Latched (Coronado Series Book 1)

by Hart, Lea

  Blake walked in and sat at his desk, “Let’s put the two platoons together for this training op. I think it will give us a better idea if this equipment will be worth anything out in the field. Hey, how was your weekend, did it work out the way you wanted?”

  Mark finished up what he was working on, then turned around and smiled at Blake, “Well I believe it was the best weekend of my life. Birdie agreed to be my girlfriend.” Blake was shocked and let his mouth hang open - he couldn’t find words. Mark looked so damn happy, he had never seen him like this. “I am as gone as I can be, and this woman has me completely under her spell. I think this might be it for me.”

  Blake got up and went over to his good friend and shook his hand, “Congratulations man! You are damn lucky to have found her and I can’t believe she is willing to take you on. How did you convince her?”

  Mark was starting to get angry, “It’s not like I had to drug her to get her to agree to be with me. I am not that bad. I admit, it didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped, but it all worked out and the important thing is that she is mine now. I don’t have to worry about another man trying to get at her.”

  Josh walked in and heard the last part of the discussion, “Are you serious about my cousin? Is this for real? A man can’t even go on his honeymoon without something happening.”

  Mark got up from his chair fast, it rolled out and almost hit the wall. He was mad and let his temper go. “I am going to say this once and that is it. Birdie James is now my girlfriend and it took a lot for her to agree to it. She was planning on using me as a slump buster and then she was going to get rid of me. So if you assholes want to be worried, maybe it’s me you should be worried about. She is always trying to get rid of me, and is the opposite of clingy. In fact, I would not mind it if she tried to hold on a little. This is probably it for me. She is going to be the mother of my children, so you all can just back the fuck up. I’m going to marry this woman. Any questions?”

  Blake, Josh, Frisco and Sam stood there and watched Mark loose his mind, they had never seen him like this before. Mark was happy about it though, lucky son of a bitch. Frisco and Josh stepped forward and shook his hand, Frisco looked at Mark straight on “Does Birdie know about all of these plans yet?”

  Mark didn’t look quite as confident, “She knows she is my girlfriend, but doesn’t know about the rest. I have to ease her into it, I’m sure it’s all going to work out. Hell, I have my own toothbrush at her house, it sits right next to hers.” The men nodded in understanding - a toothbrush was no small thing. “You know for someone so smart, Birdie does not understand about the toothbrush, it kind of surprises me.” They all stood there and shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads at the same time.

  ********

  Birdie sat at her desk in the office, she heard the phone rang and the shrill noise startled her. She picked up and it was Mark, “Hey baby, I’m on my way over. Are you still hungry? Do you want me to pick up something?”

  She smiled at hearing his voice, “I had a sandwich at 5:00, so I’m not hungry. I can make you one if you want when you get here.”

  Hearing her voice made his world tilt in the right direction, “Sounds good, see you in a few.” She got up and stretched, she had been at her desk for several hours and her muscles were sore. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine and started making Mark’s sandwich. A few minutes later she heard the bell and went to answer it. When she caught sight of Mark, her heart skipped a beat and her tummy flipped. He walked in, dropped his bag and gathered her in his arms and breathed her in. She squeezed him around his chest and kissed him right over his heart as she laid her head down. “Hi baby, how was your day?” He could feel her laughing and she looked up at him and smiled.

  She took his hand and led him into the kitchen, “I had a good day. What did the guys say when you told them you were off the market?” She walked around to the other side of the counter, opened the fridge and pulled out a beer to go with his sandwich.

  He sat down at the island and admired his very pretty girlfriend. “They congratulated me. They wondered how I got you agree to take me on.” She laughed and set his food in front of him and grabbed some chips to add to his plate. “Thanks for doing all of this for me, I appreciate you taking care of me. I usually just pick up drive-through on my way home.”

  She sat down next to him and grabbed her wine, “I am happy to take care of you. I was taking a break from the project I’m working on and I started organizing your files so I could go through them. Who pays your bills when you are deployed?”

  He was eating his sandwich, then wiped his mouth and took a swig of beer. “I pay them. Sometimes it gets screwed up, but I can usually fix it when I get back. Are you ready to take it on for me?”

  “Well, I have thought about it and I guess I can do the same thing that I do for the other guys. We figure out what the monthly outgoing is and then we set up a separate account that gets that amount deposited into it. I pay bills out of that. I only have access to the money that will pay the monthly bills, I have given most of the guys some ideas on how to manage the rest. Talk to Frisco and see what he thinks and then you can decide if it’s something that you want to do.”

  He finished eating and turned to her and took her hands, “I don’t need to think about it. Can I just give it all to you? I just want to put it into your very capable hands and then I won’t have to think about it.”

  She got up and made him a plate of brownies and fruit, “I told you, I can’t have access to all of your money. Let’s just start with your monthly bills and then I can give you some ideas for investments for the rest. Leaving all the money in a money market is not a good idea, we can make you some money on low risk investments.” She was rinsing the dishes and swore she heard him mumble about how it wouldn’t matter after they got married. She was going to be taking care of it anyway. She looked up, he was eating his brownies and just smiled at her. Maybe she imagined it…. that couldn’t be right.

  He finished and got up and put his plate in the dishwasher. “Baby, I’m going to be gone for three or four days on a training op. I want to give you a key to the condo and a credit card in case you need anything.”

  “I won’t need anything.” She walked over to her office and grabbed an extra set of keys to her house and handed it to him. “In case you get back late, you can just let yourself in.” He looked down at the keys in his hand and felt the thump in his heart. It was a feeling that he was used to now and welcomed it.

  “Thank you for trusting me and for allowing me in - I will not disappoint you. I will probably screw up and make mistakes, but I will not disappoint you. You are mine now to protect and take care of and I take that very seriously.” He lowered his head and let his mouth fall to hers and let all of his feelings pour into the kiss. He could feel her fall into him as she kissed him back. He thought he could feel moisture on his face, so he pulled back and saw tears fall down her face. He took his big hand and gently wiped the tears off her face, “I hope that’s from happiness.”

  She looked up and nodded, “Nobody has ever said that to me before. I believe you are actually capable of doing the things you say. I’m going to close up my computer and I will meet you upstairs. Are you going to take a shower?”

  “I need a shower - you probably already noticed. I will meet you upstairs.” He leaned down and kissed her again because he could. He figured he was never going to be able to kiss her enough and should take every opportunity that came his way.

  She walked into the office, stacked her files and shut down her computer, then got everything ready to take to the shop tomorrow. How she ended up with a boyfriend after three days was mind boggling. She just wanted someone to break her rut. Well he’s here now and I don’t actually mind it. He is a force to reckon with and I need to keep remembering that. She walked out of her office, turned off the lights and headed upstairs.

  She walked into the bathroom after she changed into her nightgown. Mark was st
ill in the shower and had his head down under the water. His hand was against the wall, she took a moment to admire him, the muscles in his back were standing out in relief and his huge arms were flexing under the water. The man had a very fine ass - she had never seen anything so delicious in her life. Who am I kidding, I am damn happy he came after me. I never would have had the guts. He is the best sort of man and I will probably never get over him. She walked over to her sink and started on her nightly routine. She heard the water shut off and Mark came out of the shower and started drying off.

  He walked over to her, “Why are you wearing a nightgown? You don’t need it… I will keep you plenty warm.” He grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth. She looked over at him and was shaking her head. “Why are you shaking your head at me?”

  She rinsed and wiped her face, “I put on my night gown because it is habit.” Then she slipped her finger under the strap and lowered it, “Do you want me to take it off?” She continued to play with the strap. He let out a low growl and lunged for her. She slipped out of his hand and ran for the bed. He caught her with one big step, picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

  “Baby girl, are you trying to torture me? Because if you are, it’s working.” As he dumped her on the bed, his towel slipped and she saw the effect she was having on him. He came down on top of her and started kissing her all over her face while his hand gathered the nightgown and whipped it over her head. He looked down at her and was very satisfied when he noticed that she didn’t have any panties on. He closed his eyes and took a breath to gain some control. She was gazing up at him with her big eyes and he could feel his desire returned with the way she looked at him. I think she may be catching up to me a little, but there is no way she is ever going to feel as much as I do. He dropped his lips to hers as his hand moved down her body, then he started gently opening her folds with his big fingers. He wanted her to be as mindless as he was.

  She felt the weight of him on top of her and wanted to crawl up inside of him. She felt his fingers slip inside as she moaned into his ear and pushed her hips into his hand. She heard him whisper in her ear, “You’re so wet. Are you ready?” All she could do was nod her head. He lifted himself on his arms and framed her face with his hands. He looked at her as he pushed his hips forward and buried himself completely in her. Home…. I am home. As he pulled out a little and pushed back in, he was watching her closely to see what was working for her. He felt her pushing her hips against his and she looked very blissed out, “Keep those eyes open baby, keep looking at me.”

  She tried to keep her eyes open but was feeling too much. He thrust gently as he lifted one of her legs over his arm. He was able to go even deeper and had to close his eyes for a moment to gain some control. He wanted to start moving hard, but knew that she wasn’t ready. He held himself deep inside and could feel her softening slowly as she tilted her pelvis up. He took it as a sign that he could start moving faster. He opened up his eyes and looked down at her as he started to lose control. He started pumping hard, she could feel herself start to slip over as her eyes fluttered closed. “No baby stay with me, keep your eyes on me.” He felt her start to contract all around him. He saw a look of wonder cross her face as she called his name and came and came.

  He pushed into her twice more and then exploded into her in fierce, hot jets. He yelled her name as he felt his heart trying to beat out of his chest. He collapsed on top of her and tried to breathe. He knew he had to roll off but couldn’t get the message to his limbs. He was finally able to, and saw that her eyes were closed with a smile on her face. “How you are doing sweetheart?” She didn’t say anything, she just waved her hand and gave him a thumbs up. “Did you lose the power of speech?” She nodded and put her head on his chest and promptly fell asleep. He looked down and wrapped her up in his arms, “Goodnight Birdie, I love you.” He knew what he said and didn’t care if it made sense. It was the truth. It would be the same truth next month, next year and at the end of their lives. He loved her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  TUESDAY

  Mark tried to roll out from under Birdie without waking her. It was 4:30 in the morning and he wanted her to get some more sleep. He got up, walked quietly to the other bathroom and got dressed. He didn’t want to wash Birdie off of him, so he just put his uniform on and was ready to go. He walked back in and leaned over and kissed her cheek and she started to wake up, “Where are you going so early?”

  He sat down for a minute and took her hand, “Baby we are going on our training op. I will be home on Friday or Saturday, I’ll call you when I get back. Go back to sleep.” He leaned over, kissed her again and brought the blankets over her shoulders.

  She looked up and smiled, “Be safe and come home to me.” He stood up and started to walk out the door. He stopped and looked back at her, “Always baby, I love you.”

  Her eyes were closed and she wasn’t quite asleep when she heard what he said. She smiled to herself, He loves me. It may not be real, but he said he loves me. She snuggled down into her nest of blankets and fell back to sleep, dreaming of a life with Mark.

  TUESDAY AFTERNOON

  Birdie stood at the table in the back of her shop creating the center pieces for one of her favorite clients. She heard the bell on the front door and walked out to see who was coming in. James swept in and called her name, she was often struck by how good looking he was. She wondered what it was like to be that perfect in the world. “Tell me everything that happened this weekend, you went completely dark and I want details.” He plopped himself down on one of the stools and looked at her expectantly. Birdie radiated happiness and her smile reflected it.

  She walked to the other side of the table and finished the arrangement she was working on. “I cannot begin to explain what happened to me, but I will try. It may require a bottle of wine or two. Should we start now or wait to go to my house?”

  James flipped his hand, “Just get on with it. I will get the wine and you finish what you’re doing.” He went into the office, grabbed the glasses and chardonnay and brought everything back to the table. He opened the wine and settled in awaiting the details of Birdie’s fabulous weekend.

  She finished up her arrangement, put it in the cooler and came back and took a healthy sip of her wine. “I have had the most amazing weekend of my life and I think my new boyfriend may turn out to be my future husband.” She noticed James choked a little and his eyes were huge. “I had the best sex of my life several, several times with the sexiest man on the planet. Did I mention sexy? Because that man is a god …. a sex god! I don’t know if I think that because I don’t have a lot of experience or if he really is one. But I have to tell you it’s like driving a Ferrari. He took me to the beach and bought me two wetsuits to make sure I would have what I need to go surfing. He introduced me as his girlfriend to someone who I had never met. Then he announced it to his team mates the first chance he got. He is very excited about having a toothbrush at my house, in a sort of crazy way that I don’t understand. He wants to see me every day, he is smart, funny, handsome and sexy. He is also a hero in the literal sense. I know I wanted someone to break my rut, but I think he may be staying awhile.” She looked at James and was trying to figure out what he was thinking, she took another sip of wine and waited.

  James finished his wine and poured himself another glass, “It could not happen to a better person, you deserve every happiness.” He got up, hugged her and kissed her head, “Tell me when I should start planning the wedding.”

  She let out a big breath and sat down, “I think we should wait. I’m sure we are about to discover all of the things that make us crazy. Let’s see if we survive that. It’s hard to believe that I’m falling for him so quickly. I’m not even trying to resist; I’m falling into him. I’ve never done this before, I usually analyze everything to death and suck every ounce of joy in the process. It could be the amazing sex, but underneath all of that is an exceptional man. I don’t really know him, but I know wha
t kind of person he is and maybe that’s why I’m opening myself up to him.”

  James leaned back on his stool and thought about it for a moment. “Maybe because you know that he’s a good man, you are allowing your heart to open up. It could be that or he has put you in a sex coma and you would agree with whatever he suggested.”

  “It could actually be a little bit of both. I know he’s a good person and he puts me in a sex coma, either way I like the magic that he’s got. Let’s go to my house and order Chinese, I’m starved. We can watch Dancing with the Stars.”

  They gathered their stuff and Birdie locked up and they walked back to her house. “Thank you, James for being such a good friend.”

  He held her hand and started swinging it back and forth, “Ditto Birdie, ditto.”

  TUESDAY EVENING

  Mark sat in the barracks with his Platoon, they had debriefed after the day’s ops and were making progress on the new equipment. They finished up and starting walking to the mess hall at the other end of the base. Frisco and Sam were walking with Mark and going over what they needed for the following day. They were going to have the helicopter available and wanted to make sure to make use of it. They all went through the line and found a table, Mark looked down at his tray and it made him miss Birdie’s cooking. He had eaten so much bad food over the last eleven years and it never bothered him before, but today it did. He probably just missed Birdie. Sam sat down and looked down at his tray, “I wish I was home eating my wife’s cooking, even if she’s putting too much salt on everything.”

  Josh looked down at his tray, “I wish I was still on my honeymoon with my beautiful bride. I can’t remember what I ate, but it must have been good.”