Night Maneuvers Read online

  So, she was officially an addict, avoiding reality. Craving one more hit, one more day of Mitch. Like a drug she never should’ve tried in the first place. He made her weak. He made her lose all sense of reason. But she was hooked.

  Was there such a thing as a Mitch McCabe rehab?

  12

  SITUATION REPORT: sucker punched by girlfriend. Wait…girlfriend?

  “Hey, if it isn’t Monk-man McCabe!” Sanders taunted as Mitch got in line to grab a sandwich at the commissary.

  Mitch gritted his teeth, smiled and nodded. Let the guy have his fun. Mitch wasn’t about to risk his promotion.

  “Keep up, Sanders.” Grady joined the lunch line. “His thirty days were over yesterday.”

  “Is that so?” Sanders narrowed his eyes, a sly look on his face. “What? No Hughes around to defend you today, McCabe?”

  “Why? You miss getting your ass handed to you, Sanders?”

  Sanders scowled. “Heard she’s on night maneuvers.” He leaned in. “With Rooster in her class, I bet she’s maneuvering every night.”

  Mitch gritted his teeth. His hands curled into fists. Then he raised his brows and snapped his fingers. “Yeah, that’s right. You’d know about Hughes’s maneuvering, wouldn’t you? How is your foot doing, by the way?”

  Sanders lost his smile. Mitch chuckled all the way back to his office. Good thing Hughes hadn’t been with him. She’d have cleaned poor Sanders’s clock.

  A warmth grew in his chest thinking about her. About how she’d put up with Sanders’s groping that night, but the minute the guy insulted Mitch, she’d lost it. Nobody had ever fought for him before. Or believed in him like she did. Even this morning, she’d been fighting for him.

  When Alex wanted something, she went after it, no holds barred. And pity the fool who got in her way, which he had. Most women who didn’t get called for three days would’ve written him off, or maybe called to whine and complain.

  Even Luanne, after they’d been married a few months, he’d wake up in the middle of the night and hear her crying in the bathroom. He’d get up and ask her what was wrong, and she’d say, “Nothing.”

  How could you fight nothing? How could you solve the “nothing” problem?

  He’d bet his flight suit he’d never have that problem with Alex. He wouldn’t even have to ask. She’d come out and tell him what the problem was, and probably tell him what he could do about it, too.

  He grinned just thinking about her, and as soon as he got off, he raced for her house, thinking about the incredible makeup sex they could have.

  So much that he didn’t notice the flashing lights behind him at first.

  Crap. Of all the times to get stopped for speeding.

  He pulled over and got out his license and proof of insurance. From his side mirror he saw the cop striding toward him. As the officer reached his Jeep’s open side and removed his sunglasses, Mitch looked up.

  “Jackson?” Mitch hadn’t yet told his ex-Air Force buddy he owed him a forfeit.

  “You aware you were smiling, McCabe?”

  “Yeah, I kno— Smiling? You mean speeding.”

  “No, but—” he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his ticket book “—I can write you a ticket if—”

  “No, that’s okay.”

  “I pulled you over to inform you your thirty days are officially over. But I can see from your cocky grin you already knew that.”

  “Yeah, about that. I, uh. I didn’t make it.”

  Jackson raised his brows and blinked. “Real funny, McCabe. Pull the other one.”

  It took every ounce of manipulation Mitch had ever learned to convince Jackson he had actually broken his word without revealing with whom or why. The only forfeit Mitch wouldn’t agree to was another thirty days.

  They finally settled on a full weekend of helping Jackson and Jordan move out of their tiny apartment into a new home. They both knew Mitch would’ve helped anyway, but it was this weekend and they planned to treat everyone to barbecue ribs as a thank-you as soon as they finished Sunday night.

  Everybody.

  As Mitch drove off, waving to Jackson, it wasn’t a question of whether Alex had been invited, or even if she would go. No, the question was, would he and she go together? Or keep their affair a secret?

  The makeup sex before she left for work was short and sweet. He hated that they only had a couple of hours together during the week. It wasn’t nearly enough time. He couldn’t wait for Friday night, and spending the weekend with her. Even if they’d be moving furniture and boxes most of the time. Being with Alex would make the job fun. Never a dull moment with her.

  MITCH PULLED INTO Alex’s driveway Friday night and let himself in the front door. Something smelled really good and his stomach growled. He made his way into the kitchen and the first thing he saw was the table. Where she usually had her laptop, her briefcase and a dozen other odds and ends was now a clean surface set with real plates and candles.

  Then he looked over and saw Alex pulling a pot roast out of the oven. The sink and counters were cluttered with bowls, all the stuff that had been on the table, and days’ worth of things not put away. That was more like the Alex he knew. But the roasting pan in her hands wasn’t. He blinked and shook his head.

  She caught sight of him and smiled. “Oh, good. I’m glad you’re home. Could you loosen the gasket on the pipe under the bathroom sink? It’s leaking.”

  Mitch stood, frozen in bewilderment and…something else that felt funny in his gut. “I thought you said you couldn’t cook?”

  She took off her oven mitts, tossed them on the counter and shoved hair out of her eyes with the back of her hand. “I said I didn’t want to be stuck cooking and cleaning all day. Doesn’t mean I don’t know how to make dinner.”

  Mitch didn’t know what to say, so he just stood there.

  “What?” Her lips had flattened.

  “Nothing. Smells good. I’ll get my wrench.”

  Before checking the pipe, he changed out of his uniform and pulled on some shorts. While he was on his back halfway under the bathroom sink, Alex appeared in the doorway. “I just replaced one of the gaskets in the other bath, so I figured that’s what this was. But I could not get the dang thing loose.”

  Mitch pulled with all his might to loosen the fitting. “Got it.”

  “Jeez, it sucks being a female when it comes to upper body strength. No matter how hard I work out…”

  Mitch scooted out and sat up. “I have to say, I’m awfully glad you’re female.” He smiled and wiggled his brows.

  Her frown disappeared and her eyes twinkled. She hunkered down, put her hand behind his head and kissed him hard and deep. Her tongue played around his and her other hand traveled down his shoulder to his arm.

  Slowly, she released his mouth, squeezed his biceps and smiled. “I have to admit. Watching you show off your guns while you tugged on that thing really turned me on.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Dropping the wrench, he cupped her cheek and pressed short kisses to the corners of her mouth, her nose, her eyes, her temple.

  She pulled back. “I was going to wait until after dinner for this, but…” She grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and drew it up over her head and off, tossing it out to the hall.

  He momentarily lost his breath when he saw her bra. It cupped and lifted her breasts, but only covered the bottom half of them in baby-blue satin.

  “You like?”

  He grunted and thumped his chest with the side of his fist. “Me like.”

  She giggled and he savored the sound. “I bought this color ’cause it matched your eyes.”

  “You did?” She’d thought about his eyes? The more he got to know this woman, the more she blew him away. He dragged his gaze away from her breasts and looked up into her golden-brown eyes. “Baby, you amaze me.”

  “Oh, Mitch.” Her hands gripped his head and she straddled him right there on the floor.

  With a groan he palmed her breasts and kissed the
soft mounds, sliding the straps down as far as he could.

  He wasn’t sure who undressed who or even how they both fit in the tiny bathroom, he just closed his eyes and held on as she took his pulsing erection inside her tight warmth. He heard her ragged breathing, and his. Heard her cry of pleasure and his. Then he held her tight as she lowered her chest to his. Her flesh was soft and sweet and damp and he wanted to hold her like this forever.

  The warmth that had started in his chest the other day had grown into a heat blast of emotion he could barely contain behind prickling eyes. He knew now why he’d felt so funny when he walked in tonight. She’d said, “Glad you’re home.” And he was home. Here. Inside her. With her.

  “Mitch?”

  “Yeah?”

  She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. Her lips parted and then closed again. There was something in her eyes, some yearning, something she needed… “Never mind.” She laid her head back on his chest.

  Aw, Hughes. He squeezed his eyes closed. “Don’t do that. Tell me.”

  Her soft breath warmed his cooling chest and he rubbed his chin on the top of her head.

  With a sigh, she pushed off him and sat up. “I’m starving. Let’s finish fixing this after dinner.” She started to get to her feet, but, unwilling to let the moment pass, he sat up and wrapped his arms around her back. After a surprised second she slid her hands around his waist and caressed his back.

  “Is it about this weekend?”

  “This weekend?”

  “You’re worried about what we tell the gang?”

  “Oh. Helping Jackson and Jordan move?”

  “Yeah, I assumed you got asked, too.”

  She nodded. “So…what do you want to do?”

  When he’d talked to Jackson the other night, he’d shaved every inch off the truth without actually lying to hide his affair with Alex. That way, if the whole thing went south, it wouldn’t affect their friends. “Maybe we should keep…us a secret for now.”

  She tugged on her lower lip. “Sure. Just buddies. No problem.” She met his gaze and smiled, but the smile misfired. Before he could stop her she lifted off him and started dressing.

  What? Did she really want to announce to the world that they were lovers? Hadn’t he just been thinking Hughes was the one person who came right out and said what was on her mind? With a sigh, he washed up and followed her into the kitchen.

  Dinner was amazing. Tender roast. Buttery potatoes. Steamed vegetables and hot rolls. Mitch hadn’t eaten a home-cooked meal like this in…he couldn’t remember when. While they ate, they discussed football, their favorite college teams, the NFL teams, who was winning, who was losing, who they thought was going to the Super Bowl.

  Feeling full and relaxed, Mitch leaned back, rubbing his stomach. “I didn’t know you had this in your repertoire, Hughes.”

  “I told you that night in the officers’ club.” She leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table, one brow raised. “There’s a lot about me you don’t know.”

  He gave her a slow, seductive smile. “I’m enjoying what I’ve learned so far.” He got up and stacked the dishes, then started rinsing and loading the dishwasher. The hairs on his neck rose as he felt Alex’s eyes on him. He turned to find her staring at him. “What?”

  “I’ve never seen you wash dishes before.”

  He grinned. “I’m not a complete caveman.” He reached for a dish. “When I was a kid, if I hadn’t clea—” He froze.

  “If you hadn’t cleaned?” she prompted.

  Mitch swallowed and made himself resume scrubbing a saucepan. “Let’s just say my mom wasn’t the best housekeeper.” Hell, if that had been her only shortcoming, life might have been bearable. He felt Alex come up behind him and touch his back softly.

  “Is that why your apartment and clothes are always spotless? Even your Jeep is immaculate.”

  He shrugged. “I guess.”

  She moved away, picking up a box of cereal he assumed had been left out from this morning. “And I’m such a slob.” She rolled up the plastic bag inside and closed the lid before sticking it in the pantry.

  “Hey.” He stepped over and caught her around the waist, spinning her to face him. “Don’t ever think you’re anything close to being like my mom.”

  Her soft lips curved up in a smile and this time her eyes lit up, too. She cupped his cheek in her palm. “Thanks.”

  “I mean it, Alex. You’re gorgeous, and intelligent, and…brave. Your courage has always amazed me.”

  Her brows rose. “I meant thanks for not deflecting and keeping it real about your mom.”

  “Oh.” Why was that so important to her? She’d made a big deal of it at her painting party, too. Maybe he could talk to Alex about his past, up to a point. He trusted her more than anyone else he knew. And just now, instead of judging his mom, she’d seemed worried he would judge her.

  Oh, well, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Returning her smile, he lowered his head and kissed her. “Maybe you should demonstrate your gratitude so I’ll be encouraged to reveal more.”

  Her eyes widened. “Well, if I’d known that’s all it took…” She cupped him over his zipper.

  He lifted her to the counter. “Let me see that bra again.”

  Washing the dishes got put off and so did the bathroom pipe repair. They moved to the bedroom and Mitch made sure Alex forgot everything except coming apart in his arms again and again.

  Having taught her class last night and gotten up early to cook him dinner, she soon fell asleep on his shoulder as he lay there recovering from the huge orgasm that rocked him. Listening to her soft little snore, feelings came creeping over him, tender, mushy, urgent. He recognized it for what it was. Everything he’d thought he felt for Luanne. But deeper. Stronger. More real. More…terrifying.

  13

  ONCE AGAIN, SHE, Alexandria Annalise Hughes, had chickened out.

  Last night she’d come so close to telling him that she loved him. She’d never thought of herself as a coward. And she knew eventually she’d have to get off the fence and, like her grandfather advised, go after that runaway calf. There was no way she would settle for half a relationship. But if she told Mitch she loved him, most likely his response would be that he loved having sex with her, and he really liked her a lot.

  Besides the humiliation factor, there was the inevitable breakup. Once they split up, it wasn’t that she would lose the man she loved. How could she lose something she’d never really had? No, the most painful thing would be losing her best friend. The one person who knew her, understood her and accepted her for who she was.

  By eight the next morning she’d slipped out of Mitch’s arms, made coffee and driven to Jackson and Jordan’s apartment.

  Jordan put her to work wrapping items from the kitchen cabinets in newspaper and putting them in a box marked Kitchen. With Jordan in and out of the place supervising Jackson, who was disassembling the bed, Alex had too much time to think.

  It hurt at first that Mitch wanted to keep their affair a secret. Was Mitch ashamed of their new relationship? Embarrassed to admit to his other buddies that they were sleeping together? But she could also see the wisdom of hiding their liaison. Fraternization between squadrons wasn’t encouraged.

  “Amazing how much stuff one accumulates after one gets married,” Jordan said, wrapping a crystal compote. “We should’ve moved before the wedding.”

  “Jackson’s family is nice, though,” Alex responded. “Throwing you the shower and sending you guys on your honeymoon.”

  Jordan smiled, her eyes staring into the past. “They’re wonderful. Growing up an only child, I always wanted siblings. And now I’ve instantly gained four of each. And his mom and dad, they’re the best.”

  Alex thought about her folks and decided she’d try to get home for Thanksgiving. Considering she’d been trying to avoid spending time with her family most of her life, Jordan’s situation made her realize how important her mom and dad, and
even her brothers were to her. In their own way, they loved her. She knew that.

  “Hey, babe, do you really want to keep this?” Jackson held up a faded Little Mermaid bedspread.

  Jordan’s cheeks pinkened. “That’s my blankie. I really don’t want to get rid of it.” She turned to Alex. “My mom bought me the entire bed set for my fifth birthday. I realized years later she couldn’t really afford it, but she’d worked a second job over Christmas to buy it.”

  “No worries, sweetheart. We’ll save it for our kids, okay?” Jackson folded the spread and packed it in a box, all the while holding Jordan’s gaze with that same look he’d given her at their wedding. That “You’re the other half of my soul” look.

  Alex got that same ache in her stomach. But she knew what it was now. An emptiness inside her, a longing for what Cole and Jordan had. They were talking about kids. A future. Together.

  She remembered the night Jackson drove around looking for Jordan’s mom after the woman—who had Alzheimer’s—had run away. And ever since they’d been together, Jackson had been coming home from his night shift and caring for Jordan’s mom during the day while Jordan worked, just to keep her mom out of a facility for as long as possible. Due to the advancing stages of the disease they’d recently been forced to move her mother to a long-term assisted living home. But they both visited every day.

  That kind of devotion, that kind of commitment— Alex wanted that. She knew Mitch would do almost anything for her. But opening his heart up to love again? She swallowed a hard lump in her throat. That was the one thing he’d never do.

  “Hey, sorry we’re late.” Lily walked into the tiny apartment, Grady right behind her. “I’m not moving very fast in the mornings lately.” She rubbed her stomach.

  Grady slipped an arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know how women go through all this.”

  Lily glanced up at him with that expectant glow. “Just six more months, honey. Then we’ll have a beautiful baby to show for it.”

  Alex spun on her heels and reached blindly into a cabinet for something to pack. The love in this apartment was suffocating.