His Duty to Protect

by Lindsay McKenna

  He was in a dive that he never wanted to recover from. Never in his life had he experienced what he was sharing with Rachel right now. The world had turned over, inside out, and he was like a butterfly being born out of the imprisonment of a cocoon. It wasn’t a painful sensation; it was beautiful, and life began to flow through him as never before. Now, Ty understood when someone said that love had changed them completely. Rachel’s love had changed him forever and in a good way. He was finally free of his past, because she loved him enough to walk with him into an unknown future together.

  Groaning, Rachel fell against Ty, spent and weak. Her head lay on his shoulder, and she relished the feel of his arms wrapped around her, simply holding her safe against his male body. She felt each breath he took, body and soul. Trailing her hand gently across Ty’s left shoulder, she was always aware of his bandaged wound. She lifted her head and placed several moist kisses on that broad shoulder that had carried so many loads alone for far too long. She licked his flesh, tasted the salt of him. He groaned with pleasure as she continued her exploration across his skin. Smiling to herself, she inhaled his male scent. It was all good. She loved Ty with a fierceness that took even her by surprise. And yet, Rachel felt content as never before.

  Easing off him, Rachel moved down to his side and snuggled into his awaiting arms. The humid warmth of the hot-tub room was a wonderful blanket. The late afternoon sunlight poured into the western, stained-glass windows, making it seem like the rainbow lived where they lay. She opened her eyes and caressed Ty’s damp hair. Rachel drowned in his glinting blue gaze. His face had never looked so relaxed or peaceful. “I love you, Ty. With my heart, my soul. I never want to be apart from you.…”

  Ty heard the trembling and husky words slipping from her well-kissed mouth. He grazed her lips and whispered, “I love you with my heart, my soul, Rachel.…”

  For a long time, they lay in one another’s arms. The bubbling sounds of the hot tub, the rainbow colors dancing around the room, all served to make their love something magical for Rachel. She was content to lay against Ty’s strong, powerful body. Absorbing his tender touches, Rachel wanted to memorize every inch of him.

  Finally, reality intruded upon them. Ty watched the sun leave the windows and the rainbows dissolved. The entire afternoon had been one of kisses, exploration, joy and sharing. “I don’t ever want this to end,” Ty admitted, his voice raspy.

  Closing her eyes, Rachel murmured, “Me neither. This is so magical, Ty. Stepping into this room was like stepping into another world. A world where there is no fighting and killing. Only hope.” She opened her eyes and held his tender gaze. “Here, we could love one another and not worry about the violent world around us.” She touched his cheek. “And I know tomorrow morning, we’re going back into that other world.”

  His brows fell as he saw worry shadow her golden eyes. With his index finger, Ty traced each of her brows. “Love has seen us this far,” he whispered, “and it will see us the rest of the way.”

  Rachel nodded, her brows tingling with pleasure. “I know,” she said. “But, I don’t want this to end. We’ve just found one another, Ty.”

  He heard the worry in her husky voice. Drawing her deep into his arms, he simply held her. “When someone would tell me love conquers all, I always laughed and made fun of them. That was because,” Ty said next to her ear, “I had never been in love before. Now, I am, and I understand what the guy was trying to share with me.” He kissed her hair. “Love will see us through this year, Rachel. We’ll weather whatever happens because we do love one another. Make sense?”

  Rachel left his arms and sat up. Ty joined her, his arm sliding around her shoulders and drawing her close. There was something about being naked with him that made Rachel feel safe and wanted. And he was so beautiful to look at, the dangerous gleam in his eyes, the predator who wanted to stalk her all over again. Her body responded heatedly to his intent stare. “It does make sense, Ty. We’ve gone through so much since we met again. We not only had to deal with our collective past with one another, but we’re in a war, too.”

  Nodding, Ty whispered, “We have the time, sweet one.” He reached out and touched her knee, then added, “There’s no hurry about us. We’ll be at the same base. We can see one another every time we can make it happen.”

  “At least I’ll be with your squadron for the next five months.”

  Ty leaned forward and cupped her face. He wanted to erase the worry and anxiety he saw in Rachel’s narrowing eyes. “Listen to me. Even though you will go back to BJS and flying the Apache, we’ll find spaces and places to be with one another.”

  “I don’t want to lose what we have,” she admitted. “I fell in love before, and Garrett was killed.”

  Ty drew Rachel back into his arms. She rested her head against his right shoulder. “The past is the past. It’s not going to repeat,” Ty promised her, lips near her ear. After kissing her cheek, he made Rachel look up at him. “If we can surmount our past, don’t you think there’s a greater plan at work here? We didn’t meet again to carry on our war with one another. We met because it was time for us to heal our wounds. And because we have, Rachel, we’re going to get the reward of loving one another fully. For a long, long time.”

  His words made so much sense to her. Slipping her arms around his shoulders, she whispered, “Thank you, Ty. I hadn’t thought of it like that.”

  “We’re being given a second chance with one another, Rachel.” Looking deep into her sleepy gaze, he said, “And I’m grateful. We have nowhere to go but up with one another. We were as far down as two people can get five years ago.”

  Rallying to his optimism, she smiled. “You’ve come so far and grown so much, Ty. I’m in this for the long term, too. I like what we have. I love talking with you. You’re an incredible man, and you inspire me in so many ways.”

  “I feel the same about you,” Ty admitted with a grin. Looking up, he saw the sky was beginning to lose its bright, powdery blue color. “Let’s take a shower together. Then we can get dressed and tell the housekeeper we’re having dinner with Emma and Kahlid tonight. It’s our last night here, and I’d like to thank them for their kindness.”

  “Good idea,” Rachel said. “But one more kiss…” She leaned upward and met his smiling mouth. Ty tasted so good to her, his lips commanding against her own. And once more, she felt the fire ignite in her lower body. Breaking the kiss, Rachel laughed breathlessly. “I can’t even kiss you, Ty Hamilton, without wanting to love you all over again!”

  Ty got to his feet and pulled Rachel into his arms. “You don’t have to look far to see what your kiss did to me.”

  Grinning wickedly, Rachel could see his arousal once more. “I have a feeling that we’re not going to have much sleep tonight.”

  “Me, too,” Ty gloated, picking up her towel and handing it to her.

  Rachel wrapped the towel around her glowing body and watched as he put his own around his narrow hips. “I want to tell my folks about us. Are you okay with that?”

  “Sure.” Ty walked over and squeezed her. “The time over here isn’t going to work against us, Rachel. I feel the year we share here will be good for us.”

  Nodding, she walked with him toward the door. “I’m thinking of getting married after we get back home.” She searched his peaceful-looking features. Did he feel the same?

  “I’d like that,” Ty said, kissing her hair. Leaning forward, he unlocked the door. “And I love you.…”

  Emma was all smiles at the dinner table after Rachel had told them of their plans to marry after they finished with their tour. “That’s wonderful!”

  “Don’t call your parents yet,” Rachel warned with a laugh as she drank her after-dinner coffee. “Let me break the news.”

  “Of course,” Emma chortled. She glanced at her husband, Kahlid, who sat at the end of the table and at her left elbow. “And Kahlid, you keep quiet, too.”

  “Me?” He held up his hands, feigning surprise. “Why,
I’m the soul of secrets, beloved.”

  “Sometimes,” Emma said with a wry laugh.

  Ty smiled. He sat across the table from Rachel. She looked incredibly beautiful in her khaki trousers, the soft pink tee, her hair washed and shining like a frame about her face. “I think this can be all sorted out,” he soothed.

  Kahlid leaned forward and patted Ty’s shoulder. “Listen, you two are welcome here any time you can get away. Emma and I know the joy of coming here after being out at these villages. We know we’re targets. We know that the Taliban would like to kill us. But being able to come back here…” Kahlid said, gesturing around the room, “…is a slice of heaven on this war-torn earth.”

  Emma nodded and looked at her cousin. “All you have to do is call Nabi after you fly into Bagram, and he’ll pick you up. You’re welcome any time, Rachel. The suite wing is yours.”

  “Thanks,” Rachel said, her eyes filling with tears. She sniffed and looked over at Ty. The expression in his eyes told her everything. He loved her.

  “Changes are in the air,” Kahlid agreed. “Getting to another topic, we had a meeting with Major Klein this morning.” He got serious. “Have you heard about a ground arm of Black Jaguar Squadron being created?”

  “Yes,” Rachel said. “These are women military volunteers who have taken immersion courses in Pashto, gone through a year of paramedic training to be embedded in Marine squads. They’re going to put a woman in each squad. She’ll then make connection with the women elders of the villages they work with.”

  “Precisely,” Kahlid said. He wiped his mouth with the white linen napkin and picked up his cup of tea. “Colonel Maya Stevenson and her husband, Dane, are flying in tomorrow. The women are already here and getting situated in the BJS tent area.”

  “Wow, it’s moving fast.” Rachel whistled.

  “You’ll both be invited to the meeting tomorrow at 1300.”

  Ty smiled. “Big changes. Women in ground combat.”

  “Yes,” Emma said with caution, “but they’re not there to fight the Taliban as much as make positive connections with the women in the villages. They’ll be like a nurse, coming in to take care of the women and children. I think it’s a wonderful concept.”

  Ty frowned. “But there’s no guarantee that those Marine forces won’t be attacked by Taliban. And if they are, that woman is in that squad and attacked, too.”

  “Everyone at the Pentagon realizes this,” Kahlid agreed. “That’s why they’ve put Colonel Maya Stevens in charge of it. She single-handedly built the all-woman BJS squadron down in Peru and choked off ninety percent of the drug flights out of that country. She’s a brilliant tactician, and she’s had her vision for this new breed of BJS women all along. These volunteers were also trained at Camp Pendleton, the USMC training base in California, too. They’re fully combat qualified.”

  “Still,” Rachel said, “it’s a brand new trial for women in combat.”

  “I think they’ll win the hearts and minds of the villagers,” Kahlid said. “Women are able to make connections men never will.” He grinned over at his red-haired wife.

  Chuckling, Emma said, “Bingo!”

  Rachel smiled across the table at Ty. She wanted to go to bed with him, hold him, love him until they both were too weak to move. This courageous man had surmounted so much. Tomorrow would come soon enough. They would survive this year, and she knew their love would deepen. She would marry him. And Rachel knew their love would last—forever.

  *

  ISBN: 9781459220911

  Copyright © 2012 by Lindsay McKenna

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