by Elle James
“What the hell?” The female pushed against his chest and stared down at him, her green eyes shooting flames. “Of all the idiotic, stupid things to do, plowing into a hospital full of sick and injured tops the charts.”
Still fighting for his breath, Dustin opened his mouth but nothing came out. He sucked in a ragged breath, his mind clearing about the same time as recognition dawned. “Jenna?” he wheezed.
The woman’s skillfully arched brows puckered, and then a smile lit her face. “Dustin?”
She rolled to the side and air flowed into Dustin’s lungs.
Her joyous smile crashed into a deep frown. “Holy hell, can’t you enter a building like everyone else?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” Dustin sat up, grabbed her arms and stared into her face, memories of the woman crashing in around him. “Are you okay?” God, she was even more beautiful than when he’d left for Navy Basic Training a decade ago. He nodded toward the white gauze wrapped around her head. “Why are you wearing that?”
The bandage slipped loose and dropped down over one of her eyes. “Damn.” She unwound the binding from her head and wadded it into her fist. “I told them this was too much.” A butterfly bandage stretched over a cut on her temple, holding the edges of skin together.
His grip tightened. “What happened to your forehead?”
She snorted, shook free from his hold and pointed at the injury. “This little thing?”
“Don’t let her fool you. It’s a gunshot wound.” A tall, lanky man with a baby face extended his hand to Jenna. “Need a hand up?”
Jenna placed her hand in his and let him draw her to her feet, her color rising in her cheeks. “It didn’t hurt.”
“Yeah, but had it hit one inch over, you wouldn’t be falling all over a man in the hospital lobby. You’d be stretched out on a table in the morgue.”
Jenna’s face blanched.
“Damn, Jenna.” Dustin pushed to his feet. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Jenna smoothed her hair back from her face, like she did when she was avoiding an answer. She winced when her hand brushed over the bandage.
The lanky dude answered, “We were reporting on a hostage situation when the gunman started shooting at everything. After the gunman was hit by the SWAT team, his shots went wild. One nicked my girl, here.”
“Fuck.” Dustin planted himself in front of her, cupped her chin and studied the injury, his hands tingling with the electricity that shot through him whenever he touched this woman. Even after ten years, she still made him crazy.
“The doctor said it shouldn’t leave much of a scar.” Jenna laughed shakily. “He glued it together, rather than stitching.”
Dustin shook his head. “What have you been up to since I’ve been gone?”
Jenna pulled free of his grip, the color returning to her cheeks. Rubbing her hands over her arms, she tilted her chin. “I’m a freelance reporter for the local news station.”
The young man behind her grinned. “Yeah, and she’s good. Today’s report ought to get us into the national news.”
Dustin glared at the man who’d gone with Jenna into danger. “Who the hell are you?”
The young man’s grin slipped. “Toby.” His own eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?”
His chest swelling out, his back stiffening, Dustin answered, “Dustin Ford. Jenna’s fiancé.”
Toby’s brows rose into the hair hanging down over his forehead. “Fiancé?” He glanced from Jenna to Dustin and back to Jenna. “Is there something you haven’t told me?”
She shook her head. “Former fiancé. A million years ago.” Jenna brushed her hands over her rumpled skirt suit. “We were teenagers in lust. Not a brain between the two of us. We’re lucky we broke it off before we made the biggest mistake of our lives.”
Dustin’s chest tightened. Jenna had been the one to break it off, claiming she wanted to live before she settled down. Being married came with too much responsibility, too many strings attached. She wanted to see the world, to experience life.
That had been right after the Navy recruiter had contacted him with an offer to join the Navy and a shot at the Navy SEALs training.
He’d been ready to turn it down, head to college and married life with Jenna—until she’d handed him her engagement ring, telling him no thanks. In that moment, his heart had broken into a million pieces. He’d told her to sell the ring, keep it or throw it away. He had no use for it in the Navy. That had been the last time he’d seen her.
Until now.
Ten years older, and she still looked the same. Only better. Her curves had filled out and her face had lost its youthful roundness. Apparently, she was still the same Jenna, running headlong into trouble, just like she had in high school. But why was she still in Waco?
“Wait.” That woman with the flashing green eyes bit on her lip and touched his arm. “Why are you here?”
Remembering his reason for coming to Waco in the first place, Dustin glanced at his watch. “My father had a heart attack. He’s having surgery as we speak.”
Jenna’s fingers tightened on his arm. “I’m sorry to hear that. You should go to your family.”
He nodded and took a step toward the elevators.
“Wait,” Jenna’s soft voice said behind him. “How long will you be in town?”
Dustin’s heart skipped several beats. Why should he care? Jenna had dumped him all those years ago, and he thought he’d gotten over her. Seeing her again brought back too many good memories along with the bad. Did he really want to open that old wound again? He didn’t dare look back. He took another step and threw over his shoulder. “I’ll be around for at least a week, depending on how my dad does.”
He didn’t glance back until he reached the elevator. When he did, his heart flip-flopped when he remembered just how much it hurt to walk away from Jenna the first time.
JENNA TRIED HARD not to watch as Dustin walked away, but her hungry gaze followed him, until he entered the elevator and caught her staring. Her stomach bunched and her eyes stung.
“Fiancé?” Toby gripped her elbow. “I never knew you were engaged.”
“How could you? You were in grade school at the time.”
“Damn, woman.” Toby’s head moved back and forth as he helped her through the door. “How’d you let that one get away?”
She shrugged. “He’s not all that.”
“He’s big, he’s rugged. From what Marcy said, women like a man who can sweep her off her feet.”
And he’d certainly done that. “He nearly put me right back in the hospital,” she muttered. But damn, he was even sexier than he’d been in high school. All those lovely muscles had stretched his T-shirt across his broad chest, and they’d been rock-solid beneath her hands. Her belly clenched and a wash of desire spread through her body. Damn, damn, damn. He still had that effect on her, even after ten years.
“So, what gives?” Toby persisted. “Why’d you let him go?”
“He didn’t need a wife weighing him down when he was about to go through the hardest training in his life. The man’s a Navy SEAL.” She pushed through the door and out into the hot, Texas sunshine.
Toby followed. “Let me get this straight, you dumped him so he could train to be a SEAL?”
“Yeah, so?” She pressed gently against the butterfly bandage, sending a sharp pain across her forehead. It was nothing compared to the heartache she’d experienced when she’d sacrificed her engagement so that Dustin could follow his dream.
“My cousin could have been married to a Navy SEAL.” Toby shook his head as he held the passenger door open to her SUV. “Talk about your missed opportunities. I thought most girls wanted to marry the strong alpha dudes.”
She ignored the open door, rounded to the other side and slid into the driver’s seat. “He wouldn’t have been a Navy SEAL had we gotten married. He’d have stayed in Texas, gone to college and become something he hated, an accountant or a businessman to support me
and the family we would have had.”
Toby slid into the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt. “Is that such a bad thing?”
“The key?” She held out her hand, delaying her answer. She’d wondered the same thing for the past ten years. If she hadn’t broken their engagement, would they have been happy? Would they still be together? Or would Dustin have let his regret fester? They’d have had a couple of kids—a girl with Jenna’s auburn hair, and a boy with Dustin’s black hair and brown eyes—and about the time the seven-year-itch set in, they’d have divorced and the kids would be juggled between the two of them.
Toby handed her the car key, his brow wrinkling. “Are you sure you should be driving after suffering a head wound?”
“It was a scratch.”
“Yeah, and then you were knocked off your feet.”
“I can manage.” She twisted the key in the ignition and drove out of the parking lot.
For the first block, Toby sat quietly in the seat beside her. Jenna breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully he wouldn’t continue to badger her about her former fiancé. After all, that was ten years ago. They’d been kids.
A traffic light turned red and Jenna slowed to a stop.
Toby turned to her and opened his mouth.
“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
He grinned. “I saw the sparks between the two of you.”
“That was anger on my part for being bowled over by a Neanderthal.”
A snort sounded beside her. “Yeah. And he couldn’t stop putting his hands on you. And the way his nostrils flared when he did, was a dead giveaway.” Toby raised his hands. “Just sayin’.”
Jenna’s heart fluttered and she shot a glance his way. “You think?” The words left her mouth before she could think through them.
“Ah!” Toby raised a single finger. “So, you still have feelings for the Neanderthal.”
The light turned green.
Her cheeks heating, Jenna floored the accelerator. “Even if I did, he’s only in town for a week then he’s back to being a Navy SEAL, deployed all over the world. SEALs don’t have a life outside of their work.”
Toby stared forward for a few minutes.
Jenna remained tense, waiting for the next round of badgering. Was it too much to ask for him to drop the subject? Her body was on fire just thinking about Dustin. All she wanted was to get back to her apartment, strip, shower and crawl into her bed with her vibrator. A little self-pleasure would be much more satisfying than opening her heart to a man who wouldn’t be around next week.
“How long has it been since you’ve slept with a man?” Toby asked.
“Toby! You’re my cousin! My younger cousin.” She glared his way and turned onto the street leading to his apartment. “That’s not the kind of question you ask your relative.”
“Why not?” He raised his hands palms up. “Damn, Jenna. I’m trying to make a point. How long has it been since you…you know?”
“You know what?”
“Come on. Do you want me to spell it out?”
“Since I got laid?” Jenna couldn’t believe the kid she used to babysit was asking her such personal questions. “I have sex.” She squirmed in her seat. “Not that it’s any of your business.” She pulled into the parking lot at his apartment building.
Toby remained in his seat, his gaze locking with Jenna’s. “With a man or with a vibrator?”
Cheeks flaming, Jenna huffed. “I’m not believing this conversation.” She pointed to the door. “Get out.”
“I take it you haven’t gotten laid in a long time.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Ten years?”
Jenna opened her mouth to say no, but the lie stuck in her suddenly constricted throat.
Toby nodded. “Thought so.”
“So, it doesn’t mean anything other than I know how to make myself happy. Besides, women don’t need sex like men do.”
Toby snorted loudly. “Not according to Marcy. She wants it all the time. She’s practically insatiable.”
Jenna pressed her hands to her ears. “Too much information, Toby.”
“The way I see it, you have a week to enjoy with an old flame. What’s stopping you?”
“The man’s father is in the hospital. He has other things on his mind besides a week-long orgy with the woman who dumped him.”
“Doesn’t hurt to ask.” Toby pushed the door open and stepped out. He leaned down. “Think about it. You probably already are. Why else did you ask him how long he’d be in town?”
Jenna refused to look at her young relative, keeping her gaze pinned to the garbage bin at the end of the parking lot, her heart pounding so loud in her ears, she couldn’t think straight.
“You work hard, Jenna,” he said, his voice softening, “you deserve a little happiness. Even if it’s only for a week. It might loosen up those creative juices and make you an even better reporter.” Toby slammed the door and walked off. When he was a good three feet ahead of her SUV, he turned and winked.
“Yeah, right.” Jenna shifted into reverse and swung her vehicle around. Then she floored the accelerator and the SUV leaped out into the street, nearly taking out a motorcyclist, ambling along at the posted speed limit.
“Damn!” Jenna slammed on her brakes and pulled herself together. This was the reason she would be smart not to start anything with Dustin Ford. The man made her entirely too crazy. She’d be a fool to get involved for only a week with the SEAL. It had taken every ounce of her resolve to break it off with the man the first go-around. And she hadn’t had a steady boyfriend or dated anyone more than two times before she refused to see him again. All because Dustin Ford had set the bar for all other men and none had measured up.
As she drove the few blocks to her apartment, a thought wiggled its way past her defenses.
If she chose to seduce the SEAL, maybe she’d find him to be a complete bore now. They’d both matured since high school. If she slept with him, she might learn that he wasn’t as good as she remembered and she could finally move on with her life without having Dustin in her head every time she kissed someone.
Her mind spun with the possibilities and her core tightened. Jenna pulled into her parking lot, a plan forming. No sooner did she slide the SUV into her reserved spot, then she shifted into reverse and headed to the nearest mall for the Victoria’s Secret shop to stock up on pretty panties and bras. If she was going to do this, she might as well do it right. Out with the granny panties, in with thongs and demi-bras.
Here’s to getting some and getting on with my life.
Chapter Three
‡
DUSTIN FOUND ADAM and Houston in the surgical waiting room with their mother. All three were on their feet, pacing in different directions. When they spied him, they converged.
“Dustin!” Adam, the oldest of his brothers with the signature broad shoulders, dark hair and brown eyes of the Ford men, reached him first and enveloped him in a bear hug that squeezed the air from his lungs. “I really didn’t think you’d make it. I’m glad you came.”
Houston stuck out his hand and gripped it in a bone-crunching shake, and then he pulled him into a bear hug equal to Adam’s.
His little brother’s long lanky body had filled out with hard muscles. “Good to see you, bro.”
They parted and his mother moved in, her eyes filling with tears. She opened her arms and Dustin stepped into them. Jeannie Ford was a good foot shorter than her ‘boys’, but she had the biggest heart in the state of Texas. She’d raised them, loved them and looked after them until they’d all gone their separate ways, each choosing a different career path.
Adam was the only brother who’d stayed in Texas. He’d gone on to college, obtaining a degree in criminal justice, and gone to work for the Waco Police department. His skills with all forms of weapons and tactics landed him on the SWAT team.
Houston had enlisted into the Army, excelled in airborne training and gone on to join the elite Delta Force.
<
br /> “I’m so glad you could make it,” their mother said. “Your father didn’t want us to tell you and Houston about his surgery. But we disregarded his wishes.”
“I’m glad you did and that I was on the tail end of a mission, or they might not have been able to contact me.” Dustin glanced toward the door. “Any word?”
“They took him back an hour ago. Depending on what they find and how extensive the damage is, it could take a while.” His mother sighed, her gaze on the empty doorway as if she could see through the walls into the operating room. “I hope he’s okay.”
“Knowing Dad, he’ll be harassing the doctors and nurses in no time.”
His mother’s laugh was more like a sob. “He hates being sick.”
Dustin nodded, forcing a smile. “He’ll be a helluva a patient.”
His mother stood taller, her back stiffening. “He’ll have to get over it. He’s going to do exactly what they say and get better. I have too many years left on this earth and refuse to spend them without him.”
Dustin’s heart swelled with his love for his parents. “That’s right. You better practice now telling him no. Otherwise, he’ll be out chopping down trees, herding cattle or pounding fence posts into the ground before he has a chance to heal.”
“I’m taking off the next couple weeks from the police department to help out at home,” Adam said. “Fortunately, Dad’s ranch hand is capable and ready to take on the full load until Dad is recovered enough to help.”
Dustin’s brows rose. “Dad has a ranch hand?”
“When all you boys moved out, he and I thought we could do it all with occasional temporary help. But the teenagers we hired never last long,” his mother said. “When my horse threw me and I injured my back, your father finally gave in and hired a fulltime ranch hand, by the name of Carson Scott. Thank God.”
His stomach sank and he gripped his mother’s hands. “Mom, I didn’t know you’d been thrown.” He raked his gaze over his mother, noticing the wrinkles around her eyes had deepened. “You’re okay?”
