Colton

by KB Winters

  Lucas nodded understandingly, but I could see the gears rolling behind his eyes as he looked between Colton and me. Miles, on the other hand, was content to kick back with his beer. I found it odd that it was such a reversal of what Colton had told me to expect. He’d confessed that he was more worried about Miles making negative comments than Lucas, and while neither of them had been negative, Lucas was the one with more questions.

  “So, this is legit then? You two are really getting hitched?” He asked, fixing his stare on Colton.

  Mile’s glanced up from his beer, waiting on the answer.

  Colton started to nod, but then cut a quick glance at me. “Well, I mean, it’s only been a week. This is the halfway mark.”

  “So, what? Are you halfway decided then?”

  Colton’s eyes narrowed at his oldest friend and I wanted to push away from the table and go busy myself inside with clean up, but Colton’s hand tightened around the upper part of my arm. “I thought you were gonna be cool about this. Where is all of this coming from?”

  Lucas crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “I am being cool. I didn’t realize that meant I couldn’t ask questions.”

  I rested a hand on Colton’s leg under the table. “I know how it sounds, Lucas. Trust me. I almost didn’t get on the plane!” At my confession, I looked over at Colton to gauge his reaction. If he was upset or surprised, he didn’t show it. “This isn’t something we’re rushing into. We’re having a lot of honest, raw conversations about how this would all work. In some ways, it’s the types of conversations that all other couples go through before deciding to get engaged or married, we’re just having them a lot sooner in the relationship.”

  Lucas absorbed what I’d said and then raised his hands. “All right. Well, listen, Karena, I meant no offense by any of my questions. I think you’re a wonderful woman, and if you make Hawk happy, then I’m happy. He’s got my glowing recommendation as one of the best men I’ve ever met, and had the pleasure of serving beside for the past six years.”

  Miles held up his beer bottle. “Seconded.”

  “Thanks, guys.”

  I squeezed Colton’s knee and gazed up at him with eyes full of adoration. I’d already deduced that he was an amazing, honorable man, but an even stronger surge of my appreciation of his character swept over me at their sentiments. I wasn’t sure how I’d managed to steal Colton’s attention, but I was realizing more and more every day how lucky I was to have it.

  Chapter Seventeen: Karena

  “Damn, I thought they’d never leave,” I purred, as Colton finally kicked Lucas and Miles out the door.

  Colton smirked as he turned back to me. “Oh yeah? Any particular reason for your impatience?” He took slow, purposeful strides back to where I’d been starting the cleanup process as he’d said goodbye to his friends.

  I shrugged, but couldn’t stop myself from smiling like a giddy high schooler at her first formal dance.

  Colton reached for my waist and his touch sent a shower of sparks over me, my body picking up right where it had left off hours before in the bedroom. “You don’t know, huh?”

  I smirked up at him, liking the way it felt to play innocent with him.

  “I think I can remember,” he continued, dropping his lips to the side of my neck. I purred and clenched my fingers into the back of his t-shirt. “Mmmm. Yeah, pretty sure it started like that…” he drawled.

  He scooped his hands under my ass and lifted me back up against him and I squealed. My legs locked around him as he backed me against the closest wall. His lips found mine, hot and searching. I arched against the wall, desperate to touch as much of him as possible as our tongues tangled together.

  All traces of my previous inhibition evaporated in the heat between us and my heart, mind, and body all aligned with desire for Colton.

  “Good Lord, Karena, you’re intoxicating,” Colton mumbled against my neck as his lips made their way back up the side, pausing when his tongue ran over a spot that sent shivers down my spine. I squeezed my thighs tighter around his hips, the heat between my legs becoming unbearable. I wanted so much more of him.

  And I wanted it now.

  While his lips and tongue explored the side of my neck and the tender skin behind my ear, I went back to work on the buttons I’d already unfastened once before. My hands shook with anticipation and nerves as I worked. The three top buttons were loose and I slipped a hand against the smooth, warm skin on his chest. The muscles were solid and firm under my touch. I tweaked his nipple and he groaned into my ear, his breath hot and thick.

  “You like that, huh?”

  Colton pulled back and grinned at me. “You’re a very naughty girl.”

  “You have no idea.”

  The smile in his eyes darkened, making his eyes nearly obsidian with the size of his pupils. “Is that so?”

  He pulled me away from the wall and took me down the hall. I smiled as he lowered me down to the bed. He didn’t waste a fraction of a second before his hands were running up the outside of my thighs. I rolled my hips as his fingertips pushed under the edge of my dress and up to the waist of my thin, seamless panties. He grinned down at me as I squirmed, silently begging him to peel them from my molten hot skin. His thumb found the center of my panties and slid down. I shuddered at his soft touch and a hint of a moan escaped my lips.

  “You’re so wet.” Colton lowered himself to the bed, kneeling in between my splayed knees, his hand still under my dress, toying with the edge of my panties.

  In a quick, snap, he slid the waistband from my hips, and I shimmied from the soaking garment. He dropped them to the floor beside the bed and his fingers found my bare skin. At his touch, my eyes rolled up and I bit back a hungry moan.

  “Let me hear you, baby. Don’t keep it from me.”

  He slipped between my slick folds and I let him hear my reaction and see how crazy he was making me. Colton wanted me unbridled and free. We’d been open in almost all other aspects, transparent from the beginning, and it appeared that in between the sheets, it would be no different.

  His fingers rubbed the tender bundle of nerves and when he fell into a rhythm, I cursed under my breath at the array of stars dancing behind my eyes. It had been so long since I’d been with a man, that the sensations overwhelmed me. The pleasure at his hands was so different than when I was alone, and it was…intoxicating.

  Colton’s hands left me all too soon. He moved north and palmed my breasts, fingering my hard nipples through my dress. “Let’s get this off. I want to see you, Karena.” I sat up and let him slip the dress off over my head. The bandeau top went next, leaving me in nothing but my heels. “Those can stay,” he said with a wicked grin at my shoes.

  “Turn around’s fair play,” I reminded him with a suggestive grin. “Although, you don’t have to keep your shoes. I’m really not into that.”

  He laughed when I threw a wink at him. He stood from the bed and stripped down for me in a tantalizing slow motion that left my entire body throbbing. Every inch of him was pure perfection. He was better than any movie star, model, or pop star. He was real, rugged, and in the flesh.

  He came back to the bed and my hands roved his body like they had indecisive minds of their own, unsure what to touch and tease first. He was rock hard and ready, but didn’t rush me. He watched me as I explored his body and memorized the feel of him under my fingertips. After a long while, he took my hands and kissed each fingertip slowly, his eyes locked on mine. “You’re so beautiful, Karena.”

  I ducked my chin, a hint of blush warmed my cheeks, as though I just realized we were sitting on his bed, completely naked, minutes away from making love to one another. There had been dozens of moments of realization in the course of our relationship, but there was a new weight to everything now that we were going to cross the last boundary we’d set between us.

  Colton leaned in and kissed me soft and slow, letting me know he felt it too. It was more than a night of passion and excitement. It w
as a promise, a hint of a future, the beginnings of something real.

  Fueled with a surge of unexpected emotions, I deepened the kiss, reaching around to the back of his neck. I wanted him as close to me as he could get. As his tongue found mine, his hands pushed me back down onto the bed and he braced himself on his elbows above me. He kissed down my neck until I was breathless and panting. When his lips and tongue melted over the hardened tip of my nipple, I squeezed my eyes shut, soaking in the sensations as they danced over my body.

  When he came back up my body, I opened my eyes and found him staring down at me. I hooked my leg around his hips, beckoning him forward. His lips met mine again as he entered me soft and slow at first. I gasped when he filled me, and rocked against him as I stretched and expanded around his girth. I smiled to myself as we paused together.

  He was a perfect fit.

  Colton rocked out and in, slowly at first, building pressure that threatened to consume both of us. Within seconds, I was clawing at his bare back, my hands running the length of his firm muscles, and over his molded ass cheeks, begging him for more.

  Which, he was all too happy to give to me.

  * * * *

  I was smiling before I even opened my eyes when I woke up on Monday morning. Colton’s bare torso came into focus as I fluttered awake and my smile deepened. He was still sleeping, his rock solid chest rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. I rolled to my side and propped my arm under my head, watching him sleep. It was unbelievable that only a week had passed. Being with him the night before, had been so natural that it was hard to remember what it was like with anyone else. Granted, it had been a very long time since my last relationship. But, I had a feeling that even if it had been more recent, I would have felt the same way. Colton eclipsed any relationship I’d ever had before. Hell, he overshadowed any other man I’d even known before. He was kind and considerate, but with a silent strength that made me feel safe and protected. I’d seen firsthand, with his buddies, his loyalty and knew that he was the type to love hard.

  My heart fluttered as I wondered what it would be like to be loved by Colton Hawkins.

  Love wasn’t what I’d been looking for when I answered his online ad. In fact, it was the opposite. I had been far more interested in the fact that he wasn’t looking for love.

  I rolled away, staring up at the eggshell ceiling and gathered my fleeting thoughts. I can’t be falling for him. That wasn’t what this was supposed to be about, I reminded myself. Colton was looking for a wife. He was willing to provide and protect, in exchange for someone to build a life with, someone who was willing to set aside love and fairytale bullshit. How had he put it? A contract.

  “Whatcha thinkin’ about over there, pretty girl?”

  I rocked my head against the pillow to look over at Colton, his sleepy drawl stirring up a fresh wave of desire. I rolled back to my side and smiled at him. “I was thinking about making you a big, yummy breakfast. You didn’t put cooking skills on your list of wifely requirements, but I figure it can’t hurt.”

  Colton laughed. “I won’t turn you down.” He traced a finger down my cheek and over my lips.

  I shivered at the sweet gesture, and the starry look in his eyes.

  “What if it’s terrible?” I asked, shaking off my thoughts of what lay beneath the covers. “Breakfast, I mean.”

  Colton laughed. “Then you’ll be immediately disqualified and put back on the first flight outta here.”

  “Very funny.”

  He smiled lazily at me. “Ask a silly question…”

  “Fair enough.” I sat up and scooted to the edge of the massive bed. “Maybe I’ll just pour you a bowl of cold cereal.”

  “Whatever you want, gorgeous.”

  I laughed and marched out of the room.

  Halfway through breakfast—which turned out to be cold cereal, after I burned the waffles, I’d originally set my heart on—Colton got a phone call. He’d frowned when he saw the number, and took it into the other room, holding up a finger to let me know he’d be back in a minute. I finished my cereal and went to work on cleaning the rather spectacular mess I’d made in the kitchen.

  Half an hour passed before I heard Colton’s footsteps on the floor and he rejoined me in the dining room. I smiled at him and was about to comment on the sad state of his cereal, but stopped mid-sentence at the look on his face.

  Something was wrong.

  “Karena, I hate to do this, but I have to go into work.”

  “Oh.” I licked my lips. “Um, all right. Is everything okay?”

  Colton nodded but his expression remained distracted and distant. “Yeah. I’ll, um, pick up something for lunch when I leave. I’ll call.”

  “Okay,” I replied, nodding.

  I couldn’t tell for sure, but as he raced out of the house, a pinching tightness in my chest told me he was lying.

  And that was the one thing I knew I couldn’t live with.

  Chapter Eighteen: Colton

  As I left Colonel Reeve’s office, there was only one thought left in my mind.

  How am I going to tell Karena about this?

  I walked without really seeing anything in front of me, only making it back to my truck on autopilot, I was behind the wheel and cruising back towards my house before I fully realized what I was doing. I pulled into the driveway and sat there for a long minute, staring out the windshield at the small, one car garage.

  Eventually, I found the resolve to get out of the truck and go inside. I’d been gone for a couple of hours and knew Karena was waiting for me to get back. When I twisted to shut the front door, Karena’s steps padded into the room, and I sucked in a deep breath before facing her.

  “Colton? What’s wrong?” Her expression was full of alarm and my stomach knotted one loop tighter, knowing that there was nothing I could do to relieve her worries.

  “Karena, there’s no easy way to say this, it’s the worst possible timing no matter how it comes out…” I paused to take another deep breath. “I just came from my CO’s office—”

  “CO?”

  “Commanding officer. Colonel Reeves. The reason he had me come in was to tell me, face to face, that I’m being sent out on a deployment to the Middle East.”

  Karena’s face registered the news in slow motion. Muscle by muscle. Her brow raised and then fell, her eyes narrowed but then widened, and her mouth dropped open. “I don’t, I mean, when? Why?”

  Before answering, I closed the gap between us, and opened my arms, ready to gather her to my chest. She backed up a step and put her hand up. “Colton?”

  “I leave in three weeks.”

  A hand flew to cover her mouth as she gasped.

  The sound of her shock hit me like a sucker punch to the gut and when a glossy sheen appeared in her eyes, I damn near lost control of myself. I knew there was no point in going crazy or getting upset. This was the life I signed up for. The deployment, although badly timed, wasn’t a foreign concept to me, and I knew I would handle it like all the others.

  But Karena…

  It wasn’t fair to her. This wasn’t the life she had signed up for and she didn’t know how to process it. How could she? She’d never had to before, and now it was in front of her, after flying in from left field.

  “Karena, I’m sorry,” I offered. It wasn’t much, but it was all I could think to say to her.

  “How long?” She dropped the hand from her face and clasped it with her other hand, working at her knuckles with her restless fingers. “How long will you be gone?”

  “Six months, but there’s a chance it could be longer. We’re providing backup support for the squadron on the ground. They’ve been taking some heat and need more men to hold the zone they’re occupying.”

  She nodded, but her eyes were vacant, as though she wasn’t quite grasping my words.

  “I know this is the shittiest timing and I understand if you want me to put you on a plane back to Seattle tomorrow, but…” her eyes bounced back to mine, “�
��I’m still here, and I’m still willing to see this through, even with this new information”

  Her eyes dropped back to her hands. Impatience bubbled up inside me, and I wanted to reach for her, to demand an answer, but I bottled it and waited. When she finally looked back at me, a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I guess you’re gonna need a pen pal while you’re gone, might as well be me, right?”

  I reached for her and this time she let me hold her. “I’d like that,” I replied, before dropping my lips to the top of her head.

  As we clung to one another, I marveled at how unbelievable it was to think she’d only been in my life for a handful of weeks and already I was wondering how on earth I was going to say goodbye.

  * * * *

  “Your father got word that you’re being deployed, Colton, is that true?”

  I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to sigh into the microphone. “Yes, mother, I just found out this afternoon.”

  “Why didn’t you call?” Her voice raised an octave and I wondered if she even heard the part that I’d just found out myself. It really made very little difference. The fact that she’d had to hear it first from my father, instead of directly from me, was all she needed to know to hold onto hurt feelings and claim she was being left out.

  “I’ve been a little busy…” I replied, thinking of Karena, who was still in bed, wearing nothing but a satisfied smile. The news of the deployment had rocked us both, and when we ran out of things to say about it, we took it to the bedroom. We still hadn’t figured out what to do in light of the news, but we’d had a hell of a lot of fun.

  I’d been in the kitchen getting iced tea and some sustenance before we launched into round three, when I’d heard my phone ringing.

  My mistake had been answering it.

  “—to include your own family in these types of decisions!”

  I tuned back into my mother’s rant and pinched the bridge of my nose. There was only one way out of this. “I’m sorry, you’re right, I should have called.”