Chapter Two
Jacob parked his truck in the small parking lot in the back of the bakery and got out to stretch his legs. He’d made pretty good time and was able to take in the area as the last remnants of sunlight faded behind the town hall on the other end. It was quaint, cute, the kind of town he could picture walking down the sidewalk with a wife on one arm, while his kids ran ahead asking for ice cream. Yeah, someday, but not yet. He hadn’t met the future mother of his ice cream- begging children yet.
His cell phone dinged with a message.
You there yet?
He replied - Just got here. Will call w info in am K
He looked back through at his other missed messages. Chance’s confirmation of Cherry’s apartment number and her phone number. Then, a few more pics of her. Her strawberry-colored curls framed her face, showcasing her emerald eyes and full, red lips. He couldn’t wait to match her voice with her face and finally see her for real. Glancing around one last time, he turned back toward the bakery. It was time to meet his new roommate, not make an ass out of himself, and start his undercover mission slash vacation.
The quiet night was interrupted by the screech of tires, and his body reacted to the potential threat. He bolted the half-dozen steps to the crosswalk and yanked a woman in the process of crossing out of the street, just as a white, beat-up Ford POS barreled past them, swerving, and just barely missing the trash cans on the other side of the street. His move would have worked well, if she hadn’t dived at the last second.
They went flying, and he wrapped his arms around her, maneuvering his body so she landed on top of him. He landed on his back on the sidewalk with a grunt. But the woman was safe.
And pissed off. She shoved at him, hard, and wriggled off him with a loud curse. “What the hell, Lancelot? I had that under control. I was jumping out of the way of that stupid ass. If you hadn’t tried to play hero, we wouldn’t both be sprawled out together on a sidewalk on Main Street.”
He noticed her purse lying open on the ground next to them and reached for it, holding his temper in check. Unfortunately, she reached for it at the same time, and his forehead met hers with a loud crack. Damn!
“I’ve got it.” Her back was turned, but he could read the anger and frustration in her voice. “Okay, Curly, you do that. I’m going to stay right here until you’re upright. I’ve been pummeled enough for the night. Just don’t poke me in the eyes, and we’re good.”
He must have gotten his head knocked harder than he thought. His tired brain was taking him into Three Stooges territory. He got a good glimpse of her ass when she bent over to get the rest of her stuff, her long, red curls in disarray around her face. What a gorgeous ass it was. Perfect, round, filling out her black leggings in a way that made his cock surge to life. Nope, no head injury. But he was getting a bit uncomfortable in his jeans. “I guess that makes you Larry.”
“Nah, I’m Moe, the smart one,” she quipped and Jacob felt his lips pulling into a smile. “Well, thank you for helping me save myself.” She finally stood straight, and turned toward him. “Sorry, I yelled at you and beat you up, I’m—” Her outstretched hand wavered when they made eye contact. “Holy crap, Jacob?”
He laughed and pulled himself to his feet and took her much smaller hand in his. “That’s quite a name you got there, Holycrapjacob.”
Cherry Donovan’s melodic giggle sent a shiver down his spine, and her eyes danced with humor as she moved her body sideways while she shook his hand. “I don’t want to take any more chances on getting hurt while I’m introducing myself. So, you’re Jacob. Chance told me all about you. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Cherry.” He had to force himself to get back on task and stop gazing into her beautiful eyes. “Are you all right? Do you want to call the cops? I didn’t get the plate but can give a description of the car.”
“No, it’s okay. It was probably a stupid college kid.” She tugged the purse firmly over her shoulder and gave him a follow me crook of her fingers. “Let’s get you settled into your room.”
He grabbed his duffel from the back of his truck and started up the stairs. Her front door opened easily before she had a chance to unlock it, and he pushed her to the side. “Do you always leave your door unlocked?”
Her eyes blazed. “No. I must have turned the key too quickly on my rush out this morning, and maybe it didn’t lock.”
“You stay right here while I go check it out.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply, before he strode in, and quickly checked all the rooms. The soft squeak of a tennis shoe behind him alerted him to her presence. “I told you to wait outside until I cleared the area.”
“I have mace and have taken enough self-defense classes to defend myself, you big lug.” She glared at him and showed off her commercial grade pepper spray, probably better utilized to clear sinuses than stop an attacker.
But he wasn’t going to get into a fight with her on his first night there. “Are you sure nothing was taken?”
She shook her head. “Laptop, TV, DVD player, everything is right where I left it.”
“All right, the area’s clear.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Do Right.” She rolled her eyes and closed and locked the front door. “Now come on, and I’ll give you a proper tour.”
He followed the woman from his dreams through her apartment. Shit. Dreams were nothing compared to Cherry in real life. Now that they were inside, he could get a better look at her features. Plump, red lips that she nibbled on. It seemed to be a nervous reaction, so he hunched down a bit, trying to make himself a bit less intimidating. At six-foot-five, he was used to using his body to scare people. But the way she kept nibbling on her bottom lip and wiggling her nose while a tinge of pink settled across her cheeks was getting him closer to just saying fuck the mission. He wanted nothing more than to toss her over his shoulder, rip off her clothes, lay her on her bed, and bury himself so deep in her that they would both ache in the morning. Yeah, that wasn’t going to cut it. Not on this mission. Not with this partner.
He hunched a bit more and followed her as she gave him the quick tour of her apartment and the lock-off additional bedroom on the other side of the living room. Her ass wiggled with each step she took, and he cursed his libido, promising himself a very torturous cold shower later. The woman didn’t seem to know it, but she was a walking, talking, joking sex pill. The way her yoga pants sculpted every part of her lower body, her hips, her thighs, her ass. Her Star Wars t-shirt stretched over her amazing breasts. What kind of bra did she wear underneath? She didn’t strike him as the lacy, frilly kind of woman. But the way her nipples peeked out from beneath the charcoal-colored cotton shirt, and their firm, full roundness, also meant she wasn’t wearing the binding type of exercise bras that most of the women in his company wore either.
There were only ten women in his company on base. They were fit, athletic, with toned muscles that most of his buddies all fawned over. But he wasn’t called to the overly fit and active women. He preferred his women with curves. Enough that he could dig his hands into and grip tightly while he pummeled her with his cock. The kind that wouldn’t get hurt if he put some of his weight on her while fucking her hard. The kind of woman that was standing in front of him, with an eyebrow raised as if waiting for an answer. But he didn’t have one, because he hadn’t been listening, instead choosing to undress her in his mind, while mapping out all the different locations in this apartment that he could take her and how. Her room: on her back, spread eagle while he licked her entire body. The shower: held up against the wall with her legs wrapped around his hips while he took her hard and fast. The kitchen: bent over the counter so he could spank her ass and then fuck her from behind. The living room: on the floor on all fours. His room: slow lovemaking, after which he would hold her in his arms while they both slept. He had missed a few rooms. The hall?
Shit, she was still looking at him. What was this woman doing to him? He’d never felt this attracted to a woman before, and it was killing him. His best friend would literally have his head. And his cock was in so much agony, he needed to get out of here ASAP.
“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. What’d I miss?”
She grinned. “Right after I asked if you wanted something to drink, you mentioned us missing the hall. What’d we miss in the hall?”
Damn. “Nothing. A beer sounds great if you have it.”