Better Late Than Never Read online

  Just like old times, she thought, shaking her head. She decided to lay her cards on the proverbial table. “Danita told me where to find you, and she enlisted Joe to convince you to come to the reunion.”

  Landon downed the rest of his drink. “Enlisted? Danita never ‘enlists’ anyone to do anything, least of all Joe. I’m guessing it was more like an order.”

  Desiree smiled. “Enlisted, ordered, begged, whatever. You’re here. That’s all that matters.”

  “I am,” he agreed. “So now that your primary objective has been achieved, what are you going to do with me?”

  Oh, what a loaded question, Desiree thought wickedly. “I haven’t determined that yet. That information will be given on a need-to-know basis, and you don’t need to know that yet.”

  Landon laughed. “Stop stealing my lines.”

  “Party pooper. So what would you like me to do with you?”

  Landon looked away for a brief moment, then back at Desiree, a deadly serious look on his face. “Let’s just talk and see where things go from there, okay? There’s a lot of unfinished business between us that needs to be dealt with first.”

  Desiree exhaled. In the background, the DJ continued cranking out the evening’s entertainment—80s retro music, of course. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

  She drained the rest of her drink. Liquid courage, don’t fail me now. “I know. We will get to all that. Can we step outside for a bit?”

  “Sure.” Landon nodded. “You’re looking a little pale.”

  Desiree smiled. “How does a black woman look pale?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “But you’re sure as hell doing it.”

  Desiree grinned. She gestured with her empty glass. “Do you think you could get me another one of these?”

  “Sure.” He nodded dutifully. “I’ll be right back.”

  As Landon walked away, Desiree’s gaze was drawn to his firm ass. Damn, Landon. Hate to see you go, but love to watch you leave, boy.

  Desiree sighed. Get a grip, girl. You don’t know where this is going, or if it’s going anywhere at all.

  Chapter 4

  Landon’s brain was working overtime as he made his way to the bar. He still wondered what Desiree’s intentions were.

  Damned if he knew, but Landon was determined to play hard-to-get for as long as humanly possible.

  He ordered another Long Island Iced Tea, deciding this time to completely ignore the bartender’s not-so-subtle attempts to flirt with him.

  He smiled as he thought back a few weeks ago to a conversation he’d had with his commanding officer, Joe Mawhorter:

  “Got a minute, Landon?” Mawhorter asked as Landon stuffed his gear into a big duffel bag.

  “For you always, sir,” Landon replied, grinning roguishly.

  “Cut the ‘sir’ bullshit for now, Landon. It’s guy time.”

  “Okay. What’s up?”

  “I’m on a special assignment for the queen,” Mawhorter whispered conspiratorially.

  “Ah.” Landon nodded. “Must be important, huh?”

  “Top secret. Eyes only. A matter of national security.”

  “Get on with it, Joe,” Landon groaned as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. “Neither of us are getting any younger, you know.”

  “I’ve been ordered—er, instructed—er, requested to guarantee your presence at our upcoming twenty-five-year reunion.”

  Landon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Now, how did I know that was what this was about? And by the way, Joe, your first instinct was no doubt correct. It was an order, yes?”

  Mawhorter grinned widely. “Affirmative, sailor. Are you really going to send me back to face the wrath of the queen empty-handed?”

  “Of course not,” Landon replied. “You’d rather face an interrogation by the Taliban than endure the wrath of the queen for five seconds.”

  “Close,” Mawhorter said. “You know me—and her—too well, my friend.”

  “Why is it so important that I be at the reunion?”

  “Because someone from your past wants to see you.”

  “Who would that be?”

  “You know, Landon.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Yes, you do, Lieutenant Stone.”

  “I really don’t. My ignorance is genuine for once, Joe.” Landon winked.

  “One word—Desiree.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  “Would I do that? Never mind,” Mawhorter added hastily as Landon prepared to let loose a sarcastic, smart-ass response. “She and Danita have been talking about it for months.”

  “Desiree was married to Derek with two kids last I heard.” Landon shrugged. “Anyhow, that was a lifetime ago. I’m over her.”

  Now it was Mawhorter’s turn to roll his eyes. “Like hell you are. Don’t try to bullshit a bullshitter, Landon. She’s divorced now, and according to Danita, she’s seen the error of her ways.”

  “Good for her,” Landon said. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to just take her back with open arms. Not after the way she did me.”

  “Landon, for the love of God,” Mawhorter said, an edge creeping into his voice. “That was twenty-five years ago, man. You were both young and stupid.”

  “I was young,” Landon said. “She was young and stupid.”

  “Oh, you’ve punched your ‘stupid’ card a few times over the years, sunshine. One word—Tijuana.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Landon said, shaking his head. “Tell the queen I’ll be there with bells on.”

  Landon smiled at the memory as he plopped down a twenty dollar bill on the bar. “Keep the change, ma’am,” he said, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat as he walked away.

  Chapter 5

  Desiree was getting impatient. Where was that man with her damn drink?

  “Sorry it took so long,” Landon said, shooting Desiree a devilish grin as he slipped back into his seat.

  “Uh-huh,” Desiree groused. “You should never keep a lady waiting.”

  “You’ve been keeping me waiting for twenty-five years, sweetheart,” he said. “I’ll make it up to you later. In full.”

  “I’ll definitely hold you to that,” Desiree replied with a big smile on her face. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

  “Sure,” he said. “How about we go down by the boat docks? It looks nice and peaceful down there. It’s been a while since I could just look at the water and listen to it lap the shore. Usually for me, water means it’s time to go to work, and ‘peaceful’ isn’t listed anywhere in my job description.”

  “Sounds wonderful. Let’s go.”

  Landon moved behind Desiree and pulled out her chair. She reached for her light coat, but Landon stopped her.

  “I don’t think you’ll be needing that,” he whispered in her ear. “It’s June in San Diego. And if you do get cold, I’m more than up to the task of keeping you warm. Hot, even.”

  Desiree shivered at the unspoken implication in Landon’s words. “Okay,” she managed to say.

  They slipped out of the ballroom without being noticed and walked down a long, snaking pathway to the boat docks. Desiree could hear the quiet sound of water hitting the docks as the moored boats rocked gently.

  Rocked gently like… Stop it!

  “Nice night,” Desiree observed.

  “Is it ever not a nice night in San Diego?” Landon said with a grin.

  “Not really,” Desiree said, taking Landon’s hand and squeezing it. “I guess you take it for granted after you grow up here and see the same beautiful weather day after day.”

  “Agreed,” he replied with a nod. “When you experience some of the conditions I have—lung-stifling heat, bone-creaking cold, and everything in between—you appreciate the green, green grass of home that much more.”

  “I bet.” Desiree took a deep breath, then exhaled. “Landon?”

  “Yes?”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

&
nbsp; “For hurting you.”

  Landon smiled. “That was a long time ago, Desiree. We were kids.”

  “Yeah,” Desiree said. “Young and stupid,” she added with a heavy sigh.

  “Agreed,” he said, flashing a half-grin.

  “So,” Desiree said, hedging a bit, “You aren’t…” she faltered.

  “Seeing anyone?”

  She nodded, smiling demurely.

  “You’re about as subtle as a flash-bang grenade, babe,” Landon said. “The answer is no.”

  Desiree smiled again. “Since when?”

  “Since you.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  “So, you haven’t had sex with anyone since high school?”

  Landon smiled. “I didn’t say that.”

  Desiree suddenly found pangs of jealousy coursing through her at the mere thought of Landon with someone else. Which was silly since she’d dumped him and gone back to her ex-boyfriend.

  She banished the unpleasant thoughts from her mind and smiled.

  Landon smiled sheepishly. “But as far as actually dating, relationships, all that…no. There’s been no one special in my life since you.”

  “Should I believe that?”

  “Have you ever had reason to doubt anything I’ve ever said to you?”

  “You’ve got me there,” she said. “Never.”

  “Then you can take this to the bank too.”

  “All right,” Desiree said, backtracking quickly. “So, hypothetically speaking, of course—”

  “Yes.”

  Desiree laughed. “You haven’t heard the question yet.”

  Landon flashed a roguish grin. “You’re wondering if there is still a chance for us after all these years.”

  So much for the subtle approach, she thought ruefully. “Something like that.”

  “You wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble—and gotten the queen to involve Joe in this nefarious scheme of yours—just to say hello and catch up on old times,” Landon said. “Am I right?”

  Desiree smiled. “No. I hope Joe doesn’t give up information so freely all the time.”

  Landon laughed. “He’s a good man. He loves Danita with his last breath, and he’s been watching over me like a hawk for years. I’m sure Danita didn’t need to twist his arm too hard to enlist his aid.”

  “No, I don’t imagine she did.”

  “Well, what have we here?” sneered a voice from behind Desiree and Landon.

  Desiree knew that voice—especially when its owner had consumed one too many adult beverages. Derek.

  Both Desiree and Landon turned around.

  “Hello, Derek.” Desiree gritted her teeth.

  “Well hello, baby. Long time no see.”

  “By design,” Desiree said. “And unless you’ve got a child support check to give me, you can just take your sorry, trifling black ass and get to steppin’.”

  Derek laughed. “I’m not going anywhere, baby. And I see you’re slummin’ with the white boy again, huh?”

  Landon stepped in. “Take it somewhere else, jackass. The lady’s already made her intentions crystal clear as they relate to you. Get lost.”

  Derek laughed. “Fuck off, white boy. I ain’t going nowhere until this bitch and I have had a chance to reconnect.” He made a move toward Desiree, but Landon blocked his path in an instant.

  “Now, that was a very bad move on your part, Derek,” Landon said. “You’re still going to get the fuck out of here. But first, you’re going to apologize to Desiree for disrespecting her. And you’re going to do it right fucking now, sunshine.”

  “Fuck you,” Derek sneered.

  He took a swing at Landon, who easily sidestepped the attempted right cross and felled Derek with a swift right foot to the face. Derek crumpled to a knee and found himself on the receiving end of another kick to the face, this one a left.

  “You son of a bitch!” Derek roared. “You broke my fucking nose!”

  “I’m going to break a lot more than that if you don’t get cracking on that apology,” Landon said slowly, drawing out every word for emphasis.

  “Go fuck yourself,” Derek sputtered. He took another right-handed swing at Landon, who caught the punch in midair, twisted Derek’s arm behind his back, and looped his other arm around Derek’s neck.

  “I’m going to say this once and only once, you sorry sack of shit,” Landon said even more slowly, tightening the choke hold as Derek gasped for breath and tried in vain to break Landon’s vise-like grip. “You’ve got about fifteen seconds before you lose consciousness. Anything to say?”

  “Sorry, Desiree,” Derek mumbled under his alcohol-laden breath.

  “That didn’t sound sincere at all.” Landon cinched the hold even tighter. A vertebrae cracked.

  “Okay, okay!” Derek gasped. “I’m sorry, Desiree!”

  “That’s better.” Landon released the hold and spun Derek around until the two men were nose-to-nose. “Now, you can get the fuck out of here, asshole,” Landon said. “You’d better not get within one hundred yards of either of us for the rest of the night. And that goes for your two douchebag friends failing miserably at trying to hide in the bushes over there. Either of them want to roll?”

  “No,” Derek answered quickly. “We’re going.”

  “Not just yet.” Landon turned to Desiree. “How much child support does this loser owe you?”

  Desiree thought hard and quickly. “Right now, about five thousand and change.”

  “And change,” Landon repeated. He turned to Derek. “Every last fucking dime of it in her bank account by the close of business Monday. Or else.”

  “Or else what?”

  “Or else you and I are going to have another little chat,” Landon said. “And that one will end even more badly for you than this one did. We clear?”

  Derek nodded.

  “I think we’re done. Now get lost.”

  Derek walked away, his two buddies on his heels.

  Desiree was still trying to absorb what she’d just seen. “Damn,” she said finally.

  Landon smiled. “That asshole has had that beat-down coming for about twenty-five years or so. Give or take a few days, of course.”

  “Yeah.” Desiree laughed nervously. “You would have killed him, wouldn’t you?”

  “Oh, hell no,” Landon replied. “That piece of shit isn’t worth it. All I did was apply a bit of what we call ‘pain compliance’ in my line of work.”

  “I see.” Desiree frowned. “Remind me never to get on your bad side, huh?”

  “I would never hurt a woman. You know that, Desiree.”

  “I do. I’m just teasing.” She offered her best demure smile.

  “So, what are your plans for the rest of the weekend?” Landon asked.

  “I got a room here, so I could have a good time and not have to worry about stumbling home safely at the end of the night,” she said. “What about you?”

  “Well, I wasn’t planning on getting wasted,” he replied. “So I was just going to go home.”

  “Where’s home?”

  “Officer’s quarters, NAB Coronado.”

  “Ah.” Desiree nodded. “The swinging bachelor life on base, huh?”

  Landon laughed. “It’s not all that. It’s nice digs. But from my perspective, it’s just a place to lay my head in between missions.”

  “Sounds like a pretty lonely life.”

  “It can be, if you choose.”

  “And you’ve chosen it.”

  “Yep.”

  Desiree looked down at her shoes, gathering courage. It was time to make her move. “Landon?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you believe in second chances?”

  “Depends.”

  “On what?” she asked.

  “On who’s asking for the second chance.”

  “What if I’m asking for one?”

  Landon smiled. “I think that might be arranged.”

  Desiree moved
closer, smiling. She’d been waiting years for this moment. It was time to get it on.

  But Landon beat her to it. He covered her mouth with his, devouring her lips before she could take a breath.

  Desiree found herself nearly unconscious from the pleasure as she surrendered to Landon’s kiss. After what seemed like an eternity—not that she minded—Landon broke the kiss.

  Just in time, for they were both out of breath.

  “Damn,” Desiree said.

  “What?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Desiree said, feeling her pussy getting moist. “I’d just forgotten how good you kiss.”

  “That was just the appetizer, babe.”

  “Ooh,” she purred. “When do I get the entrée?”

  “When I’m ready to give it to you.”

  Oh, so that’s the way we’re going to play it, Desiree thought. “And when might that be?”

  “Well, it’s only 8:07 PM,” Landon said, glancing quickly at his watch. “The reunion should be going on for another few hours. And it has been twenty-five years since we’ve seen our classmates, so we should probably socialize a bit, hang out, reconnect with old friends—”

  This time it was Desiree taking the initiative, kissing Landon long, deep, and hard.

  Desiree broke the kiss. “Thank God for boxers,” Landon said.

  She giggled. “You were saying?”

  “Or we could just go back, discreetly say our goodbyes, and go to your room.”

  “That’s more like it,” Desiree said with a huge smile, taking Landon’s hand as they made their way back up the walkway to the hotel.

  Chapter 6

  Desiree scanned the room for her friend, finding her shaking it on the dance floor with her perpetually rhythm-challenged husband. Desiree waved at Danita, who nodded back at her in acknowledgment.

  The song ended, and Men Without Hats’ The Safety Dance began. Joe smiled wickedly, beckoning to Desiree, who rolled her eyes.

  “It looks like our discreet departure is going to be delayed by about five minutes,” she observed.

  Landon laughed. “And it had to be the extended club mix too. Better you than me, babe. I’ll be here.”