by Selena Kitt
The first was the picture from the storage unit, Gramps in uniform, looking so fierce and proud. The second was of Gramps outside his garage, in more casual clothes. He had his shirt sleeve rolled up to show off a tattoo—a bulldog tattoo exactly like the one on Dane's arm. Beside him, a much skinnier Dane with a shock of brown hair and the same white-toothed grin stood in a mirror pose, shirt sleeve rolled up to show his own bulldog tattoo.
My mouth fell open. "What the—"
"Your nan took that. Few days after I got the tat. I based mine off his."
"You knew him? I mean, I knew that you'd met them, but you knew him?"
"Hung out with him all the time. Just out of high school, helped my brother set up the auto shop. Felt like I was spinning my wheels, killing time before I got to do what I really wanted to do. Your gramps saw me hanging around the VFW, took me under his wing." Dane lifted the picture out of my hands and I let him. "We'd shoot pool, then go home and your nan would have the table set and dinner waiting... or the grill set up for us to cook. Sometimes he'd bring her daisies, and when we'd walk in they'd both be wearing these incredible smiles." Dane had a smile of his own when he handed the picture back. "Told myself when I found a woman, we'd have a setup like that."
I couldn't speak, awestruck.
"Cassandra, he talked about you all the time. You could've walked out a hundred times and he'd still think you hung the moon. He went on and on about your straight As in math, high marks in debate—he was so proud."
"Oh, my god. That day in the coffee shop… did you know who I was?"
"I thought you looked familiar, but I didn't put it together until I was on the front stoop of your house, and you opened the door looking cute and pissed off."
"I wasn't pissed off…"
"Baby."
"Okay, I was."
"I will say, I didn't know you in the coffee shop, but I was drawn to you. And not just because of your fine ass."
I swatted his bicep, and he caught my hand and squeezed.
"I wanted to know you."
"Dane…"
"I'm right here, baby." He dipped his head and kissed me.
When it was done, I rested my forehead on his chest for a while, my arms twined around his neck. His hands loosely cupped my bottom.
"What you thinking, Cassandra?"
I sighed. "I wish I could go back, never make the mistake of being with Chad. I'd always wanted to meet a man in high school and marry for life, just like my grandparents."
"Not too late for that. We both have our lives ahead of us."
My eyes widened. Was he for real?
"Are you—"
"Absolutely. The way this is going, you'll meet my whole crew, and it won't be long before they're lining up to throw rice or whatever."
"I'm not even divorced yet…"
He shrugged, his arms still around me. "I can wait. I'd like to be a few years sober before we have kids. As long as we do the wedding before you give birth."
I gulped. "You want to have kids with me?"
"Baby, I want everything with you." A sweet smile played around his mouth. "We're both looking for something. I think I've found it."
I checked in with my brain, but the snarky commentary had completely disappeared. I realized in that instant, that the awful things I said to myself weren't really me. They were Chad, or some part of me goaded by him. And now that my ex was gone, I didn't need to criticize myself anymore.
There was a devil in my head now. The good kind. And he was there to stay.
"I think I found it, too," I said.
"Good." His hold on me tightened, and he bent his head closer.
"Gonna take you back to bed and fuck you now," he growled. "You're going to feel me for a week. I'll give you a few orgasms so you know who you belong to. What do you say to that?"
I was speechless.
He picked me up, took me to my room, and did just that. I felt him for a week, right in my happy place. I knew who I belonged to.
A week later, the papers came from Chad, all my demands satisfied. I moved my stuff out of storage, and in with Dane. I still 'lived' at Nan's to keep an eye on her, but he could always come home to me.
Six months later, Dane came with daisies and a jewelry box.
The daisies were for Nan.
The ring was for me.
The End
Lee Savino
Bestselling author Lee Savino intends to do something big and important with her life, but most days can’t keep track of her wallet or her phone so she just stays in bed and writes. She's super excited about partnering with Blushing Books to publish her erotic Westerns, and hopes you are enjoying the fictional town of Royal, Colorado as much as she is.
Check out her website to download a free novella or to say hi: www.leesavino.com. She’d also love to hear from you; email [email protected] to let her know your favorite Rocky Mountain hero or bride! :D
Visit her website here:
www.leesavino.com
Don’t miss these exciting titles by Lee Savino and Blushing Books!
Rocky Mountain Dawn
Rocky Mountain Bride
Rocky Mountain Rose
Rocky Mountain Romp
Rocky Mountain Rogue
Rocky Mountain Wild
Call Sign: Thunder
By
Livia Grant
Chapter One
"God dammit. Not now." As this wasn't the first time this type of interruption had happened, he could have sworn his commanding officer had him under surveillance, waiting until he was about to explode before calling him in. The incessant buzzing of his obnoxious ring tone made it impossible to finish his current mission; leaving a nice warm deposit inside… damn, what was her name again?
"Zach… seriously. Can't you make that thing shut up?" the curvy brunette on her hands and knees before him whined into the pillow she was hugging. He hadn't noticed until that moment how grating her voice was.
The mood broken, he pulled away from her upturned ass to walk the few steps to his heap of discarded clothes on the floor. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit ANSWER just before the call went to voicemail.
"Seriously. We are supposed to be on R&R this weekend. Couldn't this wait till tomorrow?"
"Get your ass back to base. We have a situation."
Zach's attention was on the submissive woman still kneeling naked on the bed, her legs spread, her pussy wet, and her ass a bright, splotchy red. He could still make out his big handprint on her right cheek.
"Garrett. You there?"
Captain Zachary Garrett's erection still stood at full attention. "Yeah, but I need ten minutes."
"You have three. This is not a drill."
The call dropped.
"Shit." He dropped the phone on the bed and reached for his jeans, pulling them on as he quickly shoved his socked feet into his boots. He pulled the wet condom off, flicking it into the nearby trashcan before tucking his quickly deflating boner in his pants.
"Where are you going?"
"Sorry, baby, but duty calls."
"But we're not even close to being done."
"Maybe you aren't, but I am."
His companion's whine was back as she sprung off the bed to get up in his face, her temper flaring. "You can't leave me hanging like this."
She pounded her fists on his muscled back in frustration as he bent to grab his wrinkled black T-shirt from the floor. She wasn't the first woman who'd been deserted for the job, and he'd bet money she wouldn't be the last. He'd be damned, though, if he was going to put up with her physical tirade.
With stealthy speed he'd trained hard to perfect, he threw her onto the lumpy bed. She was moving with enough velocity to bounce. The shocked expression on her painted face would have been comical if it wasn't so familiar.
I seriously need to start getting pickier about who the hell I fuck.
"Listen up. I'm sorry if you're less than happy about me leaving, but I saw th
at big fat vibrator you keep in your nightstand. It looks like you're gonna have to finish yourself off." He was leaning over her, his hands on either side of her head, trapping her to the bed.
"You're a real prick, you know that? My girls tried to warn me about you. I wish I'd listened."
Zach suspected he should give a shit, but he just couldn't be bothered. There was only one thing in his life that he was truly passionate about. He may give Major McIntyre shit about recalling him to duty, but if he were honest with himself, he'd rather be in the air anyway.
Zach leaned down to place a final platonic kiss on the woman's forehead, knowing he wouldn't be seeing her again. Considering he couldn't remember her name, perhaps it was for the best.
"Night, baby."
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled the jeep up to Marine headquarters on the small military base where he was currently stationed. He doubted most of the American public knew the U.S.A. had a base tucked away in Honduras in order to launch missions into the Caribbean and South America.
The plain building was lit up like a Christmas tree despite it being after midnight. He nodded at the armed guard holding the door open for him.
He knew the minute he walked into the situation room that he was the last to arrive. Ten impatient pairs of eyes turned his way. His friend, David 'Rock' Waters, spoke for the group. "Nice of you to join us, Garrett. You must be having to go pretty far off base to find women who aren't into your 'love 'em and leave 'em' bullshit."
Zach grabbed a too-ripe banana from the out of place bowl of fruit before sliding into the last seat at the front of the U-shaped table formation. He grinned as he peeled the fruit, taking a big bite before answering, "Hey, there's a waiting list to get on my dance card. I'm trying to work my way through the list before I get shipped off to the next Shangri-La."
The room of alpha men gave him good-natured shit until their commanding officer cleared his throat, reminding them they were there for something a bit more serious than razzing Zach about his notoriously bad reputation as a playboy.
"Now that we have our flight commander here, let's get to work." Adrenalin flowed through Zach's veins as his chest swelled with pride. He may have a reputation as a horn-dog when he was off duty, but he had worked equally hard to build his notorious badass reputation as a pilot. He had mastered more types of helicopters than anyone else on base and had the certifications to prove it. There may be no shortage of marine pilots, but Captain Zachary 'Thunder' Garrett was the one every platoon wanted on the most dangerous missions.
For the next half hour, Major McIntyre shared the classified intel he had received from Washington. Less than twenty-four hours ago, Miguel Sanchez-Blanco's faction of the notorious Blanco crime family had acquired a shipment of Russian warheads, along with a huge cache of semi-automatic rifles. The mission to shut down the sale had failed, allowing the plane carrying the dangerous military grade weapons to leave Europe. The plane had been tracked all the way back to Bogotá, Columbia, where they had lost satellite coverage.
"Latest intelligence from the recon team on the ground has the shipment arriving at the underground fortress Miguel and his brothers have set up in the heart of their compound. We've been working on contingency plans for raiding the compound for weeks. It's time to put the plans into motion. Thunder is gonna fly us in under radar and get us close enough to hoof it in the last two miles. We'll run the mission as we've practiced, retrieving the weapons if possible, destroying them if not." He was using a long wood rod as a pointer to mark locations on the overblown map of Columbia stuck to the wall. "We'll have twenty minutes to get in and out before they can get reinforcements in from their other locations. We'll head north on foot and rendezvous with Garrett again in the small meadow about five clicks north of the joint compound."
Zach's pulse was inching up as it always did as he prepared for a mission behind enemy lines. The US military might have the public support of the Columbian government as they joined the war on drugs, but that didn't mean the Columbian people agreed with their presence. It was a well-known fact that the multiple crime cartels in the region thought it their national duty to shoot down US military aircraft.
No wonder he'd been called back for duty. The other pilots on base didn't have a fraction of the experience Zach had in live missions. He'd earned his stripes in Afghanistan, and liked to think of his time stationed in the Caribbean as a paid vacation.
Looks like the vacation is over.
They were in the air in less than thirty minutes. For a bigger crew, they'd normally fly in on a Chinook, but due to the stealth requirements of this mission, Zach was piloting a UH-1Y Venom Super Huey. It was a fast bird and handled the best in tight terrain, like when he needed to put down on a dime.
The experienced platoon of Marines dozed in the back, storing up their energy for their mission ahead while Zach hauled ass. They were racing the sunrise. They needed to be headed in the other direction by the time the sun peeked over the horizon.
His heart beat a bit faster as he approached the Columbian shoreline. They'd flown many missions over the Latin American country, most on humanitarian jaunts, some for surveillance, and a few to lend air support for the Columbian army. Tonight's mission would be their first clandestine mission without the Columbian army's support or even knowledge. It had them all on edge.
Zach spoke into his radio, "Time to rise and shine, boys." At the same time, he set a course he'd plotted many times during training. It would zigzag him through the region, allowing him to hug the rugged terrain in a way less experienced pilots wouldn't dare. The inky black night was a blessing, providing them additional cover, but also making his job harder as visibility was low. His night-vision goggles, radar, and superior skill as a pilot were the only things keeping them from flying into a rising mountain covered with tall oaks and palms.
The marines on board readied themselves in silence, mentally preparing for the mission ahead. Each man knew his job. Zach had as much confidence in them as they had in him.
An uncharacteristic moment of envy invaded his thoughts as he wondered what it must be like to be the hero who got to rush into the enemy camp to complete the mission. Providing air support and transport had always been enough for Zach, but recently he'd begun to wonder if he'd made a mistake becoming a pilot. He had started to resent missing out on the action of their missions and, more importantly, the men had been giving him good-natured ribbing about getting to take a nap while they did the real work.
Get your head out of your ass, Garrett. You're gonna get everyone killed if you don't keep your eye on your job.
Right on cue, the small lagoon he had been looking for came into view, a dim reflection of a sliver of the moon giving its location away. They were flying mere feet above the tree cover as he banked the copter to the right, heading for the small opening where he planned to put down.
Only once they were on the ground did his friend Rock pipe up behind him, "Just like threading a needle, eh Thunder? There aren't many pilots who could land here in the dark."
Zach grinned. "Yeah, well, that's why you waited for me to get back to base now, isn't it?" He turned in his seat to watch as the men opened the side of the copter, piling out in silence. Rock was the last to leave. Zach called out to him. "Be sure to play nice with the other kids, now. I'll pick you up after school like we planned."
Rock grinned and said, "Thanks, Dad," just before he slid the door back in place, leaving Zach alone to wait.
* * *
"Come on, you guys! It's still early. I thought we were going dancing, too."
Allison wasn't going to give up on trying to convince her friends to stay out later. She'd been living under a microscope for most of her life, and she didn't want to lose even a single minute of this rare opportunity she had to cut loose. As a foreign exchange student at the University of Bogotá, she was finally far enough away from her father's reach to let her hair down.
"It's only Thursday night and I
have a test tomorrow. Let's go dancing tomorrow night," her friend Kathy answered while pulling a $50,000 Columbian peso bill from her wallet to cover their tab, the equivalent of a $20.00 bill at home. "I want to run through my notes one more time tonight," she finished before standing.
Allie turned to their friend, Ken. He was as gay as gay could be, but he'd turned out to be an excellent salsa dancer the previous weekend when they'd gone dancing for the first time while in town.
He was ready for her pleading. "Oh no. Don't look at me. I told you before we came out to dinner that I needed to stay up late to finish a paper for my Global Econ class."
"But..." She faltered, unsure how to best convince them.
Allison didn't know Ken and Kathy very well. They had only met last semester as the exchange student group from their home campus of the University of Virginia had begun to prepare for their year studying abroad in Columbia. While most of the students in the program were sophomores or juniors, Allison was the sole senior in the group.
She knew she should be taking her studies more seriously if she intended to graduate on time at the end of the following summer, but it was only two weeks into the semester. She'd have plenty of time to knuckle down later. Right now, she wanted to enjoy the time away from the microscope.
The friends were heading towards the door of the small cantina where they had eaten dinner. She caught up with them on the sidewalk outside.
"Come on, you guys. Pretty please?" She tried not to sound as annoyed as she felt at not having the people around her bending over backwards to please her.
Don't forget. This is what you wanted, Allie. One year to try to be normal instead of being Walter Benson's daughter.
Ken wove his arm in the crook of one of her arms, while Kathy did the same on the other. "You have a test tomorrow too, young lady. Let's go."
Apparently they knew her better than she thought, but she'd be damned if she'd come all this way to have her fellow exchange students take over where her over-protective parent had left off.
