Not Another Soldier Read Online Free PDF

her. There’s a vibrancy to her that I haven’t seen in a
while, in spite of her obvious anxiety. “You look happy.”
    She smiles back. “I’m getting there. I’m feeling
pretty good. Getting my independence back, you know?”
    “Good.” I pause and skim my gaze over her. I’m glad
she’s finding herself again but I don’t want her too independent. Yeah, that
sounds like some macho bullshit, I know, but I wish she needed me just a
little. I sense she thinks of herself as all needy but the truth is she’s
stronger than she realizes. All army wives are. She fidgets, color in her
cheeks, and I stop staring. “You gonna show me the rest of the place then?”
    “Uh, yeah, sure.” She jumps into action.
    The place is laid out pretty simply. The door opens
into the living room then a sliding door separates the kitchen and dining space
from it. She leads me into the kitchen and shows off the large silver fridge.
    I whistle. “Nice.”
    “I had it delivered this morning. I knew you’d
approve.”
    “What? You think of food and you think of me?”
    Sienna laughs. “No! But you do like to eat.”
    I shrug, secretly glad she had been thinking of me.
“Hey, I’m a big man. I need to eat.”
    I don’t mean to but I end up stroking my gaze appreciatively
over her and I’m convinced she’s doing the same. It’s true, I’m a big guy. I
haven’t had any complaints. I never used to be quite so fit but after going
through PT on the leg… I don’t know… exercise became an addiction. A shrink
would tell me I’m trying to make up for what the shrapnel did to my leg. And
maybe I am. I try not to think about it too hard. I’m not going to start
feeling sorry for myself when three guys died in that firefight.
    When I bring my gaze back up to her face, her eyes have
darkened. I recognize that look and I’m willing to bet my eyes reflect the
same. It’s the one we shared before we kissed.
    Before I can make a move, she steps past and opens the
door to the bedroom. “And this is my bedroom,” she declares.
    There’s nothing in it. It’s just white walls and a
beige carpet but saying the word bed around us seems to be like setting fire to
a fuse and letting it burn. The air feels electric and even though I’m behind
her, I know she’s aware of me. I can see the tension in her shoulders, and she
turns and stumbles into my chest. Hands gripping her forearms, I straighten
her.
    “Well, I…” She swallows. “I guess we’d better get
started.”
    I groan inwardly. Does she realize what she’s saying?
‘Cause the only thing I want to get started is us. It’s a good job there’s no
bed in here as I’m pretty sure she’d have ended up on it. So much for trying to
take things slow.
    “Yeah,” I finally agree, voice slightly husky, “yeah,
we should.”
    I uncurl my fingers slowly and release her. I miss her
already when she slides away from me. Sienna strides out of my vision while I
take a moment to control my misbehaving body.
    “Come on then. Let’s get this done and I’ll treat you
to dinner,” she calls out.
    I lean around the sliding doors, hands in pockets and offer
her a grin that I know she finds disarming. It’s my most charming one. “Sounds
like a deal.”
    ***
    Five hours later, we collapse on her brown sofa. I’m
exhausted. My leg is aching slightly, not that I’d let on. Whoever designed
apartments was an idiot. Trying to get the couch in was insane but we had a
laugh. I peek at Sienna and am secretly pleased that after our awkward moment
earlier, we seem to have found our feet again.
    She sweeps a hand through her hair and leans back. The
movement thrusts out her breasts and affords me a good look at the flesh
between her jeans and top. My fingers itch to touch there. But I remind myself
not to push her.  I never should have kissed her after the funeral. I
don’t regret kissing her, but I regret the timing. I resist the urge to laugh.
Could I have any worse timing? I scared her away