Two Weeks With a SEAL (The Wakefield Romance Series) (4 page)

"Well Martinez will
be bringing his wife, but he's the only one that's married." He took the
offered roasting pan, pushing the loaded shelf into the dishwasher and shutting
the door, locking it. "Ask Kendall if she can go for Saturday and Sunday
next week cuz Timmons would be gaga over her," a sly smile crept to his
face and I elbowed him in the ribs. I shouldn't have done that because he
retaliates with a vengeance; his fingers ferociously tickling at my sides
making me cringe and squeal, trying to get away from him. His laugh makes me
giggle even more as my face flushes red from laughing too hard, my hands trying
to push his away from my sides. Randy and him use to do this to me all the time
when I was little, but it was usually as a tag team. I finally got out from in
front him, running into the dining room as he pulled at my sweater to stop me,
but I skirted his grasp, slapping his hand away as I ran towards the front
door.

Turning the handle to
try and escape outside, I was jolted to a stop, the door being locked, and Chad’s
devious chuckle coming from behind me. Spinning around, I see that his arms are
crossed over his chest, his index finger tapping at his stubble covered chin.
Giving up, I slump my shoulders letting the giggles run out as he stalked
towards me the same way he use to when he had cornered me playing tag when were
little. The sound of a loud exhaust, squealing brakes and the passing of
headlights over my head pull my attention to the driveway at my back, my breath
fogging up the glass. "Damn it," I say noticing the lifted up Dodge
Ram sitting at the curb as it's driver stalked his way up to the steps.

Unlocking and swinging
open the door I see Duke chugging down a can of Budweiser as he lumbers his way
towards me, crushing the can and tossing it on the lawn as he burps loudly. He
was six foot two and broad like Chad with huge shoulders, chest and arms, his
muscular legs outlined in a pair of semi-tight faded jeans stained from work
and god knows what else. His buzz cut blonde hair is hidden underneath a Dale
Earnhardt Jr. baseball cap, torn and tattered from daily wear, his cheeks and
nose red from the chilly air and his excessive alcohol consumption. He had
blue-green eyes that on a normal day when he was half way sober could woo any
woman, his lashes long and curly, but they were blood shot as they bored holes
into mine. His bottom lip bulged in the corner, making my stomach turn as he
spit out the Copenhagen he had bunched in there, his teeth baring the brownish
remnants.

Duke Orr had been a
local hero in high school, being a Senior when I was a Freshman, all the girls
fawned over him. He was the football star, an all-state running back that had
college scouts from all over the country stalking his every move. It had all come
to a screeching halt one night when Duke had decided to drive home from a house
party drunk, crashing his car and seriously messing his right knee up causing
the scouts to dismiss him, killing his dreams. He worked construction now for
his uncle along with half of the town's men.

He stopped on the
walkway as I jumped down to the last step, his nose still a little above mine
as he looked from me to Chad standing behind me. His friends Harlan Dow and
Garth Cobb came around my truck, their faces both going to Chad. They were good
guys, but they were followers and Duke was their leader. They had both been in
the car that night of the accident, Harlan suffering a broken leg and Garth a
piece of glass to the face giving him a scar from his left eyebrow down to his
cheek bone. They both try to stick up for me the best they can, pushing Duke
away when they can tell he's pissing me off, but like I said, they are
followers.

"What the hell are
ya doin' here," Duke breathes into my face, the smell of beer and chew washing
over me. I cringe a little at the stench, bringing my watering eyes back to his
with an incredulous look on my face. I can't think of what to say without
screaming at him and punching him in the face so he turns his attention to
Chad, his eyes beaming in hate. "Navy boy here wanted his call girl?"

"Oh fuck you
Duke," I say, pushing my hands into his chest but it doesn't move him very
much, his attention never wavering from over my shoulder. "Get the hell
outta here, you're fuckin' drunk." I try to push him again, his hands
shooting up and wrapping around my wrists, pulling me close to him.

"You're my
girl," he breathed down at my face, "what the fuck are ya doin'
here?" I tried to pull my wrists from him when I could feel Chad looming
over me, his large hands and camo clad forearms coming over my shoulders and
shoving Duke away. He stumbled back, almost falling on his ass, Harlan catching
him under the armpit to keep him up, "What the fucks your issue kid,"
he yelled at Chad as Harlan helped him to his feet. He was younger than Chad,
so the 'kid' was a shot at Chad's ego.

"Get outta
here," Chad issued pointing to Duke's truck, "Before I get
pissed." His tone frightened me and I moved to stand beside him. My wrists
hurt and I rubbed them as Duke approached me again, stopping only feet from
Chad with Garth's hand around his arm, his head shaking telling Duke to back
off.

"I'm not your
girl," I add, trying not to sound like I'm scoffing at the idea because I
only know he'll get even more pissed, "I've never been your girl. Maybe
you got me confused with Holly," I could tell the mention of the girl who
he had spent the last couple of nights with stung him, not knowing that I knew
his little secret. I nodded, pushing past Chad to come face to face with Duke,
my finger poking in his chest. "Word gets around fast when you bang the
town whore, now leave," I nod my head to his truck and both Harlan and
Garth tell him to come on, pulling him back, Duke shaking of their grasps.

"I'm not fuckin
leavin' here without you," he ground out, his blood shot eyes locked on
mine. I shook my head, turning my face down to look at the ground, my palms
pushing up against his chest, He had on a flannel button down and it was soft
under my touch as I pushed him back lightly, "Go home Duke," I tell
him again, turning back to go into the house.

An angry grunt met my
back as I passed Chad, still standing at the bottom of the steps looking at the
three men. Turning back at the door, Duke looks up at me again as Harlan and
Garth pull him around my truck, "This ain't over boy," he yells,
pointing at Chad and kicking at the back quarter panel of my truck. Harlan
jumps in the driver seat as Garth pushes a still swearing Duke in, the truck
roaring to life and peeling off down the road.

Chad's blue eyes turned
to me, concern creased in his crinkled brow. "Don't tell me you dated that
ass," he asked and I felt a little put off. What business was it of his
what men I choose to sleep with, it's not like I asked for a list of girls he
sleeps with. Inside the house I just stood there in a sort of shock as Chad
shut and locked the door behind him.

"I didn't date him,”
I answered with a snobby tone.

He walked off towards
the living room and I heard Dana's voice. Grabbing my purse and cell phone from
the kitchen, I make sure the dishwasher is running before I pull on my cowboy
boots. Going into the living room I notice that Chad has stripped of his camo
over shirt, his Navy blue t-shirt tight against his chest as he turned to face
me, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm gonna head home," I
say, heading over to were Dana sat to give her a hug.

"I'll walk you
out," Chad says more to himself than to either his mother or me, following
me to the door and helping me with my jacket. I looked around as we made our
way down the steps, a feeling of being watched looming over me but I shook it
off seeing no one. "You want me to follow you home," Chad said as I
reached the driver’s door and I shook my head. He pulled the door open and I
tossed my purse in and was about to jump up when his hand was on my waist,
turning me to face him. "Tomorrow," he asked, his eyes on my lips as
my pulse raced at being this close to him.

"Tomorrow
what?" I almost whispered, the heat from his body pulling me into his
little cocoon. His fingers were looped into the belt loops on my jeans, my
hands coming to a rest on his chest. My mind was screaming at him to kiss me,
kiss me, kiss me. If only he could read my thoughts.

"You wanna do
somethin' tomorrow, after you get outta work," he tilted his head to the
side his eyes roaming my face. I reached my fingers up to brush away some fuzz
he had in his grey splotched beard, a smile caressing his lips.

"Yeah, sounds
good," I pat my hand on his chest, a blush filling my body from head to toe
as my eyes fall to our feet. I lean my head in to rest on his chest and he
wraps his arms around me, squeezing me tight.

"Alright then, I'll
pick you up," I felt him squeeze me again, placing a light kiss to the top
of my head. As I nodded and got into my truck, our hands brushed, his fingers
lacing into mine for a mere second, our eyes meeting again. The things this man
did to me. He shut my door, issuing me a good night and I started up the
rumbling truck, seeing him shake his head in my rearview mirror as he made his
way back to the house.

Following the familiar
path back to my house I never paid attention to the radio. I was floating too
high, still tingling from his touch and hug. Talk about love sick, I could be
the poster child. I bet if someone could draw the emotions I was feeling it
would be flowers and hearts, butterflies fluttering around aimlessly, red lips
kissing at the air. Every time I saw that man he did this to me, whether or not
he kissed or touched me. Just the sound of his voice or the mention of his name
drove me wild. At times on the drive home it felt like I was going to combust
from all of the heat floating around in my being, making my left leg shake
nervously.

If I didn't do something
about this, whether it was make my move on Chad or get over him and leave him
behind, it would have to be soon. I don't think my heart can take much more of
this indecision.

"So what are you
and this hunk-o-rama doin' tonight," my boss, Jenna asked me with a sly
smile, wiggling her eyebrows as she stood leaning up against the door frame of
my little office.
Lord,
I thought shaking my head and rolling my eyes as
she giggled like a little girl. She had been married for twenty years so any
kind of romantic gossip was like a gem to her. I put my phone and bottle of
Pepsi into my purse, grabbing my keys and light jacket from the back of my
squeaky office chair.

"Dunno," I
simply say, giving her a small smile as I shut and lock my door. Issuing our
goodnights with hers being followed by a 'be safe', I pushed open the employee
entrance, the back parking lot being almost empty, my old black truck sitting
by its lonesome. I hopped up into the cab, cranking the engine to life, glad
that today was warmer, being around sixty degrees, as I pulled my heels off,
pulling on my spare flip flops that I always kept in the enormous center
console. I had the windows slightly rolled down as I rumbled down the highway,
the breeze making my ponytail fly around.

Chad's brand new, bright
red, fully loaded Chevy Silverado sat in my driveway as I approached, his lean
perfect figure propped up against my front porch rail. My heart jumped up into
my throat as he smiled at me, slight dimples in his cheeks as I put my truck in
park, grabbing my purse and the door creaking open. "Hey," he said,
waiting for me at the top of the steps as I jogged up them, pulling open the
screen door for me so I could unlock the storm door.

"Hey," I say,
feeling that all too familiar tingle in my stomach as I sensed his eyes on me.
My trailer was warm so I cracked the window above the kitchen sink as I passed
it, "What are we doin?" I nodded for him to help himself to the
fridge as I pulled the black dress shirt over my head, making my way to my
bedroom. Tossing it on the floor near the bathroom, I searched through the
baskets of clean laundry, my closet and my dresser.

"Prolly just drive
around, maybe grab something to eat later," the closeness of his voice
scared me and I turned my head to see that he was leaned on the door frame, one
hand in his pocket as the other brought a Bud Light bottle to his lips.
Those
damn lips
, I had to turn my face away, back to find a shirt. "You
wanna do anything special," he asked and I thought about it, pulling an
old deep V cut Coca-Cola graphic tee from the bottom of my closet drawer.
Tugging it over my head, fixing the red tank underneath, I fixed my ponytail
and rolled the bottom of my jeans a couple of times.

"Nah, anything's
good with me," I smiled, pushing past him to go get a beer for myself.
Twisting the cap off I fling it into the empty sink, spinning around with my
butt up against the counter. Chad was in dark jeans, clean Timberland boots, a
muscle defining cotton t-shirt with a long sleeve light button down collared
shirt over top. His grey streaked brown hair was down, the waves hitting just
above his shoulders as he ran his fingers through it. "So where you wanna
eat," I eyed him up as he chugged the last of his beer, putting the bottle
in the recycling bin near the door. God, when he bent over my eyes went
straight to his tight butt, the slight curve it had in his dark jeans. I had to
close my eyes to stop from staring, bringing the beer up to my lips to stop
from issuing a slight whimper of excitement.