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“What happened?”
“It was a suicide bomber.” He cleared his throat. “Actually, it was the UAC who were behind the attack.”
“It was?”
“More tattoos,” he ass
ured her, but his mind was flashing with images from that day. “The group I was with had been deployed to monitor towns in the northern province. Our movements were closely guarded. But you know what intel’s like.” He shook his head. About ten minutes after riding into town a car pulled up right in front of us.” He closed his eyes, seeing it flash before him. “It all happened so fast. I’d seen death before, many times. But the carnage of this explosion was … it was the definition of destruction.”
“I can imagine,” she shuddered. “Was your friend the only one …”
“No. We lost half the regiment. A lot of good men and women died that day.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Rick used to talk about this place.” He stared at the trees, following her line of vision. “He described it in perfect detail, right down to that wonky front step.”
“The explosion…” She ran her fingers over his muscular legs thoughtfully. “That’s why you left your job?”
“Yes and no.” His smile was grim, but he didn’t elaborate.
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head, pushing away the somber memories. “Surely you don’t really want to talk about this.”
She swished a little, rolling in the bath so that her chin was pressed against his chest. “You are a puzzle and I have limited time in which to fathom you. So kindly answer my questions as they are asked.”
His eyes probed hers. Did she really want to know? Would she really care?
His voice was gravelly and his eyes lifted away from hers. “My editor told me I’d be fired unless I came back. I didn’t much care. Harry…”
“Harry,” she smiled fondly.
“He convinced me that I’d had enough for now. I wasn’t in the military. I didn’t have to front up for fitness exams. Harry told me that if I did, no one would certify me to go back to another war zone.”
“I think he had a point.”
“I was fine,” he demurred shortly.
“No one can see what you did and remain fine,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Well, anyway. I wound up here, writing fluffy society pieces and wondering what the hell I’m meant to do with my life now.”
Lilah felt a tug of something deep within her heart. It was a sensation she’d never known before, yet she recognized it instantly. It was the kind of love that was born out of someone’s vulnerabilities. She cared intensely for this man she’d just met, and so she was pained by his vulnerabilities and fears.
“So much death,” she murmured, kissing his chest. “I wish I could remove the pain that you feel in here.” She lifted her lips to his heart and kissed him once more.
He felt it. Right into his heart, and all through his body. He felt her wish as though it were actually a witch’s incantation, a spell designed to break him of his grief.
“You have, for the moment.”
Lilah looked up at him, a huge smile on his face. “I don’t know if I ever want to go back to reality.”
He didn’t laugh. It wasn’t a joke. “Nor do I.”
* * *
The warmth from the fire was sublime. On their second night in the cabin, with a rug on the floor and a bottle of wine between them, they sat in front of the fire and enjoyed its gentle warmth and the freedom they had to sit close to one another.
