The Soldier's Lady Read online

  The Soldier’s Lady

  By

  Jordan Silver

  Copyright© 2014 Alison Jordan

  All Rights Reserved

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  EPILOGUE

  Chapter 1

  CALEB

  “Who the fuck is that?” I looked over the tops of my Ray Bans at the beauty I’d just caught in my cross hairs.

  “Who captain?”

  “Her.” I pointed out the hot chick with the rack and ass that would stop traffic. She was fucking gorgeous. I should know, my cock does not lie and he was giving her the twenty-one-gun salute. Shit, with my luck she’d be here with someone, lucky bastard.

  “That’s Melissa, she’s a friend of Spanky’s wife I think.”

  “Huh.” That’s all I said, I wasn’t ready to give anything away yet. Soldiers are gossiping fucks and I didn’t need my business all over the barracks come sunrise. The guys were letting off some steam after three weeks in the desert doing drills. The little get together at the local watering hole wasn’t my usual scene but it was good for the men’s morale if their captain at least put in an appearance.

  It wasn’t all about blowing up motherfuckers and shit. There was life outside the army, something other than blood and guts and fucking war. I kept my eye on my prey for the rest of the evening, which saw me staying way longer than I’d intended.

  I’d ascertained that she wasn’t here with anyone. That didn’t necessarily mean she didn’t have a man at home but if the idiot was dumb enough to let her out on her own he deserved what he got. I’m an equal opportunity motherfucker. And the way she made my body hum there was no way I was leaving here tonight without at least talking to her.

  I noticed that she seemed a little shy, staying to the sidelines more than getting in the middle of conversation. Every once in a while private Spanky’s wife I think her name is Jennifer, would walk over to her and say something but she’d just shake her head and stay seated. She only moved to go to the bar and refresh her drink, which she’d only done once since I’d noticed her.

  That one look had been enough for me to get a good look at her amazing curves. She was wearing a long flowing skirt with an off the shoulder top and some sort of large belt that hung around her middle. She wore her blonde hair shoulder length and cut in some sassy do that swiveled and swirled each time she moved her head. I knew she couldn’t see me from where I was sitting in the dark corner across from her and that was a good thing because I hadn’t taken my eyes off of her in almost an hour.

  I had to assess the situation so to speak. My body hasn’t reacted that way to a woman in a long time if ever. The pull was stronger than any I could remember, not something I could take lightly. A man in my position usually followed his gut and mine was sending out signals that I knew better than to ignore.

  I studied every inch of her as she sat there all shy. I don’t see why the fuck she was hiding; she had the rest of the women in the joint beat hands down. Fucking gorgeous, throw in that sweet shyness and I was ready to fuck, protect and shield. Serious business.

  Jennifer or whatever her name was said something to her that made her smile and that’s when I saw the dimples, fuck she’s gorgeous. I wouldn’t say some corny shit like I was stunned by her beauty, but I will admit to being caught off guard. I looked around to see if anyone else was seeing what I was but the men seemed to be preoccupied with their tall tales at the bar. That was a good thing I didn’t want to have to pull rank. The music was about to change and I could see from the way she picked her head up and moved her shoulders to the music she liked this particular song.

  Okay that’s it time to make my move before one of these assholes see what I see and ask her to dance. I took my bottle of beer with me and headed for the corner where she’d been hanging out all evening. The closer I got the more my dick twitched. “I hear you boy I’m going to get her calm the fuck down.”

  Her eyes widened when I sat down across from her. Damn, bright-eyed girl.

  “Hello, Melissa is it?”

  “How…how do you know my name?” She looked around a little flustered.

  “That’s not important right now, I have one question for you.” I waited until her eyes were on mine before continuing. “Do you have a man?”

  She blushed and looked down at the table. Her shoulders slumped for a second and her bottom lip seemed to tremble before she got it under control. That shit tore at my heart and had me reaching for her hand. What the fuck is this anyway? I had the strong urge to wrap her up and take her home.

  “Not right now no.” Even her voice was a thing of beauty. Fuck she’s probably some fucking nut or some shit. There’s no way anyone can be this fucking perfect. She comes across as the real deal. Soft, sweet, and hot as fuck. The Caleb McNamara trifecta, felt almost too good to be true. Only one way to find out though and whatever she was, from the feel of her hand in mine my body was now sending out signals like I’d touched a live wire.

  “That’s good.” I placed my card down in front of her.

  “Call me when you get home I’ve got to get going but I’d really like to hear from you.”

  She looked around as if to see if anyone was going to jump out at her and laugh or some shit.

  “Are you going to call Melissa?”

  She looked down at my card and then back up at me with wide innocent as fuck eyes.

  “Are you…do you need someone to clean your house or something?”

  “What the fuck, why would you ask me something like that Melissa?”

  “Well why else would someone like you want me to call you?”

  I felt that in the gut. That one statement said a fuck of a lot but we’d just met so I’ll have to deal with that shit later.

  “Babe I want you to call because I want to take you out.”

  She still didn’t seem to believe me so I ran my finger down her cheek as I held her eyes. Soft skin and so fucking sweet.

  “Just call okay better yet give me your number.” I wasn’t taking any chances my girl seemed to have confidence issues.

  She fumbled around in her purse after studying me like she expected me to say some fucked up shit to her.

  She passed me a card of her own. Melissa Jackson florist.

  “You own your own flower shop?”

  She nodded her head that blush back in full force.

  “Anyone who can accomplish running their own business should be more confident babe. I’ll call you in a little bit. How soon do you think you might be leaving here? I have to be up early in the morning and I have a lot of questions so we might be on the phone a while.”

  “Oh, um I’m here with my friend and her husband I’m not sure how long they’ll be.”

  “Fine I’ll call you in two hours if there’s no answer then I’ll call you tomorrow. Is this your house or cell number?”

  “It’s my cell number.”

  “Fine then I’ll at least call to say goodnight, enjoy the rest of your night sweet Melissa.”

  I left her sitting there my heart heavy. I didn’t like that conversation and I especially didn’t like the way she looked at me as if she thought I was playing some type of high school game with her. I guess she’s had some experience with assholes that couldn’t appreciate a woman wh
o wasn’t a size six, that’s not me.

  I love all women, tall short skinny fat my cock knows what he likes and he lets it be known. Right now he likes her. How far that will go or how long it will last is up for grabs. He hasn’t found one yet that he wanted to keep so we were still looking. I will say he’s never had such a strong reaction to a woman before but the fucker does have impeccable taste.

  The last long term relationship had ended six months ago and not too amicably either so I wasn’t exactly looking to jump back on that horse. But I must say she’d sparked my interest in a way no one else had in quite some time and not just my dick.

  In watching her I’d noticed and appreciated that quiet way she had about her. I only hope she wasn’t that way because some asshole had crushed her spirit. Then again if this shit was going where my dick seemed to be leading it will be up to me to build that shit back up. Who better?

  Chapter 2

  Melissa

  My heart’s about to beat me to death, is he for real? Can’t be; there’s no way a man like that could be interested in someone like me. I glanced around furtively after he walked away to see if anyone was looking at me. Maybe it was some sort of joke among the men here; let’s see who can make the fat girl cry.

  I’ve played that one plenty in my lifetime. I felt the telltale sting of tears but refused to let them fall. A cursory glance around the room didn’t turn up any pointing, laughing soldiers but that still didn’t mean that it was on the up and up. There was no way that he could be interested in me I mean come on. He’s gorgeous, like movie star gorgeous with his dark colored hair shaved close to his head. I’d even kick Brad Pitt out of my bed for him, and he was giving me his card? No way was I going to fall for that.

  “Wow what did the captain have to say to you Melissa?”

  My best friend Jennifer sat down across from me and I felt my face heat up again.

  “He gave me his card.” Here comes the laughter.

  “Wow that’s great Mel.” She was very excited but that’s Jen, she always expects the best of people. I was still holding onto the idea that it was all just one big joke.

  “Are you crazy? I’m sure it’s just all some sick joke at my expense. I mean why else would someone who looks like that even talk to me?”

  “Because you’re gorgeous like I’ve been telling you all our lives. Please don’t let that jerk Jonathan ruin this for you too. The captain’s one of the good guys, all his men love him and speak very highly of him even Spanks and you know how he is.”

  “But why?” I hated the little kernel of hope her words gave me; this can only lead to more heartache I’m sure.

  “Melissa Jackson, don’t make me smack you. You’re a bright beautiful successful woman and any man would be lucky to have you now cut it out. When are you supposed to call him?”

  “He said he’d call in a couple hours if I’m home.”

  “That settles it, SPANKS.” She yelled for her husband.

  “Ssh Jen, quiet.”

  “You’re not missing that call.”

  “You rang my little gentle kitten?” Her husband came over and kissed the top of her head before filching her beer. They’re so cute together they make me sad. I know I’ll never have that, that love and companionship. Never have a man look at me like I was his world and it was my own stupid fault.

  Size sixteen, not exactly harpoon worthy but it wasn’t good enough to land me a guy who’s going to love me like that. My last attempt had just wanted someone he could use. I’d found out the hard way what he really thought of me when I caught him with his real girlfriend.

  The slender petite beauty that’d laughed me to scorn as I’d stood in the middle of the mall crying my eyes out like the jerk I am. They’d been in on it together. No wonder we’d never had sex and no wonder she’d seen no danger in letting her man play that game. There was never any danger of anything happening between us, I was a fat overweight whale.

  “We have to get Melissa home she’s expecting a very important call in a couple hours.”

  “Sure no problem just let me say bye to the guys.”

  “Jen don’t say anything.” I tried to shush her as he walked away. The last thing I need was for her to tell him and the joke got around. I am very sure that man wasn’t interested in me, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to rush home and wait by the phone. When will you learn Melissa? Even a dog stops coming back after he’d been kicked enough. But some part of me always hoped as silly as it was.

  Jonathan had been nice looking too, nowhere near as nice as Caleb admittedly. I looked down at his card again. Even his name sounded hot and vaguely familiar. I’d never met him before though of that I was certain. I bit my lip in uncertainty. What should I do? Could I really open myself up to that pain and humiliation again? It had taken me a long time to get over what that idiot had done to me. Worst than him was the girlfriend, someone who had befriended me at my shop and then gone home and plotted with her man to con me.

  Sonia had come into the flower shop one day to buy flowers for her mom. She’d been so bright and engaging I didn’t think anything of it when she struck up a conversation. Soon after that I would see her at least once a week. I must’ve told her my life story in that time. How alone I was since my grandma had passed away the year before.

  I guess she’d read between the lines and figured out I’d received a small inheritance and the wheel had started to turn in her greedy little head. I met Jonathan a few weeks later supposedly by chance. He’d come on strong and swept me off my feet. I know now that she’d used everything I’d shared with her in confidence against me to reel me in. Thank heavens I’d caught them together with his tongue down her throat at the food court before I’d been stupid enough to lend him more than the five thousand I’d already lent him for his bike shop.

  After they’d both laughed in my face when I confronted them I’d ran from the mall a blubbering mess and had locked myself in my condo for a week; leaving my assistant to run the shop under the pretense of being ill. Jen had finally dragged the whole sordid tale out of me and she and Spanks went on the hunt for him. It was no surprise that the address he’d given me was bogus. His number had been changed as well so there was no way of getting my money back now.

  I looked down at the card in my hand again and felt a hitch in my stomach. I wonder what color his eyes are? He’d been wearing sunglasses, which just added to his appeal. And his shoulders beneath the long sleeved tee shirt he wore had looked nice and strong. His ass in those jeans when he walked away wasn’t anything to sneeze at either. But the whole package together is what gave me pause. Of all the losers I’d ever found myself involved with none had ever come close to him. None had ever made me tingle in all the right places either.

  Caleb

  Damn I should’ve stayed a little longer, talked to her some more. What if she doesn’t answer? I could always get her address from Spanks. I threw my helmet on the chair and went scrounging around in the kitchen for something to eat. I’d felt like a steak after eating freeze-dried shit for weeks, but that place didn’t run to Porter- house. A burger was the best they had on offer and I’m not into mystery meat.

  I kept picturing her face, that sassy hair of hers and that voice; damn she had the whole package. And you’d left her in a dive surrounded by horny assholes fresh out the desert you fuck.

  I checked my watch to see how much time had passed since I’d left. Half an hour, shit why had I said two hours? I stripped on the way to the shower trying to think of ways to kill time between now and then. Maybe I should just call her now anyway since she’d just been sitting there alone.

  Nah too obvious can’t come on too strong you might scare her away. I do have a tendency to go hard when I see something I wanted and little Melissa was the first thing I’d had such a yen for in a long time.

  I looked down at my cock who looked like he remembered her too, should I? Nah save it. I’m what you might call a positive thinker. I believe in the power of th
e mind and right now my mind is telling me I’m going to be between those sweet thighs come hell or high water. It might take some doing but that’s okay I could be patient if I needed to be. But once I’ve set my mind to a task there’s no way of stopping me.

  With the shower over I puttered around the house, which suddenly seemed too big, too empty. It was a nice old place out on the lake that I’d got for a song when the market went bust. With a little fixing up on my downtime it was shaping up to be a beaut. I had a twelve-foot schooner docked at the end of the little pier out back and a truck in the garage. A man needs his toys, those two and My Ducati nineteen ninety-nine were my babies.

  I flicked on the TV when I saw I still had another half an hour to kill, antsy as fuck. When was the last time I got this hot and bothered over a woman anyway? As a man who’d spent most of his adult life in the army I approached relationships as temporary situations. I never asked a woman to wait for me because I never knew what the fuck was gonna happen out there. So I never got too attached. At thirty-five I was still looking at at least three more years before I’d put in my full twenty. And why are you thinking about this shit Mac? Because tonight I think I met the woman that’s gonna change all that.

  Chapter 3

  Melissa

  I looked at the phone like it was a snake about to strike. On the way home I’d actually let myself hope that this was on the up and up. Stupid I know but I think us big girls must spend a lot of time hoping. This was just so…I’ve never faced anything like this before in my life. Not even when I opened my shop all by myself with the money my grandma had left me.

  Everyone had said it was not the right time and I should wait and do a million other things except the one thing I’d always wanted. But gran had known what I wanted, that’s why she’d left me all her money and the letter that her lawyer had given me at the reading of the will.

  Even now it brings tears to my eyes. Knowing that someone had really loved me after all. Mom loves me in her own way but she’s always trying to change me. She’s slender and beautiful. I guess it’s a bit embarrassing for someone like her to have a daughter that’s the size of a whale. Maybe that’s why she prefers doing things with my sister who’s a damn size two.