Honeybun Hottie (Plus Size Romance 5) (2 page)

The dark-haired marine handed the blond one a clipboard, drawing Blythe’s attention.  Then he addressed Shelly.

“Ma’am, I’ll need you and your friend’s full names and picture IDs.”

Blythe’s stomach fell to her feet.  In all the packing and rushing around, she had grabbed her suitcases but not her purse. 
Crap!
Without her driver’s license, the soldier would probably summon Sean to confirm her identity.  It was obvious these men took their job of securing the camp seriously.  They weren’t going to take Blythe’s word.  So much for complete avoidance.

THE SCREECH OF THE two-way radio jerked Sean back to the present.  It was just as well; thoughts of Blythe had given him a raging tension headache and a Herculean hard-on.  He needed something to distract him.  Soon enough she—the ultimate distraction—would be right here in front of him.  Given what had happened on their date, he was more than a little concerned about her reaction to seeing him again.  Would she give him the time of day, much less a chance to explain his terrible behavior that night? He wouldn’t blame her if she came out swinging.  He deserved anything she threw at him. 

“Do you copy, Sergeant?”

Sean winced at the high-pitched sound of Private Chad Kean’s voice.  He was a new recruit, a baby-faced blond still cutting his teeth. 

“What’s the problem, Private?”

“Well, sir there are two women here at the gate.”

“Sounds like a pleasure, not a problem, soldier.”  Only Sean had a feeling one of those women might be giving him a fit before the day was out.

“No, sir.  I mean, yes, sir.  It’s just that one of them doesn’t have any form of identification on her.  Allowing her onto the grounds without a picture ID breaks your security protocols, sir.”

Releasing the button on the radio to keep Kean from hearing, Sean took a deep breath then blew it out hard.

“Describe this woman to me, Private.”

Sean grinned when the young man cleared his throat uncomfortably.  “Uh, she—she’s got some real nice curves on her, sir.  Long, wavy chestnut-brown hair that hits the top of her tits.  Big chocolatey brown eyes and one of the worst tempers I’ve ever seen.”

Blythe Dalton for sure
.  His grin turned to a frown.  “What’s got her so worked up?”

“I’m afraid that would be me, sir.”

“What the hell did you do?”

“I ordered Private Falk to search her suitcases.  She has
three!
Combined with no ID, it gave me pause.  For all I know, she could be trying to smuggle in an arsenal of weapons.  The other woman—Shelly Matthews—only has one duffle.  I hope I didn’t overstep, sir, but you positioned me at the entrance for a reason.  To keep Camp Semper Fi safe, sir.  And that’s what I aim to do.”

“Cease the search until I get there, Private.”

“Copy that.”

THE NOSTRILS OF BLYTHE’S cute button nose flared furiously.  With her hands firmly planted on her hips, she whirled around to Shelly who was barely stifling laughter.

“There’s nothing funny about being humiliated, Shelly!” she screamed, holding out her hand.  “Give me the damn keys to the car.  I’m outta here!”

Shelly shook her head.  “I’m sorry Bly, but watching a sexy soldier sift through your sensible, white-cotton granny panties is a little funny.”

“Oh, yeah?  We’ll see how frigging hilarious you think it is when he tears into your duffle and starts thumbing through your thongs.  Why anyone would wear butt floss, I’ll never know.”

Shelly rolled her eyes.  “Because panty lines are not hot.  Besides, you never know what might happen to you at summer camp,” she said, winking at the marine who was inspecting yet another pair of Blythe’s gigantic undies.

Her face burned red.  Lord if the damn thing didn’t look like a surrender flag flying on the breeze.  Maybe she should lay off the honeybuns for a while.

“Nothing’s going to happen to me Shelly because
I’m
leaving.”

Suddenly, the two soldiers making up the meet-greet-and-search-through-her-personal- belongings team jumped to attention.  Blythe could hear their heels click together and their stiffened hands snapping out salutes. 

“Nobody’s going anywhere.  Private Kean, you failed to follow my orders.  Private Falk is
still
searching this woman’s suitcase.”

Blythe felt lightheaded.  The roar of blood in her ears was overwhelming.  But it wasn’t loud enough to drown out Sean Warrington’s panty-melting, heart-throbbing baritone.  Following the sultry sound, she turned around slowly.  A small gasp escaped her full lips. 
Damn!
He was even sexier than she remembered. 

“Looks like one of my men has himself a fetish,” he said, holding her in a heat-filled gaze that made her gulp for air.  Relief flooded her when he turned his attention to the trembling soldier still holding her underwear. 

  “You get off on playing with women’s unmentionables, do you, Panty Boy?”

The embarrassment Blythe had felt for herself earlier was now being reflected onto the dumb-stricken soldier who had been searching her suitcase.

“N—no, sir.  I was only following Private Kean’s orders, sir.  I—I—”

“Drop and give me fifty, Falk.”

Immediately, the soldier fell to a plank position, pounded out the pushups and then scrambled to his feet. 

“Kean, you’re on KP duty.  Peeling potatoes for two weeks should give you plenty of time to rethink any future insubordination.  Both of you are dismissed,” he growled, ignoring their parting salutes.

Shelly seemed to be the only one not affected by the sergeant’s intimidating demeanor.  Squealing, she ran toward Sean, jumping into his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist like a little girl.

The hard lines of his face softened.  He chuckled and the dark fierceness in his eyes melted into an all-enveloping warmth.

“Thanks a million for coming, Shelly Bellybutton.  Damn if we haven’t had the worst luck lately.  My arts and crafts teacher water skied headfirst into a dock over the weekend.  She has a severe case of amnesia.  Poor thing can’t even remember what a color-wheel is, much less how to paint.  Ironically, my camp counselor had herself a nervous breakdown and will be spending the remainder of the summer in the psych ward at Hartwell Memorial Hospital.”

Blythe didn’t hear anything past the nickname.  Shelly had mentioned Sean playfully teasing her about having an outie when they were children.  Knowing Shelly and Sean related to each other like a big brother and a little sister did nothing to quail the sudden bloom of envy Blythe felt in the center of her chest.  Their friendship was purely platonic; there was no reason for the green-eyed monster to make an unwanted appearance.  Blythe had no right or reason to feel possessive.  She and Sean had been on one date which ended in disaster. There was absolutely no rational reason for her to feel jealous. 

The problem was, she couldn’t help but remember how his bulking arms had felt around her.  How solid his chest had been when he pressed her against that giant oak.  The warm, spicy smell of his skin.  His hot breath and firm lips against her neck, her mouth.

Shit!
If she didn’t rein in her sinfully sensuous thoughts, she would need to change into a fresh pair of those granny panties.  It was utterly maddening that Sean could still have this effect on her after he had behaved like a complete behemoth.

Shelly beamed.  “No need for gratitude, big guy.  We’re happy to help out. Aren’t we, Bly?”

Smirking, she squeezed out the words.  “Tickled pink, I’m sure.”

SEAN EXPECTED NOTHING LESS than hostility.  He could feel it rolling off Blythe in waves.  Gently, he set Shelly down before playfully ruffling her hair.

“You’re in cabin B on the left side of the dock, Shelly Bellybutton.  I need a moment alone with Blythe.”

“Sure thing, Sarge,” she said, mock-saluting him while giving her bestie an apologetic look.  “I’ll unpack and get settled in while you two sort things out.”

Turning his attention to the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen, ever touched, ever kissed, he slowly let his eyes roam over her full, voluptuous figure.  His jaw muscles tensed and his fists clenched at the thought of those pleasures being lost to him forever. It was a very real possibility. 

Before she arrived, he had pictured himself on his knees groveling, begging her forgiveness.  But now, for some devilish reason, he had zero inclination to appease her.  Maybe it was her snarky attitude.  Even if it was justified.  Maybe it was the combative soldier in him.  Maybe it was because his unsavory behavior and actions that night had been tragically unavoidable.  But none of that mattered at the moment.  Today, he wanted to provoke her even further.  Fighting made for excellent foreplay, and he planned on playing with Blythe again.  Soon.  Real soon.

He closed the space between them while she rearranged her disheveled clothing inside suitcase Number One.  Standing directly behind her, he placed his hands on her shoulders and inhaled the sweet scent of coconut wafting from her hair.  She smelled like a warm beach breeze. 

Immediately, he felt her tense at his touch.  When she tried to turn and face him, he held her in place.  Pressing his hardness against her backside, he whispered, “On second thought, I think it might be best if I take a look inside those other two suitcases.”

Jerking free of his grasp, she spun around so fast she lost her balance.  She stumbled backwards a few steps, bumping her ample butt against the picnic table where her luggage was lying.  Quickly, she regained her footing and composure.

“Like hell you will,
Sergeant
Warrington.”

He raised an eyebrow.  “So formal now.  As if your belly had never brushed against my cock, your arms had never clung to my neck or your tongue had never been in my mouth.”

Her face was red with fury.  “And you’re so nonchalant as if you never shoved me down in the mud, called me a whore and said you never wanted to see my face again.”

He bit back a curse.  “Open the suitcases, Miss Dalton.  That’s an order.”

“My ass.  You can’t boss me around.  I’m not a
damn
marine
.”  The venomous emphasis was intended to be hurtful.

“You say marine like it’s a dirty word.  Do you have any idea what it means to me?  Loyalty and service.  Strength and courage.  Respect and freedom.” 

She harrumphed.  “Funny, I thought MARINE meant: Muscles Are Required Intelligence Non-Essential.”

“Fuck your damn acronym.  I’m not as dumb as you think I am, and you’re not nearly as smart as you think you are, Blythe.”

Defensively, she crossed her arms over her chest.  A gesture which did little to protect her heart.  “Well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out you’re a bully.  A hard-hearted, egotistical Neanderthal.  Coming here was a huge mistake.”

He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.  “So was changing your phone number.  I tried to call you a hundred times, Blythe.  To explain my outrageous behavior.”

She shook her head in defiance.  “I’m not interested in hearing your stupid explanations.  And there is no acceptable excuse for the way you demeaned me that night.  Why in the world would any man ever treat a woman so cruelly and callously?”

He softened his voice.  “To save her life.  To save his own.”

“Soldiers are always playing the hero even if their heroics are only real in their own twisted imaginations.”  She spat the words and grabbed her suitcases.

In his exasperation Sean lunged at her, knocking them from her hands.  He grabbed her by the waist with one arm and hauled her up against the hard wall of his chest.  His other hand snaked around her throat.  It was a capturing maneuver that gave him all the power, forcing her to listen to him.

Unrelentingly, he bore his steely blue eyes into her soft brown ones.  “I never wanted our date to end that way.  You were oblivious to the imminent danger lurking in the shadows.  Behind the very tree we were leaning against.”

His cock twitched as he remembered how he had rhythmically ground his hips into hers.  How he had dry-humped her like a horny teenager.  How she had squirmed beneath his ministrations, moaning into his mouth. Driving him out of his mind.

Sean’s tone was intense as he soothingly, sensuously caressed the delicate skin of her neck with his thumb.  “When I broke the earthshattering kiss we shared, I spotted the ISIS assassin—an evil, heartless killer sent to annihilate me.  A cold blooded murderer who would have taken a sick pleasure in torturing and destroying anyone who got in the way of his goal.  Especially if he believed it was someone I cared about.”

Blythe’s bottom lip quivered.  “Are saying your mistreatment of me was all for show?”

He blew out a breath of admission.  “Yes, and it had to be convincing.  If that asshole had thought for a single second you meant anything to me, he would have put a bullet between those beautiful brown eyes.”

“If you’re such a big bad marine, you should have been able to stop him without hurting me.”

“I stopped him the only way I could.  I don’t carry my service weapon on dates, Blythe.  Unarmed, I couldn’t have protected you.  My only choice was to discard you and lead him away from you.  I did what I had to do.  You would have understood my actions long before now if I could have gotten you on the phone.  I wanted to come see you, to tell you in person.  But after being debriefed, I was immediately flown out on a final special ops mission.  I just got back a few days ago.”