Off Base(4)

The unexpected flare of jealousy propelled the truth out of him. “Mary was my high school girlfriend. We’d been going together since freshman year, followed each other to the University of North Georgia. Everything was fine, until I took the ASVAB test.” He still recalled being summoned out of class to discuss his unusually high results on the military aptitude test with a recruiter. “After that, everything happened so fast. I was shipped out before the ink dried.”

“I know the test.” She measured him with a look. “That explains how you’ve been promoted to major so young.”

“All due respect, Kenna, twenty-six isn’t young when you’ve been where I have.” He barely managed to keep his gaze from dropping to her parted thighs on the seat. “Speaking of, how old are you?”

Her grin was pure mischief. “Twenty-two.” Oh no. This girl was too young to be lusting after, wasn’t she? As if she could sense the direction of his thoughts, she hauled him back to the present. “Tell me about Mary.”

He swallowed, unable to believe he was sharing the story out loud. “Mary was the pastor’s daughter in our town. We were…she was…waiting. For me.” He waved a hand. “And then she didn’t.”

Kenna pursed her lips. “Like, waiting until you came home to get married?”

Had he turned green? He felt green. “Yes, for marriage and…waiting in general. For other things. We both were.”

He saw the moment everything clicked into place. Her eyes widened. Yup. She was transporting a virgin. A cuckolded one at that. “Oh. Oh, wow.” She was silent a full minute. “So Mary—oh God, the Virgin Mary—was waiting for you to come home, so she could give you her…flower…but someone else plucked it. Do I follow?”

“That’s about right.” He could see the barracks in the distance, telling him the ride was almost over. Half of him was relieved, the other half oddly nervous about her leaving.

“When did you find out Mary had done that to you?”

“She sent the letter about a year ago, although it might have been going on longer. I don’t know.”

Kenna pursed her lips. “Most men wouldn’t have wasted any time finding out what they’d been missing.” She slid him a glance. “Why not you?”

“I’d already waited nearly a decade, I figured one more year wouldn’t kill me. Especially when there were men and women fighting for their lives and losing every single day.” Men like his childhood friend, Xander, who Beck had sent on his final mission. “What did I have to complain about, you know? There might have been opportunities if I’d looked for them, but I didn’t want to. It felt wrong.”

Beck was surprised to see they’d pulled up in front of the barracks. Kenna looked a little shocked herself as she shifted the car into park. “I’m sorry. Finding out in a letter…that really shouldn’t have happened to someone like you.”

“Hey.” He sent her a half grin, hoping to dispel the heaviness he’d created in the car. It was suddenly important he not leave her with a negative impression of their short time together. “I’m here on solid ground, ain’t I? Living and breathing. That’s more than a lot of soldiers can say.” Beck took one last look at her pretty face, memorizing her upturned top lip, wishing he could get one last peek at the glowing green eyes hidden behind her sunglasses. Her stubborn chin. It felt wrong to leave her, but what choice did he have? She wouldn’t very well want to date the pathetic, betrayed virgin he’d revealed himself to be. Even if she did, he only had four days at Black Rock before flying back to Georgia. “Goodbye, Kenna.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I must have done something right along the way to earn a ride from such a pretty girl, huh? You take care now.”

A lump stuck in his throat as he heaved his bag through the door and climbed out of the car.





Chapter Two




What the ever-loving f*ck just happened?

Kenna stared out the windshield of her car, watching Beck climb the concrete stairs leading to his home for—how long? A day? A month? They hadn’t gotten around to the particulars of his stay. There’d been no real small talk, had there? No, he’d bared it all in the span of ten minutes. Just do not pass go…do not gawk at the magnificent virgin in the passenger’s seat. Because as she watched him move with a mixture of unassuming grace and innate confidence, she could freely admit that yes, he was indeed magnificent. The set of his shoulders, the sturdiness of him said this was a man who moved mountains if he put his mind to it.

No, there was no if about it. He had. Or at least he’d managed to shift something mountain-like inside her in a mere ten minutes. What was she supposed to do with these sucky, yucky feelings? Just watch him disappear into the barracks, effectively letting him get away with it? People—men, especially—usually took one look at her storm-trooper-meets-Cyndi Lauper look and wasted no time lobbing innuendoes at her head like mud-covered softballs. She never cared because those dudes all blurred together in a rippling sea of douchebags. This guy wouldn’t blend. He’d confided in her, and she was heavy with that responsibility. She…liked being heavy with that responsibility, which made no damn sense.

At the top step, Beck turned his head, catching her gaze through the windshield. She would go to her grave thankful that no one was in the car to hear the noise that left her mouth. It went something like ohhhnooowhuu. If he’d managed to keep the entreaty from those intense blue eyes, she might have driven off and endeavored to forget about Major Beck Collier, virgin extraordinaire. But it was there, even if he didn’t realize it. He needed someone. Someone kind and compassionate. That someone definitely wasn’t her, but he sure as shit needed someone, and there was no one else around.