by Karen Foley
“Sara, I meant what I just said. You were amazing.” He rubbed the back of his knuckles across her cheek. “You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever known and I feel like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet that you asked me to share that fantasy with you.”
She smiled at him, and Rafe felt something shift in his chest. “Really?”
“I never joke about something as serious as sex with a beautiful woman.”
To his relief, she laughed and then leaned forward to press a soft kiss against his mouth.
“How do you always know just the right thing to say and do?” she asked, resting her forehead against his shoulder.
Rafe chuckled and enfolded her in his arms. “You just don’t know me well enough, yet. Trust me, I put my foot in it more than I care to admit. Give me time—I’m sure I’ll say something to irritate the hell out of you.”
Even as he said the words, Rafe realized he did want more time with Sara. He wanted to give her the chance to get to know him better, even his faults, and his tendency to say whatever he thought and damn the consequences. He’d never have believed he was the type of guy who could fall for someone after just one night, but he knew he was in danger of falling hard for Sarah.
“We’ll see,” Sara said, clearly unconvinced. Pulling out of his arms, she rubbed her finger over his mouth. “Sorry. Lipstick.”
As Rafe eased the car back onto the thruway, she tucked her phone into her handbag. “So how often do you do this?”
He couldn’t help but tease her. “What? Convince unsuspecting women to move in with me for a week and then take advantage of them?”
She laughed softly. “No, not that, although I hope I’m the only one you’ve done that to. I mean, how often do you visit the guys at the Walter Reed Medical Center?”
Rafe shrugged. “When I’m here, I try to get over to the hospital a couple of times a week. A lot of those guys don’t have family in this part of the country, so they really appreciate visitors. And they need to know that they haven’t been forgotten.”
“What about you? Were you ever injured?”
“No. I’ve been lucky. My guys and I have had some close calls, but I’m grateful to say that we’ve never lost a team member.”
“Thank goodness,” Sara breathed.
“Here we are,” he said, pulling into the entrance of the medical center. “You’ll see some things here that you’ll find disturbing, even upsetting. But the important thing is not to show pity for these guys, okay? They won’t thank you for it.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“By the same token,” he added, turning into a vacant parking spot and shutting the engine off, “if you find yourself getting overwhelmed, just let me know and we’ll leave. Got it?”
Sara drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Got it.” She gave him a resolute smile. “I’m ready.”
FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS, Sara watched as Rafe moved from hospital room to hospital room, greeting the patients with fist bumps or handshakes. Many of the soldiers knew him by name, and prior to entering each room, Rafe would quietly indicate to her whether the patient was someone he had visited before, or a recent admission to the hospital. He made no distinction as to rank or branch of service, and if Sara hadn’t known better, she would have believed that he was a close personal friend of each patient.
He paused outside one room and caught Sara by the arm to keep her from entering. “This next guy is a unique case. He’s been here for a couple of months, and a bunch of us take turns visiting him to keep his spirits up.”
As they entered the room, Sara saw a man sitting up in his hospital bed with an electronic reader in his hand. He looked up when he heard Rafe’s footsteps, and his face creased into a grin. His head had been shaved and bore the evidence of extensive surgery, with scars criss-crossing his scalp. Beneath the blanket that covered him, Sara realized he was also missing a leg.
“Hey, Delgado,” he said, extending a hand. “Good to see you, man!” He looked over at Sara. “Who’s this you brought with you?”
Rafe drew Sara forward. “I want you to meet a good friend, Sara Sinclair. She’s doing a story for American Man magazine, and I thought she might like to meet a real hero, in the flesh. Sara, this is Corporal Shay Riordan. He and another soldier used their bodies as shields to protect members of their unit when an insurgent on a motorcycle rode by and detonated a bomb.”
Shay gave Rafe a disgruntled look. “Damn it, Delgado, I’m no hero. You would have done the same thing. Any one of my team would have done the same thing.
We just happened to see the son of a bitch first and realized what he was up to.” He extended a hand to Sara. “I’m pleased to meet you, Ms. Sinclair.”
“Sara,” she murmured. “Call me Sara.”
“How is Kim doing?” Rafe asked, indicating a photo on his bedside table.
Shay sighed and shifted restlessly. “She’s doing good. Getting impatient, I suspect. I just wish I could be there with her.” He looked at Sara. “My wife is expecting our first baby in about five weeks. I haven’t seen her because her pregnancy is considered high-risk and she can’t travel.” He gave a short laugh. “So here we are, both confined to bed on opposite sides of the country.”
“I’m so sorry you can’t be together,” Sara murmured.
Shay shrugged. “At least I’m alive, and I know I’ll be home in time to see our baby born. Nothing else matters.”
There was a momentary silence in the room as they considered his words.
“Hey, did I thank you yet for the laptop?” Shay asked.
Rafe shook his head. “When did it arrive?”
“A couple of days ago.” Leaning over the side of his bed, he lifted a silver laptop from his bedside table and set it across his thighs. “The Semper Fi Fund got this for me,” he said, glancing at Sara. “It has a built-in webcam and lets my wife and I Skype each other at least a couple of times each day. It’s almost as good as being there. Here, I’ll show you.”
Sara watched as he opened an application and keyed in a code. After a moment, he looked up with a sheepish expression. “She’s probably sleeping. She’s not online, so she doesn’t realize I’m trying to call.”
“That’s okay,” Rafe said with a grin. “She probably wouldn’t want to see a bunch of strangers staring back at her, anyway.”
“Nah, she knows all about you. I told her that you’re like family.”
Rafe was quiet for a moment, but Sara could see that the other man’s words had moved him. “Thanks, bro,” he finally said, taking the corporal’s hand in a firm grip. “I appreciate that. How long before they send you home?”
“With luck, my prosthetic will be ready by the end of the week. I’ll need a couple of weeks of therapy to get used to walking with it, and then I’ll be on my way.”
“That’s terrific. I’ll be by in a few days to check out the new leg, okay?”
Shay grinned. “Sounds good.”
As they left the room, Sara risked a glance at Rafe. “He seems to be in good spirits.”
Rafe nodded in satisfaction. “Yeah, he’s come a long way since he first got here. The doctors didn’t expect him to survive. He was in a coma for weeks, and they thought if he did pull through he’d have profound brain damage.”
“He seems fine.”
“He will be.”
“So whose idea was it to get him the laptop?”
“The Semper Fi Fund provided one for him and one for his wife.”
They were walking toward the entrance of the hospital, when a nurse called to them from a nearby nursing station.
“Sergeant Delgado,” she enthused. She was a pretty woman with sleek dark hair and eyes that practically devoured him on the spot. She swept Sara with one swift glance and then turned her attention back to Rafe. “I’m sorry I missed you the other day, but the flowers you sent arrived.”
Sara arched a questioning look at Rafe, but he just smiled easily at the other woman. “Great.”
“So…when will you be back?”
Rafe took Sara’s elbow and steered her past the woman, toward the exit. “In a couple of days. See you then.”
“Bye.”
Sara didn’t look back, but she was sure that if she did, she’d see the woman preening in the corridor.
“You bought her flowers?” she asked in a low voice, trying hard not to sound jealous but knowing she failed.
Rafe gave her a tolerant look. “No. I sent flowers to a certain female private who is recovering from injuries and I thought they would cheer her up.”
“Oh.”
They left the hospital and Rafe didn’t release her arm as they walked back to the car. Sara was acutely conscious of his strong fingers, and couldn’t help but recall what his hands were capable of doing to her. When they reached his car, instead of opening her door, Rafe pushed her up against it, following with the hard length of his body.
“I’ve wanted to do this for the past three hours,” he muttered, bracketing her face in his palms. Bending his head, he claimed her mouth in a kiss that was both primal and possessive. Sara sagged weakly against him as he pushed past her lips and mated his tongue to hers. The car door was cold and hard at her back, but Rafe’s body was warm and muscled and strong. Sliding her hands inside his open jacket, Sara reveled in his heat and returned his kiss with an abandon that might have shocked her just two days ago. But Rafe had an ability to make her lose her composure with little more than a look.
Rafe pulled away first, stepping back from the car. “That’ll do until I get you home,” he said with a wicked grin, and handed her into the passenger seat.
Sara watched as he rounded the hood of the sports car and eased behind the wheel. Her heart was still thudding in her chest and her mouth felt slightly bruised from the force of his kiss. His words caused a riot of emotions to surge through her. Anticipation. Confusion. And apprehension, because Sara suspected that spending too much time in Rafe Delgado’s company could be very dangerous to her heart.
They drove in silence as Sara thought about all the people they had visited that day, and what it meant to them to have someone like Rafe in their lives. If she hadn’t already known about his involvement with the Semper Fi Fund, she would have had a tough time believing it. She had the sense that despite the fact he worked as part of a team, he was a little bit of a loner.
“You visit a lot of friends at the hospital,” she finally said, breaking the silence. “So what about when you’re home?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you said you’re on leave for a couple of weeks, and I just wondered who visits you when you’re home.”
He gave her a knowing smile as he maneuvered his way through the streets. “Are you asking if I have a girlfriend?”
Sara started, appalled. “No! Of course not.” She looked suspiciously at him. “Why? Do you?”
He laughed and shook his head, and Sara felt a wave of relief at his response. He didn’t have a girlfriend. Realistically, she knew she didn’t have any claim on this man—even she wasn’t naive enough to think that one night of incredible sex meant anything—but after spending the afternoon with him and seeing the time and care he took with the injured soldiers, she realized she wanted to know him better. And yes, she had been jealous when the nurse had tried to flirt with him.
“Okay, well that’s good. I mean, I can’t imagine a girlfriend would approve of you inviting me—a complete stranger—to spend the week with you.” Never mind the hot sex.
“Sara,” he interrupted. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Right.” She drew in a deep breath and looked away, afraid he might see her immense relief. “What about family? Do you have any family in the area?”
“Actually, I don’t. My mother lives in Vermont and I have a sister in New York, but nobody in the D.C. area. Unless you count my Marine Corps buddies. They’re pretty much my family both here and when I’m deployed.”
Sara looked at him in surprise. She’d assumed he was from the Virginia area. But if his mother lived in Vermont, there was a likelihood that he’d lived there, too. “Do you see your mother and sister very often?”
He shrugged. “I try to get up there when I can.”
“Is that where you were raised? In Vermont?”
“Yeah. My mom was a single parent and she ran a little shop in downtown Burlington.” He glanced over at her. “I can see why you chose journalism as a career. You ask a lot of questions. What about you? When I first met you, I thought you seemed out of place here. Was I wrong?”
Sara looked down at her hands. “No. I was raised in a small town in central Pennsylvania. My parents were horrified when I told them I was going to live in Washington, D.C.” She gave a small laugh as she recalled her mother’s reaction. “My mom doesn’t trust cities. She’s still convinced that I’ll be taken advantage of in every way possible.”
Rafe slanted her one dark, heated look. “Well, the day is still young,” he said. “One can always hope.”
11
THIRTY MINUTES LATER they reached Rafe’s house. As he pulled into his neighborhood, Sara didn’t miss how he carefully scanned the surrounding streets and his property for any signs that they might have been followed. But after parking the car, he all but dragged her into the house, not even waiting to remove their jackets before he hauled her into his arms.
“Christ, you feel good,” he growled against her throat, his hands smoothing over her body to cup her bottom and pull her against him. His mouth seared a trail along her neck before he took her earlobe between his teeth and bit gently, causing shivers of sensation to chase across Sara’s skin.
“You’re wearing too many layers,” he complained, and began unbuttoning her jacket, pushing the heavy garment from her shoulders to fall to the floor behind her.
Sara laughed unsteadily, but was cut short as he crushed her mouth to his own, angling her head for better access. Her hand slid upward over his arm to the slope of his shoulder, admiring the flex of muscle beneath the supple leather of his jacket. He deepened the kiss, licking at the inside of her mouth even as he began working on the tiny buttons of her blouse.
A heaviness swamped her limbs, and she clutched him around the neck, leaning into him and returning his kiss with equal intensity. She was only vaguely aware of Rafe slipping one hand behind her back to unfasten her bra and push it down, before cool air wafted across her bare skin. Then he dragged his lips from hers and bent his head to draw one nipple into his warm, wet mouth. The combination of heat and moisture sent an electric current to her groin, where she was already damp with need.
“I need— I want—”
Rafe didn’t finish his thought. Instead, he moved her backwards until her bottom came into contact with the oversized arm of the leather sofa. Leaning over her, Rafe continued to torment her breasts with his mouth, laving first one and then the other with his tongue while his free hand deftly worked the snap of her slacks.
“Take these off,” he muttered against her skin.
Sara didn’t have the will to protest, not when his black eyes were so intent and his mouth and hands worked magic on her body. She complied eagerly, kicking her shoes off and helping him work the material over her hips and down the length of her legs until she wore only her panties. Her shirt fell open beneath his hands as he straightened enough to rake his gaze over her.
Sara was only vaguely aware that she felt no self-consciousness. Instead, she felt incredibly sexy as he peeled his leather jacket off and let it fall next to hers on the floor. Boldly, she reached out, caught him by his belt and pulled him toward her. His breathing was ragged.
“Now you’re the one with too many clothes on,” she said. Her voice sounded husky, even to her own ears. She fumbled with his belt. “Take this off.”
His hands covered hers and he helped her to undo the buckle before she pushed his fingers aside, dragging his zipper down and cupping him through the fabric of his boxers. He w
as hard and hot and pulsing against her palm and Sara felt an answering throb of need between her legs. Sliding her legs to either side of his thighs, she drew him closer, until he was pressed against her center.
“This is where I want you,” she whispered, and emphasized her words with a soft grinding of her hips against his.
Rafe groaned and leaned over her, kissing her deeply as he eased her back so that she reclined at an angle with her hips up on the arm of the sofa.
Rafe straightened and withdrew his wallet from his back pocket. Sara saw his hands were a little unsteady as he pulled a condom out and tore it open with his teeth. Her mouth went dry as he released himself from his boxers and covered his erection.
“You’re so damned gorgeous,” he rasped. “I’m sorry, but I can’t wait…”
“I don’t want you to,” Sara breathed, and watched in fascination as he swiftly drew her panties over her hips and down the length of her legs until she was gloriously bare. She found herself excited by the fact that while she was almost completely naked, he was still semi-clothed. She caught her breath as he deliberately drew his finger along her throbbing flesh.
“Oh,” she gasped and raised her hips, silently inviting more of the delicious contact.
“Soon,” he promised, parting her folds and using his thumb to swirl moisture over her clitoris. “You’re so wet, so responsive.”
“It’s you,” Sara said, panting. “You do this to me.”
The sensation of his fingers against her aroused flesh was almost more than she could take, and she heard herself moan softly. As if he knew she couldn’t hold on much longer, Rafe grasped her ankles and pushed her knees back and then wide, opening her to him.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he rasped, and nudged himself just inside the entrance to her body. “I can’t go slow.”
Before Sara could tell him it was okay—that she didn’t want him to go slow—he surged forward in one smooth movement and buried himself deeply inside her. Sara gasped and her head fell back against the sofa. He filled her completely, and the sensation of his hard length inside her was almost unbearable. He moved in a series of bone-melting thrusts and stroked his hands over her ribcage to cup her breasts, gently squeezing her nipples until she arched upward with a strangled cry of pleasure.