Sweet Christmas Surrender Read online

  “Sergeant Wes Kent,” Leonard Chapel said, walking forward casually.

  “Leonard Chapel,” Wes said.

  ‘You know me,” Leonard said, surprised.

  “I make it my mission to know people who follow me,” Wes answered.

  “I was following my daughter, and while I thank you for your service, I’ll have to insist you don’t see her anymore,” Leonard said.

  “First, I don’t want your thanks, not a man like you that feeds on the suffering of others,” Wes said coldly. “Second, I don’t give a fuck what you insist, unless she says she doesn’t want to see me anymore.” He smiled. “She’s not saying that anytime soon.”

  “We’re not on military property anymore, there are no MPs to save you,” Leonard pointed out.

  “Save me from them?” Wes laughed and then got serious very quickly. “I could have them down on the ground choking to find a breath and take care of you in less than three minutes. Want to try?”

  Leonard swallowed and then found his bravado once more. But Wes had already seen him blink. He had showed his coward cards beneath all the so-called power. Leonard Chapel was the usual scared, little man who thought he was more than he actually was.

  “Not now, but trust me, when you least expect it,” Leonard said with a small smile. “I have plans for my daughter, and they won’t be changed because of you.”

  “Touch a hair on her head.” Wes stepped forward quickly until he was nose-to-nose with Christine’s father. His men moved to Leonard’s side and Wes pinned them with his gaze. “I’d step back if you don’t want this to get messy.”

  “Step back,” Leonard ordered, and his voice shook on the words.

  Wes flicked his gaze to Leonard. “As I was saying, you want to see hell? Cross me. Whatever plans you have for her you should cancel, because even if I’m not here I’ll have people watching, and I will come back. Then you’d better run, I won’t stop until I bury you. Take my words as truth; for her, I will burn you.”

  “This isn’t over,” Leonard called as Wes turned to walk back to his vehicle.

  Wes didn’t turn. Instead he called over his shoulder, “I hope not.”

  He got into his large SVU and righted his car. He drove away and glanced at the mirror once more to see Christine’s father and his men get back in the car. They followed him for a moment and turned at the closest exit. He had no doubt that he’d be seeing them again. He worried about Christine when he deployed, and in his mind began to make plans for her safety. By the time he got to her apartment he’d come upon an idea and hoped she’d go for it.

  He knocked on her door, and when Christine opened it, she took his breath away. Wes drank her in. She was wearing jeans today with red boots up to her knees and a light sweater to match the boots. It clung and accentuated her curves. She wore her hair tied back with a red ribbon, and she looked sexy and cute all at once.

  Christine smiled. “Are you going to stand there and look at me all evening?”

  “That course of action has definite possibilities,” Wes murmured and pulled her into his arms. She made a small squeal of delight when she was pressed against his chest. “Hey, my darling.”

  She pressed a kiss against his lips. “Hey sugar, come on inside.”

  He allowed her to take his hand, and she looked back and frowned. “I don’t seem to have spies tonight.”

  “I think I scared them for the moment.” Wes explained what happened.

  She sat on the sofa and looked at him with worry written all over her face. “Baby, please be careful. They are dangerous men.”

  “I’m sure they are.” Wes took her and faced her on the chair. “I want you to stay at my house while I’m gone.”

  She laughed incredulously. “We just met and you want me to move in with you.”

  “We just met and I’m crazy about you,” Wes pointed out. “I plan to come home to you and continue what we’ve started. Plus, they can’t go on military property without approval, and you’ll be safe there until I get back. My friend Gary can watch over you…”

  Christine shook her head. “I don’t want to go from living like a prisoner here to the same thing on your base. I’ve tried to run and hide, and that man always manages to destroy whatever new life I try to make. I’ve lost jobs, almost got arrested because he planted stuff in my car. But the worst is the hiding. I want to go where I want to without having to look behind me.” She cupped his cheeks. “You’re amazing for even trying to protect me, but I need this to end my way not by hiding.”

  “Darling, it would kill me if I was gone and you’re hurt.” Wes pressed his forehead against hers.

  “I’ve been collecting evidence, lots of it, and when I have enough to bury him under a prison, then I can be free of him,” Christine said with excitement.

  Wes looked at her and heard the hope in her voice. He never knew how it felt to be so scared he’d put his life in danger to be free of it all. But looking at her eyes glitter with the thought of not having to deal wither father any longer, he felt such sadness for her, being in a gilded cage and trying to break free.

  “How about you share what you have with Gary,” Wes suggested. “He is a lawyer and used to work with the New Mexico district attorney and the DEA agency. You don’t have to do it alone. I’d feel much better knowing you have someone by your side. Even if I’m not here I’ll feel better knowing someone I trust is close by.”

  Christine shook her head in bewilderment. “How could you put yourself out there for me so quickly, care for me so much that you’ll worry when you’re gone?”

  Wes smiled and kissed her gently. “Have you never felt something that you knew was so right? From the time we saw each other in the coffee shop, each time you looked away so shy and then kept giving me these discreet little looks.”

  She laughed softly. “You noticed that, did you?”

  “Yes, I did.” Wes took her hands in his. “It felt right from day one, and I never doubt my instincts. I can’t afford to in my job, and it’s never failed me in my life. We’re going to be together, Christine, we’re going to fall in love, probably get married and have a parcel of kids.”

  Christine nodded and wiped a tear away. “I kinda like that idea.”

  He pulled her close once more. “Good, because it’s written in the stars. I want you to be careful, but I want to make sure that there is someone to help you even if I can’t. I swear to you when I get home I won’t be leaving you again anytime soon.”

  “Here I was planning wine, dinner, and maybe a drive to go see the lights in the Los Alamos Square, and you come in here and sweep me off my feet.” Christine laid her head against his chest.

  “Are you complaining?” Wes chuckled.

  “Not in the least.” She looked up at him. “I felt my heart skip a beat when you brought me coffee. I’ll be waiting for you when you come back.”

  “Just you and me baby.” He kissed her hungrily.

  “My air man, my hero,” she whispered.

  He noticed the wine and the glasses on the table, even a bowl of popcorn and a few movies. But as he kissed her lips it all faded away and it was just about Christine. He recalled when he was young and only a few weeks after basic, he and a couple of buddies went out on the town and ended up at a palm reader shop. They went in for shits and giggles to have their palms read.

  It was his turn and she had looked directly at him and said, “You’ll fall in love only once, and it will be forever. It’s not the ones you date or the ones that stay around for a few months. There will be just one, and when you meet her there will be bells heard.” She moaned under the onslaught of his tongue and lips devouring her, and he lifted his head for a moment and ran his finger over her lips.

  “There were bells, the first time I met you,’ he said huskily. “The hat that the barista was wearing had bells on the end and when I bought your coffee and those bells jingled our eyes finally met.”

  Christine raised an eyebrow at him and laughed. “That’
s random, but okay.”

  “I’ll tell you about it sometime soon,” he promised with a laugh.

  She cupped her hand behind his head. “Okay then, back to kissing me and more other stuff.”

  “Yes ma’am, yes ma’am,” Wes said.

  Their lips met and Wes lost himself in her again. He always felt like a compass in a magnetic field going around in circles. From the time he saw her it was like it stopped and the arrow within him pointed to her. She was going to be his center, his north, his home. Christine made a soft sound of pleasure that made his cock throb in his pants. Wes deepened the kiss until every nerve ending in his body screamed her name, and all he wanted was to be naked and pressed against her. He broke the kiss and it was like they were sharing one breath as they stood there. With their heads pressed against each other, Wes let all the feelings that stirred within him take over. Love at first sight was a myth, wasn’t it? Yet his heart sang her name as their bodies touched. It yelled her name when they kissed and she purred at his kiss.

  “I want you Christine. I didn’t know I could feel like this each time you’re in the room,” Wes said huskily. “You feel so perfect in my arms, we were made for each other.”

  “Then make love to me,” Christine said. “Show me how much you want me.”

  A growl escaped him at her words, and Wes surrendered to the desire that raged through him. While they undressed, she rained kisses all over his chest. The heat of their passion could turn metal to liquid, there was so much emotion packed into the kisses they shared. She didn’t have to ask, knew exactly how to touch him, and he did the same with her. In her bedroom their clothes seemed to melt away, and then he groaned when their naked skin connected. If this was a dream, Wes didn’t want to wake up. He lifted Christine into his arms and placed her on the bed, and he covered her with his body. He demanded submission from her by his hard, passionate kisses and moaned when she surrendered.

  Christine’s taste was addictive, and she was so giving with her passion. When she thrust her tongue inside his mouth, Wes groaned in delight. He rolled so she was lying on top of him, and he used his hands to roam down the sexy dip of her back to her legs and spread them so she straddled his body. His cock was pressed against the soft, wet lips of her sex, and with one slight move he rested between them. The next move rubbed his steel hard length against her clit and she moaned his name. It would be so easy to just slip into her and bury his cock in her hot core. Not yet, he admonished himself. Instead, he moved so she was lying next to him.

  “I’m going to make you come for me,” Wes told her.

  She shivered in response as he caressed her full breasts and her nipples hardened beneath his hands. He bent his head to suck one pert tip into his mouth, and she arched beneath him. Wes loved how her body responded to his ministrations; he ran his hand down her torso and rested his palm against the mound of her sex. Wes delved a lone finger between the wet of her labia, found her clit, rubbed it gently, and listened to her breath quicken in response. She spread her legs and he felt her sex become slick with his touch.

  “More,” she pleaded with a soft whimper.

  “Like this?” he asked huskily and manipulated the sensitive bud. He felt her shudder in response. “Do you want more, like my fingers inside you?”

  “God yes, Wes,” Christine gasped.

  He circled the entrance of her pussy before sinking his long finger inside her. He groaned at the heat, the way her sex parted, accepted and clenched around his lone digit. Wes added another finger and she cried out, lifting her hips, seeking more from his hand. He gave her what she needed, and he wanted to roar in pleasure when she bucked. He fucked her hard with his fingers, finding the G-spot buried within her, and watched her reaction to the pleasure that assaulted her. She was like a live wire, her lips parted and tiny moans escaped her. Christine was magnificent. Wes took her nipple closest to his head in his mouth and sent her over the edge. Her juices flowed over his fingers and down his hand.

  As the last of her orgasm flowed through her, their eyes connected. Christine reached between their bodies and stroked his thick length. Wes knew she was watching pleasure cross his face from her touch. When he couldn’t stand it any longer, he pulled her roughly against his chest and took her lips in a hunger filled kiss. His hand slipped between their bodies once more and found her soaking wet sex. He thrust two fingers inside her and finger fucked her until she cried out in release again. The musk of her sex was more addictive than he ever thought possible. Wes wanted her and when she straddled his body once more he positioned his cock at the entrance of her sex. She took him in with slow deliberation, but he didn’t want slow—he needed to take her to the heights of passion until they both forgot how to breathe and move.

  He pulled her down hard on his shaft and set the rhythm from there. It was a hard, pulsing movement that gave no reprieve and only spurred them on to completion. The sheer pleasure of it almost sent him into his own orgasm, but he refused to give in before he saw her filled with the rapture of release. Her body writhed above him, and Wes sat up so he could hold on to her as they moved. With his lips at her breasts, he cupped the cheeks of her ass as their pulsating rhythm took over every thought. His balls tightened as the force of his need sent him toward his orgasm.

  She leaned over and kissed him fiercely. “Don’t fight it, love me, fall with me.”

  He could tell her words had more meaning, and he was certainly willing to fall with her. He didn’t have to fall far because she already held his heart and was imprinted on his soul. His thrusts quickened, and her breathing echoed in his ears. She said his name more than once, whispered her need until he burned for her. Wes grabbed the satin skin of her chocolate thighs and pounded into her with earnest.

  “Now, Wes!” she cried out.

  He felt her body shake, her pussy contracted around his cock and her essence flowed from her depths. She screamed a sweet sound that enamored him to her even more. He groaned her name as he followed her over and into that abyss of pleasure. His balls emptied as he spilled his seed within her. He whispered her name and kissed her hard with his hands fisted in her hair. Christine took him to heaven in more ways than she could possible realize. He was never so sure about loving someone in his life.

  He wrapped her in his embrace and kissed her temple as she snuggled up to him. He’d enjoy every moment with her until he deployed, and then would long for her each day until he returned. In the back of his mind he still worried about her father and the trouble he could cause. Wes vowed to make sure she was as safe as he could make her before he left. If anything happened to her, her father would have the devil inside Wes to pay, and his price would be high.

  Chapter Four

  All too soon it was time to leave, and Christine was the one who drove onto base to tell Wes goodbye. She never thought she’d be one of the women sitting in a large room, with other wives and children. She could see on their faces the strength and determination to be brave and support them through the long months of deployment. She could also see the sadness as they tried to stave off tears and the constant way both the enlisted and their loved ones watched the clock tick, hoping the seconds would slow to a crawl because time was going by all too soon.

  In the fourteen days of them forming a new relationship, Wes had managed to get her and Gary together to discuss her father and the information she had. He knew she wanted to live at her apartment, but he gave her the keys to his house and Land Rover. They had email addresses and phone numbers, and he even got a satellite phone so he’d never be out of reach. They made plans to video chat around his schedule, and he tried every way to make her feel secure about his leaving. She appreciated it all, but in the short amount of time of them being together the ache of missing him would be worse than anything. Not kissing him or touching him for nine months was the unbearable part of it.

  “Hey.” He covered his hand with his big warm ones. “Is everything okay?”

  She looked at him in his work uniform o
f digital camouflage and ran her finger over his nametag.

  “I’m thinking how tonight I have to sleep without you,” Christine admitted.

  “This is why I stole your polka dot night shirt to take with me,” Wes said with a grin.

  She laughed in amazement. “That’s where that went? I couldn’t find it anywhere.”

  Wes pressed his forehead against hers. “It smells like you.”

  “I plan to sleep in your bed and wear your T-shirts sometimes,” she said quietly. “I want these months to fly by. I want you to be safe and don’t take risks. I just want you home safe.”

  “In the blink of an eye I’ll be home, and we’re getting married,” Wes said with determination.

  She looked up at him. “Were you planning on telling me?”

  Wes reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring. Suddenly it seemed like a group of airmen were surrounding them. Christine looked up and gasped as they put their hands on each other’s shoulders, forming a circle around her and Wes as he got to his knees. Tears filled her eyes, because she’d never seen something so beautiful as brothers and sisters in arms huddled together for Wes, for her. Wes looked up at her with all the emotion and love in his eyes, and it humbled her. He was so sure after two weeks, and she was sure from the time he wouldn’t back down from her father. This was the man she was meant to be with.

  “Will you marry me, Christine?” Wes asked with a gentle timber to his voice.