Page 32 of Her Marine
Journee felt herself being shaken lightly, and she slowly opened her eyes. Sitting up, she found that they were parked outside of a cabin. Killian had already taken her seatbelt off her, and he picked her up from the car. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he locked the car door, and they went inside.
From where they stood, she could see everything. The kitchen and living room were open spaces. The bedroom was off to the right, housing two open barn doors to reveal it. It was beautiful. The cabin was cozy yet modern, and Journee wasn’t sure how whoever decorated it pulled it off, but it worked.
Killian closed the door with his foot carrying her into the bedroom. Their bags were already inside, so she knew he’d brought them in before waking her up. He sat her on the bed, but Journee stood, walking into the connected bathroom. There was a soaking tub in the corner and a large walk-in shower adjacent to it. The countertops were the same type of granite in the kitchen, and the mirror ran the length. If Journee could redesign the bathroom at her house, it would look something like this one.
She returned to the bedroom, where Killian was plugging his phone into the charger.
“This is pretty,” she told him, walking over. “Thank you.” She rose on her tiptoes, and Killian leaned down, closing the distance between them.
“You don’t have to thank me, but you’re welcome.”
Journee looked at the bed. “If we sleep in this bed together, are you going to behave?” she questioned teasingly.
“No,” Killian told her. He snaked his hand down her back and slapped her on the ass. “Not in the slightest.” Journee felt her breath hitch at those words. “Though I won’t do anything you don’t want me to, and if us being in the same bed makes you uncomfortable, I’ll sleep on the pullout.”
Journee rose back on her tiptoes and nipped his lower lip. “There’s no need for that.”
His phone vibrating caused her to look down, and she noticed that it was after one in the morning. She still didn’t know where they were, but they’d driven for three hours.
“Where are we?” she inquired.
“Close to the San Juan Mountains,” Killian responded. “We’re about a ten-minute drive from them. I don’t think this little area has a name.”
Journee opened her suitcase and pulled out the purse she’d packed. She grabbed her phone, texting her sisters and Kaydence that they’d made it and where they were. Deciding not to text her grandmother because she knew she was asleep or Talia because the vibration would wake her up, and Journee didn’t want an earful.
“I’m going to go take a shower,” she stated, tossing her phone onto the bed and grabbing her toiletry bag.
She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. As it heated up, she pulled her curly coils up, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She undressed, grabbed her body wash and body sponge from the bag, and stepped inside.
As Journee bathed, she realized she hadn’t brought her bedclothes into the bathroom. Deciding that she would deal with that when the time came, she enjoyed the spray of water. She took her time but didn’t want to use all the hot water, so she stepped out twenty minutes later.
Journee grabbed one of the fluffy towels off the shelf. She figured whoever owned the place must have put them there earlier in the day before they arrived because they still smelled of fabric softener. She dried off before wrapping the towel around herself.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, Journee found herself frozen. Killian stood with his back to her in nothing but a pair of boxers. The Marine Corps insignia was tattooed across almost his entire back. The ribbon flew from the eagle’s mouth, reading Death Before Dishonor, and while Journee had always been a sucker for tattoos, it added to the appeal of what she was seeing. It was the muscles that rippled in his back that had caught her attention.
She found herself biting her bottom lip. Journee knew this man was fine, but her imagination had not done justice to the body underneath his clothes because while he looked damn good in them, and you could tell that he was in good shape, he was a masterpiece without them.
Killian turned, and Journee should have probably been embarrassed that she’d gotten caught staring, but she wasn’t because here she was doing it again. This man’s chest and abdomen were just as yummy to look at as his back was. His left pectoral housed a tattoo of a knife and riffle with a banner coiling around them that read, Semper Fi.
“You keep staring at me like that, Tigress, and I’m going to take it as an invitation.”
Journee brought her eyes from his chest up to his, and she swallowed thickly because his eyes told her that if she gave him the word, he would ravage her. It was almost as if time slowed down as he waited to see if she would give him that invitation. She was tempted to. She really was.
Killian smirked at her, and Journee had come to learn that always meant he was about to have her turned on, dripping wet.
“I’ll behave tonight, baby.” He crowded her space, his hand running up her thigh between her legs, and he slid a finger between her folds, causing her to moan. “But tomorrow.” He pulled his finger from between her legs, licking her juices, and Journee hadn’t even realized she was wet. “I get to put you to sleep.”
With that, Killian picked up a small bag from the bed and walked past her, going into the bathroom. Journee stood in that same spot for a long moment, not knowing whether she should be excited or worried at his words.
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Killian followed behind Journee as they walked along a hiking path close to the mountain area. Journee had decided that she didn’t want to hike into the mountains, and Killian couldn’t say he blamed her. Getting an up-close view of the mountains would be the best part of the hike. However, the drive to what could be dubbed the beginning of the mountains, which were the hiking trails, had been about ten minutes. It would take them at least seven hours of hiking to get close enough to enjoy the mountains’ view. So, they’d taken another path that ventured into the forestry area.
It was a little after ten-thirty in the morning, and Killian was mildly surprised that there weren’t more people taking advantage of the clear day. They’d only come across a couple, but they’d only been hiking for about half an hour.
Since Killian had known they likely wouldn’t be back by the time lunch rolled around, they had decided to backtrack to a sandwich shop he’d passed the night before and get something to take with them. They’d also stopped by the store to grab several water bottles, a backpack, and other things he thought they’d need.
As they maneuvered the path, Killian watched Journee take several pictures of the different foliage with her phone. He wondered if she was going to pin this place. It could technically be considered unique, he supposed.
