Obsession and Desire: SKULL Book One

Prologue Undisclosed Location August 24th, 2017     They had been walking through the hot arid sandy desert for about 10 klicks and the sun was beaming down on them. They only had the clothes they were standing in, a single semi automatic Sergeant Damien Shea had managed to get when they escaped and the map she had hidden down her bra.      Only forty-eight hours before, the military base they were stationed at was attacked by enemy insurgents. Bombed with RPGs and grenades, even an IED.  In the midst of all the chaos, Damien was taken captive, along with Corporal Gabrielle Armijo. But they had managed to escape their captors, find a map in the process of the desert.  They were now headed to a military arms cache hidden underground.       “Damien, only one more klick north” Gabrielle said.     “Good,” he groused “I’m starving!”      After a while Gabrielle announced they’d arrived. They found the door and pushed the large lever-lock down to open the door. There was a ladder going down.     “Gabs, let me go first, to check it out? "     “I’m perfectly capable, soldier!” she snapped. She went down and felt the change of temperature as she descended. She felt around, found a standard issue military torch and turned it on. She shone it around the room and then called out,  “All clear, Coyote”      “Cool. Coming down, shutting the door.”      Gabrielle heard the door slam shut and him pulling the lever down to lock the door. She heard him also apply the secondary locks to lock it from the inside. She already had the battery lanterns turned on and had found some bottles of water out of the provision packs that were stored with each batch of arms. There were arms caches dotted all over Afghanistan, for the exact reason they were needing them.      “What’s for lunch, wife?” Damien joked, grinning like the Cheshire Cat     “Damien,” she warned “Don’t.”     “What?” He looked surprised.     She frowned.  She pulled out some MREs (meals ready to eat).  “You can have the freeze dried curried beef, I’m having the chilli with beans.” She set about heating them up in the flameless heater supplied with each MRE (meals ready to eat) she gave him the sachets to mix in water for their drinks.     “Make yourself useful at least, make these”     Once both meals were heated through, she got the plastic cutlery out and put them on a makeshift, wooden table.      “Here you go.”     “Thanks, Gabs.”     She frowned at him.  “Don’t call me that,” she groused.     Damien knew she hated that nickname but liked seeing her reaction.  He took a bite of his food.  “f**k, this is f*****g s**t! It tastes nothing like what it says it is on the packet!” He turned his nose up at it.     “Beats protein bars tho”     “s**t… They’re just bird seed.”     “Eat up, we need our energy.” She started shovelling her food in.      Damien looked over at her.  “Enjoying that, Gabs?” he asked     “I’ve had better. But, then, I haven’t eaten in over twenty-four hours, so, yeah ,I’ll take it. We need to rehydrate, try and get out of this f*****g hell hole.”     “It’s not all bad… at least you have me,” Damien smirked.     “Oh, goodie, for me..” she sarcastically responded. They sat and ate the rest of their rations in silence.      “I think we need to rest up, wait until it cools off a bit before we go up the rabbit hole and see if we can get out undetected,” Damien said breaking the silence.     “I’ll go with that. You got any vinegar in your MRE? I’ve got sunburn on my neck and shoulders” she said.     “Yep, let me put it on for you: you won’t reach there.”   He stood up and walked over to her.  “Gabrielle, might be easier if you take your top off so I can see where the sun burn goes down to.”     “Damien, I know what you’re doing, you just want a look at my breasts. No!”     “Gabrielle, I’m battlefield first aid trained. I don’t want to miss any burns. I’ll behave, I promise. I will only put the vinegar on your burns.”      "Fine," she said as she slowly and painfully removed her top from her shoulders. She turned around to show him where she was burnt.     “s**t, Gabs” he said seeing the burns     “What?” She snapped.     “You’ve already got some blisters forming," he replied. "No wonder you winced taking your top off. I’m gonna put the vinegar on it to take the heat and burn out of the area. Then I’m gonna dress the burn, okay?”      “How bad Damien?” she asked     “I’ve seen worse. But, you’re not quite deep fried chicken,” he laughed.     She couldn’t help it, she laughed.  “I hate that I burn so easily.”     He gently applied the vinegar to the burns and slowly and carefully rubbed it into the area. Gabrielle winced and cried out at one point where a big blister had formed. “Shh, I’m sorry. I’m going as quickly as I can,” he whispered in her ear.  “I’m just going to put some Saran Wrap over it to keep it clean.”  Once he had placed the last bit of tape on her to keep the Saran Wrap in place he hovered close to her ear. “What is there to stop me from kissing you into f*****g oblivion?”      Her breath quickened as he moved in front of her. “Probably nothing,” she replied, rolling her eyes.  In truth she wanted him to kiss her, but she couldn’t stop herself from taking a jab at his ego.     “Then you know what I want.” He pushed the top that was resting on her hips to the floor. Leaving her in just her bra.     She hated that she was instantly sweating. Hot and bothered... “Oh... I have a pretty good idea.”  Deep within her center, something started to blossom again. Just as it did three days ago in that awful prison. She could feel that heat spread and radiate. And it was him doing this to her.     Him. Sergeant Damien Shea.      Now, not only was she sweating, but a strange trembling started as well.  “I... oh, I’m sorry,” she stammered. “It was cruel of me to take that jab at your ego.”     “My ego will survive,” he said softly. His hands were suddenly gripping her arms as he pulled her to him. With a sexy growl, he spun her around, keeping her backside pressed up against him. “Gabs...”     Her breathing was heavy. She could feel his hand slide over her skin. She wanted... a soft moan dripped from her lips as his fingers glided over her belly.     His lips pressed gently to her neck. She moaned louder this time. He turned her around so she was facing him.  “Gabrielle” he breathed heavily. His kisses started along her jaw. His lips then brushed hers so gently, like feathers tickling them. His fingers pulled at the elastic at the top of her pants.     “What the f**k, Damien?!” She pushed him away, her wits coming back to her. “What are you doing?  Confusion swept over his face. Confusion and… hurt? “I’m attracted to you,” he said, matter-of-factly.     “I can tell...” she yelled looking at his combat pants. “Get over the other side of the room! Keep your hands and lips to yourself” She looked around and spotted some uniforms. She held them up for size and started to put it on.      He did as she asked. He slumped down onto the floor, a frown on his face. But not a frown of anger. He looked hurt. Like she had taken his tactical knife and stabbed him with it. She suddenly felt bad.     “I’m.... Sorry Gabrielle, I misre-”      She cut him off. “You took advantage, Shea! Now don’t come near me unless it’s in combat, you hear    me?”  She was more angry at herself than at him.     She struggled to get her t-shirt on and refused his offers to help. She closed her eyes as she laid on the dusty military cot. She laid on her front to avoid pressing the blisters on the back of her neck.      Gabrielle Renee Armijo, what came over you, you gave into him, you let him touch your skin, kiss you! she chastised herself. Her reasoning had come back to her just in time. His hands were wandering to covered places and who knew what that would have led to.  But his lips...his kiss was so tender, I always thought he’d be rough and hard, but he was so gentle… Oh! wake up and smell the roses, Gabrielle! He only wants to get into your panties, add you to the long list of conquests, another notch on his bedposts.     A few hours must have gone by. Gabrielle woke up, her back sore from the sunburn. She laid watching Damien Shea sleeping, sleeping like a baby. His soft snores were comforting. He did make her feel safer. She knew he would protect her. He had protected her when those bastards had kidnapped them and he protected her when they wanted to gang rape her.      I wonder what that beard feels like; is it soft?, is it prickly? His lips were so soft when he kissed her. He was so gentle when he was around her. When they were alone, yes, he could be an ass but generally he was a gentleman. He backed off when you told him to! her mind told her.  She sat up and was studying his face. He was lying on his side facing towards her. He’s so peaceful when he’s sleeping. I wonder what it would be like to wake up every morning looking at that face? Would he ever change? Could he ever change? She knew for one thing she would never let any man hurt her, she had had enough of men using her. Treating her like a mug. She knew exactly what her partner at home was doing. She had found the evidence when she was on leave: the tell tale signs of another woman in their apartment. Yet, the slime ball made her feel like the stupid one.     She was staring at Damien’s strong jaw bone. Wondered what his beard would feel like all over her body. She was getting quite hot and flustered with the thoughts that were running through her head right now. She stared at his lips, so soft, his crooked smile when he looked up at her when she wasn’t expecting it. That beard, oh I want to touch that beard, feel it...     “Enjoying what you see, Gabs?” His eyes shot open as he sat up smirking at her. “Caught you staring, didn’t I?” He laughed. “It’s ok, I don’t mind the staring at all, but don’t complain the next time you catch me staring back atcha”     “What else was I meant to look at? You were snoring loudly!”  Why did you have to poke him with a jab like that.     “I see you’re still in that delightful mood,” he groused at her. He stood up and dusted the sand off his pants. “Right, so, you’re not gonna like it but I need to check that burn of yours before we leave here.” He walked over to the makeshift table and began to look through the first aid kit.      “No funny business this time, Sergeant, do you hear me?”      He frowned and nodded. She gingerly took her top off and he gently pulled the seran wrap off the burn. Was it her? Or did he actually look hurt at her remark.     Must be you, Gabbie.  Why should you care if his feelings are hurt?     And, yet, somehow she did.