Loving You Is Easy Read online

  The doors opened and Shane motioned for Brooke to go ahead of him; it was the gentlemanly thing to do, but it also gave him a chance to check her out from behind. Her navy-blue-and-white-striped dress went down almost to the floor and outlined her rounded butt and slender thighs perfectly. A long side slit offered tempting glimpses of the smooth, tan skin of her long legs. An expensive-looking, ultrasoft white sweater covered her shoulders, and fashionable white strappy sandals accented her narrow feet.

  Everything about Brooke turned him on—made him feel damn lucky to be with her. Too bad he didn’t have the same effect on her.

  Shane wished he’d had his phone handy to snap a picture of the expression on Brooke’s face when she said, “This room is all bed.”

  He smiled. After sleeping on an uncomfortable cot for too many months he’d opted for the king over two queens. Right at this moment he couldn’t be happier he had. “Make yourself comfortable.” He motioned to the bed.

  The look she gave him made him laugh. When he got it under control he told her, “Lie down. Sit down.” He pointed to a hard wooden chair pushed beneath a small desk crammed into the corner. “Whatever you’d like.” He tossed his bag onto the bed, unzipped it, and dug around for a clean change of clothes, making sure to locate a long-sleeved shirt that would keep his tattoos hidden. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”

  Standing in the entrance to the bathroom he couldn’t resist teasing her some more—Who knew? Maybe if he kept it up she’d give in and agree—so he stuck out his head and said, “Just letting you know I am purposely leaving this door unlocked so you can come in and join me. Consider this an invitation if you need one.”

  “There you go again.” Sitting primly on the corner of the bed, Brooke looked up from what he assumed was the room service menu. “Confusing me with a girlfriend.”

  The number one problem with good girls is no sex without a commitment. He sort of respected that. But it didn’t keep him from continuing his pursuit, for the fun of it as much as to get her between the sheets of his big, inviting bed. “Haven’t you ever heard of friends with benefits? I am very open to that type of friendship.”

  “Of course you are.” She lowered the menu and placed it in her lap. “Unfortunately, I don’t play that game.”

  Unfortunate indeed. Cold shower here I come. “You know, if I weren’t such an upstanding guy, I could easily say, ‘Fine. Be my girlfriend. Now get in here and shower with me.’ But where does being honest leave me?” He threw up his hands. “Showering alone,” he answered himself with a huff, all for show.

  “First of all,” she stood. “You’d have to be a heck of a lot more inviting than that to get me in there.”

  At this point he’d happily drop to his knees and beg.

  “Secondly, your honesty and straightforwardness are two of the things I like most about you.”

  Right now they were two things he liked least.

  “And thirdly, if I was easy you’d lose all respect for me.”

  “Now that’s where you’re wrong,” he said. “I like easy. I respect easy. Easy is one of my favorite things.”

  She crossed her arms over her ribs. “And look where dating easy has gotten you—avoiding relationships altogether.”

  Ouch. “I only avoid certain types of relationships. Within the last five minutes I made it clear I’m all for the friends-with-benefits relationship.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively again.

  “Be serious.”

  He didn’t want to be serious. He wanted to play and have fun. He wanted to kiss her and cuddle her and make love to her. And the fact that it appeared he wouldn’t be getting to do any of those things tonight shot a dose of cranky into his system. “Fine, you want serious? Here’s serious.”

  He crossed his arms over his chest, just like she had, and leaned his shoulder against the doorframe. “I’ve been in the military for eight years. It’s not like I’ve never had a girlfriend in all that time. But dating an active-duty soldier is not easy. It takes a special kind of woman.”

  She gave him “the look” he’d seen so many times.

  “I know. You think you’re different from the other women I’ve dated. You think you can handle all the time apart and having someone you love risking death day after day for months at a time.”

  Her back went ramrod straight. “I have been handling it. For eight months.”

  “No, you haven’t, because we are not dating.” And she didn’t love him. “What happens when I’m out of touch for a while? When you see reports of bloody battles with American soldiers wounded and killed? I don’t want you worrying over me or having to grieve for me. I’m trying to protect you.”

  “News flash, Shane. Just because we are not officially boyfriend and girlfriend doesn’t mean I don’t care about you or miss you or worry about you. I’m a big girl. A grown woman. I don’t need your misguided protection.”

  He did not want to fight with her. But, “If we make it official you’ll have expectations. You’ll want me to call you at a certain time, and when I don’t you’ll get mad. The longer we spend apart the more you’ll wonder if I’m being unfaithful.” He’d been down that road too many times. “You’ll get lonely. You’ll turn to someone else for comfort.” At least with Brooke it wouldn’t be a friend he’d known for years. “Then, right before a dangerous mission outside the wire, I’ll get your letter breaking up with me. I’ll go into battle distracted and step on an IED. Stop shaking your head. It happens. Soldiers lose their focus and wind up dead. Having a girlfriend is one more thing to think about and worry about.” One more distraction. One more responsibility. One more thing that can turn to shit in a war zone.

  “I’m shaking my head because I can’t believe you have such a low opinion of me and because I can’t believe you’re lumping me in with all the other women you’ve dated without giving me a chance.”

  Maybe it’d started off like that. But in a short period of time he’d developed a very high opinion of Brooke and knew for certain she wasn’t like any other woman he’d ever dated. With that realization came concerns he didn’t want to share. Like, them dating would mean she’d want to meet his family and friends and she’d want to introduce him to hers, and a woman like Brooke wouldn’t fit into his world any better than he’d fit into hers. Her father worked closely with the governor of New York State while his drove a city bus. She enjoyed high-class social events and political fund-raisers while he spent his downtime tossing back beers with the boys at bars. She had her master’s degree while he had a lowly GED.

  When it came to life in the United States, they had little in common. So, like it or not, if they were to have any relationship at all, he had to limit it to them being pen pals and private meetings like tonight…or risk her finding out just how different they were and losing her altogether.

  Weariness settled deep into his bones. He let out an exhausted breath. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

  Without a word she came to him, wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her cheek on his chest. “I don’t want to fight with you, either.”

  He kissed the top of her head.

  “I’m sorry I upset you,” she said.

  “I’m sorry I upset you,” he answered.

  “No more talk of boyfriends and girlfriends. I promise,” she said. “You go shower. I’ll order you a big bacon cheeseburger with everything on it and extra ketchup for your French fries.”

  He smiled. She knew him so well. If circumstances were different he could easily fall in love with this woman. “Thank you.”

  “After dinner we can cuddle up and watch a movie like we’ve talked about doing so many times.” She looked up at him with a mischievous sparkle in her beautiful brown eyes. “And maybe, just maybe, I’ll let you kiss me some more, since today’s a special circumstance and all.” She gave him a saucy wink.

  “I’d like that.” He hugged her tightly. “I’d like that a lot.”

  —

  Keepin
g to a few harmless kisses would have been easier if Brooke had not answered, “Okay,” when Shane suggested they turn off all the lights in the room for a more realistic movie-watching experience. If she had not feigned interest in the romantic comedy playing on the television instead of putting a stop to Shane’s gradual maneuvering that shifted them from sitting next to each other, leaning against the headboard, to lying on their sides with his front pressed in close to her back, in the center of his large bed. If she had not come in contact with the hard, bulging evidence of his arousal and started to wonder, if she did nothing about it, would he jump into bed with the first willing woman he came across in his hometown?

  As simple as that, being his girlfriend became less important than being the one to ease his ache, to pleasure him and satisfy him in a way that would hopefully leave him wanting more of her.

  He shifted restlessly, again, adjusting his hips and rubbing his arousal against her backside, ever so slightly, again.

  “You’re not watching the movie,” she pointed out.

  “No,” he admitted, stating the obvious, his head buried in her hair, his lips kissing her neck. “But don’t let me keep you from watching it.”

  As if she could concentrate with his large, warm body so close after so many months of imagining what it’d be like. He slid his hand slowly upward. This time she made no move to stop him. As he gently cupped her left breast he let out a deep sigh of contentment and seemed to relax a bit. When he started to move, his thumb brushing back and forth across her nipple, Brooke felt anything but content or relaxed.

  “You don’t like it?” she asked, referring to the movie, trying to keep her head clear, willing her body not to respond to his touch. A wasted effort. Her nipple hardened most enjoyably.

  Nuzzling in close to her ear he lowered his voice, squeezed her tight, and said, “I’m a little preoccupied by the beautiful, sexy woman in my arms.”

  That was the problem. Brooke stiffened. She didn’t want to be some nameless woman he found sexy and wanted to screw because any woman would do.

  “Stop,” he said. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop. I know you don’t want sex. But, please, let me at least have this.” He held her tightly and rocked his hips. “Please.”

  It’s not that she didn’t want sex; she wanted more than sex.

  “For a little while longer,” he said, fondling her breast like a master, breathing in the scent of her hair. “I need this. So. Much.”

  I need “this” not I need “you.” That hurt. But Brooke had no one to blame but herself. He’d made it clear he didn’t want a girlfriend, yet she’d gone and fallen for him anyway. “I brought you a present,” she said, turning in his arms to face him.

  In the light given off by the television she watched him close his eyes as he whispered, “Please let it be lingerie. Please let it be lingerie.”

  Brooke smiled. “It is.”

  His eyes shot open.

  “Something sure to keep you thinking about me.” And only her. She scooted up to kiss his cheek.

  “Honey, I already think about you way more than I should.” He reached up to guide her chin to the right, and a very sweet kiss followed his very sweet words.

  When he finished Brooke said, “Something you’ve been asking for.” Not at first, but after they’d grown closer, certainly in every single letter, e-mail, and Skype session for the past few months.

  Now he smiled. “Finally I’m going to have me some sexy pictures?”

  She nodded. Part of the reason she’d decided to travel to the airport in person was to get a feel for him, to make certain he could be trusted with them. “Hand delivered.” To avoid the risk of mailing them or sending them via the Internet, a politician’s daughter couldn’t take any chances revealing pictures would wind up in the wrong hands.

  “But you have to promise not to open them until your birthday.” He’d been bummed out about having to spend another one in a war zone. “And not to show them to anyone.”

  “I promise.” He rolled onto his back, taking her with him. “I’ll guard them with my life.”

  Good. That settled, Brooke made use of the huge side slit in her dress to straddle Shane’s lap as she pushed up to sit on his thighs. “And there’s one more thing I’d like to give you before I have to leave.” She looked straight into his eyes and caressed his erection through his pants. “Since today’s a special circumstance.”

  “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” he lifted his hips into her touch. “But my guy’s been seeing a lot of hand action lately. We were kind of hoping for something more.”

  Her eyes locked on his, Brooke undid the clasp at his waist and lowered the zipper. “My terms,” she said, lowering the waistband of his cotton briefs, exposing his large erection. She ran her palm up the smooth, soft skin, over the rounded head, wrapping her fingers around him firmly on the way back down.

  He closed his eyes and let out a deep, gratifying moan. “Your terms.”

  She moved her hand up and down again, following the same path as before. Again and again. “You’d tell me if there was any reason I shouldn’t put my mouth on you, right?”

  He thrust up into her hand. “Jesus, just thinking about that has me almost there. So I think it needs to be said, the first time after a long leave usually goes pretty quick and is in no way typical of my usual staying power.”

  Brooke smiled. “Good to know.” She continued to stroke him as she moved lower on his legs.

  “And no diseases. I’m clean. So whenever you want to—”

  She leaned down, swirled her tongue around his tip, and took him into her mouth, all the way to the back of her throat.

  “Holy shit.”

  Brooke fought not to smile as she did the same thing again, thankful for all of the blow job wisdom her friend Neve had shared over the years.

  Shane threaded his fingers into her hair and grabbed her head, guiding her without forcing her. “That’s right, baby. Just like that.”

  She jerked up. “It’s Brooke.” Not baby or honey. Tonight especially she wanted there to be no doubt about exactly who it was giving him pleasure.

  “I’ve dreamed about you doing this to me, Brooke.” He applied a gentle, coaxing downward pressure and she took him back into her mouth. “Ah, God. Brooke.” He held her head in place and thrust into her.

  She sucked him deep, moving her hand in tandem with her mouth so he wouldn’t push in too far, loving his scent and the feel of him. Over and over he slid along her lips, tongue, and the inner walls of her mouth, his essence growing stronger, his hips moving faster.

  “So good, Brooke. So un-fucking-believably good.” He let out a deep moan that finished off in a long exhale. “Shit. Not yet.” He tried to pull her off. She didn’t let him. “I’m gonna come.”

  Good. She slammed down and took him as deep as she could, didn’t want him to come in a hand, like he had over the past months. She wanted him to finish in her mouth, to remember how good it felt to be in there, to want to be in there again.

  With a loud, “Fuck,” his body went rigid as he strained out his release. Brooke took all he had to give, not stopping until his body went limp on the bed.

  “C’mere,” he said, sounding groggy, his breathing ragged, as he reached for her.

  “Give me a second.” She ran to the bathroom to wash up. Back at the bed she found his pants on the floor and him between the sheets, holding them up for her in invitation.

  “Only for a few minutes.” A few wonderful minutes. She slid in beside him, on her side, resting her head on his shoulder.

  “Thank you.” He kissed her forehead. “I owe you one. Give me a minute and I’ll—”

  “No,” Brooke said, covering his mouth with her index finger. “Tonight was for you.”

  “But I want—”

  Brooke went up on an elbow and kissed his lips. “Next time.” She prayed he would return home safely once again and there would be a next time for them.

  He hugged her
close. “I hate that I’m so exhausted.” He yawned. “I don’t want to fall asleep, but I feel so good, so relaxed.”

  She snuggled in close, thrilled she’d been able to do that for him.

  “Stay with me.”

  “I can’t.” But she could stay until he drifted off. “I have a baby shower brunch I can’t miss in the morning. I have to be there early to set up. As it is I won’t be getting back to my place until after midnight.”

  He yawned again. “Call me when you get home,” he said, sounding half asleep already.

  “I will.” No she wouldn’t, didn’t want to wake him.

  His head drifted off to the side, then he perked up. “Don’t forget to leave my pictures.”

  She smiled. “I won’t.” She lay quietly in his arms, listening to the news, enjoying his warmth and the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, waiting until he’d fallen asleep before trying to leave the bed.

  “Brooke?” he asked quietly just as her feet touched the floor.

  She turned to look at him. “Yes?”

  His eyes sleepy, his voice deep he said, “I’ll be home again in three months, give or take a couple of weeks. Maybe we could revisit the boyfriend-girlfriend thing then? See if we can find a way to work something out?”

  Happiness burst through her but she reined it in when she leaned over to give him one last kiss. “I’d like that.”

  “You’ll wait for me?” he mumbled.

  “Of course I will.”

  OCTOBER 18, 2012

  Chapter One

  “No,” Brooke Ellstein whispered as she stared at the image on her laptop in horrified disbelief. “No, no, no.” She adjusted the angle of the screen, as if that might make the picture disappear.

  It didn’t.

  The front door opened as her best friend, Neve, who’d called and instructed her to hop onto Facebook pronto, used her key to walk right into Brooke’s condo, carrying a pitcher of what looked like her yummy margaritas and two glasses. “Sorry. I thought I’d make it over before you logged on.” She went straight to the kitchen, set the glasses on the counter, and filled each to the rim. “Before we get to work on damage control, I’d like to take a moment to say, while that photograph is a total surprise—because, frankly, I didn’t think you had it in you to send your army pen pal sexy snapshots—you look amazing. If I had legs like yours I would not be hiding them under slacks and knee-length shorts and skirts.”