Bea giggles. “Another 5K?” She walks over to Tyler and hands him a plate, then heads over to Rafe to do the same. “I’m not sure…”
“You did great the last time,” he replies. Setting his two plates on an end table, he drags it over to the empty recliner across from me and Yara. Then he takes Bea’s hand, leads her over to the chair, and tugs her down onto his lap. “You didn’t even come close to finishing with all the senior citizens.”
Yara’s brows pinch in confusion. “Finishing with all the senior citizens?”
“The first time Bea ran a 5K?—”
“Jogged,” Bea corrects. “I wouldn’t say I ran. That implies I was going a lot faster than I actually was.”
Indy makes a face of disagreement. “She was going plenty fast.” To Yara, he explains, “It was Bea’s first 5K. And she was worried she’d finish all the way in the back, with the little kids and senior citizens. Which would have been fine if she had. But she did great.”
“That sounds fun,” Yara comments. “If he does a half marathon, I might start training for it. Especially if it’s for a good cause.”
A mental image fills my mind—me and Yara running side by side, flashing each other quick smiles of encouragement as we go. Then crossing the finish line together, celebrating our shared victory with a kiss. After that, we’d go out to eat to replenish our energy, and once we got back home, maybe we’d decide to shower?—
Rafe clears his throat, breaking into my very enjoyable fantasy of Yara in the shower.
Yara gives me a sly glance. Her lips twitch with amusement. “You okay?” she whispers.
Belatedly, I realize my body is responding in a very un-Thanksgiving with friends and familysort of way. My pants are uncomfortably tight, and my dick is throbbing with need. Shifting in the recliner, I try to hide my growing erection before anyone in the room sees it.
Taking a cue from Indy and Bea, I decide to move Yara onto my lap, being careful of her healing cuts and bruises as I do it. It’s been a week and a half since her attack, so her cuts are scabbed over and her bruises have shifted to a fading yellowish-brown. But I’m still conscious of the possibility of hurting her, so I’ve been trying to be extra cautious whenever I touch her.
Astute Yara immediately realizes what I’m doing and wriggles slightly once she’s on my lap. My recalcitrant dick jumps eagerly, prodding between her thighs.
Not yet,I silently remind him.Not until Yara’s healed. It doesn’t matter how badly I want her. How badlyyouwant her. Yara’s wellbeing is far more important than our needs.
“So,” Rafe says, once everyone’s eyes are on him. “I know we’re all ready for a tryptophan-induced nap. But before that, I just wanted to say a few things.”
We all sit up a little straighter, despite all of us being off-duty. It’s just instinct, coming to attention whenever the team leader wants to make an announcement, just as we all used to when we served.
“What’s up?” Indy asks. “Nothing bad, I hope.”
Rafe shakes his head. “Not at all.” He exchanges a quick side glance with Eden before continuing, “First off, I know we all gave thanks before dinner. But I was thinking, maybe we should add a new tradition of having a moment of silence for the people we wish could be here.”
In the brief silence that follows, everyone’s expressions turn sober. Plates are set onto the closest available surfaces. A slight heaviness fills the room.
Webb is the first to respond. “That’s a good idea. There are definitely some people I wish could be here.”
Webb’s mother nods. “Absolutely.”
“Okay.” Rafe lifts his chin. “So we’ll just go around, say who we’re thinking of. Then we can share a moment of silence for them. I’ll start us off.” He pauses before adding, “I’m thinking of my mother. And Mandy.”
Eden goes next. “I’m thinking about my dad.”
“Same,” Eden and Indy’s mother says. She looks between Eden and Indy. “Elliot would be so proud to see what you’ve both accomplished.”
Over the next few minutes, everyone takes their turn sharing the names of the people they’ve loved and lost. Because we’ve all lost people we cared deeply about, and no matter how long it’s been, we’ve never forgotten them.
When it gets to be Yara’s turn, she reaches for my hand before speaking. “I’d like to have a moment of silence for my parents. And—” She swallows hard. “Wells and Malik. I know they’d love to be here, if they could.”
My heart twists at the sorrow in her eyes. And I wish like anything I could take at least some of the pain away. But Tyler still hasn’t found anything to indicate that Malik might still be alive, even after over a week of looking. I knew it wouldn’t be a quick process—trying to get intel from halfway across the world, and in enemy territory, no less, isn’t an easy thing. But shit, I wish I had some good news for her after the shitstorm of bad she’s had recently.
Once Yara’s done, I kiss her and ask softly, “You doing okay?”
“Yeah.” She snuggles closer, resting her head on my shoulder. “I miss them,” she whispers, “but I think they’d all be happy to see me here.” Her gaze meets mine. The emotion in them makes my heart twist. “They’d like you, you know.”
“Who would?” I whisper back.
