The Soldier Next Door Read online

  In less than five minutes, their passion mounted. The sweet exploring kiss merged into hungry groping and heavy breathing as they sought to get closer. He eased back just far enough to look at her. The heated expression in his shimmering eyes matched the burning desire in her body. Their mouths came together for another hot kiss. His hands slid beneath her robe and gripped her bare thighs before he lifted her off the floor, pulling her legs around his waist.

  She coiled around him as he carried her back the hall. Only one room had a bed so he had no trouble finding the master bedroom. They fell onto the bed locked in a wild kiss. The hard bulge in his jeans nestled between her thighs. The only thing she had on under the robe was a t-shirt and panties. They came off with ease as his hands swept over her. His jeans gave way to her urgent tugging. He stepped out of the faded denim before kneeling between her legs on the bed. He whipped his shirt off to reveal those sexy abs, then took hold of her thighs once more.

  “Ohhh fuck…” She gasped as he pulled her hips toward him and thrust inside. “You feel so good.”

  He took her hard this time, driving that magnificent cock deep into her sex. She stared up at his handsome face tense with sexual arousal and bearing a rugged shadow of facial hair.

  “You are fucking beautiful, Sydnie,” he purred while taking her higher.

  To say he was well endowed would be an understatement. His huge erection filled and stretched her, stroking every inch of her aching sex into bliss. She could easily lay with him all day and never want this to end—he was just that good.

  Leaning forward, he kissed and sucked her breasts, making her moan in ecstasy while keeping pace with every thrust. She raked her hands over his sinewy back, secretly basking in the feel of rippling muscles beneath her touch. He had a hard body that commanded respect and she sure as hell felt up to giving him her all.

  Agonizing tightening welled in her core. His cock swelled inside. Each movement sent shockwaves of pleasure through her body. She held out as long as she could to make the feeling last but his skill as a lover took her over the edge. Spasms of release forced elated screams from her mouth.

  “Baby, you’re wild.” He gave her an easy smile and slowed his pace.

  The untamed, urgent sex shifted to beautiful lovemaking as he lowered his body to hers yet continued to thrust in and out. He kept to a leisurely pace, clearly allowing her to enjoy her orgasm and prepare for another one. She admired his stamina. His parted lips skimmed her face with such profound affection, tears sprung to her eyes. She felt herself falling hard for him.

  He took her to heaven two more times, stealing her breath and her heart. She gazed up at him through misty eyes. Gentle hands and lips bathed her in sweetness then his body tensed. Gathering her into a strong embrace, he crushed her against him as he lurched forward with a long deep groan. He came with force, shooting a stream of hot liquid deep inside. The experience was nothing less than euphoric.

  They lay tangled together on the bed, panting for breath. He placed soft lingering kisses over her bare shoulders and neck, spoiling her with quiet whisperings of flattery.

  When the afterglow began to wear off, she realized that they had forgotten to use protection. “We forgot something.”

  He didn’t respond straight away. A few minutes later, he rolled on top of her and stared down with sincere eyes. “I don’t have an STD. I get tested every month at the hospital when I go in for my checkups. I’ve not been with anyone since she moved out.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief and realized his doctors would likely keep a close eye on his health considering his condition. “I haven’t been with anyone since my divorce and I was tested, also.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to trust each other then,” he said with a relaxed smile.

  “Yes…” She returned his smile. “I guess we will.”

  Chapter Five

  “Mason, are you in here?” Sydnie peeked inside his front door.

  She hadn’t heard from him since their incredible afternoon and evening of lovemaking the previous day. His truck was in the drive and the front door open. Spring seemed to have finally taken root with the temps staying in the seventies since the freak snowstorm. He’d asked her to go hiking with him today yet hadn’t called and sunset now lurked on the horizon.

  Hesitantly, she went inside and walked from room to room. “Mason?” Still no sign of him but she did notice several empty cans of hard lemonade on the counter. Oh no, he must be having a bad day. The ghosts of his past did not seem to reveal a pattern.

  She knew the house well from when the previous neighbor had lived there, as they had been friends. Cautiously she opened the basement door and drew a calming breath. Images she tried to resist forced their way into her mind, especially over the noose.

  He seemed perfectly fine when they’d parted company yesterday. She couldn’t imagine what might have triggered him to drink again. Maybe he received a troubling phone call, or something on TV sparked a flashback. Hell, it could be anything, she thought. And for a split second she remembered why she’d tried to control her growing attachment to this man. During his stable phases, he was alluring beyond belief.

  However, when the demons trapped him in his mind, he took her to places of pure horror. Mason’s darkness was not just dark—his shadows were black.

  The steps creaked slightly as she made her way down. She could barely draw a breath, terrified of the worst. She reached the ground floor and looked around. No lights, just the glow from his computer screen radiating around a desk. On the far side of the room sat Mason with his back toward her, his shoulders slouched and his head hanging down.

  “Mason?”

  He didn’t answer

  Oh God, is he dead? She couldn’t bear the thought. Her heart pounded in her ears.

  She reached out with a trembling hand to touch his shoulder, praying that his body didn’t fall off the stool or do anything horrific that would indicate he’d left this world.

  Closing her eyes, she laid one hand on him. “Mason?”

  He bolted upright, scaring a little pee out of her. She jumped back and gasped. “What are you doing, hon?” She inched around to his front.

  Sure enough, he actually did have a noose and it was in his hands.

  “You don’t want this,” he muttered. “I’m not supposed to be alive. I should’ve died with my unit.”

  “No, no you shouldn’t have.” She squatted down and stared up into his eyes. “Who would I get to beat up the bad guys if you weren’t around?”

  He stared into her with that hauntingly sorrowful expression she’d seen the night of their first dinner. “I’m no good like this, too fucked up.”

  “Were they here again today?” she asked in a timid manner. “Is that why you drank?”

  A spark of connection flickered in his eyes. “Yeah. My Sergeant and Kool were here.”

  “Kool…you’ve mentioned him before. Was he your best friend?”

  Mason nodded. His fingers traced the braided rope in visible agitation. “Me and Kool went through everything together, even basic training.”

  “Tell me about him. I’d love to know what he was like.”

  “I called him Kool because he was fucking crazy. We went into a bar in Seoul one night and got wasted.” He pointed to a huge brand name whiskey banner hanging on the wall. “Kool took that sucker right off the wall on our way out. A little Korean guy was chasing us, shouting something in Korean. We laughed our asses off and kept on going. He gave it to me, told me to make sure that banner made it home because the whiskey is American made. Kool never thought he’d make it back.”

  “Sounds like a brave and fun guy.”

  “He was the best. We had each other’s back, man, ya know?” Tears filled his eyes, but he choked them back. “All this shit down here, the flags, banners, souvenirs—all of it came from our weekend benders.”

  “You did what he wanted. You brought it back home.”

  “He was supposed to be driving t
he Humvee that day, not me. We rotated positions, but the day we got hit, he was in the back.” Mason whipped the noose against the wall. “It was my fucking turn to watch the back. Kool should’ve been driving. Everyone behind me got blown to fucking pieces. I was supposed to die that day! Not him!” He jumped up and shot out the basement door.

  Sydnie followed. “Mason, wait!” She grabbed the hem of his shirt, trying to pull him back. “You shouldn’t drive, you’ve been drinking. Please!”

  “I need to get out of here for a while. Let go, babe.”

  “No, please don’t!”

  He swung around and glared at her with a ferocity that stunned her, should’ve terrified her, yet she didn’t back down. She blocked his door, bracing her boots on the driveway to anchor her weight against the door. He simply picked her up and moved her out of the way.

  “I’m coming with you.”

  “Sydnie, stay home.” He slid behind the wheel.

  “No. If you’re going on a suicide mission, you’re taking me with you.” She jumped into the passenger seat before he could stop her.

  “You’re fucking insane, woman!”

  She gritted her teeth. “That makes two of us then.”

  He flashed a frustrated look before gunning the engine. She knew this would be hell on wheels, but for reasons that eluded her typical common sense rational, she couldn’t let him leave alone.

  Night had fallen. They sped down the road in the dark. He took bends on their country roads at a blazing rate of speed. She thought surely this would be her last night on earth yet part of her ignored the fear. Maybe she wanted to be as brave as him. Maybe the past seven years of lonely hell were worse than this. Perhaps the thought of going back to her bland existence before this soldier marched into her life was the reason she didn’t let go. She clung to the handles on the door with all her might.

  They hit the main road doing eighty and picked up speed. Is he running from something or really trying to kill himself this time? His only fear seemed to be the demons in his head that surfaced when he drank. Or did they haunt him beforehand and push him into drinking? Will I ever know?

  By the time he merged onto a major highway, the speedometer needle was bouncing off one-twenty. She would’ve gasped if she could take a breath. Lines on the road flew past like dots. She braced herself for the worst as Suicide Bend came into view. There is no way we will make that bend without rolling this thing.

  Out of nowhere, a huge deer leapt into the headlights before they hit the bend. She failed to halt the scream that erupted from her throat. Mason slammed the brakes. The truck fishtailed and skidded at least fifty feet and a loud thump followed by the sound of breaking glass filled her ears. She swung her arms up to shield her face as the seatbelt held her in place. After what seemed like forever, the truck came to a screeching halt on the side of the road.

  “Are you fucking insane?” she screamed at him. Her unrestrained reaction stunned her.

  Apparently her atypical response startled him back to some sense of sanity. The intense sadness filled his eyes again. “I’m sorry, baby.” He unbuckled his seatbelt. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. What the hell did we hit?”

  “I think we hit that deer.” He jumped out and ran around to her door, then opened it.

  She allowed him to help her stand on trembling legs. They made their way around the truck and saw the smashed grill, then the deer lying alongside the road.

  “Oh shit,” he muttered. “I totally fucked up my truck.”

  “Maybe if you weren’t driving like a lunatic you would’ve been able to stop in time.”

  “She came out of nowhere.” He knelt down on the road. “Holy shit, she has babies. They’re still alive. I have to save them.”

  “What?” Sydnie looked down in horror. Sure enough, two little fawns lay in the grass. She burst into tears. “What are you going to do?”

  He ripped his shirt off. “I have to save them. They cannot die.”

  The entire scene unfolded as if she was watching it from behind glass. Mason performed CPR on both fawns until they began breathing on their own. He wrapped the babies in his shirt and carried them to the truck where he carefully laid them on the back seat of the extended cab. He ran back to the mother and double-checked for signs of life.

  “She’s gone.” He nudged Sydnie toward the truck. “Get in. I have to save them.”

  She buckled up. He drove fast, but not as reckless as before, back toward home. She kept an eye on the fawns, having no idea how he planned to save them or if they were even old enough to survive on their own. He swung into the drive, parked, then leapt from the truck. She followed as he carried the babies inside. His upper body and face were covered in blood.

  “Would you grab the blankets from my bed?” He looked at her with desperate eyes.

  She ran upstairs, gathered the blankets, and brought them back down. Mason was rubbing each fawn with his shirt. Then she noticed something peculiar taking place. Obviously trained in first aid, he checked their breathing and listened to their hearts every few minutes while briskly rubbing their coats dry. But he’d passed the point of tending an animal. She could tell that he clearly thought the baby deer were fallen soldiers. His expression was gravely serious. He worked furiously. Unwavering determination hardened the lines of his face.

  He wasn’t about to let these men die. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Hang in there, buddy,” he told the fawns, then glanced up at her. “Call the medics. Tell them we have two men down and we need a chopper.”

  For an instant, she froze, not knowing what to do.

  “Kool, now, we need those medics now. Buddy, pull your shit together.”

  She whipped out her cell phone and dialed 911, then walked a few feet away, but kept a close eye on Mason and the deer. “I need a State Trooper, someone from animal control or a paramedic,” she told the operator. After giving quick details and confirming the address, she laid her phone on a chair. “Help is on the way.” She knelt beside him. The babies looked so precious, dark in color with tiny white spots.

  “Help me keep them warm,” he handed her a blanket. “Where are those fucking Apaches? These guys won’t last long in this condition.”

  They wrapped the fawns in comforters from his bed and sat on the floor, holding them on their laps.

  “Nobody dies, right?” His eyes met hers. Not a hint of recognition shone in those questioning brown eyes.

  “Nobody dies,” she said.

  Less than an hour passed before activity could be heard outside. Mason placed his fawn on her lap and belly crawled to the door. Once convinced the area was safe, he stood up and peeked out the door.

  “In here, guys, I have two men down.”

  Sydnie recognized the same State Trooper from her incident with Ben. A wave of embarrassment washed over her. What will he think this time? I’m in a different house with the same man, only this time I’ve got two baby deer on my lap.

  “We’ll take them from here,” the trooper told Mason, then he approached her. “I’ve known Mason a long time. We graduated together. I’ll take care of these deer. The game commissioner is waiting outside. We didn’t want to rush the place and set him off.”

  “I take it that you’ve been called here before.” She gently laid the babies in his arms.

  “Many times.”

  “Thank you.” She whisked tears from her cheeks.

  “I saw the truck. Are you okay? Do you need medical attention?”

  “No, thank you. I was wearing my seatbelt.”

  He gave her an approving smile, then walked past Mason with a nod before leaving the house.

  Sydnie collapsed into a chair and sobbed. No force in nature could have held back her tears this time. With her head in her hands, she wept uncontrollably. After the vehicles outside drove away, Mason closed the door and came to her side.

  “Baby, what’s wrong?” he knelt beside the chair. His delusional state evidently passed
by the seeking tone in his voice.

  “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” She stared in disbelief. “I’m not cut out for war.”

  “Hey,” he said in a soft voice while petting her hair. “Every soldier has a bad day. But we never quit and we never accept defeat.”

  She brushed his hand away and stood up. “Well while you’re in a sober and sane state of mind, think about that the next time you go on a suicide mission!” With that, she stomped across the room and out the door.

  This was the most hellish night she’d endured since her marriage. Despite her strong feelings for this man, she simply did not know if she could take anymore.

  Sunlight flooded the room before Sydnie was ready to face the day. Before falling into bed the night before, she’d showered and left a message on her boss’s voicemail to request some personal time off. She’d have to work extra on her freelance jobs to make up for the missed pay, but she knew she could do it. Her traumatic night with Mason left her utterly sapped and out of touch. She had no desire to deal with people anytime soon.

  She wondered if this is how he felt every day. The hell he lived in became very real to her. Is great sex worth all of this? Yet in her heart, she knew it was more than fabulous sex that drew her to the man next door. Even now, those warm caring eyes haunted her mind. She couldn’t seem to get him out of her head. He’d made a lasting imprint on her soul that she’d never forget even if they went separate ways.

  If only he’d quit drinking, she thought. Maybe his meds would actually work. A chime on her phone interrupted her thoughts. She read the text.

  Hey, baby doll, I’m sorry about last night. I called my buddy on the police force. He said the deer survived the night. I wanted to know if you’d ride up with me to see them. I’ll be back later. I’m going up to get an insurance estimate on the truck.

  She sighed and rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in a pillow. What should I do?

  Chapter Six

  “I’m glad you decided to come.” Mason looked over with an engaging smile while driving his truck.