Two Weeks With a SEAL (The Wakefield Romance Series) (12 page)

"Nothin's'
wrong," I say, a wicked grin on my lips, "these two were just sayin'
hello, now they are sayin' goodbye," I hold up my hand in Holly's face,
folding my fingers in a 'bye-bye' wave, her eyes squinting at me. Duke grabbed
her by the arm, mumbling some swear words as they turned to leave, Chad's grip
loosening a little as they retreated.

I never saw it coming.
At the last second Holly grabbed a glass of water from the table next to ours,
tossing it in my face then turning and running on Duke's heels as they
disappeared. Chad not having the time to react as I put my hands to my face, a
gasp of shock filling my chest.

I'd never had someone do
that. It shocked me. The action as well as the cold of the water, the ice cubes
sliding down between my breasts, melting and soaking my clothes and I could
feel it running down my stomach. I stood there in shock as Dana and the maitre
'd wiped at my face with napkins, and I wasn't saying anything as they chatted
around me. Dana wiped under my eyes and I guessed she was cleaning up my
mascara because the napkin came away with the familiar black residue, and I
just looked at her, my mouth still not able to form words. Looking around the
room, I didn't see Chad, my mind filling with a load of horrible situations.
Grabbing her shoulders I almost scream, "Where's Chad?"

My heart raced, my eyes
darting around the room. All I could think of was that he went after Duke and
was beating him up in the parking lot right now, no doubt attracting attention
which would be bad for him. "He just went out to his truck hun," she
cupped my face, bringing my eyes to hers, "he went to grab you one of his
sweatshirts."

At that second he came
around the corner, a black hoodie over his arm, his brow furrowed as he found
my eyes. He handed me the sweatshirt, pulling me to my feet and kissing my
lips, his forehead to mine he whispered, "I'm gonna kick that son-of-a
bitch's ass," a rye laugh filling my chest.

"I'm gonna rip that
whore's bleached hair from her head," I say, Chad's smile warming my heart
as we laugh it off, him kissing my forehead once more and then reaching in his
pocket, taking his wallet out. He issued his apologies to the maître 'd and the
guests at the tables around us, leaving a large tip on the table and even
giving one to the maître 'd, thanking him for trying to step in. We all climbed
into the front seat of the truck, the center console up and me snuggled up to
Chad's side, Dana's hand on my knee. The heat was cranked up, our conversation
light, turning towards our plans for tomorrow, Dana planning to make a turkey
dinner.

We said our goodnights
in the driveway, Dana kissing our cheeks and I watched her walk to her house,
waving to her as she closed her front door, turning off the porch light. I was
still in a minor state of shock, walking into the living room, shedding my
boots and tossing them to the side, ripping the hoodie off of my body and
throwing it across the back of the couch, my foot hovering above the bottom
step as Chad's hands grabbed my waist, pulling me up and swinging me into his
arms, nestling my head into his neck. He ascended the stairs slowly, kicking
his shoes off just inside the bedroom door, setting me down on the cool tile
floor of the attached bathroom as he flicks on the light.

The only words we spoke
the rest of the night were 'I love you's', saying it repeatedly as we made love
in the shower, my sighs and moans of delight hitting the steam as it rose above
us; and 'goodnight' as we lay in bed the comforter pulled up around us after we
made love again. Our arms and legs were wrapped around each other, my face
snuggled under his chin, my nose and lips against his neck, my fingers tangled
in his wet hair.

I wasn't going to let
some small town loser and his dirty whore ruin the time I had left with this
man. Smiling to myself that this man was 'my man', I kiss his Adam's apple,
hearing his mumble of contentment I close my eyes, intent on making the next
week the first in many years of happiness to come.

January 23, 2012

Chad

It was just a little
after six as I sat on the bench ledge of the bay window in our bedroom.
Our
bedroom,
I laugh to myself as I think about how long I've waited to call it that. Rhea
was laying on her side, facing away from me, her hair spread out over the
pillow making her look like she had a halo. When it came to me, she did have a
halo, she was my angel. My saving grace, my safe retreat and she was finally
mine. Her breathing was even and deep, her side rising and falling, the sheets
moving just a little with each breath, giving a peek of her raven tattoo that
was across her spine, in between her shoulder blades.

I sighed, leaning the
back of my head on the sill as I think about that tattoo and what it means to
Rhea. It's a jet black raven, it's wings spread wide [being about maybe four
inches across], its beak holding the SEAL Trident, one of its talons holding a
red rose with a thorny stem, the birds eyes being red. She got it after Randy
died, the raven being his favorite bird, and he had one tattooed on his upper
arm, its talons carrying an M-4, our service weapon.

I know my leaving will
kill her a little inside every day I'm gone, but I have my duty. I'm an
American soldier. I'm a Navy SEAL. I carry my country's burden, I do their
bidding without question. I go head first into battle, defending the weak and
uprooting the evil. I've seen more places and killed more people than I'd like
to remember, fire fights and battle strategies mingling in my mind at all
times. I could issue simple commands and sentences in more languages than most
people come into contact within their lifetime.

Duke was lucky I hadn't
slit his throat in that restaurant last night, Rhea's hand in mine under the
table being the only thing that kept me grounded. If she hadn't been there I'd
be in jail right now and Duke would be either dead or dying, and I close my
eyes, silently thanking God for her. I don't like the idea of leaving her, in
fact I hate it, and I can't stand the idea of leaving her to be pestered by a
son of a bitch like Duke Orr. It bothered me when she told me that she had
slept with him, but I couldn't hold it against her. I had never staked my
claim, never told her that I wanted her to be mine till now, so I couldn't
blame her for being lonely.

I really didn't want to
fight Duke, but at the same time I did, I wanted to kick his ass, but I didn't
want to fight him because it would only bring trouble. I could see Duke egging
me on then filing charges against me, ruining any kind of life that I'm trying
to build. My hand clenches around my coffee mug as I think about what I'd do to
Duke if he touches Rhea when I'm gone, the coffee sloshing onto my boxers as my
hand shakes from the rage. Rhea stirs, making one of her little sleeping sounds
as she rolled onto her back, her face turning on the pillow towards me, her hand
coming up and sloppily swiping the hair from her face. Her arm stretched out to
where I would be laying, landing where my chest would be and her eyes fluttered
open. I get to my feet, setting my mug on the bench as she started to sit up,
"Wh-what what's wrong," she mumbled as I slid onto the bed, cupping
her cheek with my hand.

"Nothin'
beautiful," I whisper, kissing her forehead, my heart jumping at the smile
that sleepily crosses her lips, "just go back to sleep." She leans
back down on her pillow, turning on her side to face my pillow, her fingers
tracing a slow pattern on the empty space that I would be occupying.

"Why are you
up," she mumbled, a yawn stretching her beautiful lips wide, making my
mind think of all the sexy things she can do with it. Brushing the hair behind
her ear, I hear her release a little moan as my fingers trail down her neck and
across her collar bone. She is so beautiful, I wish it could be just like this
forever and I know that I'll remember this moment when I'm lying on my hard
bunk in the hot desert they were sending us to.

"I was just thinkin
but don't worry," I issue, laying down next to her, running my fingers
over her hair, "just go back to sleep, I'll be right here when you wake
up." I pulled her face to mine with my fingers under her chin, her lips
soft and warm against mine, her fingers coming up to lazily scratch at my
beard.

"Mmm," she
mumbled, a smile on her face, "you better be." Her hand slid from my
cheek, sleep reclaiming her as her breathing evened out, a smile still on those
beautiful lips.
This woman
, I thought,
this woman has me under some
sort of spell.
Smiling to myself, I slowly and tenderly got out of bed,
returning to my post on the bench of my bay window, sipping my still steaming
hot coffee.

Over the next week I was
going to make so many memories with this woman, that just thinking about it
made me chuckle. I had waited too long to make her mine and I had to make up
for all that time lost.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhea

It was dark and hot, the
sand sticking to my bare feet as I tried to trudge along, not sure where I was
going, just trying to find something or someone. There were little shacks all
over the place, pieces of cloth used as doors, dirty laundry hanging between
the different roofs and windows. Looking down at myself I note that I'm in my
purple pajama pants and white tank with no bra, and I stop walking, confused
and alarmed I yell, "What the hell?" My voice brings a barking dog my
way, his mangy coat matted with sand as he barks and dances around my legs, his
tail whipping against my legs as I try to shoo him away.

Standing in the middle
of this sandy street, between two of the small shacks, I see some movement off
to the left in front of me and I squint my eyes, slinking over to lean up against
the hardened mud walls of the tiny shack. Straining my eyes in the dim light, I
see soldiers moving in the darkness, their shoulders adorned with the American
flag, guns at the ready as they move silently around a bigger building up
ahead. I see one tap the man in front of him on the shoulder, the entire group
entering the building with shouts and yells in a foreign language, screams of
women and children filling the once peaceful night air as they run from the
building.

The fleeing women draw
me in, my feet seemingly having a mind of their own as they carry me towards
the building, the sounds of gunfire followed by flashes of light making me move
faster. Getting to the doorway where they entered only seconds before me I
hear, "Chief's down, Chief's down," the familiar voice bringing tears
to my eyes along with the thick smoke.

Bumping into a wall, I
furiously wave my arms around my face trying to clear the smoke away so I can
see, a flashlight beam bringing me into a large room, bodies littering the
floor along with detained men yelling in a strange language. In the middle of
the room was Reno and he was knelt over a fallen brother, their hands grasped
as Reno's other was holding down pressure on his neck. They couldn't see me,
Timmons basically running right through me to Reno's side, whipping his helmet
off and kneeling next to the bleeding soldier. I didn't want to get any closer
because I already knew who was lying on the floor, but my legs carried me
there.

Chad had blood gurgling
from his throat and mouth, Reno's fingers trying to stop the flow. Reno was
yelling at him to hold on as I knelt next to him in the sand, my hands hovering
over him, afraid to touch him as the tears cascaded over my cheeks. Timmons was
yelling into his walkie that they needed a medic-helio, telling whoever was on
the other end that Chief Petty Officer Chad Payne was down, then turning to
scream at Chad that he couldn't die, that "you have to go back home to
Rhea, she's waitin' for ya," Chad's reply being a sickening gurgle, more
blood flowing from his mouth.

"No, no, no, no,
no," I cried repeatedly, my hands fisting in the sand beside me.

Chad pulled Reno to him,
his lips only an eyelash from Reno's ear, his free hand reaching into his vest
pocket, pulling out a folded picture. "Take-take-take c-cca-care of-f-f
Rh-rh-rhea-aa," he choked out, slamming the picture into Reno's hand a
sickening choking sound filling the room as all other sounds go quiet.

Gripping Chad's Kevlar
vest, I shake him vigorously, my tears falling onto his bloodied face, his eyes
blankly staring at me. "No," I scream, my face going down to his
chest, smelling the gun powder and blood mingling around him, "no
baby," I run my arms and hands all over him, feeling the rough texture of
his desert camo gear. My throat feels like it's going to fall out from all of
the screaming, my voice giving out, silent tears filling his chest as I pounded
my clenched fists into it.

"No," I
scream, the sound jolting me out of bed, my eyes snapping open to the sun
coming in through the bay window, my face swinging around noting that I'm
alone. I was drenched in sweat, my face streaked with tears as I hurriedly push
the sheets and comforter back, my bare feet touching the cold floor as I
stumble towards the door, falling to one knee but getting back up, practically
launching myself down the stairs. My feet pound on the steps and I jump the
last two, my feet slapping on the hardwood floor as I use the railing to propel
myself towards the kitchen. "Chhadd," I yell, the tears still flowing
down my cheeks, his rushing figure plowing me over as we collide just outside
the kitchen, his hands clenching down above my elbows, keeping me from falling.