Degree of Risk. Lindsay McKenna

in men who respect you, Sarah.”

      Her mouth quirked, feeling the weight of his words. “You’re right, Master Chief. I need to stand up for myself more and stop rolling over.”

      Hunter nodded. “Donaldson is giving you two days off to make up for the August scheduling error. And,” he murmured, a slight smile edging his mouth, “Ethan just happens to be ordered down to Bagram to pick up some pallet supplies for us on those two days.”

      Sarah gulped. Her heart started to flutter with excitement in her chest. Two days with Ethan! She was sure that Emma and Khalid would allow them to stay at their villa. Tears came to her eyes; the master chief’s face was very readable. He had done this for them. She felt suddenly overwhelmed and wiped the tears from her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t be crying, but she was deeply moved by Hunter’s kindness.

      “Th-thank you, Master Chief. This is an incredible gift to us.” Her husky voice turned low with raw feelings. “You have no idea how much this means to us....”

      Gil smiled a little. “I think I do, Sarah. Go get your shower. Ethan is meeting you at the chow hall at 0700. He wants to share this good news with you.” Sarah stood and so did he. As he walked around his desk, she set her shower items on the chair, turned and threw her arms around his broad shoulders, giving him a quick hug. It wasn’t military protocol in the least, but she didn’t care. Hunter patted her shoulder in a fatherly fashion. “You’re welcome,” he told her gruffly, no doubt touched by her vulnerability, the tears in her eyes. “Now, take off?”

      Embarrassed, Sarah nodded. “Yes, Master Chief.”

      Gil Hunter stood in the doorway of his office after she’d left. Rubbing his bearded jaw, he smiled to himself. He could see why Ethan was so damned in love with her. Sarah was like fragile sunlight piercing a man’s heart, gently touching his soul. He was glad Ethan had found her. Sarah was blooming beneath his care and love. And wasn’t that what real love was all about? Two people bringing out the best in one another?

      * * *

      Ethan could hardly sit still as Sarah found him in the chow hall, carrying her tray and sitting down opposite him. Happiness glimmered in her blue eyes. She smiled at him and he felt his heart open.

      “That was a beautiful poem you wrote for me this morning,” she said, giving him a shy look. “Thank you.”

      The chow hall was packed, the noise high. Luckily, Ethan had found the last table next to the wall and only a few guys were sitting at the other end of it. They could talk quietly and have a real conversation without others overhearing them.

      “I wrote it for a reason,” Ethan admitted, catching her self-conscious gaze. Sarah’s hair was recently washed, the black strands still damp around her flushed features. It would dry in a hurry with the low humidity and high temperature at the FOB.

      Sarah cut into her eggs. “I know,” and she told him about the master chief calling her into his office this morning.

      Ethan grinned. “Two days, Sarah. We have two days together. I damn near fainted when Master Chief told me about it this morning.”

      She spooned the eggs into her mouth, silently absorbing the elation in Ethan’s expression. “I need to call Emma and see if they are open to us coming over.”

      “No need. I talked to Khalid already.” Ethan gave her a big grin. “He told us to come on down. He and Emma will be gone during that time, but he said we can have the run of their villa and to make ourselves at home.”

      “God,” Sarah whispered, “this is like a dream come true, Ethan.” She clung to his heated gaze, his gray eyes going stormy with need. Her body clamored to be held by him, loved by him. “When I get done with this twenty-four-hour duty, we can take off for Bagram at 0800.”

      Rubbing his hands together, he gave her a feral look. “And what do you want to do with that time?” He could hardly stand the anticipation. Sure, he wanted to make love with Sarah, but equally, he hungered for time and space with her. Ethan so badly wanted that downtime; it was a part of exploring, getting to know one another on deeper levels.

      Sarah grinned between bites. “Let’s see? Sex? Sex and more sex?”

      Ethan chuckled. “That’s a start.” Seeing the lust in her eyes was such a turn-on for him. He suspected Sarah was becoming aware that she could look at him a certain way and make him run hot. She was discovering her power as a woman and it made him ache even more for her.

      “I haven’t really given it much thought,” Sarah murmured, buttering her whole wheat toast and then slathering it with blueberry jam.

      Ethan finished up his bacon and reached for his stack of six pieces of toast. “I wish we were in San Diego,” he murmured. “I’d take you down to walk on the beach. We’d scuba dive off the kelp beds of La Jolla. I’d find us some abalone on the ocean bottom, bring them up and we’d cook them and some corn wrapped in foil on a grate at the beach. Then we’d watch the sunset, listen to the waves and just be in one another’s arms.”

      “That sounds beautiful,” she whispered. “But no ocean here, Quinn. Just desert, mountains and rock.”

      “I’m a dreamer when I’m around you,” Ethan confided, his voice gritty as he held her warm blue gaze. “You inspire me, Sarah. Maybe, in those two days I can show you just how much.” God knew, he wanted desperately to be there for Sarah, to continue to show her a man’s positive side. He wanted to give her happiness for the rest of his life. And he still couldn’t believe that she’d agreed to marry him.

      Her body reacted to his growling, intimate words. “I’m in shock we’ll be together, Ethan.” Sarah shook her head.

      “When you got off that mission, I was upset,” he admitted. He saw her lift her chin, her brows moving down. “Dammit, Sarah, I don’t want you heaving your guts out. It hurts me. It makes me feel like I can’t protect you.”

      She heard the tightness in his voice. SEALs, she had discovered, were protectors in their own right. It was part of their ethos as warriors. They protected those they loved. Fiercely. Without apology. She’d already been on the receiving end of SEAL care via Ethan, his SEAL brothers and Master Chief Hunter. “Look,” she said, resisting the urge to reach out and touch his arm, “you can’t protect me all the time, Ethan.”

      “I can damn well try,” he said, lips thinning, unhappy.

      “I’m just overly sensitive to the smell of blood, that’s all.” Sarah shrugged. “Don’t you have something you’re sensitive about?”

      “Yes, a woman or child being hurt by a man.”

      His eyes went dark, his voice uneven. Sarah knew he was referring to her past when she was young and hadn’t been safeguarded by child protective services or the social workers. “I’ll be okay out there, Ethan.” Sarah knew how much he worried about her medevac missions. “I’ve managed nine years at this and so far, so good.”

      “I just don’t have a way to protect my feelings where you’re concerned, angel.” And it was true. This was new to Ethan. How did he not worry about the woman he loved? Not imagine her being shot at and killed while sitting in that cockpit? Or her Black Hawk being blown up by a Taliban RPG? He knew all too well it could happen in a heartbeat.

      “Oh, Ethan,” Sarah murmured softly, giving him an apologetic look. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I really didn’t. It’s just that our jobs are dangerous.”

      “Are you able to protect yourself when I’m out on a patrol?” Ethan asked.

      “Hell, no. If I’m not on duty, I go over to the ready room, listening to any transmissions you give to master chief. I get scared, Ethan. So damned scared that I feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin sometimes because I know you and your team are in harm’s way.”

      “How do you deal with it? I’d sure like to know because I haven’t been able to very well with you,” Ethan