But the tears fell as she cuddled the pup, staring into the brilliance of the late summer sky.
“I didn’t tell him I love him,” she finally admitted, the pain exploding in her chest as she realized Reno was right. There was no hiding from it. No hiding from him. She loved him, and she hadn’t even told him.
“It’s an easy in and out.” Reno faced his men in the small conference room, standing in front of the large monitor that displayed the target they were being sent in to hit. “We have two hostages to rescue and a laptop used by the cell commander. Laptop is priority. We’ll go in quiet, set the explosives, grab the laptop and the hostages and run. Pickup will be waiting on us here.” He pressed the button that switched the picture to an area nearly ten miles from target. “Two Black Hawks will be waiting to fly us out to a waiting ship.”
He lifted the stack of files on the desk beside him.
“Read this carefully. We have intel reports on entrances, exits, weak spots and so forth. We’ll meet with the assist team when we reach the ship and finalize plans there.”
“The cell commander is wanted for war crimes, Major,” Ace spoke up, his deep voice echoing in the small room. “Are we just after the laptop or his head as well?”
“The assist team will be in charge of that,” Reno informed him. “We’ll be going after the hostages. But you don’t take chances. The opportunity is there to take that laptop, you get it. We stick with our target op and adjust as we have to.”
“And pop the bastard if we get him in our sights,” Joker, the explosives expert of the team spoke up. He wasn’t joking. This particular terrorist commander was brutal, without mercy. He wouldn’t be shown any.
As Reno opened his mouth to dismiss the men, a sharp knock had his head lifting as the door opened.
“Major Chavez, we have a situation that demands your presence,” an MP snickered from the doorway. “General says now.”
Frowning, Reno nodded to Ace as he handed the files to him to distribute to the other three men and made his way to the door.
“Situation?" he asked warily.
“Situation, sir, of a very delicate sort.” The MP nodded, amusement dancing in his eyes. “This way, sir.”
As they neared the general’s office, a frown worked between Reno’s brows at the sound of an irate female voice.
“General, I don’t care how busy he is. You were my father’s best friend and I’m not above pulling strings. If I don’t see him before he leaves in the morning, I promise you, I’ll be making a visit to your wife, your daughter and your son. They like me.” The voice was husky, and filled with feminine fury.
He heard the general’s voice, low, soothing.
“I’m not in the army, general,” she said. “I don’t need rules quoted to me. I need strings pulled. I want to see him. Now.”
A grin tugged at his mouth as the MP chuckled.
“She’s been ripping on the general for an hour,” he whispered as they neared the door. “Want to bet he chews on you next?”
Reno grimaced but something in his heart was loosening. He wouldn’t bet against the MP, but he would bet it just might be worth it.
He knocked on the door lightly.
“Enter.” The general’s voice was frustrated and clipped.
Reno stepped in, saluting smartly, then turned to stare at Raven.
She was cuddling the puppy he'd bought her like a baby. Her face was wet with tears, her deep, deep blue eyes filled with misery.
“Raven?" He stepped toward her, pulling her and the puppy into his arms as he stared back at the general. “What’s happened?”
“Major, I’ll leave you to talk to Miss McIntyre.” The general sounded stern, but Reno caught the soft look he cast at Raven. “We’ll talk later.”
“Yes, sir.” Reno nodded as the general left the room and he turned his attention to the pup wiggling between them.
“Raven? Baby? The puppy is going to be smashed,” he whispered as he gripped her arms, pushing her back enough to release the wiggling little mass. “What’s wrong? Is Clint okay?”
The tears rolled silently down her cheeks. There were no sobs, just a hitch in her breath as she stared up at him.
“I forgot,” she hiccupped then. “You left, and I forgot to tell you….”
She shuddered as her voice broke.
Reno moved to the couch, pulling her to his lap as she cuddled against his chest.
“I love you,” she cried desperately. “God help me, Reno. I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose can stand anything but you leaving, maybe being…hurt…,” her breath caught, “and not knowing I love you.”
Reno closed his eyes, his arms tightening around her, his heart exploding with joy. She knew she loved him. That was all that mattered.
“It’s okay, baby,” he groaned, kissing her forehead gently as her head tilted back, the wealth of long silken curls flowing over his arm. Her hand lifted to his face, her lips trembling as he wiped the tears from one silken cheek.
“You knew all along, didn’t you?" she whispered then. “That I loved you.”
“All along,” he agreed with a smile.
His lips lowered to hers, moving over the soft curves, nibbling at the damp softness as the feel and smell of her sent his senses rioting.
“Hell, if I fucked you in the general’s office, he would court-martial me for sure,” he sighed, smiling down at the seductive softness in her expression.
“Yeah. He probably would.” Her smile trembled, but it was still there.
“Wait for me, Raven,” he growled, his voice husky, deep, knowing every day away from her would be hell. “I’ll be home. Wait for me.”
“Always, Reno.” She kissed him. Her head raised, her lips moving against his with incredible passion and loving heat. “Always.”
Chapter Nine
THREE MONTHS LATER
“You are in so much trouble.”
Reno tossed his duffel bag to the corner of the bedroom as he stalked inside the room, his brows lowered into a dark frown as Raven reclined back on the bed, her knee bent, her naked breasts thrusting forward in invitation as his hot gaze raked over them.
Damn he looked good. The camouflage pants made his legs look sexy as hell, planted apart as they were, the bulge between his thighs filling out the front of the material.