by Susan Cliff
She wrapped her fingers around him in a loose ring, barely skimming his flesh. He threaded his hand through her hair. She let him guide her forward. She touched her tongue to him delicately, making him groan. He shuddered with excitement as she brushed soft kisses along his shaft. His fingers tangled in her hair, pleading. She parted her lips and took him deep.
He seemed mesmerized by her swirling tongue and stroking hand. She didn’t think her skills were mind-blowing, but she enjoyed what she was doing. She enjoyed his size, his heat, his firm flesh. His gaze moved to the mirror periodically. She looked there and saw herself kneeling before him, her bottom tilted and her mouth full. She could see him sliding in and out, jutting against her cheek.
No wonder he was mesmerized. It was incredibly erotic.
She moaned, taking him deeper. He made a fist in her hair, his jaw clenched. Need pulsed between her legs. She squeezed her thighs together, squirming. He withdrew from her mouth, which was fine. She had other uses for him.
He reclined on the bed, at her urging. She removed her panties quickly. She felt warm and slick and ready. She straddled his waist and sank down on his length, inch by inch. He gritted his teeth at the heady sensation. She kissed his tense jaw. Then she started moving, and he was lost. He gripped her hips, thrusting higher into her.
Yes.
She tugged down her bra straps and he cupped her breasts. His hands were all over her, his mouth on her taut nipples. He sucked them, one by one. She clutched his hair, riding him harder.
Yes, yes.
He looked down at where their bodies were joined, watching her take him to heaven. His hand followed his eyes. He strummed her sensitive nub in swift circles. Then he pinched gently. She cried out in ecstasy.
He kept stroking and she flew apart, sobbing his name. Her hips bucked in a wild rhythm. A second later, he went still beneath her. She cradled his head to her chest as he found his release.
They came back down to earth together, panting. She released her grip on his damp hair. He lifted her off him. She curled up on her side.
“I didn’t pull out.”
“I told you. I want your child.”
“You won’t let me make you any promises, but I can fill your belly with a baby?”
She rested against the pillows, drowsy and satiated. “It is the wrong time of month.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t seem convinced. She rose from the bed with a sigh and walked into the bathroom to wash away his seed with cool water. When she returned he wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head. She understood how he felt about an unplanned pregnancy. It wasn’t fair to ask him to father a child he couldn’t raise, but she wouldn’t mind being a single mother. She was almost thirty, and she doubted she’d fall in love again. She’d already had two great loves in her life. She wouldn’t find a better man than William Hudson.
She couldn’t bear to think about their uncertain future, so she didn’t. She closed her eyes and snuggled against him, relishing the present.
Right now, they were together, and it was perfect.
Chapter 21
Hud didn’t leave without saying goodbye this time.
Commander Doheny was sending a US Marshal to escort Hud back to the States, and their flight wasn’t scheduled until noon. He enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in bed with Layah. They got up and put on their new clothes. She looked pretty and fresh in a flower-print dress. He wasn’t too shabby himself.
They walked to the mall, hand in hand, to meet her parents. Hud spotted Ashur first. Layah hugged him and cried. Ashur endured the embrace, narrowing his gaze at Hud.
He expected her parents to be stern and disapproving, but they weren’t. Her father shook his hand politely. Her mother was too busy crying and hugging Layah to notice him. Finally, she wiped her cheeks and Layah introduced him.
Hud had no idea what her parents thought Layah had been doing with him last night. It was clear Ashur knew. Hud pulled the boy aside for a private conversation while Layah chatted with her parents.
“Protect her for me, will you?” Hud asked.
“You are going back to America?”
“Yes.”
Ashur stared at him for a long moment, seeming both relieved and disappointed. “She’s too good for you.”
Hud didn’t argue. “You were right about Al-Bayat.”
“He killed my father?”
“He did, and I took care of him.”
“He is dead?”
“Yes.”
The boy’s brow furrowed. “That was my job.”
“You’ll have to find something else to do.”
Ashur nodded, as if he already had a second victim in mind. Hud didn’t ask. He didn’t want to know.
Layah approached him again before she left. They’d had plenty of contact in the hotel, all night long, but he wished for one last embrace. He didn’t get it. She rose on tiptoe to give him a demure peck on the cheek.
“Take care of yourself,” she whispered.
“I love you,” he said, not caring who overheard.
Her eyes filled with tears. She kissed her fingertips and waved goodbye. Then she linked arms with Ashur and walked away with her parents. Hud stared after them until they disappeared, his chest tight with emotion.
She claimed she didn’t love him. She didn’t believe he would come back for her. She thought there was no hope for them.
He’d prove her wrong.
He took a cab to the airport, his heart heavy. He met the US Marshal who was escorting him back to the States. They boarded a twenty-hour flight to Los Angeles via Paris. When they arrived, a vehicle was waiting for him at the tarmac. Hud was taken to Commander Doheny’s office at the Coronado Naval Base.
The mood on base was subdued. No Team Twelve members came to greet him. Hud felt self-conscious about his street clothes as he entered the office buildings. Doheny’s secretary put him in a private interrogation room, which was strange.
Doheny entered a moment later. Hud rose to shake his hand.
“Welcome back,” Doheny said.
“It’s great to be here.”
They sat down to go over the details of Hud’s adventures in Iraq and beyond. Hud spoke without inflection, giving just the facts, and he tried to be as honest as possible. It was difficult to recount some of the darkest days of his captivity. His memory was fuzzy, as if he’d blocked out the pain. He skipped ahead to the journey with Layah. He didn’t mention the fact that he hadn’t been given a choice about being her guide, and he kept the intimate details private. Doheny didn’t need to know everything.
When he was finished, Doheny leaned back in his chair. “I spoke to an Azerbaijani official yesterday. Al-Bayat’s remains were identified.”
Hud was encouraged by this news.
“It’s an incredible story.”
“Yes.”
“Are you aware that you were in violation of military law when you left Iraq with a group of refugees?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there a reason you ignored regulations?”
“They needed help, and they rescued me from a torture cell. I felt obligated.”
“You felt obligated.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly, sir. I’d suffered multiple head traumas, daily beatings, dehydration and poor nutrition. I was desperate to avoid getting recaptured. When the refugees offered a way out, I took it.”
“And when you followed them into Iran? Were you thinking clearly then?”
Hud rubbed a hand over his mouth. This was the most problematic part of his story. He couldn’t explain a decision like that. “We’d encountered some unexpected complications in Turkey, like I said. Al-Bayat’s men were following us. I didn’t realize we were in Iran until it was too late.”
> Doheny brought out his laptop and opened a file. He turned the screen toward Hud, showing him a picture of Layah. It was a staff photo from Damascus Hospital. She was smiling, her eyes bright.
“Is she the reason you weren’t thinking clearly?”
Hud swallowed hard, unsure what to say.
Doheny brought up another picture, taken from a distance. It was of him kissing Layah outside their hotel room in Yerevan. Hud’s blood went cold at the sight. He hadn’t realized they were being watched.
“You had me followed?” he asked.
“You’ve been on your own behind enemy lines for months. I had to check up on you.”
“You think I went AWAL? That I was radicalized?”
“I believe you were taken captive. I’m questioning your claim that you went with this woman willingly.”
He gestured to the photo. “Do I look unwilling?”
“According to your statement, which matches our intel, Ms. Anwar blew up the side of a building to get you. It doesn’t make sense for her to go to all that trouble and then give you the choice to decline to help her.”
Hud drummed his fingertips on the table. “Let’s focus on the big picture. She busted me out of that hellhole and saved me from a public beheading. In return, I helped her family get to Armenia. There’s no harm done, and Al-Bayat is dead. Everyone wins.”
“Al-Bayat is the problem,” Doheny said. “He was on the top ten list. Every detail of your story will be examined at the highest clearance levels. I can’t give you a free pass for withholding information, or for having inappropriate contact with a refugee.”
“I’m not asking for a free pass,” Hud said. “Punish me however you see fit. Put me on leave without pay.”
“Why are you so intent on protecting this woman?”
“Because I’m in love with her,” Hud said, his jaw clenched.
Doheny’s brows rose. “You’re in love with her.”
“That’s right. I plan to apply for an expedited visa for her and her nephew. I think we owe them that, after what happened to her brother, and I won’t do anything to jeopardize their chances of getting accepted.”
Doheny took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Your story won’t change?”
“No.”
“There is no statute that allows you to stay silent to protect a foreign national.”
“What if she’s my wife?”
Doheny wiped the lenses of his glasses and put them back on. “You’re the victim of head trauma, weeks of torture and near starvation. By your own admission, you’re not thinking clearly.”
“That was bullshit. I’m fine.”
“Bullshitting a superior officer is grounds for dismissal.”
Hud scrubbed a hand down his face, caught in his own trap.
“You have a perfect record, Hudson. Your bravery in combat has been noted time and again. Your ability to survive in extreme circumstances and to defeat our enemies is part of what makes you an exemplary SEAL. I’m willing to overlook your involvement with Ms. Anwar, because your feelings toward her seem genuine, and I want to keep you on Team Twelve. I need more men like you, to be honest.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You’re not off the hook yet. You need to take some time off to recover. Get a full physical with a psych eval. If you’re cleared, you can go back to Armenia and visit this girl. Make sure you’re making the right decision.”
Hud rose to his feet. “I’ll get a physical right away.”
“I’m grounding you for three weeks. No travel.”
Hud nodded and thanked him again. He could handle a few weeks of rest, and he knew he’d ace his physical. He’d never felt better. Doheny wasn’t going to punish him for a minor violation, because Hud had taken out a very high profile target. This was a huge score for the SEALs. Sometimes results mattered more than methods.
The biggest challenge now was convincing Layah to marry him.
Chapter 22
Layah did her best to settle into a quiet life in Armenia.
Her parents lived in Verin Dvin, a small community on the outskirts of Yerevan. It boasted about three thousand residents, the majority of whom were Assyrian. The schools taught lessons in Assyrian, Armenian and English. Ashur fit right in, to Layah’s relief.
He’d been a good student in Syria. He had an ear for languages, like his father. After his parents died, Ashur had lost interest in school. He’d often refused to go to class when it was in session. The lack of resources and general instability in Iraq had chipped away at his desire to learn. Layah had given up on making him attend regularly.
In Verin Dvin, there was a real schoolhouse, a nice brick building surrounded by green football fields. The playground was full of noisy children. There were books and desks and even a gymnasium. When she brought Ashur to the office for registration, the headmaster was thrilled by his fluency in English. He’d asked if Ashur wanted to get started right away. He’d shrugged an agreement, and that was that. He’d fallen in with a group of rowdy boys who lived in her parents’ neighborhood. They created mischief, but it was tolerable mischief.
Aram found work on a farm, and Oshana was serving drinks at a local pub. He didn’t approve of her job, so there was tension between them. They argued passionately and made up on a daily basis. Layah predicted a child in their immediate future.
Sadly, there was no child in hers. She’d hoped there would be, despite the timing, but her monthly cycle came as expected.
Yusef and Nina had stayed in Yerevan. Layah would have to return to the city at some point to inquire about her career options. There were online records of her transcripts from Damascus University. She didn’t know if the units were transferrable, or if she had any hope of securing a position at a local hospital. Not being fluent in Armenian was a major obstacle. It would be easier to complete her residency in the United States. Medical professionals with her language skills were in high demand there, and she could apply for student loans for any additional schooling. Here, she was at a disadvantage.
On Sunday, nearly a month after they’d arrived, her parents hosted a picnic lunch in the park. Yusef and Nina came in from Yerevan. Layah and Ashur had been staying in her parents’ cottage, along with Aram and Oshana. There weren’t enough rooms for everyone, but they made it work.
Layah sat on the blanket she’d brought and watched Aram play football with Ashur. For all Aram’s faults, he was a natural father figure. Ashur needed someone like him to wrestle around with. She felt a pang of sorrow for Hasan, who would never see his son grow up. Ashur was adjusting to their new home better than she’d expected. Now that Al-Bayat was dead, the boy’s need for vengeance had faded.
They didn’t speak of Hudson. Layah was afraid to say his name, for fear that her own longing would swallow her whole.
She’d prayed that her feelings for him would ebb away. She’d hoped for a swift recovery from heartbreak. She’d achieved her goal of escaping Iraq and finding a better place. She’d worked so hard to get here. But she couldn’t enjoy her accomplishment. She’d been as listless as a lovesick schoolgirl, daydreaming about a romantic reunion.
She hadn’t heard from him since they parted ways. She’d wanted a clean break, but it still hurt. He’d claimed to love her. He’d sworn to come back to her. He’d said he’d do anything for her.
She rested on the blanket and closed her eyes, wishing she’d been wrong about him. Wishing she didn’t care.
A shadow fell over her, blocking out the sun. She squinted up at a man with broad shoulders standing next to her blanket. He was holding a bouquet of flowers. She straightened abruptly, her lips parted in shock.
“William.”
He knelt beside her, handing her the flowers. Fresh tulips. Her heart lodged in her throat as she accepted the bouquet. She wanted to throw her arms around him an
d never let go, but she restrained herself. What if he’d come to say goodbye? His face was tense, and he wasn’t smiling. “Layah.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to visit.”
“You didn’t call.”
“You told me not to.”
She stared at the colorful bouquet, blinking tears from her eyes. She’d told him not to make promises he couldn’t keep. She hadn’t wanted him to string her along with phone calls and romantic messages that prolonged the inevitable.
“I’m going to say hi to Ashur,” he said, rising to his feet.
She watched him join the others. He walked in long strides, like always. Her chest tightened with emotion. Aram shook his hand as if they were best friends. Ashur passed him the ball. Everyone seemed pleased to see him. Layah couldn’t believe he’d shown up. She’d convinced herself that it was over.
Now he was here, and she didn’t know what to do. She’d have to make a decision about continuing their relationship. She couldn’t escape the future. She couldn’t escape her feelings.
Ashur kicked the ball into the trees, where it got stuck on a high branch. Her mother appeared beside her.
“Did you know he was coming?” Layah asked.
“He called to ask for our address.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He wanted to surprise you.”
Layah was surprised, all right. “You approve of his visit? You gave him your blessing?”
“Should I have turned him away?”
Layah shook her head in confusion.
Her mother reached out to pat Layah’s shoulder. “You are my only daughter and I love you. I almost lost you. Life is too short and too precious. I do not wish to repeat the mistake I made with Khalil.”
Layah wiped the tears from her eyes. This was the first time her mother had mentioned Khalil.
“I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
Layah hugged her tight.
“If this man loves you, he has my blessing.”
