Touching Scars (11 page)

Mel grinned. “Of course not, silly! He never asked for another blow job from me. The lesson learned from this: Stick it before you lick it,” she stated nonchalantly.

Beaver must have started to feel braver because he spoke up. “If he had eaten a better diet, maybe he would have tasted better.”

Mel responded, “And how’s your diet?”

“Perfection,” he said simply.

Kat sat up and watched the exchange, just as I was. “Would you two just fuck and get it over with already?” she declared. “Beaver, you’ve been watching Mel for over a year now. Mel, you’ve been second guessing whether or not Beav would want an older woman. Give me a damn break, girl! You’re hot.”

Kat suddenly stood up and moved to the stereo to change the song that was playing. I sat there, baffled by what just happened. I hadn’t known these two for very long and even I could tell they wanted each other. But I found it funny that my little inexperienced girl called them out on their shit. Getting up from the table, leaving them to discuss these new revelations, I walked over to where Kat was standing. She had her back to me and was bent over messing with the dials on the box.
Her round, pert ass bounced around to the beat of the music. Glancing behind me, I noted that Beaver and Mel were engrossed in conversation and weren’t paying attention to us.

Unable to stop myself, I moved in right behind Kat, grasping her hips. She shot up, looking over her shoulder at me. “Hiii,” she drew out, clearly inebriated.

I grinned. “Hi.” She relaxed into my front and allowed me to move us from side to side.

She sighed, closing her eyes and letting me move with her. God, she smelled incredible. I would never smell coconut again and not think of her. Bringing my nose down to her hair gracing the side of her face, I inhaled deeply. Kat leaned further into me, solidly meshing her body to mine. I had no way of hiding what she was doing to me physically. I didn’t care. I was in the moment with her and I wanted her to know how she was affecting me. She turned in my arms so that we were face to face, and ground her hips into mine. I groaned.

“Tell me, Timber, what
are
you doing in my little po-dunk town?” Her voice came out raspy.

I licked my lips, noting she watched my tongue with rapt attention. “I needed the work. Heard there was a job opening, so I came to see what it was. The better question, though, Kat,” I leaned down, my mouth grazing her ear, “is what are
you
doing in this little po-dunk town?”

She gave me a wry smile. “Oh, a little of this, a little of that.”

As I spoke, my breath lifted her hair. “And why do I think there is more to that story?”

She giggled, then hiccupped. “Because there is. I couldn’t stay in Bay City. There were too many demons there. Too many monsters lurking in the corners.”

“What does that mean, Kat?” I focused on her eyes, watching her close them. She seemed to be going somewhere in her head that she didn’t want to go. I wanted to feel bad for prying, but I couldn’t. I wanted to protect her, but I also knew I couldn’t help her if I didn’t know why she was running.

“It means your little friend did something unforgiveable. He’s ruined me. I’m scarred, Timber. I’m scarred.” A small tear slipped from the corner of her eye that was still closed. She leaned forward and rested her head on my shoulder.

I swallowed hard. Wracking my brain, I tried to think of what friend she was referring to. Was it a guy, was it a girl? Who?

“What’d he do, baby?” the term of endearment falling easily from my lips.

She pulled back slightly, her eyes glassy from the alcohol. “He knocked me down with the football, remember?”

We were talking about Adam? Within seconds her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out, her small body going limp in my arms. Bending down, I put my arm under her knees and lifted her, cradling her to my chest. She was feather light. Walking over to Beaver and Mel, I noted they seemed to be in a heated discussion when they stopped talking and looked at me.

“She’s out cold. I’m going to take her upstairs and put her to bed.”

“You don’t have to. I can take care of her.” Beaver began to stand and reach for her, but I stepped back. I knew he meant well, but I didn’t want anybody else to touch her. Especially not right now, not after what she told me. Maybe I could get her to stir and she would tell me more.

He looked at me skeptically. “I’m just going to put her in bed and sleep on the couch in case she wakes up and needs someone. I promise she’s safe with me.”

Nodding his head, he sat back down and turned towards Mel, continuing their discussion as though I hadn’t interrupted them. I made my way up the narrow stairs to the door at the top. It was unlocked, which made me grit my teeth. It looked like I would be installing a lock tomorrow morning. Anybody could come right in and hide and wait for her. Just the thought made my stomach turn.

When I got inside, I took a quick look around and noticed her place was just as small as mine, maybe even smaller. Tucked in the corner was a twin bed that had a white and yellow quilt covering it. I carefully pulled the blanket back, trying not to jostle her too much. When it was pulled down far enough, I put her down, gently resting her head on her pillow. Standing back to look at her, I questioned whether or not I should strip any of her clothes off.
Kat would probably want to kick my ass. Deciding that it didn’t matter either way to me, I went ahead and tugged her shoes off. Moving up to her jeans, I unbuttoned them, sliding them down her smooth thin legs. That’s as far as I was willing to go. I wouldn’t take advantage of the situation after she showed me some of her vulnerability. I was a prick, but I didn’t get my rocks off on girls that were passed out and unaware that I was standing over them.

Squatting down by the head of the bed, I used my index finger to push back a few stray hairs resting on her cheek. Her skin was so soft. Looking at her sleeping peacefully, I made a promise to myself right then and there. I would do whatever I had to protect her. It wasn’t lost on me that I said the same words six years ago, but this time I knew I meant them. I would always be here for her. I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her temple before I stood back up and went to lie down on the couch.

“M
MM
…
JUST
LIKE
THAT
,”
I whispered in Holt’s ear.

The kid was sound asleep in his rack and grinding his hips into the hard cot. Corey and Rooster were standing off to the side, chuckling and shaking their heads. Holt wasn’t supposed to be sleeping, but he must have decided a mid-day nap was a good idea
. Too bad for him — you fall asleep when you shouldn’t, you pay the price. The other two and I had walked in here after lunch and found the kid passed out, clearly having a wet dream. I hit Rooster on the shoulder and tipped my head towards Holt, silently telling him to check this out. I walked over to the kid and squatted down. Leaning in, I had started talking dirty to him.

Holt moaned and ground his hips even harder into his bed. A few minutes had passed, then he suddenly held his breath and shook. Before his body relaxed after getting off, he awoke and shot up, pushing his body up with both arms. He looked down at his bed, not realizing he wasn’t alone.

“Damn it,” he griped about the mess on his front.

I let out a small cough, effectively getting his attention. His eyes shot to mine, and I gave him a devilish smile. “Was it good for you? Cause it kinda sucked for me, man. I didn’t even get mine.”

Corey and Rooster stood in the corner practically crying from laughing so hard. Corey was wiping his eyes while Rooster was bent at the waist. Holt’s face turned beet red with embarrassment. His expression went from embarrassed to angry. Standing up, he walked past me, nudging my shoulder with his own.

“Not one word about this, fucker,” he said.

I held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor, but I suggest you take your snooze on someone else’s time. Uncle Sam would be pissed to know you’re sleeping on his watch.”

Holt went and grabbed a clean pair of fatigues. “Change your panties and head outside. We have drills in twenty,” I told him as I walked out with the other two, who were still unable to suppress their laughter.

Twenty minutes later we met on our makeshift shooting range to do target practice. We practiced with heavy artillery weapons and grenades to make sure that when real life situations happened, we’d be prepared to defend ourselves. I was a sharpshooter, and rarely missed. So I stood off to the side, watching my boys use M-16s to take down their targets. We had been at it for about an hour when it was time for us to load up and report for our next patrol in the city.

Climbing into the MRAP I secured my harness, ready to roll. These bad boys were a mix between a tank and a Hummer in looks but made of steel. However, out in those cities and being wide open to attacks, nothing could really keep you safe.

We were making our first round when we passed by the same shop where we’d seen the man abusing the woman. Looking at the storefront, I saw her. She was standing outside the door with her head down, waiting for whoever was inside to finish. Probably the same bastard that had been pushing her around.

“That the same broad?” Cooper asked before we went around the corner.

“Hard to tell with her head down, but yeah, I think so,” I responded.

As we came back around, I watched her again. She lifted her head and looked right at us. Why was she watching us? Something didn’t feel right about the situation, but I told the nagging in my gut to shut up. As the last few seconds passed that she was in view, I observed her closely. Did she just smirk?

I was being shaken awake. My eyes flew open and my heart was pounding in my chest. Where the fuck was I? The last time I didn’t know my surroundings was back in the desert.
Going on high alert, my body acted on instinct. The same nudging that brought me out of my sleep pushed at my shoulder again. Grabbing the person by their upper arms, I quickly shoved them down on the floor and straddled them, incapacitating them from any movement.

I always kept a small pocket knife at my side. My adrenaline pumping and still not recognizing where I was, I pulled it out, flipped the blade open and held it to the throat of the person underneath me.
My hand was greeted by soft flesh and a gasp that came out more feminine than I expected. Focusing my eyes on the face below me, I noted the terrified hazel eyes staring up at me. Kat held her hands off to the side, palms open, in a gesture of surrender.

“Shit,” was all I could say.

My entire body was being pressed into the hard flooring and Timber was on top of me with a knife at my neck. His eyes were absolutely wild and unrecognizable. I was scared out of my mind, but I also knew somehow that he would never hurt me. What a strange thing to be thinking when there was a blade pressed into my skin.