by Lisa N. Paul
“I’m sorry, Sergeant, but last call was a while ago; I’m done serving for the night.” She repeated his words from earlier. “Truly sorry.”
A slow, easy smile tugged at his mouth, melting her from toes to shoulders in less than a second. It reached his eyes and made them sparkle. “A regarded rejection—very nice, Julie. You’re right, I feel nothing but fondness toward you.” The pair broke out in quiet laughter when he reached over the bar. “I’m Danny Marcus.”
“Julie Bell. It’s nice to meet you, Sergeant Marcus. But you’re still not getting a shot of whisky.”
He chuckled. “Just Danny, and that’s fine. Truth be told, I may already be drunk.”
God, the man’s throaty laugh had her nipples drawing into sensitive peaks beneath her bra.
“If we’re being honest, you’ve been drunk for a while.” Julie grabbed a high ball and filled it with ice. “That’s why I didn’t want you to leave.” She dropped her gaze and poured water into the glass.
The heat of Danny’s touch once again startled her. “If we’re being honest, Julie, then don’t lie.”
Inebriated or not, the man knew exactly what he was talking about, so she stood silently and waited for him to continue.
“I’m sure you’re concerned for my safety, and for that, I’m grateful. But don’t pretend you haven’t spent tonight wondering what it would feel like to have me kiss you. And ‘cause we’re only doing truth here, my truth is I’ve been dying to taste your lips since the second I saw them.”
Holy shit, it’s possible I just had a mini orgasm from words alone. Julie shook her head, attempting to clear her thoughts before saying them. “You said you weren’t interested in anything but your thoughts tonight.” The reminder was as much for her as it was him. Julie snapped her jaw shut, the sound of teeth clacking startling her. With a small shake to her head, she attempted to clear her thoughts.
“Been holding memories close all day.” His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Without sounding like a cheesy loser, I’d appreciate the chance to hold you for a little while instead.”
So much vulnerability, so much raw truth. She had a feeling he wasn’t the kind of man to normally open up, nor would he appreciate the reminder of it when the sun rose.
Well, Mom and Dad, here goes my first act of rebellion. I hope it doesn’t turn out as dumb as it sounds in my head. Her heart pounded as she placed a clean shot glass on the bar. His tentative smile built as his brows lifted in what could only be described as surprise when Danny watched her grab the bottle of whisky off the shelf.
“You’re right, it does sound a wee bit cheesy, but you were right about something else too. “She poured half a shot and downed it neatly, sparing not a drop. “I want so badly to kiss you, I can almost taste it.” The way his eyes lit up with excitement was comical. After pouring a generous amount of liquid into the glass, she inhaled deeply, slid the glass forward, and lifted her gaze to his. “But I’m not really a PDA kind of girl, and you’re in no condition to drive. So how about you let me drive you back to the barracks, and you can pay me with a kiss good night?”
While it may have only lasted a second or two, the silence between them felt like an eternity. In that small window of time, Julie waffled between mortification and anger. She was no pure virgin looking for a prince, but she certainly didn’t normally throw herself at strangers. If it wasn’t for the dark look of desire shadowing his face, she’d have been rocking in the phone booth, wishing for a magical escape route. That said, from the way his nostrils flared and his gaze seemed to sear her skin, she knew her invitation was all but accepted. Thank God.
Danny downed the whiskey, left crisp bills on the bar top, and abruptly stood. “I’ll be right back.” He moved toward the restroom, his balance more impaired than it had been on his last trip.
Shit, maybe that last shot wasn’t such a great idea. That’s what I get for breaking the rules. “Hey, Bill, I’m gonna drive that guy home. You okay to help Chester close down?”
His incredulous look stung nearly as much as his words. “Going for the stripes now too, Jules? Huh, didn’t peg you for that type.”
“Wow, going for an asshole vibe, huh? Funny, I knew you were exactly that type.” Julie clocked out, said goodnight to Chester, and met Danny by the door.
Bill’s words replayed in her mind, but she wasn’t attracted to Danny because of his uniform. In fact, she was attracted to him in spite of it. No matter how much respect she had for those who served their country, the last thing she wanted was to get involved with someone who willingly put their life in danger. Stop it, Julie. This is just one night, one kiss.
The short ride to the barracks was a quiet one, other than Danny giving directions to his living quarters. They seemed to be stuck in their own thoughts. With each passing minute, Julie wondered if the heavy flirting and promised kiss had more to do with the alcohol Sergeant Marcus had drunk than mutual desire. And by the time she’d pulled up in front of his place, she’d accepted, even found some sort of comfort in the fact that nothing further would happen between them. What the hell had she been thinking going home with him?
“Take a few aspirin and a glass of water before you go to sleep, Sergeant Marcus, and you shouldn’t feel too horrible in the morning,” Julie advised as she put her 1983 Datsun in park but left the engine idling.
Narrowed eyes met hers. “That wasn’t the deal, Ms. Bell.” Danny shifted in his seat, bringing his hand to the side of her face. The pad of his thumb gently brushed her jaw. “You lived up to your end; I’d like to live up to mine.”
Giving her no time to reply, no time to refuse, Danny’s lips were on hers. The air caught in her lungs and quickly released as he led the kiss like a dance. Soft and slow at first, he nibbled her lips as his other hand weaved through her hair, pulling her closer to him. His scent was whisky and mint and something uniquely him—primitive and masculine—and she couldn’t help but sigh in appreciation. In that moment, he slipped his tongue between her parted lips while pulling her tighter, and their kiss deeper. The fine hairs on her arms stood at attention as their tongues glided together and their breaths tangled. She felt bereft when he pulled away. Need pulsed through her veins, and desire burned at her core.
“Come inside with me, Julie.” His tone was a gentle command, but his eyes begged.
She didn’t want to over think the situation; she only wanted to feel. “Okay, Danny.” She turned off the ignition, dropped the keys in her purse, and followed him into his living quarters.
The sparse open space held a worn couch, a small dinette set, and multiple boxes in various sizes—clearly an indicator of a move, but in or out, she had no idea.
“Are you coming or going?” she asked, gesturing to the open creates.
“Just moved in. I’ve only managed to unpack the kitchen and the bathroom,” he slurred. “The necessities. Been like a goddamn scavenger hunt for the past three days.” He looked at the chaos and sighed, saying more to himself than to her, “I’ll finish unpacking this weekend. “He ambled into the small kitchen and opened the cupboard to the left of the sink. “Want something to drink?”
She wasn’t sure if she spoke her decline or just shook her head, but Danny left the glass in the cupboard, closed the door, and stalked over to her. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
Not at all smooth or poetic, but sexy as sin, and Julie swooned before his hands made purchase on her skin. Their lips crashed as his tongue surged into her mouth in a hungry kiss. A ripple of excitement shimmied down her torso when she was pulled tight against his body. His large hand cupped the base of her skull, twirling her long silken ponytail around his knuckles, and to her surprise, he yanked on the tresses just hard enough to cause a bite of pain. That bite bloomed into pleasure that she’d never before experienced.
“Ahh, Danny—”
“Shh,” he whispered into her neck. “Let me make you feel good. Watching you move behind that bar all night… got me so hard but wondering what you look
like when you come, what you’d taste like,” He grinded his hard length into her, “That’s the shit that keeps us going when we’re fighting for our fucking lives.”
Every dirty word that left his mouth stoked the small flame his kiss had ignited within her, spreading warmth through her veins. She’d never had a guy, no matter how intimately she’d known him, speak so frankly about sex, and in one short evening, this man had managed to unwrap desires she hadn’t been aware of.
Breathless, she stared as Danny’s deft fingers slowly unfastened the buttons on his dress uniform. His white tank top barely registered before it was swiped over his head and tossed to the floor. Julie swallowed. Twice. Even the cocky grin that stared back at her couldn’t detract from the ridiculously sexy man before her. Tanned skin covered rippled muscles on a frame that seemed even more devastating with his shirt off. She smoothed her tongue over suddenly dry lips as she consumed him with her eyes. Hell, just seeing the man was like getting a glimpse of the ice cream truck in the dog days of summer—she’d do just about anything to get a lick of the sweet confections being offered.
Stone still, he watched, as if getting pleasure from her appraisal. She stepped toward him and her hand lifted of its own accord, aching to touch the warm flesh of his right bicep, where the American flag was boldly inked.
“My first tattoo,” he grunted as she lightly traced the red, white, and blue art.
She nodded, although his gaze stared straight ahead and his body tense, a perfect position of attention. Without breaking contact, she slowly walked around his frame, stopping behind his broad back. A massive pair of wings stretched from shoulder to shoulder over his beautiful smooth skin. There looked to be some sort of parachute in the middle of the wings, the number eighty-two etched boldly through the strings.
He answered her unasked question. “My jump wings. I’m in the 82ndAirborne Division.”
Reverently, she ran her palm over the entire tattoo and sent up a silent prayer of thanks to him and all of the men and women who so boldly served their country every day. Then she continued her perusal to the front of his body.
At first glance, her eyes landed on the dog tags that rested in the valley of his thick, defined chest. But as she reached for them, she noticed the tattoo neatly printed on his left pec, directly over his heart. Her stomach dropped as panic sliced through her gut. July sixteenth. Today was July sixteenth. What the hell? With trembling fingers, she caressed the ink, then lifted her gaze to his. She saw his pain.
“My brother.”
Julie swallowed back her gasp and lowered her head so he wouldn’t see the tears that threatened to fall. No matter the meaning behind the date, Danny’s expression made it obvious that July sixteenth was a permanent heartbreak. “She understood that all too well. Without thinking of the consequences, Julie leaned forward and pressed her lips to him, to his brother, giving all she had to the beautiful broken man before her.
As if her gentle kiss shattered the façade holding him together, his vulnerability showed, leaving raw desire in his gaze. He pulled her roughly, almost violently, to him, and his lips crushed hers. Hunger the likes she’d never felt before burned in her belly, demanding satisfaction, begging for more. Spirals of ecstasy shot straight to her core when Danny’s tongue went from tracing her lips to plunging between them. Julie mewed as she pressed her body against his, needing more contact, more skin, more…more.
“Lift your arms, honey,” he insisted, hands already at her waist. The thought of not taking things further barely crossed her mind as she followed his command and watched her tank top hit the floor. “So goddamn sexy.” Glassy, red-rimmed, hazel eyes stared at her pink-cotton-clad breasts as if he’d won the lottery. He licked his lips before shifting his eyes to hers. “I wanna see what’s under that bra, but the deal was a kiss. Know we’ve already crossed that line, but I won’t move further unless you’re onboard.”
Oh my God. Was she on board? Should it matter that the man was drunk and may not remember her name in the morning? Maybe, but she didn’t just want to take her clothes off for the man—she wanted to burn them. Instead of giving that answer, she reached behind her back and unhooked the pink cotton. The way his eyes widened as the straps slid down her shoulders would be permanently burned into her brain. Yes, being taken home by Sergeant Marcus had been a great decision after all.
“Fuck.” The word was a prayer of thanks and a seductive sigh of gratitude from what sounded like a beholden man.
When his gaze returned to hers, she saw the carnal desire of a famished wolf with the whisper of a conscience on his shoulder. In a movement too fast for her mind to process, Danny had her in his arms, then lying on her back beneath him on the sofa.
“Danny…”
“You want me to stop?” There wasn’t any anger in his question, just concern.
“No, I don’t.”
“Then don’t stop me. Can tell you need to feel this. I need to make you feel it. At any time it feels wrong, tell me no, and I’ll stop. My honor, Julie…my word.”
By the look on his face, his honor meant so much, but his word meant everything. So she replied the only way her heart would allow. “Don’t stop, Danny.”
He didn’t.
When Julie left his place a couple of hours later, her body hummed in a way she’d never thought possible, muting any nagging voices that chastised her Bunny-like behavior. With memories like those, did she really need a repeat performance? Sure, Julie, make sure to tell yourself that if you never see him again. Shaking off that ridiculous notion, she slipped behind the wheel of her car and headed home. Of course she’d see him again, probably that day. There was no way he didn’t feel the connection she did. Right?
Chapter Two
Lysol and Vagisil
DANNY COVERED HIS eyes to stop the sun from scorching his retinas through his closed lids. “The fuck?”
He sat up on the couch and immediately regretted the decision to move. Not only did he not remember passing out on the sofa the previous night, he couldn’t remember how the hell he’d gotten home. Never smart drinking on a Monday—left him feeling like shit for the rest of the week. Dropping his feet to the ground, he spotted a glass of water and two pain killers on the kitchen table. Like a freight train, memories of a sexy as shit strawberry-blonde pummeled into his brain.
“Julie Bell.” Even the sound of her name got his dick hard. Flashes of her firm body, soft skin, and lush tits invaded his mind. The way she writhed beneath him when her climax hit, his tongue lapping up her sweet cream. Christ, he could still taste her, feel her. And then… nothing. The memories fucking ended. “What in the mother hell?”
He swallowed the aspirin and gulped down the water, trying to recall the details after he’d rocked her world. She straddled him, and he knew by the hungry look in her eyes exactly whose world would be rocking next…but then it was blank. Had she blown him? Had they fucked? The empty spots were unacceptable but would have to stay blank for a while longer, because he needed to get to work.
His new position was interesting. There was something exhilarating about being a squad leader and training other men in the field maneuvers they needed to know to perform properly in battle. But while he got better acquainted with his coworkers and procedures, the hours seemed to drip by. He wanted to get his ass over to Chester’s so he could finally fill in the holes from his time with Julie. Her soft touches and addictive kisses haunted all day, and while one and done was his usual MO, he wasn’t so quick to toss away the quick-witted beauty. After all, if he didn’t remember the one… how could he be done?
Only one patron sat at the bar when Danny walked into Chester’s during his lunch break. The older man had a mug of beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other as he watched the Orioles at bat. Danny scanned the rest of the establishment, noting the only other people around were the redheaded MiliSnag and a beefy-looking guy who Danny hadn’t seen the night before. They had exited the restroom together, each wearing a satisfied s
mirk.
“Thanks for the lesson, Bunny.” Beefy snorted, zipping up his fly. “I won’t forget where to stash the plunger again.”
The woman winked and wiped her mouth in what Danny assumed she thought was a sexy gesture. “See that you don’t. I’d hate to have to keep reminding you, Earl.” She winked as she fluffed her hair. “Oh!” Her eyes widened the minute they landed on Danny, and she fluttered her lashes. “Sergeant Marcus, it’s so nice to see you again.”
He would have laughed at the instant change in her demeanor, from slut to subdued, had the whole scene not made him want to puke. He was no Boy Scout, but a woman wiping another man’s cum from her lips while openly flirting with him turned his stomach. His eyes dropped to her nametag before he forced a polite greeting. “Bunny.”
“Aww, you remembered,” she cooed. “How sweet.”
“Your name’s on your shirt, ma’am.” There was no fucking way he’d let her get the wrong impression from him.
“Umhmm.” Her grin was all teeth and no charm.
“Listen, I’m looking for Julie. She here?” Seven words. That was all it took for her sugar to turn to vinegar.
“Earl, go get the glasses from the kitchen. Now. No, she doesn’t come in for a few hours still. Lazy little girl took the morning off.” She must have sensed she’d hit a nerve, because her backpedaling came on strong. “Just kidding with ya. She works a lot of doubles, so I suggested she take it easy this morning. I like to look after my little ones. They’re like my family, ya know?”
Beefy came in from the back room with a case of glasses and laid them on the bar. He not-so-subtly pinched the redhead’s ass and walked back through the kitchen.
