A Change of Heart by Barbara Longley Page B

path of his gaze, and goose bumps covered her forearms. “We’ve had this discussion before, and I haven’t changed my mind. Thanks, but no.” She tried to slip by, tried to put some space between them. “You’re my commanding officer. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”
    He grabbed her wrist before she could get away. “That’s right. I’m your goddamned CO, so you gotta do what I tell you to, soldier. I’m telling you I want you. One way or another, I’m going to have you. Now, you can make this easy, and we can have some fun, or you can make things difficult for yourself. What’s it gonna be?”
    “No, thank you, SIR!” She jerked her wrist out of his grasp. “Leave me alone.” Not waiting for his reply, she hurried toward the commissary, a more populated area on base. Note to self: carry your handgun with you at all times, and always move around camp with someone you trust. Barnett had a reputation—all bad. She’d seen what happened to women who reported abuse—passed up for promotions, demoted, given the lousiest possible assignments or worse. The best she could do was to be prepared, and stay far, far away…
    Cory jerked back to the present, guilt and shame pulsing through her. She hadn’t followed her own advice. Sergeant Dickhead had left her alone, and she’d believed he’d moved on, targeting easier prey, or at least focusing on someone more willing.
    Wrong
.
    Her skin crawled, and her stomach lurched. She shot up and beat a hasty path for the bathroom, barely making it before the dry heaves hit. Leaning over the toilet, she tried once again to purge herself of the violation. No good. Heaving didn’t help. His vile pollution remained intact and dead center—the fulcrum of her life.
    She straightened, turned on the shower full blast, strippedand stepped under the scalding spray. What would Ted think of her now? How would he react if he saw her bent over the toilet, retching her guts out? She had no business spending time with him. The army had it wrong. She wasn’t unfit to serve. She was unfit to relate. Unfit to carry on in any kind of normal way with the rest of the population.
    Once the bet and the bowling night were done, she’d explain to Ted what a mistake it would be to continue putting himself anywhere in her proximity. Yep. That’s what she’d do. The sudden, burning constriction in her chest brought tears to her eyes. No matter. They merged with the rest of the water pouring down the drain—one more failed attempt to rid herself of the fetid reminder of the violence infecting her soul.

    “How was yesterday’s dinner with the Lovejoys?” Paige swept into their office. Dropping her purse into a drawer, she took her seat. “Overwhelming and smelly? Did Ted win the bet?”
    “Not by a long shot.” Cory snorted. “Ted has an amazing family, and their farm is really pretty. I loved it despite the stench, and after awhile, you don’t even notice the hog smell. There are so many good things about his home and family, the hogs don’t carry much weight. He’s lucky to have grown up where he did.”
    “Huh.” Paige pursed her lips. “If you say so. Were Noah and Ceejay there?”
    “No.” Ceejay’s warning came back to her in a rush of hurt pride.
    “Hey,” Paige murmured. “What’s wrong?”
    She hesitated, wondering how much she wanted to share. At the same time, it would be good to get another perspective,and Paige knew everybody so much better than she did. “Ceejay warned me not to hurt Ted. It kind of came out of nowhere, and…” It still stung.
    “Oh.” Paige flashed her a sympathetic look. “There’s history there, and it involves L&L. Ted was only twenty-one when I moved to Perfect. He had a crush on me back then. He kept asking me out and trying to convince me we’d be great together. And—”
    “You fell for Ryan.”
    “Yeah, I sure did. I couldn’t help myself. It’s that whole cowboy thing he’s got going on and those tortured blue eyes of