Forever My Soldier (Love Conquers Life Book 3) (6 page)

Bella kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you.”

I grin at Derek. “Dude, you’re defending your girl's dress shopping addiction? I may have to take your man card.”

Bella tries to look angry at me for picking on her man, but she fails miserably. “You leave my man alone.” We all start laughing.

We finish our meal in a comfortable silence, and once the waitress clears our plates she hands Richard the bill. He happily signs it and hands it back to her. We all thank him for dinner. He puts up his hand. “It’s no problem. It’s my pleasure. I’m happy to see you all getting along again, especially now that Sandra and I have done a lot of talking about the entire situation that has taken place and we’re going to move past it. After the first of the year, we’re taking a trip together to renew our vows and start fresh.”

“That’s very sweet of you, Richard,” Patty tells him with a huge grin on her face. I can tell she’s genuinely happy for her mother.

“Thank you, Patty. I adore both you and your mother and would like to continue to be a part of this family. It appears to be growing now that you and Bella have met some nice young men. That said, remember I’m the DA and I know how to get away with things. If either of you hurt these girls, no one will ever know what happened,” he says with a slight smile.

Derek and I both chuckle and then tell him he has nothing to worry about.

“Good, because I’d hate to risk losing my job.” He laughs, and we all stand to say goodnight since it’s getting late.

When we get to the lobby, the three ladies make a promise to meet up on Tuesday for shopping and lunch. Derek and I jokingly make a promise to meet each other at the office for a day of working. Patty and Bella smack us playfully.

“Be careful, boys. Derek is right. These women take their shopping very seriously,” Richard says, joking with us.

“I’ll have to keep that in mind when I build our house,” I say, shocking Patty.

Derek chimes in. “It’s a good thing I have a lot of closets.”

Bella tugs his shirt playfully. “Yes, it is, because this girl has a lot of clothes.” She kisses him chastely.

He looks down at her with a smile. “Wait until we get home.”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough of me watching my girls flirt and kiss their boyfriends. Everyone have a good night,” Sandra says as Richard takes her hand and they happily walk out the door together.

Carter looks at Derek and Bella. “Do you guys want to meet up with us on Sunday to swing by the stores to check on the status of the gifting trees? We can get dinner and maybe play some cribbage after.”

Derek and Bella look at each other and at the same time say, “Sure.”

“Good. I’m curious to see how much is there. Plus, that will help us to get an idea on how much wrapping paper we need and how long it will take us to wrap.”

“Sounds good,” Bella says. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”

She hugs Patty while Derek and I shake hands. We all walk out the door and straight to our cars. It’s gotten really cold, and as Darryl warned, it’s started to snow.

Chapter 6

Carter

I stretch in bed and look at the clock. It’s five in the morning. I have two options. I can go to the gym, shower, and then straight to work, or I can wake the beautiful lady lying beside me and indulge in a little exercise right here. I smile. I choose option two.

Her back is to me, so I spoon her from behind, taking her earlobe in my mouth and gently biting down on it. I rub my hand slowly over her stomach to one of her breasts, where I find her nipple is already hard like a little pebble. I roll it between my fingers, and a moan escapes her. I lick my way down the vein in her neck to her collarbone. She wakes and rolls onto her back. I take advantage, climbing on top of her. Lifting her shirt, I expose her perky nipples, taking one in my mouth while I massage the other.

“Good morning, my love,” she says with a moan.

I pull away from her nipple, making a popping noise from my suckling. “Every morning is a great morning since I get to wake up next to you.”

I lower my lips once again, sucking her nipple into my mouth and rolling my tongue over it. She grinds her hips into my fully erect cock, telling me exactly what she wants. I slide down her body, kissing and biting my way across her stomach as I go, until I get to the top of her sleep shorts. I pause, rolling my tongue in little circles around her bellybutton as I slip them down her gorgeous legs, dropping them beside me. I look up at her and smile as I lower my face to her sweet pussy. My tongue finds its way through her folds to her clit. She tastes so sweet, I want to wake her like this every morning. I suck on her hardening nub, and it causes her hips to jerk.

While rolling my tongue over her clit, I slip two fingers inside her, fucking her deep with them.

“Yes!”

“Is that what you want, baby?”

“Don’t stop licking me,” she whines.

I chuckle as I look at her while keeping my fingers perfectly still. She looks at me, shocked. “Don’t make me beg.”

“I love you,” I tell her, curling my fingers deep inside of her, ensuring I hit that special spot while my tongue strokes her clit. She explodes all over my fingers. I pull my fingers from deep inside her pussy to find them glistening in her juices. I suck on my fingers, ensuring I get every last drop. “You taste amazing.”

I start to climb up her body when she takes me by surprise. She flips me over on the bed and climbs on top of me. Wrapping her fingers around my cock, she strokes me before licking the entire length of my shaft and taking the head in her mouth. She makes a popping noise when she pulls my cock from my mouth to place herself over me. She slowly lowers herself so I’m buried deep inside of her. I moan at the amazing feeling of being inside her tight little pussy. I completely lose control. Squeezing her hips, I start slamming her down on me.

“Yes, Carter!” she screams out, and I work my hips even harder.

“Come on, baby. I can’t hold on much longer.”

“Don’t go yet,” she says. My god, this woman is going to be the death of me. I’m holding on for dear life when she screams, “Now!”

Another orgasm rips through her body. Her muscles tighten around my cock, milking me for my seed. I slam into her one last time and empty everything I’ve got. She’s panting as she lies on top of me, trying to catch her breath.

“I thought you were going to the gym today?”

I laugh. “I think this was a lot more fun than going to the gym, no?”

“For sure.”

She takes one last deep breath and then rolls off of me, curling back up under the blankets. I climb out of bed completely naked and walk across the room. She whistles, and I can’t help but laugh as I walk through the bathroom door. I hate to leave her alone in our bed, but I need to shower and get ready for work. Derek has been so good to me with all the time I’ve taken off that I hate being late now. I really enjoy working with him, and we’ve become such good friends. I don’t want to screw him over.

As I step into the shower, I think about the fun we had with Derek and Bella this weekend. I’m glad that we’re all getting along so well. At first I thought Bella was stuck-up and a total bitch, but I’m glad I was wrong. She seems to make Derek really happy. We had a blast playing cribbage, and I got to bust Derek’s balls about him giving Bella free reign of the closets in his house.

I dry off and quickly get dressed because I know Patty has to get in here soon too. She has a meeting with her agent today. I’m surprised when I walk out of the bathroom to find the room is empty.

I get dressed and then go out to the kitchen to make some breakfast, but I discover there’s no need because Patty’s putting an egg sandwich on the counter for me with a fresh cup of coffee and a bowl of fresh fruit.

“Oh woman, you are so good to me.” I pull her into my arms and plant a small, soft kiss on her lips as I slip my hand into her hair at the nape of her neck.

She pulls away, and with one eyebrow raised says, “Don’t start something you can’t finish, mister. You have to be at work soon, and I need to get that book for Terri ready to go into the mail prior to leaving for my appointment today.”

“Sorry, but I can’t help it. I love those luscious lips of yours. They’re so soft, and they taste delicious.”

She smiles at me but steps away, telling me to sit and eat. I do as I’m told, and she joins me with a sandwich of her own. Once we finish, I take both our plates and rinse them before I put them in the dishwasher.

“I have to go, love, but I’ll see you tonight.” I give her one last kiss.

“Okay, honey. Have a great day, and I’ll see you tonight.”

***

I settle in and get to work. I have emails to check and a few soldiers to check on. They owe me paperwork, and I need to make sure I get it so we can get them the help they need. As I go through my email, I notice that I still don’t have the paperwork from them. I add ‘call them’ to my to-do list for today. I know it probably sounds silly that I’m chasing them for paperwork, but when you’re in their situation, sometimes depression sets in and so you forget to do things. That’s why it’s my job to make sure they get everything done.

There’s a knock on my door, and to my surprise I look up to see Tobey standing in my door. I stand and walk over to shake his hand. “Hey, Tobey, how’s it going? What can I do for you?”

“I was in the area and I wanted to stop in and tell you that I think you’re doing a great job. I was a bit concerned at first because of your PTSD history and what you went through, but I’m glad to have you on the team.”

“Come on in.” I offer him a seat. “Thank you, Tobey. I’m really sorry about all of that, but I want you to know that I’m taking my recovery seriously. I have an appointment at lunch today with my counselor and plan to continue seeing him. It’s really helped me.”

“I’m glad to hear it. How are things going with the toy drive?”

“Well, we were at the stores this weekend. There were a nice amount of gifts under the tree, and we donated some at the first store. There are still a lot of tags on both trees due to the situation at the second store, but Derek, Bella, Patty, and I have made a promise to go back to finish our shopping.”

“I like it. Nice job.”

“Thanks.”

“How’s your girlfriend doing? I saw what happened on the news, and I’m glad she came out of it okay.”

“She’s good. Thanks for asking. She’s really excited to be helping with both the toy drive and the New Year’s Eve fundraiser.”

“Please let her know that we appreciate the help. What do we have left to do for the New Year’s Eve event?”

“I need to meet with Derek today to see how many tickets we’ve sold so far. Patty’s mom is helping us get some silent auction items, and I got a DJ to donate his time. That’s more money that can go to the veterans.”

“Good. I plan to use that money to make adjustments to soldier’s homes so they can live comfortably after they’ve recovered from their wounds. We may even use some of it to get service dogs for those who need them. It’s costly, but necessary.”

“I agree. Maybe we can try to come up with a fundraiser for each, one that will help with service dogs and one that can go to helping with homes.”

“Great! Talk with Derek about it and get back to me on your ideas.”

“I certainly will,” I say as he stands to leave my office.

I make a mental note to talk with Patty later too. She always has such great fundraising ideas, and I’d love to see what she can come up with. I’m wondering if I can get a couple of companies to donate materials or workers for renovations in exchange for a table at the event and some publicity. I make a note to ask Derek if he has a list of renovations that need to be completed. If he does, maybe we can get some quotes and get some of the work donated. I need to start working on this immediately. I walk to Derek’s office to find him settling in.

“Hey, do you have a minute?”

“Sure, what’s up?” he says as he puts his coat on the back of his chair.

“I was talking with Tobey and I’ve come up with another idea.”

“Shoot,” he says as he takes his seat and sips his coffee.

“Do we have a list of soldiers that need renovations and what they need done?”

“I’m sure I can get one. They have to fill out a form and submit it to us and then we see what we can do to help them out.”

“Great! Here is my thought. We take that list and call some local contractors to see if they’ll donate workers or materials for the renovations in exchange for a table at the event. Then we create a donor’s board to give them publicity for their contribution.”

“That’s brilliant. I’ll get a list for us immediately so you can start working on it.”

“Good. While you do that, I’ll generate a list of contractors. We have plenty of space outside the ticket sales to add tables for them. I figure even if we only get three or four donors, it’s better than nothing.”

I get up to leave and Derek says, “Hey, everything good with Tobey?”

“Yeah, he came in to tell me I was doing a good job.”

“Cool. You’re a great fit here. I’m glad we have you.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll be in my office.”

I sit at my computer and instantly start looking up the names of local contractors. Local companies like to help troops from their area.

A short time later, I’m deep in thought when the alarm on my phone goes off, telling me it’s time to leave for my appointment. I take my coat from the back of the chair and feel for my keys in the pocket. I stop in Derek’s office and peek in the door. “Hey, man. I’m off to my appointment. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Sounds good. How are things going with that?”

“Good. I think I’m going to be able to go from seeing the doc every other week to monthly soon. I don’t want stop seeing him, but I wouldn’t mind seeing less of him.”

“Cool. Don’t rush it, though. You know I have no problem with you taking off during the day for that.”

“I know, and I appreciate that, but I’ve been doing well.”

He nods at me, so I grin and head out the door.

I drive straight to the good doctor’s office knowing full well that I need to get back in an hour. He pulls up at the same that I park. “Hey, doc. I get to be your first of the day, huh?”

“Nah, I had an appointment at the hospital this morning and then came here to meet you.”

I nod, knowing I can’t ask anything about the patient. We walk into the office in silence, and I take a seat while he gets himself situated. I help myself to the water he has for patients in the waiting area, and then he calls me into his office.

“How are things going?” he asks me as I take a seat.

“Great! To be honest, I’ve had one or two nightmares and I know it was the situation with Patty that triggered them. I still write in my journal, and I feel like that seems to help.”

“Good. Have you talked with Patty about it?”

I shake my head as way of answer because I know he’s going to say I should have.

“Why not?” He looks disappointed. “I thought you two had started talking more.”

“We have been, but to be perfectly honest I didn’t think it was necessary to tell her. She had a lot on her plate, and since they stopped again I didn’t want to add to her stress.”

“Fair enough. How’s she doing?”

“She handled it like a trooper. I was really concerned. She had a bit of a rough night the first night, and that was it. She went to the wake to pay her respects to his father, and I think it provided the closure she needed. We’re both hoping to move on from it and have a normal, happy life.”

“Good. I’m really glad to hear that. What are you goals for the future?”

“Well, I have some special plans for Christmas, but beyond that to stay healthy and work hard. I love Patty, and I want to support her in her career. I hope we’ll have a family someday. Her job certainly wouldn’t interfere with that.”

“You’ve come a long way, and I think it’s time we back off our appointments a bit. I want to see you in a month to see how things are going and catch up with you, but I don’t think it’s necessary that we continue to meet as often.”