Wreck You

by Abby Mccarthy

  “Is that so?” I joke, but with serious undertones.

  “Yes ma’am. Marines are very faithful.” As he says this my heart swells. I didn’t know my heart could beat any faster, but it does. Then what he says next has my heart running marathons.

  “Maura, I won’t share you. I will be gone, sometimes for months at a time, and I will be faithful to you. Can you be faithful to me? And before you answer, I need you to say yes because I don’t know what it is about you, but from the second I laid eyes on you, I knew there was something different about you. You’re made for me.” Holy Hell Batman. He just said that!

  “Yeah baby, you got me.”

  “I got you?’ He questions.

  “All of me. No one else, just you.”

  “It might be selfish of me, but I can’t say it doesn’t make me happy as hell knowing that you are mine and no other man has been inside of you.” I get this. I really do. But a part of me wonders how many women he has been with and a part of me is afraid of that answer. Do I really want to know? So, I decide to ask something else but equally as question-worthy.

  “You know, I’m new to all of this. But have you ever been in something serious? Ever been in love?”

  “I’ve been with my share, and I had two that could have been something. One cheated on me while I was on a mission. The other one just grated on my nerves after a while.”

  “That’s horrible about the first one. How did you find out?”

  “Marines talk, especially when it’s one of your brothers doing the fooling around.”

  “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m kind of not, cause whatever shit that has been handed to you, it brought you right here with me.”

  “Trust and loyalty have been so ingrained in me, it wasn’t the kind of thing I could overlook. But you’re right. I’m here with you, so it all happened how it should.” He touches his finger to my nose and brings it over my lips. I suck in the tip of his finger, and swirl my tongue around it causing him to smirk.

  “One more thing okay? I need you to promise me something.”

  “What is it?” I question. He perches himself up on an elbow staring directly into me, his eyes piercing my eyes so fiercely, I swear he sees my soul.

  “Promise me you will never put yourself in harm’s way again. If I ask you to stay somewhere, will you do it? I’ve been in more dangerous situations than I can count, but I have never been more afraid in my entire life than when he came in and he had a gun to your head. I just found you. I can’t lose you.”

  “I’m sorry I scared you.”

  “Do you promise me?” He asks again realizing I only apologized.

  “Yeah I promise. As long as you promise to always come back to me.” He smiles at me and caresses the side of my face.

  “Nothing can keep me away.”

  “Can I ask you something else?”

  “Anything.”

  “Are you sure that me being involved with the club isn’t too overwhelming for you? You seem awfully accepting of everything and I know that it is a hard pill to swallow. They are a bit much. It’s all a bit much.”

  “As a Marine, we are taught to assess the situation and determine if the risk is worth taking. You are a risk worth taking.”

  “But….”

  “Shh... No buts. Your club doesn’t scare me. You couldn’t scare me off if you tried, so stop trying. Okay? I’m all right with it. Besides, my life is scary too. I get that it takes a strong woman to be able to handle it.”

  This time when he enters me, it is slow and deliberate, looking into each other’s

  eyes. Afterwards, as he holds me, I’m sure that Corbin Marx, my Marine, is it for me. If he thinks I was made for him, he is wrong because I'm confident that we were made for each other.

  Chapter 8

  The next few days go by in a blur. We stay wrapped up in a post-coital bliss. Every nerve in my body feels completely sated. I’m happier than I've ever been. We decide to stay at the bed and breakfast longer than Corbin originally spoke to Rosalina about. We come down to eat and I’m quickly starting to think of Rosalina as family. Not only can she cook amazingly, she lets her heart shine through with everything she does. I watch how caring she is with Corbin, and I'm so grateful that he found her and selfishly, more grateful that he shared her with me.

  One morning she convinces me to get up at the crack of dawn to help her bake bread. She shows me how to knead the dough and how to let it rise. She is a patient teacher and refrains from laughing at me when I'm covered with flour, while her apron remains completely clean. I do a decent job at this and am confident that I could do this again on my own. Rosalina questions me about Corbin.

  “So, how long have you two been together?”

  “Just a few days. To be honest, it feels like a lot longer.”

  She pats my hand. “Honey, when I met my Federico, nothing could have kept me away from him. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew I wouldn’t want another. That’s how love works sometimes.”

  Whoa, she said the word love. My heart flips at that. Is that what this is? Could this be? How could I love someone I just met? Sure, I have this pull to him, but could I be falling in love? The questions rake my mind as I knead the dough. Corbin comes down and watches me. I look up from my dough and catch him looking at me with a look of happiness that in return makes my heart swell.

  Corbin likes to stay busy. He is not a sit around and watch TV kind of guy, he is a do-er. Just as I saw him watch me with Rosalina, I’ve also seen the way he is with her. I love that he just does things. He will see what needs to be done and take care of it. If she is cooking and about to serve food, I see him reach into the cupboard and get plates out to begin setting the table. This might not seem like a big deal, but believe me, when you have grown up with a bunch of bikers who get club sluts to wait on them while they kick their feet up, it is a breath of fresh air.

  One afternoon, after taking a nap, I wake to find Corbin gone. I search through the B&B and don’t see him. I find Rosalina in the kitchen, and she is talking on one of those old phones that is attached to the kitchen wall with a tightly wound telephone cord. I mouth “Corbin?” to her, not wanting to interrupt her conversation, and she motions with her head that he is out back. I smile at her, and mouth “thanks” as I walk out the kitchen door. I can’t believe how quickly Corbin has worked into my heart, and now Rosalina. I shake my head and smile at the thought as I head towards the pond.

  The pond that sits behind the B&B is the kind of pond that gets regularly stocked with fish for the guest’s fishing enjoyment. By the size of the fish swimming by, you can tell it’s a catch and release pond. There is a bench on the edge of the pond that sits vacant.

  My eyes roam over the pond and spot Corbin standing on the other side of it. He is looking at the water, but the look in his eyes tells me that he doesn’t see me. He looks contemplative, almost sad. I watch him rub the side of his face, and see his shoulders sag. Something is bothering this man. The look on his face reminds me of how he looked at the lake just days ago when I first saw him.

  Without saying anything, I walk around the pond to him and slide my hand into his. I will let him come to me, and talk to me when he is ready, for now I’ll just be here.

  We begin to walk back towards the house. The pond is quite beautiful. Wild flowers surround the path along the edge of the pond, and with the onset of fall, the foliage is starting to be very colorful, hues of red and yellow are beginning to cover the leaves. Corbin stops walking. He drops my hand and walks over to a clump of wild aster. It’s a pretty white flower. He leans over me and tucks the flower behind my ear. I smile at him. It’s a sweet gesture.

  “This is the first time in my life where I wish I was not a Marine.”

  “What do you mean?” I question.

  “We’re so new. But this thing between us, it’s as palpable as the air we breathe. It’s explosive, and more real than anything I've ever felt. Part of me wishes we could just stay here for
ever - away from work; away from the club, just you and me. I love my job. Always have.” He moves behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and leaning his head on my shoulder.

  “This right here, with you, is perfect. I don’t even know if I'm making any sense. Whenever we’re apart, I want you to remember us right here, at this moment, and how perfect we are together. How strong this is.” A tear leaks from the corner of my eye. I’m so filled with emotion from his words. I turn to him, standing on my tippy toes, and wrap my arms around his neck. Our lips collide with a gentle intensity. Our eyes remain locked on each other. We are silently communicating so much in this kiss.

  *****

  I text Jenny a few times and let her know how happy I am. She is thrilled for me and tells me to live it up. To which I respond that I am. She says town has been quiet and she misses me, but has been busy at work.

  I feel like I'm more than living it up, I'm soaking up and absorbing every second of this. Up until now, I’ve been starved, and I didn’t know it. This is filling me up in ways I never knew I needed. When we are not learning everything there is to know about each other’s bodies, we are uncovering everything there is to learn about the person.

  He asks me about growing up with Mickey as a dad. I share stories of Mickey taking me out for target practice at six years old, and about sweet things Mickey has done, like buying me pads. I tell him about times when Mickey had to leave for club business, and that I was basically left in the club with all the guys acting as my dad for weeks at a time. Corbin says how evident it is that Mickey loves me, which I know, but I tell him that how there were times I wished I was raised normally. He tells me about his dad being a Marine first and a dad second. In a way, his upbringing was similar to mine. Neither of us ever went without. We both had all of our physical needs met, but both of us felt an emptiness from feeling second to our dads and nothing at all to our moms.

  I talk about Jenny and our escapades with out-drinking prospects. Several of these stories almost bring Corbin to tears. He laughs as he wipes under his eye, “Tell me you didn’t do what I think you are about to tell me.”

  “Oh, we did. We had him dressed as a woman and then I paid a local drunk named Bob, who by the way is completely harmless, to fall asleep next to him at the clubhouse. Needless to say, he didn’t cut it as a prospect.”

  “I’m going to have to be very careful with how much alcohol I ingest around you.”

  I hold my fingers up like a scout, “I will never prank you while you are drunk, Scout’s honor.”

  “Maura, boy scouts do that.” We both laugh knowing my scouts promise holds no merit. Corbin shares stories of brotherhood between he and his men. He doesn’t talk much about what he does, and I don’t probe. I have learned that men don’t really want to share the ugly with women, and that’s okay. If I’m honest with myself, I can’t stand the thought of him putting himself in danger.

  I find out that he is part of a much smaller team that focuses on more “discreet” missions. I take this as code for, “we’re not going to tell you, so don’t ask.”

  “So, what’s the deal with you and Daws?” He finally asks. I knew this question was coming, but I was avoiding it.

  “Dawson and I are complicated.”

  “Complicated how?” He all but growls in response.

  “I’ve known him my whole life, and he has been my best friend. When I was at the club by myself, he was always there. He always looked out for me, even when I didn’t want him to. I can’t imagine him not in my life. I love him, but he can also be a total ass.”

  “You love him?” Corbin questions angrily.

  “Relax Marine. Not like that, more like a brother than anything.”

  “So, nothing has ever happened between the two of you?” Corbin seems a little jealous, and I’m strangely turned on by this possessive nature he has with me.

  “We got drunk and kissed a few years ago, but decided we were better off as friends.” I leave out the part about me finally letting down my defenses with Dawson's advances only to find him balls deep in a club slut merely hours later. I’ve chalked up my momentary lapse in judgment as just that, a mishap.

  Corbin is smart, “You decided you were better off as friends, or he did?”

  I know that he is asking if Dawson has feelings for me, and I’m not going to lie.

  “I decided. Somewhere in his messed up head, he has convinced himself that he thinks of me as more than a sister. I think he just wants what he can’t have, because I will never go there.”

  “I’m glad you had him as a friend growing up, and I can appreciate your friendship with him, but I’ll destroy him if he ever tries to lay another finger on you.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m yours. No one is going to lay a finger on me, but you.”

  "Mine is right." His lips crash down on me. He takes me, and takes me again until our bodies are covered with sweat, and our muscles too exerted to move.

  I lay still for hours listening to Corbin’s breathing as he sleeps. It’s melodic and calming. I keep playing over in my mind how everything has happened. If fate exists I’m sure it played a huge role in bringing us together. I’ve thought a little about the shooting, and surprisingly I’m not as freaked out as I’d expect to be. I think that it has to do with how safe Corbin makes me feel.

  I decide that perhaps getting a late night snack will help me sleep. I creep out of the room so that I don’t wake him, tiptoeing as lightly as I can. The bed and breakfast is dark. There is a small light on the countertop that gives off just enough to see. I open the fridge, and spot some strawberries and a container of Cool Whip. I smile because fruit in Cool Whip is one of my guilty pleasures. Oh, who am I kidding? No need for guilt, it’s okay to be gluttonous with fruit, right?

  Taking a seat at one of the bar stools, I'm pleased to find that there is the right amount of Cool Whip that I don’t have to feel bad if I eat right out of the container. I dip my strawberries one after another, enjoying how good they are. I hear a light chuckle and look up from my strawberry indulgence to see Corbin leaning against the wall staring at me. He is within arm’s reach. How that man moves so stealth like with his size remains a mystery.

  “Damn Maura, I could watch you eat strawberries, and die a happy man.”

  I feel my cheeks turn slightly pink and if the room was brighter, I’m sure he would have seen the same thing. He walks behind me, bracing his body around mine, caging me in. He reaches over and dips a strawberry and attempts to bring it to my mouth at the same time I turn to look at him. He doesn't catch my movement, and smears whipped cream across my cheek.

  “Oh no, you don’t,” I say with a giggle. Grabbing a strawberry, I dip it pretending I'm going to feed it to him, and glob a huge hunk on his nose.

  “That’s how you want to play it.” He takes the same strawberry that he meant to feed me and dips it again. I’m giggling at him, and a squeal or two escapes my lips. I attempt to duck out of the way thinking I’m going to get the Cool Whip on my face, but he sticks the whole strawberry down the front of my night gown right into my cleavage. He moves his head across my neck effectively smearing the cream from his face all over my neck. I attempt to stick my hand in the cream, deciding to skip the strawberry and just go straight for the cream with my hand. I get a few fingers in the cool whip container but his hand encompasses mine and he does the same getting a handful of cream.

  “You sure that’s your next move?” He says and chuckles. I try to be faster than him and move my hand quickly and get a bit of cream in his hair. He comes after me, but I hop off the stool and start to run around the island.

  Corbin barely moves before he catches me, and throws me over his shoulder. Both of his hands move up the back of my thighs, and eventually rubbing over my bottom.

  “You win! I give up.”

  “Of course I win. What kind of Marine would I be if I let a girl take me down?” He smirks at me and sets me down on the countertop.

  I kiss him hard,
smearing the cream on our faces together. I taste the sweet strawberries and cream mixed with Corbin’s minty breath. He grabs a thigh in one hand. Lifting it up, he uses the cream as a massage oil, and starts to run his hand up and down.

  He is distracted with our kissing and I reach into my cleavage pulling out the strawberry he tucked in.

  “Corbin?” I breathe into his ear.

  “Maura?”

  “All’s fair in love and war.” I say and then stick the strawberry in his other ear.

  “Aghh,” he yelps, shaking his head, he drops my leg.

  A light flickers on and I hear the clearing of Rosa’s throat, “Ahem.”

  “My apologies, Rosa. My girl had a sweet tooth.” Corbin flashes his sweet grin to Rosa. “We were just cleaning up.”

  “Oh I’m sure you were. Keep it down, would ya? You’ll wake the whole house.” Now, I’m sure he can see the shades of pink that my fair Irish skin is turning. Rosalina doesn’t linger, and quickly makes her way back upstairs.

  “Oh my God, I’m mortified.” I put my head into Corbin’s chest.

  “Don’t be. I’m sure she has seen much worse. She has stories that make us look like saints. Now, why don’t you head upstairs and I’ll clean up.” I think he might be telling me that Rosalina has stories to ease my embarrassment, and it’s another thing about him that I'm quickly falling for.

  It’s the middle of the night and I’m covered in Cool Whip. It has started to dry, and I’m beginning to feel very sticky. I get in the shower, and rub my hands over my body as I wash. It’s the same hips, same skin, same nipples, but It feels like my entire body has changed. I move the loofa over my breast as Corbin opens the shower curtain, and steps in. I gulp at the sight of him naked. Even though I’ve seen him naked dozens of times, I’m continually impressed by his flawless beauty. The steam from the overly hot shower surrounds us. I can’t help but smile at some of the dried cream on Corbin’s face.