Lock and Load (11 page)

Megan really wanted to believe her, that this was something special to Beau. “This may sound stupid to you,” she told the other woman, “but Beau’s the first man I’ve ever let into my actual bed. Ever actually slept with at my home.”

Kari shook her head. “Doesn’t sound stupid at all. We don’t know each other very well, Megan, but just from what I’ve observed at The Edge you appear to be very particular about who you hook up with. A sub who makes careful choices.”

“I have to be.” She sighed. “Being a female in my field, you need to grow a tough skin and a real go-to-hell attitude or the jackasses will eat you alive.”

Kari laughed. “I’ll bet. But if I’m any judge of character, I’d say Beau is smitten, Maybe wrestling with it, but definitely hooked. Slade agrees with me.”

Megan swallowed and forced a smile. “Then that’s what I have to hang onto.”

“Meanwhile,” Kari said, “we can hang onto each other.”

Chapter Five

On the flight from Fort Sam, he’d managed to push all thoughts of Megan to the back of his mind, focusing on preparation for whatever their next assignment would be. Once they were back on base, he did his best to keep her out of his mind, his dreams, although it seemed the moment his head hit the pillow at night the first thing that came to him was Megan, naked and bound, on the edge of a climax. And his dick would spring to life, sometimes waking him in the middle of the night.

Oh, sure, he could email. The base had wireless set up. But he wasn’t used to back and forth contact with a woman. Every connection he’d had for the past ten years had been casual, almost incidental. And he certainly hadn’t ever chatted online with any of the subs he met at places like The Edge when he was in between assignments. This was all so new to him. He wasn’t even sure he trusted it yet.

There was that word again. Trust. Something they both seemed to have trouble with.

Finally, sitting in the mess hall, he’d booted up his laptop and decided to check the site for the newspaper where Megan worked. Check on her articles. It was a way for him to stay connected with her without actually having contact.

And the first thing he saw on the front page of the sports section was a shot at a local awards banquet of Megan and some guy with his arm around her in a very intimate pose. Jealousy burned through him, leaving his gut seared and a bitter taste in his mouth. He should have figured, right? So much for her agreeing to be exclusive while he was away. And all that stuff about the guys she worked with being assholes, about being cautious, seemed to be just so much lip service.

She didn’t have to tell him she was good with exclusive if she hadn’t meant it. He’d been happier if she’d just told him the truth. No expectations there.

He slammed the cover on the laptop just as Slade lowered himself onto the bench beside him.

“You know that’s crap, right?” the team leader said.

“Doesn’t matter.” Beau tried for a nonchalant attitude, even as disappointment gripped him.

“Don’t give me that shit. I know you too well. Here. Kari sent this. I think this is for you.” He handed over his cell phone with a text showing in the screen.

Beau took it reluctantly. He was tempted to just delete it, but he knew his team leader would give him all kinds of shit so he scrolled through it.

Slade, I’m sending this for Megan because Beau, the idiot, didn’t give her his cell number and tell her she could contact him. I’m not telling tales out of school because she shared with me that she promised to be exclusive while he was gone. (Me: What about when he gets back?) If he happens to pull up the newspaper on his laptop tell him the picture of her is with the coach at her high school. She was the guest speaker at the awards banquet. The guy’s married and has four kids. She seems to think he’d be stupid enough to take it the wrong way.

“So.” Slade took his phone back. “Are you? That stupid?”

Beau scrubbed at his unshaven chin. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what I am. I guess I have to believe her if she went to all the trouble of sending this, but hell. Both of us are so gun-shy it’s like we’ve got a minefield between us.”

“Free advice is worth the price, but I’m going to give it anyway. Kari’s been spending time with her and says she’s the real deal. She has a lot of shit to deal with in her job, which I’m sure she told you. But she also told my wife she’d promised not to be with anyone else while you were gone and she said she meant it.” Slade rose and tapped the other man’s shoulder with his fist. “So take some advice. Something good’s come your way. Take care of it and don’t fuck it up.”

The words kept echoing in his head over and over whenever he wasn’t preparing for the mission. Even on the bumpy truck ride to the city of Kabul, he kept reliving that week in Megan’s townhouse. He didn’t have too many expectations where women were concerned, but Megan had seemed different. And he couldn’t get away from that invisible connection that tugged something deep inside him. Was he misreading the whole situation?

Enough! Do your job. Worry about her later. Pay attention to your job now.

Using his discipline, he blocked everything else from his mind as they drove slowly through the streets to the prearranged drop for the truck. He couldn’t afford to be distracted until the mission was complete.

Wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River, the city of Kabul is the capital of the province of the same name and is located in the eastern part of Afghanistan. Kabul is over three and half thousand years old. Many empires have long fought over the valley for its strategic location along the trade routes of
South
and
Central Asia
. In the war on terror, focused on defeating the Taliban, it has been the scene of many suicide bombs and attacks on Americans. Tonight Delta Force Team Charlie was hoping to prevent yet another attack on a compound currently housing many Americans working for civilian defense contractors.

Team Charlie had reviewed and analyzed the intel provided by a contact who assured them his information was reliable. A cell of ten terrorists was planning a mass suicide bombing of the compound that, if accomplished, would not only kill a huge percentage of the people housed there but also effectively destroy the construction work that had been accomplished so far. Without the workers, the rebuilding could not go forward and what was already in place would crumble in neglect.

Team Charlie’s job tonight was to take out the cell, eradicating each and every man, and to do it in a way that would not create a stir on a street of crowded apartment buildings. Not any easy task at all.

Beau had spent two hours on the range at Bagram, on the base where they were temporarily assigned that they shared with the Air Force. He took painstaking care to make sure his rifle was accurately sighted and worked with Trey focusing on a variety of targets. Slade and Marc had made the arrangements for transport for the twenty-five miles from Bagram to Kabul. Finally, at the ‘go’ signal, they had loaded up in a beat-up truck and headed to Kabul.

Each man was hyper alert, knowing danger could pounce on them at any moment. They were dressed to blend in with the city’s population, practiced by this time at moving in the strange clothing. With their weapons and other equipment concealed beneath the voluminous robes, they made their way carefully through the city itself to their destination.

If they missed anything it was sunglasses in the brightness of the day. Shades marked the wearer as American, or, at the very least, a suspect European. So they spent very little time in the daylight, concealing themselves in the spots marked for them until nightfall when they could move silently and more easily.

Their info had pinpointed the location of the apartment where the cell met as well as the time and date of the meeting when they would gather to arm for their attack. Their contact had arranged to get them into an empty apartment across the street where they could wait and watch. Beau and Trey were posted at the window while Slade and Marc hovered outside in the alley between buildings. Their job was body disposal, silent and swift. The men would arrive one at a time which made their job that much easier.

“Target one approaching.”

Slade’s voice crackled in the receiver in Beau’s ear. He blinked and focused on sighting through the scope. Yup, there he was, walking quickly down the nearly deserted street. Trey called out coordinates as Beau inhaled deeply, let his breath out and pulled the trigger.

Puff!

The man crumpled into a heap and Slade and Marc immediately emerged from the alley and hauled him into that space between the buildings. The few people on the street scurried away as if afraid of seeing anything.
Good
.

Beau flexed his shoulders and set himself to ready for the next target.

Everything went like clockwork. In less than thirty minutes they’d taken out the entire cell, the bodies had been stashed behind the garbage in the alley and Team Charlie blended into the night. Moving carefully they made their way out of the city to the point of exfiltration, waiting patiently until the chopper dropped out of the sky to pick them up.

In the cabin they bumped fists. Another mission successfully completed.

Two more months and three missions ticked off the calendar before Team Charlie was given some time to recharge. By mutual agreement, they all headed back to Slade’s ranch, this time flying commercial. Beau followed the others as Slade again led them to the private terminal where Teo would be waiting for them with the ranch’s chopper.

But this time there were a few changes. Kari was waiting with Teo, obviously planning to fly back to the ranch with Slade. No surprise there. What did startle him was the sight of Megan standing next to her car parked alongside the helo. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she had a tentative smile on her face. He stopped, holding his duffel, hope and fear battling inside him.

Slade turned and jogged back to where Beau was standing.

“My last piece of advice,” he said. “If a woman I was crazy about, who wasn’t too sure of the reception she’d get, had the guts to come meet me when I came home, I’d have the guts to grab her with both hands. Just my two cents.”

Then he nearly ran to where Kari stood, dropping his duffel and sweeping her up in his arms. Beau watched for a moment, then moved forward as if weights were attached to his feet. Then Megan took one tentative step toward him and another before stopping. He stood rooted to the spot and might have stayed there forever except for what Megan did next. She took another hesitant step, stopped, bowed her head and clasped her hands behind her back. In front of his team and Kari and anyone else watching, she was proclaiming her sub status with him.

His heart clenched and his breath caught in his throat. It barely registered when Marc jogged back to him, took his duffel and all but pushed him toward Megan. Then he was tilting up her chin, looking into her eyes and kissing her as if he’d been away for a year. When she put her arms around him, he held her tighter, his fingers threading in her hair as he tilted her head to give him better access to her mouth. When he thrust his tongue into her mouth, she offered him hers almost shyly until he sucked it into his own mouth.

The wolf whistles reminded him where he was. Where
they
were.

He tipped her head back and was stunned to see the heat and hunger in her eyes.

“I think we should take this someplace else,” he murmured. “What about your place?”

“If—that’s where you want to be.”

His laugh was raspy. “Just take me there and I’ll show you.”

* * * *

Megan had gone to some trouble to set things up at her place, giving a lot of thought to the signals she wanted to send. It was important that Beau understand she was accepting him completely as her master. That she would wait for however long it took until he was certain in his own mind that he wanted this forever. Wanted
her
forever. During the long talks with Kari, who had been a godsend, she’d come to understand Beau’s background and his total commitment to the military. His wariness where women were concerned based on everything he’d seen. She hoped that Kari and Slade’s example would open a door for them.

She had lit an aroma lamp in the living room, filling the house with the soothing essence of eucalyptus. The refrigerator and freezer were stocked with Beau’s favorite food, although she hoped they wouldn’t get to that for a long time. In the bedroom, the blinds were closed and the curtains drawn over them, creating a false darkness broken only by the soft amber light of the bedside lamp.

On the bed she’d placed her leather belt, her vibrator and some other items she’d bought in his absence. A box of condoms. And a silk scarf. He had blindfolded her at The Edge but never in her townhouse. At least not yet. She had one more surprise for him, but she was saving it for the moment. She couldn’t believe how nervous she was, and had been the entire time he was gone. What if she’d misread the whole week with him? What if she was just a fling while he was between missions?

But what if this is the real thing?

She clung to the memory of the look in his eyes when she’d greeted him in typical submissive pose, baring it all for the world to see. She hadn’t known any other way to let him know she was offering herself to him unconditionally. The kiss he’d given her was hot enough to scorch the soles of her feet, but he’d been quiet on the drive to her townhouse. And just as silent when he followed her into the bedroom.

He stopped when he saw the display on the bed, staring from the array of items to her and back again.

“For us?”

She nodded, unable to say anything just yet.

He set his duffel down carefully next to the dresser then opened his arms to her.

“Come here, girl.”

Her heart tripped as she moved toward him and walked into the shelter of his body.

“I missed you.” Her voice was muffled against his chest.

His hand stroked her back. “I—missed you, too.” He sounded as if the words were pulled out of him by a rope, but at least he’d said them.