Military Romance Collection: Contemporary Soldier Alpha Male Romance (184 page)

              They were both laughing with pure joy when they tumbled flat onto the ground, which made them laugh even more. Hunter rolled over and sweetly kissed his beautiful, future bride thinking that he was the luckiest man alive!

THE END

Chapter 1

Chayla woke up suddenly. It was not from a dream or from something she heard. It was like something inside of her screamed to awaken. Her almond-shaped brown eyes flashed open and she instantly knew something was wrong. The light filtering in from the pulled back shade showed smoke and then her nostrils took in the smell. Panicked, she sat up and looked around. Her apartment was dark, but she knew that there was a fire somewhere. She was on the second floor and Chayla knew that she had to get downstairs as quickly as she could.

It was not a house fire made from a sleeping tenant that forgot to blow out a candle. The fire was started from a rash of protest that had taken over the city. What started from one slight, turned into a city upending itself and she caught a glimpse of an apartment building across the street also on fire. Her heart pounded in her chest and she made her way to the door. She didn’t think to grab her purse or anything really. Chayla just had to get out quickly.

Covering her mouth with the top of her tanktop, Chayla opened the door and thicker smoke billowed in from the hallway. She started to race down the stairs, her knees weak and close to buckling as she went down the first of two sets of stairs. There was a bump from behind and Chayla was sent sprawling down the last six steps, hitting the landing hard. She saw feet continuing down, the person not even stopping to see if she was okay.

She wasn’t. Chayla had a shooting pain going up her arm, but she got up and continued down the last flight. The smoke was getting thicker, burning her eyes. Chayla couldn’t see her own hand in front of her and she walked slower, not wanting to fall again with the numbing pain to remind her of the consequences.

Holding her breath, Chayla was feeling desperate. Her brain was screaming for oxygen and she couldn’t seem to maneuver the last hundred yards out of the building. She ran into a wall twice and finally when she was giving up hope and starting to see spots behind her eyes, a hand gripped her and pulled her from the building.

It was the sweetest breath that she had ever tasted and she turned to the tall, handsome soldier that had pulled her out. She threw her arms around him and then grimaced when she felt her arm again, reminding her that she was hurt. “Miss? Are you okay?”

Chayla looked down at the gash in her arm. She wasn’t okay, but when she looked back up into his piercing slate eyes, it suddenly didn’t seem so bad. Her heart skipped a beat and everything stood still in that moment. It was fleeting though and he was looking at her like she may have had a concussion.

“Miss?”

“Sorry, yeah I think. Thank you Sir.” Her eyes went to the rectangular piece of cloth that had his name sewed into it. ‘Sampson.’

“Why don’t you come over here and see a medic. It looks like you may need some stitches. Did you see anybody else in there?”

She shrugged that she didn’t know and looked at the pale hand on her arm from his light touch. The tall, man walked her to the back of an Army truck and handed her off to another soldier with a medic’s badge. He helped cleaned the wound, but told her that she was going to have to go to the hospital for stitches. In a daze, Chayla used his phone to call a friend to take her so she didn’t have to go in one of the ambulances that had pulled up to help people. Most of the crowds were gone, leaving destruction in their wake.

Shivering in the cold waiting, she watched the neighborhood she had lived in for many years, burn around her. It seemed like as soon as one fire was put out, another started. Her eyes searched for the man that had helped her, but she didn’t see him again. Getting into Anya’s car, they went down to the hospital and a few hours later, Chayla was released.

“Why don’t you come stay over at my house tonight?”

“I can’t. I got to go see what is left, if anything. I don’t even know if I will be able to get up there. I didn’t even grab my pictures, nothing. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Calm down, it is just stuff. I am just glad you are safe.”

Chayla wanted to agree, but the pictures of her parents that had passed where in that apartment, her whole life was there and she had to see if she could salvage any of it. Anya agreed reluctantly to take her back, though she made Chayla promise that she would call her if she needed anything. She didn’t want to leave, but Chayla was determined to get back in and see what was left of her twenty-two years of life. She had learned to let things go and accept things, but she didn’t want to let the picture go. It was just something she was not willing to do.

She was still too far to see, but she started to feel relief as there didn’t seem to be any structural damage on the outside. Anya had to park several blocks away and all she could see at first was the streams of smoke floating into the air. Getting closer to her apartment building, even with what she was there to do, her mind went back to the tall man that had saved her. There were several National Guard patrolling around the area after the fires were put out. A curfew had been ordered and they were brought in to keep the peace and Chayla hoped that she could find him. If for no other reason than to thank him properly, she had to find him.

“Miss, you can’t go in there.”

Chayla had not even seen the older man walk up in dark fatigues, his eyes sharp. “I live here and I need to get a few things.”

“I’m sorry but it will have to be cleared before anyone can go in. It is for your own safety.”

“Please…you don’t understand.”

Chayla was close to tears, her mouth unable to convey what she wanted to say. Not getting into the apartment was not an option for her.

“Santino, I’ve got this.”

Chayla turned to the voice and there he was. His blue eyes sparkled down at her and she smiled up at him a little breathless.

***

Chapter 2

“Did I thank you for saving me?”

Charles nodded and smiled. “There is no need to Ma’am, but yes I think you did so earlier. How is your arm?”

“It will be better in a few weeks. So can I really not go in there…?”

“Charles Ma’am, Charles Sampson.”

She took his offered hand and liked the way his hand engulfed hers. Chayla felt so tiny next to him, but undeniably safe. “Chayla Griffit.”

“Well Chayla, it hasn’t been checked to see if it is safe yet. Fire Marshals will come through in the morning and check the structure. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

While his words touched her, she was not worried about getting hurt, but more about one photo album. If she could get that, she decided that she could walk away from the rest of it. “I understand, it’s just…well there is something in there that I really need. I don’t want to leave it in there, the rest I could care less about.”

She piqued his interest and Charles wondered what the tiny woman wanted so badly. Her dark eyes and chocolate skin looked almost black against the night sky and she looked mysterious to him. “What is it that you need so bad Chayla?”

Her smile was quick, knowing that she was going to get what she wanted. One way or another she usually did. “A silver-cased photo album that is underneath my bed. I would just be a moment if you let me just go pop up there real quick.”

Chayla was already starting towards the entrance and he stopped her. “I didn’t say you were going to go. I can’t in good conscious allow it. I will go up there and get it for you, as long as you promise to wait here.”

She nodded her head, agreeing. Chayla really didn’t care about all the rest of it, she just wanted the photos. It was funny how little money was worth in the face of a tragedy, all she cared about was preserving memories. The rest could be rebought, though she doubted she would want half of it again. She watched him go into the smoke-filled building and sent a little prayer up that he would be okay.

When he came back down with her heart’s desire in his hands, she thanked him with another hug and a kiss on the cheek. As she settled against his hard uniformed body, she was tempted to kiss him on his lips. She moved to her tippy-toes to reach him and she mewled softly into his mouth when he kissed her back, his tongue swirling in her mouth.

Charles got ahold of himself before Chayla did, pushing her back slightly with an arm. His face was tight and she blushed under her dark skin. “Sorry, I was just a tad too happy to see it. You don’t know how much it means to me. Do you get off soon or could you go for a coffee? I would love to thank you with a meal if you have time?”

Chayla was babbling and she tried to stop the torrent of words, but she couldn’t. She ached to touch her lips and check to see if they had been scorched with the heat of their embrace. It had been a while since anyone had caught her off guard in such a way and she really did want to thank him properly. Chayla had nothing to get back to and it only put off the inevitable search for a hotel.

“Coffee would be good.”

He offered her arm and they walked down to the 24-hour diner on the corner. It was still open and had only a small scorch mark in front of it. Chayla had to imagine that the owner Rajid, had made sure to protect his investment. It was just a reminder of the madness in the city and her need to get away from it. ‘No job is worth it’. Her friend’s words in head, reminding her how differently things could have turned out.

She followed him in and picked her usual booth in the back. Always trying to get some work done, there were many morning she would go down there for a quick breakfast and a work session. “Hey Chay. I saw your building, are you okay? Damn crazies run around here at night, I swear.”

Her brown shoulders shrugged and she told herself not to choke up. Ashlea seen the conflict and nodded. “The usual?”

Chayla nodded. “What do you want Charles?”

“Coffee would be great Ma’am.”

Ashlea shot her a look over his head. It registered definite approval and she tried not to laugh. That was why she loved that place. It seemed to make even the worst days better.

“So you come here a lot?”

“Yeah, I do some of my work here. Email and all, it was always so convenient being right down the street. I think I will miss this place far more than my apartment and all the stuff.”

“I can’t imagine. I am sorry.”

“It’s okay. Stupid protesters are getting out of hand. They never seem to see the bigger picture of the destruction of their own neighborhoods. Are you from around here?”

“I live outside the city, not too far from here. They called in all NGs from the state.”

“Wow. You must think this is madness. What do you do the rest of the time?”

“I do investigations for crimes, other people, so I see this type of thing way too much.”

Chayla nodded and moved back to let Ashlea put the drinks on the table. He looked at her hot chocolate strangely, but she just shrugged her shoulders. “I hate coffee, but everyone else seems to love it. It is so bitter.”

“So what do you do?”

“Well I am an assistant at a law firm for a living, but I design websites as a hobby. Mainly for friends, but I am starting to get some actual paying clients. I like the creative side of it. Work is mind-numbing, you know?”

He nodded. Her laugh enchanted him and her facial expressions left him in awe. She was so animated and lively. To think of the night she was having, he found it strangely brave to be so positive. “So what are you going to do now?”

Her smile faltered a little and he wished he hadn’t said a word.

Chapter 3

“Back to reality I suppose. Well, my friend offered up a room at her house, but well, she has like four cats and it’s a bit much for me. So I think I will just find a hotel around here. Might be nice not to have to clean for a while and have someone else make the bed.”

Her dark-brown eyes held a touch of sadness, but even then she was trying to see the good of it all. Charles wanted to help her in some way and he wanted to get to know her better. She sucked him in like he was under a spell and he didn’t like the idea of not seeing her again, their lives never intersecting after that night.

“You should come stay with me. I am off for the night and have several extra rooms.”

His invitation shocked her and she immediately started to thank him, but refuse. She couldn’t possibly stay with a complete stranger, no matter how comfortable she felt around him. Her mind flitted to the kiss from before and she wondered if she had given him the wrong impression in her enthusiasm. Chayla imagined that he wanted more than just a little company for his offer.

“Thanks, but I couldn’t put you out like that. You have already helped me so much.”

“I want to help you. Besides, hotels are ridiculous in the city and you don’t want your friend to have to drive all the way back down here, do you? It is almost three in the morning.”

He was right, but it was a hard stretch, even with all the common sense behind his words. Could see really stay with a complete stranger? She didn’t know.

“That is really nice of you Charles, but…”

“I won’t take no for an answer. You can have a shower and you will feel good as new. I may have some extra clothes that are about your size that you can change into.”

Chayla had a retort, but she bit her tongue to stop it. Instead she thanked him and agreed to go with him. She owed him for being so nice to her and Chayla started to think of ways to thank him. One thought in particular made her blush and she looked down so he couldn’t see the embarrassment in her face for thinking such things.

“Well come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

***