Latched (Coronado Series Book 1) (27 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

MONDAY

Mark woke up with Birdie draped across him, he laid there for a moment to appreciate what he had. He knew they were going to get the call this week for their deployment and he wanted to soak in every moment. This turned out to be one hell of a down cycle for him, he found the love of his life and she agreed to marry him. He figured all those years of defending his country had given him major credit and that is why he was blessed with Birdie. This was his reward. He started to run his hand up and down her back and she started to move a little. He rolled her over and tucked her underneath him, then she opened one eye and looked at him, “Hi.” She closed her eye and tried to roll back so she could go to sleep. He held her in a firm grip and started kissing her neck and ran his tongue over the shell over her ear. He could feel her smile, “You don’t have to wake up just let me take advantage of you.” She ran her hand down his back and grabbed his ass and kept her eyes closed. “Oh, I see how it is going to be with you this morning.” He dropped his mouth to hers and slid his lips very gently over hers and could feel her trying not react.
 

Finally she opened her eyes and gazed up at him, and he could feel his heart speed up. “I was going to try to play hard to get, how long did I last this time?”
 

“Baby, I think you lasted at least a minute this time… better than last time.”
 

“I just want there to still be a little challenge for you. I don’t want you to get bored.”
 

He parted her legs with his knees and poised himself above her. He looked at her as he pushed his hips forward and seated himself completely. “Do I feel like I am bored?” She shook her head and arched into him, he felt her softening and letting him in. He kept up a nice easy pace and felt her give herself over to him. What started out gentle and slow had turned into something ferocious and powerful. Dropping his hands to her hips he gripped her and wanted to crawl as far inside of her as he could. He heard Birdie call his name and felt her contractions and let himself join her. He felt like he poured his soul into her body along with all of his seed. All you could hear in their quiet bedroom was their heavy breathing and beating hearts.

It took a long time for their breathing to slow down. He looked at her and saw tears coming down her face. She rolled into him and buried her face in his chest. He rubbed her back and kissed her head and quietly waited, he could feel her damp face against his chest and her breaths against his skin. It felt like the most intimate moment that they had shared and he wasn’t sure why.

Wrapping his leg over hers, he put his big hand over her head and waited. She put her hand on his heart and rested it there, “How are you doing baby? What is going on in that head of yours?”
 

“I’m in love with you.”
 

“I love you too and I’m damn happy to hear that you feel the same way for me. I just figured I would always love you more and I am ok with that. But it feels fucking amazing to hear your words. Are you sure that I can’t talk you into a quick ceremony at City Hall this week?”
 

“No, I am going to marry you sooner rather than later. Don’t rush me.”

He got up and held his hand out to her, “Fine, make me wait. Let’s go get breakfast, how about the diner?”

“Sounds good to me.” She wiped her face and got up and walked into the bathroom. He went across the hall to use the other one. He understood the rules now about the morning routine. He finished up, then went down and got the coffee started. He made his way back upstairs to meet his fiancée in the shower.

They spent the day together and somewhere in her heart, Birdie knew it was going to be a long time before she got another day like this. She could feel it, he was about to go wheels up.
 

It was still hot even though it was October. They had the usual heat wave and decided to go swimming. As they walked down to the beach, Birdie looked up at the man who had stolen her heart and said a silent prayer of thanks for sending him to her. They spent about an hour in the water and as they came out, Mark took her hand, “I love you.” He felt her arms come around him and grip him tightly. He finally felt like she was ready to hold on to him. They walked back home and Birdie made them dinner. They even watched football…. well Mark watched it and Birdie made comments about all the players. He didn’t care though, because she was laying on him and he had his hand up her shirt and he was about as happy as he could be. That was until they went upstairs, Birdie made him happy in a completely new way…..twice.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

TUESDAY

Mark heard his phone ring at 5:00 am and knew what it was, the team was being called for wheels up. He reached for his phone and saw the text and knew what the message was going to be. He took a moment to breathe Birdie in and kissed her very gently. She started to wake up, “Baby, I’m going to get up and get dressed. My platoon is wheels up.”
 

Her eyes opened instantly and she looked at him, “Let me make coffee, you go get ready.” She got up quickly and put her robe on, kissed his arm and made her way downstairs. Her heart was pounding hard and her hands were shaking. She wasn’t going to let him see it though. She wanted him to focus on his job and not worry about her. She started breathing deeply and got herself together. She put a muffin and a banana in a bag for him and waited for the coffee to finish. She heard him come down the stairs and drank in the sight of him. She poured his coffee in a travel cup and handed him his breakfast bag. “Please eat the banana, not just the muffin,” then she took his hand and started walking him to the door.
 

He stopped her, dropped his bag and set his breakfast on the table. He engulfed her in his arms and breathed her in. She snuggled as close as she could and he whispered in her ear, “Love you Birdie.”
 

She squeezed him, “Love you more, be safe and come home to me.” She pasted a smile on her face and picked up his bag and handed it to him, “Don’t be late, the world needs saving.”

He took his bag, his coffee and his breakfast, “See you soon, love you.” They kissed hard at the door, then he walked down the steps and got into his truck. She waited at the gate and waved to him and blew kisses. She walked back into the house, closed the door and went back upstairs. Crawling back into bed she pulled the covers up over her head and permitted herself to fall apart and cry. She was going to allow herself this, and then she was going to pull herself together and get on with it.

As Mark drove to the base, he felt very proud of his fiancée. She didn’t freak out, she was very pulled together and was being strong. He could tell it wasn’t easy for her and appreciated that she didn’t want him to worry. He could go out and do his job and know that Birdie was going to hold it together at home. He was damn lucky.
 

Birdie finally pulled herself together and got into the shower and started her day. She told Mark that she was going to be busy and she was going to make sure that she kept herself very busy. She got dressed and decide to leave the sheets on, because she wanted to be wrapped up in Mark’s scent for another day. She made a mental note to call Rory and invite her over. She was going to need some martini therapy tonight.
 

TUESDAY

DOWN RANGE

As Mark sat in the transport plane with his squad, he looked around at his platoon and took each man’s measure. He wanted to make sure that everyone was focused and ready for the mission at hand. As much as he enjoyed his down cycle, he was ready to be back at work. He missed the action and satisfaction of completing an op. He enjoyed the adrenaline rush of being out in the field and meeting the expectations of the mission. He got the signal in his mike that they were five minutes out from their insertion point. Looking around at the guys, he noted that each one started their final check of equipment. They secured their helmets and goggles, Mark did the same then took one last look at the picture he had put on the inside of his helmet. The guys were making their usual jokes as they got ready to jump out of the plane. Mark spoke into his mic and gave everyone his last words of encouragement and received nods from every man on his squad. It was going to be a HALO jump, so they wouldn’t be on the ground for another thirty minutes. He and Travis were the only two on the squad that didn’t mind the long free-fall, before opening their parachutes ridiculously close to the ground.
 

CORONADO ISLAND

Birdie walked up to her shop and saw Melanie sitting outside the shop. They greeted one another as Birdie opened the door. Birdie started the coffee and Melanie came back after she got the front of the shop ready. “If you need anything while your brother is on deployment, please let me know.”

“Thanks Birdie, I appreciate it.”

She went back to her office and started her computer. While it was warming up, she pulled out the photo from the wedding and put it on her desk. She took a moment to look at it and sent up a little prayer asking to keep Mark safe. She called Rory and let her know that Mark was wheels up. She was happy that Rory promised to come over later and help her get through her first night. Her second call was to his Mother, she decided to invite her down for the weekend. Maybe her Mom could join them as well and they could go dress shopping.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

FRIDAY

Birdie had made it through the first three days of Mark’s deployment and had not lost her mind yet. She had so many projects going that she didn’t give herself a moment to freak out about him. His Mom was due to arrive in the afternoon and she had a couple of last minute things to accomplish.
 

She got into the shower, and as she leaned her head back into the spray she was hit with the memory of the first weekend she spent with Mark. She felt her emotions roll over her and sat down on the bench. Gathering her knees up, she allowed herself a good cry. Better to let it out now and get it over with. She sat in her lovely shower, in her beautiful house in this great beach town in a safe country, while the love of her life was somewhere in the world putting himself in danger to protect the country.
 

********

Mark sat with Travis in a swampy hell hole waiting for the Intel to come back on how many assholes were guarding the target. They would have satellite imagery in a second, they needed that before the team went in to save the hostage. Somehow a high value CIA agent had gotten snatched and it was their job to get the person out without waking up the jungle filled with rebel soldiers. The area was infested with men loyal to the local drug lord. Somehow the man had turned himself into a rebel leader as well as controlling the local drug trade. The agent was worth a lot of money as well as political capital.
 

Just another day at the office. Finally the images started to show up on his monitor and he quickly put together a plan and relayed it to the team. He sent Ace and Caid for a quick sneak – and – peek. They needed to confirm that the hostage was in fact, still in the shack. Their sniper, Cody took care of the perimeter guards and Will made sure they didn’t make a splash when they hit the river. So far, so good… perimeter was clear. Ace and Caid made their way inside and quickly relieved the guards of their weapons. The guns fell with a clatter from their lifeless fingers as they slumped onto the floor. Mark requested a sit rep and was informed they were not clear yet. Frisco held his position in the tree keeping a look out for any unexpected visitors and reported back to Ace that someone was joining the party. Frisco took care of the guy before he made his way inside. “Clear” was heard through all of their head sets.
 

Caid located the package, “Confirming package identity.” He leaned down and pulled the filthy blanket from the person and made an initial visual identification of the agent. Putting the picture back in his vest, he attempted to speak to the woman. She was in pretty bad shape and slowly opened one swollen eye, “Good afternoon Mam, I’m Second Officer Caid Jenkins. I’m going to ask you a couple of questions to confirm your identity.” The woman nodded her head as much as she could. Caid went through the questions and called into his mic, “Package confirmed, get ready for extraction.”
 

Caid untied the woman and wrapped her up. As they made their way out of the room, she pulled to stop him. “Phone… we need to get the phone.”

“Agent says we need to get the phone. Anyone see one on the guards?”
 

Ace was standing guard by the door and checked the man that had been his first target. He rolled him over and found a phone clutched to his hand. “Phone location confirmed.”

Caid felt the agent sag and whisper, “Mission accomplished.” It didn’t matter if she survived now. The phone was located and the Intel would prove to be invaluable.

Mark called into his radio for a pickup from the boat crew. They needed the SWCC to show up on time and get them the hell out of there. Mark and Travis packed up and started making their way to the extraction point.

Caid carried the woman and Ace took point as they made their way to the truck parked in the yard. From his perch in the tree everyone heard Frisco, “Fuck, someone woke up the rebels. “Let’s get the hell out of here. Everyone to extraction point NOW!”

Mark and Travis headed along the road next to the river and knew they were going to have to clear the road for the guys coming in with the package. Travis was the heavy gunner for the squad and set up for the first wave of rebels to arrive.