Broken Barriers (Barriers Series Book 4) by Sara Shirley

release the buckle to free myself. My lungs burned from the engine fumes that made their way into the cabin. Coughing hurt too much, so I tried to breathe through the shooting pain. But, between the fumes and wincing through the pain, I only managed a few gasps of air. It was enough for me to try to catch my breath again.
    I squinted my eyes open, slowly at first and then wide open as the panic settled in when I couldn’t see the other guys. I didn’t know if they were injured or not. My voice attempted to yell for them, but all that I mustered was just barely a whisper compared to everything else going on around me. I assumed I had hit an IED buried under the sand on the route. I only saw the smoke, but then I heard the shearing of metal opening, and the blinding sunlight poured in through the passenger side door. The light was so bright I couldn’t see who was there. I only knew there was someone there to rescue us.
    “Drew…”
    “Wake up, Drew…”
     
    “Courtney?” My mind was still groggy from sleeping. I heard her voice in my head, but my arm reached out and as usual there was nothing there. Just an empty side of the bed without a warm body. My eyelids shot open, adjusting to the sun that filtered into the room.
    With a defeated sigh, I rolled back over to avoid looking at the emptiness. I stretched my body, and my aching limbs shook at the tension being released. My back and neck continued to affect me after the explosion. Every morning the shooting pain from the stiffness varied. Some days were better than others. This day would be one of those days that required a little more effort stretching out and a couple of painkillers to get moving.
    The military doctors suggested I take yoga classes to help loosen the tension on my muscles. I laughed at them. Full out laughed at them. Could you see me? A six-foot-one man with muscles in tight shorts in that downward doggie style thing those women do? Hell no. Now…if they suggested I sat in the back of the room and watched the women bend over in their tight yoga outfits…that would certainly take care of some tension on another muscle in much need of “loosening.”
    As I sluggishly rolled out of bed, I could certainly tell that Junior was still alive and awake. That muscle never failed to rise to the occasion, and I knew it would be my own hand that took care of him in the shower, again. Granted, while I’d been overseas, I’d managed to accumulate many toys to assist in the matter.
    Many of the Marines’ wives and girlfriends back home sent them contraband in their care packages. We received booze, magazines, and the Grand Poobah of all things right in the world—porn and sex toys. Lots of them, too. I wore out the DVDs and ran out of lube after using this skin-like device that resembled a woman’s pussy. The damn thing even felt like one, too. Whoever created that device was a sheer genius. Just thinking about it sitting in my bag caused my dick to stir in my boxers again.
    I stretched my arms over my head and bent a little at the sides, loosening up some more. Reaching down inside my boxers, I grabbed ahold of my length and pushed it to a more comfortable position and then tossed on my track shorts hanging over the end of the wooden bedframe.
    As I trekked into the kitchen, I switched on the coffee brewer and walked to the back door while it warmed up. On my way, I unplugged my phone from the charger and turned it on. Turning the latch on the door, I pulled the heavy wooden frame back and open. The brilliant sun glistened off the water again, and I looked down at the porch and noticed a small basket sitting there.
    I cocked my head to the side, wondering what on earth it was. The old screen door creaked open as I pushed through. As I picked up the basket, I looked around, but didn’t notice anyone lingering nearby. Simple cellophane was wrapped around the items inside the basket. I was hesitant to open it since there wasn’t any sign of a note, but