Latched (Coronado Series Book 1) (6 page)

“So is this what I’ve been missing out on when you have the guys over for dinner?”
 

“I guess, but it’s no big deal. I never make anything fancy, I make a lot of it, but it is usually pretty simple.”
 

“I’ve heard a lot about these dinners. I think it’s a big deal to the guys and I hope they tell you how much they appreciate it.”
 

She stood with her back against the counter and thought about it, “They don't so much say it, as show it. Frisco and I have become good friends. I’m always trying to give him advice, which he ignores. But he helps me out at the shop when I have to move something around. Ace is a sweetheart - he helped me figure out the garden and showed me how to put it in this year. Blake introduced me to his brother who is my contractor and helped me go through the garage. Sam and Shane built new shelves in my shop last month. The guys have helped me out a lot more than I have helped them. I just feed them and make sure their bills are paid when they’re deployed.”
 

He wondered how he’d missed out on all of this. Birdie had become family with the guys and he had no idea. She checked the oven and pulled the meatballs out, drained the pasta and added the sauce and tossed the salad. “I think we’re ready - I hope you’re hungry. Can you put the salad, bread and the cheese on the table for me?”
 

He took the things over to the table and poured the water into the glasses. Birdie brought a huge bowl of pasta to the table, she served him a big plate and a much smaller one for herself. “Anything else we need?”
 

He looked at the table and looked at her, “Perfect.” He made sure Birdie was seated and eating before he started. He took his first bite and couldn’t believe how good it was. “You are an amazing cook. I may have to marry you.”

“You wouldn’t be the first person to say that. Don't worry - it usually wears off.”
 

I don't think I’m going to get over this and I don't know how someone would.
They talked during dinner and he couldn’t remember the last time he enjoyed talking to a woman so much. Maybe because he hadn’t spent a lot of time talking to them since he joined the Navy. This was a completely new experience. He hadn’t been on a “date” with a woman in over eleven years. It was true he had too many women over that time, but no one he could remember at the moment. He took her hand and held it and smiled into her eyes.
 

She looked at his arms and hands and noticed his hands were big and had several nicks and scars.
His arms and hands are sexy
. That was one of her favorite things on a man - he had to have good hands. “Can I get you more pasta or would you like some dessert?” He’d eaten two large plates of pasta, several rolls and all of his salad. She was happy when someone ate at her table, it made her feel good. He made her feel very good in places she didn’t remember she had.
 

He looked at his plate and couldn’t believe he ate so much. “I can't eat anything else. Thank you for the best meal I’ve had in a long time.”
 

“You’re welcome, let me pack the leftovers for you.” She started to clean the table and Mark got up and helped clear. They stood side by side at the counter, then he took her hand and turned her towards him and pulled her in close. Dropping his lips to hers, he kissed her.
I could kiss this woman for a long time and not get bored
. She pulled back and looked up, “OK, I’ll go out to dinner with you.”
 

He threw his head back and laughed, “Birdie, what made you decide in my favor? I hope it was the kissing?”
 

“Well I wasn’t sure if I could handle you, but I guess I can. The kissing definitely helped. You can kiss, better than you can dance.”
 

Thank god, I passed the kissing test.
“When do you want to go out… tomorrow… Tuesday?”
 

“Why so soon - what about next weekend?”
 

“Why would I want to wait to see you? I like you, I want to see you and kiss you?” Is this how people dated? They wait around and play games… he didn’t play games. He saw her, he wanted her and she was going to be his. He just needed to get her on board with his plan.
 

“I’m not available Monday or Tuesday - I have plans. But, I’m free on Wednesday and I would love to go out with you.”

He stood up straight with his feet set apart and his shoulders set wide. “Birdie, who are you going out with?” She could feel the shift in his demeanor, he went from relaxed Mark to Commander Mark.
 

She stood up straight and put her hands on her hips, “That’s not something you can ask me. That is none of your business. I don’t need to tell you anything. I’m free and single and you are not the boss of me.”

“I know I’m not the boss of you. I just want to know who I have to get rid of if you are dating other guys.”

She studied him and considered if the possibility of great sex was worth putting up with a bossy man. “I don’t know if going out with you is such a good idea after all. You seem bossy and I don’t like that. No matter how handsome you are.”
 

“You think I am handsome? I’m a lot of things, but I don’t think handsome is one of them.”
 

“Really, that’s what you got out of all of that? You didn’t hear,
I don’t like bossy.
You heard the good looking part - how is that possible?”
 

“I heard you, I was just focusing on the good part first. I’m not trying to be nosy or bossy. I’ve not had a girlfriend since I was in college, so I may be a little rusty with dating etiquette. I spend all my time around the guys and I am used to being the boss. I know that I’m not the boss of you. I just want to spend time with you and get to know you. I want to get rid of any other guys who think they may have a chance.”

“I’m not sure. I guess we could go out and see how it goes. But I don’t like bossy.” She pointed her finger at his chest, “There is only room for one bossy person and I am it!”
 

Mark grabbed her finger and brought it to his mouth and kissed it. “Got it - you are the bossy one. Why do you get to be bossy and not me?”
 

Birdie lost focus for a moment as she felt Mark bring her in close to his body. Her mind started to go blank and she shook it off. “I get to be bossy because I am the girl. I’m shorter, smaller and not as strong. If I’m the one being bossy it evens things out. If you were the bossy one, it would just be out of balance.” She looked up and put her arms out, “You’re almost a foot taller than me and you probably weigh twice as much as I do. I want to even out the playing field. By the way, don’t use your body to get your way. I’m supposed to be able to do that.”
 

“What if I kissed you and ran my hand up your back? Would you still be able to be bossy?” He had his hand around her arm and was running his fingers up and down. “What do you want to be bossy about anyway?”

“I would like to be bossy about things that I think of ….. when I think of them.” This man needed a lesson, she stepped up to him and stood flush against his body and pressed her chest into his. She slipped her hand underneath his shirt and heard him take a big breath in. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the cheek and whispered in his ear, “My mind is very clear. I feel like I can be all kinds of bossy, how is yours?”
 

She kept her hand on his chest and ran her fingers back and forth, she let her other hand rest on the waist of his jeans with one finger inside. His brain went blank, he didn’t have any blood left in it. He couldn’t form a thought if his life depended on it. He blinked a couple of times and lied, “Birdie, my mind has never felt sharper.” She felt like a flash bang - good thing he had so much training recovering from them. She wiped out everything from his brain and all he had was muscle memory. He started rocking his pelvis into her and could see her eyelids close, she looked a little flush and her lips parted. She didn’t look like she could be the boss of anything.
 

Birdie kissed him letting out a year of pent up desire, he took over the kiss and slipped his hand up the back of her sweater. Finally breaking the kiss, he pulled back, “Maybe we can take turns being bossy.”
 

She realized he was unaffected by her kisses, “You never lost concentration for a second. I have no effect on you. That’s depressing, my mind goes blank and you don’t feel a thing.” She took a step back and crossed her arms over her body.
 

Mark took a step towards her and she took a step back, he tried to grab her hand and she wouldn’t let him. He realized he made a major tactical error. He made her feel like he was unaffected. That was very far from the truth. He sat down and he looked her in the eye, “Birdie, I just lied to you. My mind went totally blank, you are like a flash bang. You totally wipe out all of my senses. I’ve been training for flash bangs for eleven years, and I acted like a commander and not a guy who was lucky enough to kiss a woman he’d been dreaming about.” He tried to take her hand again and she let him take it. Then he brought it up to his mouth and kissed it. “Can we try that again; I will be a man and not a soldier?”

“Yeah, I don’t think so, I’m good. I don’t need a repeat.” She wanted a man to lose his mind a little and didn’t need a repeat of Justin. He didn’t seem to be affected at all. She walked around the island and put the leftovers in a bag.
She did not need someone to lie to her and her idea no longer sounded that appealing. She just wanted to go back to her regularly scheduled life and come up with another plan or another candidate.
She walked back around and handed the bag to him, “Thanks for the ride home and everything - enjoy the pasta.”

He was being dismissed and it was very clear that Birdie was not going to put up with any bullshit from him. He needed a new plan fast, otherwise she was never going to let him through the front door. “That’s it, I make one small mistake and you are going to get rid of me. You already said you would go out with me - you can’t take it back.”

Birdie got mad, she stood up straight and looked him dead in the eye. “I can do whatever I want, and I’ve decided I do not care to go out with you. We can be friends and I will include you in the team dinners. But I will not waste my time with someone with whom I have no chemistry. I’m friends with a lot of the guys and I don’t kiss them. Let’s just chalk this up to a onetime thing and leave it at that, no harm, no foul.”

“Oh no, you are not dismissing me because I said something stupid. I’m going to say a lot of stupid things and you can’t get rid of me every time I do that. We have a ton of chemistry, didn’t you feel it last night at the wedding and out on your front lawn? We have so much chemistry that we are going to explode. I was trying to negotiate the boss thing and I overplayed my hand. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings and lead you to believe I’m not affected by you. Please give me another chance.”

“Listen, I have to go with my original assessment - you are attractive but you are overbearing and intimidating. I don’t want to always have to fight you and that’s why I wanted to be the boss. I wanted to even it out a little. You are certainly capable of running me over without even thinking about it and that’s what makes you a good commander. But I don’t want to be commanded.”

Mark looked completely stricken by what she said, “I had no idea that’s what it felt like. I’m sorry. I haven’t dated since college…. I’m out of practice.”

“You are a good man Mark, probably the best sort of man there is. I’m sure someday the right woman will come along and you will be fine with giving it up to her. These are all traits that make you such a successful soldier and someday you will be inspired by the right person.” She looked up smiled and held out her hand, “friends?”

“No, I want to be more than friends. You said you would go out with me, so you have to at least do that. I think you are the right woman and I want a do over.”

Birdie looked around her kitchen, at the floor, at the ceiling and finally at him. “All right, let’s try again, one date. Then we can see if we even want to hang out more.”

“Thank you Birdie, you can be the boss of whatever you want. But I get to be the boss in the bedroom.”
 

“That’s fine. I’m sure you are much better at sex than I am - you have a lot more experience than I do.” She leaned her hip against the counter and studied him, “You probably have good ideas. With a body like yours, I sure hope so.” Mark laughed hard he couldn’t believe what came out of her mouth - she said what she thought. “If we make it past our next date and decide to have sex, you can be the boss.”

He took a step towards her and took her hand, “It is not if, it is a question of when.” He couldn’t resist a kiss, “This is not me trying to get my way. This is me kissing you.” He gently slid his lips over hers, keeping the pressure light. He opened his mouth a little, his tongue glided over her closed lips and she opened her mouth. His mouth lifted again, then settled again very gently. He kissed the edges of her mouth and her lips curved slowly upwards. Who would have thought that big bad Mark, soldier and commando could be such a gentle kisser? She clutched at his shirt, needing to hang onto something. The material felt soft and warm, just like his mouth. His mouth moved slowly over hers, he sipped, sucked gently at her lips and she responded by slowly moving her mouth under his. Birdie stared into Mark’s green eyes and for the first time in her life saw someone look at her with so much heat, she thought she’d burn. Mark kissed her gently and pulled her hand against his heart, “Can you feel how fast it is beating?” He moved his hips against her, “Can you feel how you affect me?” He moved her hand around his back and put it under his shirt, “Baby, I am sweating. I will make sure to let you know how much you affect me from now on, lesson learned.”