She studied him with a peculiar look. “Are you uncomfortable?”
Damn, she called him out on it. And damn straight he was uncomfortable.
“I’m fine.”
He shook out his muscles. And forced himself to appear more relaxed.
Maybe he should attribute his discomfort to the sofa. Say it was too hard or too soft and move to sit on the floor.
Ha, she’d read right through his lame excuse. If she sensed he was uncomfortable due to the temptation of being alone with her, it would add a complication to this mission that neither of them needed.
Right. This was just another mission. One he’d volunteered for. He had taken similar actions dozens of times in following tasks. This should be no different. If he looked at it that way, he’d be able to focus on the task at hand. First, he had to set goals and to do so, he needed to consider the situation and any complications. Then he’d prepare for the tasks and adjust to any complications that arose.
Trixie moved closer to Matty as if sensing his distress and wanting to ease it. He rubbed her head, and she curled up at his side. The warmth at his side was welcome, comforting. He brushed his fingers along Trixie’s back. For a little squirt of a dog, she wasn’t bad.
When the movie ended, he barely knew what had happened. So distracted by thoughts of Jenna, the storyline couldn’t hold his interest. At least, he hadn’t done some bonehead move and made a move on her. He silently thanked Trixie and Lola for sitting in between them.
Hopefully, Jenna wouldn’t ask him any questions about the movie. He couldn’t admit he’d spent much of the time fantasizing about other things they could do on the couch.
She yawned and covered her mouth. “That’s my call for bed.” She stood. “Let me get you some bedding before I go to my room.”
“Sounds good. I’ll catch some of SportsCenter.”
She brought him a pile with a blanket and pillow. “Hope it’s comfy.”
As he took them from her, their gazes locked. The heat that burned between them left his throat dry.
He swallowed. “I’m sure it is.”
Jenna hesitated and then said goodnight. “I’ll close the door so they won’t come out here and bug you.” She motioned to Trixie and Lola. “Come on, girls.”
She walked away and his gaze lowered to her ass. They followed her into her room. He exhaled and rubbed his beard.
Shit.
Why was his heart beating so fast? He grabbed the remote and watched a few minutes of sports highlights, stealing glances at her closed door. What if she opened the door and came to him? What would she be wearing? He pictured her in a tiny nightgown curling her finger to invite him into her room.
Damn. Making appearances in public had been one thing, but staying at Jenna’s place might have been a horrible idea.
Was it too late to abort the mission?
No. He was a SEAL, and he’d keep his word.
He pictured the way Jenna’s ex had looked at her and a new determination set in. His role was to convince her ex that he was her boyfriend. That was it.
So that’s what he would do.
Jenna
What a night.
Sunlight drifted in through the lilac curtains. Matty was staying at her apartment for a reason, but it didn’t make it any easier to sleep, ignoring his presence.
And last night with all that tension on her sofa, what was that all about? He was so stiff on her couch. Had he regretted coming to stay?
Unless it was tension, the more sensual kind, like what had been burning through her body.
Wow. That was only night one. How many more would they go through like that before they’d move on with their own lives?
Once she stirred, Lola and Trixie woke, pawing at her over the comforter to convince her to get up and feed them—their morning ritual.
“All right, let me get dressed first.” She wasn’t going to go out there wearing just her cute, baby-blue poodle pajamas with Matty in the other room. She climbed out of bed and dressed in a pair of fun black and pink patterned leggings and a long pink shirt. Time to make some coffee and face the day.
Trixie wagged her tail and Lola waited with an impatient stare at the closed bedroom door. When she opened it, they trotted down the hall. The scent of coffee swirled around her. Matty must have already been up. She strolled into the living room where he sat. He put his phone down on the coffee table as Trixie begged at his feet for attention and Lola jumped beside him on the sofa, rubbing against his hand.
He wore only boxer shorts.
Cut after cut after cut in his abs. Muscular thighs. Good God. How was she going to act normal when he sat there looking like that? With his hair all ruffled and his body half naked, no straight woman could ignore that image of masculine perfection. Her body heated in response.
“Good morning, ladies.” Matty rubbed Lola’s chin and then bent down to rub Trixie’s cheek.
They were all over him. She didn’t blame them.
“Good morning,” Jenna replied.
Matty glanced up when she announced her presence. His gaze raked her. “Hey.”
Her mouth opened as she prepared to tease him about his lack of clothing, but she snapped it shut. Words might tumble out like a tongue twister—words like abs and six-pack and delicious, tantalizing muscle...
And more scars.
Fainter and fewer than the ones on his legs and concentrated on the lower part of his abdomen. Concern pierced through her desire. What had happened to him?
She forced herself to respond with a neutral, “Did you sleep okay out here?”
He stood and her gaze traveled down his torso before she could stop herself.
“Is that all you sleep in?” she blurted.
He glanced down at his body. “Yeah. I run hot.”
She suppressed a moan. He sure did.
“Too much skin for you?” he teased and brushed her arm.
“Ha. Hardly.”
“Hope you don’t mind that I fumbled around your kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I’ve been up for a while.”
“Of course not. Make yourself at home. Help yourself to whatever you want.”
His gaze lingered on hers and that sizzling crackle of electricity zapped her once again. What was in that heated gaze? She backtracked over her words. It could be construed as her offering herself. She took a deep breath. Too early to face any innuendos.
She needed caffeine. She headed into the kitchen and poured herself some coffee in a mug with a grumpy cat on it. Lola and Trixie followed, rubbing her legs to demand their breakfast.
“What’s on your agenda today?” Matty asked from the living room.
“Oh, typical errands on my morning off.” She pulled out their bowls. “Running around, laundry, tidying up. I have classes later on today.” She scooped food out for each of them.
“It’s going to be a nice day. We have to take advantage while we can.”
“True. March in New England can be finicky. From spring sunshine to snow.”
“So let’s get some Vitamin D. How about giving the stadium a try?”
She blinked and took a sip of her coffee. “Matty, I need copious amounts of caffeine before I even contemplate that.”
He laughed. “Okay, Sleeping Beauty. How about breakfast? I saw what’s in the fridge. I can make a mean egg sandwich.”
She tilted her head. “First coffee and now breakfast? Careful, I might want to keep you as a roommate.”
Ugh. As soon as she heard her words, she wished she could yank them back.
Matty winked. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He bent to his duffle bag. “Don’t worry, I’ll throw on some clothes.”
She resisted protesting and instead gaped at how the muscles in his body moved while he searched for clothes.
Don’t stare. She busied herself by taking Trixie out to relieve herself. Once they returned inside, Jenna checked her phone notifications.
It was too quiet all of a sudden. She selected her d
aily playlist from her phone, which provided both news updates and some upbeat songs to get her moving.
After Matty cleaned up in the bathroom, he returned fully dressed in a black gym shorts slung low on his waist and a tight red workout shirt. With the way it clung to his fit body, he might as well have been bare chested.
While he prepared the egg sandwiches, she toasted English muffins and sliced some cantaloupe. She took slow breaths. This was just a normal meal between old family friends. Nothing weird about it.
The scents of breakfast filled the kitchen.
“You like guac?” he asked.
“Who doesn’t?”
“All right. Coming up.”
He served up gooey egg sandwiches dripping with cheese and covered with baby spinach, guacamole, and salsa.
When they ate at her breakfast nook, they chatted about the news. She attempted to dismiss any lingering feelings of the strange sensations from last night. In the light of a new day, it was easier to see their situation more clearly. It was just a short term agreement. And even though they’d be spending much time together, she’d have to keep an emotional distance. It was for her best interest.
“Sure. I’ll do it.”
“Do what?” His brows furrowed.
What was wrong with her? Why did she bark that out with zero context?
“Try the stairs with you today.”
His lips stretched into a slow smile that shot her heart racing up to the next level. “That’s my girl. Up for a challenge.”
Strange sensations fluttered through her body as if butterflies all hatched at once. My girl. That sounded all too good coming from his lips. Oh so right.
It didn’t mean anything, though. She couldn’t think of it as anything more than the friendly manner in which it was intended.
But that didn’t stop her from replaying those words in her head. My girl. Would there ever be a situation in which he could look at her in that way and not as Derek’s little sister?
She brushed her hair away from her face. “Give me a half-hour or so. I’m not ready to tackle any mountains yet.”
She returned to her room and crawled onto her bed with her phone. After a few minutes of checking email and then screwing around on social media, she searched online to read more about SEALs and K-9s, eager to learn more about what he’d done. After falling into a rabbit hole of articles, she found a site for an organization that helped retired military dogs find new homes.
A call from Derek flashed. A flicker of guilt rose, which she tried to squash. She wasn’t doing anything wrong.
“Hey, Derek, what’s up?”
“Just checking in. How’s everything going there?”
“Fine. What’s going on with you?”
“You know what I mean—the situation with Roberto.”
She glanced away. With him seeing her face on the screen, he’d likely read into whatever was on her expression.
“He’s just—Roberto.” She waved her hand. “He hasn’t changed.”
Derek arched his eyebrows. “Matty hasn’t scared him off yet?”
Jenna forced her expression to remain neutral. She didn’t want to tell Derek how the situation had evolved just yet, but she didn’t have much of a choice without lying to her brother.
“Change of plans.” She shrugged as if it was nothing. “Matty’s going to stay here for a few nights. You know, make it look more official.” She circled her hand again, attempting for nonchalance, but her erratic gesturing might project a different vibe. She lowered her arm to her bed.
“He what?” Derek leaned closer to his screen.
“Easy, Derek. He slept on the sofa.”
“He better have.”
“Geez, you don’t have to get all weird about it. We’ve known each other for—forever. And he’s doing me a favor. Doing us a favor considering you were pretty sold on the fake boyfriend plan.”
Derek snorted. “I didn’t know sleeping at your place was going to be part of the arrangement.”
Jenna tilted her head. “Roberto was being a dick and bothering me at the gym. Matty came to gauge the situation. He got all worried and protective about it—like you—and suggested this new plan.”
Derek’s expression tightened with worry. “Fine, I get that. It makes sense. But, I’m your brother and he’s still a guy. Of course I’m not going to like the idea of a guy staying there.”
She exhaled. “You have nothing to worry about.”
Jenna switched the subject to Derek and asked him about Japan. He gave her highlights of some of his outings with the people he had met and the food he’d eaten.
“You really should come visit me one day. It’s so cool living in a culture that’s completely different from home.”
“Maybe. Plane tickets to Japan aren’t exactly cheap. And it’s a long flight to the other side of the world.”
“Think about it, okay?”
“Sure. I’d love to plan it in the next year or so.”
After they spoke for a few more minutes, Derek switched back to talking about Matty. “Be careful with him staying there.”
“What do you mean?”
“Things can happen. It could lead to a mistake.”
She sighed. “Derek, we already went over this.”
“I know. But I don’t want you to get hurt.” He grunted. “I don’t want him to get hurt either.”
Jenna ran her fingers through her hair. Was that the only option if anything ever happened between them? One of them would inevitably hurt the other?
Chapter 10
Jenna
Jenna glanced up at the football stadium from the field. Row after row of gray concrete. Column after column of stairs. The sunlight drifted over one side, leaving the other half cast in shadow. She resisted zipping up her hoodie to counter the breeze as she guessed she’d be sweating soon.
She planted her hands on her hips. “I can’t believe you convinced me to come here.”
Matty raised his brow and flashed his grin. “You might enjoy it.”
She groaned. “I hope you brought a stretcher.”
“Come on.” He touched her shoulder. “Let’s warm up.”
Matty started them off with a light jog on the grassy field, followed by knee raises and jumping jacks. Then they took a position on one of the white lines and he directed her with walking lunges on the turf. She followed the movements at his side. After twenty paces, he turned direction and returned with walking knee raises. The next round was walking forward and forward kicks. The final included a hamstring stretch with each step.
He turned to her. “Ready to get started?”
Jenna blew out a breath. “We haven’t even started yet?”
He laughed and mussed up her ponytail. “You’ve got this, Buggie.”
“Jenna,” she reminded him.
“Okay, Jenna.”
She agreed to come here and give this workout a try, so she’d suck it up and try to keep up with a Navy SEAL. She scanned the stairs. Dozens of them. Up and down. Up and down.
It might kill her.
She swallowed and then with false confidence, she gave him a challenging smile. “I’m ready when you are, old man.”
“Old? I’m only three years older than you.”
Only. When they were younger, that seemed like a much bigger deal.
He faced their first challenge. “Let’s start with a brisk walk. We don’t want to go too hard too fast. I’ve learned that mistake the hard way myself.” He grinned.
Shit, if he’d had trouble with it, where did that leave her? Before she had time to ruminate, Matty began. He climbed the stairs at a walking pace, and she followed. It wasn’t so bad. Just like climbing stairs anywhere else.
Until she reached the top. Her heartbeat had already quickened. That one section of stairs was far longer than any in her apartment building. Matty turned around at the top and returned down them.
She followed and breathed harder by the time they reached the bottom of
that first set.
“One down,” he encouraged.
And only about eight hundred more to go. Sure, it was an exaggeration. Hopefully, she’d make it through.
On the next set of stairs, Matty walked at a quicker speed. She attempted to keep up with him. Her body prodded her with a sensible question—are you sure you want to do this?
“You okay?” he asked at the base.
“Yeah.”
“You’re doing great,” he encouraged.
She forced a smile. “I haven’t passed out yet.”
He tapped her lower back. “You’ve got this, Jenna.” He glanced at the next set of stairs. “I’m going to start running them and alternating with the bleachers. You can stay at whatever pace you’re comfortable with.”
She sure would. If walking fast was difficult enough, no way would she break out into a run like he was.
But as he ran up the stairs, she couldn’t help but be motivated to try to go faster. For brief segments, she even tried to jog. About five more sets, he paused and waited for her at the top.
“How does this compare to the gym?” He pulled out her stainless steel water bottle from his backpack and handed it to her.
“Thanks.” She panted and gulped water from the bottle. Her lungs already burned, and her skin was so hot. At the gym, she’d have her earbuds in and watch something on the screen. She doubted she’d be able to pay attention to anything like that during this type of workout.
After her heartbeat slowed, she replied with a noncommittal shrug. “It’s a bit different.”
“More challenging?” He arched his brows.
She pinned a knowing gaze on him. “What do you think?”
He nodded. “I’m proud of you, Jenna. This is a tough workout.”
A frisson of heat rose in her chest as his praise warmed her.
“Ready to continue?”
She glanced around the stadium. They’d barely tackled it! “Um, I guess.”
“Okay, we’ll stop for a longer water break halfway through. If you need it before then, just holler.”
She might holler soon enough for a multitude of reasons.
After they had started up again, she knew more about what to expect this time with her pounding heartbeat and gasping lungs. She kept the back of Matty’s body as her focal point. And that’s how she noticed it, his gait wasn’t as smooth as it had been. His left leg dragged, the one with most of the scars. Was he in pain?
Matty: A Navy SEAL Romance Page 8