As he slipped out of her, they broke apart. He half expected her to grab her clothes and run, much as she had been wanting to for so much of the night. But instead she yanked down the covers and scooted to the center of the bed. When she patted the space beside her, he was there in a second.
He eased in next to her and rested his head on one hand, gazing at her as she laid against the mounds of pillows.
The moonlight spilled into the room, but didn't quite reach the bed. It was still light enough, however, for him to see her face. Her eyes were closed and a smile lingered on her lips.
The urge hit him again to feel that smile and he traced the edges of it with his index finger before trailing it down the side of her face and to the top of her shoulder.
The hint of smoother skin and a slight ridge of scar stopped him.
Her eyes snapped open as she said, “Don't.”
Chapter 9
Tension filled every cell of Jasmine's body at his touch along the topmost edge of her wounds.
As she met his gaze, she realized he understood. He slowly shifted his hand back and cradled her cheek. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to . . . .”
He paused, clearly uncertain of what to say, much like she was in uncharted territory. She hadn't planned on becoming involved with a man so soon. Hadn't imagined how to handle someone seeing her ruined body.
“It's okay. Just don't touch, okay,” she said and then quickly added, “Please.” He hadn't meant to trespass and truth be told, she had liked her time with him so far.
“I won't, Jasmine. I understand,” he said, only he couldn't. He couldn't understand what it was to look at yourself and see those wounds. Or worse, look at yourself and not understand what was going on inside your head when fear took over and nothing, absolutely nothing, could make it right.
“I'm tired,” she said, only it wasn't just about getting sleep. She was tired of the constant battle inside her lately. A battle that had left her for a moment when she had lost herself with him.
He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her close, tucking her against his body. He dropped a kiss on her forehead and said, “Get some rest. I'll be here for you.”
She didn't know how he'd known that she needed that. That she needed not to be alone for a change. She was grateful for it. “Thank you, Tommy,” she said and brushed a kiss at a spot over his heart.
He tightened his hold on her, but it was a protective pressure. His solid bulk next to her was comforting and she allowed herself to finally let go and just be.
Peace settled over her and little-by-little, she drifted to sleep.
* * *
The nightmare came to her as it always did, fast and brutally real.
Her heart pounded as the memories filled her brain. The sights and smells of the burning buildings and broken bodies scattered about their medical station.
The staccato rat-tat-tat of weapons fire as they held their ground, fighting back the seemingly endless parade of Taliban coming at them over the hillside.
Just a little longer, she thought as she crouched low and moved from one injured man to another, trying to keep them alive until reinforcements arrived.
Something whistled by her head. A bullet had barely missed her, but she still kept at her job, applying a pressure bandage against the wound in Jase's side to stem the flow of blood. “You're going to be okay,” she said to him as he grimaced.
“Thanks, Doc. Hand me my gun.”
After she handed him the rifle, the lieutenant awkwardly shifted to his side and joined the battle again.
Another bullet whizzed by her head and then another, like murderous mosquitoes wanting to take a bite, but she pushed on until she reached another of the wounded Marines. As his sightless gaze met hers, she realized she was too late. She closed his eyes, grabbed his rifle, and hunkered down behind the protection of the armored vehicle the dead Marine had been driving. Searching the battle scene, she accounted for all the wounded and noted where she had to go next.
A brief lull in the shooting provided an opportunity to move.
She dashed out from behind the protection of the vehicle and was greeted by searing pain along her upper arm. Ducking behind the corner of a building, she realized she was hit. Luckily only grazed.
She pushed on to a Marine a few feet away and worked quickly to dress the man's wounds. Just as she finished, Jase and Trevor, his second-in-command, arrived at her side.
“How bad is it, Doc?” Jase said.
“Three dead. Another six wounded, two critically.”
Jase nodded and looked toward the building they'd been using as a field hospital. He jerked his chin in that direction. “What about in there?”
“Minor casualties. My corpsmen are taking care of them. How much longer before reinforcements arrive?” They'd already been fighting for over an hour and were heavily outnumbered, both in terms of manpower and munitions.
“Half-an-hour,” Trevor answered.
Half-an-hour that would seem like forever, she thought as she met Jase's worried gaze.
“I'm not going to ask if you can fire that thing.” He gestured to the weapon she had grabbed earlier.
“Where do you need me?”
“Right – ”
The deafening roar from an explosion just feet away drowned out his words as a rain of fire showered over them and sharp bits of shrapnel bit into their bodies.
Jasmine screamed as pain exploded across her shoulder and back and the stench of burning hair and flesh filled her nostrils.
“Hot, so hot,” she said over and over as she rolled on the ground, trying to put out the flames searing her skin.
* * *
The sudden jerk of her body woke Tommy.
He barely had time to react before Jasmine's pained cries filled the night air.
She rolled side-to-side, repeating the same word over and over. “Hot, so hot.”
He gently took hold of her arms to try and calm her, but she started to fight against him while repeating that word all the time.
“It's okay, Jasmine. Let me help you.”
She shook her head and tears filled her eyes. “So, hot, Tommy. Hurts.”
He nodded. “Let's cool you off, babe.” At her nod, he lifted her from the bed in one swift move strode outside and to the pool where he walked down the steps until they were covered up to their shoulders in the cool crystalline water.
She started shivering and clung to him, burying her head against his neck. “S-s-s-orry.”
He held her tightly and moved back until he could sit on the steps and cradle her in his lap. Tenderly he smoothed his hands up and down her back, offering her comfort in the only way he could. Long moments passed before she had stopped shaking and before she realized that in his comforting, he had touched the scars on her body.
She pulled away slightly and he kept up his comforting caress, but only traced the edges of the wounds she had suffered. Aware of his actions, she shot him a half glance beneath lowered lids and said, “They're ugly.”
“Would you mind if I look?” he said and moved his fingers just a little more, skirting across more of the scars, his touch gentle.
“Why?”
“Because the only thing that matters to me is that you're here now, safe and sound.”
She shook her head violently. “Not sound. I feel like I'm in pieces only some of them are missing.”
He bent his head down so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. “Like a broken puzzle?”
Tears filled her eyes again and she nodded, bit back a choked sob.
He swept one hand around to cradle her cheek and wipe away the tears. In soft tones, he said, “I've always been good with puzzles.”
His comment dragged the first hint of a smile to her face. “You think you can put me back together?”
He grinned. “I think you can do it. All the pieces are there, Jasmine. But if you want my help – ”
“I do,” she said suddenly, and almost seemed surpr
ised by her own admission.
“I'm here for you,” he said and kissed her.
* * *
His kiss was gentle, almost tentative. Nothing at all like the determined and needy ways they had taken each other earlier that night.
As she eased back to search his features, she realized that as he had before, he was letting her be in control. Letting her decide how this would go.
That he would relinquish control only proved how strong and confident he was with himself, but also with her.
Inside her something shifted and came together, like the pieces of a puzzle finally fitting together. Like a wound finally starting to heal.
And it was all because of this sexy, confident, and playful man who was gazing at her with such intensity, it took her breath away.
“You okay?” he asked and cradled her face in his strong hands.
“More okay than I've been in a long time,” she said and ran her hands all across his face and shoulders, loving him with her touch. Moving them across that broad chest and lean abdomen to his cock.
He jumped as she wrapped her hand around him. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I am and since you're so good with puzzles, I think you know where this piece goes,” she teased.
With a lopsided boyish grin, he said, “I think I might.”
She shifted to straddle him and he guided her hips down toward him, but held back from that final joining.
“I don't want to rush. I want to explore every piece of you, Jasmine. Know every part so we fit together perfectly.”
As if to prove his point, he cupped her breasts and lazily skimmed his thumbs across tips made hard from the cold of the water.
“I'd like that.”
He leaned forward and kissed her, opening his mouth to dance his tongue with hers while caressing her breasts, tweaking and pulling the tips between his thumb and forefinger.
She stroked his dick, feeling it harden and lengthen with every sure pass of her hand. Wanting to have him inside her, but Tommy was in no rush as he'd said.
He took his time making love to her with that amazing mouth, breaking away from their kiss only to dip his head head down and lick and suck her nipples. Every little tug had her insides clenching with need until she just couldn't wait anymore.
The hairs on his leg were slightly rough against his slick wet skin as she slid forward and then eased him within.
A contented sigh escaped her as his fullness filled her.
“God, you feel good,” he said huskily and kissed a sensitive spot just beneath her ear. With a frisky nuzzle that had her scrunching her neck, he left a trail of love bites down her neck and across the first rough ridge of scar on her upper shoulder.
She tensed then, but he kissed the spot and whispered, “This is just another piece of the puzzle, Jasmine.”
As if to prove his point, he skimmed his fingers up to that spot and delicately ran them across her shoulder and down her arm to twine his fingers with hers.
He met her gaze and said, “That wasn't so bad, was it?”
No, it hadn't been bad at all, she thought and smiled. Mimicking his actions, she ran the back of her hand up his chest and across the broad line of his shoulder. Skimmed it down the muscled lines of his triceps and biceps to join her fingers with his.
He brought their joined hands to her hips and locked his gaze on her face. “Ride me, Jasmine. I need to feel you move on me. I need you to make me come.”
She didn't hesitate, needing it also. She rocked her hips against his, slowly at first, drawing him in and out. The contrast of his heat and the cold of the water surrounding them adding to the sensations sweeping over her body.
As her movements became more intense as she sought release, he grabbed hold of her hips and guided her, helping her move. Urging her on with his rough groans and softly worded requests.
“Your tits are so sweet, babe. Touch them for me.”
She cradled her breasts and played with them, tugging and pulling on the hard nubs. A moment later he brought his mouth to them and sucked on them and her fingers, drawing them deep into his mouth. Teething and biting the tips which made her cry out in pleasure-pain.
The pool water slapped and jumped against their bodies as they moved ever more urgently toward a release. As he pumped his hips into her and suckled her tits, he dropped one hand down to find her clit and started working the sensitive nub.
Sensations buffeted her body until with one powerful upward thrust of his hips, she shattered in his arms.
* * *
Tommy groaned as her climax tightened her pussy around his cock and milked him.
As she arched her back and ground down against him, he thrust into her again and again, seeking his own release. Lost in the feel of her surrounding him and of her strong body cradling him close.
He was on the edge, just barely holding on when she lowered her head and grazed her teeth along the ridge of his shoulder and toward the sensitive skin on his neck. He shook and started to come apart as she opened her mouth on him and bit down gently.
“Fuck, Jasmine. Put your mouth on me,” he said, suddenly excited by the thought.
She licked across the spot she'd just bit and his cock swelled even harder with anticipation.
“You taste so good, Tommy. So good,” she said and ran her tongue all along the hard muscle there to prove her point. When she bit down, the slight sting of it pushed him over the edge.
He held her tight to him, digging his hands into the soft flesh of her hips, pushing deep inside as he came. The muscles of her pussy caressed and milked him as she sucked hard on his neck, marking him. Making him hers.
Spent, he leaned back against the stairs of the pool and took her with him, wrapping his arms around her. Smoothing his hand up and down her back as the remnants of their release ebbed.
With the heat of passion gone, the chill of the water and the night air drove them back indoors.
Tommy carried her in and let her slip down his body by the edge of the bed. “I'll get some towels,” he said and hurried to the bathroom.
She had her back to him when he returned and he stopped short, unprepared for the sight of her scars.
She tensed as she became aware of what had happened, but didn't face him. “Not quite the piece of the puzzle you expected, right?” she said.
Chapter 10
Jasmine held her breath, waiting for his answer. Berating herself for so losing her guard around him that she hadn't given a thought to what he might see. How he might react.
She held her ground, shivering from the cool of the air conditioning on her wet skin and fear.
It was just a one night stand anyway, she told herself, preparing for the worst, but deep in her soul, she couldn't deny that Tommy had touched her emotionally and that she had started hoping that their one special night might turn into something more.
She heard the soft pad of his bare feet and a moment later, he was wrapping a towel and his arms around her and drawing her against his chest. The soft touch of his mouth swept along the almost normal top ridge of her shoulder. Then he tenderly kissed his way down and across the scars left by the flames and shrapnel from the explosion.
He trailed more kisses back up to the crook of her neck. “I wish I could take this pain away,” he whispered.
The walls she had built inside her to hold back the pain and memories came tumbling down with his words and actions.
She turned and buried her face in his chest. Grabbed hold of him because he was a lifeline in the storm of emotions buffeting her. He held her as she cried and the pain fell away and was replaced by the peace of his arms. When her tears stopped, he scooped her up in his arms again and took the few steps to the bed. He laid her down gently and then joined her, his arms still wrapped around her, offering comfort.
“Let's get some rest. It'll be morning soon,” he said.
“Thank you, Tommy.”
He kissed her forehead and in soft tones said, “I should be th
anking you, Jasmine.”
She sat up a little and gazed down at him. “Why?”
He shrugged. “You saved my best friend and in a way, you saved me.”
Confused, she pressed him to explain. “I don't get it.”
“My ex did a number on me. She made me feel like what I had to give just wasn't enough, but I know now that I wasn't the problem.”
She confirmed it with nod. “No, you weren't. In just one night, you've given me more than I ever could have expected.”
A hint of a boyish grin crept back onto his face. “Imagine what I could give you if we had more than one night together.”
Joy swept through her, shocking her into silence for a number of hesitant heartbeats. As he narrowed his gaze and examined her, obviously hopeful, she finally answered.
“I'd like that. A lot.”
The kiss that followed mirrored the joy, hopefulness, and fun that was so much a part of him. Emotions that she hoped to embrace and make a part of her for the future.
* * *
Three months later
“Thank you for your service, Chief Petty Officer Reyes,” the Navy doctor said and saluted her as she stood by the door.
She saluted back smartly and said, “Thank you, Captain.”
The man broke protocol then to hug her hard. “You take care of yourself, Jasmine.”
Before she could say anything else, he hurried away down the hall.
Jasmine peered around the lobby of the base hospital, watching the familiar beehive of activity as personnel came and went. Once she left, she'd be stepping into a new, and possibly unfamiliar, world.
Whirling, she pushed through the doors and paused a moment to take her peaked cap from under her arm and put on her cover as regulations demanded. It might be her last day, but for that short walk to her car and off the base, she was still a Navy Corpsman.
To her surprise, as she approached her vehicle Tommy was standing there, a bunch of bright red carnations, her favorites, in his hands.
She looked around for his car, a Corvette as bright a red as the flowers, but it was nowhere to be seen.
As she walked up to him, he said, “I decided to surprise you.” He held the flowers out to her and she hugged them to her chest and inhaled the spicy scent of the carnations.
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