Chapter 7
Ivy couldn’t believe she was here. As the plane touched down at the Norfolk airport, she told herself that she was every kind of fool! She shouldn’t be here. She should be back home making plans for her next adventure.
So why did the thought of going off on another trip fill her with dread? That was what she did! That was her life! She’d been traveling ever since winning the lottery, taking pictures, and…and she didn’t want to do that any longer.
But then what was she going to do?
The flight attendant smiled, indicating that the passengers could now disembark from the plane. Ivy grabbed her bag and stepped off, walking down the ramp to the airport terminal, her mind still filled with questions, but unable to come up with good answers. She walked slowly, her mind a bit frantic. The other passengers flowed around her and she knew that her slow pace was irritating. But at the other end of this walk was Gunner. She’d called to tell him when her flight would land and he told her that he’d be there to pick her up.
What the hell was she doing?! This wasn’t going to work and she was just going to get her heart stomped on when she and Gunner reverted back to their normal, teasing ways. She’d start plotting various ways to kill him and he would continue to drive her nuts because…well, that’s just what they did!
Except…last weekend, they didn’t. Last weekend, he’d been funny. He’d teased her, but it had been gentle. And the way he’d touched her…! Ivy came to a stop, closing her eyes as she remembered the way he’d touched her. In so many ways, he’d touched and tasted and made her crazy – but in a good way. It had been…beautiful!
Could they do all that again? Or had last weekend been a fluke? It had to have been a fluke! This was just…why the hell was she here?
Ivy looked around, wondering if she should just turn back to the ticket counter and wait for the next seat on any flight leaving Norfolk.
But that would be cowardly. Yeah, last weekend might have been a fluke, a crazy, wonderful weekend that she could cherish in her mind for the rest of her life. And this weekend might be different. But didn’t she owe it to Daisy to at least try to be friends with her brother?
Yes, that made sense. She started walking again, determined to be strong. She wouldn’t let Gunner tease her like he had in the past. She’d be cool and composed. If he reverted to his teasing manners again, she’d calmly talk to him and tell him that they needed to mend their communication style so that they could be friends and she didn’t feel the need to leave town whenever he came to LowPoint.
Feeling better, stronger, Ivy started walking again. Yes, this could be good. She would learn something from this weekend. She and Gunner would learn how to be friends. Sighing, she nodded to no one in particular as she headed out of the airport terminals and into the main area.
As soon as she stepped through the doors that separated the arriving passengers, she saw him. He seemed to be twice as big as the other people waiting for arriving loved ones so it was easy for Ivy to spot him.
And in that moment, she forgot all of her promises to be cool and composed. Instead, her heart started that heavy pounding and…one moment, she was searching for him in the crowd and the next moment, she was throwing herself into his arms. Those strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her higher and then he was kissing her. No private greeting for the two of them. As soon as his lips touched hers, Ivy was lost! She wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers diving into the soft strands of his hair and, unknowingly, her legs wrapped around his waist as she kissed him back with all of the mad lust that she’d been tamping down over the past week.
The soft chuckles finally broke through the lust and she pulled back, breathing hard as she stared at Gunner.
“You’re here,” he mumbled, still holding her in his strong arms.
She laughed softly, feeling good for the first time in a week. “I’m here,” she confirmed.
“I didn’t think you’d show up.” He lowered her feet to the ground and grabbed her duffel bag, slinging it over his shoulder then draped his arm around her waist to pull her against his side.
“I almost didn’t come,” she admitted, looking up at him. She was wearing black leggings and black boots with three-inch heels and just a blousy, white shirt with a red, oversized sweater. The heels brought her up to six feet tall, which meant he was only half a foot taller than she was. So looking up at him was easier on her neck.
“I’m glad you did,” he told her and kissed her. “Come on,” he urged when he pulled away. “Let’s get back to my place before things get out of hand.”
Ivy’s first instinct was to demand why he thought things would get out of hand. But since his hand moved to the small of her back at that moment, causing a shiver to spark through her body, she muffled the question – already knowing the answer.
He drove her back to his place, a beautiful house that his sister, Daisy, had insisted on buying and decorating for him. It wasn’t huge, but was just right for his larger than life proportions. Only about twenty-five hundred square feet with a huge kitchen, because he enjoyed cooking, a large dining area – because his SEAL team came over to his place often and all of them were big guys – and three bedrooms. As he led her down the hallway to the bedrooms, it was pretty obvious which one was Daisy’s since it was decorated in bright colors, sunshine yellow walls, white bed with lots of pillows and splashes of green.
Ivy was given only a brief glance at Gunner’s room but she took in the massive bed, the darker colors, and an utter lack of decorative pillows. She’d just started chuckling when he lifted her into his arms, tossing her onto his bed. “Think something is funny?” he asked, following her down, bracing himself over her with a hand on either side of her head.
“Yeah,” she lifted her hands to run eager fingers over the hard muscles in his chest and arms.
“Care to share?” he asked as he stripped her clothes off, mercilessly kissing every inch of skin he revealed.
“No decorative pillows,” she said, gasping when he pulled her leggings off and kissed the arch of her foot.
“Hell no!” he growled and stripped off his jeans and tee shirt. He wasn’t wearing boxers and she gasped when his erection sprang free, remembering every delightful moment of last weekend.
“I was going to try and make this just a casual, ‘we don’t have to fight’ weekend,” she admitted, almost forgetting to breathe as he joined her back on the bed.
“No sex?” he asked with a tone of horror as his eyes drank in her slender body. His hands moved to her knees, spreading her legs wide so that he could see all of her.
“That was my plan,” she gasped with both excitement and apprehension as he looked at her. She knew that he could see how turned on she was. And his intense expression only increased her excitement.
“Yeah,” he muttered, sounding distracted now. “Bad plan,” and he leaned forward. Ivy recognized his intent in his eyes and tried to wiggle away. But he only laughed, grabbing her hips and pulling her right back to him.
With a giggle, Ivy tried to escape but…well, this was Gunner. He didn’t allow terrorists to escape, how could she even stand a chance?
And truth be told, she wasn’t trying all that hard. So, when he “caught” her, she only laughed and enjoyed the ride.
That night, he took her out for pizza at a local restaurant, then they – shockingly – sat on his big, deep sofa and watched a movie. Of course, after the movie, he made love to her right there on the sofa. But afterwards, he carried her to his bed and she slept curled up against his side, his arms holding her close. The rest of the weekend was just as wonderful. No fights. No irritating teasing. Just an amazing number of orgasms and a shocking amount of laughter. They even managed to converse during meals, talking about just about anything.
When he drove her back to the airport Sunday night, he held her in his arms and, to her, it felt as if he didn’t want her to leave.
“When can you come back?” he asked, his hands moving up and down her arms like he was trying to memorize her curves.
Ivy bit her lower lip, not wanting to sound too needy by offering to fly back here next weekend. Good grief, she wanted to stay with him. Daisy, Marilee and Tony were back in Kentucky, but…she really wanted to stay with Gunner.
But that desire scared her and she pulled back, looking up into his eyes. “I have some research to do this week,” which wasn’t a lie. She really did need to come up with ideas for her next trip, but it didn’t have to be this week. “I could fly back here in two weeks.”
She braced herself for rejection. Or teasing. Or…anything. But he only pulled her back into his arms.
“That seems like a long time from now,” he sighed, his voice deep and husky in her ear. “But if that’s the soonest, then I’ll take it. I can fly to Kentucky next month. That’s the next time we have free time. Otherwise, we might have weekends off, but we’re still on call.” He pulled back and looked down at her. “You understand that I might be called away and I can’t tell you about it, right?”
She smiled, understanding perfectly. “Daisy grumbles about your job all the time,” she pointed out. “But we understand.” She lifted up onto her toes and kissed him. “I’m proud of what you do,” she admitted.
But with that admission, she blushed and pulled away, shocked that she’d revealed so much to him. “I have to go,” she told him and bent down to pick up her bag. “I’ll…” she wanted to say that she’d call him when she got home, but that seemed…she wasn’t sure that he wanted that from her. That seemed like more of a relationship. Neither of them had defined what was going on between them, but it was most likely just sex. Really good sex. Amazing sex! But just sex.
So, she pulled back. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks.”
And then she turned around, afraid that, if she didn’t hurry away, she would burst into tears. Which was silly! She and Gunner were just…having fun. This was progress, but it wasn’t serious. Whatever was happening between them, it was just…fun.
Over the next three months, Ivy flew out to Norfolk, Virginia to be with Gunner almost every other weekend. He was able to get away from Virginia for one long weekend, but there were several times that he was called away. One moment, he was there and they were having a good time, the next moment, he was grabbing his “go-bag” and was out the door, kissing her goodbye.
Ivy understood. She was disappointed to see him go during those times, but she truly understood. And he more than made up for it when they saw each other the next time.
And still, Ivy refused to define what was going on between them.