Dash sighed wearily. “I’m a Breed, Mike. You let your friends know you. Knowing who and what I am puts you at risk.”
Mike shook his head again. “We were already friends, buddy. You need to loosen up some and accept that. Friends share the burden. If my wife or daughter were in danger, you would have been the first person I contacted because I know you would be the one most likely to never flinch in protecting them. Our friendship would assure you would never betray them. Not just because you’re the best damned warrior I know, but because you’re a friend, one I know and respect. It’s that simple.”
Dash pushed his fingers through his hair, sighing roughly. “I don’t know how to be a friend, Mike.”
“Like hell.” Mike frowned. “You’ve never been anything but the best friend I ever had. You think I don’t know who was looking after Serena and Mica on that last mission I took? You requested leave, flew over here, and spent a damned month in the hills watching the house to protect my family. What was that if it wasn’t friendship?”
Dash was more than surprised. “How did you know?”
Mike shot him a sardonic look. “Come on, Dash. You were damned good, I admit. But there’s no way those two ‘hunters’ that turned up dead on the other side of the mountain were anything but Gorley’s men. And you forget, that nice clean little swipe across the throat is one of your trademarks. I knew the minute I got the information what was going on.”
Dash cleared his throat uncomfortably. “The knife doesn’t make as much noise as a gun.” He shrugged. “Besides, I liked Serena. She’s too good for your sorry ass, though. I told you that already.”
But Dash was realizing something more. He was realizing that, despite the fact that he had fought to keep himself distant, a loner, the people he depended on were more than military contacts. He had told himself that was all they were, and yet, at the same time, he had formed bonds he now realized were stronger than he could have imagined.
“Everything packed then?” Mike asked as he closed the door to the Hummer.
Dash nodded. “I’m going to head up and get some sleep before leaving tonight. I appreciate you returning the Hummer for me.”
The supplies would be transferred to the plane when it arrived, then to the truck Dash had arranged to be waiting at the airfield. The plans he had worked out with Mike after receiving confirmation that Cassie would be accepted into the Breed compound were coming together quickly.
“You need any other help, you be sure to let me know, Dash.” Mike sighed. “You have a lot of people who would help you in a heartbeat.”
Dash took a deep breath. He had never considered how close he was to some of the men he had fought with until his near death. And even then he had shied away from the knowledge, always feeling that he would bring friends more danger than comfort if his secret was ever revealed.
“Serena, Mica and I are heading into town for the day,” Mike told him as they entered the house. “We’ll be back in time to catch you before you leave. Rest while you can. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Dash didn’t go to his room, though. He went to Elizabeth’s. She was still curled in the middle of the bed, a slender mound beneath the blankets, her hair flowing in wild abandon around her.
He listened as Mike and his family left the house, shaking his head at the knowledge his friend—and he admitted it now, Mike was a friend—had forced him to realize.
He had more than he ever dreamed he could have. A child, his woman, and a network of men and women working to make certain he could protect them both. Not because they were fellow soldiers, but because they were friends.
And those friends were now gone. The house was silent. There was no one there but him and Elizabeth, and the raw, aching throb of his cock. As he stood there, she rolled over, her eyes opening drowsily, watching him with a silent question. He could smell her heat, smell the soft cream building between her thighs, the need racing through her system.
“Undress, Elizabeth.” He almost winced at the growl that rumbled in his throat. “I can’t wait much longer.”
Amazingly, she moved from the bed. Her hands were shaking, the vein at her throat pulsing almost violently as she began to undress.
Her shirt fell to the floor. She loosened her jeans, drawing them slowly down her hips. Elizabeth watched him closely as she revealed the black silk and lace thong he had bought her. The scraps of sensual material matched the bra hiding the full mounds of her breasts from his view.
He undressed slowly, watching her, knowing this first time could be more than either of them could handle. If what Callan suggested was the truth, it would be better to learn now rather than later. Better to let her go before they were firmly in place back in California. He also knew there was no way he could wait any longer.
“Take off the rest.” His gaze never left hers as she unclipped the bra, drawing the cups back from the swollen mounds and shrugging it from her shoulders. Her hands went to her panties, slender fingers hooking beneath the elastic and easing them down her hips. He wanted to moan in hunger as she stepped out of them, revealing the smooth, shaven mound beneath. It glistened with her juices, the sweet earthy scent making his mouth water.
He laid his clothes over the chair as he stroked the tormented length of his erection. He was thick, large and would fill her until she screamed with the pressure. It wasn’t abnormal, but it was striking. Her eyes widened as she finally glanced lower than his face. He knew the one time she had held the hard flesh in her hand hadn’t been long enough for her to realize the full effect of this erection. He would more than fill her. He would take her as no other man ever had. Perhaps in ways neither of them could imagine.
He had never been with a woman like Elizabeth, either. One so small, so sexually uncertain and inexperienced. His women had always been raw-boned and lusty, well able to take the formidable flesh he pushed between their thighs. Elizabeth was delicate, slender. The thought of the amazing tightness he knew he would find when he entered her was enough to make his breath catch in need.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered as he approached her, feeling the hunger for her rising so sharp and fast it nearly overwhelmed him.
Her scent wrapped around him, made him drunk on the need to touch her, taste her. He stopped in front of her, his cock throbbing and heavy between his thighs, pressing against her tummy as he leaned his forehead against hers. Her hands were trembling as he linked his with them, pulling her arms gently behind her body, arching her breasts against his chests.
She was breathing roughly, staring up at him with those dark, hungry eyes.
“Maybe I need it to hurt a little.” Her whispered moan had his jaw tightening with the effort to control himself. “I never asked you to be easy, Dash.”
He growled then. “You have no idea what I’ve imagined doing to you, Elizabeth,” he told her roughly. “The many ways I?