Cockpit: A Second Chance Romance (8 page)

I stood in the living room, adjusting my stance from time to time. After ten minutes I was still waiting for the General to invite me to sit.

He didn't.
 

So, I just stood there. I hadn't worn my hat. But I kind of wish I had, so I had something to fiddle with.

He'd already taken the flowers, with a slightly disapproving sound. Maybe red had been a bad idea. Pink would have been better.

Red was a little too... sexual.

I stood straight, waiting. Finally, the General gestured to a chair across from him. I sat down and cleared my throat.

I noticed he hadn't offered me anything to drink either. Maybe that was a blessing. From what Jenny had texted me, it sounded like the man might try to poison it.

Hell, if I had a daughter I wouldn't make it easy for someone who wanted to go out with her either. Maybe he could sense that I wanted to steal her away from him. Maybe-

"So. You wanted to speak to me."

"Yes, sir. I wanted to let you know that my intentions towards your daughter are honorable."

Well, mostly honorable. But he didn't need to know about all the hot, sweaty things I wanted to do with her.

Tonight, if I had my wish.

"You know she's only twenty right?"

I nodded, even though I hadn't known exactly how old she was. Just that she was barely legal the first time I met her. That has been... a close call to say the least.

"Yes, sir. I won't rush her."

Not into matrimony, anyway. The other stuff, well, we'd already done that. So there was no need to delay
that
gratification.

"You like kids, Jagger?"

I nodded eagerly. This was going well. The General was actually asking me questions. And that was an easy one. I did like kids.

I'd looked after enough of them in the foster care system. The little ones were always scared, especially since plenty of foster parents were not especially nurturing.

"Dad."

I looked up to see... a vision. Jenny was standing there in a pretty, pale blue summer dress. Her hair was down and styled more than usual. She had a little bit of makeup on too. Not that she needed it.

It was just enough to let me know that she considered tonight special too.

The slight darkening of her lashes... the shimmery pink on her cheeks. It dialed her beauty up to glamorous.

I hadn't known she could look like this. She looked like a sparkling glass of pink champagne with a strawberry in it. Or the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae.
 

She looked like a little slice of heaven.

I gulped and stood, realizing I was in deep. Deeper than I'd thought, and I already knew I wanted her for the long haul.

Suddenly, words like 'forever' were on the tip of my tongue.

She smiled at me, then turned a cold look on her father. I smothered a laugh. Only Jenny would look at one of the most feared men in the Marines that way.

"Are you done here?"

"Yes."

"Good."

She turned to me and her eyes softened. I wondered what her dad had done to piss her off. It was almost comical, seeing the two of them clash like that.

She held her own, and then some.

I grinned and followed her to the door.

"I brought you flowers."

She looked confused for a minute.

"You did?"

I nodded.

"He took them to the kitchen I think."

Jenny held up her finger, disappearing back into the house. She was back in a few minutes. We stepped out the door and she shut it behind us. Then she smiled at me shyly.

"Thank you. I put them in water."

She shrugged self-consciously.

"My dad wouldn't think to do it. That was always... the kind of thing my mom took care of. And since then, well..."

She smiled at me shyly.

"No one's ever brought me flowers before."

I bit my tongue, on the verge of promising to bring her flowers
every
day. I offered her my arm instead. She took it and we walked down the edge of the walkway to my ride. She stared at the gleaming black and chrome bike parked at the curb. Oh yeah, I'd polished her up for this. There were two equally shiny helmets sitting on top.
 

"I've never been on a motorcycle before."

I picked up the spare helmet, frowning at it.

"Your hair looks so nice... and your dress. I wasn't thinking. I'm going to call a cab. Unless... you want to ride?"

She looked at me in surprise.

"Hell yes, I do!"

She grabbed the helmet from my hand and started tucking her hair up and under it. I watched her, my mouth going a little dry at the sight of her. Her cheeks were pink. Her eyes were shining.

She was the girl I'd met all those months ago.

Almost two years now, just about. But it still felt like yesterday. She took one look at me and grinned.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

I laughed and put on my helmet, then reached out to make sure hers was on securely. I inhaled sharply as my fingers brushed the incredibly soft skin under her chin. Then I climbed on the bike and pulled her up behind me.

"I won't go too fast. Not with you dressed like that."

She wrapped her arms around me.

"Don't hold back on my account, Jagger."

Jenny

✈

I closed my eyes, loving the feel of the wind on my face. My cheek was pressed against Jagger's broad shoulder, which shielded me from the worst of it.
 

Of course, the wind blowing up my skirt was a different matter altogether. That was going straight up my thighs, stimulating my sensitive skin. But according to Jagger, we weren't going all that far.

And despite what I'd said, he
was
holding back. I knew he was. I wondered what it was like to ride with him when he really let loose. He was being polite though. I was as inappropriately dressed for a motorcycle ride as I could possibly be.

Well... A bikini would have been worse.

I smiled at the thought of riding behind Jagger in a bright red bikini as he turned towards town. The swooping feeling was exhilarating. The cool night air was exhilarating. Jagger was the most exhilarating of all...

He pulled into the parking lot of the fanciest place in town. I was suddenly glad I'd worn one of my few dresses. Crystal's borrowed princess heels on the other hand... not the best for riding.

I was lucky one of them hadn't fallen off.

Jagger climbed off and reached for his helmet, tugging it off. I stared at him in awe. His hair still looked perfect somehow. Neat on the sides and a little bit of a party up top. I
had
to find out how he did that.

Crystal had already asked me for deets.

His blue eyes widened as he watched me tug my dress down over my thighs. He looked away politely. I almost laughed. Who was this guy and what had he done with Jagger?

"Next time, you're going to have to wear jeans."

He stepped closer and undid the strap under my chin. His fingers were gentle as he let them linger, stroking my cheek as he stared at me. My lips opened slightly, sure he was going to kiss me.

But he just stepped away and held out his hand.

I tugged off my helmet, tossing my hair to unflatten it. I grinned at him and handed it over. He took it, his eyes hungry as he looked at me.

He locked his bike up and offered me his arm to escort me into the restaurant.

In a few minutes I was sitting at a table by the window facing the back. Open French doors led to a private garden with stunning flowers. Somehow they were
all
in bloom. I realized it must take an army of gardeners to create that effect.

String lights glowed from the branches above.

A fountain was bubbling.
 

Along with the soft music playing inside, it was pretty much perfect.

It was definitely the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me. Considering we'd moved around too much over the years to have a lot of friends, let alone a real boyfriend, that wasn't too surprising.

A boyfriend...

Jagger kept stealing glances at me as he read his menu. He wanted to be that I realized. My boyfriend. I took a sip of my water.

"Do you want champagne?"

I bit my lip.

"Only if you are having some."

"I can't. I'm driving you home later."

He almost said something else. I almost heard the unspoken words... much later.

"One glass then. You're a big guy. I'm sure you can handle it."

He grinned at me wolfishly. I realized he liked it when I said he was big. I blushed suddenly realizing he might think I meant his-

"May I take your orders?"

Our waiter was back. I could have sworn he had a faint French accent. We were kind of in the middle of nowhere out here though, so I kind of doubted he was from France.

Canadian maybe.

Jagger had already asked me what I wanted so he ordered for both of us. He even mentioned that I wanted my dressing on the side. I felt a little zing of pleasure at his consideration.

He was being wonderful. Kind. Romantic. Respectful. Considerate.

And I was lying to him.

That ugly reality kept intruding on my thoughts, reminding me that this was not a fairytale. And I was definitely no princess.

He started asking me about my hopes and dreams. It was hard not to mention Hallie. I almost did, twice.

"What do you want? Long term, I mean."

I shrugged.

"I guess I just want to... get away. Make enough money that I can start over somewhere new. Maybe not move every few years for once in my life."

"It must have been hard growing up on bases."

"It was different when my mom was alive. She made it seem normal. I think, in retrospect, that she must have worked really hard to do that."

"How so?"

"She always arranged our house the same way. Made sure I had my favorite books to read, and activities lined up. She even drove me back and forth to visit friends at different bases."

I shrugged.

"Mostly, I had pen pals. And my journals."

"You like to write?"

I sat up straight.

"I guess I do. I never thought of it that way... of myself as a writer. I was going to study literature in college... but I've mostly just read books. I never tried to actually write any of my ideas down."

"I'm pretty sure you could do anything you wanted to."

He didn't realize I hadn't gone to college because of our baby. I knew he would run out of here if he knew. I didn't want to ruin this perfect night. So I changed the subject.

"What about you? Where did you grow up?"

I could have sworn that Jagger's swagger dried up. He took a deep swig of his water before answering.

"I moved around a lot too."

"Army brat?"

"Not exactly."

He cleared his throat. It looked like he was having trouble meeting my eyes all the sudden.

"Foster system."

I didn't know that. It changed the way I looked at him almost instantly. He wasn't some spoiled, arrogant jerk who always got what he wanted.

But he was going to tonight.

Just like that, I knew what I wanted. I wanted
him
. I wasn't going to try and fight this crazy attraction between us anymore. I was going to just... go with it.

"Oh. What was it like?"

He shrugged.

"Some of the homes were okay. Some were... not. I ended up looking after a lot of littler kids who couldn't protect themselves."

I stared at him, my fork forgotten in my hand.

"They... hit you?"

He shook his head.

"No. Not me. But I saw a couple hit the other kids. Mostly it was that they... they didn't always feed us. And they didn't do a lot of hand holding, if you know what I mean. Some of those kids were really young. They got scared at night."

"Do you know... what happened to those kids?"

He nodded.

"Some. I am still in touch with a few of them. I had a sister I was with for a long time. We moved together twice. Until she ran away, anyway."

He smiled at me sheepishly.

"Well, I call her my sister. I'm not sure that's legit."

I stared at him, feeling the urge to reassure him. To hold him. Hell, I almost leapt over the table to sit in his lap. Instead, I just gave him a small smile.

"It's legit."

I had to look away as my eyes started to tear up. Maybe I'd been wrong. Maybe he was the daddy- type. Maybe-

"Hey, let's make a deal. Let's only talk about happy things tonight. Okay?"

I looked back at Jagger, slowly nodding. I'd been on the brink of telling him everything. Letting the chips fall where they may.

But he'd just given me an out, and I was enough of a coward to take it.

Chapter Eleven

Jagger

✈

I stared at the insanely beautiful woman straddling my bike. She looked damn good on it. Hell, she looked damned good anywhere. The fancy restaurant... the bar she worked at... my bed...

I grinned at her, surpressing the hot lust coursing through me.

"So... Where to?"

She smiled at me shyly. I wasn't used to this. Both of us were pussy footing around each other. Almost afraid to ruin things.

The date was going almost
too
well. I helped her get her helmet on, tucking my jacket over her shoulders. It was getting chilly out.

"I have to get you home by a decent hour."

"Then we should go back I guess."

I nodded. I didn't want the night to be over. I wanted to keep her up all night.

Naked.

But the General was going to remove my nuts if I tried that.

"Okay, I'll take you home."

She smiled brightly at me.

"Great. I can't wait to see your place."

My eyes might have bulged out of my head. I guess Jenny misunderstood me. But I wasn't going to correct her. Or she was just as eager for me as I was for her.

And I had put fresh sheets on the bed, just in case.

Sweet Jenny was still a little bit wild after all.

My mind was racing as I drove carefully back to the base. She might just want to see my place. Maybe she didn't want to-