by Raina Wilde
He wrapped his hand around the tumbler, threw back the shot, and had almost determined to leave, when she spoke.
“Do you mind if I sit here? ” Her voice was strained with exhaustion and something else that Chris could not identify. “I’d rather not be around the crowd, if I can avoid it. ”
Chris turned his head and stared into a pair of the darkest brown eyes that he had ever seen. Perhaps it was the lighting, but he could barely determine the difference between the iris and the pupil. Something about her unhinged him. There was an intensity, and a deep sadness, that had him glued to his seat.
He shrugged as if her presence did not concern him. She settled a little more comfortably into the stool, but the tension in her shoulders remained.
He waited for her to say something, to ask him any of the normal questions that usually initiated his encounters with a female, but they never came. Chris watched her out of the corner of his eye for several moments before relief washed over him. She had no idea who he was. There was not even the faintest sign of recognition.
She attempted to catch the bartender’s attention, but he was busy with the crowd of cackling fools that were wreaking havoc across the way.
“What you drinking? ” He asked on a whim. His gaze quickly took in the details of the female beside him. She had tanned skin, midnight hair that was tied in a bun at the base of her neck, and enough curves to keep a man occupied for a lifetime. She looked like she needed a drink, and Chris realized that he wanted to be the one to buy it for her.
She smoothed her hands over her hair and released a long sigh as she contemplated her answer. Eventually, she turned toward him with wary eyes and spoke.
“I’m really just here to relax. ” She made a motion with her hand as if his offer was unnecessary.
Chris felt a small smile cross his lips. “Aren’t we all? ”
Her laugh revealed a nervousness with the conversation that intrigued him.
“It’s my first night in town. ” She explained. “I’m not really here to…”
“It’s just a drink. ” He shrugged and turned away. Finally, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye with a charming half-smile. “I’m highly trained, and house broken. In case you were wondering. ”
Chapter 2:
Natalie threw back her head with laughter. She had grown up on military bases. Natalie and her five brothers had followed her father around the country as he pursued his extensive military career. She was used to the generic formalities of the all-too-serious military breed. This guy was funny. It was refreshing.
“Fine, you may buy me a drink. ” She acquiesced.
The man beside her signaled for the bartender, who appeared promptly before them. As the men spoke, Natalie took a moment to evaluate her new acquaintance.
He was attractive. Devastatingly.
He had hair the color of cappuccino that was overlong for a traditional military cut that, when combined with the shadow of a beard, made him look particularly mysterious and enticing. The first thing that Natalie had noticed was the striking color of his green eyes. It was an unusual color, one that she had never seen on a male face before.
It was not uncommon for Natalie to feel small next to the over-muscular style of a military male. Despite her naturally voluptuous body, and five-foot-ten frame, she could already tell that she would be dwarfed by the man beside her.
The bartender delivered two straight shots to the pair and Natalie could see the test for what it was. She kept her face straight, though internally she was laughing. She had grown up in a house full of men. A tomboy since birth, the scent of the liquor was one that she was well accustomed to.
She raised one eyebrow, picked up the glass, and waited for the man to do the same. She nodded her head, downed the shot, and watched as the look of pure masculine approval crossed his features.
“Natalie. ” She introduced herself, offering a hand which he enveloped in a firm shake.
“Chris. ” He provided in return.
Natalie ordered another round of shots and repayment for the first, and so the night began.
“So, what is it that you do, Natalie? ” Chris asked.
Natalie shook her head and toyed with the napkin in front of her.
“I came here to avoid thinking about work. ” She smiled. The truth was, that tomorrow was her first day on the job and she was more than a little nervous.
“Fair enough. ” He smiled. “I’m not usually one for talking about the job either. ”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever met a sailor who didn’t like to brag. ” She narrowed her eyes at him and spoke with a tone that oozed sarcasm.
“You’re a brat, aren’t you? ” He leaned one arm against the bar top and turned in his seat to face her.
“Excuse me? ” She tapped her shot glass against his and downed the burning liquid.
He spread his hands in the air, palms upward, as if pointing out an obvious fact.
“You’re a military brat. ” He repeated.
Natalie leaned one elbow on the countertop and rested her fist behind her ear. She narrowed her eyes at the stranger. Never before had she been pegged so easily.
“What makes you say that? ” She asked.
“It’s your demeanor. He explained.
“Oh, big words!” She laughed so that he would know that she meant to tease and not insult.
“See!” He pointed at her and laughed in return. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. You aren’t nervous, annoyed, or interested at all. And you certainly aren’t impressed. ”
She raised her eyebrows and waited for him to explain.
“I don’t mean to generalize, but that is the trend for women in these bars. You’re a lifer! It’s written all over you. ”
“I’m so sorry that I’m not stroking your ego enough. ” She laughed.
He smiled in return. “Actually, ” Chris admitted. “It’s a relief. ”
As the night went on they continue to talk while purposefully steering clear of any obvious personal information. Shot for shot they matched one another and Natalie found herself instinctively drawn to Chris.
It was an unexpected turn of events for her first night in town. The anxiety of starting a new career had drove her into the bar and, while she was completing a lifelong dream, she could not deny that her nerves had gotten the best of her.
Chris’s lighthearted banter and obvious charm were doing wonders toward calming her nerves. As the night wore on she found herself relaxing and actually enjoying herself. Surprisingly, Chris seemed to be enjoying himself as well.
She was accustomed to meeting flirtatious men, both on and off the bases, but there was something different about this. An excitement, an anticipation, that made her feel suddenly alive.
Neither of them could claim that the alcohol had not taken its toll. They laughed, joked, and passed the hours as if they were old friends and, despite the sexual tension that seemed to pass between them, they both found, in each other, the relaxation that they both had been looking for.
Sometime later, Natalie decided that she had better head home. She had an early day in the morning and could not afford to have any complications on her first day.
Chris gallantly offered to walk her out to the parking lot and Natalie, uncharacteristically, accepted. She did not know what she expected, but the faint flutter in her stomach told her that maybe she was anticipating the kiss that she had been fantasizing about all night.
The cool night air felt exhilarating against her heated skin. She walked over toward the darkened corner of the lot, where she had parked. They walked in silence, but Natalie was acutely aware of Chris’s presence beside her. She wondered if he was going to ask for her number. Part of her wanted him to. The other part, did not want to mar the perfection of the night with the reality of another meeting. Perhaps, it was best to leave this night as a happy memory of a pleasant encounter with a perfect stranger.
She heard Chris’s sharp intake of
breath and turned to him with a sudden look of alarm.
“Look at that bike!” He gasped. Natalie followed his gaze to the parked motorcycle that he was practically drooling over.
She felt a slow smile spread over her face. “Do you like it? ” Maybe it was the alcohol, but something inside of her wanted to toy with him, to give him a little scare.
“Do I like it? ” He stepped closer to the bike and examined its features. “It’s amazing. ”
Natalie threw her leg over the motorcycle and settled into the seat, she felt her jeans stretch to accommodate her form and knew that was an image that Chris would find appealing.
“Natalie!” Chris exclaimed. He tried to shoo her off the bike but she just laughed. “Get off of it. You can’t go touching other people’s bikes. If someone comes out here they’re going to be furious. ”
She continued to laugh as he anxiously tried to coax her off of the bike. The fear that it might topple over was written plainly across his face.
“I’m serious!” He placed one hand on the handlebar to hold the bike steady and another under her elbow as he tried to guide her off of the contraption.
She pulled her keys from her pocket and twirled them on her index finger.
“Am I supposed to be mad that you’re touching my bike? ” She giggled.
It took a few moments for her words to settle in, but eventually Chris’s face turned from panic, to shock, to awe.
“This is yours? ” His words conveyed his disbelief.
“All the way down to the tailpipe. ” She crossed her arms under her breasts and stared at him with a knowing grin. She watched his eyes flicker from the hint of exposed cleavage, to the bike beneath her, and back up to her face.
“You’re trouble. ” He laughed.
Natalie shrugged and climbed off of the motorcycle to stand in front of him.
“That’s what my brothers tell me. ” She smiled.
He nodded at the bike parked beside her own and informed Natalie that it belonged to him. The pair of Harleys sat in the darkened corner of the parking lot, their owners reveling in their shared passion.
Eventually, Natalie made a move that signified it was time to make her exit. Without warning, Chris’s hand snaked around her waist and pulled her against him. He hesitated just long enough for her to protest, but she did not. A moment later, his mouth covered her ears in a salty, sweet kiss that did little to conceal the passion that was burning inside of them both.
Natalie could not explain what was happening, nor did she want to take the time to evaluate the situation. She was not prone to frivolous actions and, while she did not know Chris well enough to speak on his behalf, she would guess that he had a similarly serious nature.
She allowed her hands to snake up and around his shoulders. The muscles beneath his shirt were rigid and well-defined. His hands on her lower back pulled her closer than she would have thought humanly possible, and yet, it was not enough.
The doors of the bar opened and they fumbled their way further into the darkness. Shaded by trunk of a nearby tree, Natalie found her back pressed against the ragged bark. Headlights moved off in the distance and the passerby never suspected a thing.
Chris’s mouth moved against the hollow of her neck and Natalie felt a shiver trail down her spine. She had never felt this responsive before. She had never felt the cry and urge so deep in her bones, as if resisting would be the death of her.
His hands crept beneath the hem of her shirt and splayed across the smooth skin of her back. Natalie gasped and pressed her hips more firmly against him, the pressure of his erection between them was almost painfully hard.
She wanted to feel his hands in other places. Maybe it was a result of the shots, but Natalie felt without a doubt that she needed this. Maybe the stresses of completing her residency had snowballed. Maybe it had simply been too long since she had allowed herself the pleasures of a sexual encounter. Maybe Chris was just too damn sexy to resist. Either way, she did not want him to stop whatever it was that he was doing to drive her so close to madness.
She tore at his shirt, tugging it roughly over his head and eliciting a deep, rumbling laughter from Chris that made the heat inside of her grow.
He leaned away and looked straight into her eyes.
“Natalie…” He began. “I just want to be perfectly clear…” She could tell that he was having a hard time controlling the urge to continue. Especially, since she was purposefully ignoring him as she ran her fingertips down the rigid planes of his abdomen.
He released a quiet curse and grabbed her hands to prevent their trek downward.
“I don’t do serious. ” His words rushed out in a burst of air.
Natalie cocked her head to the side and stared up at him. “Good. ” She smiled. “Neither do I. ”
He released her hands and with a primal growl was upon her once more. This time there was no hesitation. No questions, no answers. Just two people reveling in the sensations that were exploding inside of them.
Natalie felt her bra removed from beneath her shirt as if by magic. Still, she remained covered, but now his hands roamed freely beneath the thin fabric.
His hands covered, he lifted the weight of her breasts. Natalie sighed with pleasure at the sensitive peaks met his roughened palms. There was nothing quite like the combination of silk and leather.
As his thumbs wreaked havoc on the hardened buds Natalie needed to ensure that he was suffering as she was. Her hand probed between their bodies and came to rest against the taught fabric of his jeans. He groaned against her mouth and she could feel the tension beneath her palm increase.
She flipped the snap of his jeans and pulled the fabric apart with both hands. One, returned to its previous position, except without the hindrance of clothing, and the other eased its way inside his waistband to cup his firm backside.
Natalie could not say if she had ever been more turned on. Perhaps it was because she could not remember ever having such a powerful effect on a man, as she was at this very moment. That knowledge in itself was intoxicating.
Whatever it was, she wanted more.
The length of him against her hand was… impressive, to say the least.
Natalie felt his own hands work at the waist of her jeans and she shimmied her hips to help him as he eased them towards the ground.
When his mouth returned to her this time, it was with renewed vigor. Their tongues met and battled for the dominance that neither of them was willing to relinquish.
Natalie gasped against him, the sharp bite of the tree bark against her skin a long forgotten inconvenience. When Chris lifted her to wrap her legs around his waist, she took no notice of chaffing at her back.
With slow precision, he entered her. Her cry of pleasure was swallowed by his kiss. A low laugh warned her to remain quiet, and she reverted to heavy sighs and shallow breaths that seemed to drive him even wilder.
Together, they moved as if they were longtime lovers. Instinctively, Chris seemed to know exactly what her body craved. Natalie clung to him and matched his movements with her own. She smiled to herself as a string of low curses passed between them.
Her orgasm crashed without warning and she felt Chris shudder in the completion of his own pleasure. Suddenly, it was as if the entire world around her had frozen in this one perfect moment and she wanted to stay there forever.
Slowly, their breathing regulated. The pair disentangled, yet remained as one as they recovered against the tree.
After a moment’s reprieve, Natalie slipped out of Chris’s shadow and hastily clothed herself.
Chris was standing there in shocked silence. The look on his face revealed everything that Natalie felt. What the hell had just happened? Her heart raced with exhilaration. She had never had such a glorious release, and with a complete stranger to top it off!
“I’ve got to go. ” She moved toward their bikes, but Chris restrained her with an arm on her hand.
“How can I contact you? ” He asked
. His voice was still breathy from the exertion and Natalie was shocked to find herself wanting him again.
She shook her head.
“Come on…” She could tell that he did not like her answer. “Give me a number. Even a last name I can look up, anything. ” He begged.
She shook her head again.
Stepping forward, she placed her hands against his chest, raised herself to the tips of her toes, and kissed him with a gentle finality.
Then, before he could recover, she slipped onto her motorcycle and peeled out of the parking lot.
Chapter 3:
Chris woke the next morning with a pounding in his head. For several minutes he laid in bed recalling a dream that he had had about a curvy brunette with a killer Harley.
He sat up in bed with a sudden start.
It had not been a dream. The memories washed over him creating conflicting emotions. Part of him wanted to revel in the one-night-stand. Another part was kicking himself for letting her get away without a full name or number.
Not, he reminded himself, that he was looking for a relationship. No, sir. He had enough on his plate without the drama that a female could bring to his life.
However, the sex had been phenomenal and he would not be opposed to a repeat performance.
Chris shook his head. He should be grateful that she had given him the perfect opportunity for a no-strings-attached fling. He needed to tell his brain to take it for what it was and stop wondering where Natalie was at this very moment.
When it came to military bases, female companionship meant slim pickings. With an 80% male population the men often found themselves driving a few towns over when looking for companionship.
In all his time, Chris had never met a woman quite like Natalie.
He forced all thoughts of the dynamic woman from his mind. The next thing he knew, he chastised himself, he would be convincing himself he had feelings for the girl. Chris laughed to himself. Those were dangerous thoughts. While Natalie had been great for one night, he was certain that he would have lost interest after any extended period.
It was best this way, and he appreciated that she understood that.
