Attached (Coronado Series Book 3) (10 page)

“What about your siblings?” How did they take it?”

“I’m an only child, and my parents were only children. I have no family.”

“You can have some of mine. I have a lot of family, and half of them are crazy.”

“I have a family of friends and a lot of wonderful people in my life.”

He leaned forward and rested his head against hers. “You have me now.” He felt her small hand run up his cheek, and he lifted his head and looked into her eyes and fell hard. Just like that, she had his heart, and there was nothing that he could do to change it. He dipped his head, touched his mouth against hers and pressed his lips to hers as he let his heart fall against hers. “Let’s get on the road and get you home and get your house fixed up.”

“Thank you, Travis. You’re one of the kindest men I’ve ever met.”

It was a start. He had a long way to go, but at least it was a start. “Let’s go, sweetheart.” He grabbed the check out of her hand. “I’m still not going to let you pay for meals.” He watched her roll her eyes and smile.

“We’ll see about that.”

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was around three by the time they got in Travis’s truck and headed south toward San Diego. “Are you sure you don’t mind taking me home? I’m more than happy to rent a car.”
 

“I want to do this. You’ll be staying with me until your house is done. Adam said he would meet us at your house in the morning, and once he takes a look at the house, we’ll know what our next step will be.”

“You can drop me off at a hotel, and I can take a cab back to my house in the morning.”

“Why are you trying to get rid of me?”

“Our one-night stand has turned into you becoming a white knight and saving me. I don’t have a lot of experience in this area, but I’m guessing this isn’t the usual outcome. I doubt people expect breakfast, much less all of the things you’re doing.”

“Why do you keep calling this a one-night stand? I thought we were going to spend the summer together on a road trip. I never thought of this as a one-night stand.”

“I did.”

“You were mistaken. That was never what this was going to be. I think of this as a detour or side trip. We can go back out once we get your house situation organized.”

“You’re dictatorial, and I’m not sure I’m enjoying this part of your personality.”

“That’s OK. I have lots of other parts that you might enjoy more. I’m surprised that you’re not willing to take the opportunity to spend a night in bed together again. You said you wanted to be in charge, and this is your chance. Maybe it was all talk and you want to go back to your routine.”

“Travis Mathers that’s a very low form of persuasion, and I’m surprised that you’re willing to stoop that low.”

“You have no idea what I’m willing to do…”

“I think I may need to find out. Do you have any handcuffs at home?”

His head swiveled around, and he very slowly replied, “I don’t have a pair of handcuffs.”

“I guess we’ll have to improvise, then. I have a feeling that I’m going to have to tie you down and subdue you before you’re going to let me be in charge of anything.”

“Is there anything that you want to tell me about your sexual preferences? Is this a regular occurrence with you?”

“Are you asking me if I’m going to go
Fifty Shades
on you and show you my red room?”

“I’ve no idea what you just said, but I feel like I should.”

“Another time. It would take me too long to explain. I want to be on top, and I think I’m going to have to tie you down to get there.”

“I want you to know that I gratefully and enthusiastically submit to your power. You can be on top and do whatever you want to me.”

She squinted and tried to determine how sincere he was. “I don’t really believe you, and I may still want to tie you up to make sure.”

“You do whatever you feel is necessary.”

She studied him a moment longer and nodded. She had a feeling that tying him up was going to be the only way he was going to follow directions. As she looked out the window and studied the flat brown landscape, she realized that having an opportunity with a man like Travis was going to be short-lived and she wanted to take advantage of it while she could. She tipped her head back against the seat, closed her eyes and felt his big hand cover hers. Prying one eye open, she studied him and noticed that he looked straight ahead with a very satisfied grin. She wondered what he had to feel so satisfied about, because she was going to be the one in charge.

Travis concentrated on the road as much as he could while the images of Cary on top ran through his mind. She had to be the most appealing woman he’d ever met. She had the sincerity of a nun, the body of a show-girl and apparently the appetite of a full-grown woman. If he had to draw up the perfect woman for himself, he couldn’t have come up with a more perfect combination. How was it that he found the woman of his dreams in a biker bar in Ripley, California? It looked like all of his good luck had returned in spades.
 

Somehow he’d met a girl who’d managed to make him smile and change his world. It was a simple as that…he’d met a girl. He flipped on the radio and turned it down low and wondered what kind of music she liked to listen to. If their tastes were opposite, they could just take turns when they were in the car. Or they could just compromise and pick something they both liked. Or they could just listen to whatever she liked-that was probably the best idea.

He thought about Max and Mark and wondered what advice they would give him about getting Cary attached to him. It had been interesting to observe two of the toughest men he knew fall completely in love. He’d seen the transformation of both of them up close and at times questioned their sanity. They both fell fast, then scrabbled hard to make their dreams come true with the women they loved. He watched both of them use everything they could think of to bind the women to them. Hell, Max knocked Rory up as quickly as he could and freely admitted it to anyone who asked him. He was proud of it, too! At the time, he felt like both men were slightly cracked and doubted anything like that would ever happen to him. Yet here he sat in his truck driving back to San Diego with a woman that that he would do anything for….and that was after only two days. What was going to happen in a week?
 

********

They walked through the doors of the Mexican restaurant and waited in front of the hostess desk. Cary was assaulted with the smell of sizzling meat and vegetables as she saw a waiter walk past with a heavy tray. All of a sudden, her stomach rumbled, and she wanted to dive into a basket of chips and guacamole face first.
 

Max watched her track the waiter, leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Want me to grab the chips off his tray?”
 

“Was I that obvious?”

“I’ve never seen you look at something with so much concentration.”

“I guess I’m a little hungry.”

“I would have stopped earlier. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t realize it until we walked in and I smelled the food.” They were quickly led to a table, and a big basket of chips was deposited on it almost immediately. Travis spoke with the waiter in Spanish and ordered guacamole and two fajita platters.
 

“Where did you learn to speak Spanish?” Cary asked.

“During the first year on the Teams, everyone was given the opportunity to go after a specialty. Every man has strengths, and the first year of training is used to determine what those are. I learn languages quickly, and I was sent to Monterey to the naval language school. I picked up about five by the time I was done.”

“That’s impressive. I have a tin ear, and I’ve never become proficient at a second language.”

“I was surprised by how much I liked it, and I ended up using most of them during my time in the service. The hardest ones to pick up were all of the dialects that they speak in Iraq and Afghanistan. We ended up using a translator most of the time when we were in country. The best I could do was figure out if he was lying to us, and that seemed to help.”

“I know that SEALs can do everything in all environments, but what was your specialty on the Teams?”

“I was one of the heavy gunners. I loved all that big fire-power and blowing stuff up. It was the ultimate boy adventure, and I valued every moment of it. I also liked jumping out of airplanes. There is no better feeling than standing on the tail of the plane with all of your brothers waiting to jump into the dark night sky.”

“I thought you couldn’t jump out of planes anymore?”

“I’m not able to perform at the level required for SEALs, but I can still jump.”
 

“I’ve always wanted to jump out of an airplane, but I’m scared out of my mind to do it. I need to face my fear and just do it.”

A huge smile creased his face. “I’ll take you this week. After we figure out your house, we can go and jump.”

“I thought you couldn’t jump out of planes anymore?”

“I’m not able to perform at the level required for SEALs, but I can still jump.”
 

“Wow. Just like that? I just say it and you make it happen?”

He squeezed her shoulder and kissed her head. “Just like that. You’ll soon discover that I’m pretty good at making adventures happen.”

She looked up into his dark brown eyes and started to feel the line of connection that seemed to happen when their eyes met. She felt herself tremble involuntarily and quickly looked away. It was too much. She didn’t want to feel this much. She was going to be adventure girl, and you couldn’t be that if you were in a relationship. She didn’t want to end up on the couch again, trying to decide what to watch on Netflix. “I would love to try it. Thank you.”

“I think you’ll love it. Who knows? You may like it so much that you want to keep doing it.”

“I don’t know about that, but I want to try it at least once.” The waiter came up and stated depositing huge sizzling plates of food. Cary watched as their table quickly filled up with all of the fixings for their fajitas. “I’m pretty hungry, so you may have to fight me for some of this.”

“Good thing we can order more if things get ugly. Have at it honey, because I like to watch you eat.” She took a huge bite, and her eyes closed as she chewed. He heard a small moan escape her mouth. A little juice dripped down her chin, and he wiped it off with his napkin. “You’re pretty damn sexy when you eat.” She took another bite and gave him a strange look and shrugged. She finished her first fajita and was about to start making another one when Travis realized that she wasn’t kidding about eating everything. He quit staring at her and started to eat. This was a woman you had to be careful around, if you were not paying attention, you might not get anything to eat.

By the time they were done, most of the bowls and plates were empty. Cary leaned back against the booth and put her hand on her stomach. “I don’t feel very good…I think I ate too much. Why didn’t you stop me?”

“I didn’t want to get stabbed with a fork. I wasn’t willing to put myself between you and the food. I’ve got to tell you that was pretty impressive. I’ve think you could give a SEAL a run for his money.”

“I don’t think you’re giving me a compliment, but I’m too full to argue. Can you roll me out to the truck and lay me down in the back-seat? I think that’s the only way I’m going to make it home.”

“Sure baby.” He felt her lean against him as his heart gave a thump and a warm feeling spread across his chest. He slipped her hand into his and enjoyed this small moment in the middle of nowhere with a woman who was turning his world upside down.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Cary woke up, looked around and finally realized she was in Travis’s condo in San Diego with him dead asleep next to her. She leaned up and took a moment to admire him, he slept on his back with his big arms thrown above his head. This might be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of him. She slowly moved over him and felt him shift as he started to wake up.

“…Shhhhh, just go back to sleep. You don’t need to wake up.” She took a tender nip at the hard muscle that ran across his stomach and let her finger trail up his inner thigh. She moved down a little and nuzzled the hollow by his groin, and just as she lowered her mouth against him, she felt herself flipped over on her back. She looked up at the ceiling…stunned. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“If I let you get your mouth on me, then it would be over before it got started.” He kissed her throat as his fingers opened her swollen folds. He slowly inserted one finger deeply inside and heard her breath catch. Sliding his finger out and then back in, he felt her muscles pull against his hand and a rush of liquid coat his fingers. “Now we’re ready.” He rolled her on her side, fitted himself against her back and lifted her leg so it rested on top of his. His arm dropped over her waist as his fingers stroked her. “Are you ready, baby? Because I want bury myself inside you.”

She nodded as he clutched her tightly and moved his hips forward. Welcoming every inch of him, her entire body opened for him. He plunged himself inside with one strong thrust, and the most exquisite pleasure took over her body. She felt him move inside her. “Oh…..yes…more.”

With those words, he took possession of her body and mind as he thrust heavily in and out while keeping her firmly against him. Desire hit him with a force he’d never experienced before. He felt a stabbing pain and ferocious, chilling need to own her. He continued to slip in and out of her tight, silky heat as his mind splintered away and pleasure poured through his body. Above the roar in his head, he heard his name being called and felt Cary arch against him as she peaked. He felt her hard pulls as she climaxed and he let himself go, groaning loudly as he spilled everything inside her. He continued to pump gently against her and felt another spasm pass through her body. He ran his hand up her stomach and held her against him as he tried to hold on to the incredible intimacy they now shared. He gently kissed her and felt her hand cover his. They lay there together in the milky light of early morning as their sweat soaked bodies remained joined.