Rescuing Darcie

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Darcie smiled politely gripping her sweet tea with a death grip as Alexia introduced her to Tony’s new teammates. She pasted on a smile, feeling overwhelmed with all the new faces and names she feared she would never remember. It had taken her almost a year to remember Drew’s teammates real names and call signs.

This isn’t permanent. She reminded herself. It wasn’t like she was a military spouse or a close friend. She wasn’t required to know all their names. But since she was here and Tony and Alexia had nicely taken her in, she thought she’d put in the effort to be friendly.

She had been living in Texas now for the past two weeks. It had taken her a few days to rent a U-Haul and pack up what she could and sell the rest. When she had explained to Tony her situation, he told her to come out without hesitation. While Darcie had been trying to pack up her life, Alexia had been busy calling around to find her a job.

By the time she arrived in San Antonio, she had several job interviews lined up. She chose a job at a childcare facility. The hours were reasonable, and the pay was better than her sales job. Tony had opened his house to her and was letting her stay rent-free. He even rented out a storage unit to keep her things since the other room was being set up for a nursery. Alexia was already a few months along but hardly showed, anyone could see she was already a proud parent, always rubbing her belly. Darcie didn’t know what she’d do without him. She planned to pay him back someday for his generosity; first, by being at this barbeque.

Tony had arranged a barbeque at his new house, that he and Alexia had moved into a month ago, as a housewarming and to introduce her to the team and make her feel more at home. She didn’t have the heart to tell him she didn’t like being in large crowds, especially with people she didn’t know. For Tony though, she was willing to put herself through it. She owed him so much.

“This is Vincent,” Alexia introduced her.

Darcie shook his hand and said her customary hello. They chatted a few minutes, and she was wondering how she was going to excuse herself for a moment of privacy when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She turned to look for the source and saw a man walking in through the side yard. The first thing she noticed was how tall he was, she could see his head over all the others in the yard, and his body was wide. He looked like a linebacker. His eyes scanned through the crowd taking everyone in before they locked on her, stealing her breath. His eyes looked grey from the distance. His hair was jet black, almost blue with the sun shining on it. His face was accented with sharp cheekbones and plump looking lips that made her think naughty things. Things she had no right thinking about a stranger. Feelings she had long suppressed since she was in her early twenties. The crowd parted, and she could see him in a leather jacket and a blue shirt that hugged his body to perfection. Black jeans fit snuggly, showcasing his muscular thighs.

Darcie shook herself and looked away. What was wrong with her? She was eyeing a stranger like a hussy. That wasn’t like her. Her mother would be appalled at her behavior. Never had she responded to a man like that before. Not even Drew. It had taken several set downs before she even agreed to go on a date with Drew. There had been no instant attraction. That had taken several dates. After one glance at this stranger, she was imaging him kissing her and nibbling on that plump bottom lip of his. Or wrapping her legs around his trim waist and riding him until she came. Darcie felt her cheeks warm at all the thoughts of this poor stranger. She needed a moment to compose herself and ger her hormones under control. She had been without a man for six years. That’s what she was blaming it on.

She was about to make her excuses when she heard a deep voice behind her that froze her in her place.

“Hey, Lexi. Sorry I’m late. I got stuck in traffic.”

“That’s okay, Daniel. I’m just glad you made it.” She had no doubt this was the man she was ogling a moment ago. Daniel. She tested his name in her head. “Daniel, I’d like you to meet Darcie. She’s staying with us for a while. Darcie, you might also hear Daniel be referred to as Bear.”

Bear. She could see why he earned that nickname. He was big and broad like a bear.

With no other choice except embarrassing herself and her new friends by fleeing, Darcie turned and faced Daniel. He was more beautiful up close. His eyes were like polished gunmetal. She could stare into their depths for hours. More grey than blue. She found herself comparing them to Drew’s blue eyes. They were a bright baby blue. Much softer than Daniel’s.

Realizing she was caught staring at him awkwardly Darcie cleared her throat and held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

He took it with a hint of a smile. “A pleasure.” His voice was deep and smoky like whiskey.

His hand was warm and wrapped around hers easily. Her head sent off warning bells of danger. He was dangerous. He was a polar opposite of Drew, but that didn’t deter her treacherous body which was even more dangerous. Suddenly it was hard to breathe. “If you’ll excuse me a moment.”

Darcie darted between them, making sure not to touch him as she raced into the house and headed straight for the bathroom. It had probably looked like she fled, but she didn’t care. She needed a moment to collect herself and not think about Daniel in a s****l way. She hadn’t thought about s*x in over six years. No man had appealed to her like Drew had. Until now.

As drawn to Drew as she'd been, it didn't compare to the pull she had to Daniel. It scared her. She splashed water on her face hoping it would cool her overheated skin and help calm her libido. Looking in the mirror, Darcie didn't recognize the woman staring back at her. Dark circles hung under her eyes. Her skin was pale. Her eyes hardened. Gone was the fun-loving Darcie she once was. She doubted she would ever see that side of her again. She lost it when she lost Drew. Her happiness died with him. Darcie wanted to collapse into a puddle and cry. Cry for the loss of Drew. Cry over the injustice of it all. Cry over losing everything over the last few years: Drew, the house, his mementos.

She wanted to stay hidden longer but knew Alexia would come looking for her. Turning the water off and toweling off her face, she pinched her cheeks to get some color back in them and went back outside. There was no sign of Alexia.

“She's out front,” a deep voice said next to her.

She turned and saw gunmetal eyes staring at her.

Daniel.

“Thank you.” Her voice shook. Her hard resolve evaporated. Why did he affect her so? He was handsome but not sexiest man alive, magazine cover sexy. No, he was better. He was down to earth sexy. Raw and sensual. She couldn’t help but stand there and stare at him.

“Would you like me to take you to her?” he asked, looking her straight in the eye.

“No, thank you.” She still didn't move away. She just kept staring at him.

Get yourself together. You’re looking like an i***t.

What was wrong with her? She'd never been tongue-tied with a man before. Why should he be different? He wasn't even her type. She preferred lean muscles to big muscles like his. She liked warm, kind eyes compared to his hard eyes. She liked men who laughed; Daniel didn't look like he laughed much, and yet, she couldn't stop staring at him.

Her body responded to him in a way that defied reason. She hadn't been intimate since Drew. No man had appealed to her. She'd been so busy paying bills and keeping busy her s*x life had taken a backseat. It was standing up waving a red flag at her now. That wasn’t good at all.

“How do you know Alexia?” he asked, filling in the silence as they stared at each other.

“Oh,” a question. That was good. Something to distract her from staring at him. “Tony used to work with my fiancé.”

At fiancé, Daniel looked down at her ring finger and the diamond ring on it.

Darcie felt the familiar weight of it on her finger. She knew it was foolish to wear it still and call Drew her fiancé, but old habits die hard. It was just something she wasn’t ready to let go. She didn’t know if she ever would. If she took it off and stopped referring to Drew as her fiancé, she felt it was betraying him. That she was finally admitting defeat and that he was gone. She couldn’t. Everyone else had given up hope. She couldn’t.

“Where is he?” Daniel looked around the crowd before settling back at her.

“He went missing in action six years ago,” she explained.

Daniel glanced down at her sadly, nodding in understanding. “The mission where only Tony survived.”

Tears threatened to choke her so she could only nod. It wasn’t hard for the man to put two and two together which mission she had been talking about. Even after all this time, the loss was still acute and struck out of nowhere. “I’m sorry,” she said, swiping at a stray tear.

“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one that brought it up.”

Darcie gave him a half-smile. He was sweet. For as big and hard looking as he was, having to be six and a half feet tall, he was like a gentle giant. To his friends at least. She was sure his enemies feared him.

“Can I get you a refill?” He indicated her empty glass.

“I can do it.”

“Please, may I?”

Darcie stood in indecision. As nice as Daniel was, she didn’t want to encourage him. Once she made enough money to move out, she would never see these men again. Tony would have done his good deed, and they would go on their separate ways. She’d see Alexia when Tony went out on missions, but she would never see Daniel again. Not that she wanted to.

She moved here for a fresh start. She was trying to settle in and adjust to her new life. She didn’t have time for romance. She didn’t want romance. Romance led to a broken heart. If she ever did fall in love again, it would be with a man who worked a five

Standing in indecision too long, Daniel took the decision from her hands. Literally. He took her glass out of her hand. “I’ll get you a refill. You’re more than welcome to come with me.”

Feeling she had no other choice, Darcie followed him back in the house to the kitchen. “Do you always just take peoples glasses and refill them?” she asked, leaning against the island.

“Only the pretty ones,” he teased, winking at her.

Darcie tucked a stray hair behind her ear to hide her blush. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Refill your glass? It was hardly an inconvenience. I had to come in and get a drink for myself anyway.”

“I meant entertain me. I’m sure you have better things to do than babysit me.” The more she thought about it, the more she realized Alexia arranged for Daniel to watch her while she entertained her guests. She didn’t want Darcie to feel excluded, so she gave her a babysitter. It was downright insulting.

Daniel c****d his head, studying her. “You think I’m babysitting you?”

“Why else would you be waiting for me to get out of the bathroom?” Why couldn’t he just admit it?

Daniel walked up to her, crowding her against the island. His arms caged her in on either side. She should be frightened. He was a large, powerful man that could probably crush her skull with his large hands. Yet, she wasn’t frightened. She was sure if she asked, he’d back away. He smelled of leather and old spice. “Let me tell you something, darlin. No one tells me what to do. Even Alexia. I’m here with you because I want to be. I wasn’t waiting for you. I just finished talking to Romeo, and I saw you come out of the house looking around in a panic. As for the refill, I thought it was just good manners.”

“No one made you watch me?” she asked for clarification.

“No.” He shook his head.

“Why would you want to hang out with me?” she asked before she could stop herself. She clapped her hands over her mouth, mortified. “I’m sorry I asked that. You don’t have to answer.”

Daniel pulled her hands from her face but didn’t release them. Darcie was too transfixed by his eyes to notice he still held her hands. “Because you’re special. I realized that the moment I saw you.”

“I’m not,” she protested. “Special that is.”

“I hate to argue with a beautiful woman, but you are.”

Darcie pulled her hands free and stared him down. “Stop saying that. I’m not beautiful. I’m not special. I don’t appreciate lies.” She would hardly call herself ugly, but she knew what she looked like. She was a pale comparison of the woman she used to be. Her hair wasn’t as shiny and even as it once was because she hadn’t been to a salon in ages. She had lost a lot of weight over the years, looking anorexic. Darcie hardly went out of her house, so her skin was pale. She didn’t need to hear honeyed words about what she wasn’t. If he thought he could sweet-talk his way into her pants, he had another thing coming.

“I don’t know if you’ve looked in a mirror lately, but you are beautiful,” he said, not put off by her rising anger.

Not knowing how to respond Darcie retreated. “Thank you for the compliment, Bear. Even if it was a lie. If you’ll excuse me,” she said evenly and stepped away. Beautiful? The man needed his eyes checked, even if she did like hearing someone say that about her.

“Daniel.”

Darcie stopped and turned. “What?”

“My name is Daniel,” he said with an easy smile.

Darcie ignored him and left the house to look for Alexia and mainly to get away from Daniel. She hadn’t even realized she called him Bear until he corrected her. The man unnerved her. She knew the best way to cure that. Avoid him, and when she did see him, be rude. He was probably used to getting what he wanted. Use a few pretty words, and the women fell for it. Well, if it was her, it would be a cold day in hell before that happened. She had absolutely no interest in Daniel and would most likely never see him again. Good riddance.