I lie in my bed tossing and turning. I hated not being with my team. This gaping wound was just a fucking scratch and now Iâm getting benched for a while. Still, the doctor believes I wouldnât be able to keep up with the antibiotics if I went back out there. He says itâs to prevent infection and I hate to admit it but he was right. I probably wouldnât take my medication or be on top of cleansing the deep gash on my back. On top of it, the TBI was the cherry on top of my injuries. I hated these protocols. Iâm healed already and I canât go against the rules or it would be the end of my career.
Itâs two in the morning and all I can think about is my team, our next mission, and .
This is a first for me. A fucking girl added to my list of worries. Iâve been a selfish asshole all my life. An unfamiliar feeling slithers through my chest and I hate it. I resent for it. When Paul made us all promise him to watch over his mother and sister if he died, I feel the guilt wash over me like a big ocean wave crashing into my soul.
I hadnât kept my promise and I was always a man of my word. The other guys kept tabs on them but I hadnât. I stayed away, Iâve never wanted to worry about anyone but myself. Running into her at the bar, taking her to my house, all I wanted to do was fill her up with my cock. As I got to know her, I knew she wasnât going to be easy to forget. Sheâs not going to be like these other girls I fuck and move on, with nothing attached. But then finding out sheâs Paulâs sister, everything changed.
I knew the minute I met her, a pure innocence was attached to her and I couldnât help but feel like I have to taste it. Everything about her intrigues me. The way she smiles, the way she laughs, the way she smells, itâs like a sweet perfume.
.
Paul and Ari look nothing alike. Paul was tall. Almost as tall as me. He had brown hair and was fair-skinned, his nose had a strong bridge. Ari is olive-skinned. She has long black hair with honey-brown eyes that almost look hazel. Sheâs short and has beautiful full cheeks I want to bite. Full soft lips that Iâve pictured grabbing with my teeth. Heat and blood rush to my core at the thought of me, I donât know how it happened but I felt like I had to immediately take care of her, watch over her. I never knew how to express my feelings and Iâm not about to start now. I had been so cold to her at the hospital but I couldnât help it. I donât want her to be here. I donât want her to see what happens when thereâs a war going on. I donât want her so close to me when Iâm working. My selfishness pushes through and now I have to worry about her.
I was in complete shock to see her that night in the emergency room. I knew she was a nurse but not in a million years would I have imagined that we would reunite on a fucking deployment. In Iraq. In a Warzone.
I run my hand through my beard sitting on the edge of the side of my bed. Rereading the harsh text messages from Kane, one of the men on my team. He was also close friends with Paul. He was filling me in on everything that was going on at the moment and I felt anxious to just try and escape this place. Against the doctorâs orders. But that would land me in a massive amount of trouble and I didnât want to risk losing my job.
Iâm in my boxers, sweat on my forehead and chest. Fuck, itâs so hot in this place. Itâs two in the morning and I want to find Ari.
Maybe I can keep convincing her to leave this place. Leave this Warzone and go back home, far away from this type of evil. I was going to be here for a while on post and I feel like I need to see her again before I leave back to my team. Who knows when I would return back to post? My work schedule is always all over the place. I need to fight against this overwhelming attraction toward her. To fight against this drowning need to be watching over her.
I need to protect her though, weâre on a battlefield and she needs to open her naive little eyes and go back home. I donât want her to see what Iâve seen. I want to shield her from it.
I made a promise to Paul. Maybe it didnât matter to me back then but it wouldnât hurt to start now and keep my promise. Unfortunately, I know somewhere behind the rational parts of my head, itâs not just the promise that sucks me in. Itâs the sinister side of me that wants to indulge in my dark desires and