Page 107 of Her Marine
“Talk to me,” she requested as she watched Killian walk down his hallway.
“I’m talking to you now, Tigress.”
“In Portuguese.” She thought about it. “No, in Russian,” she amended.
She never knew what he was saying when he did, but she enjoyed listening to him. The deep timbre of his would drop a bit, and the guttural language was all too sexy rolling off his tongue. It always turned her on more when she was in the mood; it soothed her to sleep when she was tired.
“Ya skuchayu pau tebe, Tigritsa. Ya skuchayu pau tomu chtoby derzhat tebya vie svoikh obyatiyakh.”
Journee continued to listen to Killian speak, and before long, she felt herself drifting off to sleep.
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Killian’s phone ringing pulled him from his sleep. His eyes opened slowly as he glanced at the bedside table clock. It was six-fifteen, and while he was used to getting up earlier for work, he’d gotten used to sleeping in a bit longer over the past three weeks. He glanced over at his phone to see who it was and debated whether or not he wanted to answer, but he knew they were probably calling to check on him. He answered the phone and put it on speaker.
“Hello,” he stated as he rolled over onto his back.
“Hey. You’re still sleeping?” Jax questioned on the other end of the phone.
“Yes, some of us aren’t working at the moment.”
“It’s Sunday. I’m not working today either.”
Killian didn’t bother to ask him what he was doing up so early if he wasn’t working because he figured Jax was getting ready to work out. Most of them tended to stick to the routines they set during the week.
“I wanted to call you while it was on my mind and remind you that it’s your turn to do Fourth of July if you’ll be up to it by then. I know we still have a month and a half, but Matteo forgot last year, didn’t take time off, and we didn’t do it.”
Killian was aware. It was why he’d gotten them all together at the beginning of October. Typically, they all got together twice a year. They alternated on who hosted each year for the Fourth of July and New Year. Not to say some of them didn’t get together more frequently as their schedules allowed, and sometimes they could get together more, but they made a point to be able to at least a couple of times a year.
“Yeah, I remember, and I’m good to host.” Killian paused. “You really couldn’t wait until later to talk to me about this or text me?”
“I didn’t want to forget, but I guess I could have sent you a text. I’m just so used to you typically being up to,” Jax responded. “You’re doing good, though, right?”
“Yeah, to my knowledge, I’m healing how I’m supposed to, and I have a follow-up appointment soon.”
“Let us know how that goes,” Jax requested. “I’m going to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
Jax hung up the phone, and Killian rolled onto his side, closing his eyes and falling back asleep within minutes.
The next time Killian woke up, it was after nine. He stood from the bed, stretching before going into his ensuite. He conducted his morning routine, then went into the kitchen. He took out several different fruits, some spinach leaves, and almond milk to make a smoothie. He was meeting Thomas at one for lunch, so he didn’t want to put anything too heavy on his stomach. The other man had a meeting for work in Washington D.C. the following morning at eight and decided to drive down that afternoon and stay since his mother would be spending the day with a couple of her friends.
Once his smoothie was made, he poured it into a shaker and set it aside while he cleaned everything up, putting away the milk and the fruit he didn’t use and washing his blender.
Killian grabbed his shaker, going down the hall to his bedroom. He grabbed his phone before entering his living room and sitting on the couch. After sending a text to Journee telling her good morning and to wish her grandmother a happy birthday from him, he turned on the television and flipped through the channels. He settled on a documentary about Apollo 11.
After two documentaries, he went to get dressed and brush his teeth again, and once he made sure he had his wallet and phone, he grabbed his keys and left his condo. He nodded to one of his neighbors as he left the building.
Killian made the thirty-minute drive and pulled up toCommissaryten minutes after making it to the city. It was Thomas’ favorite restaurant to go to when he was there. So, he hadn’t been surprised when his stepdad told him where he wanted to go for lunch.
Getting out of the car after finding a parking space, Killian went into the building and found Thomas standing at the host stand, giving his name. Thomas turned to look at him when he stepped up beside him. The two men greeted each other with a hug, and the hostess showed them to their table.
She placed menus in front of them, and they both thanked her but didn’t bother to open them. They’d come enough to know the menu inside out. They didn’t have to wait long before their server came to the table, and they gave their drink orders, placing the order for their food simultaneously.
“Ziggy tells me you got in trouble yesterday,” Thomas stated with a playful smile after their server walked away.
“Zaliyah talks far too much,” Killian responded. “I’m sure she neglected to mention she was the reason that happened.”
“Oh, no. She mentioned it and seemed rather proud of herself about it.”
