Phoenix Inheritance

by Corrina Lawson

  All the more reason to focus on now.

  He helped her take off her T-shirt, good arm first, head and then down the bad arm. They both winced when they got a good look at the bruise on her shoulder.

  “It only hurts when I do this.” She tried to lift her arm, got a spasm of pain and stopped. Dammit, this was no way to start lovemaking.

  “Well, we’ll make sure you don’t do that. I’ll get some ace bandages.”

  She put her hand on his bare chest. “Oh, no, you’re not getting off that easy now that we’re practically naked.” Being taken care of was the last thing on her mind. Tonight. Now. Yes.

  “You sure you don’t want any, um, getting off?” He grinned.

  They were in sync, for the first time in ages. “Exactly. Sex now, worries later. Just be careful not to jostle the shoulder.”

  He slipped a hand around her back and unhooked her bra. “As careful as if you were a bomb that might go off if I touch the wrong spot.”

  “That’s a helluva analogy, Daz.”

  “That’s what you get for being involved with a SEAL.”

  Yes, along with months-long disappearances and broken promises…

  No, not tonight. He’d saved her life today. He was here tonight. Only this moment in time existed, only the two of them, on the bed, making love.

  He kissed her again, and she was lost in how good it felt to have him touch and want her again, to have him here in her home, in her bed, like she sometimes dreamed when she took out the crushed origami bear.

  Her hand roamed over his chest, as solid and strong as ever, and down to his waist, where she felt his erection pushing against his jeans. She unbuttoned and unzipped them, releasing his fully erect penis. Oh, God, this was really happening, like in one of her dreams.

  “You’re talented with one hand,” he said.

  “I bet you’re pretty good with this one.”

  Her fingers closed around his shaft, still hidden from sight by the boxers. So hard, so warm. He moaned, a guttural sound from deep within. “So good,” he murmured into her ear. “I missed you so much, Renee.”

  Not that I could tell…until today. Then she banished the thought. Tomorrow. She’d think about this tomorrow.

  His lips worked their way from her ear to her neck and her skin tingled, hot, inducing a craving for more. He had to touch her more. When his hand cupped her breast, she wanted to cheer. Instead, she arched her back and closed her eyes, and stroked his erection. Yes, this had always been the perfect part. Memories of them together came flooding back. That hotel in Greece, where they’d made love with the balcony doors open and the breeze flowing in…curled up together in small hotel in London while a storm raged outside…

  And he’d never cared she wasn’t supermodel beautiful. He’d always wanted to touch her. To him, she really was Wonder Woman.

  He pushed her hand away from his penis. “Not yet. And we’ve got too many clothes here still.”

  She blinked, here and now banishing memories of the past. Now, tonight. They’d have at least one more perfect night. He peeled off his jeans, boxers and socks, and she took a moment to just appreciate how utterly breathtaking he looked, like a hero out of a Hollywood movie. Eat your heart out, Pepper Potts.

  He’d hardly changed since they first met. Sure, he was older, more marked by scars, with a weathered line or two surrounding his eyes.

  The wear and tear only made him look more like a man.

  “You’re perfect.” The words just slipped out.

  Daz grinned. He’d never been modest. Of course, he had no reason to be. If only he were perfect out of bed.

  “Your turn to get naked,” he said.

  But I’m not perfect. Still, clothes would be in the way and she craved for Daz to touch the parts of her already throbbing for him. She moved to tug off her jeans but he grabbed her hand.

  “You’re moving that shoulder as little as possible. I’ll do it.”

  “Okay.” What if she looked different naked than he remembered? What if he remembered her skinnier before Charlie and was turned off? Oh, crap, and she was wearing stupid plain white underwear, the unsexiest thing ever. Daz was perfect. She was less so. She’d always known that. The Navy SEAL and the geek who cared about dogs more than people.

  Mismatch.

  He stretched out on the bed beside her and cupped his hand over her nipple, teasing with featherlight touches. He was toying with her. She wanted that so much. Her body arched, her hips thrusting, and if she could have curled into him, she would have. Already, she was wet and more than ready for him.

  “I want you,” he breathed in her ear.

  Good. Her toes curled.

  He hooked his thumb under her jeans and tugged. She lifted her hips, and he pulled the pants and underwear off all at once, tossing them to the side without even looking.

  Whew. Safe there. And now she was fully exposed to him. She wanted to go faster, skip this step, jump to where they touched each other and went crazy, rather than have him stare at her.

  “You’re perfect too,” he said.

  She wasn’t, but she wasn’t going to argue with him.

  He stretched out on the bed next to her once more, stroking her legs with the tips of his fingers. She let out a long shuddering breath, shaky, wondering if she could come without him barely touching her. Possibly. They’d done that once, in Greece. It had taken hours. Long, lazy, wonderful hours.

  He teased her legs apart with his fingers, exposing her, and she didn’t care about being naked any longer.

  Her nipples were hard and erect. Her hand tightened around his shoulder. Every nerve seemed exposed, as if the slightest touch would overwhelm her and send her plunging into some otherworld where touch was the only sense she had.

  Daz put one tantalizing finger between her legs and slipped it inside her. She bucked, moaned and closed her eyes. Her hips pushed against his hand, wanting more. She loved this. She hoped Daz loved doing this to her.

  “Do you want me, Renee?”

  “Yes.” Don’t make me talk. I don’t want to talk. Don’t break the spell.

  He bent his head to her. Her muscles tightened in anticipation and then his tongue was on her clitoris and there was nothing but the feel of him teasing that bundle of nerves. She tossed her head back and clenched her jaw to muffle a scream.

  He stopped for a second. Don’t stop, she thought. A few more touches and she’d explode.

  “Just let go, Renee,” he asked. “Scream if you want. You always did before.”

  “I don’t want to wake Charlie,” she breathed out. That was the last thing they needed. Charlie would…no, forget about Charlie for these few, precious moments.

  Daz went back to what he was doing, and it took only a few seconds before she lost control. Her hand curled into the covers. Her breaths grew shorter and shorter and she kept reminding herself not to scream but it was so hard…so hard…

  Her body stiffened and she let it all go as the orgasm hit. She rolled to the side, curling around Daz, her hand around his neck, her leg around his waist, and her bad arm tucked carefully against her chest. Daz. Stay with me, okay? Stay with me this time.

  Too long, too long…it had been too long…and too long away from Daz…

  Gradually, her breathing slowed. He slid up the bed and pulled her against him, covering her in warmth and heat. She licked his skin, draping kisses along his collarbone, above the handprint scar. This was no time to stop.

  “What about you?”

  He buried his hand in her hair and kissed her. Their tongues entwined. Against her leg, she felt his erection, so ready for her.

  “I need to have you,” she whispered.

  “I have an idea,” he said.

  He sat up against the headboard, keeping his legs flat in front of him. His erection jutted up, enticing.
>
  “Straddle me. That should keep your shoulder out of the way. And I want to look at you.”

  Yes, this way. Yes. She kissed him, face-to-face, and lowered herself over him. And they were one.

  “Ahhh…”

  She couldn’t tell if that was him or her. He gripped her hips. She arched her back and began to ride. Inside her, another orgasm hit and she lost control again, and all she could do was ride and feel him caress her inside, feel his hands tight around her hips, hear the sound of them moving together and the squeak of the bed.

  He came with a quiet sigh. His fingers dug into her hips. After a long moment, he pulled her against him loosely, mindful of her shoulder.

  “I’m going to do this right this time.” He kissed her.

  What? “That was pretty right.” She laughed.

  She slid off him, her body still coming down from the high. They shifted. She lay on her side, on her good shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

  “Gonna do this right,” he whispered again.

  But she didn’t answer. She didn’t want to think of what had gone wrong in the past. She only wanted him, holding her tight. Tonight was good. She was alive. Daz was here. It was perfect.

  Tomorrow would have to wait.

  Turkey, Nine Years Ago

  Daz and Gabe put up their portable tent just outside the guarded border of the relief camp, as close as possible to the medical tent where Zach was being treated.

  Daz hated to leave Zach without a guard, but the doctors had made it clear neither he nor Gabe could stay in the tent with him. Daz left word with the guards at the closest entrance about where to find them if, for some reason, Zack took a turn for the worse.

  “Staying around a few days is probably a good idea,” Daz told Gabe and they settled inside the tent for a rest. It’d been over a day since either had closed their eyes. “Adds to our cover of hiking under leave.”

  “You think they bought the whole ‘scared villagers shot at us scary foreigners’ explanation?” Gabe asked.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Why not?” Gabe asked.

  “Because what they’re really worried about is whether we’re going to cause trouble. They’re in a tough spot, being the only place around with food, water and medicine for miles, and the guards are just local untrained guys pressed into service. All it would take would be about a dozen armed men to steal everything and do some serious damage on the relief workers.”

  “Oh. I didn’t think of that.”

  “Everybody thinks SEALs are heroes. But we go into our missions armed and ready to defend ourselves. These people are out here, unarmed, trusting on goodwill while they help others. To me, that’s damned heroic. Your reaching for the gun, by the way, was a very bad move. Never do that again.”

  “Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir. It won’t happen again.” Gabe rubbed the back of his neck. “Guess I’m still touchy.”

  “It can happen, especially since this was your first firefight. Overall, you were exemplary, especially guiding us out of the mountains.” Daz stretched out and set his handgun next to his head, to be in easy reach, if needed. “Just follow my lead next time.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Gabe had been spooked by the armed men who’d wounded Zach. So was Daz, especially since he still had no idea who they were. They had been given no intel on civilian convoys with armed guards in the pre-mission briefing. For all Daz knew, their foes might have been Greeks, Turks or Bulgarians. Not being killed had been more important than identifying exactly who’d been doing the shooting.

  Daz still didn’t understand why they’d been shot at. All they’d wanted to do was cross the road. The guards had opened fire without warning. Daz figured the trucks had likely held some sort of illegal goods. Drugs, maybe? Whatever it was, unless the men pursued them to the relief camp, it wasn’t his problem, though he hoped his mission commander would let the locals know about it, so they could follow up.

  Gabe remained seated, still awake, but he’d stopped being twitchy at every little sound. The young petty officer had proven to Daz that he could handle a mission. Now Gabe needed to prove he could come down from a mission. Some people couldn’t and became glory hounds. You had to weed those out from your team. But his initial assessment of Gabe as someone steady under fire had proved true and he thought it’d be the same with the aftermath.

  “Once we rest up tonight, we should help with the recovery efforts. That might get us inside the camp to watch over Zach,” Daz added.

  “You just want a chance to hit on the Wonder Woman with the search-and-rescue dogs.” Gabe grinned.

  “Sure, why not?”

  Teasing from Gabe was a good sign, much better than him being jumpy. Not that Gabe was wrong. When Daz finally got off duty, he’d love to spend some time with Renee Black. Her jeans and work boots had done her no favors but she certainly rocked the sleeveless Wonder Woman T-shirt she’d been wearing, showing off some nice muscle definition in her arms and shoulders. He supposed she was a little short for an Amazon but she packed a lot of power in that small frame.

  More, he wanted to crack that shield she’d kept up emotionally the entire time they’d talked. He’d rarely met someone so self-contained. He couldn’t even tell if she thought he was attractive.

  She’d be a good poker player. And she had to be very disciplined too, to train SAR dogs. That meant it would be a challenge to make her relax. He liked challenges. Why did Renee train SAR dogs? What did she do in her spare time? Why the superhero T-shirt? What was she like in bed when she let go?

  “Sure, I’m up for helping the relief workers,” Gabe said. “These people obviously have had a rough time.”

  “Good,” Daz said.

  Their tent barely had enough room for the two of them to lie down flat. While Daz closed his eyes, Gabe fiddled with their radio in an attempt to communicate their position and the reason for their delay to mission ops. Until that was done, there was literally nothing else to do. It hadn’t gone as planned, but the target had been extracted and staying behind with Gabe and Zach had ensured the escape of the target and the rest of the team on the copter. Now if he could only follow his own advice and rest.

  Daz put his hands behind his head while Gabe muttered to himself or, rather, muttered at the radio for not cooperating with his repairs.

  Maybe he should drop a word tomorrow about the convoy and its guards to Renee. He bet she’d know the best person to pass it on to. It’d give him a chance to talk to her again after he’d cleaned up. He tended to make a better impression when not covered with three days’ worth of grime and sweat.

  He sighed again, knowing his mind was going in circles from being overtired.

  “Stop pining about the girl,” Gabe teased.

  “How do you know it’s the girl?”

  “It’s always a girl with you. Anyway, I’ve got the radio going again, at least partly.” Gabe tapped the utility bag that encased it. “I’ve reported in via code. We should get orders back by morning.”

  “Great.” Damn, he’d really wanted to stick around and help.

  “Did she even like you?” Gabe asked.

  “None of your business,” Daz said.

  “That’s a ‘no’ then.”

  “Fuck off.”

  Gabe grinned as Daz rolled to the side to catch some shuteye.

  Daz fell asleep wondering exactly what it would take to impress Renee.

  Renee awoke to the sound of crying. She sat up on her cot, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. Kim was perched on an overturned milk crate, her head in her hands, sobbing softly. Renee rushed over to her.

  “Kim?” Renee put her arm around her friend’s back. This had to be bad. “What’s wrong?”

  Kim wiped the tears away from her cheeks and straightened. “Sorry, sorry, Renee. I didn’t mean to wake you. I j
ust needed somewhere quiet to…to…”

  To break down, Renee thought. And whatever it was, it had to be awful to put Kim in tears. People must be dead.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “We lost the supply plane.”

  “What?” No, that couldn’t be what it sounded like. It just couldn’t be. “Do you mean it wasn’t allowed to take off, like you were worried about?”

  “No, I mean it crashed.”

  Oh, no. No, no, no. Jake and his dogs were on that plane. Jake, her mentor. Her friend. The one responsible for getting her into SAR work.

  Renee took a deep breath, her throat closing. “A crash is confirmed?”

  “It’s confirmed they lost communication and the plane never arrived. I’d say that’s enough confirmation.”

  Renee hugged her, needing the comfort herself as much as Kim. The dogs, sensing something very wrong, head-butted their knees. That brought a weak smile to Kim’s face. She took a deep breath.

  “The wreckage hasn’t been spotted yet but it’s only a matter of time. Only a crash would account for it vanishing from radar and being overdue.”

  “Fuck.” Along with Jake and his dogs, Kim’s fiancé, a physician with Doctors Without Borders, was on the plane.

  To cover her own tears, Renee knelt down to her dogs. Kim didn’t need her falling apart too.

  “Any word on survivors? What about the locater beacon?” The question had to be asked.

  “No word, no locater beacon activated.” Kim shook her head. “The plane was losing altitude slowly when they lost it on radar.”

  “If it was a slow descent, they could have had a controlled crash. There could be survivors.”

  “They why aren’t they giving off a location? The only explanation is that the plane was destroyed.”

  Or, Renee thought, someone could have turned off the locater beacon. The supplies on that plane, especially the meds and painkillers, were worth a lot on the black market.

  “Maybe it was damaged and they landed to make repairs,” Renee said.