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Prologue
Calder
KAIA Military Base Six Years Ago
“Shit’s fucked,” I mumbled, lying on my back. I peered up at the dark sky that was illuminated with endless bright lights of stars. The ache in my knee lessened with each sip of the liquor I took.
“What is?” Millie asked. She plopped beside me, then settled onto her back, blonde strands of hair falling around her face.
My lips curved into a smile as she snatched the bottle from me and brought it to her lips. I couldn’t help the travel of my gaze right to her throat, the muscles working when she swallowed. I bit my bottom lip, intently staring with hunger.
I wanted to be inside her, but more than that, I was glad to finally just be in her presence again. I missed her on this last mission, and I knew that the intense feelings I had for her were growing. Our time apart this last go around had only sealed them for me.
“My knee. Busted it the other day. Still fucking hurts,” I said, straightening the leg in question.
“Poor baby. Do you need me to kiss it better?” Millie rolled onto her stomach and rested her chin against my shin. She looked up at me through her light blue eyes, a teasing smirk playing on her face.
I grinned and reached down to cup my balls. “I’ve got something for you to kiss right here, baby.”
She laughed, swatting at my hand. “Pig!”
“Maybe. But I’m your pig.” I chuckled when she stuck her tongue out at me.
She sighed, rolling onto her back. We both fell into a silence while we glanced up at the galaxy above us. My hand fell to her side, where I drew shapes along the hem of her top.
As much as I wanted to be back in the states, working under the hood of a car with my old man, being here with her brought the same feelings. She was turning into home. Into that longing after a bad day, of just wanting to kick your feet up and relax.
The stratosphere above us was pure black, but the stars were so bright they shined against us, glowing on our skin. I turned my head to get a better look at Millie. She was smiling, her gaze at the sight before us.
“How can a place filled with so much darkness be so beautiful?” Millie whispered, her mouth open as she took in the night sky.
“I can think of something more beautiful.” I reached out and brushed my knuckle against her cheek.
She giggled, nuzzling into my touch. “You’re just being nice.”
“No. I’m being honest.”
Her head turned into my embrace. Before I could say anything else, her lips parted, and her tongue came out to swirl around the pad of my thumb. I groaned, and my eyes settled on hers while she teased her tongue around my finger. Then she took it in her mouth and sucked.
This woman was my downfall. I just didn’t know it yet. And somewhere between the lines, I mistook lust. Because of that, this would end in heartbreak because of that, and I vowed I’d never allow it to happen again.
Chapter One
Thea
Paisley squeezed my leg tight, her small body wrapped around me. Her sad sniffles tugged at my heartstrings. I was never good with tears, and when they were coming from her, I couldn’t handle it.
“Mommy, I don’t want to leave you.” Her broken tone pierced my heart, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. So fine that they turned to dust. What was I going to do for the summer without my precious baby?
Custody swaps always left me feeling empty. My seven-year-old hated going to her father’s for the weekend. I hated making her go, but it was court-ordered. This summer he had her for six consecutive weeks.
A month and a half without my baby girl. Of praying she’d have a good time and would hopefully begin to bond again with the father that never had time for her.
I moved to Georgia, three hours from my ex in North Carolina, because he was suffocating me. Our split custody went from Kyle getting her every other weekend to now getting her one weekend out of the month and six out of her nine weeks of summer break.
The time away from her sucked, but this was what I needed to keep what small sliver of our co-parenting relationship that was left alive. Kyle was drinking and showing up at my house whenever he wanted. The final straw had been when he threw a rock at my window at three in the morning.
I went to my lawyer the next morning, and he helped me petition for full custody and permission to leave the state.
