by Cat Johnson
“So here’s the plan…”
Oh, she was off the phone and speaking to him now.
“Shoot.”
“We’ve got an interview with a local radio station broadcasting live from the Poughkeepsie Galleria Mall tomorrow at six for the morning drive-time.”
Great, he thought. Nothing like the mall a week before Christmas. He watched her cringe and guessed why. “Not a morning person?” he smiled.
“Well, there’s morning, and then there’s morning. I prefer my mornings to start about eight, seven the earliest.” She continued. “After that, we have a photographer and reporter from the local newspaper meeting us at the recruiting center where they’ll take a few shots of you with the guys there.”
He nodded. “And what about tonight?”
“You actually have a night off. Drop me off at the hotel. You can take the rental car. Just don’t forget to get me tomorrow early enough to get to the mall by six.”
“I’ll get you at five-thirty. Five-forty-five, the latest,” he informed her. But meanwhile, he was planning on how best to use his night off, and it involved Katie.
She groaned. “It’s still going to be dark that early.”
He laughed. “Yup.”
“Great. I think the last time I saw five-thirty, I was getting in from the night before.”
“Now that’s a story I’d like to hear.”
She laughed. “No, you wouldn’t. It was for work and I was getting off the red-eye flight from LA. Believe me, my life’s not that interesting.”
“Yes, it is, and you are,” he told her. She really had no idea how fascinating she was. He’d have to show her.
“I want you to come and meet my family tonight. Come over for dinner.”
She looked at him doubtfully. “I couldn’t do that. I don’t want to intrude on your family time.”
“You’re not intruding. I invited you.”
“Yeah, but your mom isn’t expecting me…”
He laughed. “She had nine kids, plus all of our friends who were always stopping by. She cooks like there’s an army coming for dinner every night.”
She hesitated. “Are you sure?”
He nodded. “I’m sure. We’ll get you checked into the hotel then head over.”
Both the trip to the hotel and the drive to his parents’ house turned out to be quite an unexpected eye opener for BB. He pulled the car into his parents’ driveway, glad to see that at least his old house still looked the same. It was a relief, because it seemed everything else in his hometown had changed.
In the little hick town he’d grown up in, where the coming of Wal-Mart had been a sign of civilization a few years ago, there was now a Starbucks Coffee! That was something he’d never thought he’d see. The people around here were used to buying their coffee from the gas station for a dollar. He was finding it hard to believe they’d be interested in a Mocha-Chocha-Grande whatever for over three bucks!
And then, while he was still recovering from the coffee shock, he’d nearly put them both through the windshield when he saw, just in the nick of time, the red light. There was actually a traffic light installed on his parents’ street!
Down the way a bit, he realized why there was a sudden need for a traffic light on a road that had never needed one. The old farmer who used to supply the local horse owners with hay had finally sold out. There were now about two hundred brand new houses dotting what used to be pastureland.
Needless to say, BB was very happy when his mother, looking exactly the same right down to her favorite housedress, came out to greet him. He got out of the car and hugged her.
He turned to introduce Katie, and realized she was hanging back by the car awkwardly. He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to his mother.
“Mom, this is Katie.” He was about to explain whom she was when his mother stepped forward, threw her arms around Katie and exclaimed, “What a nice surprise. Billy
Bob hasn’t brought a girl home with him in years. I am so happy to meet you, Katie. Come inside and tell me all about yourself.”
BB stood and watched Katie, looking like a deer in headlights, get hustled into the house by his little gray-haired mother. She glanced helplessly back at him and he smiled at her. He could correct his mother’s assumption, but he decided to wait a little while.
His personal appearances were almost over, for now anyway, and Katie was scheduled to fly back the day after tomorrow. BB had managed to keep their relationship professional, mostly, so far. But now that things were wrapping up, he wasn’t going to let her hide behind her job any longer. He decided he wasn’t going to let her go back without moving them to the next level, personally.
And just the thought of that made his mouth dry with anticipation as he followed the two women into the house.
Katie sat in the rental car and glanced sideways at BB as he drove to the hotel. It was the first time she had with him alone since arriving at his parents’ house. It had been quite an evening.
He noticed her staring at him. “What?”
She screwed up her face. “As if you don’t know. You let your mother believe we’re dating.” And no matter how many times Katie had explained to her, to them all, what her role was, they still believed she was his girlfriend and was just telling them how they’d met.
What had really gotten her thinking was that no one—not his parents, not his two brothers and one sister who’d come for dinner—looked at all surprised at the idea of them together.
She’d gone over there thinking she would be closer to his mother’s age than his, but she’d been wrong. Bogged down by her insecurities about his age, and hers, she really hadn’t thought it through. BB was the youngest of nine. Of course his mother had to be much older than her, even if she had started at eighteen and had one child every year for nine years.
As it turned out, BB’s mom was warm, round, white-haired, and huggable, kind of like Mrs. Claus. She was the kind of woman who made everyone feel like family in her home.
The large farmhouse, all decked out in lights and garlands for the holidays, was as warm and welcoming as the family itself. The house even smelled like Christmas, all pine and cinnamon. It had been too nice of a taste of what being a part of that family would be like.
She looked over and saw BB smiling at her. “Maybe I didn’t correct my family for a reason.”
“And what reason would that be?” she asked.
He didn’t answer as he concentrated on pulling across the on-coming traffic and into the hotel parking lot. It was the kind of hotel where each room had an entrance from the exterior, so BB parked the car in front of her room and cut the ignition.
“Because nothing would make me happier than if it was true.” He got out, walked around and opened her door just as she was trying to digest that tidbit.
When she stood, he put a hand on each of her shoulders, and then moved to stroke her cheek with one thumb.
Well, he’d sure taken her by surprise. But not as much as when he bent his head and whispered, “I’m going to kiss you now, and if you want me to stop, you better say so pretty quickly.”
Her brain had a lot to say, but none of it got out of her mouth before BB’s lips covered hers. They were warm and soft and her knees nearly buckled from the sheer pleasure of the kiss. Then his tongue found hers.
A small sound escaped her throat, which he echoed enthusiastically before breaking away to whisper, “Let’s go inside.”
They were still standing in front of the open door of the car in the well-lit parking lot of the hotel. But if they went inside, she knew exactly what would happen.
He noticed her hesitation. “What’s wrong? Is it because you’re my handler?”
She controlled her adolescent giggle. Oh, she wanted to handle him all right!
“Yes. Partly.” But not mostly. If she slept with him tonight, it would absolutely kill her when she saw him out in public with some young thing on his arm. And that’s what would happen. How could it not
? He was young and hot and a veritable chick magnet. “Exactly how old are you, BB?”
He nodded knowingly. “Ah, ha. So that’s it.” He held her face in two hands now and forced her to look into his eyes. “I have no problem that you’re a few years older than me. In fact, I think that’s one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place.”
He moved to nuzzle her neck, and then breathed in her ear, “Nothing’s sexier than a strong, confident, mature woman who knows her mind.”
Mature. Not a good word choice. “You didn’t answer the question. How old are you, BB?”
He was making it very difficult to resist him as he nibbled on her earlobe. “I’ll be twenty-eight next year.”
She laughed. Only a man would try to make himself older. “So you’re twenty-seven.”
He pulled back slightly and rolled his eyes. “My birthday is in February, so I’m almost twenty-eight. So what? How old are you?”
She employed his trick just to show him how impossible this situation was. “I’ll be forty next year.”
God. That sounded horrible coming out of her mouth. She hadn’t thought she’d have problems with turning forty, until now.
“So you’re thirty-nine. Eleven years. Big deal.”
More like twelve, but it was sweet of him to round his own age up.
“Katie. We’re standing outside in the cold in a parking lot along Route 9. Let’s talk about this inside your room.”
She didn’t answer and dropped her eyes.
He bent lower and dipped his head to see her. “Why can’t I come in?”
She sighed. “Because if you come in, you know what’s going to happen.”
He smiled and grabbed each of her hands in his. “I know what I hope is going to happen.”
Her heart was pounding and she was starting to tremble. She swallowed. “Will you be able to still work with me in a professional aspect if we do this?” She couldn’t even believe she was considering doing this.
He nodded. “Yes. Will you?”
No, her brain yelled. But her traitorous mouth said, “Yes.”
He grinned wide. Wrapping an arm around her, he slammed the car door and led her to the room. And all the while, Katie cursed her assistant for even putting the idea of BB into her head.
Chapter Five
Katie was fighting her attraction to him, tooth and nail. BB could see that. He also saw the moment when she gave into it, and it was like unleashing a wild cat.
She’d handed him the key, and he’d barely flipped on the light and shut the door behind him when the look Katie gave him tugged all the way down to his core. He threw the key on the dresser and pulled her to him. She stepped easily into his embrace and pressed right up against him.
There was no way she’d miss feeling his arousal between them. Her eyes narrowed, her lips parted, and that was all the invitation BB needed. He couldn’t decide which to do first, kiss her or undress her. He tried to do both at the same time, until she was tangled in clothing and laughing.
He had to laugh at himself too. “Sorry. This is no way to impress you with how mature I am.”
“You don’t have to impress me, BB. Besides, no one has shown this much enthusiasm around me in a long time.”
He shook his head in amazement. “I don’t know why not. You’re incredible.” Not that thinking he was the only man in her life didn’t make him happy. It did.
He slowly started to extract her from the overcoat, then the suit jacket, making sure his hands brushed against the sides of her beautiful breasts as he did.
Then he decided now was the perfect time to satisfy another one of his own cravings. He reached behind her head and pulled out the elastic band that held her hair so tightly in the bun. Her thick, silky locks tumbled down her back. He smiled and ran his fingers through it. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you in the commander’s office.”
She laughed and ran a finger down his chest. “I’ve been trying not to think about how much I’ve wanted to do this since I met you in your commander’s office,” she admitted.
Her eyes closed as his fingers massaged her scalp. BB took a shaky breath and was lost. The rest of their clothing disappeared quickly, until he was down to his Andre Milano briefs—hey, they were free—and she was in only her bra and underwear. He reached behind her back to find the hooks when she stopped him.
“Leave it on. Please?” She frowned a bit.
He stroked the smooth skin of her back. “OK.” She’d get comfortable around him eventually. Until then, he didn’t care what the hell she was wearing, as long as they could get to that big bed. And since it was a big bed and a small room, he barely had to take one step back and she was tumbled on top of him.
She straddled him, two thin layers of cotton undergarments the only thing between them. She moved a bit, and his erection rubbed between her thighs. He fought to keep his eyes open so he could watch her. Her hair fell in loose waves around her face as she looked down at him with heavily hooded eyes.
“Oh, BB.” She said it as if she doubted they should be doing this, even as her hands roamed his chest.
Hoping she wasn’t going to change her mind, he settled his hands lightly on her hips and ground against her. Perhaps a little incentive might help. Her eyes closed as a little sound of pleasure escaped from her.
“We’ll take it as slow as you want,” he offered magnanimously.
She released a shaky breath tinged with a laugh. “No.
That’s not what I want.” She clutched his hand in hers, brought it up to her mouth and kissed his palm, letting her tongue just touch him. Her eyes opened to bare slits as she looked at him. “I want you to fuck me until neither one of us can walk.”
Surprised, but more than happy, he said, “Not a problem.”
Katie decided that having sex with a younger man, not to mention a man in the absolute height of physical condition, was an experience, to say the least.
She was too anxious for the main event to spend much time in the way of foreplay. Sometimes foreplay was overrated. Looking down at the gorgeous specimen beneath her, she decided this was definitely one of those times. A condom appeared from somewhere, she didn’t care from where, and his briefs disappeared. Her underwear did, too. But she wasn’t giving up the support her underwire bra provided, and luckily, he didn’t seem too concerned about that.
Still on top, she lowered herself onto him with a shudder and a sigh. Eyes closed, she rocked against him, enjoying every stroke. Her breath coming faster, she said,
“BB, you feel so good.”
“I can make it better.” He reached between them, but she shook her head and moved his hand away. He protested, “I want to make you come.”
She released a quick laugh, followed shortly by a moan. “Oh, BB. Don’t worry, I will.” She’d felt her orgasm already starting to build, which was one reason she’d pushed his hand away. Pressing closer, she ground against his pelvis until she was shaking above him and crying out loudly.
Her release was long and hard and amazing. It left her limbs so shaky, she collapsed against his chest even though she knew he wasn’t done yet. Luckily, he was in better physical condition than she. Wrapping his arms around her, he rolled them both over. He looped an arm under her knee and plunged into her as the aftershocks of her orgasm still pulsed within her.
BB watched Katie beneath him when he felt her inner walls begin to grip him again. A small frown furrowed her brow as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly, her lips parted. Then her hands held him close against her as she shattered within for the second time.
He closed his own eyes and concentrated on the amazing sensation of her pulsating around him. He held back for as long as he could, then thrust into her as he came himself. He finally collapsed on top of her. “Holy mother of god, Katie. That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt.”
He heard her laugh beneath him. “Yeah, it was.”
After a few moments of recovery, he
finally managed to raise himself on one elbow so he could see her. He’d been with twenty-something year-old women, and it had never been like that before. He didn’t think it wise to raise the comparison, so instead he said, “You are incredible.”
She rolled her eyes. Was she actually blushing?
He suddenly wanted to know everything about her.
“Can I ask you something personal?”
She laughed. “Since you’re still inside me, I think it’s probably okay.”
He laughed, pulled out of her and rolled on his side.
“Why did you get divorced?”
She raised a brow in surprise, but answered him. “We were both young and didn’t know what the other one wanted in life.”
“What did you want?”
“A successful career, a nice home of our own.”
“What did he want?”
“Me barefoot and pregnant and us living in the apartment in the basement of his parents’ house.”
BB laughed. “I see the difficulty. How young were you when you got married?”
She pursed her lips and sighed sadly. “About two years younger than you.”
He wasn’t going to let her start regretting this because of her age hang-up. “But you know exactly what I want and that I’ve already got it. I’m where I want to be in my career. My military career, that is, not the other one I’ve been forced into. And you are exactly where I want you to be, which is with me.”
“For now,” she agreed.
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
“This is one night, BB, maybe two. Then you’ll go back to your life and I’ll go back to mine.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t have to be like that. I want to see you again. Hell, that’s not true. I want what my family assumed to be true. I want you to be my girlfriend.”
She laughed. “Girlfriend.”
“Yes. Why not?”
“What about the future, BB? What do you want say, ten years from now?”
He shrugged. “Katie. In my line of work, you live every day as it comes and thank god for it. I don’t worry about the future. I enjoy the present.”
