Free Chunky But Funky by Marteeka Karland Page A

dismissed the man, his attention focusing squarely on her. She hated it when he did that! He had a way of making her feel like she was the only woman in the world. Considering Amanda knew there was no way she could ever have him, it was infuriating, making her long for things that could never be. Thing was, Dalton was oblivious to his effect on her.
    Since the day she’d moved to the little town in rural Kentucky with her family at the tender age of eighteen, Dalton had been fending off bullies for her. She'd been in her senior year of high school and more than a little on the hefty side. Not that he seemed to have cared, or even noticed. He’d been on leave, returning home for a five-year class reunion when they’d met at a football game. As usual, and because she was the new kid on the block, she was being picked on, teased by boys in her class about her weight, about being “chunky, but funky.” Dalton, who had never met her, sidled up to her, throwing his arm around her.
    “Hello, gorgeous,” he’d said, then proceeded to kiss her soundly. It hadn’t been an open-mouthed kiss, merely a hard pressing of his mouth to hers, but she’d been forever changed. In that one touch, he’d branded her his. No other man would ever do for her. Dalton hadn’t yet grown into his current tough-guy physique, but he’d still been an intimidating man. The boys who had been teasing her had retreated quickly enough, and word soon spread around the school she was dating the infamous Dalton Colt, the bad-boy-gone-even-badder Marine. It didn’t matter that it hadn’t been true. No boy would get within ten feet of her. But then, no one had teased her about her weight anymore, either.
    Now, he filled her up with that same intense presence, but she wasn’t the only one. A couple of the women from the bar who’d shared in the merriment at Amanda’s expense immediately hopped up, gliding to Dalton in that slinky, cat-like way only a skinny woman could accomplish. Amanda wanted to scratch their eyes out. From that first encounter, Dalton had been her best friend. But, God, she wanted so much more!
    He wore an obscenely tight USMC T-shirt that showed off every single muscle in his torso, his biceps straining the sleeves. His dog tags were proudly displayed for all to see. One of the hussies scraped her blood-red nails down his shoulder to curl her fingers around his huge biceps. “You look like you could use some R and R, soldier,” she purred. “Perhaps I could show you a good time?”
    “Maybe both of us could,” the other one added, wrapping her arms around his other biceps, hugging the limb to her.
    Dalton leveled his gaze on first one woman, then the other. There was absolutely no interest in those ice blue eyes. No encouragement of any kind. “Remove your hands.” The ice in his voice seemed to cool the ardor of the two women, though one still clung on stubbornly.
    “Come on, big guy. I could satisfy a man like you.” She smiled coyly, lust gleaming in her eyes anyone could see easily.
    “No,” he said simply. “You couldn’t.”
    The busty brunette pouted prettily. “You haven’t even sampled my charms. I know my way around a man’s body. I can do things to you you’ve only ever dreamed about.”
    Turning the full force of his gaze on the woman, he looked her up and down, much the same way the women had been eyeing Amanda earlier—that same look of disgust with what he saw mirrored their appraisals exactly. “I’d break a skinny thing like you in half just trying to be gentle.” Just like that, he dismissed them, his full attention back on Amanda. Immediately, his face split into a broad grin . “Miss me, gorgeous?”
    Amanda couldn’t help but laugh. “Like the plague. How was your last tour?”
    He shrugged, as if risking his life were no big deal. “Same ole same ole. Nothing but miles and miles of fucking desert.”
    “Well, at least you came back in one piece.”
    He moved closer to her, invading