She ignored the boxer briefs and slim tee, tried to pretend she didn’t feel something for the man underneath. “Where’s Sawyer?”
“Not home yet.”
She set the extra coffee cup on the small table near the entry. “Is he running errands, or just out exercising or something else?”
Jason shot her a look that said “duh” without actually saying the word. “Not home from his date.”
“Are you kidding?” Last she heard Sawyer made plans for dinner with Hailey. Something about a non-business meal. Molly didn’t really get it, but she also hadn’t expected an overnight. She wondered if Sawyer had.
“No.” Jason crossed his arms and leaned against the jamb in the open doorway. “He should be doing the walk of shame any minute now.”
“I’m wondering if him still being out is good or bad for the business.”
Jason shrugged. “No idea but it’s probably pretty damn great for him.”
“He said it was...” The blond hair stopped Molly first. The tan legs and fact the other woman wore a male T-shirt that barely covered her crotch had Molly stuck until she forced a word out. “Hello.”
“Hi.” The other woman barely spared Molly a glance before resting her hand on Jason’s chest and draping her half-clothed body over his arm. “I need a towel.”
Jason gestured with his head. “Closet in the hallway.”
“Thanks.” She winked at him. “Come join me in the shower?”
Everything inside Molly went numb. It was as if her heart slowed and her body withered.
He nodded. “I’ll be in soon.”
The woman leaned up and kissed Jason on the corner of his mouth. “I’ll keep the water warm for you.”
Seeing her saunter away brought on a fighting rage. None of this was the woman’s fault. No, Molly had no one to blame but herself. For caring, for waiting...for showing up today. For not moving out of San Diego when Jason announced he planned to stay.
She had to get out of the house. Now.
Turning on her heel she headed back for the front door. Had the knob in her hand and her breathing almost under control when Jason’s palm slapped against the door by her head and held it shut.
“Wait,” he said from right behind her. His words blew across the back of her neck.
That would teach her to put her hair up in a ponytail. “You’re busy.”
And she had to go. After a lifetime of loving him and watching him sleep with everyone else, make his way through a list of women that didn’t include her, she was done. Or she would be after she went somewhere private and screamed for an hour or so.
“She’s—”
Rage rose up out of nowhere. It started in her gut and formed this gigantic ball. Before she could put on the emotional brakes she whipped around. “What, Jason? What is she?”
The move had him stepping back. “Nothing.”
Just another nameless face. Another woman he would sleep with then forget. The guy had a pattern that tore at her. “That makes you sound like an asshole.”
He didn’t get angry. Didn’t raise his voice. It was as if the argument and her fury didn’t even register for him. “A friend then.”
Molly dropped her back against the door and balanced her weight there. “You’re an idiot.”
“I’m legally separated. I’m not cheating.”
“I know that.” She knew all about his marriage. Every miserable detail.
“Heather dumped me.”
“Stop acting like I don’t know about your marriage.” Hell, she was the one who accidentally introduced them. Brought her friend home. Went to a party that led to Heather sleeping with Jason then to the unbearable.
“Then what’s the problem?” A severe frown marked his forehead.
God, he didn’t even understand the source of her rage and frustration. How she’d loved him then waited for him and now she had to watch him race through other women. “You cannot be this stupid.”
“What’s with the name-calling?”
She wanted to call him worse but refrained. “It fits.”
“Is this about the woman? I told you, she means nothing.” But he lowered his voice. “It was just sex.”
The woman. So dismissive. Molly started feeling bad for the woman who even now stood in the shower waiting for Jason to join her. “Only a guy would think that sentence makes this situation better.”
“You’re actually trying to make me feel guilty about having casual sex?”
“This is the second time in two weeks I’ve come here and tripped over your morning after.” It actually hurt to say the words. Each syllable ripped out of her, leaving a hole behind.
The emotion left his face. “There’s an easy response to that.”
Right, as if she was the one who should leave. “This is my brother’s house.”
“He doesn’t limit my overnight guests.”
Each comment dug the wound a little deeper. “Do you even know this one’s name?”
Jason pressed a palm against the door and held her there. “My private life is none of your business.”
Her mouth clamped shut on her response. She bit back the smartass comment and went with the truth, no matter how much it hurt. “You know what? You’re right.”
It would take a shove to get him to move away and she didn’t hesitate. Two hands planted on his chest and she pushed. Then she had the knob and got the door open.
“Molly...shit. Wait.”
She heard him behind her but it was too late. She stepped off the small porch and hit the pathway. “I’m done waiting.”
The voice in her head added “finally” but she couldn’t say it out loud. Not yet. But she would. Because the days of loving Jason were over.
Chapter Ten
The man could kiss. Kiss, lick, touch. Sawyer excelled at all of it. The buzz hadn’t worn off the next morning. Hailey was a bundle of energy, zipping from here to there as she made breakfast. Now and then she would glance up to see Sawyer reading the news on his phone or setting out plates on the breakfast bar.
He was not a guy who needed to be told to help. He dug in and did it. She tried to imagine anything sexier...nope, couldn’t come up with one thing. The T-shirt and faded jeans only added to the package.
When she’d woken up earlier she’d lain there, not moving, sure he would have snuck out during the night. Not him. He stayed. Hung around. Kissed her awake. They’d finally gotten around to eating the chicken around midnight. A few more hours in bed, touching and tasting and getting to know every inch of him, but no running for home. Not even a twitch to suggest he’d rather be somewhere else.
He opened the box from The Bakery and smiled. “Muffins.”
She thought she heard him sigh. He’d showed close to the same level of excitement last night when he saw her breasts for the first time. She wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not, though she had to admit they were good muffins.
So much about him made her smile. “I take it you approve?”
“I’d have been happy with a cup of coffee.”
He sounded like he meant it. The comfort now highlighted the huge pile of baggage stacked between them that they both ignored. When he touched her, sliding over her as his hands slipped under her knees she hadn’t been thinking about property or inheritance or loss. She’d been too busy exploring every muscle and the hard flatness of his stomach.
They hadn’t broken her vow. Sex stayed off the table but she’d run right up against the line. At one point she begged him to enter her and he froze. He told her after he’d keep his promise not to have sex even if it meant plunging into an ice bath. He was growling at the time and managed to use the word “fuck” four or five times, which only made the vow sweeter.
Then it hit her. They were in a different day. Going to the bedroom now wouldn’t break anything. “We could¾“
She heard a noise. Felt the slight change in the air moving through the room. She glanced up just in time to see Jessie walk in
with her gaze bouncing from Hailey to Sawyer. The only sound came when she dropped the gym bag in her hand and it clunked against the hardwood floor.
Hailey couldn’t figure out how to drop her spatula or why she was even holding one. “Um.”
Sawyer stood up, but not before he dropped a muffin on the plate in front of him. “Well, this is interesting.”
There were so many words Hailey wanted to use. “Interesting” was not on the list. “Is it?”
Sawyer looked over at her. “I’m not sure how mornings after work in this house, but the frozen-in-place thing you’re both doing is weird.”
“Morning after?” Jessie asked.
The day started out so great but Hailey clearly had lost control. “What Sawyer meant to say was good morning.”
“Right.” He snapped his fingers. “That.”
Jessie put her keys in a bowl on the table next to the couch. “I’d ask how dinner went but—”
“Don’t.” Hailey waved her hand, which meant waving the spatula around. She put it down to keep from hitting herself since it was turning into just that type of day.
“Pretty great actually.” Sawyer talked right over the tension choking the room then did a double take in her direction. “What? It was good chicken.”
Jessie bounced back. A smile formed on her lips as she rested her thigh on the back of the couch and balanced there. “You’re actually talking about the food?”
“I am.” Sawyer nodded and managed to look serious while doing it.
Spoken like a man who didn’t want to be kicked out before he got bacon. Hailey admired his priorities.
“But you had a sleepover?” Jessie asked with one eyebrow raised.
Where was that sisterhood can read your mind thing when she needed it? Hailey never really believed in that sort of thing but right then would have been a good time for it to kick in. “We’re not talking about this now.”
But Sawyer had already launched into an explanation as he unwrapped his muffin. “I fell asleep after dinner and ended up staying here rather than heading home.”
Not a total lie but nowhere near the truth either. The verbal shortcut left out most of the good parts. She appreciated the chivalry, but it’s not as if she didn’t intend to share some of the details with her friends. He didn’t need to worry because he’d come off well in her version of the storytelling. Very well.
“Nodding off? That doesn’t sound all that promising in the fun department.” Jessie’s smile grew even wider. “Way too G-rated.”
He shrugged. “I do not have one complaint.”
Silence fell over the room. The bacon sizzled and the scent of burnt pork hit Hailey. She’d forgotten all about the food until right then and would have run to check on it, but leaving Sawyer unchaperoned, even though she’d be a few feet away, scared her a bit.
“Maybe this really is a bad time.” Jessie slowly rose to her feet.
His eyebrow lifted. “I thought you were living here right now.”
“Kat and I had fried food and movie night, and I stayed over.” She sent Hailey an apologetic wince. “Clearly I should have made it last a bit longer, but I can leave and come back later.”
He cleared his throat. “Fried food night? I’m asking because that sounds pretty great.”
“No green food allowed,” Jessie explained. “Needless to say, we can’t do it very often without going into a food coma.”
After the other day, Hailey had a bigger concern. “Have you heard from Pete?”
“No.” Jessie’s eyes narrowed. “He’s gone weirdly silent.”
“Isn’t that good? You want him to go away, right?” Sawyer asked before Hailey could.
“Yeah.” Jessie nodded. “Sure.”
Sawyer didn’t look as if he was buying the response. “If not, let me know.”
That grabbed Hailey’s attention. “What would you do?”
“There are some Navy contacts I can call for help.” Sawyer’s gaze switched from Hailey to Jessie. “From experience I can tell you jackass men don’t cease being jackasses just because.”
Hailey caught the snort just in time. “No kidding.”
“Look, I should go.” He held the muffin. Looked like he wanted to pop the whole thing in his mouth. “I have to head over to Pendleton.”
At the reference to the huge marine base in far north San Diego County Hailey froze. Forget about worrying he’d go back in eventually. He’d found his way right back to the military as soon as he got out. How was that even possible? “I thought you were out?”
“I do firearms training there.” He didn’t say anything else. Just stared at her.
The words were emblazoned on her brain. Every fear burst to life, pushing out the good memories of the night before. Rob had talked about how being in security gave him everything he needed. About how he didn’t have to seek danger and could enjoy life, but the second he got the offer to go into the middle of a war-torn area and help out, he did.
Going back mattered more than the life he built. More than his fiancée. More than her...and that was the thing Hailey couldn’t handle.
“A man with a loaded weapon.” She tried to make light of the ache in her stomach, or his side job or whatever it was.
“Are you antigun?” His expression stayed blank and unreadable.
“No.” She could offer up her experience and talk about all the hours she’d logged on the range. She decided to stop there instead and get them off any conversation which took her mind back to the place where he kept his life attached to dangerous situations.
“I’d be happy to take you out to the range. I do some shooting on reservation land nearby.”
Funny how he assumed she didn’t have any experience. Between that and the reservation comment she didn’t know what to ask first. “How did you get permission for that?”
“It’s a trade—firearms safety instruction for time in the stalls.” He shrugged. “We’ll set up a time and go out.”
A gun date. That had her blinking. “You’re going to teach me how to shoot?”
“Sure. It’s my job.” He started picking at his muffin. “If you learn how to use a gun and understand how to take care of it, spend some time training, you won’t be afraid of it.”
Jessie snorted. “She’s not—”
Hailey cut her off with a flick of her hand. “Okay. I’ll take you up on the offer.”
“Good.” Then he leaned in and kissed her. A swift but possessive touch of his lips to hers. “I’ll call.”
The touch of his lips sent the blood rushing from her head. “That sounds like a line,” she mumbled as she tried to get her bearings.
This time he brushed his fingers over her chin. Acted as if Jessie wasn’t standing there, as if nothing stood in the way of them having more than a few nights together. “Maybe but you’ll figure out soon enough that I always do what I say I’ll do.”
The second the door closed behind him, Hailey headed back to the stove. She turned down the heat and kept all her focus on the pan. That might lessen the barrage of questions she knew was about to hit her.
“You can shoot,” Jessie said with more than a little amusement in her voice.
Hailey winced, mostly over the burnt bacon but over the comment, too. “I know that.”
Jessie popped up next to her. “Why aren’t you telling Sawyer the truth?”
After a few seconds of trying to ignore the conversation by moving bacon around in the pan, Hailey gave up. She dropped the spatula on the counter and looked at her dearest friend in the world. “Because he’s all chivalrous and commanding.”
“The bastard.”
Hailey had to smile at the fake outrage in Jessie’s voice. “I’m serious.”
“Uh-huh.” Jessie picked up a muffin and peeled the paper wrapper off. “I’m having some trouble following your line of thinking here.”
That made two of them. Thoughts bounced around in Hailey’s head and she rushed to keep up with them. Something ab
out Sawyer had her flailing and she did not flail. She’d lost both of her parents in a war she barely remembered. Then she lost Rob. She’d survived it all, growing tougher with each mind-numbing blow. But her bone-deep clarity crumbled when it came to Sawyer.
“He clearly likes being charge.” In the bedroom and out. She appreciated a heavy dose of his dominating nature last night and loved every second of it.
He’d known just where to touch to catch her skin on fire. He told her to raise her arms or held her down. The rough words made her body implode. Pleasure had washed through her until she wondered how she held out on the sex thing.
And the man could kiss, intense and passionate.
“So, you’re going to pretend to be a weapons novice?” Jessie asked as she picked at the top of the muffin.
“More like I’m going to give him a little lesson in not assuming things about me.” He said he liked strong women. She was one, and he needed to know the rescuer thing, while hot and appreciated, was only part of what she wanted from him...to the extent she was ready to admit she wanted any part of him.
“I almost feel sorry for the guy.”
“Don’t. He’s doing fine.”
“Which brings me to—” There was a knock on the door then the knob turned. Kat walked in with Barkley bouncing beside her. “Look who’s here.”
“Me and my quiet lap dog.” Kat unhooked Barkley’s leash and he took off on his usual smelling frenzy, stopping at every piece of furniture and walking around in circles. “Why is the gate unlocked?”
“I did that this morning.” Used her phone to unlock it so Sawyer would be able to get out. Of course, that meant anyone could come in without her knowing. These two were fine but others might not be. Hailey made a mental note to relock it once she figured out where she put her phone.
Kat didn’t look impressed with the explanation. “Okay, then why are you guys just standing there?”
“Hailey, do you want to answer that?” Jessie popped a big piece of muffin in her mouth and started chewing.
“Don’t.” Hailey had to concentrate to keep from ending the word with a growl. Something else she never did until she met Sawyer. The man was messing her up big-time.
Chain of Command Page 10