Her Sexy Marine Valentine (9 page)

* * *

M
ARI
HELD
FAST
to Brody's arm as they disembarked from the boat. The pills he'd given her, along with a bit of champagne, had helped tamp down her nerves. But never in her life had she been so glad to see dry land.

Once they were in his truck, Brody turned to her. “Are you up for another adventure?”

No. But he seemed so excited and she didn't want to disappoint him. “What do you have in mind?” She liked that he pushed her out of her comfort zone, and honestly he hadn't steered her wrong yet.

“Tomorrow night I'd like to take you somewhere.”

“Like on a date? I thought we, you know, just did this for appearances.” As she said the word she wished she hadn't. It always made her think of when this might all end. And that scared the heck out of her because she liked Brody. Probably a little too much.

He turned off the truck and took her hands in his. “I like spending time with you,” he said. “Whether we're fixing up the house, or like tonight, I just like having you near.”

“I like hanging out with you, too. But you don't have to do extra stuff to get me to sleep with you. I'm counting that as a bonus.” There, that sounded nice and casual.

He chuckled. “Mari, that's the best bonus I've had in a really long time. A
really
long time. But what I want to show you is something that's a part of me. An important part and I want to share it with you.”

She clapped her hands together like a little kid getting some candy. “So what is it? Now I'm all intrigued.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips. She wanted so much more. “You'll have to wait until tomorrow.”

She just remembered. “I have plans tomorrow, but I'll be free in the afternoon.”

He sat back and frowned.

Maybe he thought she had a date, but they'd already said they were exclusive. “With Abbott. She's my assistant at work. We have to do a walk-through on a new client's house, and then we're going shopping. I've been getting so much exercise with you at night the last couple of weeks that I need to pick up some new jeans. Before I met you I could barely fit in them, and now they're too big.”

He laughed. “Side benefit of the bonus.”

“Right?” She laughed with him. “I could postpone the shopping, but I really need them. And this client has rescheduled on me twice already.”

“Go buy your jeans, and I'll pick you up at the house say around four tomorrow afternoon. That should give us plenty of time.”

He started the truck and drove toward home. “One thing...” His tone was serious this time.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Tonight, I'm going to stay at my place. I know what we talked about, but after this thing tomorrow. I think...we can make it better. That doesn't make a lick of sense to you right now, but once you see the surprise, it might. Ben actually made the suggestion.”

She leaned over the console of the truck and squeezed his shoulder. “It's okay. Really, Brody. I don't want you to feel any kind of pressure. Now that I understand why you were doing it, I'm grateful. I don't have that much experience with guys. So I wasn't sure what to think.”

He took her hand and kissed her fingers.

“It's weird,” he said.

“What?”

“Talking.” He chuckled. “I've shared more with you in the last few weeks. Talked more than I have probably in a couple of years.”

“I should confess, I feel the same way. I'm comfortable with you. I can be myself and you don't seem to mind that I'm a tad unique. In the past, I was always worried that I'd turn a guy off if I didn't like the same movies or music that he did. It's dumb. I tried to make myself into whatever he wanted me to be.”

“You're kind of awesome the way you are.” The breath caught in her throat. The man made her total mush inside. Absolute total mush.

“You're pretty awesome yourself.”

Yep. She had it bad for Brody. A wickedly bad case of lust, or... When this was over, the pain would be a hundred times worse than it had been with Gary. But she would never regret this experience. Brody had given her so much and she didn't think he had a clue.

Yep. Heartbreak was ahead, but she was sticking with her plan to enjoy every moment she could with her Marine.

11

“
S
O
,
YOU
'
RE
DOING
it like bunnies and that's why you need skinny jeans?” Abbott said a little too loudly in the coffee shop where they stopped to get their iced chais with espresso. After her long night with Brody—he hadn't left until the wee hours of the morning—she needed a little pick-me-up.

“Abbott, not so loud. But yes,” Mari whispered as they sat down at a table near the window. “He's so... I can't even explain it. Strong, kind and generous. Today, while I'm here, he's at my house sanding down the banisters and the stairs so we can stain them. But at the same time I'm scared.”

“Your life just sucks,” Abbott said sarcastically. “A hot guy who gives you multiple orgasms and fixes your house. Oh, the horrors.”

“I told you, it's all temporary. Every part of it. And I'm okay with that. At least I have been, but now he's spoiled me for other men. How do you go from Brody to anyone else? I mean, I was with Gary and I thought he was okay.” Though, now she understood that she'd never loved him, and he certainly hadn't cared about her. They'd been going through the motions of what couples were supposed to do. It was no wonder he went off and found someone else. Not that he still wasn't a jerk, but she understood a little better.

“You're falling for him hard,” Abbott said. She picked up Mari's phone and glanced at the pic they'd taken on the yacht the night before. “I don't think I've ever seen you this happy, and you were on a
boat
. You hate boats.”

Mari laughed. “I know, right? Once we talked and he took me inside, I actually had a good time. I don't want to get on another one anytime soon, but I always have fun when I'm with him.”

Abbott nodded. Then she turned the phone toward Mari. “The way he's looking at you, I'd say he's fallen hard as well.”

Mari shook her head. “Nah. He's just a—” She glanced down at the picture. While she was smiling from ear to ear, he was watching her with this passionate look in his eyes. Was it possible? Was he into her as much as she was into him?

In the last two weeks, they'd progressed pretty fast. It might be one of those things that burned out quickly. She didn't have enough experience with affairs or flings to know what to expect.

“Oh, girl. You are too far gone,” Abbott said. “You guys should talk. Maybe this temporary thing might not be so...temporary.”

Mari bit her lip and then shrugged. “No. It's hot and heavy right now, but he's made it clear on several occasions that he's not a forever kind of guy. I get from what he's said about his dad, who has been married several times, that he feels like he's cut from the same cloth. He doesn't ever want to get married. And while that's okay for me right now, eventually I do want to settle down with someone.”

There was no way she'd be able to do that with Brody. He'd admitted he cared for her, but this thing between them would wind down. At the moment, it was too much, too fast.

“I don't know. Maybe he just hasn't met the right woman. Maybe you're the one who takes Lieutenant Brody Williams off the market.”

No. She wouldn't let herself think like that. And she wouldn't forget a minute of it. When it was over, and it was probably coming soon, she'd walk away with her head held high knowing she was better off for having met Brody.

You keep telling yourself that
.

* * *

I
NSTEAD
OF
USING
his key like he always did, Brody knocked on the door this time. He wanted Mari to feel like this was a real date. It was. Last night, when he realized how upset she was about his not staying over, he decided to show her how much he cared.

He didn't know where this thing between them was going, but he wasn't ready for it to end. The house was almost done, and they'd given themselves that time limit, but he was far from finished with her. In fact, Mari was the first woman he'd thought maybe he could forever be with. They were burning pretty hot, but the more time he had with her, the more he wanted.

He sometimes wished they could spend even more time together. He'd never been like that with a woman. He'd only been on more than one date with a handful of women, and never more than two dates. But with Mari, it was never enough. Sometimes he worried he might overwhelm her.

So tonight, he was showing her they could do what regular people did. Go out, have a good time. Well, maybe not
regular
. The surprise he had planned wasn't something most people ever had the opportunity to do. He knocked again when she didn't answer.

“Just a minute.” He heard her call and then rushed down the steps. In true Mari style, she was running late. That sort of thing used to bug him, but she was worth the wait.

She proved it when she opened the door. She had a sky-blue blouse that dipped down to show the top curve of her beautiful breasts. And her dark jeans looked as though they'd been tailored for her.

“Oh.” Her hand flew to her chest. “You look, wow. Brody, you take my breath away. You're so handsome in that sweater and jeans.”

“I was just about to tell you how gorgeous you look, Mari. Those jeans, all I can think about is taking them off you.”

She shrugged. “We could always stay here, but then I'd miss out on your surprise.”

“True.” He brought his right hand from behind his back. “These are for you.” He knew she liked pink and white, so he'd had the florist put together a special bouquet.

“I've never received flowers before.” She took them from him and then sniffed. “And they smell so good. You didn't have to do this.”

“I wanted to. Put them in water and then we need to go.” He followed her into the kitchen, unable to keep his eyes off her ass. “Those jeans,” he muttered.

Mari turned and smiled at him. “So you like?” Then she wiggled her butt in a cute little dance.

And there he went, hard as steel. It didn't take much with her. He grabbed her elbow gently and pulled her back against him, then rubbed himself against her tight little butt. “This is what you do to me, Mari, every time I see you.”

A moan escaped as she leaned into him. Her body was made for him. He'd figured that out the first night they'd made love.

“Go,” he said, gently pushing her away. “You moan like that again and we'll never make it out of here.” She gave him a playful wink, but then moved on to the kitchen to get a vase.

Twenty minutes later they were at the base. When he checked in at the front gate, she eyed him curiously. “Are you going to show me where you work?”

He nodded. “That's part of the surprise.” He put the visitor badge on her chest, spending a bit more time there than he should. Then he kissed her.

For some reason, he was nervous. Maybe it was sharing this part of himself, or maybe it was what he felt he needed to tell her. He drove them to the hangar.

She took a deep breath and put a hand on his arm. “This is so exciting. A real look into the life of Lieutenant Brody Williams.”

He'd never brought anyone from his personal life to work, but he wanted to show Mari. Tell her the truth and see how she handled it. If this didn't scare her, nothing would. But they were always honest with one another, and she had to see he had a darker side.

“Wow,” she said as they arrived at the hangar. “They're so much bigger in person. You fly these?”

“All of them,” he said, maybe a little proudly. “I'm teaching Viper navigation now, but I was flying a Stallion when—” His voice cut out and he cleared his throat.

“When you lost your friends in the crash,” she said, finishing the sentence for him. She looped her arm around his and leaned into his shoulder. “I can't even imagine how tough that is for you. I've never experienced that kind of loss.” He brought her around to face him and then he just hugged her. Hard.

“It's easier every day I'm around you, but I never forget. That's why I brought you here. I thought maybe I could make some new memories with the birds. Ones to help me through the tough times.”

“You probably don't want to, and that's okay if that's the case, but if you do want to tell me about what happened, I, uh, I'll listen.”

“That's why I brought you here. I want you to understand—” He wasn't sure what exactly. “Come on,” he said. He took her hand and guided her through the bay door all the way to the cockpit. “Here. Sit down.”

She glanced at her hands, which he noticed were trembling slightly. “I'm nervous, but not for me. For you. I know this is a big deal, Brody. I just don't want you to do anything that makes you feel worse or brings back the bad memories. You don't have to do this for me. After you explained on the yacht, I'm fine. Really.”

She did understand better than most. That was how she was wired. She was kind and caring and that's why he had to tell her.

Dredging up the past was his least favorite thing to do, but something told him that he needed to do this. That she was the one person who would understand his hell. He focused on their hands holding tight to each other.

“We were heading back to base. The team had picked up some artillery from another base for transport. My guys had come along to do the heavy lifting. We were flying over some mountains in Afghanistan. It was just supposed to be a regular run, and then the rockets came out of nowhere. We were so heavy and I couldn't get her higher, and then I couldn't keep her up. We were only about three miles from base, but the rotors and fuel tanks were done. Whoever shot at us knew exactly what they were doing.

“The fire from the fuel took out everyone in the back, including my copilot when he tried to save the others, but then the whole bird blew apart. The next thing I knew I was on the ground with one of the blades coming for me. I ducked and rolled but it sliced across my back. You probably saw the scars. I broke ribs, an arm and a leg. Ruptured my spleen. But I survived. No one else did. The only reason I lived was because I was still in the front. It was sheer stupid luck. I shouldn't be here. I should be dead in that desert with my friends.” His voice caught. He wasn't one for tears, but emotion clogged his throat.

“Brody,” she choked and then sobbed. He glanced up to find tears streaming down her face.

“Babe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I just wanted you to understand that I'm messed up. I lost so many who were close to me in one swoop. Those men were my brothers and they're gone. Just gone.”

She stood and then slipped her arms around him. “I'm not crying because you told me, Brody. I'm crying because you were hurt. You could have died along with them. I wouldn't have ever known you. And that—it's selfish, but that makes me so sad. Now I can't imagine never knowing you. I care about you so much, and you've brought a lot to my life in such a short time. And I get why you're so torn up. You have every right to feel like that, but I'm grateful, Brody. So grateful that you're here and holding me.”

Man, she was one of a kind. He kissed her. “New memories. This is why I wanted you here,” he said as he squeezed her tight. “I've flown just about every bird except this one. But I want to do it, with you sitting right there.” He pointed to the copilot's seat.

“Really. I've never even been in a helicopter. Won't you get in trouble with your boss? Taking it for personal use?”

He chuckled. “Technically, I'm about to take you on a training exercise. I have to fly a minimum amount each month and I'm a little low, especially with the Stallions. What do you think? Is this something you'd like to try?”

“If you're sure this is okay with you, I'm game for anything, so long as you're next to me,” she said. Her smile stretched across her face.

“I may take you up on that ‘anything,' but first let's go for a ride. Hop up and I'll strap you in.”

She clapped her hands. “I'm so excited. In a good way.” He stepped across and made sure she was strapped in her seat. Then he put on the headphones. “You can talk to me through here.” He pointed to the microphone attached to the headset. Then he double-checked her harness.

She gave him a winning smile.

He put on his headphones. “Are you ready?”

“Brody?”

“Yes?” He wondered if maybe it was a bit much for her. He'd just given her a lot to deal with—this was a big bird and for the uninitiated it could be intimidating. It was loud and a very different experience than flying in a commercial plane. He had grunts in his class who still cringed on liftoff.

“Thank you for making your new memories with me, and for sharing this.”

It was Mari who was doing him the favor.

“There's no one I'd rather do this with. Let's go.”

This was just one of many adventures he had planned for her.

New memories with Mari.

It was the first time he'd had a plan.

And the first time he'd been excited about living in almost a year.