Soldier In Charge: Ripped!

Mitch was looking forward to it. He only made the trip back home about once a year. Anything more and the old man accused him of “hovering” although Mitch always suspected his grandfather was determined not to be a burden. From the day Mitch had left Charoux, home had become whatever base he was stationed at for that moment in time.

“You flying?”

“Yeah.” He stripped out of his pants. His briefs followed. “No time for a road trip.” He enjoyed driving.

“I’ll let Tara know.”

Mitch snagged a towel and a bar of soap and headed toward the showers, leaving Murdoch in the locker room.

He turned on the water and stepped under the warm spray.

It’d be nice to take a break from the women Tara Murdoch kept throwing at him.

Chapter Two

EDEN’S PALMS BEGAN TO SWEAT as she approached the wooden sign that proclaimed, “Fort Bragg, Home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces.” But then again, maybe it was just because she had to pee and not because she was entering the confines of Uncle Sam.

She’d flown in last night, picked up a rental car and checked into her hotel. She pulled up to the manned gate and waited behind three cars ahead of her for her base clearance. She’d been offered on-base lodging but had opted to shell out the money for a hotel room in civilian territory. She tapped her finger against the steering wheel, keeping time with the song on the radio. She was going to be late.

Time management wasn’t her strong suit. She’d started out in what should have been plenty of time considering she was only fifteen minutes from the base. But she’d taken a wrong turn and wound up on some back road, then she’d passed the man selling late-season watermelons out of the bed of his pickup on the side of the road and the setting had such a quintessential Southern feel about it, she’d had to stop and chat with Junior Budgeton—that’d turned out to be his name. She’d taken a couple of photos and even a few candids when Junior’s grandson had wandered down to the highway from a clapboard house squatting on a hill for one of his “Pap’s treats”—a bright red slice of sticky, juicy watermelon with its green-rimmed rind. Bottom line—she was late.

Finally, she pulled up to the gate manned by a soldier wearing the signature maroon beret of the 82nd Airborne. He was polite but definitely not Hot Jumper calendar material. After checking his list and her ID he waved her through with instructions on how to get to where she was going.

Twenty minutes later—finding a parking spot had turned out to be far harder than finding the building itself—she hurried down the stretch of spotless military hallway as fast as her three-inch heels and pencil skirt allowed.

Being late, and was she ever, was considered heresy at Fort Bragg’s Special Ops command center. Yet another aspect to love about the military—not. She was making the public relations, “thank you for having me here” call to the big office and then she’d meet with the public affairs people. She’d change afterward into jeans and flats.

Thirty whopping minutes on base and she already felt stifled. For the hundredth time, she lamented getting stuck with this Army Paratrooper calendar.

Damn Patti’s black little soul to hell for rooking Eden into this with limoncello and tarot cards. Her father would put it down to “artsy fartsy hyperbole” but she swore she could already feel the military’s rigidity shutting down her brain.

Late, late, she’s late for a very important date. As The Alice in Wonderland refrain echoed through her head, she chuckled to herself—after all, stressing wasn’t going to turn back the clock—and put on a burst of speed as she turned the corner.

Thwump.

She collided with another moving force. She bounced straight off of a solid wall of soldier and her feet flew out from under her. Windmilling her arms uselessly, Eden landed on the polished gray-specked tile floor on her well-padded derriere. All the air whooshed out of her body.

Winded, she looked up past long legs, lean hips, a flat belly and a wall of chest, to a face that defined sinfully handsome. Chiseled lips, lean cheeks bisected by a sharp blade of a nose, and piercing eyes that were the most curious mix of gray and green, like cool, velvety moss on a stone statue.

A shock of recognition coursed through her quickly followed by a warm flush of desire. Mercury. He bore a striking resemblance to the statue in her garden except he wasn’t naked and his wings were on a shoulder patch rather than on his feet. The thought that she’d like to see him naked chased through her head.

Sprawled at his feet ignominiously, quite suddenly Eden felt light-headed as if her brain was oxygen deprived. That had to be why she continued to sit on her ass in the middle of the hallway and stare open-mouthed at the man who’d literally knocked her off her feet.

Lieutenant Colonel Mitch Dugan—she wasn’t so flustered that she missed the silver oak leaf cluster on his shoulder or the name badge on his broad chest—leaned down, extending a helping hand.

Without considering it, she took it and suffered further indignity when it became apparent that her high heels and narrow tight skirt didn’t lend themselves to being pulled to her feet. With a faint shake of his head he stated the obvious, “That’s not working. Let’s try this,” he ordered. In a span of seconds, he released her hands, hooked his arms beneath her armpits and effortlessly stood her up.

For an instant she was against his hard body, his arms muscled bands around her, her breasts pressing against that unrelenting chest, her hips lined up with his, his chin—with a faint cleft, the photographer in her noted—at eye level. Flesh and blood. Yowza, he was hot. She tilted her head back to look at him and his enigmatic gray-green gaze snared hers.

A tremor jolted her from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. She was breast to chest with Mercury incarnate. He was a beautiful piece of flesh-and-blood man and Eden rolled with her impulse. It was a big base, after all. Who knew when she’d have this opportunity again?

She stood on her tip-toes, sliding another inch up Lieutenant Colonel Hardbody, and kissed him. A slow, deliberate press of her mouth against his lips. Firm, cool…magic.

As she pulled away, something indefinable flickered in his eyes. Laughter, whistles, and even a catcall erupted behind them. Oops. For a second she’d forgotten they weren’t alone. A quick glance showed at least half a dozen men had witnessed that kiss. Definitely time for her to get to where she was going.

“Thanks, soldier,” she said, stepping back and around where he stood like a stone statue. She headed down the hall.

“I’d suggest you avoid going around kissing soldiers,” he said. Ah, the Lieutenant Colonel was touchy about his rank. She stopped and pivoted to face him. “It could get you in trouble,” he continued. His crisp voice carried a hint of Southern drawl that rendered it spine-tingling sexy. He paused and then tacked on, “Ma’am.”

Tall, commanding, sure of himself—he had Special Ops written all over him. She’d made it a rule to never date, or sleep with, soldiers. She’d sworn there’d be no rolling around getting hot and sweaty while she was here. Hadn’t she deemed that insanity? Especially since she was basically allergic to the military. It just seemed neater, cleaner to avoid any involvement with Uncle Sam’s finest. But now there was him.

It was like the day she’d seen her house with its walled garden and lemon tree and knew it was meant for her. There was something about this Lieutenant Colonel that made her want to slide beneath his seriousness and coax a smile from him.

She shot a flirtatious smile. “No worries. I only kiss the ones who sweep me off my feet and then pick me back up…soldier.”

She turned on her heel and hurried down the hall. She was now later than ever. She was also determined to find out everything she could about one Lieutenant Colonel Dugan.

One look into those gray-green eyes, one magic kiss and she was fully, squarely in the camp of temporary insanity.

“LUCKY BASTARD,” MCELHANEY said as Mitch joined the platoon leaders waiting on the company commander to show up for the weekly briefing. He settled into one of the brown metal folding chair in the briefing room that resembled a high-tech classroom.

Even though Mitch wasn’t a platoon leader, but was stationed at Fort Bragg as a Special Ops training evaluator, he participated in the weekly briefing as part of his M.O. Each platoon leader headed six twelve-men squads or detachments. It was Mitch’s military occupation to evaluate the training and readiness of the company. As a strategic planner specializing in reconnaissance and evasion, Mitch trained alongside the detachments. In a perfect world, he would’ve preferred to head a squad, but he’d been promoted too quickly and now held the evaluation position.

Special Forces soldiers underwent training in weapons, engineering and demolitions, communications, medicine, operations and intelligence. Each detachment had two noncommissioned officers who specialized in each field, however all were cross-trained and all were multilingual.

Mitch was well-versed in numerous Arabic and Middle Eastern dialects, which had stood him well on recon missions into both Afghanistan and Iraq. He’d also participated in and evaluated the Special Forces HALO training where jumpers pushed the limits—free-falling from a high altitude, which kept them off enemy radar, and opening their chutes within a thousand feet of the ground.

But the bottom line was most of the platoon leaders feared him. And there were a couple, McElhaney and Robertson, who downright disliked him because he’d found their squad training substandard. Mitch had no use for a commander who’d rather cover his own ass than make sure his men were as prepared as possible to go into a mission, do their job, and come out alive.

There was no love lost between him and McElhaney. Robertson mostly gave him a wide berth.

“I know,” Carter seconded McElhaney’s comment. He looked at Mitch and shook his head, as if dumbfounded. “Dugan. Of all the guys to pick, she picks him.”

“You damn well better believe that the next time I see her coming, I’m going to knock her down and pick her back up,” McElhaney said.

Ortiz, one of the five platoon leaders present, entered the conversation. “So who’s your mystery woman, Dugan?”

Ortiz was a damn fine leader. His men carried an edge over the others. Mitch nodded. “Trouble,” he said. “That’s who she is.”

Ortiz chuckled. “Does Trouble have a name?”

Trouble had a name alright. “Eden Walters.” Eden. Depending on your perspective it could be the proverbial garden of paradise or the place where one found irresistible temptation. He was betting on the latter. The taste of her had been on his mouth the whole damn morning, the feel of the press of her breasts against his chest, the light flirty, floral scent had clung to his lapel…and those dancing midnight-blue eyes.

Unbidden, the image came to mind of Eden Walters sprawled sexily on her back, at his feet. She wasn’t exactly pretty, her face was too angular, her features a bit too sharp, but she was arresting. He’d even go so far as to call her striking with her cap of short dark hair, creamy skin, and stunning blue eyes. And the woman had killer legs. Most definitely trouble. “Her old man’s BMFIC at Campbell.”

“No shit?” Carter looked suitably impressed. Being in charge of Fort Campbell, home to the only air assault division in the world, was a big deal.

“No shit. You’re running your mouth about Brigadier General Max Walters’s daughter.”

McElhaney’s grin was unrepentant and slightly unpleasant. “All I can tell you, buddy—” McElhaney definitely wasn’t his buddy “—is he isn’t here and she is. I bet I can get her to kiss me even without putting her on the floor.”

Ortiz, married with two kids and a third on the way, shook his head.

Carter smirked. “Not if she sees me first, dickweed.”

Mitch shook his head. What had she been thinking? She knew better. She’d grown up on military bases—she had to know better. Why not just wave a red flag in a field of bulls? The woman had to be crazy as hell.

And he should give a damn, why? Because he couldn’t seem to move past her kiss. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t kissed and been kissed any number of times. But there’d been something about her kiss that seemed to linger against his mouth long after she was gone.

And quite frankly the idea of Carter or McElhaney or any of the other innumerable soldiers lining up for one of her kisses had him wanting to bang some heads.

“So, what’s she doing here?” Ortiz asked. He was definitely the sharpest of the group, but Mitch had known that long before this discussion.

It had been easy intel to pick up. “She’s a big-name photographer. She’s putting together a calendar for a fundraiser.”

“A calendar of what?” Carter said. “Like paratrooper of the month or something like that?”

“Something like that. The specific terms used were hardbody and hot.”

“Guess that lets you off the hook, Dugan, since they’re not looking for a hard-ass.” McElhaney’s smile held barely disguised dislike. “But she definitely needs to get a good look at me.”

“Forget it,” Carter jumped into the fray. “They’d need to put more than the back of your head on there and that’s the only part of you that qualifies.”

McElhaney’s response was cut short when Company Commander Colonel Gus Hardwick—commonly known among the troops as Harddick—entered the room, strode to the table and chair in the front and started without preamble. Harddick wasn’t one to squander words or time.

For over an hour they discussed maneuvers, upcoming missions, squad performance, individuals that needed help, testing for the week and general status updates.

Mitch could tell Hardwick was winding down by the inflection in his voice and all the material they’d already covered. That suited Mitch just fine. He had a boatload of pain-in-his-ass paperwork to review—that was the part of his job he loathed—before an afternoon training jump.

“We’ve got one more thing to cover. As you know by now, we have a visitor here in Alpha company.” Harddick looked straight at him. “I’m sure we’re all in agreement that any additional money going to supplement survivor benefits is a good thing.” Hardwick paused. There wasn’t a man in the room who wasn’t remembering buddies lost in the line of duty and the families they’d left behind. And damn straight their widows and kids could use the extra dough. Just because there was a crazy, sexy woman in charge of the project didn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile.

Hardwick continued, “The photographer wants to pick her own subjects rather than choose from a pool of volunteers. In fact, she’ll be observing the training jump at Sicily this afternoon.” McElhaney’s platoon was scheduled for a HALO training jump in the Sicily Drop Zone at 1500 hours. Dugan, who’d be jumping with them, didn’t miss McElhaney’s smirk. The guy really was an asshole.

“If you or one of your men is approached, participation is strictly voluntary. However, remember it’s in support of fallen comrades.”

Mitch had a mental snapshot of Eden out at the barren Drop Zone in those ridiculous, impractical heels and tight skirt. For one crazy second he imagined the rush of the jump followed by the feel of her against him. That was it, that was what he hadn’t been able to nail all morning. That instant, crazy rush when he was free-falling and then ripped the cord to open his chute—that was the same damn way he’d felt this morning when she’d kissed him in the hall. One single kiss from her and he’d had that ripped sensation. It was really kind of crazy. Mitch shifted in his seat. He didn’t need to remember that kiss, the feel of her body against his, especially not now in the middle of a damn meeting.

“Keeping that in mind,” Hardwick stared a hole into Dugan, “I need a volunteer to oversee the logistics of the project, to escort Ms. Walters around the base and coordinate the schedules between training and the photo shoots.”

Great. Mitch shook his head slightly.

“Ah, Dugan. I knew I could count on you.”

Damn.

At the same time, McElhaney raised his hand. “I can handle that assignment, sir.”

“Thanks, McElhaney, but Dugan beat you to it and you’ve got some training issues you need to address.” Hardwick looked back to Mitch. “You seem to have a rapport with our visitor so I’m sure you’ll handle this with your usual efficiency.”

Volunteer his ass. This was obviously a we-expect-more-from-you-than-base-gossip reprimand. It sure as hell wasn’t anything he would’ve truly volunteered for but it was obvious the woman needed a keeper. That much had been apparent when she’d kissed him in the hall. He was going to take a boatload of shit for this, but it was also sweet to knock McElhaney out of what he’d wanted. “Yes, sir.”

“You’ll report immediately to Public Affairs following this briefing. Consider yourself on-task.”

“Yes, sir.”

He’d had some ball-busting, gut-clenching assignments since he’d been in the Army and certainly since he’d earned his green beret. This, however, had all the makings of a clusterfuck.

Chapter Three

EDEN SAT IN AN OFFICE SIMILAR to other military offices around the globe—she should know, she’d been in enough of them. Her nose twitched in recognition. There was a smell particular to a U.S. military installation, whether it was Hawaii or Germany or North Carolina.

“So, you want to locate the candidates yourself?” Sergeant Sanchez said, after glancing down at a file.

“That’s right.” It wasn’t as if this was new information. Eden had reviewed the process on the phone with the Public Affairs liaison and then again when she’d met with them after her late courtesy call to battalion headquarters. Despite that conversation, they’d insisted they’d present her with calendar candidates. She’d been equally adamant she’d select her own. Because her way wasn’t Army protocol, she’d been shifted to someone else. And then someone else again. Now, it was Sergeant Sanchez’s turn to deal with her. Surely the third time was a charm—and they were burning daylight.

“Sergeant, I’m a professional photographer by trade. I specialize in people—in knowing who and when to take a photo. It’s what I’m trained to do.”

Sanchez looked up from his paperwork, his brown eyes crinkling at the corners. “So, I don’t tell you how to take a picture, and you don’t tell me how to run my mission.”

Yes! Finally, someone who understood something other than protocol. “That’s pretty much it.”

“How about we coordinate a schedule?”

It’d probably unnerve him if she broke into the Hallelujah chorus so she contented herself with saying, “You are a god among mere mortals.”

On the other side of the green metal desk, Sanchez grinned. “I just need to fill out a couple of forms.” He checked his watch. “And we had an escort lined up for you, a Captain Gibbens. Unfortunately, she went into early labor last night. We’re waiting on her replacement.”

Her hopes of getting this wrapped up in three days were becoming slimmer by the minute. She bit back a sigh and pasted on a smile.

“Oh. I hope everything turns out well with the baby.” And with luck, they wouldn’t send her another nine-month pregnant escort. Eden’s neighbor had given birth last year and the woman hadn’t been exactly full of energy in her eighth and ninth month. Eden couldn’t imagine that Captain Gibbens had been looking forward to hunting down subjects and then working through photo shoots. Eden supposed it was too much to ask that they simply turn her loose unattended on base.

She noticed a framed snapshot of a dark-haired, dark-eyed toddler and a blond woman on Sergeant Sanchez’s desk. “Your family?”

He nodded, practically beaming with pride. “My wife, Liz, and Cassie, my little monster. She just turned two.”

“She looks just like you.” While Sanchez’s hair was close-cropped and the little girl boasted a head full of dark ringlets, her face was a mirror image of his.

“I know. Poor kid. She was born while I was on my last tour in Iraq.”

“I’m sure you couldn’t wait to get home to see her.”

He grimaced. “I wanted to see her but I got sent home a little sooner than I expected.” He lifted his left arm and for the first time Eden noticed a prosthetic hand. “Compliments of an insurgent IED, uh, that’s improvised explosive device in civilian terms, also commonly known as a homemade bomb.”

She knew exactly what an IED was and she hated it that he’d had firsthand experience with one. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, I’m lucky. At least I made it home and I get to see my kid every day. I think this calendar…well, some of the guys in our unit who didn’t make it home…they had kids, too.” His eyes were somber. “Thank you.”

She liked his spirit. Even in the face of having lost a limb, he saw his cup as half full. She felt both humble and grateful in the face of his sacrifice on behalf of his country. She wanted to offer something in return, even though it didn’t begin to compare. “I’m going to be here for a few days. If you’d like, I could photograph your family.”

“For real?”

“For real.”

“They’re in New Mexico now—Liz’s sister just had a baby—but they’ll be back in a couple of days. Liz would be thrilled. Thank you.”

“We’ll do it maybe Thursday or Friday. I’ll be free in the evenings.”

She felt like an utter heel that she’d ever been resistant to shooting the calendar in the first place. This guy had lost a hand in service to his country and she’d whined about having to be on a military base for a handful of days? And now he was thanking her. “And you’re very welcome.”

The sergeant continued filling out one of the myriad forms but looked up with a grin, as if he was eager to move on to lighter conversation. “Spotted any calendar candidates yet?”

“I haven’t really had a chance to scope things out. I’ve spent my entire morning being shuffled from one office to the next.”

“That’s the military for you—hurry up and wait.”

Sanchez was friendly and outgoing. Now seemed the perfect time to inquire about the man who’d knocked her off her feet earlier. “Do you know a Lieutenant Colonel Dugan?”

“Yes, ma’am.” A ready grin spread over his face. “I heard you met him earlier.”

On base, gossip traveled faster than a speeding bullet. “We ran into one another.” She answered his grin with one of her own.

“You’ve got guts. The Lieutenant Colonel can be sort of intimidating.”

Dugan was hard, but not unkind. She’d seen enough of both kinds of people to recognize the difference.

“Is he married?” She shifted back in her chair and brushed a speck off of her skirt, her heart thumping like mad in her chest. She hadn’t noticed a ring but lots of married guys didn’t wear them—especially guys who went through combat training where a ring could prove to be a hazard.

Sanchez grinned. He so had her number. “Not married. I don’t know about a girlfriend though.”

Relief rolled through her and she realized just how tense she’d been, waiting on his answer. “At least I won’t have an angry wife looking me up.”

“That’s always a plus. My wife would go ballistic.” He shook his head as if it was a scary thought but the affection in his voice spoke volumes. “And I take it you’re not married?”

“No. No husband at home.” Ha. She couldn’t even find a guy she wanted to date on a regular basis. Unlike a lot of the women she knew, she wasn’t husband hunting. She liked her house, her job and her own company. And most of all, she liked her independence.

“There are lots of guys who’ll be glad to—”

A sharp rap on the door interrupted Sanchez.

In one of those real-life-was-stranger-than-fiction moments, Lieutenant Colonel Dugan himself entered the office.