Unbreak My Heart (16 page)

“They oughta be well-matched then.” His eyebrows drew together. “But that’s a first for Raj.”

“For
Lucinda Grace
too.”

He chuckled and took my hand. “Now I’m glad we drove two cars.” Boone stepped up to the bar. The man was so rugged and masculine I couldn’t look away from him. “What do you usually drink?”

I’d like to drink you down. In one greedy gulp.

“Sierra?”

“A…margarita.”

He ordered a margarita for me and a Corona for himself.

I rested my forearms on the bar next to him. “So…soldier. Come here often?”

He gave me that “you’re a dork” smile I remembered. “First time. You?”

“First time. Lately I’ve been too busy to hit the clubs. Parties are more laidback. Or they’re a drunken free-for-all which is also fun.”

“Sounds like the first weekend furlough during basic.”

“Do you have much time to go out to the bars now?”

Boone shrugged. “There’s a group of us that hang out on base. But it’s pool tables, darts, music on the jukebox. I prefer laidback too. You have a bunch of friends around here? People you used to hang out with before you moved?”

“No. I started at ASU with a clean slate. Random roommate assignment, which ended up being Lu. I keep a professional relationship with the people at DPM that I manage directly. Wouldn’t be a good career move to knock back Irish car bombs with my assistant. Or ask my accounts receivable manager to hold my legs during a keg stand.”

“Smart.”

“This year I’ve spent more time with the McKay-kateers. It’s easy with them, and their parties are fun. Lu drags me out on the weekends if our schedules mesh.”

When Boone’s eyes bored into mine, I braced myself for his next question. “So do you…date?”

“I’m team ‘hit it and quit it.’ In, out, done. There’s no mixed signals. What about you?”

“Same.”

Why I decided to push him…no fucking idea, but I did it anyway. “So no sexy army nurses have rocked your world? You thought, damn, I could do this again. Then you’re hanging out, not just for the sex, but because you like her. Then she starts leaving her shampoo in your shower and both sets of your friends stop trying to fix you up because you’re considered a couple?”

Boone studied me. By the hard set of his jaw I knew I’d struck a nerve. Would he answer or deflect it back to me?

Do you really want to know how many women have had their hands on him? Because no matter what he says, you’ll only focus on all those women who wanted to keep him, but couldn’t. And you know how that feels.

“You know what? Don’t answer that.”

The bartender delivered the drinks and Boone fished out his wallet to pay.

That made this feel like a date.

Is that what you want?

Boone slid my drink over.

I said, “Thank you,” and stepped aside, assuming we’d find a table.

But he set his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. When I looked up, he was right there.

“From the day I left Wyoming, I’ve been one hundred percent focused on getting as much medical training as I could handle. I live, eat and breathe army life. I’ve never had such a sense of purpose. I’ve never been a cog that makes the wheel run smoother. Now I am. I’m proud of what I’ve done and there’s still so much more that I want to do. I chose this life because I have a future and the past doesn’t matter. So yeah, I’ve been content with one-offs. I’m up-front about that. Never had a woman’s shampoo bottle in my shower. I don’t do couple dates because I’ve never been part of a couple. I haven’t been looking for a woman. Haven’t needed one. Haven’t wanted one. Then I saw you in Sundance. Now I’m here and I know I’ll never be content with a one-off with you.”

Shit. Was it hot in here?

I gulped down three mouthfuls of margarita and chanced a look at him.

Brooding Boone? Bye-bye. Beautiful Boone smiled. “Did that answer your question?”

“Yes-sirree, it sure did. Wow. A very thorough answer. You get an A-plus-plus for detail.”

He laughed. “So fair is fair, McKay. You ever had a guy…leave his tools in your shed?”

I choked on my drink.

Of course, Boone thought that was the height of hilarity.

But it didn’t get me off the hook from answering him. “Nope. No guy’s tools. I don’t need them. I have my own and can take care of things myself.”

“That can be taken a couple of different ways.”

“Let your imagination run wild.”

The wild look in his eye indicated the man had a very vivid imagination.

“I think the DJ is about to start playing music.” I faced that direction, standing on my toes for a better view. When I spun back around, Boone was glaring at the guy lounging at the bar next to me.

He leaned over and gritted out, “Keep your eyes off her ass.”

I froze. No need to check to see if Boone’s threat had scared the guy away. Heck, it’d almost scared
me
away. I sent Boone a sideways glance. He wore that bad-tempered look again. The scruff on his face made him ten times scarier looking, but it also made him ten times hotter.

Then his voice was in my ear. “You mad?”

“No. It
is
bad behavior to stare at someone’s ass.”

“Can I tell you a secret that might piss you off?”

“With a lead-in like that? You’d better.”

“The guy saw me staring at something in a stupor and checked to see what had my attention. When he saw your ass…well, McKay, it
is
fucking mesmerizing in those leather pants so I don’t blame him even when it pissed me the fuck off.”

“Omigod.” I blushed. “I’m never wearing these pants again.”

“Maybe not in public, but feel free to wear them around me in private anytime.”

I had no doubt that Boone could peel these pants off me in ten seconds if I gave him the chance. “Where do you think Lu and Raj are?”

“Skipped off to the karaoke bar. That’s not my thing.”

“Mine either. Besides, I don’t want to witness Lu and Raj one-upping each other with dirty sexy songs as foreplay.”

Boone gave me a considering look. “Give me an example of a dirty sexy song.”

“‘Gett Off.’ Prince.”

“Nice.”

“Your turn.”

“‘Closer.’ Nine Inch Nails.”

“Oh. Yeah. I love that song. Very dirty sexy. Okay, you win.”

Boone smirked at me. “And for my winner’s prize, you’re dancing with me.”

S
ierra cocked her
head, those shrewd eyes searched mine. “Not a good idea, Boone.”

“Why?”

“Because we’ve never danced together.”

“Exactly why we need to do it now.”

“How do I know that you’re not a shitty dancer who’ll tromp on my toes or embarrass me with disco moves?”

I braced my forearm on the bar and leaned in, losing my train of thought when I caught a whiff of her sweet perfume and beneath that sweetness, the earthier musk of her skin. Brushing my lips across her ear, I murmured, “Only one way to find out if I’ve got the moves like Jagger, McKay.”

She laughed. “Okay.”

I clasped her left hand in my right, towing her behind me until we reached the farthest edge of the dance floor.

Sierra brought our clasped hands up and rested her left hand on my right shoulder, keeping our bodies a proper distance apart like we were in fifth grade gym class.

“Nice try, but you belong here.” I circled her arms around my neck. Then I placed my hands in the small of her back with my forearms resting on her hips. “Much better.”

“Says you. But if your hands migrate toward my ass, you’ll get a knee to your nuts, West.”

I chuckled. “Tough talk.”

“Try me.”

“If you want to touch my nuts all you’ve gotta do is ask, no need to get violent about it.”

She had no response for that.

Conversation was the dead last thing on my mind as I finally held this woman in my arms. She matched her rhythm to mine. Even our breath synchronized as I felt the rising and falling of her chest and her exhale across my neck.

I bit back a groan. I’d always known we’d move together like this—which was why I’d never allowed our bodies to touch during those months we first got to know each other. I’d even lied about why I planned to skip prom, claiming I didn’t have the money or the right transportation. But the truth was if I’d seen Sierra dressed to the nines and then spent the entire night body to body like this? I would’ve had her stripped bare as soon as we were alone and I never would’ve left Wyoming.

“What are you thinking about?” she demanded. “Because you’re making some Neanderthal noises.”

“I’m thinking about the real reason I didn’t ask you to prom.”

“Is this the ‘I wouldn’t have been able to keep my hands off you’ excuse?”

“Not an excuse, Sierra, and you damn well know it.”

Her disbelieving snort vibrated against my neck. “I’m so glad you were able to keep your virtue and my hymen intact when you took off a month later.”

I wasn’t falling for her attempt to rile me, which in turn would rile her and give her an excuse to stomp away mad. “That’s the only time in my life I’ve come close to being virtuous.”

“I think you had ‘virtue’ confused with ‘self-interest,’” she retorted.

Sliding my left hand up past the nape of her neck, I sifted my fingers through her hair until I had a good grip. “You’re going there? Good. We need to get this shit out in the open, so we can move on from it.” I felt the ferocity flicker in my eyes, knew she saw it and didn’t bother to try and hide it. “I secretly ate it up that a girl like you had a thing for me. That you saw me beyond the bullshit of my life. But goddammit, don’t pretend you didn’t know how I felt about
you
that whole time.”

“I
didn’t
know,” she said hotly.

“Bull. You were the
only
person I spent my nonworking hours with. I didn’t hang with the guys. I didn’t have any friends at school besides you, Sierra.”

“Because you were too busy working toward getting the hell out of Wyoming to bother with any of that normal teen life stuff.”

“So why did I go out of my way to make time for
you
? Only you? Because you were the most important person in my life.” In pressing my point I ended up increasing my grip on her hair. “What we were to each other was always deeper than just friends.”

“I didn’t want to just be your friend, Boone.”

“You’d have less resentment toward me now if I’d turned our friendship into something more and then left?”

“You didn’t give me a choice.” She twisted out of my hold and broke eye contact. “I hated you for that.”

The knot in my gut tightened. “Hated?”

“With the power of a thousand fiery suns kind of hatred that a sixteen-year-old girl excels at. After you left, I spent most of the summer in Paris with my mom. I got rid of that pesky virginity as soon as possible to a sophisticated—and experienced—French college senior named Jean-Michel.”

I ground my teeth together.

“The worst part wasn’t you not taking me to prom. The worst part was finding out, literally at the last minute, that you
had
cared about me the way I’d dreamed you would.” Her gaze sought mine. “Then you kissed me and satisfied your curiosity so you could move on.”

“No. No,” I repeated, more vehemently, “that goddamn kiss wrecked me, Sierra.”

She went utterly still.

“
Wrecked me
,” I repeated. Curling my hand beneath her jaw, I feathered my thumb over her bottom lip. “I didn’t kiss another woman for a goddamned year because I couldn’t get
this
mouth out of my mind. I kept flashing back to that smile, the one that dazzled me the first time we met. Or the sneering one that pissed me off, because it managed to be cute and a little mean. I remembered how badly I wanted to bite this pouting bottom lip when you were being a brat. But mostly I remembered how your lips softened beneath mine from that first touch.”

“Then you remember the taste of my tears, too.”

Those words hit me as hard as a punch to the gut. But I soldiered on, continuing to gently stroke her lower lip, while inching closer. “And you know the taste of mine,” I said softly.

That startled her. Then she whispered, “You’re right. God. I’d…forgotten.”

“You think it was easy for me? That I just climbed on my bike and never looked back? Never thought about you, never wished my life circumstances had been different so I didn’t have to make that choice?”

She shook her head. “But it did get easier to block it out, didn’t it?”

No malice distorted her words. She’d been speaking for herself as much as asking me. “It did. And then there were times when I imagined what it’d be like when I finally saw you again.”

“It’s not exactly been us holding hands, having heart-to-hearts and hugging it out, has it?”

“No. But you haven’t kicked me in the balls either, so I’m still ahead of the curve.”

That earned me a smile.

And I shamelessly caressed the bow of her upper lip with my thumb, as if I could make the touch erotic enough that she’d let me use my tongue next time. When her breath caught, I groaned.

“Boone. What are we doing?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m about to kiss you.” I shifted the position of my hand, lightly resting it on her throat. “Are you gonna run?”