by Sybil Bartel
“What do you need a cab for?” Buck ground out.
“To get a ride to a hotel?” Damn it. It came out like a question. Stupid alpha men.
This time, Talon roared with laughter. “You’re on your own, Deer Hunter. You know where the guest room is, good luck. Good night Miss Layna Blair Dellis.” Talon smirked and disappeared down a hall at the other end of the kitchen.
Buck didn’t spare Talon a glance. “Food then bed,” he clipped.
Something told me I wasn’t getting a cab. “So, where would this bed be located?”
“Downstairs.” He walked into the kitchen.
No cab. Okay, I could work with this. I’d slept in far worse places over the years. My apartment in Gainesville was about a thousand times drearier than Talon’s house. I followed Buck. “Okay,” I said with far more bravado than I felt.
Buck opened the fridge and pulled stuff out. Throwing bread on plates, he didn’t assemble sandwiches, he man-handled them—in quick precise movements. Marine-like. Kinda bossy. And kinda sexy.
“They teach you to do that in the Marines?” Maybe it was a basic-training thing.
Buck looked up and glared at me as he slammed a knife down through a sandwich.
Riiight. Okay. “Guess not.” Wrong question. “What’s a safe question?”
“Define safe.”
Yep. That did it. Now I knew I’d made a mistake coming here. “Alrighty then.” Inhaling, I turned around and looked for my purse.
“Wait.” Buck issued the command like he knew where my mind was at and he was having none of it.
Time to go. Past time to go.
Buck caught my arm and I rounded on him. “Stop it! I’m sick of you grabbing my arm!”
Shock washed over his features, making all the hard lines soften. “Sorry.”
Taken off guard, I closed my eyes for a second and counted to ten.
“Come, sit, eat,” he said quietly.
Was I a dog? Did he think he could dominate as he pleased? Call alpha and I’d acquiesce? What the hell? “You’re still holding my arm.”
“I know.”
He didn’t let go, he didn’t say anything else. “And?”
Buck stared. “And, I don’t generally like questions.”
Well, no shit. “I got that.”
“I said generally.”
Jeez. I needed a road map for this shit. “I don’t speak code. You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific.”
“You can ask me anything you want.” He glanced over my head and when he brought his eyes back to mine, he looked resigned—or maybe determined. “I want you to ask anything you want.”
And just like that, my heart shifted. I don’t know how I knew, but I knew I just got more from Buck than he’d ever given to anyone else. “Okay.”
“Good. Let’s eat.” Buck pulled out a stool for me.
I hopped up, settled in and took a bite of sandwich. Buck did the same, but his bite was almost half the sandwich and I felt bad for making him miss dinner.
“So.” I pulled the crust off the bread. “What’s your favorite color?”
Buck paused, sandwich midway to his mouth. “Red, white and blue.”
“That’s three.”
“It’s only one color when they’re all together.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “Favorite band?” I took another bite.
“Never thought about it.”
Really? Who didn’t think about music? “But if you had to choose. Like what? Rock? Top 40? Country? Alternative? What?”
“Yeah, that’s good.” He finished his sandwich.
“Don’t you listen to music?” Music was my company. I couldn’t imagine a day without it.
“Been kinda busy.”
Jesus. I was a total bitch. He’d spent the past couple of years in a foreign country dodging bombs and bullets and God knows what else to defend our freedom. He didn’t have time for the simple comforts I took for granted. “I’m sorry,” I said quietly.
“For what?” He stood and cleared his plate.
“Nothing,” I muttered, too ashamed to admit my ignorance. I shoveled in another bite and took my plate to the sink.
Buck frowned. “You didn’t finish.”
“I’m good.” When I turned away from the sink, Buck was right there. Arms loose at his sides, his stance was anything but relaxed. Craning my neck, I met his eyes and suddenly I was nervous. The thought popped out before I could stop it. “You’re really tall.”
“Six-four,” he said quietly. “What’s your favorite color?”
“Green?” Why the hell did my answers always come out like questions around him?
“Green.” A ghost of a smile touched his lips.
“Yeah, bright green. New banana leaves green. The tropical green you only see in South Florida green.”
The smile disappeared. “You miss home.”
“I don’t have a home.” It died with my parents. I stepped around him but Buck grasped my arm then tipped my chin up.
“I’m going to fix that.”
His whispered promise caught my ear and quietly snuck into my heart.
Chapter Seven
Buck led me downstairs to a guest room directly under the living room. It had a wall of windows and Spanish tile floors but unlike upstairs, it had a really big king-size bed. Did I mention it was big? Huge. And on the end, sitting like it belonged, was Buck’s duffel. I didn’t have time to contemplate when he’d done that. I was too busy hyperventilating at the implication.
“Um, yeah. Sooooo. Nice room. Where’s mine?” I might’ve wrung my hands.
“This is your room.” Buck unzipped his bag and began to dig through it.
“And where’s yours?” I might’ve squeaked.
Buck stilled and looked over his shoulder at me. Then he rose to his full height and turned to face me with an impassive stare. “This is our room.” He let the words sink in. “Talon only has one guest room.”
My head began to shake and I took an involuntary step back. I was not sleeping next to this man, no way.
“Which leads me to what I wanted to talk to you about earlier.” Buck didn’t give me a chance to protest. He held his hand up. “First, I’m sorry about what happened in the car. I was out of line. It won’t happen again.”
I went completely still. If he’d slapped me in the face it would’ve been less hurtful. The caring, warm Buck from upstairs was gone and the expressionless one was back. Despite not wanting to sleep next to him five seconds ago, my heart and my ego had just been crushed. The hard set to his mouth, the cold look in his eyes, I was no more desirable to him than the stupid bitch Christie Kisses. I wanted to die with embarrassment.
My cheeks burning, I turned around. “Forget it. I got it. No harm, no foul.” I didn’t know how I managed to speak.
Buck cleared his throat but then went quiet. When he spoke again, his voice sounded off. “There’s a couch upstairs I can sleep on or we can share the bed. I promise I won’t touch you.”
His words were a knife in my back. Why was I even here? Why had he done this? I wanted to run but I also wanted to pound on him till my fists bruised, forcing him to tell me the truth. I didn’t buy the bullshit line he gave me about this being better than watching his mother die, not for one stupid minute. There were plenty of ways he could’ve distracted himself without jumping into the middle of a shit storm.
Knowing he was waiting for an answer, I quickly thought about my options and surmised him taking the couch would only add to my embarrassment. I didn’t need to place more emphasis on the fact that I couldn’t be in a bed with him. Stupid pride won out and cast my misery. “Whatever, I could care less. We can share,” I said with a fake smile.
Buck frowned and handed me a bundle of fabric. “You can sleep in this until we get you some new clothes.”
I tried not to show my total despair. It wasn’t bad enough I had to sleep next to him, now I had to wear his clothes? Smelling him on me and next t
o me all night? Life was a cruel joke. “Thanks.” I snatched the material and went into the adjoining bathroom to change.
When I came out, Buck was in tight boxers, really tight boxers and nothing else. He was lying on his back with his arms crossed over his face. The only thing that kept me from telling him to put a shirt on was my shameful gawking.
When I climbed on the bed, he didn’t stir. Lying on my side, hugging the very edge of the mattress, it was sheer torture. There was no way I was going to fall asleep. Maybe if Buck started snoring or even made a single sound to let me know he was human, I could’ve handled it. But the only thing he gave off was body heat and a pissed-off vibe.
If I thought Buck looked good in clothes, he looked positively lethal out of them. No one should look like him. It wasn’t natural. Yeah, Talon had the same cut muscles and ripped abs but on Buck it was—it was just more. I sighed and kicked the covers off my legs.
“What’s the problem?” Buck’s deep, quiet voice caressed the silence in the room, tormenting me further with a taste of just how sweet pillow talk could be with this man.
What a total joke my one and only sexual experience with Sean-the-Jerk had been. “Are you serious?”
“I asked.”
“I’m hot and pissed as hell, your abs are inhuman, you don’t snore and I can’t for the life of me figure out why I’m here.” It was too late to lie.
I felt movement then Buck spoke. “Turn over,” he commanded.
Oh, this should be good. I rolled over, punched the pillow into submission and despite the darkness, I gave my best stink eye.
Lying on his side facing me, his head resting on his arm, Buck watched my little display with absolute stillness. It was dark but I could see enough from the moonlight streaming in to see him raise his eyebrows.
“Finished?”
I lifted my head, hit the pillow again, like it needed further abuse, and sunk back down. “Not even close.”
“Why are you angry?”
I grunted. “You want a list?”
“Start with number one.”
“I’m pissed at you.” There, I’d said it.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” My head came off the pillow. “You don’t even know why I’m pissed at you and you’re apologizing? Who does that? And why are you here? You should be with your mother.”
Buck reached for my hand but I snatched it away.
“Stop.” The warning hissed out like I was a feral cat.
He acted completely unfazed. “First, lower your voice.”
It was my turn for my eyebrows to shoot halfway up my forehead.
Buck quickly amended, “Please lower your voice. I don’t need Talon listening to this.”
I huffed but he had a point. I sat up all the way and crisscrossed my legs. Resting my elbows on my knees, I sunk my face into my hands. Who cared if I was only wearing a T-shirt and panties? I was sure Buck had seen a whole lot more.
There was movement beside me and a second later Buck snaked his arms under mine, pulled my back to his chest and settled his legs on either side of me. One arm went across the front of my shoulders like a restraint and his other hand skimmed down my arm and closed over my fingers. “Lean back,” he whispered.
I didn’t try to pull away but I didn’t lean in to him either.
The arm across my shoulders moved to my head. As his giant hand brushed my hair from my forehead, he gently forced my head back to his shoulder. “It’s okay, I got you.”
His thumb made lazy circles on the back of my hand and his fingers kneaded my shoulder. He smelled like heaven and his strength felt like the bitterest form of salvation. How could everything I wanted be nothing I could ever have? I wiped a stupid tear, cursing myself for allowing my wants to seep past my defenses.
Buck immediately shifted and wrapped his arms around me, cradling my face against his chest. “C’mon baby, don’t cry.”
That was all it took.
One sentence and three years of defenses crumbled. The floodgates opened and I cried my heart out. I cried because my parents were dead. I cried because I knew the way I’d been living was a farce. I cried because I hated Miami. I cried because this man’s mother was dying. I cried because I had no home. I cried because for one single moment when Buck kissed me, I’d let myself believe none of it mattered. And the more I cried, the harder the tears came.
Buck’s whispers turned desperate but his soothing words meant nothing. His hands stopped rubbing and instead cupped my face. When he began to plead with me to stop crying, I knew I’d lost it. In a desperate attempt to escape, my body thrust upward.
In the next instant, Buck was kissing me. Both of us on our knees, his hands gripping my face, he forced his lips on mine. Not one single molecule of my being responded to his assault because nothing in what he was doing was like before. This wasn’t passion, it wasn’t even lust. The bitter taste of his pity sunk into my mouth and I became enraged. With force I didn’t know I had, I shoved against Buck’s chest. Surprise covered his expression and he dropped his hands.
“You promised,” I accused, scrambling backward off the bed. “You liar, you promised! You’re like everyone else, everyone.” My whole body shook with rage. I’d known Buck mere hours but this betrayal cut deep. He wanted me, he didn’t. He said he’d never touch me again, he touched me. I was a stupid ping-pong ball in his game and I wanted out.
Then Buck looked at me like I was the three-legged dog at the pound.
No. No way. “You do not get to look at me like that. Not ever.” I ran from the room.
And smack into Talon.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, darlin’.” Talon’s arms wrapped around me in a vise grip, his bare chest surrounding my shaking body.
A choking sob wrenched free.
“Let her go.” Buck spoke behind me with the unmistakable edge of a threat.
“Now see, here’s the thing. I might’ve been inclined to do just that, seein’ as how you showed up here with her. But for the past half hour all I’ve heard is cryin’ and anger. So now, I’m not so inclined.” Talon’s voice didn’t rumble from his chest like Buck’s but it was no less threatening.
“I’m. Not. Asking.” With each word out of Buck’s mouth, my body flinched and Talon’s arms tightened.
“And I’m sure as shit that wasn’t a threat because we both know who’d win. Go take a shower, calm the fuck down, hell, jerk off if it’ll help, but get your head straight. You’ve been a loose cannon since you walked through my door. The missus and I are goin’ for a little walk.”
Talon’s crass words and the sudden edge to his voice stilled my tears and I let him lead us out the front door.
The cold air was nothing like Gainesville, but it wasn’t summer either. March in Daytona had a definite bite. I was guessing it was high sixties but it felt like forty in my state of undress. Talon, in nothing but the shorts he’d been wearing earlier, seemed unaffected.
Taking us around the side of the house and through his back yard, Talon kept a tight hold around my shoulders. He smelled even stronger of sand and surf now, like he was a part of the landscape around us.
I couldn’t help but compare him to Buck. When Buck had his arms around me, I felt safe. Or I had until he kissed me like I was a desperate charity case. I shivered at the memory. Talon reached around me with his other hand and rubbed my arms. His touch wasn’t gentle or warm like Buck’s. He may be flirtatious as hell and talk with the easy cadence of a surfer, but make no mistake, Talon was all predator. And I suddenly felt the need to point out the obvious.
“I don’t have any pants on.” My voice trembled.
“Be still my beatin’ heart.” Talon’s voice sang with humor as he took us down his beach access, the sea grapes on either side making a high canopy.
“Or shoes,” I added.
“We’re just goin’ for a little walk in the sand. I promise nothin’ bad will happen to you.”
“Is that a marine thing?”
I blurted out.
“Is what a marine thing?” As we hit the sand, Talon released my shoulder and took my hand.
“Promising nothing bad will happen to me. Buck made the same promise.” And I’d stupidly believed him.
Talon chuckled. “Did he now?”
“Yes,” I mumbled, wondering if I’d said something I shouldn’t have.
“Interestin’,” he said slow and calculating.
Now I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.
Talon led us halfway across the sand and stopped, pulling me in front of him. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, I let him. I even let him wrap his arms around me and rest his chin on my head like we were lovers. Pressed against him from my shoulders to my hips, Talon’s arms locked over mine. His hands on my stomach, I felt for one brief moment what it might feel like to have a boyfriend. I sighed.
“There darlin’, feels good every time, doesn’t it? The moonlight dancin’ across the waves, the surf tellin’ the shore who’s boss, makes you realize everythin’ ain’t all bad.” Talon’s voice had turned soft, intimate.
“I’ve never done this,” I admitted.
“Nothin’ more beautiful than the ocean at night, you should make the time.” He pulled me a little closer.
“That’s not what I meant,” I confessed, having no idea why I was opening up to a complete stranger.
Talon pulled his chest back and looked down at me. “What, exactly, have you never done before?”
I glanced up at him but then looked away.
“Tell me,” he demanded.
“Been held like this,” I whispered.
Silence.
Twice in one night, I couldn’t take the embarrassment of rejection. I tried to step away but Talon’s grip immediately went unbreakable.
“Oh no you don’t, darlin’. You don’t get to throw down the gauntlet like that and just walk away.”
Flabbergasted, I rushed to correct him and stumbled all over myself. “I wasn’t! I mean, I didn’t mean...that wasn’t...” Crap.
Talon laughed softly against my ear. “Just teasin’, darlin’. I know what you meant and I can only say that it’s now my mission in life to hold you every chance I get. I’m gonna make up for lost time and just maybe piss off Deer Hunter a little in the process. It’s a win-win situation.”