Page 3 of Shadow Blind

Kait sighed. “Marcus says I’m being unfair. With the lengths of your deployments over the past three years, you’ve barely spent any actual time with her, anyway.” Her voice lost its sharpness. “Honestly, I’m surprised she’s put up with your absences for so long.”

Aiden froze. “For so long? What the hell does that mean?”

The silence that fell between them was almost as long and even more dangerous than it had been before. Every muscle in his body tightened. This was bad. He could sense it.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. But Aiden, you must know how difficult these deployments are for her. Demi isn’t part of the SEAL community. When you leave, she’s completely alone for months at a time. It’s not fair to ask her to put her life on hold for you.”

Aiden couldn’t have been more surprised if a shitkicker had sprung up from beneath his feet and popped him one between the eyes.

“What exactly are you saying, Kait?” he asked, surprised to find his voice even, rather than breathless. “Is she thinking about breaking it off with me?”

There was another pause, shorter this time but fraught with tension. At least on his end.

“I don’t think your current friends with benefits arrangement is working for her. I think she’s ready for something like she had with Donnie. A partner, marriage…someone to have kids with.”

If Aiden got any tighter, his muscles were going to snap. His temper, too. Kait didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about. Demi had never mentioned being dissatisfied with their relationship.

“I wasn’t the one who wanted a friends with benefits package,” he said tightly. “She was.” And he’d agreed to it, because…hell, he would have agreed to anything to get her into his bed, which would give him a chance to worm his way into her heart. Granted, the past three years hadn’t worked out like he’d planned—she still hadn’t admitted she loved him. He knew she did, though. She wouldn’t be so open with him in bed if she wasn’t in love with him. That kind of openness required trust and love. “If she’s changed her mind and wants the white picket fence and diamond ring, I can do that.”

“Aiden,” Kait replied, surprised, then her tone grew weary. “Getting married won’t make the problems disappear, not when you’re gone so much. She’d still be alone while you’re deployed or off on those endless training missions. And when the kids came—she’d be a single mother. She’s not looking for a part-time marriage. And unless you opt out of your next reenlistment contract, that’s all you can offer her.”

A knife twisted in Aiden’s chest. “Mom didn’t consider her marriage to dad a part-time one.”

“Didn’t she?” Kait retorted. “How would you know? She died when we were ten. We never discussed personal stuff—like whether she was happy with dad being gone so much.” She broke off and took an audible breath. When she spoke again, her voice was quiet. “Look, I shouldn’t even be telling you this. It’s between you and Demi.”

Aiden wandered to the tent door and nudged it open, staring out over the shadowy tundra. A thin skiff of snow flocked the sturdy grass, brightening the night. It was gray outside, and miserably cold. An artic wind flayed him through the open flap. Yet it didn’t come close to matching the icy chasm spreading within him.

“Aiden?”

“Yeah,” He turned back, letting the door fall back into place. “She’s talking about breaking things off then? No matter what?”

Kait sighed. “Yeah. She’s planning on telling you face to face once you hit stateside. And unless you’re willing to leave the teams and settle into a 9 to 5, I don’t think you’ll be able to change her mind.”

“That isn’t happening.” His resistance to the idea was instant. Violent even. The SEAL teams were his fucking home. His teammates were his brothers. They were all he’d ever known, all he’d ever wanted. He wasn’t giving them up.

Even if it meant losing Demi?

No, goddammit. No. He wasn’t losing her either. There had to be another way.

“You could join Shadow Mountain. Wolf said there will always be a spot for you among his warriors.”

“Not gonna happen.” The refusal was curt. Final. Shadow Mountain was not home. Wolf’s men were not his brothers.

There had to be another way, a way that would satisfy Demi and allow him to stay on the teams. He was a smart guy, he just needed to think of something. Something that would change her mind and open her eyes to what they had. There had to be a compromise they could both live with.

He just needed to find it.

Chapter two

Day 1

Coronado, California

Demi sat in front of the blank computer screen, back straight and chest tight, as the knowledge that she meant nothing to the man she loved spread throughout her body creating a hollow ache.

Aiden hadn’t remembered the significance of today’s date. More evidence he didn’t know her, didn’t care about her. At least, not like she cared about him. If the situation were reversed, she’d know exactly what this day meant to him. She would do everything possible to see him through it. But then, she loved him, while to him, she was nothing but a convenience. A warm, willing body, on those few occasions he was on leave and horny as hell after months of abstinence.

A sour burn climbed her throat.

---