Men Out of Uniform: 6 Book Omnibus

by Rhonda Russell

And that had never been part of his ten year plan or otherwise.

  * * *

  “Where are we going again?” Julia asked, trying once more to get Guy to tell her where they were headed. They’d parked--his truck, of course, she thought with a smile--about half a mile back at Red Diamond Road and had been hiking across a meadow for about ten minutes. Ever the gentleman, Guy blazed a path in front of her making sure she didn’t get snake-bitten or inadvertently fall into a hole.

  “God, woman, how many times do I have to tell you that it’s a surprise?”

  “That depends on when you stop telling me it’s a surprise and tell me where we’re going.”

  He shifted the picnic basket he’d arranged himself from one hand to the other and paused, seemingly getting his bearings.

  “We’re lost, aren’t we?” She knew they weren’t of course, she simply enjoyed needling him. She loved it when he got all outraged and cocky. It turned her on. Julia sighed, recognizing the fact that she was way in over her head. But then when did he not turn her on?

  Guy turned around, chuckled darkly and shot her a look. “Me? Lost? I was a Ranger, for chrissakes. I’m never lost.”

  Hiding a smile, Julia plucked a bloom of Queen Ann’s Lace and twirled it between her fingers. “Okay then. Are you in absence of the knowledge of where we are?”

  He grunted. “Say it however you want to, baby, but I am not lost.” He started forward once more and she as left with no other choice than to mush along after him. Of course, the view was particularly wonderful--he had a particularly fabulous ass--so she could hardly complain.

  Furthermore, he’d told her that they’d be hiking about a mile off-road, so she’d worn the right shoes, but she still didn’t have any idea where he was taking her. She thought longingly of the map sitting in the front seat of her car and wished she’d consulted it a little more closely.

  If she remembered correctly, they were close to Victoria Pond, the area where the amphibious training for the Bradley Fighting Vehicles took place. Since he’d packed a picnic and, that didn’t seem particularly romantic, Julia didn’t think that’s where they were headed.

  Quite honestly, it didn’t matter because she grimly suspected that she’d follow him anywhere. The past few days with him had been...indescribably wonderful. Tomorrow morning they would finish their final class with the new group and then she and Guy would head back to Atlanta, separately...and separated.

  He hadn’t said a word about continuing their relationship beyond this week and Julia had too much pride to mention it herself. Her pirate was allergic to permanent relationships and she’d known that from the get-go. It had been part of the reason she’d allowed herself to become his sexual pupil, though quite honestly, other than how to balance one leg on a toilet seat while hanging onto the wall support in the handicapped stall of the bathroom, she could honestly say that she hadn’t exactly learned anything new.

  Evidently, he’d been right. She’d never been the problem, she’d just make the retarded repeated mistake of hooking up with men who didn’t know what they were doing. A warm flutter winged through her belly and settled in her sex.

  Guy certainly hadn’t had any trouble taking care of her, that was for sure.

  In fact, she grimly suspected that he’d spoiled her, what with his bone-melting kissing and multiple orgasms. And God, that wicked smile. Julia let go a shuddering breath. She saw it in her dreams.

  Satisfaction guaranteed. Too bad it didn’t come with a lifetime warranty.

  “Ah,” Guy said. “There it is.”

  Intrigued, Julia peered around him and saw a small probably Civil War era cemetery, judging by the mossy gray stones. A delighted oh of surprise slipped past her lips and her gaze tangled with Guy’s. He grinned at her, evidently pleased with himself and her response.

  “Like it?” he asked.

  Tucked into a rolling meadow of tall grass, the stones seemed lonely but reverent and Julia found herself inexplicably drawn closer. There was something hauntingly beautiful about old graveyards and she’d always loved doing rubbings--she’d even framed several--and searching for intriguing epitaphs. She’d come across several which had stayed with her over the years--a simple “She was murdered.” to “He looked up the elevator shaft to see if a car was coming. It was.”

  Guy couldn’t have known that strolling through old graveyards and cemeteries was a favorite pastime of hers--she loved the history, the stories told by the births and deaths of those who’d gone before her--and yet he couldn’t have taken her any where on this base that would have delighted her more.

  He set the picnic basket down and joined her as she walked slowly through the listing stones, scanning the inscriptions for interesting names and bits of history. Seth, Ephraim, Sarah. Her heart squeezed. A stillborn.

  “This is beautiful,” Julia said softly because this place deserved the quiet regard.

  “I liked it,” Guy told her. “I had a hunch that you would, too.”

  “I do,” Julia confirmed. She tucked her hand in his and sidled closer to him. “Thank you.”

  He smiled, seemingly pleased and his woefully familiar green gaze traced a path over her face, almost as though committing it to memory. “You’re welcome.”

  “How did you find out about this place? It’s a little off the beaten path.”

  He grinned, reached down and cleared a clump of weeds away from one of the monuments. “I’m surprised you didn’t see it. It’s on the map.”

  Julia chuckled. “So that’s how you found it? The map?”

  “No.” He shoved a hand in his front pocket. “I don’t know. Someone mentioned it was out here. It’s a good place to think. I used to come here a lot.” He paused. “Danny did, too. It’s quiet.”

  Julia paused and watched him scan the stones again, his face an impassive mask and yet she instinctively knew that he’d spent a lot of time here after Danny died. He was sharing something special with her, Julia realized. A guarded part of himself.

  Her gaze turned inward, remembering the tattoo she’d seen on his right shoulder--an image of an eagle with a ribbon and the inscription In Memory of Danny Boy trailing from its beak. When she’d slid a finger over it, he’d tensed, but had told her that Payne and Jamie had the same one as well. So they never forgot. Honestly, Julia didn’t think any of them would ever be in any danger of that.

  She cleared her throat. “Your friend must have had good taste.”

  Guy chuckled. “God, no. Not all the time, anyway,” he clarified. “Payne comes from a wealthy family and he’s managed his investments well. Like me and Jamie though, Danny’s family was just above the poverty line and when he started making pretty decent money, he had a penchant for buying g-gaudy jewelry.” Guy chuckled, remembering and shook his head. “We used to call him pimp daddy, particularly when he wore the pinky ring.”

  Julia laughed. “Well, he had good taste in friends, at any rate.”

  Guy’s gaze tangled with hers. “He would have liked you,” he told her.

  No doubt she would have liked him as well, Julia thought, warmed by the compliment. She tucked her hair behind her ear and waded through the grass.

  “Are you hungry?” Guy asked.

  Julia grinned. “Have you noticed me missing any meals?”

  “Come on,” he said, eyes twinkling adorably. “I’ll spread a blanket...and we’ll feast.”

  Actually, Julia decided, shooting him a glance, she’d rather feed another appetite. Guy snagged a quilt from the basket and expertly laid it on the ground, then he plopped down and found a comfortable position on his side. He propped his head up with his hand and the devil’s own curve slid over his sexy lips.

  Julia sighed, recognizing the ploy for exactly what it was. Masculine wiles. How the hell could she resist? She toed her shoes off, then cocked a pointed brow. “Guy?”

  He blinked innocently at her. “Yes?”

  “Now.”

  CHAPTER 10

  Now.


  In this instance Guy didn’t think a better word had ever been invented. In fact, given the frequency with which Julia had begun to use the simple phrase, Guy had come to the conclusion that now was his favorite word.

  Particularly considering that their time together was growing increasingly smaller. Tomorrow at noon they’d wrap up their training session and the idea that she was going to walk out of his life, never to return absolutely made a dead weight sit in his chest.

  He’d wanted to do something special with her--for her--before they left and had instinctively known that this place would appeal to her. Like him she had a deep appreciation for history, for imperfect things with a past--like him, Guy thought--and the look on her face when she’d seen the cemetery had been worth every bit of effort he’d put into planning this picnic for her.

  Actually, he’d picked up the sandwiches and beer at a deli--he’d smiled at the clerk and she’d even packed it for him--so when it came to actual effort, he hadn’t expended much. But he’d given her a little piece of himself by sharing this place with her and because she was smart and insightful, she’d recognized the gesture for what it was.

  Knowing that he preferred her hair down, she’d started wearing it that way the past couple of days and a pale blonde curtain of silky hair fell over her shoulders and down the middle of her back. She settled herself beside him and Guy twirled a long lock of that hair around his finger--his chest tightened as though it was actually winding around his heart--and he tugged her to him for a long, slow kiss.

  Sweet heaven, but she tasted good. Warm and willing and sweet and perfect. She tasted like a future, were he willing to have one with her, Guy thought, then forced the fanciful notion away, tempted. He slowly unbuttoned her shirt, baring her body to his hungry gaze and released a shuddering breath as the front clasp of her bra gave way and freed her glorious breasts.

  Guy bent and sucked a rosy nipple into his mouth, the taste of her exploding on his tongue. God, how he loved her body. It was long and lean, smooth, soft and firm, a breathtaking combination of sweet curves, intriguing valleys. Pale skin, golden curls, rosy nipples. That beautiful hair fanned out on the blanket like a skein of fine silk.

  She was, without a doubt, perfect in every sense of the word.

  “You are so beautiful,” Guy told her, moving to the other plump breast. “So responsive,” he murmured.

  Julia arched up, pushing her breast across his lips once more and shimmied her pants and panties down her legs.

  “You’re beautiful, too,” she told him, her darkened gaze tangling with his, her voice rusty with desire. “I look at you and something happens to me here,” she said rubbing a hand over her mound. “I get all hot and achy--hollow--and I can’t think about anything but you filling me up. You inside me.”

  Her foggy tones wrapped around his senses and she leaned forward and nipped at his neck, causing a shower of sensation to trickle over his skin. She lifted her hips once more, a silent plea, then her hands went to work on his clothes, swiftly disrobing him. His jeans and T-shirt joined her own, a discarded pile of forgotten trappings.

  Warm hands, a cool breeze and the swish of tall grasses wrapped around them, swaddling him into a memory Guy knew he’d visit frequently when this time with her was over.

  She slid her palms over his chest, scoring his nipples, then she massaged his shoulders and drew him back down for another mind-blowing kiss. She sucked at his tongue, the move bold and erotic--like her, Guy thought, loving every second of her sweet seduction.

  He bisected her middle with his finger, then slid the pad of his thumb over her clit, causing her to arch up against his hand. She whimpered, enjoying the torture, but he knew she wanted more.

  “Guy, please-- I need-- I want-- Now.”

  In an instant he was sheathed in a condom, positioned between her legs and a half a second later--though it had felt like an eternity--he was sliding between her pink folds, then dipping into her, teasing her. Instinctively her feminine muscles clamped around him, attempting to trap him, draw him in. His dick throbbed with pleasure and he felt the beginning tingle of climax stir in his loins, tighten his balls.

  Too soon, Guy thought.

  He dipped again, this time lingering a moment before withdrawing, savoring the feel of her tight heat fisting hard around him.

  Julia’s neck bowed, exposing her delicate throat, and her mouth opened in a silent moan of ecstasy. She arched beneath him, lifted her hips and rocked, then slid her hands up over his belly, grazed his midsection and scoured his masculine nipples with those neat, manicured feminine nails.

  Talk about a turn on.

  He shuddered, closed his eyes, and only by sheer dent of will did he manage not to collapse on top of her, push himself so deeply insider her it would take a serious tow package to drag him out.

  He pushed again, this time surrendering, and buried himself deeply inside her. A sublime smile of satisfaction curled her kiss-swollen lips and her lids fluttered shut beneath the weight of pleasure. She didn’t just want him, Guy realized, she had to have him--the same way he had to have her.

  Seeing her reaction, feeling the absolute flawlessness of being inside her, made Guy’s his own eyes too heavy and they drifted shut as well. He set his jaw as the matchless perfection of being inside her suddenly consumed him.

  She was-- She was-- Words ultimately failed him, were useless. His throat clogged, his heart pounded out an odd rhythm in his chest and, were his toes not firmly planted into the blanket, they would have undoubtedly curled.

  Julia clamped around him again, rocked her hips, a silent but effective request and, because he wanted nothing more at the moment than to lay in this meadow and make love to her for the rest of his life, he set everything else aside and concentrated on making being her pirate--and he’d start by stealing an orgasm from her.

  With a deliberate flex, he withdrew and plunged into her again. Found a slow rhythm, savoring the resistance, the perfect draw and drag of their joined bodies. She drew her legs back and attached them to his waist, then reached around and cupped her warm hands over his ass, squeezing, urging, a mewl of carnal pleasure, a purr of satisfaction. She matched him thrust for thrust, easily, as though they’d done this hundreds of times, finding his pace, keeping it, then demanding more.

  He felt her tighten around him, then her voice caught, and she upped the tempo. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, whimpered and thrashed, the fever driving her mindless. Whereas seconds ago she’d been boneless and limp, now she’d gone rigid and wild, desperate for the orgasm Guy firmly intended to serve up. Previous lovers had left her wanting, but not him. He’d take her until his balls burst before he’d let her leave his arms unsatisfied.

  His own loins were experiencing the fiery torments of the damned and every cell in his body was ready for release. The instant she caught hers, Guy knew he’d come.

  He wrapped an arm around her waist, then pumped frantically, pistoned in and out of her until he thought for sure that his heart would explode. Her feminine muscles clamped again, heralding her impending climax.

  A long keening cry tore from her throat. Her body bowed off the blanket, bucked beneath him and the walls of her tight sex collapsed forcefully around him.

  And that was all it took to make him explode like a nuclear bomb, pleasure imploding upon itself. She spasmed hard around him, flexed and quivered, and with each pulse he felt himself quake even harder inside her. Her climaxed perfectly sapped his, draining him of everything but the unmatched satisfaction of phenomenal back-bending wild gorilla sex.

  When the very last pulse throbbed out of him, Guy gently withdrew, then collapsed next to her and rolled her up firmly next to his side. He draped the blanket over them, watched a butterfly drift lazily from the wildflowers blooming in the meadow.

  Her head lay nestled against his chest, her hair spilling over and tickling his side. She rested her sweet palm upon his abdomen, and slung a smooth leg over his thigh. In short, she melted ove
r him like hot caramel over a scoop of ice cream and he didn’t know when he’d ever felt anything more remarkable--altering--in his life.

  Heart still pounding, Guy bent and pressed a kiss on top of her head, then looked up at the clear blue sky and felt a wash of contentment bathe over him.

  Dammit, he shouldn’t be feeling this--shouldn’t be wanting her the way he did. Needing her. He was a bachelor, dammit, committed to his lifestyle of...what? Guy wondered suddenly.

  Of nothing.

  Work, friends, mother and a dog. The K.I.S.S. approach to life--Keep It Simple Stupid.

  “Guy?”

  He swirled his fingers on her upper arm. “Hmm?”

  A slow sigh slipped past her lips. “Thank you for everything this week. I needed... Well, you know exactly what I needed and you gave it to me and I’m...” He felt her swallow. “I’m grateful.” She paused. “And I’m going to miss you.”

  His chest tightened, forcing him to swallow as well. He knew he should say something--she’d opened herself up to him--and yet he couldn’t find the words. Or at least not the right words because everything he wanted to say was the exact opposite of what he knew was ultimately right.

  He wanted to say “I’ll miss you, too” or “Why miss me? This doesn’t have to be over.” But those were the words of a man looking for a committed relationship, of a man who ultimately longed for a family and someone to come home to in the evenings.

  Until this week, Guy had never wanted anything remotely resembling that and yet a few days with a Julia and he found himself longing for things he’d long ago decided would never be right for him. Bad blood, he’d always told himself. Why risk it?

  Resisting the idea had been easy because up until now he’d never met a woman who awakened those kinds of feelings inside him. He’d never wanted the honey-I’m-home fantasy. Never wanted to see another girl past his three date limit. He’d already had more than three dates with Julia, she’d eaten off his plate last night and, though he knew it was an exercise in torture, he planned to blow the bachelor rules all to hell and spend the night with her tonight.