by Petrova, Em
Gunner didn’t answer his question right away. He watched the gears of the equipment move as Walker lifted hundreds of pounds.
Walker gave a short laugh. “I’ll take that silence as a yes.”
“I don’t know how it happened. We’ve hardly talked and when we have, it’s about my injury.” He raised his boot in demonstration.”
“But you want her to be someone special.”
Gunner pushed out a breath. Admitting it to anyone would make it real, but he couldn’t lie to Walker. “I’d like her to be someone special. Trouble is, I can’t get her alone for long and when I do, she’s resistant.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like you.”
Gunner thought back on the moments when they’d stared into each other’s eyes and he’d noted so many of the signs of attraction on Abigail. Increased pulse, dilated pupils, flushed cheeks. “No, she’s interested. She just feels she can’t act on it.”
“Or she’s been burned.” Walker grunted as he did a chest fly with enough weight to harm most other men.
Gunner stopped at the words. “I hadn’t thought of that.” The idea of someone hurting Abigail made him want to blow shit up.
“Oh no. I know that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“I was in Syria with you, remember? Look, I could be totally off and your lady isn’t burned at all. Maybe she’s just a stickler for the rules and really won’t date soldiers.”
Gunner pushed a breath out through his nose. Now that the idea was planted in his brain, he knew it was the case with Abigail. As much as she had the signs of attraction to Gunner, she also had those of a gun-shy woman. Nervousness when he was close to her, pulling away from his touch as if he’d scalded her.
Hell, now he really wanted to blow shit up.
“I’m not sure how to find her to even learn if this is the case or not.”
“Where’s she work?”
“Triage.”
“Ah, your foot.” Walker ended his reps and stood to stretch out the kinks. Gunner grabbed a towel and swiped at his face and rubbed it through his hair. Then he tossed a fresh towel at his friend. Walker caught it and did the same.
“Yeah, my foot. But the stitches come out in two days and I won’t have a reason to go back and see her again.”
Walker arched a brow. “I’m sure you can think of something, Gunner. I’ve been in battle with you enough to know how resourceful you can be.”
***
Knox’s stare could melt her—was melting her. She peeked at him from the corner of her eye. He looked amazing today, his T-shirt fitting perfectly along his carved torso and his pants hanging oh, so low. Tattoos stood out against his tanned skin.
No, she firmly told herself. While he was a gorgeous man, she wasn’t going there. She’d never date another soldier.
Knife in hand, she held it over the box of supplies. Shipments came in weekly, and she was usually on duty when they did. She didn’t mind the busy work between patients. But today she wasn’t getting much done because the soldier wheeling in the boxes was Knox.
He seemed to be in good form, not grimacing as he worked, which was a relief to her. She hated seeing anybody in pain, but something about him had hit her in a soft spot.
He and Gunner both.
She’d been trying to separate them in her mind, but since they’d popped into her life at the same time and neither seemed to have plans of leaving, she thought of them the same way.
“Here, let me do that.” Knox reached over her and plucked the knife from her hand. In one sleek glide, he slit the box top to reveal foam peanuts.
God, his scent was amazing. Did he shower in the same place the other guys did? Because he smelled as though he’d come out of a freshwater lake.
The image blazed through her mind, and she glanced at him from beneath her lashes.
“You smell good,” he said quietly near her ear, echoing what she’d been thinking about him.
“Thank you.” She wanted to step away—needed to. But he was a magnet and she was metal. She wanted to move closer.
“What do you do with your free time? Maybe you’d want to get a drink with me?”
“No, she wouldn’t.” The deep, gritty tone speared through Abigail like the knife Knox had taken from her. Every hair on her body stood up and took notice of the man who’d entered the room even though she hadn’t looked at him yet.
Slowly, she turned. Knox didn’t move away and tried to barricade Gunner from seeing her.
“What the fuck’re you doing here, Knox?”
“Light duty, remember? I’m hauling in supplies for Abigail.”
Gunner looked around the brick wall of man and met Abigail’s stare. Something hot and bright flared inside her, like a firework in the night sky. She scooted out from behind Knox in order to get a closer look at the man who could make her feel such things. Knox was handsome and his attention felt good.
But Gunner…
Her body came alive whenever he was near.
“Why the fuck are you here?” Knox shot back Gunner’s own words.
“Having my stitches removed today. So get lost so I can have a moment with Abigail.”
The way he said that didn’t sound as though he were concerned about having her undivided attention while she removed his stitches. A shiver passed through her.
“Guys, you know I can’t have this kind of chest-thumping here. So Knox, why don’t you keep doing your job while I see to Gunner’s foot?”
They glared at each other, ignoring her.
Tension rolled off them in waves, and she stepped between them. Heat washed over her front and back made her dizzy, but she managed to say, “Break it up. Take this argument elsewhere if you must, but this isn’t the place.”
“I’ll see ya around,” Gunner shot out as Abigail grabbed his arm and forced him to follow her into a space far on the opposite side of the triage unit.
The minute Gunner hitched himself on the table, he caught her hand and looked deep into her eyes. She felt as if she was falling and if he weren’t holding onto her, she might have tipped right into his arms.
“I don’t like that asshole near you.”
“He’s just doing his job.” Her mind caught up to her body’s reactions and she pulled free. Putting space between them, she started to round up the supplies she’d need to tend to his foot.
“I don’t like him. He’s got designs on you.”
She swung around, her brow raised. “And you don’t?”
He cracked a crooked smile, and her heart did a wild flutter in response. “Is that a bad thing?”
“It’s a forbidden thing. I could get in trouble. Besides, I don’t date soldiers.”
He hopped off the bed and closed the distance between them. In two steps his big body hemmed her in against the row of cabinets where supplies were kept. She had to crane her neck all the way back to look at him, but that was a mistake. He was so close, his lips so tormenting, and he was leaning closer by the second.
“Gunner.” She placed her hands on his chest to stop him—or maybe to reel him in?
“That’s right—you don’t date soldiers. But you’ll date one soldier: Me.”
“I-I can’t.” With a supreme force of will, she slipped out of his hold and moved away from him.
“Tell me why.”
“I don’t mesh with soldiers. The whole lifestyle, the attitude. It’s not for me.”
“And you know this because you dated some?” His eyes were so soft that she relented to his questioning.
“Yes,” she said softly.
“They were the wrong guys, Abigail. You deserve someone who will treat you right. Who will use his strength to protect you not overpower you. And who is enough man to keep your roving spirit tamed.”
She gasped. “How did you know?”
He looked at her—into her—so deeply that she had no choice but to let a shudder pass through her. “Because I know you, Abigail. I don’t know how, but
I just look at you and it’s as if we’ve known each other forever. Don’t you feel the same?”
A crash in the other room. She started, and they looked at each other.
She rushed out of the space with Gunner on her heels. When she reached the place where Knox had been leaving the boxes, one of the stacks had toppled over. Foam peanuts were everywhere and something—glass by the sounds of it—had shattered inside one box. A liquid was spreading on the cardboard, and she quickly grabbed a pair of gloves to take care of it.
“Let me,” Gunner said, pushing past her.
“No, I’m trained to deal with this stuff. You should leave. It might be a hazardous substance.”
“And you can stay?” Knox asked, kneeling to pick up some of the boxes. “No way.”
“Guys, please let me do my job. This alpha act is getting old with me, and you’re both hindering me from my work.”
A dark look crossed Gunner’s features, and she knew he was feeling some strong emotion. Of course he wouldn’t admit as much.
He straightened and nodded. “Listen to the nurse, private. Get out of here and let her do her job.”
Knox puffed out his chest. “You first.”
She rolled her eyes. At her feet, the puddle of liquid was growing and about to touch her shoes. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but it had a sickly sweet scent like codeine. Not toxic but she needed to clean it up and make note that the box had fallen and the contents shattered.
“Just go, both of you. Gunner, grab Trina on your way out. She’ll see to your stitches.”
He hesitated, and she could see he wanted to say more.
“Please,” she said.
Knox, hearing the desperation in her voice, gave her a wave and left. Gunner took another couple of seconds to listen, but eventually he went out of the area, leaving her on her own with a mess and her thoughts.
Chapter Four
Abigail was going to have to transfer to another job if this kept up. She could barely turn around without a big, hunky soldier in her path. Her demand for both Gunner and Knox to leave had lasted all of a day before they’d returned.
Knox had come in with another assignment, he said. And Gunner had come in with a pulled shoulder muscle. She had a feeling it was faked, but of course it meant sitting him down and getting his shirt off.
She’d gone home after her shift, taken off all her clothes and masturbated to thoughts of his steely muscle under her hands while their tongues tangled and he slid his cock into her needy pussy.
“What are you doing here?” she asked Knox.
His broad back was presented to her, but at her voice, he turned, revealing that he was holding a small bag with a coffeehouse logo on it. The Rise and Grind had the best donuts, and she from the smell, she knew what his gift was. He extended the bag to her.
“Oh Knox. My favorite.” She accepted the bag and brought it to her nose. Inhaling the sweet fragrance, she tried to suppress the leap of her heart she felt at receiving his gift and special attention. She shouldn’t like it, but she’d been so lonely lately.
“You spend too much time holed up in this place, Abigail.”
“It’s my work.”
He stepped up to her, cupping her chin in his hand. Compared to his rough, long fingers, she felt like spun glass. His gaze burned into hers. “Did someone hurt you, sweetheart?”
Was she that obvious that both he and Gunner would pick up on it?
“It was a long time ago.” She looked away.
“Go out with me. You need to be made to feel like the woman you are again. I’ll be by to get you at the end of your shift. We’ll walk down to the Fox Hole and have a drink.”
Getting out did sound appealing. Sometimes she and Trina went for drinks but lately their schedules hadn’t been meshing. It was either go out with Knox or go home and watch boring reruns.
She felt herself nodding. “All right.”
He caressed the point of her chin with his thumb before releasing her. “Good. I’ll see you then.”
For the next few hours of her shift, she wondered if she should cancel. She talked herself out of going at least a dozen times, but when Knox showed up to take her, she couldn’t say no.
“Give me a minute,” she said. She went into the restroom and set her bag on the countertop. She usually brought a change of clothes and shoes because she hated running errands in her nurse’s attire, and luckily she had a change today. She took off her scrubs and slipped on a sundress and a pair of ballet flats. Then she fluffed her hair, applied some face powder and lastly, a smear of bright lipstick.
Funny, I FEEL like a woman again.
Smiling at her reflection, she went out of the restroom to find Knox waiting for her. Arms crossed, biceps bulging. It felt good to have a gorgeous man on her arm. She shouldn’t be going out with a soldier at all, but he was more harmless to her than Gunner. That man was pure trouble to her heart.
Knox offered her his arm, and she took it with a smile. Together they went out of the building into the sunlight. The Army base had its own smell, like trees and hot pavement. When she’d first come here, she’d been stunned to find the place so huge. It was its own city and covered several counties.
“I have my motorcycle on the grounds but it seems nicer to walk if you’re up for it,” he said.
She envisioned him with solid steel between his thighs, shirtless, his tattoos standing out in the sunlight. Shaking herself from the daydream, she nodded. “Walking is good.”
The Fox Hole wasn’t far, and the evening wasn’t too hot. She welcomed the sun on her face and bare arms.
“You look beautiful,” he said in his deep tone.
“Thank you. I’m glad you asked me to come.”
“See? A woman like you doesn’t always know what’s good for her.”
“And you do?” She should be annoyed at how high-handed he sounded, but his words intrigued her. Sometimes she did overwork herself and forget her basic needs. Like human interaction and fresh air.
“You’re having a good time, right?” he asked with a waggle of his brows that made her laugh.
“Yes, this is nice.”
They passed people on the sidewalk, but Knox didn’t speak to any of them or acknowledge them.
“How long have you been on base?” she asked.
“A year. They’re talking about deploying my platoon again.”
Her heart sank a little. “Really? When and where?”
“Syria again. Two hundred paratroopers, by the sounds of it.”
“Should you be telling me this? Is it confidential information?”
He skimmed his fingers over her hand where it was tucked into the crook of his arm. “I’m cleared to share that much. But I might be gone by the end of the month.”
“I’d hate to see you go.” Some soldiers never returned, and that scared her.
He looked down at her, a crease between his brows. “I’d write to you. And call.”
“Yes, you could,” she said at once. The morale of the troops was as important to their well-being as what she did in the triage unit.
He smiled. “Good. Ah, here we are. The renowned Fox Hole.” They stopped on the sidewalk to look at the building. It was long and flat-roofed with a black front door and very few windows. She remembered it being dark inside.
“Should we go in?” Knox asked.
“Yes. I’m ready for a drink. It’s hotter out than I thought.”
He opened the door for her to pass through first. A growl sounded from her right, and before her eyes had even adjusted to the dimness of the interior, Knox was lying on the floor, bleeding from a blow to the mouth, and Gunner stood over him, chest heaving and fists clenched.
***
Gunner was going to end up in deep shit for this, but he didn’t care. Fucking Knox was with Abigail? His Abigail?
His heart thundered in his veins and his throat was tight with the need to roar. Knox lay bleeding, and Gunner’s knuckles stung from cutting th
em on the man’s teeth. They were always trained not to go for the face when in a fight—the face was bony and you had a bigger chance of breaking your hand.
Fuck that.
He shook his fingers and made another fist a second before Knox popped to his feet and swung at him.
Abigail screamed. The crowd parted to let them at each other, but the bar owner, Justice, pounded on the bar top with police baton she used to keep her patrons in check. “Break it up, dammit! No fighting in my bar!”
Knox lowered his head and charged Gunner. They flew backward in a tangle of locked limbs and fury.
“I said no fighting! Take it outside.” The police baton was making a hell of a racket, even reaching Gunner above the shouts from his fellow soldiers and civilians in the Fox Hole.
Gunner swept his leg across Knox’s body, pinning him down and attempting a wrestling move. But Knox was healed, and they were well-matched in size and strength. He caught Knox in the jaw with his fist, but he turned aside before he could do any real damage.
Knox connected with Gunner’s abdomen, and the air whooshed from him.
“Gunner, stop!” That sweet voice broke through his haze of anger, but he couldn’t stop.
“Enough!” The barked order brought him back to his senses. Guys fell upon them, ripping them apart.
Knox flailed, trying to get at him, but Gunner gave him a grin and the middle finger.
“Your commanding officers will be hearing about this,” the sergeant said.
Knox shrugged and backhanded the blood from his mouth. Gunner was still feeling that punch to the midsection. Tomorrow he’d feel it worse, but he embraced the pain in his hand from punching that little fucking weasel.
He shrugged off the guy who was holding him back.
“You got this, Gunner?” he asked.
“Yeah,” he said, tone gritty. “I’m in control.” He swung his gaze toward Abigail—just in time to see her walk away.
She vanished through the door.
Fuck. He hurried to catch up. He caught her on the sidewalk half a block away and wondered if she’d taken off running the minute she hit the open air. His heart squeezed at the sight of her angry face.
“Abigail, stop.” He got in front of her. She circled him and continued on.