Forbidden Love With the Marine by Burke, Dez (best books to read in your 20s txt) 📕

precision and control and she couldn’t imagine him being in any kind of trouble he couldn’t get out of.

And yet, she knew he was only human. And tough as he was, he wasn’t death-proof. Every once

in a while there was the news that one special ops combatant or the other had lost their life or had been severely wounded during a mission. All Olivia could do was keep praying that Ivan and all the other men in his unit would get back safe from whatever hell-hole they were in at the moment.

Chapter Fifteen

The man lying in the hospital bed blinked his aching lids open, barely able to finally take in his hushed surroundings. It looked like a military hospital…probably at some command base. He didn’t

recognize any of the doctors or care workers walking around.

Just when he was thinking of what to do about the tubes sticking out of his battered body, a

kindly-faced doctor appeared, his hair a blend of pepper and grey though he didn’t look much over

thirty. The patient felt an immense relief when his commander emerged right next to the genial looking doctor.

“My team…,” the man on the bed said on a croaky voice, already shooting off the pillow. Only

to sink back down with a groan.

“Take it easy son; you’re still very weak from your wounds. The good news is, I’m pleased to

tell you that everyone made it,” the commander’s booming voice told him reassuringly. “And yes, so did the hostage. You did good, soldier. Your fast thinking and bravery helped turn a hopeless

situation around. You suffered the worst of the injuries, but you’ll be happy to know there’s nothing permanently damaged. You’ll be shipped to your base in a day or two and in no time, you’ll be back home with your family.”

Family…the injured man’s eyes suddenly narrowed and then brightened at the sound of that

word.

Family.

It brought up one face in particular, among the other dear ones that sprung to his mind. That

particular face was framed with flowing jet black hair, while a smile burst glowingly in her eyes and on her lips. Beautiful. So beautiful it hurt to think it would be a while longer before he’d see her again.

At least he would see her, soon. Which was more than he’d hoped for in those hellish moments

when all had seemed lost…

But like his commander had just told him, the mission had achieved a successful outcome. He

couldn’t remember much right then, but as the details started to emerge one by one, he realized how lucky he was to be alive.

He’d made it – just barely. And now more than ever, he knew there were a good many things he

was thankful for. Most of all the chance of happiness waiting for him back home.

Suddenly, “home” became the second word that meant the whole world to him right then…

Chapter Sixteen

There was no good reason why Olivia should have let her friends talk her into joining them on

what used to be a fun girls’ night out on the town. So what if they thought she’d been holing herself up too much in the past weeks? What did they know about the hell she was going through? And what

made them think that a few great cocktails and some spins on the dance floor was going to do anything to improve her mood?

It had more than a month since Ivan had left. And not a word from him.

Olivia looked around at the crowded bar and realized that what she’d hoped would be a

welcome distraction was now making her lose her mind. She seemed to see Ivan’s face everywhere

she looked; it was almost as if he was behind every figure she saw standing at the bar or moving on the dance floor. The music pumped loudly in the well-lit club and all it did was vibrate her skull.

This is nut’s, Olivia decided, before dumping her cocktail and turning to call out into her

friend’s ear that she needed to go outside for a moment. “If I don’t come back in fifteen minutes, that means I’ve chosen to go on home,” she told her good pal, Amanda.

Amanda’s full lips pouted in her pretty face. “The others wouldn’t be happy if they found out I

let you slink off like that. This was supposed to be your chance to let loose, forget your worries.”

“There’s nothing in the world that can make me forget my worries, Amanda. At least, nothing

this club can offer,” Olivia said, smiling wryly. “But thanks. You were right though; they make the best cocktails, as usual. But I can’t stand one more minute of this. My head feels like it’s about to explode right now.”

Amanda’s dark eyes softened with sympathy. “You’re thinking about that hunky guy of yours,

right?”

“All the time,” Olivia confessed with a sigh. “And just knowing I’m here trying to have fun

when he could be out there hurt or even…even worse, makes me sick to my stomach.”

“I understand,” her friend said. They’d known each other all through college and had remained

fast friends, always hanging out and being a helping hand when needed. She placed a comforting arm around Olivia’s shoulder.

“I don’t know how come I can be so sure of this, but something tells me your sweetheart’s fine.

Who knows; he could show up right out of the blue and bring the stars out tonight.” Amanda’s smile widened, causing an answering smile to spread slowly across Olivia’s face.

That’s why she liked Amanda so much: her sunny, optimistic personality. In addition, the girl

was usually always right. She hugged the other woman gratefully.

“You have fun, babe,” Olivia said, pulling back from Amanda’s returning warmth. “Just not too

much, okay? I wouldn’t want Dean on my case for letting you get snatched away while my back was

turned.” Dean was Amanda’s beloved fiancé who was out of town on business.

Amanda huffed, tossing her dark hair over one bronzed shoulder. “Aw, hell no; there’s no man

fine enough in here that could steal me away from my D. Girl, stop that,” Amanda said with a wide

teasing grin as