Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) (3 page)

He was a military man. From a
military family. Order, control and discipline were not only a code of conduct,
they were a way of life. He thrived on them. They were ingrained. A part of
him. These recent, foolish, unwanted flashes of lust were for schoolboys. He’d
had his shot at allowing his heart to rule his mind at the end of his senior
year with Gwen Gablonski, and failed. Miserably.

A month after he graduated, the
long-legged, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty had signed with a New York
modeling agency and became supermodel Gwen Gabel at seventeen. Ben had been so
proud that his girlfriend had been a model. He’d left for boot camp, foolishly
believing they’d make a long-distance thing work. That he could have the girl
and a future in the military. Five weeks later, he received the Dear John
letter. She left him for a French photographer while he still had eleven weeks
of training to go.

That’s when he woke up. Got a clue.
Set his sights on a military career. Reliable. Tangible. Doable. He focused on
things he could control. And others’ feelings weren’t one of them.
Relationships fell last on his list.

Besides, in his experience, he’d
seen too many fail, unable to withstand a military schedule. It had happened to
his own parents. His mother had left his dad after fourteen years of marriage.
Fourteen years. Rachel Wyne claimed she was tired of supporting his career
while hers took a back seat. They shared joint custody and got on well; she
even attended his father’s second wedding to Brandi’s mother, saying they made
much better friends than man and wife. That was fifteen years ago, but Ben
still took that lesson to heart. It had shown him, early on, the military and relationships
didn’t last.

That was why he was selective with
his lovers. They knew a relationship was out of the question. He didn’t want
one. Just a warm body and great sex when needed. Nothing serious. Just
physical.

Charisse, his current go-to girl, was
out of the country representing her company at some trade show. She didn’t
expect a ring, or exclusiveness. They called each other up when they felt the
need to work off some steam. Perfect set up.

Great sex.

Zero commitment.

Life was good.

Pushing through the front door, he
exhaled a breath and noted his shoulders felt a lot lighter than when he’d
exited his office a minute earlier.

“Sgt. Wyne. Just the man I wanted
to see.”

Ben stopped and silently uttered a
curse, tightness returning to stiffen his body once again. He knew without
turning around who stood on the sidewalk behind him. He recognized the voice of
his superior officer’s superior.

Colonel Dankirk.

The man with the authority to stop
promotions, like the one Ben was eligible for at the end of the year.

The man with a wife half his age
who continually hit on Ben whenever her husband’s back was turned.

His father’s friend and old war
buddy who’d left two messages inviting Ben to his house for the weekend for a
small get together with a few officers…and his promiscuous wife.

There was no way to duck the
invitation now. Nor could he afford to refuse. Damned if he did, and damned if
he didn’t. He knew when his career allowed him to do his own thing, and when he
needed to jump through hoops. This was a jump-through hoops kind of weekend.

Pasting a smile on his face, Ben
turned around and held out his hand. “Colonel Dankirk, how are you, sir?”

The man shook his hand and cocked
his head, gaze direct and sharp as usual. “Fine, Ben, but I’d be better if
you’d tell me you’re coming to the house this weekend. It’ll be a mixture of
work and play. Mira has her heart set on it. You’ve made quite an impression
with my wife. She loves that wit of yours, son. I hate to disappoint her.”

And he hated to be fired.
Blackballed. Manhandled. Or caught in a compromising position not of his
choosing.

He was screwed.

He couldn’t go.

Couldn’t not go.

And he couldn’t just tell the
Colonel the reason. No man liked to hear shit about his girl, even if it was
the truth.

Yeah, he was screwed.

“Hey, Ben. Colonel Dankirk. Sorry
to butt in.” Lea’s voice carried across the street and he could’ve cheerfully
kissed his sister’s best friend for the interruption.

“No worries, my dear.” The colonel
transferred his direct gaze to the woman rushing toward them, her blue
checkered apron blowing in the wind. “How’s your dad?”

“Misinformed,” she replied, slight
quirk to her top lip. Over the years, she’d waited on the two of them plenty of
times at Gabe’s, so he wasn’t surprised by her greeting or the colonel’s
inquiry.  “He thinks if he rushes through therapy, he’ll get back to work
sooner.”

His superior chuckled. “Not on your
watch.”

“Exactly, sir.” She smiled, then
turned her blue gaze on him as she waved at the restaurant. “I saw you from the
window and wanted to catch you to let you know I just got off the phone with
Jill. We have an appointment at six o’clock tonight to sample wedding cakes.”

Colonel Dankirk reeled back
slightly, brows raised, small smile tugging the corner of his mouth.
“Congratulations, Ben. Your father didn’t tell me you and Lea were seeing each
other.”

“Oh…uh…” Her pretty face turned the
exact shade of pink as the Hello Kitty pencil shoved behind her ear. “It’s
n-not for us,” she stammered.

Never one to look a gift horse in
the mouth, Ben quickly slipped an arm around Lea’s shoulders and drew her
close, a little surprised at how soft she felt. “Yeah, it’s for my sister’s
wedding next month. Lea and I aren’t rushing things. We’re taking it slow,
sir.”

She stiffened against him, and for
a moment, his heart stopped.
Damn
. The last thing he needed was for her
to push away. But she must’ve heard his silent message, or noted the pleading
in his gaze, because she suddenly relaxed and melted against him.

The colonel nodded. “Smart man.”

A moment later, Lea really got into
character. She slid a hand around his waist and snuggled closer, reminding him
once again she was no longer a little girl. The plump softness of her breast
pressing into his side alerted him of that fact.
Shit
, he did not need
to know she felt that good. Or that she was that stacked. And,
oh hell yeah
,
she was stacked if he could feel her breast through the thickness of his ACU
jacket.

“That he is,” she said, resting her
head against his shoulder while she patted his chest. “But he still has a few
things to prove to me first, don’t you,
snookums
?”

He swallowed a curse. She did not
just call him that in front of his superior.

Colonel Dankirk laughed. “Good for
you, Lea. Make him squirm.”

Oh, he was squirming all right.

“Hey, Ben.” The colonel turned to
him, wide smile on his face. “Why don’t you bring Lea with you this weekend?
The others are bringing their ladies. I know Mira would love to meet your
girlfriend, too.”

“Thank you, sir,” he replied,
relishing the fact he’d found his buffer, and that his
girlfriend
had
stiffened again as he glanced down at her. “We’d love to.”

Blue eyes stared up at him, and he
grinned, doing his damndest to keep from laughing. He didn’t think he’d ever
seen her look so shocked. Not even when she’d walked in on him and Gwen making
out in the Gablonski’s basement the night before he left for basic training.

She lifted her chin, a devilish
gleam entering her gaze before she turned her attention to the colonel, and
left him shaking in his combat boots not knowing what the hell was about to
come out of her pretty mouth...

“Y
es, sir. We’d love
to,” Lea replied, adrenaline, confusion and a few other ‘uns’ running through
her body, taking turns increasing and decreasing her temperature. “Benny
promised to row me around his lake, but so far he hasn’t found the time. I know
there’s a small one next to your property. Maybe he can finally take care of me
this weekend.”

“Absolutely, young lady.” Colonel
Dankirk nodded, casting a stern glance at Ben who blinked down at her.

She clenched her teeth to keep from
laughing. Poor guy hadn’t looked that shocked since she’d walked in on him and
her sister going at it hot and heavy in her basement the night before he left
for basic training.

The confusion clouding his green
eyes suddenly cleared and her heart leapt in her chest when his gaze gleamed a
deep emerald. “Perfect, because you deserve to be taken care of,
sweetheart
.”

One octave. That was it. A single
octave lower was the difference between innocent and trouble. And
holy crow
,
his voice had dropped an octave with that phrase.

Her stomach fluttered, and
neglected good parts tingled.
Damn.

She was in trouble.

“Wonderful.  I’ll expect you both
at eighteen hundred Friday night.” Their future host pivoted around and strode
toward the parking lot on the side of the building before either of them had a
chance to reply.

They must’ve stood that way a good
four minutes until the colonel’s car disappeared down the street. During those
four minutes, Lea soaked it all in. The hard muscles under her palm. The solid
strength in the arm surrounding her.  The promise of heat in the hand caressing
her hip. She inhaled two, three—five times, enjoying the pure male scent that
was Benjamin Wyne. The sexiest man alive. The man holding her close.

In the middle of the sidewalk.

In broad daylight.

Across from her father’s
restaurant.

The one with customers pressing
their faces to the window, smiling at them, hoping to see who knows what.

Ben must’ve noticed, too, because
he stiffened, released her and stepped back so quick and rigid she
half-expected him to go straight into an about-face and march away.

But the sexy sergeant stood there
and gave her a firm nod. “Thanks, Lea.” The palm with the heat she could still
feel on her hip skimmed across his head after he momentarily removed his cap.
“Sorry to drag you into this.”

She cleared her throat, doing her
best to sound nonchalant. “Exactly what is
this
, Ben?”

“
This
is me asking you to
pretend to be my girlfriend, just for the weekend,” he replied, jamming the hat
back on his head. “I hope you didn’t have work at the museum this Sunday.”

“No,” she replied. “I would’ve said
something to the colonel if I had.” She only worked one weekend a month at the
anthracite museum, and she’d already put her hours in this month.

He nodded, relief easing the
stiffness from his shoulders. “I need, you, Lea. Your help, I mean.”

She heard it. Really, she did. She
heard his added clarification, but latched on to the
I need you, Lea
part and
oh Lordy
, her body basked in the rush of heat his words
created. Words she’d longed to hear practically half her life. “S-sure, no
problem. But I have to admit, I find it hard to believe you need a pretend
girlfriend.”

He laughed, and dammit, the sound
warmed her from the inside out. “Thanks. Colonel Dankirk was pressing me to
stay at his place this weekend.”

“Which is horrible. I know, what
with his estate being so big and all.” She made a tsking sound with her tongue
as she shrugged.

This won her a smirk. “Smart ass. I
needed a buffer from his wife and wouldn’t have asked you, but Charisse is out
of the country, so I needed a substitute and fast.”

Oh, swell
. She was a
substitute. A stand in for his goodtime girlfriend.

Still, Lea couldn’t bring herself
to feel bad. For two whole nights and three days she was going to be Sgt.
Benjamin Wyne’s girlfriend. Which meant she had to touch him and cuddle with
him, and show signs of affection in public.

Yeah, sucked to be her.

F
our and a half hours
later, Lea was in the middle of a Skype call with Brandi and her bridesmaids,
Jordan, Kerri and Shayla, discussing the cakes she’d just sampled with Ben,
when the truth in that earlier statement hit her for the first time.

It
did
suck to be her.

“Okay, I know that look,” Brandi
stated, her pretty face moving closer to the screen. “What did Ben do now?”

Darn woman really was too astute.
“Nothing. Not really.”

“Explain.”

“Gosh, you’re so bossy,” she said
with a laugh.

“I’m a Wyne. We can’t help it,”
Brandi stated. “Now, stop changing the subject and spill it. What is going on
with you and my brother?”

“Ooh, are you seeing the sexy
Benjamin Wyne? Do tell.” Jordan moved closer, brown gaze alight with mischief.

“No. I wish.”
Pretty please with
sugar on top
. Now was probably not the best time to entertain thoughts of
licking sugar off the man’s ripped torso. Twice.

“But…? Come on, tell us,” her
friend urged.

“Yeah, we want the scoop,” Kerri
said, gathering close, along with a nodding Shayla.

Darn. She knew when she was busted.
“It’s nothing really.” She sat back in her chair and petted Marlow, her dad’s
black cat currently curled up on her lap. “I’m just pretending to be his
girlfriend while we’re at Colonel Dankirks this weekend.”

A dawning lit Brandi’s eyes,
turning them the same shade as her namesake. “To keep Mrs. Dankirk at bay.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you have to share a room?”
Shayla smiled.

“I-I don’t know. Maybe.” She hadn’t
even thought to ask. Something fluttered in her belly, but Lea wasn’t sure if
it was excitement or dread. It would suck to be so close to the man and not be
able to be
close
to the man.

“Probably,” Brandi answered. “I
went there once with Ed, and each of the couples had their own room.”

The fluttering increased to double
time in her stomach, robbing her of breath. She would be sharing a bedroom with
Ben the whole weekend. What should be considered a dream come true left her
worried.

“I’m not gonna make it.” She palmed
her face.

“What do you mean?” Kerri asked.

She dropped her hands and shook her
head. “I don’t think I can be cooped up with the man that long without, you
know, touching him.”

Jordan shrugged. “Then don’t.”

This turned Lea’s nervousness into
laughter. “Don’t share a room? I don’t think I can request another.”

“No, I mean don’t resist touching
him,” the brown-eyed, long brown-haired beauty clarified.

“Easy for you to say. You’re
competent and gorgeous. Did I mention gorgeous? I’m just…” She paused to wave
at her average body. “…boring me.”

Brandi narrowed her gaze and shook
a finger at the screen. “You are far from boring, Lea Gablonski. And you’re
practically the fantasy of every soldier in that armory.”

Now she was laughing outright. “You
are so full of shit, Brandi.”

“I’m serious. You forget I’ve been
around those soldiers. They were always talking about you with your silky, dark
hair, light blue eyes and killer body.” Her friend was laying it on thick.
“Half of them think
you
should be modeling next to Gwen.”

That sobered Lea up real fast.
“What?” She blinked, but her friend’s smug face didn’t change. “They did not.”

“Yes, they did.
Including
my
brothers.”

“Why wouldn’t they?” Kerri frowned.
“You’re so beautiful. It’s time you believed it. Because, trust me, once you
believe in yourself, the world changes for the better.”

“Amen.” Shayla nodded, brilliant
smile lighting her happy face.

“So, you’re saying Ben thinks I
should be a model?”

“Something like that. I doubt he’d
want you to be, though. He just agreed you’re beautiful enough to model.”

Ben thought she was beautiful…

A rush of warmth settled over Lea,
leaving her feeling all kinds of tingly.  Then reality set in. “Too bad he
thinks of me as his little sister.”

“Then this weekend is the perfect
time to change his outlook.”

“Change? How?”

“I have one word for you,” Jordan
cut in, that mischievous grin consuming her gaze. “Negligee.”

“Negligee?” Her heart dropped to
her ribs and rolled around. “I-I don’t own any.”

“Buy some,” Brandi stated with the
bridesmaids all nodding in agreement.

“I can’t do that. It feels
dishonest. Like entrapment or something.” Besides, she didn’t have the guts.
What if he turned her down? She’d die. Simply die. No, she couldn’t do it.

Could she?

As she silently argued with
herself, the girls discussed what style and color would work best for her. It
was all too surreal. Time to change the subject.

“So, back to the cakes,” she said,
regaining her best friend’s attention. “They were all excellent, but…”

“The chocolate one, right?” Brandi
eyed her closely.

Lea slapped a hand on her chest and
moaned. “It was orgasmic. Jill mixed in Belgium chocolate. Pure bliss.” Just
thinking about it had Lea closing her eyes and sighing. “It was so good I
finished my slice, and then Ben’s.”

Right from his fork. He just
blinked at her, mouth dropping open as he watched her lick her lips. Poor guy.
A flash of fear skittered through his mossy green eyes.

“It takes a smart man to know
better than to get between a woman and her chocolate,” Kerri stated.

She opened her eyes and nodded.

“Unless the man
is
covered
in chocolate.” Jordan winked.

“Yeah.”

“Amen.”

“Yeehaw.”

The women snickered. Lea balked.
They were killing her. In stereo.

She hadn’t been with a man in,
well, almost a year. She’d dated a few guys while in college, and last year,
she’d even had a fling while penthouse sitting for her sister. Gwen had asked
Lea to watch the place while she was in Cairo for a shoot. The freedom, the
energy of the city had been great, but she’d been most at home at the library.
It was huge and inviting, and the big, stone building itself had been so full
of history she felt right at home. That’s where she’d met a handsome professor,
and soon their daily lunches and friendly discussions had turned to nightly
rendezvous…until she’d discovered the jerk was married.

Even now, her stomach soured just
thinking about it. She shivered as a wave of distaste rolled through without
mercy. Since then, she’d learned to be more selective. Though, no need. There
hadn’t been anyone else.

Her sex life was dead in the water.

Sure, guys glanced her way and
smiled, a few of the customers even flirted, but for some reason, they never
asked her out. And she got to wondering if maybe they’d been smiling at her for
other reasons. Like maybe she had jelly on her butt or some other form of food.
It’d been known to happen. She was always brushing up against the stack of
dirty dishes while rushing around the kitchen.

“Okay, so we’re going with the
chocolate cake,” Brandi said, making notes on a legal pad.

“Like there was ever any doubt.”
She snickered.

“Hush, you.” Her friend pointed at
her. “Now, let’s get back to discussing your upcoming weekend with my brother.”

“Yeah, the enigmatic Ben.” Kerri
smiled. “You should make him his favorite food.”

“Bacon?” She laughed. “I’m not sure
I’d be able to sneak that in.”

The girls chuckled.

“Probably not,” Kerri agreed.

“All you need is that negligee,”
Jordan insisted. “Trust me. It worked for Brandi.”

“It did?” She leaned closer, and
this time shook her finger at the monitor. “You’ve been keeping things from me.
Good things. It’s your turn to spill, woman.”

Color swept into her friend’s face,
turning it practically crimson, but the satisfied smile curving Brandi’s lips
cancelled out the blush. “It was a pink bra and thong set. When I dropped my
robe, Kade dropped his resolve, and well, he…”

“He what?” Lea’s face was literally
inches from the screen now. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

Her friend’s color deepened, along
with her smile. “He took me against the door.”

Shit.

“Amen.”

“Heard that.”

“Done that.”

The bridesmaids all giggled, while
Lea sat there in an un-
serviced
pile of need. She’d never been taken
anywhere but on her back, unless she wanted top.  Yeah, she was boring. And
apparently uninspiring. “I want to be taken against a door.”

“Then buy the negligee.” Jordan
smirked. “The guys can’t resist.”

“Yeah, but…what if Ben did?” She
shivered again.

“Then at least you’d know,” Brandi
spoke up. “Look, Lea, you’ve been carrying this torch for my brother ever since
you first met him. It’s time to call him out. See what happens.”

“Nothing will happen.” She sighed,
already knowing the outcome. “He sees me like he sees you, or worse, as his
childhood sweetheart’s little sister.” She dropped her head into her hands and
groaned.
Thank you, Gwen.
“I’m doomed.”

“No, you’re just uninformed.”

She glanced up to see Brandi fold
her arms across her chest and nod.

“And it’s time you learned the
truth,” her friend continued. “It’s better to know than to go on always
wondering, right?”

“Hell ya,” Jordan replied, face
devoid of her usual mirth. “Trust me. I’ve been down that road. It eats at
you.”

She nodded. “Yes, it digs and
digs.” God, she was so tired of the digging.

“Then it’s settled,” her friend
said. “This weekend, you’re going to proposition Ben and see how he really
feels.”