  “Shhh, Leo… shhh,” she murmured, rocking him like she would a baby. “Thank you,” she said after a time.

  “For what?” he asked, pulling back and looking into her eyes.

  “For telling me this – for sharing your burden with me. I can’t imagine how terrible it must have been that day, but it could have been worse, still. You could have died with those men, but you didn’t. You’re alive to tell everyone of their heroism. You’re alive to remember their sacrifice and to see that they’re not forgotten.” She leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. “You’re alive, Leo. Don’t dishonor their memory by not living.”

  Leo’s breathing hitched and he gasped. She could tell he was struggling to hold himself together, fighting to not be overwhelmed by his emotions. She pulled him in close again. “It’s okay to grieve, Leo, but don’t die inside. Please.” She paused as she struggled to remember what he had said that morning. “Second Platoon wouldn’t want that. You’re all that is left of them. Live for them, Leo. Don’t let them have died in vain.”

  “I don’t know how,” he said softly.

  “One day at a time, Leo. You live one day at a time. You live for today.” She pulled back and kissed him softly. She wanted pull him from that dark past and twist and rip the pain from him. “Live for tonight,” she murmured as she touched his lips again. “Forget the past, if just for a little while.” She kissed him gently under his ear. “Please, Leo, if only for this one moment… live.”

  A single sob escaped him and he gasped as he tried to hold himself together. But he couldn’t... and the pain and anguish came pouring from him. He held tightly to Jamie as he fought for control, control he couldn’t find.

  He began to sob silently, her only indication of his pain the shaking of his shoulders and his quiet gasps for air. And she held him, held him tight, saying nothing, doing nothing, giving him her shoulder to cry on and what strength she could as she sobbed with him, sharing his pain, gladly taking some of his burden.

  Then he was still, and she continued to hold him. She would hold him for as long as he wanted, until she grew gray with age if that is what it took. Finally he straightened, and looked into her eyes, his own eyes red from his tears. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I should go.”

  “Stay,” she answered just as softly. “I would like it very much if you would stay with me tonight.”

  He stared at her a moment. “I would like that, too,” he whispered. “For the first time in a long time, I feel alive.”

  Jamie fought against her tears as she smiled, stood, and pulled Leo to his feet to lead him to her bedroom.

  As they coasted to a stop beside her bed, they looked at each other, neither moving in the shadowy gloom, the lights from the rest of the house the only illumination. His hand came to her face and she tilted her head into it, allowing him to hold her. Earlier she was wound so tight she wanted to fuck like bunnies, but now, after learning of the pain Leo held inside, she was content to go slow and support him as he took the first tentative steps from the dark place of his memories.

  He looked into Jamie’s beautiful face as she slowly nodded her head in his palm, her eyes closed, caressing her cheek with his hand. Her words had cut him deeply, puncturing some hidden reservoir of pain and allowing it to escape. He did want to live, to let go of his pain and guilt. The Army, and Lima 6, had tried to help him, to coach him into releasing his anguish, but their words were just words. But Jamie knew what it was like to lose someone unexpectedly and before their time. She knew and understood the pain he felt, and she had been able to let it go. She was so strong, so incredibly strong, and he needed her strength. Her strength and support made his burden seem lighter and her kindness acted as a balm on an aching wound.

  When his other hand touched her face she looked up and met his lips. Their kiss was soft and gentle, almost loving in its tenderness. She moved to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him deeper into the kiss when he broke it off. “Are you sure about this?” he whispered, his lips only a hair’s breadth from her own, his breath warmth and seductive as he spoke.

  “I have never been as sure of anything in my life,” she whispered. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes… I want you… I need you...” he said as he took her lips again, with more intensity this time.

  As he spoke of his desire, her passions roared even higher. His words may mean nothing in morning’s light, but tonight they warmed her in a way she had never felt before. Their kiss took on a life of its own as their lips parted and their tongues began a slow and intimate dance. She pressed in tighter to him, feeling the heat of his body against her own. He felt hot, almost feverish, even through their clothes.

  He gently pulled away from the kiss and looked into her eyes. Never had he wanted a woman as much as he wanted this one standing before him. He reached to her face again, caressing her cheek with his thumb before he drew his fingers down her neck.

  She shivered in anticipation as Leo’s fingers slid down her neck and across her throat, his other hand joining his first to slowly unbutton her shirt. As her first button was freed, she reached to his shirt, and his first button answered in kind. Their fingers walked down their buttons until she pushed his shirt from his shoulders and allowed it to fall to the floor. Her fingers traced the puckered scar on his left shoulder then the larger one lower, under his heart. She was no doctor, but to leave a scar such as the one on his chest, his wound must have been severe. Her eyes welled with tears again as she caressed the disfigured skin with her lips.

  He stood still and let her explore his wounds, something most women wanted to do. But rather than tolerate it, he found that with each touch of her fingers or lips, his pain faded a tiny bit and the darkness that consumed him brightened in equal measure. Her inspection complete, she straightened and brought his lips to hers with a hand behind his head.

  As she pulled his head down into a kiss, Leo’s hands went to her back and pulled her in tight, then began to explore, sliding along her back until he touched the clasps of her bra. He worked the catches and she felt the material relax as it loosened. She stepped back, breaking the kiss, and slowly removed her covering, his eyes shifting back and forth between her face and the slow reveal of her breasts.

  Jamie began removing her pants, stepping out of them before settling onto her bed and holding her hands out beseechingly. He joined her on the bed, sitting only long enough to finish removing his pants. He slowly rolled her to her back, and as she moved she opened herself to him. He moved with her as he positioned himself between her legs and slowly entered her.

  As he entered, her head tilted back as she gasped in pleasure. When her back slowly straightened, his lips were waiting to take hers. As they kissed her hands glided along his back, holding him to her as she reveled with the feeling of him inside of her. As much as she was enjoying the kiss, and she was enjoying it a great deal, indeed, her desire was consuming her and she needed more air to feed the flame. She pushed his lips to her neck and held them tightly to her as he began to move.

  When Jamie broke the kiss, he began to move… slowly, gently, luxuriating in the moment unlike any time before. The feel of her hands holding him tight, the warm wetness of her womanhood, her soft sighs with each gentle thrust inflamed him, but he won’t fuck her, not like the women in the past. No… she was already too special to him to simply want to tease in pleasure, as if it were a game. With Jamie, he wanted to experience this moment, this connection between two people. He wanted to… live!

  She felt a hard shudder go through him as he gasped a
nd then whimpered into her neck. Had he come so soon? But she felt the tempo of his thrusts increase, his slow, easy motion becoming firmer and more deliberate. He whimpered again and she realized what she was hearing were the soft cries of him releasing his pain. Perhaps not all, but some, and she burned with desire. She pulled his lips to hers and they kissed, long and passionately, as he took what she willingly gave. Her climax was coming hard and fast, surrounding her, drowning her as her skin burned in erotic fire. With a shudder and gasp of her own, she was overwhelmed with her pleasure, holding him tightly, unable to breathe, mewling quietly into the night.

  As Jamie tipped into her orgasm, her quiet cry of climax cut him to his core. His orgasm appeared from nowhere, rushing down upon him before he could push back and struck him like a thunderclap. With a final hard thrust, Leo drove into Jamie’s depths as he reared up and issued a single sharp bark of completion. He held himself up, his arms quivering in the aftermath of his release before his orgasm washed away, leaving him feeling spent and weak. He settled softly into her, kissing her gently and at length before he lowered his head to her shoulder. Neither said anything, their joining having said all that needed saying.