Pull You Through

by Kaylee Ryan

  Her words swirl around in my mind. “You think about that? About coming with me?” My heart races with excitement. I want that. Everything she just said, I want her with me, no matter where I am. I know there will be deployments, but the thought of coming home to her each night. Fuck, do I want that.

  “Yeah, I know it’s too soon—”

  “It’s not.”

  “—to be thinking about it seriously, but being able to work from home would help things, you know?”

  I’m pretty sure she didn’t hear me. I need to remedy that. “You done eating?”

  Her brows dip in confusion. “Uh, yeah.”

  I stand with her hand still in mine, then lead her toward the bedroom. “This one, right?” I ask her.

  “Yes.” That one word is a breathy whisper.

  I turn out the lights as we pass the switch and lead her into the bedroom. It’s dark, with nothing but the glow of the moon shining through the sheer curtains. I lead her to the side of the bed and release my hold on her. Without a word, I pull my T-shirt over my head and toss it on the floor. Next, I lose my pants and realize I didn’t bring clean clothes with me. I’ll have to head back to the barracks in the morning to get some for the next few days.

  “Slade, I—”

  I place my finger over her lips. “It’s not too soon, Austyn.” I shake my head, needing her to believe my words. “None of this feels too soon. What it feels is right, and right now, I want to hold you. I’m exhausted, both physically and mentally, and the thought of you coming with me, no matter where I get stationed, has me reeling. I want to hold your body close to mine and fall asleep with you. I want to wake up with you tight in my arms. I want to feel what that would be like. Pretend like you don’t have to leave in a few short days.”

  Her breath catches, and she gives a slow nod. Wordlessly, she pulls her shirt over her head and shimmies out of her jeans. I purposely left my boxer briefs on, not sure how far I could go, should go. I want nothing more than to lie skin to skin with her, with nothing between us. When her arms go behind her back and she unclasps her bra then climbs into bed, I exhale a deep breath. I wait for her to get settled under the covers before climbing in beside her.

  “Come here, angel,” I say into the darkness. She settles next to me, her head on my chest, my arm wrapped tightly around her. We lie like this for I don’t know how long. I’m not sure where her head is at, but mine is on what she said. I realize that my actions might have made her think that’s not what I want. “You awake?” I whisper.

  “Mmm-hmm,” she mumbles.

  “When you’re ready for that, when you’re ready to come with me, you let me know, okay?”

  That gets her attention, and she lifts her head to look at me in the moonlight. “What are you saying, Slade?”

  “I’m saying I want you however I can get you. And if and when you ever decide that you want to follow me, you let me know. I’ll take care of it. All of it.” She’s quiet as she rests her head back on my chest. Her lips against my skin, the act sending bolts of desire through my veins. I don’t know if I’ve overwhelmed her, but I need her to know where I am, with us.

  Nothing else is said as we hold onto one another. Eventually, I drift off to sleep, only to wake a few hours later with the ringing of her cell phone. Not wanting to wake her, but afraid it might be her family, I reach over her and grab it from the nightstand. I see Savannah’s name light up the screen. Swiping it, I answer, “Hello.”

  “Slade, open up.”

  “What?”

  She laughs. “I need to start the turkey.”

  “Right. Give me a minute. I’ll be right there.”

  “Who was that?” my girl mumbles sleepily.

  “Your best friend. She needs to start the turkey.”

  “I feel like we just fell asleep.”

  “We did.” I kiss the top of her head. “I’m going tell her that she and Combs can nap in the other bedroom if they want, so we can get some more sleep.”

  “I’m up,” she says, stretching her arms above her head. Her naked breasts are on full display for me in the moonlight. Bending down, I take one in my mouth, gently nipping and soothing with my tongue. “I’m never getting up.” She laughs, brushing her fingers through my hair.

  I release her from my mouth and laugh softly. “I’ll let them in. Go back to sleep.”

  “I told her I would help, even though I have no clue how to cook a turkey.”

  “Okay. You throw some clothes on while I let them in.” With one more kiss to her head, I hop out of bed and slide into my pants from yesterday. I make my way to the door and find Combs and Savannah standing there sleepily, both with mugs of coffee in their hands.

  “Our girl up?” Savannah asks.

  “Yeah, she’ll be out in a minute. If you all want to crash in the other bedroom, it’s yours,” I tell them.

  “I need to run over to the barracks and grab some clothes,” Combs says.

  “I’m with you. Maybe we should do that now. We can be back by the time they’re done.”

  He nods. “We’ll be back.” He kisses Savannah.

  “Let me just go tell, Austyn.”

  “Tell me what?” she asks, stopping next to me.

  I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her into my chest, kissing the top of her head before telling her the plan. “You need anything?” I then ask.

  “Nope, we’re good here.” She looks over at Savannah. “I think.”

  “Ha ha, we got this.”

  “I got the sides. You got the bird.”

  Savannah holds out her fist and they bump them together and laugh. With one more kiss on the top of her head, I release her to grab my shirt from the bedroom and head to the barracks. The sooner I get there and collect some clothes, the sooner I can get back. Back to her.

  SAVANNAH AND I WAIT UNTIL the guys are out the door before we start cooking. She rushes around the small kitchen like she’s cooked many meals there. “What do I need to do?” I ask.

  “Um, can you get me the butter?”

  Reaching into the fridge, I pull out the pack of butter and hand her a stick. “Aren’t you supposed to, I don’t know, take the insides out or something?”

  She tilts her head to the side and looks at the turkey. “I think that’s just if you’re stuffing it. We’re going with Stove Top Stuffing, so we’re good. Then again maybe we should look it up,” she says reaching for her phone. I watch her while she types in the question and scrunches up her nose. “Yeah, we need to take them out,” she laughs.

  I shrug, because honestly, I have no idea. This is the part my mom always handles. I’m usually in bed. I guess I need to get up with her the next time so I can learn. Someday, I might be making dinner at my house. “What else can I do?”

  “Nothing, I’m just going to smear the top with butter, add some water to the bottom of the pan and cover it with foil.”

  “And then we just let it cook?” I ask her.

  “Yep, easy-peasy.” She grins.

  “You’re in an awfully good mood at this early hour,” I say, holding my hand over my mouth, covering a yawn.

  “I am. Last night was good. I talked to Brandon like you said. He eased my fears, and we’ve never been better.”

  “That’s good to hear. I’m happy for you.”

  I watch as she finishes slathering butter all over the bird and then adds water to the bottom of the pan. Once it’s covered in foil, I jump into action and rush to open the oven door for her. “Now what?” I ask once the bird is in the oven.

  “Now, we go back to sleep.” She chuckles.

  “You going to take the other room?”

  “Yeah, might as well so I can keep an eye on the bird. I’ll text Brandon and let him know.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” I say over another yawn, and head back to the bedroom. I burrow under the covers that smell like Slade and drift back to sleep. It can’t be but minutes later that I feel the bed dip and he crawls in beside me.


  “I’m back,” he whispers, placing a kiss on my shoulder.

  “Keep me warm,” I say, snuggling in next to him.

  He doesn’t say anything, but then again, he doesn’t need to. His arms that are braced tightly around me, holding me close, say everything. We drift back to sleep for a couple more hours, or at least I do. When I wake, I feel him watching me. When I pry open my eyes, he smiles softly.

  “Morning, angel.”

  I offer him a sleepy smile. “How long have you been awake?”

  “I never fell back to sleep.”

  “You should have woken me.”

  Reaching out, he gently moves my bangs from my eyes. “Nah, holding you while you slept and getting to watch you, no way was I missing that.”

  His words make me feel cherished, and not want to ever leave this bed. At least not as long as he’s in it with me. “Are you not tired?”

  “We get up early every day, some on very little sleep. My body’s just used to it.”

  “What time is it?”

  “A little after nine.”

  With a sigh and groan, I stretch. “I need to get moving.”

  “Yeah,” he says, gripping my waist and turning me to face him. “You can do that,” he says. “As soon as you kiss me good morning.”

  “Um, no can do, buddy. I need to brush my teeth.”

  “Austyn.” His voice is deep, almost a warning.

  “Slade,” I counter. “Give me two minutes.” I shimmy out of his hold, knowing damn well that he let me get away. Hopping out of bed, I rush to the bathroom and brush my teeth. I see a towel hanging on the rack and his toothbrush by the sink. He must have showered while I was sleeping. After finishing up, I race back to the bed and jump, landing softly next to him, causing him to laugh.

  “That was record time.” He looks so damn hot lying here grinning at me.

  “I didn’t want to miss out on morning kisses.” I place a sloppy wet kiss on his cheek.

  “We can do better than that.” Before I know what’s happening, he has me pinned under him on the bed. “This is so much better,” he says, his lips a hair’s breadth from mine.

  “Meh,” I say, giving him a hard time.

  He chuckles. “I guess I need to prove it to you.” With that, his lips land on mine, his tongue seeking entrance. I open for him, and leisurely, he explores my mouth. Locking my hands together behind his neck, I hold him to me, not wanting this to end. Unfortunately, a loud clang from the kitchen and a muffled “Shit” breaks us apart.

  “I better get out there and help her.”

  He groans loudly. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  I don’t question his delay because I felt it against me, right where he needed to be… just if there weren’t layers of clothes separating us. That’s something I’ll have to work on tonight when it’s just the two of us. No matter what happens from this point forward, I want it to be him.

  I find Savannah in the kitchen, peering into the oven. “How’s it going, boss?”

  “Good.” She hesitates. “I think. I’m nervous all of a sudden. Messing up dinner for Slade and Brandon is one thing, but the other four. What was I thinking, Austyn?”

  “You were thinking anything we have, even if it’s not perfect, is better than them being alone on Thanksgiving. You did a good thing.”

  “Right. Okay. So, what now?”

  “Well, if the oven is the right temperature, we can bake the pies. Other than that, we just wait.”

  “Breakfast,” Brandon mumbles, stumbling out of the second bedroom.

  “I was just going to suggest that,” Slade says, wrapping his arms around me from behind. “You hungry?” he whispers in my ear.

  “Yes, but everything’s closed. We have some donuts and Pop-Tarts here.” I point over to the counter. “And coffee,” I tell Brandon.

  “Coffee.” He nods, smiling in appreciation.

  “You ladies need any help?” Slade asks.

  “Actually, we just need to make sure we have a place for everyone to sit, either in the living room or at the table. We might need chairs from Savannah and Brandon’s room.”

  “We have a small four-person table too. We’ll just bring it over here.”

  “Will we get in trouble?” I ask.

  “No, we’ll put it back,” Slade assures me.

  “Great, that’s your job once you’ve had breakfast.”

  “Coffee,” Brandon corrects me, causing us all to laugh.

  Instead of baking the pies now, we decide to set them out to thaw so we can take quick showers. I’m in the middle of rinsing the shampoo out of my hair when I feel his hands on my hips. My eyes pop open. He gauges my reaction as he steps closer. Without a word, he runs his fingers through my hair, helping me rinse out what’s left of the shampoo. Grabbing my bodywash, he places a generous amount in the palm of his hand and starts at my shoulders.

  Neither one of us say a word as his hands roam all over my body, washing every inch of me. It’s erotic and sensual, and I’ve never in all my life ever been this turned on. Once he’s satisfied I’m clean, he turns me front to back until all the soap is washed down the drain. Cupping my cheek, he steps closer, his hard length pressing against my belly.

  He steps even closer, his lips claiming mine. My nails dig into his back as I hold him close to me, not willing to let an inch between us. Breaking the kiss, his lips trail down my neck, searing me with his touch. All I can do is hold on for the ride. He works his way over to my shoulder and buries his face in my neck. He’s breathing hard and his chest heaves against me.

  “Austyn,” he murmurs.

  Releasing my death grip on him, I wrap my arms around his waist and just hold on tight. I need to feel him against me just a little longer.

  When he finally raises his head, both of his hands cradle my cheeks. “You,” he says, his eyes boring into mine, “you are more than I ever expected and everything I never knew I wanted. I’m falling hard, angel.” My pounding heart threatens to beat out of my chest at his words. “I’m falling hard, and damn if I want to stop it.” Leaning in, he kisses my forehead and reaches behind me to shut off the water. “Let’s get you dried off,” he says, stepping out and holding his hand out for me.

  I open my mouth to tell him that I feel the same way, but nothing comes out. Is it possible for your heart to literally stop beating in moments of pure happiness? As if it needs a minute to absorb what just happened? Somehow I manage to find my voice despite my heart and head making it difficult to form words. “Aren’t you… uncomfortable?” I point to his hard length, feeling my cheeks flame in the process. It’s not what I meant to say but seeing his hard length, reminds me that he has to be in pain.

  “I’m fine, angel.” He wraps a towel around my shoulders and gives me another for my hair.

  I watch as he wraps a towel around his waist and moves toward the bathroom door. Every movement is hypnotizing. “Slade,” I call out to him. My voice is gruff with emotions.

  “Yeah?” He turns to face me.

  “Me too, all of it. Me too,” I manage to say. It’s not enough, but I know from his reaction that it’s enough for him. He gets me.

  He nods, a smile tipping his lips. To my surprise, he blows me a kiss, then leaves the room, shutting me in the bathroom. Giving me time to get myself together.

  TODAY HAS BEEN THE BEST Thanksgiving I can ever remember. My first with Gran was good; it was the first time I ever really celebrated the holiday other than what we did at school. But this one, it was different. It was filled with friends and good times, good laughs, good food. Well, mostly. The turkey was dry, so dry you had to take a drink to chew it in order to get it down. The mashed potatoes were lumpy, as we didn’t have a mixer, and more than a little runny. The crust on the pie was burnt to a crisp, but I ate every single bite of all of it. The girls went out of their way to make this day special, not just for Combs and me, but for the guys too.

  None of them complained. They shoveled it all in as if it wa
s the best meal they’d ever eaten. It was pretty damn good, aside from the few mishaps. Good enough that between the eight of us, there were little to no leftovers.

  “Ladies, that was great. Thank you,” Johnson speaks up.

  “Yes,” the other three chime in.

  “So what now?” Jeffers asks.

  “Everything on base is closed. Nothing much else to do.”

  “We have cards,” Savannah offers. “Austyn and I weren’t sure how much free time we’d have on our hands until the guys were set free for the weekend, so we brought cards,” she explains.

  “You all up for some euchre?” Miller asks.

  “We’ll clean. You six duke it out,” Austyn says, standing from her seat.

  “I’ll help.” I start to stand, but her hand on my shoulder stops me.

  “Relax, Slade. We’ve got this.” She leans in and presses her lips to the corner of mine. I watch her walk away, not willing to take my eyes off her for a second.

  “Hey, Romeo.” Johnson chuckles. “You and Combs play the winners,” he says, holding up the deck of cards.

  I nod and turn my attention back to Austyn. She and Savannah have music playing from one of their phones, and they dance around the kitchen, cleaning, laughing, and having a good time. I don’t even realize I’m smiling until Combs calls me out on it.

  “You’re sunk,” he says, jabbing me with his elbow to get my attention. “You’re wearing a goofy smile.”

  “It’s been a good day. This is new for me, you know, with the holidays.”

  “Damn, man, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You gave me this in a way. If you hadn’t insisted I come home with you on leave, I never would have met her, and that would have been a tragedy.”

  “I brought the ring,” he tells me. He’s been holding onto it since we were on leave. I was with him at the small jeweler in his hometown when he bought it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile that big.