HOSTILE: A Military Romance Novel (Military Men Book 1) (8 page)

He settled me on the floor, making sure I could stand before letting go. Instantly, he inspected the building more closely, making sure it was safe for us to hide in. I waited, my legs still shaking from the whole ordeal.

Derrick finally returned, standing directly in front of me. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His eyes slid over my body as if searching for a bloody wound.

“I’m fine,” I muttered. I tried to control the tears but a floodgate was opening. Derrick stepped closer, wrapping me in his arms and pulling me against his chest. He stroked my hair while letting me weep.

Everything from relief to grief and horror flowed out through my tears and stained his shirt. He didn’t say anything, just held on to me like he knew that was exactly what I needed.

I wanted to forget what I had seen but I couldn’t. Those images would never leave me, even if I lived to see my hundredth birthday.

When my body had stopped shaking and I couldn’t cry anymore, Derrick let me go. His hands moved to my shoulders, holding me in place while he spoke. “I’m not going to let them hurt you, Ariana. I promised you that before, and I don’t go back on my word. We’re going to get out of this shit and get back home.”

“But they’re everywhere,” I protested, remembering all those men with guns. The city was crawling with them, and those were only the ones I could see. No doubt there would be many more hiding, just waiting to take the enemy out and make an example out of them.

“We’re stronger than they are. We can do this. It doesn’t matter how many of them there are. I am going to get you to a base, and you’re going home.”

“What about you? What happens to you?” I asked. The thought of leaving him in the war zone was frightening. Surely this couldn’t be his life. Running and fighting was not a life for anyone.

Derrick hesitated before he answered, his grip firm on my shoulders so I had to listen to everything he had to tell me. “I’m a soldier, Ariana. This is what I do. I’ve been doing this for the past five years, and I’ll be doing it for as long as the Army will let me.”

“How do you do it?” Tears were brimming again, as much as I hated them. I wanted to be as strong as he needed me to be, but I was too shaken in that moment.

“I’m trained for it. This is what I signed up for. I took an oath to protect my country and people. I’m not leaving here until I know they are safe.”

He relaxed his grip on my shoulders until his hands fell away. We just stood there staring at one another, as if the city had fallen away for a while and given us some breathing space.

It was a false sense of safety, I knew that. But it was hard remembering all the evil outside the walls when looking into Derrick’s peaceful blue eyes.

“I need you to stay here for a while,” he said, shattering the silence and my moment of calm. “I’m going to find us some transport so we can get the hell out of this place.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“I don’t care, I want to stay with you.”

Derrick clenched his jaw before he replied. “You’ll slow me down, Ariana. Stay here where you can keep out of my way.”

He’d flicked the switch again and gone from the man I thought he was to the perpetual jerk he liked to believe he was. It left me feeling cold and alone, even in the heat of the desert country.

I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t say anything else and start a fight. Derrick obviously didn’t want me to slow him down, so I had no choice except to stay put like a pathetic damsel in distress.

Sitting in a shadowy corner, I surrounded myself with the stray wooden crates and steeled myself for a long wait. There was no guarantee Derrick would return. I could imagine a thousand and one ways the Taliban could catch and kill him.

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Where was a fucking car when I needed one?

When that IED had exploded in front of us, I’d thought we were toast. I was so convinced our time was up that I could see my life flashing before my eyes.

The highlight had been meeting Ariana.

I hated that fact.

Here we were, in one of the most dangerous places on fucking earth, and all I could think about was that woman. She had infiltrated my thoughts, and I hated her for it.

Seeing her crying like that had broken my heart. I just wanted to kiss away each of her tears and put that gorgeous smile back on her face. She’d shown me her vulnerability, and it had ignited the fierce warrior inside of me. I wanted nothing more than to protect her from those motherfuckers.

I had to focus on the plan. The moment my thoughts traveled back to Ariana, I wanted to go to her. Leaving her in that warehouse was one of the hardest things I’d had to do in a long time.

A vehicle. I needed some kind of transport. This was a city run by the Taliban. We had no chance of staying alive if we didn’t leave as soon as possible. They had eyes everywhere. If someone hadn’t reported the two foreigners in their city by now, it would only be a matter of time.

It was getting dark already. At least the night would give me some cover from the enemy. All I had to do was find a car I could hot-wire and we’d be out of this place in no time.

Even a fucking bicycle would have done.

I spotted an ugly brown car on a quiet street. It was parked outside an apartment building, which meant the owner could be close by. I watched it for a while, getting a feel for the neighborhood before I charged in.

The streetlights should have been on by now, but they weren’t. The Taliban had probably put them on darkness in case of a night strike. It was going to work in my favor tonight.

A rock through the window of the car from across the street was enough to shatter the glass. I waited a bit longer, making sure the noise hadn’t brought any unwanted attention.

The street was empty.

Now was my chance.

Creeping from the shadows, I slid into the car and fiddled with the wires underneath the dash. The vehicle was old, making the job easier. It started after I found the wires I needed.

The car was noisy, but I took it slow, trying to avoid any attention. I didn’t put the headlights on, hoping to move stealthily through the streets.

It seemed everyone I passed looked at me with suspicion and knew what I had done. I told myself it was only paranoia. I was jumpy, far more nervous than I should have been on a mission.

Now all I needed to do was get back to Ariana.

The city was like a maze, and without headlights, the trip was even more hazardous. It was a miracle I got back to the warehouse in one piece.

Jumping out of the car, I hurried inside with my fingers crossed. If something had happened to Ariana while I was gone, I would never forgive myself for it. I would forever beat myself up over such a stupid and fatal mistake.

“Ariana?” I whispered as loudly as I dared.

She wasn’t anywhere in sight. My heart stopped beating while all the blood rushed to my head and made me dizzy.

She was gone.

They’d taken her.

The world spun around me as I staggered around the building. There was no trace of her, no sign anywhere of her ever being there in the first place.

I wasn’t losing my mind, I was in the correct place, I hadn’t dreamed of her existence. She should have been there, waiting, like I’d instructed her.

I told her to stay in the fucking building.

Someone must have found her.

Movement at the back of the warehouse instantly made my eyes sharpen into focus and my ears prick up to hear anything.

“Derrick?” Her voice was little more than a croak, but it was enough to allow relief to flood through my body. I rushed to the corner where she was now standing.

Just as I reached her, I stopped myself from crushing her against my body. She couldn’t see how relieved I was. I couldn’t let her see that or she would know how much she affected me.

“I have a car,” I said, swallowing down all the words I wanted to say to her. “We need to go.”

She nodded solemnly. “You were gone a long time.”

“It’s how long it took.”

“I was worried about you.”

She was melting my resolve, piece by piece. It was time to get her to hate me again. It would be so much easier for both of us that way. “Do you want to stand here chatting all night or do you want to go home? I’m leaving; suit yourself.”

I turned and strode toward the door. Ariana’s light footsteps followed shortly afterwards. Her fight was gone, or at least on hold for now. One of these days she was going to hate me and the emotion was going to stick permanently.

We climbed into the car. Ariana sat very quietly, looking sexy as all hell even when she was angry. “Do you have a plan or are we just driving blind?” she asked.

“We drive until we get somewhere.”

“That’s it?”

“You have something better?” I asked, knowing Ariana loved a good challenge. I expected her to argue with me, at least throw some of her biting wit my way.

But she didn’t. All she did was shrug and sigh, curling up into a ball on the seat. Maybe I’d pushed her too far, forced her over the brink until she was crushed.

We drove in silence for a long time. Ariana snoozed restlessly after we left the city. The deserted roads all looked the same after that. I didn’t want to risk using the car’s headlights, so I was forced to drive slowly.

It was well after midnight when I realized I couldn’t go any further without some rest. As far as I could tell, we were in the absolute middle of nowhere. If I pulled off the road far enough, chances were nobody would find us even if they did happen to drive past.

The sound of the engine switching off awoke the sleeping beauty. Ariana blinked and stretched. “Are we there yet?”

“No. Go back to sleep.”

She sat up straighter. “What are we doing?”

“I need some sleep. We’re staying here for a few hours.”

“Are we safe?”

“Safe enough.”

Her eyes widened in panic as she looked around and tried to see outside. It was nothing but complete blackness out there. “Where are we?”

“The middle of nowhere. Go back to sleep.”

“I’ve slept. Should I stay up and keep watch or something?” For her to even offer reminded me what a strong woman she was. If there was someone to be stuck on this mission with, I was glad it was her.

“If you want,” I replied, shifting to get more comfortable – something that was practically impossible in the car. “But I doubt anyone will drive past tonight. I haven’t seen another vehicle in hours.”

She settled down again but still remained alert. My dick noticed everything about her in the dim lighting of the vehicle. Even when I turned the light off I could still picture the curve of her tits, the ruby redness of her lips, and the tight wetness of her cunt.

My pants grew tighter while I pictured her naked, straddling me in the car. Even despite my fatigue, I would have been up for a quick fuck. It wouldn’t be the kind that lasted for hours; it wouldn’t be an exploration of one another’s bodies. It would be quick and dirty, both of us chasing the ecstasy like horny animals.

My cock throbbed for it. All the blood in my body drained into my dick until it was painful ignoring it. All I had to do was wake Ariana and lay on the charm. Would she agree to it?

Somehow, I doubted it.

Not after how I’d been treating her.

It was dark in the vehicle and I was almost desperate enough to take care of the situation myself. But jerking off would make the car rock, I wouldn’t be able to be completely silent. Ariana would know what was going on.

What would she think?

Some girls got a kick out of watching a man masturbate. Would she be one of them?

Would she join in?

The thought of her watching me was only making the situation worse. God, I wanted to fuck her. Not only for the relief of my throbbing cock, but because we were alive and so many had lost their lives today.

But it was a stupid idea. She was still a reporter and still the target of my mission. There were dozens of reasons why fucking her was the wrong thing to do. I wished I could just get the image of her naked body out of my head.

Every time I blinked, there she was.

Naked.

Writhing.

Needing.

“Derrick?” Ariana whispered tentatively, like I might snap if she said it too loudly. My face burned with the shame of all my filthy, dirty thoughts.

“Yeah.”

“I’m scared.” The admission cost her a lot, I could tell. A strong woman like Ariana didn’t readily admit to being fearful. They hid it with everything they had, even if it killed them.

“We’ll be alright. At first dawn we’ll keep moving.”

In the shadows of the moonlight as the beams infiltrated the car, I could see the concern on her face. I wanted to kiss them away but I couldn’t.

Just like I couldn’t fuck her.

Still, I could offer her comfort. She wouldn’t be able to run home and write a scathing report on that. My hand snaked across the vehicle until it found hers.

We fell asleep holding hands.