Reapers Come
Mack
Waking, curled around Xanthe, Mack could have smacked himself across the head for last night. What was he thinking, pushing her about her parents. He should have let it go, kept kissing her until the inevitable happened and they either messed around out here or went in and found a spare bedroom.
Instead, he came close to being friend-zoned, but saved it with a blanket and a cramped shoulder.
What was it about this woman that had him acting so … un-Macklike! It wasn’t that she was possibly going to start working on base. Firstly, he didn’t have a clue when he stepped in to get rid of her ex from ever bothering her again. Secondly, he had too many of his own exes on base for him to suddenly grow some morals.
For half the night, he cradled her, holding himself back so she couldn’t feel the need for his restraint. Thinking about her father, and how screwed up her mother had been. He’d seen enough of his mates’ wives unable to cope with the stress of never knowing if their army husband was safe, alive, or enjoying the vast female opportunities of being on tour. No, it wasn’t the life for every woman.
Until last night, he’d been damned positive no woman out there that could be interested in him was worth asking.
A night not sleeping, holding Xanthe in his arms and he wanted time to decide whether he was in some sort of melancholy moment of weakness, trying to convince himself to look for a meaningful something before going back to the shit storm.
Or was it possible that the woman in his arms was as special as their all night talk made him believe. Replaying every moment in his mind, he’d do it all again. Even ending with a cramped shoulder and a dead arm attached.
“Morning,” she stirred, accidently rubbing against him as she stretched out. She rolled over to face him, more beautiful in the morning light and without makeup than when she stole his attention in the bar, if that was even possible.
“Morning, yourself.” Initially, he pulled back from the kisses of last night, offering her a more restrained merging of lips, at least until her desire demanded more, regardless of who could walk in on them.
Tongues pressed, hips grinding together … No, he must invoke some sense of self-control.
“Look, as much as I want to, I don’t think this sun lounge would take the kind of beating we’d give it.” He couldn’t believe he was the one slowing things down but he didn’t want their first time to be like this.
“I’m not looking to beat anything without coffee.” There it was, the flirtatious smile and slight shrug of nonchalance that had him hard again.
“Miss Davies, are you asking me on a coffee date?”
“Not until I go home and get out of these ‘walk of shame’ clothes.”
“No!” He thought quickly, not trusting her to go home, rethink the crazy night and in a moment of clarity, ghost him. “I mean, the shops should be open. How about we do something random, go in, find a store and grab something quickly. My shout.”
“Okay, but let’s make it interesting. We go to the first op shop that’s open and I get to choose what you’re wearing!”
“You’d wear second hand clothes?”
“Of course, I told you, dad died, and mum was always investing our money in catching the next husband.”
“Then, Miss Davies, let me buy you something to wear to our first coffee date.” He forced a grin as she smiled at his discomfort getting up. At least he pulled himself together enough to offer his hand in an exaggerated fashion.
He wasn’t going to let her go until he had to.
Flicking through the clothes, he picked her size easily enough, but the clothes were a different challenge. He didn’t think the nude dress was her everyday wear, but she was keeping her face straight no matter which clothes he pulled off the racks.
“Do you dress for men or women?” he eventually asked, needing some guidance to stop her from standing back and laughing at him.
“What’s the difference?”
“If you dress for women, then it’s all about competition, impressing your friends with being on trend and the total ensemble.” He could have kicked himself, the only way he’d know was from being around women a lot. Something he was already trying to live down.
“Go on, what if I was dressing for a man?”
“Well, if I was your man,” he could reclaim any lost ground. “Then I’d want to see you in something that you’re comfortable wearing, that feels good to the touch and most importantly can be taken off with one hand.”
“Ahh, so you don’t like heaps of buttons or complicated lacings?”
“Sweetheart, if you’re gonna wear a shirt with more than three buttons done up, expect me to bite them off with my teeth.”
“Duly noted, well I like to dress for me. I’ve never needed clothes to get a guy and my friends and I dress however we please.”
“Here,” he found a short black canvas skirt, straight so it should fit over the hips he had gotten to know so well last night.
“I could wear that.”
“With … these,” he matched a faded rock band t-shirt and red flannel shirt.
“They’ll go great with four-inch heels!”
“Go and get changed before I change my mind and insist that you wear that dress all day just so I can try and imagine you out of it.”
While he had been going through the rows of women’s wear, Xanthe had already picked out a tight fitting, pale blue t-shirt. “What about jeans or pants?”
“Nothing I could pick out would fit you better than the ones you’ve already got on, I want to see you in the t-shirt, count your abs without using my fingers and then figure out where the Mack truck starts.”
Now that they were having so much fun flirting, he wanted to slow play her, tease her out and make her work for everything he was going to give her. There was no doubt in his mind that this was more than a one night or even one night plus coffee fling. If she got the job, she’d be moving onto base and he could see her any time.
A fast and furious fuck and forget was off the table, he knew from bitter experience that life could get complicated and even though the base was full of his one-night flings, Xanthe wasn’t like other women and for once he didn’t want her to feel awkward if they ran into each other if whatever they ended up having ended badly.
No, he knew she’d be worth the wait and building her up until she was about to burst would be half the fun.
Xanthe
Xanthe expected him to offer to come in and help her change and was a little put out that he didn’t at least try to remove her dress. She was not immune to feeling him against her on the sun lounge, resisting the urge to either push her hips and grind against him, or reach around and feel for herself.
She wasn’t looking for a relationship, especially not with someone she could be working with! Hell, that was even more stupid than staying with a cheating boyfriend, which she would have done if Krys hadn’t dragged her away that night and threatened to confiscate her mobile if she responded to any bleating text.
Relationships and love never lasted, her mother had taught her well.
The skirt fit, tighter than she would normally buy, but that was the cut not because he got the wrong size. In her high heels, it made her legs look longer and the dress look shorter, but not necessarily a bad thing. At least her expensive spray tan was getting a good showing off. The over-sized t-shirt could have been a dress in its own right. With a little effort, she ripped the bottom strip off so the t-shirt now ended above her waist band. If she stretched up, Mack would expect to see her bra, and she figured the expectation would keep him entertained for at least a couple of hours.
The flannel shirt could be worn open or tied at the front, either way it was comfortable and relaxed. He barely knew her but picked her style, uncomplicated, low maintenance but highly rewarding. For the right guy, and the way Mack was playing his cards Xanthe was ready and willing for anything.
Mack’s uncensored reaction when she came out of the change room didn’t disappoint. His eyes started at her eyes, worked all the way down, widening at the slight bare midriff, taking their time down her legs and back up again.
“You owe me coffee,” she said when it was clear he couldn’t.
A silent nod and he paid, even tossing in a pair of black pumps to change into from her heels. Not quite yet. She liked this attention and was willing to play it for all it was worth.
“Where to for coffee?”
“There’s a place near my gym, it does a mean egg-white omelette.”
“I’m more a sausages, bacon and egg kind of guy but I’ll give anything a try.”
“Good to know.”
Xanthe didn’t even think about the consequences of taking Mack to one of her regular cafés until their breakfast had been served. Mack almost inhaled his sweet potato waffles with a side serve of bacon, mascarpone cheese and drizzlings of maple syrup.
“You’re right, this is good,” he said as she reached over and wiped some syrup from the side of his mouth before licking her fingers.
“Hmmm,” she let out an exaggerated moan, “I’m thinking we could recreate that scene from ‘When Harry Met Sally’.”
The eyes that hadn’t left her all night glazed over, “You know, I’m gonna explode if you keep doing that and I can guarantee you that you won’t ever need to fake it with me.”
“Hey, Xanth, is this the random you sicked on me last night?”
Crap. She looked over at Mack who hadn’t reacted other than to watch for hers.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea,” she really didn’t. This place made the best coffee and breakfast and she wanted to impress Mack. What the hell was her ex even doing out of bed so early!
More importantly, she panicked, what would Mack be thinking about her! She could feel her body start trembling, not wanting their first date to end because she picked the wrong bloody café.
“Sweetheart, sorry for eating more than my half, I keep doing that, don’t I,” Mack threw her a cheeky smile as he swapped their half-eaten plates around as familiar as if they did this for all meals.
“You know you’ll need to be punished, later,” she teased, relieved that he was taking the uninvited guest in his stride.
Xanthe screamed as her ex reached over and swiped the plates onto the floor, food sprayed out across the room, the shattering of the ceramic plates and the metal cutlery rolling across the tiles bringing the café to silence.
“You fucking slut!” He screamed loud enough for the whole café to hear. “Coming here with your one-night random and expecting me to stand back and watch! Who the fuck do you think you are?”
Xanthe sat frozen as her ex stood over her expecting a reaction, maybe tears or embarrassed cries seeking his forgiveness. Despite knowing Mack was only a table away, she couldn’t look away from the verbal onslaught, not long ago her ex was the love of her life and now he was trying to tear it apart.
The insults continued to fly as Xanthe struggled for composure. This couldn’t be happening! All happy and sexy thoughts vanished. In an uncontrollable full body shake, Xanthe wanted the room to open up and suck her in. Being insulted in front of people she knew, how could she ever face them again. And Mack, what would he think.
Ever so slowly, Mack got to his feet, easily towering over her ex by a head. With the force of his voice he faced her ex. “First, you’re going to apologize to Xanthe, you will explain to her that seeing her here and happy with another man hurt your feelings and that you have nothing but the utmost respect for her.”
“Wwhat if I ddon’t?” her ex stuttered as he now tried to back away.
“We won’t need to get to that. So first there’s the apology to Xanthe and it will be sincere enough for her to believe you – after all she knows your bullshit when she hears it. Secondly, there is an apology to everyone in this fine café. You interrupted their breakfast and used language unbecoming. Third you will apologize to the staff here before cleaning up your own mess.”
Xanthe sat on her hands to try and stop them from trembling. Mack hadn’t used any physical threats but the café was silent, waiting for the situation to further unfold.
“Are you seriously with this guy?” Now she saw the hurt and fear in her ex’ eyes.
Xanthe looked to Mack who raised his eyebrow with a slight nod. The smile across his face or hers couldn’t be faked. After the craziness of last night, she had no idea where it would lead to but, yes, she was seriously with this guy. Without looking back at her ex, she nodded as Mack’s smile widened to match her own. Her shaking stopped and she didn’t care what happened next.
“Xanthe, I know I screwed up. But you know I’ve everything to get you to listen to me. Last night, that girl and I, well sending you the video was messed up even for me.” The petulance she never appreciated continued, “Alright, I’m sorry that I love you so much that seeing you with another guy made me say that shit. Okay?”
He turned to leave but Mack stood firm in his path. Xanthe wanted it all to be over, but Mack wouldn’t back down.
“That wasn’t a full apology, but we’ll get to that. You still have steps two and three.”
“I gave her what she deserved, now get out of my way.”
“No, the staff here work hard to serve their customers, create great food and then clean the dishes. They don’t deserve to clean up the mess from your jealous tantrum.”
The café remained silent until her ex went through his options, shoulders slumping as he gave up. “Everyone, I’m sorry. Xanthe dumped me and it fuckin sux to see her with someone else. I love her enough to want her to be happy but its bloody hard when her happiness is out in public. Sorry I crashed your breakfast.”
The waitress had the broom and dustpan waiting for him and Xanthe tried not to notice when he cleaned up the broken pieces underneath their table. As he finished brushing up the last shards, the waitress took great pleasure in placing a fresh plate in front of them, complete with two clean forks.
“Our ‘Lover’s breakfast’, enjoy.”
One large croissant, filled with strawberries, dipped in egg mixture and cooked like French toast, with a side serve of warmed chocolate sauce.
“Now, this is a breakfast,” Mack ignored the fork, tearing off a piece of the buttery pastry, dipped it in the sauce before feeding it to her.
Xanthe would have agreed, if she could speak.
Mack
When did a first date end and the second start? Last night, the flirting at the bar wasn’t really a date, but when Xanthe came back to the party with him, that had to count as the beginning of their first date.
Did it stop when they fell asleep? Was clothes shopping the second date or breakfast and did it ever have to end?
After breakfast, Xanthe changed into the pumps and they wandered around the town and then down to the beach. Not satisfied with just holding hands, his arm remained slung around her shoulder and he like the way she had tucked her fingers into the waistband of his jeans. Her high ponytail flicking him every now and then in the sea breeze.
The unpleasantness from the café was not discussed. He hated bringing out the military Mack to settle things, but no person was going to abuse another in his presence, especially not abuse his woman. He’d be gone in just over a week and he needed to do something to protect Xanthe and her reputation after he left.
His woman. Mack couldn’t remember the last time he thought about any woman as his, opening up thoughts of commitment he’d spent years avoiding. Enough already! He wasn’t cut out for relationships, his parents taught him well.
“So, how do you think you’ll like life on base.”
“I don’t know, I’m hoping that work will be busy enough that I just fall into the swing of things.”
He’d never seriously dated someone from the Army, not even one of the non-commissioned staff on base. Too close to home and if things went pear shaped then women with broken hearts only created bullshit he could live without. One-night stands was about the most he was used to, with women who didn’t want anything more. A couple of exceptions but even then they were better off without him.
“Xanthe, if you don’t get the job, this thing between us is really easy. We try the long-distance thing, we sex up skype as hot as you want. We grab some dirty weekends away and mess up as many hotel rooms as we can get kicked out of.”
“I like the sound of that, not that I don’t get the job, but my consolation prize.” He tightened his abs as she ran her fingers down them, kissing the top of her head.
“But if you do get the job, we need to be smart. The base is huge, but small at the same time. If you and me crash and burn, it could get awkward for both of us and it doesn’t look good for women when relationships go bust. I’m sorry, but I care enough to tell you how it is.”
“So you want me long distance, but not on base?”
Mack pulled them to a stop, standing on the sand with the water lapping around their bare feet. “Last night when I first saw you at the bar, I had ever intention of ending the night with you in my bed, screaming out my name. After the phone call with your ex, I wanted to show you exactly where a man should put his hands and how those nipple rings should be used.”
The pale-green eyes looked up at him with the same confusion he had thrashing inside. She wasn’t making it easy for him to do the right thing by her and her old man.
“At the party, the sun lounge seemed like a great place for our first time, in the dark where no one would come looking for us.”
“I thought you said it couldn’t take the beating?”
“If you remember, that was after we got to know each other. Xanth, I’ve wanted you in the worst possible way from the time you first ignored me at the bar, now I want you in the best way. I want to do this right, for both of us and that means not doing something now that you might regret in a week or so.”
“I leave tomorrow for my interview and if I get it, I’ll stay on base for all the medicals and on-boarding.”
“So, either you come back before I leave and we start with messing up your bedroom before we move onto hotel rooms,” he gave her a taste of the kisses to come.
“And if I get the job?” she panted, those eyes softening like clockwork.
“Then I hope you don’t mind if I look you up when I get back to my unit. We can hang out on the down low until we’re both sure.”
“How will we know?”
“Because I’ll buy you that thin chain and you’ll wear it around your neck.”
Xanthe
She loved her new job!
The whole medical unit was a well-drilled machine with one goal – to get and keep the soldiers battle-ready. For the first two weeks, she didn’t have time to be home-sick or think about anything other than not getting lost and trying to remember all the acronyms and terminology so unique to Defence and made no sense in the real world.
What she didn’t expect was how insular life could get. Most of the staff were involved or had been involved with other staff, but the prize for most of the women was the uniform and rank slides their lovers were wearing. More than one kept souvenir photos of them wearing their lover’s slouche hat with the Unit Color Patch showing. There were lover bingo competitions, and even monthly challenges where one of the units would be pulled out of a hat and any member was fair game.
“What about the ones that are married?” Xanthe had asked the girls who readily invited her to their after work drinks.
“You’ve heard the expression, what happens on base, stays on base. It’s only a problem when the wife finds out,” one of the nurses shrugged.
“And she always does!” the physio laughed.
“Only because you told her!” the nurse shoved her. “Charli keeps forgetting I was there to witness the little scene. So Xanthe, are you ready to join the games?”
“Maybe later, I’m still trying not to get lost.”
At first she thought the women were playing at sex as hard as men did. Until she started to see the fractures beneath the surface. Most of the women were all talk and only some action. The boasting was to hide the hurt when he didn’t call or got posted, and didn’t call. Or when a long forgotten wife appeared, with children and he expected his girlfriend to understand.
Was this what Mack had been warning her about? He wasn’t married, so what was the problem?
Taking a short break in her office, she flicked through her phone. Texts after steamy texts from Mack made sure she didn’t feel forgotten or ignored. She expected the sexts, but not the conversations. Gradually he got her to open up abut her childhood including precious memories of her father. Things she had long forgotten were shared with this man who should have been a one night stand but had become so much more.
He hadn’t wanted to share about himself in return, but within a week his short, one-word answers about his family turned into screens. Once his older sister left home, his parents all but left him for their own careers and travels. Almost raising himself, the independence, strength and resilience that Xanthe admired were his necessary survival traits of a boy raised to believe he was unworthy of their attention, or any real relationship.
“Have you figured out what we have in common?” he asked her earlier that morning.
It was crazy, talking by text instead of just dialing and hearing his voice. Somehow, it was easier to be honest behind her keyboard. “We both want to see your monkey?”
“Cheeky girl!” His next text was quickly followed, “Relationships.”
“You’ve got me confused – I don’t do relationships well.”
“Neither did my parents or your mother. Neither do you or I. Why is that?”
“Love doesn’t last,” she sent the message without thinking. Trapped by the uncensored honesty of communicating by phone.
“What if it could?” She could imagine him punching the buttons on his phone. Short fingernails out of proportion to the long, thick fingers and broad palm. Hands big enough to cover her waist, strong enough to hold her and yet gentle enough to raise up her chin for one kiss.
Damn him! She put her phone away and went out to the reception area to check on her afternoon schedule.
“Yet another five new patients wanting to check out our Ms Davies!” Jodi handed over the updated client list. Charli grabbed it from the receptionist before Xanthe could, ticking off the names with a commentary.
“Oh, here we go ladies, Mackenzie, Damon!”
“He asked for the last appointment of the day,” Jodi smiled. “If she’s going to start with someone, it might as well be him.”
“Who is he?” Xanthe kept her face blank, Mack warned her that he’d been around but it wouldn’t hurt to hear it from her new friends.
“Only the hottest, most fuck-worthy player on base. Believe me, when he offers to show you his monkey, go for it. He’s worth the ride.”
“Just don’t get too attached to it, as soon as you think you’ve got it sorted, the ride is over and he’s moved on,” Jodi hugged Charli, “We’ve all been there and got the scars to prove it.”
“Nah, doesn’t seem my type,” Xanthe wondered how many of her colleagues had already taken the ride. Was this what Mack had been warning her about?
“Honey, he’s every woman’s type.”
Crap.
“Lieutenant Mackenzie, nice to meet you, I’m Xanthe Davies …” she barely closed the office door before he had her pressed against it, his mouth ravaging hers.
In one movement, he released her hair from the tight bun until it fell across her face, their bodies pressed together until they came up for air.
“Xanth, oh, babe. I’ve fuckin’ missed you.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” she forced herself to point to the exam table, overwhelmed by his presence. For weeks he had been words on a screen, delving deeper inside her mind and heart. Now, he was all body, totally The Mack.
“I guess by now you’ve heard about my reputation?”
He sat on the bed while she pulled up his records on screen, trying to get a professional perspective.
“Am I the only female here you haven’t slept with?” Things she couldn’t have asked in a text.
“You’re the only one I’ve dated.”
She’d seen all she needed to. Perfectly healthy and fit specimen of a man, requiring no further assessment from her. She closed his file.
Purposefully sitting across the room in her office chair when all she wanted was to be in his arms. Her head warned her to keep her distance while her heart was already spoken for. Still, she pressed, “Lieutenant Mackenzie, you are perfectly healthy so perhaps you’d like to tell me why are you really here?”
“I know how women talk, I figured as soon as I put my name down on the list, you’d find out all about me. Better to have it out in the open now than later.” The slight bite of his lower lip was his only tell that this was a conversation he’d been anxious to avoid.
“What if I don’t want to be another number.” She clenched her teeth together in a forced smile, twirling a pen absently. Anything other than thinking that what she felt hadn’t been so special and that all those texts could have been another routine perhaps cut and pasted from his pursuit of a thousand other women.
“Babe, I told you, if you ended up here we’d play it slow until we’re both sure. I don’t want them talking about us as if you didn’t mean something. We passed that point somewhere between nipple rings and camembert on our first night.”
Xanthe wanted to believe him but needed to focus on something neutral, “I’m liking my job.”
Instead, Mack laughed and this time when he opened his arms, she went to him without thinking, “Good, and I want to hear all about it but let’s be smart about how to go about things between us. When do nominations for your next unit challenge come up?”
“You know about that?”
“Of course, we do. Is there anyway you can swing it so it’s my unit?”
“Why?”
“Because then we can hide in public. Everyone will think I’m too stubborn to give up on the new girl and you’ll get respect for playing hard to get.”
Breathless she whispered, heart overruling her head, “What if I don’t want to be hard to get.”
He pulled her between his legs. “I want you to be hard to get, impossible even. I want you to go to sleep every night and think about what you’re missing.”
“This monkey I keep hearing about?”
He laughed, “Baby, you can see my monkey any time you want but I have a different gift for you today. I was going to call it a congratulations on your new job present, but … well, open it.”
A small long box appeared from his shirt pocket. No wrapping or card. Xanthe opened to find the finest rose gold chain. He then handed her a smaller box. The chain was almost expected, but she held the second box almost afraid to open.
“I told you, I’d give you the chain when I was sure. Xanth, you’ve heard about my reputation so it’s gotta mean something that I haven’t been with another woman since I met you. That might not mean a lot for other guys, and it’s not for a lack of interest, from women I mean not from me.”
Xanthe looked at the clock, they only had a couple of minutes before questions would be asked.
“What do you want me to do with it?”
“When you’re sure that this is something you want, more than hanging out and having fun, then wear the chain.” One last kiss and she had forgotten the second box until after she had finished all the paperwork and was closing up her office.
Two, rose gold nipple rings. A perfect match for the chain.
Mack
Xanthe had worked her magic and her new friends even helped try to set them up as part of the unit challenge. To their chagrin, he was obviously content to take things slowly, as far as they knew Xanthe was playing hard to get and his friends were taking great delight in ribbing him about the one girl he couldn’t introduce to his monkey.
Nothing mattered other than Xanthe and the way he felt whenever he saw her name appear on his phone or the anticipation of hanging out. He knew she wanted to feel the same, only surrounded by his exes wasn’t easy, for either of them.
He felt her walk into the rec hall before he even saw her through the crowd. There was something about feeling a connection to another human being that he couldn’t describe, he certainly never felt before.
Xanthe and her friends joined his unit’s table, her lips giving him a gentle kiss before his arm made its home around her waist. “Nice outfit,” he checked out the skirt and shirt he had bought her on their first date. Instead of the ripped t-shirt, she had a classic black singlet and while he hoped for the black heels, she had the almost uniform flat black boots.
“This old thing? I only wear it because of the memories.”
“Be careful, Xanthe, our boy gets jealous.” Jodi laughed as Sprout delivered her drink on time and without being asked. The guy was making a serious play and Mack hoped Jodi would give him half a chance.
“It’s okay, Jodes, Xanthe can have all the memories she wants as long as she agrees to let me replace them,” another kiss this time to her neck. “One by one.”
“Oh, you two, get a room already. How long are you going to string him along?” Jodi asked, “I’ve never seen him wait this long for any woman.”
They shared a look, before Mack kissed Xanthe’s cheek and told the group, “Who says I’m not the one playing hard to get? After all, if I’m only going to be with one more woman for the rest of my life, I’d better make sure she’s worth it.”
There, he put his intentions out for a reaction, and he got one. Three of his former one-night stands were at the table and even though they ended on good terms, none of them would have expected him to want to settle down, let alone settle down with one woman.
“We need to talk,” he didn’t protest when Charli and Jodi pulled Xanthe away to the ladies’. He’d been honest with Xanthe and if she didn’t know how he felt by now, she never would. And if she couldn’t handle working with his past, well, now was as good a time to find out before she became his future, in every way.
The “talk” took longer than he expected and it was time to head into to the movie theatre with the girls all still MIA. Nervously, he tried to keep up with his mates’ banter while watching the door to the bathrooms, wanting to see her face and get a heads up on where her head was at.
“Mack, what do you reckon?” Reith got his attention with a punch.
“What?”
“Get your mind of your dick and back in the game. Do you reckon they’re about to send us back over?”
“Dunno.” Fuck, the signs were there. Training had ramped up, most of his unit had been subjected to so-called random fitness and medicals. The brass had been conspicuous wandering around training and calling the Captain off to the side for animated discussions. Yep, something was brewing and he’d been oblivious to the signs.
“Better make the most of these nights with your girl, unless you think your personality is big enough for her to miss.”
“Yeah.”
He saw Jodi come back first but couldn’t read her expression as she ignored him for Scout’s arms. He didn’t know if her intention had been to talk Xanthe out of getting involved with him or to tell her how to tame his beast. He tried not to worry, but it would help if Jodi would give him some sign.
Charli followed. Theirs had been far more intense and for all her claims of never falling in love, he knew they crossed the boundary of “just a fling”. Not exactly sex on tap, but for over a year if ever they were single and in the mood, somehow he always found his way to her bed, at least for a night.
Not since Xanthe.
Not for lack of invitation, he just didn’t have the inclination any more.
Finally, he saw Xanthe. She looked for his eyes and the world parted as she returned to the table and any questions had to wait until the last call to the movies played over the public address system.
Smiling broadly, as if she held a secret that he needed to know. She twirled her pony tail before releasing the band, quite deliberately, but it was only when she shook out her hair that he caught the glimpse of gold.
Rose gold.
The thin chain he’d presented her weeks ago was finally around her neck.
“Hey, you.” She’d never been so blatant in public before her arms around his neck and her body fully against his.
“It’s taken you bloody well long enough.”
“Shut up and kiss me like you mean it,” so he did.
Xanthe
One, long, drop-the-panties kiss before they escaped from the cheers of their friends into the dark theatre.
“Are you sure?” he whispered, taking her hand in the dark. “I mean, I don’t want to talk you out of anything, but what did the girls say?”
Xanthe squeezed his hand. The girls had been very blunt about what Mack was and had been to them. There was no opportunity for her to pretend this was going to be a romantic love story, or even that it would end well. Most likely it would end in her heartache, but so what. At least there was a chance he’d be worth it. An even smaller chance that he meant about her being special.
To hell with waiting, she’d been crazy about him since the first night and this self imposed “waiting for a sign” that which was only wasting both of their time.
“I agreed that I’m sure I want to see this monkey that all the girls are talking about.” A forced smile to hide her insane jealousy, “I’ve heard the reviews but need to see it for myself.”
“You know that the chain means more than that, at least it does to me.”
“When was the last time you gave jewellery to any female.” As soon as she said it, Xanthe wished she could take it back. Don’t ask questions, she thought, that you don’t want to know the answers to.
They were interrupted by the thunder heralding the start of the movie and for the next hour or so, Xanthe held out for his answer, partly hoping he forgot the question. Instead, even when they walked out she waited, getting more panicked. What if this was his go-to move and she’d been played, he might have been trying to figure out if Jodi or Charli had given away his secret. Still, since they had sat down, he hadn’t released her hand, their fingers playing their own games.
Meeting up with his unit outside, Scout slapped Mack on the back, “So are you guys looking to party on?”
Mack squeezed her hand, “Never.”
Scout scoffed, “What, you’re never gonna party again?”
“It’s up to the lady, I said ‘never’, what does she say?”
There was only one answer and it would confuse the hell out of their friends, “I’m sure.”
Mack
“So, this is really happening?” he drove her car off base to her nearby unit. About fucking time he got to see and play with what she had on under that skirt.
“Unless your monkey disappoints, and then I’ll have to hand you back to your unit for a refund.”
“Funny girl,” he’d never pulled into a driveway so quickly and hoped she was at least a little impressed at his smooth slide over the bonnet to open her door before she had the chance.
“So, you’ve got the girl back to her place, now what’s your move,” she teased.
“I don’t know,” as he jiggled the key to open her front door. He’d never previously been in this situation. “Usually, it’s been a drunken evening or a night of flirting that leads to ending up in bed. I’ve never … well I’ve never actually done it like this before.”
“I can’t drink because I’m on call, so you’ll have to pull out your plan B.”
“I don’t have one,” he shrugged, walking around the small bedsit. No room for a man in her place, but what about her life? “I mean, what does a guy usually have to do to take you to bed?”
“First, they need to give me a reason,” she handed him a beer and he noticed she had stocked his favourite even though she didn’t drink the stuff.
“Well, Miss Davies, I’m a soldier and at any time I could be called off to war and die.”
He loved her laugh, even more than her smile if that was possible. “Really, that’s your line – fuck a soldier before he dies!”
“When you put it like that,” he put down the half-finished beer to take her back in his arms. She had called his kisses “panty-removers,” now was the time to see if they really worked. “It sounds almost your patriotic duty.”
“But is it a good enough reason,” she asked, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his camo singlet as they stood at the end of her bed. “I mean, if you’re about to go off and die, then why should I bother?”
“Because, Xanthe, there is no other woman in the world I want to see my monkey.”
He pushed her down onto the pale blue doona, loving how the soft down feathers cradled round her body. Where to start first? He knew that after dreaming of her nipple rings for months, once he saw them they would demand his full and undivided attention. They could wait a little longer. Reaching around, he undid her skirt as she released his pants.
“Impressive, but do you know how to use it?” He ignored her challenge as his kisses lead a trail up her inner thighs to the black lycra teddy.
“New?” He tensed, knowing the question was unreasonable but he needed to know that no other man had touched her wearing the lingerie, damn it he couldn’t stand the thought of anyone touching her before him.
“Would it matter?” she pushed his head away. “I get the protective, but not the possessive. If I tell you that I’ve worn this for every lover I’ve ever had, will you walk away?”
“Have you?” Seriously, he knew he was being unreasonable but she was doing his head in. He’d been honest about his jealous streak, even how it was the reason that one-night stands were easier for him than relationships because he had seen too many of his unit get the “dear John” letters.
“Does it matter?”
Those pale-green eyes that had drawn him in their first night looked for the truth without revealing hers. He hated the thought that they had ever softened for another man.
Xanthe or no Xanthe. His undeniable truth was that he wanted to be her only man for now and forever.
“The only thing that matters is that as long as we’re together, you never wear it for anyone else – male or female or both.” He held himself over her body in a one-handed push up. She’d never know how frigging difficult it was to hold straight on the soft bed but the only way he was going to play with the nipple rings was if he lifted her top.
“I bought it last week, for you,” her words soft music to his ears. “I kind of killed my credit card by replacing all my underwear and lingerie. Nothing will have memories other than you, if you’re ready for the challenge of working through them one,” she leant up to kiss him. “By one.”
“Fuck, I want you,” to hell with the nipple rings, one hand went low to open her as he tried to see how far she’d let his kisses could take them.
Xanthe
In the passion of the kissing, feeling his fingers tease her to the point of no return, she almost didn’t hear the on-call buzzer go off.
“Shit,” he rolled off and threw her the buzzer and her phone.
“I’ve gotta …”
“I get it.”
Xanthe tried not to look at Mack as she checked her message and called back. “Yes, it went through to message bank before I could pick up … absolutely, I’m at home but will be there in fifteen … fine … see you then.”
“Five more minutes, if only we had …” she pleaded with Mack for understanding.
“Speak for yourself, I want our first time to be like our first time sleeping together – all night and all the next day. What happened?”
“There’s a plane landing with a dozen injured. No details, but they want me there to help with the initial assessments and …”
“You don’t have to explain, at least not to me.” It wasn’t one of his panty-stripper kisses, but enough to show he understood. “Let’s get you dressed and back to work.”
Xanthe stood in front of him, wishing things were different when she removed her top, and then slowly dropped the teddy from over her shoulders, giving him his first look at her breasts wearing his gift.
“Next time, let’s spend less time watching movies, and focus on playing with these,” he said. She shivered as he twirled each ring with his tongue before expertly removing them.
“I’m gonna hold you to it,” she moaned, dropping the rest of the teddy and pulling herself away from his arms to get changed back into work clothes.
Luckily the base was close-by and he found a car park outside the clinic.
“So go off and save the half men,” he joked.
Xanthe couldn’t let his comment stand, “I judge a man on more than his wheelchair.”
“Then you’re a better person than me.”
Mack
He knew as soon as the words came out of his mouth it that it was a fucking stupid thing to say, and he didn’t even mean it.
How on earth could he tell her that the fear of every soldier, whether he admitted it or not, wasn’t dying but coming back half a man. Not dead, but not able to be a soldier again. Anything less than a soldier, unless he retired of old age, would make him half a man.
There would be no reason for him to live, they might as well send him off on a kamikaze run and do some good.
If Xanthe stuck around long enough, she’d understand and if she didn’t, well, he’d go back to one-night randoms and give up on the idea of ever being a one-woman man. Black teddy or no black teddy.
Given what Xanthe had said about the incoming injured, the call to report for duty the next morning didn’t really surprise him.
Captain Greenwood addressed the briefing. The unit was needed to uphold their reputation with an immediate surge and strike manoeuvre. An immediate communications black-out with no time for a last call home.
“Rule one,” the Captain, otherwise known as Rip shouted to end the briefing.
“REAPERS COME,” the shouted reply.
“Rule two,” even louder.
“REAPERS SEE,” they matched him and waited for the final rule.
“Rule three!”
“REAPERS CONQUOR.”
“And don’t forget,” always the pause, two, three, “NEVER LEAVE A REAPER BEHIND.”