Free Private Paradise by Jami Alden

Holley Cay has its challenges, but
so far no assassination attempts.”
    He his mouth pulled into a grin. “The
surroundings are a little mellower, but I'd say this position has
turned out to be intense in its own way.” He'd been in some of the
worst hell holes on earth, but nothing had ever thrown him farther
out of whack than having to control himself around Carla every
single day.
    As though they had a will of their own, his
eyes traveled from Carla's face, down the tan column of her throat
where he could see the flutter of her pulse beating under her
skin.
    Down the smooth expanse of skin exposed by
her tank top, to where just a hint of deep cleavage peaked over the
scoop neck. As his gaze traveled lower he saw her nipples stood in
hard points against the slick fabric. Carla gave a little shiver,
though the gym was anything but cold..
    Sam took a step closer, slow and easy like
she was a wild animal that would vanish into the forest if he moved
too fast. She was smart to see him as predator, he thought
bitterly, given the way he'd taken her down before.
    “ Is that the only time you were
wounded?” she asked.
    He shook his head and moved closer, close
enough to smell the floral scent of her shampoo which made his
pulse beat in his cock. He turned so his back was to her and tugged
one leg of his gym shorts up his thigh to show her the webbing of
scars that criss-crossed the skin that stretched over the back of
his right hamstring.
    “ That was from a IED that hit our
convoy in Iraq. It was so hot the skin of my thigh melted into the
seat.”
    He looked over his shoulder to gage her
reaction and saw that she had one hand covering her mouth as her
eyes stared at the ropy flesh. “And right up here,” he said as he
tugged his shirt up his back and pointed to his left shoulder
blade. “See that?”
    “ You mean that thing that looks like a
dent?” She stepped closer, apparently too mesmerized to worry about
keeping her distance.
    “ That's from when a Taliban soldier
took a chunk out of me with a knife.”
    “ Oh, my God,” she whispered and reached
to brush her fingers over the divot carved out of his
skin.
    He barely repressed a groan at the soft brush
of her fingers. “Trust me,” he said, tugging his shirt back down
before he completely lost it, “he got the worse end of the
deal.”
    He turned and found Carla staring at him like
she didn't quite know who he was.
    “ What?” he asked.
    She shook her head, her eyes roaming over his
face and body like she was trying to absorb every new detail. “It's
just so hard for me to imagine, what it must have been like, what
you went through. Those burns, the scars, it must have been so
painful―”
    “ I got off easy,” he cut her off. “By
the time I ripped my leg off the seat and pulled my buddy from the
humvee, he had third degree burns over ninety percent of his body.
The driver's leg was blown off and he bled out on the ground. A
little pain and a couple of scars are pretty puny in
comparison.”
    She cocked her head to one side, her full
lips quirked in a thoughtful half smile. “This from the guy who
used to try to get out of the afternoon shift at the marina every
chance he got.”
    He felt the little kick of shame at the
reminder, part of him wondering how she'd ever fallen for him in
the first place, given what a little asshole he'd been. “People
change, grow up. It took me a while but I realized I couldn't go
through life acting like an immature little fuck, charming my way
through life, too scared to let anyone get close.”
    He saw her throat bob as she swallowed hard.
“Do you expect me to believe you've changed so completely?”
    “ I've just grown up enough to man up
and take responsibility for my life and my mistakes, and not to be
afraid to go after what I want.” He closed the distance between
them, until his shirt front brushed hers. She had to tip her head
back to keep eye contact. Her eyes were dark and liquid, her lips
softly