Assignment: Learning to Love [Hawt Men In and Out of Uniform 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic)

by Honor James

  Gigi snorted at that. “Wow, you must think that I’m a seriously vain wench if you think that I am like most women.” She tended to go her own way. To hell with the flow of how a woman should act. She preferred to make her own rules, always had.

  “Honey, I know for a fact you are nothing like other women. But even you would flip your wig at the first gander in a mirror you got. Sorry, but you look like you went a few rounds with someone that had no consideration for how lovely you are.”

  “That’s both sweet and frightening at the same time. How did you manage that one?” she asked with the shake of her head. “Oh god, do I smell bacon?” she asked suddenly and leaned forward. “Please tell me you have bacon.” Her mouth watered. She was seriously a meat eater, and bacon was like ambrosia to her.

  “Of course I have bacon,” he said. Uncovering a plate, he handed it to her. It had waffles, eggs, and sausage on it. Uncovering another dish, she saw it was a bowl full of bacon that he sat in the middle of the table. His plate, when he took the top off, was just like hers only fuller. “Dig in. I brought sandwiches for later, also some fruits, granola bars, and a few other snacks for later on.”

  “I could just kiss you right now,” she said as she shifted slightly to pull her food closer. “But I won’t because my mouth hurts like hell. Right now I just want to eat. Sandwiches later.” She liked that he thought ahead, planned for any and all possible occurrences.

  He shifted in his seat and pulled a little bottle out. “Here, this is for your lip. If you put it on now, you shouldn’t have any issue eating. It’ll seal the wound. It’s like a liquid bandage, but won’t wear off. You’ll have to peel it off later.”

  “Daddy carries this stuff around.” She put it on her lip and frowned. “Wait, this is my dad’s, isn’t it? That crazy man sent this for me, didn’t he?” she asked with a grin. “See why he’s the best dad ever?” She loved her dad even more, if that was possible. She was so a daddy’s girl. “Crap, then you told him that I was banged up, didn’t you?”

  “Nope, didn’t tell him a thing,” he said. “But I’m guessing he may have clued into a bit, given the blood I couldn’t tend to on the patio outside of your room. Given the condition of the big guy, who is apparently being very chatty, he knows it definitely didn’t come from him. He handed it to me with a look. I have a really bad feeling I’ll be the next visitor to that interrogation room after he gets a look at you. Either that or he’ll toss me off the island and tell me to fucking swim home.”

  “He wouldn’t do that because he would know that you are watching out for me and protecting me. You know as well as I do. He might grumble, complain, and give you a little trouble, but that’s all right because if he tries to toss you off the island, I will demand to go along with you. Sorry about your luck, Michael, but I think you are stuck with me for a bit. I am safe with you and I know it, so you are stuck.”

  “Honey,” he said with a look full of meaning. “I am right where I want to be, so stop with that bullshit about me being stuck. Do you truly think if I didn’t want out of this situation, I couldn’t figure a way? I’ve been trained to get out of sticky situations.” Reaching out, he covered her hand and rubbed his thumb to the skin showing around the bandages. “I don’t mind being here in the least, Gigi. Though, and I hope you won’t be offended, but I have to say this because it’s been driving me a little crazy. Who the hell named you?”

  That had her grinning and she then laughed. “My name is actually Giana Regina Lucille Fletcher. So see why I go by Gigi?” she asked with a sigh. “My mother thought that naming me those names, she would be settling her place in society. As a child I had a terrible stutter that she hated. So when I told people my name, I said Gigi. Daddy loved it and he forced Mother to accept it. So yep, that’s what that is all about right there.”

  “But Gigi?” he asked, shaking his head slowly. “It’s cute, but really doesn’t fit you at all,” he told her. “I’m going to have to think on this and come up with something else. I can’t see calling you Gigi for the rest of our lives, honey.”

  She just looked at him. She had never had anyone say anything like that at all to her. She didn’t know what she thought about it, at all. “Well when you think of something, let me know and we will discuss it.”

  “Uh-huh,” he said with a nod. He was smiling at her and shook his head. “You really shouldn’t ever play poker, your face shows all your thoughts on it. What has you wigging out, honey? The fact I want to come up with something else to use when we talk, or the fact that I plan on sticking around for a long, long time?”

  “I’ve never had anyone want to stick around for a long time.” There, she said it. “I’ve never had anyone who’s wanted to remain close to me for a long time and that’s something that I’m just not sure how to react to. Other than my father that is.” She told him. “It makes me feel, strange? Not bad, just, unexpected.”

  “Well, now you have someone who definitely wants to and plans to stick around. No matter what, honey.” He gave her a wink and went back to eating his food. “You should eat. Your father will be here in just under twenty minutes. He didn’t want to give us that long, but I managed to talk him into additional time.”

  “Thank you.” Very impulsively, she moved quickly, rising and pressing a light kiss to his cheek and then pulling back. “I’m glad that you are the first.” Even if it scared the shit out of her. “Now, food, yes sounds good.” She smiled and settled back in her seat only to begin to eat.

  Michael kept the talk very light during their meal. He ensured that she didn’t have to think too hard, and didn’t have to worry about anything he said. He told her a few stories from his childhood, including one where he locked his big brother into a closet and then forgot him there for hours. Apparently David had not been happy in the least. Even less happy when his father had pointed out he could have gotten out by popping the pins from the hinges. Michael ended up in the doghouse and grounded for two weeks as a result, but according to him he hadn’t minded in the least. It had been worth it to one-up his brother just once. Not that it had been the last time though, but it had become more of a challenge after that.

  A knock on the door, authoritative and powerful, warned that her father was there. “You ready?” he asked with a look her way, an eyebrow up in question. “I can tell him you’re sleeping if you want to buy a few more hours.”

  She sighed and leaned back in the seat. Her feet were now in Michael’s lap. How and when they got there, she didn’t know, but she liked the way that it felt to have him touching her. Weirder still. “No, if we try to get him to come back later, he will either pick the lock, break down the door, or god only knows what else. Go ahead. Tomorrow I will look worse, I know.” They both knew that the next day she would be hurting even worse and not want to move.

  Nodding, he rubbed his hand over her leg before gently putting her feet on the ottoman. He made a face when the pounding got more enthusiastic. “You’d think he’d be a little more considerate,” he muttered just for her ears alone. He opened the door for the man and stepped aside, chair in hand, to let her father into the room.

  “Hi, Daddy,” Gigi said with a grin and lifted her hand to her father. “You came just in time. We were just finishing eating.” When he came forward and brushed a kiss to her cheek and then stood there looking down at her, she smiled. “The other guy looks just as bad, right?” One was hopeful that she gave as good as she got, at least.

  Michael was shaking, his head behind her father as the man raked a look over her. Leaning in, he picked up her hands and then leaned over to look at her feet. He huffed out a breath as he turned to give Michael a look she couldn’t see. She had to hand it to Michael, he didn’t seemed fazed by whatever he was receiving from the General.

  “He took care of me, Daddy. He had the situation in hand before I even realized what he was doing,” Gigi said softly. “He stitched my feet and hands, he did good, and he’s also sharing his lovely pain pills, too, so pleas
e don’t be too upset with him.”

  Turning his attention back to her, her father took the seat Michael had been in moments before. “He and I will be discussing this later. Mostly the parts that he apparently left out of his report to me. Not that you need to concern yourself with any of that,” he assured her. “I can have you out of here in three hours, Gigi. You say the word and I’ll move the United States military into place to ensure it happens.”

  A soft sound had her glancing to Michael. He was standing there, a hand over his face, shaking his head slowly. He caught her looking and rolled his eyes with a grin that peeked around his fingers.

  Gigi grinned and she laughed. “Daddy.” She pulled him closer and hugged him.

  “I love you, but you can’t put others in danger just to get me out of here. When the storm lets up, I will let you use your considerable influence to get me out of here, but right now I’m good. I’m safe with Michael. He’s watching the wounds and ensuring that they don’t become infected. I promise, Daddy, I will always be safe with Michael and know it.”

  Maybe she shouldn’t have added that last part as a calculating gleam entered her father’s gaze. The rest of his expression remained stern, but she was sure she could hear the wheels turning in his head.

  “Speaking of which, she was going to have a quick bath so that I could check the wounds and then rebandage them,” Michael said. “That, and she needs to get some more rest, too, Sir.”

  “Yes, sleep does appeal to me in a major way right now. The pain pill is keeping the pain at bay, and I’m feeling all kinds of sleepy now, too,” she told her father with a grin. “Come and give me a hug. Send Michael food or a runner or something so that he can ensure that we stay fed. And the weather, how much longer do you think that the storm will rage out there?”

  “According to the last intel I got, it looks like it’s settled in for the time being,” he told her. Getting up from the chair, he gave her a hug. “Best guess is another two days. Worst guess, we could be here for over a week.”

  “Uh, Sir.” Michael shifted. He had a worried look on his face.

  “I’ve already spoken to your chain of command. They know the conditions and are being flexible,” the General told him. “Least I could do, given the fact you’re keeping my most prized and precious possession safe as can be.” There was a load of warning in her father’s words.

  “Thank you, Sir,” Michael said with a nod and a sigh of relief if she had to guess.

  “All right, you.” He turned on her with a finger pointed her way. “You get some rest. No walking around unless absolutely necessary. You need to let your wounds heal. I’ll keep food coming whenever you need it. And you,” he whipped around to face Michael. “If anything else happens to her, Leavenworth will seem like the Ritz. We clear?”

  “Sir, yes Sir,” Michael said, snapping to attention right quick.

  Letting out a grunt, her father gave her a kiss on her forehead. “You need anything from me, baby, you just say the word.”

  “Thank you, Daddy. Maybe if you would give Michael a break? He’s doing good. He’s keeping me safe. Trust in him, okay? And don’t worry, walking is so not on my agenda of things to do right now. Not even in the top ten. That’s filled with sleep, sleep, and more sleep.” She jumped when a rather nasty clap of thunder filled the room—a boom—and then there was beating on the French doors. She sighed. “Is that hail? Crap.” She hated storms, with a capital H she hated them. “Leave it to Sandy to have Hell erupting on a tropical paradise.”

  “She does seem to have unnaturally horrible luck,” her father said. He chucked her lightly under her chin and sighed. “I might let him live if he keeps you safe the remainder of our stay and you actually heal.” He left the room then, but not without throwing another warning look at Michael.

  Gigi watched her father leaving and sighed. “What else am I going to do? I mean, seriously. Not like I’m going to go and have a party or dance or whatever,” she grumbled. She turned and looked at Michael. “Sorry that Daddy steamrolled you. I love him like crazy but he keeps forgetting that I’m no longer five.”

  He turned from securing the door once more and laughed. “Honey, you will always be five in that man’s eyes, even when you are eighty-five. It’s a father’s prerogative to be overprotective of his daughter.” Coming back to her, he collapsed into the other chair and let out a breath. “Damn but that was exhausting.”

  “I’m sorry. Would it be better for you if I were to leave? I’m sure that Daddy would stash me away somewhere until he could get enough of a break to get the Navy in here to scuttle my happy ass out of here.” She didn’t want to be a bother to anyone, especially not Michael, a man she had just met, but felt connected to far more than she would have dreamed, something that was very odd to her, truth be told.

  She earned a fierce frown from him a moment before he moved. Picking her up, he settled her in his lap, his arms around her. “I will say this one more time. No one can tell me where to be during my downtime, Gigi. I want to be here, with you, so enough already. Quit doubting my word, honey. I don’t lie, ever. It’s completely pointless. I might smooth out the harsh truth, but only enough to soften a blow. I have been, and will always continue to be, fully and brutally honest with you. You deserve that, and I know you can handle it. So, shut up and let me hold you until I can stop quaking in terror from that visit we just had.”

  Gigi didn’t speak. Instead, she curled into him and sighed. With her head on his shoulder, she wrapped her arm around his neck and put the other on his chest, her fingers touching his neck. “I rather do like being held by you. Just so you know. I like it a lot. I wouldn’t complain if you wanted to do this often.”

  “Good, because I have plans that involve us being in a position like this or very similar often for the remainder of our wonderful island vacation. At least we’ll have a good time, unlike the rest of the wedding party. Last I heard, they were trying to figure out teams for a shuffleboard competition. Much to your cousin’s dismay, I should add. She wants to go shopping but got all upset because the rain would ruin her look. Not that she’s looking all that great anyway. Humidity is not her friend, let me tell you.”

  Gigi snickered. “No it really isn’t.” She shrugged and let her fingers stroke his bare neck lightly. She liked touching him. A lot. “And she’s the only person stupid enough that would want to go bloody shopping in the middle of a tropical storm or hurricane or whatever the hell that it is that’s going on right now.”

  “I think I heard it being called a tropical depression,” he said with a snort. “Whatever it is, it’s definitely putting a crimp on her tanning time. She’s quite upset that she can’t even get into the spa twice a day. They’ve shut down all non-necessary portions of the resort. Thankfully there is a lot of alcohol though. God help us if there wasn’t at least that to hold the riots at bay.”

  “Oh good lord. No kidding. If that happens, I think that I will take my chances in the storm, in a leaky dinghy.” Just the thought of being around her family without booze in them was a terrifying thought.

  “I’ll even row,” he offered. At her look, he shrugged. “I don’t want to be here if they run out of booze. I’ve met some of those people—they are not nice with alcohol, but God only knows they are likely worse without it. So, score one for the resort who thinks ahead.”

  “They might have had someone call and let them know that perhaps tripling their typical alcohol stash would be good.” Okay, so that might not have been good on her, but Sandy’s dad could afford it. Besides, her prank was now turning into a good thing.

  She felt him still against her and then shift until he was peering into her face. “Someone, huh? Right, some mysterious person just happened to call up right before this event and suggest a little extra booze. Interesting really. Because this someone would have to know exactly the clientele that would be arriving and staying here. A family member, perhaps?”

  Gigi changed her voice to a very high-pitched,
nasally voice that dripped of Society. “Yes, darling. I simply must ensure that there are at least three times the typical amount of alcoholic beverages for my wonderful darling’s wedding. There will be many deals made while at the wedding, and what better way to ease past someone’s uncertainty than with booze?” She gave an obnoxious nasally laugh at that. She then giggled. “Do you blame me? I was forced into this farce of a wedding.”

  “You are an evil genius,” he said, shaking his head slowly, a look of awe on his face. “Damn, I have to kiss you for that one.” Which he did. Leaning in, he gave her a light peck to her lips. “Un-freaking-believable,” he muttered as he settled back into the chair.

  “Hurm, I think that you need to kiss me all over again. You know, a real kiss?” she asked hopefully. “Because I have to tell you, when you kiss me, I forget everything around us. All that I can think of is your lips to mine.”

  “Not happening, you have a wounded lip. I’ll give you little pecks until it heals, but no more full-on contact. No matter how much I want it, no matter how much I crave it, and I do. Believe me, I really do. You need some time to heal first. That stuff for your lip will help, and once it’s all better, there is no force on this planet that could stop me. Not even your father with a full automatic weapon in hand and pointed at my skull.”

  “Why?” she asked softly. “Why would you do that? Why do you crave me? I know why I do you. I have this intense and unusual attraction to you. Not unusual because of the attraction but because I don’t believe in instant chemistry. Here you are throwing that out the window and I don’t know why. Do you?”

  “Always with the questions and worries,” he said softly. Stroking her hair, he hugged her to him. “I happen to like you, Gigi. You are brave, fierce, and strong. You did what was needed, what you had to do, in a tough situation and survived without any major meltdowns. You are spectacular, to be fully truthful. There’s something about you that calls to me. While you are strong, you still have this small bit of hesitancy and insecurity. It’s endearing, so don’t go fidgeting. You are the perfect woman, Ms. Fletcher. And I am honored to have met you, to have gotten to know you, and I want to know a hell of a lot more about you. No matter how long that takes, I never want to stop learning about who you are.”