Her Soldiers
Her Soldiers
Written by:
Christin Lovell
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Her Soldiers
Copyright © 2014 by Christin M Lovell
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All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Her Soldiers
One extra curvy woman.
Two extra sexy soldiers.
Seven months of waiting.
Savannah Sullivan kissed her men good-bye seven long months ago. They’d missed the holidays and her birthday, which meant they had a lot of making up to do.
Ben and Brody Sullivan returned from deployment ready to make up for lost time. But a lot can happen in seven months, and one of them comes home with scars and a secret.
Every military wife knows what she’s signing up for, but signing on the dotted line and facing the reality of it are two totally different things.
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Her Soldiers
Chapter One
Savannah
My stomach knotted as I stared ahead at the huge, empty lot. It was an old, abandoned airfield with nothing but concrete and the very distant view of a forest. I stood with the group of at least a hundred anxious men and women, my excitement mounting into nerves and twisting in my gut. Any moment now, the buses would arrive, delivering both of my men back to me.
Glancing around, I noted that I was the biggest woman there. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. Don’t get me wrong. There was a generous variety of shapes and sizes in the crowd, but I was a good twenty-five pounds heavier than Paula, making me the plumpest of the bunch. I was okay with that, though. I was more than a little curvy, but my husbands loved every inch of me. I took solace in their adoration. Their adoration was what quieted my demons, on the rare occasion they poked my surface.
Smoothing my curve-hugging, little black dress, I peered down at myself. My LBD clung in a non-clingy, ultra flattering way. I’d rolled my hair into a neat bun, adorned my ears with simple studs and my feet in sensible nude ballet flats with gold accents. I’d kept my make-up light but with heavy contouring on my overly round face. I felt like I looked good, and I certainly wasn’t ashamed to be the curviest woman there.
I adjusted the necklace the guys had surprised me with before they left. It had a custom made charm, three gold hearts intertwined. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d held it as tears fell fast and hard. I had to polish away my fingerprints regularly.
Ben and Brody were best friends. They enlisted on the same day, at the same time. They were both in infantry, but in different divisions. They’d both deployed before, but never at the same time. I’d always had one of them to console me, to distract me, when I missed the other.
This time was different, though.
A cold, winter breeze blew in. I drew my oversized cream, cocoon sweater tighter around myself. It was the wrapping paper, covering the abundance my men loved. I smiled, hugging the outer layer snugger to me. Soon, it would be them hugging me. I’d been prepping for their return all week, minus my salon visit yesterday for a manicure, a pedicure and a Brazilian wax. I was still prepping for them now. The payoff was close. Very soon. I could take solace in that.
A little boy, no older than five, tugged on the hem of his mother’s jacket. His brows were knit together, his brown hair blowing in the wind. He seemed so small in his thick, puffy coat.
His mother didn’t look older than twenty-five. Her blonde hair was clipped back, her slender figure dressed practically rather than fashionably. She appeared overly anxious, fidgeting as she stared out at the tarmac. Before the boy could get his question out, she replied, “Any minute now, Jack. Your daddy will be here any minute now.” I could tell by her tone that she was working to convince both of them.
I couldn’t imagine going through the last seven months with a child. I knew it was selfish of me to say so, but, I wasn’t ready for a baby, because I wasn’t ready to be a single mom should both of my husbands be called to duty again.
I was legally married to Ben, which meant, where he went, I went. Brody didn’t get housing as a “single” soldier. So when he was stationed at a different post, we had to get off-base housing so I could go back and forth between them. Working from home as a transcriptionist made that possible, physically and financially. My employers didn’t care where I was so long as I finished my workload.
Splitting my time was hard, but not nearly as difficult as being alone during the holidays, having neither of my husbands to kiss on New Years Eve or on my birthday. Being an Army wife wasn’t easy, but I would do anything for my soldiers. They were my world. I loved them enough to give all of that up.
Sliding the sleeve of my sweater up, I checked my watch. I’d left everything but the truck key in the vehicle, and I’d tucked the key inside my sweater pocket. I didn’t want anything to weigh me down or stop me from loving on them.
It was 12:07pm. Their transport was scheduled to arrive at noon. While the military demanded punctuality, particularly when departing, their troops rarely arrived back home on the dot. Waiting while they were overseas was different than waiting while they were a few miles away. I always had this inane urge to seek out the bus, to drive until I found them rather than wait for them to come to me.
Suddenly, Jack began to jump up and down. “Mommy, Mommy! I see it! I see Daddy!”
My heart began to pound in my chest as I saw the vehicles in the distance; they were so close yet still so far. It didn’t stop those waiting around from celebrating, but I didn’t want to clap or wave a flag. I wanted to hold my husbands in my arms.
It was a solid four minutes before the bus came to a stop in front of us. My heart thumped louder; goose pimples broke out over my flesh as the door opened. Every breath had the icy air stinging my throat and my lungs, but I didn’t care. After seven months, they were finally home; my soldiers were finally home.
Chapter Two
Savannah
“Sergeant Brody Sullivan.”
Stepping forward, I flung my arms open, a grin splitting my face as tears burned my eyes.
He looked exactly as I remembered: tall, lean, buff, piercing brown eyes, a Roman nose, soft, extra plump lips I often had to remind him to apply Chapstick to. His skin was sun kissed from the desert, his cheeks a tad burned, despite the nights being cold there, but I could fix that. I would soothe his aches and my own.
In two strides, he reached me. Dropping his bags, he hauled me against him. His warmth immediately engulfed me as he roughly cradles my plush curves. He felt like home.
I’d been wandering for seven months, and now I was home where I belonged. “I missed you so much.”
“I guarantee I missed you more.” He captured my lips, stealing my reply. He didn’t hold back, thoroughly tasting every inch of my mouth. He didn’t care who was watching; he laid claim to me.
Until that moment, I didn’t know just how much I’d longed for their touch. My body immediately heated, responding to his kiss, to the feel of his hard against my soft, to the weight of him finally being back in my arms.
“Where’s my welcome?” His voice jolted me.
Breaking away from Brody, I took him in. Like Brody, he looked a bit roughed up, his skin darker. Ben’s eyes were darker; his features were harsher and he appeared to have lost some of his muscle mass, his cheeks
and jawline more prominent than I remembered. Upon closer inspection, it seemed Ben had had it rougher away from home.
But he was here now. They both were here now.
I went into his waiting arms. “Welcome home, Sergeant First Class.”
He smiled down at me, his gaze sparking with mischief. “That’s not the welcome I want.”
“Well, it’s the one you’ll have to settle for until we get home.” I ran my fingertips along his jawline, feeling his stubble from traveling the last thirty-six hours. The sharpness of it worried me a bit, the way his face cut in between his jaw and cheeks. He wasn’t gaunt, but, he wasn’t the same man I shipped off.
Leaning in, he kissed my lips. He was softer than Brody, more in control. Ben had always held himself together better, been less expressive than Brody. It was why he’d moved up the ranks quicker.
But they were equally wonderful to me.
Pulling back, I licked my lips, tasting his lingering essence. “Missed you.”
With a single nod, he stated, “Good.”
I cut my eyes at him as I shoved away from him fully, putting a few inches between us.
He laughed easily. “I was kidding, babe.” With one quick swoop, he circled my waist and tugged me against him again. Pressing a kiss to my neck, he conceded, “I missed you so damn much, beautiful.”
The husk in his voice had heat rushing my apex, had my pussy pulsating, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that. Sticking my nose up in the air, I gave him a smug smirk. “Good.”
Brody snickered. “You earned that one, bro.”
Ben inhaled deep, his gaze roaming me. “Guess I did.” He agreed with a small shake of his head.
“And that’s one of the many reasons why I love you.” Stepping in behind me, Brody planted a chaste kiss on my cheek. “And that’s one of the many reasons I want to get you home ASAP.” He grabbed my hips, pressing his front to my back, alerting me to his desire for me. He nipped my earlobe. “ASAP, baby girl.” His voice was barely above a whisper, a sexy rasp to his words. Oh, how promising his words were.
A shudder worked through me. It’d been so long since I’d been between them, cocooned in their love and protection. “Let’s go, boys. I drove the truck.” This way I could sit between them on the ride home.
Chapter Three
Brody
The army seemed to always change the drop-off point. For safety was my guess. We weren’t far from post, but the drive seemed to take forever.
Damn, I’d missed her.
She sprayed her letters with her perfume, but she couldn’t mail her feminine essence that blended with the scent, altering it, making it sweeter, less harsh. Nothing she sent was a good enough substitute for the real thing: her. Every single damned night, I wished I was home, cradling her curves; not a day went by that I didn’t miss her, that I didn’t think about her.
The only solace I got was in knowing I wasn’t alone. Our missions were different, our routes never crossed, our sweeps didn’t collide, but on the rare occasion Ben and I were at the same camp and got to catch up, she was always on topic.
“What the fuck happened to you?” I demanded, approaching my battered and bruised friend like a mission. I studied his left arm in the sling, cuts and purple marks spreading up his neck and jaw. There was no visible cast, but the Army didn’t hand out slings like MREs.
He sighed, refusing to meet my gaze. “It’s nothing.”
I knew my depths were stormy. I was pissed. Why the fuck hadn’t I been notified? Not everyone agreed with our lifestyle, but we were open about sharing our wife. Even if they didn’t like it, our COs knew what we were to each other: blood, which upset me even more when they said nothing.
Ben was more than my best friend; he was my brother. We were what was called Irish twins, born nine months apart. We’d always been close, always had each other’s back, and always read through each other’s BS. When he finally looked at me, I knew it wasn’t nothing. “The hell it is, Ben. Spill it.” My hands balled into tight fists at my side.
“Took some nasty shrapnel in a blast. One piece severed an artery. Lost a lot of blood, but they got it under control. Spent a couple days in the hospital, nothing major. I’ll have a few scars, but nothin’ worth writing home about.” He shrugged his good shoulder.
Narrowing my gape, I studied him closer. “You didn’t tell her, did you?” The question was clipped, frustration getting the best of me.
His features pinched. “What for, Brody? So she could worry twice as much as she already does?”
My nails dug into my palms as I ground my teeth. “No. Because she’s our wife, and if something happened to her, I sure as fuck would want to know about it, even if I was halfway across the damn world. Wouldn’t you?” I cocked a brow at him. Brother or not, he was being selfish by keeping this to his platoon.
Shaking his head negatively, he immediately refuted the claim. It was utter bullshit on his part. “I’m not putting her through that. I’ll tell her when I’m home and she can see for herself that I’m okay.”
“Dammit, Ben. I’m not gonna lie for you.” I clenched my jaw; the desert air, thick and hot, mimicked my fury. It pissed me the fuck off that he would put us all in this situation.
“Don’t. If she asks, tell her I’m fine, which I am.” He broadened his stance, digging his heels into the sand, literally and figuratively.
Sucking in a breath, I considered him, blowing the breath out slowly. “I don’t like it.”
With a single nod, he said, “I know.” There was an invisible ‘but’ there, a silent plea.
Staring at him, I tried to understand his logic, but I couldn’t. It was simple to me. We had an open communication policy in our relationship. She didn’t hide anything from us, and we didn’t hide anything from her. His decision to withhold went against all we’d known and done until this point. This went against everything that made our relationship work. The moment you started to keep secrets, you started to draw lines, and lines led to separation and a break down of all that was beautiful about us. We worked because we didn’t hold back. We were closer than any other couple I knew, even though there were three of us. It was because we valued truth over feelings…until now.
With a sigh, I met his gaze. “You tell her the same day our feet hit American soil, or I’ll tell her for you.” It wasn’t an ultimatum or even a choice; it was an order.
His eyes lit with appreciation. “I will. Thanks, bro.” He clapped my upper arm.
“For the record, I don’t agree with your actions, but I’m happy as fuck that you’re okay.” I knew this wasn’t easy on him. I knew he was probably sore and struggling to deal with the aftermath of it all. “Any casualties?” My gut tightened, bracing for the worst.
He rolled his lips, exhaling harshly. “Two.”
Silence hung between us. We knew. It didn’t need to be said. “I’m glad it wasn’t you.”
His smile was stilted, bitter as fuck, yet wistful all the same. “I am too, which makes me a selfish bastard.” He was a leader. According to him, he was responsible for any man beneath him, meaning their blood was on his hands.
But that wasn’t the way it worked. You couldn’t prevent every tragedy from happening. The world would be over-populated if we could.
Peering into his depths, I saw all of his self-loathing, and fuck if I didn’t want to soothe it all away. I hated seeing him like this. I hated knowing what seeing him like this would have done to Savannah. “It doesn’t make you selfish. It makes you human.”
We had been caught in the same hell sail, forced to take the same risks while we were over there, meaning Savannah could easily have lost both us. I knew there was a chance we could be deployed at the same time; we’d overlapped before, but only by two months, not seven.
Every night, I marked off another day. I’d counted down the days until we were estimated to return home, and I damn near broke out in song when our orders were given two weeks early, together. The
odds were against that, so someone was shining down on us. We both survived, returned in one solid piece to the woman we loved.
And holy fuck, did I love this woman. She had an iron grip on my heart the day she came into my life.
Glancing sideways, I studied her. Damn, she was beautiful, prettier than I remembered. Her skin was soft, velvety, and she had a glow about her, this radiance that drew me in every time. I couldn’t give one reason why I loved her, why she was it for me; I could give thousands. It was all the little things; the way she spoke to me, the way she smiled at me, the way she was so protective of us in her own way. Add in that she was extra curvy in all the places I liked, and fuck if you could get me away from her. Hell, I wanted to take her right here in the car, but, while I could somewhat handle my brother seeing her pretty bits, I would flip the fuck out if anyone else did.
She wore three rings on her left finger: an engagement ring with a solid band soldered to each side of it. That was our brand, our mark of pride and ownership of her sweet body, and we weren’t the sharing type. It was a miracle we didn’t kill each other early on. As much as she was the catalyst, she was also the glue, the mediator, and the voice of reason that ensured we didn’t do anything that would fuck our relationship up, with her and with each other.
She put us first and we put her first. It was how this worked.
I bit back a grin, my gaze traveling down to the oversized sweater draping her figure. I didn’t need to see what was beneath to know. I remembered every rounded edge, every plush inch of her. She wasn’t what most guys wanted, but that was because they didn’t know how to handle so many curves. Amateurs. It was their loss and my gain, because fuck if I could keep my cock from getting rock hard at the thought of her sweet curves, whether they were covered or not.
And fuck if I could stop myself much longer from ravishing her right here and now. Damn. It’d been too fucking long.
Abruptly, Ben threw the truck into ‘park’ and damn near tore the door off its hinges jumping out.