by J. M. Madden
“No problem.”
When they got back to Marshall house, Nancy was puttering in the kitchen. She stopped what she was doing and wiped her hands on a dishtowel when they came in. “What have you young people been up to today,” she asked, grinning.
Logan sat at the kitchen table, looking tired but extremely satisfied. “Grandma Nancy, I met my real grandmother today. Her name is Eugenia and she’s been missing me for a long time. I also met my grandfather Arthur.”
Nancy’s eyes went wide as she sank down into the chair opposite Logan. “Oh, you found your family,” she breathed. “What a blessing that is! We need wine to celebrate!”
They laughed and all took glasses as she handed them out. Marigold grinned at Logan, appreciating that he hadn’t shut Nancy down. Marigold had a feeling that this was the entire reason why the woman stayed up, to take part at least peripherally in their lives.
“So, tell me about them,” Grandma said as they sipped.
Logan related the details of his family. Nancy hadn’t known about Logan’s father stealing the family away. When he told her about it, she reached out and covered his hand with her own.
Marigold watched Logan’s expression. It had been so expressive throughout the day, though she knew he’d tried to control it. When they’d first gone to the restaurant, it had been tight with anxiety, then tense as he’d talked to his grandparents. Eventually it had eased into acceptance, and maybe even joy as he’d dealt with his new family members as they rolled in, all of which seemed to be sane, intelligent people willing to accept him exactly the way he was. Every time he met someone new, there had been a guardedness, but then relief as they all took in his scars and welcomed him as a hero.
“I’m not a hero,” he’d said more than once, but to a family that valued service to their country the way the Showalters did, they’d brushed his words aside and appreciated him for the man he was.
Marigold had been brought to tears several times as she’d watched the interaction between the family. Two of his uncles had been there as well, and they’d fallen into military speak so easily, because they’d all served in the Army. It had been truly a special thing to watch, and she didn’t think Logan felt the full repercussions yet. His life had changed today, and she hoped he saw the value of what had happened as much as she did.
They sat and talked with Nancy for almost an hour before they all headed for bed. Marigold thought that maybe Logan would need a night alone to digest what had happened, but when she started to make her excuses, he waved her away. “Mind if I stay with you tonight?”
“Not at all,” she said softly, her heart warming.
“Let me grab a few things and I’ll follow you up.”
So, she stood there watching him move around his space. He grabbed a change of clothes and his toothbrush, then what looked to be a tablet. Rather than see him struggle she took the items from him and carried them up the stairs as he locked his door. Once inside her room she set the items on the dresser by the bed.
Butterflies tangled in her stomach. They’d slept together and played together, but it was still new enough that she wasn’t sure what to expect. “I’m going to go clean up a little and use the bathroom. Are you hungry? Help yourself to anything in the fridge.”
He didn’t especially seem to be listening, so she turned and went in to do what she needed to. When she returned, he was sitting on the blue jean couch flipping through pages on his tablet. When she sank down near him, he looked up with a tired smile. The ball cap was gone, and his dark curls rested on his forehead. “I’m still buzzing,” he admitted. “Actually, I think you could blow me over, I’m so tired, but my mind won’t stop.”
Marigold grinned. “I know. You have reason to be excited. You have an amazing family.”
“It seems that way, doesn’t it?”
She nodded, reaching out to run her hand down his thigh. He still wore his jeans and boots. Would he mind if she started undressing him?
“I want to talk to Rob and Larry again,” he said, staring off into the distance.
Those were two of his uncles. They were older than his father and full of stories about being kids. Larry had actually been stationed on Fort Benning, where Logan had been most of his career. They’d shared stories and had even known a few of the same people, mostly higher- ranking officials on the base. “One of the guys that used to be his sergeant is set to command the fort in the next couple of years.”
“That’s very cool,” she said, nodding. “I wish I had family like that. My dad was an only child. I knew his parents a little, but not as much as my mother’s. They passed years ago.”
Logan winced and shifted his shoulders toward her. “I’m sorry, Mari. I’m going on about all this and I shouldn’t be.”
Marigold scowled. “Why the fuck would you say that? You have brand new family that is going to love the hell out of you and they already accept who you are. That’s such exciting news. You should be shouting it from the rooftops. At the very least you should let John and Shannon know, and you should bask in that love. No apologies, seriously.”
He nodded once, accepting her point.
“Besides,” she continued. “You had a lot rougher childhood than I did. You deserve this time in your life. Period.”
Reaching out, he looped some of her hair around his finger. “I never expected them to be so...like me, I guess. And I definitely didn’t expect there to be so many of them. Shit.”
She laughed and pulled her hair from his hand. She shifted, going to her knees in front of him. Logan’s eyes narrowed on her with interest, until he realized she was just untying his boots. “You’re a tease,” he told her, smiling softly.
Marigold shook her head as she tugged first one boot off, then the second. “Nope. It’s only a tease if you don’t follow through with it,” she laughed, running her hands up his jeans-clad thighs.
“You have more of those condoms?” he asked her.
“I do.”
Going between his thighs, she leaned up enough to walk her fingers up the center of his chest. “You have the energy? I’m okay waiting until morning.”
Logan shook his head. “Not gonna happen. You’ve been a beautiful distraction all day today, and I can finally focus on you the way I need to. Go do what you need to do in the bathroom, and I’ll meet you in the bed.”
Marigold didn’t need to be told twice. Pushing to her feet, she headed into the bathroom. Brushing her teeth while she brushed her hair out, she tried to be quick, arousal humming in her blood. Logan only had to look at her and her body began to ready for him.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she jerked to a halt in the doorway. Logan was stretched out on the bed on his side, scarred, ripped abs taut as he swung her brilliant pink dildo in his hand. He was grinning as he pressed the buttons, putting her little machine through its paces.
Marigold’s cheeks flamed with heat, but the embarrassment was totally worth Logan’s broad grin. Had she ever seen him smile like that before? “What? Never seen a pink dildo before?”
Logan laughed. “Can’t say that I have actually. Does pink work better than every other color?”
She giggled as she went to her knees on the bed beside him. “I don’t know. Works fine for me.”
Sitting up, he motioned to the mattress. “Lay down.”
A shiver rolled through her at the command in his voice and she moved to comply, laying flat before him. Marigold would have liked to blame the cool air of the apartment for her puckered nipples and the goose-bumps running down her body, but she knew it was the look in his eyes. There was intent, there, and a confidence she hadn’t seen in him before. The biggest thing she saw, though, was promise. As tired as he was, he was determined to give her pleasure.
Logan looked at the bounty before him and he didn’t know where to start. Marigold lay completely naked, blinking up at him languorously. There was a soft smile on her lips, and her nipples, the same delicate color, were puckered, as if awaiting his touch.
&
nbsp; The dildo was off, but he knew which button to push to start the gentle buzzing. It was about six inches long and curved slightly, he assumed to reach her G-spot. “Do you use this a lot?”
Her smile spread. “Only when I’ve been really disappointed with a date.”
“So, how often is that,” he growled.
“Most of the time,” she grinned, shifting her hips.
“I’ll make you a promise,” he said, voice low. “As long as you’re with me, you’ll never have to use this. Unless I’m using it on you,” he grinned.
She grinned back, her arms lifting up above her head as she arched for him. Turning the vibrator on to the lowest setting, he touched it to the gentle swell of her belly. The skin twitched and she wiggled away, gasping. He followed her though, not letting her shift too far away. “Hold still,” he warned.
Marigold went still, until he brushed the head of the dildo around her right nipple. He avoided the tip, but worked all the way around her plump flesh. She moved to try to make him touch her nipple, but he pulled away to focus on another part of her body. He’d seen the way she’d reacted to nipple pressure, and he didn’t want her to come too soon. This was too much fun.
Shifting, he touched the arch of her right foot with the head of the dildo, chuckling when she gasped and jerked. Running the machine up her calf, he tried to anticipate which way she would shift as he moved higher, and he followed her. Circling to the front of her thigh he ran it up the length, then danced lightly across her bare mons and down the other thigh. By the time she gasped with shock at the intimate touch in her pubic area, he was already gone.
“Oh, Logan...”
That breathiness in her voice would be his undoing. It became Logan’s sole focus, to make her hiss and sigh and moan as he ran the dildo over her skin. When he touched it to her nipples, she arched like she was being snapped by a live wire. Her legs shifted restlessly and he could see the shine of moisture on her thighs. Her legs spread, wanton, as she begged him without words to delve into that wetness and satisfy her.
Mari was completely waxed here, and he’d never seen such a pretty pussy. Her lips were swollen, begging for any kind of touch, and as he neared her center her hips rocked toward him. “Stop teasing, please,” she begged.
It was so much fun, though.
Then she reached down to touch herself. “No,” he told her, pushing her arms above her head again.
Then she began to play dirty. Rather than reaching for her own body, she reached for him. Logan only wore his athletic shorts, and he’d been hard ever since he’d found the dildo in her nightstand drawer. As he just barely brushed the head of the dildo along the seam of her wet lips, she wrapped her hand around his aching cock.
Logan went still, need roaring through him, then he very carefully drew her hand away from his body. Very deliberately he put her hand on her own breast, and she began to tweak her nipples. Her knees fell open and he glided the head of the dildo through her wetness. He needed to satisfy her, because he didn’t think he was going to last much longer. Just looking at her writhing on the bed in front of him was almost enough to get him off. If he focused, he was sure he could.
As he parked the head of the dildo at the entrance to her body, he pressed the button to make it vibrate faster, pushing it forward. The slick silicone slid oh, so easily into her body. Marigold lifted her legs, opening herself up for him, and he manipulated the dildo into, then out of her body. Moving faster, he mimicked the way he wanted to plunge his own body into her. With his second hand, he found her clit with his thumb and began to circle.
That was all it took for her to scream out and arch, her body lost to sensation as she orgasmed. Logan kept the dildo moving, until she twisted away from the touch. “Stop, please,” she begged.
Flicking the power off, he set the machine aside. Mari’s body was flushed with pleasure, her nipples dark with blood flow. Her body quaked with delicious aftershocks. It took her a minute to even rouse enough to look at him, her eyes glazed with pleasure.
That precious, unguarded look was almost satisfaction enough for him. If she had rolled over and gone to sleep, he would have probably done the same. Instead, she cupped his neck and pulled him down onto her, kissing her way along his jaw and to his mouth. Logan got lost in her kiss, and the feel of her body opening to him. Mari’s thighs widened for his hips, and she arched up into him, searching. Shifting, Logan pushed his shorts away. His cock was hard as a rock, and he slid home easily, only remembering at the last minute to grab a condom. Mari waited for him to rejoin her, thighs wide to accommodate him as he resettled between her thighs. She shuddered and huffed out a breath against his neck. “Oh, Logan,” she panted. “I didn’t think I had another one in me after that, but I might surprise myself.”
Logan moved carefully, but she didn’t seem to need that, the wetness from her release almost pulling him in. He rocked forward, pushing his hips as tight to her as he could, before withdrawing, then gliding deep again. Mari huffed out a breath each time he rocked into her, then began to moan and twist beneath him. Reaching down, he gripped her hips in his hands, trying to get them the tiniest bit closer as his release slammed into him.
Mari cried out with him, their bodies moving together like they’d always been lovers. Logan lost track of everything as the fire consumed him and flung him from the edge of a glorious cliff. With a final focus, he made sure Mari went with him, and they tumbled together.
It took them several long minutes to recover their breath and control of their bodies. Logan forced himself to roll away and do a slow walk to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When he returned, Mari was on her side, watching as he neared her. And even though he’d just had her, he knew he could go again in a little while.
Marigold flung the sheets back for him to climb in, stayed long enough to give him a kiss, then slipped out of the bed. “I’ll be back. I need a shower,” she laughed.
Logan watched her pretty ass disappear into the bathroom, then let himself sink into the mattress. He stared at the ceiling, remembering the pleasure. He felt something hard beneath his hip. Oh, yeah, the dildo. He set it on the nightstand with a grin. They would have to do that again.
Marigold was seriously messing with his no commitment mandate. Hell, it had pretty much gone out the proverbial window. She was winding him around her little finger. And he didn’t think he minded.
Two weeks ago he’d been almost ready to put a bullet in his brain, but the thought left him cold, now. So many things had changed. He had family now, quite an extensive one, and the beginnings of a relationship that he hadn’t expected. There was a group of men nearby that had been through the exact same things he had, so they knew what he was dealing with, and they didn’t hesitate to offer their support.
It was a paradox, though, because as happy as he was, his guilt had also increased. Miller would never be with his family again or love a woman again. Logan didn’t understand why he’d been the one given the chance to live on.
Early next week, he needed to go see Miller’s mom. She deserved it and he’d put if off long enough. If he could get some kind of resolution with Lisa and Ashley, he would feel like he could move on, maybe. There was no way he would ever completely move on, but maybe he could start to take the steps. Maybe he wouldn’t feel guilty living life if he could settle Miller’s loss in his mind.
John Palmer deserved a huge thanks, as well. Feeling motivated, he reached for his cell phone and typed out a message. Then he turned on his side to wait for Mari to come back to bed.
17
When John rolled into the kitchen with a broad, shit-eating grin on his face, Shannon couldn’t help but be leery. “What’d you do?”
John stopped his chair beside her, looking affronted. “Why would you think I did anything bad? Maybe I did something good? Maybe I’m helping my community.”
Shannon gave him a look and handed him a dripping dish. Snatching the dishtowel from the cupboard rack, he started to dry it. “I
didn’t do anything bad. Really. I might have sent in a few recruiter cards. With a few names I knew.”
Turning, she pinned him with a look. “What do you mean, recruiter cards?”
“You know those postcards that you get at the library and stuff. ‘If you would like information on Joining the US Air Force, drop this card in any mailbox’.”
He grinned, looking so satisfied she had to laugh at him. “And whose names did you give them?”
“Oh, just Chad and Zeke. Maybe Duncan. I thought Flynn might be interested too. Diego and Grif I combined into one name because I ran out of cards, but they’ll get a nice big information packet at the Vail office.”
Snorting, she went back to washing dishes. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Hey, you have to keep things lively, and the guys connected. Gives us something to talk about in our chat group.”
That damn chat. Right about nine o’clock it seemed like the LNF men started to get bored, because the chat notifications began to ring. More than once she’d told him to turn down the volume because she was trying to get the boys to settle down.
It was going on ten and the kids were well asleep. She’d wanted to finish the last few dishes from dinner, then she was heading to bed. It seemed like she was jet-lagging, bad. “I’m heading to bed early,” she told him firmly. “Can you let the dog out and make sure she has food? Give her one of those treat bones she likes, too.”
John rubbed the small of her back. “I can do that. I can do this, too, babe. Go ahead and go to bed. I’m probably still up for a while. I’m working on a trigger replacement for Harper. I told him we’d go shooting Sunday.”
Shannon nodded. The far side of the garage had been converted to a small gunsmithing area, John’s version of a man-cave. They’d mounted a big heater in the corner of the space so that he didn’t freeze, and he was modifying the area as he went along. With a fridge and TV out there, he could stay for hours and not even notice the time passing. There was also a monitor so that he could hear the kids if they roused.