Page 11 of The Cold Ride

“On?” She tilted her head as she took my measure. And fuck, but she was cute in her flowery sundress with her feet bare.

“If there’s a seat for me.” I nodded toward the empty space on the blanket beside her, taking a few steps closer. But I didn’t want to spook her.

Ethereal was the word that came to mind. She looked ethereal, like she was a mythical siren sent to enchant men and lure them to their doom. Long blonde hair fell in loose waves over slim shoulders. Her slender legs were bent, and her arms were laced around her knees.

She flashed a wide smile that had my gut tightening. “Well then, it seems you came to the right place. Because I just so happen to have a single seat available.”

And then she gestured at the open space on the blanket beside her in invitation. It was one thing I hadn’t done since we got back—found a woman to lose myself in.

Tingles churned in my belly as I sat beside her and finally got a closer look.

Stunning. She was the most stunning creature I’d ever met. Her heart-shaped face was smooth with luminous eyes. And in the last bits of light from the setting sun, I noticed her eyes were a pale mint green.

I handed her one of the beers. “James.” Our fingers touched, and electricity sizzled up my arm. Fuck yeah, now we were talking. This little beauty would leave the party with me tonight.

“Rory. Thanks for the beer. I really didn’t want to have to head back over to the party yet.” She popped the top and took a long swallow.

Fuck, even the way her throat worked was sexy as hell. “Parties not your thing?”

“Sometimes they are and sometimes they’re not. What about you? Aren’t you frogmen always up for a good time?”

“Sometimes yes, sometimes no,” I replied with a similar sentiment, grinning at her candor.

My response earned a laugh from her. And the sound was throaty and full of life. It electrified me. And made my dick twitch, thinking of whether she sounded like that during sex, promising myself I would find out before the night was over.

And then she shot me a cheeky grin. “Good to know. Are you glad to be back?”

I was, but, “It’s hard. Most of the time when I’m on a deployment, I can’t wait for the moment when I step back on United States soil. But here lately—” I shook my head. “You don’t want to hear this.”

She shifted, turning slightly toward me. “Yeah, I do. Here lately, what?”

I stared at her long legs for a minute, trying to decide how much to say. And I couldn’t put my finger on why, but I wanted to be honest with her. “I’ve only been with my new unit for six months. They’re awesome guys. The best at what they fucking do. But in my last unit, not everyone made it back.”

“Who did you lose?”

Rory was perceptive. But then, she was hanging around a bunch of military guys, so it came with the territory. And I wondered if she was here with anyone. “My best friend. Justin and I grew up together back in Knoxville. We went to school together. Graduated from the same high school. And we entered the Navy together. Then went through SEAL training together, the whole shebang. We might not have been blood, but we were brothers in the purest sense of the word.”

In her eyes was compassion and understanding. “How did it... Never mind, you don’t have to tell me.”

But I found I wanted to tell her about it, about that night. “We were on a night raid into a compound where suspected Hezbollah terrorists were holding some American hostages. We got in, no problem. Everything worked like clockwork. Stuff we’d done together hundreds of times. Only our intel was a few days old. The hostages weren’t there any longer. They’d already been moved. And what was waiting for us in that room was a nightmare. We had to fight our way out. But we hadn’t counted on the mines they planted. They knew we were coming. And our team had to split up. Justin stepped on a mine. I watched him die. One minute he was there, and the next, he was blown to pieces.”

She laid her hand over mine on the blanket and squeezed. “I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t ease the loss. But I’m sorry just the same.”

I stared at her slender fingers covering mine, feeling her touch beyond the surface level of wanting to get into her pants. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had offered me such simple comfort. Nor had she offered platitudes, likeat least it was quickorhe’s in a better place. And for the first time since that night, I felt like I could breathe. “No, but I appreciate the sentiment. And I haven’t felt right since that night. Even with my new unit and being sent back out again on deployment, I can’t seem to think—”

“That it’s all bullshit,” she murmured before taking another drink of her beer.

“Yes. Exactly. Have you served?” Because she understood my sentiments.

“Oh god, no.” She laughed with a shake of her head, tendrils of hair shifting around her shoulders, making me itch to see if they were as soft as they looked. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being in the military. It’s just not for me. I’m not a fan of camping or bugs or mud really or the outdoors if it’s not a beach, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

At her response, I tossed back my head and laughed until my sides hurt. God, this woman. She was a breath of fresh air blowing into my life. And I wanted to know everything about her.

“So what’s your story?” I asked, nudging her with my shoulder.

“You think I have one?”

Oh, she was a sly one with her quips. “Everybody does. I showed you some of mine, and now it’s your turn. Why is a gorgeous woman like yourself sitting alone over here instead of mingling with the party?”

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