couple rounds. Prior took a hit in the shoulder and the thigh. One of the bullets bounced off the ground and hit me in the calf.”
He lifted up the sweats around his left leg and showed me a knotted white scar.
“I let loose with all the ammo in my gun and took the fuckers out. Prior tried to keep going, but one of the bullets hit an artery in his leg. The blood… it was like a freaking fountain the way it spurted from his leg. I picked him up and carried him toward the tent, where I figured we would at least be shielded from more gunfire.”
The image in my head of Nathan bleeding and limping while gunfire and screaming erupted around him made my heart hurt. I pictured the way he must have looked dressed in boots and cammies, carrying an empty gun and his friend who was clinging to life.
“We made it to the weapons tent. I laid him out on the ground and tied my blouse around his leg as tight as I could. I screamed my head off for a medic and sent one of the guys who was running into the fray back out of it to hunt down the Corpsman.”
Nathan looked up at me.
“He didn’t want to die. He had everything to live for.”
“Of course not,” I said sympathetically. I knew then that Nathan’s friend Prior didn’t make it. I knew that out there somewhere was a little girl without a father and a woman with a broken life.
“I told him I’d get him out of there,” Nathan said, his voice breaking on his words.
“What happened?”
“I grabbed a new gun and started fighting, holding them back from the tent. Our guys got a leg up, the hostile’s were waning, and I knew they would be out of ammo soon. When the medic came into site, I grabbed another gun and ran out into the open. The fire started coming my way and I hoped it would create enough of a distraction for them to get to Prior.”
He glanced up at me. “He died, Honor.”
“That’s not your fault,” I promised him.
“They were pissed they weren’t going to be getting our weapons… so they launched a grenade at the tent. I saw it falling through the sky. I knew what was going to happen. I yelled. I ran toward them all. I wanted to get Prior and the medics out of there. But I was too late. The entire tent blew in a massive blast. All that ammo…” he said, his voice trailing away.
“You ran toward the tent?” I asked incredulously. “Even after you saw the grenade?”
He looked at me. “Yes. I was the reason they were in there. Prior was lying in there because I told him he’d be safe.”
“You couldn’t have known they would blow the place up.”
“I should have thought that far ahead. I should have been in there to get him out.”
I reached up and touched the jagged scar across his cheek. The scar he got while trying to save other men’s lives. He could’ve ran away. He could have ducked and covered.
He didn’t.
He almost died trying to save them.
“I’m so glad you didn’t die,” I whispered.
He stilled and looked me in the eyes. “I should have died with them. They died for my mistake. The blast was so strong it threw me backward. That’s what saved my life.”
I sat up just a little bit straighter and took his face in the palms of my hands. He watched me through somber blue eyes as I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the reminder of the night he almost died. The scar was puckered and raised a bit, so I kissed it again. When I pulled away, I ran my thumb over the scar just below his bottom lip.
Before I could stop myself, I leaned forward and gently kissed the underside of that lip, aiming directly for the scar.
He made a soft sound and brought his hands up to cup my face.
The oven timer chose that moment to beep.
He didn’t let go; he didn’t move a muscle.
“Your pie’s ready,” I whispered.
He helped me off the couch and I pulled the nicely browned and bubbly pie out of the oven and set it aside to cool. When I turned to race back into the living room, I bumped into his solid chest.
I hadn’t realized he followed.
He slipped his hands beneath my arms and lifted me onto the counter, stepping between my legs. Without a second thought, I wrapped them around his waist, pulling him just a little bit closer.
His hand delved into my hair and his mouth descended upon mine.
The scent of apples and cinnamon mixed with his heady pine scent and my eyes slid shut as his lips moved over mine. He kissed like he did everything else, with honesty and no holding back.
His lips were thick and full, insistent and soft. Every inch of my mouth surrendered to him as we met again and again and again. Nathan moved one hand around the base of my neck and used his thumb to tilt my chin up a little bit more, granting himself more access as his tongue slipped inside and began exploring my mouth.
I grabbed ahold of his biceps and hung on, squeezing his muscles and answering his kiss. I used my tongue to stroke his and lick across his luscious bottom lip and sucked it into my mouth and teased it with my teeth. He groaned and slid me across the counter until I wasn’t really sitting on it anymore, but I was being held against him by his strong arms.
My center was pressed against his rock-hard abs, and I felt the center of me begin to throb like my heartbeat was suddenly coming from down there. Moisture slicked my panties and he kissed me even deeper. I locked my ankles together behind his back and he groaned, stepping away from the counter completely and carrying me out into the living room.
He didn’t lay me out on the couch like I thought he would. Instead, he sat down and kept me in his lap. The change in position brought me up against the solid erection beneath the fabric of his sweats, and without thinking, I rocked against it.
A shudder moved through him and he pulled away and reclined against the cushions.
I was breathing heavy when he spoke.
“We should slow down.”
No. No we shouldn’t. I’d never felt like this, um,
“This isn’t why I came over here.”
“Why did you?” I asked, my voice still entirely breathless.
He swiped at my lower lip, frowning at the area that was still slightly swollen. “Because I wanted to be sure you were okay. I hadn’t planned on knocking, but I saw your light come on.”
“You understand,” I said.
He nodded slowly. “Some. I understand what’s it like to be in a situation you feel you have no control over. I know what it’s like to fight for your life even when death is trying to claim you.”
“You also know what it’s like to feel guilty you survived when someone else did not.”
He sat up abruptly, our chests bumped together, and he splayed a hand across my upper back. “I don’t want you feeling guilty, Honor.”
I lowered my eyes. “I do. We both know Mary is dead.”
“He’s going to pay for what he did to her. To you.”
I leaned against his chest. He was so big that I fit against him with no problem. I tucked my hands between us and rested my head against his shoulder, curling in as close as I could. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep?” he murmured, stroking the back of my head.
“M’kay.” I agreed, snuggling even closer.
He chuckled. “As much as I like you where you are, if you stay like that, your ribs are going to hate you in the morning.”
“Don’t care,” I mumbled.
His chest rumbled with his quiet laugh and I felt his lips graze the top of my head. “Up you go,” he said, standing up and bringing me with him.
I groaned.
