Course of Action: Crossfire

by Lindsay McKenna;Merline Lovelace

  Mouth quirking, Dan held her gaze, lost in the shades of green in her eyes, from dark to light. She was a complex woman, a woman who always challenged him in the best of ways. Cait didn’t see herself at all, he realized. She saw only the nature of her patients’ personality, saw what was weak and strong with them and then worked to help them recover. She honestly didn’t see how incredibly strong she really was. Tonight, Dan would show her. Tonight was theirs.

  * * *

  To be able to lie beside Cait, to feel her velvet-soft, curved body against his, was a dream come true for Dan. As they languished in one another’s arms after making love to one another, he held her close. “Even just feeling your breath on my chest is incredible,” he growled, moving his head to the right, kissing her hair.

  Cait stirred, satiated and feeling lazy for the moment, her body radiating and glowing from the orgasms he’d given her. “Better than that lounger, huh?” There was amusement in her husky tone. “That lounger is going to hold a special place in our lives. We’ll never forget it.”

  Laughter rumbled through his chest. “Better believe it.” Dan threaded his fingers through her loose, silky hair, watching the weak moonlight catch the strands. Skating his hand down the curves of her back and hip before coming to rest on her thigh, he added, “The lounger was a lifesaver for both of us.”

  “Well,” Cait whispered, nuzzling his jaw, stretching her arm across his narrow waist, “this is so much better. We’ll actually be able to sleep together tonight. That is what I’m looking forward to.”

  Dan guided Cait onto her back, propped himself up on his elbow and drank in her shadowed face, those luminous dark green eyes filled with love for him. “Who said we’re getting any sleep tonight?”

  Cait’s lips lifted and she ran her hand slowly down his chest, his gold-brown hair tangling between her exploring fingers. “Touché.”

  “Lucky for us, it’s Saturday tomorrow.”

  “Do you think we’ll even leave this bed over the next few days?”

  Dan basked in her smile, his heart swelling with so many emotions for Cait. “Probably not. Just to get up every once in a while, shower, grab some food to give us renewed strength and then get back in here.”

  “You have a plan. You always do, Dan Taylor.”

  Eyeing her wryly, he leaned over, his mouth hovering over hers. “I’m black ops, sweetheart. What else did you expect?”

  He captured her smiling mouth beneath his, feeling her woman’s warmth, a musical sound caught in her throat as he stroked her firm breast, feeling her nipple tighten beneath his teasing. He couldn’t get enough of Cait. He never would. They’d waited so long for one another. Dan found it nearly impossible to realize how strong they’d been in denying themselves one another. And now they were making up for it in the best of ways.

  “Hey,” he whispered against her wet lips, “there are some things we actually need to discuss.”

  Cait laughed and opened her eyes. “Like what? I thought everything we needed was right here. Right now.”

  “That’s true.” Dan leaned across her, opening the bedside table drawer, fumbling around to find something in it. He glanced down at Cait. “Found it.”

  “What?”

  He pulled his arm from beneath her neck and with some effort, sat up and leaned against the bamboo headboard. “Come here.” He took her hand, coaxing her up beside him. Cait’s hair was nearly to her breasts and as she moved, he watched the gleaming strands slide gracefully around her. She snuggled beneath his proffered left arm, pressing herself fully against his left side.

  “You’ve got a crafty look on your face,” she accused. “What are you up to?”

  “Can’t fool you, can I?” Dan showed her a small dark blue velvet box. “Here, this is for you. Open it.” He searched her widening eyes as Cait realized what it was. A small gasp tore from her. She looked at the ring box and then stared in disbelief up at him.

  “Dan!”

  “Open it. Please?” He nudged the box near her hand, which was still resting on his chest.

  She shook her head. Dan slid his arm behind her back, curving it around her waist, keeping her close as she cupped the box into her hands. “I—I never expected this, Dan.”

  “I did.” He watched with trepidation as she opened it. Never had he wanted anything more than this moment with Cait. “Do you like them?” His voice was a little strained.

  “Oh, Dan...” Cait pressed her hand against her lips, giving him a teary look.

  “Are they okay?”

  She looked down at the set of rings. “They’re beautiful.” She held the box up so that the moonlight washed over it. “Is that a green diamond, Dan?”

  “It is.” He gave her a concerned look. “I know it’s not the exact color of your eyes, but when I saw it, I wanted it for you.”

  Cait gently touched the small diamond glittering fiercely in the gold setting. “I love it.” She looked at him, whispering, “I love you...” She leaned forward, her hand against his jaw, giving him a long, slow kiss.

  Dan caressed her nape as they eased apart. “Marry me, Cait? We’ve waited a hell of a long time for one another. I don’t want to spend another day apart from you if I can help it.” He lost his smile, seeing distress come into her large, readable eyes.

  “I’ll marry you, Dan,” she whispered unsteadily. “But...not right now. My parents are in deep mourning for Ben. Could we wait a bit? Give them the time they need to get over his loss?”

  Dan tucked her beneath his arm, drawing her against him. “Of course. We don’t even have to say anything about this to them until you think the timing is right. This is just between you and me, Cait.” He pulled back enough to meet her darkened eyes, wanting to reassure her. “Okay?”

  Cait nodded, pressed her cheek against his chest, giving him a squeeze. “Yes, thank you for understanding.”

  “Your parents are hurting,” Dan said gruffly, kissing her hair. “I get that. But, Cait, I love you. I’m not going to let any more time slip by before I tell you what I want to share with you. I want to wake up every morning in this bed with you in my arms.” He caressed her warm, soft shoulder, watching hope and love come to her eyes as she studied him. “And if that means waiting a year before we marry, I’m fine with that. What I need is you. And now I have you.” His voice deepened with emotion. “I’m not ever letting you go.”

  Sighing, Cait whispered, “I feel the same way. And it may take a year before my parents emerge from that tunnel of grief. I mean...I still cry suddenly, out of the blue, and when I do, I know it’s grief working its way through me.”

  “I know,” Dan rasped, sliding his hand against her hair, holding her tighter for a moment.

  “You, too?”

  “Yes. He was like a brother to me, Cait. Ben will be in our hearts and our memories from now on. I’ll never forget him, but your parents have a different path to take to mourn the loss of their only son.” Dan knew Cait’s grief would last a long time, as well. She and Ben had been so damned close.

  “Thank you for understanding,” she wobbled, sniffing.

  “I want you to be happy, Cait,” he growled. “I’ll do everything I can to always see that smile in your eyes.”

  “You do, believe me, you do,” Cait whispered, kissing his chest.

  Dan knew that Cait had choices to make. She could opt to wear the green diamond engagement ring. Or not. Her mother would spot it immediately, and that could turn into an upsetting situation for Cait and her. And them. Dan didn’t want to put Cait in that kind of a position. He gently eased the box from her hand. “Tell you what. We’ll just put the rings in the bedside table for now until you feel it’s the right time to tell your parents. Then, when it’s right, you can let me slip that engagement ring on your finger.” Because Dan could feel Cait being torn over this very issue. And he didn’t want her to feel guilty. She still had a lot of grieving to do first.

  It wasn’t his intent to pressure her, rather, to let her know
unequivocally that he loved her and he wanted her as his wife. They’d waited so long for one another. The fact that they were living together and would continue to do so, sent a very clear, nonverbal signal to her parents, anyway. They knew what was coming sooner or later, but to push it too soon on the three of them would be a bad move. Dan could feel the tension in Cait dissolve beneath his words. “That an okay plan, sweetheart?”

  “Yes, wonderful. Thank you...”

  Dan slid her hair aside, nibbling on her nape, feeling the goose bumps rise in the wake of his tender kisses and gentle nips. She moved her breasts against him. She was so sensual. So sexual. And so in love with him. He gave her flesh a nip and then soothed the area with his tongue.

  “We have one more thing to talk about,” he told her.

  Cait lifted her chin, melting beneath his dark, burning look. “What else could there possibly be to talk about?”

  “I’ve been busy since I started living here with you,” Dan said, his thumb sliding across the warm slope of her cheek. Looking deeply into her aroused eyes, her lashes framing their deep green color, he said, “I’m not going to stay in the Army, Cait.”

  Stunned, she sat up, staring openmouthed at him. “What? I mean, why? You love the Army, Dan! And your leg is healing wonderfully. There’s every chance that you could meet all the physical qualifications to remain in Special Forces.”

  He heard the stunned quality in her voice and saw it in her eyes. He smiled gently at her. “Would it bother you if I left the Army? Start a real life here with you instead?” Cait’s face crumpled with emotions and tears leaped to her eyes. Yeah, he had his answer all right. And Dan had known all along that Cait was trying to steel herself against his leaving once he was well enough to go back into Special Forces. She would wait and worry. He’d be gone on deployments for six months to a year at a time. She’d be alone. Again. Like always. They’d be separated. Like always.

  “A-are you serious, Dan?” Cait wiped the tears from her eyes, her heart beating with hope over the possibility.

  He caressed her cheek and leaned over, giving her a quick kiss on the mouth. “I’ve already got a job lined up for when my enlistment is up. That’s eight months from now, Cait. I’ll be the head of security for a shipping company here in Honolulu. It’ll be a nine-to-five job, five days a week.” He smiled a little, emotion thick in his voice. “It means I’ll be coming home to you every night. We can have a life, Cait. A real life.”

  “Oh, God.” Her voice trembled and more tears fell. “I—I never expected this, Dan.”

  “I know you didn’t,” he soothed, kissing her wrinkled brow, her cheek, and tasting her salty tears as they fell. “Are you okay with it?”

  “More than okay with it.”

  Dan searched her radiant expression, saw relief shining in her eyes. “I’ve lost so many years away from you, Cait. I don’t want any more separations. I don’t want you worrying about whether I’m going to get killed or not. You’ve lost Ben. That’s enough...”

  With a moan of joy, Cait threw herself into his arms, clinging to him, holding him as tight as she could. “Oh, Dan! I love you so much! So much!” She sobbed, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder.

  Closing his eyes, Dan relaxed against the headboard, the woman he loved more than life itself in his arms. She’d been so brave, so strong, for so long by herself. He swept his fingers through her hair, caressing her graceful back, holding her close while she cried out her relief. And he fully understood her tears this time. Dan knew Cait had been dreading his going back and being deployed once more. He would catch her at odd moments when they were together when he could almost hear her thoughts. Cait would have worried herself endlessly if he’d gone back into Special Forces.

  He loved her, and this was about more than what he wanted out of life from now on. It was what they needed in order to make a go at their relationship. And he knew, in order for them to have a fair chance at success, it meant giving up something he loved because he loved Cait more. It was that simple. Dan had no regrets about the decision.

  Her sobs lessened and he could feel her warm tears running down his chest. Cait’s sense of relief was palpable. Dan knew she’d never have asked him to leave the Army. She, of all people, understood it—what he did and how much he loved what he did. Now, as he kissed her hair, caressed her small shoulder, she knew that he loved her more than anything. They would have to wait to break the news of their engagement to her parents. In the meantime, they would have a chance to really live together. Loving one another. Making the compromises he knew would have to be made so they could work as the good team that they were. They were already, automatically, doing that precisely because they did love one another. Nuzzling into her hair, kissing the top of her ear and angling her head, he captured her soft, willing mouth. Just the simple act of kissing Cait was enough to make Dan happy to turn his life inside out for her. He’d found love a long time ago, nursed it, nurtured it and finally been brave enough to act upon it.

  Cait deserved a man like him, who was loyal and true. Dan knew he could be all that and so much more to this healer who’d mended so many people’s lives. She had a world of patience, of kindness and compassion for those who were suffering. She brought out the goodness in him, and he wanted to spend the rest of his life returning all that she had selflessly given to him. Knowing how much Cait loved children, Dan knew that once they were officially married with her parents’ blessing, it probably wouldn’t be too long before she became pregnant.

  Heat rolled through him as he splayed his large hand out across her soft belly. Someday, she would carry his son or daughter within her. It only made Dan love Cait more fiercely than before. She would be such a good mother, and he would be sure not to emulate the broken, dysfunctional home life of his childhood with her or their children. Life was too short and Dan knew every day counted. And he would relish each one with this woman who loved him against all odds. Forever.

  * * * * *

  Desert

  Heat

  Merline Lovelace

  Chapter 1

  “Majan one, this is Majan one-five.”

  “Go ahead, one-five.”

  Master Sergeant Pete Winborne kneeled beside the injured crewman, shielding him with his body. Two other pararescuemen, known in the military as PJs, worked frantically to staunch the blood spurting from a femoral artery. The remaining three PJs on Pete’s team stood with weapons ready, their faces grim and their eyes on the figures that had just topped a distant dune. Squinting through the shimmering desert heat, he radioed the heavily armed Pave Hawk helicopter circling overhead.

  “Enemy at one-two-zero degrees. Four hundred meters. Target description, troops in the open.”

  “Roger, one-five, we see ’em.”

  The Royal Air Force chopper broke hard right and acquired the target. Pete kept one eye on the deadly tracers that arced from the side-mounted 50-caliber machine gun, the other on the PJs now transferring their Code Alpha to the rescue litter.

  Part combat troops, part emergency ER docs, these pararescuemen had completed two years of brutal training to land here, in the searing desert of southern Oman, working desperately to package a critically wounded troop for the flight back to base.

  “Majan one-five, target destroyed but we see a second wave of big uglies to the north.”

  Hell! That was all they needed. Another wave of hostiles. A quick glance at the wounded troop showed that his squad had the man stabilized enough to move. Jaw tight, Pete called for extraction.

  “Majan one, ready for ex-fil.”

  “Roger that, one-five.”

  Ordinarily the Pave Hawk would set down so the PJs could slide the litter into the open bay and scramble aboard. But this area of operations contained nothing but mountainous sand dunes. Not a level patch of dirt anywhere in sight. So the Pave Hawk went into a hover, throwing up a maelstrom of whirling, biting sand, and lowered the hoist. Working with grim efficiency, the PJs attached the litte
r to the hoist. Once it and the PJ accompanying it had been hauled into the bay, the remainder of the squad went up.

  While one of the team started an IV and another cut off their patient’s uniform to check for additional wounds, the Pave Hawk banked sharply and ripped across the dunes. The powerful, much-modified Sikorsky chopper could travel at more than 220 miles per hour. In this instance, every second counted.

  They touched down at Thumrait Air Base exactly seventeen minutes later. Well within the vital one-hour parameter to locate, stabilize and transport a Code Alpha to a field hospital. Pete verified the time and sat back on his heels, grinning.

  “You did it, dudes.”

  Whoops and high fives erupted all around. Even the “patient” popped up to slap palms. A PJ himself, the Omani sergeant hadn’t been very happy about playing the injured soldier in this live-fire exercise. Drenched now in fake blood and sucking saline through an IV, he was only too happy to extract the needle and swab off some of the blood.

  They debriefed at the TOC—Tactical Operations Center—before breaking down and cleaning their weapons and stowing their gear. A battle-hardened team of US, UAE and Omani airmen, they’d been at Thumrait for almost two weeks now. Pete couldn’t fault the facilities, the accommodations or the men he’d come to know and respect during this combined exercise arranged by Prince Malik al Said. A distant relative of Oman’s ruling sultan, the prince served as Chief of Operations for the Royal Air Force and was determined to ensure his country could meet any threat in this dangerous and highly volatile region.

  Pete had acted as the prince’s escort during his visit to the USAF Pararescue School at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, last year. He’d also flown several training missions with Prince Malik. In his opinion, the Omani’s keen intelligence and skills as a pilot more than matched his reputation as an international jet-setter.

  A very well-deserved reputation, according to the tabloids. Which was why Pete wasn’t surprised to see al Said’s face smiling up from the front page of one of the newspapers tossed on a table in the TOC’s lounge. The face beside the prince’s, however, stopped him in his tracks.