Chapter 7

CHAPTER

SEVEN

Chad

I'm not quite sure how I'm wide awake on minimal sleep the last two nights, but I am. It reminds me a bit of the excitement and nervousness of being overseas. Except this time, it's because there's the most amazing woman next to me.

In my arms.

Faith is sleeping soundly, her tiny body curled up against me. She fits so damn perfectly. The feel of her soft skin molded to mine has kept my mind busy for hours. Especially once she threw her bare leg over the top of mine, the heat of her pussy seeping through the silky panties pressed against my thigh. Every time I close my eyes, I see her coming. It's a vision and a sound I'm not likely to ever forget.

It's been torture to keep my hands idle when all they want to do is reach out and caress her softness. The few hours of sleep I was able to grab did nothing to calm the storm of desire brewing inside me, so it's been especially hard—pun intended—to just lie here and keep my hands to myself. Despite being the most content I've been in probably my entire life.

When the clock strikes six thirty, she stirs and reaches for me. Her hand slides down my chest and lands on my lower stomach, so very close to my throbbing erection. But I don't move. I don't make a sound. I just continue to count backward from one hundred, trying to will my cock into submission.

The fucker has a mind of his own though, especially with her hand… there.

The best thing for me to do is to get up and jump in the shower. I hate the thought of a jerk session in her space, but I'm not sure I'll be able to make it back to the base without some sort of serious damage to my family jewels. I'm not sure they've ever been this swollen and blue, including during my time as a horny teenager.

Before I can slip from the bed, her hand moves again. Those delicate fingers cup my erection, palming it in the most delicious way and applying gentle pressure. A muddled groan fills the room, one laced with the mixture of pain and pleasure I feel running through my veins.

"Chad?" Her sleepy voice breaks through the sex-fueled fog in my brain.

"Morning, sunshine," I reply, though it comes out a little gruffer than intended.

Her beautiful green eyes open and look up, meeting my gaze. I'm about to beg her to release my dick because he's about two seconds away from exploding, but all thought flees my big brain the moment she slips her hand beneath my shorts.

Her soft skin slides along my erection. "Fuck, Faith, you have to stop."

However, the little vixen does no such thing. "I don't want to stop. I don't think he wants me to stop either," she says coyly, wrapping her hand around my cock and giving him a gentle squeeze.

Nope. He definitely doesn't want her to stop.

"Faith," I groan in warning as she slides her palm up to the head. "I was just about to get up and take a shower."

She gently moves her hand down to the root of my cock, asking, "What were you going to do in the shower? This?" She strokes again, and my balls draw up with impending release.

"Yes," I bite out.

"That's silly, really. Especially when I'm more than capable of helping you out in your time of need."

And she does.

All I can do is reach for the pillow and hang on, because my orgasm is barreling down on me at Mach 10 speed. There's no stopping it now. I can't. The only thing left is to offer a warning. "I'm going to come, Faith."

Her wide green eyes are full of heat when she whispers, "Good, Chad. I want you to come. Now."

And I do.

Hard.

Probably harder than I ever have before. I can't even think about the force and the pain mixing with the pleasure as I release everything onto my stomach. I just feel. Feel how mind-blowing her warm, tight hand feels gripping me, milking my cock and every drop of cum from my body.

After a few seconds, she whispers, "You okay there, champ?"

"No," I groan, my brain too scrambled to come up with any other response.

Faith chuckles and shifts. "I'll grab a towel," she states, disappearing into the bathroom and returning a moment later with a hand towel. Once I have the mess on my stomach cleaned up, she asks, "What's the plan for today?"

I lift the blanket and pull her beneath it, directly against my body. "Well, I thought we could snuggle for a little while."

"Snuggle? Are big, bad military guys supposed to say snuggle?"

I reach down and poke her in the side, causing her to squirm and thrash. "Big, bad military guys can say whatever they want," I quip, curling my fingers into her soft skin and making her giggle.

"You're a big ol' softy," she teases, clearly enjoying razzing me a bit and causing me to tickle her more. "Stop!" she begs, wiggling and trying to pull away from me.

"Stop calling me a softy. There's nothing soft about me," I state, pivoting my hips forward and rubbing my sudden erection against her leg. I'm not sure how I'm hard so damn fast after coming, but it can only be attributed to her.

Faith.

I pull my fingers from her flesh and revel in the feel of her relaxing against me. "That wasn't nice," she mutters, clearly not upset with me for tickling her, since she's cuddling into my side once more.

"I'm sorry."

She snorts. "I don't think you are. You did that on purpose."

Smiling, I turn my head and kiss her forehead. "You're right. I did."

"It's okay. I'll get you back sometime," she says through a yawn.

"I'm not ticklish."

"Everyone's ticklish, Chad. I just have to find the right spot."

My dick twitches. "I might enjoy that."

She giggles the sweetest sound. "I bet you would." After a few long seconds of silence, she asks, "Do you think you can sleep?"

I'm surprised to realize I can. My entire body is relaxed and heavy, most definitely because of the relief I feel in my groin, thanks to the beauty beside me. "Yeah, I think I can," I state honestly, my eyelids growing heavy.

"Good. You didn't sleep much last night," she whispers, drawing her fingers across my bare chest and circling my right nipple.

"And how do you know that? You seemed to sleep well," I reply, resting my nose against her hair and inhaling.

I feel her shrug. "I seem to be very in tune to you."

I exhale and hold her close, my eyes automatically closing. "Likewise, beautiful. Likewise."

"Is that a hickey, Corporal Anthony?"

I instantly reach up and grab my neck. When I left Faith, it was with a short peck on the forehead, just as it has been the last few nights since I left her on Sunday to return to base. If I could have stayed Sunday, I would have, but my overnight weekend pass was only for Saturday. And while I can leave base during the evening throughout the week, I'm expected back to sleep. Leaving her each night has been difficult, so I just focus on the handful of hours we can steal together once I'm able to meet up with her again.

I live for those precious hours every day.

The guys around me start laughing, making me realize Sanchez was teasing me.

"You asshole," I state, throwing the workout glove I just took off at his head.

He ducks at the last second, my glove falling to the floor behind him. "Totally called it!" he announces to the others in the massive weight room before laughing and turning his attention back to the leg press machine.

"Just ignore him," Erik mutters beside me. "He's just jealous because he probably hasn't been laid since high school."

"Who said anything about getting laid?" I ask, arching a single eyebrow at the man beside me.

He flashes me a slightly smug, yet friendly grin. "I recognize the look of happiness," he states, adjusting the weights behind us.

Clearing my throat, I look away so he can't see my truth. The fact is I am happy. Happy with her here, and the thought of her leaving in a little over a week makes my stomach churn with uneasiness. She's barely been here five days, and I'm already hooked. Despite the fact he's a little off base with his "getting laid" assumption, he's spot-on when it comes to how I feel about Faith.

"Hey, thanks again for referring us to Hannah. Her appointment is this morning," I state, referring to his wife, who is going to treat Faith to a manicure and pedicure.

"Hannah's excited to meet her. She's slowly making friends here, thanks to working at the salon, but it can be hard when you know absolutely no one," Erik replies, getting into position on the bench.

I think about Faith and what it would be like if she were here. She has such an amazingly fun and energetic personality, I can see her making friends easily. From what I've heard and seen, kids love her, and I know she'll be an exceptional, caring kindergarten teacher when the opportunity arises.

"If you guys don't have anything planned Friday night, we can do that dinner we discussed," Erik says between reps of ten.

"I had mentioned it to Faith and she seemed up for it. I'll make sure Friday night is good with her, but I don't think we have any other plans," I reply, already thinking about taking her to dinner. I can't wait to hear how all her pampering appointments went today.

Realizing the time, I run through our checklist of stuff to do today. First, we have our team workout, followed by a five-mile run. Running doesn't usually bother me, but I'm not used to this desert dry heat yet, so I tend to dread them a little more than I used to. After the run, we'll shower and hit the mess hall before our training exercises this afternoon. It'll be a long, grueling day, but worth it. Not that I anticipate being called out anytime soon, but I suppose you never know. We're supposed to be here for two years, but if there's one thing I've learned during my time in the Army, it's to expect the unexpected.

"Just let me know after you talk to her tonight. If it won't work, that's okay. Don't feel obligated. I know she's only here for a short time, so if you don't want to share her with us, I get it. I did the same thing whenever Hannah would come for a visit."

"How'd that go for you guys?" I ask, genuinely interested.

"We started dating in high school. She went to a cosmetology school in Indiana, while I enlisted. I didn't know how it would work out, being apart like we were, but we were both committed. We talked on the phone or video chatted whenever we could and were always counting down the days until we'd see each other in person again."

His smile is far off as he looks over my shoulder. "The visits were great, but torture at the same time because I knew there was always a looming deadline. Saying goodbye sucked, and a few times, I thought about breaking it off with her. Not because I didn't love her or miss her like crazy, but because I felt like she was missing something in life by waiting around for me, and I didn't want that. Hannah always seemed to know when I was feeling particularly low and would reassure me, she was in this for the long haul.

"The day she graduated, I proposed. Best decision I ever made," he states proudly with a beaming smile.

I can't help but think about my own life and how Faith fits into it.

While Erik might have continued to date Hannah during their separation, I haven't dated Faith. Not because I didn't want to, but because I felt like she deserved better. No one should be sitting by the phone, waiting for a phone call. Not at our age. We're too young for that. And dating a military guy isn't easy. I've heard all the horror stories from guys and girls in previous units. It takes a strong person to commit to someone they barely see. Too many of them were cheated on, and I always vowed to never put myself or the woman I was seeing in that kind of situation.

Not that I think Faith would do anything like that, but I've spent a lot of time keeping women at arm's length. Especially after seeing the bullshit Ford went through with Sara. Ford and I met in boot camp and became fast friends. We were fortunate to be stationed together afterward and sent overseas at the same time. He told me a lot about the crap that happened when he enlisted. It had always been his plan, which she apparently knew. Yet somehow, she thought she could talk him out of it and blamed him for leading her on when her plan didn't work. He was messed up for a while.

Until he met Shayne.

Call me Cupid, because it was my invitation for him to come home with me for a week during leave, which resulted in him meeting Shayne. And the rest, as they say, is history. They're engaged to be married, living in their dream house, and are living happily ever after.

That's also how I met Faith. I'd heard all about her over the three years Ford and I were friends before I finally got to meet her. From the moment I saw her, I knew she was special. Different from any woman I had ever met before.

And I knew almost instantly, if we could overcome a little distance and time, we could have something great. I've felt it in my heart since that first night and every night after. Having her here is a blessing and a curse, because it's a reminder that I'm going to have to let her go again.

Soon.

"You good there, Corp?" Erik asks, pulling me out of my own head.

"Yeah, why?" I ask, getting into position to spot his next ten reps.

He just grins. "You just had a serious look on your face with a cheesy grin," he teases, clearly knowing where my mind had wandered.

"I was thinking about all the running I'm going to make you do once we're done here."

Erik laughs and reaches for the bar. "Sure you were," he quips, before lifting the bar and pounding out ten bench presses.

We switch places and I do the same, only with a little more weight. Erik might be a few inches taller than me, but he's a little on the leaner side. Don't get me wrong, he's strong as fuck, and I'd trust him to carry my ass out of any situation that arose without breaking a sweat. I feel the same about most of the guys in my new unit. Sure, there's still a couple I'm on the fence about, but for the most part, these are good teammates and soldiers.

That brings my mind back around to Faith. Ever since we met, she's been my biggest cheerleader and close friend. Yes, I still consider her twin brother my best friend, but there's something different about talking to Faith. We're connected on a deeper level; one I suspect is reserved for the one you love forever.

Do I love Faith?

Yes, of course I do. She's the most beautiful woman I've ever known, inside and out. She's caring, witty, and kind, which is why I know she's destined for great things as a kindergarten teacher. Even though the amount of time we've physically seen each other face-to-face is small, I've gotten to know the real her through hours and hours of phone, text, and video conversations over the last year.

Wherever I was, she was there too. In my head and my heart, right there beside me, even when she wasn't.

Clearing my throat, I push away all the emotions Faith brings to the surface. Now isn't the time to get into all that.

"All right, fellas. It's time to get ready for our run," I announce, grabbing everyone's attention and getting a mix of groans in return. No one particularly likes running in this kind of heat, but it's necessary. "Rehydrate and meet outside in fifteen."

I chug the bottle of water I brought and toss it in the trash.

Time to put thoughts about Faith aside and get back to work.