“So how did Ann and Carolyn convince you to ask me out?” he asked.
“They dared me. They said you were…”
“Yeah?”
Oh, hell. He wasn’t giving up on this. He wanted the whole damned story right now. “They said you were probably a virgin, and they thought that was an anomaly. They said you might be gay.”
Vic grunted. “Uh, no. As you found out, I’m not gay.”
Oh, she’d found out all right. “Ann and Carolyn told me that I needed to drive you to a secluded place and seduce you. They said that if I didn’t, they’d make sure my senior year was a living hell. Plus, I think I was secretly thrilled someone was lusting after me. That you acted as if you liked me.” She laughed softly. “Not sure why you did though. I was a little bitch.”
She saw his chest rise and fall with a deep breath. His arm lay on the table near hers. “Nah, you weren’t that bad. Besides, you realized I wasn’t such a bad guy and you actually liked me.”
Heat crawled into her face. “Yes.”
“And that’s when I finally got up the nerve to kiss the most beautiful girl in the world and discovered you didn’t mind it.” He said the last part with a silly grin.
She giggled as the memory of their sloppy kiss returned. “Oh, yeah. Loved it.”
His dark eyes challenged her, drew her closer. Nearer to a fire. “I was a horrible kisser, but it was damned heaven touching you.”
Yeah, an awful kiss. She’d never forget it though. How could anyone forget a kiss rife with that much fear and angst on her part, and outright teenage horniness on his?
“And contrary to what I’d heard about most teenage boys, you weren’t an octopus who couldn’t keep his hands off me. You were such a gentleman.”
He lifted the beer bottle in a salute. “My daddy brought me up right.”
“Mine didn’t.”
He frowned. “Were they trying to keep up with the Jones’s?”
“Yes. That meant their kids should too.” She blinked, her eyes burning with sudden tears that didn’t make sense. She’d never told anyone this, any of the stuff she’d explained to Vic. It felt like a release a long time in the making. “I’m really sorry that I bought into everything in high school. The whole popularity garbage. I hurt you and that wasn’t cool.”
His smile was forgiving. “We all do stupid shit when we’re teenagers. I know you’re not that kind of person now. I’m over it.”
Was he? Then perhaps she should be too. She sighed, the release in her heart and mind a warmth she would never forget.
“Do your parents still live here?” he asked.
“No, they’re spending early retirement on a series of cruises. They think my photography career is bogus. They hope I’ll come to my senses someday and do something worthwhile. My brother is a doctor, and that makes them proud. He’s a chiropractor, and yet they really wish he’d been a surgeon.”
He leaned in closer and trailed one finger over her cheek in a tender caress. “So after we didn’t have unsatisfying teenage sex in my car, you took the tape recording of our conversation and our kiss to your cheerleader friends.”
Why did he have to remind her of the details? The awful details. “Yes.”
Ann and Carolyn had slipped the tape to a friend, who had made sure it accidentally leaked out on the intercom system. Not all of the conversation. But that silly, awkward, terrible kiss…oh, man.
Administration halted it and heads rolled. She’d never forget the embarrassment. “My parents grounded me for three months. No car. No dates.” Dark memories surfaced. “Every idiot boy in school thought I was an easy lay after that.” She tried a smile but failed. “But your reputation did a spiral upward. All those boys thinking you’d got some.” She covered her face for a moment. “I ruined my senior year by going along with that stupid stunt. For putting you through that.”
He reached for her hand, held it against his thigh, a gentle and consoling touch. “Sometimes stupid takes a long time to forget. I just wanted to clear the air. We don’t need to dwell on it.”
Deep inside an ache burned. Two aches actually. One held huge remorse for what had happened that night. The other for thinking that a one -night stand could ever remove the stain of heartache. Did she think sleeping with some guy she didn’t know would wipe away the anger she felt for Danny Mendoza’s betrayal with Felicia? She’d contemplated sleeping with Vic to wipe away bad feelings, but now old memories brought up her own betrayal of Vic as a teen.
She felt like the greatest heel in the universe. She made penitence for it the only way that felt right. She took a plunge.
Lucy kissed him.
Chapter Two
Lucy fell into heaven.
Vic had apparently learned a lot over the years about kissing. Oh, yes. He smelled like over six feet of hot pheromones. Leather, musk. Man. Tough and tender.
Her inhibitions crumbled as her body melted against his, soaking in the delicious need that opened inside her. He accepted her kiss without reservation. One hand came up to cup her face while the other kept possession of her hand. His mouth was hot, gentle. As his arms came around her and drew her into his muscular frame, she felt twenty kinds of protected. All that strength turned her on, drew her higher and hotter than anything she’d experienced before in a first kiss. Exceptional power cradled her close, as if he held an item so precious to him he couldn’t bear to part with it. She was swamped by the excitement, overtaken, her defenses destroyed. The powerful protection she experienced in this moment made no sense when she’d only just met him…again. Still, her body accepted it. Her mind following along as if he’d given her a drug. As if his hard, masculine body was a fortress made for her alone. Restaurant sounds faded around them. Liquid heat invaded her veins and gave life to the steady ache that had burned inside her since she’d seen him tonight. She didn’t grip him or hold him, but allowed Vic’s warmth to lure her into a languorous warmth and comfort.
She melted and the kiss turned deeper, to show the appreciation her body and mind felt. When his tongue tasted her, she welcomed the intimacy, brought him into her with a shocking acceptance. His tongue swept over hers, no longer teasing. He wanted. He took.
Yet he gave so much more.
She shivered, overwhelmed by the delicious sensations, the excitement that sprang upward and filled every inch of her.
She drew back at the same time he did. They touched foreheads, eyes closed. She shivered, but not with cold. In an instant she was aware of her body’s reactions to his kiss. Her breasts felt rounder, fuller, her nipples tight. She was achy and hot between the legs, wanting his touch, his fullness inside her. Lucy’s imagination exploded in a second. She wanted to know what he’d look like naked.
Oh, man. She had it bad.
Lucy could think of one word. “Wow.”
“Yeah.” His voice sounded raw, and almost stunned.
Breaking out of her mesmerized state, she gently disengaged herself from his arms.
She almost told him she had a proposal for him. Almost broke right down and said what she’d planned to say to a perfect stranger tonight.
Sleep with me tonight. Or in a rougher way, Have wild monkey hanging-from-the-rafters blow-the-lights-out sex.
She’d found the perfect man for it.
His eyes were bright with the fever, the same fever she felt. She couldn’t deny that he wanted her.
“Sorry,” he said. “I got carried away. A bar isn’t the place to do this.”
She shrugged, self-consciousness finding her. “You’re right. Not the place.”
Silence hung there. Balanced. Almost tipped over. The strain of keeping quiet made her want to scream.
“Hope that made up for all the crap in high school,” she said.
A smile cracked that hard, I-want-sex expression. “No. I don’t think it does.”
Her mouth flopped open. “What?”
Kenny had stopped singing in the background, and some sweet-sounding young thing
trilled about hard times in the old town tonight. Lucy’s brain snagged on the tune at the same time she tried to wrap her thoughts around what Vic had said.
Once more a sparkle entered his dark eyes. “I’m teasing you.”
She released a short, hard breath, followed by a half laugh. “Brat.”
He clapped his hand over his heart. “Ow. That hurt. But I’ve been hurt worse.”
Insight jumped her. She sipped her wine and chose her words wisely. “By your ex-girlfriend?”
His gaze flew up to hers. Regret and maybe the tiniest bit of fear resided there. “Yeah.”
“Tonight?”
“No. A while before that.”
“Ouch. I’m sorry.” Something inside her softened and reached out. “That sucks.”
“Is that why you walked in here alone? Don’t you have any friends in town? A party to go to?”
Damn, he’d turned it back to her, and her throat felt tight. Her thoughts scrambled. “My friends are having a big party. They invited me. I’m not there because my rat-bastard boyfriend decided to be a rat bastard.”
He frowned, and this time, he looked like he could eat lead. “What did he do?”
The fierce roughness in his voice made her feel shielded, a sensation she’d never experienced with any man before. Did she want to become this personal? Did she want him to hear this?
She found herself talking. “Danny Mendoza. He used to work in the stationery store next to my studio. He’s in the Army Reserves and he was called up.” She shrugged. “He was…is a nice enough guy.”
“And?” he asked when she paused.
Her breath caught with emotion, anger superseding sadness. “I’ve been corresponding with him for a year by email. We had some pretty intense discussions and have a lot in common. A lot of…attraction. He came back from Iraq and asked me to meet him for a date Christmas Eve. He said that he has some really strong feelings for me. We had dinner, had a great time. He told me I was special and that he wanted to get to know me better. He had a lot of things to do this week and said he couldn’t see me again until tonight. I decided to surprise him with a late Christmas gift. A book he’d wanted. I went over to his apartment early to surprise him. Instead, I’m the one who got the surprise.”
She paused, half-expecting him to say he knew where this one would head. Vic’s chagrin showed in his expression—he understood, but he wouldn’t interrupt her story.
Her tight throat returned, but another slow sip of wine smoothed the words. “Timing couldn’t have been better. I parked in front of the apartment building and saw him coming out of his place with another woman I know in town. Felicia. They went straight into a lip lock. I watched in shock. I guess I shouldn’t have been shocked. He didn’t promise me a damn thing in his emails. We just…I thought we connected. He insinuated…” She shrugged again. “Anyway, it’s pathetic. I called him on my cell phone and told him I’d seen him kissing the woman. He told me that he didn’t know what I was upset about. That I’d blown it all out of proportion, that one little kiss didn’t mean anything. He told me to come over tonight anyway. Some people would say I overreacted. I don’t think I did. I told him I wouldn’t be seeing him on New Year’s Eve or any other night.”
“And here you are.”
“Exactly.”
He stayed silent for a short time, then said, “You didn’t overreact.” He shook his head slowly and snorted softly. “He’s being an ass wipe. He could have been with you tonight.”
Flattered, but not taking his praise seriously, Lucy groaned. “I was such a damned fool.”
“I dunno. Doesn’t sound like you did anything foolish. If he led you on and made you think he had more feelings for you than he did, that’s on his head.”
She’d never heard a man this articulate on relationships, short of Dr. Phil.
“You couldn’t see your friends tonight? Tell them what happened and go to the party?” Vic asked.
She could have. That was the shame of it. “I have a lot of nosy friends.”
“Anybody I’d know?”
“Eve Carmichael-O’Callahan, Freddie Bodine-Wallace, Marisa Clyde-Sullivan, Neena Williamson-Gilroy.”
His eyebrows sprang up. “Lots of hyphenated names.”
She tilted her head to the side and said sheepishly, “They don’t all hyphenate their names, but I thought if I gave both names it would ring a bell.”
“Sullivan? Would her husband happen to be Jake Sullivan? He’s in the army?”
“Yep, that’s the one. Eve’s husband is in the Reserves, Freddie’s and Marisa’s husbands are in Special Forces. Neena’s husband used to be in the military. Anyway, they would have filled me with wine and reasons why Danny is a turd. But I didn’t want them worrying about me on New Year’s Eve, and I didn’t want to talk about him tonight.”
“All of this is ironic as hell.” He scrubbed his hand over his chin again. “Jake and I’ve worked together before. We were both at Fort Carson several years back. I’ve been in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan for quite some time.”
Military? Vic was in the military too? She almost groaned out loud. She’d been all ready to make a move, hoping this guy wouldn’t have any scruples about one night of heated, no-strings sex. Honestly, how many guys would?
Now he’d ruined it by telling her he was in the military. Her heart sank.
An idea dawned on Lucy. “Are you in Special Forces too?”
“No. I’m an infantry officer in the army.”
“Oh.”
He chuckled. “There’s a lot packed in that word.”
She gave him a lopsided smile. “Yes, there is.” To steer things away from her for a moment, she continued with, “Rank?”
He grinned. “Is this a test?”
“Yep.”
Vic moved closer to the table, eliminating that safe barrier between them. His body heat seemed to reach out for her. She wanted him nearer, and that made her own barriers continue to crumble even as she fought her growing attraction to him.
“I’m a major heading for lieutenant colonel.”
“You’re pretty young for a lieutenant colonel, aren’t you?”
“Thirty-two is on the young side, yeah.”
She sighed. “Wow.”
He crossed his arms and leaned on the table. “You don’t sound impressed.”
She grinned. The devilish twinkle in his eyes gave him away. “Should I be?”
“Nah. I know too many men and women who get to my rank who think they’re all that.”
She appreciated his honesty, damn it. Lucy sighed. “Like Danny.”
“Danny is a lieutenant colonel?”
“No. He’s a major. Something in logistics. I don’t understand it.”
He laughed. “Uh-huh. Is he older than me?”
“Closing in on forty.”
He made her smile again, enjoying the endless banter. Either that or the wine had been spiked with hard liquor. She couldn’t recall feeling this giddy in a long time. Once more his gaze did a cruise over her body and reminded her that Vic liked what he saw. Whether her mind wanted to be flattered or not, her body was.
“I should have known you were in the military,” she said, her voice filled with mild disgust. “You all seem to have this thing with your walk. Confident. Upright. In command. I could go on with the adjectives and adverbs from here to eternity. My friends’ husbands are all great men and great husbands. But the rest of you…” She shrugged as bad memories swamped her. “You’re all the same.”
His mouth tightened, and he leaned in closer. “We’re not all the same.”
His eyes narrowed, and she saw something flicker through them that looked rough and angry. It caught her by surprise.
She rubbed the back of her neck and took another sip of wine to quell the urge to scream. “I’m a magnet for all the jerks in the military. I’m moving on to quiet, easy-going, staid businessmen.”
A sardonic smile covered his mouth, barely removing the ca
ution in his eyes. “I know a businessman who cheated on his wife five times before she caught him. Nothing staid about that.”
She half-expected him to leave and never see him again, and the thought made her ache. Maybe it was for the better though, if he did leave her be. Okay, so he had the command part down pat, and his slight chastisement had the effect he probably wanted. She smarted a little. This wasn’t supposed to get personal. Oh, well. Just roll with it. He’s military. You aren’t getting involved. You’re talking with an old acquaintance and that’s all it is.
“Why do I get the feeling that you don’t like the military because of this ass-wipe who dumped you for this other woman?” he asked.
She swallowed hard. “He made me so mad.” Her fists clenched. “I really, really thought he believed I’m special.” She sighed, regret filling her. “It’s more complicated than Danny. Before Danny I knew another military guy who was hot and women came on to him constantly. Kind of like that woman who touched your arm right before we said hello.”
He snorted. “Clara? She’s the bar owner’s daughter, and she’s harmless. Flirts with every guy and doesn’t mean it. Even if she did, I’d never take her up on it. So what about this other guy before Danny?”
She nodded. “Women flirted with him right and left. He’d tell me but insisted he never did anything about it. I figured out that he loved the attention and that he was cheating on me. Three times. We dated six months and he was having sex with three other women at the same time. After a year, I decided I’d take a chance on Danny because he sounded so sweet and sincere and during our date we connected. Or at least I felt we did. He said he hadn’t felt like this about a woman before. I felt more secure and ready to take a chance on him.” Anger boiled up and she barely kept it out of her voice. “Then he proved that it was all a lie.”
He covered her fist where it lay on her thigh. “I know the feeling.”
“Hating the military?”
“No. Feeling betrayed.”
Lucy decided she wouldn’t let this one-sided confession continue. “Fess up. What did your ex-girlfriend do to you?”
Hot Pursuit: Hot Zone, Book 5 Page 2
