Chapter Eight
He pulled her against his chest and held her for the longest time. Jesus, her back was covered with scars from the explosion. Some looked like they’d been incredibly deep.
“How in the hell did you survive? You still had to have been close enough because it exploded quickly after you entered the home.”
“I don’t know, I’m just glad I did and that we could be together again.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Damn right we are. I didn’t see any luggage.”
“I only have a small bag with me, and Nolan had it.”
“I’ll text him. In the meantime, you’ll wear one of my shirts. We won’t be leaving the condo for a few days. We’ll also order you some things.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll have to show you. There is a lot I have to teach you.”
“I just hope I can learn.”
He cupped her face in his hands. “Nothing is more important than you, so don’t worry about anything. I’ll have Emma, my brother’s woman, help you with things. She’s very sweet, and I think you guys will be the best of friends.”
“It would be nice to have a friend. I’ve only had my cousin Larmina for a friend my whole life.”
“I’ll think you’ll be surprised at how many friends you’ll make. It’s an unusual place. The women call the men their daddies.”
She smiled. “Really?”
“Yeah. It’s great.”
“Will you want me to call you my daddy?”
“We’ll deal with that later. We just need to get you comfortable.”
She squeezed him tightly.
“Let’s go to bed and take a nap. I can see how tired you are, and I haven’t really slept since…”
He couldn’t finish the sentence. Even with her standing in front of him, he still felt a ghost of the pain he’d felt when he’d watched her house blow up.
“I’ll get you everything you need soon.”
“I’m not worried,” she said.
He lifted her in his arms and set her on the bed. Then he walked around to close the drapes to darken the room before shutting and locking the doors.
He’d never forget the way she looked at that moment. Her little body was spread out before him like a banquet, and he didn’t know what he wanted to taste first when he had her spread out later.
She raised her arms. “Come, eshgham.”
He came down beside her, turned her onto her side, pulled her back against his chest, and drew the blanket over them.
He closed his eyes and breathed her in before opening them.
She looked over her shoulder at him. “Do you realize this will be the first time we’ll be able to sleep the night through together?”
Jesus, it was. The few stolen moments they’d had was him sneaking into her home. They would love each other for a few hours, but then he had to be gone by the time the sun rose or chance of getting caught by the village elders.
“This is the first of many,” he told her.
She nodded, yawned, closed her eyes, and slept.
Drake held her for the longest time, terrified if he went to sleep, he’d wake up and find this all a dream, and it would drive him out of his mind.
He had flashbacks of the time they’d had together—just pictures in his head of her smiling or after he’d made love to her. He’d never seen anything as beautiful as her, and he would thank God every day for the rest of his life that she was back in his life.
“Shhh,” he murmured against her temple when she started to fidget like she was having a bad dream. She had them a lot back in Afghanistan, but he couldn’t blame her. She’d been through countless traumas in her short lifetime, and he was amazed she had stayed as sweet and giving as she was.
If he remembered right, she’d only had her brother, aunt, and one cousin left her in the family. The rest had been killed. They’d become casualties of the war like so many thousands of others, and she’d been witness to just about all her family members’ deaths.
An idea came to him that he wanted to investigate. What if he tried to get her cousin and aunt to come to America? It would take calling in several favors but having them here with them and safe, he knew it would be a dream come true for Aisha.
It was something he could give her that would mean the most to her.
It would be even more special if they could be there for their wedding that had to happen within three months. He’d have them married that night if possible, and now he had to wait to see if it were even possible to get them there.
He felt himself start to slide into sleep and let go. He’d think about the situation later. But, right then, he wanted to hold his soul, his future, and his heart in his arms.