A Wicked Persuasion: No Going Back / No Holds Barred / No One Needs to Know

To her surprise, Chase dropped to his haunches in front of her, putting him at eye-level with her. He placed a hand on either side of her seat, effectively trapping her.

“I think what you’re doing is completely harebrained,” he said, but his sympathetic smile took most of the sting out of his words. “But I also think Tenley Miles is very lucky to have you on her side. I don’t see any other publicists over here doing this for their clients.”

Kate gave him a rueful smile. “That’s just because they’re not related.”

“The bottom line is, if she isn’t willing to do what it takes to fix the mess she made, then that’s her problem, not yours. At some point, Kate, you need to let her take responsibility for her own life.”

Kate stared at him, knowing he was right. “That sounds easy in theory, but you don’t know Tenley. She’s just a kid. She couldn’t find her own way across the street without someone to help her. The music industry would eat her alive. She needs me.”

Chase pushed to his feet and stood looking down at her, and Kate could almost read his mind. He thought she was nuts.

“Look,” she reasoned, “maybe I am a little overprotective, but trust me when I say you would feel the same way if you met her. She brings out the protective instinct in everyone.” Kate gave a soft laugh. “Even you wouldn’t be immune.”

“It is hard for me to imagine that someone who’s been in the public spotlight since she was young could have any vulnerability left,” Chase said wryly.

Kate looked down at her hands. “Maybe that’s what makes her so vulnerable.”

“You were pretty young when your mother died,” he said quietly. “It couldn’t have been easy for you, either. What I don’t get is why I didn’t know that the famous country singer, Willa Dean, had another daughter. Hell, I’m not sure anybody knows.”

Kate shrugged. “My mother was still in high school when she became pregnant with me. She and my dad tried to make a go of it, but she had her heart set on becoming a superstar, and he just wanted to be a car mechanic. They were only kids.”

“So what happened?”

“They split up before I was a year old. I traveled with my mother and her band for the first six years of my life, until I started elementary school. Then I went to live with my dad and his new wife.”

“That’s rough,” Chase said. “Were you happy with your father?”

Kate sighed, remembering. “I wasn’t unhappy. But he and his wife had a new baby and hardly any money. Things were tough for a couple of years and I always had the sense that I was a burden. But then my mother started selling albums and she began to send some money to my father for my upkeep. That helped.”

“Did you ever go back and live with her?”

Kate didn’t look at him. “No,” she said quietly. “My mother rose to the top of the billboard charts very quickly, and she didn’t have time for a kid.” She gave a rueful laugh. “Even after she had Tenley, she didn’t have time for a kid. Sometimes, I think the only reason she brought Tenley on tour with her was because it helped her public image. She dragged that poor baby everywhere, and what the public didn’t see was that when the cameras weren’t around, Tenley rarely saw her mother. She spent most of her time with a nanny. But when people thought of Willa Dean, they automatically thought of her angelic little daughter. So when she died …” Her voice trailed off.

“You became Tenley’s mother.”

Kate laughed, refusing to dwell on those days. “Well, more like a doting aunt.” She slanted him an amused look. “Were you a Willa Dean fan?”

Chase chuckled. “Still am. I’m from Texas, and there’s nothing a Texas boy loves more than a good old country song. Man, I grew up listening to Willa Dean, and it didn’t hurt that she was so damned gorgeous. In fact, my brother had a poster of her hung over his desk all through high school.”

Kate couldn’t suppress her smile, not at all surprised to hear that Chase’s brother had kept a poster of her mother in his bedroom. She’d been a beautiful woman, and an amazing singer. Everyone had loved Willa Dean, the same way that they now loved her daughter, Tenley.

“Yes, my mother was an incredible woman,” she agreed. She yawned hugely. “Oh, my God, I’ve never been so tired in my life.”

Chase pulled her up, his hands strong and warm under her elbows. “C’mon, let’s get you into bed. You’re asleep on your feet.”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. She thought of the long, chilly walk back to the tent and couldn’t suppress the shiver that ran through her. “Maybe you have a coat or sweater that I could borrow?”

“I have something even better,” he murmured, and turned her toward the rear of the small housing unit. She went, unresisting, until she realized they were in his bedroom. He bent down to pull back the blankets of the bed.

“What are you doing?” Her heart began an unsteady rhythm in her chest as she watched him peel back the sheets. “I’m not sure—”

“Shh,” he said soothingly. “Your virtue is safe with me. Lie down and get some sleep.”

He pushed her, unresisting, into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, and then crouched down to pull off her shoes. Kate studied his bent head and barely resisted the urge to run her fingers over his velvety short hair.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked. “Aren’t there some kind of rules against having members of the opposite sex in your quarters?”

Setting her shoes aside, he looked at her. In the dim light of the bedroom, his eyes seemed to glow in his face. “Yeah,” he acknowledged. “There are. But I’m not going to be here. I’m going to head over to command headquarters and catch up on some stuff.”

“When will you be back?”

He glanced at his watch. “We’ll leave for Camp Leatherneck at 0700 hours, but I’ll wake you up well before that.”

The temptation he offered was too great to resist. “Okay,” she acquiesced. “You win. But I really, really want a hot shower, so if we could work that into the morning routine, I’d appreciate it.”

He gave her a brief smile, but there was a tension in his expression that set her pulse tripping. He made a movement to stand up, and Kate impulsively caught his hand in hers. His skin was warm and dry, and she could feel the rough calluses of his palm. He glanced in surprise at their joined hands, and then looked at her face, and for an instant, Kate saw hunger in his eyes.

“Thank you,” she murmured, and she leaned forward to press a kiss against his cheek. She meant for the gesture to be quick and impersonal, but he turned his face at the last instant, and her kiss landed on his lips. For a microsecond they both froze, and then Chase made a small sound of defeat and his mouth began moving against hers.

Kate stopped breathing. The guy knew how to kiss. His lips were warm and firm and she found herself tentatively responding. His beard was rough against her sensitive skin, but she didn’t care. He didn’t touch her except for where his mouth was fused to hers. Kate pressed closer, wanting more of the sensual contact. Chase complied, leisurely slanting his mouth across hers until her lips parted, and he tasted her. The slick contact of his tongue against hers caused heat to explode beneath her skin, and she felt a rush of liquid warmth to her center.

She shifted restlessly, curling her hands around Chase’s neck to pull him closer. He made a small groaning sound, and for an instant, Kate thought he would resist. Then he pushed her back against the mattress and covered her body with his.

The sheets were cool through the thin material of her shirt, but Chase’s body was warm and Kate dragged him closer, sliding her arms over the sleek muscles of his back. He deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue and catching her small moans of pleasure. Kate speared her fingers through the velvet roughness of his short hair, reveling in the feel of it beneath her fingertips.

How long had it been since she’d felt a man’s arms around her, or luxuriated in the hardness of a masculine body pressed against her own? Too long, apparently, because she was igniting beneath his touch. She no longer felt tired; every cell in her had come alive. Desire coiled tightly in her womb and then unfurled to radiate through her limbs and finally center at her core, where she pulsed hotly. She wanted to rub herself against him and relieve the ache that was building with every sensuous sweep of his tongue against hers.

Chase dragged his mouth away and Kate had a moment of panic when she thought he was leaving. But he moved his lips to her jaw and pressed hot kisses against her skin until he reached her ear, and then lightly licked along its contours. Kate shuddered and arched her neck to give him better access. He complied, following the path of her throat until he reached the neckline of her shirt. He glanced at her face, and Kate’s breath caught at the heat she saw in his eyes.

She didn’t object when he slid a hand over one breast and cupped it in his palm. But she was unprepared when he moved his fingers to the hem of her shirt and dragged it upward, exposing her to his hot gaze.

“Christ, you’re pretty,” he rasped, and slid a callused hand over the smooth skin of her stomach, until he covered one breast.

Kate made a small mewling sound of need and arched upward, wanting more of the sensuous contact. He complied, rubbing his thumb over her nipple and watching as it contracted. Then, as if entranced, he bent his head and kissed the underside of one breast, before drawing her nipple into his mouth, sucking gently on it and laving it with his tongue. She felt an answering tug of need between her legs and instinctively spread her thighs to cradle Chase’s hips against her own.

He made an incoherent sound of approval and covered her other breast with his hand as he continued to suckle her. Kate couldn’t get enough of him. Boldly, she slid her hands down the length of his back and over the firm rise of his buttocks, pressing him to where she ached for fulfillment. Nothing mattered except the man whose delicious weight pinned her to the mattress.

“You feel so good,” she whispered against the top of his head. “I want to feel you inside me.”

He groaned loudly, and his mouth stilled. He raised his head and then, almost regretfully, pulled her shirt down, covering her breasts.

Kate frowned, grasping for his hands as she tried to stop him. “What? Why are you stopping? Please don’t stop.”

But Chase carefully disentangled himself from her limbs and sat up, scrubbing his hands over his face. His breathing sounded uneven, and Kate cautiously sat up, feeling chilled without his warmth.

“That was a mistake,” he said in a low voice, not looking at her. “I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize,” she murmured. “This was my fault, not yours.”

He angled his head to look at her, and she could see remnants of the earlier heat lingering in his eyes. “My job is to keep you safe, not to take advantage of you.”

Kate gave him a wry look. “I’m thirty-one years old, not sixteen. I know what I want.”

“Do you? Because I think if you thought this through, you’d realize the last thing you want is a short-lived fling with a guy you’ll never see again after this trip.”

The thought of never seeing Chase Rawlins again caused a tightening sensation in her chest. She knew he was right, but at that moment, the only thing she wanted was to finish what they had begun and to hell with the consequences. Her job as Tenley’s publicist kept her too busy to see anyone seriously, but Chase’s touch had reminded her just how much she missed having intimacy in her life, even superficial intimacy with a near stranger. She was pathetic.

Gathering her dignity, she laid a hand on his arm and gave him a forced smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry to put you in such an awkward position. I didn’t mean to make this any more unpleasant for you than it already is.”

“Jesus.” Chase gave a disbelieving laugh. “You think that was unpleasant for me?” His eyes grew hot. “Do you know how badly I want you?”

Abruptly he stood up, adjusting himself quickly, but not before Kate saw the evidence of his arousal. Her hand fell away from his sleeve, and she pressed her fingers against her mouth, still feeling him there. He stood looking down at her for a long moment, before he dragged a hand over his hair, frustrated.

“I’ve gotta get out of here.” His voice was no more than a husky rasp. “Get some sleep, Kate.”

She watched as he left the bedroom, and then she heard the door open and close, followed by the click of a key in the lock. It was the first time he had called her Kate, and she wished she didn’t like how it sounded coming from his lips. She lay down and dragged the blankets over her shoulder, staring into the darkness as she replayed the encounter over and over in her mind.

Turning on her side, she bunched the pillow beneath her cheek. His scent clung to the fabric and she found herself turning her face into the cloth and breathing deeply. Only then did she drift into sleep.

6

“HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE us to reach Camp Leatherneck?” Kate asked the following morning, as she rode in the passenger seat of a Humvee, watching Chase drive.

“A couple of hours,” he said shortly.

As if by tacit agreement, neither had mentioned the incident from the previous night. But Kate couldn’t help but notice that Chase seemed a little short on patience and temper, and she wondered if he regretted what had happened. She hoped he would lighten up a bit, because she wasn’t sure she could spend an entire day with him if he was going to be surly.

She studied him furtively as he drove. He wore a clean uniform and a camouflage-patterned baseball cap that was frayed along the brim. He hadn’t shaved his beard and he still looked as if he kicked ass for a living. Charity lay obediently on the back seat, and Kate had been surprised to learn the dog would travel with them to each base.

Chase had woken her up before seven o’clock by pounding with his fist on the door of his housing unit until she opened it, bleary-eyed but feeling rested. He, on the other hand, had looked tired and irritable. He’d retrieved her duffel bag and belongings from the women’s tent and had given her just ten minutes to dress and meet him outside.

Now they drove across the base, past the housing units and the dining facility. The smell of bacon wafted from the kitchens and her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn’t yet had breakfast.

“Will we have a chance to grab a bite to eat before we leave?” she asked hopefully. “I could really use a cup of coffee.”

“Later,” he said brusquely. “I have some grub in my bag and we can eat on the way to Camp Leatherneck. But our flight departs in ten minutes and if we’re not on board, it leaves without us.”

Kate was silent after that. They continued to drive past the parade field, until the only buildings in sight were enormous hangars and storage facilities. But it wasn’t until Kate caught sight of a helicopter landing pad, complete with military attack helicopters, that she began to understand just how they would travel to Camp Leatherneck.

“You’re kidding,” she breathed, and looked over at Chase for confirmation that he was, indeed, just pulling her leg. But he kept his attention fixed on the road, and the only indication that he’d heard her was a small smile that played at the edges of his mouth. “We’re flying in a helicopter?”

“Not just a helicopter. A Black Hawk.”

He drew the Humvee to a stop at the edge of the helo pad and climbed out of the vehicle, while Kate sat in the passenger seat and peered through the window at the helicopter. Were those rockets strapped to the underside of the small stub wings? Her heart began to thud hard in her chest.

Chase opened the door and waited for her to climb out before he reached in and grabbed their duffel bags and a rucksack. Charity hopped down, her tail wagging in anticipation of this new adventure.

“I brought you something,” Chase said, opening the rear of the vehicle.

“A thermos of coffee?” she asked hopefully.

To her surprise, he pulled out a combat helmet and a flak vest. “Try these on for size.”

Kate took the helmet from him and put it on, then waited while he fastened it beneath her chin. His fingers brushed the skin of her neck and she tried not to stare at his mouth. He was so close that she could see the tiny scar that bisected his upper lip. She wanted to rub her fingertip over it. When she raised her gaze to his, she found his light green eyes were fastened on her mouth. She had to resist the urge to nervously moisten her lips.

He helped her into the body armor, lifting her arms to tighten the Velcro fastenings on either side. The weight of the metal plates inside the vest were enough to make Kate’s shoulders sag.

“Is this really necessary?” she asked, noticing that he wore neither a helmet nor a vest. “We’re in a helicopter, after all.”

Even without body armor, his uniform, combined with his expression, gave him a distinctly dangerous appearance. He nodded toward her vest. “Those metal plates are the only thing standing between you and a bullet. If we come under attack en route to Camp Leatherneck, you’re going to be glad you’re wearing them.”

Kate knew her face went a little pale. “Is that a possibility?”

“That’s always a possibility, Miss Fitzgerald.”

“Where is your equipment?” He didn’t respond, and Kate suddenly knew why. “Wait. Am I wearing your helmet and flak vest?” She couldn’t keep the astonishment out of her voice. “Is that why you’re not wearing anything?”

“Don’t worry about me.” Hefting his rucksack over one shoulder, he lifted their duffel bags as if they weighed nothing, and handed her shoulder bag to her. “Are you ready?”

She wasn’t, but she nodded mutely and followed him and the dog across the tarmac to the waiting helicopter. She felt humbled by the knowledge that he’d given her his protective gear, and his speech about the possibility of coming under attack had dampened her mood.

The sliding door on the side of the aircraft was open, and he threw their gear inside before climbing in. He snapped his fingers and Charity jumped nimbly in, enthusiastically sniffing at the interior before he gave her a command to lie down. Turning, he extended a hand to Kate and helped her up and into the main cabin. There were five soldiers inside, and two more in the cockpit. Kate saw with a sense of surprise that both pilots were women, as were two of the soldiers in the main cabin. They were occupied cleaning what looked like machine guns mounted inside two windows directly behind the pilot and copilot.

The pilot turned in her seat and gave Kate an appraising look before shifting her attention to Chase and the dog. A broad smile spread across her face. She extended her hand and offered the dog a treat, before shifting her attention back to Chase. “Hey, great to see you.”

“Great to see you, too,” he replied. “What have you been up to?”

“Keeping busy, doing the Afghan shuffle,” she said with a grin. “When did you get back?”

“Yesterday.”

Kate didn’t miss how the other woman practically devoured Chase with her eyes, and she experienced an unfamiliar tightening in her chest at their obvious friendship.

“Let’s catch up when we reach Camp Leatherneck,” the pilot said, still smiling. “I have a lot to tell you.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Turning toward Kate, he indicated one of the empty canvas jump seats. “Why don’t you sit there and strap yourself in? We should be airborne in just a few minutes.”

Kate did as he asked, fumbling briefly with the harness until Chase swept her hands aside and buckled her in himself. Kate told herself that her accelerated heart rate had to do with anticipation of the flight, and not with the way his hands brushed against her breasts. He took the seat next to her, and his hip pressed against hers in the narrow confines.

Kate watched as the two female soldiers slid the cabin doors closed and then took up positions at the open windows on either side of the cabin, their hands maneuvering the mounted machine guns with ease and confidence. Kate’s stomach did an uneasy roll, and she was suddenly glad that she hadn’t eaten breakfast. Glancing at the three male soldiers who sat in the other jump seats, Kate was relieved to see that none of them looked alarmed. In fact, one of them had tipped his head back against the seat and closed his eyes, apparently happy to sleep through the flight. Even Charity had settled down, curling up near Chase’s seat with a small whine.

The pilot twisted in her seat and gave both Chase and Kate a smile. “Welcome aboard. I’m Captain Larson and your copilot today is Chief Warrant Officer Costanza. We’ll be departing shortly. Our ETA at Camp Leatherneck is approximately 0900 hours. There’s some adverse weather moving into the region, so the ride could get a little bumpy, but nothing to worry about.” Her gaze touched briefly on Kate and then lingered on Chase. “Sit back and enjoy the flight.”

The rotors whirred into life, and Kate forced herself to relax as she listened to the pilots go through their checklists for departure. Chase pulled a mobile device out of his pocket and began scrolling through his messages, as if he had no concerns at all. The action was so normal that Kate found herself relaxing in spite of herself.

“You okay?” he asked without looking at her.

“I think so. So the flight will take about two hours?”

“Give or take.”

Even as he spoke, the enormous helicopter lifted from the ground. Through the window, Kate watched Bagram Airfield slide away beneath them. She found herself studying the two pilots and wondering what kind of woman would choose a career that endangered her life on a daily basis. Did Chase and Captain Larson have a romantic relationship? There was no question that the other woman was attractive, and Kate hadn’t missed the way she looked at Chase, or how pleased he had been to see her.

“Will Tenley and her band also travel from Bagram to Camp Leatherneck in a helicopter?” she asked.

He glanced up briefly from his mobile device. “All of the singers and their band members will be transported in a Chinook. They’re heavy-lift helicopters capable of transporting up to fifty-five people, so we should be able to get all of the performers in one trip, which means we have fewer helicopters tied up.”

Kate tried to envision Tenley in a military helicopter but failed. She’d be scared to death. She couldn’t picture her gentle sister over here, roughing it. How would she react to the sight of so many uniformed soldiers?

“Here, why don’t you eat something?” Chase said, interrupting her thoughts.

Kate watched as he opened his rucksack and withdrew a large thermos and two cups. He poured them each a mug of steaming coffee and then passed the thermos to the other soldiers. Kate curled her fingers around the cup and inhaled the fragrance of the coffee.

“You had this in your backpack all this time and didn’t tell me? Even though you knew I was dying for caffeine?”

Chase laughed softly and handed her a foil-wrapped Pop-Tart. “I can’t have you thinking I’m a complete dick,” he said, slanting her an amused look. “It’s not a gourmet breakfast, but at least it’s not an MRE.” Reaching into the backpack, he withdrew a treat for Charity and let her eat it from his fingers, rubbing her head in approval when she took it gently.

Kate unwrapped the pastry and took a bite. “I haven’t had a Pop-Tart since I was a kid.”

They ate in silence, and Chase took her empty mug and wiped it clean before stowing it back in his rucksack. At that moment, the helicopter dipped sharply, and Kate would have come out of her seat if not for the harness. She gasped and reflexively clutched Chase’s forearm.

“Relax,” he soothed. “Just a little turbulence.”

But when the helicopter suddenly dropped in altitude and shuddered violently, Kate saw that even the soldiers looked troubled. Charity lifted her head and gave a small whine, but Chase spoke to her gently and she dropped her muzzle back onto her paws. Instinctively, Kate clutched at Chase’s hand, gratified when he didn’t pull away.