Impossible Choice

by Sybil Bartel

  I nodded. “They didn’t ask about the bank account or my father and his...activities.” I’d told Barrett everything this morning, I’d had to.

  “I doubt they know about the account, and since your father died before they had a chance to talk to him, most of what they have is speculation. With a suspect for his murder, and a witness, the rest will be a closed case.”

  I breathed out a full breath for the first time since Buck had left.

  Barrett squeezed my shoulder, then glanced at Talon. “As you were. Good day, gentlemen.”

  Messing with his phone, Talon ignored him.

  André inclined his head at Barrett and Barrett left.

  Talon turned to me and held his phone out. “For you.”

  I took the phone, my hand suddenly shaking, and held it to my ear. The connection scratchy, an engine roared in the background, then the sound of pure heaven filled my ears.

  “I’m proud of you, baby.”

  “Blaze,” I cried, pressing the phone closer.

  “I told you, you’re a fighter.”

  “Yeah.” I smiled. “You did.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  “I love you.”

  “My Layna...” The static got louder. “Feel me, baby.”

  Then the connection was lost.

  I handed the phone back to Talon. “Thank you,” I said sincerely.

  “Nothin’ doin’, Sugar, nothin’ doin’.”

  “You and him?”

  “We’re all good,” he said quickly. “How ’bout you give Patrol here the afternoon off. I’ll take you to lunch.”

  “Patrol?” I looked from him to André.

  “Yeah.” Talon smirked. “He should’ve joined the MP, but he was too busy behind the scope of his rifle. Suppose that’s one way of patrollin’.”

  I looked at André, but his face remained impassive.

  “So whatdaya say? Mexican sound good?”

  I turned to Talon. He could kill a man with one hand or kiss you with a gentleness that broke your heart. For the first time since I’d heard his accent, I didn’t want to be near him.

  I wanted Buck.

  And I wanted to be with my new friend.

  “No, thank you.”

  Talon cocked his head.

  “I have plans.” At least, I hoped I did.

  Talon smiled a smile that didn’t touch his eyes. “Raincheck.”

  Maybe. Maybe not. I smiled.

  He kissed my cheek. “Take care, Sugar.”

  “Take care, Talon.”

  Talon slapped André on the back. “Watch out for her.”

  “Roger that.”

  Without a backward glance, Talon strode off.

  “Do you know where Ariel lives?” I asked André.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  It was only 7 a.m., but I’d been up for hours. Too nervous and too excited to sleep, I dusted a spotless living room, smiling when I ran the cloth over the coffee table. Yesterday I’d cleaned tiny little handprints off of it. Conner had been a fixture in my life for the past sixty-seven days. Ariel and I had both enrolled at Miami Dade College for two classes, and I’d even convinced her to work a couple mornings a week for André. I loved it because I got to watch Conner.

  I glanced at the clock for the hundredth time. One more hour. Then I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked again at my morning text.

  You better be ready for me. 0 days

  A shiver curled around my spine and fluttered through my stomach. Just as I was about to put the phone back in my pocket, it pinged with a new text.

  I’m going to touch you. Everywhere.

  Heat flamed my cheeks, my thighs clenched and my thumbs flew nervously across the screen. Are you close?

  I held my breath for a reply.

  So close. Feel me, baby.

  Ohmigod. Ohmigod. Ohmigod. I squealed as everything below my waist tingled in anticipation.

  I dumped the dust cloth in the trash and went to the bathroom to check my appearance again. I’d had my long dark hair styled. Thick layers swung below my shoulder blades and bounced with the hint of curl I’d given it this morning. I was tan from running, and I’d kept my makeup to mascara and lip gloss. My dress was short and sweet. Spaghetti straps held a fitted bodice that fell away to a soft skirt that had just enough fullness. I turned from side to side and the material brushed against my bare legs. I’d skipped a bra but I had on a new lace thong.

  I fluffed my hair, then put on the high-heeled sandals that crisscrossed around my ankles. I checked his flight one more time, then headed out.

  I was so nervous, I almost crashed the Tahoe parking it in a spot at the airport. I half-ran, half-walked to where the flights let out and spent the next ten minutes standing on tiptoe and scanning the exiting passengers. My hands wringing, my heart pounding furiously, I couldn’t take a full breath.

  Then I saw him.

  He was bigger, everywhere. And tan. And imposing and unbelievably gorgeous. He was too far away to hear me, but his name still escaped my lips like a plea. “Blaze.”

  His eyes boring into mine, he closed the distance with the powerful stride of a warrior.

  One hand snaked in my hair and gripped. The other hit the back of my ass and he brought me to him tight. He smelled like marines and airport and musk and man—my man. His hard length dug into my stomach and I gasped. Then his tongue plunged into my mouth.

  Sweet, hot, minty, he devoured me with his kiss, and I melted into his possession like I’d been starved. I crawled up his body and gripped the back of his neck. He yanked my head back and stared into my eyes.

  “Mine.” His deep, quiet voice penetrated me everywhere.

  Quivering, liquid heat pooled between my legs. “Yours.”

  Staring into my eyes, drinking me in, he spoke without words.

  Encouraged by the most public display of affection he’d ever given me, I rubbed my hips against his. I wanted him so bad I didn’t care where we were. “I’m not going to last until we get home.”

  His ghost smile touched his mouth, and he brought his lips to my ear as a finger skimmed down my chest, between my breasts. “Everywhere,” he breathed, dragging the word out suggestively.

  I shivered and managed to say one word back, “Car.”

  His smile grew by a degree. “Baggage claim.”

  Fuck.

  He curled an arm around my shoulder and led me downstairs. I had so much to say, so much to ask him, but I all I could do was breathe him in. His scent, his presence, his hold on me, even his height. Buck was larger than life.

  At baggage claim, he set his duffel down and pulled me into his arms again.

  “You’re still thin,” he murmured, running a hand down my back.

  I’d put a few pounds back on since he’d left, but the last week I’d been too excited to eat and too wound up to sleep, so I’d been running more than usual. Buck, on the other hand, looked like he’d gained twenty more pounds of pure muscle. “And you’re huge...bigger.”

  He pressed his hips into mine. “Yeah?”

  I laughed and grasped the hard steel of his biceps. “I meant here.” I ran my fingers up over his shoulders. “And here.”

  “Lot of downtime. Nothing to do but lift.”

  “Apparently you like working out.” I squeezed his arms and smiled. “A lot.”

  He leaned down and kissed the sensitive skin right below my ear before whispering, “I was trying to keep my mind off the fact I couldn’t bury myself deep inside you.”

  The blush was instant and flaming, and my head spun with heady memories.

  Promise swirled in his light eyes. “Sixty-eight days of suggestive texts, an
d you’re blushing.”

  “You’re teasing me.” It was hot in here. Really hot.

  “Only with the words, but the meaning behind them is dead honest.”

  I studied him a moment. “You’re different.” He wasn’t the impenetrable, focused marine I’d first met. He was affectionate and teasing and the spark in his eyes was new.

  “And you’re a free woman.”

  Lara had moved quickly. Shorty was implicated as an accomplice for my parents’ murder. He was behind bars, and there was no bail because he was considered a flight risk. Barrett had assured me it’d take an act of God for Shorty to ever walk free again. Miami was charged with my parents’ deaths, and the company he’d left to Shorty and all of its assets had been seized. Barrett said we should sue but I wanted to move on.

  “A free woman with a new name,” I said cautiously, not 100 percent sure how he would take it.

  Buck raised an eyebrow.

  I pulled back and held my hand out. “Hello.”

  Buck took my hand in his. “Hello,” he said quietly.

  “I’m Layna Dellis Blair.” I smiled shyly. “Nice to meet you.”

  Nothing in his expression gave anything away. “Pleasure.”

  “You know,” I said conspiratorially, “I’m not really old enough to drink.” Barrett had helped me legally change my name, but there was nothing he could do about my age. I was nineteen again—for a couple of weeks.

  Buck’s smile grew to epic proportions. “Is it wrong that I’m lusting after a teenager?”

  “So wrong.” I grinned.

  Buck gripped the outside of my thigh and dragged his teeth across my ear. “I’m going to touch every inch of this body the second we get home.”

  I groaned. “Blaze.”

  “And you’re going to say my name just like that when you come.” Grasping my jaw, he plunged his tongue in my mouth and swirled his sexy heat inside me. My legs unsteady, my stomach fluttering, my core quivering with need, he abruptly stepped back. “Feel me,” he mouthed, right before turning to the baggage carousel.

  I stood there watching the huge bulk that was Buck pluck two giant duffel bags from the carousel. Mesmerized by the sight of him, I could hardly believe he was home. When my brain kicked in, I picked up his small duffel and stepped beside him. “I’ll grab a luggage cart.”

  Half of his mouth twisted with a smirk. He hefted a bag over each shoulder, then took the small duffel from me. His free hand wrapped around mine, and shock waves of awareness shot up my arm. “Let’s go, baby.”

  I glanced at his bags. “That’s a lot of luggage.” I’d never seen him travel with anything other than his small duffel before.

  He looked down at me, but he didn’t comment. “Where’d you park?”

  I indicated a direction with my head, and he led the way. He didn’t speak and I was too nervous to say anything.

  When he saw the Tahoe, he held his hand out. “Keys, baby.”

  I didn’t ask him if he was tired, or if he wanted me to drive. I didn’t ask him how long he’d been traveling. I didn’t ask him where he’d been. I simply pulled the keys out of my purse and handed them to him.

  He unlocked the doors, ushered me to the passenger side, kissed me hard and fast then threw his duffels in the back. When he got behind the wheel, he spent three seconds adjusting the seat and mirrors, then he glanced at me.

  “Stop being nervous, nothing’s changed.” He didn’t touch me, he didn’t take my hand, he didn’t kiss my knuckles or run a finger up my thigh.

  Everything had changed. “Those are big duffels.”

  “That’s what six years in the military will do to you.”

  “Why aren’t you touching me?” I blurted out.

  The ghost smile appeared. “You really want me to answer that?”

  Um... “I don’t know, do I?”

  He moved. Quick, precise, I was dragged across the center console, my legs straddled his thighs, his hands threaded through my hair and he plunged his tongue in my mouth. Heavy, wet, desperate need mixed with unrestrained desire, and we became a flurry of hands and teeth and tongues and thrusting hips. When I reached for his belt buckle, his hand slammed down over mine.

  “I wasn’t touching you because I didn’t want to fuck you in a truck like some cheap date. I was holding back, waiting to get home so I could make love to you all damn day and touch every inch of this body I’ve been fantasizing about for the past sixty-eight days.”

  An animalistic growl sounded low in my throat, and I yanked at his zipper. “I want both.”

  “Fuck.” Buck’s mouth slammed over mine, and our hands fought each other to get his belt undone.

  When his hard length sprang free, he shoved my underwear to the side, ran two fingers through my wet folds then grasped my thigh and plunged inside me.

  I brought my hips down hard, my head fell back and we both moaned.

  “Are you on the pill?” he asked gruffly.

  He’d told me last month to go on the pill, that we would try again when I was ready, and I hadn’t questioned it. If I was being honest, after getting over the shock of losing his baby, I was terrified to try again. Not that I didn’t want children one day, but watching Conner had brought home how big of a responsibility a child was. I picked my hips up and sank back down. “Yes,” I groaned.

  “Jesus.” His hands curled around my waist. “You’re so damn tight.”

  And he was huge. Setting the pace, lifting me up only to bring me back down, stretching me to my limit, it was exquisite torture. God, I’d missed him. “You’re home,” I breathed.

  Buck stilled. He cupped my face and looked at me with a weighty seriousness. “Yeah, baby, I’m home.”

  “For good?” We hadn’t spoken about this since the morning he’d left.

  Just barely, he tipped his chin up.

  Joy filled my heart, a smile spread across my face and for one brief moment, I closed my eyes and let it sink in. “I love you,” I whispered.

  “You ready for this?” he asked quietly.

  “So ready.” My fingers feathered across the scar on his head.

  “Good.” He smiled wide. “Because as of yesterday, I’m homeless.”

  I laughed. He pulsed inside me, and a groan crawled up my throat.

  “Feel me,” he whispered, dragging his teeth along the edge of my ear.

  “I feel you.” I felt every inch of him as he drove himself deep and brought me home.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  We went straight to the bedroom when we got home, and Buck made love to me all morning long, touching every inch of my body just like he’d promised. The distance, the months, the nervousness, it melted away until there was nothing between us. Wrung out, covered in sweat, my legs quivering, Buck gathered me into his arms and pulled me against his solid chest.

  “Sleep now, baby,” he murmured, kissing my temple.

  With six feet, four inches of pure, muscled heaven wrapped around me, I fell asleep.

  Hours later, warm everywhere, a tickle ran up my thigh and I stirred. “Mmm.”

  Buck’s glorious voice touched my soul, husky and sleep-rough. “You’re beautiful when you sleep.”

  I smiled. “But not when I’m awake?”

  “No.”

  My eyes opened lazily. Instead of the smile I was expecting, I was met with serious pale eyes.

  “You’re stunning when you’re awake.”

  My heart melted. I reached for his face, running my fingers over the edge of his jaw. “You’re home.” I almost couldn’t believe it.

  “I missed you,” he whispered.

  Tears welled in my eyes. I turned in his arms, pressed myself against his strength and threw my arms around his neck. “Blaze Johnson, you are not
allowed to make me cry.”

  A quiet chuckle shook his chest. “Duly noted.” He ran his hands down my hair.

  I settled against him. “I could stay here forever.”

  “I’m glad.” He flexed his hips, and I felt just how glad he was.

  He teased my entrance and I moaned. “Definitely stay forever.”

  One hand on my hip, the other around his thick width, he rubbed himself through my folds then pulled back. “First, you’re going to eat.”

  “No.” I tried to wrap my leg around him but he rolled and got up. “That is not fair,” I pouted.

  His ghost smile appeared, and he held his hand out. “Come shower.”

  Memories of other showers with him flooded my mind and I smiled. “Okay.” He pulled me up.

  “Just shower,” he said sternly, running two fingers between my legs. “I feel how swollen you are. I know you’re sore.”

  I was blissfully, happily sore. “I don’t care.” I just wanted him inside me.

  “I care.” He kissed me once and led me into the bathroom.

  True to his word, we just showered. He washed my hair, I soaped him everywhere and he pulled my hands off of him, several times. When the water ran cold, he wrapped me up in a towel.

  “Dry your hair.” He kissed the top of my head. “We’re going out to dinner.”

  I looked up at him. “We are?” Because takeout sounded really good, or I’d even planned ahead and had picked up groceries. “I can make dinner.”

  “You don’t have to.” He disappeared into the closet to get dressed.

  I dried my hair and styled it with a large curling brush. When I came out of the bathroom, I stopped dead in my tracks. Blaze was dressed, like dressed-dressed. Black dress slacks, black shoes, a perfectly pressed dress shirt that matched his eyes. He looked like a model, or a movie star, or a really, really hot guy that every girl in her right mind was going to hit on.

  “You have civilian clothes,” I blurted.

  The corner of his mouth tipped up in amusement. “A few, but I need to get more.”

  I pondered that a moment, sure I was missing something. “Why?”

  “For work,” he said casually.