Chapter 03
Soft fingertips brushed against my palm, sending sparks dancing over my skin. It was the barest of touches—the kind that whispered with the curiosity of the unknown. My whole body lit up in a cascade of sparks as if I’d touched a live wire. My skin prickled with anticipation, and I swallowed hard.
The sunflower field stretched endlessly in every direction. Their sunshine petals drank up the golden light, and their thick stalks stood tall around us. Sounds were muffled, dampened by the thickness of nature. It was perfect and peaceful.
At least it should’ve been.
“Perfect!“
Sadie exclaimed from somewhere in front of us. Her voice was distracted as she fiddled with her equipment, double-checking everything. It left us standing back to back, blind to one another. Getting us here had been a careful feat of letting Sadie walk me through the sunflowers while keeping my eyes shut. To say I wasn’t a fan was an understatement. To make it worse, she’d just left me standing there, eyes closed, while she went to fetch the other woman. “Stay just like that…”
That was easy for her to say.
We stood back to back—my stranger match and me. Every little shift of her weight pressed us together for a fraction of a second, and the sheer warmth of her body had my brain short-circuiting. I didn’t know her name or her face. I had no idea if she was excited for this or just bordering on panic like I was.
All I could focus on was touch. Her touch.
Her hand was still near mine while my body itched to do some kind of recon as a way to figure her out. Unfortunately, all I could think about was the dainty scrape of her long nails. The sharp points against the delicate nerves in my palm had my pulse stumbling in my chest, the sensation both intriguing and overwhelming.
I hated not knowing. Not so long ago, the unknown meant roadside bombs, dark windows, and empty rooftops that had the potential to hide unimaginable danger. The unknown had once carried the potential to kill me, Rhodes, or anyone else I had served with. Knowing was survival. Knowing was control.
Knowing was everything.
And the not knowing was killing me a little bit on the inside.
“This might just be the craziest thing I’ve ever done,“
the woman at my back whispered. I smiled to myself. The silky tones of her voice deliciously slid down my spine. The slight grit to it was sexy.
And all of that made me wonder who the hell she was that she could rent out an entire vineyard for a damn photoshoot. Elusive billionaire? Playboy bunny? Probably not, because I sure as hell didn’t have that kind of luck. I could handle a bossy woman.
Whatever she was, it definitely paled in comparison to the fact that I was a war veteran trying to figure out how to be a civilian again.
“War zones were more predictable than this,“
I muttered under my breath.
“Military?“
she asked.
“Army,“
I told her. “You?”
“I haven’t done anything nearly as honorable as that,“
she replied with a breathy laugh. Well, fuck. There was a part of me that liked her already. Just the sound of her voice and the gentle touch of her fingers had my heart racing in my chest with anticipation. She continued, “I’m May.”
May.
The name rolled around my head as I bit my lower lip.
May. May. May.
Simple and sweet.
Her nails tapped playfully along my palm.
“This is the part where you tell me your name, Captain,” May said.
“Sergeant,“
I corrected without thinking. The impressed little sound she let out made me blush. This whole interaction was oddly intimate. Heat blossomed in my stomach, mingling with the unfamiliar butterflies gathering there. “Sariah… my name is Sariah.”
“I like that—”
“Okay!“
Sadie exclaimed before May could finish her sentence. I started to turn my head in her direction, but she waved quickly. “No, no! Don’t look at me! Close your eyes for me. Both of you.”
The order curled through my chest uncomfortably, but I did what she asked. The onslaught of darkness set me on edge.
“Here’s what we’re going to do: on the count of three, I want both of you to turn and look at each other for the first time. Think… bridal first looks.”
“I’ve watched so many of these reels online. They’re some of my favorites!“
May admitted. Her body shimmied against mine, her excitement palpable. I struggled to get to that place with her.
“Okay,“
I let out breathlessly, nodding too much.
“All right, here we go!“
Sadie said. “One!”
I could do this.
“Two…”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
“It’ll be okay, Sariah,“
May whispered so softly that I almost missed it.
Her pinky hooked through mine.
The kind of simple, grounding reassurance that my entire body responded to. The wave of calm from her words was devastating.
Three hadn’t even come yet, and already, she’d ruined me.