Resilient Love (Navy Love Series Book 3)

by jc santo

“Jared,” he still refuses to call my J.C. like everyone else does, “I don't know what your lifestyle is like up in Virginia now, but when you come down here you respect my rules. And the first rule of this house is the same as it's always been; respect our Lord and Savior.”

  “Yes, sir,” I say, my voice laced with hostility.

  “Are we clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” I say, the sarcasm apparent in my tone.

  “Now, I hope you don’t think we’re allowing you to shack up here with one of your random women.” I look over and notice him standing in the doorway, eyes glued to the two duffel bags on my bed.

  “She’s not a random woman, Dad.”

  He waves his hand dismissively.

  The need to spew out that Jo isn’t some random chic, but his daughter in-law, is unexplainable, but I resist the desire. As much as I want to unveil this secret, I know I must be tactful in my delivery. I could really shock him but then I also run the risk of hurting my mom’s feelings.

  As if she can read my mind, I hear footsteps of what has to be my mom and Jo coming down the hallway.

  “Hey J.C., your fath— Oh, I see you’ve already seen him,” she says as she steps into my room with Jo right behind her. I’m thankful for their interruption; the last thing I want to do is start this weekend off in an argument with my dad.

  My father motions towards the duffel bags still sitting nicely on the bed, gaining my mom’s attention to them as well.

  “J.C., honey, I hope you don’t think—look, Jo,” she turns to look at her, “you’re very sweet, but we don’t allow girls in our son’s room while he stays here. Whatever it is y’all are doing in Norfolk is your own business, but—”

  I cut in, unable to stand here and allow Jo, or myself for that matter, hear a lecture like we’re children.

  “No, Mom, she’s staying here.” I point to the floor, indicating my room, with both hands. “I’m grown and the two of y’all should be accepting of this.”

  “Jo, you can sleep down the hall in the guestroom.” Mama directs her statement to Jo, just as Dad begins the argument with me.

  “Accepting of what? You and a girl sleeping together before you’ve even considered marriage?” my dad cries out.

  I can’t stop the chuckle that comes out. Everyone in the room looks at me with outraged demeanors.

  “Oh, we’ve considered it.” I motion Jo over to me and wrap an arm around her waist. “I didn’t get to introduce you properly before. Mom, this is Joanna Collins, my wife.”

  Both of my parents are stunned silent.

  In this moment, I silently thank God she spent last week getting all of the paperwork completed for her name change. Calling her Joanna Collins for the first time ever, to my parents no less, is the best feeling in the world.

  “Excuse me?” my dad finally asks.

  “Yeah, we’ve been married for about six weeks now. Did it the week after I got home from deployment.”

  “You’re joking, right?” This time it’s Mama who questions it.

  I shake my head and smile down at Jo under my arm. I place a small kiss to her forehead.

  “Nope, real deal, Mama,” I say, never taking my eyes off Jo.

  In a flurry of movement, Jo is ripped from my arms and wrapped in another bear hug from Mama, while Dad stands in place with the same bewildered look.

  Jo

  Well, that was not how I expected J.C. to tell his parents. At all.

  I’m not sure what I had in mind, but I know that was not it by a long shot. I definitely did not expect his mom, Lucy, to have her arms around me, crying tears of joy.

  Anger, hostility, grudges...those were things I expected.

  J.C.’s dad, Stephen, is still looking at J.C. as though he’s lost his mind.

  Guess I can’t blame him there; how many sons come home and say, ’Oh by the way, I decided to marry a random girl you know nothing about!’

  After what seems like an eternity, Lucy finally loosened her grip on me and Stephen comes over and shakes hands with J.C., congratulating us both.

  Lucy decides a celebration dinner is a must.

  While I’m excited that she is taking the news well, I’m not looking forward to the line of questioning I know is coming. Lately, it seems like there isn’t any subject that isn’t a sore one for me. Do you want kids? We know how that topic goes for me. Tell me about you parents. Cue the waterworks on that one.

  An hour later, we are all dressed up nicely and waiting to be seated at Steakhouse 85. I’m glad I chose to bring a fancy sundress with me; this place reeks of elegance.

  J.C. looks amazing in a royal blue, long sleeve, button down shirt and dark wash jeans. Lucy is in a black skirt and a floral top. And Stephen looks very handsome in a plaid, button down shirt with Dockers.

  I can see now where J.C.’s rugged good looks come from.

  We all ride together in Stephen’s truck; the men up front, Lucy and I in the backseat. Thankfully, our subjects don’t cross over into difficult territory for me. At least, not yet.

  We’re finally seated in a corner booth; J.C. and I on one side, his parents on the other. The restaurant is beautiful; hardwood floors, white linens, granite bar tops, the epitome of class.

  “Now, Jo, I wanna know all about you, dear.”

  I tense up, knowing this is the tip of the iceberg, our conversation will catapult downward from this point on.

  “What is it you wanna know?”

  J.C. places an arm on my thigh and squeezes, silently giving me enormous amounts of comfort.

  “Everything, sweetie! Where you’re from, your family life growing up, what you do in the Navy. I’ve heard about you for years from J.C., but now I feel like I should hear it all over again. I don’t think I paid enough attention the first time.” She smiles shyly. “Usually when J.C. mentioned a girl, I didn’t think much of it. I should have known you meant more to him with as much as he continued to bring you up. Even while he was deployed, I think at least once in every email he mentioned your name.”

  It’s my turn to smile shyly and blush.

  J.C. talked about me during the deployment.

  “I remember how excited he was that you sent him the Moon Pies and RC Colas. He must have mentioned it a hundred times. I wouldn’t doubt if he was rationing them out so they lasted as long as possible,” she says with a giggle.

  “Ma!” J.C. exclaims. “So much for loyalty and confidentiality,” he chastises her.

  I’m still in shock. We weren’t speaking during his deployment. And he’s never mentioned the small contribution I put in his care packages. Even though we weren’t exactly on speaking terms, I had wanted him to know that I still thought about him. But when he never said anything regarding them, I just assumed he thought one of our other friends sent them.

  The waitress comes by and takes our orders and I take the moment after J.C. and I finish ours to look over at him.

  “Is she serious?” I ask, referring to his mom.

  “You bet she is. Those little meaningless snacks gave me hope that you hadn’t completely shut the door on us, Darlin’. They kept me going out there and gave me the drive to come back and win you over. Even if your mom hadn’t gotten sick, I was coming for you when I got home. Your apartment is the first place I went when I got in my truck. I needed to see you. When I found out you were in California, my heart broke all over again. I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew I had to get to you.”

  I look into his eyes and see nothing but the truth and love shining through.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Darlin’.”

  He leans in and places a dainty kiss to my lips. I want so much more than that right now; I’d love nothing more than to take him to a bed and ravage him, but I know I have to keep things appropriate in front of his parents. I just hope once we’re finally alone, I’m able to do all the things running through my head.

  He must r
ead my thoughts. He leans over and whispers in my ear.

  “You keep lookin’ at me like that and I might not be able to control myself and end up pulling you into a bathroom. And as hot as that sounds, I really don’t think this is the type of place where I can get away with fucking my wife in the facilities. So tone down the lust in those eyes when you look at me. My jeans are tight enough already, Darlin’.”

  The warmth of his breath along the shell of my ear does nothing to calm my want. I pull my eyes from his and look across the table to see his mom and dad both watching our private exchange. I silently pray they didn’t hear anything that was said. Judging by the sweet smile on Lucy’s face and the interest shining through in Stephen’s eyes, I don’t believe they did. To an outsider, our conversation looked sweet and innocent even though it was laced with enough sexual tension to fill this entire room.

  “So,” I say, trying to fall back into the conversation we were having before the waitress interrupted us, “you wanted to know about me?”

  “Yes!” Lucy says excitedly.

  “I’m from southern California. I have two older brothers, Miguel and Joseph, a sister in law and two of the cutest nephews and a niece back home, as well as my mom.”

  “Now,” Stephen speaks up, “I remember Jared switching his plans around and going to California when he got back from deployment instead of coming here to visit us. Was that because y’all planned this wedding?”

  I shake my head, but J.C. answers him.

  “Our wedding was completely unexpected and unplanned. At least for Jo it was. I had many intentions on marrying her when I got out there. We hit a rough patch while I was deployed and I didn’t ever want us to go through a period of not speaking like that again. After working through our problems, I took her to a chapel in Vegas and married her.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to his side. “I went to California because when I got home to Norfolk, I found out she had made an emergency trip home to care for her sick mother, and I didn’t want her to go through all of that alone. None of our friends knew just how sick her mom has been.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Jo. Is your mother okay now?” Lucy asks.

  And there is the dreaded question I knew would eventually come.

  Taking a deep breath, I answer her, knowing that J.C. is right here by my side, like a security blanket to protect me.

  “Unfortunately, no. She has cancer and when I went out there two months ago, it was because she was hospitalized and her body quit responding to treatments.”

  “Oh my Lord, Jo. I am so sorry sweetie.”

  “It’s okay. I’m coming to terms with it now.” I say as J.C.’s hand runs up and down my arm, giving me strength and comfort.

  “Let’s talk about something else, shall we?” Stephen says. “Just know that we’re sorry for what you and your family are going through, Jo. And if there’s anything that we can do, just ask. You’re family to us now, and it’s very obvious that our son cares for you deeply. We want to be there for you in any way we can.”

  I’m surprised by his speech. I didn’t take Stephen as someone who’d be so considerate of someone he just met. And honestly, he hasn’t been warm to me since our initial meeting. Not sure what caused the change in him, but I like this side of him a lot better than the cold, callus side I first saw.

  The rest of dinner goes off without a hitch as we laugh and enjoy our celebration dinner. J.C. and I both tell about our experiences in Vegas since neither of them have been before. At the end of the night, I’m stuffed, happy, and excited to get to know more of my in-laws.

  J.C.

  I don’t know what caused my Dad’s declaration last night at dinner, but I know it made Jo feel good, so I can’t help but feel like I need to thank him this morning.

  Mama and Jo made plans for early this morning, I have no idea what they’re doing but I know that she was out of bed and in the shower by seven-thirty.

  When we got home last night, Jo and I fell into bed together. Confessing everything in that private moment at dinner felt amazing. I didn’t realize how long I’ve been holding onto all of

  those feelings.

  And the way she looked at me told me that I should have admitted them to her a lot sooner.

  Even though we’re in my parent’s house, Jo definitely showed her appreciation once we were alone.

  As soon as we said our goodnights and closed the bedroom door, she was on me. She slowly pulled both of our clothes off and led me to the bed where she laid me down, worked me over into a frenzy with her hands and talented mouth, then she climbed on top of me and steered us both into oblivion.

  I’ve never had a woman give me such an intense orgasm while she controlled every aspect in the bedroom; leave it to Jo to be the first. And she’s welcome to do it again anytime she wants. I’m learning that I like Jo being in control just as much as I like being in control myself.

  Reminiscing over last night, I look down and realize that I’ve worked myself up again. My cock has the sheets in a tent shape against my naked skin.

  I roll out of bed and head straight to bathroom and turn on the shower, where I can take care of myself.

  The hot water sprays along my back and shoulders as I rub the washcloth across my chest and stomach. My hand goes lower and bumps against my hard-on, causing it to bounce.

  The movement does nothing but spike up my carnal desire. Before I realize what I’m doing, I find my hand wrapped around the base of my cock, gripping it tightly, then the slow, determined strokes begin.

  I roll my head back and face up toward the ceiling, keeping my eyes closed and my hand movements at a steady pace. I picture Jo’s hands and mouth on me last night. The way her small hand held such a firm grip. The way she kept eye contact as she took me to the back of her throat. The feeling of her tongue playfully tracing the lines of my abs. The confidence she had as she climbed on top of me and gave herself over to me.

  All of it done in utter silence, which somehow was even sexier than hearing her moans and cries of pleasure. Either way, sex with Jo is amazing.

  The speed of my pumps have intensified and I can feel myself nearing the edge of the ledge, ready to fall over into the bliss that awaits.

  I picture Jo’s face last night when her orgasm hit her; unmasked heat in her eyes, that sexy way she bit her bottom lip to keep from calling out my name, the pure beauty of it all.

  Unable to hold back, my body shakes from the fierceness of my hand and the vivid pictures in my mind.

  I’m left leaning both forearms against the shower wall while I catch my breath and come down from the high.

  Damn, even in my imagination Jo rocks my fucking world.

  Quickly, I wash my body and emerge from the shower. I dress and head to the kitchen where there is a fresh pot of coffee sitting in the coffee maker.

  It’s Saturday, so I know my dad hasn’t run off to a job. Now that the company has expanded, he only works on yards a couple of days a week, spending most of his time in his office handling paperwork. The same as I’ll be doing for Marsh’s company when I return to Norfolk.

  I pour myself a cup and am leaning against the counter, taking generous sips of the steamy liquid, when my dad comes walking in.

  “Morning,” I say.

  “It’s about time you got up. The girls have been gone for almost four hours.”

  Looking at the clock, I see that he isn’t exaggerating; it’s after ten. In my defense, my shower did take about forty-five minutes, but I don’t tell him that.

  “What are you up today?” I ask.

  Even though my dad did do something unexpected and very admirable last night, there is still an underlying tension between us. Years of hurt feelings and unsaid grievances don’t all wash away because of one commendable speech.

  He looks down at his watch then back to me.

  “I have to meet a client in about twenty minutes, then I thought maybe my son would like to g
o play a few holes with me at the golf course?”

  I look over at him, amused by his sudden shyness. My father has never asked if I’d like to spend time with him, it’s always been demanded.

  Maybe that one commendable speech is the start of something bigger.

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?” He sounds unsure of himself.

  “Yeah, let me change into a polo shirt and we can go. Or do you want to go by the client’s place first then come pick me up?”

  “No, you can ride with me. I just have to drop off an estimate. I’m doing them a favor since he’s a personal friend of mine; normally I would have one of the guys handle it since it’s a Saturday. I can use you as an excuse to get out of having to have coffee with him now.”

  I finish my coffee, run back to my room to switch shirts, and then meet my dad out front at his truck. It doesn’t take us long at his client’s house and dad was right in saying the guy would try to get him to stay for coffee.

  We arrive at the course and they’re booked up so we decide to hit the driving range with a bucket of balls instead. Luckily, Dad still has my old clubs from high school so I don’t have to bum off his.

  “I don’t know if I told you, but I really like Joanna,” he says after a few hits.

  “You do?” He nods. “Good, she ain’t going nowhere.”

  “You really love her, don’t you?”

  “Yep. I’d do anything in the world for her, Dad. The past six weeks with her have been amazing. I know we didn’t do things the traditional way, like I’m sure you and Mom would have wanted, but we really do care about each other. Even though we had the crazy, elopement style, Vegas wedding, it wasn’t some drunken decision.”

  “Look, I know your mom was a little hurt that she wasn’t at the wedding but we’re just glad you brought her here and are giving us the opportunity to get to know her. I haven’t ever seen you smitten like this over a woman before—and that includes those in high school that peaked your interest.”

  Without actually saying the name, I know exactly who he’s talking about; Maggie. There weren’t any other girls in high school that I was remotely attracted to.