Chapter 6 Jace
JACE
We stepped into the Colorado sunshine, a brisk chill in the air, but all I felt was heat rolling off Monroe.
Or rather, the heat she’d stirred in me when I almost kissed the fuck out of her a moment ago.
Maybe if it weren’t for her busted lip, I might have, or maybe I would’ve been brave enough to whisk her away into a janitor’s closet.
For fuck’s sake. I wanted this woman more than I wanted to fly again.
What the hell? Flying was my soul, but I was finding that Monroe gave me the exact same feeling I had when I was streaking across the clear blue sky.
“The football field is this way,” she said.
I had to think for a second as to where we were going. She was making me forget where I was. Hell, who I was. Like we were back in high school again—all hormones, high libidos, and reckless hearts.
“Should we talk about what happened inside?” My voice didn’t sound like my own, but I needed to address the elephant in the room. I needed to know how she felt. If she was feeling that pull, that need, that want that drove two people to do crazy, sexy, and downright mind-blowing things together.
“Nothing happened,” she fired like a damn missile, her words hitting me in the chest.
“Seriously, Monroe? You didn’t feel a thing in that hallway? I know you felt what I felt.”
“And what was that, Captain Callahan?” The question stammered out of her, showing her nerves.
“Do you want me to spell it out?”
Shouts and whistles sounded in the distance from the football field.
She gave me a long glance as we walked in step. “I would love to hear it.”
I chuckled at the mere fact that she was going to make me work for her answer. Though I would go out on a limb and bet she would shy away when she heard how I felt about our heated encounter.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” I grabbed her hand as we both came to a halt. The pulse at her wrist thudded against my thumb. “Look at me.” I wanted her full attention and to see her expression.
She straightened her spine, puffing out her chest, then raised her eyebrows. “I’m not a fragile person.”
“And I’m not one to pull punches. So let me be clear.
I felt the way you melted into me. I felt you shiver when I dragged my fingers along your cheek.
You were a second away from letting me kiss you until the sound of the door made you jump.
But what I really wanted to do was shove you up against the wall and kiss you like you’ve never been kissed before. ”
She barely shivered. “Is that so? Anything else I should prepare for?”
“Prepare? Do you plan on letting me have my way with you, Teach?”
She poked me in the chest. “Now, it’s my turn. Don’t think for a second you can get in my pants so easily. Or kiss me like you’re the only guy on the planet. Are you that cocky to assume that you can get any woman you want? Because I’m not any woman. I have standards. Morals.”
I leaned in, my mouth at her ear. “You also have needs, Monroe. Tell me you’re not wet under that dress. Tell me you don’t want my tongue teasing you, my body pressed against you, or dare I say, me inside you.”
Her breathing ramped up as she nuzzled her nose into my neck. “I don’t want those things.” Her voice was weak at best.
Fuck, I was so ready to do all those things to her that blood was pooling in my groin.
“You’re lying to yourself, Monroe. There’s a strong connection between us.” I nibbled on her ear. “You feel it just like I do. Just know—”
“Monroe,” a male voice called out.
She froze, stiff and solid, breath catching as she tried to push me away. “Shit.”
I created distance between us as a brown-haired guy strutted toward us as though he thought he owned the world.
“Be nice,” she said to me or maybe herself. “Ryan, what are you doing here so early?”
The light bulb flashed on. “Ex?”
She subtly nodded, appearing to be digging for the courage to confront him.
I would guess that the divorce had been volatile.
He assessed me then her then me again. “I came to watch our son practice. Who’s the flyboy?”
“Jace, meet my ex-husband, Ryan.”
His uniform indicated he held a rank of an enlisted E-6, Technical Sergeant. Even though I was an officer, I wasn’t about to pull rank on him in a school parking lot.
So I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you.”
The fucker snubbed me and rounded his attention on Monroe. Anger, hot and fast, had my jaw as tight as a violin string.
“Have you learned anything in the military?” I asked him.
His nostrils flared. “I’m not on base. Therefore, I don’t owe you any respect for practically groping my wife in public.”
Monroe fisted her hands at her side. “Ex-wife. And for someone who cheated on me, you have some nerve to be jealous. What would your girlfriend think about that?”
Cheated? That in my book was grounds for war. If I had been married and my wife had cheated on me, I would be in jail for murder. Not sure who I would’ve killed, but someone would’ve died.
My parents had had a great marriage until my dad passed away from a heart attack about five years ago. He’d always told me and Caleb that the union between a husband and wife was sacred.
Ryan squared his broad shoulders. “Fiancée.”
Monroe rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t have stopped the laugh if I tried.
She shook her head and started for the football field.
Ryan glared at me.
“Jace, are you coming?” Monroe tossed over her shoulder.
I hurried to catch up with her, leaving Ryan in my wake. “That went well,” I muttered, still feeling the heat of her against me long after she’d stepped away.
“He’s… Argh! He used to be a great guy, but I’m not sure what went wrong. Though the more I think about it, the more I realize we were too young to tie the knot.”
I rubbed my hurt shoulder that was beginning to throb. I’d been taking Advil left and right, but the pain meds were wearing off.
“Shoulder bothering you?”
“Nah. Just a twitch. I’m more worried about you.”
She smiled albeit not warmly. “Don’t. I have to find a way to deal with him since we have a son together.”
“If it helps, I got your back.” Not that I wanted to be in the middle of a post-divorce war. But for Monroe, I would. It would tear my insides to shreds to see her in pain of any kind.
We crossed the parking lot to the football field, where kids were running cone agility drills.
“That’s sweet of you. But I don’t need help with Ryan.” She clutched my wrist as we stood near the bleachers. “You seem like a nice guy, but I’m not in the market to date. I have a lot on my plate. But thank you for sharing about your brother and participating in Career Day.”
She’d gone from hot to freezing in a matter of minutes. Hell, it had been years since a woman had dismissed me or rather, told me in so many words to fuck off. I would be lying if I said her words didn’t feel like a stake in the heart.
Any sense of tension or pain I felt went by the wayside when my phone rang. I wanted to ignore it, but if it was Major Lawson, he would make my life hell if I didn’t return his call from earlier.
I pulled my cell from my flight suit, and sure enough, Lawson’s name flashed across the screen.
Brushing my hand across her back, I said, “I’m so sorry, but I have to take this. Give me a minute?”
Despair washed over me as she let out a breath.
Walking away, I braced for impact. I had a feeling Lawson’s daughter had filled him in about Career Day, not that I’d done anything wrong.
“Yes, sir.”
“Sabrina tells me you did well at Career Day,” he said, not one ounce of pride steeped in his voice. Rather cold and direct.
“Is she your spy?” I couldn’t help myself.
He clucked his tongue. “I hope you explained the cons of flying.”
I tossed a quick glance over my shoulder at Monroe, who was reading on her phone. “She only wanted to know about my G-LOC, sir.”
“I would prefer that she find a career that is less dangerous, but she’s set on becoming a pilot for the Air Force, which isn’t your problem.
I called to give you your next assignment.
Captain Braun would like you to help him with his F-15 Eagle class until the medical board clears you.
It will be a good experience for you to get some teaching under your belt. ”
I shoved a hand through my hair, holding in my frustration. Since my G-LOC, Lawson had me doing everything like I was his gopher. Still, assisting a class full of cocky bastards like me had to be better than the crap I’d been doing for Lawson.
“I know nothing about teaching,” I said.
“But you know the F-15 inside and out, so that makes you an excellent candidate.”
There was no sense in arguing. Orders were orders whether I liked them or not. “Any word on the medical board review?”
“Not since you asked me yesterday. Now, as far as your new assignment, report for duty in the morning at 07:00 sharp, and one more thing. You won’t have time to volunteer to help the football coach.”
I’d forgotten I mentioned that to him during a morning brief the day before. He’d been pleased that I was interested in volunteering. “Anything to support the community is always an honorable thing,” he’d said,
It might be honorable, but I’d been pulling my hair out that I wasn’t flying.
By the time I hung up and turned around, Monroe was gone.
Growling to myself, I searched the area but only found her ex sitting on the bleachers with a red-haired woman who was talking in his ear. I would bet the redhead was the reason Monroe had taken off.
Anger blew through me, and if Monroe were here, I would kiss the fuck out of her. Part of me wanted to piss off her bastard ex. The bigger part just wanted her. I despised cheating, and it was all I could do not to march over to him and punch the fuck out of him.
Instead, I headed to my car. It was probably best to give Monroe time. Hell, I needed some to unpack whatever the hell was going on between us.
Was I ready for a relationship? Was she? Probably not to both questions. For one, I moved around too much. And two, she probably despised military men, thinking that they all cheated on their partners.
So I had no chance with her anyway. Yet, for the first time, my heart wasn’t on flying. For years I’d kept things light, kept things moving. But the fact she’d left without a word, just walked away, that gutted me. Maybe I was ready for someone like Monroe. Maybe I was ready to set some roots down.