Last True Hero

by Diana Gardin

  He fingers the hole, and then smiles wryly at me. “My vest is shot. But other than a bitch of a bruise, I’ll be fine.”

  I lean back in relief, and my wrist doesn’t hold my weight. Crying out, I cradle it against my chest. Dare’s eyes cloud over as the hand on my face drops down to support my arm.

  “Everybody okay over here?”

  I don’t recognize the man asking, but Dare calls him Henderson. He tells Henderson that we need an ambulance, and I start to protest.

  Dare silences me with a hard look. “Don’t, Berkeley. Just let the paramedics take you to the hospital. Your wrist is probably broken. Okay?”

  My eyes fill with stupid tears as I nod. Dammit! Now I’m crying?

  “Oh, baby,” murmurs Dare. “I won’t leave you. Never again.”

  We watch as the police crawl over the scene. Chavez and his henchmen are gone. There’s yellow crime scene tape going up around us, and uniformed officers are taking the statements of everyone involved. I see Dare nod to two tough-looking guys discussing something with Henderson. They both grin in return.

  “Friends of yours?” I ask. I need him to talk to me as a distraction from the pain in my wrist.

  He meets my eyes, and I’m home again in his light-green gaze. His stare is intense; it causes butterflies to take flight in my stomach.

  He quickly fills me in on what’s been happening since I was taken. All I can feel is relief at the fact I have someone like Dare in my life.

  “Dare…” I begin. His eyes are aflame. “What?”

  “I missed hearing you say my name.” Oh, heaven help me. “Why did you break up with me?” Against my will, my voice breaks on the last word.

  Dare leans forward, and I close my eyes as his fingers tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear.

  “I…I heard you. That night at the garden party, when you were inside with your dad. I heard what you said about me being nothing to you.” The pain in his eyes breaks my heart again in two clean pieces.

  I swallow, and the vision of his face in front of me sways a bit. Well, damn. I wasn’t expecting that at all.

  “Those were just words to shut the Admiral up, Dare! I swear to you, I meant none of that. You are worth it. God, you are so worth it! I haven’t spoken to my dad since that night, anyway, and I haven’t needed his money. I don’t want it. I want you. Only you.”

  I’m crying quietly now. The thought that he heard those words I never even meant is tearing me up from the inside out.

  “Please forgive me, Dare. Please come back to me. If you do, I swear I will stand up to my father and tell him exactly where he can shove his money and his opinion of you. I’ve been going insane without you, Dare. I miss you so much—”

  “Stop.” He cuts me off, and both hands gently encase my face.

  “You didn’t mean what you said to him?” he asks. “You promise me you didn’t mean that shit?” His fingers are firm on my face, his lips only inches from mine.

  “I didn’t mean any of it. Dare, I want you with me. So much.”

  “Oh, baby.”

  And that’s all he gets out before his lips crash into mine.

  “Excuse me?”

  We break apart, and there’s a paramedic standing there smiling amusedly at us. “Are you the girl with the broken wrist?”

  A little dazed, I nod. “Yep. That’s me.”

  I can feel his eyes on me as the paramedic gingerly turns my wrist this way and that, and then she declares that it’s indeed broken and I need to head to the hospital to have it set.

  “Dare will take me,” I announce.

  He smiles. “Damn straight. I’m not letting you out of my sight anymore.”

  We’re preparing to leave the loading dock when a black-haired woman is led past us in handcuffs.

  “Oh, my God.” I breathe, and the officer walking with her stops. “It was you. You came to my apartment, and you…you drugged me! Why? Why’d you do it?”

  The petite woman lifts her chin. “I didn’t want to hurt you. But Chavez threatened my son. His son. So I did what I had to do.”

  The officer nudges her, and they continue walking while I stare after her.

  Dare is shaking beside me, and I reach out to grasp his hand in my good one.

  “It’s okay, Dare. She can’t hurt me anymore.”

  He meets my eyes, a determined gleam in his gaze. “No, she can’t. And neither can Chavez. He’s going back to prison for a long time, Berkeley.”

  I lean against him as we begin walking toward the front of the building. “I know, Dare. And I have you.”

  He kisses the top of my head. “Always. You’ll always have me.”

  31

  Dare

  Berkeley is the proud new owner of a hot pink cast. I laughed so hard I almost choked when she picked out the color. But was I actually surprised?

  Hell, no.

  Since I still wasn’t able to let her out of my sight, we said good-bye to her parents at the hospital. Her mother and father were actually cordial toward me, and the Admiral shook my hand and told me he’d be proud to have me in Berkeley’s life.

  I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe right now.

  Mea and Greta greet us at the door of the apartment, and both girls sweep Berkeley up into a gentle hug, cautious of her arm.

  “I was so scared, Berk-baby!” Mea’s tearful gaze is locked on her friend. “Are you okay?”

  Berkeley holds up her casted wrist. “Other than this, I’m good you guys. Thanks for worrying about me. Dare was my hero.”

  Greta cheers. “Yay for Dare!”

  I smirk and sit down on the couch, watching their reunion. “It was nothing.”

  “So, what now?” asks Greta. “What happened to the people who took you?”

  Berkeley sighs, sinking down next to me on the couch. I put a reassuring arm around her shoulder. “They were arrested. I’m sure it will be a long road, but I’ll cooperate with their prosecution as much as I can. And that’s all I can do.”

  I’m still so fucking angry that she has to deal with any of this. I’m going to eventually have to sit down with Chase and have it all out. I’m trying not to feel resentful of him for bringing Chavez into Berkeley’s world, but it’s hard. Really damn hard.

  Thinking about Chase is souring my mood, and I excuse myself to go in the bathroom and rinse my face.

  Sitting on Berkeley’s bed a few minutes later, my heartbeat begins to race. We haven’t talked about what we expect from each other, now that we’re back in each other’s orbit. I’m not sure how far to push things with her tonight, and I don’t have to push them at all if she’s not ready. I just want her in my arms, where I know she’s safe.

  I’m leaning back on my elbows, just waiting for Berkeley, when the door opens and my girl is standing there to greet me.

  I just sit still, drinking her up with thirsty eyes. She’s wearing a long, ribbed tank top that stretches snugly over her breasts and tight, gray leggings. Her hair is exactly the way I like it best, wild and loose, like it’s attempting a grand getaway. I notice now that it’s a little lighter than the last time I saw her. Must be the summer sun adding those bleached streaks. She’s staring right back at me, a slow fire burning in her eyes that’s been lit just for me.

  Fuck. Me. Slowly.

  “Dare.” It’s a whispered statement full of so much meaning that my throat instantly clogs. I open my mouth to respond, but I don’t have time to get the words out before she rocket-launches herself into my arms.

  I rise to catch her and hold on tight, because whether I want to admit it to myself or not, I need this girl. I need every part of her to collide with every part of me right now, and then I need to put it on repeat. Her beautiful scent washes over me, and I’m completely lost, or I’m completely found again.

  “Hey, baby,” I whisper into her ear, and her whole body lifts and falls in a sigh that reverberates deep in my soul.

  She’s wrapped completely around me, legs ci
rcling my waist and arms clasped around my neck, so I shuffle backward against the bed. The feeling of her body fused to mine this way is something I’m probably going to patent, so I’ll never lose it again.

  I feel a searing kiss as her lips burn into my skin. My knees buckle slightly, but I manage to back up until my legs hit the bed and I collapse onto it with Berkley sitting astride me.

  We stare into each other’s eyes, not saying a word.

  Finally, I can’t take it anymore. I need those plump lips to be touching mine. I know that there’s talking to be done, but I’m reading every word she’s writing with her eyes, and right now we both agree that we can save that shit for later.

  Keeping her gaze locked in mine, I reach out and grasp the wisp of hair I love, that hangs over one eye, between my fingers, tucking it behind her ear.

  Then, moving as slowly as I can, I lean forward to take her lips.

  Heat surges between us instantly, a heat that’s always been there but we’ve never fully explored. Our tongues tangle furiously, her hands are up and buried in my hair and I groan my pleasure into her ready and willing mouth.

  Damn. I thought that having her limber limbs wrapped around me like she’d never let go was my new favorite state of being, but now I know that having her lips fused to mine, her tongue teasing the inside of my mouth, is something I can’t ever give up again.

  I want—no, I need—to feel her skin against mine. In the next second, I’m yanking the pink tank up and over her head. She raises her arms to oblige me, then returns her lips to mine and her hands cup my face. The tenderness in her touch makes my chest hurt. It also sends my dick into overdrive, and I push my hips against hers. She moans into my mouth, and I allow my hands to roam freely over her skin.

  Running my palms up her bare back, I bring them up to her shoulders, sliding my fingers under the straps of her white, lacy bra. I slowly slide them down her shoulders and leave her mouth to trail kisses down the side of her neck. She tilts it to give me better access, and I gladly take it, sucking my way to the crook of her shoulder. Now it’s her turn to rock her hips against my growing erection, and I groan.

  Gingerly, I flip her so that she’s flat on her back in the middle of the bed. I pull the cotton fabric over my head and my shirt disappears, landing somewhere unseen on her bedroom floor. I stalk her as she leans back on her elbows, smiling coyly at me.

  “You know exactly what you do to me, don’t you?”

  Her dimples appear as she feigns confusion. I kiss the wrinkles created by her raised brows, and she giggles.

  Giggles.

  “That’s funny?” I whisper as I lean forward. Her giggle stops abruptly, turning to a gasp as my teeth graze the fabric covering one perfectly round breast. Her nipples are quickly hardening through the fabric, forming two delicious peaks there for the taking.

  She drops her head back as her hips move restlessly underneath me. “No, not funny.”

  “No,” I agree. “It’s not funny.” I reach around her to unclasp the barrier between us, and the bra falls away. I toss it aside and pull one nipple fully into my mouth, sucking hard.

  Holy mother…she tastes like every kind of fruity, succulent candy I wasn’t allowed to eat as a kid. And the way her body jerks under mine, just because of how my tongue caresses her…it’s enough to send me spinning toward the edge of pleasure.

  Rearing back, I reach down to the waistband of her leggings and tug. I tug, and with each pull of the fabric I lay a chaste kiss on another exposed patch of her silky skin. When her pants are tossed in a heap on the floor, I go back to make quick—and I mean really fucking quick—work of her panties.

  Now every single dream a man can possibly have is coming to life, right in front of me. Berkeley is completely bared to me, lying back on her bed like the sexy vixen she’s always been, her eyes dark and smoldering, her hair wild and free. And she’s looking at me like…like she wants me.

  Something somewhere deep inside me speaks then, telling me that I want to open up to this girl in a way I’ve never opened up before. I never even told the VA therapists everything that happened in Africa. Not everything. But for this girl? For this girl I want to pour out my soul right in front of her and lay it on a platter. Just for her.

  I love this girl.

  32

  Berkeley

  Dare’s lips are scorching me. His fingers are lighting me on fire. His words are turning my insides to molten lava. His eyes are leaving me breathless, electrified.

  My senses are all tangled up, and every time I try to catch my frenzied breath, I just breathe him in even deeper. He’s completely consuming me, and I freaking love it.

  As his burning lips travel south, tracing a fiery line along the side of my belly, I arch up toward him, wanting more. More of him. More of this. More of us. But instead, I blurt out something that I haven’t forgotten, something I can’t forget even right now at this pivotal moment.

  “Secrets,” I gasp.

  He stills, frozen above me. He looks up, his clear, bewitching eyes meeting mine, his lips still touching my hip bone. Keeping me locked in his gaze, he drops one more soft kiss on my burning skin and then departs, moving up adjacent to me until he’s lying on his side right beside me.

  He trails light fingers between my breasts, down to my belly, back and forth, and I shiver in response. Damn my fucking mouth.

  “I’m sorry.” A lump forms in my throat, because I think I’ve ruined the moment.

  No, I’m pretty sure I’ve ruined the moment. Maybe the night. My life?

  “Don’t,” he says quietly. “Don’t apologize. You deserve to know me. All of me. Before we…before this happens.”

  “You’re not mad?”

  He sighs. Then he pushes himself up in one fluid movement until he’s hovering over me once again. His eyes hold that familiar, intense expression that is so totally Dare, and his dark chocolate hair falls over his forehead and around his face. It’s a little longer since the last time I saw him, I realize suddenly. It’s curling toward the bottom of his neck.

  “Understand me right now, Berkeley. I am not mad at you. I’m worked up right now because you’re lying in a naked heap underneath me and my body is screaming at me to take you. I want to worship you with my lips. I want to fucking devour you right now. Because, whether you know it or not, you already own me in every way that means shit. But I’m not mad. I’m just ridiculously hot for you.”

  Heat pools in the very center of me and speeds to the throbbing spot between my thighs. He can do that to me with words alone. I seriously can’t decide if this man is angel or devil.

  Feebly, I nod as I squirm a little under his hard body. So hard.

  He rolls off of me again, returning to his spot beside me.

  And then Dare tells me his story.

  “I enlisted in the army when I was eighteen. I’d been shuffled throughout foster homes for years, and none of them were good. I saw way more pain than any kid should have to see, and I was empty inside because of it. I barely graduated high school because of all the days I missed. Some days I just didn’t go, others I was suspended for fighting. I was an angry kid, Berkeley, and there wasn’t any hope for me.

  “I was damn lucky the army found me. I talked to a recruiter one day at a mall, and that was all I needed. When I enlisted and started out in infantry, I learned a discipline I never had in my life before then. I learned how to answer to somebody, and I learned how to trust other people. I had to trust the guys in my unit because all of our lives depended on it. For the first time in my life, I began to thrive.

  “I was good at this job. I was strong. I loved the workouts and the training that went along with being a soldier. I rose through the ranks pretty quickly, because I deposited everything I had into it. I had nothing else, no one else. Army was my life. I lived it and breathed it. I loved it.

  “When I made Ranger, I was stoked. I relished the opportunity to plunge into enemy territory with my brothers, scoping dangerous pla
ces out for our Airborne friends to demolish, or for our marine friends to storm. It was what I was good at. I could plan and execute better than anyone else.”

  He pauses, his fingers still trailing along my belly, and looks up into my face. I’m riveted by his story, but one hand is stroking his hair as I stare back. I’m holding my breath, waiting for the rest of his tale.

  He bends and softly kisses my shoulder before he continues. “One night, we’re on a mission to clear an airfield in the C.A.R. That’s the Central African Republic. Rebel forces in the country used this particular airfield to distribute illegal weapons throughout the nation. It was our job to go in, make sure the place was clear for our other forces to land and take over.

  “It was pretty routine. We dropped in from the air, which we’d all done a hundred times before. But somehow, there were rebels waiting for us when we arrived, and an ambush ensued.”

  His body begins to tremble slightly, as if he’s sitting outside without a coat in the dead of winter. I run my hands through his hair, over the side of his body, and caress his face, trying to comfort him. But he’s telling his story now as if he’s somewhere far, far away. Maybe he’s still in that hellhole he’s describing. Snaking fingers of dread are beginning to climb up my spine.

  “It’s pitch-black out there. My buddies are screaming instructions around me, trying to get the upper hand on the situation. I’m holding my sidearm, but my night vision is busted and I can’t see well enough to know whether I’m shooting friendly or enemy. So I don’t shoot. I can’t.

  “Then my guys’ voices weren’t screaming orders anymore, they were just screaming. And something exploded around us. After that I couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in my ears. Everything else went quiet. Something hot sliced through the side of my fatigues, right here.” He runs a hand along his left side, where I know his scar lies.

  There’s a thin sheen of sweat covering his exposed skin. I can feel his growing agitation, but don’t know what to do to calm him. So I just keep my hands on him, continuing to run them across his bare skin.