Hold On (Delos Series Book 5) (14 page)

“Mmm, let’s keep dreaming together then,” she laughed, meeting his warm gray eyes. How delicious that she could trail her fingertips across his cheek, run them across his full lower lip, and watch his eyes become heavy with arousal. “I like touching you,” she whispered. “All over. I wish . . . I wish we had more time together.” She knew that at 0600, she had to be back at her B-hut to prepare for her day at the orphanage.

“Well,” he offered, catching her fingers in his, “there’s tomorrow night. Shall we continue what we’ve started here?”

Her entire body flooded with anticipation. “Yes, definitely.”

“Good.” He grinned, then, with a grimace, added, “Because the day after that, I’m being sent out on an op.”

Instantly, Callie’s feelings of well-being were replaced by fear.

Beau saw her eyes widened as he assured her, “Don’t worry, it’s just routine stuff.” He leaned over, and his kiss told Callie what she needed to know: that he didn’t want to leave her any more than she wanted him to go.

Her mouth responded, her lips parting beneath his, a rush of her sweet breath into him, and he tasted her and inhaled her feminine scent. God, he was desperate to claim her, to let her know that he wanted her for a thousand reasons. But if her response to his kisses was any indicator, Callie was more than willing to give them a chance.

As he broke the kiss, their breaths becoming heated and quickening, he said, “More than anything, Callie, I want you in my life. I know I’ll be gone sometimes, but I’ll always be coming back here to Bagram, to you, to your arms. And to our bed.”

Her fears were temporarily pushed aside by the depth of his commitment to her. “I don’t know how this is going to go,” she admitted. “Of course I want you, Beau, but I know your commitment to the Army has priority over us.”

Although it hurt to hear those words, he couldn’t argue with her. He twisted a strand of her hair around his finger and then released it. “When I met you, Callie, I never dreamed you’d give me a chance to prove myself to you, that I wasn’t just chasing you down to get you into bed. You stole my heart from the beginning, and the more I’ve gotten to know you, the more I want every last damn second I can squeeze out to be spent with you. I’ll give you everything I can. I know the Army owns me for now, but when I come off an op, I’m heading your direction, and if I have my way, we’ll spend as much time together as possible.”

Nodding, she closed her eyes, burying her face against his neck, her arm slipping across his shoulders, holding him tight against her. She almost said,
I’m falling in love with you
, but bit back the words. “I want this to work too, Beau,” she whispered unsteadily. “I hope it can.”

“Let’s have some faith in us and our future,” he urged her quietly, stroking her unruly, mussed hair, moving his hand down her spine. “I don’t have any answers for us yet, Callie. But I’m going to try to think outside the box and see if I can come up with a better plan.” He kissed her temple. “I want you in my life. You have to hold on to that. I don’t want to let you go. We still have some time together here at Bagram, so let’s make the most of it. Okay?”

“Yes,” she managed to say, feeling her heart starting to break. “When I’m with you, I feel hope, Beau. I feel as if we can do this.”

His mouth softened with relief. “Then let me hold our hope in my heart, Callie, for both of us. Hold on, will you?”

“I’ll hold on,” she whispered, leaning up, grazing his mouth with her lips.

*

Dara gave Callie
a curious look as they sat down in the chow hall later that morning. “You look different. Happier, maybe?” she asked, salting her eggs.

“Beau and I were at the other Eagle’s Nest last night,” Callie admitted, and saw her sister’s eyes widen with surprise as she stirred sugar and milk into her oatmeal.

“Really! Well, Matt and I were in the other apartment.” Dara smiled, remembering their night together.

“I kinda figured you were.” Callie’s mouth quirked. “I didn’t hear a thing. Did you?”

Dara grinned a bit self-consciously. “No.”

“Good.”

“Wow!” Dara suddenly admitted, “I’m shocked—about both of us! What on earth is happening, sis?”

“Don’t ask me,” Callie grumped. “I’ve already been around the block with one Delta guy. And now I’m a glutton for punishment, and I’m doing it again.” She frowned. “Actually, that isn’t fair to Beau. He’s nothing like Chet. In fact, he’s just the opposite.”

“I think he’s a good guy,” Dara agreed, “just like Matt. They’re made from the same genetic pool, I swear.”

“Well, they are good friends and teammates,” Callie offered. For whatever reason, her oats tasted delicious this morning. And she was starving. It had to be because she and Beau had made love three times last night. Her body still glowed with the memory of his hands, worshipping her.

“Yes, Matt loves him like the brother he never had.”

“Well, at least you know Matt’s coming home to you,” Callie said enviously.

“Give yourselves some time, Callie. It’s very possible that Beau’s career will change course.”

“I don’t know,” Callie admitted. “This is so different for me, Dara.”

“How is it different?”

Blowing out a puff of air between her lips, Callie said, “I’ve had enough relationships, unlike you, to know when a man is really into me. With Beau last night . . . Dara, I’ve never been so well loved in my whole life. He was caring and tender with me, like a dream come true. I honestly didn’t believe men like him really existed.”

“That’s wonderful,” Dara murmured, giving her a warm, sisterly look. “I know you’ve had some pretty rocky relationships in the past.”

“Like you haven’t?” Callie demanded archly, lifting a brow.

Dara had the good grace to blush. “Well, putting it that way, yes, my two affairs ended up being certified disasters. Until Matt.”

“See? Even your voice softens when you say his name,” Callie observed, smiling.

“And yours doesn’t?” Dara laughed, amused. “Sorry, but it’s happening to you, too. Every time you mention Beau, your voice goes an octave lower.”

“He affects me so deeply, Dara.” Callie was now serious. “My heart pounds every time I think of him, or remember his smile, or his sexy drawl—now, that’s a real turn-on for me.”

“Hmm, sounds serious. As a doctor, I’d say you’re infected, but that doesn’t sound very romantic, does it?”

An unwilling grin tugged at Callie’s lips. “No, he’s not a virus, Dara.” And at that, both women giggled, their bond even stronger now that they were both in love.

*

Beau surprised Callie
that evening when he picked her up at her B-hut. He drove her directly to the Eagle’s Nest and announced, “Tonight, sweet woman, I’m cooking for you.”

Surprised, she said, “Really? I didn’t know you cooked!”

“I learned when I was a kid—my ma taught all three of us boys the basics, and I started creating my own recipes.” He chuckled. “So today I went over to the base exchange and bought us some groceries so we’d have more time with each other—and to get us off the restaurant merry-go-round.”

“I like the way you think, Beau,” Callie said approvingly.

“I haven’t poisoned anyone yet, so I think you’ll be safe.” He flashed her a grin.

“This is so nice,” she whispered. “Thanks for doing this.”

“What? Did you think I was going to tie you to the bed and not let you go?”

His teasing drawl brought out her own grin. “I really didn’t know what to expect tonight, Beau. I just knew I wanted to be with you.”

“Same here,” he admitted, darting a look in her direction as he drove into the warehouse parking lot. “I want every moment I can spare to be spent with you.”

They worked in the kitchen side by side. Beau even had an apron for Callie and tied it around her waist, because she didn’t want to get her brown wool slacks dirty. He had thoughtfully brought veggies for a healthy salad and assigned the job of preparing it to her. She also cut up some cheddar cheese in small squares to sprinkle on top of it. To her surprise, the kitchen was well stocked with spices, plus lots of other items in the refrigerator, not just junk food.

“We have a couple of guys on our team who could be considered amateur chefs,” Beau told her as he salted and peppered their T-bone steaks, now sizzling in the frying pan. “They’re the ones who really amped up our spice cabinet.”

“I think it’s kind of nice that you guys have this place,” Callie said. “It gives you a chance to slow down and relax.”

Beau turned the steaks and thought about how to answer her. “It isn’t always about bringing a woman over here,” he told her seriously. “One guy is going with this Air Force air traffic controller, and they love to play chess. They meet over here whenever he’s not on duty, and they really go at it with one another. They’re good friends and both are married to other partners.” Beau grinned. “I’m a checkers kind of guy. Chess isn’t for me.”

“Checkers? You know,” Callie said, “I grew up with them, too. My grandparents always played a game on Sunday evenings after dinner. They taught Dara and me how to play, so when we were older, the four of us were able to play together. We’d have checker’s tournaments. It was always a lot of fun.” She smiled fondly. “I often think that sometimes they let us win so we wouldn’t lose all the time.”

“Well,” Beau murmured, “because they love you, they wanted you to grow up with positive experiences under your belt.”

“Did you and your family play any games together?”

“Yeah, my mother was stuck on Old Maid.”

“What’s that?”

He gave her a wink. “Old Maid was a card game out of the 1840s, I think. My grandma played it with her, and my ma still has the cards she originally owned. So when we boys were old enough, she taught us how to play it. It’s like a standard card deck, except one of the cards is an Old Maid. And whoever ends up with it
is
the Old Maid. It was nothing fancy, but we three boys got a lot of mileage out it,” he chuckled.

“My grandmother told us that people used to play a lot of card games back in the Depression era,” Callie recalled.

“Yeah, no one could afford to go out to a restaurant, go to a movie, or do much of anything else,” Beau agreed, turning the steaks again. “Card games were big because they brought families together, so they were more than just fun times for competitive types.”

Within minutes, everything was ready. Callie took their salads to the table, and Beau brought the dinner plates with the steaks on them. He’d bought some French bread, too, and Callie had slathered it with butter, wrapped it in foil, and heated it in the oven. She placed the warm, buttery bread in a basket and set it on the table between them. Beau pulled out her chair so she could sit down. She loved that about him. He was always the gentleman.

“Tomorrow, by the way,” Beau began as they dug into dinner, “Matt and I will be going with you two and Mohammed to that Shinwari village.”

“That would be terrific!” she said gratefully. “It’s a service the Hope Charity offers that village four times a year. We’re just lucky Dara is here now so she can offer medical support to the villagers.”

Nodding, Beau said, “Matt and I know the northern area pretty well, and it’s considered fairly safe.”

“Nothing is ever safe out here,” Callie muttered, chewing the delicious steak. “I mean, it’s a pro-American village, and this will be my fifth trip out to it, but I’m always a little concerned.”

“Well, it’s winter, and usually the Taliban slinks back to their own villages or across the Af-Pak border to sit out the winter. We should be safe going to and from the village.”

“That’s what I told Dara, but you know how she worries. She’s already jumpy about it. I told her it would be an easy day for all of us, and it gets us out in fresh air and sunshine, if we’re lucky.”

“Actually, it’s supposed to be overcast with a possibility of rain here at Bagram. That village sits at seven thousand feet, so they’ll probably get snow if the mountains decree it,” Beau pointed out.

“Mountain weather is always fickle,” she agreed. “Well, we’ll be dressing warmly,” she promised.

He sobered and held her gaze. “When we get back, Matt and I are expected at HQ to prepare for the op I mentioned this morning.”