Her soul was just an inch from his, straining to connect in a way that was primal, more than physical, greater than anything she’d ever known.
She wanted nothing more than to hold onto this moment, this night, this man for the rest of her life, and the idea scared her half out of her mind.
They were both beyond thought. There was only need and urgency, a rush to an explosion of ecstasy.
Sarah cried out as her climax came wave upon wave. Brand held her tight as he came right after her. Even as the tension began to ease out from his body, she held him, suddenly afraid if she let go she’d be like what she was before him.
Alone.
Sarah swirled in a storm of sensations that focused on the man in her arms, the man she held so tightly, this man who’d stolen her heart. Through the waves of her pleasure, she heard him call out her name, felt the shudder of his release.
Since her late teens, Sarah had been comfortable in her own skin—self-sufficient, self-reliant, capable of going her own way.
She realized now that she’d never been in love.
Pressing against his hardness, wanting him, needing him, now and for all time.
There was perfect harmony in the way their bodies moved together, in the emotions that seemed to charge the very air around them.
Holding onto him tightly, she felt the pounding of their hearts begin to slow.
Eventually, Sarah sat up on her knees, drinking in the sight of him. Brand’s hair was tousled, and the shadow of his beard darkened his jaw. He had the body of a warrior who’d survived several battles. Trim, lean and ridged with muscle, but scarred in many places, dark hair covered Brand’s chest and firm stomach, arrowing down.
“That was…” Sarah shook her dazedly, laying back down beside him. “Indescribable.”
“I wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen,” he growled. “I think I’ve been preparing for you for over two years.” He grinned, turning on his side and letting his fingers caress the side of her face. “Even I couldn’t have predicted how demanding you’d be. Maybe we should’ve waited another few years?”
Pulling back, Sarah punched him lightly in the shoulder.
“Aw, Sarah. I want more than just a few months.” He drew in a deep breath and stared intensely into her eyes. “I want forever.”
He was looking at her with such love in his eyes, and such emotion on his face, that it scared her.
“I think I want that too Brand. But you know we’re going too fast? We need to slow down a little. I mean, I hadn’t seen you for two years, and all of sudden you’re back in my life, when I never really expected to see you again.”
“I know. But you need to know that even if my job takes me away from you? I’m always going to be right here with you,” he said, laying his hand over his heart.
She smiled almost shyly. “You really mean that. Don’t you?”
“I do.” He gave her the most incredibly tender smile.
He suddenly looked around the room. “Are you tired?”
“No.” She was feeling energetic, ecstatic and…happy. But definitely not tired.
Before she could say anything else, Brand was scooping her into his arms.
“But…but what are you doing?” she asked as he carried her through the room and outside through the doorway.
“Let’s go for a swim. The heater’s on in the pool.” By the time he answered, he was already walking down the stairs.
“But…I’m not wearing my prosthetic.”
For a moment, Brand paused on the stairs, looking down at her in disbelief.
And then he started laughing and continued carrying her downstairs.
“Let me get this straight,” he finally said. “Here I am carrying you down the staircase stark naked, and all you can think about is your prosthetic?” He shook his head in obvious amusement. “Do you need it?”
After thinking about it for a moment, she rolled her eyes “No, not really. I did my initial rehab in the water without it.”
Brand snorted.
And Sarah began laughing loudly, shrieking when Brand reached the pool and dropped her from the diving board into the water.
Chapter Eighteen
There was a knock at the back door the next morning, and Brand glanced through the nearby window before answering the door.
“Danielle. What brings you out here?” Brand asked, motioning her inside.
Sarah was peeking at them from the kitchen, and called out. “Hi, Danielle.”
“Hi, Sarah,” she answered. “I was doing some cat sitting for your next-door neighbors who’ve been gone, and I happened to notice that you might’ve had some trouble? I could see the back end of the snowmobile from their living room window.”
“Someone messed with the brakes,” Dylan answered. “Luckily, Sarah was able to think fast. Not only did she manage to jump off without getting hurt, but she maneuvered the snowmobile in the opposite direction, so it wouldn’t hit the house.”
Danielle looked shocked.
Dylan sighed, sweeping his hand through the air. “Sarah and I were just trying to figure out what to do next. How about some coffee? Maybe you and your husband might be able to provide a temporary solution for our troubles.”
“Oh course.” Danielle grimaced, rolling her eyes. “It wouldn’t be the first time,” she answered, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat next to Sarah at the island, while Dylan poured her coffee.
Sarah and Dylan briefly summarized everything that’d happened yesterday.
“And nothing has happened otherwise. Sarah hasn’t had any breakthroughs with her memory, so we can’t figure out what might’ve spurred on this attack. All we’re doing is going back and forth to work, buying groceries and occasionally eating out. We haven’t made it obvious that I’m here to protect Sarah, so no one except a few of us know that I was originally brought out here not so much to work with them on creating the new wounded warrior training program, but to keep an eye on her.”
“I’m pretty sure the most obvious explanation’s floating around town,” Sarah said. “Brand and I are a couple now, and we were acquainted when we were serving together overseas.” She grimaced, looking at Brand. “In fact, that was what I said to my mom when she asked me about it this morning.”
Brand paused before sipping his coffee. “Wait a minute, Sarah. Who told your mom that you were seeing me?”
Her eyes went wide. “Why…I don’t know. That’s right. How would she know? I purposely didn’t mention you, because my parents would want to meet you immediately, and I’d hate to put you through the drill without any warning. I’m sure that Mel wouldn’t have said anything. And even if Mom had called her, I’ve been available every time my mom or dad has rung or messaged me on my cell.”
“So maybe there’s something else going on here?” Danielle asked, becoming thoughtful. “Jake’s still not coming home for another week. He’s run into some trouble, I guess, at one of our other hotels.”
Danielle sat with her lips pursed for a moment, before pulling a phone from her coat pocket. “You two are going into work. Right?”
Brand nodded.
Danielle continued, “We’re close friends of the police chief here in town. Sam will keep this quiet, and meanwhile he can investigate discreetly. Let’s have him come out here and look at the scene, and you two can stop in at his office later today when you’re both off work and answer any questions he might have.”
Sarah’s eyes met Brand’s. “That sounds alright to me.”
He nodded. “Yeah, that’ll work Danielle. Let’s see what he thinks first, before I take the next step and contact my commander.” He sighed and grimaced. “Hopefully, not reporting it right away won’t get me in trouble, but I need some time today to process what happened.”
* * *
It was hard to believe it’d only been a few weeks since she and Brand had been brought together again. And what a couple of weeks it’d been, she thought, most obviously distracted as Brand
stood up and began speaking about some of the complications that’d arisen when they’d been doing their research about establishing the program.
A qualified facility offering training for service members injured on active duty who faced unique challenges was needed, and the insurance was going to be unbelievably costly if the operation didn’t take place in one specialized location. The only alternative would be to transport active duty trainees to another facility, and lacking convenience, it would defeat the purpose of organizing a program here in Crystal Rock.
“We’re just going to have to think bigger,” Sarah said when she stood up. “We’ll need to acquire enough funding to build an independent facility. Period.”
Josh grimaced, standing beside Sarah. “Sarah and Brand came up with a great idea. Why not try to find sponsors for each of the wounded warriors accepted into the program?”
Sarah continued, “We could open the sponsorship program to not only individuals, but to companies as well.”
Brand added, “It would be great publicity, so there might be a lot of willing donors out there if we simply got the word out.”
Questions followed for the next hour, and the other committee members followed up with their reports. Steve Ryder had already sat down and prepared the minimum physical therapy requirements to be accepted into the program, and the wounded warrior home’s therapist had come up with a set of guidelines as well.
Josh mentioned that the website had a domain and all they needed to do was decide what to display, since it was early in the organizational phase.
Another hour later, the meeting was adjourned, and Brand pulled her aside. “I think you’ll be alright here in your office?”
“Yeah. Someone would have to be pretty stupid to try anything here,” she answered.
“I think I’m going to talk to that police chief that Danielle sent out to the house. That way, there won’t be any need to stop by there on our way home. I’ll feel better if I take you straight home rather than making a detour at the police station. Whoever messed with the brakes on your snowmobile obviously didn’t know about the mechanical skills you’ve developed since you were enlisted.”
Sarah looked taken aback. “That’s something else that didn’t occur to me. The only people who’d know would be military, so that right there kind of rules out any connection to Iraq.”
“Exactly,” Brand answered, checking his watch. “I’ll be back in about an hour or two. Maybe I’ll stop for a few more groceries while I’m at it.”
Sarah nodded. “Take your time. I have enough paperwork to keep me busy for the next month, if not more.”
Brand walked Sarah through the doorway and across the hallway into her office, where he closed the door behind them.
Lowering his head, he kissed her, and Sarah kissed him back for all she was worth.
He sighed, eventually pulling away. “I might be just a little bit anxious to get you home again, so we can be alone.”
Sarah grinned, making her way around her desk and sitting down. “I’m looking forward to it,” she answered as Brand opened the door.
Turning back, Brand winked, grinning when he walked through the doorway.
* * *
About an hour later, someone knocked at the office door.
“Come in,” she called out.
When Russ Quinlan walked into the room, Sarah couldn’t have been more surprised. Although he’d been doing the required work, he’d been avoiding her for the last two weeks. Where he was staying, she didn’t know.
She cleared her throat and spoke. “What can I do for you, Russ?”
Rather than acting like the belligerent jackass that he had before, he was looking rather sheepish, so Sarah was even more puzzled as to why he was here.
“Is it alright if I sit down?” Russ asked.
“Ah…yeah. Sure,” Sarah answered.
He sat in the chair across from her desk and his eyes met hers. “I’m sorry.”
Bewildered, Sarah’s eyes went wide. “For what?”
“You have a prosthetic, Legs? Um, I mean Sarah?”
“Yeah. But you knew that,” she said.
“No, I didn’t,” Russ answered. “I thought…”
“You thought what?”
“I…can’t talk about it,” Russ said. “But…” He swallowed. “Is there a specific reason you’ve been off the radar for so long?”
She was becoming even more bewildered. “Why, because I was told not to talk about what happened in public.”
Russ was looking at her with horror in his eyes. “Sarah, what did happen?”
“I…was held hostage. And…” her voice faded away as her eyes filled with tears.
But she hated it when she started feeling sorry for herself, so swiping away the tears, she squared off her shoulders with her chin held high, just daring Russ to transform into his normally insolent self.
“Oh, my God,” he whispered, closing his eyes and standing back up. “Sarah…they told me…”
But suddenly he seemed to come to a decision.
“They’re going to try and set me up,” he muttered under his breath.
Sarah was totally confused.
“I need someone to know. I need you to know. What happened to you wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I don’t have a single clue about what you’re talking about, Russ.”
He began pacing the floor, and then looked at her again. “I can’t believe I thought…”
“What?” Sarah asked impatiently. This had to be one of the strangest conversations she’d ever had.
“You know I thought about asking you out when I first met you? But then I found out you were engaged.”
She blinked.
Russ continued, “I’ve always liked you. I’m sorry for the way I behaved a couple weeks ago.”
Sarah shook her head dazedly.
Russ started pacing again and then he halted in front of her desk, staring deeply into her eyes. “I need to tell someone, and somehow, I know I can trust you. If what I suspect might be happening actually does, you’re going to be hearing some really terrible things about me during the next few months. You need to hold off from telling Brand that I talked to you today.”
She reluctantly nodded her agreement.
“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to lie. I just need time. Plus, I need someone to believe me and be on my side when the time comes. Tell him that I’m not a terrorist, I’m not a traitor, and I’m being set up by someone at the highest level of U.S. government.”
Set up for what, she wanted to ask. But that was obviously something that he didn’t think he should tell her.
In a state of semi-shock, Sarah sighed deeply. But she wasn’t surprised to hear what Russ was saying, since she had little faith in the stability of the new administration. Maybe she was slightly bitter being treated so badly after fighting for her country. But she wasn’t the only one who’d lost confidence in the system. Most of the appointed officials were businessmen looking out for their own interests, rather than the welfare of the American people.
Russ gave her one last reassuring glance. “Good luck, Sarah,” he said, opening the door and slipping outside.
Sarah sat at her desk for the next few minutes, trying to make some sense out of everything Russ had just revealed.
Chapter Nineteen
Brand knocked softly, opening Sarah’s office door later that afternoon. He watched for a moment as she concentrated on her computer screen, before turning toward the doorway and smiling when he walked inside.
His heart did a flip flop whenever she smiled. He’d seen that smile so few times when they’d been overseas, and his heart felt lighter, knowing he was the one who could bring a smile to her face.
“How’d it go?” she asked.
He grimaced. “You were right. Someone frayed the brake line, so it’d snap when you tried to brake. Sam, that’s the police chief, decided we’d be better off moving the snowmobile into the garage, so we wer
e able to haul it in there with a tow truck he had access to. That’s why it took me so long.”
“What can they do?”
“He’s going to have someone check it for prints. I supposed it would’ve been smarter doing something about it last night, but he said it was doubtful they’d be able to find any prints on an outdoor vehicle either way. He also thought it might be more useful to try and figure out what was used to slice through the brake line instead.”
“I guess we should think about where it could’ve happened?” Sarah asked, closing her laptop.
“Exactly,” Brand answered, taking the seat in front of her desk. “And really, where have we been?”
“Not too many places. Mostly, we’ve been driving back and forth from here.”
“We did stop for something to eat at that burger joint Mel recommended yesterday. It was pretty busy, and we were there for a while playing pool.”
“I suppose we could ask Mel if she told anyone we were going there.” Sarah frowned. “Oh wait. I think she and Steve went away early this morning for the weekend. They were going skiing, she said, and they’d probably be out of touch because the cell signal wasn’t very good where they were going.”
Brand grimaced. “It’s Friday. That’s right. It’s just going to have to wait until Monday.”
After packing up her laptop, Sarah stood up, reaching for the coat hanging from a hook on the wall behind her.
Brand looked thoughtful, standing up from the chair. “That’s right. For some weird reason, there’s a bunch of security cameras here at the facility.”
“That’s because someone shot at Josh.”
Brand stilled, and his eyes went wide. “What?”
“Apparently, there were some skeletons in his past that caught up with him here, but supposedly he’s out of danger now.”
“That’s good to know.” Brand helped Sarah slip into her coat, and pressed a kiss against her cheek.
She looked at him oddly.
“That ex-fiancé of yours must’ve been a real deadbeat,” Brand muttered. “My mom taught me to be a gentleman.”
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