Chica Bella

by Carly Fall

  A huge smile made its way across Landon’s face, and then he burst out laughing. She grinned as he chuckled, and she didn’t know if she should be upset that he found her pathetic life so funny.

  Finally, she smacked him in the arm. “It’s not funny, Landon." But she couldn’t help but giggle.

  After a moment, he turned back to her. His eyes were glassy and sparkling with life. “I hate to say it, Maya, but that makes me really fucking happy.”

  He gave her a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.

  “What about you, Landon?” Maya hated that they needed to have this talk at all, but although she loved Landon, she needed to physically protect herself from diseases. She protected herself from pregnancy, but diseases were a whole different story.

  As she waited for his answer, an answer she really didn’t want to hear, she was certain he would be truthful. Their time together had always been short and sporadic, but one thing they did always promise each other was honesty, and Landon was a man who honored his promises.

  She steeled herself. The thought of him with another woman hurt almost as the thought of him dead.

  “What about me what?” he asked, a small smile on his face.

  “Landon,” she said in her best don’t-give-me-crap voice.

  “No one, Maya. There hasn’t been anyone. I got drunk and tried once, but it didn’t work out so well.”

  She nodded. “Por qué?”

  He gazed at her face for a moment, and then looked down at his still very stiff sex. “My friend wouldn’t participate. He knows there’s no substitute for you.”

  “Really?” She had never known Landon’s “friend” not willing to participate.

  “Really, chica bella. Cross my heart, hope to die if I lie.”

  It was her turn to laugh, and she did so out of pure joy. Landon was hers, and hers alone.

  “It’s not funny, Maya.” There was a glint in his eyes. “It was a huge blow to my manhood.”

  She continued to laugh.

  “Maya!” He rolled on top of her.

  “A big soldier like you doesn’t have problems with his manhood.” She cupped his sex in her hand. “You just need the right commander to tell you what to do with it.”

  He closed his eyes for a moment and groaned, then opened them up again and kissed her nose. “I’m at your service, Commander. I’m very good at following orders.”

  Her eyebrows arched as she studied him. “Well then.” Her voice was husky. She brought up her forefinger to his temple, and gently traced down the side of his face, to his collarbone. “I’ve got a list of missions that must be completed before morning. Are you up for it, soldier?”

  He cleared his throat and smiled. “Yes, ma’am. I’m ready to fulfill all missions assigned to me. With pleasure.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Landon woke the next morning, unsure of where he was, but expected to feel the crimps and kinks of being deployed and stuck in some barracks cot that didn’t meet his physical girth, or in a ditch he had dug the previous night.

  He was surprised to find none of that.

  Instead he registered the crisp morning ocean breeze, a soft bed beneath him, and a light sheet covering him. His feet were bare as they hung over the bed being caressed by air. And what was this next to him? She was soft and warm and smelled like vanilla….

  Jolting upright, he was unable to accept his reality in his sleeping state. He took a look around and yes, the doors were open, and they invited in the cool ocean breeze. He did have a light cotton sheet at his waist, and the best thing was Maya lying next to him.

  Sinking back down into the pillows, he wrapped himself around her. She sighed and curled into him.

  After they had made love last night, he called room service and ordered two cheeseburgers and a bottle of wine, which they ate out on the deck while talking quietly. The ocean was a huge black mass in front of them, the tips of the waves looking like dancing diamonds as the moon reflected off them.

  “How long will you stay?” she had asked in a quiet voice.

  “I don’t know, Maya.” He had longed to tell her that he wanted out, but withheld the information, hoping that Marty would come through for him. “I know I at least have two weeks.”

  “That’s it?”

  “It could be longer. I just don’t know.”

  At that point he had looked over at her and tears shimmered in her eyes under the moonlight.

  “Aw, shit. Maya. Come here, honey.”

  He pulled her over and sat her on his lap so that she straddled his legs and faced him. “We just have to make sure we don’t waste any time, okay?”

  She gave him a sad smile, nodded and then whispered, “Each time you go away I’m so scared I won’t see you again.”

  He hadn’t known what to say, because he simply couldn’t promise that she would see him again. If he did go back for one more mission, there could very well be a bullet out there with his name on it, ready to take his life. No, there were no promises to be made.

  Instead he kissed her.

  Snaking her arms around his neck, he let his hands travel up under his T-shirt she wore, feeling the gentle swell of her hips, her ribcage, and her breasts. His body responded with force.

  After a moment, she had opened the bathrobe he wore and taken his sex in her hand, gently sliding herself down on top of it. She had been wet and smooth as silk.

  As she rocked on him, she kissed him deeply, her hands going through the short strands of his hair, over his shoulders and back. Her hair tickled him as it cascaded down his chest. He did his own exploration under her shirt.

  She looked at him, her hips moving faster, grinding against him. He had wanted to stand up and take her back inside, but he knew the sex was about control for her at that time. She had no control over his comings or goings, but she did have control at that very moment, and that was what she needed.

  Crushing her lips to his, her nails dug into his shoulders as she came. He wasn’t far behind with an orgasm that had his hips bowing off the chair to get deeper into her. She fell against his chest, breathing heavily. He wrapped his arms around her and they sat in silence for a moment. Words weren’t needed for both of them to feel the love they had for each other.

  “I’d like some more wine,” she had said sleepily, “and then I think I’m ready for bed.”

  He carried her inside, and one more glass of wine later, both were sound asleep.

  For the first night in months, he slept peacefully, without nightmares.

  As he buried his face in her hair this morning, he let his hand travel over her shoulder and down her arm. He leaned back a little, and traced the bumps of her spine, and explored her hip. Pushing her hair aside, he gently kissed her spine, one vertebra at a time. She sighed and rolled to her stomach. He continued kissing her down the back of her legs to her toes, and back up again.

  “I have to go to work, Landon,” she mumbled into the pillow.

  “I know,” he whispered, letting his hand travel over her butt and down to her secret flesh. She groaned and spread her legs, giving him full access to her hot, slick center.

  “I can’t be late,” she murmured.

  “I know.”

  He opened her legs farther apart with his own, and pushed himself into her. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Maya, I can’t get enough of you.”

  She sighed, and he caught a small smile cross her sleepy face.

  He began to move slowly, and she spread her legs more, allowing him deeper penetration.

  “Landon,” she said as his weight settled on top of her and he kissed her neck. His hands moved down to the swell of her breast to her ribcage, his hips moving in a slow, languid rhythm. He shoved his hand in between the sheet and her body, and found where they were joined and gently rubbed her soft flesh.

  “Landon.” She gasped, and then let out a groan of appreciation. “Landon, I need to go to work!”

  “I know.” He kissed the side of her face. He took h
er earlobe between his teeth. “I just want to make sure you start your day off with a smile.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  And smile she did. She arrived at work after a quick run home to get her work clothes, and also pack a small bag so she could stay with Landon again.

  Her mother had given her a knowing grin and asked when she and Landon would be coming for dinner. Maya thought about it a moment, and promised her mom it would be sometime soon. She needed Landon to herself for now.

  At work, the spring break kids kept her busy, but she didn’t allow the stupid advances to sour her mood. Landon lay in a lounge chair across the pool from her, sometimes reading, sometimes watching her. She felt the heat of his gaze as she poured drinks. Every couple of hours he would make his way to the bar, ignoring the laughter of the college girls who watched him with wanton lust written all over their faces.

  He was an impressive figure.

  He strode up to her wearing a red bathing suit, his SEAL tattoo on his chest and the skull and cross bones on is shoulder making him look dangerous, yet very sexy. She bit her lip as he came toward her.

  “Everything okay?” he asked quietly as he paid for his drink.

  “Si.” She was unable to say much more as she watched his mouth and thought of all the wonderful things he could do with it.

  “You know where I am if you need me, chica bella.”

  She nodded.

  When her shift was done and she had completed the turn over to the night crew, she looked up and saw him immediately. He wore a black tank top that hugged his strong body. He was still in his bathing suit, and also carried a small cooler. He flipped his glasses up to his head and his blue eyes seared her.

  She walked toward him as if on a cloud, her footsteps as light as her mood.

  She stood on her tip toes and he leaned down and met her lips for a kiss.

  “Let’s go back to your room,” she whispered to his lips.

  He smiled and shook his head. “Not yet. We’re taking another boat ride, if it’s okay with you.”

  Disappointment surged, but then he grinned again, which let her know this wasn’t the same type of boat ride they had been on the night before.

  “Okay,” she said. “I need to change.”

  He shook his head. “You really don’t. You don’t need a pretty sundress where we’re going.”

  He grasped her hand, and they walked down the stairs from the pool to the beach where the water taxis picked up the tourists and took them over to the harbor, where they had been the previous night, or over to Lover’s Island.

  She had never been on one of these taxis, but had done her fair share of laughing at those trying to get on them. The boats were about twenty-five feet long. They bobbed up and down in the surf, and when the incoming waves crashed and the front of the boat dipped, it was a mad rush to get people onboard. The men usually made a run for it on their own, but the women were picked up and tossed in the boat before the next wave could come. As an observer, it was very funny to watch the whole debacle, but as someone participating in it, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be thrown in a boat and she didn’t think the whole process was so funny now.

  The captain pulled up the small craft, his two helpers waiting on the beach to help, or heave, people into the boat. There was a group of about seven people all waiting for the go ahead from one of the men on the beach. Landon tensed next to her, and she gazed up at his face. He seemed excited.

  A minute later, the captain told everyone to get on, and before Maya knew it, she was flung over Landon’s shoulder being carried like a sack of potatoes. She laughed as she tried not to slam her face into his back.

  The next thing she registered was him gently settling her into a seat. Giving her a quick kiss, he flung himself overboard and grabbed a man who was having trouble getting himself into the boat and gave him a boost to help him in. Next Landon picked up another woman, jumped in the boat with her, and settled her in a seat. He grabbed the hand of another man who was almost in, hauling him aboard.

  She looked at him with pride. He was amazing and strong and sexy and…hers. Pulling his head down, she kissed him hard. “You’re pretty incredible,” she whispered to his mouth.

  He chuckled and drew her under his arm. “As long as you think so, that’s all that matters to me. That was kind of fun, though.”

  Snuggling up next to him, she listened as people thanked him for his help, and he made idle chit chat with them. As Lover’s Beach loomed in the distance, she wondered what he would do if he were to live a civilian life. She couldn’t see him being happy bartending or something like that. It would have to be something physical, something that had him in movement. Maybe he’d join a police force. But he was so highly trained it seemed like a waste of his talents. She searched her mind for things he could do here in Cabo, and came up with exactly nada.

  What was she thinking? It may be years before he’d want to live a normal life, one free of the Navy and the SEALs. Hell, from what she understood, he couldn’t even put in for retirement until he was fifty-five. The fact of the matter was that he’d have to leave soon, for an unknown period of time, and she didn’t know if she would see him again until he showed up one day out of the blue. She’d be stuck in that limbo period again where her heart ached, her stomach coiled in fear and sadness made it almost impossible for her to live her life.

  “Penny for your thoughts,” he whispered to her.

  “It will cost you more than a penny.”

  He looked at her. “That’s a pretty sad smile, chica bella. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing, Landon.”

  “I’m going to get it out of you later, then,” he said into her ear, and then met her gaze.

  She raised her eyebrows at him. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that?”

  He ran his tongue over his top lip. “I’m an expert in persuasion,” he said in a low voice. “I have many different techniques to get information out of you.”

  She laughed. Only Landon could take her thoughts from outright depressing to titillating.

  The boat pulled up to the beach of Lover’s Beach, and getting out was much the same as getting in, except the waters weren’t so rough as the beach was located in a cove.

  They walked through the massive structure of the El Arco rock formation, to the other side of the inlet that was nothing but wide open ocean. The waves crashed violently as Landon and Maya sat on the beach together. Landon opened his cooler and handed her a beer. Maya took it, and they settled in to watch the sun set.

  They sat in silence for a bit, and then Landon pointed up to the right at the beautiful, massive houses that looked as though they had been built directly into the mountainside.

  “Still a lot of celebrities living up there?” he asked her.

  She nodded. “Oscar de la Hoya still has a house up there, and I think Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger do as well. I don’t keep track of all of them, but mama does. She said there’s more…how do you say it…personajes famosos…famous people who own houses up there than anywhere else in Mexico.”

  Maya sipped her beer as the sun went down. The ocean breeze became a little chilly. She moved to sit between Landon’s legs, and he wrapped his arms around her. He was better than any blanket. They talked quietly as not to disturb the beauty of the moment.

  As the sun gave off its final glints on the ocean and settled in for the night over the horizon, Landon stood up. “We better get back to the other side so we can catch the last taxi.”

  They walked across the sand back to the other side hand in hand, Landon said, “Do you want to talk about what was bothering you on the boat?”

  Maya shook her head.

  “So I’m going to have to use my incredible persuasion techniques?”

  She laughed. “You can try, but you’re not getting anything out of me.”

  He grabbed her and pulled her close and kissed her hard. Her knees went weak an
d her head swam as their tongues danced, and her body burst into the heat of desire.

  “We’ll see about that,” he whispered.

  Chapter Seventeen

  The week went by quickly. Maya worked during the day and stayed with Landon at night. He sat in a lounge chair most of the day, either reading or watching her.

  They had dinner at her parents’ house twice, which was always an animated affair. Maya’s aunt and uncle joined them, and the beer flowed freely, the tamales disappeared at an alarming rate, and the laughter was loud. Landon was beginning to understand more and more Spanish, so he could sort of keep up with the conversation, except when they started talking in what he called machine-gun Spanish. Then, forget it.

  By the end of the week, Landon could say that he was relaxed. Being with Maya did that to him. Her touch soothed him, her laughter made his heart feel light. He felt better than he had in months, and only suffered one nightmare. He imagined putting down roots in Cabo and being with Maya for the rest of his life, and for someone who hadn’t had four walls and a roof to call his own in five years, the thought was terribly appealing to him.

  As he lay back in the chair letting the sun warm his face and bare chest, he thought about what would come next if he put down some roots. He supposed starting a family with Maya would eventually come into the plan. Would he make a good father? The thought scared the shit out of him. He and his father had lived in the same house, but his father spent most of his time working. Landon recalled all the soccer games his father missed, and later on, the football games, the birthdays and he even missed his graduation from high school. So yes, he before his father's death, Landon did have a father in a biological sense, but not one who was actually there for him.

  He didn’t want to be that type of father. He would be there for his kids.

  His kids. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. He pushed the ideas aside. There were a lot of hurdles he needed to go over before he could start contemplating babies and staying in Cabo with Maya.