Navy SEAL’s Virgin Lover (14 page)

He waltzed into the other cabin, only to find two of the goons groggily approaching him. These guys never knew when to quit, did they? A couple of well-placed punches later, all was quiet once again.

Then he walked over to the white-haired guy, his face a mask of determination. “Fuck with my friends, and I fuck with you,” he growled as he picked the old guy up as if he weighed nothing and hoisted him over his shoulder.

Ram couldn’t remember when he’d been in more pain, though his first tour of duty in Iraq was a good guess. He’d taken a bullet that time, and been out of the game for six months of recovery.

Now it was as if his whole body was hurting, which was probably the case. The last thing he remembered was that three guys had started using their fists on him, and he’d fortunately blacked out soon after they’d started in.

The smirking face of the man responsible for his parents’ murder stood etched on his retina as well, and he simply wished he’d been able to take at least one swipe at the miscreant.

“Ram! Ram, honey!”

A soft voice beckoned him back to life, cool wetness dripping from his brow, and when he opened his eyes, he thought he’d died and gone to heaven, for he found himself gazing into the most beautiful face in both heaven and earth.

And then she smiled and life became even better. Pressing her lips to his, he winced. Though he didn’t mind being kissed, his face was in pretty bad shape, and everything hurt.

He didn’t care, though, for he’d never thought he’d ever feel her lips again. Her. Erin. His love.

“We have to get out of here, honey. Burke says we better flee the country before things get really ugly.”

Even uglier than they already were? Burke was probably right. But then the man was simply a lot smarter than him anyway. Six tours of duty and not even once a single scratch on him. It was either dumb luck or extreme skill. He’d always thought it was the latter, though he’d never voiced this assessment for fear it might go to his friend’s head.

“Burke. Where is he?” He tried to sit up and groaned. It was as if he’d been caught in a grinder, and he probably had.

“He’s gone to fetch the luggage from the other cabin. Said he’d be right back.”

Knowing Burke, he’d gone to fetch a lot more than just luggage. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t carry his weight just yet.

“Oh, Ram,” she whispered, her hot tears dripping on his hands. He allowed himself to be pulled back into the circle of her arms, and bless his good fortune to have ever found love in the arms of this woman. Then he sat up with an extreme effort, and rose to his feet.

Wobbling a bit, he strode for the door.

“Ram! You better wait for Burke. Those men…”

“I’ll be back in a tick,” he grunted, and threw a sideways glance at Erin’s friend. Her face was so swollen he thought for a moment she’d taken a beating as well, but then he realized she’d probably been crying.

“It’s all right,” he assured her. “Burke’s a big guy. He can take care of himself.”

When she merely stared at him blankly, he gave her a curt nod, and walked out the door.

He’d only walked five yards when Sylviana accosted him, jumping up at him and licking his face, yapping all the while.

He laughed as he cuddled the dog. “It’s all right, girl. I’ll live. Now where’s Burke, huh?”

As if she understood the question, the dog yapped once, then ran into the bushes. Frowning, Ram decided to trust his gut this time, not his head and gave chase.

Mere seconds later he came upon a scene he hadn’t expected. Under the light of a full moon, his friend and partner stood gazing down on the corpse of a man in whom he recognized the murderer of his parents.

Burke didn’t even look up when he approached. Instinct, again.

“Is he—”

“Dead. Yup. I hope you don’t mind I did the honors. I know you wanted to take care of this piece of shit yourself.”

Ram stared down at the impassive face of the man responsible for all the grief that had cost him the last year of his life, and felt nothing. No relief. No remorse. Nothing. But then he’d known that revenge wouldn’t heal the hurt he still felt inside—it would merely satisfy an animal craving for vengeance.

He had his revenge now, and though it hadn’t come by his own hand, he was still glad it was all over. Finally he could begin to rebuild his life.

Burke turned and started to walk away. “We better get out of here before the cavalry show up.”

Ram cast one last look at the features of the monster who’d ordered the killing of two innocents simply to further his voracious avarice.

Then he looked out across the sea, a nocturnal breeze wafting in and cooling his bruised and throbbing face.

“It’s over,” he murmured in the wind, and when he closed his eyes, he directed a quick prayer to the Almighty up in the heavens.

“Thank you,” he concluded, head bowed.

He’d live, and not only live, but live with the woman he loved.

Mom and Dad, he thought. They’d seen to it that the same fate that had befallen them didn’t cause their son’s downfall as well.

A warmth spread in his chest, then, and he knew his prayers had arrived at their destination. He touched his hand to his heart. His parents would always be there, he knew. They’d never leave him and always watch over him.

Life would go on, and he’d live it for them as much as he would for himself and for Erin.

The thought of the woman who’d linked her lot to his directed his steps away from the beach—away from his past—and back to her: his future.

They’d arrived in Mumbai at an ungodly hour, luck being on their side in that they’d been able to catch a flight immediately. Another option had been to take the night train out of Goa, but that would have taken ages to arrive, and Ram really needed some medical care, not a long ride on a rattling train.

He’d spent only a couple of hours at the hospital and was now all patched up and declared fit for traveling the long haul across the ocean back to his native country of America.

Not just yet, though, as he’d opted to remain in India a little while longer, while he and Erin sorted out their future together.

Sophie had chosen not to hang around. After the ignoble role she’d played in Ram’s downfall, she’d wisely elected to cut her vacation short and lick her wounds back in chilly Belgium.

Erin was sad to see her friend go, though on the other hand she found it hard to forgive and forget. She’d always figured Sophie a good friend, although a bit on the superficial side perhaps, but this mean streak had been never been revealed to her until now.

If she’d been the only one implicated, she could have let it slide, but Sophie’s ill-advised stunt had almost caused the man she loved to lose his life, and she found that hard to forgive.

The friends hadn’t departed on completely acrimonious terms, however. Erin was much too sweet-tempered to hold a grudge for too long. They’d hugged and the departure had been accompanied by a flood of tears on both sides.

And now it was just Erin and Ram. And Burke, though he kept well in the background.

Burke had actually taken matters into his own hands by filing an official complaint with the Mumbai police department, hoping they might sort things out with their counterparts in Goa. He didn’t hold high hopes, though, figuring corruption probably ran deep.

Still, he’d contacted the American embassy, and explained the situation—minus certain details pertaining to the untimely demise of the consortium’s leader. When asked he attributed that to gang-related violence.

The embassy had issued a formal complaint with the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs and now all they could do was wait and see what the bureaucrats came up with.

Erin stared out across the sprawling city from her hotel room. They were twelve stories up, and traffic and people from this altitude reminded her of one of those tilt-shift videos where everything looks as if featured in miniature.

She thought back of the day she and Ram had met. He’d finally confessed what had really happened that morning. How he’d chased away the German guy by setting his bag on fire with a well-aimed shot from Sophie’s window, and how he’d faked a burglary to induce her to spend time with him at the beach.

In retrospect, he’d been more than a little bit ashamed of his rash actions, but she’d merely laughed, thinking it the most romantic thing she’d ever heard.

She looked up when a rush of movement behind her had the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

Without turning around, she smiled and closed her eyes when Ram’s strong arms enveloped her, drawing her close to his chest.

She leaned back, and rested her head on his shoulder.

His wounds were almost healed now, though his cracked ribs still gave him pause from time to time. Healing was a bitch, he’d complained, but not as bad as being beaten to a pulp.

They stood like this for what seemed like an eternity, reveling in each other’s warmth, his arms enveloping her in a sweet caress.

Her parents, justifiably worried, had wanted to fly over so they could ascertain their daughter’s well-being, and meet his mystery man of hers.

She’d held off on the offer, though, wanting to spend more time alone with Ram, until he was back on his feet, and, more importantly, until they’d figured out their future together.

For that they had a future together was obvious by now, only where? And how?

These things could be threshed out later—much later. First she wanted to linger a bit longer in this honeymoon state.

Ram kissed her as if he could never get enough of her, and he didn’t. The Indian sojourn hadn’t exactly gone the way he’d anticipated. In fact, it had gone a lot better. Instead of returning home in a coffin, as he’d feared, he was returning home with a wife.

At least, if Erin would accept him, which was still a bit iffy.

She was, after all, a young woman brimming on the edge of life, ready to set out on her own. She was starting her journey, wanting to take her well-earned degree in architecture and make something of herself. Whereas he was an ex-soldier, washed out and tired.

Until very recently, he’d actually thought his life was over, but the universe had decided to give him a second chance. A new lease on life, which was more than he’d ever hoped for.

The pain of losing his parents still hurt, but Erin had filled that gap to a large extent, and her love kept on bringing him back to life little by little each day.

“I love you, honey,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to the nape of her neck, enjoying the shiver of joy it elicited in her.

Erin closed her eyes and smiled. She could never get enough of hearing him say these words. But did he love her enough to make her his bride?

She knew she shouldn’t expect so much from him, should be content with whatever he had to offer, but still…

They hadn’t discussed their plans for the future since arriving in Mumbai, and she was starting to grow anxious. When all this was over, she’d return to Belgium to start her life. Would he be a part of it? Would he join her there? Or would they simply drift apart as so many couples had when the holiday was at an end?

Was that all they were? Summer sweethearts?

She didn’t dare voice the thoughts, for fear of spoiling what they had, but the little nagging voices were persistent and would soon need addressing lest they drown out the sweetness of their union with their incessant questioning.

But not now, she decided. Not right now. Now was the time to make love—to forget all about the world trying to intrude on their budding romance.

She whirled around and stood on her tippy toes for a real kiss, one that was inviting and passionate.

“I’m ready now,” she whispered, and let her gown slip to the floor, standing before him fully naked, her pert breasts pointing at his chest, the rosy petals erect and yearning for his tongue.

“Take me now, Ram. Take me to bed.”

“Ram…”

The whispered sigh was like a slap in the face for him, and when she dropped her garment and revealed herself to him, his breath hitched, and lust roared through his frame, awakening the wild fury of his desire.

In seconds, his cock rose to its fully erect state, and when he carried her over to the bed—their bed—it was all he could do not to take her and make her his in the blink of an eye.

He willed himself to take things slow, feathering soft kisses across her collarbone as he snaked down, his hot breath stirring her alabaster skin until he reached the soft nubs of her nipples, the flesh tender and swollen already. He licked her into his mouth, savoring the sweet taste and wondering how he’d ever managed to live without her for the better part of his life. Now he would never let her leave his embrace again.

He eased down to her belly and caressed it tenderly. They’d made love so many times these past few days, on her insistence without protection, and he marveled at the life that would soon be stirring inside her. Their baby would soon grow and before long, he’d father a child with this wonderful woman.

He couldn’t wait.

As he reached her center, he gently licked his way inside, until she moaned with both pleasure and desire for him to take things to the next level.

“You know what you promised,” she reminded him.

Another wave of pleasure swept through him. He knew very well what he’d promised, and there was nothing he wanted more than to give her what she desired, but he was afraid it might prove too painful, too strenuous for her unaccustomed rear.

She seemed to sense his hesitation, for she reached down and curled her fingers in his hair.

“Just do it, honey. I want you to. I want to feel you inside me.”

He nodded, the fire unabated and flaring up at these words.

She easily flipped around on hands and knees, and he found himself gazing upon the most delightful sight in the world: Erin’s soft round buttocks. She parted her legs and wiggled her butt invitingly.

With a low grunt, he grabbed the tube of lube, and applied a generous helping to her puckered crevice, then pushed his thumb inside, easing past her reluctant sphincter.