Chapter 2
Declan
“Youjustneedto get laid.” Carson’s brown eyes sparkled with mischief.
“You would say that. You’ve got pussy on the mind.” I grinned.
I leant against the wooden bar and sipped my stout. The Soho Irish pub smelt of beer and smoke. Memorabilia, worn hardbacks, dusty antique bottles and mugs sat on glass shelves behind the bar. Being a Saturday night, the place bustled with drinkers. I would have preferred somewhere low-key, but my army mate was in the mood for a crowd.
“Well, man, after the shit we’ve just witnessed, I prefer to focus on the nicer things in life.” He rubbed his dark buzz cut.
I couldn’t disagree with that. A pretty woman with soft, sexy curves beat dealing with suicide bombers any day.
“Do you think they’ll be given a home here?” I asked, thinking about the family that we’d helped evacuate from a village in Afghanistan.
He shrugged. “Not sure. There’s too many of them.”
Feeling nothing but frustration, I shook my head. I joined the SAS to help those less fortunate than me, but in the end, it was up to a politician to decide who deserved protecting.
“Hey, Dec, try not to think about it.”
“Easier said than done after what we’ve seen.”
“It’s only been what? A few days back? Let’s just get laid.” His attention settled on a pair of giggling girls across the bar.
They eyed us off and swayed on over to us.
“Bingo. Here we go,” Carson said under his breath.
“You can have them both.”
“You’re a bore, man.” He studied me closely. “It’s going to take time.”
“Yep. But I still can’t get that image of Jackson swinging on that fucking rope.”
“You couldn’t have helped him. You can’t keep wearing it.”
I sighed, overcome by guilt for not saving our army mate from himself. “I know that. We all should have been there for him. He was cracking up right under our noses. We all fucking failed.”
“He was already lost when he joined the forces. You know that.”
One of the girls stood so close, her piercingly sweet perfume travelled straight up my nose. “Hey.” She smiled. “Having a nice night?”
Carson gave me a subtle wink. “Can I buy you girls a drink?”
“I think they’ve had enough,” I said, stepping away from one of the girls whose bare shoulder rubbed against mine.
I wasn’t in the mood for girls. Or for much else. And the only reason I’d met Carson for a drink was because he virtually begged me.
“I’m Nina and this is Wendy,” the tall, pretty blonde-haired girl swayed a little as she spoke. Carson was already undressing her, going by that twinkle in his eyes.
“So, what do you both do?” Wendy asked. Her eyes slid from me to Carson and back. Shorter and curvier than her friend. With a tight top that revealed balloon like tits, she was hot in that manicured way. Despite her pretty, dark features, I wasn’t in the mood for a random hook-up.
“We’ve just finished our last tour in Afghanistan.”
Her brown eyes lit up. “That’s why you’re both so big and muscly.” She touched Carson’s large arms.
“Is it like on TV? Jumping out of aeroplanes and crawling in jungles filled with dangerous creatures?” her friend asked.