Badge of Honor (The Town of Pearl 9)

“Honestly, from my experience, it seemed that the guys I dated tried to act like my job, my independent attitude, meant they were inferior to me. At first they liked the idea of dating a female cop. But eventually it bothered them. Especially when I showed up for a date with a black eye, or had to cancel a date because I made an arrest or had to get stitches.” She chuckled. “Men don’t like to feel inferior,” she added.

“Maybe it was the type of men you dated. Ever been with a military man?” he asked as he stepped closer and placed his hands on her hips. She shook her head. How was she supposed to respond to that?

It was too intimate. Too intense to think about having sex with Gus or with the others, never mind all of them. She felt her cheeks grow warm and she pulled away.

“What happened with your last girlfriend? The one that hurt you?” she asked him.

Gus squinted his eyes then licked his lower lip. It was obviously a touchy subject.

“If you don’t feel comfortable telling me about it…”

“No, it’s not that. I guess it’s my ego that is still a little affected.”

“What this woman do? Cheat on you?” she asked.

He snorted. “Exactly.”

“No way. On you?” she asked, sincerely shocked. Then she looked him over. The man was exquisite from head to toe.

“Yeah. Why do you find that hard to believe?”

“Gus, you’re gorgeous. You have a great body, and you’re a SEAL. What woman in her right mind would cheat on someone like you?”

“Beth, and she got pregnant with the guy’s kid.”

“Oh man, that is terrible. But hey, at least you didn’t marry her, and start your own family with her. Things could have been worse.”

“They did get worse,” he said and lowered his head then looked away toward the woods. She could tell he was obviously affected by what happened.

“It didn’t end there did it?” she asked.

“No. She was pregnant with the baby and her boyfriend beat her. She nearly miscarried.”

Lauren was shocked.

“That’s terrible. Did she press charges?”

He shook his head. “I went to see her in the hospital because I heard she had an accident. Turns out he hit her often. You know, typical abusive relationship. But when I saw the bruises, her bloody lip, battered skin, and then round belly, I was so angry. The son of a bitch walked into the room all pompous and smiling holding a bouquet of flowers. One thing led to another and…”

“And what happened?”

“I kind of beat the shit out of him. Almost got arrested and charged with assault. Well, attempted murder, actually. At least that’s what his lawyer started pushing for in court.”

“Oh God, Gus, that must have been terrible. You obviously didn’t serve any time.” She watched him, could see the emotions scattering across his face and in his eyes. He was sincerely upset about what happened.

He stepped closer and held her gaze.

“Mace saved me from killing the bastard that day. Wyatt had some friends look into Beth’s boyfriend and found out he had some outstanding warrants and a few charges against him for assault that seemed to disappear. His attorney wasn’t on the up and up, and well it was a game of who had more shit on who. I came out on top. Just barely.”

He caressed her arms and she looked up into his dark brown eyes.

“I’m not a violent man, Lauren. I just don’t believe a woman should be manhandled and treated badly. I had strong feelings for Beth when that happened.” He ran his fingers along her neck to her chin and she felt herself drawn into his voice, his eyes, and everything that attracted her to Gus.

“And do you still have strong feelings for Beth now?” she asked. He squinted his eyes as if shocked she asked him that and she felt guilty. She didn’t know why she asked. Maybe it was that jealousy thing again?

He shook his head and stepped closer, his body against hers.

“Haven’t thought about her in in over a year’s time. I thought I knew what love was. What it was like to know that someone was made for me and me made for them. Although I never considered being a father, raising a family and living the life out here on the land in Pearl, I have to say that when I look into your eyes, I feel all of that. I want all of that with you and my brothers-in-arms.”