This Is Where I Sleep (2 page)

I rolled my eyes as he began to get dressed. I turned and headed for the shower not glancing back. I made sure to make it nice and long to ensure he’d be gone by the time I came out. I’d had enough company for one day and needed to get prepared for the gala. I usually hated attending those types of events, but since I was former military and I was formally invited by one of my clients who was a member of Congress, I couldn’t turn it down.

Here goes nothing,
I sighed as I stepped out of the shower and began to get ready for the evening.

Chapter Two

Coral

I stepped out of the town car, and I didn’t miss the chauffeur's raised brows in appreciation. I turned my head to hide my smile. I knew the long, form-fitting red sleeveless gown I was wearing fit all my curves perfectly. The slit up to the midpoint of my thigh was enough to show off my mocha-colored, toned legs. The five-inch leopard print heels added a bit of sass to my look. I ran my fingers through my curly, tapered cut and tucked my clutch under my arm before moving to the side to allow the driver to close the door. I looked up to see the huge marquee with the U.S. flag and the words “USO GALA” in big bold letters at the entrance to the convention center. I noticed some of the nation’s top business and political leaders entering to honor the men and women who serve this nation. Although I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to this event, I was looking forward to seeing some comrades I hadn’t seen since I’d been out of uniform.

“Oh, Coral. I’m so glad to have caught you before you went in. Allow me.”

I tipped my head at Excellency Salazar from Mexico. “Your Excellency, thank you,” I said, wrapping my hand around the older man’s extended upper arm. In my four inch heels, I stood a few inches above his five-foot-eight inch frame.

Salazar was the Mexican official who had arranged my little rendezvous with Emilio earlier in the day. It came as a debt of gratitude for helping locate his granddaughter who had been kidnapped earlier in the year.

“I trust everything went well today, yes?”

I pondered as we entered the Convention Center. “You trust correctly, Your Excellency. I got what I was looking for.”

“Excellent. I must say, Coral, you are looking lovely in that dress. If I were twenty years younger…”

“You would still be married with five kids.” We both laughed at my comeback. I looked around for his wife. “Where is Señora Salazar, by the way?”

We both knew Mr. Salazar, while being a seemingly doting husband, could also become a little touchy feely when he’d had too much to drink, and the drinks would be flowing soon.

“She will be along shortly...”

He continued talking as we made our way further inside the gala, but an odd sensation had me tuning out his words. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and a chill ran down my spine. I knew the feeling. It had been a long time since I’d sensed it, but I knew it, and only one person had ever brought out the odd sensation. Someone I hadn’t seen in five years.

I looked up and turned my head to the left, casually looking around. That slight movement had me locking eyes with a pair of emerald green eyes that for the last half a decade, I had only seen in my dreams.
Liam.
His expression was unreadable. He was one of the only people I couldn’t read easily. He simply stared at me. He made no effort to acknowledge my presence or come over to me. That pain I’d buried in the pit of my stomach five years ago threatened to emerge and bubble over. My throat went dry. Suddenly, I saw his face turn down into a scowl as his eyes burned a hole in something just behind me
.

Is he angry? What the hell does he have to be angry about?

I huffed just as I felt a hand at the small of my back, followed by Nathaniel’s voice low in my ear. “I’m not Barack, and I don’t need you to be Michelle. But you
will
give
us
a chance.”

****

Liam

              I frowned as I stared across the room and saw the woman I’d been dreaming about and missing for five years as she was approached and touched by none other than Senator Nathaniel Roberts. His hand on her lower back was telling. It was an intimate touch. One Coral wouldn’t allow without established permission. She didn’t do public displays of affection. I knew he'd had a thing for her since our Army days. I’d catch the long, lingering stares he’d give her and the extra flirty winks and smiles. Although I saw that Coral had taken a step back from the Senator’s embrace, the image was already cemented in my brain, and it caused my blood to boil.
She shouldn’t be over there with him. She should be with me
.

I knew I should’ve been the last person to be jealous or possessive. After all, I was the one who’d snuck out on her like a thief in the night, leaving some lame ass note and nothing more. She deserved more than that. We’d been friends—best friends, for years. But I couldn’t tell her the truth…that I left her to keep her safe. I’d stayed up many nights wondering if I’d made the right decision. As I looked over at Coral, who had now turned her full attention back to Nathaniel, I was leaning towards believing it was the wrong decision. In that moment, I’d made a choice. I took a step towards where they were standing.

“Hey Liam, I think your father is looking for you.”

That reminder by my head of security halted me in my tracks. My hand tightened into a fist as another source of fire flowed through me. It was a reminder of why I wasn’t already across the room standing next to Coral. I had to remember to keep it together. I nodded at Ron. “Alright, let’s go find him.” I pivoted to follow Ron, who had already spotted my father’s location. That was a close call.

For the next few hours, I made nice and mingled with other guests, and took in the live performance of some pop star that had been hired to entertain for the night. I was able to catch up with some old army buddies of mine. Despite the distractions, at no point did I forget the tingling sensation in my belly that told me Coral was in the same room. I could feel her energy even if I couldn’t see her…and I did look. With every conversation I engaged in, I found my eyes scanning the room looking for her. Each time a glimpse of red caught my eye my heart rate sped up a little, but so far she had remained out of my line of sight. I was sure that was on purpose. No matter how much my brain told me that staying away from her was for the best, the part of me that had been missing without her wouldn’t let me leave well enough alone.

A while later, I spotted her talking to a Congressman out of South Carolina. I couldn’t be bothered to remember his name, but I knew his face. My feet began moving before my brain registered where they were going. As I made my way over, the Congressman made his departure, leaving her alone. I saw a waiter carrying champagne flutes approach her. With her back to me, I saw an opportunity.

“A glass of champagne, ma’am?” he asked, as soon as I reached her.

“She doesn’t drink,” I answered for her, causing her to turn and stare at me.

Those golden-hazel eyes flashed anger, and she allowed her gaze to wander up and down my entire body. Despite the time and emotional distance between us, I wanted nothing more than to reach out and caress her mocha-colored skin. I remembered the exact feel of that smooth skin under my fingertips. Luckily for me, I resisted. I saw a glimmer of emotion in her eyes—longing, sadness—before it was replaced with fire as her eyes came to rest on mine again.

“You changed your hair.” The words fell from my lips as I took in the now short auburn curls.

She lifted a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Do I know you?”

She sent the dagger to my heart before turning and walking away. And I was thrust back into a memory of the first time I laid eyes on this woman. My best friend. My soulmate.

****

Fall 2000

“Welcome to Harvard’s ROTC Program, recruits…” our PT instructor began his spiel that I was sure no one was listening to. It was our first week of early morning PT and my eyes were still fighting to remain open. A few of my friends behind me joked about some of the girls in our program. I’d admit I wasn’t expecting there to be much eye candy in a ROTC program, but looking around I thought a few girls may be worth getting to know. I’d been fucking since the age of fifteen and college now offered a new world of random pussy to get lost in. I was up to the challenge.

“Damn, who’s that?” I heard Damon ask behind me, with awe in his voice.

I turned to see where he was looking, and my breath caught. At about five-six, rich mocha-colored skin, a heart-shaped face, made less innocent by intense hazel eyes, there she stood. At eighteen, I still had yet to get used to my physical reactions towards the opposite sex, and I was surprised by my immediate physical response to her. She was dressed in the same ROTC sweat pants and shirt we all were in, but I could see those sweats hid a body made for sin. I heard Damon mumbling about wanting to get to know her and before he got the chance I cut him off and strolled over to her.

“Aww, man, you can’t handle that.”

I tossed him a middle finger and continued on. I was a cocky son of a bitch. I knew my height, tanned skin courtesy of many days spent underneath the Texas sun, and green eyes left women a decade older than me stuttering. I moved up close to her and reached for a lock of her hair. Don’t ask me why I did that; I just had an insane urge to touch her.

“Today might just be your lucky day,” I murmured low in her ear, twirling her hair in between my fingers.  

Stunned, she jumped back and glared at me. “Excuse you?”

Her voice sent shivers down my spine. Not taking heed of the fire blazing in her eyes, I took a step closer. “I said…today is your lucky day, sweetheart.”

She paused and looked me up and down. “And why is that?” she asked.

I chuckled and gave her the most seductive wink I’d perfected. “Because you just caught my eye.” 

She looked me up and down again, scornfully, and in pure Coral fashion handed me my ass.

“If today is my lucky day, I should have stayed in bed. Don’t ever touch me again.” And then turned and walked away.

The snickers from behind me alerted me that Damon and our other friends heard the entire exchange. I tucked my proverbial tail between my legs and returned to my group, but continued to stare at the first girl to ever reject me and turn me on at the same time.

****

After that initial encounter, my estimation of one Coral Coleman went up exponentially. With each PT and ROTC assignment, she and I always seemed to come in as the top one and two. Sometimes she bested me. Other times I bested her. I never tried to hit on her after that, and we managed to gain a mutual respect for one another. Our friendship didn’t develop until a few months later, but once it did, we were inseparable. I came to know her as deeply as I allowed her to know me, which was also why I knew, my next move was one of my dumber moves. When she turned to walk away, I felt a piece of my soul leaving, and I had to stop her. I grabbed her arm from behind. I immediately felt her stiffen, and I braced myself.

“You of all people know better than to touch me like that,” she gritted out through clenched teeth.

She was right. I did know better. Grabbing a woman from behind who experienced a childhood of abuse and had been to war was not the smartest idea. Especially not when this particular woman knew three different forms of martial arts. I’d seen her in hand-to-hand combat. Hell, she’d saved my ass as many times as I’d saved hers. I knew what she was capable of.

“Don’t walk away.” I released her arm and stepped back. I knew when to give Coral space.

“What?” she asked tersely.

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. There was so much I wanted to say, and even more, I wanted to do, but I wasn’t free to do it for more reasons than one. I stared at her for a few moments, taking in the fact that we were in the same space after five years.

“How have you been?” I finally asked.

“Seriously?”

“Coral, I—”

“There you are,” a familiar voice sounded from behind me.

I turned to see an unwelcome sight; a smiling Nathaniel Roberts, as he stared at Coral.

“I’ve been looking all over for you,” he told her. Initially, he didn’t acknowledge my presence, but shortly after he held out his hand. “Oh, Bennett. Long time no see. How have you been?” he asked with a look of warning in his eyes.

He was claiming what he believed was his territory.

He’s got another think coming.

“Senator,” I returned, gripping his hand a little tighter than necessary. “I’ve been well. A lot better now.” I looked Coral straight in the eyes so that she got my meaning.

“Well, I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything,” Roberts stated.

“Trust me; there’s nothing you could do to interrupt me.” I was tired of the bullshit. This dude had no idea the lengths I would go to for this woman.

“Is that right? Well—”

“You know, it’s been great watching you two size-up who has the bigger dick, but I’m bored, and I’m leaving. Have at it boys.” Coral turned and walked away.

My instinct was to follow her, but just as I moved to do so, Nathaniel stepped in my path.

“I don’t think so,” he warned.

“Who the hell asked you to think, Roberts?” I stepped closer to him, and while I had a one-inch height advantage, he was not the least bit intimidated.

“She’s moved on from whatever you two had between you,” he said, turning to watch her as she moved further and further away from us.

I saw red when I watched his eyes land on the sway of her ass, encompassed perfectly in the fabric of that red dress. The leopard print heels were classic Coral. They showed her feminine, yet dangerous side.