“We forced our way in and that’s when shit got crazy. My team got separated as we took on fire and fought back, closing in on the two leaders that we were supposed to capture if possible but kill if it was necessary. The last room I moved into should have been empty. We cleared it but somehow more of their soldiers moved in behind us.”
“Oh no,” she whispered.
“There was an explosion on two sides of the room. I watched as my best friend blew apart in front of my eyes.” With the memory, my own eyes slammed shut. “I can still see the smoke and debris, smell the gunpowder and metallic tang of blood. It’s like I never left sometimes. The cries of my brothers and the heavy gunfire mix together in my head. I remember the excruciating pain in my back and I knew I was hit. All I kept thinking was that I hoped we got all of those motherfuckers and that I died with my fellow Marines.”
“Dale,” Mimi cried as I opened my eyes again, staring into the liquid pools of sky blue that were swimming in tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’ve been lost since that deployment. Never could find my footing or stop having those goddamn nightmares. Everything changed when we met. You helped save me too, sunshine.”
She lifted her hands and showed me her wrists. “See these scars? I tried to take my life one night after Sean and Alexi used me for nearly five hours. I was in so much pain that I could hardly breathe and I just wanted it all to end.”
My fingers rubbed over the scars and I lifted each wrist, placing a kiss on the top. “We’re good together, Mimi. Me and you, we get one another.”
“We do, Patriot. That’s something I’ve never had until now. You make me feel safe and wanted. It means everything.”
&nbs
p; His forehead lowered to mine and we breathed together, letting the sorrow and pain of the past drift a little farther away.
“We’re gonna make it, sunshine.”
“When you say that, I actually believe you.”
I kissed her one more time, leaning back to stare at the woman I was positive that I loved. It wasn’t the right time to say those three life-changing words but I would tell her soon.
Right now, I wanted to hold her a little longer and keep the monsters that wanted to tear us apart from closing in.
The entire day was shot. I couldn’t concentrate for shit even when I filled in the club on my conversation with Mimi. My entire focus was on the woman I wanted to take to my bed and remove the last barriers between us.
My cock was hard all day and I had to keep adjusting, pretending I didn’t notice the knowing looks that Wraith and Rael tossed in my direction. Fucking assholes. They knew my struggle and found it funny as hell that I was suffering.
Mimi sure knew how to tempt my restraint. I found her after church in the common room, sitting on one of the barstools in a yellow dress that was far too short and ended at mid-thigh. Her long tan legs ended in a pair of brown western boots. Looked smooth and silky enough for my hands to roam.
Skin was on display all over her body and my gaze hungrily swept over her bare shoulders and the way her tits were pushed up against the front of the dress and daring neckline. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail and all I could think was that she looked like an innocent temptress that I wanted to corrupt for hours in my bed.
My tongue swiped across my mouth as I imagined how good she would taste when I dived into her pussy and savored that sweetness for the first time. I should have felt guilty for lusting after a girl who went through as much as she did but all the emotion in my brain was consumed with desire and need. Fuck, she was beautiful.
And her self-confidence was back as she sent me a flirtatious smile. My hand rose and rested over my heart as she blushed. She was so fucking brave to sit here in front of everyone and show off all those scars on her body, baring herself to the members of this club and everyone else. I didn’t see them as something that marred her skin. I saw the courage and determination that brought her this far and was proud to say this goddess was mine.
She was a fucking survivor and a badass. My ol’ lady.
Mimi slid from the stool and sauntered my way, swinging her hips in a seductive movement that stole every single brain cell from my head. Breathing faster, I stood there like an idiot and waited for her to approach, nearly growling when she lifted a hand and brushed her fingertips across my chest.
“Hi, Dale.”
She didn’t use my road name on purpose. Sneaky little seductress.
“I’m feeling a little lonely. You got a cure for that?”
Oh, fuck yeah. “S-sure do, sunshine.”
Rael snickered from somewhere close by and I raised a finger, flipping him off. Who cared if I stuttered? My gorgeous girl was needing me and that was all that mattered.
Not sure how I made it to our room because I blinked and we were standing inside, closed within as she lifted up on her tiptoes. “Would you do something for me?”
Anything.
“I’ve not had a guy between my legs because I wanted him there in a long time.” She blushed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.