Their Battle for Love (The American Soldier Collection 15)

“So you keep in touch with the others?” she asked.

Border stopped touching her and looked at Lucca. Lucca swallowed hard and locked gazes with Malayna.

“We lost a lot of guys on one particular mission. It was right before we were going to settle down a bit and were considering retiring,” Lucca said to her.

“That’s terrible. I couldn’t imagine losing such close friends, fellow soldiers like that.”

“It was terrible. Things happened,” Border said to her. She ran her hand along the tattoos on his arms and Lucca watched her caress his skin.

“Is that where the scars under your tattoos came from?” she asked, shocking both of them.

“Don’t,” Border said in a firm tone.

She took a slow breath. “Don’t what? Don’t ask, don’t care. Don’t want to know why you got so sad tonight and angry?” she pushed.

“I don’t want to talk about it. There’s no need to talk about it or to relive it,” Border said to her.

“You were reliving it tonight at Casper’s. Did you see pictures of men you lost there in the mission?” she asked.

“Malayna,” Lucca warned her.

She looked at him.

“I want to know. From the start, from when we first met and you guys, Star, and Krane rescued me, I felt like you understood what I went through, where my fears lie. It’s like I didn’t even have to talk about the things that happened in detail. You just understood it. Am I wrong?” she asked.

Lucca felt his chest tighten and Border was straight faced, unwilling to respond.

“No, Malayna, you’re not wrong. You’re right. Border and I were held prisoner by the men we were sent to eliminate.”

“Don’t, Lucca. She doesn’t need to know and we don’t need to think about it,” Border said to him.

“Maybe we do. We’ve been pissed off all night, and we instantly remembered the effects that week had on us. We should have died,” Lucca said to Border.

“You were held prisoner? Both of you?” she asked as tears filled her eyes.

“Yes,” Border said.

“It was a week of hell, absolute fucking hell. It was so bad, to watch other men being tortured and killed. Treated like animals, not human beings. We wished for death.”

“We don’t need to share the gory details,” Border said firmly and rolled to his back. Malayna ran her hand over his belly and up his chest. She laid her cheek against his chest and Lucca snuggled closer against her naked body and laid his cheek against her back. They were both holding her close.

“Sometimes, when I think about painting and placing something on the white, bare canvas that reminds me of them, and of the torture and abuse, I feel like if I do, if I paint those images that haunt me that I’ll give them life, and power. But then some of the other things I’ve painted that reminded me of them, of that place, my prison for three years, I think maybe it could help me let go and forget it all. Put it behind me and just live my life.”

Lucca kissed her skin.

“You’ve painted other scenes and felt relief and closure. Perhaps it would be the same for the other things. You’ve focused on the positives in your photography and your paintings,” Border said to her.

“The same could be true for you. Maybe if you do something to forget those times so you can both replace them with good things and fond moments it will be rewarding and a way of never forgetting what your friends sacrificed and always remembering them for the soldiers and friends they were. That you all got to live, because you were meant to do more in this life and to rescue me,” she said to them.

“Aw, Malayna,” Border said to her and brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. Lucca kissed her cheek and then lifted up to caress her ass.

“We love you so much,” he said to her.

“We all do,” Star added, joining them in the bedroom along with Krane. They approached the bed.

“Do we get to love our woman tonight, too? Because tomorrow night I think she is going to be exhausted after the show,” Krane said to them and winked at Malayna. Malayna smiled.

“Think I could use my four fiancés to make love to me together. You up for it?” she asked Star and Krane.