Free Las Vegas Sidewinders: Drake (Book 2) by Kat Mizera Page B

finger along his
square jaw and full lips. “Do you have your own teeth?” she asked with a sudden
grin. “Or dentures?!”
    “I’ve been lucky so
far,” he chuckled. “Still have my teeth. But that could change any day.”
    “You’d still be hot,”
she said, running her hands down his chest. “With abs like these, who needs
teeth?”
    “That’s nice to hear.”
He leaned over and kissed her ear before slowly kissing a trail down her neck.
    “Mm. Could you do this
all day?”
    “Sure.” He untucked her
T-shirt from her jeans and let one hand wander underneath, touching her soft,
flat stomach. “You have some pretty good abs yourself.”
    “There have been a lot
of nights in the last year that I literally worked out until I passed out. It
was the only way I could sleep, but the scars on my leg affect the muscles too,
so I’m not in as good of shape as I should be with all that exercise.”
    “Do you still have
nightmares?”
    “Sometimes,” she
admitted. “That’s why Kate doesn’t go back to New York. When I get them,
they’re bad.”
    “What will you do this
coming week when she’s gone?”
    “I’ve got night duty
this week, so I should be okay. I’ve never had one during the day. I’ll go back
to regular duty the following week, and Kate will be back.”
    “Does her presence keep
them from happening or she’s just there to calm you down when they do?”
    “A little of both. I’m
having fewer of them, and when they do hit, she’s a light sleeper so she hears
me right away and wakes me up. Then we sit up half the night—I can’t ever go
back to sleep afterwards.”
    “Must be awful. What do
you dream about?”
    She wrinkled her nose.
“The explosion. Over and over. Sometimes it will explode three or four times in
one dream… I’ll see body parts, blood…lots and lots of blood.”
    “Do you see Shay?”
    “No. There are never
any people, just the damn explosions and blood.”
    “Have you been to
therapy?”
    “Yeah, I’m in a support
group for people who have been in attacks like that. I’m luckier than most,
though. I just have the nightmares—it’s down to maybe 3-4 a month—and I get
edgy if I’m alone too long. But I can still drive, work, function for
the most part. Some of those poor guys are just…” her voice trailed off. “Well,
many will never be the same.”
    “I’m really sorry
you’ve had to live this.”
    “I’m still proud to
serve my country,” she shrugged. “I would have preferred it not go this
direction, but I’m okay. Especially now.” She touched his cheek.
    “Are you ever going to
feel comfortable in shorts and a T-shirt?” he asked after a moment.
    “I’m not very self-conscious
about my arm,” she admitted. “So I won’t wear long sleeves in July to cover it
or anything like that. I rarely wear shorts, though. Even in summer I’ll wear
capris or a knee-length skirt or dress.”
    “It’s really hot in
Vegas,” he murmured. “You might not want to wear any clothes.”
    She glanced at him out
of the corner of her eye. “It’s freezing here in Chicago, and right now I don’t
want to wear any clothes either.”
    “No?” He wiggled his
eyebrows. “That’s the best thing I’ve heard in weeks!”
    In one motion, he stood
up with her in his arms and walked over to the bed. He gently laid her on it
before going back to pull the curtains. Though he had no problem making love
with the sun shining in on them, he had a feeling she wasn’t there yet, despite
her braveness the last time they’d been together.
    “So, wanna play with my
remote?” he asked, lying next to her.
    She opened her mouth to
respond when he presented her with the television remote. A giggle burst out of
her as she grabbed it from him. “No!” she laughed. “I want you to kiss me.”
    He pretended to sigh.
“Again? Kiss kiss kiss… Geez, women are all the same.”
    “What would you like to do?” she whispered, moving closer to him, her face turned up