last because Bran is never going to settle down. So, to save face, she suggests they stay friends, only with the side benefit of being sometime lovers.
A Marine determined to win at all costs.
Bran agrees to the friends with benefits idea just to keep himself close to Tess. She might think he’s not around for the long haul, but this is one Johnson brother who knows exactly what he wants…and just how to get it. And what he wants is Tess in his bed and in his life forever. Nothing will stop him, not even Tess herself.
* * * *
She shook her head. “You know, I’m amazed they let you fly a Raptor. I would think you might forget where you parked it.”
He knew she was trying to lighten the mood. That was what he would have done in the situation, but his brain wasn’t working. In fact, he was feeling a little light headed but it might have to do with the lack of sleep.
“You’re wearing makeup.” It came out as an accusation, but he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t used to seeing Tess Keller with makeup on. She wasn’t wearing much, but even as he said it, she was slathering on lip gloss. How did he not notice her lips were so full and sexy before now?
She smirked at him. “Yes, I do that sometimes. It’s kind of something I do on dates.”
“You wear makeup.”
She rolled her eyes a sure sign she was irritated. “Uh, yeah among other things.”
He frowned. He opened his mouth to ask her just what those other things were but the doorbell rang.
“There’s Jed.” She walked to him and gave him a patted his cheek. “Don’t wait up.”
“Don’t you have duty in the morning?”
She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “First of all, I’m an adult and a lieutenant in the Navy, so I can decide for myself. But, to ease your mind, I’m off tomorrow.”
Then she left him standing there in the middle of the room, feeling mildly frustrated and trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Now, a peek into Heather Long’s upcoming Always a Marine release: Her Marine Bodyguard.
Prologue
Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan
Lieutenant Brody Essex threw the baseball up and caught it, only to repeat the motion. For three weeks, he and his team had been stuck in a holding pattern waiting for the final orders to be cut that would send them to Bagram and from there, aboard a C-130 for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, debriefing, psych evaluations, and finally he would discuss his terminal leave—if approved.
Of course, all of that required that he get back to the States. His unit’s exodus, like his promotion and so many other day-to-day issues, had been tied up in bureaucracy. Keeping the ball in motion, he concentrated on patience. Each day brought him a step closer to seeing Shannon again.
Maybe he’d even sneak up to Boston and surprise her at her show. She’d been so excited when she’d Skyped a month before—the last time they’d had to chat.
A rapid three-beat knock hit his door. Brody caught the ball and sat up. “Come.”
“Lieutenant, there’s a call for you in Coms.” The private wasn’t one Brody recognized.
Rising, he retrieved his cover from the shelf and set the ball in its place. The room—one he split with another lieutenant, remained bare of anything personal. He and his team hadn’t been planning on staying. The forced inactivity coupled with the transition state had him less inclined to make his mark.
“Dismissed,” he told the private and followed him out. Maybe the call included his orders. When he’d last checked, Colonel Jamison had told him his orders would get there when they got there. Until then—stand by. Like Brody, the rest of his unit waited, their patience dust-covered and grim-faced after months of dodging and delivering gunfire, seeing comrades killed, tracking targets across the countryside, and sleeping on dirt more often than a bed.
Marinestan had been an upgrade of sorts. Two sergeants stood having a smoke, and they
A Marine determined to win at all costs.
Bran agrees to the friends with benefits idea just to keep himself close to Tess. She might think he’s not around for the long haul, but this is one Johnson brother who knows exactly what he wants…and just how to get it. And what he wants is Tess in his bed and in his life forever. Nothing will stop him, not even Tess herself.
* * * *
She shook her head. “You know, I’m amazed they let you fly a Raptor. I would think you might forget where you parked it.”
He knew she was trying to lighten the mood. That was what he would have done in the situation, but his brain wasn’t working. In fact, he was feeling a little light headed but it might have to do with the lack of sleep.
“You’re wearing makeup.” It came out as an accusation, but he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t used to seeing Tess Keller with makeup on. She wasn’t wearing much, but even as he said it, she was slathering on lip gloss. How did he not notice her lips were so full and sexy before now?
She smirked at him. “Yes, I do that sometimes. It’s kind of something I do on dates.”
“You wear makeup.”
She rolled her eyes a sure sign she was irritated. “Uh, yeah among other things.”
He frowned. He opened his mouth to ask her just what those other things were but the doorbell rang.
“There’s Jed.” She walked to him and gave him a patted his cheek. “Don’t wait up.”
“Don’t you have duty in the morning?”
She stopped with her hand on the doorknob. “First of all, I’m an adult and a lieutenant in the Navy, so I can decide for myself. But, to ease your mind, I’m off tomorrow.”
Then she left him standing there in the middle of the room, feeling mildly frustrated and trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Now, a peek into Heather Long’s upcoming Always a Marine release: Her Marine Bodyguard.
Prologue
Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan
Lieutenant Brody Essex threw the baseball up and caught it, only to repeat the motion. For three weeks, he and his team had been stuck in a holding pattern waiting for the final orders to be cut that would send them to Bagram and from there, aboard a C-130 for Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, debriefing, psych evaluations, and finally he would discuss his terminal leave—if approved.
Of course, all of that required that he get back to the States. His unit’s exodus, like his promotion and so many other day-to-day issues, had been tied up in bureaucracy. Keeping the ball in motion, he concentrated on patience. Each day brought him a step closer to seeing Shannon again.
Maybe he’d even sneak up to Boston and surprise her at her show. She’d been so excited when she’d Skyped a month before—the last time they’d had to chat.
A rapid three-beat knock hit his door. Brody caught the ball and sat up. “Come.”
“Lieutenant, there’s a call for you in Coms.” The private wasn’t one Brody recognized.
Rising, he retrieved his cover from the shelf and set the ball in its place. The room—one he split with another lieutenant, remained bare of anything personal. He and his team hadn’t been planning on staying. The forced inactivity coupled with the transition state had him less inclined to make his mark.
“Dismissed,” he told the private and followed him out. Maybe the call included his orders. When he’d last checked, Colonel Jamison had told him his orders would get there when they got there. Until then—stand by. Like Brody, the rest of his unit waited, their patience dust-covered and grim-faced after months of dodging and delivering gunfire, seeing comrades killed, tracking targets across the countryside, and sleeping on dirt more often than a bed.
Marinestan had been an upgrade of sorts. Two sergeants stood having a smoke, and they
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