Claimed by the Marine (5 page)

“Look man, you know I’ve got your back with anything else. And I can tell you hate backing down but this is one operation you’ll have to terminate,” Marcus told Hawk firmly with a slap on the shoulder. “Bertha was right; Ashanti is off-limits. Now let’s get back to our game. ”

Chapter Eleven

Hawkins Malone couldn’t exactly call himself an ‘eligible’ bachelor. Because he fully intended to never get married. He certainly had no wish to fall in love.

Years growing up as a kid in a dysfunctional home had put him off the idea of a wife and kids. His unhappy childhood with a mother who finally ran out on him and his deadbeat father when Hawk was fifteen years old had something to do with that. Three years later, barely eighteen, Hawk decided to join the Marines and it turned out to be the best decision he’d ever made.

The discipline, the physically grueling training regime as well as the support group provided, gave Hawk the grounding his family never could. A lot of things about him changed when he became a Marine. He’d always been the type to pick a fight whenever the chance presented itself. When he was younger he’d had a self-destructive phase where he was just a bullet away from being dropped after a bar fight or a punch out. He’d never cared about surviving; he’d taken each day as it came with no worries about the future. But he was a different person by the time the Marines was through with him.

The one thing that didn’t change though was his aversion for commitment.

He was a member of one of the most elite and dangerous demolition teams in the force, and he was known to take the most risks on the field. That meant that his team members saw him as the kind of Marine you’d want near you while crawling around surrounded by the enemy in some hostile country with either the jungle or the desert around you. Hawk liked to be the man you could trust in the toughest mission.

But when it came to love affairs, he couldn’t count on his steadfastness.

It wasn’t that he set out to be a cad. It was just that being a Marine already made it difficult to keep up any serious relationship. Hawk had never been really keen on putting one woman through the strain that would come with being with him. No denying there were tons of girls always lining up to get bedded by a military man. And for some reason, they seemed to dig his bad boy status, just happy to have his attention for a few steamy nights and never really dreaming they’d get the chance to stick around.

Which was just fine with Hawk.

He’d told Ashanti about the killing and the deaths and how it had got to him especially in the past few months during his last assignment. Hawk’s training had shown him how to easily liquidate any opposition and never look back. But there were the lingering ghosts…the memory of the danger and how easy it had been to not make it back alive – and the comrades that hadn’t. His soul would probably always be more than a little damaged, but for some reason, meeting Ashanti had given him a reason to believe again.

He remembered walking in and seeing her glance his way. Her smile of appreciation and wonder…as if she’d gladly lick cream off his face – had made his chest pound surprisingly. He didn’t even think twice about going over. Her welcoming attitude and her shy yet sexy comebacks had warned him that this was one ‘mission’ he’d enjoy much too much.

All it should have taken was one dance. Some heavy-load flirting to get her smiling and blushing. Hawk wouldn’t deny that he knew just how to make a girl feel like she was sitting on a cloud. But with Ashanti, he never got the chance to act out his elaborate plot of smitten admirer.

Because in the end, he didn’t even
have
to act.

He’d never seen a woman with such a hot mix of tigress and kitten. On the one hand he wanted to protect her from all the bad things in the world. And on the other hand, he wanted to stretch that warm, sweet little pussy of hers with his cock until he was imprinted in every corner of her satiny walls.

When he’d asked her to go home with him, he’d been so sure she’d refuse. Hell, that had even been the plan. None of them had ever believed she’d give him the time of day, Marine or not. But not only had she done that, she’d danced with him – and then spent the night – all night with him.

Hawk hadn’t been acting cocky when he’d told Marcus that Ashanti undoubtedly wanted to see him again. Sure, she’d left without a word but the sight of her “forgotten” panties, for one, told him a different story.

Or perhaps she’d merely wanted to leave him something to remember her by? Hawk was suddenly feeling confused. What if he was wrong after all? What if Ashanti had given herself simply out of the urge to enjoy no-strings sex on the rebound?

Normally such a notion would not worry him in the least. After all, he was all for the one-night stand opportunity. He’d certainly had enough of them. A few days or weeks resting while they reported back to base – and then leaving on that next secret mission. Such a lifestyle was well suited to the “just sex, no stress” relations he was used to.

So why did Ashanti feel different?

Why did one night with her feel like it was capable of doing serious damage to his perpetually single status? And even after he knew she was just out of a long-term relationship that ended badly, why did he want to see her again?

Because everyone said he shouldn’t – and couldn’t.

And that was one way to get Hawk to do the
exact
opposite. Hawk was not a man who liked to be denied – in anything.

What had started as a playful favor for a friend was turning into a challenge. And the fact that Hawk had so little time in which to achieve his aim, made it all the more exciting to undertake…

Chapter Twelve

Ashanti had already braced herself for the teasing that would undoubtedly come from her pals. The first person to phone her was Bertha, who wanted to know if she was doing okay.

“Of course I’m fine,” Ashanti replied with a slight frown. It was almost noon and she was in her florist tending to her many flower arrangements and pots. Her florist brought brisk business from what used to be just a hobby. She had a huge wedding job to prepare for in the coming weeks and she was going to be busy – if she could keep herself from daydreaming every other minute about her one hot night with the sexy Hawk Malone.

“Oh. Okay. Good,” Bertha was saying slowly. “Because, you know…last night. When you were yanked off with that guy…”

“Hawk you mean?” Ashanti replied, keeping her voice light. “Is that why you’re calling? Hoping that I’d be safe and sound and not gagged and bound in some psycho guy’s trunk?”

“Please, it’s not funny,” Bertha groaned. “I was so shocked when you left with him. We all were.”

“Well, so was I, to be honest. But it turned out for the best. I’m not a child, Bertha. I know it’s not my way of doing things, but I won’t say I regretted it.”

“So do you plan on seeing him again?” asked Bertha.

Ashanti paused, then said firmly, “No. I don’t think that would be wise. I’m only just past a messy break-up, and he’s a military guy who’s hardly ever around anyway. He’s sure to soon disappear as quickly as he swung into my life. I’m not sure I’m ready for a full-blown sexual affair but I did enjoy being able to act spontaneous for once.”

“Well, with him being so handsome and a Marine as well, can’t say I blame you,” Bertha laughed, before suddenly coughing and then saying, “Um, I have to go. I’m glad you sound okay. We’ll meet up for drinks later maybe?”

“Yeah, later,” Ashanti said slowly, suddenly wondering why something felt wrong. But the call ended and she shrugged, getting back to carefully watering her small flower pots. She had some very rare, very pricey specimens she needed to deliver the next week to a few high-end commercial clients.

Her work at the florist had helped a lot in keeping her busy when Aaron had first left her. She’d devoted all her time to her beautiful flowers. And in an affluent area like the one she lived in, she did her best to appeal to the predominantly wealthy clientele to ensure her enterprise stayed flourishing.

Flowers used to be her one great passion but now, after meeting Hawk, she could find something else she could easily direct much of her ardor to. Alas, too bad she’d made up her mind to deprive herself of a repeat performance.

How could she tell if he even wanted a repeat of last night? An inner voice mocked. Ashanti sighed deeply, her old insecurity rushing in. But she shoved it back, and instead chose to dwell on every instance that Hawk had showed her he found her beautiful, sexy – irresistible. She wanted to keep that memory and wanted nothing to spoil it. For all she knew, he could already be off on some new assignment in a far-flung region in Africa or the Middle East. She’d be the least of his worries by now.

Telling herself it didn’t matter, she went back to work. She had two other assistants helping out and that did a lot to minimize the workload. So when one of her other friends, Janice, showed up and insisted on taking her out to lunch to hear the juicy details, Ashanti didn’t feel too guilty. In fact, she was kind of looking forward to talking about it with someone who could relate.

Janice was a bit like her; somewhat reserved but then when she fell in love with her tattooist boyfriend, she started growing out of her shell. She’d even gone as far as to get some ink, a really cute butterfly tattoo close to her left ankle.

“I’m all ears,” Janice began with a giggle as they settled in to eat at the outdoor restaurant they’d chosen. “For starters, what on earth came over you?”

Ashanti shrugged. “It’s just like I told Bertha earlier when she rang…I got a real kick from acting spontaneous for once. No one to answer to; nothing to fear. It was fun. I don’t plan on seeing him again, so…yeah, it was liberating doing something just for the hell of it.”

“I can only imagine.” Janice sighed, and then was staring at her. “You even look different. You seem so…changed. I can’t put my finger on it, but…”

Ashanti was grinning, biting into the straw through which she was sipping her drink. “If I’d known the benefits of a night of hot, repeated sex, I’d have tried it long ago,” she said impishly, a blush stealing over her cheeks. “And the fact that Hawk seemed to fit the perfect image of my dream guy was so…”

She paused, a thought suddenly occurring to her. She frowned, and Janice looked at her in concern. “What is it, Ashanti?”

Ashanti shook her head. “It was just something Bertha said earlier – about Hawk being a Marine. I never told her that was what he did. How could she know?”

Janice looked uncomfortable. “Maybe Hawk mentioned it when he was introducing himself. You know he was at our table.”

“Yes – for like ten seconds,” Ashanti said slowly. “I don’t remember him saying anything directly to you guys.”

“Well, he does look pretty um...gym-hard. And that haircut. Anyone would easily mistake him for being in the military.” Janice was shifting in her seat by now and paying much more attention to her food.

“But she didn’t just think he was in the military. She said “Marine” and sounded pretty sure about it,” Ashanti murmured thoughtfully. And then she remembered that Bertha’s brother was also a Marine. Why did it feel like everything started to seem so weird?

She glanced up at Janice, and became aware of the other woman’s inability to look her in the eye. Ashanti’s frown deepened.

“Well, what matters is that you had fun,” Janice said airily, forking in morsels of food fast. “I mean, that’s all that really counts right? Not like you plan on seeing him again or anything.”

“Why do I feel like you know something I don’t?” Ashanti asked her suspiciously. She always seemed to know when Janice was hiding something from her. Of all her friends, Janice was the one who could never really stand up under pressure.

And then Ashanti remembered a particular conversation she and Bertha had shared a week ago. When Ashanti had really been down in the dumps over Aaron and Bertha had told her he wasn’t worth her tears. “You are so wonderful, Ashanti, and Aaron just doesn’t deserve you. You’re much too full of life to be tied down to someone like him. You need a man who’ll make you feel like a real woman. Someone who fits your perfect fantasy.”

“Where am I going to meet someone like that?” Ashanti had replied ruefully. “I’m hardly the social butterfly. And for some reason, I can’t seem to attract the smoking-hot types.”

“That’s because you’ve never really taken the effort to shine. Stop hiding behind your mousy clothes,” Bertha had teased.

“Was I really that bad?” Ashanti said, making a good-natured face.

“No; but you can do so much better. In fact, I can almost bet that you’ll have hot guys all over you now that you’re free to really be yourself. Why don’t you come out with us next week and see how it goes?’

Ashanti now broke out of that memory and pinned her eyes on the uneasy looking Janice, who smiled weakly back at her. By this time, Ashanti was definite something was up. And it wouldn’t take much, she knew, to get the truth out of jumpy Janice…

Chapter Thirteen

The last person Hawk expected to see when he opened the front door was Ashanti.

To his surprise, she shrugged her way in, and he was still too amazed to say much. Amazed, but happy. He didn’t know what was going on but one thing was for sure, she looked like she was spoiling for a fight.

“Hey babe,” he said huskily, drinking in how good she looked in that flouncy skirt and boots, her top and sweater molding lovingly to her ample curves. Thinking how it was just hours she’d spent the night with him in this same home was enough to give him ideas. Ideas he’d been half-convinced he should not continue to nurse in her regard.

“Don’t call me
babe
,” she gritted out, hands fisted on her hips. “I know all about Bertha putting you up to flirting with me. Making me feel happy and oh-so-attractive after my break-up.”

Oh, shit, not now, Hawk thought somewhat despairingly. This wasn’t exactly the way he’d expected the news to get broken to her. And it was certainly the worst of times. He barely had two hours to report to base; his commander had just called them in for a tactical mission about to go down. He’d already had a bag packed and should be on his way but not with Ashanti looking spitting mad at him right then.