Her Sexy Marine Valentine(11)

My Mari? What the-? That had slipped out. But he'd meant it. He was proud to have her with him today.

She smiled up at him. Each time she looked at him, this whole thing  became less fake. If he was the commitment type, and he wasn't, but if  he was, he would definitely be into her. But he had to remember that  this was only an act. They could be friends but nothing more. He  wouldn't want to hurt her, not after what she'd been through with her  ex. Protecting her meant not sleeping with her. No matter how much he  might want to.

The baby started crying. "Lily, why do you always wait until I'm ready to eat to start fussing? I just fed and changed you."                       
       
           



       

"I'll take her." Brody reached across the table.

Mari and Leslie looked at him as if he had two heads.

"What? I'm good with babies. Had lots of practice with my  stepsiblings." After his mother died, Brody's dad had married four  times. He had three stepbrothers and two stepsisters. As the oldest, and  the one usually left in charge, he had changed more than his fair share  of diapers. He'd left for the Marines at eighteen so he could get away  from being a full-time nanny for his dad and stepmom number four, or was  it five? He could never remember.

"I'm not going to turn down an offer, but she's picky about people. Don't get upset if she wails even louder."

Brody took the baby from Leslie's arms and then rested Lily against his  chest. She was big enough that she could lift her head up and look at  him.

He smiled down at her. "Hello, pretty Lily. I'm going to keep you  company so your mom can get some grub. You gotta let her keep up her  strength so she can take care of you. Then she can help you grow up and  be big and strong."

The baby made a soft noise and then cooed at him.

"Wow. You do have the magic touch," Leslie said.

"She's probably afraid to piss him off," Mark cut in. "He scares the crap out of even the toughest guys in our unit."

He did? While Brody wanted the unit's respect, he didn't want anyone to  be afraid of him. Did they look at him the way he did the CO? Hell. It  never dawned on him that maybe he was just as gruff.

This day was full of surprises.

He'd always thought he was fair, but he did like to keep to himself. Maybe the CO was on to something with this bonding idea.

Maybe Brody should pay more attention to how he talked to the men and  women in his classes. Maybe his need to stay separate from everyone was  giving them the wrong idea about him. And if he wanted to be promoted,  well, he'd have to show the CO that he wasn't just good at his job, but  great with people.

Brody sighed.

He patted the baby on the back.

"Is that true? You guys are afraid of him?" Mari asked. "He's the biggest teddy bear of a man I ever met."

Mark gave a wry smile. "You've never failed one of his tests. He has a way of making you feel like you're two inches tall."

Brody's eyebrow lifted. He'd done nothing more than try to instill in  them the need to understand the importance of navigation. Instruments  went down, there could be air and ground assaults, a Marine pilot had to  be ready for anything. That was why it was important for his team to  study hard and make the grade. Their lives depended on it.

"Don't get me wrong, sir. We're a bunch of dumb..." he whispered and  glanced down at his boy, "uh, jerks for not picking it up or studying  hard enough. But you can be intimidating sometimes."

Intimidating? He never yelled. But maybe his silence was just as bad.

"How so?" he asked the other Marine. "I don't think I've ever said two words to you."

Mark smiled. "Yes, sir. But it's that look you give us sometimes. Scary as heck."

The baby burped loud and they all laughed. "Look at my big scary Marine," Mari said as she nudged his shoulder.

"I don't understand what these people are talking about, I'm the nicest  guy I know," he said to baby Lily. She burped again loudly. "Right. I  knew you'd understand."

Everyone around them laughed again.

"Man, who knew you were the baby whisperer," Mark said.

Brody shrugged. "Like I said, I had a lot of practice when I was younger."

Mari glanced up at him, and there was a question in her eyes. They  never talked about their families or their pasts. He wondered if she had  siblings. Her mom and her dad seemed to call her a lot, but she usually  put her phone on silent. That seemed weird because he remembered her  mentioning once that her parents had an enviable relationship. She'd  also said she'd given up on finding the same thing.

That was wrong. She was entitled to every ounce of happiness she could  get. But not with him. However, there had to be a nice guy out there for  her. Although, the more he thought about it, the less he liked the  idea. This thing with Mari was meant to be temporary and it wouldn't do  to get too attached to her. Maybe he could find her a nice guy once they  finished helping one another.                       
       
           



       

Again, the idea didn't sit too well with him.

They continued chatting with Mark and Leslie until the CO stopped by their table.

"Time for volleyball. Lieutenant, you're with me," the CO ordered as he pointed to him.

"Yes, sir." Brody nodded. Normally, he liked any kind of physical activity, but he wasn't looking forward to this game.

"You going to be my good luck charm?" he asked Mari. He handed the baby back to her mother and then gathered their trash.

"Aren't I always?" she joked. She followed him as he dumped their  plates and they headed out to the beach, where the net had been set up.

Why had the CO asked him to be on his team? That was a lot of pressure.  He frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was no time for a  dumb headache.

"Hey," she said, grabbing his arm, "It's a game. Only a game. And he asked you to be on his team."

"That's worse," he muttered. His palms were sweating. "If I screw up,  I'll never hear the end of it. You don't get it. He's nice to you, but  every day he gives me grief. Every single day."

"Poor guy. Sounds like someone else I know. That's one of the reasons I  decided to start my own business. In the beginning, being my own boss  was a challenge. I hadn't thought about the fact that while I didn't  have someone telling me what to do, I did have to deal with clients. But  I learned to be a team player. There are better ways to approach things  that won't make anyone feel threatened. From experience I know you guys  don't like to be wrong."

"And you do?" He flipped his shades to the top of his head and rolled his eyes to take the bite out of his words.

That might work for her interior design business, but being a Marine was a little different.

"Listen, no boyfriend of mine is going to suck at volleyball," she  said. Then she took his hand in hers and turned his palms-up. She traced  the lines there.

Her touch instantly made him hard. How would he be able to focus now?

"Play for me. Don't think about anything else, except this." She kissed  his palm. "Every time you score or set up a shot, I'll blow you a  kiss."

A slow smile spread across his face. "And what happens if I win?"

She waggled her eyebrows. "If your team wins, I have all kinds of surprises for you," she said suggestively.

He barked out a laugh. "Well, when you say it like that." He turned her hand in his and then kissed her fingers. "Thanks."

He ran onto the sand to start the game.

When he glanced back at her, she blew him a kiss. Damn. He had to  remind himself for the hundredth time that day that this wasn't real.  But her affect on him was.

"Ready to play, Marine?" the CO asked.

"Yes, sir." He glanced over at her one more time and she winked at him. "I believe I am."

* * *

MARI'S FINGERS TINGLED from his lips.

Better be careful. This is also a game.

Just before he was ready to serve, he held up a hand. He ripped off his T-shirt, then ran over and handed it to her.

"Thanks, babe." He kissed her lightly on the lips. He might as well  have stripped her naked on the beach given her body's reaction to him.  From her head to her toes, she was a hot, needy mess.

She'd seen his muscles under the tanks and T-shirts he sometimes wore,  but it was very different seeing them up close and personal.

It's just for show. It's just for show.

"How do you keep your hands off him when he does that?" Carissa asked  from beside her. The other woman wasn't being catty, it was definitely  admiration Mari heard in her voice.

She glanced around to find that she wasn't the only one with eyes on  Brody. Though there were a lot of other very fit Marines playing the  game, many sets of eyes were on Brody. She couldn't blame them-he was  magnificent. "It isn't easy," Mari said truthfully. "But I've promised  him, since this was a work event, that I'd behave. He said your dad  doesn't appreciate PDA." At least, she hoped that was true.