Dawn of Valor

by Lindsay McKenna

  Reaching up, Rachel began to unbutton Chase’s shirt, smiling into his eyes. The softened line of his mouth told her everything as she pushed the shirt off his broad shoulders, exposing his powerful chest, dark and thick with hair. She longed to press her fingertips against the tensile strength of his magnificent body.

  Chase read those thoughts in her eyes. “Go ahead, touch me,” he whispered hoarsely, settling his hands on her shoulders. “Like you did in Korea. I never forgot the first time your fingers moved across me….” A ragged groan came from Chase as her fingers glided across his chest, tangling gently in the mat of hair, sending prickles of pleasure through him.

  The steam from the shower built within the room. Mist-laden curls of heat flowed across the top of the shower stall, silent fingers reminding Rachel that her own hands caressed Chase’s taut, hard flesh. As he eased the straps of her bra from her shoulders, her breath caught. It wasn’t out of fear, but from the sensual movement of his hands exposing her breasts to him.

  “They’re just as beautiful as before,” Chase gritted out, gently cupping them in his hands. Looking into Rachel’s eyes, he saw their depths were dazed with pleasure as he caressed her breasts’ silky roundness, watching the nipples harden into small pink rosebuds begging to be lavished with attention. A ragged sigh came from Rachel as Chase skimmed her nipples lightly with his thumbs. She swayed toward him, her fingers digging deeply into his upper arms.

  “So hot, so willing,” he breathed, capturing her against his naked chest. A thin barrier of material remained between them. Rachel’s mouth was liquid warm with welcome, her kiss eager and hungry, matching his need. As they stood in each other’s arms, drowning in the lava heat, Chase worked at slowly discarding the rest of her lingerie. Her fingers trembled as she pulled the boxer shorts down his narrow hips. In moments, they stood naked.

  Chase moved his hand down Rachel’s long, slender back, fingers splayed, capturing her hips, drawing her slowly against him. He groaned, feeling her rounded belly against his hardness, feeling her tremble violently. He deepened the kiss that bound them. She felt so good, her flesh pliant, yielding to his exploration. Chase wanted to part her long, wonderfully curved thighs and thrust deeply into her, burning to consummate their coupling.

  Shaking with barely controlled hunger, Chase drew Rachel into the shower, sliding the glass door shut, the steam swirling and curving sinuously between and around them. Her eyes were half-closed, emerald with fire, her lips pouty with the strength of their previous kiss.

  Water struck Rachel’s back, rivulets streaming down like hundreds of trailing fingers across her, inciting the fire already burning hotly within her. She raised her hands, her fingers curving across Chase’s broad chest, watching satisfaction come to his eyes, hearing his groan reverberate through the mist that cloaked them. Now she understood Annie’s words of wisdom. There was far more to love than a kiss, a letter or a look. As Rachel skimmed her hands across his shoulders and down his taut arms, she was enveloped in the rightness of loving Chase.

  Rachel’s hair curled slightly, framing her flushed face. Chase smiled, curving his hands downward from her sculpted collarbone, across her smooth arms to cup her breasts. Her lips parted, silently asking him to touch her again. He saw the pleading in her eyes. Bending his head, he drew the first wet bud into his mouth, tasting her, tasting the sweetness of life from her loving body. A cry tore from Rachel as he suckled her, and Chase placed his hand behind her, drawing her hotly against him. Heat and water mingled and slid between them, creating more friction as he hungrily sampled the other breast, feeling her fingers dig deeply into his shoulders in convulsive movements telegraphing her pleasure.

  All the lonely days and nights melded torridly together as Chase focused again on her pouty lips, molding his mouth to Rachel in fiery celebration. Sliding his hand down along the smooth roundness of her belly, he sought and found the juncture of her thighs. Whispering against her lips, he asked her to trust him, and she did, allowing him entrance to that moistness that brought tears of gratitude to his eyes. She was more than ready to receive him. In one movement, Chase lifted her against him, wildly aware of her breasts sliding against his chest. Her thighs parted as he gently brought her down upon him. Rachel’s arms tightened against his neck, and he heard her gasp and then tense. He held her immobile, the warm water trickling down upon them, the steam rising, playing and creating clouds of swirling heat.

  Rachel felt his maleness press against her. The sensation was one of pressure, not pain. She longed to complete herself with Chase, easing herself down upon him. He whispered her name and moved within her. A cry escaped Rachel, but it was one of triumph as she arched her back, claiming Chase, claiming the oneness she had hungered for as much as he had. Each slow movement of his hips excited her, sent more throbbing fire curling within her and she moaned, pressing herself against him in need.

  Satisfaction soared through Chase as he moved her languidly against him, hearing her cries of welcome. Each stroke, each small movement drove him closer and closer to the edge of exploding. He felt Rachel tense, realizing that she was experiencing a climax. Her little cry of surprise and joy was absorbed by the steam. She lifted her face, lips parted, eyes closed and her body taut against him. Seconds later, he gave her the gift of himself. She was limp in his arms afterward as he gently withdrew from her hot, liquid core. Gently he settled Rachel on her feet, and she pressed her head against his wet chest. They rested weakly against each other, embraced by the life-giving warm water.

  All Chase could do was stroke Rachel’s sleek back and hips, cherishing her, placing small, loving kisses on her damp hair, temple and cheek. Gradually she regained her strength, giving him a tremulous smile filled with wonder and joy. Rachel leaned upward, kissing Chase tenderly, telling him in her newfound language that she wanted nothing but him for the rest of her life.

  Chase soaped Rachel’s back, running his fingers provocatively across her, spanning her belly. He brought her back against him, resting his head against her shoulder and neck.

  “How many kids did you say you wanted?” he asked her thickly. Her belly was gently rounded, hips wide enough to deliver a strapping son, Chase thought, a fierce love welling up through him.

  “Three,” Rachel whispered, leaning her head on Chase and closing her eyes. She slid her fingers across his hands resting on her belly. “Two handsome, strong sons and one beautiful daughter.”

  Nibbling playfully on her delicate earlobe, Chase caressed her neck with a series of kisses. “Which do you want first?” he teased huskily.

  “A boy.” Rachel sighed, submitting to the delicious fire spreading hotly in the path of his mouth. “A girl should always have an older brother to look up to, don’t you think?”

  Chase met her emerald look beneath the black lashes framed with tiny beads of water. A very male smile pulled at his mouth. “Maybe every boy needs a big sister to look up to?”

  As his hands moved provocatively upward, cradling her breasts, Rachel closed her eyes. “You’ve finally changed.”

  With a chuckle, Chase finished washing her. “I had to. You’re the one that convinced me women can be just as independent and different as men are.”

  Turning around in his arms, Rachel lifted her chin, smiling into his laughter-filled eyes. “I love you, Chase Trayhern.”

  With a sigh, he covered her lips with a long, heated kiss. “Enough to marry me?”

  His mouth was strong, capable, and Rachel relished his power at making her feel thoroughly feminine. “Of course…”

  “Tonight?”

  Her eyes widened considerably and she drew back. “Tonight?”

  “Yeah? Like two hours from now?”

  She gave him a wary look. “What are you up to now, Chase?”

  Chase tried to give her a boyish grin, but Rachel’s pretending to be miffed didn’t work. Instead, he laughed, sliding his arms around her small waist, lifting her up against him, kissing her repeatedly.

  Gig
gling, her hair in limp, ebony ropes around her face, Rachel held Chase. “You had this all planned. All of it!”

  “I did,” Chase admitted, licking the water streaming between her small breasts. “When you didn’t come off that transport, I thought all my grand plans were scuttled.”

  Chase allowed Rachel to slide downward, the sensation creating a startling need for him all over again. Water softened the hard planes of his face and she shook her head. “What else have you got up your sleeve?”

  “I’ve got a minister coming up in two hours, we’ll be married, have a sumptuous dinner and go on our honeymoon.”

  Bewildered by his strategy, Rachel simply shook her head.

  Alarmed, Chase blurted, “You don’t want to get married?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Then why did you shake your head? You don’t want to eat? Or go on a honeymoon?”

  His concern was touching, and Rachel took the soap, lathering his shoulders and magnificent chest. “I’m just amazed at that steel-trap mind of yours, Chase Trayhern, that’s all.”

  Relief flooded his features. “Then…you want to get married, eat and honeymoon?”

  Fingers sliding tantalizingly across his taut muscles, Rachel saw the effect she had on Chase. “I do…but not necessarily in that order….” She leaned upward, pressing a long, inviting kiss against his mouth. A shiver of expectation feathered through her when Chase growled, claiming her lips, his tongue tracing the inner curves of her mouth. Heaven was on earth, Rachel hazily decided, meeting and molding against his powerful male body.

  Their children, Rachel realized, would be special in so many wonderful ways. They would inherit Chase’s confidence and tenacity. From her, they would garner sensitivity and faith. Together, they would give the children of their future, courage, a hallmark they both possessed. With a sigh, Rachel succumbed to Chase’s sweet, fiery assault, melting into his arms, wanting nothing more of the future. She had found her mate for life. A life that would be hard and demanding because Chase would always be part of the military. But they had the courage it would take to face it—together.

  Epilogue

  “And that night we spent at the hotel guaranteed you,” Rachel said, giving Morgan a tender look, and sharing it with his wife, Laura.

  Chase nodded, squeezing Rachel’s shoulder tenderly. “Nine months to the day, she had you, son.”

  Morgan grinned bashfully, looking over at his brother and sister with their spouses. “I was the ten-pound sack of potatoes from what I hear.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes, looking up at Chase. “That you were! I blamed Chase during the forty hours I was in labor.” Morgan resembled Chase most strongly of their two sons. Noah and Aly took after her.

  “Yes,” Chase added blandly, “and my ears have never been the same.”

  The family broke into laughter, and Chase’s grin broadened. “You even taught me some new cuss words.”

  “Chase Trayhern!” Rachel jabbed him lightly in the ribs. “That is a bald-faced contortion of the truth and you know it!”

  Aly leaned forward, fondly looking at the last of the photographs in her album. “Mom, Dad, this has been the best Christmas we’ve ever had.” She shook her head, running her fingers across the thick photo album. “The time it must have taken for you to do this for each of us…”

  Rachel loved her daughter fiercely. Aly was a spitting image of her, in almost every way, just as she had promised Chase so long ago. “Honey, it was a labor of love.”

  “And we enjoyed going back over the memories,” Chase added with feeling.

  “Still,” Noah added, glancing at his wife, Kit, who was holding their two squirming children in her lap, “it was a monumental task. Thanks.”

  Rachel’s gaze moved lovingly around the circle of family that surrounded them. Melody climbed off Kit’s lap, running over to her. Matthew, who was barely two, squirmed out of Kit’s hold, too, following his older sister. Chase leaned down, picking up his red-haired grandson and tucking him tenderly into the crook of his arm.

  “Your father and I want to thank all of you for coming, for sharing this holiday with us,” Rachel said, a catch in her voice. Tears blurred her vision, and Melody reached up, touching the drifting tear curving down her cheek. Giving the little girl a kiss on the brow, Rachel added, “Now, you can begin photo albums for your own children.”

  Kit nodded, giving Noah a wry look. “I don’t think anyone else in the family has to worry about having enough kids for the next generation of the Trayhern dynasty.” She gently patted her belly, giving Rachel and Chase a soft smile. “I’m three months along with our third baby.”

  Rachel heard cries of surprise and saw the joy in everyone’s faces over Kit’s unexpected announcement. Noah and Kit were so happy together. Their love of children was obvious, as it was for each other.

  Morgan cleared his throat, getting everyone’s attention. “Well, I don’t want to brag or anything, but—” he looked down significantly at Laura, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink “—do you want to tell them, sweetheart?”

  Laura shyly looked up, her slender, artistic hands lying lovingly across her stomach. “Morgan…”

  He grinned, pride in his eyes. “Laura’s pregnant.”

  “Wonderful!” Aly cried, clapping her hands in delight. “How soon?”

  Laura smiled up at her husband. “You can’t keep any secrets, can you?”

  Morgan’s grin broadened, and he gripped her hand. “Not on something like this. Mom, Dad, Laura’s going to have our first baby in June of next year. That was going to be our Christmas announcement to everyone. How about that?”

  Chase observed that there were no dry eyes in the house. Morgan had gone through so much hell that he deserved this kind of incredible happiness. “I hope your child will give you as much joy as you did us, Morgan,” he said, meaning it.

  Morgan grew somber, remembering all the entire family had been put through because of him. “Thanks, Dad, that means a lot to me.”

  “Well,” Aly said, grinning, “I don’t have any pregnancy announcements, but Clay and I are going to be transferred next month.” She grinned over to her parents. “Guess where?”

  Rachel gasped. “Here? To Florida?”

  “Yup,” Aly said, satisfaction in her voice. “We’ll be on special assignment with the Coast Guard down at Miami, flying high altitude, locating drug boats in the Caribbean.”

  “It’s a three-year assignment,” Clay added, smiling at his happy wife. “So, I imagine you’ll be seeing us on a pretty regular basis. It’s not too far between here and Clearwater.”

  Chase patted Rachel’s shoulder. The news was all good. He knew how much she missed their children, how much she loved each of them. “I’d say this Christmas gathering has been the best ever. We’ve all come through some hard, trying and dark times.”

  “Together,” Rachel whispered, Melody helping her continue to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “It was the love within the family that brought us all through it.”

  Chase gazed down at his Rachel, loving her more, if that was possible, than he did when he met her on that fateful day so long ago. In his eyes, she hadn’t aged, the spirit of life in her eyes never dimming with the years. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  “I love you,” he whispered, catching her glance filled with incredible tenderness for him alone. “Forever…”

  Excerpt from The Loner

  A loner suffering from PTSD, former Marine Dakota Carson is wary of teaming up with the beautiful Deputy Shelby Wolfe. But when two convicts escape from prison, Shelby’s ability to track them is invaluable, and her healing touch is a balm to the wounded Dakota. Can old wounds heal before it’s too late? Read on for a sneak peek of THE LONER by Lindsay McKenna, coming July 2013 from Harlequin.

  “He’s right about that,” Shelby muttered. “I want to track those two and land their asses back into federal prison like I did before.”

  Dakota respected her decision.
“I’m having a helluva time looking at your natural blond hair and grasping the fact you tracked them down.” Giving her an uneven grin, Dakota added, “That’s a backhanded compliment, Shel. Old dogs like me have to learn new tricks. Tracking isn’t a gender skill. I’m just too used to working with the men of my SEAL team. It just never occurred to me a woman could do it, too.”

  Her shoulders slumped, the tension bleeding out of her. “Tomorrow, we need to start sniffing around, Dakota. I want to find them. My gut tells me they’re going to hole up in the Tetons.”

  Nodding, he said, “Bingo. Welton hid in the mountains of Yellowstone. The last stolen car has put him in our vicinity. We’ll go see Cade tomorrow and start creating a mission plan to locate them.”

  She saw the commitment in his eyes. “Are you really going to sleep outside every night?”

  “Yes. It’s better this way.” For you. For me. He struggled and said, “I don’t like it, but I couldn’t live myself if I harmed you, Shel,” and he held her steady gaze. She was upset and concerned. Not for herself, but for him. His heart opened wide with feelings he’d never felt before. This woman had a SEAL backbone whether she knew it or not. She possessed the same fierce team spirit they did. He wanted to close the space between them and kiss her until she melted into him.

  “Well,” she groused, trying to lighten the tension, “I’ll miss you.”