Chapter 10 #3
Brain felt a little weird that he was enjoying the fact that Aspen was getting worked up on his behalf.
He needed to finish this story and make his point.
“Right, well she was never very affectionate, but I chalked that up to her strict religious upbringing, which she’d told me about.
We kissed a little, and fooled around, but it wasn’t until after she’d taken her Farsi language test for the Army—and passed—that we slept together.
“We’d both gotten a little drunk, and one thing led to another.
We ended up in bed, and I thought everything was great between us.
But the next morning, she woke up…and she definitely wasn’t happy.
I just thought it was because she was hungover, but she quickly enlightened me.
Told me that she didn’t think things were going to work out between us, and she appreciated my help with Farsi, but now that she’d passed her test, she was breaking up with me. ”
“What a bitch!” Aspen seethed.
“I can look back now and see the signs. They were all there. Not wanting to hang out in public. Never wanting to do anything with me but study. Being reluctant to do more than kiss. Hell, she had to get drunk in order to fuck me. The thing of it was…I’d truly thought we’d connected.
But the bottom line was that she was using me for my smarts.
It really was too good to be true, but I was the dummy who’d thought we were on our way to something serious. ”
“And what? You think that’s what I’m doing too? Using you for some unknown reason? Is that why you’re thinking about her?”
“No, not really. But sometimes I can’t help but remember that sometimes when something seems too good to be true, there’s a reason.”
Aspen shocked the shit out of Brain when she threw a leg over his lap.
She straddled him and took his face in her hands and met his gaze as she said, “I don’t care that you know French, or German, or Farsi, or any other language.
I mean, it’s amazing and wonderful, and I admit to feeling a bit inadequate as a result, but that’s not why I’m going out with you. You want to know why?”
Brain stared at her. “Yes,” he said simply.
“Because when I’m with you, it’s as if we’re the only two people in the world.
Being with you makes me happy. I feel a connection to you that I’ve never felt with anyone else in my life.
If anything, I’m the one who should be worried about you deciding I’m not worth your time.
This isn’t too good to be true. At least, I don’t think so. ”
“Me either,” Brain said.
“Good. So put the bitch Deidre out of your mind. She’s not worth thinking about for one more second.” Then she scooted closer, and Brain felt his dick twitch. If they were naked, they’d be as intimate as two people could be. He could shift just a bit and he’d be inside her.
“Kiss me,” Aspen whispered.
She didn’t have to ask twice. Brain gripped the back of her neck and held her tight as he brought his lips to hers.
At first their kiss was sweet. They nipped and teased each other playfully. But Brain needed more. Always more.
They kissed for several long minutes. Until Brain knew he needed to go before he exploded in his pants.
Aspen was rocking against him, caressing his cock with her unconscious movements.
He wanted her. More than anything else, ever.
More than his first Master’s degree. More than a spot on the Deltas.
But he didn’t want to rush things. Wanted her to know he respected her and, if he was being honest, he kind of liked the buildup of anticipation.
He hadn’t felt this alive in a very long time.
Tonight didn’t feel like the right time to make a move on her.
She had to get up early, and he was tired as well.
He pulled back and watched with lust as she licked her lips, puffy and slick from his kisses.
“You’ll really take me to Austin tomorrow to see Holman?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Brain nodded once. “I’ll pick you up around one-thirty. Text me if something changes and you don’t want to go anymore.”
“I’m not going to change my mind,” Aspen told him gently. “And wouldn’t it be easier if I came to your house?”
“No. Because then you’d have to drive back here when we get home, and I don’t know what time that’ll be. I’d prefer for you not to be driving around after dark,” Brain told her.
Aspen smiled. “I’ve been driving at night for a long time,” she told him. “And I’m practically a Ranger. I’ll be fine.”
“Humor me,” Brain told her, not changing his mind. He wasn’t usually paranoid, especially about driving around Killeen at night, but everything was different now. He couldn’t stand the thought of Aspen getting hurt. Not when he could prevent it.
“Okay. Fine.”
Brain nodded, then he leaned forward, kissed her once more—because he couldn’t keep his mouth off her—and stood, with Aspen still in his arms.
She screeched, then laughed as she clung to him.
Smiling, he let go of her legs and wrapped his arms around her waist. They stood intertwined together in front of her couch. Since they were about the same height, he could look straight into her eyes. “I had a good time tonight.”
“Me too. I’m glad you got home safely,” she told him.
“Get off that leg,” he ordered.
“I can walk you to your car.”
“No. It’s late. If you walked me to my car, then I’d have to walk you back up here to your apartment.”
She grinned. “Fine. Are you ever going to see me as competent when it comes to safety?”
“It’s not about competence. It’s about me wanting to be the one keeping you safe.
I know you’re on a Ranger team. I know you’re a combat medic.
You’ve had a lot of the same training I have.
But, as your boyfriend—and when we aren’t in the middle of a firefight in Afghanistan—I simply can’t see you as anything but a vulnerable woman. My woman.”
Brain internally winced. He’d mucked that up royally. He wouldn’t blame her if she dumped his ass right then and there.
But she simply smiled wider. “I’d be stupid to take offense to that,” she told him. “As long as you do realize that I’m not helpless. I’ll never be the kind of girlfriend who lets her man take over her life. I’ve been on my own for a long time, and I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”
“Noted. I’ll do my best to rein in my caveman tendencies,” Brain said, relieved she wasn’t pissed.
“So I can walk you to your car?” she teased.
“No,” Brain said with a shake of his head.
Aspen laughed. “I was kidding.” She leaned in, kissed him, then took his hand and towed him toward her door. Brain followed docilely, sneaking a peek at her ass as she walked.
She stopped and turned. “Were you checking out my butt?”
“Yeah,” Brain admitted immediately. “It’s pretty damn nice.”
She grinned. “Turnabout’s fair play. You can’t complain in the future when I check you out.”
“Deal.” Then he ran his thumb over her cheekbone. “Thanks for letting me come by.”
“Anytime. And I mean that,” she told him.
Brain backed through the open door, knowing if he kissed her one more time, he might not be able to stop. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Drive safe.”
“I will.”
“Text me when you get home?”
Brain tilted his head. “I’m sure I won’t have any issues getting home.”
“Humor me.”
“Fine. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Kane.”
“Bye.”
Brain forced himself to turn and walk down the hall and away from Aspen. It was almost scary how much he cared about her. He was going to do everything in his power not to fuck this up…even if he had no idea how.