entries. “He witnessed so much brutality.”
“And he was determined neither you nor your mother would be at risk like the women and children he’d seen hurt in Vietnam.”
“Mom refused the combat training. They fought about it. He didn’t want her to get pregnant. They fought about that, too.”
“He wanted you, Josette.”
“I know. He just didn’t want to bring a child into a world capable of the brutal cruelty he had witnessed.”
“He changed his mind about being a father.”
“But he did everything in his power to raise me not to be vulnerable. He protected me the only way he thought he could.”
“By training you to be a soldier.”
“Yes. Mom wouldn’t let him really train me while she was alive.”
“He hated that.”
“It made him feel helpless, like he’d felt in Vietnam.”
“Yes.”
“They had a strong marriage.”
“Your dad may be paranoid, but he’s not stupid.”
“No. And he loved my mom.”
“He loves you, too.”
“I always knew that, but my life makes a lot more sense now.” Her dad hadn’t trained her to be a soldier because he’d somehow seen her as less feminine than other girls, or because he’d secretly wanted a son instead. He’d done it because he loved her more than his own comfort.
“You wanted me to read the journals. Thank you.”
“So did your dad. He told you to read them, remember. You were his priority, even more than finding out who tried to kill him.”
She’d always known her dad loved her, but after reading the diaries, she realized she’d pretty much been the center of his world since the day her mom had died. She’d shared that spot with her mom before then.
“You were right about there not being a clue to who destroyed the compound.” She bit her lip in thought, but the same reality she’d faced in her bedroom stared her in the face now. “Unless I’m missing something, I can’t see any reason in those journals for someone to try to kill him.”
“And burn down the school.”
“Maybe that was incidental.”
“I don’t think so. Your dad could have been neutralized with a sniper bullet a lot easier and with less chance of discovery than setting the explosives and fire. Whoever did it wanted the compound destroyed as well.”
“Then I guess the next place to start looking is the computerized files.”
“After…”
“After what?”
“After you let me take you to heaven and then lay you gently back down on earth.”
The words made her shiver from the tip of her head to her toes. They were incredibly beautiful as well as sensual. “You sure don’t sound like a soldier right now.”
“I was a Sioux before I was a soldier.”
“You’re Sioux?”
“Yes.”
She reached out and touched his jaw with her fingertip. “You look like a warrior chief to me.”
“I am not a chief.”
“That’s good because I’m not exactly an Indian princess.”
“You are going to be my woman. That’s all that matters.”
“Will I?”
“What?”
“Be your woman?” She’d never considered the possibility he might feel possessive about her while he was trying to rid himself of his obsession for her.
“Do you want to go from me to another man?” he demanded sounding really irritated by the possibility.
What a ridiculous idea. “No, but I didn’t know if you saw making love as a one-off deal.”
“An obsession is not satisfied in one encounter.”
“How many will satisfy you?” And once he was satisfied, would it be over? Would he walk away from her and go back to his solitary soldier ways?
“I do not know. Do you need a number?”
“No.” She’d rather not know D-day. It would only give her something concrete to dread, and she didn’t want anything marring the time she had with him. No matter how short or long it might be. “I don’t need a number.”
“How soon can you be ready to go?”
“Where are we going?”
He named a historic hotel downtown known for its romantic ambiance.
“Why are we going there?”
“I do not want there to be any distractions when we come together for the first time.”
“You want to go to a hotel to make love for the first time?”
“Yes.”
“But Claire—”
“You don’t need the distraction of wondering if your roommate can hear the noises you make when I touch you.”
She forgot what she was going to tell him about Claire for a second. “You think I’m going to make noise?”
“Oh, yeah.”
She shivered deep inside again. “Enough noise that I’m going to be worried about Claire hearing in the other room?”
“Yes.”
“Good noise or bad noise?” The first time was supposed to hurt.
He reached out and brushed his fingers across her lips, making them tingle. “Good.”
That sounded promising. She licked her lips, tasting his subtle presence on them.
“So, how soon can you be ready to go?” he asked again.
Then she remembered what she was going to tell him about Claire. “We don’t have to go anywhere.”
“Are you having second thoughts?”
“No. The thing is, Claire works nights at a nursing home twice a week. This is one of them. She probably won’t even come home between classes and going to work.”
He shrugged as if that information made no difference. “A woman’s first time should be special.”
She felt her expression going all gooey, and she couldn’t do a thing to hide it. “That’s really sweet, Nitro.”
“Daniel. I am not just another mercenary to you. After tonight, I will be your man.” He sounded really serious about this, and she finally caught on to the fact that what she called him was of major importance to him.
“I can be ready to go in twenty minutes…Daniel.”
He smiled his approval at her, and she got all warm and happy inside. “After we make love, I will tell you my true name.”
“Your true name?”
“The one I was given by the Sioux.”
“Then will you expect me to call you that?” she asked, thinking maybe this whole name thing could be taken a little too far.
“My name to you is Daniel.”
“But you want me to know your true name.” She was trying to understand and not getting very far.
“After we have shared our bodies, yes.”
