Hold Me: Delos Series, 5B1 (15 page)

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Beau felt Callie’s
lush body against his as he slowly emerged from his deep, healing sleep. She was much smaller than he was, but felt like a cushiony pillow against his long, hard, lean body. His arm was beneath her neck, and hers was curved around his waist, away from his wound. Just the citrus scent on her skin, the silkiness of her hair against his jaw, made him smile. He was in heaven, or as close as he was ever going to get to it, here on Earth. This woman made his heart fill with such love that it left him speechless. The gentle warmth in his chest spread like a soft breeze throughout him. He heard the sounds of nature outside their windows, saw the morning light spilling in, illuminating the small, simple room.

Rolling his head to the left, he placed a soft kiss on Callie’s hair. She fit him like a glove and he relished the feeling of her against him once again. The months without her beside him had torn him apart and made him question his own masculinity, and whether he would be able to please her again. As he lay there, eyes closed, his arms around her, holding her close. He remembered their meeting, her electrifying belly dance at that chow hall where the Thanksgiving USO show was being held.

Looking back on that time, he knew that he’d immediately fallen for the redhead whose green eyes flashed with such life. That purple and silver belly dancing outfit made her that much more beautiful to him. Her grace was that of a ballerina. Only it wasn’t ballet. It was primal, teasing belly dancing at its finest.

He’d fallen so hard for Callie that he’d pursued her until he caught her. It hadn’t been easy. In fact, it had been rocky as hell, but Beau had persevered because he knew deep in his heart that this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. This was the woman he wanted to marry, the one who would carry his children.

Only now they had PTSD, a new layer weighing down on them, and on their relationship. But Beau didn’t care. He had enough belief in them to transcend it. They might have to live with it the rest of their lives, but they’d learn how to direct it, and not allow it to tear them apart. The hormone released by PTSD, cortisol, kept them in a constant, heightened state of anxiety, surging into a fight-or-flight reflex when least expected.

He sighed, sliding his fingers slowly up and down her curved spine. Her flesh was warm and firm. Callie was in top athletic condition because of the belly dancing exercises she did every day without fail. And last night, hey, he’d given her an orgasm. Never had he been so relieved, so grateful, as at that moment.

Beau hadn’t wanted to let Callie know how much he was questioning his ability to please her. What if he couldn’t? But all his worries dissolved after her orgasm. Yes, he still had it in him. He could still please her. Yes!

Callie stirred, making soft, snuffling sounds as she began to awaken. Beau smiled and opened his eyes, wanting to see her eyelashes drift open. He eased her a little downward on his arm so he could watch her awaken. Those crimson strands of hair were thick, wild, and tousled, just like her. He was so glad she was a lover of nature, of the land. He couldn’t see himself marrying some city slicker.

She lifted her long, graceful fingers, rubbing her nose, and then her sleepy looking eyes. Those thick, red lashes against her flushed cheeks brought out a dappling of freckles across them and her nose. But it was her sculpted lips that stirred his heart and once more, his erection. He was surprised, but then thought,
Why not?
She was a sensual woman in every way and he appreciated her on so many levels from physical, to emotional, and mental. She appealed to him in every possible way.

“You’re beautiful when you wake up,” he told her in a husky voice, caressing her cheek, moving his thumb across her warm skin.

“Ummm, I feel groggy, but great,” she muttered.

“It was great. More than great. It isn’t like we haven’t been under a gun,” he told her, giving her an apologetic look for the pun.

“I think it was that wonderful orgasm that symbolized that we’re now going to be in an up cycle with one another,” she whispered, leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the mouth. “That felt so good.”

Inwardly, Beau preened over her comments. “I always want to please you. Always.”

Callie slowly sat up, stretching her arms over her head. “You have
always
pleased me, Beau. We might be changed in some ways, but not in all ways. I’m going to get up and make us coffee. Want to join me out in the kitchen?”

“Sure,” he murmured, pulling the covers pooling around her hips aside. “I’m gonna get a shower first.” He took in her naked body, those full, firm breasts, those hard nipples just begging to be suckled by him once more. Beau resisted. He was sure Callie would be sore from last night’s session with one another. When she moved, she was all grace, curves, and beauty. Mentally taking a picture of Callie, he wanted to remember this moment forever, because it was the first day of their new lives together.

June 21

“How do you
think your parents will feel about you leaving here and coming back to the ranch with me?” Callie asked Beau over lunch on a bench outside their cabin. The day was unusually warm, and all the trees had sprouted green leaves for the summer. She had made them tuna sandwiches, added potato chips, and they’d sat against the cabin wall on a bench his father had made decades earlier.

“They know I’m going home to the ranch with you, Callie,” he said between bites. “Your grandfather offered to teach me how to become a foreman, and run the ranch a decade from now. I know your grandparents want to retire and Graham said it would take about ten years to turn me from a hill boy into a cowboy.” He grinned, giving her a merry look. “And your dad never wanted to run the ranch, so it’s a good fit for me to step in and get trained.”

Callie nodded, munching on the sliced sweet pickles she’d placed on another plate between them. “No, my dad loves our ranch, but he has his own career. And I know he’s grateful that you’ll be carrying it on for the family. I feel bad taking you from your mom and dad, though,” she admitted. “I love Amber and Cletus. They’re salt of the earth people, like you, Beau.”

“It does run in our family,” Beau said with a chuckle. “A hill person can live anywhere in the world, but they’ll never lose that hill blood. I won’t lose that part of myself if I trade my baseball cap in for a cowboy hat.”

“I don’t want you changed. I love you just the way you are, Beau.”

“I know. But I gave Graham my word that I’d take care of you, Callie.”

She studied him for a moment, wiping her fingers off with a paper napkin. “Would you rather stay here, Beau?”

“Nah. I’m not a woodworker, Callie. There’s no job for me here on Black Mountain. And I sure don’t want some clerking job in Dunmore. I’d never make enough money to give us a decent life. There’s no call for black ops guys like me, except in security businesses, and I don’t want to do that anymore.”

“I like you as a cowboy.”

“So do I. It’s hard, outdoor work, but I’m accustomed to that, Callie. I like being outside and in the elements.” He finished off his sandwich, wiping his mouth with the napkin. “I like that life is going to happen for us together.”

“We’ll weather whatever comes our way, Beau. PTSD or not.”

“Yes, we’ll do that together.” He offered her the last sweet pickle and she shook her head.

“I called my parents last night,” Callie offered. “I told them we booked airline tickets and gave them our arrival time at the Butte airport tomorrow afternoon.”

“Good. I imagine they were glad to hear you’re coming home.”

“Actually, they were glad
we
were coming home. I got to talk to Grandpa, and he’s picked out a nice quarter horse for you, a buckskin named Frank. He said he’s an older, wiser horse, and will be perfect for you while you learn how to ride.”

Smiling, Beau said, “He’s always had my back and I appreciate that.”

Callie stacked the plates between them. The sunlight felt wonderful and she relished in the warmth from it. “When we get home, I’m going to start learning accounting from Mom. I’ve always had a good head for numbers and I know that when my grandparents retire, my parents will want me to pitch in. I’m good at details, math, and such. I told her last night that I’d go into training with her so I can understand the business end of the ranch for when you and I take it over.”

“Everything changes, doesn’t it?”

“Grandpa’s favorite saying is, ‘The only thing we can count on is change.’”

Beau turned, slipping her left hand into his. “And there’s one change that I’m looking forward to . . .” holding her gaze he said, “marrying you.”

“Same here,” Callie whispered, suddenly emotional. Wrapping her fingers around his, she said, “My mom and grandma want to know if we’ve set a date yet.”

“What do you think? I’m open, Callie, to whatever you want.”

“How about this fall? Maybe early September? And could your parents come visit us at the ranch, then?”

“We can talk to them tonight about it. Ma is making us a special going-away dinner tonight. I think they’d both come, but my pa always has orders for his furniture to be done at specific times.”

Nodding, Callie said, “Well, let’s find out, because I want them at the ranch for the wedding, Beau. I know my family will love them just as I do.” She gave him a warm look, “I think they’ll all become great, wonderful friends.”

“I’m sure that the Thorn family would come off the top of Black Mountain to feed all our critters here and take care of them while they’re away. That’s what we do for each other here.”

“Good, because I know your father refuses to fly. He’ll have drive up to Montana.”

Chuckling, Beau nodded. “Yeah, Pa was in an airplane accident when he was in Army. They were flying a bunch of motor pool mechanics to another area and was one of the few to walk away from it. He swore then to never step foot in another plane again, and he hasn’t.”

She slid her hand across his jaw. “Let’s see what his schedule is like for furniture delivery in September, then. We can change the date if there’s a conflict. Okay?”

“I know he’d appreciate that.”

She gazed into his clear gray eyes, seeing the happiness in them. Callie smiled and nodded. “I love your parents. I love you.”

“I’m relieved we’re talking with one another, Callie.”

The rough patch was their PTSD. Callie knew that there was no cure for it. Only moderating or turning down the volume on the symptoms. Although, over time, some vets had found that some of their symptoms began to wane. Maybe theirs would too? She didn’t know. It was something they just had to live with. “Yes, we’ll keep at it,” she said softly.

“We’ll keep working at it, though,” he agreed. Giving her a boyish look, he added, “You’re teaching me a whole new level of communication: ‘Women Speak 101.’”

Laughing, Callie understood. Men thought one way, women thought another. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t find ways to hear one another, or to listen closely to what the other was saying. In the weeks since their argument, they’d both sat down to really listen to one another. And the truth be known, Callie was just as much at fault for her assumptions as Beau was. Now, they were trying their best to break the translation barrier that stood between them. And it was working.

“Well, as you put it, ‘Male Speak 101’ is just as entangled for me. I’m not a linear thinker like you, Beau. I never will be, but at least I understand where you’re coming from and that’s a huge help.”

Snickering, he slid his fingers through her hair, moving it away from her temple. “I sure like the way we communicate in bed. How about you?”

Laughing, she drowned in his amused gray gaze. “Oh, no translation needed there!”

They laughed together and Beau leaned over, kissing her warmly and lingeringly. Callie eagerly leaned forward, wanting more closeness. Beau was her life partner, as she was his. They had an equal partnership. They respected one another. And they’d gone so far as to have PTSD together as well. That she could have done without, but she knew from growing up on a Montana ranch, that not all of life was roses. It had thorns in it too. “Rough patches,” as Beau referred to them.

They had a chapter in their lives coming to an end and a new chapter beginning back at the Eagle Feather Ranch in Butte, Montana. She had no idea what would happen next, but Callie didn’t care, because she knew that the man kissing her right now loved her with his life. Now and forever.

THE BEGINNING . . .

Don’t miss Lindsay McKenna’s next DELOS series novella,

Unbound Pursuit

Available from Lindsay McKenna and Blue Turtle Publishing and wherever you buy eBooks!

Turn the page for a sneak peek of
Unbound Pursuit!

Unbound Pursuit

T
al Culver had
turned around to watch Mattie, who with swift, knowing precision had gone to work dumping the paint-filled water from the thirty jars, washing them, and turning them upside down to dry on tea towels she’d set on the countertop. The back door opened and closed, getting Tal’s attention. The children could come and go through two different exits. The side door led to the playground. The rear door, near the sink where Mattie worked, was hidden from view by a large mudroom. The hair on the back of her neck rose, instantly making Tal focus her attention on the entrance.