From Shadow Warrior…to hostage

Despite her sweet nature, Navy medic Bay Thorn’s will is unbreakable. It has earned her not only the respect of her team, but also the love of Navy SEAL Gabe Griffin. And as soon as she wraps up the final six months of Operation Shadow Warriors in Afghanistan, she’ll have her happily ever after….

Until her deployment goes horribly wrong.

Bay’s medical expertise is needed by the Taliban, and she is taken hostage. Her captor is ruthless and cruel, and Bay isn’t exempt from his evil intents. All that’s left now is her resolve and the too-distant memory of Gabe—her last and only hope for rescue. And to pull Bay from hell, this SEAL will have to break every rule in the book. But will Gabe find the woman he loves…or a woman broken beyond recognition?

Praise for

LINDSAY McKENNA

“A treasure of a book…highly recommended reading that everyone will enjoy and learn from.”

—Chief Michael Jaco, U.S. Navy SEAL, retired, on Breaking Point

“McKenna’s latest is an intriguing tale…a unique twist on the romance novel, and one that’s sure to please.”

—RT Book Reviews on Dangerous Prey

“Riveting.”

—RT Book Reviews on The Quest

“An absorbing debut for the Nocturne line.”

—RT Book Reviews on Unforgiven

“Gunfire, emotions, suspense, tension and sexuality abound in this fast-paced, absorbing novel.”

—Affaire de Coeur on Wild Woman

“Another masterpiece.”

—Affaire de Coeur on Enemy Mine

“Emotionally charged…riveting and deeply touching.”

—RT Book Reviews on Firstborn

“Ms. McKenna brings readers along for a fabulous odyssey in which complex characters experience the danger, passion and beauty of the mystical jungle.”

—RT Book Reviews on Man of Passion

“Talented Lindsay McKenna delivers excitement and romance in equal measure.”

—RT Book Reviews on Protecting His Own

“Lindsay McKenna will have you flying with the daring and deadly women pilots who risk their lives.…Buckle in for the ride of your life.”

—Writers Unlimited on Heart of Stone

Never Surrender

Lindsay McKenna

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Dear Reader,

Never Surrender is one of the most powerful books I’ve written. The last one in this vein was Morgan’s Wife, a Morgan’s Mercenaries saga novel about Laura Trayhern.

With our women having been in combat for well over ten years, on a shifting “front line” that no longer exists in today’s wars, we have lost 150 of our military women. Most people don’t know that, but as a veteran myself, I stay up on our women who volunteer and sacrifice for their country right alongside the men. All of them are heroes and heroines in my eyes and heart.

This is the sequel to Breaking Point (MILLS & BOON HQN, May 2014), and part of the Shadow Warriors series, where men and women are in combat side by side. You met Gabe Griffin, U.S. Navy SEAL, and Baylee Ann Thorn, U.S. Navy corpsman.

You followed their progress within Gabe’s SEAL platoon, stationed at Camp Bravo in Afghanistan. I wanted to explore some of the possible issues that would automatically occur when a lone woman is ushered into an all-male SEAL team. To say the least, Bay was not welcomed, but she was assigned a mentor, Gabe Griffin, and he helped her seed into the platoon over time.

The love that blossomed between Gabe and Bay was powerful. Breaking Point has that title for good reason. These characters impacted me more than most I’ve written about. I rarely write sequels and do it only when they grab me by the heart and I just simply cannot part with them. I want to know the “rest of their story” and end up penning a second book about their ongoing lives and love with one another.

Never Surrender is gritty, edgy and an intensely powerful story about love transcending trauma. And it is love that gets us through everything in our lives, whether the issue facing us is large or small. I don’t know how many times, while at the computer keyboard, that I cried while writing this book. I’m a sop anyway, and it’s not unusual, because in order to write at the emotional depth that I do, I have to feel the same emotions my characters do.

In the end, this book is about the incredible power of love to meet any adversity, the love between a man and a woman. And love is the greatest healing emotion we have in our world.

Warmly,

Lindsay McKenna

www.LindsayMcKenna.com

To our military women who are in combat around the world. Thank you for your service, courage, honor and your sacrifice for all of us. Being a warrior is in the heart and spirit of the person. Love of our country, wanting to fight for it, being a patriot has no gender. Hooyah.

Contents

Dear Reader

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER ONE

WAS HE TOO LATE? Navy SEAL Chief Gabe Griffin jogged through Lindbergh International Airport in San Diego, California. He was hurrying to meet his fiancée, Baylee-Ann Thorn, who was supposed to have just landed. Dressed in his desert cammies, dirty and sweaty, he’d just barely made it onto a Black Hawk helicopter to catch a lift directly to the airport. His platoon, part of SEAL Team 3, had been up in the scrub brush of southern California mountains undergoing compass and map training. Lucky for him, Chief Doug Hampton had given him the next seven days off.

Focused and weaving through the crowds, he took the escalator two steps at a time, barely breathing hard. He knew people, civilians, were looking at him, startled as he swiftly and silently moved past them. As a SEAL, he prided himself on the fact that no one, especially not his enemy, would ever hear him coming until it was too late.

His green eyes narrowed as he hit the top of the escalator. He knew which security area Bay would be coming out of, and he slowed his pace, circling to the left of the security departure exit. This was the same one he’d met her at six months earlier when she was coming out of Afghanistan. Bay had been in a firefight three days earlier, taken a bullet to her Kevlar vest and had been injured. As he thought back to last Christmas, he remembered how the airport had been flooded with holiday travelers. Gabe had found an empty wall near the outlet where all departing passengers would walk past. He chose the same spot once again.

Today, June first, the crowds were a lot lighter, less noisy, with less bumping and jostling. Glancing down at his Rolex, he saw her plane should have already landed. It was five in the evening. He took off his black baseball cap and distractedly ran his long fingers though his short, dark hair. His gaze never left the opening.

There were floor to ceiling windows through which he could easily spot Bay. God, had it been three months since he’d seen her. Their last time together, he’d managed a three-day weekend break from his platoon training, hopped a flight out of NAS Coronado to Washington, D.C., where Bay had been anxiously waiting for him.

Now, swallowing hard, Gabe leaned against the wall, his hands resting on his hips, waiting. Just waiting. He was anxious to see Bay, hold her, kiss her, love her until they were both senselessly wrapped in euphoria. It would be heaven and hell. Heaven that she’d be once more in his arms and he could love her. Hell because in ten days he would be saying goodbye to her as she deployed one last time to Afghanistan for six long, dangerous months. There, she’d get ordered into one of the black ops groups.

Gabe was praying it would be a SEAL team, which is where he had met her almost sixteen months earlier. SEALs always took the fight to the enemy. They weren’t like the Army Special Forces guys, who had a very different strategy agenda. Bay would be safer with the SEAL teams. Plus, Gabe would make their engagement known to the platoon over at Camp Bravo, an FOB, forward operating base, so brother SEALs would watch and protect her.

Sweat dribbled down his temples, and he wiped it away with his long, large-knuckled fingers. Where was Bay? Damn, he ached to see her. There was no question their love was strong and steady. It had only gotten better with time.

Gabe anxiously watched the security area. People were starting to filter out from another flight that had just arrived. He felt his cell phone vibrate. His heart leaped as he dug into his cammie pocket for it. Lifting up his iPhone, he saw a text message from Bay. His heart galloped in his chest, and his fingers trembled as he read the words:

I’m home.

God, did Bay realize she was his home? Gabe couldn’t conceive of life without her being in it.

In the thirty years of his life, she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. And in the dark recesses of his mind, Gabe pushed away his fear. After all, Bay was a vaunted 18 Delta medic, the only woman in the military to be given access to that world-class course and who had passed it with flying colors. Bay would give her life for another in a heartbeat. And that worried Gabe.

Wiping his sweaty hands down the sides of his dusty cammies, Gabe felt as if he was going to burst with impatience. The joke was, he was a respected SEAL sniper, who had patience to burn. Not today. Not now.

Where was Bay? He loved her so damned much, it hurt. Gabe had never known what real love was until he’d met Bay. She was so damned unassuming and down-to-earth humble. She never spoke about herself or her many accomplishments. All she wanted to do was serve and stop people from suffering. In the four months she’d been with his SEAL team at Camp Bravo, he’d seen her unselfishly devote herself sixteen hours a day to helping others at the medical dispensary. If she wasn’t with the SEALs on a patrol or a mission, she was at the dispensary at Bravo, helping the beleaguered doctors and nurses with shot-up Special Forces, Marines or Rangers being choppered in to be stabilized by them. At Shinwari Afghan villages, Bay worked from dawn to dusk, holding medical clinics for girls and women. How many lives had she saved? Improved? Gabe knew it was a high, unaccounted number.

Where was Bay?

Even his sniper patience was failing him as he searched for the woman he loved with a quiet desperation.

Bay!

Gabe instantly straightened, hands dropping to his sides, his heart a staccato beat. He watched her coming up the slight incline, her medical rucksack, probably weighing close to sixty-five pounds, on her back. Bay was tall, five feet ten inches, with a sturdy frame. Lean and moving gracefully, she had her softly curled light brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore Navy cammies of blue, gray and brown. He took the precious seconds to simply absorb her into his wildly beating heart. This woman loved him. She couldn’t wait to see him.

A crowd began to gather around the opening to security that spilled out into the escalator area. Gabe hung back, not wishing to push and shove to meet her. He instantly became worried as he saw purple shadows beneath Bay’s large, beautiful blue eyes. There was strain at the corners of her full lips, too. The final test on her medical training had been a son of a bitch. You didn’t get to become an 18 Delta medic unless you could save lives out in the middle of combat. Had she passed? Gabe was sure she had. But the look of exhaustion was clearly etched in Bay’s face. Even her cheeks, which usually had a soft pink color to them, were pale. Damn.

Moving to the side of the plastic window, near the security opening, Gabe watched her turn and look straight at him, as if she sensed his presence. His mouth pulled into a wide grin of hello. Bay’s face lit up, as if suddenly consumed by sunshine. Every cell in his tense body clamored for her. His arms ached to hold this courageous and very brave woman once again. The tiredness disappeared, and a flush appeared across her high cheekbones. She picked up her stride.

Within seconds, Bay was beyond the security area, and he opened his arms to her.

“Gabe!”

In seconds, Bay dropped her ruck and threw herself into his welcoming arms. She fell against him, her arms sliding around his broad shoulders, her face pressed against his. Gabe took her full weight. At six foot tall, lean and toughened by continued training, he laughed, his face tickled by her curly hair. “God, it’s good to see you again, baby.” He felt her turn her head toward him, her lips hungrily seeking his.

All sounds disappeared around Gabe as he curved his mouth hotly over Bay’s smiling lips. He tasted coffee and chocolate on them, inhaled her feminine, womanly scent along with the jasmine soap that she loved to wash her body with. He felt her breasts pressed solidly against his chest, felt her sharp, shallow breath as they clung to one another. Their kiss so deep, so needy, that he didn’t care if he ever came up for air.

“I love you,” she whispered in a trembling voice, her throat tight with unshed tears of joy.

Seeing tears glistening in her eyes, Gabe cupped Bay’s face, staring down at her, inhaling her, absorbing her as if he was the thirstiest sponge in the world. “Now, you’re not going to cry on me, are you, baby?” Gabe couldn’t stand to see a woman or child cry. It tore him up, and he felt so damned helpless to fix it or stop it. A woman’s weeping actually cut his heart in two. Gabe didn’t know why, but it had always been that way with him. Maybe the day his alcoholic father had swung at his mother, her terror-filled scream hurting his ears, had triggered that reaction in him.

Bay gulped several times, trying not to cry. But dammit, he felt his own eyes grow hot with tears, too.

Laughing through the tears streaming down her face, Bay shook her head. “Fool. You think I can’t cry because I missed you so darned much? And look at you! What’s that I see in your eyes, Griffin?”

It wasn’t good to see a SEAL crying. Gabe couldn’t help himself as he fought against the tears. He took a couple of deep breaths, using the sniper control he had over his body to push them down deep inside himself. “Mine are gone,” he noted, a slow grin crawling across his mouth. “Yours aren’t.”

“I’ll darn well cry if I want to, Griffin. I missed you so much!” Bay leaned up, taking his mouth, tasting him fully, her tongue moving boldly, teasingly against his.

Groaning, Gabe pulled her away, feeling himself going hard. This wasn’t the time or place for this kind of obvious affectionate display. Not in the middle of a civilian airport, of all things. “Let’s get your duffel bag down at Baggage?” he suggested, helping her pull the ruck off the deck and slinging it over his shoulder. Gabe saw the gleam in her eyes, knowing how happy and relieved Bay was to see him.

“Okay, let’s rock it out, Frogman.” She flashed him a wickedly playful look, her arm curving around his waist.

He grinned and slid his arm around her shoulders, holding her close, and he teased, “Is that my new pet nickname you’ve given me?” All SEALs were frogmen. Gabe loved it when she was playful. He didn’t see that side of Bay very often because of the deadly business they were in.

“It is when you’ve clearly got teenage hormones out of control down below.” She gave a significant but quick look down toward his crotch. Luckily, cammies were bulky and hid everything about a person’s body. No one could actually see he had an erection. But she knew his body intimately. No doubt, she could feel it when he’d kissed her earlier.

Her smile widened as she saw his cheeks grow a dusky red. “Why, you’re blushing, Gabe. First time I’ve ever seen you do that. What a bad boy you are. Good thing your team isn’t here. They’d railroad you into the ground on this one.” She laughed heartily. SEALs took no prisoners when they teased one another. It was a merciless blood sport.

“Woman, you need to be tamed down a little,” he growled, taking the escalator with her at his side.

“Mmm, I’m more than ready, Frogman. I like swimming with the sharks.”

She was testy, flippant and God he loved her. Those lips of hers could crack rocks open, they were so lush and hot. They sure as hell cracked him wide open down to his soul in the best of ways. “Well, we’ll do a little swimming all right,” he challenged her, a warning glint in his eyes. “We’ll see who comes up for air first.” SEALs could easily hold their breath under water for three minutes or longer.

As he tipped her head back, giving her a swift kiss, Bay’s husky laughter filled his heart. Still, those purple shadows beneath her eyes bothered him. She had to be exhausted. Tonight, he’d be gentle and tender with her, hugging her, loving her, welcoming her home. And then, he’d hold her in his arms throughout the night. There was nothing better than that in his world.

He became somber as they made their way into the baggage area on the first floor of the airport. “Have you gotten your orders yet?”

“Yes.” Bay shrugged and frowned. “I’m being assigned to an Army Special Forces team out of Camp Bravo.”

“Shit.”

“I tried to change it, Gabe. I even put in a personal call to General Maya Stevenson who runs Operation Shadow Warriors at the Pentagon. I told her I’d really like to continue working with the SEAL team at Bravo.” She noticed how his green eyes were filled with worry. For her. His mouth was thinned, telling her he was holding back his emotions. They halted at the carousel, waiting for her duffel bag to be spit out by the system.

“Why couldn’t she change them? Is it politics?”

“Not this time around. The SF team just lost their 18 Delta medic. He was badly injured in a firefight outside the village a week ago. You know every SF team needs two medics, and they’re down to one. I’ll fill in for a while.” Bay looked up at him, feeling his powerful sense of protection surrounding her. He was definitely fighting his anger and frustration over her assignment. She lowered her voice, and it was filled with regret. “I’m sorry, Gabe. I really am. I tried...”

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple. “It’s all right. You’ll be okay with them.” He didn’t believe it himself, but he wasn’t going to make her worry over something she couldn’t control. SF was black ops, but not on the same level as SEALs. Their priorities and objectives were very different.

Bay could tell Gabe was lying through his teeth to her, saw it in his eyes. No SEAL in his right mind would ever think someone was okay in any other black ops team except theirs. Even though Gabe was a SEAL and they were experts at hiding how they felt, he couldn’t hide his emotional reactions from her. Maybe their love opened doors between them that gave them deep, private access to one another. Bay was intuitive enough to feel his controlled anger and worry.

But Gabe wasn’t angry at her. He was angry at the system. In his eyes, no one was better than Navy SEALs when it came to a gunfight. They always took the fight to the enemy, no holds barred.

“Well,” he growled, “I’ll contact the chief who’s with that SEAL team at Bravo, then. I’ll make sure they know you’re my fiancée, and they will have your back.” He looked down at her, his eyes hard. “They will help you, Bay. If you need anything, I want you to go to that chief of the SEAL platoon. I’ll find out his name and call him myself. We won’t leave you hanging out to dry if it comes down to a gunfight.”

She smiled patiently, letting him blow off excess steam. She’d worked with SF teams before. If she truly believed Gabe, she’d have asked General Stevenson to retract the orders. Her experience in Iraq and Afghanistan with SF made her confident to work with them again. Bay wasn’t going to try and argue the point with Gabe. It would be a useless waste of time and energy. Besides, they didn’t have much time together, anyway, and she didn’t want to spend it on a no-win discussion.

Bay had only six months to go before her enlistment was completed with Operation Shadow Warriors. Her time in the military would come to an end. She’d been one of the forty women volunteers for the seven-year top secret Pentagon project to see if women could handle combat. They each spent half a year with a black ops group, the reports on them being funneled back into the Pentagon and to General Stevenson. It was the general’s contention women could handle combat, and so far, the stats were proving her right. Bay was proud to take part in this top secret experiment.

“Six months. It will be okay, Gabe.” Bay squeezed his hand to reassure him. He didn’t look reassured at all, his eyes blazing with discontent. She could feel him thinking, feel him trying to find a way to fix this. To get her out of the assignment. But it couldn’t be fixed as much as he wanted.

The duffel bag fell out onto the carousel. Gabe released her and went over and hefted it across his broad shoulder. The thing weighed nearly ninety pounds, and he handled it as if it were nothing. He walked over, cupped her elbow and said, “The SUV is parked out front. Let’s blow this joint.”

On the way to his condo on Coronado, Bay asked, “Did you just come out of the field?”

He snorted. “Don’t I look like it? Hell, I must smell pretty bad, huh?” And then he chuckled. “Yeah, we were doing nav course training up in the rocks, cactus and that damn manzanita that tears holes out of your skin the size of craters up in east San Diego County.”

“Did you win the navigation course contest?”

Gabe turned and met her sparkling eyes. “It always pays to be a winner, baby.”

“You did.” She reached over and slid her hand across his dusty shoulder. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks. I was paired with Hammer for the contest. Chief Hampton told me if the two of us won the course competition, he’d grant me my seven-day leave request to be with you.” His lips drew away from his teeth. “And I sure as hell wasn’t going to lose that one. Hammer hauled ass with me, and we made it through the course in record time.”

Pride for him, for his being a warrior, rose in her chest. Gabe was a supremely confident man. Nothing rocked his world except her, she had discovered. He was a vaunted sniper and had killed too many Taliban to count. He’d had four rotations into Iraq and Afghanistan. Out on a patrol he was steady and reliable.

Bay had found that out several times when she was teamed with him on different missions last year. Nothing affected Gabe. Except love. Their love. And it was a miracle to Bay. She had been privileged to meet the man who was a SEAL warrior. His military demeanor took a backseat when they were alone. When she was around him, the man in all of his facets became available to her. She looked at his large, spare hands on the wheel as he drove. There were so many old and new scars all over them, she winced inwardly.

“Is that dried blood on your fingers? Did you cut yourself on that awful manzanita?”

He frowned and looked at his right hand. “Yeah, guess I did. No big deal.” Hell, SEALs worked hurt all the time. They were always in pain. It was just part of their profession.

“I’ll look at them when we get home.”

He picked up her hand she had in her lap. “It’s nothing, Bay.” He squeezed her fingers. “How did the final exam go at medical training?”

“It was a mean mother,” she admitted, her hand tingling with his roughened fingers around it. Touching Gabe was like touching the sun. She could feel his powerful male warmth infusing her hand, sliding up through her arm and encircling her heart and then teasingly embracing her womb. The man was so damn sexy. All he had to do was give her that smoldering look, and she began to tremble in anticipation. And when he touched her, she melted and went hot, starving for him in every possible way.

“You passed?”

“Yes.”

“How many didn’t?”

“Fifty percent of the class, unfortunately. It was a tough course, Gabe. Really tough. It involved women’s issues, pregnancy, birthing, labor and health issues with newborns.”

He smiled a little. “Right down your alley. You’re a woman. You know a woman’s body. Bet those guys in the class were sweating bullets.”

“Some were,” she admitted. “I loved the course. Every second of it. I knew how to birth a baby, but this five-month course went into just about every aspect of prenatal, natal and postnatal care, plus health issues with the baby.”

“Bet you aced the test?”

It was her turn to chuckle. “I got a ninety-eight percent.”

“And if I hadn’t asked you about your score, you’d never have said a word about it, would you?” Bay was one of the most modest people Gabe had ever met in his life. She never bragged or spoke about what she knew or how good she was as a combat medic. The only way Gabe could drag intel out of her was to ask her many questions and then piece the answers together to get the larger picture.

Shrugging, Bay sighed. “It doesn’t matter in my world, Gabe. You know that. What matters is that I’m good out in the field. I want to stop suffering. I want to ease pain.”

“You are such an R.N. at heart,” he teased gently.

When Bay was finished with her military duties, she wanted to go to school and become an R.N. God knew, she’d have a huge jump on the courses with her being the consummate combat medic trained by the military—18 Delta medics were the best in the world. They were the people you wanted around if you got gut shot. They were the “golden hour” to the military in harm’s way. Their ability to save lives was legendary. He was so damned proud of her but, at the same time, scared to death. Bay would not hesitate a split second to put herself into the cross fire to save a man’s life during a firefight. And being exposed meant she could be killed. Just like that. His hand tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles whitening.

“Some of the guys in the course and I would go out and get pizza and a beer off base after classes. I usually ended up drilling them on techniques and quizzing them to help them pass the course.” She smiled a little. “And all of them did pass.”

“And that’s why you have dark circles under your eyes. You burned the candle at both ends, Bay. Again.”

A wry look crossed her face, and she squeezed his hand. “Now, now. You know I like to help others. It’s who I am, Gabe. You love me for who I am. Not what you want me to be. Right?”

His mouth curved faintly, and he risked a glance at her in the heavy traffic heading toward the Coronado bridge. “I fell hopelessly in love with you just the way you are.”

“That’s what I thought. So stop gigging me about the dark circles under my eyes.”

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about you.”

“One good night’s sleep will take care of that.”

He gave her a feral look. “Who said we’re getting any sleep tonight?

CHAPTER TWO

HOME. BAY STOOD inside the door of Gabe’s condo, feeling exhaustion sweep through her. He walked past her with her ruck and duffel bag, going down the hall to put them into the guest bedroom. She looked around, appreciating the quiet instrumental music in the background.

Gabe’s condo was one of six in the building and he owned them all. His individual condo reflected him: spare, understated and peaceful. The blond bamboo floor shone. Furniture made of the same wood and jade cushions gave Bay a sense of infinite calm. This was where someone who wanted peace and quiet came to live.

She lifted her head as Gabe wandered back down the hall toward her. He had gotten rid of his dirty, sweaty shirt already, pulling off the tan T-shirt that stuck to him like a second skin, revealing his dark-haired chest, powerful shoulders and lean torso. Her body automatically went to burn as she followed the dark-haired line down across his belly, disappearing beneath the waistband of his trousers.

“Welcome home,” he said, pulling the door closed and then placing a light kiss on her lips. “Want to take a shower with me?”

She smiled and felt the heat coming off his body. The sweat was like an aphrodisiac to her. “That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”

He dropped the T-shirt on the couch and grabbed her hand. “Come on, then...”

She loved his large tiled bathroom. It was huge with a glass-enclosed shower for two, plus a Jacuzzi tub in another corner. She sat down on the small chair and took off her desert combat boots, setting them aside. After yanking off her socks, she sighed and rubbed her sore, tired feet. Hot water was going to feel good on them.

She glanced up and watched Gabe lean over to remove his dusty boots. His every motion was spare and clean. As his arm muscles flexed, the corded strength of his back was highlighted, and she sighed with pleasure. The man was beautiful in every way.

Gabe straightened and opened his pants, pushing them to his ankles. Heat curled in her lower body as he shoved the cotton boxers downward, revealing his erection fully. Her throat tightened with need. Though tired, she felt a wave of lust. Want of Gabe, his hands on her, loving her, him inside her, taking her to an unknown destination together.

When he turned and walked toward her, she met his eyes and clearly saw arousal in them. “Do I get a running start?” she teased, standing and unbuttoning her blouse.

“Maybe,” Gabe growled, going to the shower to turn on the two large, round raindrop nozzles. “Do you want a head start?” he teased, closing the door and picking up two towels and setting them nearby.

“I don’t think so,” Bay answered, setting her blouse on the caramel-colored granite counter. She wore a silky white camisole because she hated bras. Never wore one unless she really had to. She felt his masculine warmth and looked up to see him inches away from her. He lifted his hands and tugged at her waistband, opening it.

“How tired are you, baby?”

Bay trembled beneath his gritty voice heavy with passion. “I was tired. I’m not now.” He slid his hands down and around, bringing her cammie trousers across her hips and thighs. Her skin flamed wherever he grazed her as he pulled the material down and helped her step out of it. She wore silky boxer shorts, and he slowly slid his hands up the outside of her legs while he rose to his full height.

“Good,” he crooned, giving her a boyish smile. He eased his fingers beneath the soft, silky material around her waist.

“Ummm.” Bay sighed, her knees already growing weak. He must have sensed her instability because one hand left her silky boxers and curved gently around the small of her back to hold her steady.

He sighed. “Good having you here, having you standing so close to me, almost naked...”

His dark voice fell over her, and Bay closed her eyes, easily seduced by his hands, the soft shorts falling away from her thighs. She leaned against Gabe’s powerful chest. She could smell his sweat, the scent of sagebrush and hot sunlight on his sun-darkened flesh. She wanted to move closer, but he held her away from him.

“Not yet, baby... Your camisole has to go...” And he lifted it up and over her head. As it dropped to her feet, white-hot heat plunged through his entire body. Bay was five foot ten and a large-boned woman. Her breasts were perfect and her hips wide, the kind a man could hold on to. She was in top shape, her body taut and firm.

Gabe slowly slid his hands from her proud shoulders, skimming her strong arms and finally grasping her fingers. She opened her eyes, and he smiled down at her. “You’re so damned beautiful. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, baby, but I’m glad you’re mine. Ready to shower?”

She drowned beneath his hooded eyes that glinted with desire for her alone. Her fingers curved around his. “Let’s go, Frogman...”

He chuckled and opened the door, the steam escaping momentarily from the enclosure. “You have such a way with words, woman.”

The gentle water rained down upon Bay. She groaned as Gabe led her to a small seat, her hair becoming wet. In moments, he’d applied jasmine-scented shampoo throughout her hair, the fragrance swirling around in the steam surrounding them.

“Tip your head back a little,” he coaxed, standing near her left shoulder, kneading the soap gently across her scalp. He saw her lips part, her eyes closed, a look of utter pleasure on her face. Gabe always wanted to see that look. He loved Bay so much. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her to always keep her happy.

“Ohhhh, Gabe...” Bay uttered with a sigh. “That feels so delicious...what you’re doing....” She trembled as his strong fingers wreaked relaxing magic across her scalp, the water softly drizzling warmly around her. The way he massaged her scalp, she was putty in his hands. The soreness in her shoulders disappeared. The tension she’d been carrying dissolved beneath his slow, sensual ministrations. As he took a large cup, catching the water from the showerhead and rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, Bay made a soft sound in her throat.

“I think your hair’s clean now,” Gabe said later, setting the cup on the shelf. When she opened her eyes, her long lashes framing those incredible blue irises, he felt himself grow even harder. It was always a balance and a matter of control on his part. He loved her, wanted to pleasure her, hear her soft, husky sounds, watch her expression melt into utter joy.

“You always come first, baby.” Gabe leaned over, brushing his mouth against her wet, parted lips. A moan vibrated in the slender column of her throat, and he absorbed the happy sound into his body, his soul.

In one smooth motion, he lifted her and brought her into his arms, the raindrops surrounding them. Gabe didn’t want to leave her lush mouth, meeting her tongue as it shyly danced with his. Her breasts pressed against his chest. He felt her belly taut against his erection. Easing his hand down her spine, his fingers splayed outward, cupping her hips, pulling her more tightly against him. Now, he groaned. He had to have the control and wait. But her sleek, wet body sliding against his was undoing him.

Bay eased from his mouth, stepped back and picked up a bar of soap. “My turn...” She lathered the soap between her hands and skimmed her fingers across his scalp. Next, came his hard, weathered face. Gabe rested his hands lightly on her hips, and he closed his eyes. There was such trust between them as Bay gently began to remove the dirt and sweat encrusted in his short, gleaming hair. The dirt dissolved, and she lathered more soap, tracing his deeply lined brow. A brow of a man who thought a lot, said little, but had a mind like a steel trap. Her fingertips moved lightly across his straight, black brows and feathered across his closed eyelids. She felt his hands grip her hips a little more firmly, and she smiled, wanting to give him equal pleasure.

Gabe gratefully absorbed her healer hands as they washed his face, neck, arms and chest. Every touch was building a fire within him, stoking his need for her until he wasn’t sure he could last beneath her tender foray. As her soapy fingers glided toward his narrow hips, he drew in a sharp breath, clenching his teeth. Her fingers wrapped gently around him, and his entire body locked up on him. Gripping Bay, he hauled her against him. He drowned in her wide blue eyes that were filled with love for him. Her lips were parted, and she licked her lower lip. It was damned near his undoing.

“Just a little longer,” she pleaded huskily. “You want to be clean, don’t you?”

He sucked in a ragged breath of air, feeling her clean him slowly, thoroughly. Gabe thought he was going to lose it. Her hands skimmed his hard thighs, sliding down to his knotted calves and finally, his large feet. Every stroking touch of her fingers was healing. At every scar, Bay stopped, kissed it gently and then moved on. Gabe didn’t know whether to cry or scream. No woman had ever loved him with her hands like Bay did.

The first day Gabe had met Bay, he’d noticed her long narrow hands. Her fingers were tapered and beautiful, nails blunt cut. He remembered thinking how much he’d wanted to feel her touch on him. And when he learned she was a medic, it had made even more sense to him. Healing hands. Loving hands. Compassionate hands that knew...they just knew...and Bay knew he needed this...needed her touch like this. But by every name in his book of life, Gabe couldn’t stop loving her for who she simply was: a very kind, sensitive and caring woman. Who loved him.

What the hell had he done to deserve Bay? Gabe hadn’t led a stellar life. It had been ugly and dysfunctional throughout his childhood. He knew abuse. He knew a man’s fist, his belt lashing his flesh until it welted and bruised. He’d never known the tender touch, the loving touch that she now shared with him alone.

Bay watched all the tension drain out of Gabe’s face, out of his hard body. The sexual tension that replaced it was as it should be. She washed herself as he stood beneath the streams of water, soap sloughing off him, his flesh clean and glistening. Gabe looked at her beneath hooded, burning eyes, not making a move toward her. Simply watching her.

The dark desire was evident in his eyes. And he loved her. She gave him an impish look as she approached him, placing her hands lightly on his powerful shoulders. Leaning up, she whispered in his ear, “I’m ready to swim with the sharks, Frogman....”

Her smile dazzled his senses as she eased away to see his reaction. “You’re mine,” he rasped, and he began a slow, sensuous path, starting with her mouth.

Bay leaned into him, the water nestling in nooks and crannies between them, liquid flowing heatedly down her body as he took possession of her mouth. At the same time, he brought her hard against him. His other hand moved toward her breast, cupping it, moving his thumb languidly across the hardened peak. She uttered a small, fierce cry into his mouth as an electric shock bolted from her nipple straight down to her womb. Her entire body convulsed.

“Easy, baby, easy,” he coaxed, moving his hand even farther downward, exploring her waist, her hip.

She felt his lips leave her breast and then kiss the area between them. Gripping her hips, Gabe held her as he continued the trail of kisses down her stomach, across her abdomen. Giving a whimper, she gripped his thick shoulders as his mouth followed the crease where her thigh met her torso. Her knees shook with anticipation; she wasn’t sure she could remain standing, his tongue slowly following the crease down, down, down....

“Oh, Gabe,” Bay whispered, nearly crumpling if not for his steel strength holding her. Tightly shutting her eyes, her breath became ragged and shallow. He parted her, leaving her open and available.

“I can’t...stand...Gabe...”

He rose swiftly. “I’ve got you, baby. Just let me do the heavy lifting.” He gave her a heated look. “Ready to swim?”

Her heart fluttered wildly. The warm water only increased the heat already scalding her aching lower body. “Y-yes...” she whispered brokenly, her knees beginning to give way. In the next moment, she felt Gabe’s arm slide beneath her thigh, and she lifted upward. He guided her legs around his waist and then gently pressed her back against the warm, wet tiles, holding her in place.

“Open your eyes,” he rasped. “I want to see the look on your face when I enter you....”

Water sluiced across Bay’s face in rivulets. Her body was cramping, almost painfully, wanting him inside her. She was more than ready as she barely opened her eyes, her breath uneven. His eyes were narrowed, focused solely on her. Gabe was a sniper. No one had more focus than a sniper. They sighted their quarry, and they never let it go. She was his quarry. Gulping, she whispered, “Hurry...oh, please, Gabe....”

As Gabe gently entered her, he watched her eyes widen. It wasn’t from fear but from raw, welcoming pleasure of their bodies meeting like fiery, melting flesh into one another. Slowly, so slowly, he brought her down upon him, watching the wildness come to her eyes, the yearning and then the feverish heat enter them as they fused completely into oneness. He captured the hard nipple, suckling her. It made him feel so damn good to give Bay this kind of pleasure. Her fingers spasmodically gripped his shoulders, her head moving side to side. He increased the pressure, feeling her tighten and so near climax. That was what he wanted for Bay, utter, wild sensations that only he could give her.

Thrusting quickly, he established a fiery rhythm. Gabe felt her tensing, so close to orgasm. Bay cried out, gripping him, arching into him, spinning into the heat and light as she came, a cry tearing out of her. He prolonged the rippling sensations, urging her to let go, to fully give him the gift of herself, her love. And she did. Bay leaned forward, arms around Gabe’s tense shoulders, gasping for breath, sobbing.

And then, his entire body stiffened. His breath hissed between his clenched teeth, his hands tightened around hers as he released deeply into her. Bay rested her cheek against his wet shoulder, the raindrops sliding gently across her face and soaking into her hair.

Gabe dragged in air, his body quivering beneath the onslaught of his release. He steadied himself, using Bay and the wall to remain standing. Feeling her lips against his taut neck, her breath mingling with the water, he gently removed himself, holding her, easing Bay away from the wall. The water made it easy for her to slide down the length of his hard, quivering body and through his arms. Her feet touched the floor. Their brows rested against each other, noses touching, lips millimeters away from one another as they leaned against one another for support. Breathing shallow and fast, Gabe held Bay tightly in his arms, loving her fiercely. Loving her forever.

“Are you okay?” he rasped unsteadily. They hadn’t made love in months. That was a hell of a long time. He was worried about her.

Bay managed a strangled laugh. She slowly raised her head, caught and held his sated gaze. “I’ve decided to call you Shark Man. You’ve graduated from being just a frogman.” She gave him a drowsy, sweet smile radiant with love only for him. “Helluva swim, Shark Man...”

CHAPTER THREE

“COME HERE, BABY.” Gabe hauled her into his arms as he settled into the bed. They were clean, dried off and so damned weak it had taken them leaning on one another to make it to the master bedroom together. Bay had fallen asleep immediately. Gabe felt Bay’s softened breath, the warm moisture flowing across his chest as she slept deeply, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder. Her hand across his pounding heart. God, did life get any better than this? Hell, no.

Gabe closed his eyes, his woman in his arms, her body pressed wantonly against his, their legs entangled. Her hair was still damp, although he’d done his best to dry it off with a towel afterward. He’d seen the exhaustion in Bay’s half-closed eyes and knew she had to sleep off five months of brutal training. The darkness was complete in their bedroom. Gabe felt himself begin to utterly surrender against her warmth and curves.

He lay awake for a long time, his body still vibrating with simmering heat after having made love with her. Bay’s background was as a Hill person from the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. She was a woman of the earth, wild and completely natural. Her spontaneity was unfettered, freeing him from his dark and miserable past, infusing him with hope of a bright future. Love did incredible things for a human being, Gabe was discovering.

Closing his eyes, his arm wrapped firmly around Bay’s shoulders as she slept, Gabe couldn’t shut off his mind. Bay had come from a happy family, deep in the mountains, away from most of civilization. She’d lived and hunted in those mountains. Not only was she a crack shot, but her mother, Poppy, was a Hill doctor. Bay obviously got that healing gene from her. Her father, Floyd, had been a Marine Corps sniper and had started teaching her at a young age how to hunt and shoot. When her father died of Black Lung, she’d entered the Navy afterward to make money for her economically struggling family.

Moving his fingers slowly across her firm, warm flesh, he felt her inborn strength, her Hill backbone. Lowlanders, people who weren’t Hill-born, would say she was backward and uneducated. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bay was simple, homespun, and had a strong sense of right and wrong. When her father had become ill, she’d picked up the family mantle of responsibility, being the oldest, to feed and care for her mother, father and her mentally challenged younger sister, Eva-Jo.

A sigh slipped between his lips as he savored the darkness embracing them. He felt Bay’s hand twitch and move slightly on his chest. She was moving more deeply into a healing sleep, and that was good. His mind revolved back to her, back to her simple way of living.

When he’d met Bay last year in Afghanistan, he’d instantly felt attracted to her. It was her humbleness, the idealism she saw in others, her compassion, that called powerfully to him. In those four months of combat, they’d known they had something good between them, but they could never act upon it. Not in a combat team. Fraternization could tear a team apart. And it could get people killed. They’d cooled their heels, looked, but hadn’t touched one another. And only after Bay had come home after her six-month rotation out of the combat zone, did they realize the beauty of what they held in one another. Real love.

Frowning, Gabe thought about how at twenty-nine he’d thought he’d known what love was. He’d married Lily after five days of sex and heat. It was the stupidest choice he’d ever made in his entire life. He was divorced before he’d met Bay, hurting and wounded by the experience. He’d thought he’d known what love was, but he hadn’t.

Meeting Bay changed his life, but Gabe had been afraid to act on it for any number of reasons. And only in those thirty incredible days after she’d returned home to his arms, did he understand what real love was about. She’d given him her heart without games, manipulations or lies. That was the only way Bay knew how to be. And she had healed his heart in the process, taught him how to laugh once again, to love another once more.

A ghostlike smile curved the corners of Gabe’s mouth as Bay’s shallow breath continued to calm him, anchor him to the here and now. At Camp Bravo as soon as they’d made eye contact, something magical, something beautiful, had occurred between them. He ran his fingers slowly up and down her arm. Her heart thudded slowly against his rib cage, and Gabe absorbed every beat of it into his soul. Bay was alive, so sensitive and kind to everyone.

He continued to be amazed that she’d spent three years, half of them in combat with black ops teams, and still retained that sweet, simple disposition of a woman who held hope out for the hopeless. Bay had the inborn ability to pick someone like him up and, literally, change his life for the better. What kind of titanium steel backbone did she possess? A damned strong one, for sure. Combat changed people, and yet, Gabe had watched her handle it. Bay was...remarkable. A stunning example of a strong, passionate woman who knew what she wanted out of her life.

Gabe felt the corners of sleep tugging at him, dragging him downward as his heart started to beat in rhythm with Bay’s. She had chosen him as her partner. How lucky could he get? Of all the men on earth, Bay chose him. His last feelings were a deluge of love smothering him, dissolving his mind and taking him to that place of peace and tranquility, his woman in his arms, at his side. As it should be.

* * *

BAY AWAKENED SLOWLY, wrapped in a sense of protection and love. Dragging her eyes open, she lay on her left side. Gabe’s slow, deep breathing brought a soft smile to her lips. She was home. She was at his side once more. Easing up on her elbow, she watched the morning light peeking around the dark drapes at the window that faced the Pacific Ocean, which surrounded Coronado Island.

Her gaze moved lovingly across his sleeping features. Gabe’s hair was military short, mussed, softening the hard look and lines in his weathered, darkly tanned face. In sleep was the only time he looked vulnerable to Bay. Awake, he was a SEAL warrior, alert, always watchful, on guard. And how sweetly he bristled over his need to protect her. He was like a knight from King Arthur’s Round Table that she’d read about so often when growing up as a child. She remembered her mama reading about Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot and beautiful Guinevere. At times she would lay out in a field of wildflowers, hands behind her head, watching puffy white clouds slowly move by. Sometimes, she imagined shapes within them of these powerful knights on mighty chargers who saved others.

The corners of her mouth tugged upward as she absorbed Gabe’s sleeping face. She took in his rugged features, trying to imagine his childhood, how horrible it had been on him. His drunken father had used him as a punching bag. He’d made sure to conceal the damage and bruises done by his fists and leather belt. And his father had made sure it was hidden from his mother, Grace. All he’d known as a kid was that fatherly love packed a fist and a punch. His father had sworn he’d kill his mother if Gabe ever breathed a word of his punishment to Grace. Bay couldn’t imagine how it would have affected her emotionally.

Tears gathered in her eyes momentarily as she imagined his past. A few dark strands lay across Gabe’s broad, lined brow. She wanted to reach out and gently tame them back into place. Bay knew if she did, he’d instantly awaken and become fully alert. On guard. Looking for an enemy. That’s what SEALs did; they took the fight to the enemy and they were always in harm’s way. They learned in BUD/S that five-minute combat naps could carry them for days without real sleep. Resisting the urge because she knew Gabe had just come out of intense training himself, Bay didn’t move. She wanted him to sleep.

Her fingers itched to touch his darkly haired chest, run her index finger across his full lower lip that knew how to bring her world into a fiery cauldron of hungry need for him alone. No one could love her to the depth and breadth that Gabe could love her. It was simply a part of his being able to touch not only her willing body, but gently hold her heart in his large, scarred hands and twine her soul with his own.

Drawing in a ragged breath, her body responded, knowing Gabe loved her on every possible level. How had she drawn such an incredible man like this to her? He was Sir Lancelot, and she was his Guinevere. He was a warrior. She was a healer. He knew combat, and so did she. And all they wanted was to find peace and sanctuary from a crazed world in the arms of one another.

Gabe shifted, his breathing changing.

Bay watched, mesmerized. SEALs had an almost telepathic and clairvoyant sense about them. They were such finely honed warriors in combat that their sixth sense was operational, much like an invisible radar moving three-hundred-and-sixty degrees around them all the time.

Gabe slowly emerged from sleep. He sensed her watching him, and although it wasn’t threatening, Gabe still felt her eyes—and her love—upon him.

His lashes fluttered. A soft smile played across her lips as Bay observed the slow opening of those drowsy forest-green eyes, now looking in her direction.

“I love waking up with you,” she whispered, leaning across Gabe, her breasts skimming his chest, her mouth grazing his. Bay kissed him chastely, with love, not with sex on her mind.

Gabe’s mouth gently took hers, his arms wrapping around her. He groaned and pulled her more tightly against him. She reveled in the strength and yet, the utter tenderness of his mouth cherishing hers. Bay drank in Gabe’s breath, like life feeding her, opening her heart even more. His hard, lean muscles flexed against hers, drowning in the splendor of his mouth, making her feel hunger for him all over again.

Easing back, Bay broke the kiss, drowning in his expression. He watched her, his hands framing her face, holding her prisoner. His pupils were large and black, a thin crescent of green surrounding them. Bay could feel Gabe coming awake on every level, absorbing his intensity, his powerful, consuming love for her.

“Can we do this every morning for the rest of our lives?” he rasped, smiling up into her sleepy features. Bay’s warmth, her womanly curves fit perfectly against his body. Her full mouth drew into a wry smile, her blue eyes sparkling.

“Soon,” she promised huskily.

Grunting, he released her for a moment, pushed himself into an upright position, the covers falling away to his hips. “Not soon enough,” Gabe growled, dragging Bay into his arms, guiding her head against his shoulder. Bay slid her arm around his waist. Nostrils flaring, he hungrily inhaled her sweet scent. Bay had a special fragrance, a natural one that sent him into a powerful sexual response.

Gabe knew she had to be sore from their lovemaking last night. He needed to hold off and let her relax. Today was for Bay. He’d been planning it in his mind for months since they’d been separated. Love, she had taught him, had so many aspects. Love wasn’t always about sex, although, God knew, Gabe always wanted to be in her, love her, make her smile and sigh and watch her eyes grow sleepy and sated because he’d love her so thoroughly and completely.

“Want a hot bath?” he asked, his lips pressed against her hair, the curls tickling him.

“Mmm, that sounds wonderful. Are you joining me?”

God, how he wanted to, but Gabe knew better. “No, you need some down time, baby. We went at it pretty hard last night.” And then he smiled. “Pardon my pun.” Gabe traded a boyish grin with her.

She sighed, closed her eyes and squeezed him. “I’ve never made love in a shower before.”

“You said you wanted to swim with the sharks.”

Laughing softly, Bay nodded. “So I did. It was my fault, but I’m not sorry. Are you?”

“Sorry for loving you?” Gabe pressed a kiss to her brow, the curls soft and silky around her temple. “Never. I’ll have to be dead and gone before that would happen.” A chuckle rumbled up through his broad chest.

“That’s true,” Bay whispered, turning her cheek to kiss the strong column of his neck. “A bath sounds perfect....”

“Then let me get it ready for you. Stay here and just rest. All right?”

Bay didn’t want to leave the circle of Gabe’s arms. His unselfish protection surrounded her and made her feel utterly loved. Pouting, Bay tipped her head back just enough to catch his lambent gaze. His green eyes glittered with lust for her. Instantly her body reacted, a slow heat spreading throughout her lower body once again.

In truth, she was sore. Gabe was a careful lover, and she knew he would live in a special agony if somehow he accidentally hurt her. He knew what pain was all about and was always concerned he’d hurt her. It had never happened, and Bay knew it never would, but Gabe didn’t. Childhood pain patterns, she knew, bled over into an adult’s life like a stain they could rarely erase from their being. The care burning in his eyes touched her deeply.

“Okay, call me when it’s ready?” His secrets were safe with her. Sometimes, Gabe was that scared little ten-year-old where she was concerned. She saw Gabe struggle every day with that unconscious knowledge that he’d never been good enough to really have been loved by his abusive father. To know he deserved to be hugged. To be told by his father that he was proud of him. To know that he didn’t carry his father’s sickness or need to hurt others. It was up to her to fill that void. Heal that deep wound within him.

As Gabe kissed her brow and then left their bed, Bay closed her eyes. She was afraid he’d see or sense her sadness for him, and she in no way wanted him to see her unhappy. He could easily misinterpret it, blame himself instead of blaming his father who imprisoned him in that terrible, lonely, loveless space no child should ever experience. Bay had promised herself long ago that she would love Gabe with all she had, replace that darkness with her light, heal that soul-stealing wound within him and make him whole once more. She knew she could do it with time. She’d seen her mother heal her father’s war wounds, so she knew it could be done with her patience and love for Gabe.

As she lay there, head nestled on the pillow, Bay stretched out her hand, slowly running her palm over the warm sheet where he’d lain moments before. Maybe that was why Gabe had been powerfully drawn to the SEALs. They were an intense, small family in their own right. The men called one another brothers. They were fierce warriors who always protected one another. Gabe needed a positive male environment, and Bay thought the SEALs had provided him with that. The SEALs had, in effect, become like a surrogate father for him to grow into the man he was with her today.

God, how she loved him. She would work hard to ensure that he healed from his past and that their love was enough to make them whole.

CHAPTER FOUR

BAY TRIED HER best to hide her sadness over their inevitable separation, but it was a losing battle. Today was their last day together. She wanted to cry, feeling as if she were being wrenched away from Gabe. Her heart wept with sorrow.

She saw him sitting out on the jetty where massive rocks had been laid a hundred years before to stop the erosion from occurring to the island of Coronado. The evening was upon them, the sun near setting. High clouds hanging on the western horizon were turning a gold-pink color, infusing everything, even the flat, mirror-like bay. The salty water was calm, and she noticed Gabe carving something between his long, spare hands. Hands that had loved her so well that she still felt wrapped in euphoria from their afternoon in bed together.

Bay moved quietly, never believing for a moment Gabe didn’t sense and hear her approach. The first morning at his condo, after getting a delicious bath, she’d told him the story about the Incan jaguar warriors and their powerful clairvoyant abilities. He’d grinned and ruffled her hair, teasing her about it. Yes, SEALs did have heightened awareness. But to be able to invisibly travel to their loved one? Impossible, and Gabe had laughed, shaking his head over her flights of fancy.

Hurt had flowed through her, and she’d tried to hide her reaction from him. Gabe had sensed it immediately, awkwardly trying to make amends. Grudgingly, Bay had allowed him his belief, but there was something inexplicable going on between them. Maybe telepathy? She didn’t know.

Her mother, Poppy, had raised her to believe in the invisible realms that surrounded humans on this planet. She believed in fairies, gnomes and elves, too. And Bay had seen her mama at work with the invisible realms. Why were her herbal tinctures, her homeopathic remedies she made by hand in her medicine room, so potent? So healing and life-changing in the best of ways for others?

She wished with all her heart Gabe could believe in her world, but his childhood had been taken away from him. No one had set him upon their knee to read wonderful tales of fantasy to him. No one had infused his mind with the possibility of magic and creativity actually existing side by side in their everyday world. He was a no-nonsense SEAL. She released her longing for him to share her world. He loved her fiercely; Gabe was doing the best he could, and it was enough for her.

“Hey,” Bay called to him softly, moving from the lawn to the big black rock where he sat. “What are you doing?”

Gabe barely turned his head, catching her curious gaze. He’d heard her approach, knew her footstep and the sound of it. No matter what Bay wore or didn’t wear, she was breathtakingly beautiful in his eyes. She had on a soft pink tee and body-hugging jeans that outlined her lower body to perfection. Her curly brown hair was loose and free about her shoulders, a perfect frame for her oval face.

“Just whittling,” he murmured, gesturing for her to come over and join him. Gabe sensed her sadness, the parting coming tomorrow morning.

She took his proffered hand, felt his strong fingers wrap securely around her own. She’d chosen a rock next to him, but instead, Gabe gently guided her across his long, hard thigh to sit upon his lap. Gabe wore a desert-tan T-shirt and a pair of dark blue swim trunks. He’d just run five miles a little earlier. Every day he ran down the beach of Coronado where the SEAL BUD/S trainees were trying to make the cut. He called it The Strand. Some small beads of sweat still clung to the short, fine hairs along his temple.

“What are you carving?” she asked, settling on his lap, curving her arm around his broad shoulders. There was such stability and rocklike steadiness to Gabe. Bay could feel it, inhaled it and absorbed it. He was a rock of the best sort in her world. Sometimes, she was overemotional, and he could reel her in with a word, a tender look or by simply holding her.

“Something for you,” Gabe murmured, working on a small figurine he’d been shaping for her all week. He closed his Buck knife and handed the carving to her. “Keep this in your Kevlar pocket. Another kind of guard dog to keep you safe while you’re downrange.”

Gasping as he placed it in her opened palm, Bay’s eyes grew wide. “I-it’s a jaguar!” She stared in disbelief at the finely detailed jungle cat. He’d even stippled tiny patterns across the jaguar to symbolize the black spots on its golden fur. Bay didn’t know what kind of wood it was, but Gabe had chosen it carefully because of its golden color, the same color as a jaguar’s coat.

The figurine wasn’t more than two inches long, delicately carved and with painstaking care and attention to detail put into it. She’d seen many of Gabe’s carvings he kept in a locker. He was an artist few could rival when it came to wood being gently shaped between his large hands.

“This—this is so beautiful, Gabe.” She leaned down, sought and found his mouth. For long moments, the wooden carving sat curled safely in her palm as Bay felt his mouth gently taking hers. Sorrow tore through her as Gabe’s mouth moved strongly against her lips, reminding her once again, she was his woman. This was their last night together.

Oh, Lord, give me strength to be strong for him. Don’t let me cry. Don’t let me show him how sad I am about leaving him. Please...

Gabe reluctantly left her warm, wet lips. He saw love shining in her eyes for him alone, saw her sexual desire for him, as well. He had a night planned for her, a surprise, he hoped in keeping with the magical world she lived within. Somehow, Gabe wanted to atone for hurting her that morning when she’d talked about the jaguar warriors. He’d laughed at her silliness.

Desperately casting around for some way to make it up to her, Gabe recalled something Bay had told him last year that he’d never forgotten. Tonight, he was going to surprise her with it and prayed it would touch her heart and she’d forgive him for hurting her. Bay loved surprises, more child than adult when it came to Christmas gifts, as Gabe had discovered. By her being able to be childlike, it had helped him to discover his own inner child. Gabe never thought he had one, always the adult who had matured very early in his life. His heart warmed as he watched the awe in her face as she delicately picked up the jaguar and closely studied it.

“When I told you about the jaguar warriors,” she said, breathing softly, holding his dark gaze, “you made fun of me.” Holding up the delicately wrought cat, she shook her head. “You believed me, didn’t you?”

Sliding his arm around her waist, drawing her against him, Gabe felt a sense of peace descend over him. To the west of where they sat, the sun was almost touching the Pacific Ocean. The high clouds lying horizontal to the ocean looked like cake layers above it. The clouds were suffused with pink-and-orange tiers of color, as if celebrating their joy with one another. “I should never have teased you about it.” Why had he? Gabe didn’t know, and it had bothered him all week. He loved Bay. He never wanted to intentionally hurt her. And he had.

“I’m not one of your SEAL buddies,” she said, her voice low with feeling. She closed her hand, tucking the carving in her palm and holding it against her beating heart. “I know SEALs play mean and rough with one another. But I’m going to be your wife in six months. I know you guys are unmerciful, but I’m not from your world, Gabe. We have to create a world that is only for us. You can’t drag your SEAL teasing into it.”

Gabe felt his heart rush open with incredible love as she slid her arms around his shoulders and rested her head against his. “Sometimes,” he admitted quietly, “I think you’re nothing more than my lonely imagination, Bay. As a kid, I used to dream...but I stopped dreaming when I was about five. I felt lost. Like I’d lost something precious that I should have had, but no longer had. And then you dropped into my life. All my lost dreams had suddenly come true right in front of me.” He lifted his chin, catching her gaze. There was moisture in her eyes. He gave her a gentle shake. “Hey, no tears. Not for me. Okay?”

Nodding, Bay compressed her lips, swallowing several times. “Tears scrub your soul clean of the dirt we collect from life, Gabe.”

“Something your mama taught you?”

“Yes,” she sighed, content to sit on his lap, her head resting against his. The gentle lap of water on the rocks was soothing and calming. “I’ve always believed in magic, Gabe. I believe in the unseen world that’s all around us. I’ve seen my mama talk to flowers, to trees and bees. I once saw her ask a honeybee to come over to a flower in her herb garden, and ask it to pollinate it. I watched that bee follow her to that flower. And when she pointed out which flower, the bee went right to it and pollinated it for her.” Bay gently squeezed his shoulders. “There’s more to our world than you see, Gabe. I know that, but you don’t.” At least not yet. Bay silently promised him when she got off her last deployment downrange, she’d help Gabe discover her world. He had high curiosity. And she would use it as a show-and-tell, in real time, so he could experience the magic firsthand that was all around them.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe your story about jaguar warriors. I got to thinking about it later, and they sounded like early SEALs to me.” He laughed quietly. “They were badasses, no question.” Gabe sobered and held her melting, warm gaze. “Can you forgive me, Bay? Honest to God, I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t realize what I’d done....” His voice turned hoarse.

Gently, she touched his cheek. “Of course I forgive you. We love one another, Gabe. Things like this are going to happen. You did the important thing. After you thought about it, you came back and apologized. That’s as good as it gets, don’t you think?”

Relief surged through him, and he violently quashed his emotional response. “You deserve better, baby. I’m not good enough for you. I’m really not.” But he was so grateful that she loved him unabashedly. Gabe honestly didn’t know what Bay saw in him.

She kissed his temple, tasting the salt of the sweat beads still clinging to the strands of his hair. “Thank you. It means a lot to me, Gabe. And you’re more than good enough for me. I know you’re with me whether you realize it or not. And I feel the same way about you. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so grateful you’re a part of my life.”

She eased back just enough to hold his gaze. “I’ve felt you too many nights come to my side after I went to bed while I was away at medical training. As exhausted as I was, I could feel your weight depress the mattress on the bed when you sat down next to me. I could feel you move your fingers through my hair, soothing me after a rough day. And then I’d feel you move, stretch out and curve me against your body.” Bay swallowed and looked down at him. “You were there, whether you knew it or not. You have no idea how much it fed me, helped me. Almost every night, you came and you held me. It was—wonderful... It was a comfort, really because I was missing you so much....”

The shimmer in her eyes, those tears that threatened to fall, ripped his aching heart. “Baby, I believe you. Okay?” Gabe squeezed her gently as if to persuade her. “Why do you think I carved that cat for you?”

She closed her eyes, knowing he was apologizing the only way he knew how. And it was more than enough for Bay. Trying to keep the tears out of her voice, she whispered unsteadily, “I know you had a horrible childhood. I know so much was taken away from you, darling. I—I just wish with my heart and soul, I could somehow transfer my world to yours.” Bay opened her eyes and gave him a sweet smile. “I know you would love it, believe in it as I do. But I can’t. It’s not transferable. It can only be experienced...”

“In my own way,” Gabe told her, sliding his hand and cupping her chin, “I believe in magic. I see it out on patrols. There’s times when I swear the SEALs I’m with have shared telepathy between us. We never have to talk to one another or even use hand signals. We’ll somehow sense a trap that’s been set for us in the middle of the night, even if we can’t see it. We sense it. Maybe, when you’re lonely for me, your magic happens for you in the same sort of way? And you draw me into your fairy-tale world?”

“That’s magic, too,” she agreed, her voice hoarse because she fought against crying for him, for what he’d endured. Bay didn’t want discord or upset on their last night together. All she wanted was for good memories to come out of it, instead. For both of them. She could cry later. Alone. No one would see her tears or hear her sobs. She was very good at hiding her emotions in the world of combat, because tears always bothered the men. For her, they were a release, enabling her to return once more to her core center where she needed to live in order to survive to help others.

“You’re more magic to me than real, baby. You always have been.” Gabe held her gaze, feeling her boundless love encircling them. “Yeah, you’re magic for sure.” He patted her hip. “Come on, I need to fire up the grill and cook those hamburgers for our dinner. You want to get the cold beer out of the fridge?”

As he rose, he kept his hand around her waist and guided her toward the condo. Gabe often thought of her as an otherworldly, beautiful being. And she was his.

“Yes, I can set the table and get out the beer for us,” she said, content to lean against his tall, strong body. The wooden jaguar in her palm felt as if it were burning a hole straight through her flesh. The sensation was real to Bay. The love she felt radiating out of it like a powerful beacon was just as real, feeding her heart and soul. It was Gabe’s way of loving her, of acknowledging her world of magic and possibility. Of apologizing. Bay sighed softly and closed her eyes, allowing him to guide her. She trusted Gabe with her life, and he’d never failed her. Ever.

* * *

“ARE YOU READY?” Gabe whispered near her ear, his hands lightly across Bay’s closed eyes. They stood in front of the master bedroom. He could feel her excitement.

“I am. What have you done, Gabe?” Bay heard a rumbling chuckle in his chest. He’d hinted after dinner that he had a surprise for her. Gabe knew she was such a kid when it came to surprises. Bay felt his rough hands resting lightly across her closed eyes. Felt his heated body inches from her own.

“Well,” he teased her huskily, “let’s open the door and find out, shall we?” He nudged the door with his toe, and it slowly yawned opened. “Okay,” he said, “now you can open your eyes....”

Bay gasped as he removed his hands and settled them on her shoulders, standing quietly behind her. The room had been transformed by soft candlelight. She loved candles! And she remembered telling Gabe last year how candles created magic and transported her to the other worlds. She loved the dancing, flickering light and shadows because she could close her eyes and, in her wild imagination, see such incredible, mythical beings.

“Ohhhh,” was all she could manage, her throat tightening with tears of joy. “This is so beautiful, Gabe!” Bay gave a cry, turned and threw her arms around him. “I love you so much! Thank you! It’s such a beautiful gift! It really is!”

His arms encircled her, holding her gently against him. She felt his mouth against her temple, placing small kisses down to her cheek, and finally, as she raised and turned her head, she met and melded against his waiting lips.

He kissed her tenderly, and she couldn’t stop the sweet trembling. She was so easily touched. So easily moved. Pulling away from her mouth, he smiled down at her.

“You like it, baby?” he asked.

“Like it?” Bay whispered incredulously. “I love it, Gabe.” She loved purples, lavender and soft green-and-blue colors. He’d seriously thought about all she’d told him because on the dresser were four candles of varying heights, in the purple to lavender range. On the nightstand were four more candles ranging from pale blue to a cobalt color. And in the master bathroom, a group of them flickered, sending out muted, soft tones of gold flames.

They’d already showered, and although he’d kissed her, touched her, Bay wanted to love him here, in their bedroom. But this was their last night together. They didn’t need to rush. She would carry the memories of these last moments deep in her heart. It had to last her for six months until she returned home, to his arms.

Gabe leaned down, resting his cheek against hers, drawing her back more tightly against him. “The music? Do you hear it?”

Gulping back her tears, Bay heard soft unobtrusive classical music in the background. She immediately recognized one of her favorite classical songs, “Ode to Joy.” “Everything is so perfect, Gabe. Thank you.” She was profoundly impacted that he’d go to this much trouble for her.

His mouth curved faintly, relieved. “I had one hell of a time finding all those pieces of classical music you like.” He laughed a little shyly, holding her close, her head tipped back against his right shoulder, eyes studying him warmly. “The guys at HQ teased the living hell out of me when I sat down to use the computer at the office. Hammer, damn him, found out I was tearing my hair out trying to find those classics on iTunes. He was ragging on me, accusing me of turning into some kind of damned sissy.” Shaking his head, he grumbled, “I’ll never live it down. Classics aren’t what SEALs listen to.”

“You’re such a hero in my eyes, Gabe,” Bay whispered, meaning it. Bay was sure the word “sissy” had struck him like a dagger into his heart. She was sure Hammer didn’t know his father had called him that name, either. SEALs were a pack of male alpha wolves. Each was a consummate, confident warrior. And they mercilessly, ruthlessly teased and taunted one another, a constant unspoken game of one-upsmanship. “I grew up on the classics. My pa taught me all the Greek myths from Robert Graves’s books. I read voraciously as a child. My mama read me fairy tales every night before me and Eva-Jo went to sleep. I had so many dreams about the gods, goddesses and mythical beings. My dreams were in color and crammed full of excitement. I could hardly wait to go to sleep at night so that I could dream. Classical music inspires me,” Bay said, meeting and holding his gaze. She felt his heavy desire for her, felt it settle in her womb, between her thighs, so sweet with promise.

“I’d do it all over again for you, baby,” Gabe rasped, leaning over and lifting her into his arms. “I’ll take any kind of ribbing those guys want to dish out and hand it back to them in spades. They don’t love you. I do. Come on, let’s go to bed....”

CHAPTER FIVE

THE FLICKERING CANDLELIGHT danced around the darkened room, making movements on the walls, shadowing Gabe’s intent-looking features as he untied her blue silk robe. It had been a Christmas gift from him last year. The silky robe clearly outlined her breasts, the nipples already firm peaks beneath the superfluous material. Gabe eased the robe off her shoulders, allowing it to whisper and crumple to the floor.

He leaned down to capture one of the nipples. It hardened in his mouth. She moaned, arching tautly into him, tensing, her fingers digging into his shoulders.

Gabe heard a faint rush of air from between her lips. There was a fine line between pain and pleasure, and he gauged her response to keep it in the pleasure zone.

As her hands tightened on his shoulders, Gabe felt her strain to lift her hips and press hungrily against his thick erection. It made him feel powerful to hear the sounds caught in her throat. Bay trusted him fully. In every possible way. And as he moved his lips to the other nipple, tasting her, he heard her shallow breathing accelerate.

She was a strong woman, and her hands, in particular, were fierce. Her tight grip on his shoulders showed him that he was pleasing her.

As he gazed at Bay, the candlelight softened her beautiful face, made her look almost angelic. She stood naked before him, and he could feel her knees weaken beneath his onslaught. Bay was slowly opening him up to another kinder, gentler possibility, the magic between them, the magic of her affecting and changing him in good ways.

Gabe eased his fingers slowly up her warm rib cage, felt her soft, smooth skin against his roughened fingertips. He couldn’t help smiling into her slumberous-looking blue eyes that burned with arousal. The candlelight made her flesh glow an unearthly but breath-stealing color. Golden, radiant skin beneath his exploring hands.

Magic.

He picked her up and carried her to the bed and then bracketed her thighs with his own.

Gabe ran his index finger from the lobe of her ear down the length of her neck and across her proud shoulder. He devoured Bay with his eyes and his heart. He could see the faint beat of her heart near her left, curved breast. She meant the world to him. Gabe could not conceive life without Bay in it. Her flesh was radiant beneath the flickering candles. He monitored her expression, listened closely to her breath, watched the sharp rise and fall of her rib cage. He slowly curved his hands around each of her breasts. Bay’s expression tensed as she anticipated the touch of his thumbs wreaking pleasure across her taut nipples.

Anticipation was one of Gabe’s favorite ways of bringing her to the edge, increasing Bay’s hunger for him, for craving his touch, getting her keyed and so damned close to an orgasm until she started coming apart in his hands.

Her lips parted with a hitched breath, and she gripped his arms, waiting, wanting.... Gabe held her pleading gaze and smiled a very male smile. Leaning down, he exhaled his warm breath across the first nipple without ever touching it. Bay moaned with anticipation. He slowly circled it with his tongue, never touching the hardened center, tasting her salty flesh, drinking it into his body, drinking her into his heart. Her skin was firm, trembling and incredibly velvet beneath his exploring tongue. Feeling her frustration, her need of him, he finally gave her what she wanted: he drew the peak into his mouth, suckled her strongly, listening to her give a sharp cry of relief.

Gabe practiced the same tactical strategy with her other nipple, listening to her sigh and then a catch in her breath, craving his touch. He’d planned this for days, how he would tease her until she was mindless, achy and wet with the promise. But he never wanted to see tears, just the pleading in her eyes, her husky cries, as he turned her inside out with his hands, fingers and mouth. And then, he’d enter her, take her with him, his final objective to have her orgasm as many times as she wanted before he unleashed his power within her that final time. He brought his knees inside her thighs, opening her.

Gabe stroked the inside of her thighs, feeling how damp, how ready she was for him already. Her entire lower body cramped and convulsed as he slowly traced her wet feminine entrance. He knew how much she needed him inside her.

His thick, heavy erection lay across her belly as he captured one of her nipples in his mouth, suckling her. He sensed her need, that feeling of urgency. But he only gave her that patient, heated grin and eased her gently back down on the bed, making her wait.

Leaning down, he rasped near her ear, “Now...how do you want me, baby? Just tell me. I’m yours....”

Moaning, Bay gripped his hips urgently, crying out, “I need you...please, Gabe, I ache so much I hurt...please...”

He nodded, spreading her thighs, his erection at her wet entrance, barely brushing her, seeing her eyes shutter close. Her hips bucked upward to capture him. She sucked him deep into her. A groan ripped through Gabe as he arched forward, his body straining as she pulled him even deeper into her core. He kept steel control over himself, swam into that shocking, heated pleasure of sheathing into her. Bay was first. Always. Forever.

Gabe watched her eyes go wild with yearning, her hands grasping his hips, pushing herself against him in a begging gesture. He smiled and captured her lips. Her ragged breath exploded into his mouth, and he drank it down, drank from her lips, drunk with the heat streaking through his body, hardening him even more, wanting to thrust so deeply they’d never be able to untangle themselves from one another when it was all over.

Bay gasped wildly, then moved her tongue into his mouth at the same time he’d thrust forward deeply into hers. As she shut her eyes, he could feel her orgasm building, empowering her even more. He thrust his hips at just the right angle to give her intense, jolting pleasure.

Suddenly, a serrated cry spilled from her lips, and Bay threw back her head, spine arching upward. Gabe’s large hand slipped beneath her hips, holding her just the right way, increasing the pressure times ten. Her cries grew stronger with each powerful rippling orgasm as it tore through her. The tide surged through her in invisible, violent waves. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t gasp, captured in the storm of her body releasing fully and completely. And then, she collapsed, breathing hard against the bed, her body shuddering and her limbs suddenly going weak, barely able to move.

Then and only then did Gabe release the steel control over himself. He swam in the heat and slickness of her gift to him. He could do no less for Bay, surging into her soft, accommodating body that so tightly surrounded him. The heat seized him, and he could feel the glovelike tightening pushing his hungry body into overdrive. His lips lifted away from his teeth as he pumped relentlessly, hungrily, into her. His release exploded out of him. Beads of sweat popped out across his brow, his eyes tightly shut as he rode that hot, fiery explosion hurtling down through him. He had no idea how long it lasted, but it was a damn long time. Finally, Gabe collapsed on top of Bay, fighting to keep his full weight off her.

“Come here,” he said, his voice rough. He didn’t want to leave her body just yet, and he pulled Bay against him, his one leg between hers so they could remain coupled. “I love you, baby. God, I love you,” Gabe whispered against her lips, taking her gently this time, with all the tenderness he possessed as a man. Tonight was her night. Tonight, he wanted to love Bay with every cell he had in his body, make her his.

* * *

THEY REMAINED TOGETHER in every way, Bay’s head resting tiredly on Gabe’s massive chest, her arm limp across his torso. She dozed with him. The clock read three in the morning when Bay drowsily awoke, still in Gabe’s arms. He stirred, sensing her coming awake. Taking her to his side, he nestled her against him, tucking her in, his arm sliding around her shoulders. He kissed her brow. Her hands grazed his chest, her fingers tangling in his soft hair. His skin grew taut, muscles reacting to her gliding touch.

“Mmm,” Bay said, pulling back just enough to catch his sleepy gaze. “That was world-class, Griffin. You continually surprise the pants off me.”

He chuckled darkly and raised his hands, tunneling his fingers through that soft, curled mass of hair across her shoulder. “I like surprising any pair of pants off you. You look damn good naked.”

“That was a Hill expression,” she said archly, leaning up on her elbow and placing a kiss on his smiling mouth. A mouth that knew how to take her to the rim of the universe and back. Bay absorbed the tenderness burning in his eyes and rested her brow against his. “I just don’t want this night to end, Gabe.”

He sighed and moved his hand across her shoulder. “It will, baby, but you can always take it with you. Remember it and us in the quiet moments over there in Afghanistan.” Not that there would be many.

Bay didn’t want to discuss leaving. “I want to talk to you about our wedding.”

Gabe woke up a little more. The seriousness in Bay’s softened expression forced him awake. “Sure.”

She traced invisible patterns across his upper chest with her finger. “Our wedding is something positive. And right now, that’s all I want in my life, Gabe.”

Nodding, he understood. “Is this about your Grandma’s dress you want to wear?” A UPS box sent by her mother, Poppy, had arrived the third day she’d been with him. Inside the box was a long, cream-colored lacy wedding dress her grandmother had worn. Bay fiercely loved her Grandmother Lilac. He remembered watching tears come to Bay’s eyes as she’d gently removed the old but beautiful dress from the box. The sadness in her eyes over the loss of her grandmother had touched him. Lilac had died when she was seventeen years old. Bay had wanted to wear her grandmother’s dress for their wedding. Gabe wished his family had had that same closeness.

Bay stirred, kissed the damp column of his neck. “Mmm, yes. Do you mind?”

“Of course not,” he whispered, moving his fingers through the soft strands of her curly hair. “I want you happy, baby. I want you to plan that wedding at your mother’s cabin.”

She smiled a little, nuzzling his jaw and placing a slow kiss to his sandpapery flesh. Her body glowed hot, and her womb felt as if it contained deep, simmering coals. Pleasurable, subtle heat was still radiating throughout her. Bay couldn’t get enough of Gabe. She moved her hips, watching his length already hardening once more. He was so incredibly masculine, so incredibly tender with her, making her body sing. Her mouth was dry, and she swallowed. “I already promised Grace and Mama that we’d work out all the details in emails. Mama has Skype, so I can talk to her directly sometimes, when I can.”

“Good,” he murmured, inhaling her womanly scent, the fragrance that was only her. Bay fed his soul. Gabe knew she wanted to take part in the wedding plans, no matter if she was in Afghanistan or not. He cupped her shoulder and looked deeply into her eyes. “Listen, you can’t give yourself away over there this time, Bay. When you were with our team, I finally realized you were burning the candle at both ends, working seventeen hours a day helping others medically. It was taking a toll on you, baby.”

Bay felt so utterly satisfied. Closing her eyes, she sensed sleep stalking her again. A good kind of lethargy after a great lovemaking session. “I know...”

“Promise me that you will give yourself the time you need?”

“Yes, I promise, Gabe....”

His dark brows moved downward. “Bay, this is important. You can’t give yourself away over there this time. You’re a damned good combat medic, but you’re human and you need downtime, rest and plenty of sleep. Please?”

Hearing the urgency, the concern in his deep voice washing across her, she whispered, “I want to come home to you, Gabe. I’m not going to do anything stupid like I did when we were at Camp Bravo the last year. I learned my lesson, my beloved.”

My beloved. Every time she whispered that endearment to him, Gabe felt it go straight to his wounded heart. And every time, it healed another piece of him. Kissing her damp brow, her hair utterly mussed and beautiful around her face, he said, “Okay. I’m taking you at your word.”

“You worry too much,” Bay slurred, feeling sleep enfold her. “I want to come home to you. You’re my life, Gabe. Believe that if you don’t believe anything else.”

* * *

“I’VE GOT TO LEAVE,” Bay whispered, choking on the words, holding on to Gabe’s strong, scarred fingers. She stood near Security at the airport, her ruck over her shoulder, dressed in her Navy blue cammies. It hurt to look in his eyes, his SEAL mask well in place, no hint of emotion anywhere in his expression. Bay knew better. Her body radiated hotly beneath his stormy look, felt it in the tenderness of his fingers as he rubbed them against her own.

They had slept in one another’s arms, woken up, loved one another again with a desperation that chased reality away for just a few hours longer. And this morning, at dawn, the sun barely edging the Pacific Ocean, he’d made hard, swift passionate love with her one last time. Feeling exhausted in a good kind of way, Bay managed a sweet smile as she tugged at Gabe’s fingers, silently asking him to release her. For an instant, she saw the fear, the anxiety in his expression, no matter how hard he tried to hide it from her.

As she turned, Bay raised her hand and placed it against his jaw, sought the hard line of his mouth, kissed him with everything she had. She felt consumed within the powerful curve of his descending mouth, his strong arms coming around her this one, last time. Heart pounding, tears in her eyes, Bay could barely control her wildly fluctuating emotions. She didn’t want to leave Gabe. But she had to.

Gabe reluctantly released her mouth, both of them breathing hard. God, he had to let her go. He had to release Bay from his grip. Gabe was peripherally aware of people turning, watching them. He could give a damn about them. Was their loved one going into combat where a bullet could sever her life in a heartbeat? Hell, no! He swallowed hard, anger warring with his love for Bay, the lump large and painful in his throat. He couldn’t stop looking at her, for fear she’d disappear too soon. He loved her silently in those few seconds between them. Her smile for him was so loving and innocent that it staggered Gabe. Her smile filled him with love, and it pumped hope through his heart that ached with real fear for her safety. And then...Gabe released her soft, long fingers from his...one last touch...one last time....

Oh, God...

Bay turned away. If she didn’t, Gabe would see her tears. And she knew with great certainty, it would tear him apart. No, she couldn’t let Gabe see her like this. Fighting herself, Bay gulped and moved into the Security line, quickly swallowed up by other passengers crowding in behind her. She could feel his eyes on her back, feel his love encircling her. It was crazy, but she could feel it as easily as she felt her breath raggedly drawing in and out of her lungs.

Only when she’d passed through Security, did Bay get a hold of herself enough to turn and look back at him. Gabe stood alone now, his hands at his sides. He wore a dark blue T-shirt that showed off his powerfully lean upper body, his jeans barely hiding how sexual and sensual he was to her. His face... Oh, Lord, his face was so hard. She understood he had to be that way or he’d break down, too. Lifting her hand, she touched her fingers to her lips and blew him a kiss. It was all she could do, now separated and unable to run back into one another’s arms.

Bay saw Gabe lift his hand in acknowledgement and then gave her a hand signal they’d created between themselves. He lifted his hand, placed it over his heart and then extended his hand outward toward her. A deep love welled up through her, giving her strength at the last minute. She repeated that silent hand signal back to him and then watched as his hard expression dissolved into a slow, male smile filled with so much heat and love for her. She was his. Gabe owned her heart and soul, and he knew it. And so did she.

Turning on her boot, Bay walked down the long corridor that would take her by commercial flight to Seattle Sea-Tac International Airport. From there, she’d hop an Air Force C-5 going across The Pond, the Pacific. They’d stop in Hawaii, refuel and then fly to Bagram Air Base near Kabul, Afghanistan. And then, she’d find a medevac or Black Hawk heading out to Camp Bravo, hitch a ride and find her Special Forces team that she’d join.

As she forced herself to walk away, put space between Gabe and herself, Bay touched a leather thong around her neck, hidden beneath her cammie blouse. Gabe had fashioned a small sterling silver ring on the top of the jaguar’s back. He’d strung a fine, thin piece of sturdy leather so she could wear it around her neck while in Afghanistan. The jaguar lay over her heart.

A fist of serrating grief shoved up through her, and her throat tightened painfully. Head down, Bay tried to hide the tears that fell out of her eyes and down her taut, pale cheeks. At least, Gabe had not seen her cry this time...

CHAPTER SIX

“REZA!”

Reza turned. His eyes widened enormously where he stood within the Shinwari village. “Is that you, Baylee?” His mouth dropped opened as she waved enthusiastically at him, jogging toward him in Special Forces cammies, her medical rucksack on her back. His smile increased as she drew near. Happiness danced in her blue eyes as she halted, taking off her soft cover and grinning at him.

“It’s so good to see you again!” Bay said in Pashto to her old friend. She said to hell with Muslim protocol because she’d worked with this man two times before. He accompanied U.S. black ops as a tracker and interpreter. “Can I hug you?”

Reza, who was in his middle thirties, giggled. He opened his arms. “I know how to be an American! Come here!” He laughed, striding up to her and throwing his arms around her.

Bay hugged her Afghan friend tightly. Tears came to her eyes as she stepped back from him. “It’s so good to see you. I didn’t know you were here. Are you staying long?”

He wiped tears from his eyes, too. Reza had worked with Special Forces near the border with Pakistan with her two years earlier. He knew the Hindu Kush mountains, their thousands of caves and the goat paths so instrumental in tracking down Taliban, better than anyone else. His family had been slaughtered by Sangar Khogani, a Hill tribal warlord, several years earlier. His wife and five children had been cut down before the guns and curved knives of the brutal Taliban. Since then, Reza had pledged his life to helping the Americans eradicate the Taliban from his beloved country.

“I will be here for a while, yes.” He shook his head. “You look beautiful in my eyes, Baylee. Something must have happened since I last saw you. You are better filled out, not so starved-looking as last time. And I see happiness in your eyes. Tell me, what has happened?”

Bay looked around the village where she was to remain for the next six months. “I’m engaged to a very good man, Reza. We’re going to be married when I get off this rotation.” She sighed. “He’s wonderful, Reza. Gabe is...well...I just never thought I’d ever meet someone like him.” She smiled softly, missing Gabe so badly. “I’ve just gotten off a helo from Camp Bravo and have to go see Captain Drew Anderson. He’s the head of the SF team here. After that, let’s have tea and catch up.”

“Of course, of course,” he murmured. “Come, I’ll show you where the team is staying. So, you are replacing the medic they lost?”

Nodding, Bay shortened her stride for Reza. He was only five feet four inches tall. “Yes, I have to give him my orders. And then I’m sure he’ll give me his orders.” She laughed.

Originally, Reza had made a living as a cobbler, making shoes for his and other villages. He was greatly loved in the valley near the border. Not the leader of the village, but his kindness toward all earned him a special place in the hearts of everyone. And when she’d met him two years ago and worked six months with him, they’d become fast forever friends.

Bay’s heart lifted with joy because Reza was someone she could honestly talk to. He was a trusted adviser, worked as a terp, interpreter, and was often asked to lead black ops teams into the Hindu Kush to hunt down HVTs, high value targets. The Taliban had a high price on Reza’s head. They wanted him badly because he knew the Hindu Kush like the back of his hand, better than anyone else and certainly better than any American did. He’d been born in them, grown up there and was intimately familiar with the tall mountains and thousands of caves where the Taliban hid. The black ops Marine Force Recons, Army Special Forces, CAG/Delta Force and Navy SEAL teams all wanted his help and knowledge. Since Reza had begun working to avenge his family’s death with the Americans, Taliban deaths had increased two hundred percent. Bay thought that was one helluva way to get even.

“Captain Drew is a very nice man, Baylee. You will find him even-headed.”

She smiled and clapped his shoulder. “Levelheaded, Reza, but I know what you mean.”

He flashed her a shy grin, his face sun darkened, bearded, his black hair long across his shoulders and receding in the front. He dressed like all Afghan males, but she had always seen him as cosmopolitan and worldly. He was one of the few Afghans to get the macrocosm view on his country and his people. He was a fierce fighter in a firefight, and she was so darned glad he was here, with her. Bay knew Gabe would be happy to hear about it. Maybe he wouldn’t worry so much, she hoped.

* * *

ARMY CAPTAIN DREW ANDERSON was bent over his planning board with his warrant officer and four sergeants when Bay entered the one-story mud house in the center of the village. They all looked up in unison. No doubt, they recognized her immediately. On the left side of her cammies was the black medical symbol. Relief came to the blond-haired commanding officer’s face. The man straightened up, his gray gaze quickly assessing her.

“Petty Officer First Class Baylee-Ann Thorn reporting as ordered, sir. I think you were expecting me, sir?” She pulled out her orders from her pocket and handed them to him.

“We’re damned glad to see you, Thorn,” Anderson muttered, swiftly perusing her transfer orders. He nodded and introduced his second-in-command, a young man of about twenty-four, Warrant Officer Jerry Bannister. Bay shook his hand. The four sergeants were older, and she knew they were the backbone of any SF team. They all eagerly shook her hand, knowing she was an 18 Delta medic. Anderson dismissed the group, wanting to talk to her privately.

“Have a seat, Doc. You ready for some black coffee that’ll curl your toes?”

Bay liked the officer’s laid-back humor. He was about thirty-five years old, and she saw he wore a wedding ring on his left hand. She thought about her own engagement ring Gabe had given her that was tucked away in the top pocket of her Kevlar vest. A warm feeling of sadness and missing him moved through her. “Uh, yes, sir, coffee doesn’t scare me, but the Taliban sure does.”

He chuckled darkly and poured two mugs. Both white pottery cups were chipped but salvageable. Anderson handed one to her as he sat down at the planning board across from Bay. “I’ve got to tell you, I’m damned relieved you’re here, Doc. Losing our other Doc...Sergeant Brokelman, well...it’s been a hard loss on all of us.”

“Yes, sir, I’m sure it’s been rough on everyone. I know how tight SF teams are. You’re like family.”

“Well said. I’ll have my team sign those top secret papers your general needs shortly, so no worries. I’ll send them on to General Stevenson.”

Bay felt him probing her a little. “You ever worked with any Operation Shadow Warrior women before?” she asked.

Shaking his head, he said, “No, but frankly, I don’t care what your gender is. You’re an 18 Delta medic, the best we have in any branch of the military. You’ve already earned your stripes with me, Doc.”

“Do you think I’ll have any blowback from the rest of your team because I’m a woman?”

“No, these men have been with me for four to five years, and we’ve been through plenty together. Most of them are married. Only two who aren’t, but they’re engaged. How about you?”

“Engaged, sir.”

“To who?”

“A SEAL, sir. Chief Gabe Griffin.”

He nodded, assimilating the intel. “Yeah, I ran into his team just before they left to rotate out of Camp Bravo last year. Good man. He’s lucky to get you. Congratulations.”

Bay felt his sincerity. “Thank you, sir.”

“Well,” he said, a slight grin on his face, “SEALs are known to be damned protective of their women. I don’t suppose he’s any different?”

She chuckled a little. “No, sir, he’s the same.”

“I guess I’d better treat you right then, or he’ll be climbing my ass. SEALs don’t really see officers any different than enlisted people.”

“That’s true, the rank and ratings blur in the SEAL community, sir.”

He sighed. “Let me give you the lowdown, Doc. My sergeants have gotten you a small, abandoned mud home about two blocks down from our HQ. The Taliban is trying to put new rat lines through this valley. For the last year, the Shinwari tribe people have been absolutely terrorized by the Taliban. They don’t want them going through here, and neither do we. But, as you know, the Taliban doesn’t take no for an answer. Our medi, Brokelman, was seriously wounded in a hot firefight three weeks ago. The enemy keeps probing us. They hide in the mountains, strike at night and then disappear before dawn. We’ve put an SF team in all three villages, and we’re trying to stabilize the area and help the people, who are frantic with fear, to give them some security. They hate the Taliban as much as we do.

“A number of them have gotten night letters. And you know when a family finds one tacked on their door, it’s a death card. The Taliban utilize hit-and-run raids, and they’ve got some damned good snipers among them. They shoot mostly children as a way to warn the villages that if they continue to support Americans, they’ll continue killing them.” His mouth grew grim.

“That’s terrible,” Bay whispered, her heart breaking over the thought of children arbitrarily being murdered. She knew the Taliban was ruthless and used stone-age tactics against anyone who was their enemy. And in Afghanistan, it usually worked. Few villages had the weaponry and manpower to fight them off. They had to rely entirely on American support and help.

“It’s sickening,” he growled, shaking his head. “You’re going to have to watch your step, Doc. I’m not going to take you out on patrols. I want you here, in this village. I know you’re combat trained, but I cannot afford to lose another medic. This village is far from safe. You’re going to have to watch yourself all the time. Don’t get distracted. The Taliban have sent men in, and they’ve kidnapped some of the elders, demanding money or they decapitate them. Just stay alert, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Bay murmured, actually happy she wasn’t going to be patrolling. She wanted to get home safe and sound to Gabe, to get on with the rest of their life. Maybe she had a short-timer’s attitude, but she didn’t care. Fewer bullets would be thrown at her, less chance of being killed or injured.

“You’re going to be a genuine asset. You know Pashto and you’re a female medic, so you can start tomorrow morning by finding a place to set up a clinic to help the women and children. I’m sure some of the men will drop by, too.”

“Yes, sir, they bend the rules when necessary. I’ve come equipped to handle both genders.”

“Good.” He finished off his coffee. “You know Reza?”

“Yes, sir, he and I have worked together before. He’s a trusted ally, sir.”

“Good to hear. He’s going to be leading us up into these mountains to the east of us for the next month, teaching us the trail systems and pointing out new rat lines to us. In the next few weeks, we’ve got to get a handle on these damned raids and stop them cold in their tracks.”

“What about drones, sir?”

He snorted. “The CIA has authority over all the drones and flies them out of Camp Bravo. I’ve been on their ass every day by radio, begging them to give us one over the valley. They keep stonewalling me.”

Bay frowned. “Sir, have you contacted Chief Phillips? He’s running the new SEAL platoon that just rotated into Camp Bravo. I worked with the SEALs over there last year. Different platoon, but I think if you can fly in and see the chief, he might be able to swing a drone your way.” She shrugged. “It’s worth a shot, sir.”

He smiled, rising and rubbing the back of his neck. “I guess I can go lower myself to the SEAL Chief, get down on my knees and grovel for mercy,” he grumbled.

Bay realized Anderson was teasing her. “They’re good guys, sir. Kept my butt out of a sling a number of times last summer.”

“Yeah, they always take the fight to the enemy. They don’t blink when there’s gunfire. Anyone else who has any brains is running away from it. But those guys get a gleam in their eye, grab their M-4s and they’re running as fast as they can toward the damn fight.”

“They wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said with a smile, feeling pride for them and for Gabe. “They’re very brave warriors in my book, sir.”

He sighed and studied the map across the planning board. “No disagreement, Doc. We might be Army and they are Navy, but we’re Americans and that’s what really counts. We’re over here doing the same job.”

“Sir?”

“Yes?”

“About a sniper? You said the Taliban are hitting the villages in this valley?”

“They are. I don’t have a sniper on my team.”

“Well, sir, why not ask the SEAL Chief if he’s got any guys who might want a little extra hunting challenge over here? They like doing sniper work.”

“Any chance your fiancé, Griffin, was one?”

She laughed. “Yes, sir, he is. I learned a lot from him.”

“It’s not a bad idea, Doc. I’ll give the Chief my sad song, and maybe he’ll feel sorry for an Army son of a bitch and lend me some SEAL help, since I can’t get a drone assigned to us.” He regarded her and said, “Glad you’re here, Doc. Go get situated. Any one of my sergeants will be more than happy to help you adjust to your new digs here. Any problems, see me directly. Okay?”

Bay stood up. “Yes, sir.”

“Dismissed, Doc.”

Bay turned, set her cup on the planning board and shrugged the heavy ruck over her shoulder. She exited the stifling confines of the windowless house.

Reza stepped from between the houses, grinning like a fox. “Well, did you like Captain Anderson?”

“Very much,” she said, walking with him. “Do you know where my house is?” Reza knew everything. She’d come to rely on his almost photographic mind.

His face brightened. “I do! This way!”

* * *

GABE WAS EXHAUSTED as he sat down at his computer in his condo. Bay had been gone a week, and he was worried because she hadn’t checked in with him. She’d promised to try and Skype him. He knew she could only do that at Camp Bravo, not in the valley where she was located.

His fingers itched to type an email to Chief Phillips to see if Bay had gotten to Bravo yet. He’d called Phillips shortly after Bay had flown out of Lindbergh Field. Phillips had rule over the entire platoon and was the man who could make anything happen by coordinating with the three officers above him. When Gabe had told him Bay was his fiancée and that she was in the area, he promised to keep an eye on her. He slept a little better knowing that. SEALs took care of their own.

His computer beeped. His heart raced. It was a Skype call from Bay.

“Hey,” Bay said, smiling happily, “how are you?”

His heart crashed in his chest, powerful emotions nearly choking off his reply. Staring hard at Bay, he noticed how her cheeks were flushed pink, her soft, curly hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore SF cammies.

“I’m good. Good. How are you?” All calls and emails were run through SEAL HQ back in Coronado. Gabe couldn’t say much and had to keep their communication bland. Hell, he wanted to reach through that screen and haul Bay into his arms and kiss her senseless. Just seeing the light dancing in her blue eyes made him feel an avalanche of relief. She looked good. And happy.

“I’m getting acclimated to my new digs over in the valley. Got a really squared-away SF captain over there. His team could care less whether I’m a woman or not.”

Gabe chuckled. “Right on. You’re an 18 Delta, so they don’t care if you have two heads and sprout horns.” He heard her laughter, husky and sweet. His euphoria deepened as he saw her wrinkle her nose, her beautiful lips pulling up into a huge smile over his comment. He loved her. His lower body ached, needed relief. Gabe couldn’t think two thoughts on any given day without thinking of Bay, remembering the times they’d hotly loved one another until they were utterly exhausted.

“Did you get with Chief?” he demanded.

“Oh, yeah, I did.” Bay hooked her thumb over her shoulder. “He’s been wonderful, Gabe. When I can manage to get a helo hop over here, he lets me use the team computer. Really sweet of him.”

Sweet had nothing to do with it, but Gabe nodded and said nothing. “You’re now part of the SEAL family, Bay. He’s gonna treat you right.”

“He sure has. And, hey, the guys in this platoon have been really nice to me, too.” And then she gave him a wicked grin. “Unlike your team who wanted to burn me at the stake.”

He absorbed her laughter, drinking in the beauty of her face. “Your nose is sorta red. Been outdoors a lot? Patrols?”

“I’ve been working clinics outdoors. No patrols, though. The captain wants me to stay in the village where it’s safer.”

“Smart man. Tell him thank you.” That was profound news and a relief to Gabe.

She grinned. “Well, the captain said he didn’t want an angry SEAL climbing his ass, so he really wanted to keep you happy.”

Gabe’s hands were sweaty. He’d had such fear for Bay going out on patrols, his imagination going wild, having a nightmare about her being killed. “Hey, tell that captain I appreciate him watching your back. But you’re right, I’d damn well climb anyone’s ass if they didn’t properly take care of you.”

“Well,” she murmured, “I think you guys in the SEALs have such a tough reputation, that it’s already a done deal.”

He sobered. “I love you.” Gabe didn’t give a damn who heard him. Bay’s face softened, and so many emotions crossed her very readable face. She struggled.

“I love you, too. And I miss you so much, Gabe....”

“It’s mutual, believe me.” He saw longing in her expression. And sadness that they were once more separated from one another.

“It has to be hard on you, too.”

Gabe snorted. “Hell, I’m stateside. What’s gonna happen to me? Get bit by a pissed-off rattler because I ran too close to the manzanita bush he was resting under? Find a scorpion in my sleeping bag and get stung?”

Bay shook her head, laughing. “God, you make my day, Griffin.”

How badly Gabe wanted to reach out and simply touch her flushed cheek, kiss her lips, feel Bay lean into him, her arms sliding around his neck. His throat tightened with those intense memories.

“I’m glad I do,” he said. “I want to see you smiling and happy over there.” He wondered if she felt him come to her at night when she slept.

“You make me feel happy,” she whispered, losing her smile. “I’m busy, so it takes my head out of missing you so much.”

“You’re not too busy, are you?” Gabe demanded, frowning. Bay had promised him to not wear herself out like she had before.

Holding up her hands, she said, “I’ve been a good girl. Reza is here, and he’s like my guard dog, taking your place. He meets me at my house every morning, and then we have MREs at HQ. Every morning, he sizes me up. ‘Baylee, you have shadows under your eyes. Baylee, you look thinner. Baylee, aren’t you eating enough?’” She smiled a little. “He’s a miniature you, Gabe. Trust me on that one.”

“Tell him thank you from me. That’s a stroke of luck Reza is there with you. For how long?” More relief tunneled through Gabe. He’d worked with Reza before, and the man was solid gold.

“Another two weeks. He’s busy showing the team new rat lines up in the hills and mountains above our village.”

“He’s a damned good person.”

“He’s someone I can confide in. I can trust him with my secrets.” She gave him a teasing look.

She was such an imp, but how he loved her. “Things you should be telling me instead?”

“Ohhhh, I keep it aboveboard,” she promised, her lips curving more. “But I have active dreams at night. Can’t talk to anyone about them, however, and you aren’t here to tell them to....”

Gabe grinned and chuckled. His spirits lifted just hearing her voice, seeing her face and making sure she was really all right. He couldn’t ask her details about anything; that was forbidden. Top secret was exactly that. “I sent you a care package. You should be getting it soon.”

“Ohhh, surprises?”

“Yeah, surprises just for you. I know how much you love them.”

“Listen, do me a favor? Can you go to some of the NGOs that the SEALs work with? This village is so poor, Gabe. All the kids need shoes. Could you check into this when you get a chance? I’d really like to have about seventy pairs. The children are all running around barefoot.”

He nodded. “Can do,” he said, thinking that Bay, as usual, was watching out for the children. She was going to be one incredible mother someday. And she would be carrying his child. His lower body burned with need for her.

Bay looked at the watch on her wrist. “My time’s up. I got two SEALs standing in line waiting to talk to their loved ones, so I’m outta here, Shark Man.”

He grinned, wanting more time with her. Wanting to capture her laughter and replay it so he could feel her near him. “Okay, next week?”

“Maybe. I’ll try as often as I can.” Bay smiled sweetly, touched her heart with her hand and then extended her hand toward him. “I love you....”

He sat there and returned the hand signal to her. A lump formed in his throat. “I love you, too, baby. Stay safe out there....”

The screen went blank. Gabe sat there feeling euphoric and, at the same time, horrible dread. His emotions were up and down like a roller coaster. Never before had he experienced something as intense as his love for Bay. One of the SEAL wives who found out Bay was overseas had told him the same thing. There wasn’t a day that went by when she didn’t feel abject terror to dizzying joy, too. It was just part of a human’s emotional makeup when their loved one was overseas and in harm’s way.

Rubbing his chest, Gabe scowled, hating how emotional he’d become since Bay had left. No other woman had ever affected him like that. He sighed. Well, the tables were turned, weren’t they? Instead of the man going overseas into combat, the woman went instead. And he was the one left home to do the worrying and the not knowing. Getting up, he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Gabe went into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. Leaning his hips against the counter, he stared through the quiet condo. When Bay had been here, the place filled him with warmth, bubbling vitality and life. Now, it was sterile, gray and damned depressing to him. He sipped the coffee, his brows knitted. Bay was in what was considered a “hot” valley, a place where frequent, ongoing clashes with the Taliban were happening all the time. It didn’t help him sleep at night. Dammit, anyway. If only she’d been assigned to a SEAL team, he’d have breathed a helluva lot easier. She was in a bad place with an enemy who hated Americans with a fanatical passion.

When he’d talked with Chief Phillips a week earlier, the SEAL had been blunt about Bay’s location.

“It’s a damn snake pit. Mustafa Khogani, cousin to Sangar Khogani, that a SEAL sniper team just took out last year, is heading up the Hill tribe efforts to put new rat lines through that Shinwari tribe valley. Mustafa is a sick son of a bitch.”

“Aren’t they all?”

“This guy is real special,” Phillips had snarled. “He sweeps down on a Shinwari village, kidnapping little boys and girls between six and twelve years old. He’s a sex slave trader. Some of our teams have found these children dead, dropped like garbage along rat-line trails a few days after they had been kidnapped. They were children who were badly injured during the kidnapping. The bastard is killing these children, not giving them medical aid to survive. We want this monster.”

A cold shiver had moved up Gabe’s spine as he’d heard Phillips’s icy rage. “I wouldn’t want to find one of those children,” he’d admitted, his voice hoarse. It would be the last thing he’d want to do—discover a dead child on some trail out in the middle of nowhere.

“It’s upsetting the platoon plenty. A lot of these guys are married and have children themselves. You can imagine them stumbling upon one of Khogani’s victims. Mustafa is a sociopath. He doesn’t care. He just discards them, keeping the healthy, uninjured children and then selling them to the highest bidder once they get them across the Pakistan border.”

“Jesus,” Gabe had whispered, rubbing his face. He couldn’t imagine the terror and grief of the Afghan parents. Worse, discovering their young son or daughter was found dead. Even more sorrow-compounding, finding out how the child had suffered and died. Gabe had seen the ruthless brutality in the Taliban ranks for too long, but this was new. And horrifying. “Can’t you get a sniper team tracking that bastard?”

“That’s what we’re doing. We’re coordinating a team with the SF captain over in that valley. That’s the one Bay is assigned to. The captain came crawling over here last week pleading, hands out, begging us to interfere and provide him a SEAL sniper team. He also asked for our sniper platoon assets to start scouring the hills above the village to capture Khogani and his bunch, but it’s a no-can-do. He’s got to get the ragged-assed Army in gear to do that. We have our own areas that need our attention and protection. He asked for a drone, but my hands were tied. We can’t even get one except for the Ravens our teams use out on patrol.”

Gabe’s mouth had thinned. “Did you tell Bay all of this?”

“No, couldn’t. This is SEAL intel. She’s with Army SF. I’m assuming the captain filled her in, though.”

Anxiety had feathered through him as he’d considered the info. “Maybe that’s why that SF captain is requiring her to stay in the village, then.”

“Probably so. I’d sure as hell ground her, too. What the military doesn’t need is for someone like Mustafa to get his hands on an American military woman. It’s something we all live in fear of happening. It would turn into a media nightmare.”

“I know...” Gabe had rasped. His mind leaped painfully to that scenario. Chief Doug Hampton had discussed his worry with him the day Bay had arrived at their platoon. So far, no woman combat soldier had ever been captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Jessica Lynch had been captured in Iraq and it had been SEALs that had rescued her. Hampton said it would happen sooner or later as more women were on the front lines, that one would be captured, tortured, raped and, most likely, beheaded. And it would all be videotaped and then put up on the internet for the horrified world to see. It was only a matter of time. Hampton had been adamant with him to keep Bay protected and safe. No way, on his watch, was she going to fall victim to this terrifying scenario. He wiped his mouth, fear grating through his gut.

Gabe had ended that call with the chief, more anxious than before the conversation. Worry was eating a huge hole in his stomach.

CHAPTER SEVEN

MUSTAFA KHOGANI LAY on his belly, binoculars pressed tightly against his eyes, hidden among the brush overlooking the most southern Shinwari village in the valley below. Next to him, his second-in-command, Zmarai, was studying the village through his sniper scope.

“Something new,” Mustafa growled. He zeroed in on a woman in SF clothing who was holding a medical clinic for at least twenty children and women of all ages. The clinic was on the edge of the village, near a huge stand of trees that spilled out of a wadi, ravine, thousands of feet above them. The grove of trees provided shade from the blistering sun overhead.

It was a good place from a medical standpoint, but from a military strategy perspective, a very poor choice. But good for what he had in mind.

Zmarai said, hesitant, “A third of the village children are lined up. “Which ones do you want tonight when we sweep down there to kidnap some of them?” They routinely kidnapped young children, and they sold them into the sex slave trade across the Pakistan border. The children would then be cleaned up, given haircuts, new, clean robes and photos taken of them. From there, the photos were sent to prospective buyers across Asia and Europe. It brought in operating money to keep his lord’s army fed and supplied.

Snorting, Khogani said, “Tonight? Look at where they are! It would be easy to ride down into the wadi, undetected. We could get so close that a mere two-minute gallop would reach all of them. We’d catch them all off guard.”

“It’s daylight, my lord,” Zmarai rasped. They had always raided a village at dusk. He studied each young child waiting patiently beside their mother as the American military woman doctor treated them. Barely able to stand what would happen to any of them who were kidnapped, Zmarai closed his eyes for a moment, trying to get a stranglehold on his disgust. He was Muslim. And because he was one, the sale of children as sex slaves made him sick.

Pulling the binoculars away, Mustafa scratched his long, black beard. His mind seemed to consider the possibilities. Unlike Sangar, his cousin who had been murdered by SEAL snipers last year, Mustafa had more original ideas. Sangar had been too conservative and careful. Mustafa liked to keep his enemy off balance. He seemed sure that the Special Forces team in the village below them wouldn’t be expecting an attack in broad daylight.

“There’s a cave about two kilometers from here. We could reach it before the Americans could ever react with Apaches.”

Zmarai said, “Yes, there is a cave.” He worried about a drone high above, watching the whole attack. That wouldn’t be good for them.

Mustafa smiled. “And it goes back a long way, and we can come out the other side of the hill into another wadi, maintaining our cover.”

Nodding, the Taliban soldier looked over at his lord. “That is so. You want to strike hard, grab some of the children and then ride for that cave?” He wished for the thousandth time that Mustafa would lose his obsession with stealing young children. It was sick and perverted and against Islam. Otherwise, he was a brilliant, tactical Taliban leader.

“Yes.” Khogani sat up and crossed his legs. “But I want that woman doctor, too.”

Black brows raising, Zmarai stared in disbelief at him. “Her?”

Shrugging, he growled. “The bulk of my forces are ten miles from here up in the mountains. We have a lot of wounded men who are desperate for a doctor. She could treat them. We could have our own, personal American doctor.”

Compressing his lips, Zmarai thought long and hard. True, there were many Taliban soldiers who were wounded or in dire need of immediate treatment at their main cave right now. Although they could get bandages and drugs from the Pakistan hospitals across the border, they had no real medic among them. Their last medic had been killed when a B-52 bomber had dropped a laser-guided JDAM bomb on them during a night firefight a week ago. It had killed twenty of Mustafa’s finest soldiers as well as his own personal bodyguard. And without a medic riding with them, they would lose more men to bacterial infection than any amount of American bullets. The soldiers would die a slow, painful death, blood poisoning setting in and killing them.

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