Suddenly, I was flying. My upper back landed against the breakfast nook, and I felt a pop as my breath whooshed out of me.
Campbell, positioned himself between Davis and me, allowing Clay to scoop me up. Throwing me over his shoulder, Clay took off for the front stairs. Davis had more coming. I tried to push myself off Clay's shoulder, but he just held on tighter.
Shit.
Campbell let out a wolf whistle, and wished Clay good luck, which was followed by laughter, whose I don't know.
"Put me down, Clay!" I yelled. Clay's muscular ass was in front of my face so I gave it a decent swat. The pain radiated through my hand. My heart was beating wildly in my chest.
Clay smacked my ass in return, as he hauled me up the stairs, two at a time. "Not until you calm the fuck down." That smack sent a tingle down my belly, which didn't help calm my breathing. I wanted, no needed, to fuck Clay.
"What the hell was that about?" Clay asked, as he tossed me on the bed. I watched him walk away. Once he engaged the lock, he made his way back to me. Hopefully no one would beat the door down.
I waited for him to sit next to me before replying, "I don't want to talk about it right now." My body felt like it's on fire. Why does fighting make people horny?
Acting on impulse, I rolled and straddled his hips. I needed a distraction. Clay had been gone for days, plus we'd been delaying having sex. In this moment I couldn't remember why we had delayed. I needed him, needed this release.
Leaning forward, I kissed him as my hands pulled at his shirt. He didn't fight me about the shirt. I sent it flying, finally getting somewhere.
My hands wandered over his washboard abs. "Baby, please," I begged, grinding down into his hips. I could feel the length of him through my jeans, and it felt nice, oh so nice. I have never begged before. Even when my scars were fresh, and C.B. turned me down, I refused to beg.
Physically, I have scars from shrapnel, stretch marks from pregnancy. Clay's seen pieces of each before but not all of my "flaws" together. I'm not overweight, but I also was not toned like Clay. Those insecurities flutter through my mind until he groaned his need.
"Yes," he groaned. "We're talking about this after ..."
"I promise ... now make me forget, and fast." I barely uttered the word fast and my shirt flew over my head. My bra wasn't far behind the shirt. His head bent and found my nipple. My hand flew to his hair, holding him to my breast, his thumb sliding across my hard nipple. Another electric pulse went south, I was feeling the slow burn of arousal.
He flipped me so my back was on the bed. Rolling off me, he made quick work of his jeans and boxers, while I did the same. He stood there naked. I paused to take all of him in, he was bigger than I remembered. Reaching forward he pulled my jeans and panties off in one swift motion. Moving over me, his warm body pressed into me. Something finally completely snapped, and we couldn't get enough. Frenzied hands roamed, along with mouths and tongues. His hand went between my legs, then his mouth joined. Within a minute I came. Yum!
His mouth slowly adventured up my front, settling on my neck. Suddenly, he stopped nuzzling my neck, pulling away. His eyes locked on mine. "You sure you want it fast?" Fuck it, we could do slow later. His body was hard and ready, my body craved another orgasm, or two. I nodded.
His hardness slipped inside me, finally. It was hard, and rough. And soon I coaxed him into fast. I'd be sore later, but so fucking worth it. My legs wrapped around his hips. Pushing one of my legs back, he changed the angle. It overpowered me and I came(again). I wasn't quiet, and at the moment. I Did. Not. Care. It was fucking fabulous.
Seconds later Clay shuttered his release. We were skin-to-skin. It felt good, his front to mine as we both came down from our orgasm. It had been years, and I was fucking happy. Taking this step with Clay solidified my decision to be in a relationship with him. I deserved this happiness.
Clay rolled off me, tucking me into his side. His hair was a sexy mess. He was relaxed with his hand resting on my waist. My face was on his shoulder, fingers lazily tracing patterns on his chest. My leg rested partially on his hip down between his legs. This felt like heaven.
I felt his fingers brush my upper back, where I was positive there was a nasty bruise forming.
"How bad does this hurt?" I'm a pro at handling pain. Surviving and IED and physical therapy wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Neither was recovering from a c-section.
It was nothing more than a dull ache at this point. Tomorrow would be a different story.
"It popped when I hit. I'll see how it feels tomorrow." Clay let out a pissed off sigh and shook his head. His fingers left my back to play with my hair.
"I'll call and get you in to see my Chiropractor tomorrow." His voice was soft, borderline mushy.
"Okay. Thanks, babe." I probably wouldn't need it, but I still appreciated the gesture.
Kissing my forehead, he whispered, "I love you." My heart stuttered to a halt. Giving my hair a gentle tug, he tilted my head back his mouth descended on mine. It was a long, slow, deep kiss.
"I love you, too." It only took me four months to realize it, but it didn't scare me anymore. Life's too short, and I wanted my kids to see me making the most of it.
"You know I wouldn't pry, but I think we need to cover what happened in case Davis starts shit again."
I nodded, pausing to gather my thoughts. It was a long story, sort of, longer since I needed to avoid military acronyms so Clay would understand. "The short version, basically, we had to re-supply so we left base. Going there the convoy was fine, on the way back an IED went off and all hell broke loose. It was an ambush. Davis and I were near the front of the convoy. If we had been in a different humvee, we'd be dead. Both of us were thrown, he was unconscious and I had to firemen's carry him to cover, while under enemy fire. Looking back, I don't know how I did it, adrenaline probably. But, I refused medical care at first hoping they could save Davis' leg, and they did. That's why Pohl gets pissed, and why we do not talk about it. Wilson carries some sort of survivor's guilt since she wasn't hurt. I struggled with PTSD. Sawyer stood by me through the nightmares, I've gotten better about crowds over the years."
The nightmares were horrible. I'd wake up drenched in sweat, shaking, and not able to calm down or go back to sleep. It's a miracle I didn't flunk out of my first year of school. Coffee, working out, and talking to Sawyer were my saving grace. I hoped talking about all of this now, wouldn't cause another nightmare.
"Damn baby. How did you get back in touch with Sawyer?"
"Wilson kept in touch with Q, mainly because she wanted updates on me. Which could have gotten Q in a world of shit. Once they were back at Fort Lewis we drove up there to buy them a beer. You know 'thanks for patching us up' kinda thing. Well one thing led to another. Davis was in a bad place, worse than I was, so we went to a strip club. Oddly enough, Pohl and Davis had a ménage with a one-legged stripper."
I can't make this shit up. That stripper knew how to use her body, she worked that pole like a pro. Thankfully, I didn't see the sexual acts between the three of them, but I heard enough of it that night to make my ears bleed.
"But, um— they partied in their own room, and the four of us hung around the pool trying to ignore the noises. It just kind of took off from there. I was still dealing with C.B.'s rejection and sudden death. Sarah was going through her divorce. Sawyer found out I was looking at schools in Denver, and we'd become good friends. I trusted him, our relationship wasn't sexual at the point. When the opportunity arose for him to PCS, he chose Fort Carson. The boys being close, they followed."
At least that wasn't as difficult as I thought it'd be.
"What's Wilson's deal?"
"Well that's a little bit more difficult to explain. Her Ex did a number on her. He was pissed she went to Iraq and he didn't. Plus his parents didn't like her because she was white. There was a bit of emotional and verbal abuse in their relationship. I have my suspicions about him cheating, but she never confirmed that he did. I don't t
hink I know all the details either. It broke her, and Q has been trying to pick up the pieces."
"You think she'll ever be happy?"
"I hope so, but I doubt it. Q doesn't deserve any of this. He bought a ring. I saw it earlier, then Davis happened along."
Clay let out a harsh breath, shaking his head. "Explains why he was trying to mark his territory." I snuggled deeper into his side. My adrenaline crashed and I fell asleep.
######
I was tucked into Clay's side. We were sharing one of the lounge chairs beside the pool. I was watching the kids frolic, while Clay glanced between the pool and the TV. After our earlier activities, and short nap, I was completely relaxed. It was heaven, and I didn't want to move.
"Sarah's here," Kristen yelled from the patio French doors.
Clay gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Behave, okay?"
I nodded. That was a promise I may not be able to keep. At least with nodding I'm not verbalizing agreement, which made any offense not as bad in my opinion. Yeah, it's a small technicality, but Davis could piss me off again. My back screamed as I left him on the plush lounge chair.
Kristen waved me into her home office. Sarah was sitting on the couch, looking nervous. She deserved to sweat. Her own choices are the only reason she was in this position. Shutting the door behind me, I leaned against it.
Kristen was munching away on peanut M&Ms, which was strange because she always kept the "my body is my temple" mantra.
"Are you pregnant?" I asked.
"Um—yeah," she replied, looking at Sarah then back to me. "But you can't tell. I haven't told Jack yet. How the hell did you know?" This woman spent the last however many months trying to get pregnant, and now she was waiting to tell Jack.
I touched my nose and pointed to her. "You never eat junk food ... Congratulations."
"Thanks. So Sarah ... you and Davis? You do manage to land hotties." Kristen wagged her eyebrows.
Oh, gross! I'd come to view Davis as a brother. "Kristen! I don't want to hear details."
"What? It's true. Brady's hot. So is Davis, and Q isn't exactly ugly."
"It was a mistake. He showed up at the gym one night. He pursued me. I felt bad. He said he was struggling. It was more of a pity fuck than anything. Who all knows?"
Davis had a lot of ups and downs, healing takes time. Some people are never able to move forward in life, somehow I got lucky.
"Everyone. Pohl is probably telling Q right now. Please do not tell Davis he was a pity fuck. I already punched him in the face today." Granted, he deserved the face punch. No one wants to be told they were a pity fuck.
"God Dammit! How the hell did this happen?"
I wanted to say, "well, you didn't keep your panties on," but I didn't. I could be a raging bitch, but I couldn't be one to Wilson.
"Davis was an asshole to Q before he left. I called him out on it, and it came out." I shrugged like it wasn't my fault. Which, it wasn't. I was defending Q, and later me.
"I wanna know who C.B. is," Kristen stated.
"Holy shit!" Sarah said. It was worse than holy shit in my opinion. "Davis brought up C.B.?"
I nodded, picking at the label on my beer bottle. "Yep. Clay already knew about him. Well except the cheating rumors." I also didn't reveal the details around C.B. rejecting me because he couldn't visually handle my scars. Those words were too harsh to repeat, and I didn't deserve to relive them.
"I've known you for how long, and I still don't know who he is." Kristen wanted the dirt. I was surprised Pohl didn't tell.
"He and I dated, but after the IED, he couldn't accept my scars. He ended up drinking himself to death," I tell Kristen. I wasn't fucking lying when I said I had baggage.
Kristen went on to relay what happened at breakfast. Only making Wilson even more angry. There's a loyalty, bond of sorts, that forms when you serve in combat. Davis and I may be pissed at each other right now, but he could call me tomorrow asking for a kidney, and I'd still try to help him. Don't ask me to explain it, I can't. It's the same with Wilson, even though I hate what she does to Q.
"Fuck!" Sarah screamed.
"Campbell's watching Davis in the man cave. Johnson has Pohl, Craig's been going in between those two. Clay seems to have calmed you down." She pointed to me and continued, "We figured keeping everyone separated was the way to go until you got here."
Sarah looked at me, really looked at me. "Did you finally fuck him?"
No point in denying it. "Yes, waiting was worthwhile." Sarah's eyes lit up, and I know what she wanted to ask. "No worries. He's good, really good." My lady parts were still screaming. The soreness was well, well worth it, and I was planning on having my way with Clay later. As many times as it takes me to fall into an orgasm coma.
She and Kristen smiled, it was genuine. "Good for you. You deserve it."
I knew I deserved it. Commitment and happiness with Clay didn't seem as daunting anymore. The ring, shit.
"Look there's something else, I don't know if I should even mention it. Q planned to propose, he showed me the ring this morning. Davis saw it, not sure if that's why all this shit went down."
"Oh, fuck." She dropped her head in her hands.
"Do you even want Q or is he just a safety net?" Kristen asked. I bit my lip waiting for her answer. "There's not a wrong answer, here. You can't help what your heart wants, or doesn't want."
"I can't give him what he wants," she admitted, her features clearly portraying her grim thoughts. She didn't want to hurt Q, but I think she was finally realized she had to let him go. I looked over at Kristen, who shrugged back at me, while popping an M&M into her mouth.
"I'll send Q in here." Please, oh, please let them end things on good terms. Kristen and I, left Sarah on the couch. We found Johnson, Pohl, Craig and Clay, sitting in the kitchen with Q. Kristen excused herself to check on the kids.
"She going to talk to him?" Pohl asked. Clay wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me tightly into his side.
Wrapping an arm around Clay's waist, I settled into his body. "Yeah, she's been briefed." Q nodded, then headed back towards the office. Once I heard the door click. I focused on clearing the house of potential drama.
"Pohl, I will buy you a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label to get Davis out of here. Strip club, whatever, just play nice. I don't want to hear any ménage stories or how I had to come bail you out of jail, 'kay?" Pohl kept a straight face, clearly thinking it over. Clay looked over his shoulder clearly smirking. I'm not afraid to use bribery.
"Two bottles and you have a deal." I would have gladly bought him four bottles and thrown in a hefty gift certificate to Cigars on 6th, if he could get Davis away from Q. I just bartered a really great deal.
"Deal. Go get him out of here." He nodded, then strolled into the man cave, almost yelling to Davis, "Hey, fuckwad. Titties and ass, my treat, let's go." I hoped he meant strip club legal, and not prostitution illegal. I'd be damned if I was leaving Clay tonight to go bail them out of jail.
"You do know how much Blue Label costs right?" Clay asked. I knew they cost a whack, but for peace of mind it was worth it. Plus no way could my body handle another fist fight. I heard the front door open and close, as Campbell joined us in the kitchen.
Turning I looked at Clay. "Do you not remember what happened this morning? They'll go get drunk, look at some titties and be happy. With them gone there shouldn't be another fight. Let's just hope they don't partake in another ménage, that was damaging enough the first time. I don't think I could handle them reminiscing."
"Do you have a sister?" Johnson asked, which threw me off my game.
"What? No, I don't, but why would you ask that?" Clay's body was silently shaking, and I could hear Craig laughing.
"You're feisty. I like feisty, but you're taken," Johnson blurted out. Alrighty then. Kristen and Jack came inside with the kids. They were looking a little pink, as they sat at the table. Maria made them sandwiches for lunch, and I was hoping they'd take a long nap. I want
ed my own long nap with Clay.
"Cousin?" Johnson asked.
"Yeah, you're talkin' to the wrong girl. You want a date ask Kristen." Craig shook his head quickly trying to warn him against the idea.
"I know plenty of single ladies," Kristen piped in. Johnson's eyes widened almost to a bulge.
He looked worried at her excitement. "Let me think about it, and get back to you," he tried to evade. I laughed, her claws were out, she had a mouse she was not letting go of.
"Maybe you shouldn't, Kristen, your plate will be full soon," I said. Was I sticking my nose in her relationship? Fuck, yes. After all the shit she gave Clay, you bet I was. Was I willing to flat out tell Jack she's pregnant? No, but I had the upper hand for once, and I was going to use it.
"Are you starting charity work or something?" Craig asked.
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