Hot Pursuit - Denise A. Agnew [30]
“Never really did. I was just smarting from the other guy and Danny and, well…there’s even more to my military story than I’ve told you.”
His eyes turned wary, and she thought maybe she’d screwed things up by not telling him the entire story up front.
“Have you ever thought maybe a military man isn’t the kind of guy you should date?” he said before she could respond.
She smarted again, but this time from his insinuation. “Does that mean you don’t think I should date you?”
He nodded. “Maybe. If the military lifestyle would drive you nuts. It’s not easy. Some jobs, like mine, require that I’m away from home a lot. A woman like you is independent, you have your own interests and career. Your own life. But some women still can’t handle it even when they’re independent.”
She considered it for a moment. Hell, who was she kidding? She’d considered it a lot in the two days since he’d left her house. “You putting me on notice?”
“In a sense.”
Challenge. Well, she was up to the task. “As much as I don’t know about the military, I’ve heard enough from my friends to understand what they go through when their husbands are shipped off. Marisa and Freddie are very special women to withstand it. They don’t know when their husbands will be back, and they know the missions they go on are very dangerous.”
“A lot more dangerous than mine.”
“But you’re still not completely out of harm’s way. No one is in the wars going on now. There isn’t any place to hide, is there? Your injury is proof of that.” Lucy waited as darkness clouded his gaze and provided the answer even before he spoke.
“No.”
She nodded toward his leg. “You never said how you got hurt.”
“You sure you want to hear it?”
“Yes.”
He shifted down on the couch until he could lay his head on the back. His long legs sprawled out, and her libido wanted her to reach out and touch his thighs. Touch any part of him she could reach. Instead, she pulled her legs up so she could hug them and rested her chin on her knees.
He blew out a puff of air. “I was stationed at Firebase Delta when I got to Iraq a few months ago. It was my second tour there. One night I was heading to my commander’s quarters. He wanted to tell me about some plans for the next day. I was halfway across this area that’s like a long courtyard between quarters when I heard this high-pitched sound.”
She waited while he gazed at the floor near his feet, his eyes glazed as he remembered. “A mortar. But couldn’t tell from which direction it was coming. There was this huge explosion in the courtyard. Knocked me on my ass. I was out cold for a few seconds. I woke up and Shelly was there hovering over me with her medical kit, and one of the quarters nearby was on fire. There was a lot of yelling and running around. At first I didn’t realize I was hurt until some guy said, ‘Dude, your thigh is bleeding.’ That’s when I realized I had this big gash in my leg. Shelly and a couple of other guys hauled me over to the hospital. I was damned lucky though, a shrapnel wound and a mild concussion kept me in bed a few days, but there was another guy across the area who was killed when the mortar hit. Considering it could have landed right on some buildings, we were pretty fortunate.”
She closed her eyes for a second, hurting inside as thought of the world without Vic Moore in it. The pain came sharp and unbearable.
She opened her eyes and dared to touch his biceps. “I’m so glad you’re all right now and it wasn’t worse.”
“That’s the kind of life I’m going to have until I retire from the military in about five more years.”
She licked her lips, still tasting chocolate, and didn’t speak.
Vic asked, “Have you decided that you want me to get the hell out of your life?”
What had she decided? He’d asked her to let him know, and the moment of truth had arrived. “You’re one of the nicest guys I know. You’re just as great as you were all those years ago. Why a woman hasn’t snatched you up by now is beyond me. The women out there must be crazy—”
A sound mixed between groan and growl