“She’s nine now; she’s really gotten into soccer and jujitsu and she plays the guitar. So she keeps my parents pretty busy while I’m gone. They take her to her lessons and practices after school.”
“Wow, she has a full plate.”
“Yeah, if I thought for one second it was too much I’d make her quit, but Maddie thrives on all of them. She loves to play soccer, it’s a workout for energy and her best friends are on the team. The jujitsu she’s not so crazy about, but I believe she needs to know how to defend herself, so she tries hard at it and she’s getting better.”
Mack found himself curious. “Did your parents make you take jujitsu growing up?”
Marley snorted and wiped her arm across her forehead. “My dad taught us self-defense.”
Mack wiped his own forehead off. It wasn’t unbearably hot, but the ninety percent humidity in the air resulted in a constant sheen of moisture on their skin and clothes. “And what did your dad do?”
“He was a colonel in the Marines.”
Mack stopped short, taking Marley, whose hand he was still holding, to an abrupt stop. “Your dad wastheColonel Mitchell?”
A slight frown formed on Marley’s lips. “I’m not sure if he istheColonel Mitchell, though he would probably like that. He’s the only Colonel Mitchell I’ve ever known. Why?”
“The man was a legend. He personally led his troops in multiple battles. We used to call him Madman Mitchell. Nobody messed with him.”
He was one hardass, son-of-a-bitch. Mack had seen him ream his soldiers’ asses after a screw up, leaving them with their heads hanging and their tails between their legs. Some thought he was too harsh, but Mack thought he was damn effective. He was a man who commanded respect everywhere he went, a man who fought hard for his men and for what was right no matter the cost to his personal career. He was a man Mack would follow into battle blindfolded.
“Sounds like you’ve met him then. Please don’t tell me you served together.” Heat stained her cheeks when she said that.
What would it matter to her whether or not Mack had served with her father? “No, he’d been in for a while before I joined.”
“Good.”
“Why is it good? I did work under him briefly. He was over my grade when I was just a captain.”
Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red and she avoided his gaze. “How much longer do you think it will be before we meet your men?”
“Stop avoiding the question.” Mack tugged her closer, trying to see inside her mind.
“I’m not avoiding the question, I just don’t want to be stuck out here for another night. We should keep walking.” Marley made to pull him along, but Mack held firm.
“Why would you care whether or not I served with your dad? Are you ashamed of me?” Had he misread her? What the hell had he done to make her ashamed of him? Was she regretting their time together in the cave after all?
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’m not ashamed of you. I know my dad would love you. You have all the qualities he admires.”
Mack felt his chest puff out with relief and pride. Any man Colonel Mitchell admired was a good soldier.
Marley continued, “You’re intelligent, deadly fast, and strong.”
Mack’s chest puffed out even more.
“And stubborn enough to argue with that tree over there.”
His pride deflated under the last blow to his ego. He wasn’t stubborn. He was steadfast—he got the job done no matter what. He was just about ready to tell her that when he caught the laughter twinkling in her eyes.
“Mack, your head looked like it was ready to float off your shoulders, I had to pull you back down to the earth.”
Mack turned around and yanked her close, wrapping an arm around her waist and anchoring her to him. Marley gasped and swallowed a sweet moan as he plunged his tongue inside her mouth, getting lost for a moment in her sweet taste and yielding body. When she squeezed his biceps and dug her nails into his skin, he knew she was putty in his hands. Mack broke the kiss and set her back, grinning at the look of dazed confusion on her face. “Let’s say you could add sex god to that list.”
