Her Sexy Marine Valentine(16)

She shook her head. "Talking about it, I don't know, it takes some of the fantasy away."

Abbott sighed. "I get that, but you have to give me something. Was he amazing?"

"I'll say only this-I had no idea how much I didn't know. He's taught  me a lot. And, I knew before, but now it's been confirmed, breaking up  with Gary was the best thing that ever happened to me. The. Best. Thing.  Now that I know what can be, I'll never settle for less."

Abbott whistled. "Look at you! I'm happy for you. It's about time."

"True that."

They both laughed.

"Is it serious?" Abbott leaned forward still cupping the coffee close to her face.

Mari cocked her head. "No. We've both been really clear about that. I'm  not ready for anything serious. He's not into commitments, so it's kind  of perfect for both of us. We're having fun. That's it."

Abbott's hand went to her chest. "My little Mari is all grown up and  having excellent casual sex with a hot Marine. I couldn't be any  prouder."

Mari rolled her eyes. "So I had this crazy idea, and I might need your help."

"Crazier than having steamy sex with your boy toy?"

"Stop. Yes. I'm going to throw a Valentine's party for family, friends  and a few of our clients. Maybe even a few of our potential clients."

Abbott frowned. "I hate Valentine's Day."

"Me, too, which is why I thought we could make this more a friendly gathering."

"Where is this shindig supposed to take place?"

"My house."

Her friend nearly dropped the coffee cup.

"But Valentine's Day is a few weeks away."

She wagged her finger. "You haven't been by in a while. With Brody's  help, it's all come together so fast. The man can do anything."

"Wow. You're into him. I can tell. I don't care how casual you think things are, you're so into him."

Maybe she was. But when Brody grew tired of what they had, she would  let go. Fast. She'd promised him she would. She'd promised herself.

It would hurt, but at the first sign she saw of him losing interest,  she would walk away. She had to, for her own good and for his.

* * *

MARI AND BRODY stood outside the high-rise building where her ex's  engagement party was being thrown. The wind had picked up and a  thunderstorm threatened. Her red dress whipped around her thighs and she  had to hold it down with her hands. It wasn't that she was worried  about seeing Gary and his new fiancée again. It was that some of their  old friends would be there. People who had treated her like a social  pariah when he'd dumped her, as if she'd done something wrong.                       
       
           



       

The lobby doorman pushed open the glass door. Brody put his hand  lightly on her hip to guide her into the fancy building. Funny how in  the last week since they'd first made love, she'd grown to crave his  touch. Her body leaned into his, without her even thinking about it.  There was strength in him and never had she needed it more.

"We don't have to go in," Mari said as they rode up in the elevator.

"No. We don't. You have nothing to prove." Brody took her hand in his.  "You look great in that dress and those heels. All I can think about is  stripping them off of you. Frankly, I'm okay with leaving, if that's  what you want. What I want is to be inside you."

It was as if a passel of butterflies was let loose low in her belly.  "Brody," she scolded, and slapped at him playfully. "Now I won't be able  to think about anything else. I can hardly breathe."

He chuckled and then caressed her jawline with the back of his hand. He  did that often. She loved how he was always touching her. Having his  hands on her, even now, made her think of him filling her so completely.

"You're all I think about," he whispered. "And now I'm hard as a rock.  You can't talk like that and expect me to stand idly by. I could press  you up against the wall right here and-" The doors to the elevator  dinged open. He took her hand and led her from the elevator. In the  hallway, people milled around and the apartment door at the end of the  corridor was open.

"Twenty minutes," he said as they made their way to Gary's. "Then I'm  taking you home. That's about as long as I can wait to have you."

Heat pooled at her core. It was all she could do not to haul him back to the elevator so they could go home and make love.

As they neared the open door, his arm went around her shoulders. "We're  going to show your ex that you've moved on and that he's pretty much  the dumbest guy who's ever lived."

On the inside, she was doing a happy dance. Every once in a while Brody  would say something like that and make her wonder what life might be  like with a man like him-permanently. One who treated her with kindness  and satisfied every desire she had. Not that they were really together.  This was a friends-with-benefits situation, which she kept having to  remind herself of, but still...

"You've got this," Brody said as he guided her through the entryway.

They were met by Annalise, the new fiancée, who wore a tight, neon green dress with cutouts and very high heels.

How does she breathe in that outfit? There wasn't an ounce of fat anywhere in those cutouts.

Mari sighed. No matter. Even if her time with Brody wasn't long-term,  she had moved forward with her life. She didn't need a man-any man-to  define her. But if she was going to have fun and awesome sex, she might  as well do it with the handsome, well-built Marine.

She took a deep breath and smiled.

Annalise's eyes went straight to Brody. "Hi," she said breathily  without even glancing at Mari. "I'm so very glad you could make it. I  remember meeting you-I mean, who would forget you, but I'm afraid I have  forgotten your name."

His eyebrow lifted. "Brody," he said. "And this is my girlfriend, Mari. Remember, she used to date your fiancé?"

Annalise frowned as she spared Mari a quick glance. "Yes. I remember  now." She waved at them and then gestured at the room. "How grown up are  all of us that we can hang out like this?"

Mari wasn't feeling grown up at all. Annalise's hand had landed on  Brody's biceps. She was about ready to tell the woman to get her hand  off of his arm. Hadn't she taken enough from Mari? Well, she'd done her a  favor. After being with Brody for a short time, she couldn't believe  she'd almost ended up with a creep like Gary. Still, the woman needed to  stop touching Brody.

She cleared her throat and looped her arm through his, effectively removing him from the other woman's clutches.

Annalise's lips formed a pout as if Mari had taken away her favorite toy.

"Yeah, so...my Gary is over at the bar," Annalise said. "You guys  should go say hello. He was just telling me the other day that he  doubted you would show up. He'll be so surprised."                       
       
           



       

I bet. Mari'd prefer to avoid ol' Gary, but she and Brody could at least get a drink and maybe check out the view.

Brody kissed Mari's cheek. "Babe, we need to hurry and do whatever it  is we're going to do here. We're down to eighteen minutes."

She smiled and her breath caught yet again. The man did dangerous things to her body with mere words. "We could go now."

He leaned down and nipped her ear. "Or, we could do it now. Again and again," he murmured.

She couldn't seem to catch her breath, it took her a long moment before  she replied. "Hmm, who's the one being bad now? But really, I'm ready  to leave, we can-"

"Mari?" She instantly recognized the voice. She turned to find Gary's  mother standing before her. "Darling girl, how are you?" she gushed and  kissed the air near Mari's face. The thing was, Mari had always liked  her ex's mom. Unlike Gary, his mother was pretty down to earth. She came  from old money, but she didn't put on any airs and graces. A Southern  belle from Georgia, she had a way of telling it like it was, but it  still sounded sweet.

"I'm great," Mari answered truthfully. For the first time in her life,  she meant those words. Her life had been a nightmare for the last few  months, but being with Brody had been good for her. She'd learned so  much about herself and her body, and when they did part, she would be  better off for having been with him. Even though it might break her  heart.

"I could disown him for what he did to you," his mother said, "and then  he attaches himself to her. There's not a part of that woman that  hasn't been surgically enhanced for no good reason. She was actually  bragging about her butt implants earlier. Can you imagine? Harold and I  don't understand. You're such a lovely young woman. Honest and genuine."