CHAPTER TWO
Laying on Lisa’s double cot, Ace lifted himself up on his elbow and felt the heat between them run on a current that was getting hotter by the minute.
Something he suspected was possible if he let the irrational anger and frustrated feelings go. “Are you going to give me a cookie or more mind-bending kisses?”
“Mind-bending?”
Running his hand over her beautiful heart-shaped face, he nodded. “Absolutely. That luscious mouth of yours is dangerous and probably addictive enough to have me at your beck and call 24/7.”
“I’ve never had a man at my beck and call. What exactly does something like that entail?”
“Whatever you want,” he said quietly against her ear.
She lifted the cookie container and put it in the small space that separated them. “Help yourself.”
“Feed me one,” he commanded.
Flopping away, she fell against the bed and sighed dramatically. “Oh, jeeze, are you one of those guys who takes, but doesn’t give?”
Snorting, he levered himself up and bracketed her with his arms. “Oh, I give, Lisa, and it’ll be more than you’ll ever be able to handle. When the times comes, you’ll be begging me to stop because the onslaught of pleasure I’ll make you endure will be enough to crack your sanity.”
Lifting, she pressed a quick kiss to his mouth and then laughed. “That’s not possible.”
“Want to make a bet?” Seeing her pulse flutter in her neck, he laughed. “Your heartbeat just went wild, so that means you’re picturing what it will be like when it happens.”
“That’s an awfully big ego you have; are you sure you want to bring it to bed with you?”
“Oh, honey, that’s not my big ego.” Pressing his hips closer, he grinned. “That’s my big…”
“Cookie?” she asked as she put one in front of his face.
Bending down, he took a bite. “Knew you’d feed me eventually.”
“Just cookies.”
“For now,” he replied as rolled over and pulled her on top. “Give me more.” When a wicked smile lit up her face, he wondered how far she’d be willing to take the game.
She shoved the cookie in his mouth and then tried to wiggle away. “Let me go.”
“No,” he replied around a mouthful of cookie. Feeling her fall against him, he tightened his hold and ran his hand through her soft blonde hair as he ate the rest of the cookie. “I’ve been on the Teams for over ten years and have never had a moment like this in the middle of a deployment. When I go downrange, I’m one hundred percent head in the game and am never tempted to split focus.”
“And now?”
Wiping the corners of his mouth, he shook his head. “Shit, my head is all over the place. Half the time, I’m thinking about you and worried what kind of trouble you’re getting yourself into.”
“Part of me wants to apologize since I couldn’t stand the thought of you being in danger because of me. But another part of me wonders why you think of me at all.”
“Can’t help myself. Ever since we pulled you out of that building after the bombing in the marketplace, I haven’t been able to stop worrying.”
Lifting her head, she frowned. “Really?”
“Yeah, and it’s messing with my mojo. No matter what I do, I can’t get you out of my mind.”
“That’s so sweet.”
Snorting, he let his hand run along her back. “I’m a lot of things, but sweet isn’t one of them.”
Letting her hand rest against his face, she shrugged. “That’s too bad since I think an alpha badass warrior with a side of sweetness would be irresistible.”
“What I meant to say was…”
“Don’t try and make up a lie.” She gave him a peck and then laid her head down again. “Someday, a woman is going to come along, Ace Henderson, and you’re going to want to be nothing but sweet, if only with her.”
“Maybe she has, and it’s just going to take a minute before it comes out.” When she didn’t respond, he rolled them over again and buried his face in her hair. Letting her soft scent wash over him, he wondered if all the crazy rioting in his head was going to be a regular thing when he and Lisa were together. Wanting an answer, he pressed a slow, deep kiss to her mouth and felt their hearts beat together.
Connection.
A one hundred percent, mind-melding moment of absolute strange and beautiful connection.
Letting her mouth go, he skimmed his lips to her earlobe and then collarbone, searing the memory in place. “So soft,” he murmured as her hands went to his hair and tugged. He moved back to her mouth and feasted on her sweet taste, experiencing a longing so brutal it took his breath away.
Unsettling shit to be sure.
Lifting his mouth away reluctantly, he gazed into her eyes. “I skipped the part of the evening where I wine and dine, and leapfrogged to the heavy make-out session.”
“We’re in the middle of a war zone, so it’s probably best to jump to the good stuff and not dilly-dally.”
Clearing his throat, he nodded. “We better talk or eat cookies or play cards because if I keep kissing you, I’ll forget to behave.”
“A reasonable and smart choice.” Smoothing out her T-shirt, she moved away. “I sometimes hate those.” She sat up and folded her hands. “Part of me would rather have wild, passionate sex instead.” Sighing, she patted his chest. “It’s not every day the cavalry arrives and saves you from getting your brains blown out, and celebrating with sex is very appealing. But I know it would be a cop-out, and since we’re getting along, we shouldn’t risk it.”
Groaning, he fell back and let his arm drop over his face. “You sure as hell know how to torture me. I’m trying like hell to behave and you admitting that sex is a possibility is making it very difficult.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Lifting his arm, he glanced over. “That’s what scares the shit out me because I know when you put some real effort into it, I may not survive.”
“Don’t be dramatic; you’d definitely survive. Whether you’d be a shadow of your former self when it was all over is a question that can’t yet be answered.”
Lifting his arm, he grinned. “Come over here and let’s play twenty questions, so I won’t ravish you and do something that will ensure my demise.”
“Now, who’s doing the torturing?”
“You started it.”
“Whatever.” She settled herself against his chest, resting her head on his shoulder. “Me first.”
“Always.”
“Give me your vital stats.”
“I thought you’d ask something more interesting.”
“No, we need to get the basics out of the way.”
Sighing, he pulled her closer. “Ace Henderson, thirty-two years old, Chief Petty Officer and ten-year veteran on the Teams. I love food, classic rock, and long walks on the beach.”
“The last thing was a lie.”
He let out a chuckle and nodded. “Just making sure you’re paying attention.” He kissed her head and grinned. “Your turn.”
“Lisa Martin, thirty years old, freelance journalist. I love food, pop music, and romcoms from the nineties.”
“Really, romcoms?”
“Yes, and I have no shame about it whatsoever and can probably quote over a dozen movies from beginning to end.”
“That’s not a thing to brag about.”
“Uuhhh, yeah, it is.”
Turning, so they were face to face, he studied her crystalline blue eyes and felt relieved he no longer had to ignore the thing simmering between them. “You have the sweetest face and, every time I see you, I want to get you the hell out of this country and put you someplace safe.”
“That’s very sweet but slightly off-putting since it confirms you’re as much of a control freak as I suspected.”
“Only with you.”
She tilted her head and skimmed her fingers through his beard. “Again, very sweet but still unnerving.”
Running his hand over her arm and along her neck, he watched her shiver. “First time I saw you, I lost my breath.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Nothing like it’s ever happened to me before.”
“Ace, that’s so…”
“Please don’t say sweet again because it’ll wreak havoc on my super macho commando façade.”
“Can’t let that happen.” Leaning back, she rested her hand on his chest. “First time I saw you in Ar Rahidah, you had a gun pointed at me, and I almost peed my pants.”
“To be fair, you were in a burqa and in the home of a high-level Houthi rebel. As far as I knew, you were a combatant, and it wasn’t until you spoke that I knew you were American.”
“Good thing I started talking the moment you pulled out those zip-ties, because if I hadn’t who knows what would have happened.”
“Probably a very long uncomfortable couple of hours with NI.”
“I knew my constant need to talk would eventually work in my favor.”
Laughing, he took her hand. “It certainly did in this case.” He ran his thumb over her pulse. “What made you want to come to Yemen?”
“An editor I work with at the Guardian told me he’d be interested in a series on the separatist movement and since I’ve been covering the news in the Gulf for years, he offered me the assignment. I decided to take it, and it’ll likely be my last for a while since I’m making a career change at the end of the summer.”
“And what made you decide on a new career and give up the thrill of reporting from war-torn countries?” Seeing her eyes fall, he hoped some guy at home wasn’t part of the answer. Not that he thought she’d be fooling around with him if that were the case, but a confirmation would be nice.
“I’ve had a couple of close calls over the last year, and it’s caused me to lose a bit of the edge that’s necessary to do the job well.”
“You seem to have plenty of edge, based on what I’ve seen over the last month.”
“Maybe.” She ran her hand over the blanket and shrugged. “It’s just costing me a lot, and I don’t want to end up with some horrific case of PTSD and never be able to get my head straight.”
“Not many people have the guts to pull themselves back and, I have to say, I’m damn impressed you have the insight to know when to get out of the game.”
“I’m not going to leave it completely, just going to take a break. I’ve accepted a teaching position at a community college in the fall, and I’m going to see if it’s what I’d enjoy for the next part of my career.”
“Where’s the community college?”
“San Diego.”
“No shit.”
“I live in Ocean Beach.”
“I’m in Coronado.”
“I thought you were from Team Two and based in Virginia.”
“Nope, Team One and we’re damn neighbors.” Pulling her closer, he wiggled his hips. “We’re going to keep this thing going when we get home.”
Shaking her head, she flopped on her back. “Let’s not jump the gun there, big guy. So far, all we’ve managed is a short détente, and that’s only because we’ve got our hands all over one another.”
“Then let’s keep doing that and see what happens.”
“Maybe.”
Lifting himself up, he grinned. “Let me put my mouth back on you and see what I can do about changing your mind.”
“I suppose it can’t hurt.”
“Lisa, the only thing that’s going to hurt is how much more you’re going to want when we’re done.” He dropped his mouth and felt her hungry mouth respond and knew that whatever they started here was just the beginning.
A woman as smart, fearless, and sexy as Lisa Martin didn’t come along very often, and he was going to make sure not to waste the opportunity they’d been given.