Jace
Soft morning sunlight peeks through the thin curtains, illuminating Kayla’s soft features. She sleeps like a kitten, curled up next to me, her body warm and soft, her breathing gentle and rhythmic.
I watch her for a long time until the cramp in my arm becomes too painful to ignore. She stirs as I move, and her eyes flicker open.
“Morning, sweetheart.”
She smiles up at me, and my heart melts. I don’t want to leave our hut; I don’t want to go back to Hope and Jake’s Retreat where my life revolves around doctors’ appointments and recovery exercises.
For a few magical days, there’s been nothing but the two of us, living in the moment.
And for the first time since the explosion messed up my body, I’ve felt content.
The restlessness inside me has eased, and I haven’t thought about the missions I’m missing out on since we arrived in this hut.
For the first time since the accident, I’m exactly where I want to be.
Except we’re running out of food and water, and if we don’t head back soon, Grant will come and find us and haul us back to Hope.
“The rain’s stopped.” Kayla sits up and the sleeping bag slips down, exposing her smooth skin and the top of her breast. Her hair falls over her shoulder, and she looks like an ancient Greek goddess. “I guess we’ll be heading back today.”
There’s a hint of disappointment in her tone that reflects my thoughts exactly.
We should be grateful to head back for a decent meal and a hot shower, but we’ll lose the magic of this place and the magic of this brief time together.
I don’t know what happens between us when we get back.
I want to see Kayla again, but I’ve learned not to get attached when I could be deployed at any moment.
I saw too many relationships fall apart in the special forces.
It’s easier to be a man alone than to let someone down.
It never bothered me before, but for the first time in my life, I wonder what it would take to make a relationship work once I’m deployed.
If I’m deployed.
My finger curls around a strand of Kayla’s hair, which is poking out of the sleeping bag. I want to stay in this hut, living in the moment with Kayla and not having to think about what’s on the horizon.
Kayla stretches her arms in the air, exactly like a kitten waking up, and her words from last night echo through my mind.
Maybe it’s time to make a different choice.
The sleeping bag slides completely off her torso, leaving both breasts exposed. She peeks up at me with mock-innocence.
“Oops.”
The only choice I’m making right now is to please my woman.
“Come here, sweetheart.”
I pull Kayla toward me, and as her naked breasts press against my chest, every other thought and worry flees my mind.
I make love to her, slow and gentle this time, and face to face so I can watch her expression as I sink into her.
I lose myself in Kayla and in the good thing we've got going on right now.
A few hours later, we roll into town in Grant’s pickup. They cleared the mountain roads early this morning, and we hiked out of the forest to a rendezvous point with Grant.
The impact of the unexpected storm and flash flooding is evident. Branches litter the road, and there’s a small slip just before we hit town. We drive in silence, looking at the devastation.
As we reach the edge of town, some of the roads are blocked off. I glance at Kayla in the backseat, and she’s staring out the window. She’s new to town, like me, but the flood damage is unsettling.
“I’ll help with the clean up,” I tell Grant.
“Me too,” Kayla says.
“You need to get yourselves squared away first. Get a checkup at the medical center.” Grant eyes me critically and turns his gaze to Kayla in the back seat. He grunts, then turns to face the road.
I’ve known Grant long enough to learn he’s a man of few words, but he’s observant.
“What is it?”
He gives me a sideways look. “You two don’t look like you’ve spent two nights in the forest. You’re both glowing like you’ve been at a resort.”
I grin at Kayla, and she blushes. It doesn’t go unnoticed by Grant. He raises an eyebrow at me but doesn’t say anything.
“We don’t need a checkup. We had food and shelter.”
“Where do you want me to drop you?” he asks Kayla. “I’m heading into town after this to help clear the roads and check on some folks.”
I can guess who he’ll be checking on, but I don’t say anything.
“Can you drop me off at my place?” Kayla says. “I’m desperate for a hot shower.”
Kayla directs Grant to her place, and I take her bag and walk her to the door. I hand her the bag, and she takes it and slips it over her shoulder.
“Great first date.” She smiles up at me, and I chuckle.
“I had to make it memorable for you, sweetheart.”
I don’t want to leave her, but I’ve been wearing the same clothes for two days and Grant is waiting for me.
“The question is, how do we top that for a second date?” I lean against the railing of her deck, trying to appear casual. “I could take you out hiking in a snowstorm? Or we could ski off-piste during avalanche season?”
She looks thoughtful. “Hmm, maybe something safer, less adventurous.”
I open my palms. “Adventure seems to follow me around.”
Grant beeps the horn, and I really need to go, get a shower, and see what I can do to help out.
I don’t do second dates, ever. But for the first time in my life, I’m desperate to see this woman again.
Her hair hangs by her face, and I take a wayward strand between my fingers and tuck it behind her ear.
“I had a nice time with you.”
She smiles up at me expectantly. “Me too.”
I long to tell her what I’m feeling, but it’s too confusing.
All I know is that I want Kayla in my life.
But I’ve seen too many relationships go bad with special operatives.
And if what I fear is true, if my military career is over, then what do I have to offer?
Being an Army Ranger was my entire purpose in life.
I don’t know what comes next if it’s not that.
It has to be that. I have to work harder, train better, and do all the damn yoga classes.
Grant beeps the horn, and before I commit myself to something that can only end in heartbreak, I bound down the steps.
I don’t look back until I’m buckled into the front of Grant’s car, and when I do, Kayla’s back is retreating into the house and the door slams shut behind her.
Grant frowns at me. “That was a dick move.”
“What?”
“You didn’t kiss her. Even I can tell when a woman wants to be kissed.”
“What’s the point of starting something when I’m only going to leave?”
He puts the pickup in reverse and shakes his head. “For an Army Ranger, you can be dumb as shit sometimes.”