“Kiss me, Marine.”
Matt released her puckered nipple, leaving it shiny and wet. She grabbed his head and pulled him close, crushing her lips to his, invading his mouth with her tongue, breathing his breath. Their tongues tangled, fought. But she wouldn’t let him win the fight. Moving faster, she rode him, coming down hard until he grunted and she didn’t just win the battle…
She won the war.
Releasing his mouth, she followed through on her threat, sinking her teeth into his neck, then his shoulder, leaving small marks behind. Marking him as hers. She pushed away from him just enough so she could scrap her teeth over his heart, then she bit down. He didn’t make a noise even though she knew it had to hurt.
“Tell me you want more.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Beg me for more.”
“More…please.”
She swirled her tongue over the bite mark and moved back to his neck, brushing her lips and tongue along his jugular. She reached around him, digging her short nails into his skin, raking them over his shoulder blades.
His flexed jaw and his narrowed eyes were his only signs of pain.
“You like that.” It wasn’t a question because she had no doubt he did.
“Yes, ma’am,” he ground out between tight lips.
He released her ass to grab her hair, ripping her head back. Smashing his mouth to her neck, he sucked hard.
Carly whimpered and slammed herself down on him over and over. The climax built from her center and radiated out in waves. She gasped and dug her nails in deeper.
His cock twitched. But she wasn’t finished with him. “You’re ready to come, aren’t you, Marine?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m not done with you yet.” She leaned into him, licking along the outer shell of his ear, then sucked his lobe into her mouth before grabbing it in between her teeth. She tugged on it and when she released it, she whispered, “I’m so not done with you.”
She rocked back and forth on him, her clit brushing against his pelvis. She couldn’t get enough pressure on the sensitive numb and she groaned in frustration. Out of desperation, she pressed her own fingers to it, to circle and press. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes closed, and her whole body tightened around him until she finally surrendered to her climax, letting it wash over her, through her, as she cried out.
“Carly…”
She opened her eyes to see him struggling, his expression desperate. She cupped his cheeks and pressed a soft kiss against his lips before settling her forehead against his. “Now you may come, Marine,” she said gently.
With a grunt, his hips rose off the couch, lifting her slightly, as he released deep inside her, his breath ragged.
Leaving her forehead pinned to his, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held him tight. His broad hands splayed along the small of her back and she felt secure in his arms. She didn’t want to move from his lap. She wanted him to remain inside her as long as possible. As their breathing leveled out she realized she could get used to taking control like that.
She finally lifted her head from his and said, “I’ll take a look at your back.” She didn’t an infection to fester where she scratched him.
“I’m fine.”
“How do you know? You can’t see what I did. I can’t even see it.” She brushed a finger over the bite mark on his chest, the one over his heart. “I didn’t break the skin, luckily. You’ll just have a bruise.”
He lifted a shoulder slightly. “It’s nothing.”
A movement caught her eye and she straightened. Matt’s father strode with determination through the yard, heading toward the tent.
“Holy shit.”
“What?”
“Your father,” she answered, trying to keep the panic from her voice.
Matt jumped to his feet, not only dislodging himself, but almost dumping her ass first onto the floor. He caught her in time and they both ducked. With all the windows in the sunroom, they were hard to miss since there weren’t any curtains or shades.
“Matt!” Ron’s voice boomed out. “Matt! Are you in there? Get your ass out here if you are.”
“Oh fuck,” was all Matt said as he shoved her pile of clothes at her, then pulled on his BDUs in record time.
Carly struggled to get into her shirt. Then her yoga pants. She had no idea where her panties had ended up. She’d have to find them later.
“Matt!”
They both turned toward the voice as it got closer. The older man stomped up the back steps and stood at the glass door, looking directly at them.
“Whatcha doin’, boy?”
Carly felt heat rise from her throat into her cheeks. They weren’t actually caught red-handed, so they could potentially play this off coolly if they tried.
Ron let himself inside and stood staring at the two of them with his hands planted on his hips. “You two look like hell.”
Carly brushed a hand through her hair, trying to tame the knotted mess.
“You’re all flushed. You getting a cold, Dr. Carly?”
“No, Mr. Bryson. I’m fine.”
“Call me Ron since I have a feeling you might end up calling me Pop at some point in the near future.”
Carly’s jaw dropped for a second, then she collected herself. “Why’s that?”
“Because you’re wearing your shirt inside out.”
Matt’s gaze shot to her shirt and she glanced down. She indeed had her shirt inside out.
Shit.
“You know, it seems once my boys are caught, it’s all over for them.”
“There’s no catching to be had, Pop,” Matt said.
Finally. Her partner in crime actually spoke.
“Sure. Whatever you say. But you may want to shower. Your Ma wanted me to take you to breakfast at Dino’s. Thought we could use something called bonding time.”
“You’re not going to tell Ma, right?”
“That you’re knocking boots with your roommate? No. That we’ll keep between us and your boots. I’m giving you ten minutes to get cleaned up. That’s eight more minutes than you got in boot camp. Go!”
“I gotta get some clothes—”
“Go!” Ron barked again.
With a frown, Matt jogged out of the sunroom toward the tent.
“You better double-time it, boy!” Ron yelled out the door.
Carly watched Matt shake his head as he disappeared into his tent. Not even thirty seconds later he carried a neat pile of clothes in his arms and headed back toward the house. Clearly in no rush, though.
As he casually passed his father, Ron glanced at his watch. “You’re getting slow. You’ve got eight minutes left.”
Matt waved a dismissing hand at him and went through the house. Carly could hear the stairs creaking under his weight.
“All right, time for me to get ready for work,” Carly said, giving Ron a small smile.
“You gonna share the shower with him?”
Carly paused. “No.”
“Then you have a few minutes while that knucklehead son of mine is getting cleaned up. Sit.”
His command reminded her of the one she gave Matt not even fifteen minutes earlier. Nevertheless, she sat, feeling like a teenager caught coming in after curfew.
Matt’s father didn’t sit; instead, he stood legs spread and arms crossed as he regarded her. “You seem like you’re a good woman. Especially with you being a doctor and all. And, hell, you delivered my first grandbaby.” He paused and Carly waited for the “but.” And as if on cue, “But I hope you know what you’re dealing with here.”
There were a lot of unsaid words in that sentence. Though Carly understood what he was trying to warn her about. “I’m aware.”
“Not that I don’t love my son, but I see how being over there affected him. He took doing his patriotic duty to his country a few steps too far. Even though I’m proud of him, I’m scared for him also. And, let me tell you, as a Marine myself and a thirty-ye
ar police veteran, not much scares me.”
Carly could see the concern on his face and hear the worry in his voice. Matt was lucky to have such a loving family, fortunate to have a place to come home to. People who supported him.
“You’re a doctor—” he started.
Oh, here we go again. She interrupted him. “An OB/GYN, Ron, not a psychologist.”
He nodded anyway, like it didn’t matter. “Yeah, but you’re smart.”
“Smart would be not getting involved with your son.”
Ron pursed his lips and knitted his brows together. “You’re probably right about that, Dr. Carly. However, some women find my sons irresistible. Just ask Amanda and Leah. As much as they tried to fight it, they couldn’t escape.”
Carly snorted. “I’m not so sure that’s a glowing recommendation.”
“No, it’s not. Though it’s the truth. I have a sense you’re already stuck.”
Funny, she had a feeling she was too.
“By the way, you got some panties hanging from the ceiling fan. Were you dusting?” He pointed upward.
With dread, Carly’s eyes reluctantly followed the direction where he indicated. Yep. There were her no-nonsense, tan cotton briefs caught on the fan blade. She groaned. At least they weren’t rotating.
“Mary Ann will have to pick you up a couple pairs of those sexy panties that she buys for special occasions at uh… Oh yeah, Victoria’s Secret. I’m sure Matt would like those better. Just let her know your favorite color.”
Carly sank to the couch and put her head in her hands, avoiding Ron’s crystal blue eyes, which wrinkled up at the corners.
“Pop! Let’s go!” Matt hollered from the front of the house.
She could hear Matt’s father chuckling all the way to the front door.
Matt sat across from his pop in Dino’s Diner, watching him talk with his mouth full. If they would have done that as kids, he would have reached over and smacked them upside the head. If their mother hadn’t done it first.
He sucked down some black coffee and thought about last night and also this morning as his father droned on about trimming the Christmas trees and doing farm maintenance. “Bonding time” was quickly turning into “bore Matt to death” time.
He fought back a sigh, but it changed into a yawn.
“Didn’t get much sleep again last night?”
His father knew he didn’t sleep well. But now he thought about it, last night he had the best night of sleep since he’d been back. Hell, the most restful sleep in years.
Even though they were on that couch and not a real bed. Not that he’d slept in a real bed in a long time. His cot did him just fine. “I slept,” he answered his Pop.
“You sure? I don’t know. It’s probably pretty hard to get much sleep with having such a beautiful woman in the house.”
Matt struggled to keep his jaw from hitting the table. Sometimes his father had no filter. No wonder he got along so well with Amanda. The two of them could sear nearby ears and embarrass the whole family in thirty seconds flat. Ma never suggested that the whole family go out to dinner anymore. She had learned the hard way.
“Pop, it’s nothing.”
“Boy have I heard that before.” He shoveled another forkful of pancakes into his mouth. “These aren’t as good as your mother’s. In fact, I’ve heard it’s nothing twice already. I’m not sure why your mother suggested we come here. And now I got a grandbaby and there’s another wedding being planned. See how that works out?”
Matt shook his head trying to keep up with his father’s confusing line of conversation.
Ron pointed his fork at Matt’s plate of eggs, bacon, and hash browns. “Aren’t you going to eat? Ya gotta eat.”
Matt looked down at his cooling breakfast and shoved the plate to the end of the table for the waitress to pick up. He pulled his mug of coffee closer. “I’m not hungry.”
“Didn’t you work up an appetite this morning?”
Matt closed his eyes and counted to ten. Or tried to. He got to four.
“God, I wish I was your age. The stuff your mother and I—”
“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I don’t want to hear that kind of thing. Holy shit, Pop. No. There are some things you just don’t talk about with your kids.”
“It’s only natural.”
“Don’t care. No. Off limits. Change of subject, please.”
Ron chuckled, a piece of pancake flying out of his mouth and bouncing off the table. Matt made a quick move so it wouldn’t land on him.
“Okay, then. What do you want to talk about? Your mother wants us to bond, so we’re going to bond, damn it. Or I’ll get hell.”
“Not sex.”
“Well, what then?”
The bell over the diner’s front door rang and then they heard a high-pitched squeal…and clapping. Matt winced.
Teddy, the owner of Manes on Main, rushed up to their table and bounced on his toes, his excited gaze leaping back and forth from Ron to Matt.
“Well, look at the luck I’m having this morning. Two, count them, two Bryon bucks. Move over, handsome.” Teddy shoved his hip into Matt’s arm and Matt reluctantly moved over to let the man squeeze into the booth.
The more Matt moved closer to the wall, the closer Teddy slid in until Matt was practically pinned.
“How you doing, Pop?” Teddy asked Ron.
“Couldn’t be better since I’m having breakfast with my boy and we’re bonding.”
“Ooo. Bonding. I hope I’m not interrupting. But I can’t resist a Bryson when I see one.” Teddy patted Matt’s thigh under the table. “And Matty, you’re the only single one left. I’m holding out hope here…”
“Too late,” Pop said. “He’s a goner already.”
Teddy’s eyes widened and he let out a dramatic gasp with a hand over his mouth. “No! Say it ain’t so! Please don’t tell me your taken.”
Matt almost spilled that he wasn’t, but then realized he’d end up between a rock and a hard place by admitting it to Teddy.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Best not to say a word.
Teddy wanted nothing more than to land himself a “Bryson buck.” And Matt just didn’t swing that way. And never would.
“See?” Ron asked. “He won’t deny it.”
He was going to kill his father. Pop knew exactly what he was doing.
“Well, who is it? I’m all jealous. I want to pull her hair out and scratch her face.”
Even though he knew Teddy joked, he could just picture the man getting into a cat fight, scratching and biting.
“It’s Dr. Carly,” his pop gleefully supplied.
Matt hid a groan by taking a sip of his black coffee.
“Amanda’s coochie doctor?” Teddy asked, surprised.
Matt choked, almost spitting the hot java across the table.
“Yep. Same one,” Ron answered.
Matt might as well slide under the table and hide until the two of them finished. He forgot to add Teddy, their unofficial family member, to the list that included his father and Amanda when it came to loose lips.
“Ooo. I wouldn’t want her job. Coochies aren’t very attractive.”
Matt placed his mug carefully on the table. He wouldn't risk trying to drink anymore.
Beth, their waitress came over to the table, carrying a pot of fresh coffee. “More, Matt?”
“No thanks.”
“Teddy, you want a cup?”
“No thanks, Beth. I’m just here to pick up my order. And to find out the latest news.”
“What’s that, hun?”
“That the last Bryson brother is taken!”
Holy fuck.
“What? Well, that’s depressing!” Beth exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at Matt.
“I know!” Teddy crowed. “I think I may need a tissue.”
“Aw.” Beth patted him on the back. “You’ll find the right one, Teddy. Don’t you worry.”
“Not in this Podunk town. All my dreams are dashed
now.” With a loud, fake sob, he turned on his crocodile tears and twisted toward Matt. “Can’t I even get one kiss before it’s too late?”
Ron snorted from across the table as Matt regarded Teddy in horror. “Sweet weeping Jesus! No.”
“Just one…” Teddy started to lean in, puckering his lips.
“Teddy, I swear…”
Then Teddy’s sad face burst in laughter. “Oh, you should see your face, Matty. I got you good.”
“You’re an asshole,” Matt told him and shoved his shoulder hard.
“One kiss wouldn’t have hurt,” Ron said before picking a piece of cold bacon off of Matt’s discarded plate and shoving it into his mouth.
There was only one person Matt wanted to kiss. And Teddy wasn’t it.
Chapter 10
Matt tightened his grip on his prisoner’s elbow. The fool was not only drunk but belligerent. Enough so that Marc had come along to bring the guy in for blood work. Matt suspected the drunk’s blood alcohol level would be double the legal limit.
He also doubted it was only booze in the man’s bloodstream. The area had a meth problem as did most rural areas.
While they were administering the test, he’d have to ask a nurse to check out the guy’s head wound. The fool had insisted on bashing his head against the backseat window. Luckily, it hadn’t shattered.
Even though the hospital was small, the emergency room seemed to be as busy as ever. Full moon would do that. Emergency workers of all sorts dreaded that time of the month.
The man he escorted continued to curse up a storm, and no matter how many times Marc or Matt told him to pipe down, the man refused to cooperate. Not that they expected the asshole to suddenly turn into a model citizen. Though, it would have been nice if the alcohol in his system would make him drowsy.
No such luck.
Matt knew he could handle the cuffed guy on his own, but since they were surrounded by innocent people waiting their turn to be seen, he preferred Marc to hurry up and park the cruiser, and get his ass inside pronto.
“You think you can behave like a gentleman? There are women and children in here.”
The man let out a string of foul words, even ones Matt would never use. He had to admit, the variety of curses the man could come up with almost impressed him. Almost.
Brothers in Blue: Matt Page 8
