Free One Day You'll Be Mine: Steamy Contemporary Military Romance by Alana Hart, Lauren Lashley

“It’s almost midnight. And this is too much information to share with you on the steps. The hills have eyes and people are nosey. Can we please talk inside?”
    Grudgingly, I stepped back and let him in. It was then that I realized I invited a vampire into my home. His handsome appearance was that surreal. As he walked past me, I smelled the faint scent of Blue de Chanel, the same cologne Hollis wore.
    “Under normal circumstances, I’d say welcome, but well…” I trailed off, not knowing how to continue. “Just have a seat.” Presley nodded in acknowledgement, as if he too understood my position. Kelli’s face lit up when she looked at us, her eyes sparkling with questions about our unexpected guest.
    “Kelli, this Presley,” I said, gesturing toward the man who’d taken a seat on the individual chair Hollis usually sat in. “That’s who sent the flowers.”
    Kelli’s eyes sparkled, appreciative of Presley’s presence. “Hey!” She beamed, standing up to walk over and shake his hand.
    “Not so quick,” I interrupted. “Presley’s sleeping with Hollis.”
    Utter confusion took over Kelli’s face when she heard that bombshell. She dropped her hand midstride. “I’m sorry. What? Did you just say what I think you said?” She looked at me, then at Presley, and turned to look at me again.
    “Yes.” Presley clasped his fingers together. “Hollis and I are lovers .”
    “I need more sangria.”
    “Sangria would be lovely.” Presley invited himself to the kitchen, following along after Kelli. I wanted to follow the stranger in my house, but my legs wouldn’t allow me to move.
    I looked at the clock. 11:23 PM. Hollis wasn’t home, but a man alleging to be his lover was. In my home, sitting in his chair that we’d gotten as a wedding gift, drinking sangria with my best friend, from cups I’d purchased just this spring. For our home. For our family and friends.
    All I could think to myself was, how? Hollis and I didn’t keep secrets. We knew everything about each other. We’d been together since we were teenagers. There was never a time when Hollis ever expressed interest in other men. Ever.
    Kelli and Presley re-entered the room, each holding a glass of sangria. Kelli brought an extra glass. She set it in front of me and said, “Here. You’re going to need this.”
    Still at a loss for words, I stood there, drinking Presley in. He looked like a Greek god, chiseled arms and muscles all over.
    Kelli stepped up to moderate the conversation. “Presley. Thanks for stopping by. Can you tell us more about your affair with Hollis? When did it start?”
    Presley spoke as respectfully as possible. “First, I want to apologize to both of you for springing up on your girls’ night in. This isn’t the way a woman wants to learn her husband’s cheating. Natalia, I’d like to apologize to you for calling you a bitch a few moments ago. It was disrespectful of me to call you out of your name. I was just upset because I realized Hollis lied to me.” He motioned with his half-filled sangria glass. “But hell, I realize he’s lied to all of us.”
    Presley confessed to meeting Hollis during PT. They were in different units, but those units shared gym time. Small chats in the locker room, and a few run-ins around town and on base led to them finding out they had a lot in common.
    “And it went from there,” he closed.
    “And he never told you he was married?” Kelli said. “You live on base housing too, don’t you? You’re not married yourself?”
    “My best friend and I are married,” he said. “She’s lesbian, has two kids from a previous marriage. She needs the benefits.”
    “Did you know Hollis was married?” I said, finally getting command of my faculties again.
    Presley looked me straight in the eye. “Yes,” he said, reflectively. “I knew he was married. But he told me you two had an ‘arrangement.’”
    “What kind of arrangement?” Kelli asked. She cocked her head, and crossed