Wait For Me (2 page)

“No, I’m not here and I don’t want you sad, but you know what…” Vin looked down and shook his head. Just short twitches really, as if he couldn’t quite figure something out. “Dump him.” It was simply stated, unemotional. It wasn’t a command or an ultimatum, but Mel felt the words all the way down to her toes. And he once again, ignored her questions.

She wasn’t the only one who’d tipped her hand though. He was doing it too and there was only one way this ended. Her flat on her back with her legs wrapped around him.

“Vin, c’mon…” He turned and held her with that uncompromising stare that never failed to get to her. His bright eyes, deep set against his dark tanned skin, stood out like blue flames burning through charcoal. If she’d paid attention when he first turned around, she’d have seen the streaks of dirt across his face and neck that were evident to her now.

“If it’s not serious, Mel, if it’s not like that, dump him.” He took a step in her direction and she took a startled step back. He smirked. “That’s what I thought. Go on. Get
outta
here. I’ll stop in to see you before I head out again.”

He was angry with her, and while he really didn’t have a right to be, she understood why he was. She was his. She’d always been his. “No you won’t,” she accused. “You never do. How long are you home for?” she asked again.

“I’ll come by and see your mama soon too, but tell her I said hi.”

From the moment her mama had met him, he’d been the favorite. Of all the guys Mel had dated over the years, Vin had always been the one her mother liked best. “Stop ignoring what I say.” Then again, he was always her favorite, too.

“It’s for the best, baby. We both know that. Go on now. Run on back to your safe life and safe boyfriend.”

“I’m not some dog for you to order around.
Goddammit
,
Vinny
…” She shrank back against the wood frame of the workshop doorway and slapped a hand over her mouth. She’d never cursed at him like that and rarely did she call him
Vinny
. She’d used that when they were kids and he’d hated it, but allowed her to use it because he liked her. She didn’t think he liked her very much at the moment.

At the same time, she didn’t like him very much at that moment either. Loved him, yes. With every fiber of her being.

“Only you could get away with that,” he grumbled. “And no, you’re not some dog to be ordered around and I’ve never treated you as such.”

“Then why do you keep telling me to go on and get?”

“Because it’s how I talk. Because I didn’t have my upbringing drilled out of me at some Ivy League college. And because it
is
for the best.”

“Just because it’s Dane.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back. The late-morning sun was warm on her skin and tendrils of her hair stuck to her neck where she continued to sweat in the Southern heat.

Vinny
had an issue with Dane. Not that he didn’t take issue with any man she happened to be dating when he’d show up out of the blue, but Dane was special. The two had never been friends. All the girls wanted
Vinny
, but settled for Dane.
Vinny
was the bad boy and Dane had been the All-American and captain of the football team. He was the successful one with a free ride to any college and any life he wanted.
Vinny
was the wrong side of the tracks, deep-in-the-country boy. He was the brooding one, the quiet one. He was the dark, sexy-as-sin guy who ate the Danes of the world for breakfast then spit them out for lunch. He didn’t have the grades for the free ride so he was military bound, and as far as most of the kids in their town were concerned, military meant dumb.

Vinny
was a lot of things, but dumb wasn’t one of them. “For the best is not a good enough answer,” she insisted.

If she had the willpower, she’d walk away from Vin and head back to town, but she didn’t. She was willing to fight for him, for them, for herself and for what she wanted most. To be with Vin. That was all she ever wanted, from the first glimpse of him years ago, she’d only wanted him. If there was kismet or soul mates or Prince
Charmings
, he was hers. He wasn’t perfect and he sure as hell wasn’t easy, but he held her heart and she knew she’d never get it back.

“What do you want me to say, Mel?” It was one of the few times she’d ever heard a plea in his voice. And he used his nickname for her, which touched her even more. He stood across the room from her, daring her to leave, daring her to stay. She stared him down, refusing to give an inch even though her insides were quaking. He knew why she was there and why she couldn’t leave. “You really want an answer to your questions? Fine.” His voice rose, louder with each subsequent word. He pushed away from the bench and stalked toward her. Black cargo pants rode low on his hips and a gray sleeveless shirt hung loose on his upper body. Unlaced combat boots clomped on the sawdust-covered wood-plank floor beneath his feet, and as he got closer, she could smell grease, dirt, grass, and faint traces of metal. The chain he wore around his neck, his dog tags... He was never without them. He kept his hair cut military short and the heated look in his eyes kept her rooted to the spot.

“Uh, Vin, I…” What the hell was she going to say? She had his attention, just as she’d wanted when she burst in on him, and she couldn’t back down now or he’d know her for a coward. He scared her and tripped her up but he also turned her on like nobody’s business and melted her heart. She’d been half in love with him when they were kids in school. She’d started missing him the day he’d finally gotten his medical clearance letter from the Department of Defense and she’d cried for days when he left for boot camp.

From then on, each time he came home, she was elated and a quivering mass of need. But each time he left, she was little more than a broken mess. This time wouldn’t be any different, but when she’d heard he was home, she couldn’t stay away. When it came to him, self-preservation wasn’t part of her vocabulary.

“No.” The one word was curt, and somehow even shorter than the two letters that made it up. She wasn’t sure what the no was in reference to, but she closed her lips tight. He was a formidable man, and though he never physically hurt her, never would cause her harm, he damn sure excited her.

He stopped in front of her. Up close, she could see he had fresh scars that hadn’t been there the last time he’d been home. His nose had been broken again, too. Ugly scratches and scrapes slashed the side of his neck along with a few jagged cuts leading to his collarbone. She’d even go so far as to bet her next paycheck that he had a new bullet wound or two as well.

“
Vinny
,” she whispered helplessly. She didn’t know what else to say or do. He was silent as he loomed over her, gazing down with unblinking eyes. She reached out with a trembling hand, and with that lightning-quick reflex she had reluctantly admired earlier, he had her arm in a vise grip and her body slung over his shoulder. “Vin,” she protested, albeit weakly. “Put me down.”

He kicked the workshop door closed and walked with unhurried, measured strides back to the workbench. “Nope.”

“This is ridiculous,” she said into his back. “You can’t just go hauling women around like this.” Though honestly, she got a secret thrill when he manhandled her. It made her feel protected, cared for. Most women she knew would probably think it barbaric, and maybe it was, but it was one of his traits she loved most. She liked his He-Man strength and way of overpowering others. He was a physical man, strong and unbending. It was what had drawn her to him all those years ago and part of what kept her panting after him now.

“I don’t haul women around like this. I haul
you
around like this.” He set her down on the workbench, but not before he gave her ass a hard, stinging swat. “There’s a difference. And don’t think I don’t know how much you like it.”

“How?”

“Because it’s me and you,” he answered with finality, and bracketed her between his arms. “I can smell your pretty pussy when you’re over my shoulder, too. Did you know that? I know it gets you all kinds of hot when I do shit like that.”

Well, that shut her up. Figures he would know. “You’re crude.” It wasn’t much of a retort but it was all she had. The quirk of his lips told her it was on the weak side as well. She started to cross her arms over her chest but he stayed the motion. Most women would likely be embarrassed if a man said that to them, but she knew better than to try and play that trick. She liked it too much and he wouldn’t believe her if she tried to deny it.

“You like me crude. Now, do you want me to answer your questions about my comings and goings, or do you want me to let you go? I won’t hold you against your will, but I won’t let you run if what you really want is to stay.”

“Answer,” she whispered. And then…he started unbuttoning her shirt. Soft sleeveless denim and tiny white buttons slipped through his dirt-crusted fingers. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Vin. You don’t need to undress me.”

“You want answers, you abide by my rules.”

“But how can I do that if I don’t know the rules?”

He lifted his gaze and raised his brow. “Really? You don’t know the rules? After all the years we’ve known each other? All the years we’ve been screwing, fucking, and loving? That’s the card you’re
gonna
play?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, she
did
know the rules. She knew all the rules. She’d come to him, after all. She knew exactly what would happen the moment they so much as breathed the same air. That didn’t mean she couldn’t try being a little dumb in the hopes that her heart didn’t get broken again. “Stop teasing me,” she said with a conviction she didn’t feel.

“Not teasing, but I believe I’ll need to remind you.” He looked down and traced the edges of her bra with his fingers. They stood out against her lightly tanned skin, and his touch left a trail of heat in its path. “So pretty,” he softly admired. “I’ve always loved how you look in lace and cotton, baby. It’s real and gentle and feminine. It’s fucking sexy in a way satin and silk never could be. You’re a sweet country girl and it fits you. I absolutely love it. But,” he shook his head sadly, “it has to go.”

Without sparing it a second thought, Vin had a pair of wicked-looking clippers in his hand and snipped through the underwire and fabric. He lifted the cups away, caught her breasts in his hands and his thumbs went immediately to her nipples. In an instant, her clit twitched and her hips bucked as she
orgasmed
.

“Primed and ready. Damn, girl. Still just a flick of a finger can get you off.”

“You,” she breathed, heavy and hard. She hadn’t even known she was ready. Willing, yes. But not ready. She should have known though. All it took was one small, well-placed touch from him and she was wet, aching, and orgasmic.

“Me?”

Mel nodded and licked at her lips with a tongue suddenly dry. “Always you,
goddammit
.”

Vin smiled. “Seems to be your favorite word today.” He leaned in for a kiss that Mel met eagerly. God, she’d missed his kiss, the taste of his lips and the swipe of his tongue. She’d happily drink from him, but when she joined in, aching for a deeper kiss, he moved on from her lips, down across her jaw. Her throat was next where he stopped to suck at the skin in the hollow at the base. His thumbs still rasped across her nipples, but when his mouth replaced one of them, she bucked again.

Orgasms in such close proximity to one another usually weren’t her forte, but with Vin, anything was possible where her body was concerned. He could command and control her reactions with little more than a look or the slightest touch. She might as well say yes now and get it over with. Anything he might do to her, want or need from her, she would give.

Only thing was, he already knew that.

“We shouldn’t be doing this, Mel. I know we shouldn’t. If I were a better man, I’d pick you up, put you outside, and lock the door behind you.”

“
Vinny
—”

“But I’m not a better man. You’re my ray of sunshine, baby. You’re the one thing in this world that keeps me going. The shit I’ve seen, the shit I’ve had to do in the name of war and winning... I was little more than a kid when I left here the first time and... If I lost you, I’d have nothing else.”

She didn’t have a chance to process those words and her reaction to them for long before the button on his pants was popped open and the zipper lowered. His cock, angry red and hard, jutted forward, reaching for her. Mel’s gaze zeroed in on it. She licked her lips and spread her legs, anticipating the first touch. It had been months since he’d been inside her, months since she’d felt full and whole and well used.

Vin picked up the wicked-looking clippers again, and a split second before he cut into the leg of her shorts, she balked. “Y-you can’t do that.”