Garnet (Gems of Wolfe Island)

It’s filling, and it doesn’t matter that I never really cared for the taste before I was taken. I don’t taste anything now, anyway.

Buck fills his appetizer plate with the fried squid. He dips it in marinara and brings a piece to his mouth.

And I can’t help but think about how exquisite he is.

His lips are full, and he has several days of black stubble on his jawline.

He’s all muscle, and naked he must be…

A surge of arousal grips me.

How strange to feel something like this. Mere months ago, I swore no man would ever touch me, but this man…

He’s been kind to me, and once I found out he was no threat, I’ve felt nothing but safe with him. Even though he’s huge and full of muscles and could easily overpower me, I feel safe. Protected.

The men on the island weren’t anything like Buck. Men like Buck don’t need to abuse women to feel powerful. Men like Buck are powerful on their own.

“Can I ask a question?”

He swallows his bite of calamari. “I think you just did.”

“All right. Can I ask you another question after this one?”

“Ask me whatever you want, Aspen. I can’t guarantee I’ll answer.”

“Fair enough.” I finish my water, let it glide down my throat. “You said your name is Antonio. Why are you called Buck?”

“It was my nickname as a kid, but then it became my SEAL name on my last tour as well.”

“Why was it your nickname? It doesn’t really go with Antonio.”

“Right. But my father’s name was also Antonio, and my parents wanted to be able to differentiate us, so they started calling me Buck.”

“Okay…but that still doesn’t exactly tell me why.”

“That’s the only reason I know.”

He looks down, continues with his calamari.

7

BUCK

I’m lying, of course. I know why my parents used to call me Buck. It means robust and spirited, like the male deer called a buck.

I was a robust and spirited young kid. Stubborn to a fault, always moving. I ran everywhere. Never walked. I was always full of energy, and I channeled that energy into sports. When I didn’t get the scholarship I wanted for football, I joined the Navy instead.

In some ways the best decision I ever made.

In other ways—the worst.

The name Buck, although it’s been with me since I was a kid, is now synonymous with my last tour. There were six guys on that assignment, and only two of us returned—Phoenix and me.

I took the most chances, the most risks.

I should’ve died.

Or…instead of taking all the risks, I should’ve been protecting my buddies. Shielding them from danger. Instead, I was risking my own life.

How I made it out alive, I’ll never know.

I was a sniper. A crack shot. I never missed.

Phoenix said they should call me Crack. The guys laughed. Crack. Butt crack. Ass crack.

I tackled Phoenix to the ground. Then I looked around at the rest of them and said, “It’s Buck. Call me fucking Buck.”

So they did. And they never laughed about me being a crack shot again. I saved their asses many times.

Until I didn’t.

“It’s a male deer,” Aspen says. “That’s what a buck is.”

“True.”

“It’s a cool name. A strong name.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a hell of a lot better than Antonio.” Or Crack.

“Tell me something about yourself,” she says.

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t care. I just want to talk about something. Try to keep my mind from going places I don’t want to go.”

“I understand.”

Do I ever.

“I told you about my family. That I was a SEAL.”

“Why’d you leave the military?” she asks.

“My tour was over.”

God, please don’t let her ask about the tour…

“Guess what I was named for.”

Whew. No more military questions.

“The Aspen trees in Colorado,” I say.

She smiles then. A beautiful smile. An almost mischievous smile.

“That’s what everybody thinks, I’m actually named after my mother’s maiden name. Her name is Lisa Jane Aspen.”

“Oh? And then of course you’re from Colorado…”

“Right? Everybody thinks it’s the trees.”

“Funny. My little brother has my mother’s maiden name as well.”

“Right, you said that.” She shrugs. “I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me when you told me.”

“Because you have a lot of other stuff on your mind. Do you have any brothers and sisters?”

“Nope. I’m an only child. My parents’ one and only. Unfortunately, when my mom had me, she had some nasty bleeding, and they had to remove her uterus.”

Wow. That totally sucks. “I’m sorry.”

“They always said I was enough.”

I can imagine why. She’s an amazing specimen of woman. Tall, muscular, beautiful. A star athlete.

Damn. She’s a lot like me.

Except she got her scholarship. I know all about her history from the Wolfes. Of course, volleyball scholarships are easier to come by than football scholarships. At least Division I football scholarships, which is what I wanted. I was competing with the best of the best.