Anchor (First to Fight Book 1)

by Nicole Blanchard

  “C’mon, Liv. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! If there were any reason to give it a rest and live a little, this is it. It’s not every day the stars align and our favorite band, since we were tweens, is playing a reunion show an hour away.”

  Livvie shrugs, smiling guiltily. “I don’t know. You know school starts in a few weeks, and I have so much to do with the classroom and lesson plans. I just don’t want to screw it up my first day and be caught unprepared.”

  “If I can handle my crazy-ass roommates 24/7, you can manage one day off from your group of artsy types. Besides, we haven’t gone out in forever. Where did my crazy sidekick go?”

  Jack scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Give it a rest, Sofie.”

  Sofie cuts a glare toward Jack. “No one asked you.”

  “What are you even doing here, anyway? I thought you were living it up at UNF with all the other brainiacs.” He takes a heavy swig from his drink. “You wanted to go so bad, maybe you just should have stayed there.”

  Sofie stands and swaggers to Jack’s side as he watches with hooded eyes. Olivia gasps beside me as Sofie upends her drink over Jack’s head.

  “Thought you could use something to cool off your hot head,” Sofie quips.

  Jack lunges to follow as Sofie prances away, but changes his mind, slumping back into his seat instead. “You gotta stop inviting that fucking girl,” he says.

  “She’s my best friend, you asshole. The least you could do is keep from insulting her. This is the first time she’s been able to visit since she started grad school. You keep this shit up and I’ll never get to see her at all.”

  Olivia tails after Sofie, leaving me, Jack and Logan staring sullenly at the fire. We’re a sad sight, that’s for sure. Women.

  I smirk. “Don’t go there, Jack. Not a good idea.”

  He scowls at hearing his own advice to me from a few moments ago, using the tail of his shirt to mop the beer dripping from his hair. “Fucking women. Not worth the fucking trouble.”

  “That’s the damn truth,” Logan slurs. “Fucking women. You think you can trust them. Think they’re good, honest people. So you marry them. Put them up in a nice house, let them leech off of your benefits and fucking awesome medical insurance. Then, the next thing you know, you go overseas to defend your country and come home to find that they’ve maxed out your credit cards and have been letting a fucking Jodi sleep in your goddamn bed since the day you shipped out.” He gestures with his drink, beer sloshing over the lip.

  Jack raises his bottle. “Here, here.”

  “So glad you’re done with her,” I tell him. “You feel like shit now, but it’s a good thing.”

  “Now you just need to get in the gym with me, let my dad’s guys shape you up,” Jack says. “They’ll have you so black and blue and exhausted that you’ll be like, Denise who?”

  “Hell, yes,” Logan hollers.

  “Maybe you should slow down a little, man.”

  Logan answers with a burp and chugs the rest of his drink. I shake my head at him.

  Jack turns his attention to me as Logan lumbers off to get another drink or take a piss off the dock. “Next time you’re home, you better come see us at the gym. Bust out some of your spec ops moves.”

  I shrug. “I would hate to put all your boys to shame there, Jack.”

  Jack arches an eyebrow in my direction. “You’re on. You and me, to the mat. Next time you have leave, if you don’t show up, we’ll know who the real badass is.”

  “It’ll still be me, bitch, but I’ll take your cute little challenge.” I sip my beer. “How’s the small business life treating you, by the way?”

  “Not bad, man, not bad. We’ve hit a rough patch since dad turned it over to me, but we’ll bounce back. Is your ole’ man still busting your ass about taking over the auto shop?”

  “He brings it up at least twice every time we talk. I had to leave earlier because I didn’t want to get the third degree.”

  “Are you gonna take him up on the offer?”

  When I joined the Marines, I fully intended that it would be for life. But after eight years, a lot of things have changed. I’ve changed. I thought the degree in business was a smart move just in case. I never expected that I would actually be in the situation to use it.

  “Don’t know. I’m due to reup after the next assignment, but I don’t know if that’s gonna happen. Don’t you dare say a word to him.”

  Jack lifts his beer. “Sure, man. I hear you. When Dad had his stroke last year I knew it was time. I wasn’t ever going to be a lifer, though. Running the gym was always my endgame. You just have to figure out what your endgame is gonna be.” He glances at Sofie who is holding onto a laughing Olivia. “Then again, sometimes that endgame changes, so who the hell knows?”

  Logan starts ambling up the dock, swaying considerably, so Jack abandons his beer and the seat to make sure our friend doesn’t drown his sorrows—and himself—in the lake.

  “You’re being quiet.” Olivia snags Jack’s empty chair next to me. Her sweet vanilla scent carries on the soft breeze as she leans toward me, her dress dipping scandalously low in the front. I force myself to look her in the face when I respond.

  “Got a lot on my mind,” I say, glancing back toward Jack to make sure he isn’t lurking nearby.

  She nods, licking her lips. “Well, we’re gonna miss you around here.”

  My gaze travels over her again. “I’m not here enough for you to miss me.”

  “Then maybe we should remedy that.”

  We share a heated look. “Not so sure that would be a good idea, Liv. Your boyfriend might not like you spending time with someone else.”

  Olivia quirks an eyebrow. “What boyfriend?”

  “Hey, Ben,” Jack calls. “Need you to take the big guy home. I think he’s had enough.”

  “I swear to God, I’d like to beat his ex-wife. Poor guy,” Sofie mutters as she joins us.

  “I’ll go with.” Livvie stands and wipes her hands on her dress. “You’ve been drinking, and besides, weren’t we just saying that we haven’t had near enough time to catch up?”

  “Hell,” I tell her, unable to stop myself, “we may need all night to do that.”

  She smiles, and the wicked curve of her lips makes my mouth go dry. “I’ve always wanted to give your big truck a try. If you’ll let me drive, that is.”

  Heat unfurls in my stomach, which has nothing to do with the beer. “You got it, Spitfire,” I say tossing my empty beer bottle in the trashcan.

  She looks back over her shoulder. “Do you think it’s safe to leave the two of them here alone?”

  I jerk my chin toward Jack and Sofie. “They’re big kids. They should be able to play nice.”

  Besides, she should be more worried about herself.

  I follow her back to the house, trying to look anywhere but the shapely lines of her hips and waist as she climbs the steps in front of me.

  Livvie opens the sliding glass door and we step into the house. She closes it behind me, shutting out the laughter and conversation from those outside. My truck is parked next to the back porch. I toss her the keys, and she catches them with a wide grin. My heart damn near jumps out of my chest when she slithers into the driver’s seat. And not because I’m nervous about letting her behind the wheel of my baby.

  I climb into the passenger’s seat reluctantly. Her face is entirely too eager, and she laughs at my expression when she cranks the engine.

  “Oh, come on, Ben. I promise I’ll be gentle.” She winks.

  My throat goes dry. “For some reason, I don’t quite believe you.”

  She frowns at me. “What’s not to believe? I’m a good driver.”

  “That’s just the problem,” I tell her. “It’s always the good ones you have to watch out for.”

  Logan ambles his way to the truck and manages to haul his bulk into the back seat.

  “You all right back there?”

  A groan answers and I snicker when I see h
im sprawled out, his head leaned against the window.

  She eases out of the driveway and carefully maneuvers around the other parked cars. “Who said I was good?”

  I catch my bottom lip beneath my teeth in order to swallow the urge to test her rebellious nature. Her cheeks pink when she catches my intent stare. I gesture with my fingers. “My lips are sealed.”

  I change the subject until we reach Logan’s house a ways across town—for her own sake, really. My restraint can only last so long.

  Logan lives in a little apartment complex, a far cry from the two-story brick house he and his wife bought after they married. I wrestle him to the front door and take a risky dip inside his pants pocket for his house keys.

  We manage to stumble into his living room and I shoulder him onto the couch, where he falls face-first into the cushions mumbling something about wanting Captain Crunch. I ignore him and stick to making sure he won’t suffocate and head out, locking the front door behind me.

  I step outside to get a little air and hopefully a good dose of reality. I feel like I’m on a ledge and the only thing keeping me from falling over the edge is my own good sense—and I’m running terribly low on that.

  Olivia eyes me from where she stands by the truck. She sends me a hesitant smile. “Do you mind if we go for a drive? Sofie just texted me. She’s going home. Jack’s probably grabbing a shower. I’m not ready to go home to an empty house and it’s my last Friday before school starts.”

  From the sly look she gives me as she climbs back into the cab of the truck, I know she’s interested in more than just a drive.

  I know I shouldn’t go there. Jack would have my ass, or other more sensitive parts of my anatomy, to say the least. Regardless, I find myself reaching for the door handle, my jeans now uncomfortably tight. A song comes on the radio, and from the corner of my eye, I can see her singing along with the music, though I can’t hear her over the rush of blood in my ears.

  We reach a stoplight, just as the song ends. We both lock eyes and I watch her throat bob as she swallows. I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m leaving soon, or just something that’s been building since the day we met, but when it comes to Olivia, my self-control has reached a breaking point.

  I watch her shift in the seat, smooth thighs sliding on the summer-slick leather, and I wonder how different she’ll be when I get back. Will she still bite her lip when she gets nervous? Will she still look at me with that expectant gleam in her eye, like she’s waiting for me to make a move?

  Or will she move on without me?

  The thought makes my heart race and my blood heats.

  Fuck it.

  Want to read more?

  Warrior is now available!

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you so much for joining me on this roller coaster! When Anchor was published in 2015 as a novella, I always knew Gabe and Chloe deserved more. More romance, more action, more story. It wasn’t until this summer that I finally felt like I could do their story justice. Originally, I intended to add just a little to it, but obviously they had other plans!

  I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

  Please note all books in the First to Fight Series may be read as standalones and don’t necessarily need to be read in any order.

  If you enjoyed Anchor please consider leaving an honest review.

  Happy reading!

  Nicole

  Acknowledgments

  My eternal gratitude goes out to my husband for his constant nagging and badgering. Nothing gets me motivated quite like when you order me around.

  To Alana Albertson, Mia Searles, Elle Vanzandt and Ella Stewart. You have no idea how much your continued support has meant to me.

  To my Knockouts! For all of your patience and enthusiasm.

  I couldn’t have submitted Anchor without the encouragement and love from my beta readers. YOU ROCK! This one’s for you!

  And finally to my daughter Afton. I hope all of your dreams come true.

  About the Author

  New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Blanchard lives in Mississippi with her family and their menagerie of animals. She chooses each day to chase her own fairy tale even if they contain their fair share of dragons. She is married to her best friend and owns her own business.

  Nicole survives on a diet of too many books and substantial amounts of root beer and slim jims. When not reading, she’s lavishing attention on her family or inhaling every episode of The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory.

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  For more information:

  @blanchardbooks

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  www.authornicoleblanchard.com

  nicole@authornicoleblanchard.com

  Also by Nicole Blanchard

  First to Fight Series

  Anchor

  Warrior

  Survivor

  Savior

  A Soldier’s Heart Series - Coming Soon

  Danger Close

  Tango Down

  False Move

  Standalones

  Bear with Me

  Darkest Desires

  Mechanical Hearts