Semper Fidelis (13 page)

One of his close friends in the squadron, Lon, who had married a female Marine serving at Pendleton before this deployment, was the one who had given him the first light-bulb moment—the hint of a solution. Owen had for some reason always thought that marriage to Cary would be something for after one of them was out. But that had changed in the blink of an eye during a random downtime conversation in their bunks one night.

“Yeah, and the best part is now that we’re married, we can put in for close duty stations when it’s time for me to re-up. Maybe start a family.” Lon had touched a paper copy of some sort of collage of their wedding photos with a slight smile on his face. “With Join Spouse we might even get placed on the same base. I mean, they pretty much have to, or every military couple who’s married, one of them will just walk.”

Owen had stared at Lon for God only knew how long until Marcus had smacked him in the shoulder. “Dude, wake up! Dreaming about your own wedding? How does that work anyway? Who wears the garter?”

He’d tuned Marcus out with ease of long practice. “We could get married now…” Owen had slowly whispered.

“Well, yeah, man. In some states, anyway.”

He would never admit it out loud, but that moment had been like in
The Wizard of Oz
when Dorothy got to Oz and everything was suddenly in color instead of black and white.

Yeah, likening a war zone to Oz wasn’t the height of gayness or anything.

But the possibilities had blown him away, and after that, he’d talked to more people about it. It might be a little less ideal since Cary was a fly-boy with the Navy, so he would have to stay attached to a Naval air base. But Owen had no sentimental attachments to his particular function—he’d do whatever the Marines wanted him to do in order to be closer to Cary, at least while they were both stateside. And deployed they wouldn’t be any worse off than they were right now.

He’d started planning right away. At first he’d wanted to propose in person, but the problem with that was that they would have to get their re-up paperwork submitted almost as soon as he was back in the States, which would mean eloping, pretty much, and Owen’s family would never forgive them. Cary would want his mom and sister there too. So that meant planning ahead…which meant he’d had to propose long-distance.

Owen had struggled with that for a week or so, then had just accepted that things didn’t have to be perfect. So he’d set up a time for the Skype call—no
way
was he proposing over email or on the phone—and had bargained for privacy, not that the idiots had done more than just listen outside the door until he’d done it. Once they’d gotten wind of what he was about to do, they’d been unmerciful in their razzing. But they were good guys, good friends, so though Owen had struggled with embarrassment that such a personal moment was the topic of conversation, he took the heckling for what it was—teasing support.

And when all was said and done, glitches and all, and Cary had said yes…

Owen looked around, satisfied with his efforts, then lay down on his bunk and put an arm over his face so he could smile like an idiot at the memory.

Best moment of his life.

* * * *

Cary glanced at the clock for about the hundredth time that morning. He’d been calling the unit hotline several times a day for the past week and finally they’d given a firm homecoming date—the flights had landed at some air base last night and the buses were going to get back to the base today. Owen’s family had gone down to North Carolina to meet him and celebrate the unit’s official return, but with the impending time off he’d scheduled for the wedding, Cary hadn’t been able to go. Owen had told him not to bother, that he’d rather have their reunion be in private and he’d come up to Virginia as soon as he could get away for his three or four day leave before he had to report back for his two-week transition period on base.

As soon as that was over, Owen had scheduled two weeks off for the wedding and a short honeymoon.

Cary couldn’t wait.

A text hit his phone and he almost knocked it to the floor in his eagerness to grab it. It wasn’t from Owen, but it was the next best thing.

He’s here! Xoxo

Jia, who had gone down with Rayna and the rest of the Marshes, had attached a photo of a grinning Owen, his focus somewhere to the side of the shot, a huge pack still on his shoulder. A manicured female hand reaching toward him was just visible on the edge of the shot—probably his mom.

He quickly texted Jia back.

Thx. Give him a kiss for me.

He ate up the shot and zoomed in on Owen’s face. So intent was he on studying the picture that he almost fumbled the phone again when a couple more notifications hit in quick succession.

“Settle down, Barrientos. Jeez,” he muttered to himself.

There was another picture from Jia that he assumed was Owen surrounded by his family. It was hard to tell in the slightly blurry cluster of bodies. The next one was an extreme close-up of Owen smirking in amusement, looking straight at the camera. Straight at him. Of course, Owen would know that Cary’s sister would be sending him the pictures, because there was no doubt that expression wasn’t for Jia.

It was accompanied by a text, obviously
not
written by Jia.

I want my kisses directly from you. See you tonight.

Cary went warm. A noise caught his attention and brought him back to reality—he was at work and needed to get to a flight debriefing from their sortie early this morning in a few minutes’ time. He reluctantly turned off his phone and tucked it away. The work day couldn’t go by fast enough.

Chapter Three

Owen breathed a weary sigh of relief when he at last found the right apartment complex. He pulled into the parking area, following Jia’s detailed instructions to the fifth building on the right, then beyond to the visitor parking area. Jia had loaned him her car—well, technically it was still Cary’s car. He’d given it to her and still held the title, even though he had a newer car. She’d ridden back to school with Rayna and would get it back from her brother sometime soon.

Owen’s parents had taken turns riding north with him before they’d parted ways in southern Virginia. He’d be able to spend more time with them in a couple of weeks, but he’d just wanted to get to Cary in Virginia Beach, and they’d understood. Mostly. He made a mental note to call his mom soon to give her some sort of project to do for the wedding—as soon as he found out from Cary what was going on. He remembered how involved his mom had been with his sisters’ weddings and from the number of questions she’d asked that he hadn’t been able to answer, she was feeling a bit left out. Ironic, since he’d never given her any reason to expect he’d have a wedding.

After he’d grabbed his stuff and locked up the car, he made a beeline for Cary’s apartment building, giving Cary’s new car a pat on the way by. He was holding off exhaustion by sheer willpower at this point—the seemingly never-ending flight to the US, the bus ride to the base, then the drive here, all on very little sleep. His bag felt like it weighed two hundred pounds as he climbed the exterior steps to the second level.

Almost as soon as he knocked the door was thrown open and Cary yanked him inside and into his familiar embrace.

“Oh God, I can’t believe you’re here.” The hug tightened to almost rib-cracking pressure.

There was a hitch in Cary’s voice that Owen didn’t call him on—he wasn’t sure he’d be able to speak without his emotions coming out. So instead he disengaged himself enough to set his bags down then took Cary’s face in his hands.

“Care…” Sure enough, Owen’s voice didn’t sound like his own, either.

“Shh.”

They came together in a desperate kiss and it was like coming home for Owen. Not until right then had he realized the depth of his love for Cary. He’d been walking around without his heart for so long and hadn’t been aware until it slammed back into place with their embrace.

“Missed you. God, so much.” Cary mumbled against his lips as he tugged at his shirt, pulling it out of his waistband.

Owen stepped back and winced at the thought of how gross he must be. “Where’s the bedroom? Or more importantly, the bathroom? I reek.”

“I don’t care.” Cary tried to kiss him again, but Owen kept it to a brief peck before taking Cary’s hand and heading toward the only place the bedroom could be in the small apartment.

“I didn’t say I had to clean up alone.”

Cary’s hand drifted to the small of Owen’s back as he steered him to a stop beside a small laundry closet. “Good point. Okay, strip, Marine.”

“Fast or slow?”

“You’re killing me. Fast for now. The sooner you get naked, the sooner we can get wet together.” Cary suited actions to his words and pulled his T-shirt over his head, revealing his trim torso and a hint of abs. He smacked Owen in his chest. “C’mon, Owen.”

He admitted his hesitation, “I’m afraid that if I take a warm shower I’m gonna crash before we can do anything. It’s been a long couple days.”

Cary’s expression softened. “Let’s go get you clean and if you crash, I’ll sleep with you. I’ve missed that part too, you know. Just being with you. We went from feast to famine.”

Owen nodded. It had to have made the transition to long-distance couple even harder for them after rooming together for years. His initial burst of energy was starting to wane, leaving him even more exhausted than before.

Cary must have recognized he was at his limit because he took over getting Owen undressed, starting with unlacing his boots for him. The sight of Cary kneeling before him should have had him hard as a rock, but he barely had a semi going.

“Sorry, I’m—”

“Shut up. You shouldn’t have driven up today. You should’ve crashed out and come up tomorrow.” Cary sounded really upset as he started to rip at the fastenings of Owen’s pants.

“Hey, what’s this all about?” Owen shoved his pants down and stepped out of them, then took Cary by the upper arms and levered him to his feet.

Cary blew out a breath. “I was so excited to see you, to have you home safe, that it didn’t occur to me you might kill yourself trying to get here. I mean, you might’ve fallen asleep at the wheel and—”

“Stop. I know my limits and plus, my folks helped drive most of the way here. You’re not usually this”—
paranoid
—“pessimistic.” He couldn’t make sense of this new side of Cary, so he just pulled him into his arms. “I’m here and I’m fine. All this talking has given me a second wind. So let’s finish getting undressed and we can christen the shower. Um…you do have a shower in this place, right?”

Cary snorted against his collarbone. “Yes. Might be somewhat of a challenge to do anything in it, though. It’s not exactly huge.”

“I’m a Marine. I love a challenge,” Owen growled.

“Oh God, don’t say things like that. You’re turning me on.”

“Good.” Owen cupped Cary’s package through his jeans, tracing the firming ridge.

Two long kisses and about five steps later, they were naked and in the bathroom.

Cary reached into the shower to turn on the water to warm, and Owen pressed himself against Cary’s back, his cock sliding between Cary’s thighs as he leaned.

“Mmm…” Cary’s hum of approval brought Owen to full hardness…that, and the way he pushed back against Owen, closing his thighs around Owen’s erection.

“Is it getting hot yet?”

“Oh yeah, it’s already pretty fucking hot.” Cary ruined the delivery of his innuendo with a snort of laughter. “So cheesy.”

Owen grinned and gave Cary’s shoulder a nip. Cary yelped and pulled away.

“Ouch. Fine, I’m getting into the shower.” His expression didn’t match his injured tone—it held invitation as he stepped in and gave Owen’s hand a tug to encourage him to join him under the spray.

He used the small space as an excuse to pull Cary into his arms. “I like this shower. Just the right size.” Their cocks were trapped between their abdomens and as they kissed, he rocked in small motions against Cary, letting his hands slide down his back to cup his ass.

Cary turned his head to reach for some body wash, and Owen took the opportunity to mouth along his jaw line and down the cords of his neck. He gave a light bite, and Cary groaned.

A handful of the soap made for the perfect slick as he took their cocks together in his hand, Cary cupping his around the side, and jacked them at a leisurely pace while he reacquainted himself with Cary’s mouth. The sleek mingling of their tongues and lips could go on forever. Soon, though, he needed more. Cary’s pants were becoming more vocal moans, so he increased the pace and pressure.

As he got closer to his peak, he murmured encouragement to Cary. “Come on. Let me feel you. I need it. Missed you so much. Can’t believe I’m here. Love you…”

“God!” Cary gripped Owen’s shoulder hard and his head fell back just before he came into Owen’s hand. The added slick pushed him over the edge and he threw out a hand against the wall to support himself and Cary as he came with a grunt. As soon as the aftershocks hit, he released their cocks and gathered Cary into his arms for one more kiss.

The water had held its temperature throughout but Owen didn’t want to risk a cold dowsing, so he reluctantly let go and took a pump of shampoo. He was no stranger to efficient showers, so once he was on task, he’d finished cleaning and rinsing and they were stepping out onto the mat within a couple of minutes.

“Here.” Cary handed him a towel then grabbed one for himself. After a haphazard wipe down, he tossed his over the edge of the shower door and walked naked out of the bathroom. “I’ll get your bag,” he called behind him.

Owen cleaned up, and when Cary came back with his duffle, he pulled out his Dopp kit and brushed his teeth. He squinted at his scruffy reflection, but didn’t have the energy to shave. Tomorrow was soon enough. He also ignored his empty stomach. All he wanted to do now was take Cary to bed, and fall asleep in his arms so he’d be rested enough to reconnect in a much more intimate way in the morning.