The Right to Bear Arms: BBW Military Paranormal Romance (Wild Operatives, #1) (4 page)

“So you were sort of like... what? Delta Force? Seal Team 6?” He sounded sexier and sexier by the second. I imagined him in complete combat armor, a military grade shotgun in his hands, moving in formation with a group of similarly equipped soldiers. My breath caught in my throat.

“You could call it that. I can’t say a whole lot about it, but I can say we did a lot of good here at home and in the Middle East. I retired as a Master Sergeant, but I’m kinda still on contract. When I retired, I agreed to let them recall me as needed.”

I didn’t even realize how late it had gotten until my phone buzzed. I silenced the call from my sister and gaped at the time.

“Wow, it’s eight already. I should probably get going, just let me help you get everything cleaned up.”

“You cooked it; I’ll handle the dishes.” His lazy grin made my heart speed into a gallop. Looking as good as he did in a t-shirt and jeans, lounging in an armchair, should be illegal.

“Sorry, bud, you’re gonna have to let me up now.” Trigger whined and didn’t budge, content to remain where he was. I laughed and scratched his head. “I’ll rub your ears again next time.”

Because I really hoped there would be a next time.

Trigger padded off and Russ walked me out. He held the door for me like a gentleman.

“I had fun today, Russ, thank you.”

“I’m real glad you dropped by.”

Maybe we had the same thing on our minds when I stood on the front porch, wringing my hands together, fretting, and doubting myself. When his lips touched mine, a jolt of electricity shot through me and a warm feeling zipped right to my core, reminding me of how long it had been since the last time I’d gotten laid. A year almost?

No, I told myself firmly. You are not going to try to fuck this man on the first date. I set some limits in my head as we separated. In reality, the kiss hadn’t been as long as it seemed in my mind and nothing more than the corners of our mouths had touched. In fact, I was positive he’d been aiming for my cheek, but I had turned my head like an idiot.

Once I finished mentally cursing myself, I put a sunny smile on my face and let the memory of his lips bolster my confidence. Just as I planned to invite him to dinner, Russ beat me to the punch.

“I’d... like to do this again soon, Daniela. If you’d like.”

“I would.”

Relief flooded his features, as if he’d been afraid I’d turn him down. That idea never passed through my mind. It wasn’t just that he was sexy as all get out — he was a great guy, too. I had honestly enjoyed chatting with him all afternoon.

~Russ~

T
he conversation and dinner with Daniela seemed to cure my wanderlust for the entire evening. By the time she left, the desire to strip out of my clothes and enjoy an evening stroll was long gone. The bear in me was equally satisfied by her company. Something about her appealed to my inner beast and soothed the animal at the core of my spirit. Had my bear recognized her as a potential mate?

It was that attraction that had drawn me to use her rear yard as my path each night. When I saw her brand new hammock stretched between the trees, impulse drove me to climb aboard and make myself comfortable for a while. I didn’t count on passing out until past dawn, and I didn’t count on her seeing me. I certainly didn’t count on her feeding me.

I’d taken a shine to Daniela from the very first time she offered me food while unaware of my true identity. It took a special sort of person to accept a wild animal in their backyard without any intentions of shooting it. Reappearing afterward required a battle of ethics — was it immoral to return morning after morning, knowing she’d provide me a meal, or was my animal form facilitating something we both seemed to crave?

I was born this way. Most shifters inherited the trait from a parent, with exception to a few of our magical brethren like the loup-garou. A werewolf could infect a mortal human on the full moon, transferring a spark of the magic that allowed them to shapeshift. Most purists didn’t believe in creating new blood from lowly humans though. I’d run into a couple inbred packs in my day that would give Harry Potter’s Death Eaters a run for their money.

While we were all uniquely different, we had a couple of similarities between our species. All shifters got the wanderlust from time to time, an irresistible urge to go back to our animal roots and roam through our native habitats. I could sate mine by taking a walk in my own backyard, but others, like my pal Taylor, weren’t so lucky. He had to drive into the country to shed his human flesh and prowl the hills in his natural mountain lion state. Ian was probably the safest among us. It took a bold bastard to shoot at our national bird. As for the rest of our old squad, their animal talents ranged from conspicuous to damned near invisible.

I spent half of my enlistment period as a Special Forces operative in an elite group exclusive to shapeshifters. Ian was the second generation leader of the squad, following in his father’s footsteps. Together, we were unstoppable and we accomplished the impossible, handling critical government jobs from infiltration to surveillance.

Since I was officially out of the Army, I remained on as a contracted employee. Lucky for me, they hadn’t needed me back for anything big since my retirement. It’d be a lie to say I wasn’t relieved for the break from war and battle, but I received damned good paychecks as a consultant. Between that and my Army pension, I was financially secure to enjoy life without any monetary concerns.

After Daniela was gone, I laid in my bed imagining the pressure of her lips beneath mine. The feeling of lust for a woman had been gone for so long that its return almost struck me as foreign.

There’d been no one since Katie, and wanting Daniela almost felt like a betrayal to my wife of sixteen years. The rational part of me also knew she wouldn’t want me to sulk at home in eternal mourning of her memory.

To make use of my surplus meat from the grill out, I invited Daniela over again the next night. During a dinner of reheated burgers and sweet tea, we shared stories about our recent achievements. She planned to go back to school for her master’s degree, something her ex had strictly forbidden while they were married. In retrospect, I wish I’d punched him a couple more times before the coward ran away.

“So, what do you think about coming with me to the gym this Saturday for a couple lessons with my other students?”

“I don’t know...”

“It’ll be fun.”

Daniela dragged in a breath and settled back in her chair. “Me and the gym sort of have issues.”

“What if I promise not to make you sweat much, and to buy you ice cream afterward?”

“Frozen yogurt?”

“Deal,” I agreed, laughing.

Two nights later, she invited me over for chicken enchiladas and sopapillas. We lit a couple of mosquito torches and sat out back while the hummingbirds visited her deck. I wondered if her feeders and apparent love of the birds were initially what lured me to linger on her property.

By Saturday, Daniela had improved her speed at loading and unloading the shotgun, and she was ready to begin her combat tactics lessons. My small class met two weekends a month and had several regulars who all had found their way to me for varying reasons. Some of them wanted to get fit, a few did it for shits and giggles, and then there were women like Daniela, learning to defend their lives against true danger.

Since there were a couple of new faces, I made everyone introduce themselves at the start of the class. After they warmed up with stretches and light calisthenics — during which Daniela shot me dirty looks — I moved to the front of the class to begin the real lesson.

“Today, we’re going to begin with palm heel strikes and shin rakes. They’re easy to do in close quarters, and it doesn’t take a lot of power to hurt someone. First, I need a volunteer.”

To no one’s surprise, a busty blonde girl raised her hand from the front of the class. Juliette always offered, and her motivation was transparent. I sighed. Her fair hair and porcelain skin didn’t do a thing for me. I liked them dark-haired and exotic, with big brown eyes and even larger bottoms. If there wasn’t enough meat on a woman for me to squeeze with my hands, they held no interest for me.

“Daniela? Would you come up front and give me a hand?”

“Oh, I don’t know—”

I grinned at her and patted the training dummy beside me. “C’mon, I promise Bob here won’t bite.”

The gym had provided two body opponent bags when I started my class over a year ago. I donated a third to help out when my classes became popular. The stern-faced, plastisol torso gave the students a realistic visual representation of where to strike an attacker.

“If someone gets in your space and won’t back down, a strike to their nose or throat with the heel of your palm is gonna make them rethink things quick.”

Using Daniela as my model, I walked her and the class through the motions then paired them up into small groups.

“Lock your elbow when you do it, Daniela. Like that. Put some power into it. The more you practice it now, the easier it’ll be if you actually have to do it.”

As much as I’d have liked to, I didn’t stay with Daniela the entire lesson. I paired her with Blake, a high schooler who’d been bullied since coming out of the closet last year. He didn’t really need the lessons anymore, but he enjoyed helping during classes and seemed to look up to me. Even said he planned to join the ROTC when he went to college. He made a good practice partner for my gal while I moved around the room and helped everyone with their technique. Wait, when did I begin to think of her as mine?

“Good everyone. Real good. Bring your gloves next time, y’all. I want to pair you off for sparring matches.”

“Can I fight you again, Russ?” Blake asked.

“Sure can. You’re faster than I am, so maybe you’ll kick my ass this time.”

After giving them reminders to stay hydrated, I dismissed the class and started to store equipment away. Daniela helped me out until I shooed her aside to drink and rest. She’d done well in her first class. During the ride home, she quizzed me about my Army training and why I’d decided to teach self-defense.

“Part of it was for something to do, I guess. After twenty years of being busy, having completely idle hands made me twitchy. Besides, I like helping people.”

“You’re good at it. I went to the gym once. Well, Mike made me go. He paid some trainer to work with me, but the lady was a real hard-core bitch who screamed a lot.” Daniela turned her gaze to the moving scenery outside. “I got discouraged and didn’t want to go back and...” She went quiet and I filled in the blanks. Her asshole of an ex probably didn’t take well to the money lost.

I flicked the turn signal, slowed, and drifted off the interstate toward a building marked with a colorful pink and orange sign. According to the sign, Flora’s Fro-Yo had about a dozen special flavors.

“Wait, what are you doing?” I stole a glance to the passenger seat to see Daniela’s quizzical expression and wide brown eyes staring back at me.

“I promised you frozen yogurt, remember?”

“You just whipped like a thousand calories off me,” she said pointedly.

“Now I’m putting it back on you,” I replied while pulling into the parking lot.

“You don’t think...” She paused again, huffed a breath, and simply laughed before shaking her head. “All right then. It’s your treat though.”

“I wouldn’t dream of letting you pay.”

I filled my paper cup to the top and encouraged Daniela to do the same. While I wasn’t looking, she tried to serve herself a tiny dieter’s portion, like I’d judge her for wanting more than a spoonful.

“How am I gonna steal some of your flavor if there’s only one bite to take?” My friendly tease seemed to do the trick, convincing her to take a more generous helping. After filling up her bowl, we picked out toppings for each other.

We devoured our frosty treats beneath a covered table outside, enjoying a pleasant Texas breeze. It was the perfect way to cool off after a tough workout session. I didn’t think the day could get any better, but Daniela proved me wrong with an innocent kiss to my cheek. Her cool lips left a tingling warmth on my skin long after she pulled away.

“I had fun today.”

“You’re welcome to join again anytime. Just let me know and you can bum a ride with me.”

I dropped her off an hour later, after a relaxing stroll through the town square where we walked hand in hand and I bought her flowers from a local vendor. The close knit community was one of my reasons for moving to Quickdraw’s little municipality, aside from the badass name. Around this time of the year, the farmers’ markets were in full swing.

“You didn’t have to buy me this, you know.” She sniffed the fragrant white blooms on the potted gardenia topiary I bought for her. It would be a perfect addition to her home and, I hoped, something that would make her think of me whenever she looked at it.

“That’s the funny thing about gifts. Don’t need a reason to give ‘em.”

With my truck parked beside her little sedan, neither of us moved.

“Go have a hot soak, darlin’. You’ll be feeling that workout later.”

Daniela lingered in the passenger seat and glanced back at me with one hand on the door handle. I couldn’t let her leave like this, with things hanging in the air between us. So I trusted my gut and pulled her back to me, then leaned in and claimed her lips.

One arm hooked behind my left shoulder, her fingers tangling in my hair. She dragged me in closer, equally eager and filled with as much yearning. One hand grasped the front of my t-shirt initially, and then she placed my hand against her breast. I squeezed and kneaded the plump swell beneath my fingers, pinching the stiffening nipple through her thin t-shirt and bra. She had the perfect pair. They were more than a handful for even my large palms, and the tips were hard bullet points I wanted to suck into my mouth.

Her fingers danced over my zipper, a playful tease that I couldn’t bear. My cock swelled even more under her touch and became so hard it hurt to remain in my jeans.

Not like this. As much as I wanted her, I didn’t want our first time together to be in a cramped truck cab like we were a couple of randy teenagers. I became conflicted between having her in the truck or dragging her outside. Fantasies danced through my mind of bending her over in the grass and sweet-smelling clover, of raising that luscious ass of hers to the air, spreading her thighs, and thrusting into her tight hole.