Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31300 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
“Mm-hmm,” Mary agreed. “Oh! Here they come!”
My attention was back in the sky in an instant, and mere seconds later, the roar thundered. Nine fighter jets flew over the base in a V-formation, the sound so overpowering that I got goose bumps. Children with headphones screamed and cheered, waving madly in hopes of their own pilot seeing them on the ground.
“Watch my boy impress a crowd,” Mary gushed. “He does this every time.”
The jets came back around and broke formation, after which two fighters dove and—Jesus Christ—whizzed past us at an insane speed, all while doing spins and loops.
“One of them was Colt?” I asked to make sure. I had no words for the sensations coursing through me, but I wanted to freaking jump him.
James nodded. “He’s not done yet. Cover your ears for this bit, son.”
I watched. I gawked. I stared as Colt and his wingman came back once more, and I covered my ears just as the sound exploded above us, creating a sonic boom.
They broke through the sound barrier twice more before they flew off.
Foreplay was so unnecessary, I decided right then and there. He’d already seduced me.
My eyes were on him from the second he climbed out of the jet. He was some two hundred feet away, and that was the time I gave his family. I’d stay back a couple minutes so his parents and sister could hug him, and then it would be my turn, and I wouldn’t be as generous about handing him over.
With all the jets safely parked and the pilots leaving the ramp, base personnel gave permission for family members to enter a sealed-off area of the taxiway. The band cranked up the country music, and Mia ran out alongside children who dragged their parents with them.
“A tradition of theirs,” Mary explained. “They never miss each other’s homecomings. Mia’s next. She’s shipping out to Afghanistan in a couple weeks.”
“Great, another Carter to worry about,” I muttered.
Mary laughed softly and gave my hand a squeeze. “Story of my life, honey.”
We weren’t the only ones who watched the Carter siblings when Mia reached Colt. She ran to him, he picked her up, and they hugged tightly as he spun her around. Then Mia slapped a cowboy hat onto Colt’s head. The second hat was for her
“Where’s the show, Top?” another pilot on the taxiway shouted over to Colt. “My wife brought singles!”
I couldn’t hear Colt’s response, only see how he threw back his head and laughed.
My chest seized. Sweet Jesus, how I loved him. Which I hadn’t told him. I didn’t know if he was waiting too or if he wasn’t there yet, but I was minutes away from letting him know.
Mia tugged on Colt’s arm, and it looked like he was surrendering to whatever everyone was waiting for. Whether the wind was right and the music reached them out there, I had no idea, but that was when the two of them kicked into gear and showed the spectators how line dancing was done.
Some people were born to be in the spotlight, and Colt was one of them. The work he did, the personality he had…he wasn’t meant for a life in the shadows. He was a natural entertainer, and making someone laugh was at the top of his agenda if they needed a pick-me-up. Because underneath the cockiness, behind the arrogance, was a caregiver with a big heart. A Daddy Dom who took it upon himself to guide, push, and nurture. A wonderful man who looked out for those he held dear.
He was a leader, but a reluctant one. He showed leadership; he never spoke of it. If someone asked for help, he helped. If someone pointed out that he was an authority figure, he called them—me—crazy. If he noticed he had an audience, he’d do one of two things. Be the entertainer like right now, or retreat a bit because this enigma I’d fallen for both loved and hated to be listened to. He wanted to run the world from a remote corner and only come out to play for the fun parts.
It was one of the things I’d discovered when we’d talked on the phone and Skyped these past months. He could be such a fucking child, and I supposed that was where I came in. He’d often started a conversation by bitching about something going on at base, and then I’d calmed him down, something that had given me a lot of satisfaction.
Let him shine, I thought, and when the leader turned into a toddler, I would take over. I would take care of him.
Colt greeted his mother much like he’d greeted Mia. He picked Mary up and spun her around, earning himself a slap on the shoulder. I smiled and approached slowly. Mary righted her skirt while Colt and James shook hands. James clasped Colt’s shoulder too, giving it a squeeze, and Colt nodded and grinned at whatever his dad said.