A Major Connection (12 page)

“Oh wow. That was actually romantic. For real.”

“Fuckin’ A.”

She laughed. “Bobby Thorn, you’re the man for me.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way. I know it’s too soon for a ring and all, but that’s where I’m heading. Thought you should know.”

She swallowed audibly.

“And you have to know I’ll never be a millionaire, not serving my country.”

“The money never mattered to me.”

“I know. It’s all about the challenge. About the work.”

She sighed and snuggled closer, rubbing against his erection in the process. “Yeah. And speaking of work… How about you remind me what a great catch you are?”

He didn’t have to be told twice. Thorn had her bared from the waist down in seconds and plastered his mouth between her legs. God, he’d missed her.

The sweet sounds she made fed his desire, until he was aching from the need to come. Not taking the time to do more than stand and free himself from his pants, he carried her to the nearest wall, spread her legs and lifted her in his hands, then thrust up inside her.

“Missed you, baby,” he rasped as he took her.

“You too. I love you, Bobby.”

“Fuck.” He wasn’t going to last.

He took her past her own orgasm, and the feel of her body clamping down on his made him see stars. He moaned her name as he came, emptying inside her until he had nothing left.

“This. This is what I missed,” he said in a hoarse voice. “Being a part of you.”

She stroked his hair. “Yeah. We’re connected. In more ways than one.”

He sighed and kissed her, his arousal not yet abated. He continued to pump inside her, getting nice and stiff all over again. “Guess what I’m thinking?”

She clutched his shoulders tight. “That you need a haircut?” She tugged the short hairs at the top of his head.

“That if we ever get a dog, I’m naming him Lobo Junior. I am
so
glad that dog had no discipline.”

“Because you met me,” she said on a moan and rocked against him. “Oh yeah, like that.”

“No discipline.” He shook his head, stopped moving inside her, and forced her to pull off his body and slide down. “How about you show your master how sorry you are that he’s been pent up for days.”

“Do I have to?” She gave a fake pout and removed her shirt and bra.

“Fuck, yeah, you have to.”

Then her mouth took him away from everything but the perfection he’d found…in a major way.

Six years later to the day, Bobby glared at his wife and son dawdling behind him. The puppy they’d recently adopted was easier to manage than his family.

“Get a move on, April.”

She shot him the finger when little Billie wasn’t looking and picked up the boy, who’d been dragging behind trying to carry all his pails and shovels.

With Jane, Billie’s twin sister, riding on Bobby’s shoulders and steering him by the ears like a friggin’ horse, they had quite the family. Two kids, a dog, and one last tour in Camp Lejeune after the six best years of his life spent in Germany. He’d been able to extend his tour and made some great connections. He planned on working with the J3 as a civilian when he retired in another two years, especially since April was a prodigy in her company.

But first he had to make it past this picnic at Colonel Cava’s beach home. His new commanding officer wasn’t a bad guy, all things considered. Even if he had stolen Bobby’s
old
dream girl.

“Daddy, Lobo!” Jane screamed too close to his ears and pointed to the dog running rampant through their host’s garden. He took her down and watched her follow the unruly mutt.

“Wonder where he gets that?” Bobby muttered, unable to keep a smile from his face. “Genetic, I’ll bet.”

“I heard that,” his daughter’s namesake said from behind him.

Jane, his sister-in-law, held her son’s hand as she and Major Morrow laughed.

“Hey, Top. Nice to see you so domesticated.”

“Fuck off…Sir,” Bobby muttered.

Morrow—Dan in private, they were brothers-in-law after all—laughed.

Since Bobby had been promoted to Master Sergeant, he and the now Major Morrow had come back together working for Cava at the MEF G3. Bobby had been happy to return home, but he missed life in Stuttgart. Especially the beer.

“Thorn!” April had overheard him swear and glared as she came abreast of him with Billie hanging out of her arms. “Not around the kids.”

“Yeah, Uncle Bobby.” Jane’s boy Ryan laughed at him, showing a missing front tooth. The six-year old looked up to him, much to his father’s resignation. “No saying the F-word.”

“Wonder where he gets that?” April mimicked him. Then she laughed. “Come on, baby. Let’s see your old girlfriend.”

“Shut up.” He flushed, no longer the slightest bit upset over having lost Maria to her husband, his new commanding officer. Col. Mike Cava was a stand-up guy. But he wasn’t as lucky as Bobby, who’d found the love of his life in an uppity ex-major still convinced she outranked him, despite being a civilian.

Her job had taken them to wonderful places, and their children had been raised speaking both German and English. He had tons of friends, family, and the best wife and kids he could have imagined. Hell, he even loved Lobo Jr. , Lobo Sr.’s son.

They entered the backyard and saw the Cavas, a few other Marines and their families, and a ton of kids running around like scattered ants. He recognized Maria and saw her joy when she noticed him. She had two children currently milling around, and he was happy for her.

Billie and Jane demanded to join the chaos, Lobo too. All the children ringed the puppy, who sat quivering with joy while they stroked him.

Bobby took April aside and kissed her. “I’m the luckiest man in the world, Major.”

She smiled and kissed him back. “Don’t you forget it, Marine.”

“Never.”

“As if I’d let you.”

He grinned and walked with her to greet his hosts. “That’s right. You’re stuck with me. Forever.”

“You bet your ass…Sir.”

Caffeine addict, boy referee, and romance aficionado,
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author Marie Harte has over 100 books published with more constantly on the way. She’s a confessed bibliophile and devotee of action movies. Whether hiking in Central Oregon, biking around town, or hanging at the local tea shop, she’s constantly plotting to give everyone a happily ever after. Visit
http://marieharte.com
and fall in love.

Good to Go

A Major Attraction

A Major Seduction

A Major Distraction

McCauley Brothers
The Troublemaker Next Door
How to Handle a Heartbreaker

Ruining Mr. Perfect

What to Do with a Bad Boy

Satyr’s Myst
Tied and True

Reaper’s Reward

Satyr’s Myst

Willa’s Wish

The Works
Bodywork
Working Out
Wetwork

Wicked Warrens

Enjoying the Show

Closing the Deal

Raising the Bar

Making the Grade
Bending the Rules

Visit
marieharte.com
and fall in love

***

Silence held as they ate, and Kyle wondered what she thought about the previous night, after some time and space away from him.

To break the silence and persuade Olivia to relax the tension visible in her taut frame, he asked her about work. “So how is it you’re home so late? I know it’s your shop, but do you really work from opening to closing?”

“No. We don’t close until nine. I open the shop around five thirty for morning preparations. My friend Maria helps, then Emma shows around three. She’s my afternoon employee. Sometimes she and John work together until closing unless she’s got band rehearsal, like she did today. That’s when Tina comes in, as extra help.”

“So you normally leave at six?” He wanted to ask if she’d been avoiding him but didn’t think he’d like her answer.

“Yeah. I would have been here earlier, but I had a bunch of paperwork waiting for me.”

He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Good. She hadn’t deliberately avoided him. His questioning seemed to have worked. She looked more at ease, her face brightening as she talked about her job.

He studied her hair bound in a thick ponytail. The style exposed her delicate ears and slender neck. She had soft, creamy skin that tasted as good as it looked. All too easily he remembered last night, and he had to focus to stifle the heat that burned through him.

“So, Olivia, about the lease arrangements,” he began.

“It’s okay, Kyle. I’ll have my things out of here by the end of the week.”

He studied her, pleased to see she looked no happier than him at news of leaving. “That may be a bit premature.”

She glanced up, her whiskey-brown eyes questioning.

“I think we can work things out if you’re agreeable to the solution I came up with.”

She set down her fork and waited, and he mentally crossed his fingers.

“What I propose is that you continue to live here until your lease is up. You intended to stay until at least February, right?”

She nodded, her gaze wary.

“It’s not your fault Becca was such a…” He paused and ended with, “misleading person.”

Her lips quirked. “That’s a nice way of putting it.”

He grinned. “Tact is something I’ve been practicing. But my point is you shouldn’t suffer for Becca’s lies. There are two rooms in this house. Most of my stuff is in the other bedroom, and they’re mostly things I don’t use. I’ve been meaning to put them in a storage facility, to clean out that room for either a study or spare bedroom anyway. You’re giving me the perfect opportunity to stop procrastinating.”

She looked undecided. “Well—”

“Look. I feel really bad about last night. Not bad about
all
of it, only the part where I scared you.” He grinned wolfishly, turning on the charm.

She blushed, a becoming shade of rose that made her look extremely kissable.

“I promise not to put my hands on you unless you want them there.”

“An arrogant thing to say, don’t you think?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Her lips fascinated him. He wanted to feel them all over him, on his mouth, his belly, his cock... Then she licked her lips, and he was so aroused he could have poked through the damn table with his hard-on. “You are so pretty,” he admitted, hoping he didn’t sound like a sap.

He thought he saw a mirrored hunger in her expression before she blinked it away and took a deep, even breath. She murmured her thanks for the compliment and took a long drink of water. To his satisfaction, her hand trembled around the glass when she set it back down.

“Come on, Olivia. I think you and I could be great roommates.” He couldn’t help the innuendo that laced his tone, too much in lust to control his tongue.

To his surprise and pleasure, she laughed at him. “Convince me, Romeo. What’s so great about a man, and a Marine at that, as a roommate?”

“I’m neat, I cook, and I don’t snore.”

She chuckled, and he continued on a more serious note.

“I’ll respect your privacy, and you’ll be safe here. Trust me, no one will mess with you while I’m around.” The thought of anyone harming Olivia made him see red.

“I really wasn’t looking forward to moving,” she said slowly. “It’s very nice of you to offer to let me ride out the lease. I’d like to stay.” She paused and blushed a deeper pink. “But about last night. That kind of thing can’t happen again.”

It can, and it will
. “I understand.” He changed the subject, not wanting to scare her into changing her mind.

For the remainder of the meal, they made small talk that put them both at ease. To Kyle’s surprise, he felt as though he could tell Olivia anything. She listened to him, and for the first time in a long time, Kyle found himself having fun with a woman. He truly enjoyed her company. Her mind intrigued him as much as her body did, increasing his desire to know
all
of her. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer without tasting her again.

Once they finished dinner, he stood and cleared their plates. He returned to the table and pulled her chair out to help her stand. Instead of backing off to give her space, Kyle moved closer, so that her breasts brushed his chest. She froze, her lips parting on a breath.

“The kind of thing that can’t happen again. You mean something like this. I shouldn’t do
this
again.” He leaned down to skim his lips over her mouth. He moved slowly, giving her the chance to say no. She didn’t. “I definitely shouldn’t touch you like this.” He brought his arms around her waist, drawing her deeper into his embrace.

“No, you shouldn’t,” she said on a breath, her eyes wide as they stared up into his. She licked her lips in invitation, and he lowered his head once more.

No holds barred, this woman belonged to him.