Danger Zone: Tales of Military Passion

by Marie Harte

  “Thanks, Barb.” Thorn gave Barb a killer smile and a few bills.

  Barb left with a wink and a grin.

  April didn’t want to look at him. She didn’t want to look at anyone with a penis for at least a few days. First boring Matt, then jerky Marines, then jerky civilians, and now Gunnery Sgt. Arrogant. What had she done to deserve any of her night?

  “So,” Thorn said.

  April chugged half the beer and tossed him a warning growl. “Do I thank you for the beer?”

  “You could. Or you could explain what the hell’s going on. You’re the woman from the parking lot, the one who had the cops nail a busted-up jarhead, aren’t you?”

  “So what if I am?” She downed the rest of the beer and would have ordered another if she hadn’t wanted to keep her wits about her.

  Thorn frowned. “You okay?”

  “I’m just dandy. My boring date did little more than crumple and heave while I dealt with obnoxious drunken Marines trying to cop a feel. Then I had to deal with more asshole men while my date ditched me. And then there’s you.”

  “Me? What did I do?”

  “Give me time. I’m sure I’ll think of something.” She sighed and fished out her cell phone.

  He leaned closer to be heard over the blaring music. “Who are you calling?”

  She didn’t answer him. Leaving the table for some quiet, she found it by the front door and stepped outside.

  “Who are you calling?” he asked again, having followed her.

  “A cab. I’m tired, and I want to go home.”

  “I guess your date was your ride?”

  “Yep. Gee, Gunny. You should have gone intel. Imagine all that vast knowledge simmering in your tiny brain.” On second thought, maybe she shouldn’t have downed that beer so fast. Especially since she’d had nothing but two glasses of wine and a few stuffed mushrooms for dinner—all she could tolerate with Matt blathering on.

  “Come on.” He sighed and grabbed her hand.

  “Hey.”

  “I won’t molest you. I promise.”

  She could have sworn he’d added not tonight under his breath, but then they were at his car and he was bundling her inside and driving off before she could blink.

  “You’re fast.”

  “When I have to be.” He continued to glance at her as he drove her home. “You’ve had a hell of night, eh?”

  “I hate men.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool window.

  He chuckled. “Now, Major. We’re not all bad. Not like that fuckhead who ditched you in the bar. I can’t believe he did that. Or maybe I can. What a wuss.”

  She couldn’t contain a grin. “He went down like a sack of potatoes from one tap to the gut.” She would have felt sorry for Matt if he hadn’t ditched her. The ass. Boring and a coward. She really could pick ’em, couldn’t she?

  “Wow. Nice date.” Thorn pulled into her sister’s driveway and parked the car. “If it’s any consolation, I bet he would have put out for you at the end of the night. You’re really rocking that dress.”

  Straightening in her seat, she chuckled. “Flatterer.” She opened the door and found him standing on the other side of it. He helped her out and walked her to the house. Then taking the keys from her, he opened the front door and prodded her inside.

  “I’m good.”

  “You’re slurring your words,” he murmured. “Poor, pretty thing.”

  “And I didn’t even get lucky. Life sucks.” She closed her eyes for just a minute.

  The next thing she knew, she was blinking up at Thorn, who was leaning over her as she lay on the couch. “What?” A rough tongue licked her knee, and she realized the tongue belonged to Lobo, not Thorn, which would have been all-around weird.

  “Tomorrow, noon sharp. Don’t be late.” He ran a finger down her cheek, stirring an odd sense of connection to the big guy. His gaze seemed possessive and strangely tender.

  “Man, I must be drunk.”

  He laughed and finished running his finger over her face, ending at her lips. Then he straightened and planted his hands on his hips. “I have your key, and I’m locking up after I leave. You want your key back, come get it tomorrow. Like I said—”

  “Don’t be late. Yeah, yeah.” She yawned and closed her eyes, comforted by both the man and the beast at her side.

  Chapter Four

  ‡

  HADN’T SHE ONCE referred to him as Satan? She should have called him a slave driver and an egomaniac. Thorn had been nothing but bossy since she’d arrived, ordering her around like he had the right.

  “Look, damn it. I don’t need another water break.” She did but she refused to agree with him. On anything. “I’m not wearing that stupid bikini you stole from my closet last night, and—”

  “Technically your sister’s closet, right?” he drawled.

  “—I’m not an idiot. I know how to transplant fucking beans from one pot to this piece-of-crap garden bed.” Parched and suffering from a headache, she’d tired of him looming over her ten seconds after he’d started…an hour ago.

  “Someone’s cranky. If you can’t handle the morning after, maybe you shouldn’t drink.”

  “Fuck you.”

  The bastard laughed.

  She seethed and did something she wasn’t proud of. She lost her temper.

  Glaring up at the stupid man who didn’t have the decency to put a shirt on over all that glorious muscle, she flung a shovelful of dirt in his face.

  That stopped his smiling.

  “You little witch.”

  “That’s Major Witch, Gunnery Sergeant.” She smirked at him, dropped the shovel, and walked past him into the house for a bottle of water. Screw it. She wanted a drink.

  Irritating the man on purpose wasn’t smart, but seeing his annoyance made her feel worlds better. Even her headache seemed to ease. She grabbed a bottle out of his organized refrigerator—the man had a neatness problem—and left the kitchen. She propped her hip against his dining table while she drank.

  He followed her inside. “You know, a thank you would be a lot more appropriate than throwing dirt at my face. Quit acting like a bitch and sack up.”

  At the B-word, she put down her bottle and straightened to her full height, feeling less than imposing in her tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. She’d worn her least favorite shirt and cut-off denims, which sported a few holes and paint stains. Knowing she had to keep her appointment with Thorn had galled her, mostly because he’d done her a favor last night, and she felt embarrassed he’d seen her at her worst. Morning face was one thing, drunk and not in control of herself was another.

  “As a matter of fact,” he said, most unwisely, “you might want to thank me for saving your ass last night.”

  “I saved myself, or didn’t you hear?”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You know.” She moved closer and poked his steely pecs. The man had little chest hair, muscle everywhere, and looked like a freaking poster child for the Marines. All that sculpted strength, those bright blue eyes, that chiseled jaw… Ack. Down girl. We don’t like the B-word, remember? So stop acting like one in heat.

  “I know the cops dragged a Marine away for assaulting your boyfriend,” he sneered.

  “Not exactly. Sgt. Pinter got all touchy-feely. Who knows what else he might have grabbed for if I hadn’t laid him out? The other two Marines hit Matt, but honestly, he didn’t put up much of a fight, sad to say.”

  Thorn grew still. “What’s that?”

  She took a hasty step back, not sure about this particular expression on the man. He looked like he wanted to kill something. Or someone. “Stand down, Gunny.”

  “Uh-uh. Say that again. What exactly happened last night?” He stalked her until her back hit a wall. Then he waited, his blue eyes blazing. “I asked you a question.”

  His deep voice gave her shivers. She ignored the need pooling between her thighs and quickly ran down the events of the evening. Sh
e needed to get away from him before she forgot herself and jumped the man. Thorn was acting like her fantasy made flesh—a sexy, powerful alpha with control tendencies ordering her around. Lord, help me now.

  “Staff Sgt. James? Lima Company?” he repeated.

  She nodded, recalling the staff sergeant’s brief introduction to the police.

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “I already did.” Had Thorn not heard her?

  He stood there staring down at her, making her nervous. God, he even smelled sexy. How was that possible?

  “What?” she snapped and tried to move, but he moved with her, keeping her effectively pinned against the wall.

  “You’re not a major anymore.”

  She swallowed a ball of nerves. “Technically, I am. In another twenty-eight days I’ll be out for good.”

  He shocked her by putting a hand to her throat. He didn’t squeeze, just held it there and stared at her. And she creamed like crazy, her body readying to be mounted and taken despite knowing what a bad idea it would be to give in to this crazy man.

  “So you still outrank me.” If anything, he looked turned on by the idea. “Ever taken orders from a subordinate before…Ma’am?”

  She trembled, and he felt it, because his grin turned menacing.

  “L-let go.”

  “You really want me to let go? Because those beautiful eyes of yours are telling me something different.” Yet he didn’t move in on her. “Yes or no, Major?”

  “Huh?”

  Thorn moved closer, using his body to keep her still. He pressed against her from chest to groin, and she could feel his cock digging into her belly. The scrape of his hard chest against her nipples felt like torture, because she wanted to feel his mouth there instead. Or his hands, his fingers. Better still, his cock sliding between her breasts while he played with her.

  “Oh yeah. I’m betting you’re wet. Your tits are killing me, dragging against my skin,” he whispered and leaned closer. He nuzzled her hair out of the way and blew a hot breath over her ear.

  She moaned, and he nipped her earlobe with a stinging bite. She gasped, and he followed with a kiss before sucking the lobe between his lips.

  She had to clutch his thick biceps to keep from sliding down the wall. Her knees felt weak, her entire body one giant flaming nerve.

  “Should I see if you’re wet? Yes or no, Major? You ready to take some orders and obey like a good Marine?”

  The large hand not holding her throat trailed down her front, over her breasts and belly until he rested it at the waistband of her shorts.

  She stared up at him, watching him watch her. Slowly, he unbuttoned her shorts and slid his hand down her belly, under the thin cotton of her panties.

  She hissed a Yes as he slid over her clit and found the wet heat between her legs.

  “That’s it. That’s what I want,” he rasped and shoved a thick finger inside her.

  The forceful intrusion set her off, and she came like a rocket, crying out as pleasure shattered her. After a moment, she realized his finger remained inside her, and Thorn hadn’t moved.

  “Gunny, I—”

  “Not Gunny, not Thorn. Call me Bobby.”

  She blinked, feeling so out of control and confused and turned on, she didn’t know what to do.

  “Call me Bobby, baby. I’ll take good care of you, just the way you need it.” Then he squeezed her throat, just enough to remind her of who was in charge.

  Like that, she wanted him again. This time with more than a finger inside her.

  “Bobby,” she whispered.

  And all hell broke loose.

  THORN HADN’T GONE by his given name in years, not since Maria. He’d thought he was falling for her, and he’d loved hearing her call him Bobby, since no one but his close family did. But after her, he’d simply gone by Thorn or his rank, now Gunny. Bobby was too personal for casual hookups or even his previous attempts at relationships, because his heart hadn’t been in them.

  April was different.

  Hearing her say his name broke his control. He kissed her until he couldn’t think, and his finger remained trapped by her hot pussy. Taking charge of the kiss, he dragged moans and shivers from the woman all but trying to climb up his body. He kept his hand wrapped around her slender neck, not only because it turned her on, but because it aroused him like crazy.

  Bobby loved rough sex. A demanding lover, he wanted an equal to put through her paces, a sexy submissive he’d have to tame time and time again. She couldn’t be easy, nor could she be a slave to his needs all the time. Bobby needed a challenge, and April Soames was it.

  “Gotta be inside you,” he murmured, lost in her. He finally let go of her neck and dragged his hand from between her thighs. Watching her, he brought his wet finger to his mouth and sucked.

  “Bobby,” she breathed in a daze, her teal eyes bright yet unfocused, lost in the same lust overtaking his sense. “I want you.”

  He trailed his mouth down her throat, leaving tiny love bites as he went. Then he yanked her shirt over her head and stared at her bountiful breasts. “Fuck. I love your tits. They’re so big.” He unfastened her bra and pushed it off her. As he’d imagined, she was perfectly formed. She had large rosy pink areolas surrounding plump nipples.

  Without waiting a moment more, he took one in his mouth and sucked.

  She clasped his head to her, scraping his scalp like a kitten stretching her claws, and he worried he’d spill before he entered her.

  At the thought, he pulled back and rasped, “You on anything?”

  “What?” She took his nipple in her mouth. As he’d done, she bit down, and he jerked, near to coming.

  “Jesus. Hold on.” He yanked her back by the hair, knowing the sting would break through to her. Except her eyes fogged even more, and she moaned, aroused by the pain. “April, shit. Tell me. Are you on birth control?”

  “Yes.” She arched her throat, and he sucked, deliberately leaving a bruise. “The pill. Though I haven’t had…sex…in two…Oh God, what are you doing to me?” She writhed under him.

  “Two months?” Not that long, though it could feel like an eternity. It had been about that long for him as well. She seemed like a woman who prized her health, so he figured she’d been careful. He sure the hell had been. But they should probably talk about condoms before—

  “Years,” she sighed.

  He froze and pulled back. “Two years?”

  “I was busy with work and a deployment. Come on, Bobby. Kiss me.”

  “Shit.” He kissed her again, laving her neck and her breasts with ardent attention. A tease into her panties showed she’d drenched them. “You’re soaking. Oh fuck.” He’d never last.

  “I need you in me.” She sounded drugged, and the notion she wanted him so much was like an aphrodisiac.

  He couldn’t wait a moment more. Bobby pushed down her shorts and panties, baring her fully. She had a narrowed waist, long, slender legs, and a taut belly over a nude V between her legs. She fucking shaved. Tan lines showed where she’d worn a bikini, and fuck if he wouldn’t see her in it soon. Today. After.

  He shoved his shorts down and saw her eyes widen when she got a good look.

  “Yeah, it’s a big dick,” he teased.

  She spread her legs. “In me. Now.”

  “Oh, no. I’m giving the orders, Major.” He picked her up. “Wrap your legs around my waist.”

  He couldn’t stop himself from seeking her heat, sliding perilously close to her entrance as he positioned himself. Then he forced himself to stop while she squirmed.

  “I’m so wet,” she moaned. “Come on, Thorn. In me.”

  He leaned down and sucked hard at her nipple, pleased when she gasped. “Ow. That hurt.”

  “What’s my name?”

  “Bobby,” she sobbed and tried to seat herself over him. “Fuck me. I need your big cock. Please.”

  Hell. Dirty talk coming from the mouth of a woman who looked like an angel did him in. He
stared at her as he readied. “I’m gonna fuck you so hard.”

  She cried out when he suddenly thrust and seated himself deep.

  “God, yes.” She felt so damn good. He couldn’t think as he took her, pummeling past her orgasm into his own climax. He gripped her ass and shuddered when he felt her fingernails biting into his shoulders, the pain an added reminder of the agonizing pleasure they shared.

  He’d never been so taken out of himself, so lost in ecstasy as he was while joined to her—against the wall for fuck’s sake.

  He came down off his sexual high and knew just once wouldn’t be enough.

  She nuzzled his chest, and his heart continued to hammer, this time for a different reason than desire. He wanted to fuck her all over again, to claim her. She belonged to him. This was no casual hookup. Sex with April would mean more; he could tell it already did. At least, to him. Did she feel the same way? Could she after so short an acquaintance? Hell. What if she didn’t?

  A soft kiss over his heart gentled fear of the future right out of him, and he sighed. “Ah, baby. You destroyed me.”

  Her soft laugh filled him with joy, adding an emotional element to his orgasm and jerking a shudder out of him all over again.

  “I can’t believe I came twice,” she said dreamily. “You feel so good inside me.”

  “Yeah, about that.” He didn’t want to withdraw, but he had much more planned for their afternoon, evening, and late night. “We didn’t talk about it, but I’m clean.” He pulled out of her and set her back on her feet, already missing her warmth.

  “Oh.” She blushed, and he couldn’t get over how beautiful she looked. “Me too.”

  “Two years. I heard.” He smiled.

  Her shy smile back undid him. He kissed her softly, with feeling. She kissed him back, and the carnal element of their sex gentled with an emotional pull that tugged at the heartstrings he’d buried for so long.

  “You’re so strong,” she said on a sigh as she stroked his arms, his chest, and ran her hands down his belly to grip his cock.

  His shaft twitched, and a pulse of fluid slid over his tip. She smoothed it over his cockhead with her thumb.