by Sybil Bartel
I reached my right hand out and stopped one of Talon’s hands. “Maybe for tonight you can be my hero.” My voice didn’t sound like my own.
A hint of a smile touched the corner of his mouth. “I think all that ocean you swallowed went to your head. C’mon, let’s get inside and get that arm cleaned up.”
Talon grabbed a towel for himself and took us inside, locking the door behind him. There was a touch screen near the door and he took a minute doing something with it.
“Don’t open any doors or windows. I set the alarm.”
I merely nodded. I hadn’t even noticed before tonight that he had an alarm. Talon kept his arm around me and led us upstairs to his bedroom. It was huge. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean that yesterday I would have thought beautiful. Tonight, it made me shiver. We were in a fishbowl, too vulnerable to be safe. As if reading my thoughts, Talon hit a switch on the wall near the windows and blinds embedded in the glass silently descended.
He crossed the bedroom to a double-wide doorway and hit a switch. An adjacent office lit up with the same floor-to-ceiling views as the bedroom. Talon moved to the huge desk and turned on the three computer screens. Within seconds, all three screens were showing different views of Talon’s property. The front, the back, the sides, even the path leading to the beach.
“Sit. I’ll be right back.” Talon disappeared into the bathroom.
I sat down on the edge of his bed and stared at the screens.
Talon came back and set a large, black toolbox-looking thing on the bed next to me. With quick, practiced movements, he opened it, slipped on gloves and pulled out supplies.
“You look like you’ve done this before.” My voice sounded like sandpaper.
“Once or twice,” he said absently. Cupping my arm from the bottom with one hand, he smeared ointment along the wound and I flinched. “You’re gonna have a scar.”
I didn’t say anything. The ointment burned then settled in. Talon ripped open a square package and placed a piece of shiny gauze over the ointment. Then he took a roll of white stretchy stuff and wrapped it a few times around my arm.
“Leave this on tonight and I’ll change it tomorrow.” He pulled his gloves off and tossed them. “You allergic to any medications?”
“No.” I stared at the bandage. I’d been shot. With a bullet.
He pulled a white blister pack from his first aid kit and popped two pills out. Handing them to me, he reached for a glass of water on his nightstand. “Take these.”
“What is it?”
“Antibiotics. You were in the water a long time with a flesh wound. Precautionary.”
“Why do you have antibiotics?”
He didn’t answer right away, he busied himself with putting the stuff back in the box. “I was a medic,” he said vaguely.
“The Marines don’t have their own medics.” I knew next to nothing about the Marines but I did know that. My uncle, my mom’s brother, had been in the Navy before he was killed in a motorcycle accident. He used to come visit when I was young and he would tell me stories. He said the Navy was so special that they provided doctors for the Marines. My impressionable six-year-old mind remembered that fact.
“SARC,” Talon said simply.
I stared at him.
He sighed. “Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsmen. It’s a Navy Hospital Corpsman trained in advanced trauma management. I specialized in recon and was attached to a Marine Force Recon company. It’s how Blaze and I met.”
Holy shit. “Specialized?”
“In addition to the SARC training, I did Force Recon training. Take those.” He thrust the water at me.
Jesus. I knew Talon was bad ass but I didn’t how seriously hard core. I took the pills. It felt like I was swallowing knives.
“Why did you get out?” He was too young to retire and he’d had a sure career path ahead of him.
“Long story. One pill a day for the next four days.” He handed me the blister pack, moved to his desk and typed on a keyboard. A second later, a security gate at the front of his property swung shut.
“I set all the motion sensors, the gate’s closed and the house is locked up tight. We’ll know if someone tries to get in.” Talon spared me a glance before opening a desk drawer and pulling out a gun.
It was a 9 mm semiautomatic. Self-defense classes, range practice—I knew guns.
“I’m gonna rewind the footage and you can help me watch to see if we see them. I don’t know how they tracked you, so it’d be helpful to know if they were sniffin’ around here.”
I nodded even though Talon had his back to me.
“Alright, give me a second.” Talon typed and the images on the computers shifted slightly. Then he hit the speaker button on the phone on his desk and dialed. Two rings and Buck’s voice filled the space around us.
“What’s up?” Buck sounded worried.
Tears filled my eyes. “Buck,” I whispered, but no sound came from my damaged throat.
“You been checkin’ for a tail?” Talon asked.
I stood up.
“Yeah, nothing. Why?”
Buck.
“Gate’s closed, alarm’s on. If you’re comin’ back tonight, use the call box when you get here and I’ll let you in. Make sure you’re not draggin’ scraps,” Talon warned.
“What happened? She okay?” Now Buck sounded angry.
My Buck, my safety. I wanted to feel his arms around me so bad I couldn’t breathe.
“She’s good. Talk to you later.” Talon hung up.
“No!” I cried.
Talon spun in his chair.
“I wanted to talk to him!” How could he have hung up like that? “You didn’t even tell him, warn him.” My voice cracked over every word. “They could be out there, waiting.”
“He’s armed, Layna.”
“But...”
“If I told him what happened, he would’ve been more interested in getting’ here than watchin’ his back. Right now, he’s pissed, but he’s not worryin’. Understand what I’m sayin’?”
I calmed down, marginally.
Talon turned back to the computers but glanced at me over his shoulder. “Okay, Sugar, take the left screen, I’ll watch the other two. I’m going to fast forward. Watch for movement. Stop me if you see somethin’.”
I hugged the towel around me.
Talon followed my movement. “Shit.” He pushed back in his chair, got up and walked over to a dresser.
Adrenaline wearing off, arm throbbing, cold, in shock, I followed Talon’s movements with my eyes. He riffled through two drawers, pulled out fabric and tossed it at me.
“Throw those on. I’ll be right back.”
I dropped the towel and picked up the clothes off the floor where they’d landed. I slipped a T-shirt over my head and stepped into soft pajama pants. I had to cinch the drawstring and fold the waist over. I was still standing in the same exact spot when Talon came back with a bottle of tequila and two glasses in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. He set the booze and glasses down, opened the water and handed it to me. The whole time his eyes studied me.
“You with me, Sugar?” His voice was quiet, concerned.
I nodded.
“Drink the water.” He pushed the cork out of the bottle with his thumb while the other hand picked up the two glasses. I watched his one-handed aptitude as I drank some of the water. It burned like hell.
Talon noticed my cringe. “Be awhile before that eases up.” He poured two stiff drinks.
I drank some more but I couldn’t take my eyes off Talon. He looked different—more. More rugged, more... I don’t know, just more. His green eyes were rimmed in a dark brown I’d never noticed. His jaw line had a sharp right angle. His full lips were a deep dusty color any woman would kill for. He handed me a glass.
“You’re startin’ to make me a little nervous, Sugar. You wanna tell me what’s goin’ through that pretty little head of yours?” Despite sounding casual as hell, he
threw his drink back in one gulp like he needed it bad.
“You look different,” I said in a hoarse whisper.
Talon broke into a huge grin. His perfect white teeth gleamed and a sparkle hit his eyes. It lit up his whole face. “All that salt water blinded you. Drink up.” He took the water from me and nodded at the drink in my other hand.
I threw it back in one gulp. An intense burn hit the raw skin of my throat, tears welled in my eyes and I starting coughing.
Frowning, Talon brought the water bottle to my lips and tilted it up. When I tried to push him away, his arm caught my waist and his voice dropped to a coaxing whisper. “Drink the water, Sugar.”
Caught in his hold, water to my lips, my throat burning, I drank. The alcohol raced through my veins and made my muscles feel slack as the water eased the burn. I leaned in to Talon’s arm.
“That’s it, darlin’, little more.”
Sun, sand, surf, coconuts, I was surrounded in his scent. I drank more and tears that had nothing to do with alcohol began slipping down my cheeks.
He set the water bottle down and we stared at each other.
“I’m sorry, Sugar,” he barely whispered. His thumb glanced across my cheek then his warm hand settled against my skin.
I closed my eyes and leaned in to his touch. Scared, lost, I needed his arms around me. “Please,” I begged. “Hold me.”
Talon inhaled sharply and when he spoke, his voice was rough. “If you were any other woman, I’d give you what you need...but you’re not.” His hand dropped.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to flail my arms at him until he did something. Like hold me down or hit me back. I needed to feel something, anything, other than the knot of desperation in my chest growing bigger with each breath.
Talon turned to his desk. “Watch the left. Let’s see what we can find.” The images on the computer screens began to move in fast forward.
Powerless, weak, wounded, I stared.
For half an hour we watched as afternoon turned into night. There was nothing except Talon’s car as we came home from work and first me going out to the beach then Talon. The last movement was Talon putting me in the shower. I watched as he undressed me then pulled my body into his arms and held me to his chest as the water pounded down. The camera angle here was from behind so Talon’s broad shoulders concealed my nakedness but my head thrown back on his shoulder looked like a woman in the throes of passion. I stared at the screen, not sure what to think. Talon had stopped the fast forward and we were watching it in real time.
“You can see everything,” I said quietly.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “That bother you?”
Me, naked, in Talon’s arms. “Are you going to keep the footage?”
Talon turned around and looked at me. “We did nothing wrong.”
I knew that. I did. But this...this was... I dunno. Wrong. And God help me, I wanted to see it again. “Rewind it,” I whispered.
Talon stared at me. Then, his eyes still on me, he rewound the footage. And we watched it again. Every naked second of it. But this time, Talon let the video run until it showed us going inside. At the very last minute, right before we walked through the door, I caught Talon’s expression. There was no mistaking the look on his face. It was deadly.
My quick, stunned inhale made Talon turn and look at me.
I knew he knew I saw it, but I said it anyway. “You were mad.”
“Furious.”
“Why?”
Slow, controlled, he annunciated each word. “He. Shot. You.”
I walked out of his bedroom.
Chapter Twenty
Unable to bring myself to go downstairs alone, I went to the couch in the living room and curled into a ball. My phone was on the coffee table where I’d left it before my walk. I had two missed calls and a text from Buck. Two words. You okay? I picked up the phone and texted one word back. Yes
I wasn’t, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. The phone lit up a second later. On my way. I didn’t bother to type a response. I put my head on the arm of the couch and closed my eyes. Instantly I was watching myself drown then watching Talon’s angry face. I jolted upright.
Talon was standing over me. “Hungry?”
I couldn’t have forced food past my throat if my life depended on it. I shook my head.
“You okay?” Talon set another bottle of water down in front of me. There was no hint of anger in his expression now. He just looked tired.
I shrugged. Energy was crackling in the air all around us but I had no idea which one of us it was coming from.
Talon picked up the remote off the coffee table and sat down on the couch.
I stared at him.
He stared at the TV.
His bare chest looked warm and inviting. I sunk down into the cushions and everything that happened tonight boiled down into one irrefutable fact. I owed this man my life. “You saved me,” I whispered.
Talon stiffened and his tired expression molded into anger. “Don’t look at me like that. Don’t give me those eyes or stare at me like I’m the only thing that’ll make it right. I’m walkin’ a fine line right now, Layna. I’m warnin’ you, stop.”
Something inside me snapped. The walking-on-egg-shells feeling, the desperation, the need, the drowning—all of it. It turned into a force I had no control over. I crawled onto Talon’s lap and took his face in my hands. I was grateful. I was desperate. I was scared. And I needed to know it was okay, I needed to know I was okay. “No...” But the rest of the words? The ones about friendship and honor and gratitude, they got stuck in my throat as I stared into impossible green eyes.
“Jesus fucking Christ.” The harsh whisper heaved his chest then he grabbed my ass and pulled me against his rock hard body.
I don’t know who kissed who.
All I knew, this wasn’t Buck. No stars, no emotion, no burn in my heart, there was only physical need and Talon was all predator. He was in control and every movement felt one breath away from madness. He was rough, he was gentle. He was demanding, he was giving. Oh my God, he was giving. His expert tongue raked across mine as his hands sensuously mimicked his probing tongue. My breasts swelled under his touch, my back arched into him, my traitorous body responded to every single pass of his hands. Talon groaned in my mouth and pressed my hips hard against his lap as he rocked up. Feeling his rigid length between my legs, I cried out in desperation. I wanted to feel something and I wanted to feel it now. I reached for his shorts.
Talon yanked my hand away.
Shocked, I went stock still.
“Whatdaya gonna do, Sugar? Fuck me then crawl into bed with Deer Hunter?” Spite burned in his eyes.
My free hand drew back to slap him but he caught my wrist.
“Don’t push me,” he warned. “I can get rougher than you any day of the week.”
I choked back a sob. Anger, hurt and confusion swelled into a shit storm. “Why are you doing this?” I wanted to sound angry but I only sounded hurt.
“Why am I doin’ this? Who crawled on whose lap? Who kissed who, Layna? You threw yourself at me. I’m just askin’ what your end game is. I’d like to know if I’m gettin’ in a fight tonight,” he bit out venomously.
“Stop it.” Guilt washed over me in a suffocating vise grip.
“Is this your one night? You askin’ me to lay down and fuck you? Throw away a five-year friendship? Or maybe you think you want more? You wanna be my girlfriend? Move into my readymade life?” Hatred burned his every word.
I tried to pull away from his grip, get off his lap, but he sneered and only let go of my hands to snake his arms around my hips. Jerking me closer, he held me tight against his arousal.
“Let me go.” I forced menace into my voice.
“Let’s call a spade a spade, Layna. You and I both know what’s goin’ on right now. You want me because I’m here. I’m not above being used.” He laughed a sickening laugh. “God knows I’ve done it enough t
imes. But guess what? I’m not throwin’ away shit for one fuck. No woman is worth that, certainly not you.” Talon threw me onto the couch and stood.
I started to cry.
“I’m immune to tears. Don’t fuckin’ waste ’em on me,” he spat.
I knew how wrong I’d been but it was too late. “I’m sorry,” I sobbed.
“You’re sorry? For what? Kissin’ me or for me callin’ you on it? You think you’re different than any other piece of ass lookin’ to get some?” Furious, hands on his hips, standing over me, Talon was all at once frightening and beautiful in his fury.
And I was a selfish bitch. “I’m sorry for everything. You don’t deserve to be used.” I was horrified with myself. Talon had risked his life for me and all I did to repay him was use him in a moment of weakness.
“Don’t you dare—” Talon’s words barely made it past his clenched jaw before I stood up and put my hand to his lips.
He reared back.
But I wasn’t thinking straight. I had to undo this. Desperate, guilty, words flew out of my mouth unchecked. “You are a hero. You’re my hero. You saved me and you’re my hero.” I realized too late it was the last thing I should’ve said.
Talon picked up the remote and threw it against the wall, shattering the black plastic into a million pieces.
“Please don’t be mad at me,” I begged, grabbing for his arms.
“Are you fuckin’ blind?!” he yelled, throwing my hands off him.
The keypad on the wall beeped, shocking us both still for a heartbeat.
Then Talon stalked over and held his finger on the screen. “What?” he barked.
Buck’s voice came through. “I’m here.”
“Drive up.” Talon swiped the screen a few times then turned to me.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
The way Talon stared at me made me want to crawl into a hole of shame.
“Go fuckin’ change before he sees you in my clothes.”
Head down, I moved toward the stairs.
“Layna,” he bit out.
Reluctantly, I turned.
“This never fuckin’ happened.” His voice said one thing but his eyes? They were scaring me.