My Soldier: A Miliatary Romance (7 page)

Shaking her head side to side, her lips pulled tight. “I don't want to get into that right now.”

Nodding, I didn't press her. We all have things in our lives we want to forget, or leave in the past. If she wanted to tell me, that was up to her. “Sure, I can understand that.”

Her eyes flicked up, lashes fluttering against her face. “Thank you,” she said, reaching her fingers out, she softly gripped my arm.

I wanted her to keep going, let her hand fall to my waist and work its way onto my cock. Picturing her fingers wrapping around my shaft, stroking my length, it sent a surge of static through my gut. The buzzing took shape, melting from my belly over my dick. The blood rushing down made my cock beat against my briefs.

“You don't need to thank me, it's common courtesy. You don't want to talk about it, I'm not going to force you. But for the record, I am a pretty good listener.”

Avni smiled, her lips tugging to one side. “I'll keep that in mind.”

Grabbing the handle to Mizu's, I pulled the door open. “After you, Princess.”

Sitting in a small booth by the window, the scent of the food around us floated up into my nose. My stomach rumbled something fierce, a loud gurgle made its way out over the table. “You sound hungry,” she said giggling. Holding the straw to her lips, Avni wrapped them slowly around the plastic.

I was mesmerized, watching her plump lips form into a soft circle. She had no idea how badly I wanted those lips wrapped around my cock; or maybe she did. The sultry look in her eyes spoke a different language.

They called to me, crying out for me to brush her cheeks. But I held back, kept my hands tucked tightly away. If I was going to ignite a fire across her skin, it wasn't going to be from across the table in a restaurant.

“I'm starving, and I haven't had sushi in ages. This will be the first time I've had a decent meal in almost six months.” Rubbing my abs, my eyes opened wide.

“Six months? Why so long?” Twirling her straw, she played with the ice as it bounced inside the water.

“I just got back into the states, yesterday to be exact. Same day as our little chance encounter on the street.” Tilting my jaw up, I rubbed the knot still claiming the back of my head.

Smiling, she nodded in my direction. “Were you traveling?” Her head perked up, shoulders rolling back. The wide eyed woman teemed with curiosity and wonder.

“Not exactly,” I said. Gripping the chain around my neck, I pulled out my dog tags. “I'm a soldier.”

Avni's jaw dropped, her face turning a pale white.
“Soldier?
You're a soldier?”

“Yes, Ma'am.” Snapping my shoulders square, I sat as tall as I could against the seat.

“How come I didn't see your tags last night?” Her tone had suddenly heightened, dragging out off her tongue.

“I tucked them in my pocket before I stepped in. I didn't want one of those assholes tearing them off my neck.”

She began to wrap her fingers together, tapping the table. I could feel her leg vibrating, and hear the sound of her heel hitting the floor at a quickened pace. “Well, alright then.”

“What? Is that a problem?” I didn't understand why her demeanor had changed so drastically. She suddenly seemed tense, her muscles tightened, eyes darting around the room.

“No, no it's fine.” Avni's chest lifted heavily, her breaths short and shallow.

“Then what's wrong? Why do you look pissed?”

“I'm not pissed, I'm not. I just can't...” Pausing, her head fell to the table, fingers tearing apart the wrapper to her straw. “Look, I... I have to go.” Standing quickly, Avni threw her purse over her shoulder and took off for the door.

I was stunned, that seemed to come out of nowhere. One moment she's giving me the sexiest eyes I'd ever seen, and the next she's hightailing it out of the place.

What's her problem? I'm a soldier, what the fuck is wrong with that?

Gripping the edge of the table, I slid out. She had already made it to the door and was hitting the pavement hard by the time I finally got outside.

Searching the street, I saw her frame gliding rhythmically between the other people on the sidewalk. Avni was almost in a slow jog, dipping and dodging to avoid the shoulders of strangers.

“Avni! Avni, wait up!” I yelled, waving my arm. Breaking into a run, I bumped into a few people as I made my way to her. Grabbing her shoulder, I tugged her around. “What the hell was that? Why are you taking off?”

Throwing her hand up, she held her palm out firm. “Don't.” Her voice was short and stern.

“Don't what? What's going on?” Arching a brow, I cocked my head to the side.

“I can't do this, okay. I'm going home.” Folding her arms tight across her chest, she kicked her leg out to the side.

What the hell is she talking about?
I couldn't grasp what had just come over her, one minute she was smiling over sushi, the next she's stiff arming me in the street.

“Do what?” I asked, holding my arms out. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Look, I'm going home. And you should do the same.” Whipping around, she pulled her purse up high on her arm. “See you around, Levi,” she said over her shoulder.

“I thought we were going to have dinner? What's causing this freakout of yours?” Running a hand through my hair, I tugged the strands tight against my skull. “Because I'm a soldier? Really?”

I was baffled, not just with her, but with me too. Had this been any other woman in my past, I would have let them go. There was no way I was going to chase down some over the top drama queen.

Yeah, I'm a soldier. What the fuck did that matter?

But Avni, she gave me a feeling I hadn't felt before. And a small voice deep inside forced me to go after her. She was a light and I was the moth, I was drawn to her. And I couldn't explain it.

My heart had turned to marble after going to war. The life I knew had changed, the life I saw after was dull and cloudy.

There was so much hurt, suffering, and rage in others for things that were intangible. I saw it, I saw all the blackness that seeps through others, saw all the evil that turned men into animals.

And after it happened, after my life hung in the balance...

My heart never beat the same rhythm.

Until Avni.

“I told you, I'm not doing this.”

“V, it's just dinner. Stop being dramatic.” The instant the words fell off my lips, her entire body froze.

Avni stopped short, shoulders flicking taut. Slowly she turned to look at me, veering her stare. “What did you just say?”

“I said stop being dramatic, it's only dinner.” My hands fell to my waist, jaw jetting to the side. “It's not like I'm asking you to marry me or anything,
it's just dinner.”

“I don't do dinner with soldiers.” She hadn't turned around fully, but I could tell she was breathing hard. Her back was stiff, shoulders gently rising with the oxygen she was forcing into her lungs. “Go be a hero, I'm sure the world has room for another one.”

“I'm no saint, V. But you don't have to have dinner with the soldier, have dinner with me. Levi, just Levi.” Shrugging, I let my arms hang low, hands open. “I don't think that's a wild request, it's pretty simple if you ask me. It doesn't have to be complicated, it's just a fucking meal.”

Twisting around, her small bag fell to her forearm. “I feel dinner is owed for what you did to help me out. But that's it, just dinner, nothing more.”

“That's what I said. Come on, you said you love sushi, this is a free fish meal. You can't really pass that up.” Raising my brows, I shot her a crooked grin. “Please. Don't make me beg, just come keep me company.”

Sludging forward, her feet looked like they weighed a ton. Avni was walking as if her shoes were made of concrete blocks, the heavy weights trying to hold her in place. “Alright, you convinced me. Sushi is like a magic word in my world, but this is it.” Fanning her hand out, she drew a line in front of her. “Dinner and then I'm going home.”

“That's all I ask,” I said, stretching my arm out. Wrapping my fingers around her wrist, I tugged her in closer. “ Then I'll make sure you get home safe.”

“Alright, deal.” Her waist rocked back and forth, toe twisting into the pavement. She looked nervous, holding a thin smile across her face, eyes still and motionless; as if the muscles in her sockets had gone limp, halting any natural impulse to move.

All I wanted was to enjoy a nice dinner with her, and maybe some small talk.

Innocent small talk;
mostly.

The animal side of me wanted to ravage her, tear her clothes off her body and make her scream my name.

But she obviously wasn't feeling the same, or at least she was trying her best to push that down and away. All her body language up to that point was leaning towards an open invitation for a good fuck.

She wasn't making this easy, Avni had been playing hardball since last night. But her eyes when we first sat down said more than the words floating from her lips.

So why did she go into a frenzy when she found out I was soldier?
I had never gotten that reaction in my entire career with the Army.

Avni was holding something back, something that ran deep, cutting into the bone.

Slipping back into the booth, she wouldn't look me in the eye. Her face was traveling around the room, glancing at the walls and the menu. “I think I'm just going to get the Rainbow rolls, and maybe a beer.”

“Sounds good to me, what kind of beer?” I asked, turning the page of the colorful menu.

“I don't know, I'm not sure yet.” Her nose wrinkled, small lines forming across the bridge.

“Well, it's on me. So get whatever you want.” Folding the menu closed, I lifted my head to look at her. She was gorgeous, and I was finding it hard to not stare at her.

Her bangs had fallen into her eyes, flipping her head up, she tossed them from her face. The curve of her throat was smooth and calling for me to just run my tongue over it; and God, I wanted to do that so fucking badly.

Watching the skin of her neck move as she swallowed, the delicate area lifted softly, slowly rolling out. And I wanted to bite it, run nibbles up to her lips and over her ear.

“What do you think?” she asked, lowering the menu.

“Hmm?” I wasn't paying attention, I had gotten so lost in just her presence I couldn't even think straight.

“A Boston lager, that's what I think I want.” Avni dipped one brow, lids slit tight. “Are you even listening?”

“Honestly, no.” Chuckling, I folded my hands on top of the table. Shifting my waist, I tried adjust the semi forming in my jeans. “ You're just so fucking beautiful,” I said, tugging at my bottom lip with my teeth.

“Don't, you can stop right there. Just dinner, remember?” The corner of her lip raised just a hair, I watched her muscles try and keep her mouth firm. She didn't want to smile, she didn't want to accept the compliment.

But in her subtle smirk, she did.

“I know, so tell me something about yourself then. Get my mind moving elsewhere, otherwise you're going to listen to me make bad pickup lines all night.”

Laughing, Avni gripped her water and took a long sip. “Well, what do you want to know?”

“How old are you?”

“Don't you know you're never supposed to ask a lady her age?”  Her head fell to her shoulder, smiling big. Her white teeth gleamed brightly under the florescent lighting, tongue gliding smoothly over her lower lip.

She wants me to not be turned on? How the hell am I supposed to do that when she's teasing my cock and doesn't even realize it.

Scrunching my lips to the side, I tapped my chin. “But how do I know you're legal? You could be in high school and like older men. I have to protect myself you know.”

Giggling, she tugged at her earlobe, adjusting the hoop. “I'm twenty-three, you?”

“Twenty-six. Good, we're both of legal age.” Leaning back against the deep blue, patent leather cushion, it creaked with my weight pressed against it. I almost expected it to give way, the surface was cracked, small wisps of white cotton poked through, tickling the back of my arm.

A waiter scurried in our direction, holding a notepad. Standing at the table, he said, “Can I get you something to drink?”

Glancing back at Avni, I held my hand up. “Ladies first.”

She couldn't stop the smile that time. It spread as fast as wild fire in a dry hay bale. Stumbling on her words, she sent me a crossed glance. “Yeah, I'll have a Sam's and an order of Rainbow rolls, please.”

“And for you, Sir?” The waiter asked.

Just her please. I'll take her now, later, tomorrow.

The waiter was a very small man, no more than five feet tall I'd say. And it was hard for me to not laugh while giving him my order.

Every word I said he followed with a long drawn out,
'ah.'
Like I had just given him an in-depth explanation on how the universe came to be.

Squinting at Avni as he walked away, we both lost it. The two of us let out a guttural laugh when he was finally out of earshot.

“Wow, I must have given him the most interesting order of his life.”

Between her chuckles, she said, “Ah, it's possible.”

That laugh, that tender delicious sonnet.
It was music to my ears and motivation for my cock. The muscle jumped with need as her song played from her lips.

“Ah, it sure is.” The words fell from the back of my mouth, composed of the air that was shooting out of my lungs. “Alright, so you're twenty-three. What do you do for work?”

I was rambling off nonsensical questions that seemed better fit for that dating show on T.V. What was it? The Bachelor? When inside, my body was screaming for me to take her home.

“I'm a support staff.”

“A what?” I asked, lip curling up.

“I work with adults with disabilities in a group home.”

“And that means what exactly? Like alcoholics in a half-way house?”

“No, nothing like that. I work with people who were born with Autism, Down syndrome, brain injuries.” Rolling her wrist, Avni said, “That type of group home.”

“Wow, that's got to be tough.”

“It can be at times, but I love it. It hits home, so the job came easy to me.”