Forbidden Love with the Marine(19)
When they finally struck, they moved in quickly with the intent of accomplishing the simple assignment: retrieve the hostage, execute the kidnappers. All three Marines burst into the darkness and dispatched four sentries with their silenced weapons.
Deep within the cave, another group of guards were waiting. With the same swift killing technique of double bullets to the forehead, their assault team dropped the surprised guards on the spot around where the hostage was believed to be kept.
With the dead guards lying around them, Ivan and his team mates were suddenly faced with the realization that the hostage was nowhere to be seen. But that was impossible, Ivan thought; their command intelligence unit had all but pinpointed the up-to-the-hour location of the captive. Or had the hostage been moved?
They didn’t get a chance to ponder the dreadful prospect. The sound of enemy gunfire filled the air coupled with shouted words in the local dialect coming from behind them. The Marines turned swiftly to counter the attack even as Ivan radioed in that their cover was blown and that the hostage was missing.
This was the worst case scenario but then, being a Marine meant you had to be ready to face any situation that’s forced upon you. It was hard to believe that their tactically planned and rehearsed rescue was going up in smoke.
One thing Ivan knew though; none of his team was going down without a fight.
Chapter Fourteen
In the first week after Ivan’s departure, Olivia had started to count the days until his return. What was the duration of such assignments anyway? It couldn’t be more than a couple of weeks, tops. And then he’d be back home, right? Or so Olivia told herself.
But by the end of the third week since he left on assignment, Olivia really began to worry. Had something happened to him? She kept watching the news reports hoping and yet at the same time dreading to hear anything about Ivan’s squad or their latest mission. No news was good news, at least in this case, thought Olivia as she tried to stay optimistic.
She tried to remember all he’d told her about his team, which wasn’t much. Not surprisingly, he didn’t like to talk about what he really did. But Olivia had managed to piece a few things together and she’d known that his team had been behind the recent successful mission which had brought down one of the world’s most wanted terrorists.
And now just thinking that something might have gone wrong was giving her horrible nightmares. She could barely focus on work and was continuously calling her parents to find out if they’d heard from him. He would have called if he could, wouldn’t he? It was almost a month now since he’d left.
Please, please let him be okay, Olivia prayed daily, holding back the urge to drive to his base and keep asking questions until somebody told her anything about Ivan’s whereabouts. That would be crazy but hell, she was just about ready to go berserk. He’d never stayed this long on a mission and though he’d been away a year on deployment last time, something told her this was different. She didn’t have a good feeling about it.
To keep herself sane, she filled her thoughts with the images of him and why she loved him so much. She’d adored him for as long as she could remember, and had wanted him as a man since her body began to truly understand what those desires meant.
He’d always maintained the playful big brother image back then and she’d never dreamed she’d get this close to him as to be lovers. It had changed her whole world that night he’d finally demonstrated that he viewed her as a woman and not just a “kid sister” type.
Thinking of that first night when he’d succumbed to his desire for her and shared the breaking of her innocence was one instance Olivia would never forget. Something melted in the bowl of her womb when Olivia thought of how he loved to pleasure her breasts with hands and mouth, or the way that same mouth was always keen to latch itself to the wet folds between her thighs.
The way he loved her body with his fingers, lips and tongue always showed her how irresistible he found her. And how much he made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. How one look from his piercingly dark eyes could kickstart her heartbeat even if she was far across the room from him.
And yet it wasn’t all about the chemistry and the incredible sex. Or about his smoking hot body and the way his years of military training gave him such an unbent and even graceful bearing and stride. She knew she also loved him for the way he cared so much about others; how he gave his time and finances to worthy causes in the community.
Best of all, Ivan never toyed with family and always made the effort to give her parents his attention whenever he could, also spending time with his aged aunt who lived out of town. Remembering his gorgeous smile and the warmth of his eyes whenever he looked at her, Olivia hated herself for all those times she’d been angry with him for not giving in to her wish for them to be together. Whenever he’d called after their first night together, she’d chosen not to answer the phone. And prior to that last family dinner he’d shared with her and her parents, she’d never really given him the time of day especially with that damn Molly back in the picture.
And now, Olivia just wished him home. She wanted Ivan back on any terms. She didn’t even really care whether he’d still want to be with her or not. After they’d made love that final time and he’d promised they’d have a talk when he got back, he’d never told her what it would be about.