Fade - Fighting Fate #3

by Maree Green

  I exhaled hard, trying to rid myself of the tension that’d grown inside me. “I don’t want things to be awkward between us, man. And I don’t want Amy upset, either,” I said, a hint of warning in my tone.

  He gave me a sharp look. “Of course I don’t want to upset her. Look . . . I’ll deal with it, okay? I just need time to process it. Just give me some time, all right?”

  I studied him. I wanted to believe him. I really did. But I couldn’t. Ryan had the same ruthless grit about him Dad did. It meant he could lie almost flawlessly. But there was nothing I could say about it now.

  “Sure, man. No problem. And for what it’s worth, I am sorry you feel the way you do. As much as you might not believe me, I don’t like seeing you hurting.”

  Ryan didn’t answer me. Instead, he just nodded, watching me with curiosity. After a few moments, he shifted on his feet. “So, when are you guys thinking of tying the knot?”

  I couldn’t seem to shake the unease that had settled in my gut, but unwilling to let Ryan think I was affected, I lifted my chin. “We haven’t decided yet. I think she wants to wait a while.”

  His shoulders relaxed a fraction before he nodded, and his gaze grew distant.

  Deciding I just needed to get out of there, I gestured toward the door. “All right, man. I gotta go . . . ” I wanted to be able to say thanks for understanding, or tell him how much I appreciated his well wishes, but seeing as I had received neither, and we both knew that wasn’t the truth, I nodded and left in silence.

  Making a quick stop at my room, I grabbed my keys and cell, and headed for my car. I needed to see my princess.

  Chapter 25

  Amy

  It’d been two days, one hour, and ten minutes—give or take a few minutes—since I’d become engaged, and I still couldn’t stop looking at my ring in disbelief.

  Snuggled against Daniel’s side on the sofa in the den, I smiled, immediately giddy with the idea of being his wife. Again. It happened every time I looked at the damned ring. Daniel kissed my temple and pulled me a little closer as he continued watching the movie I had yet to even pay attention to.

  The sound of the door being cracked open had us both looking up to see Daniel’s mom peeking her head in. I started to smile, because that seemed to be all we both did lately, but her concerned expression made me pause.

  “Ah, Daniel . . . ?” she said. “Captain Schneider is here to see you.”

  Daniel immediately stiffened. I couldn’t see his face, but I felt his surprise. I shifted on the sofa, giving him room to sit up. I wasn’t sure if I should follow him out or not, but curiosity got the better of me, and I found myself lingering in the doorway so I could at least see.

  I watched him salute the captain. “Sir,” he said. I could hear the respect in his voice.

  The captain nodded once, his gaze seeming pleased. “Marine.” He moved his head slightly, indicating the open door. “Take a walk with me, Private.”

  My heart was beating out of control as I watched them disappear out the door. I wasn’t sure why. Not that I knew much about marine protocol, but having a captain come to your house seemed like a pretty big deal.

  Susan was beside me the minute they were out of sight. “I wonder what it’s about,” she said quietly.

  Watching Daniel talking to the captain through the front window, I slowly shook my head, unable to speak around the dry thickness that had invaded my throat.

  Way too many minutes later, they both returned, the captain lowering his head our way as he said his goodbyes, and then he was gone, leaving both of us staring at Daniel expectantly.

  Daniel’s gaze fell on me, intense and concerned, and I instantly knew I wasn’t going to like what he was going to say.

  “I’m being commissioned to an STA team,” he said quietly.

  I saw Susan shake her head slightly from the corner of my eye. “What’s STA?” she asked.

  Daniel’s gaze moved to his mom, releasing me for the moment. I took a deep, bracing breath.

  “Surveillance and target acquisition,” he said. His voice was soft, reassuring. I didn’t like it.

  His gaze quickly found mine again, the worry I saw in his telling me there was more. I braced myself.

  “I deploy on the fourth.”

  I blinked, long and slow, willing the insta-tears to remain at bay. When I opened my eyes again, he was right in front of me. “That’s only two weeks away,” I whispered.

  “Where to?” Susan asked. The dread in her voice was unmistakable.

  Daniel never took his eyes off mine as he said, “Syria.”

  Panic sprung out of nowhere. In my mind, I was walking around in circles, clutching my hair, psychotically repeating ‘Oh my God,’ over and over again. In reality, I was frozen in fear, staring but not actually seeing.

  Daniel took my hand in a movement that seemed too fast to be real, and started towing me toward the stairs. I followed blindly, still unable to get my brain to snap out of its panicked state.

  When I blinked next, I found myself in Daniel’s room, sitting on the edge of his bed with him kneeling before me. Gently, he took my face in his hands and searched it, for what, I didn’t know. Sanity, maybe?

  “Amy?” his voice begged. “Princess?”

  I licked my dry lips and swallowed. “You’re going to Syria?” I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

  He blinked slowly and his jaw tightened. “I’m joining a very experienced team, baby. They’ve been over there for three tours now. They know their way around like it’s their own neighborhood.”

  Desperation burned deep in his eyes. He needed me to be okay with this, but how could I? I’d heard too many news stories of what the extremists did in those places.

  I swallowed. “What . . . ” I couldn’t seem to get my mouth to work. Taking a few hurried breaths, I tried again. “What do you have to do? Will it be dangerous?”

  Daniel’s face looked pained. “I don’t know, Princess. I won’t be briefed until I get there.”

  It was a stupid question. I knew that. Even if he did know, I was sure all that stuff was classified anyway. And if I wanted to be honest with myself, I only needed to think back to the type of training Daniel had told me he’d been focusing on. Close-range recon.

  “I hate the thought of you being over there,” I said, struggling to make my voice heard. “It scares me so much . . . ”

  The crease between Daniel’s eyes deepened, and I was instantly hit with a crashing wave of guilt. God! I was such a selfish bitch. I was sitting there, overwhelmed by all the emotions that were rampaging through me, and I hadn’t even thought about what he must be feeling.

  “I’m so sorry,” I breathed, unable to stop the hitch in it. “I know this is what you’ve been training for. I just . . . ” I shook my head.

  “Hey,” he said, stroking his thumb over my cheek, “don’t apologize, Princess. Don’t ever say you’re sorry for trying to explain how you’re feeling. Okay?”

  I nodded. “Are you . . . are you okay?”

  He didn’t say anything for a long time. He just knelt there watching me, a complete picture of sadness. “I’m ready for it, Princess. You’re right. I’ve been training for this. Hard. I’m ready in every way.” He inhaled deeply. “But knowing I’m leaving you again kills me. It fucking kills me. Ever since I met you, I just wanted to be able to put a smile on your face.” He shook his head, desperation flaring in his eyes. “I fucking hate that I’ve probably made you sad more times than my fucking brother.”

  My eyes widened. Oh, hell no! Taking his face in my hands, I shook my head emphatically. “That’s not true.”

  His shoulders drooped. “But it is . . . ”

  I wriggled, trying to get in a better position to be eye level with him. “It’s completely different, Daniel, and you know it. The sadness I felt with Ryan was hurt. It was disappointment and guilt. If I’ve felt any sadness since I’ve been with you, it’s because of love. It’s because I miss you so goddam
ned much.”

  Daniel’s jaw clenched, but I saw him processing my words as he watched me. We sat there for a long minute, just silently taking each other in, then, without a word, Daniel stood.

  Confused, I watched him shuck his shirt, then his shorts, until he was just standing there in his boxers. Taking my hand, he pulled me to my feet, then, grabbing the hem of my dress, he lifted it up, over my head.

  I had absolutely no idea what he was doing. He didn’t have that look he usually had when he wanted to make love to me. He just had this immense look of determination. Reaching around me, he unhooked the clasp on my bra before peeling it off.

  Under other circumstances I may have giggled at his strange behavior or questioned him, but not now. Now, I just let him do what he felt he needed to do.

  Taking my hand, he crawled onto his bed and pulled me with him until we were chest to chest and our legs were tangled together. Once he’d covered us with the sheet, he paused to gaze at me, his eyes slowly moving over every inch of my face.

  “I just need to hold you, Princess. For as long as I can. I want to burn this feeling into my memory so whenever I need you, I can just close my eyes and you’ll be there. Just like this.”

  Tears blurred my vision. I had no idea I could ever feel this much love, and I had no idea love could possibly hurt like it did now. The familiar feeling of panic was quickly starting to edge its way in again.

  “Daniel?” I whispered. “Marry me.”

  His brow creased with confusion.

  “Before you go. Marry me before you go.”

  Understanding washed over his features, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. I could see everything he was feeling right there in his eyes. They radiated so much love, I had no idea how to fit it all inside me together with all the love I had for him.

  “Princess,” he murmured. “Nothing, and I mean nothing, would make me happier.”

  Closing my eyes, I pressed my face into his chest and just breathed him in, because, just like Daniel, I wanted to burn as much of him into my memory as possible too.

  Chapter 26

  Daniel

  The sun had only just broken over the horizon when I reluctantly untangled myself from Amy and climbed from the bed. I hated leaving her, especially now, but there were things I needed to do before she woke.

  Pulling on a pair of shorts, I picked up my cell from the nightstand and slipped quietly from the room.

  Making my way to the den, I closed the door and opened up my contacts on my cell. Dad answered on the second ring. “I was expecting to hear from you last night . . . ”

  I rolled my eyes, despite the fact that he couldn’t see me. “I’m guessing Mom told you already.”

  “That she did,” he said. “She was a bit upset.”

  Shit. I closed my eyes and cussed silently. I was such a dick. I’d been so worried about Amy’s reaction, I didn’t even think about how Mom had taken the news.

  “Don’t worry about her,” Dad said, like he could read my mind. “She’ll be fine. It’s nothing she wasn’t prepared for.”

  I sighed. Like he knew Mom at all. Straightening my shoulders, I prepared to get down to business. “I need the access codes to my trust.”

  Silence met me.

  I returned it with my own silence.

  After a while, I heard a sigh. “Can I ask what you need it for?”

  While I didn’t give a shit if the old man knew I was marrying Amy or not, I didn’t want him causing any trouble for us either. I paused, thinking over my answer. Deciding to throw all caution to the wind, I raised my chin. “I’m going to marry Amy before I deploy.”

  I didn’t know what I was expecting. Maybe it was for him to blow up or something. But it certainly wasn’t for him to just sigh.

  “You know that’s ridiculous, right?”

  I bit my tongue. That was one thing I had military school to thank for. “Your opinion is noted. I’ll let Mom know you’ll be forwarding them today. Bye, Dad.”

  I didn’t wait for a response. Pressing the button to end the call, I pushed the cell deep into my pocket before heading straight upstairs to climb back into bed with Amy. I never realized just how valuable time was until now. Every little second mattered.

  My initial intention was to resume my position beside her without disturbing her sleep, but as soon as I found her spread out on my bed in only her panties, the sheet crumpled in a heap, exposing her sexy-as-hell body to me, all that went out the window.

  I stood there for a long moment, burning the picture of her like that onto the screen of my mind. Fuck, I was going to miss her. Training in a different country was bad enough. Being in a combat zone with questionable communication was going to be shit.

  Knowing I just needed to be inside her, I rid myself of my shorts and crawled over the bed, kissing her silky skin as I went.

  By the time I reached her hip, kissing over the lacy part of her panties, she began to stir, and a soft moan hummed on her lips.

  “Daniel . . . ” she murmured, still not fully awake.

  Something about the way she still knew it was me, even in her sleep, made my chest buzz with a strange warmth.

  I licked and kissed my way up her toned stomach, blowing my warm breath where my lips and tongue had been. When I reached her chest, I carefully drew the flat of my tongue over her nipple, then ever so gently, took it in my mouth. She gasped, then her chest rose, pressing herself against my mouth harder.

  “Oh, Daniel,” she moaned.

  My cock jerked at the sound of her sexy, breathy voice. “Need you . . .” I murmured against her skin.

  She made some noise of consent, her hands reaching above her head and loosely gripping the headboard. With quick movements, I removed her panties and parted her legs. Grabbing hold of my cock, I moved it over her folds, groaning when I found her already soaking wet.

  “Fuck, Amy. You make me so fucking hard. I need you so much. I need to be inside you.”

  “Please . . . Daniel . . . ” she whispered.

  “I’ll always need you, baby. Always . . . ” I said, leaning over her. Then I pushed inside.

  Taking her mouth, I kissed her slow and deep, then, reaching toward the headboard, I laced my fingers through hers and began to move.

  Chapter 27

  Amy

  Seth grabbed my hand and pulled it toward him. “What the fuck is this!”

  I blinked at him, my gaze moving from his angry one down to my ring. I’d only just managed to catch him during a quick break he’d taken between emergencies at the hospital. I’d had to wait two and a half hours, but it needed to be done.

  I knew Daniel hadn’t been super happy about me talking to Seth on my own. He’d wanted to show Seth that we were serious, and that he had every intention of making our marriage work. It had taken a bit of convincing, but knowing there was bound to be some backlash from our decision, we finally agreed it’d be best to talk to both our families on our own.

  “Daniel asked me to marry him,” I said quietly.

  His gaze turned incredulous. “Jesus Christ, Amy. You’re only twenty! What’s the fucking rush?” He shook his head. “Seriously, I thought you were smarter than this.”

  “Seth . . . ” I said softly. I tried to keep the tears from coming, but I felt the sting in my eyes regardless. “Daniel’s being deployed.”

  Seth recoiled. I watched the shock come over him before he pieced it all together. “When?”

  I swallowed. “On the fourth.”

  Deep concern replaced the shock as he studied me. “Where?”

  Panic pierced my gut. “Syria.”

  His gaze swung out the window. “Fuck.”

  After a few moments, he turned to look at me. “Is that why he asked you?”

  “No. He asked me before he found out, but . . . ” I paused, unsure how he was going to take the news. “I told him I wanted to get married before he left.”

  Seth’s eyes widened. “You want to get married in
the next two weeks?”

  My mind flashed to Daniel, and I felt my resolve harden. “Next Sunday.”

  Seth stared at me for a few more heartbeats before throwing himself back in his chair and huffing up at the ceiling. “Amy . . . ” he said, his tone a little exasperated. “This is ridiculous. You know that, right? I mean, I understand why you want to do it, but you’re both so young. You haven’t even lived together yet. How do you know you won’t feel like killing each other after a few weeks?”