Chapter 1 Somewhere In The Middle East
POV: Reyna
The Humvee bounced along the road at a spine jarring pace; kicking up dust and rocks in its wake.
The hot wind that came in through the window, that some idiot specialist decided to remove as a prank, smelled foreign and familiar at the same time; Spicy, with a hint of cinnamon.
Five Finger Death Punch was blaring out of a speaker that was zip tied to one of the cross bars at the rear of the vehicle and the two Privates in the back were singing the lyrics at the top of their lungs.
To my right, my passenger was a CO or Commanding officer. Like ,REALLY, Upper Level and I was escorting him from the US Consulate in the Middle East to the base where I was stationed.
Normally, when escorting military command, I'm a little bit more professional, and expect my vehicle and crew to be as well, but today, I relaxed the rules.
Because ... Today ... We are escorting my husband.
General Thomas Reyna.
I looked over at his handsome profile.
At 50, his face has no hint of the droopy jowls that often accompany aging men. Instead, it was square and sharp, with a slightly flared nose, full eyebrows, blue eyes, light caramel skin and short cropped hair that was laced with silver. Somehow it never made him look old.
“You are fucking perfect”, I used to say back in the day.
He wasn’t too bad in the body department either. muscular build and tall . He made it a point to prioritize his looks and body. Spending hours at the gym and not coming home until late at night, several days a week.
He was the kind of guy that you would see on military recruitment posters and could command a room just by raising an eyebrow. His bright hazel eyes would scan the room and you would sit there praying that they wouldn’t land on you and stay there.
Thomas looked over and caught me scanning him and smiled.
He dropped his voice until it was almost a growl. “It’s been two months Sergeant. Have you missed me?” He asked.
I cocked my head so that I could side eye him and see the road at the same time.
I gave him a sly smile.
“Of course not General,” I said. “I’ve got a bunch of young guys in my unit and they call me Staff Sgt. MILF. I’m worn out from two months of sex every night.”
I faked yawned just to prove my point.
He chuckled and said “Well... I can’t blame them for trying. Right now I’m thinking about what’s under that uniform and it’s getting me rock hard”
With a quick glance to see if the two soldiers in the back were paying attention, he put his hand on the side of my face his thumb glides down my cheek to my lips where I bite the tip of it playfully. I can hear a ragged intake of breath from Thomas just as he pulls his thumb away.
Now, I appreciate the gesture, but I am well aware of what I look like and, after 3 kids, it ain’t a size 4 with a 24 inch waist.
Where Thomas was all sharp angles and quiet. I was rounder and, definitely, more boisterous.
At 5"6′, with a medium build, large chest, shoulder length dark brown coiled hair, dark brown eyes, and a round face with a golden complexion and smattering of freckles, I grew up in that mixed race world of I could either be mysterious and exotic or I could leave the house looking like some crack head character from Boys in the Hood!
However, blessed with a youthful appearance my whole life, I have managed to reach this age with very little lines on my face. Just a few laugh lines that pop out, now and again, and I try to keep my body in check with regular workouts, especially kickboxing, but having three kids and a love of tacos, certain parts have definitely moved around that no amount of dieting will get back.
I do have to admit that I am pretty proud of my chest.
Those puppies went from a C to DD by the last kid and I’m not afraid to put them to good use when duty calls, although I’m always afraid I’ll get stuck under a vehicle when I have to crawl under to fix an oil leak!
I was knocked out of my musings when Thomas, exasperatedly, snapped his fingers in my face and said, "Earth to Sgt. Reyna! Hey! Have you not been paying attention to a word I've been saying?"
Flustered, I answered, "I'm sorry General, I was focused on the road and my mind wandered. What were you saying?"
The exasperation seemed to seep out of his body as he turned to me with a neutral look on his face and repeated, "I said, there are some important things I need to speak with you about the company, and our family, as I move forward with my retirement when we get home."
His words hit me like a bucket of cold water to the face as a memory from the night before our deployment came flooding back.
I gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead with laser accuracy and ground out. "Yes Tom, I already know. "
Thomas turned sharply to look at me as I addressed him by his first name.
"Know what?" He snapped.
Still staring straight ahead
"That you..."
That's when everything went black.
