What Part of Marine Don't You Understand? (The Challenge Series) (6 page)

“What?” He blinked and dragged his attention north, focusing on her cheerful brown eyes rather than the pert breasts framed beautifully behind the lettering on her shirt.

“I said my theme is Marines—Marines, their families, growing up Marine, Semper Fi, and goodnight.” She locked gazes with him and heat pulsed from his head to his cock and up again. He couldn’t be certain if he was relieved or disappointed when her shy eyes ducked away. Her cheeks were pink and flushed and damn gorgeous.

“I liked the one you sang earlier—about Leatherneck Brothers.” He could barely remember the words, but the playfulness in her voice had captivated him, the shine in her eyes and the way she bobbed her head to the rhythm she’d created reminded him of boot camp, to hard work, pride, and hope.

“That’s totally about my brothers.” She laughed. “All four of them.”

“You mentioned Brent earlier.”

“Yep.” She retrieved her beer and crossed one ankle over the other. “Brent, Charlie, David, and Toby. Toby’s my twin. Brent’s retired, but he still teaches, and he just got elected to Congress last year. Charlie’s overseas in the 5th Expeditionary Force, he does recon and communication set up. David’s in Egypt, and Toby’s somewhere in the South Pacific doing a float.”

Four older brothers—the thought might have discouraged him a few years ago. “And all Marines?”

“Every single one of them.” She laughed. “I miss them like crazy, but they’re all doing what they want to be doing. There was only ever one true downside to their calling….”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever tried to date with four brothers who intimidated the hell out of anyone asking you?” She grinned. “Or worse, had a crush on a Marine who knew your brothers and your father and dropped you squarely into the off limits category?”

Despite his reservations, he couldn’t help but grin. “No, ma’am. My brothers let me date whomever I choose.”

“Funny.” She made a face and took another drink. Everything fascinated him, even the movement of her graceful throat when she swallowed. It awakened a whole new level of need inside him.
Eyes front, Marine
.

“Of course, I don’t know your brothers.”

Delight and relief twinkled in her eyes. “I know.”

“Or your father.” The ledge got closer. She drifted her fingers across his hand where it rested on Jethro and awareness stormed through his system.

“Are you asking me out, Matt?”

His gut tightened and he took the plunge “Yes.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah?” Surprise and delight surfaced above the anxiety and the fist squeezing his heart eased.

“Oh, yeah. I love hanging out with you.”

Love.

Present tense.

It took every ounce of restraint not to give a fist bump. He turned his hand over, catching hers and holding it. “Me, too.”

They talked about all the movies they could watch, but neither turned on the television. Instead, they ate pizza and switched from beer to water, and talked. The conversation wandered over a dozen different topics from music, to Marines, to moms at home, and plans. Matt brought up the possibility of going to school, using his benefits to finish a college degree. His hesitance warned her he might be playing with the idea, but didn’t have a lot of confidence in it.

It neared midnight when he finally rose. “I should go.”

“It’s still early,” she protested with a yawn.

“That’s the fourth time you yawned and you’re tired.” Once he pointed it out, she noticed the shadows under his eyes but she didn’t want him to go. Rising, she grabbed the plates and he helped her clean up. It bought a few more minutes.

“I had fun tonight.”

“Me, too.” He stuffed the empty box into the trash and pulled the sack out, sealing it closed.

He’s going to take it out for me
…. “You don’t have to do that.” Putting a hand to his chest, she tipped her head to look at him. Up close, he was so much taller than she.

“I want to.” He covered her hand with his and her belly quivered. A few days of spending time together and then an evening and she didn’t want it to end.

“I had fun tonight.”

“You said that already.” Indulgence softened the tease in his voice and heat warmed her face.

“I guess I did.”
Let him go
…. “Tomorrow? Same time in the park?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” He squeezed her hand and let her go. She backed away and he circled around her. “Come on, Jethro, let’s let Naomi sleep.”

The dog stretched his way off the sofa and trotted over. Matt clipped his leash on and glanced at her. “Lock the door, okay?”

“Yes, sir.” She laughed.

“Thank you.”

It closed softly behind him and she leaned against the wood. They shared pizza, but the reluctance to say goodnight didn’t pass even with his exit.
Just go to bed, you silly girl
. A knock hit the wood before she could turn the deadbolt. Glancing through the peephole, she saw Matt waiting on the other side. She reopened the door with a questioning look.

“You didn’t lock it.” He frowned.

“I was just about to. Did you forget something?”

“Yeah.” He slid a hand around to cup her nape, tugged her forward, and his mouth slanted across hers. Closing her eyes, she sank into the kiss, delight shooing the surprise away. Rising on her tiptoes, she fisted his shirt. His lips were soft and firm, and the kiss started out sweet and quickly turned hard and wet when his tongue demanded access. Opening to it, she sighed at the delicious invasion.

The rasp of stubble on his cheeks grazed her, but she leaned into the kiss. Shivers raced up and down her spine, and she moaned a little when he broke the kiss. He rested his forehead against hers. His pupils appeared dilated in the low light, and his harsh breathing matching hers.

“Tomorrow?”

She swallowed. “I’d really like that.”

“Okay.”

Dizzy with the passion in the single kiss, she exhaled and pulled her hands away slowly. He was so warm beneath the cotton shirt. How much warmer would he be if he weren’t wearing it?

“Lock the door,” he reminded her and she nodded.

“Okay.” But neither moved. Would it be so bad to invite him inside?

He preempted her invitation. “I want to stay. But that’s not a good idea.”

“No?” Disappointment deflated her.

“Not yet.” He caressed her cheek. “You are so beautiful.”

Her heart flip-flopped. “Maybe tomorrow?”

“Maybe.” He grinned. “Go to bed.”

Biting back a groan, she retreated a step before she did something foolish and threw herself at him. “Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.”

She knew a promise when she heard one. Hating herself, she let him go and sagged against the closed door.
Holy hell on a biscuit
….

“Lock it,” he ordered from the other side and she laughed.

“You’re pushy.”

“Uh huh. Lock it.”

Flipping the deadbolt, she peeked through the peephole. He winked at her and left.

Blood still pounding, she grabbed her guitar rather than go to bed. She wanted to write about that kiss….
The Long Kiss Goodbye
….

No. Not goodbye.

The Long Kiss Till We Meet Again
….

“It needs work.” She licked her tingling lips, giddiness swirling through her. “
I kiss you hello, you kiss me goodbye, our bliss denied
…okay…yeah….”

Chapter Six

“You’re pretty calm today, Matt.”

They sat in James’ office for their daily session. Thirty minutes in and he hadn’t started pacing. But he didn’t feel the need, amazingly enough. Only managing about six hours of sleep the night before—but they were the best six hours he’d slept in months.

“I’m good today. Really good. Actually finished my application for courses at UTD. They have quite a few that I can do through the distance program.” He glanced at his watch. “I have a call with the admissions counselor later to go over any questions they have.”

“What courses are you planning to take?”

“Engineering. I used to have a knack for it and I like building. They just need to go over my grades from high school. I’ll probably have to take some refresher English classes. Papers were never my strong suit, but I have the math cold.”

Engineering as a career path came from a long conversation with his mother in the recent weeks. They talked by phone every other day or so. While the chats had begun as stilted, they’d relaxed into them faster with each opportunity.

His mom had some pretty good ideas about what used to interest Matt and they compared notes. Engineering fascinated him in high school, but putting it aside, he’d enlisted. It was definitely time to dust off the old ideas and explore them.

“I don’t imagine you can take a full course load through distance learning for engineering.” James’ tone asked for caution, but Matt waved it away. He’d thought about that.

“I know, but most of the core courses for the basic part of the degree—English, history, math—those I can do. I can also brush up on language skills. It’s amazing what they have in the course catalog. That also gives me time to work on my issues and be ready for on-site instruction in a few months.” He was leagues ahead in his progress. By next semester, he’d be ready to go on campus.

“We can’t put a time table on this….”

“Doc, it’s good. I know. We have to take each day one step at a time, we have to talk this through, and I have to remember without reliving. I’m doing great. These daily sessions, my workouts, Nao—” He coughed. He hadn’t planned to shake the cat out of the bag. The chances of diverting Doc’s attention were pretty slim.

“I heard you were spending time with Naomi Sparks.” No censure seasoned the statement, just an observation.

“I didn’t know you were a fan of gossip.” Other than Logan, he hadn’t mentioned Naomi to anyone. He paused to consider that. Well, Damon asked when he called him about the lunch and Jazz gave him a high five at physical therapy. They were the only people he’d told and of the three, only Logan knew of his actual interest.

“I’m not, but women talk.” At his blank look, James continued. “Jazz and Lauren are friends.”

“Oh.” He shifted forward and rested his elbows on his knees. Jethro lay sprawled on the carpet between them. The dog glanced up, but when Matt stayed seated, he set his head down again. Matt wasn’t certain how to respond to the Lauren comment. He liked James’ lady. Their quiet engagement the previous month had to be the worst kept secret on the campus, but everyone held the line because they didn’t want to spoil whatever surprise the couple planned.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. You’re still allowed a private life, Matt.” James gave him a graceful out, but he didn’t really deserve it.

“No, it’s cool. I just—I kept it quiet because I didn’t really know where it was leading and I….” He sighed, wincing. “I didn’t want you to tell me I’m not ready.”

“Do you think you might not be ready?”

Yeah, and hadn’t he walked right into that question. Tension knotted between his shoulder blades, but he didn’t shy away from it. “I don’t know.”

“Okay. What do you know?”

“I like her. She’s funny, she’s sweet as hell and she’s pretty. I like how I feel when I’m with her.” The corner of his mouth curved. “I like how I feel when I think about her.”

“How does she feel about you?”

“She hasn’t kicked me to the curb yet.” And she hadn’t wanted him to leave the night before, either. He might be rusty on the whole dating idea, but when he kissed her—she responded. God, she went up in flames in his arms, and he’d wanted to go right back into that apartment. But they weren’t there yet, and he hesitated to push faster than the kiss.

Hell—the kiss had been pushing it, but he was ready to test that envelope again later that day.

“Where did you meet?”

“Jethro.” Matt grinned down at him. Best damn dog in the world. He hoped the owners didn’t return any time soon, he didn’t want to turn him over. “Took him out for a walk and she sat there, playing her guitar in the park.”

“So you met a girl in the park?” The doc’s patient façade cracked and allowed some good humor to shine through.

“Yeah. She’s—she’s special. I don’t know if I can do her justice. She’s great.”

“I’d love to meet her sometime.”

“Duly noted.” No, definitely not ready for that introduction. But not impossible either. Chances were Doc had already met her.

“So let’s talk about how you’re sleeping….”

“Okay.” He held onto his good mood. “Some bad dreams, some not. More in the not category over the last few days.”

“Excellent. How’s the balance?”

“Spotty. If I push it, mostly good. Logan gave me the go ahead to add a second mile to the running regimen. We’re going to see if I can push without the puke.” He glanced at his watch again. As soon as they wrapped up there, he’d call the counselor and then grab some lunch. The weather seemed to be holding off the weather forecaster’s predicted storm. If the sun stayed out from behind the clouds, he and Naomi could eat in the park again.

“What happened in Iraq?”

“What?” The question pulled him back to the room.

“What happened in Iraq?”

His good mood diminished, but it didn’t disappear. “I got hurt during an attack.”

“What happened during the attack?”

Matt sighed. He didn’t want to talk about that. “Insurgents hit the base in the middle of the night. Suicide bombers. They took out the guard post. Came through the gates. I was asleep and….” The joy in him faded. Boots hit the ground, shouts echoed, and beyond them screams. He grabbed his gun and raced out the door….

***

“They want to move up your recording time, Naomi.” Phil Donovan called while she packed up her guitar to head to the park.

“How soon?” She still had another couple of weeks.

“Thursday.”

She grimaced. “That’s a couple of days.”

“I know, but if you want to fly out early, you can stay with me. We’ve got a band lined up. I just need you to get some of the music here so I can get them ready to go.”