“You’re one to talk, I have marks all over my back.” Like him, she didn’t look sorry for doing that. She closed her legs and tried to hide her wince, but Charlie was observant. He cursed himself. He knew he should have been gentler with her or given her more time before they made love again, but what man could resist a naked woman grinding in his lap? Not him. “I’m sorry I was so rough with you.”
“You weren’t,” she gave him half a smile.
“How about you take a shower while I whip us up some breakfast?’
“I thought you had to leave that’s why you set your alarm?’ Catherine asked puzzled bringing her knees up to her chest.
Charlie reached out and smoothed the furrow between her brows. “I set it early, so I had time to tell you I was leaving.”
“And get some nookie before you leave?” She guessed.
Charlie didn’t like she thought of their lovemaking like that and scowled at her. Did she think that lowly of him or were her past experiences influencing her? He would nip that in the bud quick fast and in a hurry. “Nookie? No, what we did was make love.” Catherine beamed at him and reached out to him. He knew if he allowed her in his arms he would take her again then she would be too sore for anything. “Shower,” he ordered, then hopped off the bed and dressed.
Chapter 19
Catherine lay on her bed for several minutes after Charlie had left. The sheets still smelled of him and sex. She pulled the pillow he used to her nose and inhaled his spicy scent. She was such a dork. A hopeless in love dork, but still a dork. She still couldn’t believe he came on her. She knew they forwent a condom, but she had also read about guys doing that in romance novels. It was a guy’s ways of marking his woman. As if she walked around town and a man would see her invisible marking. She rolled her eyes. Men’s logic. Not that she had room to talk. She scratched his back several times as her way of marking him that no one would see unless they lifted his shirt. The thought of another woman seeing his body caused her to see red. He was hers as much as she was his.
"I don't hear the shower running. If you’re not in there in the next ten seconds I'm coming up there to paddle your fine ass." Charlie yelled at her from downstairs.
"Keep your hair on," she yelled back, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and making her way into the shower before he could carry out his threat. Not that she thought he would hurt her. People didn't hurt those they loved. Martin had claimed to love her and still hurt her. She was realizing he never did love her. She had been a possession to him, nothing more. If he had, he never would have beaten her or mocked her. Charlie was the complete opposite. He was always kind and considerate to her. He didn't make her feel fat or flawed because of her scars. He made her feel loved, almost as much as she loved him.
Catherine was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair and froze at her last thought. Loved Charlie? Did she love him? Yes, he went behind her back and had someone look into her background, but he was thinking of his friend’s safety. But with her, he was always making sure she was happy and put her first.
"Oh my God," she whispered to herself, covering her lips with her hands. "I'm in love with Charlie."
Feeling the need to tell him that moment she rinsed the last of the shampoo out and turned off the water and rushed through towel drying herself. Not wanting to waste a second looking for clothes she wrapped the towel around herself and ran downstairs.
Charlie was setting the table and still had his back to her when she ran in. "Perfect timing, breakfast is ready." He announced.
"I love you." she announced breathlessly after having flown down the stairs. She winced at having blurted it out, but there were no take backs. It wasn't how she would have liked to have told him, but it was too late now.
Charlie's back went rim rod stiff before he whipped around to face her. His mouth opened to tell her something, but no words came out as he looked her up and down, taking in her attire. "Damn babe, you take my breath away. I'm glad this isn't a new fashion trend because I don't think my heart would ever survive it."
Catherine looked down at herself and saw the puddle of water forming around her feet on the hardwood. Perhaps she should have taken a few seconds to make sure she was all the way dried off. "I...I" She started stammering out a reason she was dressed the way she was while gripping the towel to her chest as if it were a shield, but Charlie closed the distance between them and gripped her upper arms before pulling her close, and sealing his mouth over hers. She wiggled her hands out from between them so she could touch him.
"Say it again," he asked pulling away to look at her fervently.
"I love you," she was proud she said it more calmly this time. Charlie's chest expanded then he smiled down at her. A real smile. Before he would only give her half a smile. She didn't know if it was because he smiled so little or the scarring wouldn't allow him but now she knew he could he was just a little out of practice.
"Again," he demanded.
"I feel this is very one-sided now." She teased him.
"I'll tell you every day," Charlie unwrapped the towel with quick fingers and watched as it pooled at her feet. Catherine stood before him in all her naked glory. Her instincts told her to cover herself but the love shining in his piercing eyes stopped her, and she left her hands at her sides. "I love you," he said then kissed her neck. "I love you," he kissed her shoulder. For every kiss on her overheated skin, he gave her he told her he loved her. She was panting by the time he reached her hips. His hands skinned down her legs before running back up the insides. She widened her stance to give him better access, but he never touched her where she needed him most. Her sex clenched in need feeling hollow.
“Please,” she begged him, swiveling her pelvis towards him.
“Patience,” he said against her skin, and swatted her butt earning a squeak out of her.
“Don't you have somewhere you have to be?” She reminded him. Not that she was ready for him to leave her. She would never be ready, but this came with his job. The leaving. But he promised to always try to make it back to her. She couldn't ask for more because he couldn't promise more. It, unfortunately, came with the military life. Spouses were leaving for months at a time and never knowing if they'd come back. It scared her. He could get hurt again. If not worse. She shivered at the thought.
Charlie pulled away from her and stood. “Where did you go?”
Knowing it was pointless to lie to him because he would know, and she always wanted honesty between them since there was none with Martin, she went for the truth. “I'm scared of what you'll face, and knowing I'll never know what you’re going through. I'm scared you'll get hurt again.” She touched the side of his face, and he closed his eyes as if in pain.
“Babe, I know it's a lot to take in and bear. The secrets and the always not knowing. I can't promise I won't get hurt again but I will always try to come home to you."
"I know," she hated putting this burden on his shoulders before he left. It was selfish of her. He needed to focus on his mission, not her insecurities. "I'll be fine."
"I hate leaving you. Especially now that I got you back."
"I'm not going anywhere." She promised. And she wasn't. No more running. No more hiding. Wherever he lived, she would go to.
“Good, because I'd hate to have to chase you down."
“Yes sir," she said in a false falsetto with a mock salute.
“Oh, baby now you’re asking for it." He looked back at the clock, then the plates of food before turning back to her. “And as much as I want to punish you, we don't have time to make love and eat breakfast before I go.”
She had no idea what time he had to leave, but she would honestly rather make love than eat right now. "We could have a quickie?" She suggested.
He quirked an eyebrow. "Babe, there is nothing quick about what we do. This body deserves proper homage."
"Then I vote we skip breakfast." It was all the answer he needed before picking her up and racing her back to the bedroom. He tossed
her on the bed and divested himself of his clothes in record time before joining her in bed. He crawled over her and kept his weight on his hands as he kissed her. Their tongues mated as Catherine rubbed her hands over his muscular back feeling the bunching of his muscles.
"You are so beautiful," he said as his hand kneaded her breast then plucked her nipple. It puckered under his minstrels then he lowered his head and sucked the other one. Catherine rubbed her legs over his in restlessness. She was on fire, and only he could put out the flame.
"Now, Charlie," she was on the edge of coming, and she didn't want to go alone.
Charlie ignored her plea and instead scooted down the bed until he was over her sex. He spread her legs wide then opened her lips with his thumbs before swiping his tongue over her. She shuddered when he did it again. He lapped at her core as a finger slide inside of her. Her walls clenched around his finger needing to be filled. He fucked her with his finger while he sucked on her clit. She rocked into his thrusts, the need to come riding her. He inserted another finger into her and pumped in and out of her in a steady rhythm with her coming in minutes. Before she finished spasming, Charlie had sheathed himself and was poised over her. "Watch," he commanded her, and she was helpless to do anything but.
She looked down where he held himself at her opening then in two short thrusts he was buried deep inside of her. She wanted to throw her head back in ecstasy, but she kept her eyes open, watching his dick disappear then reappear inside her. She clenched her sex around him and smiled at his quick intake of breath. He fell over her but kept his weight on his elbows as his thrusts became more forceful and chaotic. She wrapped her legs around his waist and used her feet on his ass to aid in his thrusts. "Oh fuck, baby, come for me," he was about to come, and he didn't want to come alone. His words and the sudden bite to her neck, sent her over the edge. Her orgasm triggered his, and he buried himself as deep as he could go inside her as he came groaning, "I love you."
They lay in bed for several minutes after just holding each other in their afterglow. No words were needed. They listened to each other breathing. The moment was shattered when Charlie looked over at the clock on her nightstand and cursed.
"I have to go, babe. I'm sorry." He jumped out of bed and hastily put his clothes back on. She was still recovering from her previous orgasms and was ready to fall asleep, but his words were a bucket of ice water.
Instead of giving into her fears, she put on a brave face. "Be safe. I'll see you when you get back."
Charlie dressed then leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. It was too quick in her opinion. "You don't know how hard it is to leave you like this."
Catherine smiled knowing. "Go, I'm sure your already late."
"I'll call you when I land."
"You can do that?" She thought it was a covert mission or something where he had to maintain radio silence.
"I'm going to California to help another Delta team out. I should be home in a couple of days. I won't always be able to call you though or tell you where I’m going."
"Understood, sir." She said just to be cheeky and lighten the mood.
He scowled down at her. "You’re lucky I have to go, or I’d paddle that ass."
"Promises, promises." She rolled her eyes. She was pulling the tiger by the tail, but she loved it.
"When I get back it will be more than a promise." He kissed her once more than he was gone.
He called her a few hours later as promised and assured her everything was fine. She kept herself busy while he was gone with work. She picked up every available shift and was exhausted by the time she got home. She told Charlie she wasn't overdoing it, but she could feel herself getting sick from all the extra hours over the past few weeks. Her body ached, and she developed a cough. She passed it off as just a cold as the seasons were changing, but she just kept plugging away. The distraction helped her not think about missing Charlie while he was gone. He called her every day he was gone, but the conversations were always short. She hadn't received any more newspaper clippings, but sometimes felt like someone was watching her. She always stuck to well-lit areas and bought herself some mace. She thought about changing the locks remembering how easy it had been for Charlie to break in, but would wait until she got paid.
As she turned in for bed she felt herself sweating but a chill in her bones. She took aspirin and hoped it passed by morning since she worked her sixth double shift that week. Her cough wasn't getting any better, and her chest was hurting from it. If it didn't clear up soon, she feared she would have to go to the doctor. She hated going to the doctor. They would suggest tests she couldn't afford and dope her up on drugs. No thank you. It was a little cold. She would be fine by morning.
Chapter 20
Charlie sat impatiently in the back of the plane as it landed back at Fort Sam. After successfully ending the threat from Alejandro, he was ready to get back to Catherine. He hadn't been able to call her the past few days, as they planned and fought Alejandro's army. It has been a brutal but swift fight with minimal injuries. Ortiz had gotten hit the worst with burns and a piece of debris through his shoulder. Ortiz hadn't cared about the injury as much as that he couldn't reach his Oreos in his pocket.
As soon as the plane touched the ground, he tried calling Catherine, but it went to voicemail. He tried not to worry since she could be at work. He hated that she was working so much. She didn't say in so many words, but he could hear the fatigue in her voice when they spoke on the phone. Now that he was home for a while, he would convince her to cut back on some hours. She would work herself to death. He drove past the PX on his way home, but didn’t see her car in the lot. He tried calling her phone again but it went to voicemail. “Don’t panic,” he told himself. “She could be in the shower and can’t hear her phone.” He would drive past her place to check and see if she was there.
The past few days without her had been torture. She wormed her way under his skin and straight into his heart in such a short time. He could still hear her blurting out she loved him as he had set breakfast on the table. She was the only woman, besides his mother, who had ever said it. It hadn’t been a rehearsed line or even said in a romantic way, but it still meant the world to him. He had thought he would have a heart attack when he had turned around and to make sure she wasn’t a hallucination, and saw her standing there in only a towel. He had been surprised his tongue hadn’t been hanging out. He made love to her none too gently, even knowing she had to be sore. Not that she had complained. She had spurred him on, if anything. Now he wanted to get home to his woman and crash. He was exhausted after the battle, and he and his team had left right after the fighting, so they could get back home. He had been in a rush to get back to Catherine and prepare for the charity race, which was a week away.
Everyone was pumped for the race and excited to race against Ghost and his team. They were a formable team but so was his. He didn’t know who the victor would be. All he could picture was Catherine waiting for him at the finish line, cheering him on. Charlie hoped the spouses were coming; Catherine could use some girl bonding. She was unsure what to expect as a girlfriend of a Delta Force operative, and those women would know what to say to guide her. He had no doubt the ladies would get along. It was hard not to get along with Rayne, and all the rest and no one could resist Annie. The imp was intuitive and had people eating out of the palm of her hand in a short time of meeting her.
Charlie slowed down as he turned on her block. Her car was in the driveway, but all the lights were off. It was eight at night, so he didn’t think she was already asleep. He was about to head home and try her again tomorrow, but he felt like something was wrong; he could feel it in his gut. He pulled over and knocked on her door. After several minutes and she didn’t answer Charlie pulled out his lock pick kit and easily picked her lock. He made a mental note to change out her locks the first chance he got. Once inside, he turned on the lights and called out to Catherine as he searched her house. It was eerily quiet. A search of
the first floor turned up nothing. He raced up the stairs to the second floor, two at a time and raced into her room. He flipped the light switch and saw her curled up in bed. He released a breath he hadn’t known he was holding at seeing her safe and sound. He had worried over nothing. He walked up to her ready to wake his sleeping beauty up, but once he was close to her, he saw something was wrong. She was shaking under the covers, and sweat dotted her forehead.
“Babe?” He called out as he knelt next to her. He touched her forehead and felt her burning up. She shivered and tried to pull away from his touch. She was sick, and he had no idea for how long. Reacting on instincts, Charlie threw the blanket off her. Catherine mumbled something and tried to curl into a ball and coughed. Charlie ran to the en-suite and started a cool bath. He had to bring her temperature down, but not shock her body. He had no idea how she got a fever but the longer it stayed up it could cause damage to her body. Once the bath filled, he came back to bed and picked her up gingerly, and carried her to the bath. He divested her of her clothes quickly and efficiently, and set her down in the bath. She tried to scramble out of the cold water, but he held her down. He hoped he wasn’t hurting her, but she had to get her temperature down. Her eyes shot open and looked feverish as her body convulsed in shivers. “Relax, babe. You're sick, it’s going to be okay.”
“C-C-Charlie?” She chattered between clenched teeth.
“I’m here. I’m not leaving you anytime soon.”
“Why am I in an ice cold bath?”
“It’s not that cold. You have a fever. We have to bring it down.”
“You know there is a thing called medicine that does the same thing.” She couldn’t be too sick if she was giving him sass, but he wasn’t willing to take a chance.
“I don’t know how long you’ve had this fever.”
“Since last night. At least I think so. Is it morning?” She tried to sit up, but he held her down with one hand.
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