Eight
shone through the barrack’s window, waking Caitlin. She smiled at how boneless she felt, until reality crashed around her, reminding her why she felt so deliciously sore.
I slept with Owen last night.
Okay, so there hadn’t been any sleeping going on. He’d rocked her world well past dinner time and into the early morning hours. After the first time, they’d lain there and talked until she’d rubbed her hand across his belly, causing him to stir. Without any preamble, she’d grabbed a condom, put it on him, and rode him until they both came. Later, she’d been looking at map of the country on his wall, talking about his time in the military and how many tours he’d served in Afghanistan. They’d both talked about living in Montana, and how they both missed it. She’d talked about living in Georgia now, and he’d said he wanted to return to their home state when he got out. She’d mentioned how short her time was on this trip, but she hadn’t gotten to elaborate on her flexible schedule because when those words left her lips, she’d suddenly found herself pinned against that very poster with Owen taking her from behind. She hadn’t even had time to spread her legs for better access. He just put his on the outside of hers, fisted her hair with one hand, and clawed at her hip with the other as he fucked her. There hadn’t even been enough room between the wall and herself for him to reach around and touch her, so when she’d come from penetration alone, it had shocked her. Sure it had happened to her before, but it wasn’t common, and she’d already come with him each time without him touching her clit. She didn’t know if it was because she wanted him just that badly or if it was because it was the thrill of the forbidden.
Probably both. Fraternizing was against the rules, but technically she wasn’t in the military. Besides, just because it was against the rules didn’t mean it didn’t happen.
Boy, did it ever happen.
They hadn’t stopped their sexual escapade even when they both had been too wrung out to hardly move, though they’d tried. He’d even taken her to the shower and washed her body for her so they could get some rest. But the sight of Owen naked and wet from the water sluicing off his chiseled frame had her dropping to her knees and taking him into her mouth. She’d been determined to make him come that way, but he’d hooked his hands under her arms and hoisted her up his body. He fucked her against the shower stall as spray from the faucet pelted them. Right after she came, he pulled out and came on her belly. It had been the only time they’d done it without a condom, although they’d discussed their health and history and the fact she was on birth control after he mauled her against the map. She smiled as the memory played in her head again. He’d told her he almost took her bare then. She’d been surprised he’d still had his wits about him to think of protection and having the responsible talk.
After he’d taken her in the shower and washed her a second time, Owen carried her to her room where he’d tucked her in. She had felt a little pang of sadness that he hadn’t taken her back to his room, but she’d hadn’t had time to dwell on it. Unable to fight exhaustion, she’d fallen right to sleep. Maybe that had been the reason why he hadn’t wanted to sleep with her in his arms. He probably knew they wouldn’t get any sleep at all if they tempted fate. As it was, they’d missed dinner.
Caitlin rolled to the side, the sunlight blinding her.
“Oh, shit.” She tossed the covers off and sat up. They were scheduled to leave later this morning than when they usually did, but the light coming in told her it was obviously much later than eight o’clock. She reached for her phone to check the time and hesitated with a smile when she saw Owen’s tactical pen resting on top of a note on her nightstand. There was also a breakfast sandwich wrapped in plastic and a bottle of water. Her phone forgotten, she retrieved his message and read it.
Our flight has been grounded. I got to meet with my superior this morning. I scheduled a conference room for you to work in with your cameraman. Acker and Haverty are positioned outside your room and will be with you until I’m finished. Follow their orders, Caitlin. I mean it. P.S. Now you know the full hidden power of this pen. For the love of God, don’t throw it at another man.
She giggled. It wasn’t as if it was cupid’s arrow. It was a pen—a scary looking pen, but still a pen. Then again, she had been totally pissed at him last night when she’d stormed into his room, and the moment she’d thrown it at him, their gloves…and shortly thereafter, their clothes…had come off. Maybe there was a little power behind it. She smiled as she looked at it, lost in thought over each time she’d been near Owen since landing.
She stayed in her blissful bubble until her bladder demanded attention, so she put it down to take care of her morning business. After she washed up, and donned some loungewear, she grabbed the breakfast sandwich and ate as she pulled out her laptop. Yesterday hadn’t been as productive as she’d hoped—well, not with work—and she needed to play catchup this morning. When Owen found her later today, she doubted she’d be able to think clearly with him in the same room.
A soft knock sounded, and her heart took off. She leaped from the bed and yanked the door open. Her wide smile faltered when the military man on the other side wasn’t the tall, dark, and sexy one she’d been eager to see.
“Ms. Cooper, Mr. Ricci is in the Eastside meeting room. When you’re ready, I’ll escort you.”
“Okay, thanks.” She should have guessed when Owen noted he’d secured a room for her to work in that he’d have the same message relayed to Lorenzo. “Give me five minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He backed away, and she shut the door. She changed into more appropriate clothes, shoved her feet into her boots, stowed her laptop, and grabbed the case.
“Acker, is it?” she asked when she walked into the hall.
“Yes, ma’am. Alec Acker. My CO calls me AA. I didn’t like it at first because my Pop was an alcoholic, but I gotta say, ma’am, it sure does rankle the other men in my unit when I’m addressed as Alpha Alpha over the radio.” He winked at her. “Like I’m so alpha they gotta say it twice.”
She giggled. Again with the giggling, but her mood was so light this morning, she was embracing her inner schoolgirl.
“You sure do have a pretty laugh there.”
She looked up at him. He was adorable. Tall, green eyes, deep dimples. He was just the type of man she’d go gaga over back home. But when she looked up at him, she felt nothing but general female appreciation for his male beauty.
“I bet the girls just eat you up,” she said with a smile.
The light in his eyes dimmed a little, and she wondered what caused that. “No, ma’am.”
She nudged his shoulder as they walked toward the ATV parked out front. “Sounds like you haven’t met the right kind of women.”
He didn’t say anything, and she dropped it, not wanting to pry. They spent the quick ride to the building in silence
When she walked into the meeting room, Lorenzo jumped up, startling her.
“Where have you been?”
“Umm…” That was a loaded question. She wasn’t sure if he was asking where she’d been since yesterday or just today.
“I emailed you the footage, and I haven’t heard back,” he said with a little edge to his voice.
“I was pretty tired last night,” she partially lied. Tiredness hadn’t come until much, much later.
“You haven’t watched it?” he asked, his eyes popping. The worried sound in his voice had the hair on the back of her neck standing.
“No.”
“Come here.” He waved her over as he walked to his laptop. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What?” she asked, dropping her bag on the table and walking around.
“We’ve got something. And it’s big.”
* * *
Owen stood at ease front of Burge’s desk. The Major Lieutenant had summoned him early this morning, seeking an update on Owen’s assignment. There had been an attack in the village where they’d visited yesterday, and they’d been prohibited from traveling to the region today until a team sent to survey the area returned with their report.
Standing in his temporary CO’s office, he’d given a run down of the events that occurred since Caitlin arrived, leaving out one damaging piece of intel—the fact that he’d made love to the woman in question repeatedly over the course of several hours last night.
He wanted nothing more than to find her right now, haul her back to bed, and have his wicked way with her until she couldn’t walk. It was Neanderthal of him to feel so possessive of the woman who turned him inside out.
And she did. Damn, but the woman had him in knots. That wasn’t a good thing either. He knew he had no business touching her. He should have subdued her last night when she’d come storming into his room and sent her back to the sanctuary of hers. But in the back of his mind, he knew if he’d found the will to do that, he’d have used the excuse of her having two beds in her room to sleep in there with her. Then he’d find his way into her bed anyway. He’d led her to believe he could sleep in there at any time to ensure her protection, but in the cold light of day, he knew if she was in that kind of danger, he wouldn’t just want to sleep in the same room with her, he’d want her on the first flight out back to safety.
Because her life was suddenly too precious to chance.
Jesus, he was toast. He hadn’t been in a relationship in years. Hadn’t had the time for it. Hell, he didn’t now. He was still in the military, didn’t know how much longer he’d be in Afghanistan. She’d only be here another week or so. How was he supposed to build a relationship with her? If they’d formed a relationship away from here before he’d been sent on this tour, maybe they could have made it work. His rotation allowed for ninety days of block leave. He could’ve wined and dined her over three months and built a strong foundation before being sent back overseas. But it hadn’t happened like that, and even if they could pick this thing building between them back up stateside, she lived in a different part of the country. All logic screamed at him that touching her had been a mistake. There was no way this could be anything more than a temporary fling, but he knew if he continued to let himself steal away with her at night as he desperately wanted and foster the intimate bond taking hold, he wouldn’t be able to sit back and watch her walk away and out of his life when she left.
The best thing to do…the smart thing to do…was to nip what was happening between them in the bud. It’d be hard to do, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew it wasn’t just best or smart, it was also the right thing to do.
“You’re flight schedule was altered yesterday. Why did you leave early?”
He could fib and tell him that Caitlin had finished interviewing the people in the area. They were in a war zone, so being out longer than necessary wasn’t wise. But Owen was too honorable to lie outright. He’d kept the news of what happened last night to himself, but if he got asked outright, he’d have to own up to what happened and take the royal ass-chewing he’d get. “Charlie walked away following a story lead as I scanned the village perimeter. She did so without informing me of her intent, nor waiting for us to clear the building she went into. She broke protocol, disobeyed orders, and I extracted her.”
Burge stared at him. If Owen wasn’t so practiced with interrogation techniques, he’d have a bead of sweat on his forehead forming under the scrutiny. But he stood there completely calm and waiting for his commander’s words.
“You lost sight of her.”
Fuck.
“Yes.”
For endless seconds, the man pinned him with his steely gaze. Then he rose slowly. “I think I didn’t make myself clear when I put you on this assignment.” He slammed his hands on his desk as he leaned closer.
Double fuck.
“Sir, my team had eyes on her the whole—”
“Except when she walked unescorted into an unsecured goddamn building!”
“Yes, Sir.” He couldn’t say anything else. It was only seconds she was unattended, but he knew in this world, it only took a split second for a sniper to drop a target or an IED to detonate or an RPG to explode out of nowhere. They were at war. Plain and simple.
“You better pull your head outta your ass, Burrell. No fucking mistakes. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Sir!”
Burge took a deep breath and sat. “How’s her assignment coming?”
Owen blinked, unsure how to answer. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “You ordered me to stay out of it. Not to discuss it. I’m protection only.”
Burge cracked a smile. “Good answer. Sit.” He indicated the chair in front of the desk. Owen didn’t hesitate, although he wasn’t sure why he’d been told to sit now after discussing everything. There wasn’t anything else to discuss. At least nothing he was going to broach on his own. “Asad Samim has been detained.”
“What?” he asked slowly. The interpreter who’d been working with Caitlin had checked out, or so Owen had thought. “Why?” he snapped.
“The timing of the MOAB drop coincided with an arms delivery. Someone sold military grade weapons to ISIS. We put a stop to it.”
“I know.” His SEAL Team had been briefed on the issue prior to scoping out the area. The airstrike had been successful. The tunnels destroyed. The parties involved eliminated. Private William Adin Richardson had been captured and sent to a CIA black site for interrogation. “The defector has been detained, and Aarif Yasin KIA.”
Burge gave him a sharp nod. “Asad Samim is his cousin.”
The air left Owen’s lung in a rush. Asad had been alone with Caitlin. If he’d wanted to kill her, he could have taken her out any number of times. His jaw clenched. If that man touched one hair on her head… “He’s a dead man.”
“If it’s all the same to you, we’d rather work him over until he spills everything,” Burge drawled with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, Sir.” Owen fisted his hands in his lap.
“I need you to encourage Ms. Cooper to finish her report and go back home. Richardson, Samim, Yasin, none of their names need to be leaked. Inform her Samim was discharged from duty for some minor infraction. We’ll get her another interpreter. Unless the village attack is something bigger than initial appearance, you’ll be free to fly in forty hours.”
So, they wouldn’t be able to travel tomorrow. He just hoped she didn’t stay in her room all day since he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stick to his decision to keep things professional.
Because he had to. Knowing he’d let a possible ISIS connection work closely with her only shored up his resolve, creating a solid steel cage around his chest and locking the reality into place. He had to protect her. That was it. He couldn’t afford any more distractions. Nada.
Whatever happened between them was over. End of fucking story.
Owen was dismissed, and he made contact with Acker as soon as he was outside to find their location. She was currently working with Lorenzo in the meeting room Owen had reserved for her.
The thought of that man being close to her fueled more anger. Not only would he have to keep quiet as he watch the other man flirt shamelessly with her, he had to keep from beating the shit out of him for bringing Asad onto the assignment.
By the time he arrived at the building, he’d leashed his fury, so he could focus solely on Caitlin’s protection. That’s all that mattered now.
His team members snapped to attention when he walked into the room. “As you were,” he muttered, his gaze on Caitlin.
Damn, she was beautiful. That luscious pink color highlighted her cheeks and grew darker as he looked at her. In the light of day she was more breathtaking—no. He couldn’t allow his thoughts to even wander to anything about her apart from his job.
“We’re just getting ready to break, so I can change and prepare to do a live feed,” she said excitedly.
“What’s going on?”
“Lorenzo captured footage of some locals talking to men linked to the leader of ISIS and his top soldiers before they were killed.”
Owen froze, but he hid his reaction. “There were men linked to ISIS there while we were?” he asked, but he already knew that answer. The military wouldn’t have detained Asad without reason. For all he knew, Asad had used the cover to carry missives between Kabul and the villages near the border.
“Yeah, I need to freshen up before I report live.” She was excited, and he had to fight the urge to smile and feel proud of her for coming across the information on her own. Of course, he’d have to stop her from learning more, but he had a day to contemplate how to handle the task before they headed back out. Guilt stabbed him. He possessed information that could skyrocket her career, but it was classified. His hands were tied.
She walked toward the door, and he followed her out, tamping down all the warring urges within. He wanted her, but he couldn’t have her. He wanted to help her, but it was his career and his freedom if he did. He was well and truly fucked no matter how he looked at it. He had to talk to her, but he wasn’t sure how he would find the words that would hurt him and her when he expressed them. The one thing he did know for sure in all this was that conversation had to take place. No matter how hard it would be, he’d have to do it anyway. The sooner the better.
When they arrived at the barracks, he told Acker to stay back and keep watch while he followed her inside. She reached her door, and he stood at the threshold as she walked in. She turned to shut the door, but he clamped his hand on it to stop her.
She grinned, her gaze darting past him before meeting his again. “I have to change. I don’t want to do it where anybody can walk in and see.” Then her smile turned sultry. “If you behave, you can watch.”
Jesus. Soon was looking like now because he wanted to nod like a fool and throw everything away. The temptation was almost unbearable. The only thing stronger than his desire for her was his resolve—for her. If it wasn’t sad, he’d laugh at how one woman could push and pull him from multiple directions like his.
Doesn’t matter. Be direct. He knew how to steel himself and deal with all kinds of shitty situations. He could do this. He would.
“I can’t stay. I just wanted to tell you what happened last night can’t happen again.”
Her smile faltered until her mouth hung open.
“It was great. You were great. It’s just not smart. I have a job to do, and I fucked up by letting my cock do the thinking. It won’t happen again.”
She still didn’t say anything and her eyes turned glassy. He cussed and turned, shutting the door behind him, needing that barrier between them to keep from pulling her into his arms and telling her to forget what he just said. That he’d been wrong.
He wasn’t wrong, though, and that was what tore him up the most.