Tangled Pursuit (18 page)

Tal focused on finishing off her delicious dessert.

“Now, feel better?” Wyatt said soothingly, giving her a warm look of praise as she finished off the banana split.

“Much,” Tal admitted. “I’m stuffed like a proverbial goose.”

“Oh, you’re too good-lookin’, darlin’, to call yourself a goose. I think a beautiful swan is a more apt description for you.”

“Do you want to know how I’d describe you?” Tal demanded in a low voice. She saw him brighten and sit up.

“Yes, I’d really like to know.”

“You’re a damned Anatolian leopard in disguise.”

“If that’s a cousin to the snow leopards here in Afghanistan, I’ll take that as a major compliment,” he said, beaming.

Tal groused under her breath, shaking her head. This guy had level-four Kevlar armor, and nothing was going to make dent in his incorrigible humor.

CHAPTER 10

W
YATT PREENED AT
the image. “I like being called a leopard. A lot. I’ve never seen one, though.”

“They’re like you, Lockwood. They’re seen only when they want to be seen.”

He liked the faint smile playing on her full lips. “I’ll google it and find a photo.”

“They’re very rare. No one thought there were any more in Turkey until my uncle took us to a national park southeast of Kuşadası. I was hiking a trail by myself near a huge granite mountain when I spotted him.”

“How old were you?”

“Seventeen.”

“I imagine he was pretty well hidden?”

“Yes. I spotted his yellow eyes through some trees. It was pure luck. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first, so I swung off the trail and climbed up higher, where I could get a good look at him.”

“That was dangerous,” he pointed out, frowning.

“I didn’t know any better. When I got to my vantage point, I saw he was lying on an outcrop of rock, sunning himself. He was so beautiful,” she sighed. Tal pulled out her cell phone, turned it on, went to the photos, and found the pictures. “Here he is. Take a look.”

Impressed, Wyatt gave a low whistle as he looked at the six photos she’d shot. “What was he doing while you were playing photog?”

“Just moving the tip of his tail. I thought he was probably pissed off at being jolted out of his noontime nap on that sunny ledge.”

“Did he run away from you?”

“No, he stayed. I didn’t realize how big he was until I took those shots. I didn’t want to overstay my welcome, so I walked down the slope and got back on the trail.”

“You could have been his appetizer, Tal.” Wyatt shook his head, handing back the iPhone. “You were a risk taker even then. And you had a sniper’s eye, to boot.”

She turned off the phone and stuck it in her pocket. “Look who’s calling me a risk taker! Anyway, when we got back to my uncle’s villa in Kuşadası, he called the supervisor at the park. There was a lot of excitement after I emailed the photos to him. They came by the next day to interview me. Their wildlife biologist was so excited I thought he was going to pass out.” Tal smiled a little.

Wyatt liked her like this. When she told a story, her eyes took on a faraway look, there was a new softness in her voice, and her face relaxed. He was beginning to understand the stress of combat and how it affected her. Tal was an officer and was very good at hiding how she felt, because she had to focus on managing the people reporting to her.

As far as he was concerned, he was her equal. In fact, he felt responsible for her. If he only knew how to go about protecting her in a way that she wouldn’t resist . . .

“Maybe that cat was there for you,” he suggested, surprising her.

She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“It’s story time,” he said, stretching his legs out beneath the table. “When I was fifteen, I was hunting in the hills west of our ranch. It was deer season and my father and I always hunted. He’d gone down with the flu, so I drove out to the hills with my .30-06 at dawn. I found deer tracks and began following them. Then I lost track of time like I always do when I’m off hunting. I’d gone up a box canyon that was heavily treed, had a stream of water through it, thinking the deer were probably there at that time of morning, lying down to sleep during the day. I was hoping to snag a nice buck.”

“But?”

He opened his hands. “I passed through a cloud of really strong urine scent. It was so damn strong, it made my eyes water. At first, I didn’t know what it was, but then I figured it was panther piss and the cat was marking his territory.”

“You mean a cougar?”

“Well, in Texas we call them panthers. Anyway, I didn’t think much of it because the cat has a large territory, so I wasn’t worried about running into him any time soon.” Wyatt chuckled and knocked on his head. “Such was my fifteen-year-old frame of mind. My dad, Hank, had told me that there was a panther lair in that area. When we’d go out hunting, we’d smell their piss. We’d always see spoor by the stream, in the mud along the bank, so we knew this cat and his family made their home in that box canyon.”

“You saw him?” Tal asked, fascinated.

“Yeah, as I got about a hundred yards from the dead end that ended in a three-hundred-foot sandstone wall. He was up on some rocks, sunning himself just like that leopard of yours was doing. The cat knew I was there because I was downwind and he had his nose up in the air, testing it. I came out from between two six-foot-tall pieces of brush.” He smiled as he replayed the scene in his mind. “I don’t know who was more startled, him or me. He was a beautiful animal, a sleek, rich gold color. I’d never seen a panther that close, only through a set of binoculars a couple of other times when my father spotted one when I was just a kid.”

“Did you get photos?”

“Hell, no! I about pissed my pants!”

Tal started to laugh, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

“He hissed and spat at me. And then he got up and stretched like a lazy dog.”

“Were you going to shoot him?”

“No. We need panthers. They’re rare in Texas, but I wouldn’t shoot him anyway. They help keep populations of rabbits and other critters reduced, and things stay orderly that way. I’ll admit, I did raise my rifle, but I didn’t want to fire at him. I yelled at him and he took off, loping up and over the draw. I eventually bagged a nice buck and carried him out to the pickup truck. I hung him by his antlers with a rope over an oak tree and gutted him. I figured the cat would come back and enjoy that meal later.”

“I’m glad you didn’t shoot him.”

He sobered. “I only hunted to kill what our family could eat, Tal. I’m not into sport hunting.” He saw a gleam of relief in her green eyes.

“What did your father say about your meeting with the cat?” she asked.

“He said it was no accident, and this is why I believe the same thing happened to you. My father said sometimes an animal suddenly shows up to tell us our life is going to change. And how it’s going to be different is based upon the meeting with the animal.” Wyatt gazed up at the stars now winking in the blackness of the sky. “Soon after that meeting, I knew I wanted to be a SEAL. I had contacted our local recruiter in Amarillo about it, and he’d given me the physical testing requirements to try out for BUD/s, their six-month boot camp. I was a skinny thing at fifteen, let me tell you.”

“Well, you filled out pretty nicely,” she murmured.

“Thanks. I started lifting weights shortly after that, drinking protein drinks, bulking up. I always thought of that panther as pointing me in the direction of becoming a SEAL. I passed all the qualifying tests at eighteen and got sent directly to BUD/s, where I hung in there to make it through the course.”

Tal studied him. “That’s odd. I was seventeen, and I’d already told my family that I was accepted to go to Annapolis when I turned eighteen. The letter arrived about three days after I saw that leopard in the mountains. Hmmm . . . you might be onto something here, Wyatt.”

“Yeah,” he said drily, “we’re both cat people. So much for your swan, darlin’. Another lifetime, maybe?” He watched her lips pull into a soft smile, and he knew she liked being thought of as a leopard. Well, why not? Wyatt ached to tell Tal how he really saw her, but if he did, she’d panic and run away from him. Things were still tenuous between them. Stronger, but not set by any means. Every time he was with her, she was more settled and relaxed around him. He’d grown on her, like stubborn moss grows on a rock.

Wyatt liked tweaking her sense of humor, and every time she laughed, he felt closer to her than before.

“Darn, I need to get going, Wyatt,” she said regretfully, glancing down at her watch.

“Me, too,” he agreed. He put money down on the table for their meal and escorted her to the front of the pizzeria. Loud music was blaring inside the crowded restaurant, and people were standing in line to get a table as he guided her toward a group of Humvees down the street. Five minutes later, Wyatt’s friend Burt pulled up to take them to Tal’s B-hut across the base.

Later, Wyatt emerged from the vehicle, holding out his hand to Tal. She took it, squeezed it, and climbed out. He was very much aware that things were changing between them, speeding up somehow. He wanted desperately for this night to go on longer, so instead of releasing her hand, he tugged her a little closer to him. Lifting his other hand, he thanked his friend for bringing them across the base and said he’d hitch a bus ride back over to SEAL HQ after he said good night to Tal.

Wyatt brushed her hand, felt the calluses on Tal’s trigger finger and thumb, indications that she was a sniper. He kept his eyes on her face, her thoughtful expression always a challenge. He didn’t want to do something that would piss her off. He wondered if she’d pull out of his grip now, but she didn’t. Instead, she came and stood so close to his left shoulder that he could feel the heat of her body and her heady female scent. She looked up, her eyes like obsidian in the darkness, sensing him just as he was sensing her.

He squeezed her fingers. “I might not get to see you for some time after tonight,” he told her huskily, scanning her face, committing what he saw to memory. “Trust me?”

“To do what?” Tal asked, confused.

“I want to take you to the side of our warehouse.
Not
inside it,” he added hastily. “Just to share a special goodbye with you.”

The truth was, he was discovering fascinating things about Tal. She was like a treasure chest, and each time he approached her, she would show him new jewels to delight him.

“How about it?” He held his breath. Whatever Tal decided was what they would do. He saw her turn away, her profile clean against the night. Wyatt could feel her weighing things, probably including her heart, too, because he knew she liked him a hell of a lot. She just wasn’t going to admit it any time soon, but he could live with that.

Her lips opened and then closed, and she looked off in the distance for a moment. She was a true sniper, he thought again. Every move she made was slow and carefully thought out, from beginning to end.

He was heartened by the fact that Tal’s hand was still in his, but Wyatt felt her tremble a little. Why? Was she afraid of losing control? Did she not trust him, or herself?

He desperately wanted to have an honest conversation with her, but he knew it would be bad timing on his part. He had to wait Tal out, let her control their situation, set their pace.

Finally, she turned to him, lifting her chin and gazing up into his hopeful gray eyes. “What do you want to do, Wyatt?”

“Well, I’d like to kiss you goodbye, if you’ll let me.” A gleam danced in her eyes, and he swore she was smiling. “What? Can’t I be honest about this with you?”

She heard his frustration and curved her fingers more firmly into his hand, as if to soothe him. She genuinely wanted to know how far he wanted to go with her now and what he expected from her.

Damn
, he thought.
This woman is a helluva tactical player.
But that was one of the many strengths of a sniper. His heart took off as he felt the warmth of her fingers tangling more firmly with his. It was a go! He knew it!

“Let’s see where it leads.”

“Anything you want, Tal. You’re in full control here. You just have to say the word, that’s all, and I’ll respect your needs . . .” He saw her eyes grow tender.

Wyatt felt as if he were walking on air, his boots not even crunching gravel. He led her over to the smooth cinder blocks on the darkest side of the building and she leaned casually up against it, her hand still in his. Her braid lay over her right shoulder, and he could see soft tendrils of her hair poking out here and there.

Inhaling her fresh scent, he felt her life force flow through him like a hot river. Her need for him crossed over and landed squarely in his groin, making him groan inwardly. He tried to ignore the building ache for completion.

He put his hands against the wall on either side of her, bracketing her head with his arms, leaning forward as he gazed deeply into her eyes. Maybe they were both even more like cats than they thought.

“Look,” he began heavily, his voice low and intimate, “you really need to be very careful on this upcoming op. I worry, Tal. It could go sideways, you know that.”

Her eyes shifted away for a moment, then met his once more. “You’re a worrywart, Wyatt. I’d never have guessed that.”

Hearing her amusement, he frowned. “Don’t mistake my worry, darlin’. I care one helluva lot about you.”

She barely nodded. “Yes, I know you do, and I’m not making fun of what you said, Wyatt. I agree with your assessment.”

“Good, because it’s a bitch of an op no matter who’s undertaking it,” he said gruffly. “We’re still learning about one another, darlin’, and I’m dying to kiss you again. I can’t think two thoughts in a row without replaying our last kiss—” He stopped talking as she pulled his head down to hers. Their mouths found each other as she leaned up, meeting him halfway.

This time was different, and they both knew it. Wyatt wasn’t tentative any longer. Instead, he swept his mouth powerfully against hers, hearing her moan, feeling her hands sliding up his chest, his skin on fire as her fingers moved against his strong arms, feeling him, appreciating him.