by Kat Mizera
“You don’t know my father,” the boy shot back. “And you can’t tell me what to do!”
“Actually, I can,” Ron stood firm. “You’re a child and I’m an adult.”
“Mom!” Julian let out a whine, turning to his mother, who still had Sam in her arms.
“You can’t be disrespectful, Julian,” she said quietly. “I keep telling you about consequences but you don’t listen. Now you’ll have to listen to someone else.”
“I don’t have to listen to him!” Julian stalked off again and Bobbi sighed.
She put Sam down and sank back onto the picnic bench. “It’s been like this for about nine months,” she said. “I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“You want me to go after him?”
She made a face. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s let it go for now,” he suggested. “Maybe he’s feeling territorial about some new guy sniffin’ around his mom, you know?”
“Maybe.”
“I owe you a kiss,” Ron said after a moment, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“You do.” Her eyes met his.
“I still think we need to go out on a real date. What do you think?”
She hesitated. “I haven’t left Julian with anyone since Wade died. I don’t have a sitter.”
"The two ladies I use are great. What if we ask them and see what happens? We’ll stay close by in case he melts down, but he’s what, nine?”
She nodded.
“I’ll talk to Sandy. Maybe she can take both of them. She has a boy that’s eight so they might hit it off. If not, we’ll think of something else.”
“Okay.”
Bobbi couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a skirt. Or the last time she’d gone out on a date. Never, really. Wade was the only guy she’d ever gone out with and they’d gotten married less than two months later. Staring in the mirror, she cocked her head, trying to decide if she looked okay. Her black skirt hit mid-thigh, showing more leg than she was used to, but she’d liked it when she put it on at the store and it had been a long time since she’d bought clothes. It wasn’t in the budget since Wade died, but her first date ever—since she and Wade met at a bar and went home together—seemed to warrant something special.
She’d come a long way since she’d married Wade, hanging out with the wives of the men he’d served with over the years and then working at the preschool. It had taken her a while to get past her acute shyness and realize it was okay to talk to people, make friends, have a life. That was probably the only good thing Wade had done for her; his verbal abuse had forced her to stand up for herself, something she’d never done before. Somewhere in her subconscious, she’d refused to allow her son to grow up listening to his father beat her down. Unfortunately, it appeared the damage had been done and she was still struggling even though he was gone.
Ron made her forget all that. In the two weeks since he’d come back into her life, she’d been happier. Smiling more, thinking about him, indulging in a few sexual fantasies that made the blood rush to her head. And other places. She was looking forward to going out with him tonight, and though Julian was furious, he’d held his tongue because she’d told him his behavior with the sitter would determine whether or not he got his gaming console back.
She jumped when the doorbell rang and smoothed down her skirt again before hurrying to open it. Ron stood there with Sam in his arms, looking handsome in a pair of khakis and a blue polo shirt.
“You look beautiful,” he said as she greeted him.
“Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
“Gross,” Julian muttered.
“What’s gross?” Ron asked him. “Me telling a lady she looks nice is good manners, not gross.”
“It’s so you can get sex,” Julian retorted.
“Julian!” Bobbi was shocked. She hadn’t even talked with him about sex yet so she’d had no idea he knew what it was.
“Who told you about sex?” Ron asked calmly.
“My dad said he only told Mom she was pretty so she would give him sex.”
Bobbi’s mouth fell open.
“Do you even know what sex is?” Ron asked.
Julian hesitated but then shook his head no.
Bobbi sighed with relief.
Ron took a breath. “If you don’t know what it is, you shouldn’t talk about it. We’ll have to have a conversation about that another time but for tonight, tell your mother you’re sorry so we can get going.”
Julian hesitated but then sighed. “Sorry, Mom.”
“It’s okay, hon. Let’s go.”
She got in Ron’s SUV thinking about the wonderful man next to her. He seemed unfazed by anything Julian said, making Bobbi fall a little bit in love with him each time he stepped in to handle him. He’d never had kids of his own yet he dealt with Julian like a pro. Maybe being new to parenting was why he had so much patience, but whatever the reason, with each passing day she remembered why she’d liked him so much in high school.
As soon as they’d dropped off the kids, she relaxed against the cool leather seats, comfortable just being next to him. She wondered if he felt the same and smiled when his fingers sought out hers.
“You read my mind,” she murmured.
“You wanted me to hold your hand?” he asked with a faint smile.
“I wanted to be closer to you.”
“Me too.”
Chapter 4
They talked nonstop through dinner, laughing and sharing stories about their lives, their jobs and the kids.
“So tell me something about grown-up Bobbi that I wouldn’t have known about teenage Roberta,” Ron said after they’d eaten and were enjoying an after-dinner cocktail.
She laughed. “I’m not sure there’s much… You already know I’m not a natural blonde and I’m blind as a bat without my glasses or contacts. I have a kid, a degree in early childhood education and I’m a widow.”
“Something more personal,” he suggested lightly. “Your favorite color in high school was purple and you loved Matchbox 20.”
“You remember my favorite color?” she whispered, shocked.
“You loved everything purple, right down to the folders we used for our lab reports.”
She flushed. “I guess I did. Well, I still love Matchbox 20, although I like harder stuff too. I still like purple, but Wade hated it, so other than a couple of tops, I don’t have anything purple. What about you? Still into Nickelback and Garth Brooks?”
“Sure am. Listen to a lot of punk rock when I’m prepping for ops, though. The chaos of the music takes the chaos out of the mission for me somehow.”
“That kind of makes sense. Do you get scared?”
“Not really. It’s all training, instinct and adrenaline.”
“How long have you been in California?”
“A year.”
“Do you miss your old unit?”
“Sure, but we’re still tight. Those friendships will never end, no matter where we are or what we’re doing.”
“Are you all scattered now?”
“Well, Shay’s dead, Erin’s in the Reserves, Mark’s thinking about getting out and Louie and Eric are both with the NSA now.”
“No interest in going NSA?” she asked, meeting his eyes.
He sighed. “To be honest, I’ve thought about it a lot since getting custody of Sam. I like California, though, and Force Recon is pretty great.”
“I’ll bet.”
“It’s hard with Sam, though. I have Sandy and June, and friends that are willing to take her at the drop of a hat, but as she gets older, that’s not going to be so easy. I’m the only parent she has and watching me disappear for days or weeks at a time is going to be complicated as she gets old enough to start asking questions.”
“This is going to sound like a weird question, but have you thought about settling down with someone?”
“Between moving to California and Britt dying, I honestly haven’t had any interest in datin
g. Until now.”
“Is there someone you want to date?” she asked, a twinkle in her eyes.
“Isn’t that what this is?”
“Well, yes, but I didn’t know if you wanted to do it…with me.”
“Honey, there are probably a lot of things I’d like to do with you.”
Bobbi suddenly felt ridiculously inept at flirting, dropping her gaze to her lap. “You’ll have to kiss me first,” was all she could think to say.
“I can do that.” He motioned to the waiter for the check.
They left the restaurant and he drove to the beach, parking in a quiet area where he often came to think. Tonight, the only thing he was thinking about was the shy blonde beside him. He hadn’t been out on a date or had sex in more than six months, but between work and Sam, there was no time for anything like that. Bobbi was different, though. They were already friends and getting to know her again was fun. He thought about her more than he should during the day and never wanted the five- or ten-minute talks they had when he picked up Sam to end. Being on a date with her was the most fun he’d had with a woman in years, and they hadn’t really done anything but talk and eat.
They sat for a moment before he turned off the SUV. “Wanna walk?” he asked her.
“Sure.” She reached down and unbuckled the high-heeled sandals she was wearing and he slid off his dress shoes and socks.
Taking her hand, he led her down to the beach towards the shore. They walked quietly for a while, enjoying the intimacy and the waves that curled up on the shore and spilled over their feet. He’d rolled up his khakis a few inches so they didn’t get wet and she’d tied her hair back so it wouldn’t blow in her face as they walked.
“When was the last time you walked on the beach?” he asked.
“Never.”
“Never? How long have you lived here?”
“Four years. I bring Julian to the beach sometimes, of course, but that’s during the day, to swim. I’ve never come to the beach at night and just walked along the shore.”
“Really.” He stopped walking and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close to him. “That means you’ve also never been kissed on the beach at night.”
“No.” Her eyes met his in the moonlit semidarkness.
He leaned down but paused. She was so close he felt her breath on his lips and he wanted to savor the moment. They would never have another first kiss and some deep instinct told him it would be meaningful. She would be meaningful. When her eyelids fluttered closed he tightened his grip but kept the touch of his mouth featherlight, almost teasing, waiting for her to make the first move. She was so shy he wanted her to come to him, and to his surprise, she did. Her mouth opened, the tip of her tongue slipping between the seam of his lips, and he was lost. Instinct took over and he deepened the kiss, curling his tongue around hers, the heat of her mouth an aphrodisiac all its own.
The raw male part of him wanted to push her down on the sand and ravage her, kiss her from head to toe and then bury himself deep in her sweet sheath. The gentleman who’d had a bit of a crush on this girl for about 16 years could have stood right where they were and done nothing but kiss her for the next decade or so. It was that enchanting, especially when a moan of pleasure came from somewhere deep in her chest.
Ron pulled away reluctantly. “Damn, babe, that was sexy as hell.”
Her fingers were still clutching his biceps. “It certainly was.”
“We should probably keep walking.”
“I thought you liked it?”
“What?” Her question caught him off guard and he looked down at her in confusion.
“Kissing me.” A touch of uncertainty crossed her pretty features.
“I did. Too much. That’s why I think we should—”
“I’ve been waiting 15 years for you to kiss me and now you want to stop?”
He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Resting his hands just above her hips, he drew her against him, so his erection pressed against her. “Babe, this is what you’re doing to me… If we keep going, I’m going to embarrass myself.”
“Don’t you live nearby?”
“A couple miles,” he confirmed.
She met his gaze without flinching.
“You want to…go back to my place?”
“Fifteen years, Ron.”
“Babe, I don’t—”
“I don’t need promises or vows. I need someone to touch me and bring my soul back. I’ve been nothing but Julian’s mom or Wade’s widow for far too long, and I need to be Bobbi again.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll text Sandy, tell her we’re going to be a little later than we thought.” He gripped her hand and tugged her back toward where they’d left his SUV.
Chapter 5
They were quiet on the drive to Ron’s place and Bobbi tried to settle the butterflies in her stomach by reminding herself she was a grown woman who was free to do what she liked. And she liked Ron. All her teenage fantasies were about to become reality and she almost didn’t care if he never spoke to her again; she deserved an evening like this, with a man who made her feel…everything. She’d felt one night of excitement with Wade but he hadn’t called after unceremoniously taking her virginity and she’d only found him again after discovering she was pregnant.
After that, sex had been underwhelming, routine, and then non-existent in the year before his death. She’d been without for a very long time and instinct told her Ron would be a very different lover than Wade.
Her blue eyes took in the front room of his townhouse when they entered, and a faint smile played on her lips.
“What do you think?” Ron asked lightly, tossing his keys on the counter. “I haven’t done much with the place but it’s not too bad.”
“Actually, it’s great. You’ve obviously worked hard to find a balance between bachelor pad and nice place to raise a little girl.”
“Thanks.” He leaned against the wall. “You want a drink or anything?”
“Nope.” She leaned against his chest. “I want you.”
“You were all shy and cautious a week ago,” he chuckled, pulling her into his arms. “Now you’re ready to jump my bones—I like it, but what’s up with this change?”
“Two years without sex,” she whispered. “Fifteen years of thinking about you. No idea how much time we have before you’re called away or I have to leave California or something else keeps me from tasting you. I so want to taste you, Ronnie.” Her breath hitched on his name.
“No one but my friend Erin calls me Ronnie,” he said softly, finding her lips with his. “But I like when you do it…”
He kissed her lazily, as if he was savoring the moment as much as she was. Because she was. She’d fantasized about hot, sweaty, naked Ron, but sweet, sensual Ronnie was sexy too. She wanted all of it, all of him, and intended to have him, but he was taking his time. His tongue stroked against hers with a slow, exploratory rhythm. He discovered every millimeter of her mouth, until she didn’t know where he stopped and she began. The gentle passion of his kiss was new to her, and she shivered against his body.
“Are you cold?” he whispered.
“No. I just love the way you feel.”
“Come on.” He took her hand and guided her into his bedroom. It was much more basic than the living room. The bed had no headboard and was covered with a plain navy comforter and three pillows. There was a piece of furniture she assumed was a dresser but he was already kissing her again and she forgot all about the décor. He sank onto the bed, dragging her with him, their mouths fused together, limbs tangled.
It took a minute for Ron to realize the buzzing against his groin was his pager, not his rock-hard erection. He fumbled to pull it out of his pocket, knowing this would most likely mean there was an op and he had to go.
“Babe…” He pulled away slightly, holding up the beeper and looking at the screen; a sigh of frustratio
n escaped him.
“Is it the kids?” Her eyes snapped back to reality when she saw the look on his face.
“No.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”
“You have to—oh.” She seemed frozen in place and he took a moment to cup the side of her face with his hand.
“I’m sorry. Once I get the call, I don’t have a long time until wheels up.”
“You mean…you’re getting on a plane?”
He nodded.
“To go where?”
“Honestly? I have no idea until I get to the briefing, but even if I knew, I couldn’t tell you.”
“Oh.” She looked stricken, fumbling to straighten her clothes as she slid off the bed.
“Bobbi. Stop.” He spoke softly but the command in his voice did the trick. She stopped moving, even though she didn’t turn to look at him.
“I’m sorry. I really am. But I’ll be back and we’ll pick up where we left off, okay? This isn’t personal, it’s work.”
“I know. I’m just…a little unprepared. I don’t know why.”
“It’s my fault. We should’ve talked about this a little more before we progressed to the sex portion of our relationship.”
“It’s fine.” She nodded absently.
“No, it’s not, but when I come back I’ll explain everything and give you a better idea of what to expect in the future. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone—anywhere from a day to a few weeks—but I’ll text you as soon as I’m back.”
“Okay.”
“I need to pack a bag for Sam and drop it off at Sandy’s. I’ll also have to drop you off at your house to get your car so I can go straight from Sandy’s to the briefing, okay?”
“Got it.”
“You’ll be okay getting back there on your own to get Julian?”
“Of course.”
He watched with regret as she walked down the hall. She wasn’t happy with this turn of events and he wished he had time to fix things, but he had to go. This was why he didn’t date, and even though Bobbi was different, it felt like he’d blundered this badly. He’d touched upon his job and what a turn-off it could be to women, but he should’ve made sure she understood before getting intimate with her. It annoyed him he’d gotten a call right in the middle of their first time together, but it would’ve been a lot worse if they’d been naked and he’d been buried between those gorgeous legs of hers. Shit. He had a lot of explaining to do when he got back.
