Off Base by Sophie Jordan, Tessa Bailey Read Free Book Online Page B

Beck’s graphic description of what he wanted to do with her blazed through her middle like a lightning storm, but the sweetness that followed, his covering her breasts, laid a balm over the scorched earth left behind. She felt pulled in two directions and each one was equally appealing. Sex with him wouldn’t be as black and white as she’d hoped. The tingling in her neck said run, run away and don’t look back , but when she remained silent too long and a hint of vulnerability crept into his expression, she knew it would never happen.
    Messy or not, she was running headfirst into the oncoming storm.

Chapter Five
    Beck studied Kenna from the passenger seat, wishing like hell she’d say something.
    See? This is why he kept his sinful thoughts to himself. Since Beck could remember, he’d been tested by desires that a good man had no right to feel. At age fourteen, he’d even gotten the nerve up to confide in the youth minister at his church, but instead of giving Beck a way to control the urges, he’d been instructed to ignore the need to…rut. Not just to have sex, but to recreate the sweaty, flesh-slapping images his mind conjured up. He’d been told that they were the work of the devil, that lovemaking was a quiet, caring act shared between husband and wife. Over time, he’d learned to keep the thoughts at bay until late at night, in the dark, when they wouldn’t remain caged any longer. It had worked well enough until Kenna had sauntered up to him at the landing zone and mental hell had broken loose.
    Everything he’d said to her had been truthful. The afternoon he’d woken up to find her gone, he’d been so painfully erect, he’d been forced to ease himself before rising from the bed had been an option. She’d poked the sleeping bear inside him and now it roared through his insides, looking for its mate. Last night in the bar, he’d only been capable of mustering a mild appreciation for other women, much like he’d felt for the female soldiers he’d encountered overseas. But he’d needed Kenna. Only Kenna. Didn’t even want to consider someone else’s hands on him. Or hers on someone else.
    Beck had to close his eyes and count to ten, surprised once again by the depth of jealousy the thought of her with someone else incurred. He was leaving Thursday morning, the day after the ceremony. Leaving for good. There wasn’t a man alive with the power of sight who wouldn’t want her for himself. On top of being every male’s sexual fantasy on two legs, she had a quick sense of humor. She was interesting. Intelligent. Mysterious. Knowing how quickly she’d be spoken for, he could already tell boarding that plane on Thursday would be like getting caught in a tunnel blast a second time. Worse.
    His dark realization was cut short when Kenna pulled up outside a greasy, dilapidated garage. “Tell me you don’t live here. Please.”
    “Afraid so, Major.” She cut off the car’s engine. “Still want to come inside, or have you changed your mind?”
    “I have not changed my mind.” Great. Finally, he gets her talking only to insult her home. “I beg your pardon, Kenna. I didn’t mean to come off rude.”
    A smile entered her eyes. “You’re begging my pardon?”
    “Yes, ma’am.” He looked back toward the garage, noticing the sign advertising break inspections was seconds from plummeting to the ground. “It just doesn’t seem safe for a girl living alone, is all. Doesn’t your father object?”
    “I’m an adult, Major. I decide where to lay my head.” She shrugged. “Besides, I think as long as I moved out and gave Tina room to move in, I could have gone to the moon for all he cared.”
    Beck experienced the same irritation he felt when the lieutenant general hadn’t thanked her for the beef jerky, and then again when Tina hadn’t offered her a drink. “I don’t like you being treated that way.”
    She stared through the windshield for a moment before returning her attention to him.