Page 11 of Saved By the Marines (Soldiers Of Misfortune)

Yelping, I jerked as the deep voice cut through the silence and solitude. I cried out as scalding hot chocolate slopped over the rim of the mug and down the back of my hand.

Wolfe hissed out curses as he flicked the lights on, blinding me. My eyes clamped shut for a few moments, then I slowly opened them as they adjusted.

He’d already made it across the room by that point, though I hadn’t heard him coming closer. He pulled up a chair and sat next to me. Taking my cup and setting it aside, he pulled my hand closer so he could inspect it.

I was just grateful it was him and not Peter. Or Mr. Shetland. I’d found him watching me more than once since we’d met. Why did politicians have to be so creepy?

“It’s fine. You don’t have to-” I stuttered to a stop as he dropped my hand and whipped his t-shirt off. My jaw dropped as I stared at his muscular tanned chest. His arms bulged as he took my hand again and wiped at it with his shirt. My fingers itched to trace the tattoo that decorated his skin.

He was being gentle and was completely focused on his task. Which was good for me since I was still staring and there might have been a bit of drool. Not wanting to get caught ogling him, my eyes darted down to our joined hands. His fingers were strong and capable as he searched my skin for any marks. He showed my hand the same intensity that he had when he was on guard duty. Daring my hand to show any sign of injury.

“You’ll be fine,” he declared.

I would have been if he hadn’t started touching me. My heart was racing and my belly was doing flips. It was ridiculous. I didn’t react this way to handsome men. I’d been around plenty and I’d always just ignored them, too caught up in my school work and future plans to give them the time of day. Now I had three who kept catching my eye.

Each of them had a uniqueness that drew me to them. Wolfe was just so…caring. It made me feel safe and protected whenever he was around.

“What are you two doing?”

I groaned. It was a soft sound, but Wolfe heard it. His lips quirked upward and there was amusement in his brown eyes at my reaction. All of them had brown eyes, but Wolfe’s were the color of the liquid inside my mug, chocolatey and sweet.

Jasper’s on the other hand were so dark they were like a midnight sky. It was often hard to tell if they were brown or black. I looked over at him. He was lounging in the doorway to the kitchen, one large shoulder propping him against the frame. His arms were crossed over his chest as he watched us like a cat watching mice.

“Nothing,” I told him.

“Why’s his shirt off then?” He jerked his chin at Wolfe.

Somehow, I’d forgotten about that. My eyes dropped down and followed the tattoo on Wolfe’s chest down over those covering his bicep. I flushed as both men watched me do it. My gaze darted back over to Jasper. “I-” My cheeks heated more as I tried to figure out why I was so flustered.

“I startled her and made her spill burning hot chocolate over her hand,” Wolfe said, taking pity on me.

My brows pinched together as an emotion crept into Jasper’s eyes. He’d taken two steps toward us before he seemed to realize what he was doing and stopped. “Is she okay?”

Irritated that they were now discussing me like I wasn’t here, I interjected. “I’m fine.” That couldn’t have been worry in his eyes. Could it? Why would he care? I was just the brat he was being forced to guard.

He cleared his throat and stepped back. Wolfe rose and put his t-shirt back on. There was a wet spot on it from where he’d wiped my hand, but he didn’t seem to care. “Jas, take her back to her room. I need to go do a perimeter sweep.”

Wolfe left without another word. Jasper and I watched each other warily. A sharp noise cut through the silence, making me jump again. Thankfully, I hadn’t picked up the hot chocolate again.

I frowned down at my phone, then groaned when I saw Ted’s name.

“You gonna get that?”

I’d been planning on ignoring it, not wanting to talk to my boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—in front of Jasper. There was a challenging smirk on his face though and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

“What, Ted?” I asked as I put the phone to my ear.

“I’m sorry, Bay,” he whined into my ear. “I was drunk and… I don’t really want to break up.”

“Well I do,” I told him. He sounded drunk now. He’d sounded stone-cold sober ten minutes ago. I was willing to bet my little nest egg of money I had squirreled away that he had been. He was only regretting things now that he’d shot-gunned enough beer to make him less of a sociopath. Amazing how quickly he became a blubbering asshat.

“Aw don’t be like that, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe, Ted. We’re done.”

“You stupid bitch!” He yelled it so loud, I jerked the phone away from my ear.

A strong hand yanked the phone out of my hand and I watched with wide eyes as Jasper spoke to my ex. “Don’t call her again.”

---