Nerd and the Marine (36 page)

“
Okay, you three, in you
get,” her dad said and they broke apart. Mitch kept a tight grip on
her hand, though, and they climbed into the back of the van,
Bentley taking up residence on the middle seat. He propped his chin
against the backrest and whined as he watched Mitch.

“
You're still a big baby,
Bentley,” Mitch said fondly as he pulled her close against him
after they'd both hooked their seat belts. Bentley jumped over the
back of the seat and into Mitch's lap.

“
Um, Bent, you don't
exactly fit, do you?” Lainy asked laughingly, but neither told him
to move. He'd missed his daddy, and they'd let him soak up the
attention for now. He'd grow bored soon enough.

By the time they reached the highway,
Bentley returned to the middle seat and fell asleep. His snores
helped to cocoon them in their own little world in the back
seat.

“
I can't believe you're
here, in my arms, finally.” Mitch held her close enough she had
trouble breathing.
Not a
problem
.

“
I know. I didn't sleep at
all last night. I was too excited.”

“
I didn't either, but
mostly because of the traveling.” Mitch smothered a
yawn.

“
We'll nap when we reach
the lake. I didn't rent out my cottage, so we can rest in peace, I
hope. Bentley will play with the herd.”

“
Is Will's cottage opened
yet?” He wiggled his brows.

“
Yes, you'll be staying
there. It's the biggest and where I usually stay when mine is
rented. Mom and Dad used to own it, but then Will built this great
little place not too far away and they liked it better, so they
swapped. Will needed the extra space, since he's got six kids. And
there's room for me. I sleep in the room I've had since childhood.
You'll get that room this weekend, since my place is open. Max is
staying at my cottage, too. I think K.C. and her son will be there,
too.” Lainy nestled closer, so happy to be with him, she thought
she'd burst.

“
Excellent,” he said and
they stared into each other's eyes. Mitch didn't try to remove her
glasses. He seemed content with her, just as she was.

They chatted and cuddled the entire
trip then Lainy showed him his room in Will's house. Mitch grabbed
a quick shower. He changed into clothes she'd brought from his
storage locker, a pair of cutoffs and a t-shirt before they
strolled to her cottage. She showed him around first and changed
while he poured them drinks. Still amazed he was here, at the lake,
with her.

They sat and he handed her an iced
tea. She couldn’t believe he was here with her. She’d dreamed of
this. Now that her dream was a reality, she was overwhelmed. He
seemed to love having her close – a new romantic
sensation.

Jet lag was a funny thing, Lainy knew
- usually not a problem going, but definitely a bad thing coming –
as Mitch’s body was out of sync with their time. He needed
sleep.

When she suggested a nap, he didn’t
argue. Mitch groaned when he lay down in the softness of her bed
and Lainy smiled. He reached out, found her waist, and hauled her
close. Lainy tensed, waiting to feel crowded or uncomfortable. But
she didn’t. She heard him let out the most contented sigh she'd
ever heard before his breathing turned deep and even.

Burrowing closer, she took in his
scent and savored the massive male body stretched out next to her.
While different, Mitch didn’t feel wrong. She fell asleep moments
later. And slept for four hours. When she blinked away the last
remnants of slumber, she felt disoriented and something hard and
warm pressed the length of her. Something that wasn't Bentley and
then she remembered.

Bentley's
dad
. She turned her head and looked at him.
He slept on, and Lainy memorized his face again. Wanting to drink
in every detail once more. She pressed soft kisses along his cheek
and across to his chin before starting down his neck. Twenty-four
hours of bristles rasped against her lips, but she found the
stubble sexy and kept going.

No problems so far. Down his neck on
one side and back up the other. She traced over his chin again and
meandered back up his left cheek. Smiling in satisfaction, she
stared down at him and realized his eyes were open.

“
Are you finished?” he
whispered and she shook her head.

“
I've only just begun.
You're supposed to be sleeping,” she reprimanded gently.

“
And miss out on this? I
can sleep later.”

She saw awareness in his eyes and
realized he figured she might be uncomfortable. He recognized she
might spook easily. Lainy appreciated him all the more for his
understanding. She learned his shoulders and back and collar bones.
She traced over his arms and chest and discovered he was ticklish.
Knowledge she utilized until he distracted her with his own
explorations.

He in turn investigated her shoulders
and paid special attention to her collar bones and back and arms.
He smoothed over her stomach but by some tacit agreement, they left
the explorations there. He did discover her feet were ticklish
though. They romped for a while before his eyes drooped again and
she left him to rest.

Lainy thought she'd better think about
supper, and do the lunch dishes but when she tried to move, he
wouldn't let her go.

“
No,” he muttered in his
sleep, tightening his arms and she thrilled at his possessiveness.
It felt right. There was no other place she wanted to be than in
Mitch’s arms, and that relieved and excited her. She daydreamed how
he’d always want her, not only in his sleep, but also in the waking
hours. And he’d never tire of her, but love her more every day. She
prayed this sense of right remained.

He awoke an hour later and they left
her bedroom after a long, slow, mind drugging kiss. Their kiss only
served to up her anticipation of a round in the The Closet with
Mitch. Never had she known such stirrings.

After they ate, she took him around
and pointed out the cabins and named which belonged to whom. They
watched the herd and Bentley cavorting in and around the
water.

“
Green grass and green
trees and flowers and ferns. Blue water. Yellow, blue, white, and
purple flowers. It's amazing.” Mitch breathed deeply as he took in
the sights.

“
You like?”

He tugged her close and then scooped
her into his arms. “Oh, yeah.” Mitch strolled onto the
pier.

Lainy didn't become suspicious until
he kept going. “Mitchel Fandrich Monahan, if you throw me into this
lake you're in big trouble.” Her threat lacked something, like
fire.

Mitch smiled with all the innocence of
a puppy at her, tucked her glasses into a pocket and ran the last
steps before he jumped. They went under and he hauled her to the
surface with him. He kissed her as soon as they broke the surface
and then moved them out to where they treaded water, keeping her
close the entire time.

“
Look at this. Water. A
whole lake of it. A
lake
. You know, I used to take lakes
for granted, but not anymore. I couldn't wait to get here and toss
you in.” A mischievous smile flirted around his lips.

Lainy didn't have the heart to stay
mad at him. He'd been in a desert place for the past year. But
cavorted in a lake now. Like she'd yell once he'd explained his
actions.

She grabbed his ears and yanked his
head to her lips. Tilting her head, she laid a blatant kiss on him
and they went under again.

When they resurfaced, Mitch laughed.
“You're one incredible woman, Lainy Morrison. I swear I've never
met another like you. I'm so glad you waited for me,” he muttered
at the end and then kissed her. Which blew every circuit she had
before creating a massive power surge. She hadn't thought such a
thing possible. She hadn't thought Mitch possible.

They went under again.

They were deep into their third lake
kiss when a large, brown drowned rat pulled up beside them and
barked. Laughing, Lainy pushed hair out of her face. “I told you he
liked the water.”

Mitch reached out and patted the wet
head. “He does look like a wet rat. You know Bentley, you're not
the cutest wet dog I've ever seen. Say, is his girlfriend
here?”

“
Not yet. She'll come
sometime during the week. Aunt Emma wanted to give us time to
acclimate you before she arrived.”

“
That's a good
woman.”

“
Yes, she is. Thanks for
helping her locate Rocky's owner. She seemed happy to contact him.
I'm amazed he's an Admiral.”

“
He's a great
man.”

“
Well, I'm glad. Emma said
they’ve been e-mailing. Rocky's a wonderful dog and since she's
with puppy, it's good to know these things.”

“
With puppy?” Mitch
exclaimed and floated her to arms length to stare at
her.

“
Yep. They snuck off while
we weren't looking one day. So, they're expecting their first batch
of babies.” Lainy grinned.

He turned to stare at Bentley, who
swam in circles around them. “I can't believe you're going to be a
father. Unbelievable Bent.”

Bentley seemed to laugh at him and
kept going.

“
So, you and Emma couldn't
keep them apart.” He shook his head.

Lainy planted her hand on his head and
pushed. When he resurfaced she had a pretty good lead on him, but
the man wasn't a Marine for nothing. He gained on her with ease and
grabbed her. She didn't put up much of a fight, nor was she scared.
Instead she twined her arms around his neck and narrowed her
eyes.

“
I'll let you get away with
dunking me, since I'm pretty sure I deserved it, but I don't like
you more than an inch away from me,” he complained.

“
I feel the same way.”
Lainy rewarded him with another long kiss. She enjoyed the feel of
him against her. This time they managed not to go under. They
frolicked in the water with Bentley a little longer before
clambering out. Mitch climbed out first and before she could boost
herself up, he reached down and hauled her up with little
effort.

Her body melded against his and she
enjoyed the fit. As he appeared to. This was so new, but
nice.

“
Hello
? Excuse me, lovebirds, but there are kids here,” someone
intoned from further up the pier and they turned to see Ben holding
towels for them.

“
Ben, when did you get
home?” Lainy accepted a towel, and offered him a wet hug, before
Mitch shook his hand.

“
Today. I'm only here for
about twenty four hours, then I'll be gone again, but I thought I
might as well come and see how Mitch is doing.” He surveyed their
wet clothes. “Didn't take you long to get wet, I see.” He and Mitch
exchanged grins. The sight warmed Lainy's heart. These two did seem
to like, respect, and understand each other.

“
After all that sand and
heat, this was unavoidable,” Mitch commented and Ben
grinned.

“
Yeah, that I can
appreciate. The desert is no place for a Marine or a
SEAL.”

“
And how. Give me the
tropics any day. Give me sharks. But please don't put me in the
desert again,” Mitch said with vehemence and shuddered.

“
Welcome to the lake, and
we're awfully glad you had the opportunity to wash some of the grit
out.”

“
This dip did remove more
sand.” Lainy loved the satisfaction emanating from his eyes. Give
the man some water and he was happy. She'd miss the green and
water, too, if stuck in a desert somewhere.

She'd make sure he spent plenty of
time in the water while they were here. She was glad now she'd made
the decision to bring him here first. Something had told her the
lake would be the best place, since it was low key and quieter. Not
as many relatives here and she figured he'd suffer from some jet
lag. She thought he'd sleep well tonight.

Ben wondered off after he’d asked
about Treeny. She hated to tell him Treeny wasn’t expected until
the following weekend. Lainy focused on Mitch again, which wasn’t
hard.

He yawned and she steered him toward
Will's cabin. “You can take that longer shower now and then go to
sleep.”

“
Are you turning bossy on
me already?” His eyes went innocently wide and she swatted
him.

“
Yes. But only when you're
dead on your feet and just want to play. You obviously need someone
to take care of you.”

“
I'd never had that before
the Fandrichs and then when they died, thought I'd never have
someone to care again.” His eyes grew somber. He didn’t need to
tell her how much he valued her care. She knew.

“
Well, you thought wrong,
because I do,” she returned emphatically and he grinned.

“
I'm glad,” he whispered
before tugging her close for another heart stopping
kiss.

*****

Mitch padded up the stairs and found
more civilian clothes waiting for him in one of his own bags from
his storage unit. From the smell, they’d been freshly laundered. He
grabbed what he'd need for a shower and took a much longer one. He
didn't loiter, but he did take his time removing as much sand as he
could. He figured he'd brought a good pound or two of the stuff
home with him.