Dream Shadow (33 page)

It amazed her to feel this way. Her body simply fit with his and Grace couldn’t seem to even think about separating them. They had satisfied each other several times, yet they always returned to this companionship. Brice could have rolled away, but he didn’t. Grace may be new to sexual relationships, but she knew that the couple didn’t always end up in the middle of the bed after intercourse was finished.

It had been the same in his tent. Grace had woken up with him wrapped around her. She had thought at first that maybe it was just the cold. Now she knew it was more. The question was just what was it? Logic told her to simply ask Brice what it was about. For some unknown reason, she held back from doing that.

Was she afraid of the answer?

Grace considered that possibility. She couldn’t lie to herself. She was very emotionally entangled with Brice. Between the trust and the attraction, something was growing that her mind refused to define. The one thing that had made itself abundantly clear was the fact that Grace wanted to stay right here. It felt completely right to be in his bed with him. What was more, Grace didn’t want anyone else in Brice’s bed.

The concept of jealousy opened a can of worms that Grace had been avoiding. She had come to the conclusion up in those mountains that she wanted something more from life. While Grace wasn’t sure just what that was, she did know that she would have to fight for it. Turvel was gone. As soon as Jacobs decided that she was recovered, there would be a quiet trial and the man would simply disappear. In the world where Grace lived her life, there was very little use for due process. Turvel had known that. Grace held no pity for the man. He deserved what was coming his way.

That meant General Slynn was going to be setting the perimeters for her life. Grace had never been in the position to make demands before. She wasn’t sure she was now. She just couldn’t go back to the way it had been. There had to be some middle ground where it could all meet. It really depended on whether or not the general was even open to discussing it with her.

Grace tightened her face.

He will discuss it with me.

She wasn’t holding many cards in this game, but she had a few. One of her best ones happened to be the fact that they could not force her to work. Both pain and drugs destroyed her abilities, but she needed the Army too. She couldn’t just walk away clean. That would leave her very vulnerable to attack.

Brice shifted and rolled her onto her back. Grace watched the glitter of his eyes as he stared at her in the dark. She could feel the arousal that slowly began to build inside his body again. It transferred itself to her through every touch, every breath that she drew.

“Talk to me, Grace.” His voice was rough with the edge of passion. Grace pushed up away from the bed and rolled Brice onto his back. He allowed her to do it and she sat herself on top of his hips. Slowly, she drew the length of her hair across his bare chest. She was rewarded with his swift intake of breath.

“I’ve been talking all night. I know you understand me.” Grace rose and fell on him. He was gripping her hips now, and she was stunned by the primal glory that was displayed on his face. She kept her pace slow and even because she could tell that it was driving him to the edge.

Brice tried to move her faster but she refused his demand. His eyes locked with hers. He did understand her. It was her turn to take him someplace new. Her hips continued their dance, letting sensation build to an almost unbearable level.

Brice surged up to meet her body. He bucked under her and thrust himself forcefully into her. She clamped her thighs around his hips and held him within herself. She felt the jerk and pulse of his flesh as he started to empty himself into her body. Her own body reacted with primal instinct and she moaned as pleasure spiked through her.

Sitting up, he captured her head between his hands and slowly kissed her. Rolling her beneath his body, he started to move within her again.

“Stay with me, Grace.”

Her body slowly moved with his and she answered him with it. She would try.

Chapter Thirteen

The sun was fully up. Brice rolled over and stretched out his arms. His eyes opened but he already knew that the bed was empty except for him. Looking over at the floor, he noticed that her clothes were missing as well. That woman could move more silently than a cat.

Brice forced his body out of the bed and headed for the shower. He wanted to talk to Grace. It was truly amazing. For the first time in his life, he had found a woman that didn’t talk him to death. Instead, he was left wishing she would talk. Reflecting upon it now, Brice realized that they had in fact had very few conversations. That didn’t mean they hadn’t communicated.

They had communicated all night long. Brice turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. He felt about eight feet tall today. In an odd twist of fate, he had met one of the most fascinating women that the planet had to offer. She was as wild as a forest creature, and Brice had no intentions of asking her to change. He found it arousing the way she sought the land. He also found it arousing the way she sought him out.

Stopping in front of the bedroom window, Brice slowly scanned the forest. She was out there right now. He would be very surprised to discover her still inside the house. Looking at the landing pad that broke the forest, Brice frowned. It served as a blatant reminder of how much was unsettled at the moment.

Her scent lingered in his room. Despite the fact that he had sated his body with her several times during the night, Brice wanted her again. It was more than just sexual desire that drove him. Brice wanted to bind her to him so completely that she would never leave him. Nothing short of that commitment would satisfy him.

Making his way into the kitchen, Brice smelled the very welcome scent of coffee in the morning air. Pouring himself a mug, Brice noticed that the back door stood open. Stepping out onto the porch, he found Jacobs was watching the forest intently. There was a great deal of tension coming from the man. Raising his mug up to hide his smile, Brice observed with interest.

“She does love her morning walks,” Brice commented.

A low growl came from Jacobs as he shot Brice a heated look. “I’m going to break someone’s neck,” he shot back. “I’ve got eight men out there and no one saw her leave.”

“Sounds like you need to freshen the ranks.”

Jacobs pondered that for a long moment but he shook his head. “Grace is playing cat and mouse. Seeing if she can get out. It’s insulting that she’s succeeding but—”

“But you still see the benefit in knowing she’s not the weak link?”

“Something like that.” Jacobs fingered something and Brice recognized it as Grace’s paging unit.

“I thought she carried that thing when she went walking.” Now his temper stirred.

“I hadn’t given it back to her.” Jacobs sent him a hard look in response to his tone, but Brice wasn’t taking it.

“She isn’t playing cat and mouse,” Brice informed him. “She’s making sure you know she doesn’t like being judged unfit.”

“I thought you were keeping her busy,” Jacobs growled. “You told me you were handling her. This isn’t handling her.”

Brice took a long sip of coffee in response. “You know something, Jacobs? It’s not going to kill you to let her decide when she wants a little privacy.”

“I’m the C.O. of this unit. I make the decisions.”

“But she’s an operative, and from my observation point she’s stuck in a loop that has been making her feel pretty hopeless.”

“You thought it was a good idea to give her time too, Brice.”

“Yeah, I did, and it pissed her off. But there is a point where she shouldn’t be on such a short leash that she can’t take a morning walk when you’re sleeping in.”

“Did she tell you that?”

Brice was forced to shake his head.

Jacobs grunted. “Didn’t think so.”

“You mean you are hoping I don’t have any better luck understanding her than you do,” Brice argued. “Which is something I aim to prove you wrong on and you’re going to thank me for it.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It is,” Brice responded firmly. “The difference between us, Jacobs, is that I find her little unapproved outing promising.”

“How so?” Jacobs growled.

“Grace isn’t going to take anymore. She-has-to-clear-every-trip-to-the-head crap from you. If that’s her pager, she shouldn’t have to ask you for it.”

Jacobs opened his mouth to argue but snapped it shut. He struggled to swallow what he wanted to say.

“You’ve got a point, Brice.”

Sometimes it was amazing how easy it was to observe people. If you had enough control of your body and patience. Grace idly watched the Ranger in front of her. She was four feet from the man and had been for the last two hours. Now she had to be careful. She did not want to startle him.

She really would prefer not to get shot again anytime soon.

She was almost certain that Jacobs was looking for her now, but as Beth had pointed out, men were thick. Grace would stay out here awhile longer to ensure that he got the message.

Grace was taking a hand in her own life and she intended for Jacobs to be the first to understand the new rules. Information was going to be shared on a much more open basis. As difficult as she might find it, she and Jacobs were going to start having conversations.

The Ranger slowly moved on. He was running a search pattern. They were all linked together by radio. The small device was in his ear with a slim microphone that wrapped slightly around his jaw toward his mouth. Jacobs had to be looking for her. It was well into the morning now and sunlight filtered down among the trees. Grace had to move slowly now because it would be easy for her to be spotted.

She had made it to where she wanted to be. The helicopter pad was directly in front of her. She would not be able to cross it without being seen. However, it was not her intention to go undetected any longer. Jacobs would understand her statement clearly.

Pushing herself away from the tree, Grace walked directly toward the lead aircraft. The command to halt was completely ignored. Grace reached for the handle of the passenger-side door. It identified her fingerprints and allowed her to pull the door of the craft open and shut herself inside before the sentry got close enough to stop her. She depressed the lock button and watched as the man tried to get the door open. He would fail, and so would his partner. When it came to the birds, she had clearance only second to Jacobs.

Grace settled back into the seat to wait. She had spent far too many hours in this seat. In some ways, there was a familiar comfort to the spot. It paled in comparison to the warmth that she had found with the sheriff of Benton County. He had asked her to stay. Grace had no idea just how long that was for, but she intended to be here to find out.

Her emotions were no longer churning. Instead, they had grown into a mass of living and breathing life that she was unable to separate herself from.

The door opened, pulling Grace back to her purpose. Jacobs settled himself into the cockpit. She turned herself sideways to look at him.

“A person could wish you’d learn to just ask.”

Grace shrugged and struggled to start a conversation. Words failed her.

He offered her a paging unit. “Brice made the point that you shouldn’t have to be given this. He’s right. It used to piss me off to see Turvel treating you like an animal, but I guess I’ve got a few habits that need to go too.”

“And I need to stop expecting you to read my mind.” She took the paging unit and slipped it into her shirt pocket. “I’d like to know what happened. I don’t remember much after I hit the water.”

“Fredricks is dead. Report from base says it was a massive brain hemorrhage.”

“Good,” she said quietly. “But don’t ask me how I did it, I’m not sure and I’m not sorry.”

“Fair enough. I was hoping you could tell me how you got onto that shoreline. It was a full half hour after you went into the water. You weren’t treading water, we would have seen you.”

“I was under the helicopter.”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I should have thought of that.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She bit her lip in indecision again but forced herself to spit out something. “What…when are we… Did you catch Turvel?”

“Yes. General Slynn wants you to testify against him. I was putting it off. No reason to let that piece of…” Jacobs swallowed the profane word and gave her a quick grin in its place. “No need to let him rush your recovery. Slynn wants to talk to you. He’s been on my phone every day demanding an update, but I figured you’d want to have your head clear before facing off with him. Something else I should have let you help make the decision on.”

Grace nodded. No, things were not clear. Maybe he had a point. She was only going to get one chance at this. She should do it with herself focused.

“I see your point.” She replied as another thought crossed her mind. “Is Beth here?”

“Thought you and Brice were going to have all the fun?”

Grace narrowed her eyes at him for a moment. “No need to be crude, Jacobs.”

“Thanks for getting her out of there.” Jacobs’s face went serious with his sentiments.