Cobb by Maryann Jordan
10
The next morning, Cobb woke early, having slept fitfully. As comfortable as the bed was, the knowledge that the beautiful woman, who he realized was only hesitant around him because she considered him to be handsome, was in the room right next to his. It wasn’t easy to go to sleep when his cock was rock hard. The idea of jerking off ran through his mind in the middle of the night, but he refused to give in to the urge. I was a fuckin’ SEAL. I can control my body… at least, I could before Josie was around.
By the time he was dressed, the scent of bacon and coffee drew him down the hall. Turning the corner, his feet stumbled to a halt at the sight of her in tight yoga pants, bending over with her ass in the air as she pulled something out of the oven. She placed it on the stovetop and then bent again to close the door. If he thought he’d managed to get his cock under control the previous night, it stirred to life once again. He wondered if he was going to have a perpetual hard-on during the entire mission. Hoping his voice didn’t croak, he cleared his throat. “Good morning.”
She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Good morning.”
Her thick hair was held away from her face with a wide band, her skin glowing and her lips tinged a light pink. Suddenly unable to think of anything to say, he asked, “Are you always up this early?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh, I’m so sorry if I woke you! I was trying to be quiet.”
Feeling like an ass, he shook his head, hating that her smile had dropped from her face. “No, no. You’re fine. I just wondered if you ever slept in.” Her smile returned, and it speared straight through him.
“Melon likes to be fed at the same time every day. If I’m not up, she jumps on the bed and stares at me, batting at my face. Anyway, I had decided to make biscuits for you this morning, just the way my grandmother made.”
He glanced past her and spied what she’d lifted from the oven. A cast-iron pan filled with fluffy biscuits. The bacon had already been cooked, sitting by the side of the stove. Using another pan, she cracked several eggs and quickly scrambled them, adding cheese right before dividing them onto two plates.
“I’ve already got juice on the table, but you’ll need to fix your coffee.” Her nose scrunched, and she added, “I need to see how you take it.”
“There’s no need for you to do that. I can fix my own coffee.”
She shrugged and grinned. “Yes, but if we’re going to pretend to be dating, I should probably know those kinds of things.”
He felt foolish having not thought of that himself. Being around Josie was a distraction even when he thought she didn’t like him. Ever since last evening’s revelations, he now found his mind settled firmly on the beautiful woman instead of the mission. Walking over to the counter to pour a mug of coffee, he scrubbed his hand over his face. I have got to get my fuckin’ act together!
While she finished plating the food, he thought about his fellow Keepers. Every one of them had found love while on a mission. His closest friend, Clay, had fought the idea of having to deal with drama while working, but even Christina had landed in the middle of Clay’s case. Cobb wasn’t opposed to the idea of falling for someone he was protecting, but now, he couldn’t imagine how they kept their focus.
“Are you just going to stare at that mug of coffee or are you going to come to eat breakfast?”
He jerked around to see Josie sitting at the table, a wide smile on her face. Christ, this is ridiculous! “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Guess I need to get caffeinated.”
As he sat down at the table, she leaned over and peered into his mug. “Black?”
“Black,” he confirmed. Having already looked at her cup the previous day, he inclined his head toward her mug. “Two sweeteners, heavy on the flavored cream. And from looking in your refrigerator, you’re partial to caramel, mocha, or hazelnut.”
Laughing, she nodded. “I do have a sweet tooth!”
Digging into breakfast, he moaned in delight over the fluffy biscuits coated in butter and strawberry jam. “Your grandmother taught you well.”
“Thanks, but I can only imagine the culinary delights that have come from your family.”
He chewed, enjoying every bite, then swallowed as he nodded. “More like food wars. My dad grew up with his mom’s Italian cooking, and then my grandfather would insist on Vanillekipferl cookies every Christmas because he remembered his German grandmother making them.”
“Wow, what a name. I’ve never heard of them.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “They’re vanilla crescent-shaped cookies. Granddad would say they were from Germany originally, then my grandmother would argue that they came from Italy. I just know I like them.”
“What about your mother’s side of the family?”
Grinning, he said, “That’s where I got my love of Tex-Mex, from my grandfather. He was born and raised outside of El Paso, in a little Texas town called Canutillo. My grandmother was born on the Mescalero Reservation but left to attend college. She’s an artist and met my grandfather who owns a small art gallery. Her artwork is beautiful, but she also makes the best fry bread I’ve ever eaten.”
Josie had stopped eating while her gaze stayed pinned on him, her elbow on the table and her chin resting on her hand. A smile played across her lips. He reached over and brushed a non-existent biscuit crumb from her mouth just to have an excuse to touch her lips. They were as soft as he had imagined.
“Eat up,” he said as an idea popped into his mind. “It shouldn’t take me long to get the security up and running here. How would you like to take a trip this afternoon?”
“Sure,” she enthused. “Where?”
“We can drive to the reservation. I haven’t been in a while, but there’s a lot to see. There’s even a casino and resort, but I’d like to show you the land.”
Eyes wide, her smile brightened. “I’d love to!” She glanced between their plates. “It won’t take long to clean up from breakfast and then I can help you. I might as well know what security is on my home anyway.”
By lunchtime, he had installed the cameras on the outside of her home, including the garage. Many of her windows had decorative bars over them and considering they had been embedded into the concrete of the walls, he determined they were safe. For the picture windows with no bars, he wired them with alarms. Josie had followed him around, handing him tools and asking questions about the equipment. While he checked the systems with LSI, she showered, then he cleaned up while she fixed sandwiches and chips for lunch.
Soon, they were in his SUV on the way to the Mescalero Reservation. Las Cruces was flat with snow-topped mountains looming majestically in the background. While he loved Maine, the state of his birth had a breathtaking appeal. “It’ll take about two hours to get there, but we can walk around and then have dinner there if you’d like.”
She smiled her agreement, and he jerked his attention back toward the windshield. He’d never had such a visceral reaction to a woman before, from the moment he spied her at the gala to now, sitting beside him. Once he became a SEAL, women had not been shy about what they thought of his looks, his muscular physique, or his job. But it had been years since he felt any real desire. Scratch an itch occasionally? Sure. But true interest? Not so much.
As he’d met the women his fellow Keepers fell for, he recognized a spirit amongst them. Strength. Character. Beauty. Brains. And for himself, he’d never found that… until Josie.
“Tell me about your grandmother.”
Her question jerked him from his musings. Grinning, he said, “She tells of a difficult life there, although with the casino and resort now on the reservation, it brings in money and jobs, two things that are often missing. As an Apache girl, when she turned fourteen, she had a ceremony that lasted for four days. A Sunrise Ceremony. There she was given the name Leosanni. She uses that as her professional artist name.”
“She didn’t stay on the reservation?”
“No, she was offered a college scholarship. Art was her passion, and she wanted to learn as much as she could, keeping with the old traditions as well as learning new. She’s full-blooded, and since my blood quantum is one-fourth, I’m also considered a Mescalero Apache.”
He glanced over, seeing her lips pinch tight. “What are you thinking?”
She sucked in a deep breath and shook her head slowly. “I know there are reasons… I can’t begin to understand everything historically, as well as now, but to need to have your ancestry proved by blood…” She sighed, her voice trailing off.
“My grandmother tells that it was hard to decide if she should leave or stay. But ultimately, it was her mother that pushed her out the door. There was an independent spirit about my great-grandmother, and for a woman in the 1970s to be able to leave for a college scholarship… well, her mother said it was too great an offer to turn down. But then she met my grandfather, a non-Native, and her life became having one foot in two camps, belonging to both and neither.”
“And your mother?”
“She is half-Apache, accepted as part of the tribe, but her life has been completely outside other than visits to her grandparents when they were still living. Now, she never goes back. Me? I go sometimes because I need to remember my heritage, but I know the reservation today is very different from the one my grandmother grew up on.”
“Because of the resort and casino?”
“Yeah, in some ways. More jobs. More money. And yet more thefts and crimes.”
By now, they were driving through the White Sands National Park and the road was covered with a layer of constantly blowing sand. Mountains still rose in the background but all around were dunes of gypsum sand, the scene appearing almost as driving through snow. There were areas of flat where vehicles parked, their occupants walking up the dunes.
“This is so amazing. I’ve been here before but not since I was a teen,” Josie admitted. “I swear, it seems like, in recent years, all I’ve done is work.”
“No recent travels?”
She sighed and shook her head. “No, and I really miss seeing new places.” Her voice was wistful.
Taking a chance, he said, “You should check out Maine sometime. See the beauty of the northeast again.” His breath held in his lungs as he waited to see her reaction. She was quiet but a smile graced her lips. He counted that as a win.
Once they passed the dunes, they neared the reservation and the topography changed again. Scrub brush gave way to trees and grass. In the distance, a blue lake nestled at the bottom of a green hill. After driving around and looking at some of the untouched areas of the reservation, they made their way along a winding road until a massive building rose in the background. “That’s the Inn of the Mountains Gods, the resort and casino. I thought we could have dinner there.”
Alighting from the SUV, they walked along a path until they came to the patio that gave a panoramic view of the lush, tree-covered hills.
Both sucked in deep breaths at the same time, then looked at each other and laughed. “Is this what you think of when you’re in Maine?” As soon as she spoke, she quickly shook her head. “I know the forests are thicker there, so it’s not the same. But, I mean, just being able to feel like you can breathe?”
“Yeah.” It surprised him how succinctly she was able to put his feelings into words. “I could never feel at home in a big city… or even a house in a suburb. I need space. Trees. Greenery. Water.”
She remained quiet, but he could feel unasked questions rolling off her. He reached down and linked his hand with hers, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. She glanced down at their connection before lifting her gaze and offering a blinding smile. “Come on.” He tugged her around to a place where they could sit alone on the grass and stare at the vista without others crowding around. They sat in silence, still connected by their fingers with his thigh resting alongside hers for several long moments, allowing the breeze to move over them, whispering deep inside. Collecting his thoughts, he loved how she gave him that, seeming to know the quiet was what he needed.
“I come here rarely, wondering what I’ll feel,” he began. “I do feel a connection to the land. I’ve studied the culture and taken it in as much as I can, still knowing that I will never understand what it was like to grow up here as my grandmother did. I’m not alone, though. Almost eighty percent of Native Americans don’t live on reservations. But sometimes, I do think of all the heritages that have blended together to create me. I’ve already told you that it was difficult as a teenager to be so different, but I think that helped make me who I am. The military gave me the chance to proudly serve with others who didn’t care what my grandparents’ heritage had been. My SEAL team, in particular, gave me a brotherhood I’d never had before. And now, the LSI Keepers continue that tradition. So, I can come here and love the view, respect the culture, and hope to one day teach my children inclusivity along with their diverse heritage.”
She leaned closer, her shoulder now touching his. “I think that’s lovely, Jorge.”
He turned his head, her face so close to his. Her pale blue eyes reflected the blue of the sky, and his breath caught in his throat. Her gaze dropped to his lips and the slight inhalation sounded like a clap of thunder to his ears. With no hesitation, he closed the scant distance, sealing his mouth over hers.
He had no plan after giving in to the urge to kiss her, but the instant they connected, all other thoughts flew from his mind. The scent of orange blossoms mixed with the taste of her that exploded on his tongue as he sought and received entrance. Sweeping the inside of her mouth, he groaned… or maybe swallowed the sound from her, but either way, he angled his head for greater access. Her body shifted toward him, and he easily lifted her onto his lap. She plastered her front to his, arms wrapped around his neck.
To him, this was not the gentle first kiss of two people just getting to know each other but the all-encompassing kiss of two halves fitting together. With what little blood was left in his head, he hoped she felt the same, but as most of it rushed to his cock, he wished they were somewhere private instead of on a grassy hillside overlooking the beauty of the land with a massive resort just behind them.
His hands slid around, skimming the sides of her breasts and upward to cup her face. Tongues danced the way lovers had kissed for centuries. Just as he started to lean back, pulling her down on top of him, a door opened from somewhere in the distance and the chatter of others met his ears. He pulled back just an inch, hearing her gasping as he dragged oxygen into his lungs, their foreheads still touching.
After a moment of willing his cock to come under control while not wanting to let go of the beautiful woman in his arms, he finally inhaled deeply through his nose before pulling back enough to peer into her eyes.
“Wow,” she breathed, her smile pinning him to the earth as his heart soared into the sky.
“Yeah… wow.” He wished he could come up with something profound to say, but words fled. Finally, he said, “Are you hungry?”
She laughed and nodded. “Actually, I am. Although what we were doing could trump eating any day.”
Chuckling, he nodded. Lifting her off him, he stood and then carefully pulled her to her feet. Tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, he bent and kissed her lightly. “We’ll skip the buffet that most of the families and casino players hit and go to the steak restaurant inside.”
She smiled up at him, and this time, she linked hands with him.
