“Likewise,” she replied, fear replacing her anger.
“Then don’t try to stop me.”
“What if you’re hurt because of me? Pull them back, Captain. Please.” She dug her fingers into his arms. “Get your team away from me, and I want you the farthest away.”
Thane shook his head. “If I do, you’ll die, Kayla.”
She gripped him harder, not that she could do any damage to arms like his. “I know,” she bit out. “You’re just drawing this out, and it’s driving me crazy.”
A painful expression twisted his features. “Can you even imagine how much death I’ve seen? I’ve accepted all of it, but I will never accept yours. I can see it in my mind, because I’ve seen it so many times. To see you lifeless, to feel your skin, cold instead of warm, stops my heart,” he whispered against her lips.
“I’m asking you not to chase him any more. Go home, and I’m going to do the same. I don’t want you near me. I can handle this on my own.”
“Kayla—” he said, shaking his head slowly. “You can’t fix this by yourself.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “It’s not a terrible thing to say you need—to accept someone’s help. Shit. Is it so damn hard to say you need me?”
A roller coaster of emotions shot through her, and then an old, familiar feeling began to crawl across her chest. She raised her eyes to meet his as the horrible, sour pang filled her. “I won’t do that.”
A sad smile tightened his lips. “But you’ll accept Lapierre’s. I—I guess…” He looked around and swallowed heavily.
“Thane, sex does not mean anything. You of all people should understand that.”
Clutching her in his arms, he pulled her onto his lap, and lay back on the bench. Before he said a thing, she covered his mouth, but he gently pulled her hand away. “I want you to live. I—I want you to have faith in me. Don’t hold my past against me, because you weren’t in it. If you had been, it would have been very different, and so would have yours.”
She straightened up and looked at him squarely. “I don’t hold anything against you, Thane. I’m only asking you to stop putting yourself in danger.”
A laugh bubbled up his throat. “Um, okay, so should I just go back to work then?” he asked, a grin tightening his lips as he rubbed his cheek against hers.
The sails in her mind drooped, having to give way to his point.
Thane leaned his head back, and peered into the heavens. “Kayla, I know trust must be the hardest thing in the world to you.”
The statement had so many spurs she didn’t know how to answer. “I suppose,” she replied, gazing at the distinct, strong angles of his features.
“I read your note. I heard you in my mind when things were the toughest.” He darted a quick look at her, and then turned his attention upward again. “To be honest, I’ve had plenty of notes over the years, but I only kept one—yours.” His forehead wrinkled tight with his thoughts. “I actually laughed out loud reading it. The team thought I’d lost my mind, but, I hadn’t lost it, I’d made a decision. I’d annihilate an entire country to see you again.”
She stared at him not knowing what to say, instead she covered his hand with hers, and he quickly folded it in his warmth.
He drew her close. “Kayla, leave your fear in my arms, and believe in me. It’s all I’m asking.”
With his body warming hers, and his strength wrapped around her, her heart grew heavy. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
“Because you’re frustrated. I know you want this over, and it will be, but until then I need to know you’re safe,” he whispered against her lips, and followed the curve of her mouth, kissing her with little nips.
Her heart thundered as she broke their kiss. “You have to be the most stubborn man I’ve ever known.”
Thane chuckled, and pulled out his phone. “Hey, Mace, you know the code on my back door?” He paused. “Use it tonight.” Another pause, and he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you can use the Jacuzzi but stay the hell out of my wine cellar.”
She laughed at that. “Don’t hold your breath.”
“I know.” Thane twisted and nudged his head over his shoulder. “Ever been to that restaurant over there? Awesome Mexican, and you left that appetizer platter behind.”
Her stomach growled in response, and she darted a look toward the ground.
The music reached out to them as they walked across the field toward the colorful banners stretched across wood beams. Torches flickered in the evening light, and created shadows across the oversized puppets standing watch on either side of a stage. A couple dressed in authentic Spanish costume danced around each other impressing the crowd, who sat on small benches to watch.
“Thane?” They stopped to enjoy the performers, and she leaned against his warm chest. His arms wrapped her in a tight bundle. “Thank you.” She twisted her neck to look up at him.
The lines on his forehead relaxed, and an honest smile shone in his eyes. He spun her gently, and suddenly all was silent being in her hero’s arms.
“Ms. Banks, no matter how crazy things may get, we’ll hang onto each other and ride out the storm.”
“Who’s the captain?” she teased, narrowing her eyes.
Thane’s cheeks puckered, and then he laughed. “You’re always in charge, sweetheart. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Let’s eat, I’m starving.” She squirmed away from him, taking a step toward the restaurant.
With a quick swipe, he grabbed her hand. “Not so fast.”
“What?”
“One little issue we haven’t resolved.”
“Please, don’t—”
“Kayla, be serious, you’re not going on a bloody vacation with him.”
Better to walk away than start another fight.
“Nope, stand and fight,” he growled, clinging to her hand. “What guy would let his girlfriend get on a plane with some other guy?”
She yanked her fingers from his, and thrust them onto her hip. “So you’re trying to tell me you’re my boyfriend. Really! Tell me one boyfriend thing you’ve ever done.”
Thane’s shoulders straightened with a jerk. “Well, there’s—you know.”
“I can walk into that bar over there and get you know, and he isn’t my boyfriend.”
“I’ve made you dinner,” nodding his head sharply.
“Uh-huh, while I was under house arrest.” She waved her hand at him. “Give it up. You can’t possibly win this debate.”
“Fine, I just asked you to go to dinner with me. That is definitely date material.” She opened her mouth to argue… “I brought you flowers.”
Pursing her lips she strategized. Thane’s index fingers slipped into his front pockets as if he were reaching for six shooters. “Where was I born?”
“Kayla—”
“Where was I born, Thane?”
“Ah…”
“Where did I go to school?”
“Um…” He cleared his throat.
“What’s—my—favorite—color?”
A deep sigh.
“Do I like chocolate or vanilla, SEAL?”
Thane’s chin dropped, and he stared at the ground, toeing the bark mulch.
“Hey, guys,” Mace appeared beside them, and no surprise, he had his arm draped around the blonde from the bar. “Great minds think alike—ah, shit, what’s wrong?” he asked reading the air between them.
“Mace, what’s my favorite color?”
“Huh?” Mace looked warily between them.
“Just answer the question.”
“Green.”
“Uh-huh, where was I born?”
“Prince Rupert, well on the way to Rupert, your mom was medevac’d out due to complications, and you were born on a heloooo, oh shit.”
“What school—?”
“All right,” Thane bawled. “I get it. I’m a lousy boyfriend.”
Mace’s brows perked up. And just to hammer the last nail in the coffin…. “What’s my favorite movie, Mace?�
��
Mace’s expression crinkled with a sour look, eyeing the Captain. “If I get it right, am I swimmin’ the bay?”
“Y—e—s,” Thane said, showing all his teeth.
Mace gave the blonde a playful look, and nudged her with his hip. The poor thing was thoroughly confused. “Act of Valor.”
“Bingo,” she said, and swayed her body in an “Oh yeah, I’m the man” move.
“Get over here,” Thane barked, vaulting for her and dipping her back like he was Fred Astaire. “Sweetheart, I might not know the little things, but I know one thing for sure.”
Her heart hammered, and she gave Mace and his girl an uncomfortable toothy smile from her perilous position close to the ground, draped over Thane’s arm.
“Only a boyfriend would kiss you like this.” Thane had all the tourists concentrating on them instead of the performers. When he let her up for air, he murmured against her lips. “Boyfriend, and all the strings attached, agreed?”
A five-point smile appeared on his features, and she hated when he did that.
“And sweetheart?”
“Eh?”
“Chocolate.”
“Doh!”
Chapter Five
The alluring aroma made her sit straight up in bed. “Mace, is that bacon?”
“Morning, Snow White,” Thane called from the kitchen.
Kayla hadn’t seen him in a week. He’d been working long hours with Manchester, but he called her four times a day—every day—which was weird. Sometimes they only spoke for a couple minutes, enough for him to ask her how her day was going. She grabbed the robe from her chair and padded down the hallway, with a quick stop to brush her teeth.
Thane was setting a plate on the table covered with a napkin and delicious curls of bacon. Drool collected in her mouth, but the man serving it had a bigger impact. A pair of jogging pants slung low on his hips and his upper bare body, still sweaty from his morning run, made her mouth go dry. Her eyes darted to the clock. It was only six. The table was set, and he had made… “Waffles!” God, she could taste them already.
Thane grinned, and his sexy aura softened her like butter in the sun as he pulled the chair out for her. He waited until she sat down then poured her a cup of coffee. “All right, who’d ya kill this morning?” He leaned over and stole a slow, breathless kiss from her. Keeping one arm pinned against her, not missing the chance to caress her breast, he slid a bowl of whipping cream and another with strawberries in front of her. She tried reaching for her fork, and he teased her by holding her snug. “Don’t get in the way of a woman and food, SEAL.”
Thane nipped her neck. “Just testing how patient my girlfriend is.”
Thane stuck that “girlfriend” word into every sentence when they were off the base, or in the privacy of his office, when he thought he could get away with it.
He sat down across from her, and watched her load up, piling on the strawberries and sauce, layering them with syrup, and then covering it all with a huge dollop of whipping cream. Darting a quick look over the table at him, she shrugged.
His brows lifted with humor. “Um, have you ever been fat?”
“What a question to ask?” She nailed him in the chest with a strawberry. “I have a fabulous metabolism.”
He shrugged, shot her a quick smile, and filled his own plate.
“What’s going on that I find you here with this glorious breakfast?”
He stuffed a forkful of waffle in his mouth. “Not bad,” he mumbled.
“Not bad, it’s heaven,” she said, taking another bite, and letting the flavors linger on her tongue.
“We’re taking the day off, Kayla.”
“It’s my day off. You haven’t had a rest for three weeks. You’re a machine.” She got up and threw open a window. The February air meandered in, but it wasn’t enough, so she got rid of her robe, dropping it on the couch on her way back. Thane’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. Guess he liked her new little outfit. Miss Sweater-too-tight wasn’t the only one with a rack.
She’d dragged Mace out to a lingerie store a couple days ago. Although he argued like hell on the way, and turned a few different shades of red, she won out. Eventually he got into it, especially since the store clerk was in her late twenties and all legs.
The brilliant little red number was Mace’s favorite. The bodice she’d chosen pushed every bleedin’ thing she had up to her chin. White lace strings crisscrossing between her breasts, leaving a good visual of skin and a matching silk thong, no imagination was needed to see what lay beneath. Thane’s fork still hadn’t made it to his mouth, and he put it down.
“Umm.” He took a quick scan behind him.
She leaned over the table, palming the edge in the heel of her hands. “Mace didn’t come home last night.”
“Umm.”
Reducing Thane’s vocabulary to sounds made her grin, especially when his gaze darted to the berries and whipping cream on the table.
“We can warm these waffles up later,” she said. He could have cooked the bacon with the look in his eyes.
“No,” he breathed out.
No. Now he was playing tough guy. A little embarrassed, she stared down at the table. He gently took the fork from her, pierced a strawberry, and placed it in front of her mouth. She tongued the berry from the tines, and his gaze seared itself to her lips when she licked them.
“We’re going for a ride,” he said. “On two wheels not four.”
“Who has the bike?”
“I do.”
“You never told me you had a bike. I’ve never seen it.”
He prodded another berry onto the fork, and presented it to her. “Keep it for relaxation. Haven’t had much opportunity lately.”
“That’s because you’re doing things you shouldn’t, like trying to catch a serial killer.”
Thane’s gaze roved across her face. “Eat up.”
“Where’re we going?”
“Looking for treasures. I thought we should take a tour across the border.”
“You, me, and a relaxing day, I don’t think I can handle that.” She knew what he was trying to do. He wanted to play normal, but their lives were the farthest thing from normal. He wanted to show her what the future could be like. It wouldn’t surprise her if Mace relayed what she’d said about leaving when the Shark was brought down.
A smile lit his handsome face, and just seeing it, lit hers. Her warrior was a fearless rogue with endless confidence in his veins. A man of valor, and she couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out why he still hovered around her. She watched as Thane slipped into the chair kitty-corner from her, and folded her hands in his.
“Kayla, there’s something I want to ask you.”
Here it comes. “Something’s wrong,” she stated, trying to retract her hands, but he only let one get away. When Thane was close to her, he always wanted to touch her. Maybe the undefeated warrior wasn’t the mountain of unwavering strength she thought.
He palmed her cheek. “No, sweetheart, everything is fine. I’ve been thinking, once the Shark is caught….” he cleared his throat. “At Christmas you refused me outright, but I’m going to ask again, and this time you’ll have time to consider it before giving me an answer.”
Her memories hummed, but she wasn’t coming up with much, so she shook her head.
Thane took a deep breath and stared into her eyes as if he was about to recite the declaration of independence. “Ms. Kayla Katarina Banks I…I…” He laughed uncomfortably. “Kayla, I want you—us—I mean, I want….”
He squirmed worse than a first grader under deadly scrutiny from his teacher. “If it’s this hard, maybe you shouldn’t say it.”
“It’s not that. I’m just praying you don’t say no.” Closing his eyes, he leaned in and kissed her lips softly, then opened them with intent. “I want to wake up every morning and feel you in my arms. I want your toothbrush beside mine. I want to share lazy Saturday mornings like this with you. Kayla, move in with
me.”
She blinked, letting the words catch up like an echo in her mind. Her heart squeezed tight. “Are you insane?” she whispered. It wasn’t the correct response, but she didn’t have any other answer than he’d lost his mind.
“Sweetheart, I know it’s a big step for you, but I know what I want. Promise me you’ll just think about it, okay?”
“I don’t have to think about…” He shut her down with a hard kiss, and then hovered against her lips. The man knew how to confuse her, and he did it on purpose. “Captain….” Another attack of his sensual lips, and this time he swept her into his arms, drawing her to straddle his lap.
“Stop arguing,” he commanded, cupping his hands under her thighs, he lifted her, and headed for the bedroom.
“You haven’t let me finish a sentence,” she said as he dropped her on the bed and leaned over her, his skin flexing with well-heeled muscles from toes to shoulders.
“I don’t need a sentence. Just one word—yes.” His palm wrapped across her hip, his finger sweeping across her skin, and feathering a gentle touch along the crease of her thigh. “We’re going to have normal, one day soon. I promise.”
There it was. She knew it.
“I don’t want you to leave,” his brow wrinkled tight, and a despondent expression fell like a gray cloud over his features. “You said yourself you don’t love Lapierre. This is your home now. I want you to apply for permanent resident status. I’ll be your sponsor.”
Mace was going to get the ass-kicking of his life the next time she saw him. She sat up and pulled on his hand. They curled around, and sat knee to knee. The dominant façade gone from his features. This was the man inside the warrior, and he wanted her to know he was there.
“Captain,” She paused when his brow jerked tight, and his gaze shot down to their joined hands. He didn’t like it when they were together, and she called him that. He’d tried a thousand times to make her stop. “Thane—we haven’t openly talked about my past. I know you haven’t pushed me because you think one day I’ll share it on my own, but I won’t. When we’re together, we revert to sex instead of talking. That’s fine with me. We don’t have to talk.”
Code Name: Kayla's Fire (A Warrior's Challenge) Page 5