Hell Bent

by Arlene Knowell

  She picked up a pillow from the green wingback chair that sat near the door. She met Newhope’s eyes, wishing that he’d do much more than check. She wanted him to stay. “I’m sure everything is okay. Thank you for making arrangements for me to stay here.”

  His gaze scanned over the sparse motel-like furnishings. “That’s my job.”

  With a confident pace, he returned to his vehicle. Even as her mind reeled with the devastating events of the night, he still sparked a fire within her that made her squirm. His sandy blond hair, what little there was of it, looked baby soft. His eyes were an azure blue lined with steel gray. When he held her in his gaze, she couldn’t have looked away if she’d tried. He was slightly shorter than her brothers, but his muscles easily surpassed theirs. He was wide in all the right places, narrow exactly where he needed it and sexy all over. But…he was also military. She reminded herself that even a Mallard with his beautiful majestic colors was still a duck.

  ~ * ~

  It took the NCIS agents two full days to finish and allow the crime scene cleaners into her house. Gunny Newhope had called her twice in that time. Each time, his voice sent rolling waves of hungry desire plunging through her body. She’d considered talking to him on a more personal level, just an attempt to learn more about him, but she figured she’d regret it. A man like him would have a different woman for every night of the week, and the supply of pretty women in the military wasn’t as short as many believed. He’d be like an electrical storm in bed as the need escalated. He’d start as a distant clap of thunder and sparks would course through his body until it grew closer into a raging inescapable barrage of ecstasy. She wanted to discover if he could make that kind of magic, but it would alter the plans for her entire life.

  ~ * ~

  On the third day, Gunny Newhope knocked on the door. She opened it to his handsome, hard body. His blue eyes sparkled. What was he wearing? “You were cleared of any wrong doing and NCIS released the report. The shooting was ruled self defense and you can return home.”

  Mixed emotions flooded her body. She was happy to be cleared in Sanback’s death, but it didn’t change the fact that he was dead. She was excited she could go on with life, but getting back to normal meant going back to her apartment. She wasn’t sure she could go back there without her brothers. It would be at least two more days before Pete got home from Hell Week. Pat was even less predictable as she had no idea where he was, or what type of mission he was on. She wasn’t sure she wanted to go back home even if they were there.

  “Thank you!” she said happily, determined to deal with her troubled mind and emotions in her own way.

  Something unusual brewed in his eyes. What would he say next? He could have announced that the stock market had crashed and she would have basked in the sound of his voice. She didn’t want to admit that part of her was attached to him, a part that had never even been attracted to a military man. It was a part that had never been attracted to anyone.

  “You’re welcome to stay here until your brothers’ return,” he said, that odd expression still in his eyes. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

  She shook her head. “I need to face it.”

  “I’ll be happy to take you back to your apartment.” His expression seemed sad. “Or I could call a cab, if you prefer.”

  She swallowed hard against his words. “If you don’t mind I’d prefer you take me. To be honest, I don’t think I want to walk in there for the first time alone.”

  “Not a problem.” He brushed his hand over the arm of the green wingback chair, “How long will it take you to get your things together before I come back for you?”

  It was a golden opportunity to get closer to him and perhaps learn more about him. “It won’t take fifteen minutes. If you’re allowed, you’re more than welcome to wait.”

  He nodded and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “I’ll be happy to wait.”

  She checked and double checked the quarters for her things. She’d brought very little with her, and wasn’t very happy at the moment that her make up was one of the things she’d left behind in her haste to leave home. She combed her hair one last time and pulled it into a ponytail. Pat’s oversized clothes made her look like a homeless clown. She puffed out her lips. It was too little too late.

  “Okay, I think that does it.” She hooked her purse over her shoulder and waited for him to move.

  “Well let’s roll.” He slapped his palms onto his thighs then rose to his feet. “We still have some daylight left.”

  She climbed into the military vehicle and glanced at him. It brought back old memories of the years her father had been on active duty back at Ft. Bragg. She hated that time of her life. She was at that awkward age where she was all elbows and knees. There was something about military men that let a woman know she was beautiful but their ability to ignore her had only confirmed she wasn’t.

  Newhope hefted himself into the driver’s seat with

  practiced ease. He took a deep breath and said, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

  Every bit of the girl inside her wanted to jump for joy and scream in jubilation. Instead, she kept her composure. “I’d love to.”

  It was amazing how quickly the negative thoughts disappeared. He’d single handedly defeated the memories that made her hate his lifestyle. He’d renewed her hope in those digital camo-wearing tyrants and something told her that given a chance, he’d have her hoping for more.

  He exhaled a long deep breath. “Would tonight be too soon? I understand if you need some time to get through everything that’s going on.”

  Her pulse leapt, it certainly was gallant of him to think of her feelings. “Actually, it might be better to go before my brothers return home.”

  He chuckled. “I’m not worried about your brothers.”

  A smile teased her lips. “Oh, I’m sure you aren’t. But I’d rather they not know about it.”

  He nodded and turned on the signal to enter into the lot of the apartment complex. “I’m okay with that.”

  At her home, he slid the key into the lock, turned it, then turned his attention to her. “Are you ready?”

  She nodded. At that moment she couldn’t have spoken a word to save her own life. The feelings invading her reminded her of the day she’d looked at her grandfather in his coffin. The eerie stillness inside the apartment felt like death. It was. She stood silent as Newhope flipped on the light switch to the left of the door. Her eyes scanned the room, everything was in place but it didn’t smell like home. There was a faint chemical smell in the air, probably the cleaning solutions the clean up crew had used.

  “If you’d like to wait here, I’ll check everything out,” he said softly.

  She nodded again, thankful he was there. Of course, he wouldn’t be there when night fell. He wouldn’t be there when the ten o’clock hour would leave her shaking in fear. She refused, however, to appear weak, so she stiffened her back and walked through the apartment. She moved quietly toward her bedroom as Shane Newhope opened the closet doors in her brother’s bedrooms. She took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob. She squinted against the vivid memories that suddenly shot through her mind. She twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

  The room was as normal as it had been the day before Sanback had invaded her privacy. It was spotlessly clean, and there wasn’t a shred of evidence that someone had died in that room. If only the cleaning crew could clean the cobwebs from her mind as well as they’d cleaned her room.

  She flipped on the light switch out of habit more than need. Her heart was racing and she didn’t like not feeling safe in her own home. Damn Sanback for what he’d done. She turned toward the sound of footsteps behind her to find Shane Newhope standing in the doorway, nodding with an easy smile. She had impressed him, it was obvious, but for the first time since she’d met him it didn’t matter. It took every ounce of her energy to fight the demons within her. She wanted to run screaming from her home
and never return, but life wasn’t that simple. There was nothing he could do to help her. He knew it and so did she.

  The cedar chest was polished to a perfect shine, but in her mind she could still see Sanback’s body there. The blood was gone from the carpet, but it had made a puddle beside the chest as it dripped off his fingers. The gun was gone from her dresser, and for a split second her heart leapt. It was probably still in possession of NCIS and she might never get it back. She looked toward the closet door. Of all the places in her home, it was that closet she feared most. She had never been more terrified than she had been alone in that small space. Taking a deep calming breath, she moved toward it. The cold stinging feeling of predatory eyes upon her engulfed her as the memories flooded back. But it was only a memory and it could only control her if she allowed it.

  “So where are we going for dinner?” she asked, desperate to lessen the tense fear that coiled around her like a python.

  He nodded, as if he was in disbelief that he would be the one to pick the restaurant. “You name it lady, we’re there.”

  Three

  Her heart thudded at a frantic pace as she pulled into the parking lot to meet Shane. It had been her idea to meet him there. She wasn’t ready to return home with a Marine in tow. There was no schedule of when Pat might return home from his mission. Luckily, Shane respected her decision and hadn’t asked any questions.

  She had dated military guys before, and no matter how handsome and charming they were, she just wasn’t interested in having that kind of lifestyle. More than anything, she wanted nights full of cuddling, not stories about maneuvers at 29 Palms. She didn’t want to plan a vacation, then have to cancel it because her husband was suddenly on Delta alert. A husband whose friends called him by his first name, not his last, would be nice. To shop in a grocery store and not a PX. Manage to get into her neighborhood without having to show ID. But most of all, to be first in someone’s life, not second behind the military, was her ultimate dream.

  Walking across the parking lot, a movement caught her attention and she turned. It was Shane. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her tingle all over.

  “Hello.” She grinned, waiting for him to catch up. “How was your afternoon?”

  “Good, how about yours?” His eyes touched her as though they were familiar with every aspect of her body, heart, and soul.

  She considered her answer and spoke softly. “It was okay. I guess it’ll just take some time to learn to function

  normally again.”

  “Things will get back to normal. Now you don’t have to worry about always looking over your shoulder.”

  She admired him as they walked. His jeans were stylish, not too faded, but not too blue. His pant legs bunched slightly at the top of his brown leather casual shoes. The pale blue three button pullover tucked neatly into his jeans accented his eyes. This guy was so hot that he threatened to spontaneously combust. She wanted to tug at the braided belt that fit snugly around his trim waist. She wanted to touch his short blond hair, no longer beneath his cover. She wanted to drag him behind the boxwood hollies at the side of the building and have her way with him.

  “Don’t be surprised if my brothers show up,” she warned. “I was afraid they’d get back to base and hear about the shooting, so I left a note I’d be here. If they find out I’m meeting a Marine, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “I thought one of your brothers is a Marine? Why would it bother them for you to be out with me?”

  She had dreaded this moment because she wasn’t ready to tell him her feelings about the military. “Oh no, it wouldn’t bother them. They’d be ecstatic. It’s me who doesn’t want them to know.”

  His eyebrows quirked in question. “Why?”

  She paused as Shane registered at the hostess podium, then turned his full attention back to her as they settled onto a nearby bench.

  “My brothers are fifth generation military. Every person in my family for that many generations, including aunts, uncles, cousins and so forth are either military or have married military.”

  “So you’ve decided to be the one who takes the leap?” he asked. “You want something other than the military lifestyle?”

  She traced her fingers along a seam of the leather cushioned bench where they sat. “I have nothing against the military, it’s just that I’ve never known life without formation, maneuvers, missions, deployments and war. I want to know what it’s like in the real world.”

  “But they want you to hook back up with a military man.” He replied with understanding. “That’s why they

  jumped on me with all four feet.”

  Her eyes swept away as embarrassment overtook her. “Exactly. If you are wearing a uniform you are the perfect target to try and line up with the little sister.”

  “I see.” He rubbed his knuckles over his freshly shaven jaw line. “So much for thinking I was special.”

  She giggled. “Something tells me that you are special.”

  “Well, thank you, and if they show up, we’ll deal with it.” He clapped his left hand on his thigh. “I know some excellent James Bond escape moves.”

  It was entirely possible that escape moves weren’t the only thing he had in common with 007. He could most likely work a girl to orgasm so fast that it would leave her dazed and confused. The seductive way he kept gazing at her promised he wasn’t afraid to prove it.

  She liked the gentle touch of his hand at the small of her back as they followed the hostess toward their table. She glanced over her shoulder and met a pair of hungry blue eyes.

  “You have amazing eyes,” she said, taking a seat across from him in a booth.

  “Thank you.” He locked his eyes onto hers. “To be quite honest, I haven’t seen anything about you that isn’t amazing.”

  She nodded shyly. If she stayed around him very long she’d actually start believing she looked like the type of girl her brothers might date.

  “I noticed on your business card that you work at the rehab complex. What do you do?” His eyes tracing over her face left her breathless.

  She cleared her throat and struggled to speak. “Cardiac Rehabilitation. I supervise the unit on the west side of town.”

  “Wow, you can make my heart strong?” He lifted a confident brow. “So far, you’ve only made it weak.”

  “Oh, you are smooth.” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “Do they teach those lines in boot camp?”

  “Ways to woo beautiful women?” he asked. “Not hardly.”

  She was falling for him. She knew it in her heart but

  there was no way to stop it. The way he could set aside his job for a few hours of civil conversation made him irresistible. If only he were a civilian cop, he’d have to pry her off his pant leg tonight when he went home.

  There was always a sparkle in his eyes. He wasn’t the usual, by-the-book, tough guy, who needed the world to see the testosterone dripping off of him. He was a simple guy with a complex job who didn’t let it control him. Of course, the Marine Corps ruled his life because he’d signed a contract. That contract forced him to report for formation every morning and do weapons check every night. He had reports to complete to a government that didn’t seem to appreciate his sacrifice. He was under military law. He was the military law.

  “It would be easy for you to get a job as a policeman.” The revelation sprang from her mouth before she could stop it.

  He nodded, lowered his glass and swallowed. “I am a policeman.”

  “I mean in the civilian world.” Her face burned, but the mistake was already made.

  He squinted, as if he actually considered it. “Maybe some day.”

  What in the heck she was doing? This was her first date with the guy and she was actually making attempts to nudge him toward a job in the civilian world. He couldn’t work in the civilian world if he wasn’t a civilian. He couldn’t be a civilian if he was property of the U.S. Marine Corps. He didn’t seem ready to end hi
s career anytime soon.

  ~ * ~

  When he reached toward her lips with a shrimp from his plate, her heart leapt as if she was a virgin waiting to be touched. She’d wanted to enjoy herself, go home at the end of the night and never look back. Getting involved with a man like him wasn’t the plan. He was everything she wanted, but he was also the one thing she refused to have in her life. Her mother had taken second seat to her dad’s job. As a child, Mindy wondered if her dad would be there when she woke. She didn’t want that for her or her children.

  Walking her to her car, Shane stopped only a couple of feet from her and stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. The blue sparkles were still in his eyes even in the dimly lit lot. “Well, this is awkward, huh?” she said, her voice shy. What was she supposed to do? Kiss him? Give him a hug? Invite him back to her place?

  He nodded. “I’ll say. I know that I'm last thing you want in your life. I’m a Marine through and through.”

  She took a deep breath. “Maybe we could go somewhere and talk? I obviously don’t have anything against the military. I just don’t know if I’m willing to share someone else. I’ve always been forced to share with the military.”

  He cleared his throat and reached for her hand. “Come on, let’s take a ride.”

  She pressed her hand into his and walked with him to his car. He made her heart warm and the fluttering butterflies hadn’t left her chest since he stepped into sight. She wasn’t in love, but given a few more hours he’d go away on his next mission with a little extra baggage, her heart.

  She sat in his sporty Dodge Charger and took a deep breath, enjoying the pure masculine scent. He slid beneath the steering wheel and looked her way as he turned the key in the ignition.

  “So where are we going?” She crossed her hands in her lap.

  “I’m going to take you to one of my favorite spots.” He squinted as if waiting for her objection. “I go there sometimes just to think.”