Body Talk: An Ex-Navy SEAL Billionaire Romance

by Ashlee Price

  I gave her a kiss on her cheek and promised to see her the next day. It had been a long one for me and as I left the hospital, I realized then that it was already dark outside. I had been there all day and I was exhausted. I had a moment, a second really that I thought about calling my ex and seeing if he wanted to come over, but I resisted. It was not to be and Henry was not the one for me. He never had been and going back would just be taking a step forward.

  When I got home to the small house on the other side of town, I gave my cat a pat on the head before I took my shoes off and headed towards the shower. All I could think about was Leanna and Caston and what I wanted in my life. It was one of those moments where I just knew that I had to change things. I didn’t know if it would be for the best, but some parts of my life needed it. Fighting back the urge to call Henry again, not wanting to be alone, I finally lay down and spent an hour or more, thinking about how my life had turned out. I was almost thirty and the clock that we all heard about was ticking loudly in the quiet room.

  ***

  The alarm woke me up and as my hand searched for the source of the pain in my head, I knew that it was going to be another long day. I had been dreaming about a dark-haired man with bright green eyes and a young baby boy that I knew in my heart was to be mine.

  As I sat there thinking about it all and what I would do that day, I knew that I wanted to do something different. While I thought about going to the city and seeing an old friend, I remembered that I had promised mom that I would go and see her. So I got dressed and called into work and told them that I wasn’t going to be in today. I didn’t give a reason and I felt like I didn’t have to.

  After getting dressed, I made my way to the ranch to see everyone. There was still a bit of buzz in the air when I got there. My brother Marcus was supposed to be in later that day after finally finding transport and I was just excited to see him. He was always my favorite brother since we were closest in age and I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about how he was going to feel when it was all said and done and he had met Caston. The little blue-eyed boy was going to steal his heart as he had stolen mine. I was sure of it.

  Chapter 3 – Billy

  “So when are we leaving?”

  “I don’t know Billy. I think we have to wait for air transport. They were supposed to send out a boat, but that was hours ago. All I know is I am ready to leave. I can’t believe Leanna had the baby without me.”

  I tried to look sympathetic. I knew that he was upset about it, but there really wasn’t anything that I could do about it. After hours of calling the bosses in main headquarters, they had finally agreed to give us a lift back to the mainland. I was going for moral support and really I just needed some time off. I was going on three weeks on the platform when one of the main drillers quit unexpectedly, but now I was ready for some chill time.

  “Are you coming to the house?”

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind. I was thinking that I might go see Denise, but then I got a call last night that she doesn’t want to see me. I think she has that guy over there again and I know if I go over there I am going to jail.”

  “Well don’t do that Billy. Denise never was worth it.”

  It was easy for him to say. I had to sit and hear about how great his wife was all the time and now that she had their first born, it all seemed even more perfect. I was jealous of their love, but happy for my best friend. At least one of us was happy, I thought to myself.

  “I know, but if you and Leanna weren’t so damn happy all the time, maybe I could stop trying to find what you had.”

  Marcus shook his head. “You are not going to blame me for Denise. When you picked her up at the bar, I knew she was bad news.”

  I just agreed. She was obviously bad news when I met her, but I couldn’t help but be attracted to blondes. They were categorically bimbos, but I guess I liked the trashy look.

  “Actually Billy, I can’t think of one girl you have dated in the last year that wasn’t bad news. You need to find you a good girl.”

  “Like Leanna, I know.” I had heard it all before. When was he going to realize that good women were hard to find?

  “I keep telling you that you should meet Gemma.”

  I rolled my eyes. I had heard about his sister for years and even saw her from across the room once, but I had never actually spoken to her. “I thought you said she was dating someone?”

  “He’s a loser and she finally left him. It won’t be long till she has found another loser, so I wish she could find a good guy. The one before the last took her for all she had. She was paying his rent and everything else because she felt bad for him. She is a great girl, but her heart is too tender.”

  “I don’t know Marcus. I don’t think she is really my type.”

  “Why, because her IQ is higher than her age?”

  I had to smile at him. It wasn’t a secret that I liked my girls pretty and if they were dumb, well that was okay too. I figured I didn’t have much to say to one anyways. All I did was work, so when it came time for my week off a month, the last thing I was thinking about was what was in the girl’s head. There were times that I wondered what it would be like, but I knew that dating those types of women was for my own salvation. If they weren’t very smart and didn’t mean much to me beyond the physical, then I couldn’t be hurt again.

  I was almost married once before. Stella was going to school to be a lawyer and I was going into engineering. When her time at college had ended and she was going on to Law School, she had decided that she wanted a man more suited to her. I guess my job as a drill operator wasn’t posh enough for her. After that, I stopped dating those types of women.

  “I appreciate the thought Marcus, but I think I will stick to the bottle blondes. They are easier to deal with.”

  He just shook his head at me and started towards the top side of the rig. We had to check a couple of measurements before we left and he was keen to get it all done so there was no chance of him missing his flight out of there. Had I ever felt so excited to get off the rig before? I couldn’t think of a time that I had.

  The gauges were dirty and I started to wipe them off so he could write down the numbers in the log book. The rig was like a second home and though I liked my time off of it, there were times that I thought I could be perfectly content on there, full time. If only there was more women that worked for the company, but getting them out in the middle of the ocean was almost impossible. Being stuck out here on the rig with all men must be daunting as well.

  We heard the chopper before we could see it. There wasn’t much noise besides the waves and the constant grind of the drills, so when there is another sound, it is easier to distinguish it. Having just finished the last readings, I went down to drop the book off and grab my things to meet the chopper up top. I didn’t care for flying that much, but I was ready for some R and R on land.

  “Are you sure that your wife won’t mind if I stay?”

  “No, not at all. You can also stay at the ranch if you want. Scott and Paul will be there, so at least you will know some people. I am going to stay with Leanna in the hospital tonight before she goes home tomorrow, but you are welcome to stay either place. You are basically part of the family Billy.”

  I thanked him. It was nice to hear, especially when I didn’t have any family of my own. I never had and since me and Marcus had been friends, his family had always been great to me.

  “You know that our family loves you. Mom is in from the city so you will get to see her.”

  “How has she been doing?”

  “Good. She is making all of us kids crazy. She made a deathbed request and then she recovered, but she is harping on Scott and Gemma a bit more than usual.”

  “Ah, is that why you are trying to push me onto your sister?”

  He shook his head. “No, but I am sick of seeing both of you date idiots.”

  Chapter 4 – Gemma

  I went to work with my brothers, having nothing better to do w
ith my day. Even though I was mucking out stalls, it was always better than being at work at the office. I had ran as far from the ranch as I could when I was older, but there was something so simplistic in the work that I found myself drawn to it again. I missed the fresh air and the sun beating down on me. The fact that I was there alone and it was so peaceful was just another reason to never want to go back to work.

  “Gemma!”

  I heard Marcus’ voice and smiled to myself. Setting the shovel to the side and leaning it up against the side of the building, I went out to see Marcus. He was always gone too much and I was sure that he would have gone to the hospital first.

  “Marcus, what the hell are you doing here?”

  “Well I came to see you of course.”

  I ran up and gave him a big hug. He was standing next to another guy and I looked at him for a second before he picked me up and twirled me around. “Still light as a feather.”

  When he set me down, he took in my dirty clothes and the muck boots. “What are you doing here instead of at the office?”

  “I took the day off so I could see you. I can’t believe you are not up there with your wife.”

  “I am about to go in a minute. Billy is going to be staying here for a few days until she is out of the hospital.”

  I stuck my hand out and shook his. “Nice to meet you, Billy. I have heard so much about you.”

  Our hands touched and I felt a little spark. He looked down at me surprised in a way. I was sure that I looked a mess, but he didn’t seem to notice and I didn’t seem to care. There was something in his dark green eyes and I could have sworn he was the man I had seen in my dreams. I know it sounds weird, but he was the man I had dreamt about the night before.

  After a time, I realized that I was still holding his hand and I pulled my hand back suddenly, a bit embarrassed. “Nice to meet you, Gemma. I feel like I already know you.”

  My brother had a strange look in his eyes that I didn’t quite understand, but there was something else there too. He was up to something. I could see it in his face. What was his thinking to look like that?

  “Well you are more than welcome here Billy. There is always room for one more.”

  “Thank you Gemma. It is nice to finally meet you after all these years.”

  I nodded and started to walk back towards the house. The man was handsome, but I knew he was off limits because he was my brother’s friend. I used to crush on many of Marcus’ friends and I know how much he hated it. It wasn’t my fault that all of the guys on the rigs looked all hot and manly.

  “So are you going to get your hands dirty while you are here or hit every bar before you go back?”

  Marcus laughed. “God I have missed you Gemma. Will you show Billy around while I go up to the hospital?”

  “Sure, no problem. You are going to love Caston. He is the cutest kid I have ever seen and I know I am bias, but just wait, you are going to fall in love at first sight.”

  “I’ve never heard you talk about kids like that before Gemma. You ready for your own?”

  I looked at him sideways. I can’t believe he was talking about that in front of his friend. “I don’t know about that, but it made me rethink things I guess.”

  “Just wait Gemma. You will find the right man. You haven’t been talking to Danny again, have you?”

  I sent him another dirty look that he didn’t seem to be getting. Why did he just keep talking? “No I haven’t seen Danny in months. I don’t mess with him anymore.”

  “Good.”

  I was just happy that he had finally stopped talking about my love life. It was pitiful and men like Billy didn’t need to know about it. He didn’t seem fazed at all by the conversation and it made me wonder if he had already heard about it.

  “Just because you have found the one doesn’t mean the rest of us have.”

  The man next to me laughed. “I tell him that all the time, but he still does the same thing to me.”

  “You have bad taste in women?”

  “Yes.” Marcus answered for him and it made me laugh when he gave him the same look.

  “Well at least I am not the only one I suppose.”

  “Nope, on me all the time.”

  “Because you date bimbos and she dates losers.”

  “Bye Marcus. Go see your wife.”

  “Dang, sis.”

  “I will come up there later and see you guys. I have to finish the stalls before mom gets back. You should come back this evening. She is making a roast.”

  “I might. Be nice to him Gemma.”

  I nodded, though I wondered why he said it. I wasn’t usually mean to his friends, but Billy seemed to think it was all just hilarious. When Marcus was out of the view, I turned to Billy and saw him looking at me in such a way. “You must be a right pudding pop for him to be so protective. What does he think I am going to do to you?”

  He didn’t answer me, but looked at me even stranger. I just shrugged and started towards the ranch. When we got on the porch, I took the muck boots off and showed him inside. He was really quiet. “So you work with Marcus out on the rig?”

  “Yeah, been with them for almost ten years.”

  “You don’t look that old.”

  “I am as old as Marcus.”

  We walked through the house. “Have you been here before Billy?”

  “Once or twice.”

  “Well there is an open room upstairs and one downstairs, so take your pick.”

  “Where do you stay?”

  I looked back at him for a moment and saw the glint in his eyes. I smiled back at him. “I live on the other side of town. I haven’t stayed here for years. So, top or bottom?”

  “Definitely top.”

  There was more to the answer, the innuendo clear. I had a feeling that he had been out on the rig too long, but I didn’t say anything else. I could feel his eyes on my backside as I made it up the stairs. Opening up the door, I moved aside so that he could go in. “Well if you need anything, just holler.”

  I started to walk away and he asked what I was going to do. “I am going to go finish the barn, I told Paul I would.”

  “Would you like some help?”

  I almost said no, but then changed my mind. “Are you sure you can handle it? It’s kind of messy.”

  He shrugged. “I worked on a ranch as a kid, so I don’t think it will be a problem.”

  “Sure, I can always use more help. I figured you would be hitting the first bar when you got on land. That is what Marcus used to do before Leanna.”

  His cheeks turned a little red and I had to laugh a little. He didn’t answer me and I just told him to come down when he was ready. Men like him were all the same and though I was having fun with him, I told myself to be good.

  Chapter 5 – Billy

  I watched her walk away and I have to say that Gemma was nothing like I had thought she would be. She seemed to have a curiosity in her that went far past the normal and she wasn’t afraid to ask questions and comments that another person would pause to say. Gemma was like no one I had ever met and it would have been far easier to ignore the woman if she didn’t look the way she did.

  Her hair was long and brown, wearing it back in a braid that went all the way down to her round bottom. Even in her present state, no makeup and messy hair, practically covered in mud and straw, she was still ravishing. She had the fresh face of the woman that I would want to wake up next to. Not some random girl that I met at a bar and barely recognized with the smudged and smeared traces of her beauty by morning. There had been times I had awoken to a person that was nothing like what had started at the bar as.

  Gemma was built just how I liked my women, tall and curvy. Her body was tantalizing even with just her jeans on, molded to her backside as she walked away. Gemma was not a woman that could be ignored in any sense of the world. When she left the room, it felt a little cooler, her beaming smile and warmth gone from the place. As she had left, I could feel her inner sunshine leavi
ng with her.

  I was a little nervous as I put on a pair of old jeans. With another woman, I would have easily talked her out of her panties and went on my way when it was over. Gemma was different and even though I had her brother’s blessing, Gemma was obviously the type that you really went all in on or just didn’t try at all. I didn’t know if I was ready for a woman like her and even though I was attracted to her, I didn’t know if I was ready to have a real relationship. With Gemma there would be nothing short of that. She was an all or nothing kind of girl.

  Shaking my head of my thoughts, I started down the staircase and was literally shocked at what I was even thinking about. I was not one that liked relationships and they very rarely occurred to me to have them. I spent most of my time on a piece of floating metal in the middle of the ocean and the last thing I needed was the stress that I saw Marcus in when he was out there, missing his wife. I knew right then that if I was with her, I would miss her terribly as I did right then. She had only been gone for a few minutes and I already felt the urge to be with her. A woman like that was dangerous to a man that coveted his heart more than anything else.

  “Grab some boots Billy from that side closet right there or you are going to regret it.”

  I didn’t even see her there and I must have jumped a little because I heard that soft breathy voice laughing for a minute. “Thanks.”

  I felt dumb around her, my brain not quite working well as if I was in a fog. She knew that she had that effect on me and I was sure that it was what she was laughing about. I wasn’t usually like this, I wanted to tell her, but I didn’t think my voice and tone would be convincing. As the thought rolled around in my head, I didn’t feel convinced of it myself.

  “So you have done this before, right?”