PRIVATE: A Military Romance Novel (Military Men Book 2) by Leila Haven Page B

wanker. “My vibrator works fine, thank you.”
    He just wouldn’t give up. “Maybe you prefer dykes, huh? It’s the mouth action you like, right? Well, baby, if you lie back and close your eyes, you’ll never notice the difference.” He licked his fork suggestively, running his filthy tongue all over it.
    A hand suddenly clamped down on his shoulder, making him jump. My eyes started at the hand and travelled upward to see Rafter standing there, a look of thunder clouding his eyes. “I think you’re finished here, Dekker. Make your way to the trucks.”
    He didn’t like the order, I could see it in the clenching of his jaw. Still, Dekker picked up his plate and made his way through the mess hall, choosing not to be insubordinate to his superior.
    Rafter remained standing there. “I hope he wasn’t bugging you too much, Kincaid.”
    “I can look after myself.” I’d never needed my brothers to fight my battles and I wasn’t about to let someone start now. As much as I appreciated the fact that he stood up for me, I was too bull headed to get used to it.
    He stared at me a moment longer before returning to his seat. I ate my eggs and bacon in silence, still embarrassed about the whole thing.
    Every time I looked down I could feel eyes on me. When I looked up again I was quick enough to catch Rafter as he averted his gaze.
    I wondered whether he was picturing me naked. I hoped he was. I wouldn’t mind sexually suggestive comments from him. Judging by the way his ears burned a dark red, I got the feeling his thoughts were very much X-rated. Mine were too and he featured predominately.
    A soldier’s body was like a temple and I was prepared to pray at his anytime he wanted. We were away from home and I was feeling reckless. Unfortunately, that was how soldiers were killed so I had to focus on the work.
    “We should get going,” Rafter declared to the table as he stood. His tone held enough warning for us to move and follow him.
    We assembled in the vehicle bay, ready to head out and fight for our cause. I half expected Rafter to team me with someone else so we couldn’t have a repeat of the previous day but he still called my name for his partner.
    The troop jumped in a truck, putting on the last of their armor and securing the hot and heavy helmets. I hated wearing so much in the heat but it was a necessary evil. Better to be hot than dead.
    We rode out through the gates of the base and crossed from safe territory into the war zone. We were in the Taliban’s world now and the threat was starkly apparent in graffiti scrawled on walls by the side of the road.
    There was nervous tension in the truck. They wouldn’t admit it but I was certain we were all thinking the same thing, we prayed we would return back tonight after our mission.
    The men rarely spoke about such things, too afraid of showing some vulnerability, but I could see it in their hard-set jaws and white knuckles clutching their weapons. It was all there, you just had to read their body language.
    We arrived in our target zone and broke off into groups. We were in teams of four today, trying to take back a medical clinic that the Taliban had as their stronghold. Our intel said they were using stand over tactics to ensure only those supporting them were getting medical treatment. The small community needed the clinic so we had to take it back.
    Sometimes there were moments in my job where I really started to hate people. I’d gone into this war holding onto the belief that humanity was really good at its heart, there were just some that had turned bad due to their circumstances or experiences.
    Seeing what the Taliban were doing firsthand made me believe otherwise. They acted without compassion or mercy, intent on inflicting the most horrendous pain possible to people that didn’t deserve it. It made me fight that much harder.
    Today was one of those days that showed me how wrong I had been when I left the US. These animals had the clinic and its