Page 60 of Coincidentally Kismet

“Wait, hold up. I thought Thatch, um, uh...committed suicide. Did he get hurt on the job?”

Wincing a little at her phrasing, I respond, “He did. We had a really rough mission our last time out. It stuck with all of us. But Thatch...well, let’s say, he came home with some scars that wouldn’t heal.”

In a split second, she went from irritated to concerned. “What happened, Will”?

“It’s a long story. I don’t...It’s hard to talk about,” I murmur quietly.

“Rambo...I care about you a lot, always have. You don’t have to tell me, but as someone who has known you a very long time, I know it’s changed you. I can see it in everything you do, it’s a burden weighing you down, but you don’t have to carry it alone. Let me help you.” She squeezes my hand, that simple touch like a warm blanket wrapping around me.

She wants to know the demons that haunt me, to help me slay them. Surprising? Not in the slightest. It’s just not a burden I want her to carry. It’s my job to protect her, and how do I do that if she’s the one picking up my pieces?

“Wright, what do you want me to say? It’s an ugly world. There are people who do things so unimaginable it would break your heart, and the very last thing I want to do is hurt you—again.”

“Just trust me. If this is going to work, we have to talk about things deeper than our favorite foods or gossiping about our friends. I want to be your shelter, your safe place.” Her eyes glisten with tears as she pleads with me. I want to tell her, but the trust part is a little hard; she’s never broken it, but I still wonder when she will wake up and realize this is all too much to handle.

“Okay . . .” I say, pulling her a little closer and linking our fingers. Bri’s words from the cemetery give me confidence to push through this.

“Our last mission was rough. We had to set up comms under heavy enemy presence. We almost finished and were about to make it out when a little girl, maybe seven years old, approached, strapped with explosives. Some of the guys tried to convince her to let us help her disarm them, but before they could get close enough, it detonated. We believe it was remote detonated by someone a good distance away. She was innocent, like a kid sister, it wasn’t fair. These assholes use kids all the time, I know that, but the image is burned in my memory, in all of our memories.”

Cam shifts her head in her hands for a second and then quickly crawls into my lap wrapping her arms tightly around my neck. I can feel the slight shake of her shoulders as she’s crying. Damn it! I didn’t want to upset her, but I had to tell her. She wanted to know.

“Hey. Talk to me.” I gently rub my hand down her spine to console her.

She pulls back, revealing those big blue-green eyes soaked with tears. “I’m okay. I’m sad. I mean, for you and Thatch and that poor baby. But mostly...I’m scared.”

Pressing a tender kiss to her lips and one to her forehead, all I can do is reassure her.

“Look, I will never lie to you. My job is dangerous at times, but a lot of it isn’t that bad. We don’t have to stay gone for as long as many other people in the military do, and we make a big difference. When we came back, we were all torn up. I had nightmares, still do sometimes, that’s why I see Tina, but I’ve learned ways to handle it and I go to a support group. I didn’t start this conversation to drudge up the past, I just wanted you to know in case I get called up and have to leave.”

“How long? Where will you be going?” she asks.

“I don’t know. Hopefully only a month, maybe two at the longest. I can’t say where.”

“Okay.” She looks at me, tears still threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes. She’s breaking my heart and mending it all at the same time.

“I know this is a lot to ask of someone, to deal with this life, I mean.” I run my fingers through her hair then grasp both sides of her face so we are eye to eye. “Think you can handle it? Will you be okay?” My voice shakes as I ask her this. Bri assured me that Cam would make the right choice for herself, but I can’t help worrying she won’t choose me.

“I’ll be fine, Will. I’m more concerned about you being safe and coming back to me.”

I make the one promise I can’t guarantee I can keep: “I’m always coming back to you, baby.”

She sucks in a breath, and I think she’s going to call me out on it, but instead she grabs my face with both hands and plunges deep into a passionate and emotion-filled kiss. It’s like she’s communicating her thoughts and feelings all in one kiss. Conveying everything that has gone unsaid between us.

Cam swipes her tongue against the seam of my lips and I shudder but open to her exploration. She’s squirming in my lap, turning me hard instantly, and grasping on like it might be the last kiss we ever have. She breaks contact but peppers me with little kisses down my face and throat. My body is alive and buzzing from the chemistry between us.

Slowly, she moves her hips in little circles, causing me to stiffen beyond what I thought was possible. We are touching everywhere, exploring each other without abandon. She’s fucking amazing, I can’t think of anything other than being with her, in this moment, forever.

A cool splash of liquid hits my outstretched toes, bringing me painfully back to reality.

“Shit! The tide’s coming in, we need to move,” I say, panting and breathless.

“Oh, umm . . .okay, yeah . . . okay, let’s move.” She stumbles trying to jump up from my lap quickly.

We rush to get everything thrown into the Jeep before we turn into a soaking wet mess. We are on a narrower stretch of sand and unless we want to lay down in the sea oats, it’s time to move.

“Do these seats lay down?” she asks randomly. Though based on the mischievous look in her eyes, maybe not randomly at all.

“Umm, yeah. Pull the lever—wait, why?”

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