Army Beasts Resurrection (3 page)

Chapter Two

Amari didn’t know what would happen when she moved t
o the little small town of Hiko
,
Alaska. It was so outside what she knew from the city life in Boston
,
on a few occasions she wondered if she would survive. The cold bit into you and the winds howled. There was nothing to do but work and then go home and watch TV. The bars were not someplace to frequent
,
and it wasn’t
as
if she could go shopping unless
s
he
made a trip
to Anchorage. Her life seemed to be at a standstill, all because of what she did
. She knew it
was the right thing
,
b
ut she was the one exiled just so she could survive.

The only redeeming quality of late was
spending time with Stavros. A
t first it was to take care of him and save his life. Now it was for the pure pleasure of it
.
T
he man was handsome and enigmatic. She had the flaw of falling for bad boys
,
but this time she didn’t think
that
was the case. Stavros had a caring
,
generous nature
―
that along with a tiger sharing his body.

The firs
t
time
he showed her his second nature she thought a switch from reality flipped in her head
,
and she only got a buzzing sound in her ears. After all
,
who ever thought that she would see a man turn from a human to a tiger
?
But when sanity won out
,
all that was left was pure amazement. Instead of being afraid
,
she wanted to know more about him
,
how be became what he was. All the while
,
she felt herself falling for the soldier who lived in seclusion.
But he had his own stuff to deal with and she didn’t want to bring her load of crap to his door.

She could have waited for him inside while he got dressed
,
but Amari wa
nted to feel the warmth of the
sun on her face. Spring had been a long time coming i
n Alaska
,
and the blanket of snow made her want to scream after awhile. She p
l
anned to take advantage of every warm day of the warm season she could
,
b
ecause in this area of the Un
i
ted
S
tates there
were
always more cold months than warm ones.

Stavros
was estranged from the only family he knew
,
and the men he called brothers
.
It was b
y choice
,
but because he didn’t feel worthy. It didn’t take a therapist to see the man felt as if his injuries would make him a burden.
She doubted very much that his friends would feel that way
,
but of course she had no real idea. She
,
on the other hand
,
made the choice to run away. To leave all she knew for safety, for necessity and to get out of the public eye.
Don’t we make a pair
, she thought ruefully. She heard his heavy footsteps coming back to the door.

She looked up and smiled. “You look like a lumberjack.”

Stavros raised his brow. ‘What
,
don’t you like my chic Alaskan outfit
?
I’ll have you know these are the rage in Paris and
are
the in thing for 2012.”

Laughter bubbled out of Amari
. “Really, I didn’t know the fashions made it all the way up here in Hiko.”

He nodded solemnly. ‘Trust me
,
plaid is in.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she replied.

Stavros shrugged. “Ok
ay,
but don’t be mad at me when you’re left behind in this new fashion craze.”

“I’ll remember that,” she said dryly.

He reached out
his hand and she took it. He lifted her to her feet easily
,
as if
she weighed nothing. She stepped the wrong way and fell against his chest. Instantly
,
he wrapped his arms around her to hold her in place
.
T
o protect her. She met that green stare of his and any thought in her head was lost.
Stavros was stronger then he thought
,
and that one move made her breathless.

“You ok
ay
?” He murmured
,
looking down at her face.

“I’m fine.” Damn
,
why does my voice s
haking
like that. Amari extracted herself from his arms even though she would rather have stayed. “Ready to go?”

Stavros nodded. “I’m kinda missing the snow.”

Amari laughed and threw him the truck keys she pulled from her pocket.
“
That’s because
you can blend
with the
snow
,
Tiger. You drive
,
I’ll direct.”

He’d caught the key easily and slid behind the wheel
.
S
he could still see the stiffness in his left side. He might like the snow
,
but the warmer weather would help him heal and loosen up his body more.

“
I can’t imagine you know
a place for a picnic in this place,” he said as he reversed down the rocky driveway.

“Know you
r
environment is my motto,’ Amari explained. “If I had to live here I was going to make damn sure I could get around and know exactly where I can and cannot go.”

“Why do you have to live here?’ Stavros asked the question she knew would come eventually. “You don’t strike me as a woman who would move to the ass crack of the United States.”

“Hey now, don’t go messing with Hiko,” Amari teased. “It is the fashion capital remember.”

“Nice deflection,” Stavros countered.

“I know.”

“Trust me when I say that won’t happen for t
o
o long.”

“I know that
,
too, but unless you
’re ready to face that call you’
ve been avoidi
ng for all these months
,
you won’t
give me any gri
ef,”
Amari replied
,
then pointed. “Turn left up here
and then keep going until you see the fork in the road.”

“
This is what you call a road
?
” he asked as the truck jostled along.

“You’ve been in Hiko for a year, you know this is as good as it gets,” she replied.

“Uh-huh
.”

They drove along in silence for a while with the scents of spring coming into the truck from the open windows. There had been snow for Easter
,
and in Alaska it was
n’t
a few inches but a few feet. The drive was slow enough that she could hear the water from the winter thaw making the streams bigger in size as the water rushed through. The air had a hint of a chill as they drove.

They got to the clearing
and
it was just as she recalled it from last winter
. Flowers bloomed in a
ll different colors
,
and the purple irises were always her favorite against the vivid green grass. You could say a lot about Alaska
,
but when spring to
ok
hold it was amazing to see. Blues, reds, yellows and even orange flowers made the meadow look like a carpet of color come to life
,
and as before it made catch her breath. Stavros parked the truck on the outskirts of where the flowers began. She was glad he didn’t barrel through
and crush
them
.

He got out and stretched. “Now I have to admit
,
this is beautiful. The tiger in me wants to go out there and just lay with the sun on my back.”

“You should after we eat,” Amari said and winked. “Don’t worry
,
I won
’
t peek while you get naked.”

“I wish you would,” Stavros tone was serious when he said the words.
He looked away quickly.
“
I’m sorry, I have no damn right to be flirting with you.”

He didn’t understand the heat that infused her body by his words alone. Amari walked around the truck and wrapped her hands around his waist.

“You have
e
very right to be flirting with me, Stavros
.
I like it,” she said
,
looking up at him.

He shook his
head and his lips tightened. “I
t
’
s all well and good that we’re friends
.
Amari
,
look at me
.
Y
ou seen the scar
s
on my body
,
and the ones on my face won
’
t ever go away. I don’t know if I’ll ever be whole again.”

She reached up and ran her fingers along the line of scars on his face. He
tried
to pull away from her touch
,
but she wouldn’t let him.
He
sighed
as if in defeat and turned his face to her caress.

“These don’t make you any less handsome,
”
she murmured. “You’ve
gone
through so much and come out on top
,
and your scars more
than
tell a story of y
our heroism. You’re not broken either, Stavros
.
Y
ou’re so damn strong and stubborn
.
A
nd do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to kiss me?”

“Just throwing that in at the end there
,
huh?” he said huskily
.

“No
,
you better kiss me or I’m going to go crazy on you,” she said and gave a small laugh.

“While I’d love to see that
,
I opt for the first choice.” He cupped the back of her neck and she gasped at his touch. “I’ve dream
ed
of kiss you for so long now.”

“Do it, before I die from wanting to taste you,” she whispered.

With a groan
,
he swooped in and took her
mouth
in a kiss that blew her socks off. His tongue licked at her lips
,
begging for entrance into the recesses of her mouth
,
and she let him in.
She moaned and pressed herself more fully against his body
,
and his hands travelled down to her hips.

With a s
w
ift move he pressed her against the truck
,
and she could feel his erection between them. If he felt so big with his pants on
,
she wondered how it would feel with him naked and ready to press into her. His hard thighs would probably spread her apart and the thickness of his length stretch the wall
s
of her pussy. The erotic thought made her jerk in
response and she almost came.
She’d never wanted a man
as
much as she wanted Stavros at that very moment. They’d know each other for a year
,
and being with him felt so very right.

He lifted his head.
“
I should stop before I lose control. You taste so good, Amari
.
I could drown myself in you right now.”

“Remember when I said I wouldn’t peek if you got naked to shift into your tiger?”
s
he asked.