O Christmas Knight, page 7
part #6 of Knight Ops Series
Ben got up and made a face at her more befitting of a seven-year-old boy. She shook her head at his antics and lay back down. She closed her eyes but lay there for many minutes that turned into hours.
All her fatigue was still there, but now she couldn’t sleep.
* * * * *
Bo hooked his knife into its guard on his ankle. Then he straightened and double-checked his gear. Colt M4A1 Carbine with SOPMOD kit, special issue to OFFSUS teams. A close quarter battle pistol, ENVG-B or enhanced night vision goggle-binoculars, gloves, a second knife and enough ammo to take down a small town.
Which might be the case, for all he knew. He hadn’t yet received orders.
All this shit and no one to kiss goodbye.
He slammed his locker shut, ignoring the banter of Team Rou around him. With his cell phone in hand, he walked out of the room.
Texting Tyler probably was a bad idea. She’d made it clear she wasn’t going to speak to him at all, even as friends over a big pot of linguine. Never before had he felt an urge to tell someone he cared for them before leaving on a mission, but that was before he’d had a beautiful, soft Knight woman in his arms.
What was there to say to her? I was worried about you at dinner. Or I’m about to walk into some hell that none of us can guess at the outcome of. I just wanted to say…
What? He didn’t love her. Saying he cared about her sounded like a half-ass Hallmark card.
In the end, he withdrew his cell and thumbed out: Hi Tyler. I’m heading out soon and I wanted to tell you. Maybe you understand why.
To his shock, the little blip on the screen that told him she was writing a response appeared. His heart slammed faster as he waited.
I do understand.
Suddenly, he felt more bound to her than ever. She got him and he got her. He’d seen the post-battle stress on her like a cloak of despair and had sent Ben after her. He hoped her brother had been able to calm her spirit. Killing wasn’t easy, and especially not your firsts.
We leave in a few, he texted.
Be safe.
Those two little words lifted a hope inside him that he wasn’t too stupid to ignore. The woman wasn’t just a one-night stand that he thought fondly back on. No, he wanted way more than the hot sex that came with Tyler Knight.
Tell me what you’ll be doing today while I’m blasting away at freaks hiding behind trees in the swamps.
LOL. You’re probably right about your mission. I promised Lexi I’d meet her for lunch but…
But what?
I didn’t sleep well.
Dammit. Just as he feared. The woman needed to address the things digging at her or she would collapse under the weight. Or worse, she’d freeze when it came time to do it again.
Meet Lexi and then stop in at the base and talk to Pennywood. She’s good at what she does.
Ugh, not you too.
Listen to me. I’m saying it because I care. Talk to Pennywood.
Have you talked to her?
Yeah, a few times.
And it had helped immensely, putting things into perspective and helping him to move forward.
The call came for transport, and he had to leave his personal belongings in his locker, and that included his cell phone. He dashed off one last text.
I want to see you when I come back.
IDK, Hawk.
Humor me. I’m about to walk into a nest of hornets armed with assault rifles.
Please watch yourself. I’ll see you on the flip side.
He grinned and shut off his phone. As he strode back to his locker and stored the device on the top shelf, he replayed her words and their meaning. The tough little Marine wouldn’t dream of dropping her armor, but her tough talk meant more to him than he could ever say.
Be safe. Watch yourself.
The words played in his head over and over. When had his orders… when he and Team Rou stormed a building and took fire… Tyler was in his head.
On his shoulder, urging him to watch himself.
In his heart.
Goddammit, he was going home and crushing his lips over hers one more time.
These assholes weren’t taking him out. Not today.
Chapter Six
When Tyler drifted down the stairs, her papa looked up from his breakfast. He was dressed for work and had already made his way through his first cup of coffee and some toast. His smile was genuine.
“You’re up early. Thought you’d sleep late.”
She waved a hand. “I’ve been up since dawn. Habits are hard to break.” She was normally up at daybreak and hit the ground running—literally. She was feeling sluggish from lack of exercise but she hadn’t made time since coming home.
“Sit down and have some coffee.”
“I think I’ll pass.”
He looked at her harder. “Then sit down and tell me what’s wrong.”
She’d always had a special bond with her papa. While her brothers loved to run home and kiss their mother, Tyler had always been a daddy’s girl. And Lexi was the sweetheart of all family members.
She slipped into a chair and gave her father a direct look. “I’m having a hard time since…” She couldn’t bring herself to say more. That she’d trained for combat, and just as she’d finally earned her combat action badge, she wasn’t sleeping, having waking nightmares. What a laugh the universe was having on her of all people. She’d only been waiting to prove herself her entire life and now she was turning out to be a soft pudding of a woman.
As he set down his cup, he pierced her in his stare. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Ben thinks I should talk to the shrink.”
“And you don’t think that’s a good idea.” It wasn’t a question—her papa knew her.
She shrugged. “It’s an option that I haven’t quite gotten to yet. I’d like to go to the cabin.”
Concern creased his brow. “Alone?”
“Yeah. Just to think, to hear nothing for a while.”
“You think being alone is a good idea?”
“Papa, I’ve been with people nonstop for years now. At basic training, on base, with family. I’ve thought a lot about this decision and I’m going.”
He chuckled. “That’s my Tyler—making up your mind with or without our blessing. Well, you have it. But you’re going to promise to come right back in a day if you don’t find the peace you’re searching for. I can’t have you out in the middle of nowhere with no way to communicate with us and feeling desperate.”
She understood. Getting to her feet, she dropped a kiss to his shaven cheek and headed back upstairs to pack. As soon as she got her bag unzipped on her bed, her sister sat up in bed, hair wild and eyes only cracked.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was a wisp of its normal strength. “I don’t have to be up for another hour.”
“Lie back down and sleep then. I’ll be quiet.”
Lexi eyed the bag. “You’re leaving?” Her tone rose in volume and an octave.
“Look, Lex, I’m going to the cabin. I need some time alone.”
Eyes wide open now, Lexi swung her legs off the side of her bed. She wore only a cami and some tiny panties that looked like she was hoping to get laid. Tyler wondered when her naïve twin had morphed into a sex kitten. She also wondered what the hell Rocko was waiting for.
Lexi put her arms around Tyler, and touched by the gesture, she embraced her back. “I’ll check on you, sis. I’m here for you.”
Tyler nodded. When she drew back, she hid the tears swimming in her eyes and began to fold casualwear into her bag. Shorts, tops, workout clothes and some sweaters for cool nights.
“When will you be back?”
“A few days maybe.”
“When are you expected on base?”
“A month.” She winced. It seemed so long and not at all what she needed, though the military seemed to think after their ordeal, they deserved a long leave and time spent with family.
Lexi brightened. “Plenty of time to have girl time then. We can Christmas shop. You know I hate doing it alone.”
Tyler gave her a smile and nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
With plans laid and her bag packed, Tyler gave Lexi one last kiss and then went downstairs again to find her maman. This leave-taking would be harder. Her mother would encourage her to stay because she’d harbor similar fears as her father did. But Tyler knew herself very well, and this was what she needed.
When she broke the news to her maman, tears formed in the woman’s eyes. She bore more lines on her face since Tyler had last been home. But no wonder with all her sons and one of her daughters off on dangerous work for the government. And Lexi was still a pain in the ass.
She hugged her mother tight and pressed her cheek against hers. “I’ll be back soon. I just need a little reprieve. I want to listen to the loons and the water lapping the deck supports of the cabin and just think.”
Her mother drew back and smiled, a sadness in her eyes. “You know that your spirit isn’t much different from mine, honey. So while you might believe I’ll be the toughest person to convince that you need time away, I’m actually the one who understands most.”
Surprised, Tyler stared at her mother, whose beauty hadn’t faded somehow even after raising all seven of them. “But you never leave. How do you do it?”
“Those times I’ve told you kids I’m going to visit my sister in Georgia?”
She gaped. “You were really at the cabin?”
She nodded.
“Does papa know?”
“Of course. We don’t keep secrets, and he actually encouraged me to go. Now that you’re all older, I just pick up when I need to and go.”
“Maman, I love you for this.” She threw her arms around her mom and kissed her soundly on the cheek. They hugged for a little longer.
Once Tyler was on the road with the window rolled down and the breeze threading its fingers through her hair, she let out a happy sigh. The drive wasn’t a long one but the country was beautiful. She found the yellow-greens of the late season to be just as beautiful as the bright green of summer.
The wildlife she spotted reminded her of a game she and her siblings played on this very drive. They split into teams depending on who sat on the right or left of the vehicle. And those stuck in the middle were able to choose their team. Then whoever spotted the most animals would win and that meant they’d get to jump into the bayou first upon arrival.
Times like this she considered her life’s plan. She wanted a family—always had. But she couldn’t easily have one in her current position. However, she was young, she loved her work and wasn’t ready to end it.
Her latest task in Kandahar might have given her a jolt to the system, but she had enjoyed aspects of it. Acting as a link between the military and their civilians and government had challenged her. Thinking on it, she’d return if asked, even if it meant reliving the battle that she was still processing.
The drive to the cabin didn’t take long but the rest of the journey was more difficult. It involved parking the car and unearthing the pirogue boat from the underbrush as well as the paddle. She flipped the flat-bottomed boat over and set it into the water. With her bag settled safely so it didn’t fall into the swamp, she dug the pole into the soft bottom of the waterway and pushed off.
Using her muscles felt good, and she craved more. It was time to end her period of laziness and get back to training because it made her happy.
When the cabin loomed before her, she stared with wide eyes. Her brothers had told her they’d built an addition, but she hadn’t expected to find they’d doubled the size of the structure. With tall stilts holding the building out of the water and a deck that wrapped around all four sides, it was like something out of a vacation home advertisement. Throw in the new, bigger firepit of metal and stone and more lawn chairs she knew would be bolted down so the storms didn’t blow them into the bayou and she could easily picture her big, growing family here all together.
Her father’s old clunky grill he loved was still tucked against the side of the cabin and she laughed, thinking of all the times he manned it wielding a spatula and threatening to slap any boy who came near him. But he always allowed Tyler to come up and help him flip burgers or steaks or turn the shrimp skewers over before they burned.
She tied off the pirogue at the dock and tossed her bag onto the deck. Stepping foot on the weathered wood gave her a feeling of homecoming like nothing else had since returning to Louisiana.
She’d made the right choice in coming here.
Inside, she found more bedrooms added on and the living room extended. There was also a second bathroom, long overdue in her opinion.
After exploring, the first thing she wanted to do was strip off her clothes and jump into the bayou. She couldn’t wait to propel herself through the water, pushing hard and fast and letting her mind clear.
* * * * *
The third shot hit its mark, directly over the previous two holes. Tyler reloaded and took her position, arm resting casually on her bent knee, eye to the scope.
A lapping sound filled her ears, but she tuned it out as she focused on her target. Breathe in, out, in, hold. She took the shot just as a canoe came into sight.
She eyed the person paddling it, not recognizing one of her brothers or even her papa.
It almost looked like… It appeared to be…
No. It can’t be.
She got to her feet, weapon on safe, and watched the man approach.
Dammit, she’d thought about him far too much over the past two days spent here alone at the cabin, and somehow her thoughts had made him real. Hawk paddled up to the dock, his expression unreadable. He wore a crease between his brows yet his lips were soft as if he’d just blown out a sigh of relief.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked.
He skimmed his gaze over her as he reached out to grab the side of the dock and stabilize the canoe. “Is that your usual way to greet a man? Holding a weapon and swearing at him?”
She pushed out a short laugh. “I was training.”
“At least you didn’t shoot me on sight.” He yanked the rope, firmly knotting the canoe to the dock and planted a big foot onto the deck. Suddenly, he was standing before her, as huge as ever and drawing her awareness to a graze on his temple.
“What the hell happened to you?” she asked.
His gaze traveled over her, and she felt the touch go straight to her pussy. Shit. They were all alone here and surrounded by water. Her only option was to outswim him or out-paddle him.
But she found herself setting down the weapon and then reaching upward, skimming her fingertips just below what could only be a graze left by a bullet. “Jesus, it was so close.”
He caught her fingers in his hold and closed his hand tight, looking into her eyes. “I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
She searched those dark depths of his eyes and wondered why she was so breathless all of a sudden. “I’m fine too, as you can see.”
He brought his other hand up to cup her cheek. Her eyes fluttered shut and when she opened them, he was even closer. His lips a breath away.
They threw themselves at each other. He hitched her against him hard, and she wrapped her arms around him, clinging. As he slanted his mouth across hers, she parted her lips and moaned at the feel of his tongue. He swiped it across hers until she grew dizzy and realized she’d forgotten to breathe.
Passion sweetened the bayou air, and now it smelled of soap and man—of Bo.
A sound broke from his chest and he lifted her off her feet as if she weighed ounces. In a few strides he reached the cabin door. He kicked it open and kicked it shut to keep out the worst of the mosquitoes. Then he took her straight to the nearest bed.
When he tore his mouth free long enough for her to speak, she gasped, “We can’t do this.”
“Oh yes, we fucking can.” He slid his hand under her top and cradled her breast. She shivered at the way he took absolute control, as he seemed to do in every aspect of his life.
He pressed her back on the mattress and followed her down. The weight of his body on hers raised a gasp of pleasure to her lips—and she couldn’t even swallow it down. Dammit, she was weaker than she wanted to be, especially when it came to this man.
His eyes were dark and piercing as he stared into hers. “Tell me plain. Are you all right?”
“Yes.” She’d actually come to some terms with what she’d had to do back in Kandahar—for her country. In order to survive. Her mindset was improved, her heart less burdened.
“You’re sleeping?”
“Yes.” She was.
“Good, because you won’t be tonight.” With that, he lowered his head and captured her lips again. Held them prisoner for long, burning moments as he thrust his tongue against hers in a mimicry of what her hips were doing.
Damn traitorous hips, rising and falling on their own, seeking the huge erection she felt in his pants.
Need blossomed through her, and she reached for his shirt. As she yanked it over his head, he flashed a wolfish grin and slithered down her body to lay claim to her breasts.
In Kandahar, they hadn’t had time for foreplay, but now she was experiencing firsthand just how damn good Hawk was at it.
He opened his mouth over the tip of her nipple and sucked through her tank top. She wore no bra, had no need here alone in the bayou. When the cloth was wet through and the extreme heat of his mouth met her flesh, she arched upward, grabbing at his short hair.
Each strong pull of his lips echoed through her. Then he changed angles.
The light scrape of hard teeth against her needy flesh ignited a fire in her that would never be doused after one night with this man and she knew it.
Dammit—times two.
He took her to a pinnacle of pleasure that never should be taking place from nipple play alone. The expert rotations of his tongue and the not-too-gentle nibbles had her crying out for more.
All right, she was begging. A girl like Tyler wasn’t proud of begging for anything, yet she couldn’t stop the soft pleas from leaving her lips if she tried.
“Take off my top. I need your mouth on my bare skin.”
