Tangled Pursuit (35 page)

“It’s a good thing,” Tal agreed quietly, nuzzling his neck. “But I’m going to miss you so much, Wyatt.”

He heard the trembling in her voice. Wyatt knew being on a morphine drip kept a person far more emotionally raw and sensitive than usual. And Tal was feeling pretty vulnerable right now. “We’ll have email and we can Skype, sometimes, when I can get on the computer. We have forty SEALs, and I have to make a schedule of who gets to Skype and what time, and for how long.”

Just holding Tal fed him, and the warmth of her in his arms dulled some of the ache that he knew was going to come back and bite him after she flew out of Bagram.

Tal’s hand stilled on his chest. He could feel her struggling through the constant haze of the morphine cloud. She was a woman of immense intelligence, a smart leader, and a good manager of people. He knew she had to feel as if she were in a prison. People like her and himself didn’t do well enclosed in little offices or rooms like this, much less being trussed up like a Christmas goose. He kissed her temple and eased her head back against the bed. “Talk to me. I can hear you thinking.” Her eyes were half-closed, and he saw the glitter of tears in them. His heart snagged and he wanted to haul her into his arms and make wild, hungry love with her, because he knew that’s exactly what she needed right now. Death sex was real. After a person almost died and cheated death, having sex was one of the most life-affirming acts two humans could share with one another. If she wasn’t tied up in that damned bed, he’d have been climbing into it and doing just that with Tal.

She looked at him and her lower lip quivered once. “I won’t see you for at least four months,” she whispered, her voice choked.

Wyatt knew how traumatic their parting would be for her. Tal wasn’t big on talking about these things, probably a lot like her father, if he judged the man correctly. Hell, neither was he. But they were real good at showing one another how they felt.

“I get back to Coronado, our team HQ, in four months,” he said, his voice vibrant with emotion. “I get sixty days’ leave at that time, Tal. We call it PRODEV, professional development. Normally, I take thirty days of leave just to slum around and ramp down from the deployment. And the other thirty days, I go to a school to upgrade my skills in a given area. We return to ST3 at Coronado October first. My enlistment is up November first. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to fly back and be with you for that time frame. Then, come November one, I’ll be a civilian and I can remain with you. What do you think?”

She wiped her eyes, her fingers trembling. “Oh, yes, I want that. I have a condo in Alexandria, Wyatt. I’m sure by that time I’ll be mobile and back in my own home.” Searching his eyes, she asked, “Do you really want to do this?”

He snorted and kissed the tip of her nose. “I chased you for three years, woman. I’m not giving up now just because there’s a friggin’ four month roadblock in front of me. As long as you want me to walk back into your life, I will.”

Tal sniffed and wiped more tears from her eyes. “You’d better get your ass on the first plane you can find, Lockwood. And once you get to my condo, do not even think that you’re leaving our bed for a long, long time after that.”

He grinned, loving those words and her saucy delivery. “Well,” he said, gesturing with his chin toward the table filled to overflowing with food, “as long as I can have food like this waiting for me, I’ll be there.”

Laughing a little, Tal smiled, drowning in his hooded gaze. “I promise you. I’m a very good cook. I might not have made it in the makeup and hair department, but I’m a badass when it comes to Greek and Turkish cooking. You will want for nothing, Lockwood.”

“I’ll hold you to that, woman.” He grinned, brushing his mouth against hers, tasting the saltiness of her tears on them. Wyatt kissed her with every atom of his heart and soul. Because it was going to be a very long four months without this vibrant, beautiful woman in his arms.

CHAPTER 19

T
AL WAS IN
her Artemis Security office, working midmorning. She loved the huge bulletproof windows that overlooked the colorful October Virginia woodlands. The sun shone brightly in a deep blue sky, its rays slanting across the green pastures, past the white wooden fences that defined the farm in which the security company was concealed.

Below her office, she could hear the muted sounds of ongoing construction. The place wouldn’t be ready until June of next year, but the basement project was done and they could now work nonstop on the three-story farmhouse, continuing to convert its interior into a world-class security facility.

Her office smelled of fresh paint; she’d recently had it redone in a pale blue color she liked and found soothing. Alexa’s office across the hall was being worked on right now. Lia Cassidy, manager of the Home School Foundation branch of the multipronged charity, was just down the hall. Artemis would protect all three arms of the global charity: Home School Foundation, Farming Foundation, and the Safe House Foundation. Smiling a little, Tal was glad to hear from her mother, Dilara, that everything was set for Lia and Cav Jordan’s wedding on April second. She liked Lia a lot; she was a military vet like herself, as was Cav.

Lia had been given a pink diamond engagement ring by Cav at Tal’s parents’ house, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the place. Lia and Cav had lived rough lives, Tal knew, and it was about time these two stellar people caught a break. She was looking forward to attending their wedding with Wyatt. Lia had gotten pregnant upon their first visit back to her parents’ beet farm in Oregon; it had just been confirmed yesterday. Lia and Cav were overjoyed, and so was everyone else at Artemis. She would be six months pregnant at the time of their marriage. For a honeymoon? Cav was going to build a nursery on to their recently purchased one-hundred-year-old farmhouse five miles from work. A number of men from Artemis were going to pitch in and help Cav give Lia the most beautiful nursery anyone had seen. Tal smiled, happy for the couple deeply in love.

Her heart swelled. Wyatt was to arrive in three hours! Her heart pounded with anticipation.
Four months.
Four long, damned slow-moving months had crawled by as she recovered from her injuries. Yes, they’d shared emails and Skyped, but that was all. It didn’t stop Tal from missing him terribly. Or worrying about his being out in the field. She had nightmares about it sometimes.

Tal kept the door to her spacious office open, and her hearing keyed to those moving up and down the carpeted hall. Right now, Artemis was slowly coming online. People were being hired all the time, working in half-finished offices. It was quiet chaos around here, but those hired were gung-ho about working for the in-house security firm. Alexa would be on the fifth floor, at the top of the building, with her. Tal had turned in her commission in July, shortly after coming home to recuperate.

She worried about Matt, still in Delta Force and still in Afghanistan. His enlistment also expired in March of next year. Tal desperately needed him to fill an important slot in Artemis as head of the KNR Division. Her father was searching for someone who could fill in until Matt could leave the Army and come home to work with them.

“Tal?”

She lifted her head. Jay Caldwell was standing expectantly at the door. “Hey, come in, Jay.”

He brought over a file. “I’m working with our local phone company,” he told her wryly, placing it on her desk. “They want us to pay for a fiber-optic cable that’s going to have to be dug and placed underground for two miles between their station and Artemis. We can’t work without it, as you know.”

Groaning, Tal opened the file and looked at the price. “Three million dollars? I expected it to be somewhere around that number.” She initialed the contract and closed it. “Take it to accounting, okay?”

“You bet.”

“How are the new servers in the basement performing?”

He smiled. “Sweet as a new baby’s butt.”

Tal grinned. Jay had been given an honorable medical discharge after having gallbladder surgery. He’d spent the time with his wife, Linda, who was seven months pregnant with their third baby, a little girl. And as soon as he had been released, Tal had hired him and brought him on board. He was their brilliant Internet technician, and although he had no formal training, Jay was proving to be the perfect choice for them.

“Well,” she said drily, giving him a glance, “in another two months you’ll be powdering your new daughter’s little butt.” She grinned.

Jay brightened and smiled fully. “And I’m looking forward to it.” He became serious. “Moving up here, Tal, has helped Linda and me so much. We’re both so grateful you gave me this job.”

“And that, in turn, helps your family, which Artemis is keen on keeping happy. The day care center is going in on the first floor as we speak. You’ll have a place for your young ones, if you need it. And you do such a great job for us. That one time we were out there on that scree slope in the Hindu Kush and you were telling me you were going to leave the Corps, I wanted to tell you then that I’d hire you. But I couldn’t. It wasn’t the right time.”

“I understand,” Jay said. “But I’m glad to be here, Tal. This is like a dream come true for me . . . and for Linda.”

She grinned. “Keep me in the loop on this cable getting dug and into full operation as soon as possible?”

“You bet.”

Tal returned to work. Once they got the KNR slot filled while waiting for Matt to return home, Artemis would be ready to begin protecting their worldwide charities.

Realizing she craved another cup of Turkish coffee, Tal pushed back in her black leather chair and stood. As she turned, she gasped. Wyatt stood in the doorway, a welcoming grin on his face. He was dressed in civilian clothes of jeans and a dark blue cowboy shirt with pearl buttons down the front of it. His hands were on his hips. He wore an old leather bomber jacket that made him look like the rogue he was. Plus a black baseball cap with the SEAL logo embroidered in gold on the front of it.

“Wyatt!” she gasped.

“Made it a little early, darlin’,” he drawled, stepping into the office and opening his arms to her.

Tal still limped on her newly healed ankle. She wore a special boot that had a brace within it to shore up her weak ankle for now. She didn’t fly to him as she would have before her injury, but she certainly wanted to! Joyful shock worked through her as she saw him for the first time without his shaggy hair and beard. He was much more handsome now that she could see his full face. His gray eyes sparkled with warmth as he walked toward her with that casual, boneless grace of his. But before he did, he pushed the door closed with the heel of his cowboy boot.

“Come here,” he growled, sliding his arms around Tal, bringing her against him.

“Wyatt!” Tal whispered his name and lifted her mouth to his descending one. The scent of sage soap entered her nostrils. He was clean-shaven, his hair now cut military short. In jeans and a cowboy shirt, Wyatt looked more like a male model than the badass SEAL he really had been. Joy flowed through her as he brought his mouth down to hers, and she eagerly returned his deep kiss. There was nothing tame about this meeting, his arms closing tightly around her, her breasts pressed fully against his chest. He tasted of mint toothpaste, his masculine scent making her lower body explode with violent need in every possible way.

Reluctantly, they eased from their kiss, staring at one another in silence except for their ragged breathing.

“How did you get here so soon?” Tal finally whispered, stepping out of his arms.

“I took an earlier flight,” he said. Holding her hands and giving her a critical look, he said, “You look like a CEO, Tal. Nice-looking black wool pantsuit, bright red silk blouse, and hey, you’re even wearing gold earrings. I like your hair up on your head. Did your mom help you with it?”

Tal laughed. “No. But Mom is teaching me the fine art of hairstyling. I can clean up every once in a while, Lockwood.”

Wyatt chuckled, releasing one hand and bringing over a chair next to hers at her desk. “You did this just for me, darlin’?” He led her over to her chair, watching her limp as she walked.

Tal carefully sat down. Her ankle wasn’t flexible yet, as much as she wished it was. She watched Wyatt take off his leather coat and absorbed his powerful chest and broad shoulders. He hung it on the back of his chair and sat down, his gaze pinned on her. Tal could feel him intently checking her out. She’d missed that, and it felt good to have that kind of caring aimed directly at her.

“All for you, cowboy. I usually wear jeans and a long-sleeve tee, if you want to know the truth. We were going to pick you up at the airport in a couple of hours and I wanted to look nice for you.”

“You do.” Wyatt gestured to her ankle. “You’re limping pretty well, too. How’s the physical therapy going?”

Tal pointed to the cane leaning against her desk. “I’m supposed to use that when I walk, but I hate it. I’m just not going to do it, Wyatt.” She saw him nod and give her a sympathetic look. “I do PT three times a week. My ankle’s still pretty stiff but slowly responding over time. Not fast enough for me, though.”

“It’s tough for a racehorse to suddenly be put out to pasture when she’s used to winning her races.”

Tal leaned back in her chair. “Yes.”

“How’s the transition been going for you as the new CEO?” Wyatt asked. “You don’t say much in our Skype calls or in emails.”

“Because it’s all top secret.”

“Yeah, I got that.” Wyatt looked around, approval in his expression. “Nice digs. State-of-the-art, from the looks of it.” He gestured toward the huge windows. “Bulletproof glass, to boot. Nice call.”

“Yes. We’re on full alert at Artemis.” She frowned. “Even though we’re camouflaged as a working hydroponic organic farm, one of our many enemies might one day find out where we’re operating and try to destroy us.”

“Yeah,” he said heavily, “I know. So, you got the latest materials to make this place less visible to passing satellites?” He peered up at the ceiling, checking it out.