Nash: A Rough Romance by Piper Stone (book series for 12 year olds txt) 📕

who this asshole was while at the cabin, I would hunt him down if and when it was necessary. No piece of shit was going to threaten someone who’d done the right thing.

Deal or no deal.

Fuck him.

If he as much as made a phone call, he would die.

I took a sip of my drink. Then it turned into a gulp. What in the fuck was I going to do with her? And with the situation? Well, there was nothing that could be done until the storm passed. Just thinking about her brought another round of desire shifting into every cell and muscle. She’d managed to awaken a part of me that had been shut down in my mind on a permanent basis.

I rubbed my hand against my groin, forced to shift my cock to gain some relief. The feel of her heated bottom against my skin continued to tingle. I flexed my fingers, turning my hand over and studying my palm. Her rounded cheeks fit perfectly into my hand.

What the hell was I thinking?

She was in need of a safe refuge and all I could think about was ravaging her body.

Safe.

There was that word again.

I held the glass into the light. It would seem I was going to be forced to face my demons.

The question was how.

I fluffed the pillow, finally easing back onto the couch. The moment I closed my eyes, visions of the lovely woman filtered into my mind.

Her gorgeous face.

Her long legs.

Her incredible perky breasts.

Then as before, ugliness rushed in, pushing me back to the night my life had been driven straight into hell. “Fuck.”

It was going to be one hell of a long night. How many had I experienced over the last few months? Enough to know something had to change.

I had a longing to see my buddies again, but doing so would bring additional baggage as well as continued guilt. I’d fought to stay away from it for long enough. Now I was in Missoula and had to make certain choices. I could only wonder what their reaction would be in seeing me. In truth, I didn’t expect the best. What we’d endured had placed a mark on all of us. Hell, I didn’t even know if they’d remained in town. I hadn’t bothered to keep in touch with any of them or even inquired about their lives.

Sighing, I tried to concentrate on the sounds of the wind. Normally soothing, tonight it allowed me to realize that change was coming.

Maybe the feisty woman had come into my life for a reason.

Could I keep her safe?

Hell, could I even keep her alive?

I placed my gun on my lap and eased against the back of the couch. If the storm ended tomorrow, we might be able to get down the mountain.

Then I knew exactly what had to be done, at least for now.

Exhaustion finally settled in, forcing me to close my eyes. I would protect her, no matter what I had to do.

Protect.

Honor.

Sinners…

Saints…

“I thought I’d find you here.” I chuckled as I glanced at the makeshift bar on one of the other bases. I knew Snake came here on a regular basis, attempting to drown his sorrows. I’d simply never known the reason why. “Where’s the pup?”

Snake gave me a hard glare before grinning like a little kid and raising his glass. “Apollo is safely nestled under my covers. Go figure. He lives the life of luxury while us misfits wallow in bullshit and lies.”

I’d never heard him talk that way before. His love of the military, including the regimen was well noted, including in the higher ranks. However, he was a true bad boy, often refusing to follow the rules. “Well, you’re going home soon. You’re getting out of this mess.”

“Yeah. I know. Kinda tough to leave,” Snake said quietly.

“Why the hell is that? When my contract ends, I am so outta here.” I nodded toward the bartender, holding up two fingers. A drink was in order. My workload had increased to ten days on, one day off. I was going to make the most of my day away from the routine.

“Think of all the fun we’ve had.” He laughed softly, shaking his head. “You’re going back to Missoula?”

“Not sure there’s anything there to go back to.”

“I know what you mean. Still, I’d like to see the mountains again, maybe go skiing.”

I snorted. “You’ve never skied a damn day in your life.”

He tossed back the rest of his drink, slamming the glass down on the bar. “There’s always a first time. Hell, maybe I’ll open up a restaurant. You know, one of those little barbecue joints.”

Now I glared at him. “Right. You also can’t cook worth shit.”

“Who says I would be doing the cooking?”

As the bartender slid the glasses in our direction, Snake immediately grabbed his, taking a gulp. For some reason, I wanted to tell him to slow down. Then I remembered he’d met a girl during one of our R & R trips the six of us had taken barely a year before. The girl worked in a little restaurant near where we were staying in Italy. “Are you still in contact with that girl you met? What was her name? Sheba.”

He knocked me in the arm, shaking his head. “Shakira. I was, at least up until a couple weeks ago.”

“A couple weeks ago. What the hell happened?”

Snake twisted his glass back and forth, trying to act like he was fine, but I could tell otherwise. The man was a solid romantic and always had been. He shrugged and gave me a grin, but there was sadness in his eyes.

“Nothing much.”

“Bullshit, my friend. What gives?” I asked as I gave him my usual bullshit-o-meter look that drove him nuts.

“She wrote me a long letter. Really beautiful too.” He took another gulp, almost draining the glass. “Anyway. She told me that she’d always love me.”

Love. Shit. I hadn’t realized that they’d gotten into some kind of an actual relationship. Then again, he’d stopped taking trips