Red Hot & Blue 08 - Model Soldier

by Cat Johnson

  If Emily still wanted him, that is. Actually, fuck that. Even if she didn’t, he wouldn’t leave her alone until he changed her mind.

  Dalton remained silent. Hawk was about to give up on this call. He could try to find a computer to email her. He decided to give it one more try.

  “I want to build a future with her, but first I need to know where to find her.”

  “All right. Got a pen?”

  Thank God, he’d finally given in. Hawk scribbled the info Dalton relayed. “Um, I wouldn’t mind knowing how big a battle this is going to be either. I mean, if she’s seeing someone else.”

  Shit, that could be why she hadn’t responded to any of his emails.

  Dalton laughed. “You’re really pushing it, Hawk. Fine, I don’t think I am spilling any secrets if I tell you she attended my wedding alone. She was invited with a date but she chose not to bring one.”

  Hawk would take anything he could get. His hope renewed, he was totally sincere when he said, “Thanks, Dalton.”

  “You’re welcome. But I have to tell you one thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Emily is like my sister. You hurt her and I’m going to have to do something about it.”

  Hawk laughed, figuring that if they really wanted to, Pretty Boy and the Zetas could probably do all sorts of things to him and get away with it. Luckily, they seemed like a peaceable group, when not dealing with insurgents, that was.

  “I hear you, Dalton. I’d never willingly hurt her.” Although, somehow, someway, he’d managed to do something that had upset her enough she’d frozen him out of her life. Now that he was here, he fully intended to find out what and fix it.

  Hawk wasn’t all that familiar with Manhattan, but if he could find his way through the mountain paths of Afghanistan while being shot at, he figured he could navigate New York City. The streets were numbered after all.

  One quick question to a passing man in a suit and Hawk knew which direction Madison Avenue was. He had no problem finding the address Dalton had given him for Emily’s office building. Soon he stood in front of it, his heart pounding at the thought of seeing Emily again.

  This whole trip could be a waste of time. Then again, it might not be. Determined, he pushed through the glass doors and into the lobby.

  A quick elevator trip upstairs and he was walking through the office door, shaking but determined. Then there stood Emily, right in front of him and holding an obviously newborn baby.

  Holy shit.

  The first thought that assaulted Hawk, that nearly took him down to his knees, was that he’d gotten Emily pregnant that first time they’d had sex in Germany. But wait. That wasn’t nine months ago and they’d used protection.

  The second thought was that Emily having a baby was one piece of information Dalton could have let him know about during that phone call.

  Had she been pregnant with another man’s child both times they’d been together? She hadn’t looked it in Afghanistan, but it would explain why she wouldn’t email him back.

  It must have been obvious to Emily by his expression that he was counting backward and trying to reason this out. Once the look of shock that had appeared when she saw him standing in the doorway finally left Emily’s face, she shook her head.

  “Don’t worry. This is Katie and BB’s baby. Not mine. Or yours.”

  He itched to tell her when he thought about having kids the only woman he could picture having them with was her. Instead, he took a step forward and peeked at the infant’s face. “Pretty little thing. She looks like her father.”

  “He looks like his father. It’s a boy.”

  Hawk raised one eyebrow. “That figures.” Even Dalton’s son was pretty.

  Emily walked to some sort of stroller thing, gently laid the baby down, covered him with a pale blue blanket and jingled some plastic colored toys that hung in front of his face. When she returned to Hawk, she looked uncomfortable.

  “So I guess your sister told you I called.”

  “My sister?” He shook his head. “I haven’t spoken to my sister yet today.”

  “Then how did you know where I work?”

  “I tracked down Dalton and asked where to find you. I figured he owed me one.”

  Before she could respond to that, two men and a redheaded female came out of a back room.

  The woman arched one eyebrow in surprise when she saw him. “Sergeant Hawkins. A pleasure to finally meet you.” She stepped forward and extended her hand. “Katie Dalton.”

  “My boss,” Emily added.

  And Dalton’s wife. Well, hell. Hawk didn’t realize Pretty Boy had it in him to choose a mature, sexy businesswoman for a wife. He’d pictured him more with some model-type bimbo.

  “Hawk. Our Army man. Of course, I didn’t recognize you in civilian clothing.” The older of the two men moved forward, one beefy arm extended.

  “These are the owners of the agency. That’s James Howard and his partner, Morris Dean.” Emily made the introductions.

  Hawk shook hands with both men as the thinner of the two, Morris Dean, asked, “What brings you to our neck of the woods? Or more accurately, the concrete jungle of New York?”

  No use lying about it. “I came to see Emily.”

  Dalton’s wife looked very interested as she glanced from Hawk to Emily and back. “Well, it’s good to meet you. Em, why don’t you take the rest of the day to show our new star around the city.”

  “Good idea. In fact, take him down to Times Square and stand him in front of that billboard with his ad on it. That should raise some public interest, don’t you think?” James Howard asked his partner.

  The other man bobbed his head in agreement. “Definitely. Great idea, Jim. A shame he’s not in uniform, but the tourists might still recognize him. Do you need the company limo, Emily?”

  Emily looked shocked by the offer. “Um. No, thanks, I think we’ll be fine walking. It’s a nice day. I’ll just grab my jacket.”

  Just outside the office door, as they waited in awkward silence for the elevator to arrive, Hawk turned to Emily. “I might have enjoyed the limo.”

  Looking miserable, she ignored his joke. “Hawk, we need to talk. There’s something I need to say.”

  He wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad news. Talking was better than not, he supposed, unless of course what she had to say was leave her alone or she’d get a restraining order. “Okay. Is there someplace we can go for some privacy?”

  Times Square in front of his billboard wasn’t where he wanted to be for this ominous conversation—and no one had told him he’d be on a frigging billboard anyway.

  “Privacy is pretty hard to find here in Manhattan.” Her throat worked as she swallowed and glanced up at him. “But my apartment isn’t too far.”

  Her apartment. Damn, he wanted her so badly he could barely stand it. “Okay. Let’s go to your place then...if you don’t mind.”

  Hawk held his breath and waited.

  “No. It’s fine. It’s even clean. I’ve, uh, been waking up early so I clean before work.”

  They both remained mostly silent during the cab ride to her apartment, making the trip seem eternally long. When they finally arrived, she fumbled with her key in the door.

  She walked through the door, turned to him and began speaking at the same moment he did.

  “Hawk. I’m so sorry—”

  “Emily, I don’t know what I did, but—” Hawk stopped his apology when he realized she was apologizing to him. “Wait. What are you sorry about?”

  She took a deep breath and glanced into the tiny living room. “Can we sit?”

  They could stand on their heads for all he cared, as long as she was finally ready to discuss the two of them.

  Hawk wanted to clear the air, the sooner the better. He’d been through too many days and nights of agony already. “Okay. Let’s sit.”

  They moved farther into the room and he dropped his duffle to the floor. It was strange getting a glimpse i
nto her world. Until now, she’d been on his turf. Her laughably tiny city apartment felt as foreign to him as Afghanistan probably had to her.

  Seated on the couch that barely fit the two of them, Emily angled her body toward his. “I made an assumption, an incorrect assumption it turns out. I should have confronted you about it right away. Instead, I acted like a child not emailing you back.”

  “I don’t understand. What assumption?”

  “I saw you coming out of Kerri London’s tent the morning of the bombing at Bagram. I assumed you’d—”

  “Had sex with her? Right after I’d been with you?” Hawk sat in shock. “Emily. What the hell kind of man do you think I am?”

  “It was barely dawn. You were half dressed. I—” Her eyes filled with tears. “I know. I’m so sorry. It’s just, I was so hurt.”

  Hawk let out a frustrated breath as he gathered her against him. She came willingly into his arms. “You were hurting over nothing. I can’t believe you spent all this time thinking I would do that to you when all you had to do was ask me.”

  “I would have said something that morning, but then there was the explosion.”

  He remembered. She had started to say something and then all hell had broken loose. Shaking his head, he squeezed her closer. All those months of agony on both their parts.

  “I was getting one of my men out of Kerri’s tent. That’s all.”

  “I know. Mel told me when I saw him.”

  “Mel?” That name rang a bell. Hawk froze as he put the name with the man. “Crocodile Cameraman?”

  Emily nodded, laughing tearfully at the nickname. “Yeah.”

  How the fuck could he be here in New York? Hawk had just seen him when he flew out of Kabul to get home to his sister.

  “So you saw Mel?” The ugly green monster inside Hawk reared its ugly head.

  “This morning. He was meeting Jai and stopped by to say hello.”

  Who the fuck was Jai? Then Hawk remembered Rasta-photographer.

  “He told me he’d seen you, then he told me about you having to get Wally out of Kerri’s tent.”

  Hawk frowned. “So do you see this Mel often?”

  Emily pulled back and looked at him. “You’re jealous.”

  “No.” Hawk sighed then opted for the truth. He’d do anything, even admit this, if it would keep Emily in his life. “Yes. I’ve never been so jealous of any man in my entire life.”

  Of course, he’d probably never felt as much for any woman as the way he did about Emily. “He was all over you in Bagram, Emily.”

  Emily smiled. “It was an act to make you jealous.”

  “You were doing it on purpose?”

  “Not really.” She shrugged. “It was all Mel’s doing, but I kind of went along with it.”

  Relief overwhelmed him, along with curiosity. Although he suspected he knew the answer to his next question. “Why?”

  “Because I was jealous of you being with that flirty Kerri London every second of the day.”

  That was what he had hoped. Hawk laughed and pulled her closer again. “We make a hell of a pair.”

  They could maybe even be happy if they both stopped getting in their own way.

  Emily looked up at him with baby blues that could melt a man. She leaned in. “Kiss me?”

  With a groan, he tangled his hand in her hair. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”

  Hawk crashed his mouth into hers. He’d intended to be gentle, but the pent-up passion of the past months without her rose to the surface. It poured into his kiss as he angled his head and thrust his tongue against hers. He’d needed her so badly and for so long.

  They had to make enough memories to hold him for the rest of his deployment.

  Wanting nothing between them, Hawk tugged at Emily’s clothes. She had far too much on. He peeled off layer after layer. Suit jacket, shoes, pants and blouse. He revealed her inch-by-inch until she was in nothing but bits of lace covering the key areas he was anxious to get to.

  He needed her more with each new exposed portion of her creamy skin. Hawk slid his hands over her body, her curves both familiar and new to him at the same time. They’d only been together twice, once for the night, and once for just a few stolen moments, but he’d remember both times forever.

  And now she was here and it was time to create new memories.

  Tasting her, caressing her, kissing the warm soft flesh was better than any of his dreams. Her lips had never tasted sweeter, her body had never felt more responsive than at this moment.

  This time seemed to be so much more than the other times they’d been together. Perhaps because he felt so much more for her now. He’d almost lost her because he hadn’t let her know just how he felt. How deep his feelings for her ran.

  He’d never make that mistake again. This time he’d leave her with no doubt of how much she meant to him, how much he needed her.

  But now wasn’t the time to talk. Not when his mouth had so many better things to do.

  After a struggle to get out of his jeans and button-down shirt, Hawk finally freed himself. He pulled a nearly naked Emily onto his lap. She straddled him, facing him so he had access to everything he craved. He pushed aside the white lace of her bra and drew one taut, pink nipple into his mouth. She trembled above him.

  Slipping his hand into her panties, he found her wet from wanting him. That knowledge drew a groan from deep inside him.

  Burying his face against her as he took in her warm scent, Hawk pushed aside her panties and slid his fingers inside her. The feeling of her heat almost mind-blowing, he plunged into her again and again.

  She rocked against his hand as he worked her clit, shaking, gasping, making those tiny noises that drove him insane as she came closer to release.

  Thank God, he’d been bold enough to bring a condom, just in case. Stretching until he nearly fell off the couch with her in his lap, he reached his pants and the foil packet in the pocket. He covered himself and then guided Emily over him.

  He slid in easily. They were both more than ready for this. She rode him until he felt the muscles inside her gripping him so tightly he thought he’d lose his mind.

  As he felt her orgasm breaking, he thrust her down onto his cock one last time as he exploded inside her.

  Still breathless, he shook his head. “I’ll last longer next time. I swear. It’s just...it’s been a while.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Which part?”

  “Both.” She smiled. Then the smile faded. “When do you have to leave?”

  “Two days.” Too soon.

  “Are you going back to your sister’s tonight?”

  “Nope. But I’ll have to find someplace to stay. Maybe a hotel or something.” He grinned, knowing what she’d say.

  Her eyes opened wide. “You will not. You’re staying here.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” He leaned in for another taste of her mouth, then a thought hit him. “Wait. You said you called my sister? How? She still goes by her ex-husband’s last name.”

  She smiled. “Mel. He got her number somehow.”

  Hawk cocked a brow. “Oh really.”

  Mel’s involvement in their reconciliation didn’t make him happy, but that Emily had been trying to reach him sure did. All at the same time that he was trying to get to her through Dalton.

  He kissed Emily, claiming her mouth with enough force she’d forget all about Mel and everything else. When he finally pulled back, he had only one question. “So when I get back to the FOB and I email you, you going to email back?”

  She grabbed his face in her hands. “So often you’re going to get sick of me.”

  “Not gonna happen.” Hawk shook his head. “I’ll never get sick of you.”

  Teary-eyed, Emily smiled. “Good.”

  So many twists of fate had brought them together, all the way back to that first day on the mountain in the Alps. It was like the universe was telling them, over and over again, they were me
ant to be together. For once, Hawk was going to listen.

  About the Author

  As an award-winning author of contemporary erotic romance in genres including military, cowboy, and menage, Cat Johnson uses her computer so much she wore the letters off the keyboard within a year. She is known for her creative marketing and research practices. Consequently, Cat owns an entire collection of camouflage and western attire for book signings and a fair number of her consultants wear combat or cowboy boots for a living. In her real life, she’s been a marketing manager, professional harpist, bartender, tour guide, radio show host, Junior League president, sponsor of a bull-riding rodeo cowboy, wife and avid animal lover.

  To learn more about Cat, please visit www.catjohnson.net. Send an email to Cat at cat@catjohnson.net, like her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CatJohnsonAuthor or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cat_johnson.

  Look for these titles by Cat Johnson

  Now Available:

  Rough Stock

  Studs in Spurs

  Unridden

  Bucked

  Ride

  Hooked

  Flanked

  Red, Hot & Blue

  Trey

  Jack

  Jimmy

  Jared

  Cole

  Bobby

  A Few Good Men

  Model Soldier

  Coming Soon:

  Red, Hot & Blue

  A Prince Among Men

  He has met the enemy...but he’s never fought desire like this.

  A Few Good Men

  © 2012 Cat Johnson

  Red, Hot & Blue, Book 7

  Deployed in the deadliest place on earth, Army Staff Sergeant John Blake relies on caffeine, adrenaline, years of training and sheer force of will to get through his days. He has no problem with his tank crew passing around a sexy romance novel, but John’s a fighter, not a lover. He’ll pass.

  Winding up as the author’s accidental pen pal wasn’t in his plan, but there’s something about her sweet, caring emails that have him looking forward to checking his inbox.