The Santinis: Leonardo, Book 1 (5 page)

With that she laughed and started walking down the stairs. He smiled and followed her down.

“Be home by eleven.”

“Suck it, Johnson.” It was all she said as she waited for Leo to finish walking down.

“So, your brother...”

“Is a pain in the ass. I don’t know what he’s doing here, but it makes me nervous.”
 

He opened the door and she slid into his truck. She watched him as he rounded the hood.

“He’s making you nervous how?” he asked after he joined her.

“Jack has a habit of being involved with women who just tear him to shreds. He usually comes to see me to lick his wounds. And by that, I mean he comes here because I will be the designated driver for him.”

“When did he get in?”

“Last night.”

“But you tried to cancel earlier than that.”

She sighed and looked across the cab of his pickup at him. “I didn’t want to want to go out with you.”

He blinked. “Wow, that made my head hurt.”

She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. He found himself wanting to make her smile like she had that night at dinner.

“I’ve been involved with military guys before. It just never ended well.”

He could tell she was skittish and he thought it had to do with their initial interaction.
 

“How about this? We’ll do dinner, call it even for you cooking for me like I said, then you can decide if you want to make it…more than platonic?”

She cocked her head to one side. “And if I said no romance you’d be cool with that?”

He thought about it. No he wouldn’t be. He wanted her in his bed. He had decided that the night he had kissed her. There was nothing he wanted more in his life at the moment, than this woman beneath him moaning his name. But…he could wait. For now.

“Sure.”

She looked out the window. “Okay, let’s do dinner.”

*
 
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*

Maryanne tried not to be charmed, but she was. He took her to one of her favorite restaurants, The Alamo Cafe. As they ate he told her stories of growing up with four brothers and they compared what it was like to have an older brother who was a Marine.

“So, all of you got into the military?”

He nodded as he slathered some butter on his fresh tortilla. “Yep.”

“But you didn’t go into the Marines like your father. What about the other two?”

“Marco’s in the Navy. A SEAL. Gianni’s Air Force. PJ.”

She sat back. “So your entire family represents the armed services.”

He offered her one of those smiles that had her heart doing a little tap dance. “Well, we don’t have anyone in the Coast Guard, but Mom said she was done after Gianni. And, he was sort of a surprise from what I remember.”

“How rude of your mother.”

He laughed like she expected and she bit back a sigh. The man had an amazing laugh. There was nothing calculated about it. It did funny things to her insides. Like, having his attention only on her. He wasn’t overly flirtatious, but he had asked about her work…and just about her. And, unlike so many men, he had actually listened.

“If my mom can’t handle four boys like us, I doubt there’s a woman on earth who could.”

Okay, that was starting to get to her too. Any other man would sound like a Mama’s boy, but Leo didn’t. His voice was filled with admiration.

“Where are they all stationed?”

 
We’re scattered all over the place, but at least we’re all back in the US, but not the CONUS. Marc’s in Hawaii.”

She sighed as she indulged in another tortilla. It was one of the things she loved about San Antonio. They brought freshly made tortillas to the table like most restaurants did with bread. It was a huge weakness of hers and she would have to run tomorrow to make up for it.

“All your brothers are Marines?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’m not sure they thought of anything else, but they are all in different career fields.”

“But you never wanted to join?”

“No thank you. I am not good at taking orders.”

“Yeah?”

She heard the way his voice dipped and felt her face heat up.

“That is to say, I grew up with three older brothers and a father who had told them it was their duty to watch out for me. I don’t think I would have lasted a week in boot. Truth is, I think my father was relieved. He was worried he would have to deal with the aftermath of me making a drill sergeant cry. And, the worry I would end up stationed on the same base as one of my brothers…that did not sit well with me.”

“Jack didn’t seem to be too bad.”

She snorted. “Tell that to my prom date. He showed up and found Jack cleaning his gun. Swear to God I had never been so embarrassed. I didn’t even get a kiss good night.”

He was staring at her as if she was insane.

“I swear it happened.”

“No, I believe you. I just wondered what was wrong with it.”

“Please tell me you don’t have sisters.”

“Nope just the three brothers like I said. My mother said she would never be so mean to a girl and do that.”

“Yeah, well, it worked because like I said, I was a tomboy.”

“You told me that the other night but I find it almost impossible to believe,” he said in mock disbelief.

“No, really. I can even take down a two hundred pound Army dude.”

He laughed and she tried to ignore the way his eyes sparkled at her. She was a sucker for a man with a sense of humor. “You didn’t take me down. You caught me off guard.”

“That’s what they all say.”

The waitress returned with their entrees. “Another margarita?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’ll stick to water.”

Leo ordered water also. It was another thing she liked about him and about his brother. They had a couple of glasses of wine the other night, but they both watched their drinking.

“So, you picked San Antonio, why?”

She shrugged as she chewed her first bite. “I went to UTSA and Grannie was already here at the Air Force Village. I wanted to work at a military hospital. The only other place with so many opportunities was DC and that’s where Dad is, and Brett, my oldest brother. He’s at the Pentagon, too. So, while I don’t mind my Grannie checking up on me, I do mind them. They never understood why I needed space.”

He nodded and she did sense he understood.
 

“I have kind of a personal question and I don’t want you to be offended,” she said.

“Okay, but I think I can answer the question.”

“You do?”

“Yes. And the answer is no, I don’t have a problem with you using me as a sexual object.”

He said it with such a deadpan expression, she couldn’t stop the tickle in her throat bubbling up into giggles.

“No,” she said, still chuckling. “Although I do appreciate your sacrifice. What I wanted to know is that you said your father is an officer, and I know Vince is if he’s teaching at Quantico, so why didn’t you go the college route?”

He cocked his head and studied her for a few seconds, then said, “I wanted to be a medic from the time I was a freshman in high school.”

It was another thing that both of them understood. “And you chose the Army because…”

“I wanted to be on the front lines. Other services can get there, but Army has a better chance. Plus, it kept me out of Dad’s realm. When I went in, he was still active, and I just didn’t want to deal with that.”

She nodded. “I don’t know how my brothers handle that with my father, but they’re freaks.”

When he didn’t respond, she looked up at him. He was staring at her with the strangest look on his face.

“What?” she asked looking down at her chest to see if she dropped food on herself, then glanced back at him.

“Nothing, just it’s nice to see that you’re so close to them. We’re the same way. People on the outside, they don’t understand.”

On the outside. Yeah, that was a good way of putting it. Military life for kids could be bad, wonderful and everything in between. Sometimes, the only friend you had was a sibling, and you had to count on each other more than other families, especially in this fast paced world.

She nodded. “We were close. Maybe it was losing Mom when we were all so young, but I know part of it is the brat thing.”

Her mind wandered back to Jack and whatever news he had been saving for her. Leo touched her hand and she looked up at him.
 

“I’m sorry I made you sad.”

“Not sad, worried about Jack, but that’s okay. It will all work out in the end.”

He nodded. “So, how about I tell you horrible stories about my brothers to make me look good.”

And just like that, she couldn’t help but smile. “Sounds like a plan, Santini.”

*
 
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*

By the time they reached their apartment complex, Leo was ready to scream he was so damned hot. She hadn’t flirted, hadn’t even tried to. She had been herself, and that was more of an aphrodisiac than anything else. It was the first time in a long time that he had been this attracted to a woman just based on their interaction.

Okay, that sounded bad in his head.
 
More than bad. If his mother could read his thoughts… Whoa, no reason to go down that road. He didn’t have time for therapy right now.

After parking the truck, he looked over at Maryanne. “So?”

She glanced at him. “I had a good time, but I’m not sure we should keep going out. First dates can never tell you everything, and it could be an anomaly. Like some kind of freak accident.”

“A freak accident is like you hitting me.”

She snorted. “No, I meant to do that.”

He chuckled. “Okay, why don’t we test my theory? You still think we should remain platonic, then I’ll agree.”

She frowned. “What theory?”

He undid his seatbelt, then hers.
 

“Leo.”
 

He knew she was warning him, but her voice came out all breathy. The sound of that sweet southern voice slipped beneath his skin. He cupped her face as he leaned closer. She licked her lips and he groaned as he pressed his mouth against hers.

Just like before, she tasted of heaven and sin wrapped in a bundle of need. He slanted his mouth over hers and deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue inside. Sweet and tart, just like the woman. Damn, he could just imagine how her flesh tasted, not to mention other more intriguing places.
 

His heart beat against his chest, and his cock hardened. Just like the other night he found himself lost in her. Everything around him dissolved into the background as she slipped her hands to his shoulders. He slid his hands down to her waist and pulled her closer. The heat of her body, the taste of her and the sweet scent made for a heady experience. He was contemplating leaning her back against the seat when there was a loud knock on her side of the truck. He ignored it at first, but the knocking got louder. He tore his mouth away from hers and glared at the intrusion. Her brother Jack was giving them both a death stare. Maryanne didn’t make it any easier. She slid her hands to the back of his head and tried to pull him down for another kiss.
 

“Uh, Maryanne, your brother.”

Her eyes opened slightly. “What?”

Oh, god, he wanted her. Wanted her like he wanted to breathe, but with her brother standing there looking ready to lob off various appendages, he was pretty sure that it would be a no go tonight.

“Your brother is staring at us.”

Her eyes widened as she tipped her head back and looked. The sound that emitted from her was primal and downright scary.

“I’m going to kill him. Dead. First, I will make him cry and then I will kill him.”

“I can see you, MJ. If you don’t want me to kill your Army guy, you might want to get out here right now.”

Regretfully, Leo straightened and pulled her with him.
 

“I am so sorry.”

Leo shook his head. “Don’t be. I proved my theory right.”

“Are you going to get out of there?” Jack asked.

She turned her head. “You want me to tell Grannie about Vivi Sanders? I didn’t think so.”

Then she looked at him.
 

“Vivi?” he asked.

“He snuck her into the house one night when he was fifteen. I think it was…you know his first. Well, I saw it and I have used it as blackmail since.”

He watched her brother walk away but only to the sidewalk. “Wow. You’re…”

“What?”

“Pretty cool.”

She laughed and he responded in kind. He couldn’t help it. When she was happy, it made him happy. And that probably made him a sap, but he didn’t care at the moment. He had never felt this intrigued by a woman…at least not as long as he could remember. They had a bumpy start, but now they seemed in tune with each other. There was a vibe there between them that had his head buzzing and his body yearning.