CHAPTER TEN

Rick slept right through the time he was supposed to come on watch, but Wil figured he’d let the doctor sleep. He could literally pull energy from the air, and it kept him going, which was a handy skill to have for a soldier. They’d tested it a bit on Plum Island, but this was the first real world test of Wil’s new ability, and so far, it was going even better than he’d expected.

When Senior emerged from his room at about four in the morning, he merely waved at Wil before heading out onto the porch. Wil joined him out there, sitting quietly at his side.

“If you go back east with us when we leave, you probably won’t ever be able to come back here,” Wil said quietly, broaching a subject that had been bothering him.

“Honestly, I’ve been hiding up here a little too long,” Senior surprised him by answering. “I love it. Don’t get me wrong. But the prospect of being fit again and able to do things and, perhaps, make a difference to the younger generation has a lot of appeal. I thought I was dead, and now, new opportunities are presenting themselves. It’s a little mind-boggling.”

“I asked Liam to set up a call with his dad for you later today. Maybe you can firm up some plans with Commander Kinkaid. That might help,” Wil offered.

“The will definitely help,” Senior agreed. “If I know a bit more about what I’m moving toward, it might be a little easier to leave this behind.”

“You know, we could make up some kind of story,” Wil said quietly, gauging his dad’s reaction. “Like, maybe I’m taking you for experimental treatment or something. In due course, you could be cured and come back. It’ll have to be after we neutralize the foreign threat, though.”

It went without saying that his unit would deal with the folks who were making their lives so difficult, right now. It was just a matter of time.

“It’s a possibility worth considering,” Senior replied, “but I don’t think I could stay here long. Maybe just visit. If I stayed, the doctors who have been treating me up to this point might get wind of my miracle and want to know the particulars.”

“Good point.” Wil frowned.

“It’ll all work out,” Senior said, surprising Wil with his positive attitude. “I’ll talk to Lester later today, and we’ll figure something out. He always was a good strategist. I’m sure he’ll have some ideas.”

Senior perked up as Mandy’s trailer door opened. She was up again, in the middle of the night, and coming out to join them on the porch. The conversation would have to switch to less volatile topics, but that didn’t bother Wil. No, the little alarm bells were going off in his head because he found himself looking forward to her presence just a little too much.

Nothing could come of the attraction he felt towards her. He was already planning to bug out of here as soon as his dad was fit enough to travel. So, why then, was he getting all riled up at the thought of seeing her again? Spending time with her…even if it was just sitting on the porch with his dear old dad around as chaperone.

Mandy joined them, nodding greetings to them both.

“Can’t sleep?” Senior asked, his voice pitched low.

“Just some troublesome dreams. Nothing new,” Mandy replied, sounding very tired to Wil’s ears. Poor woman had nightmares about something. He recognized PTSD when he saw it.

“I get those too, sometimes,” he told her, trying not to make too big a deal out of it, lest he upset her, but wanting her to know that she wasn’t alone.

Wil didn’t know the particulars of what had happened to her, but he was becoming more and more convinced that something bad had occurred in her in life. Something so bad, it had driven her to take this job in the middle of nowhere with only a dying man for company. He shuddered to think of what it could have been.

“I’m going back in,” Senior said, rising abruptly from his seat. “You two stay and watch the sun rise. It’ll be up in another few minutes.” The old devil accompanied his words with a subtle hand gesture that only Wil could see, basically ordering him to stay.

Wil watched his dad go into the house, noting that his walking was much steadier. He’d have to remind Senior to act a bit more decrepit.

“You’re really good for him. He’s a different man since you’ve been here,” Mandy observed in a soft voice once the door was closed behind Senior. “He’s got a lot more color in his cheeks, and he looks better than I’ve ever seen him.”

Unsure what to say, Wil sorted through his possible responses. Denial was probably best, but for some reason, he found it hard to lie to Mandy. Something about her made him want to tell her the truth at all times. He didn’t want there to be subterfuge between them.

Those blasted warning bells went off again in his mind as he opened his mouth, but he didn’t care. Something else was driving him now. Something more primitive and instinctual.

“Rick’s been trying a few things. He’s studied around the world and has learned all types of medicine. He takes a slightly different approach than traditional Western doctors.” Talk about an understatement.

“Perhaps,” Mandy allowed, looking over at him as the first rays of the sun kissed her lovely face. “I think it’s you, though. Having his son here has helped his morale. It was kind of you to come all this way to say goodbye. I know it means a lot more to him than he’s willing to admit.”

He wasn’t sure what to say. Again. Mandy kept having that effect on him. So, he changed the topic slightly.

“How did you expect this all to play out? Were you going to be here with him until the end? Did the park service people have any contingency plans?” Wil asked.

“A nurse comes up once a week to talk to your dad, but he always declines medication. He made his wishes clear a while back that he wasn’t going to die in a hospital. You probably know Mr. Buchanon, the man in charge of the park. He’s got a lot of respect for your dad, and he let me know when I took on this post that I’d be sharing it with your dad for as long as your dad had life in his body.” Mandy smiled sadly. “Once I got to know your father, I came to understand his viewpoint about wanting to leave this world on his own terms. I respect his choices, and I told him I’d stay with him, no matter what.”

Wil was deeply moved by her compassion. “And after…” He couldn’t say the words. Not even now that he knew the worst wasn’t going to happen—at least not for a good long while yet. “What happens then? Are you going to stay up here all by yourself?”

Mandy nodded. “That was the original plan.”

“You sound like maybe that’s not your intent anymore. Have your plans changed?”

She squinted out at the sunrise. “I’m not entirely sure,” she told him. “I thought I knew what I wanted, but being here these past months… I’m not the same person I was when I came. I’m not really sure who I am anymore, but I’m not convinced I want to be up here all by myself, as you put it. If you’d asked me six months ago, I would’ve immediately replied that solitude was what I wanted, but now, after being up here with your dad all this time, I don’t know if I could face it without his quiet presence. I’d miss him too much, you know?” She looked over at him, and there was a glistening of tears in her eyes.

Touched, he reached out and placed one hand on her shoulder, offering comfort. “There are other choices. You can go anywhere. Do anything. You don’t have to stay here. If you want to stay with the park service, there are many other posts you could fill. And, if you want to do something different, there are a million opportunities out there.” He wondered if he should keep going and then decided to throw caution to the wind. “I could even help you find something. I’ve got friends all over. If you don’t want to stay here, what kind of place would you like to go?”

“Someplace safe,” she replied immediately, then looked up at him, fear in her eyes. “I mean—”

“Don’t backpedal,” he told her quietly, moving closer and putting his arm around her shoulders. “I’ve figured out by now that something bad happened to you. Something you don’t want to talk about. I respect that. Lord knows, I’ve had some bad stuff go down in my life and my career. I’ve been where you are. But I want you to know, you won’t always be in the abyss. There is a way out. You’ll find it. I can tell. You’re a fighter. You won’t give up, and you’ll prevail over whatever it is that’s trying to hold you down.”

“How can you be so sure?” Her voice was the merest whisper.

She was so close. She looked so lost. All he had to do was move a few inches, and then…

He kissed her again. Tentatively, at first, in case she didn’t want it. She surprised him by moving into his embrace and clinging to him. Her lips moved on his, and it was her that deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth, making him stifle a groan.

 

Mandy was lost in Wil’s kiss. Again. For a split second, she wondered if she was out of her ever-loving mind, then sensation took over, and she didn’t think anymore. She could only feel. The solid warmth of his shoulders under her hands, the slight rasp of his cheeks against her skin. The wonder of his lips against hers. It was all just too much for her to process and still be able to think clearly.

Thinking, she decided, was overrated.

She reveled in his touch, leaning into his embrace when, for months, she’d flinched from every other form of human contact. She had thought she might never be able to bear a man touching her in even the most innocent of ways, but she’d been wrong. Ever since she’d met Wil, she hadn’t minded casual contact—much less this kind of more intimate touching. She almost felt like her old self. The person she’d been before the incident. Almost.

Before too long, the kiss just wasn’t enough. She wanted to touch his skin. More importantly, she wanted him to touch her. How long had it been since she’d been touched with care, respect and passion by a man?

After being kissed by Wil, she wasn’t sure she’d ever had that trifecta of affection from any man in her past. Oh, they’d been nice enough, but the few men she’d allowed past first base, so to speak, hadn’t had the enticing combination she felt when Wil kissed her.

Maybe she was imagining it, but she felt as if he truly cared, in some small way, and that he also respected her boundaries. He didn’t push. He waited for her to increase the tempo, the pressure, the intimacy. He let her set the pace, for which she was so incredibly grateful. It was almost as if he knew what she’d been through, but nobody knew the full story. Not here. She’d left all that behind when she’d started over—as much as she could. The people around her might not know every detail of what had happened to her, but she carried it around with her like a dark cloud, just waiting to rain all over her new life given the least provocation.

Shoving that thought aside, Mandy decided to live for the moment…and this moment was delicious in every way. Turning more fully toward Wil, she practically climbed over him to straddle his thighs. The move took her a little off-balance, but Wil was there to support her back, holding her steady. It was a metaphor, really, for this entire thing. He was there, steadying her as she tried to push past the boundaries that had been imposed on her by life. By the terrible things that had once happened to her.

Wil might not realize it, but in that moment, she began to trust him. Really trust him. He didn’t know about her past, but he was sensitive enough to realize something about her was a little different. Rather than steamroll over her—something he could easily do with his greater physical strength and incredible sex appeal—he was patient and kind…and sexy as hell.

She ran her hands over his shoulders and wanted to touch his skin. He was wearing his jacket open with a T-shirt under it. He didn’t seem to feel the cold like she did. Of course, they were generating enough heat between them that the night air, and its colder temperature was really the last thing on her mind. All she could focus on was Wil and how badly she wanted to feel her skin against his.

She deepened the kiss as she ran her hands down over his chest and lower, along washboard abs that made her insides squirm with appreciation. He was rock hard all over. Big and muscular without looking like a hulk. His physique was that of someone who used his body for more than just lifting weights. He was a man of action, and his body reflected his active lifestyle. She’d been fitter than she was now at one time. Before the incident, she’d had an athlete’s form, but the long recovery had limited her activities, and the psychological effects had been even more limiting.

As a result, her hard-won muscles had gone a bit flabbier than she liked. She’d been working hard at reviving her stamina and her muscle tone since coming here, but it was slow going. She wondered, self-consciously, if Wil would mind, but he hadn’t known her before. He had no idea her current look was a new one for her, and she had no doubt that he was attracted to her. A man didn’t kiss a woman the way he was kissing her without being more than a little interested in her.

She moved on his lap, daring greatly, sliding farther up on his thighs. She wanted to know if he was feeling this amazing attraction as much as she. She wanted to feel his maleness against her softest spots and know that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

One big hand cupped her ass and squeezed. She moaned, loving the feel of his strong fingers against her. She squirmed a little closer, and he helped, rubbing his hand over her and encouraging her to move even closer…until, finally, she felt his erection against the seam of her crotch. Layers of fabric separated them, but nothing could hide the steel rod in his pants from the heated heart of her that had wanted to know the feel of him so badly.

His free hand went to the zip of her jacket and pulled the tab down slowly as he broke the kiss and looked deep into her eyes. She didn’t stop him. She would never stop him. Not when she saw such desire and caring and tenderness in his eyes.

“I want to touch you,” he whispered. “Will you let me touch you?”

Mutely, she nodded, and he unzipped her jacket completely, parting it. She was wearing a V-neck sleep shirt underneath, with no bra. She hadn’t bothered to dress much before coming outside to join the guys on the porch. She’d only thrown on a pair of jeans, boots and her jacket.

Wil glanced down, his eyes widening as he saw the way her nipples poked at the thin fabric of the slinky shirt. She grinned at his reaction. That one look made her feel more secure, somehow. Secure in the knowledge that he desired her, even if she was a bit curvier than she had once been.

He ran one finger down along the edge of her V-neck shirt, stopping at the bottom of the V and pushing the fabric downward, as if testing how stretchy it was. Lucky for them both, it was very stretchy, indeed. He soon discovered that fact and ran his fingers under the edge, grasping it and pulling it downward, freeing her breasts.

Framed by the distorted neckline, she felt incredibly aroused to have him looking at and touching her breasts. He ran his thumbs over her distended nipples as he cupped her softness in his big hands. Then, he lowered his mouth and nuzzled them, driving her wild.

When his mouth opened over one and sucked it inside, she shivered and suppressed a moan as best she could. She hadn’t been touched this way in so very long. Actually, she wasn’t sure she’d ever been touched quite like this, with this reverence…this respect…this incredibly masterful touch that drove her passions right into the stratosphere.

Only Wil had ever affected her so quickly and so well. He moved his attention to the other side, his agile tongue sweeping circles around the nub that peaked for his efforts. Mandy threw her head back and strained forward, into his mouth, wanting more. So much more…

Just then, the howl of a wolf penetrated the fog of desire. It was close. Alarmingly close. Mandy stilled, unsure of what to do, her mind in a bit of a stupor.