Soul on Fire by Tal Bauer

Author:Tal Bauer [Bauer, Tal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

They washed again, faster this time, scrubbing themselves down before lying back on the blanket. They let the air dry them, cooling their overheated skin.

He should be exhausted after being up for over twenty-four hours, running a covert extraction mission that shifted to a combat mission, and then plunging headlong into the Congolese forest. But Elliot’s mind raced, his thoughts aligning in new ways, coming together like the world was suddenly different. Ikolo lay propped up at his side, one hand stroking Elliot’s broad chest. The touch was just shy of ticklish. He shivered. Smiled.

Memories of Ikolo’s hands flashed through his mind: the touch of a lover, caressing him, grasping him, stroking him. The touch of a healer bandaging his arm and wrapping the little girl’s foot. Ikolo’s hands were long, his fingers delicate, his palms rough.

Ikolo’s hands also made fists, and he’d punched the Mai-Mai rebel like a well-trained fighter. Had leaped off the bike and tackled him, taking him down in a move worthy of Marine Corps combatives.

He held the Kalashnikov like he knew how to use it.

“Tell me about you,” he whispered. “You’re not just a doctor.”

“I am. I graduated from the Kilimanjaro Medical University in Tanzania.”

“You said you’re from the Congo. Maniema Province.”

“That is also true.” Ikolo hesitated. “I left the Congo when I was twenty. I paid a smuggler to take me across Lake Tanganyika to Tanzania, and I restarted my life there, working as a laborer until I had enough money to go to school. I have a house in Tanzania, but I have always wanted to come home and help.”

“How long have you been back?”

“Two years,” Ikolo sighed. “It feels like an eternity.”

“Have you been at that hospital for two years?”

“Yes. I built it myself. There is always a need for doctors in the Congo, especially in the east. I picked Sake near the UN because people thought it was a safe place.”

Elliot chewed his lip. Worries slithered into his mind. “Are you— Are we—” He didn’t know how to ask.

Ikolo arched an eyebrow at him. “I should be the one asking you. American soldiers are notorious for being promiscuous, yes? That’s what everyone says, that American soldiers will give you the burn. One night of fun, maybe, with an American, but six weeks of painful pissing. You may have a good time, but they will make you regret it after.”

Elliot choked back a laugh. “Is that really what the reputation is?”

“Of course!” Ikolo narrowed his eyes, tried to hide his smile. “So, have you given me something terrible, soldier?”

“I’m a sailor, not a soldier.” Elliot kissed his forehead, his nose. “And no. I’m healthy, Doc.”

“As am I,” Ikolo breathed. He kissed Elliot sweetly, gently, until it turned hot, their slick bodies sliding together again, Ikolo moving on top of Elliot and thrusting against him as Elliot held his hips and locked their lips together.

They were both breathing heavily later, Ikolo’s forehead tucked under Elliot’s chin, sweat cooling off their sticky bodies. “For never having done anything with a man before, you’re a fast learner,” Ikolo whispered.

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