21 Marine Salute: 21 Always a Marine Tales (55 page)

“Not bad, not great.”
Do I really want to tell him about this
? “We were—
were
being the key phrase, here—pretty solid for five years and so one night, over wine, celebrating our anniversary, I asked him to marry me.”

Brenden said nothing, just watched and waited with a patient calm Liam envied.

“As you may have guessed from the broken up comment, that didn’t go over well. So—we parted on acrimonious terms—more on my part than his. But I’m over it. It wasn’t the right call for him, but it is for me.” Something shuttered in Brenden’s expression and Liam leaned forward. “Don’t worry. I’m not sizing you up for a tux.” He let him soak in that relief for the barest of moments and softened the blow with a teasing, “Yet.”

“Nice.” Brenden scratched his jaw and shook his head.

“Yeah, well if you saw the momentary flash of pure panic in your eyes, you’d be laughing right now, too.” He wouldn’t be asking the marriage question again anytime soon—not unless he could be damn sure of the answer. “Besides, I don’t know that you’re my type.”

“Oh, I’m definitely your type. But my life doesn’t lend itself to long nights hanging out on the sofa and football games every Sunday. I’m a lifer, Liam. I go where the Corps send me, and I don’t intend to change that.”

“I figured. The haircut, the attitude, everything—it suits you.” Oddly, it did. He would never take his own hair that short, but the high and tight accented Brenden’s strong features and gave him an almost dangerous, yet comforting air. It defied description.

“I’m not going to lead you on. It’s what I do. I’m on leave now, but I’ll be pulling up stakes in a couple of weeks for a new assignment.”

Gut twisting at the thought of where those assignments might take him, Liam retreated from that topic. “So…when did you know—that you were gay?”

“Oh, during prom—junior year.”

“No fucking way. You nailed Jenny Lang that night.” Liam held his tongue as the waitress delivered another round.

“You want food?” Brenden glanced at him. “I need a burger, fries, whatever you have. American cheese.”

“I’ll take the same.” He didn’t care what he ordered. The waitress needed to leave so he could ask the question burning in his mind. She wasn’t five steps away when he rounded on Brenden. “You fucked her. I know—I ran into you walking out of her hotel room during the after-party looking really pleased with yourself.”

“For a guy as comfortable with his sexuality as you’ve always been, why are you having such a hard time wrapping your head around this?”

A great question, one Liam had wondered from the moment he received the invitation. He decided to forgo the sweet talk. “Because, frankly, when your teenage wet dream calls you for a date and you realize that you might actually score—it’s intimidating as hell. Why aren’t you nervous?”

“I was.” Brenden didn’t sound ashamed to admit it. “But here’s the deal.
Don’t ask, don’t tell
was a fact of my life. Sure, lots of the guys knew and most of them didn’t give two shits. I’m not going to lie to you—I’ve had relationships over the years, but they were nothing more than two ships passing in the night. I knew I didn’t plan on staying. I had a good time and I got out. But I’ve had years to accept the only pants I wanted to get into in high school were yours and yours were the only ones I couldn’t allow myself.”

Poleaxed didn’t begin to describe Liam’s reaction. “I wish I’d known.” Years of repeating the mantra that it didn’t matter seemed to crash in on him. But he didn’t feel angry…just sad.

“I’m sorry, man. You know what it was like. I—”

“No.” Liam tapped his fingers against the table, the hard knot of anxiety cramping his gut relaxed. “Don’t be. You’re right. I do know. You didn’t lead me on and you weren’t a douche. I wish I knew so I could have been a real friend instead of the dick you had to rescue because it couldn’t have been easy.” He thought he couldn’t respect the Marine any more.

He was wrong.

“So we’re good?” Brenden tested.

“Oh, honey, we’re better than good. In fact, tell me, sailor—do you come here often?”

“Marine, sweetheart. Learn it. Live it. Love it.”

The low growl in his voice sent a shiver down Liam’s spine and he laughed. “You know, I think I just might.”

Brenden skipped a fourth beer. Three gave him enough of a buzz and the food helped. They ordered coffee when the waitress came to clear their plates. Music played, couples danced, laughter rose and fell in gentle swells from the diners around them, the sedate atmosphere adding to their comfort level.

The tension thawed between them and Liam grew more animated over the burgers. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into a heart attack for dinner.” The man dipped a salt-and-pepper-loaded fry into the ketchup.

“Hey, you’re the one who added all the salt.” Brenden doctored his coffee with a couple of creamers. “Besides, one of the few things I really miss when I’m not stateside is a damn good burger.”

“Out of curiosity, if you’re on leave, why are you in Texas and not home seeing your folks?”

“They went on a cruise.” He grinned.

“Are you serious?” Liam’s brows rose, amusement tilting the corners of his mouth. Brenden’s father was a work-a-holic and it took a lot of work to get him to agree to the vacation.

“Yup. Mom twisted his arm. Kaleigh and I gave them tickets for their thirty-ninth anniversary. So, I took advantage of the leave to come see some friends here—members of my unit—before I rolled over to another.” The coffee added a pleasant heat burning inside. Good food, good company, good coffee. He couldn’t ask for more.

“So, you ready to get out of here?” Relaxed, Liam grew far more flirtatious than stressed out and wary. More like the guy he remembered.

“Sure. Did you check in at your hotel yet?” Brenden pulled out a credit card and held it up for the waitress. Liam reached for his but he waved him off. “My treat.”

“Okay. I’ll get breakfast.”

The teasing reply tripped a ripple through the Marine’s nervous system. They were really going to do this. He half expected second thoughts to assault him, but his internal security system didn’t sound any alarms. Check paid, waitress tipped, and Liam’s coat gathered, they walked back out into the crisp Dallas winter evening. After the warmth inside, he welcomed the cooler air washing over him. “Want to walk to the car?”

“I parked mine with the valet.” Liam’s words held the smallest of hesitations, but they were still there.
If they drove separately would they end the evening before it started
?
Did he want to drive alone
? I
s this a good time to call it an evening—before either of them were disappointed
? The unspoken questions hung in the air.

“Get your keys. We’ll pick it up on the way to breakfast in the morning.” Brenden wanted to answer all those questions and halt their trip down doubt alley before they veered off the path.

After settling with the valet, they had him bring up Liam’s overnight bag. The walk to the truck was a short one. Around the corner and, just like that, they were alone. They didn’t say anything, walking in a companionable enough silence, but Brenden could almost feel Liam twitching.

When they arrived at the truck, Brenden took the bag and tossed it into the bed.

Liam dragged a hand through his hair. “Would you mind if I grabbed a smoke before we headed out?”

“Actually, one thing’s been bothering me since I got here.” Brenden stared at him.

“Look, smoking’s a bad habit and all of that….”

Brenden pivoted and caught his old friend up against the door of the truck. His body stretched long and hard against him, taut with coiled energy inside.
Coiled and ready to strike
. Liam’s eyes widened.

“I’ve wanted to do this for years.” He exhaled the words, pressed forward, and kissed him. Liam’s lips were hot and smooth. Brenden sank into the kiss, using his teeth in gentle nips to get the man’s mouth to open and teased him with gentle thrusts of his tongue. He held him captive, but one real sense of rejection and he would let him go.

Liam’s passivity came to an abrupt end. He slid his arms around Brenden and gripped him just above his ass, and he returned the ferocious kiss, tangling their tongues together. Their closeness in height aligned their hips and Brenden’s cock swelled at the contact.

Holy hell…I’m finally kissing him
…. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to do it all night long. But they were still getting reacquainted; overcoming preconceptions. Liam bit down on his lower lip and ground their pelvises together in a slow, almost languorous motion, and Brenden’s train of thought derailed right into the ocean.

With more than a little reluctance, he let go of his mouth and kissed his jaw.

Liam tipped his head back to suck in a noisy breath of air, and Brenden pressed his lips over the pulse point. He drew on the skin carefully, sucking it. Liam’s dug his fingers in and he let out a low, “Fuck….”

Laughing, Brenden leaned back. “Right here?”

“Ten years ago that answer would have been hell yeah. Right here.” His eyelids were half lowered. “But I’m an old man and I like a comfortable bed.”

“Old.” Brenden gave him another hard kiss, thrilled with the simple act of doing it. “Hardly.”

“Some of us don’t run up mountains every day for the sheer sport of it, and everyone over thirty is one foot away from the grave,” Liam deadpanned and cupped Brenden’s ass. “Not that I’m complaining about the running. This is solid steel.”

“If you like that, wait till you see what else I have for you.” The line fell off his lips easily and tempted Liam, just the way he knew it would. Liam slipped a hand between them and rubbed the bulge in Brenden’s jeans.

“Look at the time. We need to go.”

“I thought you wanted to smoke?” He teased, leaning into the touch even as it forced the tension coiling in his muscles to tighten. If his dick got much harder, the zipper would leave an imprint on it.

“I think I just quit.” Liam nodded solemnly.

Though reluctant, they let go of each other and Liam circled around to get in the passenger side. Brenden took a moment to adjust himself before climbing into the driver’s seat.

“I know why we never did this in high school,” Liam declared as Brenden backed the truck out.

“Oh?” Amusement rolled under the word as he straightened the vehicle and headed for the parking lot exit. Liam’s hot gaze on him felt like a physical caress and forced his hands to stay on the steering wheel and his attention on the road.

“Oh, yeah. We’d never have made it to a hotel.”

“Keep looking at me like that and we won’t now….”

***

Liam enjoyed the ride to the hotel, tormenting Brenden. He probably shouldn’t have taken so much glee at sliding his hand along his thigh or the fact that twice he had to swerve back into his own lane.
But making the man growl
?

Yeah, that got his motor running. Brenden all but dumped him at the front drive to get their room while he took care of parking the truck. When he suggested they get a valet, Brenden shook his head. “Borrowed truck. I park it. I take it back. It goes home in the same shape I took it in.”

Marines were weird.
Adorable. But weird
. It took all of five minutes to get the room card and by the time Brenden strode into the lobby, he waited by the elevator. It gave him the perfect view to admire the man’s stride. He moved with the grace of a large animal, but the determination of a man confident in his own skin.

The kind of guy who will break my heart if I’m not careful
…. But Liam had no intention of being careful. Maybe they only got this one night and he planned to make the most of it.

He knew the moment Brenden’s gaze landed on him. His mouth spread into that delicious, heart-pounding, know-something-you-don’t smile.

Yeah.
Fuck careful
.

Liam hit the elevator button and it opened with a ding just as Brenden arrived, as though it knew to be prompt. They rode up in silence, but every time Liam cut a look toward him, the Marine watched him with that same smile.

“Dude, you’re freaking me out.” He laughed as the doors opened and they strode out side by side.

“Just happy.” Brenden carried the overnight bag along with a lighter backpack Liam hadn’t noticed before.

“Yeah?” Their room was at the end of the hall. He’d upgraded to a nice suite—king size bed, Jacuzzi tub, private balcony—the works. He made enough money to splurge on luxury and spoil his man—that thought gave him pause.
He’s not my anything…not yet
.

He closed the door and Brenden’s arms came around him from behind, pulling him against his chest.

“You’re doing it again.” The low words murmured against his ear sent a shiver of awareness racing down his spine.

“Doing what?”

“Thinking. We don’t have to do anything tonight.” Brenden exhaled the words, not quite managing to mask the note of disappointment the offer must have prompted.

“Oh yes we do…and I’m allowed to think. It’s part of my process.”

“Yeah? How many steps ahead are we?” Brenden’s hands slid up and down his chest, rubbing small circles from Liam’s pectorals to his hips.

The teasing left his own cock aching, but the delicious sensations kept him from bitching about it. “Questions—how many times? How many positions? How experienced? What do you want to touch? And I’m betting my soul you’re a top.” His voice lowered, husky with need. “How much conversation do we need before I find out?”

Brenden chuckled against his ear and caught Liam’s earlobe in a kiss that was both sweet and intensely erotic. His erection pressed against Liam’s ass, their clothes doing nothing to disguise the Marine’s arousal. “Do you want me to tell you or show you?”

Oh, God
…. His heart double-timed it.
What did he want
? He liked being in control, romancing his partners, soothing them, seducing them—but when he passed a hand over the front of Liam’s dress pants and stroked his dick through the material, his brain clicked off. “Show.” And that order held no trace of hesitation.