The Soldier Next Door (3 page)

“That sounds awful.” Inwardly she shuddered, unable to imagine such harsh conditions. “Do you remember much of last night?”

A sheepish grin tugged at his lips. “I don’t know…maybe.”

“Your tattoos?”

He studied her face briefly, then it dawned on him. “Oh shit. I was pretty fucked up.” He let out a casual laugh.

“You’re not drinking today.”

“No, I don’t do that all the time. I get nervous around new people. The PTSD gives me panic attacks.”

“I know what those are like. I had Agoraphobia in my early twenties. The anxiety can be hell.”

“Yeah,” he muttered. “The VA gives me Xanax to help. Do you want some?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” she replied with a little laugh.

“Every time I go for my doctor appointments I change my look. I don’t want their cameras to recognize me so I’ll shave my head, or grow a beard then shave the beard and grow my hair. I don’t want them sticking me back in the hospital.”

Sydnie thought this was a bit paranoid, but kept her thoughts to herself. “You seem more at ease today. Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay. I have bacon in the fridge. I live on BLTs and potato salad.” He stared straight at her with those intense brown eyes. “Are you hungry?”

“I have food at the house. I should get back to work and let you rest.” She wrote her phone number on a piece of paper. “If you ever need anything just give me a call or send a text.”

“Do you wanna go out to dinner or something?”

“Um…are you sure you feel up to it?” Her stomach tightened with nervous tension. She wanted to say
yes
, as he seemed so much sweeter today yet she worried he might start drinking toward nightfall. She wasn’t completely convinced he didn’t drink often.

“Nobody ever comes here, except Nicole once a day to lay out my meds. I told you she’s my caregiver, didn’t I?”

“Yes. Is that how you met?”

“No, we were boyfriend and girlfriend before then. I bought this house for her, thought we’d be a family. She has a son, but we didn’t have kids together. I was snipped after the war because of my disability.”

“I guess it gets lonely in this big house.”

“Yeah. What about you? You live over there alone?”

She nodded. “My husband left me several years ago for a younger woman. I can’t bring myself to move yet. I’ve lived there over twenty years. It still feels like home.”

“I’m sorry about your old man. He must be crazy. You don’t look past your thirties and you’re hot.”

“Thank you.” She looked down at her lap. It had been a long time since she heard those words from a man. “I haven’t dated since.”

“So how about dinner? It’s the least I can to thank you for sitting with me last night. Sometimes the nights get long.”

“I must admit, you took me to places in the human mind that terrified me. But I’m not afraid of the demons that haunt you. There’s a gentleness in your eyes behind the rage.”

He smiled. “I feel like I can be myself with you. You didn’t try to call anyone or take me to the hospital like everyone else. I just can’t tell people that shit. It scares them. They can’t handle it.”

“I’ve had my share of hellish ordeals. None quite like yours, but I’ve been broken inside.”

He studied her face for several long minutes as if searching her soul. She shifted beneath his candid stare.

“Do you like steak?”

“Sometimes.”

“There’s an awesome restaurant in town that cooks them just right. Wanna go?” That puppy-dog expression returned again, the adorable brown eyes with sweetly arched brows that tugged at her heart. She couldn’t say
no
to that look.

“Yeah, why not.” She stood up to leave. “I’ll just run over and change.”

“Why?” His gaze moved over her. “You look great. I love your hair. I love women with long hair.” He held out her jacket. “I promise that our second date will be better than the first.”

“Date?” She slid her arms into the sleeves, flattered by his comments and gentlemanly gesture.

“That is what it’s called when a man and woman have dinner together, isn’t it?”

“I guess so.” She laughed a little. “Wouldn’t you be better off with a woman your own age?”

“I tried that. All four of them cheated on me. Besides, you don’t look much older than me.”

“How old are you?”

“Thirty-six.”

“I’m ten years older. Sure you want that date?”

He let out an easy laugh. “Ten years, that’s nothing. Age is meaningless. I feel like I’m over fifty most of the time and according to the doctors, I don’t have many good years left.”

“Aw, don’t believe them. I’ve read many stories of people who overcome the odds.”

A mix of gratitude and affection shone in his eyes. He motioned for her to walk out ahead of him. After opening the passenger side door and helping her climb into his four-by-four truck, he walked around and slid behind the wheel. When he started it up, the engine growled its power. He gunned it a few times and she recognized the sound of glasspack exhaust from her classic car days. The truck rumbled out the drive nice and slow, then he tromped it down and they shot off like a rocket. Sydnie grabbed the handle mounted to the side of the door and hung on as he whipped around bends and flew down country roads as if running from the devil.

Once they hit the highway, he pushed the truck into high gear. In less than five seconds they were doing eighty. He looked pretty happy so she kept her mouth shut and didn’t even let out a squeak. She hadn’t ridden with a wild man since her dating days. Only one man before this one had terrorized her with his aggressive driving. In a weird way, she missed those days. As they ripped up the road, she began to embrace the thrill and leave the fear behind. Mason had an uncanny way of making her forget about age.

The restaurant was not very far from home, but they arrived in record time nonetheless. He swung into the lot and parked. Her knees felt a bit shaky when he came around to her side and opened the door.

She hid her anxiety behind a smile. “You must be really hungry.”

“Why?”

“You got us here very fast.”

“No use having power if you don’t use it,” he said with a mischievous grin.

Inside, a hostess guided them to a table, took their drink orders, then left. Sydnie breathed a sigh of relief when Mason ordered soda and not liquor. The way he drove left no room for alcohol in the mix.

They ate perfectly cooked steaks and chatted casually over dinner. He told her more about his family, most notably his father who he seemed to admire a great deal though they rarely saw each other. He opened up about his relationships and she discovered he’d had a string of bad marriages, which all ended with the women cheating. And his most recent love interest, Nicole, who he thought would be the one, ended up finding another man as well.

Sydnie couldn’t help but wonder if there was a pattern that had caused the breakups. Either that or this man simply had really bad luck.

When he inquired about her ex, she told him in brief what happened, but omitted personal details. Talking about the man who divorced her for a woman half his age wasn’t her favorite subject. They lingered in conversation over dessert, getting to know each other.

His sober side was extremely appealing. He told her stories of his life before the war. He truly was hell on wheels and he expressed himself in ways that made her laugh harder than she’d laughed in years. Mason seemed to live his life without fear before, during, and after the war and he was wild.

She listened in shocked fascination as he talked about the time he’d run over a cop with his quad, by accident of course. And by a glitch in the police report, all charges were dropped. She couldn’t believe he ended up living next door to that very same cop years later and they even became friends. His bad luck with women paralleled the lucky breaks he had with the law. He’d been chased, caught, and close to landing in jail so many times, she was amazed he survived his youth long enough to even enlist in the military.

“I was worried my felony charge would keep me out,” he confessed. “I tried getting into the Marines, but they told me to go next door. They won’t take anyone with a record. The Army made me go through a formal hearing, where I signed papers, then they cleared my record and took me in. After that I knew I couldn’t fuck up again.”

“I’ve never met anyone quite like you.” She found herself getting lost in his shimmering eyes. Dark lashes formed a pretty rim like natural eyeliner. “You have an amazing zest for life even after everything.”

“I’m gonna live till I die,” he said.

And she understood what he meant.

After dinner he drove them home at the same wicked pace as before. She was thankful for her strong stomach. A frailer woman would not have survived without losing her meal.

He laughed easily and his lighter side charmed her. “Do you wanna come in for a while? Watch a movie?”

She glanced at the dashboard clock. “That sounds nice. I should be working, but what the hell.” If he could live every moment as if it was his last, she could surely let down and relax for one night. “This is a holiday weekend after all.”

Mason handed her a cold soda as they took a seat on his large comfortable sofa. “Ever see
Better off Dead
? That movie is funny as hell.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it.” She shot him a quirky look. The supposed noose in the basement sprung to mind. “Any correlation between you and the movie?”

He thought for a minute, then laughed. “Oh…that. No, actually I took the noose down. It upset my mom.”

“I can imagine,” Syndie said with a wry grin, making him laugh again.

She didn’t shy away when he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. His touch was sweet and openly affectionate. They’d lived next to each other for months, but didn’t know each other until now. She had no idea the guy next door was this appealing in almost every way.

As if sensing her acceptance, he relaxed and pulled her into a cozy embrace with both arms around her. She laid her head back against his shoulder. They watched the movie, laughing and connecting on yet another level. As the film neared its end, Mason lifted her face toward his with a gentle hand.

“You are very pretty and I feel good with you.” His lips touched hers lightly, once, twice, then sealed her mouth in a passionate kiss.

He eased her around to face him and at the same time slid down on the sofa. His inviting scent floated over her. He tasted fresh, masculine. Her breasts pressed against his hard chest as his arms tightened around her. The longing in his kiss stirred her forgotten desire to be held by a man. She’d had some casual dates over the years, but none intrigued her enough to go beyond a quick kiss goodnight. Work had been her lover since the divorce—it was much safer for the heart.

She returned his kiss fervently, completely enamored by this unpredictable seemingly genuine man. His hand slid under her sweater and his touch felt surprisingly natural. They rolled over and he took the lead. His lips wandered from hers down to her neck, then lower as he pushed the sweater up. Urges buried for years surfaced at blazing speed. Suddenly, she wanted this younger man despite the warning signs flashing in her head.

He reached behind her and unhooked her bra, then began kissing and sucking one breast while caressing the other. A light moan escaped her as the familiar ache welled between her thighs.
This cannot be happening,
she screamed inside, yet did nothing to stop it.

Mason stopped abruptly and lifted his head. She stared into eyes overflowing with passion. He literally reached into her mind with that soul-searching gaze and in turn revealed intense emotion. What she saw in his eyes captured her as nobody ever had. An inexplicable longing for human affection became evident in that profound exchange of unspoken thought.

He swept her off the cushions with muscular arms. She curled her arms around his strong neck as he carried her back the hall. After laying her on the bed he peeled his shirt overhead, presenting a chest and six-pack abs any woman would drool over. She watched in silence as he pulled off shoes and socks, then his jeans.
Mercy!
She sucked in a sharp breath, unable to stop herself from admiring a cock sure to please.

They didn’t say a word as he finished undressing her. He unwrapped her like a special gift, taking his time to lovingly remove every stitch of clothing from her trembling body. Afterward, he slid onto the bed, then rolled onto his side, caressing her face with a feather touch. With one hand resting alongside her cheek, he kissed her again.

She draped a leg over his waist, snuggling against his hard body. He let out a jagged breath before gripping her thigh and pulling it tight around him. His hard length pressed against her.

“Wait…” She gasped. “Protection…do you…”

“Yeah…sorry, I got carried away.” He reached into a nightstand drawer.

Her hands raked up his back and down again, then over his tight ass and the back of his thighs as he lay on top of her. They engaged in another round of hot kissing, laden with sensual tongue play as their hands swept over one another. She liked that he was as affectionate as he was sexual. There was no rush to intercourse. He leisurely bathed her in kisses and tantalizing caresses, stimulating her into a heated frenzy. With a shift of her hips, Sydnie indicated her readiness to take him all the way.

They gasped in unison on the first thrust. He felt so good she nearly exploded on impact. A deep moan rose in her throat. Mason braced his weight over her, staring down with half-closed eyes while driving his magnificent cock into her body. She locked her ankles behind his taut thighs as they merged into a steady rhythm.

He possessed incredible stamina, thrusting into her again and again until her sex tightened in blissful need for release. That all-consuming moment just before orgasm, the idyllic sensation of wanting it to last forever seized her seconds before the spasms hit.

“Ohhh yesss…” she cried out. “Hell yesss…”

“Fuck yeah,” he groaned in her ear as his body lurched forward.

They never missed a beat. He gave her the most amazing orgasm she’d experienced in years. She dug her nails into his back as the climax peaked. Her breaths came short and fast. His heavy breathing swirled around her. The heady scent of sensual cologne and sex teased her senses.