Page 16 of Her Selfless Warrior (Omega Sky)
Lark nodded. “I might not have heard about Mom’s over-the-top gifts, probably because Samira knew I would get in a twist about them, but yeah, I’ve been keeping in touch,” Lark told him. “A lot of the time we talk about Ebrahem. She doesn’t have anybody who remembers him, and I do.”
“He was a good man. A damn good man.” Kostya said, his teeth gritted. “Did I ever thank you for what you did for his family?”
Lark gave him a surprised look. “You must have.”
He shifted so that he was looking directly at her. “No, I don’t think I ever did. You sacrificed your safety in Afghanistan and told everyone that you would not be rescued unless we took his wife and daughters. Nobody does that kind of thing.”
She gave him a confused smile. “Sure they do.”
He tugged on a strand of her hair, ensuring he had her attention. “No. No, they don’t. So thank you. Thank you for Ebrahem, and thank you for me. Yeah, it’s great that your mom took them under her wing and is spoiling them rotten, but you’re the one who kept them alive.”
“I’m pretty sure it was you and the others who figured a way to get them over the border to safety,” she grimaced. “Anyway, can we stop talking about this? It’s getting kind of mushy.”
Kostya laughed. “God forbid we get mushy. Okay, okay. Are you here to watch Riya get her award?” Kostya asked.
Lark nodded.
“What’s your connection?” he asked.
“I’ve known Riya since my university days. She was my T.A. in freshman biology. She’s three years younger than me, but it didn’t matter, she’s crazy smart.”
“UCLA?”
“Close, it was the University of San Diego. I really thought I wanted to write fiction, and their creative writing department is a bitch to get into. Only fifteen undergrads are selected each year, and I was one of them. For once, my mom’s influence had nothing to do with my success and I grabbed it with both hands.”
“Do you still want to write fiction?” Kostya asked as his arm went back up over the back of the booth and he sipped from his drink.
“Absolutely not. I like reality too much, it’s more interesting. I’m keeping all of my notes and I might take one of my articles and turn it into a book. I’ve been approached by several publishers. But that would take at least a year out of my investigative reporting time, and usually, something pops up that grabs my attention and I just don’t have the time.”
Lark was crazy aware of Kostya’s strong arm resting behind her. It was as if his heat were surrounding her. It was the second time in her life where she didn’t have to force herself to remain calm and relaxed in the presence of a big man in her personal space. Inside, she would normally panic, but she was always able to put on a good front. But back when she was with Kostya and the other Navy SEALs in Afghanistan, she might have been irritated as hell, but she hadn’t been overwhelmed or panicked by those big, strong men when they were forced into such a small space together.
“What about you? Any urge to ever write your memoirs; after all, more and more SEALs are doing it.”
Kostya snorted. “Even if I could string two words together, can’t say that would ever be my thing.”
“Uhm, excuse me, but you’re a lieutenant in the Navy; isn’t paperwork kind of like your life?”
Kostya picked up his drink and took a longer sip this time. “You’ve got that right. I had to sell a piece of my soul to the devil just to take tonight off from report writing to be here. But don’t think that gets you off the hook. Tell me more about your relationship with Riya. Do you know Gray?”
“I went out to dinner and drinks with them and a few friends once in San Diego, so I met Gray. He seems like an upstanding guy, didn’t say much. But…”
“But what?”
Lark carefully eyed Kostya. “Riya is a bit awkward in social situations, outside of the academic arena. There, she shines.”
“Tell me about it,” he encouraged.
“Well, the bigger the crowd, the more uncomfortable she gets. I was surprised to see that there were at least fifteen people at the table when I got there. The Riya I went to school with—hell the Riya from four years ago—wouldn’t have put herself in a situation like that, but there she was. I could tell it was due to Gray.”
“How?”
Lark’s brow furled as she thought back. “Their seats were closer together than anybody else’s. His arm rested on the back of her chair, and whenever the talk got too loud, or she paused too long to answer someone, he stroked her shoulder. Now I’m not sure, but there were times when I think that Riya had her hand on his thigh, not in a sexual way, but for comfort.”
“What else?”
“There was one teammate who teased more than the others. His name was Dex. He said something about her I.Q. that clearly made her uncomfortable. Gray just murmured his name, and Dex immediately realized his mistake and apologized. Gray didn’t make either Riya or Dex feel uncomfortable about it, he just smiled. He was really smooth. When I went back to my hotel that night, I remember thinking that Riya was in good hands.”
Kostya shifted a little so that his gaze was focused solely on her, ignoring the rest of the room. “That’s quite a lot of observation, Ms. Sorensen.”
Lark shrugged. “What can I say? When a topic interests me, I pay attention.”
“Have you noticed anything about me?” Kostya asked.
Lark tried to suppress a shiver, but she couldn’t.
“I’m only asking because I’ve noticed quite a bit about you.”
Damn, no matter how I answer, I’m screwed.
