Her Forbidden Marine (Hearts Ablaze: Men in Uniform Book 2) (5 page)

Matt drove down Interstate-64 on Monday morning, heading toward Virginia Beach and Norfolk.  He was slated to give a series of briefings to some Navy personnel stationed at Norfolk, and Matt knew he’d be putting in long hours over the next couple of days.  He wished he’d been making this trip to the coast during the warmer months.  Taking a detour to the beach wouldn’t have been something he’d be able to turn down.  He could’ve spent the weekend enjoying the surf and sand and been good as new for the briefings slated to start at 1000 Monday morning.  The water would be too cold for anything in January though.  Even if he had a wetsuit, the Atlantic Ocean was much too frigid this far north in the middle of winter.

He’d gotten up before dawn this morning, tossing his duffle bag into the back of his Charger.  A couple of hours on the road, and he’d arrive in Norfolk in plenty of time for meeting with the brass on base and briefing the men there.  And hell, making small trips like this in the comfort of his car to Norfolk or up to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, was sure as hell better than driving through the desert in a Humvee to forward operating bases in Afghanistan.  His fists tightened on the steering wheel as he again recalled his last ride in the convoy he’d been traveling in.  The exact moment when they realized they were caught in the middle of an ambush. 
Fuck.
Would he ever get those memories off the forefront of his mind?

Furthermore, the idea of waiting around for Becky to call him left an uneasiness in his gut.  He liked being in control at all times, and he felt on edge waiting to hear her voice over the phone.  Would she want to see him again?  He didn’t know why he’d originally suggested Friday night.  That sure as hell sounded more like a date than two people casually getting together.  But memories of seeing her last Friday flashed through his mind—those sexy-as-hell tight jeans she had on, the little top that hugged her full breasts beneath the cardigan she wore.  The sweater had done little to conceal her killer curves, and he knew she’d drawn the attention of more than a few men in the crowd.  Was he just trying to keep her from going out with her friend again next weekend?  What right did he have to keep her from dating other men?

He flipped through the radio stations, finally finding a classic rock one and leaving it on that.  It began to rain, and he turned on his windshield wipers, the soggy weather matching his mood.  He’d barely been living at all during the past year, the monotonous days and nights blending together as one week led into another.  He’d been recovering from his injuries briefly at Walter Reed but knew he should’ve considered himself one of the luckiest guys in the world by walking away with only a few scars.  Hell, Bryan was still learning how to walk, read, and write again.  Eric was learning to live with one leg.  He had no right to feel sorry for himself.

Once Matt had returned to active duty, only work and his daily runs had kept him sane.  He could pound out his anger while he ran, the frustration he felt dissipating.  The longer he ran, the harder he pushed himself, the easier sleep came every night.  The dull ache he’d felt ever since losing his best friend had finally subsided to a more bearable memory.  I mean, hell, he’d finally gone out with the guys on base for the first time on Friday night, determined to gain control of his life once again.  And who had he run into?  The woman that had invaded his thoughts while he lay on the road in the desert, watching his buddy die.  Her smiling face had flashed through his mind.  Then he’d felt guilty as sin for imagining her while he lay there injured.  She was Brody’s to love and cherish, not his.  Never his.

But damn, if he hadn’t felt alive for the first time all year when he’d seen Becky this weekend.  Walking her to her car Friday night and talking to her over coffee yesterday had him dreaming of things he had no business wanting.  Not with her.  And now he was nervous as a teenager wondering when she’d call. 
If
she’d call.  Fuck that.  If he didn’t hear from her in a day or two, he’d call her back.  Her calming presence had made him feel better than he’d been in ages.  The temptation of her body had urges stirring in him that had been dormant since he’d been injured.  Even if nothing could happen between them, he couldn’t run away from her like he had in the past.  He had to see her, even if only for his own peace of mind.

“Coffee’s on,” Melissa called out to Becky as she wandered into her sister’s kitchen on Monday morning.  The aroma of the dark French roast permeated the spacious room, and Becky pulled out a chair at the table and gratefully sank into a seat while the coffee brewed.

“It smells heavenly,” she said with a sigh.

“What’s got you in such a wistful mood this morning?” Melissa asked.

“Just a lot on my mind,” Becky replied, watching as Melissa moved around the room, gathering things for breakfast.

“Such as?” Melissa prodded, grabbing a bagel and spreading it with cream cheese.

“I’m just trying to figure out what to do about a few things,” Becky said nonchalantly.  “Mom and Dad seemed upset when I left last night to come stay with you.  Mom practically chased me out the front door to drag me back.”

“I thought they knew you were staying here?”

“They did; Mom’s just worried about me I guess,” Becky said, rising from the table to pour herself a cup of the steaming black coffee.

Melissa laughed.  “Of course they’re worried; you’re their baby.”

“Mom and Dad I can deal with,” Becky replied, taking a long sip of hot coffee.  It practically scalded her throat, but there was nothing better than a fresh cup of coffee first thing in the morning.  She also instantly felt more awake, which was funny because there was no way that the caffeine worked its magic that quickly.  “I’m also trying to figure out what to do about Matt,” she admitted, turning toward her sister.

“Now that sounds more interesting than Mom and Dad.  What’s there to figure out?”

Becky sighed.  “He wants to see me on Friday.”

“Like on a date?  I thought you talked to him yesterday.”

“I did, and it was fine.  It was nice.  I mean, we were never really friends before, but we actually sat and talked for a while.”

“So you’re just friends.”

“I don’t think it’s a date.”  Becky set her mug down on the counter and went to work preparing her own bagel for breakfast.  “But I actually liked talking to him.”

“It’s okay for you to like him, you know.  You deserve to be happy,” Melissa said gently.  “And I tried to pry some details about him from Amy.  She said he’s pretty hot, so I guess you could do worse than Matt.”

Becky laughed.  “I just feel like I was in hiding all year, you know?  I’m finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  I survived, and maybe I can move forward with my life.”

“You can,” Melissa agreed.  “And you should.”

The girls carried their plates to the table and settled in.  Becky took a bite of her bagel, chewing it thoughtfully.  “I can’t meet him Friday actually; Jade’s party is that night.”

“I thought you said she was skiing all week?”

“They’re leaving today but are coming back Friday.  She’s all excited about the party, too.  I’ll just tell Matt we’ll meet up some other time.  Problem solved.”

“Bring him to Jade’s party,” Melissa said.

“Why on earth would I do that?”

“Because they’ll be tons of other people around—no awkward moments as you try to figure out what’s going on between you two.  And you get to spend a little time together.”

“Nothing’s ‘going on,’” Becky protested.

“Uh-huh.”

Becky took another sip of coffee, avoiding meeting her sister’s eyes.  “I guess that could work.”

“Ask him,” Melissa said firmly.

“You’re really bossy, you know?” Becky grumbled.

“That’s why you love me.”

***

After breakfast was over and Melissa had gone into work, Becky cleaned up the kitchen.  Once she’d gotten the dishes in the dishwasher and everything else back where it belonged, she called Jade.

“Becky!  What’s up, hun?  We’re just getting ready to head out.”

Becky could imagine Jade standing there in the hallway of her parents’ house, piles of suitcases and skiing equipment lined up for a week-long ski trip.

“Right, I just wanted to catch you before you go.  Will a lot of people be at the party on Friday?”

“What?” Jade asked absently.  She covered the phone and shouted out directions to someone in the background.  “Sorry.  Yeah, it’ll be a pretty big group.  Why?  Are you backing out on me?”

“No, I, uh, just wondered if I could bring Matt along.”

“Matt?  Absolutely!  The man was freaking gorgeous.”

Becky laughed.  “It’s nothing like that.  I need to check with him about it first anyway, but I’ll let you know.”

“What made you want to bring him then?”

Becky sighed.  She hadn’t yet told Jade about running into Matt last night.  Or about him walking her to her car on Friday evening.  “He wanted to get together on Friday.  I just don’t think I can be alone with him though, so a party seemed like a safe bet.”

“Hmmm.  Can’t be alone because you’ll argue with him?  Or can’t be alone because you’ll jump his bones?”

“Jade!” Becky burst out, her face turning red.  Thank God they were having this conversation over the phone.  “I just need more people around us.  Sort of as a buffer or something.”

“Right.  Just bring him already.  I’ve gotta go, but we’ll talk soon?”

“Yeah, have a fun trip.  Call me later this week.”

The girls said their goodbyes and hung up.  Now all she had to do was what?  Call Matt back?  Even though Friday night was his suggestion, she felt like she was asking him out on a date or something by inviting him to Jade’s party.  She sighed.  This moving on thing was a lot harder than she thought.

Matt pulled up to the brick Colonial tucked away in a quiet neighborhood on Friday night, admiring the recently-built home.  Becky had said her sister was a realtor, and apparently she did pretty well for herself based on this.  His own apartment seemed downright miniscule compared to her large house.  But what would he do with a home when he was deployed half the time and didn’t have a family to fill it?  Hell, he didn’t even have a girlfriend.  A place like this would be awfully big for a guy like him.  Someday when he got out of the military he’d buy a house.  He’d been saving up for a few years, but for now his possessions were few and far between.  He’d always liked it that way in the past, but as of late, life had been feeling pretty empty.

He eyed himself in the rearview mirror, wondering why he felt so fucking nervous.  He’d led men into battle, shot at insurgents hell-bent on killing any American they came across, jumped out of airplanes.  But driving up to a woman’s house had him quaking in his boots?  Hell.  Becky had taken her sweet time calling him back earlier this week, too.  He’d left her a message on Sunday morning and run into her that evening, but Becky had been perfectly content waiting until Tuesday night to return his call.  He’d been thinking she’d had a change of heart about wanting to see him.  And when they finally had spoken, instead of saying Friday didn’t work because of her friend’s party, she’d invited him along.

If this didn’t feel like a date, he wasn’t sure what did.  It was probably for the best that they’d be around other people, because he didn’t trust himself to be alone with her.  He’d held back before when she was with his best friend, but now?  It was damn near impossible to keep from pulling her into his arms and never letting go.  Hell, if Brody couldn’t hold her again, then why not him?  She’d just end up in some other man’s arms if he stepped aside.  Not that Becky wanted to be with him anyway, but hell.  The idea of another man kissing her, taking her home with him, making love to her, had Matt seeing red.

He rang the doorbell, and a stunning redhead answered. 
Melissa
, he thought.  Why the hell her ex-fiancé Michael had broken up with her mystified him.  She was completely stunning.  Jason had briefly told him the story that afternoon about the cancelled wedding when Matt had gotten back to base after his trip to Norfolk.  It was hard to see any man turning her down.  He caught sight of Becky walking down the stairs just then and knew he had gotten the better end of the bargain with the younger sister.  Becky was breathtaking.  Her brown hair was pulled back, showing off her beautiful face, and she wore a pretty green dress that highlighted all of her curves.  It was low enough to just show off some cleavage, and he struggled to keep his eyes on her face.

“Hi Matt,” she said, “Thanks for picking me up.  This is my sister Amy.”

The two shook hands, and Matt noticed Amy smiling slyly at them as they said their goodbyes.  Looks like she’d gotten the wrong idea about their evening.  He was escorting Becky to her friend’s party and they’d talk.  That was all.  So why did her feel like he was picking up his damn prom date or something?

The ride to Jade’s house was quiet, each of them lost in their own thoughts.  He glanced over at Becky once, seeing her delicate profile, and let his eyes wander lower just for a moment.  The swell of her breasts above that dress had his heart rate accelerating faster than if he’d been skydiving out of a damn airplane.  The dress she had on hit at mid-thigh, and just looking at the creamy, exposed skin beneath that silky green fabric had him growing hard.  What would it feel like to slide his hands over all that smooth skin?  Just the thought of his fingers tracing up her inner thighs until he reached her damp center had him playing out all sorts of fantasies in his mind.  What would it feel like touching and tasting her?  Sinking into her molten core?  She probably hadn’t been with many men aside from Brody, and what he wouldn’t do to pleasure her in every way he could imagine.

She turned toward him and he quickly glanced back at the road, hoping he hadn’t been busted staring at her legs.  Imaging them tossed over his shoulders as he took her slow and deep, listening to her moan. 
Hell.
  He was growing so hard he could barely concentrate on his driving, but it’s not like he could adjust his pants with her sitting beside him.  Thank God it was dark out, otherwise Becky would see how aroused he’d gotten just from gazing at her.  And that vanilla perfume she had on again was filling the confined space of the car and driving him insane.  He snuck a glance her way again, not saying a word, and found her studying him in the dark.  The air between them felt thick, charged, and he tried to tell himself that he was simply imagining things.

“So how was your trip to Norfolk?” Becky asked, seeming determined to ignore the sexual energy pulsing through the air between them.

“It was good.  Lots of briefings and long days, but I didn’t mind.”

“Do you like it here in Virginia?”

“It’s a hell of a lot better than being deployed to the Middle East,” Matt said, hoping like hell he wasn’t dredging up bad memories.  For either of them.  “But I miss California sometimes.”

“Me too, and I’m from Virginia.”

He laughed and looked her way again.  “It can do that do you—sunshine, sand, beaches.  Some pretty awesome Mexican food.”

“There’s the best Mexican place right around the corner from campus,” Becky said.  “I go there at least once a week.  I’m going to miss it when I graduate.”

“So you must be almost done with your Ph.D. by now, right?”

“Only one semester left,” Becky agreed.  “I’ve got my dissertation to finish and then I’m a free woman.”

Somehow Matt didn’t like the sound of that, even though he knew she meant she’d be free of collegiate life.  He wondered where she’d end up after graduating.  He’d always seen her as an inevitable part of his life before, when she’d been engaged to Brody, but now?  After their evening together and possibly seeing her once more while she was in town, she’d be moving on with her life.  He lived here now; she was on the west coast.  Even if Matt wanted to be with her, it sure as hell wouldn’t work.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Becky hedged, when neither of them had spoken for a few minutes.

“Just thinking.”

“About anything in particular?”

Matt shrugged as he pulled onto the street Becky had directed him to earlier.  He eased into a parking space in the apartment complex, turning off the engine.  “It’s just strange how life works out sometimes, you know?”  He glanced over at her again.  If someone had told him a year ago that he’d be taking Becky to a party, he’d have thought they’d lost their mind.  She met his gaze, and his groin tightened as they watched one another in the darkness.

“Life is full of surprises I guess,” she said lightly.

Matt nodded.  “I guess we should go inside.”

“Right, the party,” Becky said, seeming flustered.

Well, that was interesting
, Matt thought as he walked around the front of the Charger to open her door.  He reached out his hand to help her step out of the car.  As Becky’s slender fingers slid into his own, she stood up, the vanilla scent around her assaulting his senses again.  She looked up at him hesitantly, and before he could help himself, he dipped his head down, capturing her mouth in a kiss.

***

Becky gasped as Matt’s lips met hers.  They were soft, gentle, and hot against her mouth.  Heat surged through her, warming her from the center and spreading out so that her entire body pulsed with awareness of him.  A moment later his large hands were cupping her face, tilting her head back further.  She opened herself to him, letting his tongue slide into her mouth as she gasped for breath.  The warmth from his body radiated off of him and the scent of his cologne surrounded her.  She felt stunned, in shock that Matt would kiss her, and at the same time more alive than she’d been in an entire year.  Kissing Matt felt like she was flying, finally free of the all the grief and loneliness that had filled her life for the past twelve months.  Kissing Matt was like being brought back to life.

She’d been attracted to Matt, no doubt, ever since she’d bumped into him at the bar a week ago.  The way her body had pushed up against his solid frame had left her imaging more scenarios in which their bodies perfectly aligned with one another.  Namely beneath the sheets, with him moving over her. He’d practically kissed her a week ago as they’d stood by her car, saying goodnight.  It had been on her mind the entire week.  And now, as if unwilling to let a second chance slip away, he’d reached out and claimed her.

Her hands slid to his chest, running over the rock-hard muscles of his broad pectorals.  He was solid, and alive, and so real, right here in front of her.  He was also Brody’s best friend, and she couldn’t betray her former love this way. She slowly pulled away from Matt’s heated kisses, gently pushed against his muscular chest, until he stepped slightly back, gazing down at her with arousal filling his dark eyes.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t—I can’t do this,” Becky said hurriedly, sidestepping around him.

“Becky, wait,” he ground out, shutting the car door and easily catching up.  Her heels clicked along the sidewalk as she hurried toward Jade’s apartment building, and she wished she’d worn more sensible shoes.  He bit out a curse behind her and then was right at her side.  “I’m sorry,” he said, capturing one of her hands in his own, tugging her around so she faced him.  His thumb traced light circles over her skin, and she longed to feel more of his touch.

“We can’t do this, Matt.”

“Are you attracted to me?” he asked, his voice gruff.

“What?”

“I asked if you were attracted to me.  Because I think you are, and I sure as hell can’t get you out of my mind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Becky sputtered, tears coming to her eyes.  “You know exactly what the problem is, why we could never be together.”

“He’s gone, Becky,” Matt said in a low voice, catching her eye in the moonlight.  “He’s never coming back.”

“I can’t do this right now,” she said, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall.  “Let’s just go inside.”  She pulled away her hand, immediately sorry at the loss of his touch, and strode toward the building once more.  Matt didn’t argue this time, just followed silently behind her.