Charlie
Two weeks pass and as much as I hate to admit it, I’ve enjoyed being around Mark. We connect on so many levels. Today we’re going shooting, then he somehow coerced me into going to Jackson and Catherine’s wedding. It also could’ve been that Catherine almost demanded it. It’s weird, having friends . . . that are girls.
“Ready?” Mark comes out of the bedroom wearing his camouflage pants and brown tee that clings to every delicious curve and crevice of his chest. My mouth waters while I stare at him. His hair hangs long enough he could pull it back. I really hope he doesn’t or we’ll never make it out of here. I’ve become insatiable when it comes to him.
Could be the fact that he gives multiples. A lot.
“You ready to have a girl show you how to shoot?”
He rolls his eyes as he grabs the guns. “I was a sniper.”
I shrug. “I think we should wager.”
“You really think that’s a good idea? You and I are competitive enough without adding on top of it.”
I slide next to him in his Jeep and push his hair back. “I’ll make it worth your while,” I say in my sexiest voice.
“You love my dick. I don’t need to bet to get you naked.”
“Smug asshole.”
“You know what? I like winning, so sure, I’ll bet you. Make it good because you can bet your fine ass that I’ll counter.” He backs out of the driveway.
Mark and I seem unable to stop ourselves when it comes to one upping the other. I don’t doubt he’s a good shot, but he has no clue how good I am. I won every award for shooting during the academy. When I was young, it was the only sport my father would allow me to compete in. He’d say, “A woman who can shoot cannot be taken down. Remember that, Charisma.”
“Hmmm,” I pretend to need a minute. “Let me think about this.”
We pull up to the range a few minutes later as I finally figure out what my bet should be.
“So? What’s it going to be?” he asks as he opens my door.
I hop out and he cages me in against the car. “Well, I have a few ideas but since you’re a sniper and all, I should get a handicap.”
“Ha!” He laughs in my face. His arms wrap around my hips as he tugs me close. “You’re out of your damn mind. How about this . . . If I win, you tell me your name, and if you win, tell me your name.”
“Or not.”
His lips touch the tip of my nose. “You’ll cave soon. I can see it.”
“So, if I win, I want something good. I’m thinking a full day of anything I want.” I wiggle my brows and he smirks.
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
“I don’t know about that.”
My fingers slide up his chest. I relish in feeling his muscles tense at my touch. “I give you my name, you give me anything I want for a day.” I continue my path until my fingers tangle in his hair that just touches the back of his neck. “I think it’s a fair trade.”
Mark stares into my eyes, and seems to weigh the offer. “I don’t think this is a good idea, beautiful. You wouldn’t offer to tell me your name unless you thought you had a good chance of winning.”
I hate him sometimes. “Or I just really want to tell you already and need some incentive.”
“Liar.”
“Maybe.”
“You know what? I have no doubt I’ll outshoot your ass, so I’ll take your bet.”
I smile deep within, but on the outside, I look a little scared. This is going to be so much fun. Of course, there’s a chance I could lose to him, but I’ll take that risk. He might play down to me, and I will be sure to get in his head a little.
We enter the range, which is on the outskirts of Virginia Beach. You can tell it’s a Special Operations type range. There’s a host of barriers and targets. It gives a wide variety of positions and angles to shoot from. Remaining shielded will be a challenge, but I learned how to shoot on the move. I think I actually have better scores when I’m forced to be mobile, since that’s how most shooting is done anyway.
It’s not very often that we fire our weapon from behind cover and have time to take a clear shot. I know all about adapting and still making a good shot. However, there’s no way to lie to myself that this isn’t Mark’s course. He has the advantage, so I really do need to be on point.
“Okay, do we want to just say best scores?”
“I think that’s the most fair. Three points for any center mass shot, two for body, and one for head?”
Mark scratches his head, “I won’t even ask how you know the Navy’s scoring.”
I grin. “I know my stuff, shiny vampire boy.”
“Oh . . .” He nods his head with a smile. “Now you want to trash talk on top of this?” Mark shifts back and crosses his arms over his chest.
“I figure we should keep it authentic.”
“Fair game then, Charletta.”
“What?” I laugh.
“I’m running out of names.”
“Come on, let’s go see your stellar skills.”
We grab the ammo, get our stations set up, and his friend behind the counter follows to monitor it and keep it fair. He seems easy enough to sway my way. I give him my best smile, bend a little to show some cleavage, and make sure he’s watching.
“Not happening.” Mark looks over with a no nonsense smirk. “Why don’t you just go over the rules, Pugh.” He gives him a look that I can only imagine makes the poor guy want to crap himself.
“Don’t be mean,” I scold Mark.
“Don’t show him your tits.”
“I wasn’t.”
He steps forward, grips my face, and kisses me breathless. I try to fight off the desire that builds, but I’m lost to him. I kiss him back, uncaring that anyone is around us. That this is supposed to be a competition, and I’m supposed to be messing with his head. All I care about is his lips against mine. The way he possesses me completely when he holds me like this. Butterflies flutter in my belly as I envision him making his claim in front of everyone. The testosterone he exudes makes me want him more. I’m so fucked.
“Now . . .” He turns me around and slaps my ass. “Let’s see how much you cry when you lose.”
And all the turmoil is gone. Just like that, he pisses me off and calls to my dominant side. “Yeah, let’s see who is the bigger girl.”
Mark grabs the nine, loads it, and holsters it. I close my eyes to avoid the throbbing taking place between my legs. He’s so sexy right now. Armed, in uniform—but I lose it when I open my lids to see him brushing his hair back. Now, I’m unable to stop myself.
I head over to him, fist my fingers in his hair, and practically climb him. My mouth adheres to his, and I can’t imagine doing anything other than this. He’s hot, and right now, he’s mine.
His hands hold the backs of my legs while I kiss the life out of him. I need this. I need to feel him, and I’m slightly hoping this catches him off balance—but this is want and I’m deluding myself.
After God only knows how long, I pull back. “Hi.” I’m a little out of breath.
“Hell-fucking-o.”
“There’s something about you and your hair.”
“I think you like me.”
I groan. “I think you’re hot.”
“And you like me.”
“Just your dick.”
“And me too. You can say it.”
He releases me, gives me a peck, and a smirk. “I don’t!”
“Whatever you say, Charlie.”
“Good! Because I say I don’t like you. Just the sex.”
Pugh stands to the side watching us. I forgot he was there. “You guys should make movies.” He shifts and adjusts himself. Gross.
Mark’s protective side seems to explode as he pushes the guy back so he hits the wooden pole between us. “Keep your fucking comments to yourself. Got it?”
“Relax, Dixon. Just saying that was hot.” He seems to be unimpressed with Mark’s hostility. “Let’s get to the game, eh?”
I stand back, leaning against the pole to watch the interaction. Mark seems to cool off as fast as he got heated, but really, Pugh just did my job for me. He’ll be slightly distracted.
We go over the rules, and thanks to a coin toss, Mark goes first. It allows me to see the course first hand, get the lay of the land, and prepare. It’ll give me a chance to almost run it with him in my mind.
“Okay, blindfold her,” he tells Pugh. He hands him a rag.
“What?” I squeak.
“No way in hell am I giving you any advantage here.”
“No way in hell are you going to blindfold me!”
“Charlie.” Mark sighs with exasperation. “Put the blindfold on. You’re not watching this. I would expect the same if you went first.”
No, no, no. I’m not doing it. During our night training, I was once blindfolded and left for hours. I refuse to experience that again. And I’m not telling him my name. Yet, I always honor my bets. Damn him.
Okay, I can do this. I can find the confidence. I can beat him because I’m Charisma Erickson. I’m a badass female who can outshoot any man I’ve ever shot against.
“Fine!” I allow my anger to flow through me. “Give it to me, you giant pussy. You’re sooo good that you need to blindfold me? Big, bad Navy SEAL is afraid of a girl.”
He grins. “I love it when you get all mouthy. Makes me think of new ways to shut you up.”
“Suck my dick!” I yell at him as I throw on the blindfold.
“How very G.I. Jane of you.”
“If you even think of touching me—I’ll bite it off.” I warn him as I slide to the ground.
“Okay,” Pugh says before we can continue our fight. “Highest score wins.” He reviews the course with Mark, and because I’ve lost my vision, my hearing is heightened.
I listen to everything I can. Standing, prone, kneeling, and then back to standing. I at least know the first four obstacles. If for some reason we tie, the fastest time will be the breaker.
“Ready?” Pugh asks.
“Oh, yeah,” Mark affirms, and I can imagine his face. That smug smile, the side eyes on me, before he runs his fingers through his hair.
Shooting is a high. Shooting ignites you with a power that you can’t explain. The thrill of handling something so deadly with so much precision.
I hear the gunfire pop off fast. The bullets bang as they hit the metal targets one after the other. Bing, bing, bing. After a few more seconds, all goes quiet. I’m practically bouncing in my skin.
The sound of their boots crunching grows closer. “Ready, princess?”
So, we’re back to that nickname. I pull the fabric from my eyes as his face comes into view and toss it at him. His eyes are alight with joy. I can see how much fun it was for him. The enjoyment oozes from his entire face.
“Only thing I’m ready to do is hand you the tissues.”
“Tissues?”
“For all the crying you’re about to do.” I jump up and pat his cheek.
His head falls back as he laughs. “God, how much I love you—” He locks his gaze with mine “Talking shit to me.” He tries to play it off as though he was finishing a sentence.
There’s that awkward moment between us, but I laugh it off. “Good thing I’m really good at it.”
I turn away and dispel a heavy breath. There’s no way he loves me. It was only a slip. A stupid slip, like when you accidentally say it hanging up the phone. Instinct. That’s it.
“Happy shooting!” he says to my back.
I turn and glare. “Put the blindfold on, vampire boy.”
“I already shot.”
“I don’t want you to see how I do!”
“I can’t get an advantage.”
I stalk forward, rip the blindfold from his hand, and tie it on. “You also can’t distract me this way. Now sit down, shut up, and be a good little boy.”
“You’ll pay for that.”
“I’m so sure.” I roll my eyes and prepare to kick his pompous ass.
Pugh explains the course, same as he did for Mark. We get back, I crack my neck and find my center.
Here we go.
I fly through the course, hitting my mark better than I could’ve imagined. I don’t concentrate on the bet, the targets, or anything except me and my breathing. Everyone presumes the key to shooting is aiming, but it’s actually about timing your breaths. That’s what’s instrumental in making sure you don’t pull the round. When you’re at that perfect release, you can hit anything effortlessly. So I time myself, counting my in and out. I shoot better than I have in a long time. His ass is grass.
Once we’re done, Pugh tallies my score. If Mark beat me, it’ll be by a hair.
“Feeling confident?” Mark asks. He wraps his arm around my waist. I swear he’s always touching me.
“Did I mention I won a target competition at age ten?” I boast. I haven’t mentioned a word of it.
“Okay.” Pugh gives his hands a loud clap. “Ready to hear who won?”
“Sorry, Charlie.” Mark says stretching his arms overhead. “I’m so ready to know what to scream out tonight.”
I slap his unprotected stomach. “Let’s hear it.”
Pugh looks at his paper. “Okay. The winner is . . .”