When he returned, Alisha was leaning back against the wall. She seemed so incredibly feminine and inviting.
“I think it’s time to put you to bed,” he said.
She stretched out her arms and curled them around his neck. “Help me down,” she whispered.
As he pulled her off the counter, she leaned in to him, letting her hard young body slide down against him. His hands touched nothing but bare skin as he put his arms around her. He breathed in, trying to steady himself. Beneath that half-buttoned flannel, she wore nothing at all.
“Alisha, I have shown great restraint with you, but I am a man—”
“I know that,” she whispered, and caressed his face. “I want that.”
Logan felt a rush through his entire body at those three words. “Are you sure?”
Alisha smiled. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” she promised him, and pulled his mouth down upon her own.
Logan groaned and pulled her tight against him, letting his hands explore her incredible body as he tasted her sweet mouth. The more he tasted and felt her, the greater his need to have her became.
He swept her into his arms and carried her to bed, quickly snapping away the few buttons between him and her body. Just as quickly, he rid himself of his own robe and pants. He stretched himself out beside her, feeling his years as he took in her youth and beauty.
Yet to his amazement, she seemed enchanted with his old, battle-scarred body. She ran her hands over the muscles of his chest and the ripples of his stomach. “You are so beautiful,” she whispered.
“You’ve got it backward,” he assured her, pleased she found him attractive. When her hand continued to travel downward, he groaned with a mixture of pleasure and sweet agony as he tried to resist his needs for the moment. Gently, he removed her hand from his penis and kissed her palm. “I don’t have that much control right now.” He took both her inquisitive little hands and placed them above her head, wrapping her fingers around the bar of his headboard. “Just hold on to that while I pleasure you.”
She didn’t argue. Instead, she became absolute putty in his hands, amazingly responsive to his every touch. When she became heated to a state of sweet agony equal to his own, he shifted his body above her and, holding her tight, drove deep inside her. A rush of pleasure surged through him. He’d never experienced anything quite like it. As her body’s motions came into sync with his own rhythm, they fell into the most primitive dance of love.
***
Alisha had no idea sex could be so life altering. She’d gone from feeling insecure to wanted, to loved. Then came a moment of pain, followed by exquisite pleasure, which grew to a level of want that was almost maddening. It all ended with honest-to-God fireworks and the sweetest moment of her life.
She couldn’t believe how dramatically matters had changed in five days. She’d gone from taking high-risk jobs to buy her Gramps’ medicine and hating the colonel for interfering, to becoming a captain in the SkyRyders’ Corps and falling in love with the finest man she’d ever met.
Alisha’s childhood had mostly been one of misery and quiet rebellion, her only moments of happiness being those with Gramps.
And now…
It was almost as if some accountant in Heaven discovered they’d been shortchanging her happiness and good luck all her life and decided to pay her in full, all at once.
To be made a captain of the Corps after only a month of flying… She’d never have believed it possible. Then to meet and fall in love with the best man she’d ever known and have those feelings reciprocated…
She snuggled against him, feeling spent, but in a very good way.
No matter what troubles arose in the future, with Logan at her side and the Corps at her back, she could face any headwind and fly forward, because she’d just achieved two impossible feats, which meant nothing was impossible if she put her mind to it.
Chapter 29
Logan awoke with Alisha’s naked body tight against chest. A sickening dread filled him as he realized he hadn’t dreamed their extraordinary lovemaking. It had been real.
He loved her. With all his soul, he loved her. Smitten, enchanted, mesmerized—none of these descriptions came close to describing the passion and absoluteness of his feelings.
And it scared the hell out of him.
How long would such a perfect, beautiful young girl want a middle-aged colonel?
He knew the answer. Not for long. Maybe six weeks, maybe six months, but there was no way he’d be able to hold her to him. She deserved better!
Why the hell had he let it go so far last night? Didn’t he have an ounce of self-preservation inside him? And if he couldn’t find the sense to save himself, what about her?
How long will she stay with me because of guilt and obligation? How long will she put her own career on hold? Because let’s not kid ourselves about her career; she’s going all the way to the top. With her scores, she’ll be a general within five years.
Here’s General Kane and her little man, Logan.
And what happens the first time she takes the pleasure of another man? There goes the old colonel to prison for murder.
Or what about when she leaves and the colonel becomes an obsessed stalker?
Even as he foresaw his horrible futures, her gentle stirring in the bed brought his body to life. He pushed himself out of the bed and into an ice-cold shower.
You have to stop this now. If you don’t, you will pull her down like an anchor. You owe her the right to soar as high as she can go, without some has-been colonel hanging on. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for her. She deserves better.
With stiffened resolve, he returned to the bedroom. She was awake, sitting up in bed, looking positively radiant.
“It’s only six. Can we go back to bed?” she asked with an irresistible but seductive innocence.
He moved away from her, walking over to the table so that he could keep it between them if necessary. “Alisha, last night shouldn’t have happened. I take full responsibility that it did.”
“I wanted it just as much as you did.” He heard the confusion and hurt in her voice.
“Perhaps, but I am a grown man and should have never become intimate with you. It is entirely inappropriate given the circumstances.”
“It’s not inappropriate. Colonels and captains partner all the time!”
“Not this one!” he snapped.
“That’s just because you hadn’t met me until now. You’re my soul mate, Colonel.”
“Stop it! I am not your soul mate. There’s no such thing! I am a middle-aged man whom you have a temporary crush on due to gratitude. Trust me, this won’t last.”
She flinched at his words. “What I feel toward you isn’t a crush or gratitude.”
“Give it any name you want, Alisha. It doesn’t change a thing. I’ve got a squad that’s completely dysfunctional. This is your first command. And it’s my last command if I don’t get them turned around before their next assessment. We’ve no time for distractions.”
“So I’m a distraction?” she asked.
He could hear her anger finally kicking in.
Get angry. Do anything but cry.
“You will be if I let this go on. But that’s not happening. You’re going to step up as captain to this squad, and I’m going to be the most meddling and annoying colonel you’ve ever imagined. And neither one of us has time for anything else beyond our duty.”
She opened her mouth as if to argue further, but then stopped and stared at him, horror-stricken. Without another word, she escaped to the bathroom.
***
The moment Alisha reached the bathroom she burst into tears.
I can’t let him see how stupid I was, how I thought it was more than his desire to sire a child.
Ever since the government had made it illegal to have children without a license, and gave very few licenses out, suddenly having babies was all men thought about. Their need to procreate had reached
the point of obsession. And for most men, their only chance was with a virgin, for that remained a girl’s one free shot at pregnancy. If she became pregnant on her first try, then the baby was classified as a virgin birth and she could bring it to term. Afterward, the law required all women to register with a medic and have a birth control device inserted. If a woman failed to do so and became pregnant, they’d abort the child, sterilize the mother, and charge her with negligent homicide.
While no one liked the new laws, everyone understood the necessity. The world simply could not support the pre-war population. Unfortunately, it made virgins easy targets for men intent on passing on their genes to the next generation. Some seduced the girl so subtly that she believed she’d decided her own fate, and others offered her parents a valuable position in the government, or a substantial contract, or just paid them in cold, hard currency.
Amazing! I escape one type of bastard only to fall into the hands of another. At least David didn’t pretend he cared about me. He didn’t make me love him with all my heart.
Alisha forced the tears to stop.
It’s over and done with. You gave him what he wanted. He has no further need of you unless by some odd chance you are pregnant.
She dressed and stepped back into the room, trying to look as stone-cold as the colonel. She picked up her pack and hobbled to the door. “Can you let me out?”
***
Logan wished he could do that without getting so near her, but the damn door would only open to his print, so he had no choice.
He placed his hand on the screen, standing as far away as possible.
Alisha placed her hand on the doorknob but didn’t pull it. She spent a moment forming her question before she spoke. “I just want to know one thing. I thought last night was incredible, but maybe that’s just because I don’t know anything.” She looked up at him in confusion. “Wasn’t it good for you?” she asked, the pain and humiliation clear in her voice.
Logan had to close his mind to her pain, or he’d be pulling her into his arms, begging her to forgive him. “It was good, but even good sex grows stale over time, and then all that’s left is complications and problems. You can do better than me, Alisha. You will do better. Just give it time.”
Alisha had escaped from his room before the word “time” left his mouth.
Logan sat down on the bed. Every fiber of his body screamed he had just made the worst mistake of his life. He desperately wanted to run after her and bring her back into his room and his heart.
But she hasn’t left your heart. Can’t you tell? Can’t you feel how your heart squeezes so tight it might just collapse into its own little black hole, sucking up every piece of joy and happiness in the world?
“I did the right thing,” he whispered.
If that was true, then why did it feel so horribly wrong?
Chapter 30
Alisha had to escape the room before he said the next line. “I’ll always care for you, my dear, but trust me, this is best.” How many times had men used those same words on other innocent debutantes? Had someone written a book on how to seduce stupid debs and what to say to get rid of the silly nits after the fact?
It was the perfect line. If later the girl should happen to be pregnant, the guy could always wheedle his way back into her graces. “I tried to do the right thing and let you go, but I’ve been miserable every single day without you. Please say you’ll be my wife.”
That was if he wanted to bother. He had other choices as well: visitation or full custody. Alisha put her catcher in the gear room before she entered the kitchen and started making breakfast for the crew. The colonel would probably go for the visitation…but then what did she know? She’d thought he actually loved her.
“Alisha, what are you doing?” Ginnie asked as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“Making oatmeal.”
“You’re the captain. You don’t have to cook breakfast.”
“Regulation 3.345 states that all crewmembers of a squad will share in household duties. The captain is the head of the squad, and thus clearly included.”
Ginnie frowned. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I know the regs…at least the ones twelve and below.”
“Well, I feel weird watching you cook.”
“Then start the eggs if you want,” she said. “So I take it you know I’m your new captain.”
“The colonel told us yesterday. I’m so proud of you. Captain, the first time around.”
“How’d the rest of the group take it?”
Ginnie was silent, suddenly engrossed in cooking the eggs.
Alisha sighed. “That bad, huh?”
“Philly’s fine, but the rest were a little scared that you’ll dog ’em for helping DC…”
“Try to kill me?” Alisha filled in for her.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t blame them for their actions. They followed orders, just like you.”
“Exactly.”
Alisha laughed. “Except your flying was the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Ginnie scuffed her foot and grinned. “I was pretty horrible.”
Alisha smiled at her friend. “We both know you can fly a hell of a lot better than that.”
The girl shrugged noncommittally.
“Ginnie, your wings aren’t clipped anymore. As your new captain, I’m telling you right now, nothing would please me more than if you were to out-fly me.”
“Yeah, that’s gonna happen!”
“Nobody knows, because you’ve been under-flying since you got here. But that’s over. The only thing that will get you in trouble with me is if you don’t push yourself to do better every time you catch the wind.”
Ginnie’s eyes sparkled. “Have I mentioned how glad I am that you’re our captain?”
“Brown-nosing already, Ginnie?” Jersey asked as she came in.
“Good morning, Jersey,” Alisha said, setting the pot of oatmeal on the table for self-serving. “Could you make the coffee?”
“That’s Ginnie’s job.”
Ginnie replied before Alisha could. “Not according to the regs. All crew members are to assist in household chores.”
Jersey walked over to the coffee machine and glared at it. “So, Captain, you wanna show me how to work the damn thing?”
Chapter 31
Logan’s torment was interrupted by the phone.
“Who the hell is Captain Alisha Kane?” a gruff, angry voice demanded.
Why would General Powell care about Alisha?
“She’s my new captain.”
“Where’d DC go?”
“He’s been demoted.” It was really none of the general’s business. “Is there some reason you need to know this, sir?”
“Yes, there is, damn it, or I wouldn’t be calling,” the general bellowed. “Jack just handed me MAC’s assessment of our attack plan, and the damn thing has added your squad commanded by a captain I don’t know from Jesus.”
“That’s not possible. This is her first day as captain. MAC knows that!”
“Yeah, well, it may know it, but it doesn’t give a rat’s ass. It added ‘critical personnel’ beside her name, which means I can’t remove her. So get your sorry-ass squad out of bed and tell them it’s time to wake up and play with the big boys. And Logan, if they fuck this up in any way, your next commission will be in Alaska.”
Logan ignored the threat. Since MAC made all personnel assignments, the general couldn’t send him to Alaska, but he could make his life less comfortable by restricting the supplies allocated to secondary units. “I’ll try to keep them out of your way, sir,” he said, and hung up the phone.
What the hell was MAC thinking? You never send a squad into battle with a raw captain. It quadrupled the chances of critical errors. Logan turned on his computer and downloaded the orders. Shit, DC’s name was on the list. Logan now wished he had given the bastard two days in the brig, but it was too late to alter the punishment. Just one more thing to guar
antee his squad would screw up today.
He dressed and stepped out to gather his squad. Jersey was giving Alisha lip about having to make coffee. If she wasn’t even going to obey that order, what would happen in the middle of the battle?
“Jersey, get the rest of the crew up,” Logan barked. “And Ginnie, go sign DC out of the brig. We just got orders. We’ll be joining Squads 320 and 610 from Capital for a tag-and-bag in a drug bust at the wind farms.”
He saw Alisha look up in concern. Damn MAC! This was so unfair to her and the squad.
He walked up beside her and spoke low, hoping no one else would hear. “This is not the way I wanted your first day to go, but orders are orders. Our squad is light, so both DC and I will go out with you. However, you’re in charge of the squad, and everyone is going to need to see that from you. Do not defer your command to me.”
“No, sir,” she snapped, clearly still angry from their morning conversation.
Good. Use that anger. Use whatever you need to get through today.
Once everyone had gathered, including DC, Logan briefed them on the assignment.
“We’ll be executing a bag-and-tag under the command of General Powell. You are all familiar with the area. It’s where you spotted the medical supplies when the cartel moved them into the wind farm. Since our report, it’s been under high-altitude surveillance. Today, we will join the raid.”
“What part will we play?” Washington asked.
“If I know the general, probably minimal backup support. Our inclusion in the exercise is a compliment to your discovery. However, the general only goes so far with compliments. He’ll want to use his own troops for the critical attack points. All you need to do is follow your captain’s orders.”
He gave each of them a hard glare as their eyes flickered to DC. Alisha surprised him when she stepped forward and spoke.
“I know you haven’t had a chance to get familiar with my command yet—”
DC interrupted her statement with a fit of coughing. Logan was one second from sending him back to the brig when he apologized.
That’s one. Keep it up, you son of a bitch, and there will be a casualty in today’s battle.
Scavenger's Mission (The SkyRyders Book 1) Page 17