Her scream shattered the silence. He grabbed her hair, wrenched her head back, and bit at her neck, licking and sucking, driving her toward the inevitability of her climax. Her heart raced, and her lungs scrambled to draw breath. The air was disturbed by his exertion, his growls turning low and thick. She held her breath as his voice boomed with a roar while he pummeled her with his hips and came with a shout. His bulging biceps shook moments before he collapsed on top of her. There, he fought to catch his breath.
“Ryker,” she said, combing through the longer lengths of hair at the crown of his head, “that was—”
He kissed her, silencing her words, which was a good thing because she’d had no idea what to say next. When he rolled off her, she scooted back on the narrow mattress to make room. They faced each other, their quiet breaths filling the silence.
He traced a line from her shoulder, down her arm, dropped to her hip, and walked a path up her stomach to cup her breast. “I’venever felt anything more perfect.”
“More perfect than my breast?”
His sideways grin tilted with amusement. “Well, your tits are more than perfect. I meant this.” He gestured between them. “I’m not giving this up.”
“But—”
“We’ll find a way, Tia. We’ll fucking find a way.”
She let her hand rest against the ridges of muscles spanning his abdomen. “How did I not know?”
“Know what?”
“What was beneath my nose all this time?”
He lifted her hand and pulled it to his chest where the solidness of his heart thumped beneath his skin. “It wasn’t yet time, but I’m here now.”
“What do we do?” She tucked her head beneath his and closed the space between them, entwining her arms, legs, and even her heart around the solidness that was Ryker Lyons.
“I can feel you breathe,” he said, pointing to his chest. “I feel you in here.” He pointed to her heart. “Wherever your heart is, that is my home.”
She felt the same, but the reality of their situation wasn’t lost on her. In the morning, everything would change.
“I don’t want this to ever end.” She stifled a cry. “I wish things were different.”
He kissed the top of her head. “We’ll figure it out. Until then, we’ll be careful.”
But being careful meant a chance of getting caught. Colonel Vane was out there, watching. Maybe not with eagle eyes, but he was certainly circling like a hawk.
THIRTY-FIVE
Mission
TIA
They madelove through the night, slow and passionate, hard and fast, lying in bed, down on the floor, and even up against the wall. Ryker attacked Tia with an unbridled hunger, and she met his need with rising passion. But, like most things, it had to come to an end. The sun rose, a new day began, and it was time for Ryker to leave.
With even more caution than the last time, she exited her quarters and triple-checked to make sure no one was out to catch Ryker leaving her room. She rapped on the door and left, knowing he would exit the other direction.
When not wrapped around each other, in those exhausted moments between sexual bliss and frantic hunger, they had talked about the future. He had only this tour left on his enlistment and had talked about the possibility of extending his time with the band once he separated from the military. Bent’s injuries were severe enough that he wouldn’t be playing for many months to come. It was feasible that Vane could keep Ryker on temporary duty with the USO tour through the end of his deployment. After that, the sky was the limit.
Things were not as cut and dry with Tia.
The Air Force was her life, and she’d worked harder than most to earn her position on the special ops surgical team. Officers didn’t reenlist like the enlisted corps, but a multiyear contract kept her for another year. She planned to sign another right on its heels. Her dream was to make the Air Force a career, perhaps make colonel one day.
Her current assignment on the special ops surgical team was a major stepping-stone to one day being competitive enough to make colonel. When she returned stateside, she’d probably be assigned to a medical center and its many operating rooms. Perhaps she’d even take a look at teaching new up-and-coming nurse anesthetists. Her tenure with the special ops unit had given her invaluable experience, and it would be a shame not to share what she’d learned, but with Ryker leaving the Air Force and her next assignment still up in the air, their future was far from certain.
While he headed back to the rooms he now shared with Angel Fire, she wandered to the medical center in search of Collins. Hopefully, he could give her advice. He’d never steered her wrong before. Perhaps he’d heard news about where her next duty station might be. With that knowledge, Ryker could look for civilian jobs in the surrounding area. Believing in a future with him wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Insecurity pulled at her though. Knowing Ryker’s reputation, things might be different back in the real world. And, if he did continue with the band, if that was even a possibility, he would be surrounded by screaming female fans and probably hounded by groupies. How was a man, especially one as good-looking as Ryker, going to avoid letting that get to his head? Maybe all they shared was the potency of the moment. War, deployment, and living on the cusp of life and death heightened emotions. Did they even have something that could endure the stress of civilian life?
With those unsettled thoughts storming through her head, she found herself outside the field hospital. A few inquiries later, and she was knocking on the door of a borrowed, shoebox office.
