8

      ON A PRETEXT OF having business to attend to, Chase left Kate at the USO for the afternoon. He needed some time to get his head together and put things in perspective. Colonel Decker had made it clear that his only mission for the next week was to take care of Kate and her sister, but he also needed to touch base with the rest of his team. Even if the stand-down order was lifted in the next day or so, he was committed to remaining with Kate until the tour had ended.

      Kate seemed happy at the prospect of spending time at the USO. She would have internet and phone access, and had insisted she needed to reach both Tenley and Russell. He’d desperately wanted to know if Russell was a boyfriend, but pride prevented him from asking. They had agreed that he would return to collect her after dinner. The dining facility was located directly next door to the USO, so she didn’t need an escort. He felt a little disgruntled by the fact that she seemed happy at the prospect of eating a meal alone. She hadn’t talked about staying in the large tent by herself, but the more Chase thought about it, the less he liked the idea, especially with a storm moving into the region. He’d already made up his mind to hunker down outside the entrance for the night, just in case she needed him. He’d slept in worse places, in worse conditions, so the idea didn’t faze him.

      By the time Chase jogged over to the USO to get Kate, the temperatures had dropped significantly, and the wind had kicked up a notch. Dust whipped across the ground in swirling clouds, and he could hear the patter of tiny stones as they clattered against the metal buildings. In the distance, flashes of lightning briefly illuminated the mountain peaks.

      The storm was rolling in quickly, and it promised to be a good one. Kate was waiting for him by the entrance, her enormous shoulder bag over one arm. Even in the dim light he could see the apprehension on her face as she looked toward the northwest.

      “C’mon,” he said briskly, “let’s get you back to your tent before the rain starts.” He indicated the road, which was packed dirt and rocks. “You don’t want to be out here once the ground gets wet.”

      “Is there any chance I can take a shower before I turn in?” she asked hopefully.

      Chance had already planned on hitting the showers after he dropped her off at her tent, so it would be no big deal to walk her over to the bathrooms. “Absolutely,” he assured her. “I’ll leave you at your tent while I go and grab my own gear, and then come back for you.”

      The wind kept her from responding, so she just nodded and then put her head down. She kept pace with him as they walked quickly across the base. On the left, he pointed out the nearest bunker, illuminated by an orange safety light. The exterior of the concrete bunker was packed high with sandbags.

      “There’s another shelter just beyond the bathrooms,” he said, drawing her close and raising his voice to be heard over the wind. “If the sirens go off while you’re in the shower, use that bunker instead.”

      He left her at her own tent and then quickly jogged to the Marine battalion quarters, and stuffed a clean uniform and his shower gear into his backpack. Other soldiers were running to reach their destinations before the storm hit, and Chase looked to the sky, trying to estimate how much time they might have before the heavens opened up. They didn’t often get storm fronts of this magnitude in southern Afghanistan, and when they did, they usually took the form of sandstorms. But he already knew that this particular storm was packing a lot of moisture, and the troops were battening down the hatches in preparation for a significant amount of rain. He knew that Kate would be okay; her tent had been erected on top of a wooden platform, so she would be safe from flooding. But the tents were prone to seepage, and there was a good chance that she would have several leaks during the course of the night.

      It was almost completely dark by the time he returned to Kate’s tent and found her waiting for him just inside the entrance. They jogged the short distance to the bathroom, not wanting to get caught in the threatening downpour.

      Chase stepped into the entry with Kate. “I’ll be right next door,” he assured her. “Wait for me here. I’ll give you a shout when I’m ready to walk you back to the tent, got it?”

      Kate nodded. “I’ll be quick.”

      “Okay, fine. I’ll be back in ten minutes to get you.”

      Ducking into the men’s showers, on the opposite side of the same building, Chase quickly stripped down and stepped under the steaming water, grateful to scrub away the dust and grit from the base. Since it was still the dinner hour, he had the entire facility to himself. He could easily have stayed under the hot water for hours, but sensitive to the fact that Kate would be waiting for him, he rinsed the soap from his skin and turned off the tap. Then, wrapping a towel around his hips, he stood over a sink and used a razor to scrape the beard growth from his jaw and neck. Scrutinizing his reflection, he decided he still looked rough around the edges, but at least he no longer resembled a mercenary.

      He was wiping the last traces of shaving cream from his jaw when the lights in the bathroom flickered. Outside, he could hear the wind whistling across the base. The doors rattled on their hinges. Chase turned swiftly toward the stall where he had left his gear and a clean change of clothing, but he was too late. The lights flickered once more, ominously, before they went out, plunging the bathroom into utter darkness.

      Abandoning his clothing, Chase made a beeline for the door, bolting through it and into the windy darkness outside. He knew it would only be a minute or two before the lights came back on or the backup generators kicked in, but he didn’t want Kate to panic.

      He burst through the doors of the women’s bathrooms, calling her name. “Kate? Are you okay? It’s me, Chase.”

      He heard her footsteps stumble toward him, and then she was in his arms, her hands groping blindly at him.

      “Chase?” He could hear the surprise in her voice. “What are you doing in here? Isn’t there some rule against—Are you naked?”

      Her fingers encountered his bare torso, and before he could stop them, they skittered over his shoulders and arms, drawing heat to the surface of his skin wherever they touched. Grasping her wrists, he dragged her hands away.

      “No,” he snapped in irritation at himself and his body’s reaction to her. “I am not naked. I was just getting dressed when the power went out. I didn’t want you to be frightened, so I ran over. The backup generators should—” There was an audible click, then a buzz of electricity, and the emergency lights over the doors snapped on, illuminating the bathroom in an eerie red glow. “Kick in any second,” Chase finished, his voice trailing off as he got a good look at Kate.

      As lights went, they weren’t much, but they were more than sufficient for him to see that she wore nothing but a pair of underpants and a bra, and his mouth went dry at the sight. He’d been right about one thing—she had curves in all the right places. Her hips flared out from a narrow waist, and her legs were slim and supple.

      “Oh, my God,” she breathed, her eyes widening as they traveled over him. For just an instant, Chase saw female appreciation and raw hunger in her expression, and in the next instant she spun away to snatch a towel from the nearby sink and hold it against her. “I’m fine, really,” she said over her shoulder. “You can go now and—and put some clothes on.”

      Chase stood there for a moment, dumbstruck. Despite the fact that he’d already seen her partially nude and knew she had a gorgeous shape, he was blown away by the entire package. Even her back was lovely, and he took a second to admire the elegant line of her spine and the deep curves of her waist. Her rear was luscious and rounded, and he had an instant image of himself cupping her cheeks in his hands and driving himself into her warmth as she straddled his hips. Then he gave himself a mental shake. He was losing it, big-time.

      “I’ll see you in a few minutes,” he muttered, and returned to the