If You Believe in Me Read Online Free

herself full-body against him.
    Kale recovered quickly. She smelled so damned good, fresh air and sweetness and desire. Her mouth tasted even better.
    She laughed into the kiss. “Sleep with me now, for tomorrow you may die,” she teased.
    Kale didn’t feel like laughing. He rested his forehead against Amber’s and cuddled her close. His hands roamed up and down her back. “Don’t joke.”
    She must have heard something in his tone. “I’m sorry.” She caressed his face. “Are you afraid?”
    Of dying? No. Of being away from her, of losing her—hell, yes. He was even more afraid of expressing it after they’d been together such a short time.
    Okay, expressing it again . He couldn’t believe he’d blurted it out like that. It was just that she’d been so beautiful, so full of life and laughter. So much of everything he wanted to protect, a symbol of all his reasons for joining the military. He wanted her to know, before he abandoned her, how much she meant to him.
    Back at the lake she’d only hugged him hard, then kissed him with hunger that had pulled them back here for privacy. Kale had warred with himself the entire walk. His noble side was losing badly before they even reached her walkway. Now it lay broken and battered next to the lustful winner.
    “I really do love you,” he whispered. “I hate myself for even telling you that. But I wanted you to know before I leave. I’m not just trying to get my rocks off while I still can.”
    She laughed and rubbed her body against his. “I know that. And I have a secret.” She backed up, her hands hooked into his jacket, pulling him with her. She never looked behind her, but dragged him up the stairs and down the hall to her bedroom.
    “What’s your secret?” Kale could hardly breathe—exactly how he’d been when he came out of the lake and found Amber kneeling at his feet. She sank to her knees again and reached for his belt buckle.
    “I love you, too.” And she proceeded to take him to heaven.
    Kale’s brain went fuzzy. The darkness in the room faded into light. He struggled to hold on, but consciousness slowly overtook him.
    He opened his eyes.Pale walls, limp curtains around his bed, an IV pole on his left, and beeping equipment on his right. Hospital sounds filtered from beyond the curtains, nothing frantic or hurried, just day-to-day business.
    He lay there for a few minutes, absorbing. Letting the dream-memory fade so he could concentrate on reality. He had to get up. Find out his men’s status. What day it was. How fucked up he was.
    He pulled the monitoring clip off his finger and the EKG pads off his chest—wincing at the hair they took with them—and tried to roll to his left. Pain blazed as badly as it had before, deep into his right side. He blistered the air with curses and forced himself upright. With his hand clamped over the bandages on his side, he breathed through the pain.
    He sat hunched until it subsided and his vision cleared. He reached for support, and his hand found the IV pole. It was cold against his palm as he dragged himself to his feet. Sweat popped out on his forehead and neck, and the floor threatened to smack him in the face.
    “Oh, no you don’t!” A nurse whipped back the curtain and braced strong hands on his shoulders.
    “I need to—”
    “Get updates on your team. I know the drill.” Somehow, she maneuvered him back onto the bed against his will, releasing him to work the bed’s controls. The top half rose to meet him, and Kale tried to hide his relief at the support. She smirked and adjusted the blankets over his legs. “You guys are all the same, and every one of you thinks you can get past me.” She charged on, her rant convincing Kale he wasn’t going to succeed where seemingly everyone before him had failed.
    When she wound down, he asked, “What day is it?”
    “December twentieth.” She checked the contents of a pitcher on the little table next to the bed. “You need ice. I’ll get that