That was one of the reason she wanted to enlist. Her parents argued with her, begging her not to do it. They had already lost one child to war, they wouldn’t lose another, they’d say. No one fought with her about it like Cole did though. He was downright furious with her for even considering such a thing.
While it made her so mad at the time, she couldn’t help but smile at it now. The day he finally convinced her to stay and not join, he had looked into her eyes and told her how important she was. How it wasn’t just her parents and Dex who wouldn’t want it, but he didn’t either. He told her how much he cared about her.
It was a happy memory. One she would cherish forever. Not quite in the same way she would cherish last night’s memory, she mused. Still, it was a moment when she’d felt a closeness with him that made her feel special.
Then they had the follow-up fight, round two, as he liked to call it. Once she dropped the bomb on him and her parents that she was going to enroll in the police academy, everyone made their opinions known. She refused to listen to anyone’s arguments and stuck to her proverbial guns. She worked hard and graduated at the top of her class. Even some of her tests scores were the best they’d seen in years.
There was a short time when a couple of the cadets were giving her a hard time, accusing her of being into women because she wouldn’t give in to their countless attempts at getting her into bed. She would just laugh them off and say she was waiting for a real man, not a bunch of boys. It pissed a few of them off while some of the others respected her for standing up for herself and not being intimidated by the male-chauvinist mentality.
What she never told anyone was that for quite a long time it kept her up at night. She wondered if they were right. At that point in her life, no man had ever aroused her. Not even a little. The two times she had sex, she was dry, almost like all the fluid had been sucked from her body. She felt no pleasure or enjoyment in it.
For all intents and purposes, as far as she was concerned, sex was incredibly overrated and she hated it. One night she remembered talking with a rookie officer who was a few months out of the academy. He was good looking, charming, and had a great body. She agreed to meet him for coffee that night and they ended the evening with a kiss.
Any other woman probably would’ve jumped at the chance to have a shot with the young, sexy cop, but she left there feeling sexually frustrated. Not because she wanted him, but because she didn’t.
Upset and near tears, she’d stopped by a gas station on the way home and picked up a copy of Playboy. She was bound and determined to figure out what was wrong with her. If every man who touched her caused zero reaction, there must be a reason. So, she decided to test the other cadet’s theory that she was into women.
When she got home, she stripped out of her clothes, poured herself a glass of wine, got in bed, and opened the magazine. Never being one to procrastinate, she opened to the centerfold and allowed the folded pages to fall, showing the full-length blonde who stood posing against a saddle in some sort of makeshift barn.
She had studied the woman, the picture for a few minutes, looking at the curves of her body and swell of her breasts, but she didn’t feel anything. She was a beautiful woman. Her blond hair shone in the sunlight and her tan skin looked incredible against the dark pink areolas which surrounded her nipples. If she was judging a centerfold contest of some kind, she would have definitely given her a ten out of ten.
Still she’d lain there frustrated and unable to explain her lack of desire. The way she saw it, she didn’t like men, she didn’t like women. The realization made her wonder if she had something wrong with her.
Laughing now, she remembered lying there the rest of the night. She’d ended up polishing off the rest of the bottle of wine, which had been in her refrigerator for a good month. Then she read the whole magazine from front to back which updated her dirty joke mental file, but when all was said and done, she was nothing more than a passed-out naked woman who couldn’t get horny to save her life.
Or so she thought.
Three days later she found out just how wrong she was. It was a night that changed her life and whole perspective on sex. It changed how she thought, how she felt, and what she wanted. It changed everything.
Little did she know that asking Cole for some pointers on her shooting would have such an impact on her life and cause the entire dynamic of their friendship to shift. She assumed when he offered to help her at the range that he’d do what he always did. He would show up and step in as her surrogate big brother like he had for so many years. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
On the range that night they were all alone. The night air was hot and humid, and the sky was clear, illuminated by all the stars in the sky. Every so often a breeze would come through and give them momentary relief against the heat, but all in all it was muggy and miserable.
Several times she insisted that he leave. She knew that day had been an especially long one for him. Half a dozen officers from his department had been out with a flu bug that had been making its way throughout the county. He was working double shifts, trying to cover for their shortage of man power, and was understandably tired. Still he stayed, refusing to leave her there until she got it right.
For hours they stayed on the range, loading, aiming, and firing. Round after round. Cartridge after cartridge. She was at her wits end and ready to give up when he finally decided to take matters into his own hands.
He came up behind her. Her stance was wide as she stood with her arms extended out. One eye was shut as she stared down the sight of her pistol. His frame loomed over hers. He reached his hands around her arms and placed them on top of hers. His thighs touched the backs of hers as he pressed his body firmly against her. Then he rested his head on her shoulder and quietly whispered instructions into her ear.
In that moment, for the first time in her life, she felt arousal. Her nipples puckered and tingled in the most unusual way. Then she felt a churning in her stomach, just as the intensity of going down the steep incline of a roller coaster washed over her. Heat shot through her body, and she held uncomfortably still as the first trickle seeped from her onto her panties.
Before she could understand what was happening, Cole’s finger had levered itself on top of hers, and he helped her squeeze the trigger. The shot had hit the target center mass. He let out a hoot and kissed her on the cheek for a job well done.
When she had finally turned to him, shaky and unbalanced, he’d teased her. Telling her she was too hard on herself, he remarked that was the first of many shots she would nail with expert precision. He insisted they continue to practice despite the late hour, claiming that now that she had it, they couldn’t stop now.
If only he knew, she had thought at the time. She had it all right. She had it bad. For over an hour, they stayed at the range. Several times he did the same things, holding his hands over hers, whispering into her ear, and pressing his hard body firmly up against hers.
Each and every time, it gave her body the same reaction. Minutes seemed like hours as she tried to remain calm despite her growing frustration. By the end of the night, she was in a frenzy. She had never experienced such need before. The desire to rip off her clothes and touch herself had consumed her, not to mention the desire to rip off his clothes and touch him. But she did her best to push those thoughts aside.
To her relief they finally ran out of bullets, and there was literally nothing left to do. Well, nothing involving bullets anyway. Tired and hungry, he had wanted to grab a bite to eat, but she rattled off a bunch of stupid excuses about being tired. It was the first time she had ever lied to him. She knew he didn’t believe her either. He kept asking her what was wrong. She assured him nothing was bothering her, and he’d eventually let up.
Finally she was on her way home. She drove at irresponsible speeds and silently vowed to never lie to him again. She just needed to get home and alleviate the ache she felt. At the time, she didn’t even know what it was. All she knew
was she wanted her clothes off, her hands on her body and rubbing all the places that were throbbing.
She was barely in her front door when she began stripping off her clothes. Remembering the frenzy of the two men she’d been with in the past, she finally understood what it was they were feeling. Her body was completely on fire by the time she sprawled herself out on her bed.
Her whole body shook when she slid her finger against her wetness and accidentally flicked across a sensitive spot that was throbbing. She screamed as a jolt of pleasure shoot through her body. In amazement, she rubbed her nipples with her other hand, completely in awe of her body’s response.
For several minutes she played with her body, exploring its likes and dislikes as she brought herself over the peak of pleasure and lay there in disbelief when her release soaked her fingers and left a wet spot on her bed.
Several times that night she repeated the process as she lay in bed thinking of Cole. Her body cared little for her mind’s argument that their relationship wasn’t a sexual one. Over and over she took herself to the brink and rode the wave of orgasm.
That night she had discovered more about herself than she had in her previous twenty-three years. For the first time, she experienced pleasure on a level that was almost like flying through the sky. She was soaring but without wings while it took her to new heights. Until she then would slowly fall into oblivion.
She made a promise to herself never to lie to him then immediately broke it. Day in and day out, she found herself trapped under the hold he had on her. She knew it wasn’t intentional. It was certainly nothing he was doing on purpose. Nor was it something she could help. For weeks, she tried to control herself, but every night she found herself racing home for a nice, warm bath or anything else so she could take the edge off of her constant, nagging libido.
Every day she tried and failed to get him out of her mind. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into months. And months turned into desperation.
That desperation had caused her to push him almost completely out of her life. It was that same desperation that brought him to her door last night and in turn they walked through a door that she didn’t even think could exist in their world.
Incredibly happy with the way the night turned out, she stretched and slid on her robe before walking to the kitchen. The fresh aroma of coffee that Cole must have brewed before he headed to the station that morning brought a contented smile to her face. Complete and utter joy was so far imbedded into her soul that nothing could change how she felt. Vaguely, she recalled him whispering something to her before giving her a kiss and leaving for work, and it warmed her heart to recall the simple yet sweet gesture.
Opening the cupboard, she reached for a mug and saw the one Cole had given her when she’d graduated high school. It said “Class of 2008—Screaming Eagles.” Feeling sentimental, she chose that cup and poured herself some of the brown wonder liquid which always gave her the morning jolt she needed to get going. Soon she would have to get in the shower and head to the high school for her career week speech to the students.
Her phone rang, interrupting her from her thoughts. She all but skipped across the kitchen to answer it.
“Hello.”
“Good morning, you. Sleep well?”
“Mmm. I did indeed. Did you sleep well, Chief?”
He growled in her ear. “I thought I told you not to call me that anymore.”
Laughing because she had only done it to tease him, she answered him with a mocking sound. “I’m sorry. I bet I could make it up to you.”
Chuckling, he replied, “Oh, I have no doubts about that. Listen, I’m going to bust my ass today to get out of here at a decent hour. I bought dinner last night. Any chance I can convince you to make some of your spaghetti and meatballs that you know I love?”
She rolled her eyes at the phone and smiled. He could ask her to turn a pile of rocks into gold and she would do everything in her power to make it happen. Besides, she liked the idea of cooking for him, not to mention the relief she felt that he seemed just as happy as her. For a moment last night, before they fell asleep, she was so worried that he would pull away from her and try to convince her that what they shared had been a mistake.
“Hmm…perhaps. What’s in it for me?”
“Oh, going to play hard to get after last night, huh? Well, I’m sure I can think of something to make it worth your while.”
If there was ever an understatement, that was it. She was sure he knew just how to make it worth her while.
“All right. I’ll make your favorite dinner if you pick up a bottle of wine.”
“Geez, are you going to be one of those high-maintenance women?” He laughed. “Okay, never mind I said that. I can already feel the stare of death permeating through the phone.”
A call sounded over the radio, and she waited while he responded with his ETA.
“Sorry, I gotta go. I’ll try to get out of here by seven but no promises.”
With that, he hung up the phone and the call went silent. She turned and calmly replaced the phone on its cradle. Then she sat down at her table and took a sip of her coffee as she remained perfectly still.
Everything was fine. Just a totally normal day off, she told herself.
Oh, who the hell was she trying to kid? She jumped up from the table and screamed as she did her own little version of the Snoopy happy dance.
There was nothing ordinary about today. Last night she had made love to the man she had fantasized about for months. Tonight he was coming over for dinner and would be cooking his favorite meal. He was picking up a bottle of wine.
“Ahhhhhh,” she screamed again and continued her dance.
Life couldn’t be more perfect. She was finally happy.
Chapter 7
Cole kept eyeing his watch all afternoon. When he awoke this morning he was happy. For the first time in—well, he couldn’t even remember how long—he slept through the night and woke up feeling rested. He hadn’t cringed when his cell phone alarm clock chimed. Instead, he’d quickly gotten out of the bed to turn it off and stared down at Leah’s naked form curled on her side.
Beauty didn’t even come close to defining what he saw when he looked at her. Last night, as she bucked wildly beneath him, he saw the goddess that she was, but there were so many depths to her that calling her pretty, gorgeous, or any number of countless adjectives didn’t do her justice.
It took every ounce of strength he had to get dressed and walk out the door this morning. For a moment he’d caught himself rationalizing how easy it would be to wake her up and give them both a morning treat. He didn’t want to treat her that way though, no matter how much his dick protested. Just seeing her lie there, her lips parted slightly while she breathed evenly in deep sleep, he felt his cock stir and come to life.
After much internal debate he kissed her good-bye and rushed to his place to get a quick shower and change of clothes. He made good time and was on his way to the station without running behind schedule.
Twice on the drive he caught himself whistling like a damn fool. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t help the shit-eating grin that was plastered across his damn face. His officers usually feared him. He liked that. He didn’t want them seeing him happy and acting like a normal person. Focusing his energy on the myriad of work piled on his desk, he was able to muster a grimace before he walked into the station.
Several officers greeted him while a few others scattered. It was nice. Just as it should be. The right amount of fear was good for any leader if he wanted to be successful. He went into his office and got his mug before going to fill it up with some coffee. Though he’d made Leah a pot before he left her place, he hadn’t had time to enjoy any of it.
The truth was, he knew if he stayed at her place a moment longer his dick was going to take control and guide him back to her bed. As it was, he’d taken a cold shower just to keep thoughts of the night at bay. God help her when he got off work tonight. He was going to slow
down and take his time with her. He held back his smirk when he thought, God bless her boss for being a genius and giving her three days of in a row.
His morning had gone pretty smoothly. He was able to hold out and restrain himself for a little over two hours before he broke down and called Leah. The need to hear her voice was too strong. He felt like a damn teenage boy with his first girlfriend.
Girlfriend.
Boy, did that term sit in his head and swirl around like a calculus equation that he couldn’t make heads or tails of.
Cole Bottego didn’t have girlfriends. Hell, he didn’t even date. Sure, when he was younger he’d had his fair share of ladies, but nothing ever serious. When he and Dex were active they had fun picking up ladies whenever they were in a new place.
The memory of Dex brought him back to reality. Purposely, he had pushed thoughts of his best friend out of his mind. Dex had been gone for nearly six years now. In those six years he had kept his promise to his dying friend. From the moment they brought Dex home in that flag-draped casket, he hadn’t left Leah’s side.
The Marines had gone easy on him, not making him finish off his last few weeks of service. He also hadn’t reenlisted. Shortly after her car accident, he made a quick trip to San Diego, packed up his belongings at his apartment near Camp Pendleton, and hightailed it to Arizona. He got a place not far from Dex’s family and had been a fixture in their daily lives ever since.
For a while he’d told himself he was doing it because he made a promise. Dex was more than the sniper he spotted for and much more than a fellow Marine. He was the brother Cole had never had. Somewhere along the way though, he had to admit that he stopped doing it for Dex. At some point, it became about her. Then, without him even realizing it, suddenly it was about him.
His selfish need to be with her.
His need to make her his.
He wondered what his good friend would think of his relationship with Leah. Shaking his head, he realized it was a dumb-ass question. He knew damn well what Dex would think. After he kicked the shit out of him, he would probably demand they never see each other again. They would probably argue, and there would be a debate about guy codes and not crossing the lines of sleeping with someone’s baby sister.
When Promise Meets Passion Page 7