Officer Breaks the Rules (Semper Fidelis. Always Faithful.)

by Murray, Jeanette

  “Oh, I see.” He gave her a sad smile and tsked. “The sex was that bad, huh? I mean, I can see—”

  “It. Was. Not. Bad,” she whispered harshly, then realized what she’d all but admitted. Though why she was censoring herself with her best friend, she had no clue. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been honest about her sexual encounters before.

  Matthew rolled his eyes, then shoved her arm until she stumbled into an empty room.

  Madison stared at the flat-screen TV and the oversized armchair that pulled out into a couch for the expectant fathers to sleep over on. “You’re not going to take a nap in here again, are you?”

  He shot her a look that would wither plants. “Stuff it, O’Shay. That was once. And I was just resting between double shifts.” He rolled his shoulders. “Go ahead and tell Uncle Matthew all about it.”

  She made a face. “Don’t be gross.” But she cocked her head to one side, noted it was dead silent on the floor, and plopped down on the armchair. A minute or two wouldn’t hurt. “I went over there last night with a spare key. He came home in a horrible mood. Then we, you know…”

  “Madison. You’re a nurse. Last month you pulled an iPod out of somewhere an iPod should never be. You can say the word ‘sex.’” Matthew looked too amused at her embarrassment.

  She flipped him off instead. “After, we fell asleep—”

  “That boring?”

  She smirked. “That exhausting. Then he woke me up like two hours later for another round—”

  “Well played, sir.”

  “—and then when I woke up again, it was morning. He was already gone. Didn’t even try to say good-bye, the bastard.”

  “You’re not the most friendly of people when woken up,” he reminded her. “Could he have tried, and you bit his arm off so he didn’t bother?”

  “No. Trust me. I woke up just fine the first time he did it.”

  “Damn you,” Matthew muttered. Poor sad, sexually frustrated male.

  “Right back at ya,” she said cheerfully, then frowned. “So I don’t really know where that leaves us. Is he regretting it? Did he really just not have time to stick around and wait for me to get out of bed? Is he planning his move to Canada?”

  “Likely all of the above.” Matthew held out a hand and pulled her up from the chair. “You could drive a man to drink, O’Shay. And I do mean that in the best possible way.”

  She elbowed him in the ribs.

  “Watch that,” he said with a wince. “I’m not one of your big, tough, unbreakable Marines.”

  She glanced at Matthew fully, shaking her head. If he kept his hair a little shorter, you wouldn’t even know he wasn’t in the service himself. The man liked to work out. He joked that the dating scene on his side of the road was more competitive, and he had to keep up. But the results were fine to look at for anyone.

  “So now what’s the plan?”

  She shrugged. “He didn’t call or text all day. But he’s got a life so I didn’t really expect it. I figured he might send me something after he got off work, but now that I’m the one at work, he might not want to bug me. So I guess when he calls, we’ll just… talk. We were friends first, before this happened.”

  “And if he wants to pretend it didn’t happen?” Matthew asked gently as they approached the station desk.

  Her heart clenched at the thought. But she shook her head. “He won’t. I won’t let him.”

  ***

  Madison kicked off her scrub pants and watched them sail halfway to the hamper before dying a slow death on the carpet. She could relate. If she had her own choice, she’d fall to the floor and not get up until someone more well-intentioned than she was came by to pick her up, too.

  Sadly, she didn’t have that option. She needed a shower and a bed, stat. She rinsed off quickly in her small bathroom, doing her best to stay upright and not fall over and drown. But she knew, as she toweled off, this wasn’t the worst part of a long shift at the hospital that ended early in the morning.

  Nope. The worst part was when she crawled into bed, closed her eyes, breathed a deep sigh of relief… and nothing happened.

  Her eyes popped back open; she was going to have to resign herself to the fact that she was still too strung up from her shift to fall asleep. She glanced at the nightstand and her phone and rolled her eyes. She would not—repeat not—check her phone again. For the forty-ninth time. Slow shift meant she had that much more time to think about what it meant that Jeremy didn’t even try to get a hold of her. The only text she’d received had been from her mother at 0530, asking her to call when she had time.

  Mostly she was just glad to be able to walk quietly into the apartment and back to her own room without running into Veronica. She loved the girl, but now was definitely not the moment for chitchat. She was too tired for chatter. But this time of the morning, even Veronica was still sound asleep. Most people were.

  Well, she wasn’t going to be able to sleep anytime soon. Might as well call Mom.

  With tired eyes, she hit the right speed dial number and let it ring, using the moment to grab the towel she let drop by her bed to scrub at her wet hair a little more.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Mom.”

  “Madison! Sweetheart, how are you? It’s so early.”

  Just the sound of her mother’s voice slowed down her mind considerably. Like a drug-induced calm, it was as if her body recognized comfort through the phone and responded. “Just got off shift, can’t sleep yet. Where are you guys?”

  “Heading over to Louisiana now. It’s my turn to pick, and your father’s grumbling profusely.”

  “I am not,” came her father’s gruff voice, slightly distant sounding.

  “What’s in Louisiana?”

  “New Orleans, of course,” her mother said, like it was completely obvious.

  Timothy Senior and Susie were taking to retirement like ducks to water. After spending a lifetime of moving around from coast to coast—sometimes country to country—Madison and Tim had both assumed their parents would relish the ability to spend the rest of their lives in one spot, with the chance to plant some roots and grow in a community.

  More fool them. They’d barely lasted a year before the nomad fever grabbed hold and wouldn’t let go. Shocking them all, her parents bought an RV and were making a go of touring across the country, taking turns on who picked what attraction they would see next. Often this handing-off of choice meant their pattern over the country was more of a zigzag with a few loops thrown in for good measure rather than a normal, logical sweep. But, as their mother laughingly pointed out, they had nothing but time. Time she got to spend with her sweetheart.

  It was crazy, it was unexpected, and it was beyond adorable. Madison prayed she’d still be so in love with her own husband in forty years. You know, if she ever found one in the first place.

  “It’s not even Mardi Gras time,” Madison pointed out, snuggling deeper in the bed, pulling the covers up to her ears.

  “That’s not the point. I haven’t seen the city yet, and so we’re going. Now, tell me what is going on in your life. How are things at work?”

  “Work’s good. I’m on the OB floor again.”

  “Oh, your favorite! Are you still working with Matthew?”

  She smiled. The first time her mother met Matthew, she’d been assured Madison would marry him. Best friends make the best husbands, she’d advised Madison wisely. But on the second visit, she clearly figured out Matthew was not the man for her. “You know, I do believe he’s attracted to other men,” she’d said, slightly mystified at the idea, though not put off by it.

  Mothers. Intuitive only when they wanted to be.

  “Yes, we’re still working together. I can’t shake him.”

  “Good. I spoke to Tim the other day and he gave me
Dwayne’s update, so I won’t keep you awake any longer for that. We sent him a card the other day… I hope it doesn’t get lost in the mail.”

  “You know how things go over there. He’ll either get it in about five days or five months.”

  Her mother laughed softly. “True enough.” There was a pause, and Madison could hear the whine of the RV engine, the sound of some country song playing, and her father humming along. “Madison, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

  She straightened a little in bed, then shifted to stare at the ceiling. One hand crept up to nervously twirl the end of a damp lock of hair. “I’m fine. Why?”

  “You just sound a little… out of sorts. That’s all. Do you want us to swing over? It’s a bit of a drive, but I can always change my choice from New Orleans to—”

  “No.” She said it a little sharper than necessary and winced. “No,” she tried again, more calmly. “I’m fine; please don’t derail plans for me. I’m just really tired. Long shift, you know. And I didn’t sleep well the night before.” What with all that sex I was having. Really cuts into a girl’s beauty sleep.

  “All right, then,” her mother said, sounding less than convinced. “But you know we’re always willing to come for a visit. Always.”

  Madison’s body relaxed a little again. “I know. Thanks, Mommy.”

  Her mother chuckled. “You haven’t called me that in a long time.”

  “I’m in bed, I’m sleepy, and my mom’s voice is in my ear. I think I regressed momentarily.”

  “I miss it sometimes. Of course, these days I’m more looking forward to the Nana stage. When do you think Tim and Skye will—”

  Madison yawned loudly and exaggeratedly. “Oh wow, Mom. I think I just hit a wall. I should probably turn in now while I have the chance.”

  “Oh. Well, okay then. I love you.”

  Only a little guilty for cutting their convo short, Madison said, “I love you too, Mom.” They hung up, and Madison let her phone drop to the bed beside her. Then she smoothed a hand over the extra pillow next to hers.

  Cool. Unused. Unneeded.

  Not for long. She’d had a taste of what nights with Jeremy could be like, and she’d be damned if she would give it up so quickly. Even if Jeremy thought he would get away with it.

  ***

  Jeremy sat back, rubbed tired eyes, and stared at the clock on the wall. Calculated. And realized he had approximately seven minutes to slip into his cammies, grab breakfast, and head to the office if he was going to show up at a respectable time.

  And he hadn’t slept at all. Not even an extended blink. Something, a singularly fantastic plot idea, grabbed him by the throat the moment he’d walked through the door, and he barely moved from his computer since. He’d meant to just make a quick note for later. Instead, he’d kept going, and going and going, until the real world drifted away and the only thing that existed for him was the fictional world, the characters, their plights.

  On the plus side, he was nearly done with the rough draft of the book. On the negative… he was about to fall on his face with exhaustion.

  Debating for a few moments, he realized he had a choice. And for once, he was going to do what made him more happy. He might not get the chance often, and it might be a small step, but today, he was going to indulge it. He picked up the phone and called Tim.

  “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Not coming in today.” He sighed, hoping to sound sorry. “Just not feeling great.”

  “Ah.” Tim was silent for a moment. “Yeah, no problem. It’s Friday anyway; most people are going to be leaving early. You didn’t have anything on your calendar, did you?”

  “Nope.” He coughed once, then realized that was taking it a little too far. “The only thing I had left for the week is a Fit Rep, but I can finish that up here and email it in.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll let Blackwater know.”

  “I’ll shoot him an email too, but thanks for telling him in person.” Jeremy hung up, then quickly dashed off an email to the CO explaining he wouldn’t be in that day and a note about the Fit Rep, so the man didn’t think he’d forgotten.

  After another fifteen minutes to concentrate on finishing the last Fit Rep he’d started the day before, he sent that off as well, then stumbled to bed. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was inundated with Madison.

  Her smell still clung to the sheets, which his lazy ass hadn’t changed yet. Or maybe not lazy so much as reluctant to remove the memory. And even though he was to-the-bone tired, even though he wanted to curl up and die for a good eight hours, he did something he knew he’d regret later.

  He picked up the phone and called her.

  “’Lo?” her raspy voice answered. It was thick with sleep, and completely sexy. He hardened instantly.

  “Hey. You sleeping?”

  “Jeremy?” There was a pause, and he imagined her pulling the phone away to check the screen. “What are you doing calling? Are you at the office?”

  “I’m playing hooky. What are you doing?”

  “Catching up on shut-eye. I got home around six in the morning.” Her voice was tinged with irony, since she likely knew he was well aware what she’d be doing at this time.

  Jeremy checked the clock. She’d been sleeping for a good two hours. “I’m taking the day off. Need to get some rest myself. But I can’t sleep.”

  “Did you call for a bedtime story? I gotta tell you, I’m rusty on my Mother Goose.” He heard rustling and a creak, as if she were shifting around in bed.

  “I was hoping for some company for the day. That is, if you’re free and don’t have any plans.” Say you have plans. No, don’t say that. Say you’re coming over. Oh, fuck it. I don’t even know what I want.

  A long pause. Long enough for him to check the phone to make sure they weren’t disconnected.

  “Jeremy, are you asking me to come over there for a nap?”

  Well, eventually he wouldn’t mind a more physical way to pass the time, but for the moment… “Yeah. I guess I am.”

  She was quiet again, then a soft, “Okay,” was her only reply before she hung up.

  He set the phone down on his nightstand. Getting in deep, Phillips.

  He could swim. It would be fine. Simple. Casual. Completely nonchalant.

  Complete bullshit.

  ***

  Madison drove up to the apartment complex and killed the engine. After only two hours of sleep, when Jeremy had called the thought of not coming over had been a very strong one. Damn, she was tired, and even the momentary thought of amazing, sweaty, burning up the sheets sex with Jeremy couldn’t rouse her from bed. But the moment he asked her to come over specifically for a nap, she knew she was a goner. How could she turn that down?

  So she drove over carefully, taking as many back roads as she could. She was relieved when she reached her destination. It was almost like driving with a hangover. Not drunk, but definitely not at her peak either. Grabbing her tote bag, she stumbled out of the car, up the stairs, and knocked on the door. When she heard nothing on the other side of the door to indicate he was on his way, she tried the knob. Unlocked. She shook her head at the lack of precaution, then slipped inside and shut the door behind her. And this time, she locked the dang thing.

  He wasn’t on the couch, or at his computer desk. Which meant there was only one other place he could be. She turned the corner and found him facedown in bed, still fully dressed in a polo shirt, jeans, and his tan combat boots. Likely the exact same thing he wore on his way home from work the night before. She sighed, shook her head again in disbelief, and started unlacing his boots.

  “Bedtime story my ass,” she grumbled as she jerked at the laces. “Needs a keeper, that’s what he needs. Probably stayed up all night doing God knows what.”

  Jeremy’s only response was
a light snore. She couldn’t hold back the chuckle. One boot, then the other fell to the floor. She stepped back, hands on her hips, and estimated how hard it would be to at least get his jeans off.

  “Nope. Not even going to try. That’s your problem.” She shoved at his shoulders until he rolled to his side, then crawled in beside him. Without her holding him up, he slumped back over against her, his chest heavy behind her back.

  The dead weight of his body forced air from her lungs. But she wiggled just a little and made it work. Much as she hated to admit it, independent female such as she was, the simple fact that his warm body was next to her made her smile. Not that she’d enjoyed having to play nursemaid first. But when he shifted, mumbled something completely incoherent, and draped one heavy arm around her waist, she closed her eyes on a happy sigh.

  He might not know it, might not want to admit it. But Madison was sure that at least subconsciously he wanted to make room for her. And not just in his bed.

  Chapter 14

  The thundering drums of a pulsing headache were Jeremy’s first link to the world of the conscious. Then came the lights, much too bright for the middle of the night, burning his eyes through his closed eyelids. Who the hell was shining a goddamn light in his face?

  Jeremy shifted, moaned, and covered his face with one hand. The other hand, it seemed, was stuck somehow. He took the chance and peeked with one eye to see what situation he’d gotten himself into.

  First he noticed a very delicious pair of breasts pressing into his chest. Hard to miss those. Not to mention the rest of the body they were attached to, suctioned to the side of his body, his arm tucked under her. Turning his head to the side just a tad, he saw a mop of brown hair and realized it was Madison.

  Of course it’s Madison, dipshit. Who the hell else would it be?

  He angled his head just a little farther and checked the clock. Almost noon. Damn, so not the middle of the night. More like middle of the day. Right. He took the day off, and Madison was working nights.