Page 10 of Saved By the Marines (Soldiers Of Misfortune)

It doesn’t matter, Bailey. Forget about the ornery gorgeous man. Men. All three of them fit that description.Well, maybe they weren’t all ornery, but they certainly were fine specimens.

Giving up on sleep, I grabbed my cell phone and headed downstairs. I’d tried calling Ted, but he hadn’t answered. I’d successfully managed to stay away from Peter so far. There’d been a couple of times when he and his friend had been at breakfast, but otherwise we’d avoided each other. My guard had slowly dropped.

As my foot came off the last step, I heard voices coming from the same room as before. Not this time. I knew better than to go snooping where I didn’t belong. I glanced back down the hallway then shook my head and turned toward the kitchen. My gasp was loud in the quiet building when someone grabbed my shoulders, anchoring me in place.

I looked up into Peter’s angry face. My stomach shriveled as I took in his handsome features. His good looks were ruined by the perpetual scowl that always seemed to be fixed on his expression. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you doing up this late?”

Blinking, unsure of why he cared, I stuttered, “Couldn’t sleep.”

“So you thought you’d go poke your nose in where it wasn’t welcome?” He arched a dark brow. The man was probably around thirty years old and I had no clue what he did, but he had an air of importance.

“No,” I snapped, jerking myself out of his hold. “I wasn’t spying on you the other day.”

“Sure looked like it.”

I sort of had been so I didn’t argue further. “Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t hear anything. Even if I had I’d never say anything.”

“I’d assume Senator Michaels’ daughter would know how to keep her mouth shut.” He leaned forward until his face was in mine. “Make sure that you do.”

My stomach soured and I swallowed hard at the threat. Without another word he walked upstairs. I debated on what to do. My thoughts of getting something warm to drink to help me sleep didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore, but I didn’t want to head up those stairs after him either. He might think I was following him. I decided to hide out in the kitchen for a while. Hopefully Peter would be gone by the time I went to bed. The kitchen was deserted and I didn’t bother to turn on the lights as I entered it.

Light bathed me as I pulled milk out of the fridge and searched the cabinets for some powered hot chocolate and a mug as I hit Ted’s number on my phone.

“Bailey.”

My heart sank. My name had come out full of anger and disappointment. Seemed I was affecting everyone that way these days. “Hey,” I replied. “Sorry I haven’t been able to get a hold of you over the last few weeks.”

He didn’t respond. The silence was heavy over the connection. I hated when he acted this way. It honestly reminded me too much of my father. Ted was only two years older than me, but he treated me like a kid half of the time. Unfortunately, he made the other half good enough that I doubted myself and stayed even though deep down I didn’t like his controlling ways.

“I don’t understand why the hell you’re in Colombia.” Now there was a slight whine to his tone.

“It wasn’t my choice, Ted.”

“You couldn’t have told your father no?” I could see him pinching the bridge of his nose the way he always did when he got into this kind of mood.

I could hear laughter and music in the background, though it was muffled. “Are you at a party?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“We’re hosting.” He was in a fraternity that was really socially active. I shouldn’t be surprised.

Never would I have imagined dating a guy like him. I’d stayed away from frat guys for the first couple years of college. Then one day Ted had walked across the cafeteria and started chatting me up. I’d been stunned and thrilled that he was interested. He was so handsome in that blond Greek God kind of way.

“I bet that’s fun.”

“You’d know if you were here like you’re supposed to be. I told you not to listen to your father.”

Supposed to be.Is this my life? I go where these men tell me to?

Sighing, I stirred my hot chocolate. My eyes had once again adjusted to the dark. “I told you, I didn’t have a choice. If you don’t stop giving me a hard time, then I’m not going to call you at all, Ted.”

“Fine by me. If you won’t do as you’re told, then as far as I’m concerned, we’re through.”

My jaw dropped as he hung up on me. I stared down at my cell long enough that the light flicked out. There was enough ambient light around that I wasn’t fumbling around in the dark as I poured my drink into my mug and went to sit down at the table.

Guilt pricked at my consciousness because I was sitting here and instead of being upset, all I felt was…relief. An unexpected smile was forcing its way onto my face. Was I glad Ted had dumped me? Was my satisfaction at all related to three hot Marines? I picked up my mug, enjoying the way the hot liquid warmed my skin.

“What are you doing up?”

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