Page 89 of Duty Bound

“How did you get out?” She pulled away to look at him. “I’ve been so worried. So has Pat. We were sure something terrible had happened.”

“I know. I’m sorry I couldn’t call. I was staying with one of Stitch’s friends, and there was no way to get in touch.”

“Pat said that might be what had happened.” She wished she’d believed him now. He’d said Blade was a survivor, and here he was, alive and well.

Now she didn’t want to let him go.

Ever.

Blade beamed down at her. He’d shaved off his beard, giving her a good look at his face. God, he was so handsome. But at the same time, damaged. He had a faint bruise around his eye and a new scar near his hairline. Only then did she notice a sling around his neck, not that he had an arm in it.

“Broken arm.” He nodded at it. “Stitch told me to wear it for a few more weeks, but I can’t ride my motorcycle with it on.” He grinned.

She shook her head. Typical.

He wore black jeans over his thick thighs, and under his leather biker jacket, a loosely buttoned shirt afforded her a glimpse of his glorious chest. Still a beast of a man, although she thought he’d lost some weight.

“How is Stitch?”

“Just fine. So is Soraya. They send their love.”

Afghanistan seemed like an eternity ago, another life, but she’d never forget the people she’d met there.

Blade touched her cheek. “What do you say we go inside and talk?”

She nodded. Even though his eyes were sparkling, there was a serious undertone.

“Pat around?”

“He’s out, but he’ll be back soon.”

She led him inside, and they sat next to each other on the couch. Lily was dying to touch him, to hold him, but she didn’t know if she should. How did he feel about her now? Back in Afghanistan, they hadn’t known if they were going to make it out, and because of that, they’d let themselves get carried away.

She didn’t regret it, not for one moment. The memories had carried her through these last hellish weeks without him. It was what she’d thought about at night, alone in bed, when her heart cried out for him.

“Lily, I’ve been thinking a lot about us and about what happened between us.”

Her heart sank. This was it. He was going to tell her he couldn’t do it, not now they were both free.

“You have?”

He scoffed. “Hell, it’s all I have been thinking about.”

She bit her lip.

“I… I just wanted to say… Fuck.” He shook his head.

Her heart smashed into a million little pieces.

“I know,” she whispered, trying not to cry. “I know there can never be anything between us. You don’t have to say it.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You weren’t?”

He shook his head. The sparkle was still there. She clung to that.

“I’m sorry about the things I said over there. I was messed up. About Spade, about what happened. About you.”

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