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asking him in?”
    â€œNo. I told you I have a headache. I’m going straight to bed.”
    He touched her sleeve. “Is that his jacket?”
    â€œOh shoot! I forgot I was wearing it.”
    Reid had started the truck and was backing out. She tore off the jacket and waved it madly overhead. He paused, nodded acknowledgment, but then pulled out without it, leaving her looking after him.
    â€œGuess he doesn’t want it back.”
    â€œOr more likely”—her grandpa winked—“he needed a good excuse to return.”

Chapter 4
    Reid’s balls ached all the way back to base. He’d wanted her something fierce. He wanted more than anything to feel himself moving deep inside of her and knew she’d been as caught up in the moment as he’d been, but tomorrow, she would have relegated him to the lowest depths of hell. Maybe later he’d kick himself for passing up the opportunity, but the last thing he wanted was to reinforce all her prejudices about marines.
    Besides that, he’d been raised to believe that anything worth doing deserved to be done right. A girl like Haley Cooper wasn’t a fast fuck on the seat of his parked truck. He had a strong hunch she’d be worth his time and effort.
    The following morning, he was still thinking about her. Maybe it was just the challenge that appealed to him, but he couldn’t get her out of his head. He was damned if he could figure it out. They had nothing in common, but their attraction was as real as any he’d ever felt.
    He’d intentionally left his favorite jacket behind. The prospect of going back for it, for her, would give him something to look forward to over the next eight months of purgatory.
    She’d refused to give him her number, but he still had the text she’d sent Yolanda from his phone. Worst-case scenario, he’d call her friend and ask for it, but it would probably be easier to get it through Garcia. In this situation, his spotter was definitely his best in.
    Reid was sprawled on his rack restlessly flipping through TV channels when Garcia dragged into the barracks looking haggard as shit. “Rough night?” Reid asked.
    â€œShe fucking wore me out.”
    â€œIs that a complaint?”
    â€œHell no,” Garcia replied. “I think she might be the one .”
    â€œOh yeah? Think you could get Haley’s number from her?”
    â€œWhat? She wouldn’t give it to you herself? Even after a lift home? Guess she was the only one who got a ride, eh hombre ?” Garcia laughed. “If scoring is that hard for you, maybe you’d better give up on women and just stick to the rifle range.”
    â€œFuck you, Garcia,” Reid grumbled. “Just get it for me, okay?”
    Later that day, Garcia handed him a slip of paper with a smirk Reid was tempted to smack off his face. He snatched it from his buddy’s hand without comment and punched it into his phone contacts. He then pocketed his phone only to whip it back out. He wanted to call but resisted the urge. Instead, he quickly typed a text. Thinking about u Haley Cooper…Reid.
    Moments later his phone vibrated. U forgot ur jacket.
    He texted his response. I’ll get it from u when I come back.
    No marines… she replied.
    Give me a chance & I’ll change your mind.
    * * *
    Four days later, the Third Battalion First Marines boarded three commercial jets bound for Kuwait City. For twenty-two hours, they paced the aisles and watched movies— Ocean’s Eleven , Men in Black , and Die Another Day . Black Hawk Down played twice by request. The incident in Mogadishu was a brutal reminder of the similar Blackwater incident, and why they were returning to Iraq. The arrival of the Thundering Third meant there would be a reckoning for the spilled American blood.
    Reid didn’t fear death. He’d already had enough close calls to know it was out of his control anyway. Death in a hot zone was