The Officer Says "I Do" (6 page)

“The guy ran out on her on their wedding night. How can that be for the best for anyone?” Tasha now, angry. And blunt. “He doesn’t deserve another shot. So sign those annulment papers and hustle your ass back here.”

“No can do. I made a commitment, back in Vegas and again today. We’re going to try our best. If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”

“This isn’t like trying out a new car, Skye. It’s marriage. In fact, I think you put more effort into researching your cute little hybrid than you did your husband. That’s gotta say something, right?”

“Yes. It says something about this man who reached out and grabbed Skye by the throat. And she’s open to it.” Jessie sighed. “It’s all pretty romantic when you think about it.”

Tasha snorted.

Skye debated hanging up to see if her two friends would even know she was gone. Obviously they were having more fun talking
about
her than
with
her. Instead, she cleared her throat.

“I have to go. Tim’s coming by to help me transport my stuff to his townhouse. And don’t say it, Tash. I know you want to. But his sister lives with him too. It’s not going to immediately turn into some lovebird’s nest. It’s a trial period.”

Tasha grumbled but said nothing more. Skye ended the phone call quickly, under the pretense of having more to pack. In reality, she was done.

Was Jessie on the right track with the romance angle? Would she and Tim be sitting around in sixty years, telling the funny story to their grandchildren of how Grandma and Grandpa met? Or was the entire thing doomed from the start, as Tasha hinted?

No way to find out but to give it a shot. Maybe Fate meant for them to be married forever. Maybe they were only supposed to be together for a few months. But there might be a million other reasons why she was supposed to be in this place at this time. And she intended to figure it out.

***

Jeremy sat between a pissed off Dwayne and a somber Madison at the O Club bar. Dwayne was three sheets to the wind and working on a fourth. And Madison was quiet. Too quiet, for a girl who hadn’t shut up almost since the day he’d met her.

Yup. Recipe for disaster. He tipped his beer and took another swig, wondering whether it would be an advantage to follow Dwayne into the abyss or a hell of a bad idea. Dwayne took the choice out of his hand by ordering another round for all three of them, then leaned over Jeremy to look Madison in the eye.

“So, are your lips loosened enough yet, sweetheart? Are you going to tell us what the hell is going on with Tim?”

“Loose lips sink ships,” Madison said with a smile and a sip of her fresh Jack and Diet Coke. “Tim’s business is Tim’s business. And I’m not going to bite the hand that gives out the rent-free living. Not that I think that’ll last much longer.” She leaned her torso over Jeremy to face Dwayne, breast brushing his elbow in an innocent, half-drunken movement, and he froze.

But she didn’t notice. Of course. “All I can say is that the woman that he met while in Vegas with you two”—she gestured between himself and Dwight with her glass, ice clinking—“is at the house right now. And they’re having a serious discussion, for which I was kicked out.”

Dwayne snorted. “Well, this should be interesting. Guess we’ll get the scoop tomorrow, when we report back to the battalion.” He muttered a curse under his breath and took a long pull of his beer. “Hate this stop-and-go shit. Looks like I’ll just be heading back out again though, sans you two.”

Jeremy just nodded, not sure what else to say. Deploying without the rest of the battalion was never fun but a necessity at times. Your number was called, you went. At least Dwayne would have his company with him.

Madison stood abruptly, Jeremy and Dwayne lurching to their feet after her out of habit. She scowled at them. “How many times do I have to tell you two to stop that with me? I’m just making a head call.” With that she flounced away… as much as someone who was well on her way to Drunktown could flounce. The leers from other Marines that followed her as she shuffled toward the hallway had Jeremy clenching fists.

Dwayne nudged him with his elbow. “You’re still standing; go follow her, will ya? If she face-plants and busts that pretty little nose of hers, Tim will never let us hear the end of it.”

He wanted to tell Dwayne to follow her if he was so damn concerned, but he’d already turned around and ordered another beer. At this rate, D couldn’t hold up a toddler if he had to. Jeremy steeled his senses and headed after the woman who had tormented his mind for the past ten years.

The hallway was empty so he headed toward the restrooms. A trio of guys passed by and entered the men’s head, then the silence continued. He waited another few moments and was debating the wisdom of knocking on the door and calling out Madison’s name when it flew open and she walked right into his chest. On instinct, he grabbed her shoulders, then realized he was pulling her into him rather than steadying her. He humored himself by taking one deep breath of her scent—whiskey and something fruity, like pears—and leaned her back against the wall. After one giant step away, he studied her in the dim lighting.

Her face was flushed, a few flyaway hairs stuck to her forehead. Instead of the regulation bun he normally saw her with, the brown locks flowed down past her shoulders. No, not brown. Auburn and mahogany and cedar all mixed in a jumble of colors that made him want to bend down and feel how silky they would be against his cheek.

Her eyes were wide, as if she was still caught in surprise. And her lips, which were normally going a mile a minute with her constant friendly chatter, were parted as if caught mouthing the letter
O
. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from reaching out, brushing the hairs off her face, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb.

“Everything okay?” he asked, just to break the silence, then inwardly groaned. Now she would think he was asking about her bathroom trip. Casanova, move over. Jeremy Phillips was in the club.

Her eyes widened a fraction more, then crinkled as she chuckled. “Is that why you were about to head into the women’s restroom? To check on me?”

Not trusting himself to answer verbally any longer, he shrugged.

Madison glanced around, then grabbed his arm and tugged him toward the end of the hallway. “Come on.”

“The bar’s back that way,” he reminded her, letting the woman drag him along behind. He could have planted his feet and stopped her in a heartbeat, but he had a small problem of never denying Madison what she wanted whenever physically possible.

Or, who knew. Maybe she was about to be sick.

She stopped at the end of the hall, throwing a not-so-subtle look over her shoulder before throwing the door open. Fresh, cool night air greeted them as she led him out and the door shut behind her.

He surveyed their surroundings, which weren’t many. A Dumpster, the brick exterior of the O Club itself, and a metal fence. There was no streetlight, nothing but the half-moon to highlight the area. Ambiance was lacking, for sure. But as he started to take mental notes of the spot, thinking it might be a great place for a fictional body dump, Madison pushed his shoulders. Caught off guard, he stumbled back until he smacked against the rough brick wall.

“This has been a long time coming,” she said, her voice huskier than it had been only moments earlier.

“What?” He felt like he’d missed an entire conversation between the hallway and the great outdoors. “What are you talking—”

But he didn’t get to finish his sentence, as his lips were occupied with something other than talking.

Madison pressed her mouth to Jeremy’s, effectively cutting off any hope of finishing his question… and detouring all blood flow to below his belt. Her body slid up against his with violent insistence, one hand fisted in his shirt, the other dragging his head down to make her assault on his senses more complete. She was small, but she was feisty and knew how to make a point. His control was a taut wire, and her every move, every moan, sent that wire vibrating, dangerously close to snapping.

He fought the urge to respond, desperately tried to keep from encouraging her. But he was at a loss at how to defuse the situation. Then the woman he’d spent the last ten years working on forgetting twisted her hips, grinding against his erection and nipped his bottom lip at the same time, and that wire snapped.

Jeremy reached around the small of her back and pulled her against him roughly, letting her feel exactly what her actions had brought him to. Total desperation. His tongue swept in, tasting her in a way he never thought he would, never dreamed was possible. Even his own vibrant imagination couldn’t have known how sweet she would feel. Her groan of satisfaction vibrated through them, through the physical connection, and only spurred him on in the worst decision of his life.

Ironic, really, that the worst things always felt so damn good.

She took a nip out of his bottom lip and soothed the sting with a lick.

“God, Jeremy, you kiss even better than I thought you would,” she breathed.

That was what sucked him out of the rabbit hole he’d willingly jumped into. Her lips breathing his name. He tore his head back to escape her kisses, but thanks to leaning against the brick wall, it only resulted in intense pain as the back of his head slammed into the hard surface.

“Fuck!” He saw stars and let go of Madison to cradle his throbbing head and doubled over at the waist. His vision tunneled for a moment, bright pinpricks of light floating in the blackness. Light, cool fingers pulled his hands down, and his senses started to come back.

“No, don’t stand up yet. You’re too tall. Stand still.”

“Madison, it’s fine. Stop—ow!” He jerked up and stumbled back a step.

“Stop being a baby and get back here.” When he didn’t move closer, she sighed and rolled her eyes. “I’m a nurse, remember? I do this for a living. It’s probably fine, but I just want to check for my peace of mind.”

He gently brushed his fingers over the growing bump and looked at them, then held them forward for inspection. “No blood, no broken skin. It’s fine.” She leaned close, and he took another step back. When she raised her eyebrows in an amused gesture, he felt his temper rise. “Honestly, it’s fine.”

She threw up her hands in exasperation. “Fine. You’re fine. I’m fine. We’re all
fine
.” Her gaze grew sultry, and she took another step forward, which he countered with another backward step. “So can we get back to being fine together?”

“Uh, no.” And cue the awkward conversation. “Listen, Madison. I know you’ve had a lot to drink and all, so I can just forget it ever happened.” Which was a total lie. If he lived to be a hundred and twelve, he’d remember what it felt like to have her taut body pressed up against his in a clear
What
are
you
waiting
for?
invitation.

“Forget it ever happened,” she repeated slowly.

Christ, this was awful. “Yeah. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“Embarrassed.” Her eyes had lost their coy seductiveness, her face now a blank canvas. Acid roiled in his gut.

“Right. So, let’s just go in and get some coffee, okay?”
Before
I
toss
you
against
the
wall
and
finish
what
you
started
and
then
hate
myself
for
the
rest
of
my
life.

“Coffee.” She shook her head, eyes wide. “I can’t believe this. Are you serious?”

He rubbed a hand across his neck. He wasn’t sure
what
he was anymore. “I mean, it’s just that… we just can’t…” He lifted his hands, then let them fall down by his sides helplessly. Where was the shovel? Clearly he wasn’t in deep enough yet.

“We can’t. Well. We could two minutes ago when you had your hands on my ass,” she pointed out smugly.

“I shouldn’t have done that. We shouldn’t have done that. And now we’re going to go back in that bar, have coffee, and move on. Because this”—he waved his arms at the brick wall they’d been leaning up against not five minutes earlier—“didn’t happen.”

She stared at him a second longer, then turned on her heel and stalked to the door. After taking a deep breath, he hustled after her. But when he reached around her to open the door, she wrenched it open hard enough to bang him on the shoulder.

“Fuck,” he muttered as she walked down the hallway. His shoulder throbbed in time with the dull ache of his head. Maybe if he’d known how painful any intimate experience with Madison would have been, he wouldn’t have craved it for so long.

He watched her hips sway as she walked down the hallway toward the bar.

No. He’d still crave it. Like the black widow spider wants his female… even given the inevitable, unfortunate result.

In the bar, he found Madison leaning over Dwayne and giving him a kiss on the cheek before heading toward the exit. He dodged between tables and people to catch up. Just as she pushed on the door, his hand circled her wrist.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

She jerked out of his hold and glared at him. “Home. Where I won’t be insulted by jackass Marines and their misplaced chivalry.”

Ouch.

“You can’t drive home. I’m fine to drive; let me take you.”

“I think I’d rather climb in the backseat with an entire terrorist cell.” She blew a frustrated breath out, shifting hair from her face. “I have cash for a cab, and there’s always a line of them outside the O Club at this time of night. You know that.”

Jeremy wanted to press, to insist on letting him take her home. But her eyes said to drop it. Pleaded with him to let her go. And so he did the only fair thing he could think of.

He let her go.

***

Skye rolled over, reached for the blaring alarm clock, and hit nothing but air. She sat up and squinted at the light pouring in through the window. Why were her curtains not drawn? What the hell? She felt like she’d just fallen asleep. As she glanced to the left bedside table, she noted why she couldn’t find the alarm to shut it off.

It wasn’t there.

She found the clock on the right nightstand, one she used for her books back home. Who put an alarm clock on the right nightstand? She groaned when her suspicions were confirmed. It was six in the morning. She shoved tangled hair out of her face and tried to run her fingers through it. They made it a whole inch before catching in the knots. Damn curly hair. She yanked her fingers free, biting back a shriek at the pain. At least it woke her up a little bit. Mornings were not her thing. She managed the early evening shift at Cloud Nine, meaning sometimes she went to sleep at two in the morning, but she never had to wake up before noon if she didn’t want to. When was the last time she’d seen the ungodly hour of six a.m.?

“You’re awake.”

The deep voice made her jump, then mentally moan at her appearance. An oversized T-shirt and ratty hair was not exactly the image she wanted to project to anyone, let alone her runaway husband. “Yeah. The alarm went off.”

“Sorry.” He walked in far enough to click the “off” button, and silence enveloped the bedroom. “I used my cell for an alarm this morning and I forgot I had this set. When we switched bedrooms, it slipped my mind.”

He had forced her to take the master bedroom—his bedroom—while he slept in the office on an air mattress. No matter how much she argued, he stood firm. The man was as immobile as a boulder when he wanted to be. But deep inside, she secretly appreciated the man’s chivalry.

Somewhere in Texas, her mother was crying out to the goddess Gloria Steinem in horror.

She blinked and let the last of the blurriness from sleep wear off, then took a good look at her husband. He leaned against the doorjamb, imposing and “official-looking” in his uniform.

“They’re rolled up,” she blurted out, then wanted to crawl under the covers. How stupid could she be? That’s how you greet your new husband in the morning?

“What?” He glanced down and back up. “My sleeves? Yeah, we roll them down when we’re deployed or in the field. That’s why they were down yesterday, since I was still in transit from what was supposed to be a deployment. But since that’s not really happening I can roll them back up. Thank God, since it’ll be hot. These things trap heat like a solar panel.”

“Where’s your little hat thingie?”

He tilted his head. “My hat… thingie?”

She waved her hand over her head, like that was going to make the entire question any more clear. “You know. The hat that matches your uniform.” Could she feel like any more of a fool?

His lips twitched. “Ah. Right. My…
hat
. It’s downstairs by the front door. They aren’t worn inside.” He gave her a slow look, not unlike how a tiger might check out his prey. Skye was torn between clutching the sheets over her chest and ripping off her T-shirt in a blatant—and desperate—move of self-promotion. “So what are your plans for the day?”

She glanced at the clock longingly. But it didn’t seem like the greatest way to start off the day by admitting she wanted to curl back up and sleep for another four hours. “Explore the area a little bit, I guess.” Starting with the townhouse and working her way out.

“Sounds good.” He turned, then paused and looked back. “If you need anything, my cell number’s on the fridge. But I think today is Madison’s day off so when she wakes up, she can help you out with whatever you need.” When she nodded, he stared at her for a minute. When she thought he was going to come back toward her, he abruptly left. Though she knew he wore thick boots, he was silent until she heard the front door click shut.

She listened for a few more seconds, the house still and hushed around her, then flopped back down. The pillow puffed and hissed as it deflated beneath her head. Knowing she was alone, she indulged just a moment and turned her face into the cool cotton, absorbing Tim’s scent. He’d been ready to strip the bed and put on clean sheets when she said she would handle it. Then had accidentally-on-purpose forgotten to do so, falling asleep with his scent surrounding her.

It would have been nicer had Tim slept next to her, so she could soak up his warmth as well, feel the safe weight of his body around hers while she floated toward that ultimate state of vulnerability with him. But somehow both he and she had come to the unspoken agreement that sleeping in the same bed was off the table. At least for now.

Skye started to drift back to sleep when the mattress dipped. One eye crept open to reveal a grinning Madison, face and front of her shirt damp with perspiration.

“So you’re staying.” It wasn’t a question.

Skye struggled to sit up again, wondering why on Mother Earth these people felt the need to rise with the sun. “Yes. I’m staying. For now. Why are you awake? Tim said it was your day off and it’s”—another glance at the clock showed it was half past seven—“still disgustingly early.”

“Went for a jog. Lots of empty calories last night.”

“Meaning you got drunk.” Skye worked in Vegas too long to not know every code known to man for “drinking.”

Madison smiled. “Guilty. Anyway, I have a physical fitness test coming up soon so I don’t wanna slack. And,” she added with a mischievous wink, “I’m not blessed enough to have a svelte figure naturally. I’m girly enough to care what my ass looks like in a pair of jeans.”

“Aren’t we all,” Skye murmured. She drew in a deep breath, opened her mouth… and shut it again. Then thought
Oh,
what
the
hell
and charged ahead. “So this doesn’t bother you? That I’m moving in? Starting up with your brother?”

Madison’s face scrunched up in an adorable way. “Why should it? My brother’s a big boy. He can pick out his women on his own. And you’re his wife.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, because I’m glad you’re not troubled by it. You just came off as very… protective before.”

“He’s my only brother. And as much as he can be a shithead sometimes, I love him. But my superior people skills tell me that you’re not here to mess with his mind or anything else. So if this works out, great. If not, that’s his problem. My protection only goes so far. It’s just nice to see him taking a chance on something. I’m actually going to go apartment hunting today. Wanna come with?”

“Why?” Madison tilted her head in question, and Skye clarified. “I mean, why are you apartment hunting? I appreciate the invitation, but you don’t have to move out. Obviously you know your brother and I aren’t… um… yeah.” Though sex was a natural and beautiful thing, there were a few instances when it wasn’t natural and beautiful to talk about it. Specifically with her new sister-in-law.

Madison leaned her head back and laughed. “Yeah.
Um, yeah
is right. No, I had planned on staying here while Tim was deployed to watch over the place. It was never meant to be a permanent thing. So since he’s not leaving in the near future, I need my own space. I’m twenty-six. Living with my big brother got old when I was about ten.”

“Ah.” More sibling dynamic that she couldn’t relate to. Instead she traced the seam of the navy blue bedspread covering her legs.

“So since I’d be driving all over the place anyway, I thought I’d invite you. Show you around the area a little bit. I’m sure Tim would do it but unlike other jobs, he can’t just call in for a personal day. Lots of stuff going down at the battalion today and he has to be there for it.”

“I understand,” she said gravely, though she didn’t understand at all. Family first was the way of life on the commune. It wasn’t at all uncommon for a local store to shut down for a week because the owner’s child had the flu or just because they needed some quality family time. Or, hell, because the owner didn’t like the current alignment of the planets. She had a lot of catching up to do on understanding life in the military. It was like a culture all its own.