Hell Bent

by Arlene Knowell

She nodded and swallowed hard. “Tell me. What is it that makes you tick?”

  He glanced toward her, looked back to the roadway and gave her question some thought. “I love the thrill of competition. I was the kid who played every sport all the way through high school. I was offered a football scholarship to Georgia State but I needed more than sports. I needed a bigger challenge, so I joined the Navy.”

  She was shocked at the revelation, but hid it well, “Wow, a football star. Let me guess—you were a running back.”

  He nodded. “Tight end.”

  She cleared her throat. “God, that’s true.”

  He relaxed, resisting the urge to laugh out loud. “Well, thank you.”

  She fought the embarrassment that swept through her. “So, why did you leave the SEALs and go to the Marines?”

  “How’d you know that?” His gaze swept toward her.

  Realizing far too late that the answer was self incriminating, she swallowed her pride. “You told Pete that day on base.”

  “And you were paying attention.” A new wave of confidence seemed to sweep over him. “I joined during peace time, and my recruiter talked me into going into the Seabees. I was miserable. I was at the hanger one night when the SEALs showed up for a mission and were gone in five minutes flat. The next week I signed up for the BUD’s waiting list. Once I made the SEALs, I was happy. It was short lived though, because eight years later my sister was dying with breast cancer and I needed a job stateside. That’s when I went over to the Marines.”

  “Your sister?”

  “She died the next year. She was nine years older than me.” His voice was sad and his eyes sparkled with the threat of tears.

  “I’m sorry about your sister. I can’t imagine losing one of my brothers.”

  The car came to a stop and he tossed her a wink. “I think your brothers will die of old age because death is afraid to mess with them right now.”

  She appreciated his kind words because she was the first to admit that her brothers were a bit too cocky for their own good. “I guess we’re here, huh?”

  Part of her hoped he was about to take her into the bushes to have his way with her, but another part of her prayed that she’d escape with her heart.

  “Oh, yeah. I found this place a few years ago. I hope you’re okay with walking, there’s no road down here.”

  She nodded. She would walk with him into battle if he’d just promise to keep her safe. It was odd that because as safe as she felt with her brothers she’d never felt safe enough to follow them into battle.

  Distant crashing waves caught her attention. She followed closely behind, letting him lead the way more out of memory than sight. Her breath caught when they approached a rocky area over looking the Pacific Ocean. She took a deep breath and enjoyed the salty sting of the air deep in her lungs.

  “Have a seat,” he said, pointing to a large flat rock. “I’ve sat here for hours and have never seen another soul.”

  “This is beautiful.” She sighed. “If you’re after my heart, its working.”

  He took a seat beside her, then gazed into her eyes. “Well, that’s exactly what I’m after.”

  He moved closer, his eyes searching hers, giving her one last chance to pull away. Her heart thudded like a runaway clock. The butterflies in her chest were replaced with a warm fuzzy feeling that consumed her entire body. His lips touched hers softly and he waited for her acceptance before he advanced the kiss. His kiss was like feeling the rays of heaven. No matter her feelings against the military life, Shane Newhope was the man she was destined to be with forever. His right hand trailed around her head as his fingers massaged through her hair. His tongue touched the seam of her lips and she moaned in approval. Opening her mouth, she reached for him, enjoying the taste of him.

  The totally male grunt that rumbled from his chest was no surprise, especially since she accidentally lowered her right hand into his lap when the kiss escalated. Her eyes opened but she did not pull away and she certainly wasn’t moving her hand. It had been years since she’d felt a throbbing penis and she liked it.

  When the kiss finally ended, he looked first at her swollen lips then down to her hand that still lay on his shaft. She pursed her lips and ever so slowly moved her hand away.

  “I’m not afraid. I’ve been through so many deployments in my life that it’s second nature. That’s what bothers me. I don’t even go to see my brothers off anymore, they just tell me they’re leaving and we say our good-byes.”

  “So you think you’re a bad person because you don’t get upset if someone you care about goes away on deployments?” he quizzed, the confusion obvious on his face.

  That was exactly the way she felt. She remembered her mother sobbing when her father would go away. But her mother hadn’t been born into that world. By the time Mindy was old enough to walk, she understood that her dad would leave for long periods of time. Deployments were as much a part of normal life as going to work on Monday morning was for her.

  He pulled her into his arms. If she only knew what he was thinking. He wasn’t laughing, that was a plus. The pounding of his heart rumbled through his chest into her own. That was a good sign.

  “That doesn’t make you bad.” He smoothed her hair away from her eyes, then tucked a lock behind her ear. “That gives you an edge. You’re already what every military wife and mother prays to be.”

  “Cold hearted?” she asked.

  He grunted, rested his palm against the curve of her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “Not cold hearted, just strong.”

  “Well, it feels like I’m cold hearted.” She pulled her face away in shame and aimlessly brushed loose pebbles from the rock’s surface.

  “Trust me,” he said, leaning in to kiss her again. “The last thing you should ever worry about is being cold hearted.”

  She reached for his face as he moved dangerously close and she leaned toward him, meeting his lips with her own. He had no idea how long she’d wanted to tell someone the secret way she felt and have them understand. He pulled her into his arms, exploring her mouth like a Spanish adventurer on a Mexican coast. He groaned loudly, tugging his shirt tail from inside his jeans.

  He looked into her eyes. “There are some things I can’t do half way and stop. You are about to cross the point of no return.”

  “Good.” Her fingers traced down his arm. “You said that no one but you ever comes here.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, then grabbed the tail of his shirt and yanked it over his head in one swift motion. He tossed it onto the rock behind her. Her hands smoothed over his chest, like a blind woman reading Braille. The deep intake of breath and roll of his eyes showed his pleasure of having her hands on him. She sighed as her fingers pressed through very light coils of blond hair. Following a single line of hair that led down the center of his abdomen and disappeared into his jeans, she reached for his belt. He stepped back as she rose to her feet. While she worked at his jeans, he unbuttoned her sexy pink silk blouse. He pushed the shirt off her shoulders and laid it onto a rock to his right. She pressed her hands into his loose jeans, feeling the smooth curve of his buttocks. He deftly divested her of her lacy pink bra. It fell freely into his hands. He grunted and laid it to the side.

  “My God, you are beautiful.” His stormy blue eyes devoured her with a need he couldn’t hide.

  “Thank you.” Her cheeks burned.

  The moon on high and the smell of the salty air infused with the hearty scent of the Sequoia trees aroused her senses. The roaring rhythm of the crashing waves below the cliffs was the only sound as she looked into his smoky eyes. She tugged the button free on her jeans and slid them effortlessly down her legs. He pulled the belt from his jeans, stepped out of his shoes with little effort and slipped his loosened jeans down off his legs as his eyes scanned along the curves of her body. He leaned around her and laid his jeans onto the big, flat rock behind them, taking special care to pull his wallet free. She rolled her eyes from the
pleasure of his hands on her shoulders. He slid them down her body studying her like she was newly found ancient treasure. He caressed her breasts only a few seconds before his hands continued their journey down her body. She drew in a long steady breath when his fingers hooked her panties and eased them down, kissing her thighs and calves along the way. She stepped from them and smirked as he held them up to admire them. Without hesitation, he reached for his own boxers and slid them from his body in nothing flat.

  Mindy scooted onto the rock, thankful for the clothes he’d laid there. The sound of his big hands fighting with a small package caught her ears as he fumbled through his wallet. Mindy acted as if she didn’t hear it and focused on the stars.

  “I bet there are a million stars up there,” she said in an attempt to give him privacy when there was none.

  He sniggered. “Probably so. If you count them one by one out loud then I might actually get this done by the time

  you’re finished.”

  She chuckled. This was a moment she’d remember for the rest of her life. She looked briefly toward him, realizing two things. One, he was very near success in his battle with the condom. Two, from the look of things, he was hung. More than she’d thought.

  “Something tells me you’ll be worth the wait.”

  He crawled onto the rock with her, hovering over her like a plane awaiting permission to land. She reached for him, pulling his lips to hers. Did he need her worse than she needed him? Her eyes were desperate, searching for something she hoped he could give her. His strong arms held him above her as he lowered his head and allowing his lips to lock around a nipple. His shaft jumped in anticipation as she arched into his touch. He feathered kisses from her breast up to her lips.

  “Are you going to make me wait forever?” Her voice was as desperate as her eyes.

  He nodded. “Not hardly.”

  He lowered his body onto hers, allowing her to adjust to his weight. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” She tugged him closer. “But if you keep stalling I’m going to die of lust.” She moaned, wrapping her legs around him, opening herself, forcing him to enter her. “Now that’s better.” She closed her eyes with relief.

  “I was trying to take it slow and do it right. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.”

  “Shane, trust me, you’re going to get a second chance,” she said with a solemn tone that drew his mouth toward hers. “I don’t get naked on rocks with every guy I date.”

  Her tongue danced with his as he worked himself inside her. She moaned and closed her eyes from the pleasure. She’d vowed never to feel this way about a military man, but now she’d learned too late that it wasn’t one’s choice who they loved. He was everything she wanted and needed and if the military gig was the price to be paid, she’d just have to make the sacrifice.

  Shane rested on his elbows and pressed his forearms beneath her shoulders and cradled her head in his hands. He pushed more forcefully into her.

  “Am I hurting you?” His lips and teeth teased her shoulders.

  “Not at all.” Passion made her words come out in a breathless whisper.

  He took her left nipple into his mouth and sucked it hard. However, the pleasure the rest of her body was experiencing diluted the pain. He pounded into her and her wetness wrapped around him like a hand in a glove. Her sighs grew louder as the pleasure intensified.

  “Oh Shane,” she moaned as she rubbed her hands over his head. “Don’t stop.” Her eyes widened then fluttered as her breath caught when he increased the rhythm of his thrusts.

  “That’s it,” he grunted when her eyes fluttered again. “Let it feel good.”

  His thick shaft stroking inside her was so extremely intoxicating she couldn’t have formed a sentence had her life depended on it. He ground his knees into the rock, thrusting himself into her.

  She smoothed her hands down his back and her body climbed toward release. The grunt that escaped him was purely masculine as she touched his naked ass and dug her fingernails in, forcing him deeper.

  “You are so good,” she whined. “That feels so good.”

  He cocked his head to the side his face flush with pride. “Tell me what you want, baby. I’ll give you anything you want.”

  “Just don’t stop,” she managed to say through labored breaths.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He promised, leaning to kiss her once again.

  “Oh God!” she exclaimed as the ecstasy rose to the exploding point. “Oh Shane—Oh Shane—Oh Shane.”

  He tilted back his head and growled loudly, but kept his relentless rhythm. The pressure building within her was intense, it would soon release. Like her grandmother’s pressure cooker on the stove. The water boiling inside it as the release valve giggled in attempt to ease the pressure enough to keep it from exploding. She was reaching her boiling point and her panting wasn’t enough anymore. She ground her fingernails into his butt cheeks and the gush of wetness left her body as she climaxed. She was incapable of doing two functions and breathing had to fall to the wayside. Oddly enough, she didn’t miss the oxygen, her mind and body were too busy enjoying the best orgasm she’d ever had.

  Her breath caught as the orgasm released and at that moment she would have followed him directly to the gates of hell if he’d asked. She would have spit in the devil’s eye just because he told her to then she’d follow Shane right back out again.

  “How was that?” His eyes were still full of lust.

  “Do it again,” she almost begged. “I need it again.”

  He sat up onto his knees and wrapped his arms around her thighs pulling her to him. He pressed back inside her, pumped her against him as the muscles in his arms and chest pulled and pushed her onto his shaft. She rose onto her elbows and shuddered to see her wet, hungry body accept his hard shaft stroke by stroke.

  There was no energy to reach and touch his face, not even with a need as strong as hers. She steadied herself on one elbow and reached toward the spot their bodies connected. For a few seconds, his eyes locked with hers. Sweat beaded on his forehead; he wasn’t holding back. He never would. Her middle finger stroked her clit.

  “Oh baby, that’s so hot.” He furrowed his brow and nodded in disbelief.

  She stroked her herself a few more seconds then pulled her finger to her mouth. “I want it again.”

  “Trust me,” he said. “I’ll give you two, I promise. Right now, I’m about to explode.”

  “Come on, Shane,” she said as she laid back onto the rock and reached both hands toward her wetness.

  His chest rumbled as he hammered into her. Her left fingers divided and pulled herself open, exposing her clit while her right stroked her passionate bud. His face burned red with passion, evidence that he no longer had the ability to speak.

  “Watch it.” She gritted her teeth and spoke through them. “Let it feel good.”

  He looked into her eyes but was unable to utter a sound until his release. He took a deep breath as her fingers

  continued to work on her clit. “You are unreal.”

  “How so?” her heart thudded at a frantic pace, the powerful need consuming her.

  “Can I help you with that?” he asked as he looked down at her fingers.

  “I need to come again.”

  “And you will.” He backed further down the rock and pressed his freshly shaven face into her wetness.

  She moved her hands to hold herself open while he worked the sensitive area around her clit. She pressed her feet onto his shoulders and he winked at her, grinning. One finger, then two, slid into her, pumping, stroking as he licked her into total ecstasy. Her breath caught and her body locked. He continued to slide his fingers into her as his tongue assaulted her clit. She began to pant, and seconds later her release trickled from her body.

  He rose and wiped the wetness from his face as he licked his lips. He reached for her hand and tugged her toward him. His lips met hers in a soft kiss. A kiss that was everything
she needed to know about Shane Newhope.

  Four

  As soon as Pat had stepped off the plane he heard about the shooting. News on a military base spread as quickly as it did in a woman’s salon. By the time he’d stowed his gear and checked his weapon at least three people had made the unit aware that a man from base had been shot. He didn’t put it all together for another hour. Information learned during a phone conversation with his comrades sent Pat’s mind reeling with the possibilities that Mindy might have been the shooter. The killing was off base, but a Navy man was dead. The Navy guy was obsessed and had been stalking her before he broke into her house. Pat’s heart raced. It all sounded too familiar. He rushed to his locker, grabbed his phone and called the MP station, hoping to get some answers.

  “Sergeant Dodson,” a voice answered.

  “This is Gunnery Sergeant Pat Austin. I’ve been away on a mission and just found out that a woman shot a stalker. My sister, Mindy Austin, was being stalked by a Navy man named Sanback. Did my sister kill him?”

  “That was Gunny Newhope’s case—let me get him to the phone.”

  Pat nodded with angry disbelief, it shouldn’t matter who the hell gave him the information. If the MPs had worked a murder case this week, they’d all know about it. Instead, however, they were pulling rank, swapping hats or comparing dicks, and for him neither was acceptable.

  The minutes ticked away. The longer Pat waited the more impatient he became. He wasn’t asking them to give him access to the damn case file; he just needed to know if it was Mindy. If so, she was most likely tucked away in some safe haven while the MPs waited for him or Pete to arrive home. He huffed, wondering if Gunny Newhope was under the impression that he would back down from him right now. Tonight wasn’t the night to play his ‘this is my watch’ card. In fact, if Mindy was the shooter this would never have happened had Newhope kept his word. Newhope thought he could trump Pat with his military police rank, but this would probably be the night Newhope got his cocky MP attitude shoved up his ass.

  “Gunny Austin, I’ve been expecting to hear from either you or your brother,” Newhope piped into the phone.