McKenzie, Cooper - Her Knight in Dusty BDUs [Men Out of Uniform 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (2 page)

She was halfway home when the engine sputtered and died. She wrestled with the now defunct power steering to guide the truck far enough off the two-lane highway that it would not cause a traffic hazard. Once it rolled to a stop, she shifted it into park and turned off the engine. Climbing out, she checked the bed of the truck, but the half full gas can her brother usually carried there was missing.

“Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn,” she said as she stomped around the truck. She paused to kick all four tires as she passed them. Her stiletto-heeled ankle boots were sexy, but provided little protection against the hard tires.

Calling her brother, she was not surprised when the connection went straight to voicemail. Knowing Adam, he either left his phone in the bar or turned it off as soon as they had left the bar.

“Your truck is parked by the side of the road about two miles from the bar. When you come and get it be sure to bring a couple of gallons of gas, as it is bone dry. If I die walking home, I will come back and haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Sliding the phone back into her pocket, she retrieved her carryall from the passenger’s seat then locked the truck. She looked down the road toward the bar then up the road toward the house. Then she took a deep breath and sighed. With only the full moon playing hide and seek in the clouds overhead for light, Eden debated a moment. Two miles back to the unfinished apartment or four miles home. Looking down at her feet, she decided heading back into town was the better of the two options.

 
“Adam, you are one dead brother when next I see you,” she muttered as she started walking, moving to the middle of the road after she stumbled and twisted her ankle in the uneven ground and tall grass beside the road.

Barely a hundred yards into her hike, she stopped to pull off her shoes. After tucking them in her carryall, she continued on. The road was cool and hard under her bare feet, but she made better time without the high, high heels. As she walked, she mulled over an appropriate retribution for her brother’s negligence.

She thought of several great ways to get back at him before admitting to herself that she did not have either the backbone or the guts to hurt her twin. Instead, Eden changed her focus. She began to list what needed finishing in her apartment and map out the renovations she needed to make on the second apartment before she could rent it out. Mostly the place just needed a good cleaning and new paint to go with the new soundproofing carpeting she and Adam had laid down throughout the upstairs.

 
Eden was so lost in her thoughts it took a moment to recognize a motorized roar that quickly grew to drown out the sounds of night. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a single headlight coming toward her. She crossed to the other side of the road then stepped into the grass and froze. Maybe, if luck was with her, the rider would not notice her.

Luck continued to elude her. The roar of the engine changed and slowed. The big motorcycle passed her then circled back. It stopped just a few yards away, blinding her with its headlight. At that moment, Eden wished she would have stayed and slept in Adam’s truck. She would have no doubt woken up with a kink in her neck, but at least she would have woken up alive.

Her heart jumped into her throat as she squinted and tried to see past the bright light. All she could make out were broad shoulders and a motorcycle helmet. Obviously male, but was he friendly or looking for trouble?

She began to tremble when the rumbling engines suddenly went silent. The headlights shifted to the ground as he set his kickstand and dismounted. She wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. Town was more than a mile and a half away and the truck was too far to reach before whoever this was caught her.

* * * *

“What the hell?” Bailey Hawks said aloud as something in the road ahead flashed at the lead edge of his headlight.

That flash of something red and sparkly was not a deer crossing the road. Not at three o’clock in the morning.

Bailey eased up on the gas pedal as he passed a truck that looked brand new. It had not been there when he had taken off on his midnight ride a couple hours earlier. He would remember something that nice parked beside the road as if recently abandoned. The bike continued to coast as he kept a lookout for whatever it was they had seen.

“There she is,” Bailey said as they rode past. A small woman with a big bag over one shoulder stood frozen by the side of the road. “What the hell is she doing out here at this time of night?” He turned around and rolled back to where the woman stood by the side of the road.

In the harsh light from his cycle’s headlight, the woman was strikingly beautiful, though she appeared frightened. As well she should be, Bailey thought as he set the kickstand and took off his helmet.

He found he could not take her eyes off her. Her body was lusciously curved in all the right places, and she rocked her black jeans like he had not seen in a coon’s age. She wore her hair short and spiky and looked cute as all get-out. His cock perked up as he took in the total package. Could this be the woman he had been dreaming about since breaking up with his last girlfriend?

“Miss? Are you all right? Do you need a ride?” he asked as he began to walk toward her. When she took a step back and looked around as if ready to run, he stopped and waited for her to relax.

Chapter 2

The man’s voice was deep, gentle, and oddly soothing, but he was big, powerfully built, and very, very male. When he began to walk toward her, she took a step back as all the lessons she had learned in her self-defense class evaporated from her memory.

“I’m fine, thanks. Please, just go away.”

Eden made a shooing motion with both hands then turned and started walking again. She winced and fought down a cry when she stepped on a sharp rock. Hearing quick, heavy steps behind her, she knew there was no way she could outrun him. He was too big and no doubt in better shape than she was.

Taking a deep breath, she decided a strong offense was called for, no matter how fake it might be. Turning, she found herself facing a man who was more than a half foot taller than she was wearing what looked like a desert camouflage uniform.

“Go away. Please,” she said, wincing when, instead of strength, she heard stark fear in her voice.

“I can’t leave you out here all alone, miss,” the man said. “It’s not safe. I’m headed to Cherry Point and would be glad to give you a ride wherever you need to go.”

“You’re a Marine?”

“Yes, ma’am. Captain Bailey Hawks at your service,” he said with a half bow. His accent was not that of eastern North Carolina, but he was definitely Southern by birth and breeding.

Something about this encounter felt oddly out of time. Eden’s anger toward men in general evaporated as he waited patiently, his expression hopeful yet resolute. A small seed of hope grew in place of the anger as she studied him. It felt as if they had slipped back through time to an era where men were chivalrous toward women, protecting the weaker sex from any and all harm.

“Eden Xavier,” she finally responded, her Southern belle mother’s etiquette lessons kicking in.

“Charmed. Now, Miss Eden, where would you like to go?” Bailey stepped forward and offered his right arm as gentlemen of generations past might.

 
Concern about her physical safety waning, Eden wrapped her fingers around his forearm. Her breath caught for a second at the strength she felt there. “I’m headed back to my shop. It’s on your way to the main gate.”

Eden allowed Bailey to escort her to his motorcycle.

“Have you ever ridden before?” he asked as he helped her put on the helmet he had unstrapped from the back of his bike.

“A time or two,” she said with a smile.

If he only knew about the antique Indian Chief motorcycle that her grandfather had left her years ago. She had secretly restored it during her marriage, and it was currently taking up room in the garage behind Adam’s house.

“Nice bike.”

“Thank you.”

He leaned closer, and the scent of hardworking man and dust filled her. In response, her nipples stiffened and her pussy spasmed. The sensible side of her brain chastised her body for the sexual reaction, especially since she had sworn off men less than an hour before.

Bailey took her carryall after she retrieved her shoes out of the bag. He stowed it in one of the saddlebags on his bike while she put her shoes back on. He then he climbed on his bike. Then he helped her settle in behind him.

Once she settled, he pulled her body forward until her front pressed tight against his back. She wanted to move back and put some air between them, but before she could move, Bailey took her wrists and pulled her arms around his chest, keeping her in place.

“What’s the name of your shop, and how do we get there, sunflower?” Bailey asked.

“Eden’s Garden. Down this road on the left less than two miles ahead,” she said.

Bailey nodded. In the next instant conversation was impossible as the motorcycle’s engine roared to life. In the next heartbeat, they were off. Just as Eden began to relax into being a passenger instead of the driver, Bailey turned off the road into the parking lot in front of her building.

He parked in front of her little shop and dismounted, pulling off his helmet as he did so. Before Eden could climb off, he turned and wrapped large, strong hands around her waist. She gasped as he lifted her off the motorcycle as if she weighed nothing. She grabbed at his shoulders when he did not set her down but instead carried her up the front steps. He held her close to his body as he lowered her to the porch. She felt rippling muscles and a thick rod of male erection as he slid her down his body.

“Thank you,” she said looking up at Bailey.

“Thank you,” he returned with a smile that sent a shiver of heat through her to settle low in her pelvis.

“For what?”

“This,” he murmured just before he leaned down and kissed her.

* * * *

While he questioned the sanity of his actions for a single second, Bailey could not stop himself from pressing his lips to hers. The soft, gentle touch of her holding on as they had rode made him want more. Then his brain shut down as all the blood in his body raced to fill his long-neglected cock to just this side of the bursting point.

It had been two months since he had been this close to a woman. He probably should not start something now since he was a couple weeks from heading to the Middle East for a six-month tour of duty, but he did not care. There was magic in the air, and kissing this woman felt as right as anything he had ever done in his life. His body had been on high alert ever since he pulled her arms around his chest, and all he could think of was what he could do to keep her.

He parted his lips and licked at hers, tasting minty lip balm and woman. Then her lips parted. With that he deepened the kiss until their tongues danced from her mouth to his and back again. He wrapped one hand around the back of her neck to tilt her head farther back to take the kiss even farther. His other hand slid down her spine to her high, tight, muscular ass. Shifting, he pressed his painfully hard erection into her belly, and suddenly his body was no longer his own.

His hips thrust forward three times and his balls clenched. He groaned as jets of semen shot from the head of his cock. Bailey lifted his head and stared down at Eden. Horror and embarrassment filled him as he realized that he had just gotten off from hugging and kissing a woman he knew nothing about except her name.

What in the hell was wrong with him? He was a ten-year Marine getting ready to head into combat for God’s sake, not some green recruit with no self-discipline.

He watched as the pretty woman in his arms opened her eyes and stared up at him, looking as stunned as he felt. He had to grab for what was left of his quickly shredding control with both hands when she licked her lips.

“Are you all right?” she whispered.

He nodded without a word then gently kissed her again as he eased his lower body away from hers. Sex juice oozed down his lower body and soaked into his boxers. His cock twitched, wanting more as her tongue swiped over her lips again. A car driving by reminded him they were out in the open and he could not strip them both and kiss every inch of her. Cupping a hand around her cheek, he tilted her head so she looked up at him.