by Shauna Allen
“Oh.” Heat rushed my cheeks. I was so used to Todd’s barbs about my weight and sex in the dark, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that Johnny might actually want to see me. Butterflies exploded in my belly and I very nearly chickened out, but the expression in his eyes . . .
“Please.” He toyed with the hem of my sweater, his fingertip grazing the skin of my belly.
I finally nodded.
“God, yes.”
He ripped that sweater off me quicker than I could blink, leaving me in my plain pink bra and jeans. He stared down at me like he’d found the Holy Grail, his hands hovering on my ribs. When he looked at me that way—like I was a piece of art—it was hard to be self-conscious. It was hard to be anything but turned on. I hadn’t had anything but a self-induced orgasm in years and he was killing me here.
I took one of his hands and cupped it over my breast. He brushed my nipple through my bra with his thumb and I couldn’t help the moan that escaped me.
I felt his eyes on me. Watching. Assessing my reaction.
I met his gaze. “More. It’s okay.”
And that was all the green light he needed.
My bra hit the ground in record time, then he was on his knees, his face buried between my breasts. “Fuck, Scarlett. You are so perfect.”
I nearly sank to the ground in a pile of mush as he laved my sensitive flesh with kisses and sucked my nipples, driving me crazy.
He eventually pressed me back onto the bed, his body hovering above mine, his eyes locked on mine. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.”
“Me, either,” I murmured.
“Best Christmas present ever.” He grinned.
I wiggled beneath him. “You haven’t even opened it yet.”
One brow winged up just before he flipped us so I straddled his lap. “Oh, I will . . . but you first, baby. You first.”
~ ~
So, I thought I knew a thing or two about sex.
I was wrong.
Johnny Ray blew every single thing I thought I knew right out of the water. He was a god among men as far as I was concerned, and now, not only did he have my heart, he had my body, and every one of my very loud orgasms to boot.
I was a goner.
I never knew I could make love that many times in one night. Hell, I had no idea anyone could have that much stamina, though I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was a highly trained Marine.
My Marine.
I rolled over with a sigh and eyeballed the keychain he’d given me for Christmas.
My boyfriend Marine.
He rustled in the bed behind me and a big, tattooed arm slung over my hip, drawing my back closer to the warmth of his chest. I could get used to this. Even the ache between my legs felt good this morning.
I placed my hand over his, interlacing our fingers, marveling at how big his were next to mine. How strong and capable, yet tender when it counted. I brought our joined hands up to my lips and kissed his knuckles, overcome with emotion. If you would’ve told me even a few months ago that Johnny Ray would be back in my life and he’d be here now, in my bed, in my heart, I would’ve called you crazy, when really you would’ve tapped into my greatest fantasy. And yet, here he was. It was nearly too much, and losing him was more than I could contemplate.
“I’d rather you kiss something else again,” he murmured against my neck, his hot breath bringing bumps to my flesh as he pressed his erection against my backside.
I flipped so we were face to face. “Maybe later, Marine. The boys will be up soon, and I’ve still got work to do.”
He slid a hand down my hip to my thigh, hiking it up over his and opening me to him. “You sure you don’t have just a little more time?”
I caved when his mouth found the tender flesh beneath my ear. “Maybe . . .” His teeth. His tongue. “A few minutes. For my . . . boyfriend.”
I felt his smile against my skin. “Music to my ears.”
Eleven
Johnny
I slipped out before the boys caught me red-handed in bed with their mama, but it was nearly impossible to leave that warm, willing woman behind after I’d had a taste.
Well . . . more than a taste.
I’d gorged myself on her sweetness all night long and it wasn’t nearly enough.
I was whistling quietly when I let myself in the back door. I kicked off my boots to pad inside before I was—
“Good morning, son,” my mom chirped from the kitchen table with her coffee and a smug grin.
Busted. “Good morning.” I played it cool and slid by like I hadn’t just been caught sneaking in. I was a grown man, after all.
“And how’s Scarlett this morning?” she asked, her voice syrupy sweet.
I paused in the doorway and sucked in a breath. I pivoted around. “She’s fine.”
“That’s good.” She lifted her mug to her lips.
I moved to leave again.
“And the boys?”
“They’re also fine.” I tipped up a brow. “Got something on your mind, Mom?”
She sipped and set her cup down. “Why would I?”
I gave up and leaned against the doorframe. “Just spit it out. Do you not approve of me spending time with Scarlett?”
Now she looked irritated. “What on earth would make you say that?”
“I don’t know. Nothing.” I raked a hand over my disheveled hair. “Look, I’m just not used to all the questions, okay? This thing with me and Scarlett . . . it’s complicated.”
“So, there is a thing?”
I nearly rolled my eyes. “Yes, Mom. There’s a thing.”
“Care to elaborate on what kind of a thing?” She took another drink, attempting to play it cool, but I saw right through her ruse. She wasn’t concerned. She was downright excited about this.
I thought back to the past days we’d spent together, the words we’d spoken, the touches we’d shared. “I, uh . . .” I cleared my throat, hating that I was stammering like a kid having the damn birds and bees talk with his mother. “We . . . we’re dating.”
“Dating?” she echoed.
I crossed my arms. “Yes. Dating. She’s my girlfriend, actually.” I tilted my head. “Got a problem with that?”
Her eyes rounded before lighting with joy. “No. Not at all. It’s about time, actually.”
I reared back. “About time?”
“Yes, Johnny. It’s about time. That poor girl has had it rough, and I can’t help but wonder what might’ve been different if you’d asked her out before Todd did.” She dropped her gaze. “But we’ll never know, will we?”
I didn’t know what to say. My mom was echoing the very same thoughts I’d had over and over these past weeks.
She lifted her eyes with a watery smile. “But what’s done is done, and I’m so happy you finally got your nerve up.”
“My nerve?”
She stood to refill her cup. “Yes, son. You didn’t think I was blind, did you? You’ve had a crush on that girl for years. It was as obvious as the nose on your face.” She peered over her shoulder at me. “And I’m pretty sure the feeling was mutual. I’m just glad you finally did something about it.”
Well, I’ll be goddamned.
~ ~
I showered and helped with chores until Joanna arrived for our therapy. She hadn’t said anything more about me and Scarlett together and I was happy to keep things professional. As much as I was enjoying living in this bubble on the ranch, I was fully aware that I had to get my shoulder rehabbed and get back to work.
It became especially clear to me later that morning when my cell phone rang just after Joanna left from her session. I glanced at the screen, relieved to finally see Tito’s number after days of radio silence. I hadn’t heard shit from either of the teams since Tex’s message about tracking the cartel to California. I’d learned over the years not to worry, that no news wasn’t necessarily bad news, but I hated being left in the dark.
I took the call as I bounded up the stair
s to my room. “Hey, man.”
“Hey. How’s the shoulder?”
“Better every day. But, more importantly, tell me you caught the son-of-a-bitch who put a bullet through me.”
“Not exactly.”
I groaned and locked my door behind me. “What happened?”
“Well, we tangled with a few of their men. Took down the sicario. The rest of them scattered like roaches, but Esteban and that fucking hacker managed to escape with a small contingency before we ever arrived. Tex thinks they had the drop on us before we even had boots on the ground.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah, but no worries, Bubba. We managed to snag some valuable intel of our own from the comms they left behind. Tex, Wolf, and Lucky are piecing it all together now, but it looks like they’re headed to a safe house in northern Mexico.”
Something in my gut tingled. “Do you know where exactly?”
Papers shuffled on the other end of the line and voices rumbled.
Tex’s voice came on speaker. “Yo, Bubba.”
“Hey, Tex. Any idea where exactly in Mexico this safe house might be located?”
“Why do you ask?”
I sat on the edge of my bed and kicked off my boots. “Just curious. I was at the barber shop getting a haircut last week and some of the old men down there were saying something about a gang turf war across the border. I didn’t ask any questions, but . . .”
“Oh. Let’s see . . .” More papers shuffling.
“It was Piedras Negras, Tex,” Wolf cut in. “I can’t believe you forgot that.”
“Right. What he said.” There was a smile in Tex’s voice. “And where are you again?”
I swallowed hard. “Eagle Pass.”
They continued to talk shop, my location obviously meaning nothing to them.
Tito picked up on my silence first. “Bubba?”
“Yeah?”
“How far is Piedras Negras from your ranch?”
I glanced out the window as if I could somehow protect Scarlett and the boys from the ugliness of the outside world . . . from the reality of my life. “Less than ten miles.”
All chatter died on their end of the line. “No shit?” This from Kid, who was normally the quiet one.
“No shit.”
I knew we were all thinking the same thing. What could that possibly mean, if anything? Was it a coincidence? Did the cartel have any idea about my family’s ranch?
Tex seemed to read my mind. “There hasn’t been any chatter about your place, man. No intel to indicate anything other than this is a safe house the cartel has used for years.” Some computer keys clicked across the line. “In fact . . . it appears like they’ve tried to cover their tracks by listing it as a rental owned by a real estate agent . . .” More clicks. “Grace Trevino.”
“And who is Grace Trevino?” I asked, impatient now that I knew how close these fuckers were to my home. To Scarlett.
Tex blew out a whistle. “Well I’ll be goddamned. Guys. Look at this.”
I knew he was pointing at his computer screen and frustration made me grit my teeth. “Hey. Care to clue me in here?”
“Sorry, Bubba. Grace Trevino is Enrique Mendez’s niece.”
Enrique Mendez? Not Marco Esteban, their current kingpin. My brain clicked through the list of cartel names until the memory slammed back into me. “The guy we took down before Esteban? The one who kidnapped Red’s girl?”
“The very one,” Red added in a low, angry voice.
I stood and walked to the window, glancing out and watching as Scarlett and the boys came into view below and she headed toward the office. “Any idea how many men are with him at the safe house? What his plans are?”
“No. We haven’t picked up any recent chatter,” Wolf said.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “So, what’s the play here?”
“We go get the fucker and end this already,” Lucky grumbled. “I’m tired of playing grab ass games with this son-of-a-bitch and his dumb white wolf friend.”
“Damn straight,” one of Wolf’s men seconded, but I couldn’t tell which one. Mozart, maybe.
“Tex?” Tito asked, clearly asking his opinion, having all the available intel, which was dangerously little.
Tex cleared his throat. “This may be our best shot at taking him down, while he’s got fewer men with him and his sicario’s been neutralized . . .”
“But?” Wolf added.
“But we know how this cartel and this hacker operate. I have to be honest here. It makes me really damn uneasy to go in basically blind, not knowing where a good portion of their assets and men are, and leave our women and children behind, unprotected. We’ve done that before. It wasn’t pretty, and I’m not sure I’m willing to risk it again. We have to plan smarter this time. Account for the unexpected. They’ve proven they’re smart and they’re out for blood. Our blood.”
“True that, brother,” Abe piped up. “I’m not leaving Alabama or the kids alone and vulnerable.”
“Agreed,” Dude added. “Cheyenne’s safety is not up for negotiation.”
“I think we’re all in agreement here,” Maverick said. “So, what do we do?”
As I watched Nathan and Daniel horse around on the ground near the bunkhouse with Barkley, an idea began to form. A potentially brilliant, but possibly crazy idea. “Guys,” I interrupted. “I’ll call you back.”
I didn’t give them time to argue. I hung up then bounded down the stairs to go find my dad out in the horse pen.
Twenty minutes later, it was done. Both teams and their families would be coming to spend New Years here on the ranch with us, where it was secure. I was here. My father, an ex-Marine who’d served two tours in Vietnam was here, and because we lived so close to the border, the property was outfitted with security cameras, alarms, and, let’s just suffice it to say my father believed in the second amendment, so we were well armed.
It was about as good of an option as any to keep everyone together and safe under my watch while the teams moved out for the op in Mexico, only a few minutes away, and they all knew it, even if they didn’t like it. It was better than leaving their families home and unprotected with unknown cartel members loose and bloodthirsty.
It wasn’t until we hung up and the plan was in motion that I realized both of my worlds were about to collide, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the collateral damage would be.
Twelve
Scarlett
Johnny mentioned something to me at lunch about some of his military friends and their families coming to visit the ranch for New Years on their way to Mexico for “work”. He did not specify that an entire platoon, or whatever you called it, of big, bad Marines and Navy SEALs, their wives, and a boatload of children would be taking over the old bunkhouse and filling the place with their equipment and more energy than the ranch had seen in years.
But the most spectacular sight of all?
The way Johnny, or Bubba, as I learned his friends called him, came to life when he was back in his element. He was clearly most at home with these people, and they had a history I would never be a part of, which made me inexplicably jealous. Still, it made warmth unfurl in my chest when he put his arm around me and introduced me to everyone, though I would probably never remember everyone’s names.
“So, you’ve lived here your whole life?” one of the women, Caroline, asked as her husband, Wolf, unloaded more gear.
I watched as Nathan and Daniel ran around with several of the new children as if they were old friends. “Basically.” I turned back to her as a couple more of the women joined us. “I went away to school for a while, but I moved back with my, uh . . . my husband.”
Caroline’s eyes clouded and flitted to Johnny then back to me, full of questions and a bit of protectiveness, which I appreciated, but was totally unwarranted.
“He passed away a couple of years ago.”
Johnny squeezed my waist as Caroline’s face softened. “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”
I leaned into Johnny a fraction. “Thank you.”
A group of kids squealed and ran by with a couple of the other women following behind. “It’s beautiful here,” the one I remembered as Tex’s wife, Melody, said. “Thank you for inviting us.”
Johnny smiled wider. “My pleasure. Mom’s thrilled to meet the people she’s been hearing so much about.”
The tall, good-looking black man that Johnny introduced as his team leader, Tito, clapped him on the shoulder as he loped up the steps. “And we’re thrilled to eat some of that home cooking we’ve heard so much about.”
“You won’t be disappointed,” I said with a grin. “Mrs. Ray is a fantastic cook.”
More big, hot military men filled the place with more testosterone than I’d ever been witness to, but it was obvious they were all good men. The way they spoke and kept subtle but tender eyes on their wives and children were testament to that. It was such a stark contrast to anything I’d ever experienced before with Todd, it made me shiver. How many times had he hurt me? How many times could he have done so much worse? Killed me? Done something to the boys? I’m sure it was only a matter of time before that would’ve happened.
I swallowed the lump of regret from my throat and dropped my head to hide the tears that threatened, but Johnny, ever attuned to me, sensed my mood. “You okay, baby?” he whispered for my ears only.
I nodded. “Fine. Just tired,” I lied. “Someone I know kept me up late last night.” I smiled up at him, trying for lighthearted.
He studied my eyes, searching for the truth. “I’ll let you rest tonight.”
“I hope not.”
His pupils flared, but before he could reply, he was bumped from behind by one of his teammates. “Come on, Bubba. Tito wants us inside to go over the op.”
“Coming, Mav,” he said, his gaze never wavering from mine.
“Op?” I asked, suddenly nervous. I should’ve known. Johnny and his team didn’t just “work”. They went on dangerous missions that got them shot and nearly killed.
