Winter

by Michelle Love

  My body aches as he takes me. It knows this may very well be the last time I get to feel his power take me over. His cock is huge and pounds me in the best way. His muscles ripple as he moves his massive body over mine.

  If he doesn’t make it …

  I stop myself from thinking the awful thought. He has to make it!

  My nails dig into his shoulders, leaving marks. Wanting more of my marks on him, I lean up and kiss his neck, then suck it. He groans as I suck hard and quick, but then he pulls away and shakes his head. “No marks where they can be seen, baby. The guys’ll give me hell over it.”

  With a huff, I pout, then he kisses me and bites my lower lip. Trailing kisses up my neck, he nips me, then sucks hard, leaving a mark on me. I don’t care. I want to look at it in the mirror while he’s gone. He can mark me up all he wants to.

  Moving from my neck, he sucks marks all over my breasts, then he makes his way further down. Pulling out of me, he kisses my inner thighs, then sucks his marks on them too.

  I moan as he pulls at my flesh with his teeth, then sucks the blood to the surface, leaving purple marks all over me. I want evidence of him all over my body.

  If anything happens to him …

  I scream with frustration as I try to run the thought out of my head. “Damon!”

  He licks my pussy to calm me down. Over and over, he makes long licks with his tongue flattened out. It works. He takes me over. His intimate kiss sends me into a dark place where only he and I reside. My thoughts stop as ecstasy takes them all away.

  “Liv, baby, I love you,” he moans as he moves back up my body and pushes his fat cock into me again. The way he moves is like waves over my body. He’s so damn good at this, it’s almost too good to be true.

  Damon moves my body like we’re dancing. Only we’re doing much more than dancing. He’s a master at sex. A master at making me feel better than I’ve ever felt. And I’d die for the man. And he’d die for me and everyone else, it seems.

  Tears start to flow as I think about him dying on his mission. I hold tightly to him as I let it all out. He lets me. He doesn’t try to stop me the way he has so many times in the last couple of days since he told me he had to go.

  Instead of shushing me or trying to get me to get out of my head, he slows his pace and leans his forehead against mine. That’s when I feel his tears falling onto my face.

  He’s crying too!

  I cradle his face as I kiss away the tears as best I can as the stream is constant. “Don’t think I don’t love you. Don’t think I’m doing this to try to get away from you. I’m not. I’m doing this for you and for Harry. I’ve never had more of a reason to want to end this shit that’s happening. These people kill innocent people, baby. Harry or you could be a victim one day. I have to try to stop them. I have to. I hope you can understand just how strongly I feel about this. I hope you can find it in your heart to send me on this mission, and all I have to take on, with your love and prayers. I need to know that you have my back at all times. Send me that love of yours as I go out into the darkness and do what I have to do to try to get things safe for all of us again.”

  I can’t talk. Only sobs come out of my mouth. I want to be what he needs me to be. I so desperately want that. And something inside of me clicks on. Some sense of who I must be if I’m going to be with a man like Damon. A man who is a hero.

  Gulping back the tears, I say in a whisper, “You have my blessing, Damon. You have my support. I have your back. And I’ll be here, taking care of your son, keeping him safe while you go out and save us all.”

  “Thank you, baby,” he says as his tears stop falling down on me. “Thank you for being strong for me. This won’t always be a thing I can even do. Age will get in my way. I probably only have a few more missions in me. But if I can take out some of the bad guys and save even a handful of people, then I have to do it.”

  “Yes, you do. I can see that now. I love you, Damon. I love you so damn much.”

  With so much shared between us, we cuddle and take comfort from each other. With only about an hour left before he has to leave, we fall asleep. And I pray that we’ll have many more nights after he returns.

  Damon

  All I can hear are the waves as they hit the small inflatable we’re in. The night is pitch black. The air is hot as it hits my face. The gear we have to wear is suffocating. But it’ll protect us from fire if we encounter any.

  The other members of my team sit in silence as we go to the shore. From there, we’ll have to hump it about ten clicks and then we should come upon the caves that’ve been spotted with satellite images. For a month, we’ve been tracking the movement in the caves with satellite surveillance.

  A large group has been confirmed to be hiding in the cave system. Our job is to tag the places within the cave that have things, including people, that need to be destroyed. Then bombs will be launched off the ships that have congregated secretly. Bombers will fly in after that and take out everything else they can.

  We have to be like ghosts when we go in. Nothing will be easy. We’re trained to use hand signals so we can remain silent. The small boat hits the shore and I give the signal to get out and get on our way. The guns we carry are not light. But they’re all we’ll have to protect us if anyone tries to stop us.

  Moving like a band of mimes, we head into the darkness with our heads clear, minds sharp, and the knowledge that what we do counts. A lot more than you get with most jobs.

  The exercise we all do makes this part the easiest of everything we must do. The fast pace we keep gets us to the cave in no time. We move into the places we’re supposed to, with me bringing up the rear, making sure everyone is accounted for, and being the guy who’s watching out for all who go before me.

  The first part of the cave is empty. One red light lets us know we have something to take out. In complete silence, one of my men uses black paint to cover the lens of the camera. In we move.

  As we get further back into the cave, we can hear things. Snoring, a tapping sound, and someone talking quietly. I’m afraid the people who are awake will have to be the first to go. At least the rest of the people in here will die in their sleep, from the bombs that will soon be approaching.

  We make our way into the room of sleeping people and place the marker on a wall, then get moving as fast as we can while remaining quiet as mice. We find the people who are talking quietly and the first two Seals take them out with their knives, keeping things quiet and moving forward. We have to get as far back into the cave system as possible. We don’t want to leave even one section of this cave viable.

  Room by room, we go and mark them, then it’s time to get back out. Again, I take the rear as everyone heads back out. It’s going as smoothly as we’d hoped. I watch as one, two, three of my teammates exit the cave. Four, five, and six get out. Only three more.

  A loud cry has me turning back and I see a person running at me with a hatchet raised in their hand. They’re all in black. I have no idea if it’s a female or male, or how old they are. I fall back as quickly as I can while letting the other three get out before I do what I have to do to take this person out as silently as possible.

  Placing my gun on the dirt floor, I ready myself for the attack. I outweigh the person by fifty pounds or more. If I can get the weapon away from them and use my knife to make quick work of them, then I can leave and join my team as they head back to the beach.

  The hatchet hits my upper arm, making a laceration in my right bicep. That’s not good, but it’s not awful. I manage to turn the person around and can use my right arm to put them in a choke hold as I fight to get the weapon away from them.

  I get it done and toss the hatchet as far as I can, then take my knife off my belt and do what I have to. Only I find another person coming, and there’s more behind him. All have simple weapons, but all are sharp, and all are deadly if they hit some place vital on my body.

  “Hey,” I hear a female voice come from behind me.


  I turn back and all I see is a green orb. It’s glowing and is about the size of a quarter. It moves and I grab my gun off the ground, taking off after it.

  It moves away from the direction I came from, and I stop for a second. I don’t want to get lost. The sounds of the people chasing me have me looking back, and I open fire on them all, dropping every last one of them. Then I get a message. “Sands one, move.”

  They’ve sent the missiles. I have to get the fuck out of here now!

  “Come!” I hear the same voice plain as day and turn to see that green orb moving again. I follow it, as I don’t know what the hell else to do.

  The screams of the many missiles are coming toward the cave, and I have to be as far away from it as I can be. And I’m nowhere near far enough yet.

  Running after the green light, I find myself praying that I make it out of this alive. The sand makes it hard to run and then the green light is gone. It’s just disappeared!

  And then I fall into a hole …

  What the hell?

  Liv

  When my cell rings with a number I don’t know, I answer it anyway. “Hello?”

  “I need to speak with a Livacious Tillman,” comes a deep voice that sounds official.

  “This is she.”

  “You’re listed on Lieutenant Commander Damon Saunders’ contact list. I’m calling to inform you that he did not make the boat.”

  Nearly falling onto the sofa, I clutch my throat. “And what does that mean exactly, please?”

  “It means he’s been left behind. No one knows where he is.”

  “The news showed bombings in Afghanistan,” I say as I try to think about what the fuck happened and where Damon is. “Is that where he was left?”

  “Yes,” comes the reply from the man who hasn’t even told me who the hell he is.

  “What the hell are you doing about finding him?” I ask as I start to sweat.

  “At this point, there’s not a lot we can do. No one has claimed to have him. He might have been killed …”

  “Stop!” I shout at the man. “Just stop! Please. Can you explain what happened?”

  “I can’t. I’m not in that position to give out that kind of information. You will be told when we know more. This is a courtesy call. Someone will be in touch with you when more is known.” And then the call is over.

  I sit, staring at the wall as my mind races around all the things that might’ve happened to Damon. He could be dead, but I don’t feel that at all. He might be captured. Or he might be lost. If that kind of thing can happen.

  Harold comes into the room, carrying the truck Damon gave him. “I fell asleep.”

  I get up. “I know,” I say as I go to him and pick him up. I’m not about to tell him a thing until I know everything. “Did you have a nice nap?”

  “Uh huh,” he says as he wipes his eyes. “Mummy was there.”

  I sit back down, placing him on my lap. “How nice.”

  “Daddy was too,” he says, and a lump forms in my throat as a rock seems to have been made in my stomach.

  “Your daddy was in your dream too?”

  He nods. “Him and Mummy are together, and there’s sand everywhere.”

  My vision blurs, my head spins, and I have to lie back on the sofa, still cradling Harold in my arms. “Do you remember what they were doing?”

  He shakes his head, making the blonde curls bob around his shoulders. “No.”

  “Maybe we should pray for Daddy, Harry. Would you like to help me do that?” I ask and notice how badly my voice is quivering.

  “Why? Is Daddy okay?” He gives me a look that I can’t stand. A look of innocence that’s been sullied by loss. His mother left him only a few months ago. His only grandparents too. And now his father, when he just got him.

  Who deserves this much torment in their little life?

  “No matter what, your daddy is okay,” I tell him as I gather my strength. “Don’t you remember when I told you about your mummy and grampy and granny?”

  “You said they were okay,” he says, then wipes his eyes as he seems to be tearing up. “But they can’t come home no more.”

  “Yes, that’s right. Because sometimes things happen. No one knows why, but they do. And that doesn’t mean the person isn’t okay. They are. We have places to go when we leave here. And one day you’ll see them all again. No need to worry.” I run my hand through his hair and try hard not to cry.

  “I want my daddy, Aunt Wiv,” he says and then starts to cry.

  Holding him, I whisper, “So do I, Harry. So do I. We have to keep believing he’ll come home to us. We have to keep asking the Lord above to send him back to us. You and I can ask that together, can’t we?”

  With his nod, I know I have a partner in this and neither of us are all alone. And that’s better than being alone, I suppose.

  What’s not good is not knowing. I can’t take the not knowing …

  Damon

  The sun has risen and fallen again as I’ve been stuck here in this deep-as-shit hole. I heard the sounds of the bombs as they hit their targets last night. But no one can seem to find me, and I don’t foresee that anyone will.

  The hole is small. I’m having a hell of a time figuring out how I fell into the damn thing. That green light led me right to this place. I have a feeling it was some kind of a laser the enemy is using.

  Like a fool, I followed the damn thing!

  But I’m anything but a fool. So I wait until night comes around again and now I’m going to attempt to get out of this place. I think my radio will work once I’m not deep underground.

  The light of day helped me to see that the walls of this hole are sand, which is a good thing, but might also be a bad thing. I might be able to make small holes and use them to place my feet and hands in and climb out.

  Then again, I might make the hole fall in on me, and that might be the way the enemy designed it. I can sit here and die from dehydration or have the sand fall in and smother me. Either way, it sucks ass. So I’m going for the climb.

  The first punch I make into the side sends only a bit of sand down. I make another and see a little more sand fall. I don’t have a lot of choices here, so I move on up. Placing my foot in one of the holes, I move up, punching another hole in the sand. As I move up, that green glowing orb appears at the top of the hole.

  I hesitate and look at it as it moves about. Then I hear a woman say, “Come on.”

  “Who are you?” I ask, then immediately feel stupid.

  My mind’s playing tricks on me. That’s all it is. I had water and a nutrition bar to help me get through the last twenty-four hours, but hallucinations could still be happening.

  With the next punch into the sandy wall, I find a lot more sand falling from above me and see that I’m almost halfway up, from what the green light’s showing me. Waiting a moment to let the sand settle, I move my foot into the hole my left hand just vacated and find the sand slowing.

  Another punch finds more sand raining down on me, and it’s heavy, nearly knocking me back down. If that happens, I’m pretty damn sure I’ll be buried alive.

  “Hurry, they need you!” the woman’s voice calls out.

  Looking up through the rain of sand, I see a face looking down at me. “Jennie?”

  I swear it was her! Her blonde hair was flowing around her face and her big blue eyes were looking right at me. Then she was gone.

  Something clicks inside of me and I start punching the walls with a furious pace as sand keeps pouring over me, threatening to take me back down. I won’t let it!

  There are a little boy and a damn fine woman who are waiting for my return. And they need me!

  The hole is caving in! Sand’s clogging up everything! I can’t breathe!

  I can’t see. I can’t keep up the pace with the weight that’s holding me down.

  I can’t do this!

  Liv

  Harold and I sit on the soft leather seats of the jet that’s taking us to Florida.
I couldn’t get the answers I wanted from making phone calls to the base Damon is stationed at. So I did what any woman would do. I took the private jet I have access to and will find out what has happened to the man I love.

  The last twenty-four hours have been sleepless for me. I can’t think about anything other than Damon and getting him back to us. And I pray it’s in one piece and alive.

  Either way, I have to know. We’ll spare no expense in retrieving him, dead or alive.

  “Is Daddy going to be where we’re going?” Harry asks as he looks up at me with sleepy eyes.

  “No, but hopefully he’ll come to us soon, Harry. You rest, baby boy. No need for you to worry. I just want to talk to people in person, instead of over the phone. They don’t seem to understand your Aunt Liv wants answers. And what I want, I get.”

  “K,” he says, then closes his eyes, and I lie the seat back for him.

  There are a few more hours until we reach Pensacola. We’ll have to fly into the regional airport there, instead of the military one. I’ll have to rent a car, make my way to the base, and somehow gain access to the men I need to talk to.

  I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but I have to try.

  It’s been three days since I’ve seen or heard from Damon. It seems as if years have passed by though. I don’t know how I came to need him in only two weeks’ time, but I have. And so has Harold.

  His son cannot be left orphaned like this. He just can’t.

  We barely had Harold’s last name changed and his father put on his birth certificate. If the little boy has to go through another loss, I have no idea how that’ll affect him.

  And I have no idea how much help I’ll be to the poor boy. I’m a wreck. A complete wreck. Sure, I’m holding it together for now. But that’s only because of this stubborn hope that simmers deep down inside of my heart.

  I just can’t shake the idiotic feeling that if Damon was indeed dead that I’d feel it somehow. I know it’s stupid. It makes no sense at all. I’m no psychic after all.