Authors: Anne Elizabeth
Against his mouth she murmured, “We don’t even have a bed. I shouldn’t have rented my apartment furnished. I could have been acquiring stuff.” Her bottom lip pouted slightly.
He caught it between his teeth and bit it playfully before letting it go. “Picking furniture that is new to both of us is better. It’s a fresh start.”
“Agreed, but tonight…” she began.
“Ah, my lady hasn’t seen our outdoor bedroom yet. Follow me.” He escorted her through the glass doors onto the patio, pointing at the concrete slab, where an air mattress and two sleeping bags—zipped together—awaited them. “Your royal chamber for the evening, m’lady.” It wasn’t the Del, but after a whole afternoon of moving stuff, he knew it’d beat the floor.
“When did you do this?” She sounded incredulous. There it was…her natural spark of happiness sneaking through the pain. Good. He’d stoke it, help it burn brighter…and bring his bride a smile. He’d ease her out of her habit of worrying.
“While you were bitching Mark out for breaking your favorite lamp. He must really like you to put up with that tone. I’m not sure I would have dealt with it so easily.” He hadn’t meant for the comment to come out so harshly, but he’d wanted to broach the topic ever since it happened. She had been really unkind to someone who was helping her out; that didn’t seem right. Besides, Team guys called each other on their shit. If she couldn’t hack his forthrightness, he’d need to know. It was an indicator for how she’d deal with bigger issues.
“Dan!” There was a moment of shocked silence. “I…I don’t bitch!”
“What would you call it?” He tilted his head to the side, curious about what she was going to call her terse display.
“Guidance.”
He laughed. Yeah, she’d hack it. He was proud of her. There were no tears, recriminations, or denials. She’d do just fine. Humor worked well to lighten the weight of misspoken words, and problems too.
“Ha, ha.” She smiled and then began to laugh, too. “I guess it is funny. Crap, I’m such a pack rat. I hate losing anything. I’ll call Mark tomorrow and apologize.” She looked up at him from under her lashes. “You’re right, by the way. Damn, I just wasn’t thinking. I was in reaction mode. I hate hurting anyone and…letting anyone down.”
Wrapping his hands around her shoulders, he drew her toward him and kissed the top of her head. “Won’t happen. Let go of the fear. Aria, we’re in it for the long haul. There will be ups and downs, yet I promise I will always listen, and together we’ll figure out the rough patches. We’re partners.” He gave her a squeeze. “Besides, if a friend cannot forgive you, is he really a friend?”
“No. You’re right. Thanks…for being even-keeled and for being you.” Placing her hand over his heart, she rose up on tiptoe and kissed him. “I feel better.” Walking her fingers up his chest, she asked, “Now, what’s this about bedtime?” She stroked her fingers down his chest, aiming lower.
He chuckled, and then he helped her down onto the mattress. Using his teeth, he opened her shirt one button at a time. His lips, tongue, and teeth tantalized and teased her flesh until she was pulling the rest of her clothes off herself and tugging at his.
“Dan, am I ever going to get enough of you?” Her hands were struggling with his pants, trying to pull them off of him.
Lifting his hips, he helped her slide them off, and then they were both naked, stretched out on the air mattress on the patio. The foliage on either side of their yard, courtesy of past residents, hid them. “I hope not…though I imagine you’ll get used to me.”
Her finger stroked his flesh. “I want it to always be like this…new. Can we make a promise to be perpetually in heat for each other?”
“I’m in,” he said. “Though that type of promise will mean both us will have to be very imaginative.”
“Oh, I can do that.” She rolled off the mattress and extended her hand.
His eyebrows drew down. “What’s up?”
“Trust me.” He shrugged and took her hand. Getting to his feet, he followed her into the house. When she sat down on the living-room floor, surrounded by boxes of books, he didn’t know what to make of it. As she began unpacking them, he opened his mouth to comment and she shushed him.
“Give me a few minutes.” Watching his bride, he saw her dig out some large tomes, which she laid out in a rather peculiar design. Draping herself onto them, she beckoned him with open arms. “This is a fantasy of mine. Help me…make it come true.”
Slowly, he lowered himself to her. He held his body in a push-up style, not wanting to crush her. It seemed strange, the way her hips were elevated and the rest of her body was lower. What was he supposed to do? “Aria…”
She beckoned him toward her. “Make love to me. I promise, you’ll like it. This is a great position, too, for me.”
Pushing up to his knees, he lightly touched her between her legs. Dampness bathed his fingers as she arched into his caress. He adored how free and uninhibited she was. Bringing his head down between her legs, he sought her clit with his tongue. When he touched the tiny nub with the tip of his tongue, she practically lifted off of her perch.
“Yes!” She drew the word into one thrilled, guttural sound, arching into his strokes.
God, she’s so sexy!
“Dan,” she sighed softly.
Hearing his name uttered in such abandon delighted him and made his pace swifter.
She sucked in a deep breath, raking her fingers along his scalp.
He held his rhythm, waiting, anticipating the moment when she—
“Dan!”
Slipping two fingers inside, he could feel her body shimmering with delight. Aria could give Aphrodite herself a run for her money.
Breathing in, a primal part of him screamed with possession. Her scent drove him wild…and this undeniable sweetness was his Aria. She was his.
His body ached for release. His craving for her would never be sated. Using his whole face, he scraped his beard tenderly and intimately and oh, so gently over her private parts before he went back to teasing her tasty clit. Little noises of pleasure were coming from the back of her throat, and he wrapped his lips around the small bud and suckled.
“Dan…” Fingernails scratched his shoulders as she tried to get a hold of him—either to stop him or hold him in place, he couldn’t tell—but the books prevented her from bending toward him and grabbing him. Again and again he brought her until he couldn’t take it any longer and she was begging for mercy. “Please, Dan. Please.”
Only then, kneeling before her, did he enter her. In one stroke, he slid into her and felt her body spasm with release. Guttural moans came from her throat. Again and again he moved in and out of her body until she was weeping for yet another release. Using his finger to rub over her clit, he brought her in sync with his motion.
He let go…released…and the sensation washed over him in a full body spasm.
Her body drank in his seed more deeply than it had ever drunk before.
They both stilled, letting the peacefulness and oneness wrap them in an afterglow embrace. Wanting to hold her, he reached for her.
She gave him her hands and he lifted her up and cuddled her to him. Holding her tight was special to him, indescribable in its value to him.
With her still in his arms, he climbed to his feet and carried her outside to their waiting bed.
“Aria?” He studied her face. It was bathed in moonlight. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was even. He laid her within their makeshift blind. She didn’t even roll over to her usual position. His wife was sound asleep before he could even crawl in next to her. Wrapping his body around hers, he spooned her and tucked the covers around them both.
“You are the love of my life,” he whispered in her ear. He doubted she heard him. The power of the statement felt right, and it warmed him down to his toes better than any blanket. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to sleep.
***
The smell of roses and lavender, leftovers planted by the house’s last residents, drifted in, carried by the gentle bay breeze. His nostrils flared as he breathed in the sweet scents.
He opened his eyes to see it was still dark out. Checking his watch, he could see only two hours had passed.
Stretching his arms above his head, he pulled the kinks out of his body and noticed the marine layer had drifted in while they slept, adding another level of shielding from any neighbor’s prying eyes even more effective than the foliage and darkness.
Lying on the air mattress, sandwiched in between the sleeping bags, was warm and relaxing, keeping any chill far away, but something was missing.
His eyes scanned the area. Where was his wife? Being out here was nice but not much fun without her. “Hey, Aria, what are you doing in there?”
“Trying to find stuff.” Her voice sounded annoyed. It was followed by a loud bang. “Ouch! There it is!” A light came on over the stove. “I knew that light was somewhere in here.”
“Do you need some help?”
“No, my stomach woke me. I’m hungry.” Aria banged around for a few more minutes, and then she appeared in the doorway. Standing naked and looking like some kind of warrior woman, she held a tray at her waist. The bounty she carried consisted of a bottle of red wine, two glasses, a package of dried fruit, and a plastic-wrapped salami that sat alongside a box of wheat crackers. “Dinner?”
“Looks great,” he said, getting out of their makeshift bed and taking the tray from her. He laid it down next to their nest and watched his sexy wife wiggle down between the covers. Damn, she was beautiful! He was hungry in more ways than one. “So you’re starved?”
“Yes, for food. Though I was also concerned about you. If you get any skinnier, I might have to divorce you. My husband has to have a bigger butt than me,” she teased and turned to the side so she could show him her behind. “At least for now. After a couple of kids, I reserve the right to change my mind.”
“Duly noted.” He grinned, taking advantage of the opportunity and swatting her playfully. “For the record, your size doesn’t matter to me one bit. It’s happiness and health and pleasure I care about, got it?”
“Yes.” She licked her lips. “Thanks for saying that. I want you to always find me sexy.”
“I will.” It seemed strange for her to be unsure. Aria was one of the most confident women he knew. Little unknown elements tripped her sometimes, but he knew she’d pick herself up. She was unstoppable when she wanted to be.
He used the mini corkscrew on his key ring to open the wine and poured her a glass. Then he broke into the salami, sliced it, and made her a sandwich with the crackers.
“A little dry, but it will do.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss. “Thanks for making me breakfast.”
After stuffing a few salami-cracker sandwiches in his mouth, he brushed off his hands and stood. “What do you say we scope out what we’re going to need for the kitchen?”
The room was littered with packing materials and partially emptied boxes. He pushed a few of the bigger boxes aside, creating a better pathway, and then he stuffed hunks of empty wrapping paper into a half-filled trash bag.
He eyed the largest clear space, obviously outfitted for a refrigerator with a water hose and electric hookups behind it. He had a ten-inch hand span from thumb to pinky, and he used it to measure the approximate width, depth, and height. “We can do a width of about thirty-six inches with a height of up to…let’s say seventy-three or seventy-four inches and a depth of about twenty-five, but no longer than twenty-six, inches.”
Aria was behind him with her cell phone browser already open to a page that showed a range of fridges. “That’ll work,” she said. He looked over his shoulder, and he could see her expanding the description and double-checking. The look of concentration was so intense, he had to stop himself from chuckling at her. His wife did not make decisions lightly. She could ponder and examine something so long, all the newness was squeezed out. “Promise me that you won’t analyze everything to death, okay? Otherwise, it’ll take forever to buy furniture.”
She frowned. “I just don’t want to rush into a mistake.” She glared at him for a moment or two and then shook her head. Her eyes were soft and filled with a glint of laughter. “How is it that you know me so well?”
“I’m intuitive.”
“Well, what am I thinking now?”
“That I should order the fridge before I ravish you again.”
“You’re so smart. Imagine me getting turned on by an appliance.” She winked at him.
Coming back onto the patio, he sat on the bed, took the phone and logged in some information, and then pressed Send. He leaned over and kissed her. “Well, the refrigerator is done. It will be here in two days. They have your cell phone for the main contact. Don’t book anything for that day, or they’ll leave it outside the door. FYI, those things are a pain to move inside without a dolly.”
“Oh! Ah! I’m so hot for you.” She teasingly tapped his nose with her finger. When he didn’t immediately reply, she said, “I got it!”
He grinned at her. She looked so sweet—her hair was messy from their lovemaking, and her lips were red from his kisses. Aria made him hungry…all over again.
Putting her hand up against his chest, she stopped him. “And the bed?”
“Really? You want to talk about
that
now?” Pushing the tray away, he laid his body down next to her.
“Yes.” She rubbed her nose against his. “Remember my ‘Oh! Ah!’” Laughter bubbled out of her.
“That, my love, we’ll have to go pick out in person. Sounds like an interesting experience to me, bouncing around from bed to bed. Testing them. Seeing which one works for us. Too bad we have to be in a store.” He reached for her, pulling her on top of him. He looked into her eyes. “Everything’s okay?”
“Definitely.” Her lips came down on his, claiming him and expressing her wish, a craving and hankering…for him, too.
From deep in his throat came a noise too primal and possessive for words. With her wrapped around him, he was content.
The next day, a feathery-light caress touched her cheek. Dan’s voice drifted into her senses. “See you tonight.”
She tried to dig her way up from her dreams, moving toward him, but she was so tired…sleep was hard to deny.
Hearing his car engine turn over brought her half-awake, and then she fell deeply asleep again.
A strange voice jerked her out of her dreams several hours later.
Having a neighbor yell over the fence, “Welcome to the neighborhood!” while she was lying naked, covered only by an edge of the sleeping bag, in their marvelous outside makeshift bed…made her eyes snap wide open.
“Hi, I’m Stan.” Staring at the balding man who was holding a cup of coffee and watering his tomato plants as he overtly looked right at her made her want to scream. The fence was high enough. Either this guy was standing on a box or he was very, very tall. Whatever way she judged it…this neighbor was creeping her out!
“Oh, hi.” She wrapped the cocoon of sleeping bags tighter around her body and rolled off the air mattress and into the secluded enclosure of the doorway. From there she ditched the sleeping bag and sprinted for the bedroom naked.
Of course, there were no shades to block the view of passersby, but it wasn’t quite bright enough to see into the bedroom, either. According to her watch, it was seven thirty in the morning. She must have missed Dan leaving. Pulling on one of his sweatshirts and digging around until she located a pair of her sweatpants, she finally emerged feeling a little better.
She headed for the bathroom and tripped over two boxes blocking the door. “If that isn’t a call for organization, I don’t know what is.” She washed up and then got to work, unpacking boxes and setting up their house.
The list of things they needed felt endless: coverings for the windows and a bedroom set, including night tables, dressers, and a bed frame, as well as a mattress set. “Can I pick it out for myself? Do I need to wait for him?” She sighed. “I don’t want to wait to do all of this, I just want it done.”
Going back into the kitchen, she unearthed a stainless-steel pot, a mug that Mark had given her saying “I’m grrrrrreat!” and her stash of tea. While she waited for the water to boil, she made a grocery list. It felt as though her tasks would never be done. And it was doubly hard having to take care of it all by herself. “How do military wives do all of this?” Pack, unpack, move, put everything away, stock the house, and then do it again a few months or years later. All she knew was that they’d better stay put.
Making a cup of tea was therapeutic for her—opening the tea bag and smelling the burst of English breakfast tea, dunking the bag until it was the perfect color, and then waiting for it to cool so she could take that first steamy sip. The calming effect was immediate.
It seriously made life easier as she looked around the living room and counted the rest of the unpacked boxes. “I guess I better get to it.”
She missed the days when Mark used to stop by her apartment with breakfast. He’d surely make her laugh if he were there now. She was searching for the phone to give him a call when she found a granola bar with a note on it.
“Eat me. Xoxo.”
Damn, Dan was adorable! Next to it was her phone.
Yay!
The line rang several times before Mark answered. “Hello.”
“Mark, it’s Aria. Listen I’m so sorry…”
“To be calling me before I finished my workout routine and it was time for coffee?”
“Well, I knew you’d be up.” She smiled and knew he’d hear it in her voice. “Listen, I’m sorry for being such a bee-itch. I didn’t mean to take you for granted that way. I really appreciate all of the help you gave us in hauling stuff into the house.”
“No worries. I was happy to do it.” He had happiness in his voice. “Hey, want to get together soon? Just you and me… You can leave the ball and chain at home.”
She laughed. “Sure. I’ll call you after I get my world sorted. Have a great day!”
“It already is one…I talked to you. Bye, Aria Angel.”
“Bye, Mark.” She hugged her phone and then immediately located her purse and placed it into its depths so she wouldn’t lose it again.
Her stomach growled, so she made her way back to the tea. Picking up the granola bar, she ripped open the wrapper and sunk her teeth in, pulling off a chunk of the espresso-infused, chocolate-chunk, chewy granola. “I must seriously be starved for this thing to taste good.” Sitting down on one of the boxes, she stared at her breakfast and then sighed.
Lifting the bar in the air, she said, “To new beginnings. It better get easier.”
***
By late afternoon, she’d set up what she could of the living room and dining room and some semblance of a home office. The desk had not been fun to assemble alone, but she’d managed, and without using the hammer, too. There were no awkward angles and overall it looked usable.
Yay, me!
As soon as she booted up her laptop, email messages filled her screen. She opened the latest project and saw that one of the commercials she’d written needed an immediate rewrite for tomorrow’s filming. She reread the last version and then wrote three different options. Sending them to the client, she asked for feedback and then went on to the next issue.
Her cell phone rang, jarring her out of her writing. She had answered most of her emails, handling three emergencies for a very needy client, adding new scripts to his television and radio campaigns, as well as sending two quotes to potential clients. Overall, she had caught up nicely and only needed another hour before she was ahead of the due dates on her project schedule.
The cell stopped clamoring and then rang back. It was Dan’s signal for “Urgent, pick me up now.”
She dashed over to her purse, fished out her cell phone, and answered immediately. “Dan, hi.”
“Hi, Aria. Sorry to bother…you sound distracted…like you’re working.”
“I am. No worries, though. What’s up?”
“Ah, I forgot to tell you… I ran into our neighbor on the right side this morning, and she invited you to a tea this afternoon. I told her you’d be happy to go with her.” He sounded a little apologetic, but not nearly enough for having committed her to something without her agreement.
“Dan, why would you do that?” She looked down at her attire. Could she look any grubbier? She shook her head. She wasn’t thrilled about going anywhere, especially with all the work she had to do. “Can I get out of it? What if you call her and tell her I’m busy?”
“Sorry, I don’t have her info on me. Listen, I have to go in a minute.” There were voices in the background; someone was telling Dan to hurry up. It sounded like Hammer.
Blast, blast, blast!
She hadn’t washed her hair. Her dresses were still wrinkled from the move, and she had tossed her old battered ironing board, planning on buying a new one.
Nuts!
She didn’t have anything to bring with her, either. A hostess gift was required, wasn’t it?
Dan’s voice came back on the line. “It’s a neighborhood thing. You’ll get to meet more of the military wives.” There was a short pause. “Just go. You don’t have to stay long. Please? Do it for me.”
She drew in a long deep breath. “Fine. When will she be here?”
The doorbell rang.
No
way! This can’t be happening.
“I think I’ve answered my own question.” As she walked to the door, she said, “Call me before you leave the base—you’re picking up dinner.” Hanging up before he could protest, she flipped the bolt and yanked open the door.
“Hello.” There was a tall, slim woman dressed in a purple flowered dress with a small lace collar. A strand of pearls hugged her neck, with matching bobs in her ears. Her brunette hair was piled on top of her head. It was difficult not to stare at the tiny curls perfectly spaced around her updo. “I’m Eve Louise Lockwood. It’s nice to meet you. Welcome to the Silver Strand.”
“Hi, Eve. I’m Aria McCullum. Would you like to come in? Sorry for the mess. We’re still getting settled in.” She couldn’t even offer the woman a seat, unless they went into her office and she relinquished her privacy and her desk chair. That was her special spot, and she didn’t want anyone in there. Guess she’d have to forgo manners this time.
“Are you ready?” The woman looked her up and down. “I mean…is that what you’re wearing to the tea? The attire is more elaborate, on the dressy side. Of course, if this is all you have… Um, I could loan you something, though our sizes might be off by a few inches.” Eve was almost six feet tall and could have been a supermodel. Anything that Aria borrowed would drag on the ground and make her look as if she were playing dress-up in mother’s clothes. She knew the woman was trying to be helpful, but how could she communicate politely that she didn’t even want to leave the house?
Was it appropriate to say that she was nesting? Or rather, she’d prefer to live in sweats and pajamas for the next two weeks while she worked the kinks out of the new living space and her life in general, how about that?
Aria shook her head. Her husband had asked her to go. She knew she should at least try. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine. I have other things to wear.” The woman didn’t look as if she believed Aria. Her expression, with its raised eyebrows and turned-down nose, was dubious, to say the least. “I wasn’t expecting you. My husband just called, literally two minutes before you arrived, to tell me about the tea.”
“Oh, I see.” She was very polite, but her tone grew a little chilly. “Well, we need to be at Caybreena Hinnell’s house in fifteen minutes. She doesn’t like her guests to be tardy. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not be branded and stuck on her bad side. So, ahem, should I leave you the address, or are you coming with—”
“Give me a minute and I’ll be good to go.” Aria hurried into the bedroom.
Digging through the closet, she knew what she wanted to wear. Withdrawing an Armani blue silk dress, which was probably too dressy but fit her like a glove, she knew it would work. Carefully she pulled it on, then wedged herself into a pair of nude stockings and stuffed her feet into a pair of sparkly heels.
Unearthing her makeup bag, she quickly powdered her face, slapped on blush and mascara, went without eyeliner, but added a dash of her signature pink lipstick. She fluffed her hair so the curls were a wild mass of springy red gorgeousness.
Briskly, she left her bedroom and grabbed her keys off the kitchen counter. Stopping in front of her neighbor, whose eyes were wide, she asked, “Shall we go?”
Eve nodded, her chin practically on the floor and her mouth wide open. “Y-y-you look gorgeous.”
“Thanks.” Locking the house behind them, Aria walked down the street with her neighbor. “So tell me about yourself. What do you do? And the people I’m about to meet, what are they like?”
“Well, I’m a mom of triplets…Reggie, Ryan, and Rickie. You’ll hear them before you see them. Our last neighbors didn’t like them very much, but the military seems to change things up quickly enough that no one gets too annoyed. What rank is your husband?” The woman rattled on at a brisk pace.
“Uh, he just made Chief. I think. I don’t know too much about military stuff.”
Eve looked shocked. “Oh, you’ll need to learn ASAP. Everything is about rank in this neighborhood. My husband is a Senior Chief Petty Officer and—Caybreena Hinnell’s house that we’re on our way to—her husband is up for Command Master Chief Petty Officer. She’s the point person for the neighborhood, the one who sort of runs things.”
“Are all of the people in this neighborhood associated with the Teams?” Aria was curious.
“SEAL Team? Oh, goodness, no.” Her laughter was a titter, sounding like a little high-pitched bell. “You really are new, aren’t you? Most of us are Navy, of course, but there are some other branches here. Air Force and Marine Corps. But there are no Army families that I am aware of. This neighborhood mainly houses enlisted Marines or sailors and their families.” She stopped abruptly in front of a house with a manicured lawn and an insane amount of flowers planted so uniformly, Aria wondered if someone came out with a measuring stick to confirm they were all the same height, size, and width apart, ripping out the ones that did not fit.
The door opened before they made it even halfway up the walk. A tiny blond stood there with her hands on her hips.
Aria plastered a smile on her face and put out her hand. “Hi, Caybreena. I’m Aria McCullum. It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for inviting me to your tea.”
Her hostess gave her a cold look. “You may call me Mrs. Hinnell. And honestly, I had no idea Eve was bringing a guest.”
Aria barely knew what to say, and Eve was shifting uncomfortably beside her. But Aria refused to be cowed. She straightened her shoulders and looked Caybreena—or Mrs. Hiney, as Aria now thought of her—directly in the eyes. “Well, how kind of you to allow me into your home.” With no choice left to her, their hostess stepped aside.
“Well, if you insist on staying, Aria…” Caybreena’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Though I think it’s a mistake. It’s never too early to learn that rank and privilege go hand in hand.” A false bravado lifted her voice higher. “Then, come meet my neighbors.”
Mrs. Hiney led the way into heavily scented room, as if potpourri had been mashed into every fiber and thread of furniture and carpet. Aria wrinkled her nose and then sneezed, bringing another sour look from Caybreena.
Yep, like hell Aria would offer to leave now. She’d rather be the thorn in this woman’s paw then back down, and she wanted to know what she was up against. If a fight was what this tiny blond termagant wanted, then Aria could give it to her.
Oh, Dan, you should have let me stick to my plan and stay home. This tea is going to be awful.
***
She was right! The tea had been an unmitigated disaster. Especially after she’d accidently spilled tea on Caybreena’s new carpet. Aria was sure the spot would come out without much effort, but of course Mrs. Hinnell had to throw a hissy about it. If her husband hadn’t asked her to go to this event, she would never have attended. She cringed thinking about it.
Aria didn’t think things could get much worse until she saw her front lawn.