The General's Desire: San Diego Social Scene Book 2

by Tess Summers

  He didn’t respond so she held her breath while listening to hear if his breathing indicated he’d fallen asleep. She didn’t hear anything, so she let out another small moan as her fingertips brushed her belly.

  There wasn’t a sound in the room when she moaned softly again. She heard Ron say, “Oh fuck this,” and his covers being thrown off.

  She couldn’t see him, but sensed his body weight on the mattress before feeling his arms come around her waist. His lips found hers and she wrapped her unhurt arm around his neck, running her fingers through his hair.

  The kiss started out urgent, but as she molded her body to his, he slowed the pace. Their tongues touched and retreated, and he began to suck her lips. Her mouth eagerly returned the exploration, and soon his kisses became demanding again. She lifted her back off the mattress trying to get her body closer to his. She could feel his erection against her waist.

  Oh, how she’d missed that cock!

  His mouth broke away from hers in order to explore her neck, and she pulled his head closer to her, still pressing against his body.

  Brenna needed to feel him inside her. Now.

  “Please,” she whispered.

  Ron pulled his head away from her neck. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could see he was smirking when he replied, “Please what?”

  “Please make love to me. I’ve missed you so much, I can’t stand it anymore. I want you so badly.”

  He propped himself up on one elbow while he removed his underwear with his opposite hand. When she felt his warm, smooth cock against her body, she let out a long groan and pressed against him with her eyes closed. She was wet with anticipation as he aligned his cock with her pussy.

  Only he didn’t enter her.

  Her eyes flew open, and she found him staring at her.

  When his eyes locked on hers, he thrust his cock into her welcoming entrance. He felt fantastic as his thick shaft inched himself inside her, letting her adjust to his girth as he did.

  When his entire length was deep in her pussy, he held himself still. Brushing her hair behind her ear, while continuing to watch her face, he whispered, “You should be resting.”

  “I don’t want to,” she said with a smile and began to move her hips. She wanted him to fuck her. Sleep could come later.

  He began to move with her, but his eyes never left hers. “I have no will power when it comes to you.”

  Right now, she was glad. She felt close to him and that was all that mattered at the moment.

  “You feel so good,” Brenna whimpered when he began plunging into her deep.

  Lifting her hips in unison with his, they were in perfect time with each other. He stroked her hair away from her forehead before kissing her again.

  It was a slow, passionate kiss. The kind that would have made her panties melt, if she were wearing any. There was a lot being said without words being exchanged. Things she was too scared to say out loud.

  I love you.

  I need you.

  I’m lost without you.

  Please let me into your life.

  As he made love to her, it was if his body was responding to her unspoken words.

  He loved her.

  He needed her.

  He was sorry for hurting her.

  He couldn’t let her in.

  Brenna pushed the last thought out of her head and concentrated on the other three. He never promised her anything or led her to believe something differently. She had no right to expect more.

  But she wanted more. She loved him, and wanted to be able to love all of him. To know him, not just what he let her see.

  This was complicated. More complicated than she thought this would be when they first started messing around at Ava and Travis’ reception.

  Dammit, he felt so fucking good. He held her close while insisting her body respond to his touch, whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Soon any thoughts not pertaining to what he was doing to her, flitted away from her mind.

  How did he manage to make her feel like the most desirable woman on earth?

  She felt her orgasm mounting, while he began to rub her clit in circles, murmuring, “That’s it darlin’, come all over my cock.”

  Oh fuck.

  Her stomach clenched and she thrust her hips against him, gasping and crying out. “Yes! Oh God, yes! Oh, that’s so good.”

  Ron continued making love to her, increasing his pace when she began to come. He gripped her hips tighter, thrusting into her fast and deep, and soon she heard his guttural moan as he reached his own climax.

  He immediately began kissing her, holding her face in his hands while he finished inside her. In that moment, Brenna felt more connected to him than she ever had to anyone, and was filled with sorrow when she realized that connection was fleeting. He’d return to only sharing bits and pieces of his life with her soon enough.

  How was she going to get through to him?

  She had no idea, she just knew she had to. He had become too important to her not to.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Ron

  Ron set an alarm and woke Brenna up every three hours, just like he’d promised the hospital staff he would. The last thing he had planned on doing last night was making love to her, but she made it pretty difficult to say no.

  At first, he was pissed at himself for even entertaining the idea. He should be able to control himself better, but he was a lost cause when it came to her.

  He knew her feelings were hurt that he’d avoided her upon returning to the States. He didn’t know how to explain that it had nothing to do with her or how he felt about her. He just needed time to process things and grieve the losses one of his squads took. He didn’t know how to do that around her, so he chose not to be, or really, even communicate with her. He knew now that was a mistake, but as he analyzed the last few days, he wasn’t necessarily sure he’d do anything differently.

  Maybe he’d have called her. Or at least texted her more than he had.

  Her telling him she was leaving to go to South Carolina lit a fire under him to pull his head out of his ass. Thank God it had, because he wasn’t sure he’d even know she had fallen down the stairs otherwise.

  Then there was the matter of Kyle Montgomery. She called Kyle instead of him when she needed help. That was troubling.

  “I know her better than you think.” That’s what the man had said to Danielle. And what the fuck was with the laugh when he told Ron, “Definitely not her brother.”

  It was funny; he wasn’t jealous of Danny, the man she’d been married to for sixteen years, but he sure as fuck was jealous of Danny’s best friend.

  He slid his hand around her naked waist and spooned into her backside.

  Yeah well, guess who’s in her bed, Kyle? Definitely not her ‘friend’.

  Ron was still pissed that was how Kyle had referred to him when the shortstop was talking to Brenna’s daughter.

  She began to stir and Ron immediately felt guilty that his jealousy had caused him to possessively hold her in her sleep. Between their lovemaking session and having to be woken up every three hours, she had not gotten a lot of much-needed rest. He would see to it that she stayed in bed today. Alone. No matter how hard she tried to get him to join her again.

  He knew he was full of shit. There was no way he could resist her if she beckoned him. She proved that last night.

  The next alarm to wake her wasn’t for another twenty minutes; he was going to bring her breakfast in bed.

  Slipping out from under the covers, he pulled his boxers on and took Zona out before going to work in the kitchen. He made her usual morning meal of yogurt, granola, and fruit sliced on top for the two of them and put it on a tray with glasses of water and juice before heading back to her room. Zona followed but seemed especially careful on the stairs around him, like she’d learned her lesson.

  She is smart. High strung, yes, but once the puppy stage wore off she was gonna be one helluva good dog.

  R
on and Zona quietly entered the bedroom, Ron shutting the alarm off before it had a chance to ring, and then he gently shook Brenna. It took her a second to open her eyes, but when she did, a big smile spread across her face when she looked up at him.

  “I can’t think of a better way to start my day than waking up in bed with you.” She sighed.

  “I was thinking the same thing.”

  They sat looking at each other, grinning like idiots, until Ron set the tray next to her on the bed.

  “Let’s get your sling adjusted and get you fed. I brought your usual.”

  She grabbed his hand and kissed it. “That was so thoughtful of you. I can’t believe you did this.”

  Ron loved her appreciation of the gesture. “Do you feel like eating?”

  “I am pretty hungry. I kind of lost what I ate yesterday on the stairs.”

  “And in Kyle’s car,” he said with a smirk.

  Brenna groaned. “Oh God. I was hoping that was just a dream. I’m going to owe him big time now.”

  Owe him what, exactly?

  “I’m sure he understands. You weren’t exactly lucid when we got here.”

  She nodded her head. “I was pretty scared, I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

  “You scared me, too.”

  He wanted to ask why she called Kyle instead of him, but didn’t think it was the appropriate time. No need to pounce on her when she’d just woken up.

  She smiled at him the entire time they ate breakfast. That was not only great for his ego, but it was pretty contagious - he couldn’t help but smile back. Brenna made him so fucking happy. He finally felt at ease again. Her effect on him was unmistakable.

  When they finished, Ron gathered their dirty dishes and put them on the tray, and Brenna grabbed her robe as if she was going to follow him downstairs.

  “Back in bed, young lady. Doctor’s orders.”

  Brenna frowned. “The doctor didn’t say I couldn’t get out of bed.”

  “Okay then, my orders.”

  She marched up to him, stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her uninjured arm around his neck, and lifted her face inches from his. She was pretty bold for being as tiny as she was. “You may be the boss of a lot of Marines, Ron Thompson, but you are not the boss of me.”

  He didn’t budge.

  Lifting his brows, he shot her a look that suggested, wanna bet?

  “I cleaned up your vomit, so today, I am the boss of you. Get your perfect ass back in that bed before I spank it and then put it back myself.”

  Ron couldn’t decide if her wide eyes were defiance or intrigue. Either way, she said with a huff, “Can I at least go to the bathroom?”

  With a smirk, he replied, “You may.”

  Brenna gave a mock curtsy and said, “Thank you, m’ lord.”

  She was headed into her bathroom when he shouted after her, “But no showering unless I’m there to help you. I mean it this time.”

  He didn’t wait for her response and returned to the kitchen to clean up breakfast, chuckling to himself when he heard the shower start as he finished loading the dishwasher. She’d had a concussion and dislocated shoulder less than twenty four hours ago, and she was still feisty as hell.

  He fucking loved that about her.

  ****

  Brenna

  True to his word, Ron made her stay in bed and rest all day. Brenna found it rather easy to comply–she truly was exhausted, plus the pain medication made her sleepy. A couple of times she woke to find him lying next to her with his hand on her hip. A contented smile would form on her lips, and she’d sigh with happiness before falling right back into a peaceful slumber.

  By the time the evening came, she was wide awake. Ron was too and asked her to go with him to his house so he change his clothes and get something to wear tomorrow.

  He boosted her into his truck and opened the rear door for Zona to hop in. Her dog was always happy to go for a ride.

  The familiarity of his place when they walked in from the garage was comforting, and the smell brought back memories of the times they’d stayed there before his last mission. They’d had a lot of fun together.

  She worried that’s all she was to him–fun.

  She knew he made her happy, and she thought she could make him happy. If only he’d let her in.

  That was something they were going to need to discuss. Soon, before she fell even further in love with him and was past the point of no return. She wasn’t asking him to divulge state secrets, but good grief, she needed more from him. So much more.

  She got up from the couch to look at the books in his den while he was changing his clothes. Next to his desk, she saw the dog bed he had bought Zona, exactly where it had been the last time they were there. Thinking about that little gesture of him buying the bed had meant a lot to her. It felt like he was welcoming her and her dog into his home.

  Something on Ron’s desk caught her eye. It was a birthday card. She felt nosy looking at it, but curiosity got the better of her and she picked it up to read the sentiments inside. It was from his mom.

  How sweet. He keeps a card from his mom on his desk.

  She’d never noticed it before the other times she’d been in his den. She looked where the card had been lying and discovered a small stack of birthday cards. The next one was from someone named Sarah who he had obviously been involved with, and it was clear she was not over him based on what she wrote, ending with her wanting to make him dinner and help him ‘celebrate.’

  Does she not know he’s dating me? She must not, otherwise why would she send him a card like that? Why hadn’t he told her?

  The next one was from his Aunt Phyllis, and it had a date with her message–March 1st of this year.

  March 1st was two fucking days ago.

  He’d had a birthday and hadn’t celebrated with her.

  Who had he celebrated it with? Sarah?

  Not only had Brenna not celebrated it with him, she hadn’t even known about it.

  But Sarah did, apparently.

  Her head was reeling, and she felt like she was going to throw up. She’d been down this road before; she was so familiar with it she should be a tour guide. There was no way in hell she was doing this again. She made a promise to herself when she filed for divorce; never again would she be anybody’s second choice.

  She needed a drink–she didn’t give a shit she wasn’t supposed to mix alcohol with her pain meds.

  After tossing back a whiskey, she put the glass in the dishwasher so Ron wouldn’t be the wiser and saw a wine glass in the rack.

  Since when does Ron drink wine?

  Then she saw the lipstick prints.

  What.

  The.

  Fuck.

  It was all she could to keep from sinking to the floor and collapsing in a bawling heap. How could he do this to her? This hurt almost as bad as the first time she found lipstick on Danny’s collar. Talk about cliché.

  She was trying to make sense of it all when Ron came hurrying into the kitchen dressed in his fatigues with the phone to his ear and his military duffle in the other hand. Zona was right next to him, looking at him like he was the one who’d created the recipe for dog treats.

  He’s not as great as you think, Zona.

  “Yeah, if you can meet us there, that would be great,” he was saying into the phone as he switched ears with it.

  Pause.

  “Okay, yeah. About twenty minutes. See you then.”

  He hung up and gave her the look she’d already become all too familiar with.

  Sighing he said, “Darlin’, I gotta go. Kyle is going to stay with you tonight.”

  She didn’t say a word as she walked out the front door. She couldn’t. If she spoke, she knew she would break down. Right now, her anger was keeping her functioning. The time for curling up in a ball would come later.

  All she could think while she sat in the front seat of his truck watching out the window was what a fool she had been.

 
Again.

  Was it that all men were cheaters, or just the ones she was attracted to?

  She had to admit, this one blindsided her. With Danny, she would always get a feeling that something was not quite right, and he would eventually get lazy and not cover his tracks, and her suspicions would be confirmed.

  Other than Ron being gone for long periods of time, there had been nothing suspicious up until the last few days.

  No wonder he wouldn’t let her in his life, he didn’t want her there. Not permanently anyway. Not enough to let her know it was his goddamn birthday. He obviously had someone else to help him celebrate that. Someone who wore dark red lipstick.

  Semper fi, my ass, you son-of-a-bitch.

  So what had Brenna been to him? Was she the side dish that no one knew about? She guessed that would explain some things–like why she’d never met his family or any of his friends. Why he was so secretive about his work. Why he didn’t let her know much about him. If Luke hadn’t confirmed his identity, she’d even be questioning that right now.

  She was silent the entire ride to her house, hopping out of the truck before he’d even put it in park. Kyle was already there, waiting on the bench by the front door. Brenna knew he could tell she was upset when she walked by him, keys to her house in hand.

  She opened the door to let Kyle through, and he paused to tilt her chin up to look at him.

  “Are you okay?”

  She shook her head slightly and cast her eyes toward Ron coming up the walk with Zona, who galloped toward them the minute she recognized Danielle’s godfather.

  He drew in a sharp breath and squeezed her hand.

  “I’ll just be in the other room if you need me,” he whispered in her ear before disappearing inside with Zona.

  Brenna stood in the doorway as Ron approached. He looked confused.

  “Darlin’, I’m –”

  She shook her head to stop him from continuing. “I can’t do this anymore,” she whispered, tears welling in her eyes.

  His jaw clenched like she’d just struck him.

  “Just a few more months. Hang in there with me.”

  He thought she was upset that he was leaving again. She shook her head again.

  “Can we talk about this when I get back?” He reached out to push her hair behind her ear.