Johnny sat down next to her on the couch, and she lulled her head to the side to look at him.
“That was amazing,” she said. Her voice sounded distant and fuzzy, like someone else talking.
He chuckled in response. “Glad to hear it.”
Two warm arms slipped under her legs and back. She might have gasped if she had the ability. Instead she watched as the room shifted around her, and she was brought into the other room.
Good. That’s where they needed to be in order to get down to business.
She frowned when the covers were placed over her body and looked over to where Johnny stood.
“Get in,” she said.
He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. “Love to,” he said softly and then pulled back. “But not tonight.”
“What?” Confusion and lust swirled within. They couldn’t stop now.
He walked over to the door.
“I had a good time,” he said with a smile. “Let’s do it again.”
With that he was gone. She could hear him in the other room for a moment before the front door opened and closed.
Naked, she lay there wondering just what the hell had happened. She’d been ready for him only to have him walk away. The orgasm from his hand had been wonderful, and she burned to have the rest of him inside her.
Maddy shifted her legs, and a tingle zipped to the center of her belly. The wicked aftermath of his ministrations still ripped through her.
He was a mystery to her. How could he blow her fucking mind and then walk away from the finale?
She rolled over and moaned as the sensitive parts of her throbbed.
Well, she’d be damned if it wasn’t the best sex she’d ever had, even if it had been a bit one-sided. Unsurprisingly to her, Johnny knew exactly how to rock her world. Now the only question was, how the hell was she supposed to move on after that?
Chapter Eleven
Johnny glanced out the window for about the millionth time over to Maddy’s little apartment.
Despite knowing she wasn’t there, it didn’t stop him from looking and hoping.
He glanced over at the night stand holding his cell phone. Trent had sent him a message earlier about going out with some of the guys from their old squad. It had been a bit since they all got to hang together in any sort of recreational setting stateside, and although he was happy for the chance, he worried that going out might hurt his chances with Maddy when they’d finally blown past the barriers and started down a path toward happiness.
He checked the time on his phone. One more hour until Trent came to pick him up. All he could do was hope she came home before then.
His mind drifted to last night. He’d pleased her; he was sure of that, but he’d also left abruptly. In his mind, he thought it was the best thing to do to show her that he’d put her pleasure above his.
But now that he thought about it, he wondered if she might be annoyed with him showing up and taking off so quickly, regardless of what she got out of it.
A part of him cursed the fact he hadn’t gotten her number. Somehow asking Trent or Rich just seemed weird. Considering how early on this was in their relationship, if he could even call it that, he wanted to keep things under wraps.
There was no reason to complicate matters with her relatives until he and Maddy knew where this whole thing was going. They might even fuck things up.
The pages from a folder in front of him fluttered as the overhead fan caught a hold of them. It made him think of the intelligence report he’d seen at the base.
Johnny sighed. The whole damn thing in Chotastan was so fucking convoluted. They knew the weapons were being moved through the area. They’d known it before Emir had paid the ultimate price.
He tightened his hands into fists. If only he’d gotten there sooner, maybe he could have helped save Emir and the others.
Back then they couldn’t trace it to anyone. Too many suspects, not enough evidence. When a place was turning into a chaotic mess, it was hard to know anything for certain.
Now the new intel said this Williamson guy was behind the whole thing. What the hell did some rich douche care about weapons in that area?
It didn’t even seem like the kind of volume that would be worth his attention, especially since he had so many more business interests that didn’t require screwing over an entire country.
Oil usually played a part in these things in the Middle East, but the country lacked any oil. It was probably one of the reasons they managed to carve out their independence. No one thought it was worth the blood for another patch of sand and mountains.
If other local governments didn’t care, why did Williamson care? There was some angle they were all missing.
It just didn’t make sense. None of it did.
Johnny scrubbed a hand over his face. This was going to continue eating at him. He was just sure of it. Someone had to get some justice for his friend and protect other good people who had been forced into hiding.
Plus, with more weapons flowing into the area, major civil unrest was inevitable, and a lot of innocent people would suffer and die so that assholes could make a few more dollars or euros to stuff in their fat, corrupt accounts. C
Chotastan was at a tipping point. If the country went up in flames, it’d not only harm the people there, but destabilize much of Southwest Asia.
Johnny lay back on the bed and rubbed his temples. He was still adjusting to the new time zone. It didn’t help that he had spent most of last night hard and aching for more of Maddy.
A small smile played on his lips. She had looked amazing when she came last night. He could only imagine what she would look like as he drove into her.
As much as he wanted to see that, Johnny also knew that if he didn’t take his time with her, this whole thing would go to pot. He wanted Maddy, but for more than just a good time. She had to understand that. He needed to make her understand.
He wanted to come home to her, to see her swell with their child and to grow old with. She had always been the only one for him, and despite how much he tried not to have feelings for her, she would always be the only woman he wanted that way.
The bell downstairs rang, and he sat up.
He shook his head and smiled. Trent always was early. Even when they were just planning to hit the town, he couldn’t stand the idea of being late.
“Quit jacking off up there and get your lazy ass ready,” Trent shouted up the stairs at him.
Johnny laughed. Maybe going out with the guys was exactly what he needed.
Chapter Twelve
Maddy glanced down at her outfit: the same khaki shorts and peach tank she’d worn to take her finals that day. It wasn’t what she would normally wear to a date with David, but in the end, this wasn’t really a date per se. Given what she planned, her outfit was unimportant.
When she saw him coming up the sidewalk outside the small Italian restaurant, she waved and smiled. The closer David moved, the more she could see he was openly frowning at her. He was wearing his usual black slacks and boring button-down white shirt.
Self-conscious, she rubbed her arms a little.
“I could have changed the time for later so you’d have the chance to go home and get properly dressed,” David said.
His words sent a fire through her. She’d been listening to this kind of talk for the past couple months and had just about enough of it.
“I’m good,” she said simply and stepped over to the door.
He shrugged. “Well, none of the crew come to this place. So, fortunate for me.”
Maddy sighed. It looked like tonight was going to end a lot sooner than she’d planned. Originally she planned on eating a nice dinner with David and trying to end it all on a high note. She should have known better really.
When she first started dating him, she’d thought it’d all be okay. He was attractive, intelligent and going somewhere. She’d ignored some of his more annoying qualities, thinking that she didn’t need a perfect guy if she just wanted to have a little fun. How wrong she’d been.
The pair stepped into the quiet, low-lit restaurant and smiled at the hostess.
“Two?” the hostess asked.
Maddy nodded.
“We’ll have a table available in just a moment,” the young woman said.
Maddy looked over to David, who seemed even more agitated than before about the lack of tables.
“Maybe we should get a cocktail at the bar,” she said.
He gave a curt nod and then took a seat at the bar. Maddy ordered a sangria and sipped on it as David grumbled about the lack of respect being shown to him.
She sighed loudly, and he stopped complaining to scowl at her.
He picked up his bourbon and stared directly at her.
“Have something to say?” he snapped.
Maddy took another drink off her sangria. “I think we need to talk,” she said quietly. “About us.”
He nodded. “I was thinking that as well.”
Relief flooded her. She’d been so worried about telling him it wasn’t working out, she’d never even thought that he might be feeling the same.
“I’m so glad to hear that,” she said.
He sipped from his glass and set it down. “I think tonight we should just get it over with.”
Maddy nodded as she took a drink. It looked like she’d actually get to enjoy dinner tonight.
“After dinner you should just come over to my place, and we can take the next step,” David said.
She nearly knocked over her drink as she set it down. “What?”
David continued on, apparently unaware they were no longer on the same page.
“I know you’ve been holding out because you weren’t sure about my commitment to you. And I admit, at first glance I did just think it was going to be all about a good time and nothing serious.”
Her mouth dropped open at his words. Good time?
When he pulled her hand into his, a shiver of revulsion ripped through her.
“But I think it’s time we just get this over with and move on.”
Sex. He wanted sex with her. Said they should get it over with like sex was just a box to tick on the to-do list.
Maddy pulled her hand hard from his.
“No,” she said and dug in her purse for the spare twenty she kept.
She slapped it on the bar and stood. “I don’t want to be with you anymore.”
He blinked. “What?”
“We’re through. Have a nice life.”
The revelation now felt better than she ever imagined. Screw him and his box-ticking ways. She was sure he would find someone else to tick all his boxes, plus some.
Not even caring about how he must be looking at her, she walked to the front door and breathed in the night air.
A firm hand landed on her shoulder once the door had closed and spun her around.
David glared at her. “Are you fucking kidding me? What the hell is this shit?”
Maddy pulled out her keys and tried to shake his hand off her shoulder.
“I’m done,” she said. “I think we’re better off seeing other people.”
His face contorted in rage. “It’s him, isn’t it? That crazed mountain man? The one that’s friends with your meat-head brother.”
She froze. “What did you just say?”
He gave a sharp laugh and shook her a little, his fingers digging into her shoulder. “I should have known that’s what you wanted. Someone with no brains to do whatever you like. You were always intimidated by my mind.”
Maddy slapped him hard. Her fingers tingled from the force.
“How dare you,” she said, her words low and menacing. “My brother and Johnny are fucking heroes. Don’t you ever talk about them like that, you piece of self-involved garbage.”
His other hand came up and gripped her other arm with more strength than she thought he had.
“You just assaulted me.” He sneered. “I could fucking own you with help from my friends.”
* * *
Johnny rolled his eyes. It was about the millionth time Luca had told the infamous paint grenade story over the years.
“So in walks the commander and this guy,” Luca said and slapped him on the back. “Gets the bright idea to just sit on the damned paint-ball grenade.”
Nathan frowned at him, likely wondering why they had been doing any sort of paint-ball play when it was strictly prohibited.
“So what happened?” Garrett asked. The younger man was one of the newest SEAL recruits for the team and hadn’t heard the story before.
“The thing exploded while the commander was chewing us out. He turns to our man here and says, ‘Davis, what the hell was that?’ Johnny looks around and says with a straight face, ‘Gas, sir.’ I thought he was going to rip him a new hole with how red he got.”
Luca laughed hard and took another drink off his beer.
Garrett looked between them with wide eyes. “So what happened?”
Johnny set his empty beer down and sighed. “Restricted to the base for a while and the commander made us scrub down every brick and blade of grass outside, but that wasn’t the worst part.”
Garrett raised a brow. “It wasn’t?”
Johnny shook his head. “Nope. That damn paint was red, so for almost a month I looked like a damn baboon with my red ass.”
The men all chuckled.
Johnny leaned over to Trent.
“I left my phone in your car,” he said quietly. “Can I get your keys?”
Trent stared at him for a moment, and Johnny wondered if he’d guessed that he was waiting for a call.
Just before they left, he ran over and placed a note on Maddy’s door so she would know that he hadn’t ditched her.
Trent nodded and slapped his keys in his hand.
Johnny stood quickly.
“Be right back,” he said, but no one seemed to be paying much attention since Luca had moved on to a new story.
He always was the one with a story to tell. If Johnny was ever going to have someone narrate his life, it would be Luca. He was glad his friend had decided to come along despite being pissed at him for leaving. It was one friendship he didn’t want to lose.
Johnny jogged outside and out to the car. It was about half a block away from the bar, but an easy jog. He popped the lock on the car when he got there and found his phone easily enough. He shut the door and locked it as he checked the phone.