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  Rachel didn’t say anything else, but she put her mouth to damn good use. Her full lips were warm and welcoming as they slid over my rock-hard rod, sheathing me in silky moisture. My hands tangled farther into the long strands (the pigtails were long abandoned) and held on to her head. I didn’t need to guide her, though, because she was like a freaking blowjob expert. Her lips provided the perfect amount of pressure, and she slid up and down with the perfect amount of speed. Occasionally, she would speed up or slow down and the anticipation of what she would do next was practically killing me.

  Rachel made a sound and deep-throated me. The vibration of the back of her throat tickled the tip of my cock, and I jerked, practically ready to explode into her mouth.

  But I held it back. I wasn’t ready for this pleasure to end. I wanted more.

  Her hands moved away and slid down my thighs, raking over the fabric and then back up again. The way her fingers dug into the muscles on the sides of my hips and then took me fully into her mouth made me moan and my head thrash back and forth against the wall.

  My knees began to shake and I leaned a little heavier against the wall. “Rachel,” I moaned as she continued to move.

  One of her hands finally came back, wrapping around the base of my cock and holding it out firmly. Her pace quickened, taking me deep, so fucking deep, and then drawing back only to do it all over again.

  My hands left her hair and I twisted my arms, flattening my palms against the wall behind me. In a moment of unabashed desire, I thrust out, gliding into her mouth with force. Rachel accepted me greedily and gripped my hips, letting me pound into her, setting my own pace.

  The way my cock was jerking and throbbing, I knew an explosive orgasm was on its way. My breaths came out in short gasps as I panted, occasionally groaning her name.

  My entire body went rigid, stiffening like I was made of concrete as my hot seed spurted into her mouth. All I could hear was the blood pounding in my veins. All I could feel was the way she was milking every last drop from inside me and drinking it down like it was the best fucking thing she’d ever tasted.

  Even after my body sagged limp against the wall, she continued to suck, gentling her strokes and drawing out several aftershocks from my body to completely drain me.

  When she was done, she gave one last strong suck and then pulled back, flicking her tongue over the end of my cock, and smiled.

  There wasn’t a word I could have spoken. A sound I could have made. I was totally and utterly high from the ride she just took me on.

  I was pretty sure she drained me, like literally sucked every last drop of jizz out of me.

  Rachel stood slowly, a small smile playing over her features. “I think I got you,” she murmured.

  I tilted my head to the side, a question in my eyes (I still couldn’t find any words).

  “I finally made you feel the way you make me feel every time you slide into my body.”

  My arm thrust out and I grabbed her gently, tugging her against my chest. She sighed when her cheek pressed against my skin. “I feel it every time too,” I said, my voice sounding like gravel.

  She laughed low. “This last time a little more.”

  I grunted. I couldn’t argue. It was the best fucking blowjob of my life. It didn’t even matter I couldn’t remember the other ones. I didn’t have to.

  Abruptly, I reached down and picked her up, sweeping her up against me. I bent over, dangling her over the floor, and she shrieked.

  “Vance!”

  “Grab your water,” I told her, marveling at how slight her weight seemed.

  She snatched the forgotten bottle off the floor, and I scooped her back up, carrying her the short distance back to the blankets. I laid her down and kicked off my pants, taking up the rest of the space beside her.

  Rachel propped herself up and drank some water, then recapped it and tossed it aside. I pulled her against me, pressing her cheek into my chest and wrapping my arms around her.

  I didn’t really feel like the kind of guy to “cuddle,” but with Rachel, that didn’t matter. I could be whoever I wanted to be.

  And right now, I wanted to hold her.

  “This is the best night of my life,” I told her.

  Rachel laughed, her chest vibrating against me. “It’s the only night you can remember.” She pointed out.

  Well, there was that.

  But still, I was willing to bet I was right.

  She yawned, and I reached down to pull the blanket more tightly around her. “Get some sleep, sweetheart,” I murmured, brushing a kiss against her forehead.

  She kissed the center of my chest before completely relaxing against me and falling asleep.

  * * *

  That night I dreamed.

  I dreamed of dark skies and pain. The kind of pain that twisted you up on the inside until you felt surely you would die. I dreamt of the woods, of moss-covered logs and the smell of wet leaves that lay beneath bare trees that grew so closely together they were entwined.

  At one point, there were animals, great creatures with strength and agility, cunning and vigor. I never saw them, though; it was like I was there with them—a part of them. I knew of them, I sensed them, but I never actually got to see them. For some reason, that left me with a great sense of loss.

  Faces, many faces, swam before my eyes, of men that I recognized but failed to know.

  Ace. Ace. Where are you? they called to me, begged me to tell them where I was. I couldn’t answer, but I wanted to.

  Then the dreams changed. I was back staring into the eyes of the blond woman. A woman whose name was just out of reach. She beckoned me with her “come hither” stare and set my pulse to racing. When I reached out and took her hand, the scene changed again. I was still with the woman, but we were outside, near the woods that called to me before. But this time she was looking at me with loathing and fear. Tears streaked her cheeks, as did the mascara that once lined her eyes. I held out my hand to her, but she shunned it, pushed me away.

  I could never love you. You’re not even human.

  I tried to make her understand. To show her I really was just like her. But this time when I reached out, my hands no longer looked like hands. They looked like crippled claws, covered in rough brown hair with sharp, yellowed nails.

  The woman screamed. A scream that snapped my eyes open.

  I lay there sweating, the heat sticking to my skin and making it hard to breathe. I glanced beside me where Rachel was sleeping, worried I woke her. She was still sleeping peacefully, and for a long moment I watched her, letting her innocence wash away the worst of the dream. But then I started to feel restless and I wanted to move, to be free of the tiny confinement of the tent.

  When I could take it no more, I got up and quietly let myself out of the structure and into the night. The air wasn’t cool and there were no sounds of crickets or frogs to soothe me. I paused. Frogs? Where had that come from? Maybe I lived in the South…

  Why couldn’t I remember? I wanted to. God, I wanted to. I couldn’t pretend I was on vacation anymore. I couldn’t allow the fact I didn’t remember anything to not be a big deal. That dream had been my wake-up call. Literally and figuratively. I replayed the scenes over and over until my hands curled into fists at my sides. I stared up at the sky, endlessly dark but dotted with a million stars. It was ironic, really, that the best view of the sky was in a war-torn country. But that’s why it was the best. There were no buildings or lights to obstruct the view. The moon was heavy and low in the sky. It stirred something within me, something deep and powerful.

  A person approached me from behind. She thought she was being quiet, but I could hear her. I could smell her too. She had the kind of scent that found its way into a man’s nose and never left.

  Her thin arms wrapped around me from behind, looping around my waist as she pressed her cheek against my back. I sighed. This was all a man needed right here.

  The stars, the quiet, and his girl.

  I reminded m
yself for the like the fiftieth time that she wasn’t mine.

  “Are you okay?” she asked softly.

  “Yeah. I just needed some air.”

  “Mind if I get some air with you?” Rachel asked, holding me a little tighter.

  “I’d like that.” I tugged her gently around and pulled her back against my chest, wrapping my arms around her. Her head fell against my bare chest, her silky long strands of hair brushing against me. I enjoyed the feeling, this moment with her. I let it fill up all the empty space inside me.

  I didn’t know her, but there was something between us. Something I couldn’t explain. Something I think she must have felt too. But it was something I had no right to act upon because I had no clue who I was. I could be someone completely unworthy of her.

  I could never love you. You’re not even human.

  The words drifted through my head, proving my thoughts were not far from the truth.

  “Vance?” Rachel said, her green eyes lifting to my face.

  Leaving one arm around her waist, I reached up to cup her cheek. The urge to kiss her, to claim her mouth in a way I still hadn’t, swept over me. Her lower lip trembled, and I knew she wanted it too.

  I lowered my head, mere inches from brushing across her waiting mouth.

  That’s when I heard the sound.

  The sound of us being surrounded.

  Out here in the open with no cover.

  I continued to move closer, continuing to act as if I were going to kiss her. Just as my lips brushed hers, I spoke. “We are being surrounded. Do as I say.”

  The air around us shifted. The pull between us faded and her breathing became shallow. I could hear the blood hammering through her veins as her heart pumped faster.

  I didn’t give her a chance to respond, but I did feel a pang of regret I didn’t get to kiss her. I pushed her to the ground, using my body to cover hers, and in clipped tones instructed her to wrap her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. Rachel did it without question. With her body hooked onto mine, I high-crawled across the ground, taking care not to drag her. I moved quickly, so quickly it was shocking, but I didn’t stop to think about it. I was acting on instinct.

  I went for the tent, hoping it hadn’t been invaded. I was almost certain it hadn’t because I would have heard. I opened the door, still practically lying on the ground, and went in. My whole body was tense, expecting an attack.

  The tent was empty.

  “We’re clear for a minute,” I said, setting Rachel against the wall nearby. “Do you have any weapons?” I whispered.

  “Underneath my cot,” she said.

  Keeping low, I went to her cot and snaked my hand beneath, feeling around until it closed over the cold metal of a semi-automatic. I knew what it was before I even laid eyes on it. The weight and feel of it were something I recognized instantly.

  I moved stealthily back to where Rachel was sitting. “Who’s out there?”

  “I don’t know. But they can’t be friendly or they would have just approached instead of sneaking around.”

  Her eyes were like white saucers in the dark. Fear rolled off her in waves and it only served to make me more determined to protect her.

  I took a moment to lay my hand on hers. “It’s going to be fine.”

  She nodded, but the doubt in her eyes was unmistakable.

  Someone was just outside the door, and I stood, putting my back against the wall and waiting on the other side. They wouldn’t make it two feet inside…

  The door creaked open. I could hardly believe they were being so obvious. What kind of attacker just walked right in someone’s door?

  He put a boot inside, and I hit him on the head with the gun. He stumbled forward but surprisingly didn’t pass out. I caught him around the torso and took him down, straddling his waist and cold-cocking his jaw. He tried to say something, but I hit him again. His eyes rolled back in his head.

  There was something about his face…

  Someone rushed me from behind, and Rachel screamed. I twisted and fired the gun, catching the man in the upper thigh. He let out a loud curse and fell forward. I caught him and tossed him backward out the door. He landed hard.

  But he didn’t stay down. The man sat up and held up his hands like he was surrendering. He wasn’t holding a weapon, but I knew a man’s hands were weapon enough. I aimed the gun right at him, prepared to take him out.

  Clearly, I was the kind of guy who shot first and asked questions later.

  Before I could shoot, two other men came at me from behind. They must have cut through the wall of the tent. I spun, glancing at Rachel to make sure she was okay before throwing myself at the intruders. I landed several solid hits and kicks, but the men kept coming back, getting in jabs of their own. They moved fast, just as fast as I discovered I could.

  Every hit that connected with me made Rachel scream and whimper. It tightened my gut because she was so scared, knowing I was the only thing standing between her and a group of violent men.

  One of them broke away from our combat and lunged at Rachel.

  I don’t know what happened next, but I lost it.

  I mean, I did something I never dreamed possible.

  A guttural growl ripped from my throat as my limbs began to shake uncontrollably and every nerve in my body felt like it was on fire. My arms and legs felt as if they were being stretched from their sockets while my ribs and chest seemed to hunch in and fold forward. It was a quick process, one that didn’t really hurt, but it was strange and somehow familiar, as if my body knew what it was doing. When I raised myself back up to my full height, I was no longer a man.

  I had turned into something else.

  I looked down at my hair-covered body and my feet with only three long toes… What the hell was I?

  I didn’t have time to freak out. To stand there and stare at my changed form. Rachel cried out, and I lunged at the closest man.

  “Ace! Ace!” the man yelled. He didn’t fight me, not even when I threw him into the wall. Not even when my throw was strong enough that he went right through it and landed outside.

  I let out a growl.

  It felt good.

  I looked down at Rachel; the green of her eyes was more intense. She looked up at me and cowered. In her eyes was wild fear.

  I had seen that look before.

  On the blonde.

  This was why she said I wasn’t human. She was right.

  I turned my back on Rachel. I didn’t want to see the look in her eye. There was another man standing behind me, both hands held out before him in surrender.

  “Ace, man. It’s me.”

  He was big and had blond hair that was cropped really close to his head. He was wearing a uniform like I had been, except he had on a blouse. The name strip read: “Pyeatt.” I knew that name.

  Another man approached the tent, and I stiffened. Pyeatt didn’t avert his eyes from me, but he spoke to the man. “I think he’s confused. Something must have happened to him. He doesn’t know me. He shifted right here.”

  The footsteps quickened. The second man had dark-brown hair, cropped just like his friend Pyeatt. Recognition slammed through me.

  Brick.

  “Ace,” Brick said. “We came to find you. We’ve been searching for two days.”

  Though I didn’t remember exactly how I was connected to Brick, to all of these men, I knew I was. Somehow I got separated from them and they had come to find me.

  No man left behind.

  The realization I had just been fighting with people who were not my enemies took all the steam out of me and I suddenly felt exhausted. My body seemed to shrink and tighten, almost as if it were sucking in all the strength and power I was exhibiting on the outside. I closed my eyes, feeling the changes happening to my body and willing them to happen faster. When I opened them again, I was back in the body I recognized. Only this time I knew why I sometimes felt caged and restless. I knew why I seemed to move so fast and had exceptional hea
ring. I knew why I felt different.

  I was different.

  “Brick,” I said, trying out the name, trying to make the connection.

  “Ace.”

  “Why do you keep calling me that?”

  Brick glanced at the guy beside him, Pyeatt. Then he looked back at me, worry in his eyes. “Because that’s your name. It’s what we call you.”

  I shook my head. “My name is Vance.”

  Brick nodded. “Yeah, but all of us have nicknames we call each other.”

  I nodded.

  “Snake! Throw me the bag!” Brick yelled outside.

  A large canvas duffle bag came flying through the door. Brick caught it with ease and held it out. “We brought you some clothes.”

  “Are they mine?”

  “Yeah, dude. They’re yours.”

  In my situation, most people wouldn’t care whose clothes they were given, but I cared. I wanted something that was mine. Something I knew belonged to me.

  “We’ll wait outside,” Brick said. After he said the words, he hesitated, like he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave me alone.

  I nodded. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  When he turned to leave, I spoke again.

  “You guys brought a ride, right? We can leave?”

  “Soon as you get dressed we’re going home.” Brick promised.

  I paused. I didn’t know where that was. “Brick,” I said in a low voice. “Where is home?”

  He walked back into the room, coming close, not even seeming the least bit worried about being so close to someone like me. “What happened, Ace? We were all jumping out of the V22, you were right behind us… and then you were gone.”

  The shadows in his eyes at my disappearance made me feel better. It made me feel like I found where I belonged. The thought made me glance behind me, at Rachel. My chest tightened and I looked away quickly.

  “I can’t remember. I got hit by some debris when the plane exploded, and then I woke up here.”

  Brick nodded, grim, his eyes sliding to Rachel.

  I stiffened. I didn’t want him looking at her. I angled my body, trying to conceal her from his line of sight as I stole another, more thorough glance her way. She was pressed against the wall, watching us with wide eyes. Her entire body was trembling and she did her best to muffle her terrified sobs.