The Hot Sergeant (Second Chance Military Romance) (Hargrave Brothers - Book #2) Page 5

  “I love everything you do to me. But, I want to be inside you, watching you ride me. I want to feel you tight around me as your eyes go blank. I want to hear you scream your pleasure so the neighbors complain.”

  I chuckled, remembering a couple of times I had done just that.

  I climbed up onto him and he reached for my breasts, so I leaned over and sheathed him inside me with one long thrust. I was so wet that he slid right in, thicker than I remembered, tighter, and it felt so good I had to fight not to finish right then. I breathed in deep and looked down into his face. When his eyes met mine, they were dark, possessive, and masculine. In that moment, he was completely and utterly mine.

  My hips started to rock of their own volition, my body tired of waiting for me to accept the pleasure of him inside me. He held me up with one hand and massaged my breasts with the other, alternating between them and playing with my nipples one at a time.

  “Harder,” I gasped as he pinched one between his thumb and forefinger. I gasped as he obeyed and squeezed tighter around him as I sped up my rhythm. He leaned up as best he could and took my nipple in his mouth, biting down slowly until I cried out. He kept at it, sucking and biting until the pain was almost enough to override the pleasure. Instead, it threw me over the edge and I screamed my orgasm, thrusting hard and fast until I collapsed onto him.

  With a whimper, I pushed back so his shaft was almost vertical and began to slide up and down, lifting my hips up and sliding back onto him. I picked up the pace and soon I was sliding over him fast enough to make my ass bounce like a girl twerking on a dance floor. He grabbed me and dug in his fingers, spreading my bum apart with the strength of his grip. He slammed me down hard onto him and held me in place while he filled me up, throbbing inside me as he gave a bear-like roar.

  I curled my fingers in the thick, curly hair on his chest and rested my cheek on his collarbone. Our hearts raced almost in time to each other as we lay together, our legs entwined. He wrapped his arms around me and held me, then turned over on his side so we both rested on the bed with his arm under my neck for a pillow.

  Neither of us spoke. Me, because I was afraid to. Him, because he promptly dozed off, sated and at least for the moment, relaxed and content. I watched him sleep until my eyelids were too weighty to keep open and I napped in his arms, the one place I had once thought I’d always belong.

  7. George

  After we made love, I pretended to sleep so Callie wouldn’t leave. I didn’t know how to make amends for the choices I’d made, and I was worse off with my injuries than I had been when I left for my second deployment to the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan. Even then, I’d known I was going to the one place I was sure I wouldn’t come back from, and I didn’t want to tell her to wait for me, even though I wasn’t likely to come home.

  Once I felt her breathing slow and I was certain she was asleep, I knew I needed to leave her be, get up, get dressed, and get the hell away from her sweet smell and soft skin.

  Instead, I stayed by her side. It felt like only a minute passed, and I was waking up to the muffled, distant sound of the elevator rising. A quick glance over Callie to the bedside clock told me that elevator held my too-responsible-for-his-own-good older brother.

  I gently shook Callie, and when I saw her bleary-eyed glare, all I said was “Tucker.” In an instant, she was wide awake and searching for her clothes. By the time Tuck walked in the door with a take-out dinner to share, I was dressed and limping toward the couch and Callie was hiding in the bathroom, straightening herself up.

  “Hey, G-man, I brought you calzone. I also brought you lasagna, and garlic bread, and a Caesar salad.” Tuck hesitated and then shrugged. “And calzones. Four of them. I figured we could each eat two, or maybe the dogs could split one.” At the word “dogs,” Xavi and Slinky raced into the kitchen hoping for treats, with Tuck’s new girl, Kennedy, close on their heels.

  “Thanks, Tuck,” was all I managed to get out before he noticed Slinky wriggling on the floor at his feet, begging for a back rub.

  “You did not go get two dogs, George.” He made it a statement, not a question, so I simply grinned at him. “Oh, my God, G-man, what were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that Slinky here, sweetest little girl you will ever meet, belongs to Callie, who is using the facilities at the moment, but would like to help me, and by association you, out with training Xavi and finding a new place, and generally getting me out of your hair.”

  “Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to turn into one of those weird animal hoarders.”

  I stifled a rude comment and smiled at Callie as she came out to the kitchen. She leaned over the counter and looked at all the food he’d brought home, then grabbed her bag and started to walk toward the door.

  “Are we done then?” I asked.

  “Well, it looks like Tucker has plans, so I was going to just come back tomorrow.”

  “I don’t have plans.”

  “How much can two men eat? God, Tucker, are you a bulimic or something?” Callie arched her eyebrows at my brother while I hid my grin behind my hand.

  “You told her? You’re so insensitive, George.” I laughed out loud at his dry retort, and Callie joined in. Before I knew it, the three of us were laughing and giggling like three stoned kids hiding under the bleachers. The dogs went wild, barking, leaping, and grinning at us, tails wagging.

  Callie wiped her eyes and waved her hands at us, and I took a deep breath. Every time she looked at Tuck, she snorted, so she turned her attention instead to her pretty little Slinky-dog, scratching behind her ears and asking if she needed to go outside.

  “I need to take Kennedy out, too. Why don’t we all go to the park downstairs, and Callie, you can help us eat all this food, so George isn’t stuck eating Italian for the next four days.” That was enough to get her going again, and she walked away, giggling, to grab the leashes.

  That evening passed like a dream. We were young again. We drank too much, laughed until tears ran down our faces, and more than once set the dogs howling from the din we were creating. For a few sweet hours, we were a gang again and Callie was by my side.

  But, she was so sweet, and so lovely and wholesome and perfect, that when the buzz wore off, every amazing thing about her was a reminder of how broken I was. I felt my mood sour and tried to control the panic that began to set in, either from too much beer, or just plain fuck-upped-ness. I realized Callie and Tuck had gone quiet just about the same time that Xavi put his head in my lap. He didn’t whine, didn’t prance to go for a walk or try to get me to follow him into the kitchen. He just put his big, square head in my lap and nudged my hand with his cool, spongy nose.

  I scratched him behind the ears and stared into his eyes. I was damn sure he was trying to speak to me, but I was just too stupid to understand. After what seemed like forever, Callie knelt by my side and scratched his shoulders, her free hand on my leg.

  “Good boy, Xavier. You did just perfect.” I glanced down at her while she spoke softly to him. He glanced from me to her and back again. I felt something rough being pressed into my hand. Callie had slipped a treat into my palm, and I now held it out to Xavi. He sat stock still, ears forward, a shoelace of drool escaping the corner of his grinning mouth.

  I tossed the treat and he snatched it out of the air and trotted over to his bed to chew it up in relative peace. Slinky and Kennedy got treats, too, so they’d leave Xavi alone, which left me with no way to avoid Callie except to stare at my hands in my lap.

  “You and Xavi are doing really well, George. I’m so proud of you both. To be honest, I’ve never seen this level of bonding between vet and service animal in such a short time. I’d be gobsmacked, but you always were an overachiever, so I’ll try to take this in stride.” She ran her hand over my shoulder, and I looked up into her face.

  “I felt really bad, not gonna lie. Xavi just came over without me saying anything and stuck his face in my crotch. Hard to panic when it might cost you your
stones.”

  “Very funny, George. I get it – that was weird for you. My hope is that is becomes less weird, and then it gets less frequent that you need him like that.”

  “He’s a good dog.”

  “He’s pretty freaking sweet. I can’t wait to see the two of you on a job site together. I even have a little doggy hardhat for him. I made them as a joke one year. Now, every damn worker and subcontractor with a dog demands one.” She shook her head and laughed. “The first thing is to get you to work. Second is to help you steal scrap wood. Third, is to build our three pound puppies good homes. I’ll, uh, I’ll donate the hardhats for the dog houses.” Callie ticked each item off on her fingers as she spoke. Xavi looked up from his blanket as if to tell us he knew we were talking about him.

  “I am excited to get back to work. Between that and moving into my own place, I feel like I came out well, almost breaking even, at least.”

  “You know I’m not trying to kick you out, little bro, but we can talk about that later.” Tucker looked worried as he tossed beer bottles in the trash and wiped down his counters. I handed him my empty, and he exchanged it for a bottle of water with a wink. I rolled my eyes, but spun the lid off the bottle and took a swig.

  “Tucker, I want to help George as he transitions. I mean, that’s the whole reason I’m even here. I need to make sure that Xavier’s needs are being met, and that he’s doing his doggie job. I can taxi them until George is well enough to drive himself around, which is going to happen.” She shook her finger at me and I put my hands up in surrender.

  “It’s all I want.”

  “Well, you have a personal assistant to help you. Besides, Dad’s always trying to get me back on job sites. He doesn’t actually believe I don’t work for him anymore, no matter what I say.”

  I didn’t respond. I didn’t have to. Tom Drake’s inability to let go of anything was the reason I had hope for my immediate future.

  “I’m nervous about the job site. I’ve never seen anyone in a wheelchair working for him before. If I hadn’t been sitting in the dang thing when he offered it to me, I’d be worried that I’d mislead him somehow.” Callie squeezed my shoulder.

  “You just let me know when you need a ride or help moving in to your new place. Other than that, I’ll see y’all Monday morning, early. We can grab coffee and breakfast on the way to your first day as a pencil pusher.” She chuckled softly as she scratched Xavi behind the ears.

  Slinky jumped up from her perch on the couch at the sound of Callie’s jangling keys. Tucker blocked the door until he was sure Callie was good to drive. I knew better. Callie wouldn’t push those limits, at least not with Slinky with her. Nothing mattered more to her than her fur babies. Maybe once I’d held the spot of honor, but I’d fucked that up good and proper.

  I wheeled to the blessedly wide entryway for a kiss on the cheek and a hug from my former best girl and watched her from the doorway until the elevator doors shut her away. Tuck grabbed the dogs and we took them out, but by the time we reached the ground floor, Callie was long gone. I was grateful to Tucker for not asking any questions, even though I felt him watching me as we did a quick tour around the block for the sake of Xavi and Kennedy – and to work off some of the beer.

  When we got back to the condo, I took Xavi to my bedroom without another word and went straight to bed. It wasn’t until I woke up terrified in the middle of the night in a puddle of my own sweat, with Xavi gently licking my hand, that I began to wonder if Callie hadn’t once again given me something more than I deserved.

  I moved to the wheelchair and Xavi came with me. He sat on the floor at my feet, watchful and silent, until my heartrate returned to normal. I spent the rest of the night in front of the television with Xavi by my side, his head a comforting weight on my legs.

  It wasn’t fun waking up with the crick in my neck from sleeping stupid, but at least I had gotten a couple solid hours after the usual nighttime shit I dealt with. Tuck had it all figured out. He dropped a couple pain pills in my palm and tossed me a bottle of water from the fridge. Breakfast was leftover calzone while I waited for the sun to climb a little higher in the sky.

  I had a list of things to accomplish and the driver that Tucker had found for me. We went our separate ways, and I spent the day finishing paperwork for my new place, which I silently assured myself I hadn’t chosen because it was walking distance from Callie’s pet store.

  Xavi and I practiced crowd control inadvertently when we found ourselves in taco truck central at the lunch rush, and I was even able to grab a couple street tacos for each of us without breaking down. I felt like the king of the damn state of Texas by the time my shuttle driver lowered me to the concrete outside Tuck’s condo.

  I had beat Tuck home, so I used the extra time I had to shower off the grit of a day in the city, took Kennedy and Xavi out by myself, and practiced walking and standing while I reheated leftovers. It felt like cheating to have the counter to rest against, but I still managed to get a presentable dinner on the table without using my chair once. “Every day a little more,” I reminded myself.

  It seemed like I was a lifetime away from the hospital I’d woken up in. Stern medical officers had treated me like I was Humpty Dumpty and they weren’t sure I had gotten put back together well enough. Nurses flirted like they meant it, but exchanged looks and wouldn’t tell me how bad the injuries were.

  When it came time to leave, they’d just tossed me out like an old bull to pasture. I almost hadn’t bothered coming home. My hands shook where I braced against the counter and I looked down. Sure enough, Xavi was sitting by my leg, pressed up on me just enough that I’d know he was there. I almost laughed when I felt pressure on my other leg and looked down to see Kennedy grinning up at me.

  “Hey, there, dumb dog. You have no idea why you’re doing that, but I guess we can’t leave you out.” She put her paw on my foot and let her tongue fall out of her mouth as her grin spread. “Okay, funny girl. Let’s get you a treat.” At the word treat, Kennedy went crazy. Poor Xavier trembled with the effort, but stood his post until I held a treat out for him. I was so proud of his hard work that I slipped him an extra as soon as Kennedy pranced over to her bed to chew on her goodie.

  I rested for a bit, and after Tuck had gotten home and we’d eaten, I suggested that we try taking the dogs out without the chair. I knew I was pushing my luck, but he was game and reminded me that we could take our time and rest if needed. He was all lit up like he used to be when I’d manage to stick to the saddle breaking horses. The night was cooler than I’d anticipated, a sign that we were gonna get a summer rainstorm. While we walked and the dogs sniffed everything in sight, and pissed on most of it, the unexpected cool was the kicker to a damn near perfect day.

  Lounging in front of the Rangers game with Xavi and Tucker, I wondered if Callie was home alone. I had tried to keep her out of my mind all day, but every time something went right, I had to fight the urge to talk to her. It had been easy to avoid her when my life was shit. I didn’t leave her because she wasn’t there for me; I left because she always would be, no matter how bad it got for her. No real man put a good woman through that.

  But now, when things were looking up, I had to remind myself that it was only a matter of time before I screwed it all up. Maybe if I could have slept through the night without curling up in a corner, or stopped breaking into a sweat when someone stood too close to me, I could’ve seen us together. But after the way it had been for us for that one brief hour the day before, I couldn’t believe that she’d completely given up on me or that I’d given up on us.

  It was a mess, and it was my fault. I wanted her so badly I could taste it, but I knew I’d just mess her up, chase her off, or worst of all, hurt her unintentionally. I couldn’t let it happen. I swirled the beer at the bottom of the bottle and watched it go around. I wouldn’t hurt her, but if Xavi and I could get my shit straightened out, maybe I could still get her back.

  I got hard as I thought back to h
er primal scream as she rode me. No other woman had tempted me enough to forget Callie. I’d been with others along the way, but quitting that woman was damn near impossible. I wasn’t about to wait any longer and have some other guy figure get under her skin and push me out.

  That night was easier than the one before, kind of like making up my mind to get Callie back had settled me some. I still dreamt of the explosion, still woke up shaking and wet with my concerned pooch checking on me.

  But, it was different, less hopeless. Like getting bucked off one of those dang mustangs and having to get back on, instead of accidentally finding myself in the bull pen all alone. When you were up against the bull, you ran flat out until there was something solid and strong between you. I had thought Afghanistan was big enough to hide behind. I wasn’t too disappointed to discover I was wrong.

  Tuck told me he’d take one last day off on Friday, to help me move, and then we’d promised Mom we’d head back over to the ranch for the weekend. I texted Callie anyway, just so she’d know I wasn’t dicking around and I’d be ready Monday. I figured after all the pushing and pulling I’d been doing, she probably needed a break from me. If I knew my girl, she was fretting how to keep me at a distance and still make my life better, or easier, or whatever she thought she needed to do to be the good girl she was.

  Monday, I’d see just how far she was willing to go to make things right for me, while I went about making my world right for her. I knew they missed her at the ranch. Our parents had married us off before we knew what hid beneath each other’s Levi’s. I’d let everyone down when I hurt her. I had a lot of making up to do.

  8. Callie

  Sunday night, I took a long bath with bubbles. I told Slinky it was to relax after a long hard week, getting ready for what was bound to be another one. As I lounged under the foam with a glass of red wine at my elbow, I imagined conversations that might happen between me and George the next day and how to keep it simple and friendly. Because the last time I’d seen him was a whole lot more friendly than I should’ve let it get.