Promotion in War

As the other soldiers saw me, they could barely hide their shock. One of them even commented: "Looks like Commander Caleb brought himself a spoil," but it was too low for Caleb to hear. I turned and gave him a dark look, making him back off immediately. We were in his room, which consisted of a full bed, a wardrobe, a table with a small kitchenette in the back, and a small door that led into the bathroom.

"Please have a seat." He offered one of the two chairs that surrounded his small dining table. He moved around the room, leaving pens and papers out on the desk before sitting himself down in front of me. "Alright, I guess we should begin by jotting down our ideas. What we picture as an ideal peace treaty, and we'll work from there."

I began jotting down words on my paper:

Get off my land; stay on yours

Stop killing my soldiers

Create an alliance

I finished, watching him finish up as well. He looked at my paper, seeing the little amount of words on it and smiled arrogantly. "Have you finished?" I asked him, grabbing his gaze. His emerald eyes had a bit hazel in the center, surrounded by dark lashes, making them one of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. I felt trapped by his gaze for a few moments before I noticed him smile despite my grim tone.

"Yes, Marie. You don't seem to have much." He pointed out. I looked over his paper. There was just one line written. "You go first, darling."

"Alright, as you wish. First off, I want you off my land. We've never attempted to get on yours." I paused, waiting for a rebuttal.

Nothing came.

"Second, we both need to quit the bloodshed before anything else. The amounts of letters being sent to families of their dead children is getting ridiculous." I paused again, waiting for a refutation, but nothing came. He sat there smiling, keeping a slight blush on my cheeks. "Finally, I think we can work out an alliance."

"You bring good ideas, darling." He sighed. "But I have a better one." I gave him an inquisitive look. "I think we should merge. Actually, my president thinks we should merge. Your country has certain resources that my president is interested in."

My jaw dropped.

Merging

? "No, no. I don't think that'll work. If it's the resources that matter, we can trade easily. I'm sure your president can offer things to trade in return. Moreover, by merging, we'll have to change all laws, as is your people can't stand mine. It's a terrible idea."

"It's what he wants. He won't settle for less." Caleb stated flatly.

"But it's not what's good for my people. It's certain bloodshed, and I'm certain they and my president would be concerned by that kind of decision." I shook my head, crossing out the said ideas from the list.

"Then again, here we are, in the same room together. I don't want to kill you. I would feel ashamed of myself if I were to hurt you, darling. You seem so delicate."

I rolled my eyes. "That's not the first time I've heard that."

He chuckled. "I'm sure. We should consider it. I think we can both benefit from it. Maybe fully merge after both of our presidents are done with their terms. We can create a stronger democracy. And best of all, it will end the bloodshed. "

"That's true. With that, I can finally go to school. The military has let me catch up. Now, if you people hadn't started a war with us to begin with, I would almost be done with school right now. I could be a fully-fledged lawyer in two years. "

"Being Commanding Officer helps you with you dream. You have to know how to negotiate. Don't dwell on the past, darling. What happened—happened. Neither you nor I had a say. We have to try to fix it."

"And we better." I grumbled.

"So, we merge—"

"No! I said we were not merging."

"C'mon, darling, it'll be a wonderful idea."

"I said: no." I leaned forward on the table, my eyes like bullets burning into his.

I gasped as he banged his hands on the table with so much force, that the table pushed slightly in my direction. "I don't care what you personally want, Marie. I need to make the choice that best for my people. You think of us as monsters. Look, I could have you on your back right now, rather than discussing this stupid treaty. But I am treating you with respect."

I stood, suddenly feeling nervous. My cheeks turning bright red. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, please don't tell me you don't feel attracted to me! I felt it at the first moment I saw you. I saw the way you were staring, and it's one more reason why we should merge. Look, we can mix and have better genetic variation. We're both human. It's a win, win situation. Don't forget."

"I knew this was a bad idea. I knew this was bad the moment I didn't run from you in the forest." I began making my way to the door. As my small hand touched the doorknob, his hand held the door shut. "Let me pass." I demanded.

"No. You can't leave tonight. It's late, and the men out there haven't seen a woman in months. You walk out, who knows what they'll do."

"You convince me more and more every time that your people are savages." I looked up to meet his gaze with venom. "If you are trying to convince me that we should merge, none of your efforts are working."

He sighed. "At least spend the night. I'll bring you back in the morning. Like I said before, this is impossible. "

"It's not impossible. We need to find a compromise. Ideally, yes, merging is perfect. However, realistically: no. We can't. We'll kill each other." I began turning the doorknob, but he held the door shut.

"I said: you have to stay. I'm not joking about not knowing what they'd do to you."

"How do I know

you

won't do anything to me?" I asked as I placed my hands on my hips. "For all I know: you have a knife under your pillow, ready to get rid of me."

"Actually, it's in my nightstand. You can sleep with it if makes you feel safe. I'm not planning on doing anything to you yet."

I widened my eyes in horror.

Yet?!

Then, suddenly, instinct took over, and I punched him square in the jaw. His head snapped to the right with a grunt. "I really don't like to be threatened, and I

don't

take it lightly."

He chuckled for a moment

as he rubbed his jaw. "I see."

I stayed there frozen in front of him, wondering if he's going to hit me back. I brought up my fists to protect my center, but he seemed relaxed. I suddenly heard the little voice in my head:

don't bring your guard down. That's what he's waiting for!

"Not only are you beautiful, but feisty too. I think you and I are going to get along just fine."

I felt the control of my temper slipping. I sighed and mentally counted until my temper was in check. "First thing tomorrow morning, you are taking me home. No exceptions. We'll discuss this treaty with others until we can find a compromise on both sides." I pointed my finger at him the same way a mother would do to scold her child.

He tried to hold back a laugh. "No, my dear. There is no leaving yet. There are many plans that need to be discussed, and destinies to be realized."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I put my hands on my hips defiantly.

"It means many things. First off, the "decision making" is finalized here, with me. Only when we have come up with a good base shall I consider visiting your camp for further discussion. Second, we don't really acknowledge women as soldiers. We believe that makes a man a coward to consider letting a woman take their place in the middle of a battle... Finally, your new home is here with me. You're a spoil of war...

My

spoil."

My mouth fell agape. "What?!"

"Sorry, darling, it's the way we work. If you're captured, you are going to be taken care of by a soldier. It's better than killing you. Imagine how quickly you would have been killed it you were a man!"

"I think, I'll prefer the second alternative." I said sternly as I placed my hand again on the doorknob.

"That wasn't an alternative. This is the ultimatum. You belong to me and be glad of it. I'm nice compared to how the men treat others. I respect women, no matter their nationality. I can protect you, and I promise you'll have your needs met. I think I can make you happy and you can make me content too." He had turned to put away the pens and papers, apparently, not noticing my hand on the doorknob.

I shook my head. "You lied to me. You said I was going home. The only thing threatening my safety is you and your blasted army!" I turned the knob and ran out into the hallway. I didn't have a clue of where I was running to, but I continued as fast as my legs took me. Suddenly, I saw two doors leading to another room. I pushed my way through, stopping quickly when I realized where I was.

The soldier's barracks.

Oh, shit.

The baffled soldiers on their beds stared at me as I burst into their sleeping quarters. All of them were at least six feet tall and muscular with hard stares. Slowly, but surely, all of them began to get out of their beds and surrounded me. I looked around realizing I was like a rabbit being herded down by a pack of wolves.

"Look at what we have here!" One of them declared as he made his way to me. "She's a pretty one. " My eyes widened in terror. "Who wants a taste from this beautiful woman?" He shouted. He was shorter than Caleb with lighter brown hair and more muscle.

"She belongs to Caleb." One of the soldiers in the back stated. "He claimed her. I saw them walking in earlier today." A wave of disappointment followed his declaration.

The man in front of me looked at me. "If she belonged to Caleb, wouldn't she be with him right now? In fact, if she's here, it's not our concern whether she's been claimed or not. It would be an easy mistake." All men stepped in with predatory glares.

I felt my breathing increase.

This can't be happening. I have to find a way out.

"For starters, how about a little kiss? "The soldier grabbed my arm before attempting to pull me to him. Again, instinct took over, and my fist made connection with his face before he was able to pull me to him. I pulled my arm from his grip and tried to run off. One of the soldiers in the edge grabbed my arm.

"Let me go!" I tried to kick him, but missed and was rewarded with a slap across the face.

Suddenly the two doors burst, and Caleb stormed in. The soldier who slapped me immediately fell back, followed by the rest of the crowd. "Who gave you permission to touch her?

Who

?"

A wave of silence filled the room. My hand was still holding my red cheek. I looked at Caleb with watery eyes.

If only he hadn't kidnapped me, none of this would have happened. If only he would have never showed up. I would be with my sister at home

.

"Everyone, tomorrow we will be getting up an hour earlier, we will have exercise before breakfast and after. ..Followed by a class on how to treat women properly because we have obviously forgotten how to do so. However, right now everyone is to stay up late and run two miles on the track. Go!" All the men suddenly scurried off leaving me alone with Caleb. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thanks." I brought my sleeve up to wipe my tears away. "I didn't think they were capable of acting so savagely." I couldn't meet his gaze because he had warned me they would.

"I told you so. Their team captain is going to explain this to me tomorrow. In the meantime, let's head back to my cabin. You need to rest." He grabbed my arm.

"No! I want to go home. I have a family. I don't want to stay here." I looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please?"

"You will see them again when I go to propose the treaty. After that, I don't want any meddling, so, you'll have to wait 'til our wedding." He pulled me along to his cabin.

"What? No, no, no. You can't be serious!"I tried yanking my arm out with no use. I stopped walking and pulled Caleb to me. "You just said the w-word. And the w-word is the same as the m-word. Are you joking? This would never work! You don't know me." He used his free hand to bring a freed brown lock behind my ear.

"We have two weeks for that, darling."He chuckled.

"Two weeks?!" I paled.

I have to two weeks to get out of here and pray that I'll never see him again

. Anger filtered into my veins."Is that part of your barbaric law, too? To wed the first foreign woman you kidnap?"

"No. Not at all. Most men just want companionship. I, on the other hand, like you

a lot

."

"That's because I'm the enemy. It's tempting and forbidden. I'm the forbidden fruit! This isn't time to be fantasying about some

Romeo and Juliet

crap! We'll kill each other! I'm sure you won't be able to handle me. I have a very bad temper, and I don't want to have children." I lied.

"You were just complaining about not seeing your family, now you're telling me that you don't want to have children? Isn't that a little contradictive?"

I sighed in desperation. "What the hell are you going to do with a woman who isn't fertile?" I said with teary eyes.

He was about to rebuttal against my claim, but then saw my tears and pleading eyes. "Are you lying to me?" His expression darkened.

My head shook in denial. "I suffered a car accident when I was a child. My pelvis shattered and I lost an ovary. The other one produces dangerous cists. The doctors said I might want to look into adoption." Telling my dirty little secret might be my best weapon... as much as it hurts to remember. Caleb needs to feel repulsed by me. I saw his expression change from determination to anger.

"And they still let you join the army? What's wrong with you people?! That is completely ridiculous. Then you call

us

animals! Ugh!" He opened the door and led me in. He closed and locked the door behind him. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three. " I stood before a chair.

"Are you a virgin?" He kicked off his boots and too his shirt off.

"Y-yes." I stuttered as I gazed over his perfect toned abs and chest. Until I realized he was taking off his clothes "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready for bed." He leaned into a drawer and pulled out a large t-shirt. "The bathroom is over there."He pointed with his head."Go change."

"Okay." I grabbed it from his hand as I made my way to the bathroom. Once I entered, I searched for a window, not finding any or any other way of escape. "Great." I said as I started undressing, clumsily taking off my shirt and pants and tossing on the t-shirt that was clearly too large for my petit body.

I walked out into the darkened room, only illuminated by a small table lamp next to the bed. He was lying on the bed, resting. As I came towards him, he opened his eyes and jumped off the mattress. "Sorry, it's been a long day. Here," he signaled to the bed. I looked at him unsure.

"Where are you sleeping?" I said as my arms covered my chest.

"Unfortunately, my boss checks all bedrooms every morning, and since you are here with me, I am supposed to have... you know with you."

"He honestly can't expect that." I scoffed.

"He does. Therefore, we'll share the bed. It doesn't entitle me with any liberties and it'll keep my hands to myself. I'll be damned if I see him take you away from me because of something so stupid."He sighed. "It's also the loophole. It could be worse. We could have to sleep naked and strategically scatter our clothes on the floor."

I felt my cheeks flush in response just imagining being naked in bed with this man. "This day just keeps getting better, and better, and better..."

"Look at the bright side: it gets very cold here at night. We'll keep each other warm. " He tried to give me a reassuring smile. "I trust myself with you." He said as he grabbed my hand and led me to the bed. I sat down, feeling terribly nervous. He came down and kneeled before me, his height almost meeting my gaze, "Look, I will never try to do something you're not ready for. I know, this is a lot to take in for one night, and I admire your bravery. Most people would have freaked out by now or accepted the fact that there is no way out. I'm proud of you. Your bravery is more reason why we could elope. It's one more thing we have in common."

"Aren't you appalled by my lack of fertility?" I asked bitterly, scrutinizing him.

"Not one bit. I'm a little disappointed, yes, but we'll go to the best doctor's. We'll find a way, and if we can't, I don't mind adopting."

I was taken aback by his declaration. "You've only met me today, how can you be so sure?"

"You probably don't remember, but, we have fought in the same battlefield many times. I recall... you were so vicious, and powerful with firearms. You have the aim of a sniper. We also met at the first attempted peace treaty. You weren't at this position yet, but you were learning the ropes. Plus, we have a list of all of your commanding officers and personnel. We need to know who we are addressing."

I was speechless. This is a quite a predicament. At least, he's not naked.

"There is just one thing I want to try before we go to bed." He said as he looked up to me.

Before I had a chance to react, his lips were softly brushing against mine. Both of his hands came up to my cheeks to hold me to him before I would try to escape. As forward as he was, I couldn't remember anything; not the anger, the fact that he had me kidnapped. Nothing. All I could recall was the feeling of his warm, soft lips brushing against mine with desire, and my desire to let him continue.

I couldn't believe how natural his lips felt. He applied pressure with his body and led me towards the soft mattress beneath me. A whimper sounded from my chest as I felt him push my legs apart and get between them.

Suddenly, his lips became more demanding; they pushed against mine as his hands grabbed my arms and pulled them around his neck. I pulled him to me, deepening the kiss further as I whimpered against his lips. Abruptly, a growl ripped from his chest as he lightly bit down onto my shoulder.

"Mine," He declared in his god-like masculine voice. "All mine."

I tensed up then; I'm sure he felt it too. He carefully stopped kissing me and stared at me worried. And he was right to be worried. I was on the verge of having a panic attack. My pulse was racing; my forehead was breaking into a cold sweat.

I can't believe I let my enemy kiss me. I can't believe I let him see me so vulnerable.

I stared back into his emerald eyes with mixed emotions. Caleb is my enemy, that was true, but oddly enough, I could see myself with him. He felt natural against me, like we were meant to be. I looked at him horrified. Then, suddenly, I slapped him hard across his left cheek."What the hell just happened?" I rhetorically asked out loud. I glanced at him as he was covering his cheek. He was staring at me incredulously.

Has this man seriously never had a girl slap him after he steals a kiss from her?

His looked at me stunned. "Why'd you hit me? I thought you were enjoying it."

"I-" I tried to explain something that I couldn't even comprehend. Then, I narrowed my eyes and glared at him as I stood from the bed. "You stole a kiss from me!"

"I know," he said as a sly smile slipped on his wonderfully soft lips.

His lips...Stop it, this is what he wants.

The little voice in my head said.

He wants you vulnerable so you can't make right decisions!

"And you still wonder why I slapped you?" I stared at him baffled.

His expression darkened with lust again, and he grabbed my arm and roughly yanked me to him. "I know you were beginning to enjoy it. Can't you see? I felt it too. It felt right didn't it?"

My eyes widened in shock as I stared at his beautiful face. I quickly thought of a way to get him to release me."M-my arm is hurting."He looked down at his grip, loosening it immediately. Only when I tried to shake my arm free did he tighten again. "Hey, let me go!"I demanded as I continued my failed attempts on shaking my arm free.